ClassMouse VS Student Link 2

WHAT RESOURCE BANK WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Currently our board licenses Student Link 2. Student Link 2 is a simple menu system that gets elementary students to thousands of appropriate, curriculum - based web sites as quickly as possible. There is a link for Staff in the Staff Portal which contains special resources, links, grading materials, and lessons that are all categorized. For ease of use there is also a student version link to Student Link 2 just for Students which is located in the Student Portal. WECDSB has used this resource for years.

Recently a new product to compete with Student Link 2 has come to my attention. There are some similarities and there are some differences but that is where you come in. I would like you to use our board's test login to access ClassMouse and check it out. Post your comments on this blog (anonymous or not is up to you!). Hearing good or bad feedback is just as valuable. I can't see the board paying for both systems so please tell me which one you like the best and I will take the findings to our Administration to consider. Feel free to download as much of the material as you see fit. Be sure to view it as a teacher and as one of your students. The same link will take you to the STAFF and STUDENT login. Content is important but so ease of use. Check it out!

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION CLICK HERE

LOGIN INFORMATION:

How do I check out what ClassMouse is all about??

1. Goto ClassMouse.com
2. Enter Username: Windsor
3. Password: Staff

Don't forget to post your comments here!

Creative Commons and Copyright

Do you post any content on the web?

Use a Creative Commons license to protect your blog, wiki, video, photo, or podcast. The process is very easy and free.

Join the web 2.0 revolution and publish some of your own content. Teachers have loads of content so why not share some of it!

Choose your method on how to get your information on the web using a BLOG, WIKI, or PODCAST for example.

Once you have posted it on the web you can visit the creative commons website to get your free license stipulating how your materials may be used by others. The license for this blog can be found on the right panel.

The registration form is shown below:

Share, Remix, Reuse — Legally

Creative Commons provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry. You can use CC to change your copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Some Rights Reserved."

We're a nonprofit organization. Everything we do — including the software we create — is free.

I believe people will be more apt to respect copyright once they have published their own work and went through the process to protect it.

JOIN THE WEB AND PUBLISH!

Free Is Good! Free Music is BEST!

Is there a new trend in music releases? Free is good! Free and Legal is Better! Click on the "ViVa" graphic to the left to download your copy of ColdPlay's new single "Violet Hill". Trent Reznor, lead singer of Nine Inch Nails upped the ante and just released their new album in multiple formats for free. Click on NIN below to get yours.

The website actually encourages you to share it and even add to it if you wish. The album called "The Slip" is licensed under a creative commons attribution non-commercial share alike license.

"we encourage you to remix it
share it with your friends,
post it on your blog,
play it on your podcast,
give it to strangers,
etc."

We all know how important copyright is. Click HERE to learn how to license your work!

It was considered a big deal when Coldplay decided to give away a song on April 29th from their new album but now we are seeing unprecedented generosity or a publicity stunt by artists giving away an entire album. For the longest time we overpaid to listen to the latest and greatest of bands we like but now they are just giving it away. Even if you don't like the music it must make you wonder... These are not artists starving for attention or looking for their start.

What is the catch? Is this a new trend? How long will it last? Time will tell.

How "SMART" is your Classroom

Teacher Tube and Smart Technologies have teamed up to offer a contest for Teachers to show off how a SmartBoard is used in their class. If you are lucky enough to use a SmartBoard in your class you may want to enter! All you have to do is produce a 30 second commercial that demonstrates how your class takes advantage of the Smartboard. Creativity and technological wizardry is a plus!

Here is an excerpt from their site:

SMART Technologies is teaming up with TeacherTube to offer the Extraordinary Moments Video Contest. We're looking for 30-second commercials that best answer this question: How do SMART products help you create extraordinary moments in your classroom?

Creativity counts. So does technological wizardry. But most of all we'd like to see how you and your students use technology to create a fun, interactive learning environment.

If you are a winner you can earn a prize package worth $3500 and a trip to NECC 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. You will premiere your commercial at the conference.

For more information click HERE:

If you are interested and would like some help don't hesitate to contact Doug Sadler for some help!

Windsor - Essex Gas Prices

Gas prices are out of control and are continuing to rise. Use the web to help find lower gas prices. This site is not new but may be new to you! OntarioGasPrices.com tracks the price of gas at our local Essex-County and Windsor stations. The chart on the left shows how you can sort the stations by price so you can see if a cheaper station is near you or perhaps you should try and fill up tomorrow. Remember a year ago when you felt a dollar a litre was ridiculous!! Click on the graphics for more information.

HOMEWORK- Where do we stand? More, Less, Status Quo?

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Toronto considers limits to homework
BY JANICE TIBBETTS CANWEST NEWS SERVICE
The Windsor Star
02 Apr 2008

Canada’s largest school board is considering banning homework during holidays and long weekends, the centrepiece of a proposed policy that is sparking calls for other boards to review their practices and counter a growing backlash against a “culture of... read more...

I wanted to put on my A&E hat again and discuss this one. I am sure there are many opinions across the board and hopefully you will voice yours!

The Toronto District School Board has decided to tackle the homework question. How much is too much? Apparently Weekends and Holidays could be off limits in Toronto.

It seems like students are getting even less oppourtunity with higher expectations, or does it? Maybe homework is not the answer? In 2000 changes were made in the Secondary panel that condensed 5 years of high school for University bound students into 4. There was a considerable amount of overlap in the curriculum that was removed however, condensing a 5 year program into 4 is still translates into an increase in expectations for students. The Elementary panel was also given a more robust curriculum that demands more from students. None of this is news to a teacher but it is clear we are expecting more than in the past. The Ministry of Education dictated a new assessment and evaluation guideline that was outlined in the Ministry Document "Grades 9 to 12 Program Planning and Assessment Guide". Assessment and evaluation changed significantly for both Elementary and Secondary. The secondary policy reads:

"Seventy per cent of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted throughout the course.
This portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement
throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent
evidence of achievement."

This statement actually encourages teachers to evaluate more however, teachers have been told by the Ministry we evaluate too much. They want teachers to do more assessment and less evaluation. Students need more practice and feedback before they are evaluated. This is probably true but homework is assessment and although differenciated instruction gurus suggest it is only one of many strategies that should be employed it is certainly a popular one. Do we take up all this homework anyway? Do we assign too much or too little?

So where do we stand on this issue? Would the world stop if we didn't send home homework on Friday's and before Holidays? Are PD days considered Holidays? We know where the students stand but what about the parents? Talk about a cultural shift!

In order to obtain a grade based on the most consistent level of achievement the larger the sample the better. So which is it? Does the Ministry want more or less? I have always found the Ministry to be inconsistent on this issue. Perhaps they will shed some more light on this issue in 2009 when they release their new policy document on Assessment and Evaluation.

Until then, what do you think?

Join Blogger and post here.

Office 2007 Plugin for Office 2000, XP, 2003

I had a discussion today with David Petro who informed me there was a plugin or add-on you could get to allow older version of Office work with new Office 2007 files.


From the site:

"By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats. For more information about the Compatibility Pack, see Knowledge Base article 924074."

So if you are interested click on the Microsoft graphic above to access the files needed.