It's VIDEO TIME Again in ED 305!!!!

The ED 305 students at Athens State University worked super hard this semester on their video projects. Enjoy viewing their videos and be sure to vote for your favorite (at the bottom of this post)!

Video 1: Common Craft Style - Cool School Tools




Video 2: Stop Motion Style - Ron Clark's "The Excellent 11"




Video 3: Stop Motion Style - Disproportionality of Minorities in Special Education




Video 4: Field Experience 101




Video 5: The Do's and Don'ts of Field Experience



Video 6: Surviving Field Experience




Video 7: Surviving Field Experience (2)




Vote for your favorite ED 305 Video!!!

Space Lab

If you want a fun and exciting boost for your science class, be sure to visit the YouTube Space Lab Channel - not only do they have some really great videos, but they also challenge students (people) to participate in making their channel even better. Its a great channel for anyone, but a super addition to science classes.

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Simple K12

SimpleK12 is a great resource for teachers. They create lots of great training videos that include best practices, how to use certain technologies & some that are designed for student instruction. They also produce some really great ebooks & webinars. If you haven't joined their mailing list, you should!

Check out this great plagiarism video produced by SimpleK12 - there are lots of other great ones on their YouTube channel (to which you should also subscribe!).

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Education Portal - A great resource for teachers!

If you haven't been using Education Portal to help you prepare curriculum, you are missing out. I just received the following message from Education Portal - read it - visit - and use these great available resources!

As you prepare for the upcoming school year, I'd like to share a free instructional supplement that you may find useful. Education Portal Academy's collection of free online lessons has grown a lot over the summer! We now have over 400 lessons in math, science, English, history, business and psychology, and celebrated our highest traffic yet this June with over 200,000 visitors.

We've listened to all of the feedback we've received and have recently published new lessons in some of our most-requested topics, including Shakespeare, DNA, probability mechanics and many more.

Check out our progress:

• Calculus (103 lessons published) http://eduport.al/Kz2qQ0
• Psychology (103 lessons published) http://eduport.al/KscJ3T
• Biology (81 lessons published) http://eduport.al/HdduPs
• College Algebra (36 lessons published) http://eduport.al/JQizM8
• English Literature (23 lessons published) http://eduport.al/IFFOYr
• College Composition (8 lessons published)http://eduport.al/KMfaDg
• Western Civilization (20 lessons published) http://eduport.al/IkPibj
• Principles of Marketing (9 lessons published)http://eduport.al/PauNVZ
• Educational Psychology (11 lessons published)http://eduport.al/LVkAOi
• General Chemistry (9 lessons published)http://eduport.al/SD01oR
• U.S. History (9 lessons published) http://eduport.al/MrsF9L
• Macroeconomics (5 lessons published) http://eduport.al/KNRfyd
• Principles of Management (5 lessons published)http://eduport.al/LyhbU0

We'll also launch College Mathematics, Pre-Calculus and American Literature before the school year begins and have many more course topics in the works! You can view all of our free lessons here: http://education-portal.com/academy/course/index.html
I hope you'll share these free resources with your students. Anyone can access our free lessons at any time -no strings- to supplement their classwork or to tackle a new subject on their own. Don't see your discipline? Reply to this email and let me know what lessons and topics you'd like to see!
Best regards,
Stacy Redd
Education Portal Academy

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

QR Code Crazy!

Got QR Codes? If not you are missing out on a really fun way to add a lot of great content to your PE class. And it's FREE and EASY!!! Here's how:

1. Download an app that scans QR codes - there's lots of them that are free

2. Create the QR codes @ http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

3. Paste the QR codes to the content

4. Students scan and learn!

           

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Get your students talking outside of class!

Are you a Google docs user? If not you're missing out on a really great (and FREE) resource for student collaboration. In addition, Google forms is great for creating evaluations.

How to get started? Create a Gmail account and log in. Go to Google Docs and start creating!

Here's a couple of examples of documents I've created - feel free to add to them!

1. Google Docs Document
2. Google Docs Slide Presentation 
3. Google Docs form - embedded below!

Skill Analysis made easy

Got a video camera (your phone probably does)? Got a computer? Then you have the necessary ingredients for preparing videos for analyzing skills. No fancy, high-cost software needed.

1. Video a student performing a skill

2. Upload the video to Windows Live Movie Maker (free product from Windows - download online)

3. Open the movie maker program

4. Import the video

5. Click on "edit"

6. Change speed to .5, .25 or .125 to slow

7. Publish the movie - view and analyze

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Use Polleverywhere.com to create live class polls that can be published to your website, blog or linked to in an email. People can respond to multiple-choice style and open-ended questions. http://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/LTk4ODIzODE5MA

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Use Voicethread to create asynchronous discussions in your classes. Post the voicethread to your website or blog where people can respond via video, text and voice recording. 

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Sport Education - a cultural approach to "loving the game"

Got "Sport Education" in your PE program? If not, you are really missing out!

Sport education is a curriculum model that can be used to increase the "value" of sports, in participants, by allowing them to experience ALL key factors involved in the sport. It provides participants with a very broad and cultural understanding of the sport, in addition to the skills and rules that are taught in traditional PE curriculum models.

Tomorrow I will be delivering a presentation at a PE workshop at AUM - the topic is Sport Education. I have linked to my handout for those who are interested!

For more information about the Sport Education Curriculum Model, I encourage you to invest in this book: Complete Guide to Sport Education by D. Siedentop & P. A. Hastie

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Animoto rocks Drew's graduation

If you haven't already created an Animoto account, I highly recommend it! It's certainly worth the $39 yearly fee to have the ease of creating really great videos, simply! Also, you can now download the Animoto app to your phone and make and share videos directly from your iPhone - awesome service by Animoto!

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

21st Century Swing

Today, I will be presenting the 21st century swing at the ASAHPERD Conference in Orange Beach, AL. Come by and swing with us!

For the 21st Century Swing you will need:

1. 5-8 simple 8-16 count dance moves (see the ones for today's event below)
2. Device that videos
3. Website to host videos
4. Computers/devices on which students can view dance moves

For today's session here's what I did:

1. I created 5 simple dance moves and videoed myself and Kelly performing the moves and teaching the moves. 
2. I loaded each simple dance move video instruction onto an Apple iBook computer.
3. I created 5 stations, one for each different dance move. At each station, I placed the computer with the video instruction and written dance instructions.
4. The following steps explain using the jigsaw teaching method - each group member is responsible for learning a specific part of the dance. The group members will reconvene and teach their dance moves. All dance moves will be combined into one dance. Each groups dance will be unique because there is no required order for combining the 5 dance moves.
1. Participants will be placed in squads of 5. Each squad member will be assigned a station to which he/she will go and learn the dance move. 
2. Participants go to their assigned station and learn the dance move by viewing and participating in the video dance instruction. 
3. Participants will reconvene with their groups and teach other members the dance move they will learn
4. Groups will combine the 5 dance moves into one dance - each groups final dance will be unique
5. After practicing the complete dance, groups will perform their dance for the entire class.
6. The instructor video tapes the performance of each group
5. Upon completion of videoing the students, the instructor will upload the videos to a website (personal website, youtube, etc.) where the videos can be voted on by friends, family, etc.

5 Simple Dance Moves used for Today's Presentation:

Bend & Snap

1-2 (knees together) Bend, Bend - while snapping R hand up & diagonally on bend

3-4 Repeat to L

5-6 Repeat with both hands performing overhead snap

7-8 Repeat with both hands performing waist down snap

Step & Snap

1 Step forward on R - snapping arm diagonal toward floor

2 Step forward on L - using the same snap

3-4 Repeat 1-2

5-8 Repeat entire sequence above, but stepping backwards

*May choose to begin sequence again, facing a new direction

R & L Hop and Pivot

1 Hop R foot to the R (left stationary) - arms follow feet

2 Hop L to L - R hops back to middle

3 Repeat 1

4 Repeat 2

5-8 Pivot counter clockwise on L 1/2 way around (facing back)

1-4 Repeat 1-4 above, but starting to the L

5-8 Pivot back to the front, L foot stationary

Grapevine Pumps

1-4 Grapevine to R

5-8 Knee bends while pumping R arm to R diagonally upwards

1-4 Grapevine to L

5-8 Repeat 5-8 above

Step & Twist

1 Step R foot to R - with toe pointing out

2 Step L foot to R - twisting so toes are forward

3-4 Repeat 1-2

5-8 Freestyle

1 Repeat step 1 above, but to L

2 Repeat step 2 above, but to L

3-4 Repeat

5-8 Freestyle

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Come dance with us!

Kelly Sharp and I will be presenting this great dance Friday, 4/20, at the Alabama State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Conference in Orange Beach, AL. Stop in and dance with us!

Moves like Jagger

Ribbon Dance

1,2,3,4 Grapevine Right/2 large Clockwise circles with ribbon

5,6,7,8 Grapevine Left/2 large Counter Clockwise circles with ribbon

Repeat

1,2 Step Front (right, left) Arms/ribbon come front to “Genie Pose”

3,4 Step Back (right, left) Arms/ribbon come down to your sides

Repeat

1&2 Pony step right while making “figure 8” motion with ribbon

3&4 Pony step left while making “figure 8” motion with ribbon

5&6 Pony step right while making “figure 8” motion with ribbon

7&8 Pony step left while making “figure 8” motion with ribbon

1,2,3 Around the world to your toes

4 Hold

5,6,7,8 “Trick Rope” movement with ribbon

Repeat From around the world

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 ½ Jack with ribbon beginning on right side

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Circle ribbon above head while pivoting with right foot ½ turn.

Repeat Entire Dance

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Videos in the Classroom

Watching videos in the classroom is nothing new, but having students create them may be very new to some classrooms. Students in ED 305 Technology and Media were tasked with the challenge of creating a video to "advertise" the Athens State University College of Education.

Take a look and vote for your favorite video - there is a place to vote after the fourth video.

Video 1

 

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Clothing Based Bias

This is a great activity used to help your students discover their biases. It was copied from the Teaching Tolerance website, which is an awesome center with lots of great resources.
I used this activity in my class - and it was great - the students really discovered things about themselves of which they were not aware.

In this lesson, students will explore the way clothing can influence our perceptions of one another.

"Who you are is more important than what you wear."
— Kenneth Cole, designer
Objective:
Students will find they impose stereotypes based solely on how someone dresses.
Materials:

• Handout: See this website: Teaching Tolerance website

Step One: Split your class in half, with half facing one side of the room and the other half facing the opposite side. Give the first half the Santa cap image and the second half the turban image.
Step Two: Ask the following questions out loud and have students write answers on their handout.

• What kind of emotions instantly come to you when you see this picture?
• Where do you think you learned about this individual?
• Who taught you about this individual?
• What did they teach you?
• How has the media (TV, movies, books, stories) shaped your image of this individual?
• How long have you known about this individual?
• Have you ever personally seen this individual?
• Have you ever seen someone dressed like this individual?
• Have you ever personally known someone who looks like this individual?

Step Three: After students have quickly jotted down answers, have students to share their responses and record them on opposite sides of the board.
To help you do this, and to help differentiate the two groups' responses, have a volunteer from each side of the room come up to record answers on the board. One side will be all Santa hat responses and the other side will be all turban responses.
Be prepared for students to be confused at the bizarrely differing responses to the image they believe all students are sharing.
Step Four: Hand out the page showing both Santa and the man in the turban. Ask the following lead questions and allow for discussion:

• What is different in the two images?
• Looking at our responses we've recorded on the board, what is similar or different about them? Why?
• Does it matter that most of you have had some experience with Santa during your lifetime? Why or why not?
• Would your responses to the image of the turban change if you knew someone personally for many years that wore one?
• What do you think we can learn from what we've done here?

Step Five: What are other groups of people we judge based solely on what they might be wearing?

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Kiddie Klan - race relations activity

A great activity from the Legacy of Hate website

Objective: To use a visual image to inspire discussion about race relations

Audience: High school students and adults

Materials Needed: A large copy of the photo (or photo can be projected), copies of discussion questions, and writing utensils

Time Required: 30 – 60 minutes depending on length of discussion

Required materials are on the Legacy of Hate website

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Who wants to join the Klan?

A great classroom activity from the Legacy of Hate website -

Objectives: To illustrate how easily people might be lured into joining organizations that promote prejudice and intolerance.
Audience: High school students and adults
Materials Needed: Copies of the questionnaire and writing utensils
Time Required: 30 – 90 minutes depending on option chosen and length of discussion
This teaching tool can be used in two ways. Read over the directions and questions in both options and decide which option will work best for your class.

Webtools, Webtools & MORE Webtools

Simple K12 just released an update to their (FREE) ebook titled Hidden Webtools: 11 tools for 2011. The update includes 14 new tools. The book includes examples of many of the tools - and best of all, they are all FREE. Be sure to download your copy today!

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Edutopia recently released this video, which is part of a series taking a look at high-achieving education systems and model schools around the world. The series is co-produced with the Pearson Foundation. For more information see <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/education-everywhere-international-finland-video" target="_blank">Edutopia</a> or Pearson's "<a href="http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/oecd/" target="_blank">Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education</a>" page.
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If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Pamper or Push?

In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, reports Chandler of the WashingtonPost.com. 

The article reports that the age-old wisdom suggesting that high self-esteem leads to high achievement may be incorrect. This theory resulted in lots of "way to gos", "good jobs", and "everyone's a winner" praises and affirmations - but what research shows is that it led to very few, if any, academic gains. 

Current psychology and brain research has encouraged an increasing number of teachers to stop the "empty praise" cycle, and to instead, articulate a more precise, and scientific vocabulary for praise that will push children to work through mistakes and take on more challenging assignments. 

Learn more at at the Post

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Get your fire lit!

BigThink recently published an article that included a dozen videos believed to help spark educators' thinking about the changes that are occurring in education. Check out the complete article, cause like a picture, a video sometimes speaks much louder than words.

Here's their list:

1. Sir Ken Robinson, Changing education paradigms (11 minutes)
2. Sugatra Mitra, The child-driven education (17 minutes)
3. Clay Shirky, How cognitive surplus will change the world (13 minutes)
4. Chris Anderson, How web video powers global innovation (19 minutes)
5. Dean Shareski, Sharing: The moral imperative (25 minutes)
6. Henry Jenkins, TEDxNYED (18 minutes)
7. Daniel Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us (11 minutes)
8. Dan Meyer, Math class needs a makeover (12 minutes)
9. Jeff Jarvis, TEDxNYED (17 minutes)
10. Lisa Nielsen, Response to principal who bans social media (4 minutes)
11. New Brunswick Department of Education, 21st century education in New Brunswick (6 minutes)
12. Charles Leadbeter, On innovation (19 minutes)

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Google launches redesigned education site

Google is one of educators best friends - and once again, they have stepped it up and continue to provide great tools and resources used for student teaching and learning.

Recently Google redesigned their education site. New features include:

1. News and Calendar - listing dates and deadlines for Google education endeavors
2. Google in Education: A New and Open World for Learning - an online booklet that lists the company's education related initiatives and programs
3. Reorganization of the Google in Education page/links
4. The Teachers site leads to many of Google's education apps as well as providing lists of professional development links
5. The Student Showcases link lists student-created materials 

Read more about the many changes and updates to an already great education site!

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

14 Steps to Meaningful Blogging

Wanna try blogging with your students, but you aren't sure how to start? Read this great article 14 Steps to Meaningful Blogging. Mrs. Ripp walks you through getting started in easy-to-follow steps.

1. Pick an easy platform
2. Teach how
3. Safety
4. Commenting
5. Start small
6. Involving parents
7. Connect with peers
8. #comments4kids
9. Visits others
10. Explore
11. NO grading!
12. Challenge them
13. Map connections
14. Time

Get all of the details in the full article.

If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.

                                                                                                                         ~ Maria Montessori

James 1:2-4 ESV 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL

Using images legally

Need an image/graphic for a presentation? For your website? Or to add to a student handout? Before deciding on an image be sure it's one you can "legally borrow". Basically there are three types of images you will find on the Internet -

1. Public domain & open source images - these images are free to use, but may require citation or permission to modify or edit in any way. 
2. Copyrighted images - Depending on the license, some images are not open for public use. One example of this is an image of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. To use copyrighted, restricted images, you must have written permission from the copyright holder.
3. Royalty-free & stock images - you may purchase royalty-free & stock images to use without restriction both commercially and privately, but you cannot sell or lease these images.

Need help locating images that you can use legally? Check out the resources below!

Flickr - Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos and videos to the world, securely
Freedigitalphotos.net - Download free and premium stock photos and illustrations for websites, advertising materials, newspapers, magazines, ebooks, book covers and pages, music artwork, software applications and much more. All our free images are of high quality, produced by our community of professional stock photographers and digital illustrators.
Google Images - 1. Go to google search and enter the image search term; 2. Once the results have been rendered, scroll to bottom of page and select "basic version"; 3. Click on advanced search options (top of page); 4. Under need more tools, select images available for reuse; 5. Click on search; 6. Select and open the image as a large file view; 7. Determine if there are any restrictions (should be listed with the image); 8. If credit is required then be sure to copy the URL and image source
Open Clip Art Library - The Open Clipart Library is the largest collaboration community that creates, shares and remixes clipart. All clipart is released to the public domain and may be used in any project for free and with no restrictions.
OpenStockPhotography - All images listed at Open Stock Photography come from Wikimedia Commons and as such "can be used by anyone, for any purpose
Wikipedia Commons - a database of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute. MP images.png If an educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of arbitrary tasks.                                                                                                                          ~ Maria Montessori James 1:2-4 ESV  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. I humbly thank my wonderful family for their support in all that I do. Robert Robbie Cowan, Robert Drew Andrew Cowan, and Hunter Cowan Hartselle, Decatur, AL