Blogs on Media Literacy

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Elena AguilarMarch 8, 2011

Some years ago I taught a life skills class to a group of eighth grade boys. The curriculum I offered wasn't working. They were disengaged -- they wouldn't read, write, or talk about what I wanted them to talk about -- and they were mounting a rebellion.

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Mary Beth HertzFebruary 25, 2011

Just a few posts ago I provided a list of some of my favorite education books. One of them was Applying Standards-Based Constructivism: A Two-Step Guide for Motivating Elementary Students. In this post I want to revisit the book to explain how this two-step approach works well when integrating technology into the classroom.

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Elena AguilarFebruary 4, 2011

The news out of Egypt this week has been gripping and fascinating, and made me really miss my days as a classroom teacher. All week I've been thinking: what would I do if I were in the classroom? How would I teach these events?

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Andrew MarcinekJanuary 26, 2011

There is an important scene in the movie Hoosiers during the team's first practice. The coach, played by Gene Hackman walks into the gym and gathers the team together. He tells his team that practice is going to be different than what they are used to. The montage that follows highlights fundamental basketball. The boys are engaged in agility drills, ball handling drills, and a variety of defensive drills. Throughout the montage you hear players asking when they are going to shoot and scrimmage. Hackman replies, "There's more to the game than shooting! There's fundamentals and defense."

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Audrey WattersJanuary 25, 2011

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Audrey Watters, is a technology journalist specializing in education technology news. She has read all 100+ pages of the National Education Technology Plan released by the U. S. Department of Education last November, and she has summarized it below.

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Suzie BossJanuary 19, 2011

Your students may be able to update their Facebook status in a heartbeat, but can they also write a thoughtful letter to the editor, voice their opinion on a call-in radio show, or access local media to advocate for community action?

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Andrew MarcinekDecember 8, 2010

In January 2007, I was hired by Springfield Township School District to teach English. One of the first pieces of advice I received was, "Seek out Joyce Valenza." I took this advice and sought out Joyce, the STSD librarian, immediately. Joyce and I collaborated on several lessons and she was always excited to help my class find new ways to approach research and Language Arts.

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Todd FinleyNovember 11, 2010

My town borders a military base. Almost all my students have a father or brother or sister serving. In meeting these soldiers, I find they have the dignity of redwoods. To question the premise of our foreign engagements would be like shredding their bark. Yet, teaching war must go beyond the "good-evil" rhetoric of politicians and spin doctors and focus instead on the nuances: How and why do we get into wars? Is war working as a means to resolve our conflicts?

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Andrew MarcinekSeptember 24, 2010

"My screen is blue."

"My computer froze and I lost all my work."

"It didn't save."

"It's blocked."

One of the biggest distracters of technology integration is what I like to call the "technology fails." They are frequent, inevitable, and frustrating. This reason alone is why many teachers avoid integrating technology in to his or her class.

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Kate BrownSeptember 17, 2010

Today's guest blogger is Kate Brown, a K-8 Librarian and information literacy advocate. She is also an active participant in Edutopia's Library Media Specialists group. Below is her response to a recent thread entitled "School librarians being cut."

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