Tuesday, March 25, 2008
« [ECP] K-12 Newsletter - Native Village ... | Main | Educational CyberPlayGround K-12 School ... »
[ECP] Educational CyberPlayGround Newsletter
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

*Link to the Educational CyberPlayGround
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com

*Subscribe to Educational CyberPlayGround Blog:
http://blog.edu-cyberpg.com/

*Subscribe to the ECP Blog Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/EducationalCyberPlayGround

*Find your School in the ECP K-12 School Directory
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/schools/
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Greetings,

Happy reading for today.

<Karen>


1)
We're *all* reading less in-depth and filtering more.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0206/p09s02-coop.html
This is good in some ways - because, if Mr. Washington's right, teens are quite naturally, or by necessity, developing the critical thinking that will not only help
them cope with the info flood, but also to maintain a safe skepticism not only about what's communicated to them online, but what they choose to communicate and upload themselves.

2)
The plan puts Chicago at the forefront of urban school reform, as cities continue to struggle to raise the achievement of students hampered by dysfunctional homes and neighborhoods. Arne Duncan, Chicago Public Schools chief, has dreamed for years about opening a boarding school, but only after he hired Josh Edelman did the idea take off. Edelman served for four years as the principal of The SEED School, the nation's oldest and most successful urban boarding school, which has 300 students who hail from low-income and sometimes troubled backgrounds. Nearly three-fourths of SEED students go on to four-year colleges. Edelman said his experience at SEED proved to him that family and community involvement are paramount to making an urban boarding school successful.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-boarding-schools_14mar14,0,2694026.story


3)
A French court cracked down on a teacher-rating site based in that country: Note2be.com. Like US-based sites RateMyTeachers.com and RateMyProfessors.com, Note2be encouraged students to grade and discuss their teachers' capabilities. The judges said the site "could no longer identify any teachers by name and told the site's owners they faced a $1,517 (1,000 euro) fine for every infraction,"
<http://www.news.com/2100-1030_3-6232855.html>

4)
As research mounts, it seems certain that participation in an out-of-school program is related to better outcomes for children. Nevertheless, research to date has examined family and neighborhood risks as if they operate separately. So, Child Trends conducted a study that combines the two by analyzing data for children ages 6 to 17 from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. The study finds that the vast majority of children in low-risk families are involved in at least one activity with only 9 percent of children in low-risk neighborhoods not involved, compared with 10 percent in medium-risk and 18 percent in high-risk neighborhoods. By contrast, neighborhood quality does not seem to matter to children from high-risk families: nearly half are not involved in any activity regardless of neighborhood risk level. These findings suggest that active recruitment of children in high-risk families may be necessary if these children are to become involved in out-of-school activities.
http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2008_02_05_Risks.pdf

5)
They're criticizing the government for "not doing enough to raise awareness among children of the dangers posed by cyber-crime,"
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article3496245.ece

6)
Roughly 40 to 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within five years.
http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/spring2008/newteacher.htm

7)
The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) has released their annual report, "Knocking at the College Door," which forecasts numbers of American high school graduates. WICHE finds that the current rapid expansion in the number of high school graduates will reach a peak in 2007-08, when total graduates will exceed 3.34 million. Minorities will eventually account for all growth in high school graduates.
http://www.wiche.edu/policy/knocking/1992-2022/knocking_complete_book.pdf

8)
Drop outs or pushed out?
Learn about the financial incentive to avoid the costs associated with the exit exam test which is what promotes pushing children out of school and what is at the bottom of why they really drop out.

9)
"Not on the Test." The song satirizes the American education system's renewed focus on rote teaching, Chapin explains in song.
http://www.notonthetest.com



10)
The US, which since the beginning of the Web, has had the biggest online population, has been passed by China this year, The Register reports <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/15/china_largest_online_population/>. "Data released earlier this year by the government-run China Internet Network Information Center said that China's internet users totaled 210 million at the end of 2007. US web analyst Nielsen/NetRatings put the American total at 216 million for the same period." And while we're on statistics, here are the "Top 10 most popular Web sites" in the world, blogged about in InformativePost.com <http://www.informativepost.com/2008/03/16/Top-10-Most-Popular-Websites-Globally-495.htm>, citing Alexa rankings. Looking at social sites, YouTube is second, MySpace and Facebook are 5th and 6th, respectively, and Hi5.com is No. 8. Orkut, a Google property along with YouTube, comes in at 10th.


11)
Help get them into college
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, more commonly known as FAFSA. The study notes that not filing a FAFSA presents a major obstacle to college enrollment.
http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications/CCSR_Potholes_Report.pdf

12)
"American Stars of Teaching"
The U.S. Department of Education will continue to honor exemplary classroom teachers who are successful in using innovative teaching strategies and raising student academic achievement as the American Stars of Teaching. One teacher from each state and the District of Columbia will be selected as representatives of the many teachers who are making a difference in the lives of students. Officials from the U.S. Department of Education will announce the 2008 American Stars by visiting the recipients in the fall of 2008. Maximum Award: recognition. Eligibility: teachers in the U.S. Deadline: March 31, 2008.
https://www.t2tweb.us/AmStar/About.asp

13)

Grants and Scholarships

"Grants for Environmental Projects"
The Captain Planet Foundation funds hands-on environmental projects that encourage innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Maximum Award: $2,500. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: March 31, 2008.
http://www.captainplanetfdn.org/grants.html

"Name this Website Contest"
New York City's Administration for Children's Services, in partnership with New Yorkers for Children and Youth Communication, has launched its first ever website for young people in foster care. They have created a temporary web address and are looking for help to get an official name for the site. The web address must include NYC in the name and the winning name should be short, simple, easy to remember and easy to spell. Maximum Award: A $200 Barnes & Noble gift card. Eligibility: youth ages 12-24 who are or have ever been in the New York City foster care system. Deadline: April 15, 2008.
http://www.youthcomm.org/pyayouth/pyamail/pyayouth-mailform-name.html

"ING Unsung Heroes"
The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. Maximum Award: $25,000. Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. Deadline: April 30, 2008.
http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/communityconnections/ineducation/unsungheroes/index.htm

"Wireless Lab Sweepstakes"
Discovery Education and CDW-G will award wireless labs to five schools. Maximum Award: wireless lab valued at more than $50,000. Eligibility: legal residents of the United States who are 18 years and older and who are employed at accredited public, private or parochial school in the United States containing any class with students from kindergarten through Grade 12. Deadline: May 1, 2008.
http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/new/site/index.cfm

"Award for Breakthrough Middle and Secondary Schools"
The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the MetLife Foundation are calling for entries in the search for the nation's top "Breakthrough Schools." Applicants should be high achieving middle or high schools, or schools that are making dramatic improvements in student achievement, whose best practices and outstanding results can inform other schools as they further their own improvement efforts. Honorees will be chosen based upon documented success in implementing strategies aligned with the three core areas of NASSP's Breaking Ranks II publication. Those three areas are collaborative leadership; personalization; and curriculum, instruction and assessment. Maximum Award: $5,000. Eligibility: high-achieving middle and high schools where 40 percent or more of students are eligible for free and reduced-priced meals. Deadline: May 15, 2008.
http://www.principals.org/s_nassp/sec_inside.asp?CID=66&DID=66

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
[ECP] Educational CyberPlayGround K12 Newsletters ©

Set Mailing List Preferences: Subscribe - Unsubscribe - Digest
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/K12Newsletters.html

Copyright statements to be included when reproducing
annotations from the Educational CyberPlayGround K-12 Newsletter

The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when
reproducing any portion of this report, in any format:

> EDUCATIONAL CYBERPLAYGROUND
> http://www.edu-cyberpg.com
> Educational CyberPlayGround K-12 Newsletter copyright
> http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/K12Newsletters.html

Advertise K12 Newsletters
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/Subguidelines.html
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Grants Scholarships | K12 Newsletters Mailing List
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 5:06:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Related posts:
the Alice project
Send your Message in a space time capsule which will be launched in 2010 or 2011
ECP NetHappenings News and Headlines
Kids are Easy scapegoats
Celebrate Geography Awareness Week!
Gorillas slaughtered for your cell phone - Pay Attention