Protesting at Fallen Soldiers' Funerals

By now, most of us have seen or heard about the group from a church in Kansas who protest at US soldiers' funerals.  A professor at CMU has announced that he has invited the group to speak to his journalism class regarding the First Amendment right.  (Click Here to Read the Article) I have a brother who graduated from West Point, is currently a Captain serving in Afghanistan right now.  I have been to a military funeral for a fellow Beaverton alum who was killed in action.  I have very strong feelings on this, but would like the gather the comments of the group.  Should this group be allowed to protest at funerals? 

Special Education: There's an App for That

Apple has recently announced that they have created an app store called "Special Education: Learning for Everyone."  I think this is a great move.  The app store has features that include a text to talk app, an assisted hearing app, handwriting tools, as well as a lot of other references and resources.  I think as cell phones and smart phones play an increasing role in education, Apple has made a smart move to get ahead of the curve and try to provide functionality to all students.  In some cases, cell phones and/or online learning may be a better environment for special education students to learn.  (Click here to read the story) 

Bullying in the News (Again)

In case you've been living under a rock lately, bullying has been in the media quite often.  There is another report today via Mlive that a West Branch Ogemaw Heights students has dropped out of school after facing bullying.  She claims the bullying came from her friends after she announced she was gay.  (Click here for the story)  The issue, as it surrounds education, is what can teachers and administrators do about it?  With so much "cyber-bullying" today, are teachers and administrators rendered useless to helping out?  What can a school do? 

Calling Superman... or any other comic book hero

Perhaps one of the most talked about movies dealing with education and the issues that accompanies it is the recently released Waiting for Superman. I don't know if anyone has seen it (I believe it's released in metro areas this Friday) but wondered what everyone's thoughts are on the topics dealt with in the movie.  From the various reviews and articles I've read about the movie, it boils down to the essential issue of urban schools are doing a poor job of educating students, and charter schools are a good remedy for that.  It also contends that teacher unions are slow moving behemoths that are only concerned with the status quo and protecting teachers, when they should be protecting students and advocating for them.  We have a nice cross section of teachers in this class: what's everyone think?  If you're lucky enough to live in a large area where the movie is

Social Media in the Classroom

The last couple weeks I have been thinking about using social media in the classroom.  I've wondered if anyone has used it at all.  There are many examples of how it could be beneficial.  Teachers could create a blog and have students respond to it.  Or you could have a class facebook or myspace account and have discussions and assignments posted there.  Finally, you could use cell phones in your classroom to take formative assessments.  I attended a professional development seminar recently on using cell phones in the classroom.  Jason Hitsman, a science teacher at Beaverton High, presented.  He uses web sites such as Wiffiti (http://www.wiffiti.com/) and Poll Everywhere (http://www.polleverywhere.com/) to allow his students in class to offer live answers.  One website produces free responses, good for brain storming and assignments of that nature.  The other uses polling, which is good for multiple choice answers.  Email him at jhitsman@brs.cgresd.net to get more information on how to use cell phones in the classroom.