Missouri State Teachers Association

Books: The Prometheus Project by Douglas E. Richards

     I stumbled across great reviews for adolescent novels by Douglas E. Richards, a molecular biologist (a.k.a. genetic engineer) by education and trade.  The Prometheus Project:  Trapped and The Prometheus Project:  Captured feature teen characters Ryan and Regan Resnick in these science fiction thrillers.

     I was never a fan of science fiction until I saw how it could engage middle school boys in my communication arts classes.  The genre is one that appeals to both genders, though it is often overlooked by educators.  Note to English teachers:  try it!

     If anyone has firsthand knowledge of these books, let me know.  I take personal recommendations over the ones I find on the internet. . .

 

(Images from Amazon.com)

When Our Two Worlds Collide - The Pulse and MSTA Blog Crossover Event

Some of you may be jumping over from the MSTA podcast for the first time to read the MSTA blog. While we think the best thing you could do for yourself is read one and listen to the other on a weekly basis, we recognize that there are only so many hours in an educator's busy day. With that in mind, we dedicated this week's podcast and corresponding blog post to some of our favorite web links and Twitter follows. The list of those sites mentioned in the show are below. Also, become a follower of MSTA's Twitter to see some of Rachel's Friday recommended follows.

Web Sites mentioned:                                               

This Week in Education                                           
Kottke                                                                      
Poynter.org                                                               
Newsy.com                                                               
John Combest                                                         

Twitters we follow

@jrosenbaum

@tonymess

@chadlivengood

@davecatanese

@clairecmc

Fun with Redistricting

With the 2010 census looming, there has been talk in political circles about the possibility of Missouri losing a congressional seat.  Some people (mostly political nerds) have wondered how Missouri would break down into eight congressional districts. In reality, state legislators will make mapping decisions based on the geo-political makeup of the state. Lucky for us, a smart guy named Dave has developed a neat piece of software for anyone to try their hand at drawing a congressional map.

Dave's Redistricting Map
He also has a blog that talks about applications for the software and some technical stuff that goes over my head.

Here's Missouri's current Congressional Map:

This seems like a unique, interactive way to teach students about redistricting, gerrymandering and population density variances across the state.
Just choose your state, how many congressional districts you want, and whether you want to use 2000 census population numbers or 2008 estimates. Each population block has a breakdown of the demographics of that group.There's also a running tally on the left side to let you know how many people are in each of your districts.

I recommend playing around with the maps and checking out all the data embedded in it. And who knows? Maybe the map you create will end up looking like the map our state officials draft next year.

I would also like to warn you that making these maps can become a bit addictive. It's easy to spend a couple of hours crafting the perfect map.

PS Saving your completed maps seems a little complicated, but the help section is informative.

Most beautiful words?

With my vacation quickly approaching, I know what I would vote for as my favorite word. Robert Beard doesn't agree but has compiled a list of "100 Most Beautiful Words". After looking at this list I think I might need to brush off my dictionary and expand my vocabulary. Apparently the list is also a book and will be for sale in August but you can get a sneak peak of the list here. What do you say English teachers and lovers of language? Did they leave anything off? I still vote for "vacation".

The computer ate my homework?

I'm not even sure what to say about this. Some enterprising person has set up a website to sell corrupted files to students. The students send the corrupted file to the teacher instead of their (unfinished) paper and buy themselves some time to finish. The site says students can stop using "lame excuses" like the dog ate my homework. Check out this article about it. So is it a real deal or practical joke?

Video Games and Virtual Schools

The Florida Virtual School is taking history in a new direction with the video game, Conspiracy Code. This game allows players to walk through history in a unique setting. At the same time, students are completing course requirements and receiving credit for school. While parts of the interface look more like a fancy shell around pages of web text, the concept is very interesting and the production value high. You can watch a trailer of the class and decide for yourself.

Actor Richard Dreyfuss Develops K-12 Civics Curriculum

     Rather, he calls it "political power."  But I agree.  What happened to the mandatory, seventh-grade civics class?  Or has civics been reduced to a unit of study squeezed into a social studies class that is packed with history, current events, etc.?

     A bit ambitious, Dreyfuss is going for the gold:  the Nobel prize.  Or is he being facetious?  You decide.  Read more here.