Issue 19, Volume 9

January 29, 2009

 

 

Thought for the Week
 Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
--- President Barack Obama

  
Celebrate Black History Month In February
Black History Month is a remembrance of important people and events in the history of African Americans. It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in the month of February, while in the UK it is held in the month of October. Utilize the website links below for numerous opportunities and resources to explore the theme of Black History this month. You can research Notable Speeches by African Americans, learn about Famous Firsts, try a timeline on either civil rights or slavery, or investigate contemporary issues. Quizzes and crosswords are also available.
Don't forget the many available resources from TeachingBooks.net, a resource provided to Calcasieu teachers by CPSB, for Black History Month Celebrations. For access from inside the CPSB network, go to http://www.teachingbooks.net/home/. No password is required. For home access, a password is required. If you do not know the password, please check with your school librarian. It is a paid resource by CPSB for CPSB teachers, students, and parents.

TeachingBooks.net has hundreds of multimedia resources to enliven and personalize your conversations about the books you're using to teach Black History Month. Just enter the author or title of a book in the search box provided, and TeachingBooks will instantly identify and connect you with online materials about that author or book.

Region V LACUE: Technology Innovation Grant Award!
Who doesn't need more technology in the classroom?!!

It’s time now to apply for a 2009 TNT Technology Innovation Grant for an ACTIVBoard and a projector. To apply, you must submit your proposal online at the Region V TNT Technology Innovation Grant link listed here: http://www.cpsb.org/tnt/grant.asp

The application deadline is noon on Friday, February 27, 2009. A maximum of 20 individual grants may be awarded. Grant finalists will be required to participate in a 15 minute grant interview review process at the CPSB Technology Training Center during the week of March 16-20, 2009. Grant winners will be notified via email during the week of March 23-27, 2009. Applicants may only submit one grant.

Winning grants will be showcased and presented by the grant recipient at the TNT11 Institute in Fall 2009 during a 45 minute hands-on or concurrent session. Apply NOW!!

 Register Now!!! Blackboard Classes Available
Register now at the following site:
 https://www.cpsb.org/techclasses/

BB301: Using StudyMate within Blackboard
Date of Training: February 12, 2009
Prerequisite: BB201
Location: Lab C
Time: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
CLUs: 1.5
This hands-on workshop will introduce participants to, StudyMate, an "authoring tool that lets you create 10 Flash-based activities and games using simple templates that can be published directly to Blackboard." Participants who attend will receive a copy of the StudyMate software.

 BB305: Podcasting in the Classroom
Date of Training: February 18, 2009
Prerequisite: BB201
Location: Lab C
Time: 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
CLUs: 1.5
This hands–on workshop will guide participants through the steps to set up a podcast and produce their first episode within Blackboard.

Featured Blackboard Site
The featured Blackboard site was created by Brook Blank, a high school mathematics teacher from Barbe High. Mrs. Blank created the site to serve as a resource for all teachers and parents at the school. Visit Mrs. Blank's site.
The River of Death and Discovery
Al Lakusta was instrumental in discovering and getting attention focused on a huge dinosaur bed on Pipestone Creek in the Grande Prairie, Alberta area. Join Mr. Lakusta and his Pachyrhinosaurs for a fascinating look at how amazing discoveries are made by everyday folks. This is a great interactive site for all grades.
The URL: http://www.riverofdeath.ca
Buffalo Soldiers Electronic Fieldtrip
Enter the date for the next live electronic field trip on your calendar. On Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 at 9 am students in grades 6 -9 are invited to visit Fort Davis to learn about the Buffalo Soldiers, African Americans in the Frontier Army. Not until 1866 could black men enlist in the Regular Peacetime Army. Native Americans called these men “Buffalo Soldiers” because their hair resembled the matted cushion that is between the horns of the buffalo. The soldiers in the black regiments gained a reputation for dedication and bravery. The term “Buffalo Soldier” remained a proudly worn “badge of honor” which signified unsurpassed courage and patriotism.  Check it out at the LPB Learning Port: http://www.lpb.org/education/etrips/
SUMO Paint
Are you looking for an art program but can't afford to purchase one for all of your computers. Well SUMO Paint is for you. This an art program with wonderful features that is accessed online. You never need to download the program. Some of the features include Layered Effects, Shape Tools, Brush Tools, Ink Tools, Text Tools, Clone Stamp, Symmetry Tool, Smudge Tool, Blur Tool and much more. All graphics can be saved to your desktop as either a jpeg or png file. The URL: http://www.sumopaint.com/web
Learn Vocabulary And Feed The Poor!
With this site, you can test your vocabulary and donate rice to the hungry simultaneously. For every word you get right, sponsors donate 10 grains of rice; you can see the rice piling up right next to the quiz. The words start off somewhat easy, and the more you get right, the more difficult they become. There are 50 levels; it's rare to make it to 48. It’s a perfect brain-challenger for students and teachers alike! FreeRice has two goals: Provide education to everyone for free and help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on the Free Rice site. Check it out at the following URL: http://www.freerice.com/. 
Assistive Technology Information Site
Need information for assistive technology? Abledata is a site that contains information and resources related to assistive technology. “ABLEDATA provides objective information about assistive technology products and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources.” They do not sell any of these products but can assist individuals on locating companies that do. Their site also contains fact sheets that can assist teachers, parents, and caregivers on deciding which device would be appropriate. The URL: http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=19337  
Storynory: Free Audio Stories 
Storynory is a website that contains free audio stories for kids. The site contains original stories, fairytales, classic authors, educational, and junior stories. The site contains Greek Myths and Aesop’s fables among other stories. Another exciting feature of the site is that their stories are available for download, free of charge, through iTunes. At Storynory’s website you will find a mixture of new stories, fairy tales, and specially adapted myths and histories, including verse. An audio story has been published every week since November 2005, so it has grown into a treasure trove of audio stories. It has also grown in popularity; around a quarter of a million mp3 files are downloaded every month. Check it out at http://storynory.com/.
Best on the Net!! -- Visit this site for hundreds of websites for teachers! We would love to hear from you about the best educational sites you have found on the web. Please submit, via email, the sites you feel merit inclusion. Send to tech.connect@cpsb.org. Please include the URL and a short sentence about the site. 

Featured Sites: (These sites were submitted by teachers in Calcasieu Parish)
Black History Month Teaching Calendar
http://www.theblackmarket.com/dates.htm
Select any month of the year to find issues and events in Black history - perfect as a starting point for celebrating Black History Month.

Printable African American Bookmarks
http://everydayteaching.com/Holiday/BlackHistory/AfricanAmBookmarks.pdf
Portraits of famous African Americans grace these bookmarks, with birth dates and lines for your students to fill in their own research on important facts on each person. 

Flashlight Activities For Groundhog Day
http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/teachers/flashlightday.html
Why not try some flashlight science to illuminate the whys and hows of shadow and light for Groundhog Day, when groundhogs may or may not see their shadows and we may or may not have a longer winter season. Find lots of activities for young classes here, along with songs to accompany various flashlight games.


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