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Welcome to the St. Francis High School teachers' wiki. We'll use this site to gather info on our favorite education-focused web sites.

If you don't know about wikis, here's a link to a short video : [|Wikis in Plain English]

Once you've seen the video, go ahead and add your favorite sites to the list I've started below.

Great article about education and character development. They define a group of characteristics to develop: zest, grit, self-control, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism and curiosity. The researcher (Duckworth) came up with a "grit scale" and at the end of Beast Barracks (West Point summer training), the more accurate predictor of which cadets persisted and which ones dropped out turned out to be Duckworth’s 12-item grit questionnaire (vs. the military Whole Candidate Score). “Here’s why: learning is hard. True, learning is fun, exhilarating and gratifying — but it is also often daunting, exhausting and sometimes discouraging. . . . To help chronically low-performing but intelligent students, educators and parents must first recognize that character is at least as important as intellect.”

@http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?ref=magazine

I firmly believe that the best educational experience that I have had was at St. Francis. There are other articles in the Sunday Magazine as well that talk about education. The small classes at St. Francis are so helpful for learning. Enjoy!

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[] This is the beginning of series about education and tech. In my opinion, this piece suggests several (varying) grounds for skepticism.

[] I am sure you are all aware of this potential merger, and the devastating effects it would have on the women's health care, particularly the poor. Please help spread the word. This is a blog by Dr. Allen who went to medical school here and is now a renowned OBGYN in NYC.

Interesting article - The Internet Will Reduce Teachers Union Power Online learning means fewer teachers (and union members) per student

Alexandra found this blog in the NAIS newsletter. It’s an excerpt from a Head to new teachers, but she thought it had good advice from which we can all benefit. We’ve already started the school year, but it’s certainly still new, so she hopes you all will find something relevant in this (click on the pdf above).

[|www.Logmein.com] This free program allows you to access your computer desktop and network remotely from any other computer (at home, laptop, internet café, etc). Go to [|www.logmein.com], Click on “Create an account”, Click on the green icon (Access and Manage Remote Computers), Fill out the pop up screen with a user name and password, The “Add Computer” screen will come up and click on download and follow the steps, Once you have gone through all the installation steps, it will take you to a screen where it explains how to log in, test it from a nearby computer and what you should do when you log in from home.

When logging in from home or another computer, just go to [|www.logmein.com] and sign in with your user name and password. You will then be taken to your profile page with an icon that should be labeled (whatever you called it during the installation process). Just click on the green icon next to it called “remote control”. This should then open up the program and show the desktop of the computer you are trying to access.

You must make sure that the computer you are trying to access is turned on but it does not need to be logged into.

[|www.voki.com] Students create their own avatars and can record themselves talking (their Voki's mouth actually moves) using a computer mic or a phone. Great way to encourage class participation outside of class.

[|VoiceThread] Teachers and students collaborate in asynchronous online oral discussions and presentations. Students and teachers can post their comments, responses or questions using text, a computer mic or phone. Supports video, still photos, PowerPoints and even has a "doodle" feature (just like the TV football commentators use).

[] You can make and print out your own word-search puzzles and crossword puzzles for free. I use crossword puzzles for review of vocabulary and expressions, but not the word search as much.

[|http://www.blogger.com] Google's site that allows you and your students to create and post to blogs. Encourages writing outside of class.

[] Online tutorials/lessons developed by Salman Khan and his team at the Khan Academy.

[] A link to a special report from Education Week called "E-learning for Special Populations." Here's the abstract from the home page: //This special report, another installment in Education Week's [|series on virtual education], examines the growing e-learning opportunities for students with disabilities, English-language learners, gifted and talented students, and those at risk of failing in school. It shows the barriers that exist for greater participation among special populations, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of this approach. It also looks at the funding tactics schools are using to build virtual education programs for special populations and the evolving professional-development needs for these efforts. (accessed/copied by SLM 8/24/2011)//

This blog provides tips and reviews on web-based teaching tools/sites that other teachers have used. You can also find lesson plans for using tech in your classroom. No subscription required.
 * Free Technology 4 Teachers: [|www.freetech4teachers]**

[|**www.eschoolnews.com**] An e-zine on technology and teaching for teachers and administrators. Register for a free subscription to access full articles instead of abstracts.

[|**www.ipadeducators.ning.com**] A useful site about using iPads and other tablet computers in school. You do need to register for access to the full Ning. From the //iPadforeducators// home page:

//Tablet computing and mobile devices promise to have a dramatic impact on education. This Ning network was created to explore ways iPads and other portable devices could be used to re-structure and re-imagine the processes of education.// //__**Let's hear from you!**__//

//* Share your views in the ** Forum **//

//* Add to the ** Videos ** collection.//

//* ** Invite ** your colleagues to join.// //The goal of this community is to promote innovation in education through the use of technology. The site is not sponsored by Apple nor does it endorse the use of any specific technology or product.//