Growing up, lunch was always the best part of the day, not because of the food, but because as soon as you finished eating you could go play on the playground!

Now, a new article in the Health section of the NY Times points out that scheduling playtime immediately before lunch (instead of after) might result in less food waste, less upset stomachs, and more focused students when they get back into class.

So simple it just might make sense?

When you’re not out tricking or treating this Halloween, there’s plenty to do at Speakaboos:

Watch one of our spooky stories, like our brand-new storybook video Frankenstein, or the now-classic Billy and the Witch.

Then, scare your brain silly with the online Halloween Word Search Game, and print-out instructions for some creepy arts and crafts:  make your own Witch Hat and Monster Ooze (PDF printouts).

Happy haunting!

Encourage your young ones to read this summer with Speakaboos storybook videos—use our handy summer reading list to make sure you get the most out of the summer hours!

Family activities (PDF file downloads):
•    Arts and Crafts: Build a Birdhouse, Make Your Own Guitar, Cotton Ball Hare
•    Recipes: Mediterranean Fruit Kebobs, Banana Hot Dogs, Chicken Fingers
•    Coloring Pages: Jack and the Beanstalk, The Ugly Duckling, Cinderella
•    And much more at our Activities Page

I first learned about computers in elementary school on MS DOS – everything was 5″ floppy disks, C:\, <dir>, and coded commands that I have long since forgotten. The concept of teaching technology is ever-changing, but former teacher Cindy Donaldson has compiled a great list of basic but crucial tech skills that every teen (and maybe younger) should have:

The Top 10 Tech Skills Your Teen Needs Now – Education.com.

We all know what they say–girls don’t like math and science, boys don’t like reading. A new article in the Wilmington News Journal says as much.

The article discusses how a school librarian Christy Payne and teacher Kristine Colazzo recently put on a “Boys and Books Conference” to promote reading among middle school boys. The conference featured reading sessions with male role models such as dads, football players, and costumed characters like Darth Vader (since “traditionally” it is mothers, not fathers and evil galactic rulers, who read to children), and aimed to encourage reading using non-traditional texts like graphic novels and non-fiction books about sports.

The best quote? “I have moms come to me and say, ‘He’s not reading. I can’t get his head out of Sports Illustrated,’ “Payne said. “But that is reading.”

Maybe we don’t have very much to worry about after all. Except for boys thinking that they have to like sports to be “normal”…

I’m old enough to remember when the idea of a cell phone (a phone that you carry?!) was unreasonably extravagant. Now I can’t imagine life without one. Towards my last few years of high school, they emerged as a novelty–a few kids had them, most of us didn’t. The school’s logical response? Ban them.

But now, less than a decade later, the use of personal technology such as cell phones and mp3 players has become so pervasive that schools are forced to question their place in the classroom.

Last week, a research center based at the Sesame Workshop released a new report stating that the use of mobile technology in classrooms could significantly boost learning. Author Carly Shuler writes:  “While these devices are undoubtedly a source of fun and entertainment, proponents of mobile learning believe they have significant potential to be a key ally in supporting learning experiences.”

While most schools continue to ban personal tech outright, some teachers have begun to embrace devices like cell phones and iPods as tools for learning, incorporating them into lessons.

Tech-savvy teachers have begun to allow students to use cell phones to create podcasts, take field notes, and organize schedules and homework. And many schools have already turned to portable media devices like mp3 players to encourage literacy.

Of course, these new classroom applications for mobile devices bring up a whole host of new problems, such as the potential for cheating, theft, and the fact that not every student has their own cell phone or mp3 player.

But despite the validity of these concerns, none will be as difficult to deal with than a basic lack of understanding and knowledge on the part of the educators who resist the use of personal tech.

We can reasonably expect educators to fear and avoid technology that students often have a better grasp of than their teachers.

Rather than learn and adapt to the growing use of personal tech devices, many schools have unfortunately sought to ban and forget about them.

An article in the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal claims that Wisconsin’s statewide ban on cell phones in schools was enacted because at the time, students with the means to own a cell phone or pager were thought to be dealing drugs.

The potential of personal tech devices’ use for both good (safety, communication) and bad (distraction, theft) is so polarizing that New York City Council last week enacted a law allowing public school students to carry their phones to and from school–but continues to uphold an existing ban on cell phones inside schools. This is a stunning lack of foresight that should leave schools and cities everywhere scrambling to make new decisions on outdated cell phone and personal tech rules.

Technology is growing more rapidly than schools care to keep up with. They can either get with it, or risk being left behind.

Further reading:

Pockets of Potential:  Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Learning – Carly Shuler

Students Turn Their Cell Phones On for Classroom Lessons – Education Week

Change in iPod Policy would be music to students’ ears – Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal

Students Hung Up on Cell Phone Rules – New York Post

A recent independent survey conducted by HotChalk details the attitudes of teachers towards their jobs and resources. The findings show a growing concern among teachers that they are not receiving adequate support from parents. Perhaps the most disconcerting finding in the study is that 65% of teachers believe that parents find teachers to be completely responsible for their child’s education and academic progress.

Edward Fields, chairman and CEO of HotChalk, commented, “Parents often place the burden on teachers for shouldering every bit of responsibility for the education of their children. In reality, educational success of our nation’s youth requires a serious team effort beyond the bi-annual parent-teacher conference. Teachers cannot succeed without consistent parental involvement in the education process. If the parent isn’t connected to their own child’s education, they are not preparing a child to be successful. Period.”

Mr. Fields, along with his company’s survey, poses a serious question to today’s parents; how do we become involved, support, and raise our children’s education? Early literary studies show that reading is perhaps the best way to straighten our children’s educational path. In the year 2000, the National Research Council found that the majority of reading and educational problems faced by today’s adolescents and adults was the result of problems that might been avoided or resolved in their early childhood years. A separate study conducted by the National Commission on Reading found that, “The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school”.

With the advent of Speakaboos.com and other popular story book sites, today’s parents can find the neccessary resources to advance their children’s education head-on. Lower income families who are not privvy to a large library of children’s books can now interact with their children’s educational progress, without having to worry about the expense. Speakaboos has also worked with educators to make sure that all the materials we provide are educational and appropriate. Future interactive tools like “Record Your Own” and a diary feature will also help children develop proper speech, language, and writing skills. With these tools, along with the local library, our children’s school, and our ongoing involvement, we can take a proactive stance in our children’s education and become a teacher at home.

It’s a sad fact of our society that some students don’t fit neatly into our education system. Whether the blame lies on the school, the parents, or the children themselves is up in the air. A new program in Milwaukee has decided to bypass the questions inherent in such a discussion and instead, focus on a solution. This solution is called “Second Chance”.

Second Chance is a program for high school juniors who complain that, as one student put it, “I don’t like learning”. The program places these kids in a student/work environment where they earn a paycheck while continuing their education in the work place. In essence, the day is part vocational school, part high school. Students believe the dual environment gives them real world experience while maintaining the rigorous studies expected in high school. And in theory, Second Chance sounds like a great opportunity for students sick of the classroom. But that’s just theory.

In actuality, juniors devoid of a proper educational background are placed in a lackluster learning environment. Thirty students are placed in the “Industrial Towel and Uniform” company, washing, drying, and organizing towels. The men and women that work at this company do a vital service, but in no way does this prepare you in American history, musical appreciation (if your school has such a thing), or even gym. As the owner of the company so elegantly put it, “We get workers”. And that’s what this program has become, a cheap workforce for those who fall between the cracks. Why not pair these students with successful businessmen and women? Why not send them to help a local elementary school, the police force, or the library? Let’s send these kids to a place that will reinvigorate their appreciation of learning, not somewhere that will hand them a paycheck and a dish towel to wash. Of course, these are the questions which will haunt our society until a better solution comes to fruition. Until then, we’re left with Second Chance.

To learn more about Second Chance check out this video,

Phoebe Winsor wrote a good post on how the Geo-Literacy Project is using technology to educate. The GLP encourages students to digitally document their educational experiences with photos and videos and then share them with other schools who are doing the same. In the this video example you can see students on a field trip learning about blacksmithing.

This focus on learning the local history and culture helps students appreciate where they live and encourages them to learn about other local cultures via the GLP website. As you can see from the video, the kids love using the video camera to show off their newfound knowledge. This “technology in the classroom” revolution is only beginning. Please start experimenting in your classroom to see how technology can help you inspire your students.