FreeLists / networknewsletters / NHN: 2/1/05 NETHAPPENINGS NEWSLETTER #13

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NHN: 2/1/05 NETHAPPENINGS NEWSLETTER #13

NEW THIS WEEK for
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NHnewsletter.html>
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Dear Readers,

Welcome to the Net Happenings Newsletter, launched by the Educational
CyberPlayGround's Karen Ellis* who is also the Founder of the Educational
CyberPlayGround. Sponsors are invited others to help as the expansive Net
Happenings Newsletter is published to the thousands of members of the
NetHappenings Mailing List.


Written by Classroom Teacher Alan Haskvitz

1997 National Teacher's Hall of Fame
All USA Today First Team Teacher
Reader's Digest Hero in Education
Cherry International Award for Outstanding Teachers
1994 National Middle Level Teacher of the Year (NCSS)
[e] newsletter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[w] http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/al.html


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IN THIS ISSUE
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IN THE NEWS
Research on the good and bad of parent involvement
Colorado's cyberstudents failing faster
Are we buying our 'McStudent' lie?
Special Needs Children "Must Fail"
Testing Companies Profit from NCLB
Former Secretary of Education's District leads state in failures.
Arizona wants to take textbook decisions out of the hands of local boards
and teachers.

INTERESTING SITES
Substitute teacher ideas, plans, survival tips
Cost of the War in Iraq. A comparison of the price and what it could buy.
Instant poetry forms
Literary Almanac
Quick world maps
How Popular are You?
Student Competitions
Free Valentine Clip Art

SITES YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED
Self made stories, a self made coloring book, and other interactive activities.
Interactive online games for math
Close out prices on Apple related products.
How students can learn to evaluate websites.
Free Gardening Workbook
How the Interent Works
Internet II Explained
Hero's Bring Democracy to Iraq

QUOTES

FACTOIDS

CONFERENCES

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IN THE NEWS
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The Harvard Graduate School of Education's Harvard Family Research Project
research reveals why some parent involvement programs fail and why what it
in the home improve student performance.
<http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval/issue28>

Colorado's full-time cyberschool students were forced to repeat grades last
year at a rate four times that of students statewide and have higher rate of
attrition.
<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2674016,00.html>

"McStudent' lie?"
"When are we going to stop pretending we can get world-class results on
second- world spending?"
<http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/01/18/ED
GT7AQRRA1.DTL>

A Manhattan judge advocated mandatory failure for children with special
needs until they've tried to teach him themselves and failed.
<http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleT
oMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2005/01/19&ID=Ar00902>

No Child Left Behind is a big profit maker for private companies who are
making the tests success or failure depend on. The federal mandated tests
are going to cost taxpayers between $1.9 billion to $5.3 billion between
2002 and 2008 to implement NCLB-mandated tests, according to the
non-partisan Government Accounting.
<http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/19_02/test192.shtml>

The Secretary of Education's previous Texas district leads the state in
failing schools.
<http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/vandeerlin/20050119-9999-lz1e19dee
rlin.html>

Some Arizona lawmakers want to take the power to choose textbooks from local
school boards and teachers to save money and consistency.
<http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0124textbill24.html>


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INTERESTING SITES
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Substitute Teacher Site
Practical ideas for substitutes and for teachers leaving plans. Good for
administators to check, too.
<http://www.reacheverychild.com/feature/substitute_teach.html>

Cost of the War in Iraq. A comparison of the price and what it could buy.
http://costofwar.com/

Instant Poetry Forms (need valentines?)
You need to see this as it offers far more than basic poetry templates.
<http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/Poetry.htm>

Free Valentine Clip Art
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Arts/Valentine_Clip_Art.html>

Literary Almanac
<http://english.yasuda-u.ac.jp/lc/>

Quick World Maps
With data tie in with CIA Factbook
http://www.theodora.com/maps/

How Popular are You?
<http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en>

Student Competitions
<http://www.reacheverychild.com/scholarships/contests/student.html>


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SITES YOU NEVER KNEW EXISTED
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A very fun site for younger students. It includes self made stories, a self
made coloring book, and other interactive activities.
<http://www.haringkids.com/>

A terrific site for younger students who are working in basic math. Quite
fun with 15 online games designed to help children understand basic concepts.
<http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm>

Close out prices on Apple related products. Many refurbished.
<http://macspeedzone.com/>

Good collection of links on how students can learn to evaluate websites.
<http://members.tripod.com/exworthy/eval.htm>

Gardening Workbook Available Online
"Farming is Food, Fiber, Flowers... and Fun!" is a 72-page workbook that
helps get gardens growing. Includes designing the garden, available
resources, working with volunteers, and fundraising. Free download.
  http://www.cfaitc.org

How Does the Interent Work?
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Internet/INTERESTINGSITES/hubsandspokes.html>

Interent II Explained
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Internet/INTERNETII/Internet_II.html>

Hero's Bring Democracy to Iraq
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/securitycrisisA.html>

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QUOTES
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Quotes

Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet
developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and
performance.  In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who somehow
know how to teach.
Peter Drucker

Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools.
The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.
Haim G. Ginott

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FACTOIDS
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1999, U.S. eight-graders exceeded the international average of 38 nations in
mathematics and science.

In mathematics, U.S. eighth-grade students outperformed their peers in 17
nations, performed similarly to their peers in 6 nations, and performed
lower than their peers in 14 nations.

In science, U.S. eighth-grade students outperformed their peers in 18
nations, performed similarly to their peers in 5 nations, and performed
lower than their peers in 14 nations.

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CONFERENCES
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February
<http://www.theconferencecalendar.com/default.cfm>




Thanks for reading,


Al
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/al.html>

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