Saturday, January 26, 2008

Short Delay

Jeff here.

If you are awaiting Episode 5, there will be a short delay. This week has been crazy busy for Dan and I. Don't worry, we're trying hard to avoid Podcastination.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Free Rice Getting Some Seriously Great Attention

Dan here:

The fine folks at FreeRice.org are getting some well deserved attention for being one of the most innovative uses of technology as educational activism ever. Take a look at the article from USAToday. If you haven't tried this out yet, you really should. Way better than solitaire.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Printz Awards Announced

Dan here,

Last week, the Michael T. Printz Awards for Excellence in Young Adult Literature 2008 were announced.

You can see the winners at the American Library Association's YALSA page.

Now, each year these come out and my wife, a fabulous young adult librarian for the middle school in Jeff's district, gives me the low down on the titles with which I'm unfamiliar.

This time, we are both in the dark having not heard much about any of them. We both feel totally out of the loop. (Don't blame it on the kid, Dan, don't blame it on the kid . . . )

Last year's winner, American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, was already one of my favorite graphic novels of the year when it was selected. But this year . . . I've got nothing.

So here are the Amazon pages for each of the titles. Check 'em out. And if you know anything about them at all, please share here so we can yap about it on the show.

The Winner
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Honor Titles
DreamQuake by Elizabeth Knox
One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke
Reposssed by A.M. Jenkins
Your Own Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Episode 4 Workin for Tha Man

To listen to this episode, click the title above or you could get this show as soon as it posts, just click the subscription link at the bottom of this post.
Show notes:
Jeff n' Dan discuss teacher workload. What stresses us out, eats up or time and what could be done about it. We also discuss the TeLL survey put out by the MEA and DOE to gauge teacher workload issues in Maine.

Tech Talk:
Jeff reviews some possible time saving tools. Wouldn’t you like a secretary? Well, here are some ideas of how you might have a digital one. Web tools reviewed are:
http://www.jott.com
http://www.iwantsandy.com
http://google.com/calendar

Media Integration:
Dan and Jeff talk about effective use of Movies in the classroom. Asking students to stretch their visual intelligence.

Book Talk:
Dan reviews a collection of short story comics about middle school life called Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an UNPLEASANT Age edited by Ariel Schrag from Viking Publishers.

Didya See?:
Deering High School students get the go ahead to show a marijuana legalization movie.

Music in this week's episode comes from www.flashkit.com and Penmachine Podcast. “Meltdown Man” intro music by Derek K. Miller. Check out his music at http://www.penmachine.com/musicpages/demos.html

Listener feedback is encouraged. Contact us at wickeddecentlearning@gmail.com or leave us comments at http://wickeddecentlearning.blogspot.com
This episode was recorded January 19th, 2008.
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New Episode Is On Its Way!

Dan here . . .

While Jeff furiously works on the editing front, I thought I'd let the people know that we had a magnificent morning of recording during which we were visited by the fine people of TimeWarner Cable who came to my home and fixed the high speed internet connection through which I am communicating to you at this very moment.

We also failed miserably at cutting our show time down to 45 minutes. In fact, this show is a might bit longer than the last one.

What's it all about? Well, Jeff will post the show notes proper once the show is up and running, but I can tell you this -- we chat about the TeLL survey that is sweeping the state, we yap about the workload of educators that goes beyond the immediate classroom, and we converse about computerized secretaries, popping zits, legalization of the plant referred to in some circles as 'The Herb' (which makes me recall the mid-Eighties Burger King promotional campaign 'I'm Not Herb' and wish I had mentioned that in the show), and evidence that people actually do listen to us.

From Jeff's exasperations, I reckon we're still having some trouble with cutting ourselves off at the beginning of each segment, but it's getting better!

Ever upward!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Episode 3 Midyear Reboot

To listen to this episode, click the title above or you could get this show as soon as it posts, just click the subscription link at the bottom of this post.
Show Notes:
Jeff n' Dan discuss how you go about making changes in a course at the midyear mark. Some advice and experience on what works and what doesn’t. Had some audio trouble with Garageband but only in a few spots.

Tech Talk:
Jeff reviews some online polling and surveying tools that could be used to survey your class for understanding of course/instructor feedback.
http://Surveygizmo.com
http://quibblo.com/create/
http://Surveymonkey.com
http://Zoomerang.com

Media Integration:
Dan discusses the benefits of RadioLab podcast http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/

Book Talk:
Dan shares his thoughts on “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel H. Pink

Didya See?:
Dan shares a Franklin Journal Op/Ed piece by Rep. Tom Saveillo on how the school consolidation has gone awry.

Music in this week's episode comes from www.flashkit.com

Listener feedback is encouraged. Contact us at wickeddecentlearning@gmail.com or leave us comments at
http://wickeddecentlearning.blogspot.com


This episode was recorded January 13th, 2008.

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Saturday, January 5, 2008

Episode 2 One and Done vs. Resubmitting

Show Notes:
Jeff n' Dan discuss "one and done" assessments like final exams and midterms versus allowing students to resubmit and revise work for a better grade. Which is better for learning? Which is more true to "real life?"

Tech Talk:

Jeff introduces screencasting tools that let you take pictures or video of what's on your computer screen and share it with others.
Jing- www.jingproject.com
Camtasia- www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp
Screencast-o-matic- www.screencast-o-matic.com

Media Integration:

Dan discusses a vocabulary website that helps feed the world.
Freerice- www.freerice.com

Jeff shares a podcast about, grammar, yes grammar!
Grammar Girl- http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

Book Talk:

Dan shares his thoughts on the "Runaways" series by Brian K. Vaughn

Music in this week's episode comes from www.flashkit.com

Listener feedback is encouraged. Contact us at wickeddecentlearning@gmail.com or leave us comments at http://www.wickeddecentlearning.blogspot.com

This episode was recorded January 6th, 2008.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Episode 1

A Wicked Decent Learning Experience by Mainahs for Educators, Ayuh!

Show Notes:

A discussion of issues in Maine education from 2007 including, but not limited to, the school regionalization plan, new Maine Learning Results, moritorium on graduation requirements and a look forward to Maine and education in 2008.

Jeff reviews TeacherTube, an online video website for teachers and students at
http://www.teachertube.com

Dan reviews the book "Lush" by Natasha Friend, a book about a teenage girl's experience in dealing with her alcoholic father.

And, the proper spelling is "pbpfpbpppblbltfh" and yes, there will be a test later...

And the time generator we spoke of... well, as soon as I get the flux capacitor working again, I'll post it.