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Fifty-eight people registered for my blog yesterday. You don’t have to register to read the blog, but you do have to have an account in order to post comments. Mostly, I do that to keep people from anonymously posting inappropriate material. It also helps to keep the comment spam to a minimum. Considering that I haven’t had 58 people register for my blog ever, yesterday’s … Continue reading Welcome, Students

It’s getting harder and harder to use the web in schools, and we’re getitng close to a breaking point. Friday afternoon, a teacher came in to my office. “Who do I need to yell at? The principal? Will that work? Should I call the superintendent?” She’s generally pretty easy-going, and it took a little while to figure out what she was talking about. It turns … Continue reading Web Filter Band-Aids

The Cleveland Public Schools started school last week. New this year are four new single-gender schools: two for girls, and two for boys. All four schools serve grades K-2. The district is promoting the new schools as a way to “help students build confidence, try new things and develop a sense of belonging. ” WKSU’s Kevin Niedermier reported on the new schools on Thursday. They’re … Continue reading Separate but Equal

All right, so maybe the National Academies Press isn’t your thing. Admittedly, it’s a bit on the tech/science/research/serious side, and that’s not always what we want to read before turning off the night light. Maybe The Open Library is more your style. The Open Library website provides free access to book collections from around the world. Rather than simply providing the text of the books, … Continue reading Free Books, Part 3

I’ve been using Skype for about a year, and this is the first time I’ve see this. A text chat window pops up from “Security Scan ALERT” with the text: WINDOWS REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ATTENTION —————————————————- ATTENTION ! Security Center has detected spyware on your computer ! Affected Software: Microsoft Windows NT Workstation Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Microsoft Windows 2000 Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Windows … Continue reading Skype Spam

If children’s books aren’t your thing, the National Academies Press may be a better fit. NAP was created to publish the reports of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. They publish more than 200 books each year on a wide variety of topics in science, engineering, and medicine. Through their Joseph Henry … Continue reading Free Books, Part 2

Megan was looking for a new book to read. “Do you want a book that’s true or one that’s make-believe?” “Make-believe.” “Do you want a book where the characters are kids, real animals, or imaginary creatures?” “Imaginary creatures like fairies and unicorns?” I nodded. She nodded. “I’m assuming you want a picture book instead of a chapter book.” She’s going in to first grade, and … Continue reading Free Books, Part 1

When I taught middle school, I would explain to my students that the Internet has three uses. It can be used as a resource, for retrieving information. It can be used as a dissemination tool, to publish information for a global audience. And, it can be used to interact with others. My classes were spending about 75% of their Internet time retrieving information, 24% of … Continue reading Summer Renewed

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Summer’s a great time for reading. Actually, any time is a great time for reading. A lot of people like to take a few good books on vacation, or spend warm summer evenings at home with a book. I had a high school teacher who implored us to always be reading something. It doesn’t have to be academic or career-related. It doesn’t need to be … Continue reading Summer Renewal 12: What Have You Read?