According to a new Nickelodeon Research study, The Family GPS, the gap between generations is closing and technology and cultural attitudes are at least some of the reasons. The Family GPS study was conducted as part of an ongoing partnership with Harris Interactive that looks at the changing face and role of family life in America.


Key findings on the state of the American family study include:

• On the importance of being together as a family, 83% of parents said they spend at least some time each week just hanging out and talking with their kid(s); and 86% eat dinner together at least once a week.

• Additionally, 51% of parents say they worry a lot about spending enough time together as a family, equal to their concern about their own or their family's health (53%) and paying their bills (51%).

• Parents of Boys 2-21 believe the most important value to instill in a son is to be respectful of women (70%), while for daughters the top values include self-sufficiency and independent thinking (66% each). 

• Parents have equal educational expectations for sons and daughter, however, it is a bit more important to parents of girls than those of boys that their kid gets good grades (92% vs. 86%).

Looking specifically at the technology and entertainment factors:

• 82% and 77% of families are watching TV or movies together at home respectively each week.
  

• 41% of parents and kids are listening to the same music, which really isn't all that surprising for the most part as rock n' roll and country music, for example, have remained strongholds for the music industry for 40+ years now. 
  

• 56% of sons 8-21 share the same taste in movies as their dads, and 48% enjoy listening to the same music. Meanwhile 64% of daughters 8-21 share similar tastes in movies as their moms, and 44% share the same sense of fashion and clothing as mom;

• The kid entertainment industry has been stressing cultural tolerance messaging for some time now, so it's encouraging to see that 88% of kids believe that it's important to learn about different cultures, and 95% of kids value the importance of respecting other cultures.

D: All Things Digital Presentation

This week at the D: All Things Digital Conference Mary Meeker presented her ideas of how the world is being 'disrupted'  by technology in her speech about "The State of the Web."  Her ideas are evidence that times are definitely changing in how we do things differently today in education, business, and entertainment.

According to Ms Meeker the re-imagination of education has brought the world to the brink of educational change where students will learn by doing. I say "the brink" because we are on the brink- the edge - of getting close to make the change, but we are not there yet, world-wide, or in the US for that matter. Still many teachers need to be trained in best practices to make this change but due to lack of money for education they aren't.  So teachers often revert back to 'how they were taught' in order to teach their students through lecturing and students listening. Ms Meeker proclaims "Education and learning will become just as much fun as video games. And we will call it "full body" learning." She said "will." We're not there yet, but hopefully we "will" get there. Soon I hope.

In her presentation Ms Meeker documents, remarkable well, how technology and 're-imagination' have changed the way we do things, thereby causing a 'disruption.'  As we know very well today; the only thing that is constant in this world is change.  Technology has changed the way we watch movies, read books, tell stories, and create art. We now digitally do all these things. In Ms Meeker's 112 slide presentation she portrays how we have re-imagined the world digitally. Now let's just hope education, world-wide, takes a giant step in its' own digital re-imagination.

Take a glance at Ms Meeker's slide presentation about the State of the Web -it will give you ideas of how you can use technology to "re-imagine" your teaching and student learning . 

Everything Google Live Binder

I came across this Google LiveBinder in Twitter and retweeted it, but I honestly think this resource deserves more than a few characters.  It's more like a "scoop it"  on Google.

LiveBinders is a great tool for many projects and worthy of its own post, but the "Google" content on this binder is something to take notice of. The Google LiveBinder has a Lesson Plan page with resources for educators that covers everything "google" including google docs,  tips for using google search, google chart tips, google fusion charts, ideas of how to use google forms in your classroom and much more. It has something for every educator no matter what subject or grade level you teach. All Google tools are free -making it an educator's choice.  Check out all the pages...

And is google/Google correct since "google"  is a now proper and common noun??? I don't know, but I'll google it.

Empowering Teachers with Tech- Richard D Solomon's Blog

Finding useful resources for teachers takes a lot of time sifting through a deluge of blog posts and a mountain of tweets, but Richard D. Solomon's blog is full of resources for teachers' practical application. The purpose of the blog Mentoring Jewish Teachers and Students is "to empower Jewish teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, professors, consultants, and staff developers to integrate web technology into their teaching and teacher training," however, the resources are useful for all teachers everywhere and relevant to teaching and learning today.

Not only does Dr Solomon have a blog to document resources he finds, but he manages two google doc spreadsheets with links to the all the resources and ideas of how they can be used in general or secular education.  Part One Spreadsheet lists resources from A (Animation)  to M- (Music) and Part Two Spreadsheet lists resources from P (Painting) to W (Word Collages).

I'm sure you will find many resources and practical ideas to use in your teaching and student learning.

Keep Students Reading This Summer

Thinking about ways you can keep your students reading this summer? Here are some great ideas by The Book Whisperer.

My favorite idea from the Book Whisperer is a hold a "Book Swap." What a great idea for the end of the school  year where your students go home with an armload of books to read over the summer.  I used to create a  list of suggested books for my students when I was teaching so parents had an idea of what was an appropriate level of reading when they went to the library or bookstore.

A good idea also might be for parents to buy their child a Kindle and load it up with books for them to read in the car,  or when falling asleep, or on a rainy summer day. Harry Potter books will soon be available for Kindle too.  You don't even have to buy a Kindle for your child to read digitally- you can use the Kindle app on a laptop so they can take reading with them anywhere without carrying a backpack of books. The idea is to just keep them reading anyway that interests them!

Do you have any ideas to keep students reading this summer? Please share them with us.

Facebook for Educators Teacher Spotlight: Jennifer Ralston

Facebook Educator Spotlight: Jennifer Ralston

How to Use Facebook in the Classroom

I've recently partnered with Facebook and co-authors Linda Phillips and Dr. BJ Fogg to write the Facebook for Educators Guide!

The guide is also available in Spanish, Portuguese and German.

Facebook for Educators

Be the Curator of Knowlege

Have you been thinking of new ideas for your classroom for the upcoming school year? I have and I have been wondering what new tools are worth adding to my 'carry-on" to teach faculty to use for this year.

One tool I really like is Scoop.it. But just because I like a technology doesn't mean it's worthy of going into my teaching "carry-on"; its got to enhance student learning or improve the way students do things to be included in my "carry-on".

I noticed everywhere on Twitter people publishing Scoop.it newspapers. Now that's one good idea, since Scoop.it is easy enough to use with even Middle Schoolers. But recently I heard a conversation on Twitter about how teachers would use Scoop.it for other purposes to enhance learning that makes Scoop.it worthy of going into my "carry-on".

Here's the scoop. Teachers can use Scoop.it:

• as a research tool in English Classes
• to gather ideas for writing in subject areas such as social studies, history, or science
  
• to gather ideas for a specific topic such as World War II or Climate Change

It's easy to teach students to use Scoop.it; probably as easy to learn, if not easier to learn, than the Dewey Decimal System. So while students are learning to do research add in Scoop.it. It's a tool students can use to curate- to gather and keep all similar or related topics together. It will help keep their research organized for writing. It can replace the rubber band and index cards we all used to use.

Flurry Report: Mobile Devices & Web Apps Use

Tech Crunch reports that analytics' firm Flurry released a new report this week on the use of mobiles in the US.

"Flurry says that daily time spent in mobile apps has now surpassed web consumption. The average user now spends 9% more time using mobile apps than the Internet. In June users spent an average of 81 minutes daily on mobile apps, compared to 74 minutes on the web."

Looking further into the data shows that users are now using their smart phones for more than just surfing the web and reading emails, they are spending more time on their mobile devices in social networking sites and on web apps such as games.

Educators can glean some useful information from this report. Since we know our students come to school with their cell phones 'in hand' and leave with them 'to their ear' why not find ways to incorporate learning with these, now, almost ubiquitous devices. One suggestion is to find free apps that help support learning in subject areas, such as Kaplan’s SAT Flashcubes for vocabulary learning, Macmillan’s Sounds for English Language Learning, or Project Noah for extending your science lesson outside the classroom.

Another way of making learning fun would be to encourage students to play one another using free game apps such as Scrabble Free, Words with Friends, or Hanging with Friends to develop their English vocabulary skills.

And if you’re using Facebook with your students for extended learning they can access this app as well on their mobile devices. Since Facebook is where students are currently spending a lot of time online why not meet them where they are?

Thinking about mobile apps for extending learning will take a mind shift in our teaching and learning pedagogy, but its worth the effort to extend classroom learning and will help make learning fun.

Schools Out- Plan Your Professional Development

Since "SUMMER" officially starts tomorrow in the Northern Hemisphere most teachers are looking forward to relaxing, catching up on their sleep, and spending time doing all the things they put off doing during the school year. The few weeks of vacation go quickly, so make sure to take time to rest after the long school year and make sure to plan some time for your own professional development during your break.

Here are a few sites I have bookmarked that will help you with your learning:

• The Florida Center For Instructional Technology has a great site for learning. While you're there check out Tech-Ease for just-in-time tech help for either Windows or Mac users…
• In Pictures is another great resource site for you to learn computer subjects with pictures…
• Atomic Learning is one of the sites I have used for years, so make sure to check out all their free tutorials.
• Join IT4ALL for professional development courses using Moodle and learn via blended online learning courses and workshops on topics such as Online Facilitation, Web 2.0 Tools & Teaching, Web Quests, & Learning English Online among the many offered during the year....
  
• Or enroll in one of PBS TeacherLine accredited graduate-level online courses in subjects varying from Math, Instructional Technology, Science and more….
• For some good reading ideas during your break check out the summer reading list from the TLTgroup…

Enjoy your time off, relax, and learn some new things to take back to the classroom with you--before you know it the new school year will be at your door.