netTrekker Blog

It’s Good to be Blue?

Of course normally you might think that being blue would be a bad thing.  However, in this case it means you’ll live a longer and happier life.  Scientists have been exploring places around the Earth that they call “Blue Zones” and found commonalities amongst the people in these areas that allows them to live much longer. The scientists have broken it down to 4 areas:

1. Move Naturally – Make your home, community and workplace present you with natural ways to move. Focus on activities you love, like gardening, walking and playing with your family.
2. Right Outlook – Know and be able to articulate your sense of purpose, and ensure your day is punctuated with periods of calm.
3. Eat Wisely – Instead of groping from fad diet to fad diets, use time-honored strategies for eating 20% less at meals. Avoid meat and processed food and drink a couple of glasses of wine daily.
4. Belong to the Right Tribe – Surround yourself with the right people, make the effort to connect or reconnect with your religion and put loved ones first.

In some of these BlueZones they have 20 times the number of people over 100 as the rest of the world.  At Bluezones.com they have even created a vitality compass that allows you to measure these factors in your life and help to determine how “Blue” you are.

Along with this, the team of scientists just went out on another exploration or quest of a BlueZone on a small Greek island called Ikari. It’s a free, interactive learning expedition that culitvates curiosity, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking.  The Quest was April 20 – May 1, 2009.  Students learned as they directed a live expedition unlocking longevity’s secrets in real time.

NetTrekker has noticed BlueZones and wonders what you think.  Check it out and let us know.

Tags: bluezone, health, longevity, nutrition, quest, vitality, wellness

A Thank You to All Librarians!

My favorite place in any school is the media center, or the “liberry” as I lovingly called it when I was in elementary school. I find the knowledge, entertainment, and the quietness to be as delicious as a ripe strawberry freshly picked for enjoyment. (But really it was a speech impediment that caused me to say liberry.) It was my librarian who turned me onto the Bobbsey Twins series, to learning more about Abraham Lincoln, and gave me the passion I have for books today.

But just like a caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly, the role of librarian has turned into the all knowledgeable media specialist. When I first became a teacher, I knew the one person who I could count on for information and assistance was my media specialists.

It was my media specialist, Mrs. Floyd, who taught me about the computer and the Internet hidden in a closet my first year of teaching in 1996.

It was my media specialist, Mr. Geddings, who helped me find all my resources for career education when I decided to try my hand teaching middle school business.

It was the media specialists in my district who assisted me as a technology coach in getting the word out about technology and various projects, and helped plan our literature bowl. They were always there to light the path.

Today, I enjoy talking to all of the media specialists who assist with implementing netTrekker d.i. in their school or district. They are the ones who teach how to distinguish a good site from a great site. They are the ones teaching the students how to research properly. They are often the ones who train teachers on how to use the various technologies at their school. Media Specialists wear the hat for encouraging students to read a great book and fostering that love, to finding the right resource, to using technology well.  And many that I know are the best multi-taskers in the world! Their library runs like a well oiled machine, or is as inviting as a field of red berries on a warm summer day.

In honor of the National Library Week, netTrekker d.i. would like to thank all media specialists and librarians – no matter which hat you are wearing – for your dedication to the students and teachers.

For those of you interested in learning more about library skills, check out the Teacher Tools and 21st Century’s ICT Literacy.

Tags: ALA, National Library Week, netTrekker

Are you 21st Century Literate?

Amanda has done a wonderful job sharing all about the 21st Century Channel and a bit about netTrekker‘s d.i.’s involvement in the 21st Century initiative. It’s my turn to tell you about the ICT Literacy component, my favorite section of the 21st Century Channel.

ICT. What do those three letters stand for? No peeking at Amanda’s last post. Here are some of the answers I’ve been given in the past: Instructive Computer Tasks, Information Computer Technology, and Instruction for Computer Teaching. While all of those are components of ICT Literacy, it actually means Information and Communication Technology. It’s also commonly referred to as digital literacy, since it is the ability to use the technology available to accomplish given tasks, demonstrating skills and knowledge. Students, and teachers, are able to find the information they need, analyze the appropriate materials, and even evaluate which media is the right one for the given task.

With netTrekker d.i., many think that the task of finding the information has been  customized a little too much, but in truth it hasn’t. If you were a doctor, pharmacist or a lawyer you would use a specialized search engine or database to research your information for your field in order to save time. netTrekker d.i. is similar in that all the resources are geared to be the most appropriate for education. You still have to use your digital literacy skills to determine which ones are the most effective and will help you accomplish your goals.

Onward with the great features of ICT.  To start with, it is a great place for you to learn more about the tools and processes involved in the variety of digital medias. When I was a student, our resources included magazines, journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, and other books. Today our students have all of those, plus podcasts, blogs, vlogs, digital video and digital images. Instead of just writing a paper, students can create digital stories, their own podcasts or blogs, use other Web 2.0 tools to share information, and other digital presentations. If you want to learn more about these medias and the tools involved in creating them, check out the ICT Literacy Component.

My favorite section though goes beyond learning about the tools and how to use them. I like the 21st Century Integration Models, which are lessons for teaching the 21st Century Skills. The ones from www.nettrekker.com were written by teachers for netTrekker. For these lessons they took a traditional lesson plan and added a technology-rich components to make the lessons 21st Century ready. Other lessons include those from Apple Learning Interchange, State Departments of Education, and other great 21st Century sites. Many of the lessons were written by teachers just like you!

Head on over to the netTrekker Village and share just how digital literate you are in one of the discussion boards.

Tags: 21st Century, Digital Literacy, ICT Literacy, Integration Models

21 C: Preparing Students with Skills for Career and for Life

In response to states’ initiatives driving the incorporation of 21st-century learning skills into classroom instruction, netTrekker offers a 21st Century Skills channel organized into three pathways: Life Skills, Learning & Innovation, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy. Why the need to integrate these pathways into curriculum? Because students, after graduating from college with required credits in math, science, language arts, and social studies, and with passing proficiency-test scores, are finding themselves wondering, “What do I do now?”

For those planning on college, perhaps that query doesn’t need answered right away, but it will surface once again when graduation, once more, looms. And for students planning on working after high school, such a question should be examined far in advance of receiving a diploma.

So, what does the mastery of 21-C skills mean for students graduating high school? It means better success at finding a job — and succeeding in the workplace — thanks to honed “character skills”, and willingness to “think outside the box” and to view the day-to-day as offering educational and critical-thinking opportunities. And also for students heading off to college, it means being outfitted with the capacity to excel in courses by way of making connections between subjects often viewed as unrelated — and between school and life.

Life Skills

nT offers a brief definition of Life Skills (link). In short, and in relation to 21 C, it’s the teaching of “character skills” and “making them a deliberate part of lessons”, showing students how these traits will serve them in work and in life. So, what does nT offer for teachers looking for resources on such “character skills” as Leadership, Ethics, and People Skills? Here is a sampling below:

Foundation for a Better Life: Values to Pass On not only shares the first-person reflections on the meanings of values, such as respect and service, but also encourages its visitors to share their own stories -– in written, audio, or video format. There’s a great collection of moving quotes by famous authors and public figures, an opportunity to share your story about a real-life hero, and a collection of inspiring audio clips reflecting on the lives and efforts of people such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Abraham Lincoln.

Legacy Educational Resources offers an extensive collection of brief Character Education articles, appropriate for teachers, parents, and community leaders. Notable articles include “Preparing Lessons that Change Lives,” “Acts of Kindness –- Ideas for Teachers and Administrators,” “Instilling Compassion in Students,” “Ethics, One Day at a Time,” and “Rules to Play by On and Off the Playing Field.”

Thirteen Ed Online presents Making Family and Community Connections, a workshop that emphasizes the importance of creating partnerships among schools, parents, and community. After students understand the concept of making community connections, they can explore examples of such connections via video demonstrations and candid talks by parents, educators, administrators, and students. This site includes a great collection of ideas for implementing school-community connections as well as links to schools that are participating in such programs and thriving as a result.

Learning & Innovation

nT offers this as a brief definition of Learning and Innovation Skills: “Those skills which lifelong learners have developed — the ability to think both critically and creatively, to collaborate with others to create projects and solve problems, and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.” What does it mean when students enter the “real world” as “lifelong learners”? It means they continue to keep their eyes, ears, and minds open to learning experiences, even after exiting the classroom. For them, working isn’t just a means to an end or a paycheck, it is a means to think critically, explore new opportunities, realize untapped potential, and discover latest technologies. nT offers a collection of resources, which will aid students in becoming lifelong learners, in the areas of Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Communication Skills, Creativity and Innovation Skills, and Collaboration Skills. See some of them below:

Scholastic: You Innovate 21 is a colorful, Flash site offering brain teasers, interactive career-explorations, opportunities to examine past and present innovations that have changed our lives, as well as lesson plans and other resources for teachers.

The Edison Innovation Foundation offers How Edison Are You?, another highly interactive site that explores importance of innovation. Click “Why Edison Matters Today” to view a collection of photos, and download pdf files of the patents for Edison’s inventions. “Edison’s Life” offers a time line of his work, starting with his first patented invention, the Vote Recorder (1869), highlighting his most popular inventions, and ending with his work to create a rubber alternative from Goldenrod in the early 20th century.

Invention at Play by the Lemelson Center was created on the premise that “play” leads to innovation and invention. Students complete interactive puzzles dealing with problem solving and skills needed by inventors, learn about the life stories of inventors, and explore how “play” has changed through the years. A great site for the young and young at heart, Invention at Play isn’t just about inventions. It’s about critical thinking, collaboration, and making connections between real life and learning.

Our next blog entry will take a look at Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy and what nT offers for students and teachers needing resources in this area of 21 C.

Tags: 21c, 21st Century Learning, Learning and Innovation, Life Skills