23 Things Wrap-up. . .

This exercise has been one of the most substantive staff development projects I have been involved in while a teacher in the St. Paul Public Schools. . .I have been inundated with a variety of tools that I can continue to use in the coming days. . .It will take me a long time to absorb all of this information, but already with my blog, google.docs, son of citation, the assignment calculator, my life as a teacher has improved mightily. . .Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. . .drfaust

Thing 7: Get to Know the Research Project Calculator

The Research Project Calculator (RPC). . .For me I like the University of Minnesota Assignment Calculator. . .I have been introducing it to my students who are working on a Minnesota History project. . .I love the way it sets out the various steps of the project one by one in a narrative fashion. . .Students like the structure, when beginning. . .Once they master this tool, they can modify it any way that fits their style better. . .I t must be noted that this project calculator is designed for writing assignments which as a history teacher is another reason, I prefer to use it. . Clearly, the discipline and and structure involved in using this tool can be applied to a variety of projects, and can be modified, thusly. . .I will have a wrapup on my student's work with the U of M Assignment Caluclator in a later blog after they finish their project on June 4th. . .drfaust

Thing 4: Get to Know Your Public Library, Part II

Next task: check out the "MELSA" site (melsa.org). . .MELSA is the "Metropolitan Library Service Agency". . .MELSA was established in 1969 and serves as one of the twelve regional public library systems in Minnesota. . .The mission of MELSA is to "share resources and ideas, foster literacy, promote public library use, (and) prepare for the future.". . .The website provides loads of information about MELSA: 1. the address for the offices of MELSA in St. Paul (and a map); 2. the six staff members and how to contact them; 3. the Board of Trustees (one trustee from each of these seven metro counties--Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington, and one trustee representing the St. Paul public library); 4. the eight member Advisory Board (representing the same constituencies as the Board of Trustees). . .Any card-carrying member of one of MELSA's participating members can uses any of the resources of any of the participating libraries. . .MELSA is a classic example of what can happen when residents of neighboring municipalities shelve their parochial biases and work together to provide better service for our metropolitan area. . .One of my favorite parts of the MELSA website is the section for databases for public uses. . .My favorite databases are the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press archives, and the Newsbank Infoweb. . .drfaust

Thing 4: Get to Know Your Public Library, Part I

Public libraries are one of our most important public institutions, and have been from the days of ancient Alexandria to today's Library of Congress. . .I have fond memories from my earliest years of using the public library to sate my appetite for knowledge, information, and magic. . .The public library never lets me down--when it's open. . .Funding for our libraries continues to be a thorn in the side of all of us who call ourselves profesdional educators. . .As professionals and citizens we must demand that libraries operate year round with hours from the mornings to the evenings. . .The online services now available through libraries should not be viewed as a substitute for keeping the libraries open. . .We should not be shuttering libraries, but we should be building better and bigger libraries. . .Andrew Carnegie pledged his fortune to the construction of public libraries a century ago. . .Where are the Carnegies of the 21st century--both in the public and private sector. . .But in an era when school districts will not give more then lip service to the need for certified librarians in every school building, who can expect anything more than what we are getting: lots of talk, little action, and even less money. . .(I bet Baghdad's Green Zone has a world class library). . .For something to change, we as educators can no longer sit on the sidelines and allow the bureaucrats and political hacks to make policy about subjects of which they are hopelessly ignorant. . .We need to be the policymakers. . We know the problems. . .We know the solutions. . .Either we hang together or we hang separately. . .drfaust

Oops, the last post should be Thing 31. . .

My mistake. . .drfaust

Thing 23: Bibliographic Tools

One of my favorite discoveries this year is a citation machine called "Son of Citation." . . .I have used it successfully in my graduate classes at Hamline and have showed my students the wonders of "Son of Citation". . .This tool, or another like it, is essential in a day when someone like me teaches at a school that demands MLA citation form from its students, attends a graduate school that demands APA citation form from its students, and as a licensed attorney uses a completely different citation form for legal briefs. . .The best thing about "Son of Citation" is hearing an audible sigh when someone uses it successfully for the first time--an almost ecstatic sound. . .By the way, in a year when a thoroughbred is threatening to become the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978, one should always remember that Citation captured the Triple Crown in 1948. . .Trivia question: this year's Triple Crown contender is Big Brown. . .What is the derivation of his name?. . .drfaust. . .p.s. the answer to the trivia question: Big Brown refers to the corporate delivery titan--the United Parcel Service. . .

Thing 29: Online Learning

As an AP History teacher, I search high and low for online resources to help my students prepare for their big test in May. . .This year's test was May 9th, and one online site I checked out is "4tests: Your free, online, practice test site!". . .Here is what I think of "4test". . ."4test" was a disappointing site which provided one 29 question multiple choice practice test and included popup ads for all sorts of products (e.g. Netflix) and ads for prep materials like Cliff's Notes. . .Not recommended. . .Nest, I tried "DEN", the Digital Education Network located at "actden.com". . .The site contained online software tutorials for PowerPoint 2003, Front Page 2000, Internet Explore 5, etc. . .and online courses: TestDEN, WritingDEN. SkillsDEN, etc. . .I tried the SkillsDEN online course which was produced by Microsoft Skills 2000 and was subtitled "The Museum of Modern Technology" with virtual host, Ada Omega. . .It is a Microsoft site with the idea of promoting Microsoft products. . .The "online course" is an outdated course which would have been directed at middle or elementary school level students. . .Not recommended. . .Online learning, of course, seems to be the future of education. . .More and more students are learning online, and more educators are teaching online. . .I had an experience in two classes at Hamline during the spring term. . .The blogging was fun, and it was great that in one of the courses, most of the required reading material was available online--thus, easily accessible at anytime. . .The thing I don't like about online learning is when it serves as an excuse for teachers and students not to meet face to face. . .The absence of "in the flesh" interaction was a negative when my two courses substituted online sessions for four classes. . .In fairness to the instructors, they did not care for it either. . .However, it appears to be an inevitable juggernaut. . .Soon, why would an institution concern itself with where their instructors lived since they could merely offer the class online. . .Now, there are obvious situations where the online revolution is an absolute plus: disabled and homebound students, geographically-isolated students (e.g. Antarctica), and courses not offered at the student's institution. . .But, we should move carefully when considering online courses. . .They are not a panacea. . .drfaust