Our Friend, Dr. Michael DeMers on NPR!

Geographer to be on NPR

   Michael DeMers and his geography 481 (Fundamentals of GIS) were joined by Jason Sparks of National Public Radio last week. Several days later DeMers and one of his students, Anna Patterson, were interviewed by NPR reporter Scott Simon on a portion of Aggie Island, a parcel of virtual land inside Second Life, owned by NMSU and designed for educational activities.  
  
   Their interactions and discussion of the utility of using Second Life as a means of delivering online course content will be aired on NPR’s “Weekend Edition with Scott Simon” sometime between 8 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 on KRWG radio.
 
   For more information call 646-3509.

NPR Weekend Edition Saturday Link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=7

The Innovative Educator

The Innovative Educator blog at:

http://snipurl.com/innovativeeducator [theinnovativeeducator_blogspot_com]

Has useful information about free tech resources and 21st century teaching
and learning.

Susie B. =;->

AND, Innovative Educator Twitter at http://twitter.com/InnovativeEdu

--
Larry

FW: Become a Common Sense School

Partner with parents to raise media-smart kids

http://snipurl.com/partnerwparents  [www_commonsensemedia_org]

Become a Common Sense School
With information on everything from cyberbullying to cell phones, this free parent media education program gives schools everything necessary to help parents raise smart, responsible kids.

• Customizable materials organized by grade
• Interactive workshops and videos to engage parents
• Advice from a community of educators like you

Something special for music teachers

If you teach singing, then check out http://www.cyberbass.com/ ! It¹s a
nice piece of online software that will let your students practice their
parts.

Thanks to Bethany for this tip!

FW: Classroom 2.0 announcement

Dear Educators,

A message from Classroom 2.0 below, if you¹re not a member, you should be :)
~julz

The webinar topic this Saturday is: "Using Skype to Collaborate". Our
special guest
will be Wes Fryer, author of the blog and podcast "Moving at the Speed of
Creativity." Wes always has tons of ideas to share and his energy and
creativity will definitely leave you wanting to hear more! He will share
various ways Skype can be used to collaborate with other classrooms,
educators and VIPs--the sky's the limit. Our Newbie Question of the Week
will be: "What is 'Skype' and why do I want it?". We hope you'll join us to
share your ideas and questions.

The show lasts an hour, and links for more information and logging can be
found at http://live.classroom20.com

We strive to make our shows very beginner-friendly, and if
you've never participated in a live web meeting, don't be afraid to come and
take a peek at the show's format. We love newbies to join us and 'dip their
toes' in the conversations until you feel comfortable enough to "jump in the
conversations with both feet"! We want to encourage "experienced Web 2.0
users" to join us and contribute and extend the conversation by providing
real-life examples and tips/suggestions. See the website to suggest future
show topics!

Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009

Time: 9:00am PST/10:00am MST/11:00am CST/12:00pm EST Other time zones link,
the link to the actual meeting room, and the resource article are at
http://live.classroom20.com/

If you're new to the Classroom 2.0 LIVE site and show you might want to
spend a few minutes listening to the screencast on the homepage to learn
about how we use Elluminate and how to navigate the site to find the
archives of previous shows and resources.

Visit Classroom 2.0 at: http://www.classroom20.com

Wimba offers FREE online seminars :)

Dear Educators,

Are you a 21st Century Educator?

Do you have the skills of a 21st Century educator? Are you familiar with the
technologies that are already enhancing teaching and learning in today's
classrooms?

Stay current with Wimba's Distinguished Lecture Series. Both Upcoming and
Recorded events are available at:

http://wimba.com/company/events/dls/

Wimba is offering these FREE online seminars exclusively to education
professionals like you.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to your friends and colleagues.

Open Light March 7 Conference Registration Reminder

~*Open Light Conference*~

http://openlight.pbwiki.com

Please spread the word about the Open Light Emerging Technologies Conference to be held March 7, 2009 in T or C by sharing the attached flyer or sharing the link

http://openlight.pbwiki.com/3rd-Open-Light-Conference-March-7

Unlike previous conferences, registrants will need to select the sessions they would like to attend in advance. This will be necessary for our planning.

**Those who were already registered should have received an email confirmation from me asking them to select sessions.

Please contact me for more information! Thanks again for your involvement and support of Open Light!!

~Holly

NMSU OTL Joins Darius Goes West

Thanks to one student making us aware and student book purchases from the program Amazon bookstore, a purchase of the Darius Goes West DVD has been made. This purchase supports Charley's Fund which supports the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

ISTE's New Communication Hub Connects the World of Ed Tech

ISTE is proud to launch ISTE Connects at http://www.isteconnects.org which is your one-stop communications hub featuring the latest NECC 2009 information and conversations.

The hub links to our conference and community networks including Ning, Facebook, and Second Life.  

Be sure to download the ISTE Connects widget to receive the latest news and information from NECC, ISTE, and the Ed Tech community.
 

Join ISTE and NMSTE in February!

Join ISTE and NMSTE today! ( http://www.nmste.org/)

Hurry up and join, February is Member Appreciation Month and there are raffles and book offers GALORE!

Nationally Acclaimed Online Curriculum Resources Now FREE to Virtual Schools

SAS® Curriculum Pathways® is now available at no cost [FREE!] to every educator in America, including virtual school programs. That announcement was recently made by SAS®, a North Carolina based software company. The product is already being used by thousands of teachers in more than 30 states.

SAS Curriculum Pathways provides content in the core disciplines: English, mathematics, social studies, science and Spanish. Aligned with state and national standards, the product provides more than 200 InterActivities and 855 ready-to-use lessons that enable technology-rich instruction and engage higher-order thinking skills. The product is primarily for use in grades 8 to 12, though middle school content is in development.

Designed for a wide range of classroom environments, technology capabilities and learning styles, SAS Curriculum Pathways can be used flexibly—in online courses, a one-computer classroom, in small groups or in 1:1 computing initiatives where every student and teacher has a computer.

SAS Curriculum Pathways won the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) 2008 CODiE Award for Best K-12 Instructional Solution. The product is also used in community colleges, virtual schools and home settings.

Online educators can integrate resources that help to differentiate instruction and develop critical-thinking skills. Integrating rigorous content with innovative instructional design, the product prepares students for college-level learning, promotes 21st-century skills and helps meet achievement and accountability criteria.

For a success story on how one acclaimed virtual school has used SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, please visit: http://www.sas.com/success/floridavirtual.html

For information on setting up your free school and teacher accounts, visit www.sascurriculumpathways.com or contact Lee Ellen Harmer at LeeEllen [dot] Harmer [at] sas [dot]  com.