The Polliwog Journal

One of our inservice days this year was dedicated to technology. In one session we learned about netTrekker, a subscription search tool for schools. It seems to be worth the money we paid to subscribe. I want our students to know how to use it, so I came up with a lesson to teach them [...]

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AP students are often asked to analyze the diction of a passage. Diction means to some degree the author’s style, such as formal diction, but more technically diction means the author’s choice of words. I sometimes have students highlight words and phrases that have a similar tone or meaning. They may use more than one [...]

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A wordle is clever in a number of ways. The word “wordle” is just funny; it kind of tickles the tongue, makes the tongue vibrate just a bit.
Ms K has some ideas about how to use Wordle in the classroom. I may have to try some of them, IF we aren’t blocked!
What I like best [...]

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Kate Says has posted the results of a survey on blocking of educational Web applications, like blogs, YouTube, social networking sites, etc. In a very impromptu survey of one class today, I asked, “how many of you were using the Internet for a legitimate school assignment this year and got blocked.” I was not surprised [...]

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You know how sometimes you just grab onto something, like a little analogy and it sort of fits? Well, the other day I was explaining the Living Histories project to my ninth graders and reminding them that they needed a minimum of 10 hyperlinks throughout their project. I told them that I did not want [...]

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Ryan Bretag, in a recent post in his blog The Four Eyed Technologist, said that NCTE is “moving toward the future,” but then chides gently, “(or is that the present).” Either way, NCTE has its seatbelt securely fastened on the 21st c. literacy skills bandwagon. Now that I think about it, bandwagon may be the [...]

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Patricia Cohen’s review of Susan Jacoby’s new book, Dumb and Dumber: Are American’s Hostile to Knowledge appeared in the New York Times, February 14, 2008.
Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?
By PATRICIA COHEN
Published: February 14, 2008
Susan Jacoby’s new book bemoans the state of American culture. Not only are citizens ignorant about essential knowledge, she [...]

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