Tonight's homework is pages 35-37 read and answer the questions.

One of my dreams for Virginia's Community of Learning is to create a "learning objects repository" in which we not only link to other website but offer content of our own created by Virginia educators. Here's a fairly comprehensive list of such repositories that are already available online: Learning Object Repositories

From Dave Winer, the first blogger, a history of weblogs: The History of Weblogs

A wonderful website from the BBC that helps visitors learn a variety of languages. I spent a few minutes with the Italian top ten words and liked the exercises and ease of use. Lots of pronunciation help is available. You'll need the Flash player to make use of the site. Ciao! BBC - Languages - Homepage

Just back from the VSTE conference and very enthusiastic about working on VCOL, especially since I got three wonderful volunteers during my presentation. Once we get them all set up, we'll introduce them to you! Meanwhile, my ultimate goal for VCOL is to create a "repository" of learning objects so I went looking for some grant money and discovered this website from the University of Kansas. Be sure to check out their learning objects that are a series of short tutorials on different software products: Learning Generation--Integrating Technology in Teacher Education

A website that features videos of aurora borealis: AuroraWebCam.com - Aurora borealis - The northern lights international project from Alaska

The Copenhagen Consensus 2004 is designed to assess the world's challenges and prioritize opportunities for solving these challenges. It would be a great problem for students to think about. The Copenhagen Consensus

From the Washington Post, an interesting article about the extent to which our forebears were ignorant of the past just as we now decry our students' lack of knowledge of American history: Greatest Generation Struggled With History Too. Note: You'll need to create a free login to read the article.

Great collection of nature videos from PBS: American Field Guide

I was doing some work on the VCOL database adding in New York museums when I found this excellent introduction to modern art just for kids (although I had lots of fun, too!): MoMA.org | Destination Modern Art

An article from Education Week that all educators should read: Educating Billy Wang for the World of Tomorrow. You may need a free login but it's worth it as the article talks about the issues faced by both students and teachers in the 21st century. How can we keep school from being "boring" for students? How do we help them find their own areas of interest that will lead them to be lifelong learners?

A partnership of the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress, Save Our Sounds is working to preserve early recorded sounds of speeches, music and oral histories. Visit the website to learn more about the project, including an interview with Jerry Garcia about the importance of early recorded music on his own work. Sound samples include a speech by John F. Kennedy, poetry by Langston Hughes, as well as a steam locomotive and space satellite. http://www.saveoursounds.org/index.htm

In honor of Women's History Month from the Alcott House in Massachusetts, a few choice quotes that celebrate women: http://www.louisamayalcott.org/witandwisdom_women.html

It's always exciting when Virginia schools are featured nationally for their innovative programs. Here's an article from Apple about the laptop initiative program at Lindsay Middle School in Hampton: http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/hampton/ While you're there, you can read other Profiles in Success that might spark your own ideas for technology integration.

A recommendation for Jason Perry, assistant principal at Middlesex Elementary School, Virginia, the Center for Performance Assessment is a private educational organization the helps schools work on assessment, accountability and standards. The site offers a variety of free resources: Center for Performance Assessment

A great resource for elementary school teachers with complete lessons and ideas for using technology to support instruction: Virginia Children's Engineering Council