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 =Engaging Middle Level Learners with Technology and Media = = =  //This We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents// states that in order to be effective for middle level students learning must be relevant, challenging, integrative, exploratory, collaborative, and active. Technology and Media provide many tools for creating learning environments with these characteristics.

The purpose of this wiki is to share helpful links, successful experiences, and challenges. Hopefully the posted links will be helpful to teachers who visit. Visitors are encouraged to join and contribute.

** Informational links **
PBS Media Infusion (Click "All the Authors" - to see all the topics. There is a different topic each month.) []

Engaging Middle Level Learners blog for Month of the Young Adolescent The blog includes posts from middle level educators from around the country sharing their success stories. Guest blogger for October 2008 - Rebecca Lawson http://www.pbs.org/teachers/mediainfusion/2008/10/meeting_the_needs_of_adolescent_learners_with_media_and_technology.html OR []

Hooked on Glogster: Posters 2.0 by Brenda Dyck Learn about Glogster, see examples of projects, use a tutorial glog to register your classes []

Learn from the best! Web 2.0 guru Will Richardson shares his expertise, handouts, etc, in his blog. []

FableVision - Download //Creative Tips for a Life-Long Learning Journey// by Peter and Paul Reynolds, enjoy the North Star Community as you help your students find their North Star, learn more about Constructivist teaching, use the treasure of free educational resources, and get the latest news from author Peter Reynolds. [] The North Star Community - A site dedicated to teachers, families, students, lifelong learners, and those brave enough to follow their dreams. http://www.fablevision.com/northstar/

Middle School Portal 2: Math & Science Pathways (MSP2) project supports middle grades educators with high-quality, standards-based resources and promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing among its users. Educators use MSP2 to increase content knowledge in science, mathematics, and appropriate pedagogy for youth ages 10 to 15. MSP2 employs social networking and digital tools to foster dynamic experiences that promote creation, modification, and sharing of resources, facilitate professional development, and support the integration of technology into practice. Visit to access numerous resources; join to collaborate with others who have similar interests and share your knowledge with others. []

** Work by Middle Level Educators and/or their students **
Projects by Brenda Dyck - Brenda's technology projects are award winners around the world! She is the moderator of MiddleTalk, National Middle School Association's ListServ. []

"Copyright and You," a wiki by Joan Jarrett, leads students in the exploration of copyright including Creative Commons. Included are a video, survey, webquest, and other activities to get students involved in understanding copyright. (Joan is currently an East Region trustee for National Middle School Association who will be running for president in the spring.) http://jarrettswiki.wikispaces.com/

Mrs. B's Fishbowl - Lynn Bruno is a teacher in Glen Elyn, outside Chicago, who uses media and technology in many of her units. Past units include Political Ads, Music-Media, The Great American Teen Novel, and "This I Believe 2009." Patterned after the radio show by the same name, "This I Believe" was a series of podcasts by students. There is almost always a project posted with all the pieces. Check back often to see what is happening in Mrs. Bruno's Fishbowl. []

25 Days to Make a Difference - In December 2007, 10-year-old Laura Stockman decided to honor the memory of her grandfather by "living as he did - doing for others." She saved her allowance for December and decided to do a good deed every day until Christmas and share the experience with the world through her blog. Today Laura's project has spread throughout the world and is still going. Check out her site to see where this seed has grown. []

Young Adolescent POWER! Check out this wiki to learn about projects created by middle level students that have impacted the world. Join the wiki and recognize others who are spending their days making the world a better place. http://young-adolescent-power.wikispaces.com/

Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson - eduScapes [|http://www.eduscapes.com]
Annette Lamb and her husband Larry Johnson have created a treasure for everyone interested in educational technology. From the "42eXplore" section which includes 200 academic themes with appropriate websites and activities, to resources for university classes they teach, to handouts for their most popular workshops, they share it all freely. Here are a few postings that may be of interest. http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/
 * Voice threads for education wiki (examples, conversation, explanation, etc.)
 * Library Media Specialist 2.0: Social, Collaborative, and Interactive Technologies

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 * Beyond Googling: Applying Google Tools for Teaching and Learning
 * Webquests to Web 2.0: More than a decade of technology ideas

Learn from fellow middle level educators and experts by listening to National Middle School Association Podcasts. Some of the available topics include "Voices of Teens, Writers Matter," "Podcasts and the Science Classroom," "Wikis in the Classroom," and "Building Bridges with Skype." [|http://www.nmsa.org] (The podcasts are located on the right of NMSA's home page.)

Todd Williamson's Science Blog (includes podcasts done by students about science topics) []

Greek Mythology (includes campaign "radio spots" for the gods) http://mra-ancient-greece.wikispaces.com/ http://mra-ancient-greece.wikispaces.com/Nu (ads)

Mabry Middle School (GA) (includes podcasts and vodcasts for most subjects) [] (Be sure to check out the film festival awards)

Connecting your students with others around the world
ePals Connect with students and classes around the world through SchoolMail, forums, projects, blogs, etc. SchoolMail allows the teacher to review email before it is sent. All the services are FREE. [|http://www.epals.com]

Global SchoolNet Created by Al Rogers (founder of FrEd Mail) and Yvonne Andres, Global SchoolNet is dedicated to linking kids around the world. It provides FREE projects, virtual field trips, videos, podcasts, and competitions to develop literacy and communication skills, foster teamwork and collaboration, encourage workforce preparedness and create multi-cultural understanding. [|http://www.globalschoolnet.org]

SKYPE Skype provides free audio and video calls around the world. Download the software, signup for an account, and talk to your friends. More importantly, connect your students with another classroom to discuss an academic topic, learn about a new culture, etc. For an example of its use in the classroom, listen to the podcast by Bill Ivey at [|http://www.nmsa.org] [|http://www.skype.com]

iCollaboratory iCollaboratory is an outgrowth of the Collaboratory Project at Northwestern University. There are projects offered, and members may propose projects. All the work here is quality. [|http://sites.google.com/a/collaboratory.northwestern.edu/collaboratory-home/]

Health and Wellness
PBS: It's My Life - friends, family, emotions, health and wellness, etc. []

Dove Films - Focus on the natural beauty of a person instead of the unrealistic image created by the media. []

National Middle School Association's Health and Wellness Resources []

Cool Sites and Tools
Glogster 2.0 for Education Create FREE online interactive posters that an include video, images, text, etc. [|http://edu.glogster.com/]

PBS Design Squad - Play games, build projects. and watch episodes []

American Rhetoric - Includes 100 greatest speeches of all time, 200+ short audio and video clips illustrating stylistic figures of speech, the "Speech of the Week," cool exercises, etc. [|http://www.americanrhetoric.com]

PhotoStory 3 - Free Download from Microsoft Turn pictures into a slide show with original music the user creates, add custom motions, etc. Students can create a slide show in PowerPoint, save it as JPEG files, import it into PhotoStory, create music, narrate the slides, add effects, and customize transitions. This is a great project to do with original writing as well as with research. (The writing can also be done in PhotoStory.) NOTES OF CAUTION: The computer must have Windows Media Player 10 installed in order for PhotoStory to work. If a computer has Media Player 11, it must be removed and Media Player 10 installed before PhotoStory is downloaded. []

Wordle - Create your own beautiful word clouds []

Free Rice - Learn vocabulary while you donate rice help end hunger. Last year the sixth grade at Sullivan Middle School in Rock Hill held a contest between teams. When a student donated a set number of grains of rice, the student got a strip of colored paper. These strips were made into links and added to the team's chain. These hung from the ceiling in the hall to show each team's success. It was a great way to learn vocabulary, have fun, and make a difference. [|http://www.freerice.com]

SAS in Schools - Free access to "SAS Curriculum Pathways"
Recently Dr. Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS, announced that the company would make its SAS Curriculum Pathways software available free to every educator in America. Sign up for your free account by visiting the site. [] - information, tour, demos, webcasts, registration for account [] - screen shots of various programs