Free Text Books

Every subject, not too much for social studies, but maybe you have a kid with different interests and need somewhere to point him.. Etc

Worth checking out for sure. Free is good.

http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php/Book:Lists/Subjects

WOW

As a former student, and one who has participated in this blog before, I must say that there has been some fantastic stuff posted this semester! It is very useful and some has been great for classroom stuff!

"Time for Plan ‘B’: A New Approach to Climate Change"

This is an interesting interview by Micheal Enright from CBC radio. He talks with David Keith the Research Chair in Energy and the Environment at the University of Calgary. The interview covers some options for combating climate change by attempting to control the weather. It might sound a little bit hokey, but David Keith is a very interesting speaker. The first part of the interview is about some theoretical and partially tested techniques that have been developed to off set the green house effect and stabilize climate change. In the later half of the interview he explains some philosophy behind the ideas and talks about why the climate change issue has been such a difficult issue to motivate the majority of populations to do something about. Keith speaks candidly and level headed about climate change and the choices that societies may have. He has some interesting things to say about our current social attitude and why we might think this way. It is an informative and enjoyable piece to listen to.
troy

Fiction in the Socials Studies Class

Hi!

Just wanted to make a quick plug, on behalf of all of us Socials/English teachers, for the use of fiction in your Socials classroom.

I would recommend watching The Walrus (a great Canadian Literary magazine) for both short stories and reviews of Canadian books from small presses.

http://walrusmagazine.com/

The New Yorker is also a gold mine for short fiction and has a new story free online every month. It also has excellent book reviews as well.

http://www.newyorker.com/

Also, locally, the staff at Munro's is great at recommending books on any subject.

http://www.munrobooks.com/

Finally, any one book that anyone who is going to teach the Vietnam War should HAVE to read and HAVE to teach in their class is Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. It is a series of linked short stories so gritty and telling that you and your students will be unable to put it down. I can't say enough good things about this book as both a book and an academic resource.

Thanks and Happy Holidays,

Justine

Graphic Novels as Historical Fiction

More resources.... I admit that I feel like I am completely idea and theory overloaded and totally frustrated by my lack of practical experience. So much so that I really didn't anticipate having another resource to share but I did think of something after all. I have blogged a lot (probably too much! ) on the use historical fiction in the classroom, and I thought of another possible type of historical fiction, which I did not include yet: graphic novels. Some people think that a graphic novel is just a fancy name for a comic book, and we could have a discussion on the possible difference between both but I don't really consider myself expert enough, so I will concentrate on what I do know which is that there is some great historical fiction written in a graphics/text format . Hopefully, opening up the reading list to include certain historically accurate graphic novels would be one more way to peak the interests of a wider range of students. The particular graphic novel that I was thinking about is titled Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography, by Chester Brown. Maus is another great one about WWII by Art Spiegalman. I also found a link with some more options to look at:
http://theoceancountylibrary.org/Educators/ce_files/Learn%20History%20through%20GN.pdf
Have a great holidays !!

A little more History

Part 2 of the History resources.

First World War.com

A great site for all things World War I related. This site will potentially be very helpful to me, as the first thing I will be teaching during my practicum will be “The Great War”. Tons of photos, maps, propaganda posters, vintage audio and video, among other valuable resources on this site.

http://www.firstworldwar.com/

Historical Atlas of the 20th Century

A good site to direct Social Studies students towards in order for them to establish a basic grasp of the major events of the 20th century. Information is laid out simply and is easy to understand. A good way for students to understand the global context when teaching them Canadian history.

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/20centry.htm

History.com

This is the online version of the History Channel. You can watch shows, video clips of historical events, play games, etc. A fun way to get students interested in history.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do

CBC Digital Archives

This site features an extensive archives of video from the history of CBC television. Great for clips on Canadian, and international, history.

http://archives.cbc.ca/

Our Roots

A source for regional Canadian history. Specifically, it features online copies of books and documents organized according to province.

http://www.ourroots.ca/

A little History

Here come the history resources!

National Historic Sites of Canada

A website devoted to all the national historic sites in Canada. Great way for students and teachers to find out about historic sites relating to their respective city, town, province, etc.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/progs/lhn-nhs/index_E.asp

New France-New Horizons

Great site that documents the history of New France. Contains archival documents, maps, manuscripts, etc.

http://www.archivescanadafrance.org/english/accueil_en.html

Heroines.ca

This site is devoted to historically significant Canadian women and their accomplishments. Contains photos, biographies, etc. Useful for students and teachers in Social Studies.

http://www.heroines.ca/

A History of the Northwest Coast

This site is devoted to the history of First Nations peoples on the Northwest Coast. Contains many photos and primary literature from the 19th and early-20th centuries.

http://www.hallman.org/indian/.www.html

Bitesize Canada

Easy to follow site that will give Social Studies students a good understanding of the basics of Canadian history. Also contains games and trivia devoted to Canadian history.

http://www.bitesizecanada.org/

Geography Resources

If you're like me, when it comes to Social Studies, I'm pretty strong in the history department but so much when it comes to geography. Unfortunately, I'm going to eventually have to teach it. Anyway, these links are a great place to start for those of us who need to brush up on our geography before attempting to act like like we know what we're talking about in front of a class.

National Atlas of Canada

Great site for Canadian geography. Information on both cultural and physical geography. Ideal for the history-strong Social Studies teacher who perhaps needs to brush up on their geographical knowledge before attempting to teach it.

http://atlas.gc.ca/site/index.html

Geographical Names of Canada

A good educational source for Canadian geography. This site contains information on the origin of Canadian place names, among other things.

http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/

ESL and Special Needs Education

Here are some more highlights of my e-binder. Enjoy.

Special Needs Education

This site provides links to numerous resources that can potentially help those who are teaching special needs individuals. Also useful for those who have yet to teach but wish to learn more about Special Needs Education.
http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/eledSpecEd.html

ESL

This site is basically a hub for ESL teaching (and learning) strategies. Potentially useful for teachers who have difficulty communicating with students for whom English is a second (or third, or fourth) language.
http://www.rong-chang.com/

The Teachers Guide

This site contains resources for teachers, from lesson plans to tips on classroom management. Also contains links to topics relating to Special Needs Education, and technology tools to be used in the classroom.
http://www.theteachersguide.com/

Teaching Aids and Technology Tools

Better late than never for some blogging.

To make up for my stunning lack of blog contributions, I thought I'd post some of the highlights of my e-binder (made for my ICT class). These sites are related to teaching aids and various online tools.

Windows Movie Maker

This tool can be used by students to make movies for class presentations and other assignments. Teachers can use it to make movies that could be incorporated into a class lesson.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

PowerShow.com

A great site to view and store PowerPoint presentations. Teachers may find this useful if they are pressed for time and need a PowerPoint presentation to help illustrate a lesson being taught in class. Teachers can also share particularly good presentations with other teachers.

http://www.powershow.com/

Screencast-O-Matic

This site can be used to create a video recording of your computer screen. It can be useful for teachers as a way to give online tutorials for websites that students may need to know how to use for class.

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

Classroom 2.0

Social network site for teachers. Here, teachers can share ideas, resources, etc. that will hopefully be helpful in the classroom and elsewhere.

http://www.classroom20.com/

Directory of E-Learning Tools

This site is devoted to categorizing E-Learning tools. Includes links to research tools, RSS tools, presentation tools, etc.

http://c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/Tools/authoring.html

HERE'S A WIKI SITE WHERE WE CAN POST OUR UNITS AND LESSONS

i'm not sure anyone is actually reading the blog anymore, but here goes anyway. a few of us were talking after class the other day and trying to figure out a way we could create a common online link to our lesson plans and units. i mentioned someone in another class of mine has created a wiki page for that class to post the same, and that i would ask her if we could post to it as well. she has given the ok, so if you follow these steps, you should be able to post to the wiki.

1...link to http://educationlessonplans.wikispaces.com/

2...you will then create an account and tracey will get an email indicating you are requesting to join the wiki. she will email you back the approval, and the proverbial bob is your proverbial uncle.

i hope that works. and i hope we use it. not a single person has posted to it from the other class, yet everyone seems so desperate to find and share lessons. i will post everything i have just as soon as i finish my final edits.

if we were in class, it would probably be good to discuss what we want entered here. i'm thinking lesson and units only. we've seen, via the blog, what happens when other resources and sources are posted at random. things tend to get haphazard and disorganized. but that's just my input. it's our space.

Project Based Learning

Click on title to link to one of the websites that focus on this method.

I was listening to the CBC this morning (or was that yesterday?).  There was a teacher from Port Alberni discussing a pilot program he has started for grade 9 students in one of the schools there.  It is the second year of the program.  Last year he had one class of 16 students and this year he has 2 classes of 25 or so.  It sounds like an amazing program.  During the observation period, I looked at the students and thought, "How unnatural to have youth learning this way in the classroom".  It seems to me that the classroom suits young children and over-twenties in many regards, but adolescents?  Adolescence is a time that young people are excited to be independent, learn skills that have practical applications, be social, and problem-solve.  At least that was the case for me.  I loved working and discussing ideas, but the structure of the classroom was to rigid for my powerful, dynamic adolescent energy.  Now projects!... Those I got excited about.  Projects are complex.  They take the social skills of working together and the cognitive skills of planning and calculations.  At the same time the students are active, engaged, feeling productive, and seeing real-life applications for the things they are learning.  The Port Alberni teacher teaches math, english, social studies, and science all in one project.  Last year the class built the school room they are using this year; it doubles as a dry room to dry their clothes after working outside.  Now that's a high school I would have been successful in...sign me up please!

First Nations resources through SD61

In my quest for resources, which at the moment is also about filling the blog quota, I stumbled upon the the SD 61 webpage. I wouldn't necessarily have guessed it to useful but it I found a number of good suggestions for First Nations resources. Including:
-Recommended reading lists for lessons on residential schools for elementary, middle and secondary, the lists are good because they provide an indepth look at each book.
-Reading and resource lists for topics relating to the Metis and Inuits peoples.
- A list of French language books on First Nations topics.
-And a unit overview called Raven Tales which seeks to incorporate traditional oral storytelling into language arts classes ( this one looked the most interesting in my opinion.)

If you are interested the link is http: //www.sd61.bc.ca/anedEdResources.aspx
Hope that you find this helpful !

Why does the Real UN not work?

So with the way our Model UN happened on Friday, with the resolution passing despite objections from the developed countries because they were outnumbered by developing countries, i was wondering why doesnt that just happen in the real UN? there are way more developing countries than developed countries, so you would think that they would pass the resolutions that that will help the developing world, like the one we passed about financial aid and technology transfer. Does the US/GB/France/etc. have a veto like they do with the security council? or does the US just pressure everyone into not voting yes by threatening to cut trade opportunities or posing other economic threats? Why does it always seem like nothing happens when the world gets together to fix something?

We band of brothers

Hello. Having been recently posessed by an unstoppable urge to make a blog post (or 5), I thought I'd ask around to see how many of us are familiar with the HBO series "Band of Brothers", and what those so familiar think of it as an educational resource.

To put it succinctly B.O.B. is to super-high quality war tv drama what "Saving Private Ryan" was to war cinema; in fact there are many shared production credits, with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg heading the bill once more. It follows a cast of characters (Easy Company) as they fight through the war, with every episode being preceeded by interviews with veterans of the company on the episodes' subjects. To sweeten the deal there is another series due to air in march called "The Pacific", made by the same people, which deals in (one can assume) similar assiduous detail for the Pacific theatre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacific_(miniseries)

The B.O.B. episodes are fairly long, which might dictate breaking them up if you wanted to show them, and fairly graphic at times, but do a really good job of personalizing the war in the european theatre, en mon avi. I would certainly consider them a potential resource going forward, but wonder what other people may think of them. Thanks.

World World Two Map Animation

Click on the title to link to YouTube video.

On my observation, one of the Social Studies Teachers showed this animation while teaching WW2.  Unfortunately, this version isn't as good quality as the one he had but it would do.  I thought it was a useful visual to give a quick overview of events, pulling it all together in a chronological and spacial way.  I'm a visual learner so it was great for me to see.  I think it's important to deliver the information in many different ways.  Hope you find it useful. 

I should also mention the DVD set that he recommended.  (This teacher is into spending part of almost every class watching a video, which worked well for him.)  He thought that the DVD set World at War was great for teaching WW2.  It was originally a 26-episode British  production made in 1969, but was remastered in 2000.  There's a wikipedia entry about the set if you want some more info (can't guarantee it will be accurate though...giggle).

O BAMA! SAY IT AIN'T SO!

i wanted to bring this up today before we got into the model un, just to gauge opinion, but we ran into a time issue right off the hop.

i wanted to begin by asking how many of you were excited by barack obama's candidacy and his eventual rise to the presidency? i know i was.

what did it mean to you or what did you see it meaning to the world?

i then wanted to know how you feel about him now?

finally, do you feel obama should be honoured with the nobel peace prize, in lieu that he recently announced he will be sending 30,000 more troops to afghanistan? i don't. and i don't know that the nobel peace prize should have been bestowed upon him had he not decided to send 30,000 more troops. and i worry when a nobel peace prize acceptance speech espouses the belief that "the instruments of war do have a role in preserving the peace," especially when the esteemed prize recipient then refuses to answer to that statement and forgoes the traditional post prize press conference. as well, he cancelled other events held every year, including a dinner with the norwegian nobel committee, a television interview, appearances at a children’s event promoting peace, as well as a visit to an exhibition in his honor at the nobel peace center.

sound like another american president we know?

what do you think? all talk? selling lipstick to a pig? i would say, he was voted the winner, so i can't hold that he won the prize against him. nonetheless, his words and actions leave me uneasy. but it's still early in the game. the honour was bestowed on him too early and may actually serve to undermine any position he takes before actually implementing a peace initiative which is meaningful. that said, he set himself up during his campaign as the new voice of change, of peace and hope. well, here's hoping.

i looked into whom he beat out, but curiously, the nobel committee do not release the official nominee list for 50 years!

Children Full of Life

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give you the first of five links to an award-winning CBC Documentary called "Children Full of Life" posted in 8 minute parts on Youtube. It is a look into a grade 4 classroom in Japan over the course of a year as kids learn lessons about compassion from their homeroom teacher, Toshiro Kanamori. By sharing their lives, the children begin to realize the importance of caring for their classmates. It doesn't avoid the hard parts of teaching (like some of our classes gloss over!) and incidents of bullying, the death of a parent, and other very real-life experiences are shown as they happen. I would really encourage everyone to take a look...it is inspiring in real ways.

Alysson

Making Content Come Alive

In doing my unit plan, I have been actively think about what we need to do to keep our students engaged. I have an extremely organized mentor teacher for my practicum who knows her subject area, has a plethora of resources, but there seems to be something missing...The kids respect her but are not fully inspired and I wanted to figure out how to make the content come alive for the students.

If we're tired of leafing through text books, it's likely that high school students aren't very inspired either, but we need to make the content in them relevant. One way is to bring in primary documents or other resources like personal accounts to really get students actively living through the events that have shaped our country in the past.

It can also be extremely inspiring for students to have guests in the class to hear a story from a new and unique perspective. My initial reaction to getting in guest speakers is that I wouldn't want to put them out. But how would you feel if someone valued your story and life experiences so much that they wanted you to impart your wisdom on the leaders of tomorrow? We can flatter ourselves and think that we are the only ones that our students should hear from. But it is so essential for teachers to bring in outside sources beyond the text, get students to find new resources themselves and bring in a living, breathing person to pass along their story and insights to others.

Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together

Hey S.S.Educators

Just bringing you another video from TED.com,
A talk about the interrelation between science and art,
Mae Jemison, reiterates what we know and feel,
We are all artistically scientific, and it is time to start
Teaching our students about the other counterpart.
Analysis and intuition,
Magnifying glasses and telescopes,
Ideas and action,
Our present and future hopes,
Logical creativity
Creative Logic
We should not have to cope.

Playing for Change

Hello everyone,
I have a love of music and want to try in every way to use music in the classroom as much as possible. If you haven't already heard of Playing for Change please check it out. It will make you smile, make you cry and give you the courage to step into the classroom and teach for change...the videos are truly beautiful.
Cuidense...nos vemos en clase
Jennifer

Searchable Learning Outcomes Database

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/lo_db.htm

The Ministry now as a "Searchable Learning Outcomes Database." I am not sure of the usefulness of this application...or how much of our tax dollars went into producing it, but I have used a few times myself during my unit plan.
Within 4 clicks I was able to get all 20+ PLO from the S.S.11 IRP without having to flip through the IRP. Also fairly easy to cut and paste and have a nicer looking format (compared to a .pdf).

Not sure what else it does yet, but test it out and let me know!

Education for Profit

Hey, I posted this on another blog but would like to get some of this class' input as well.

Last week the students in the social studies method classes were exposed to a guest speaker "presenting" their civic simulation. Though his model was interesting, had many well thought out aspects and years of hard work invested it was soon obvious that the nonchalent and casual demeanor of the presenter was a carefully scripted sales pitch. This program was available to teachers at an expensive cost for the teacher edition guide book and the student books. Furthermore, there was a fee per class per semester. I believe that a person is entitled to reap the benifits of their hard work but at what cost to the ideological foundations of teaching should they be compensated? I think that we will see more of this lesson for proffit model as teachers are increasingly overworked and salaries are not sufficient to live in many of the urban centres throughout Canada.

Another aspect of education for profit is private schools. I had the opportunity to work for a year at a private ESl kindergarten in Seoul, South Korea. This situation was an interesting clash of "education" and parent satisfaction. Partially due to cultural differences, but mainly caused by the school as a business model, kids' educations were comprimised due to the priority of student retention. It may be possible to obtain a for profit school model that puts forth a quality education. However, once the main motive has shifted from educating a student to the best of their ability towards generating the most amount of profit who gets left behind? At my private ESL kindergarten I continually tried to convince the school to push their finished educated product as the beacon that would guide parents of future students towards the enrollment table to sign up their children for 2 years. Unfortunately the tactic undertaken to increase enrolment and maintain student retention was parental appeasement.

I have come to terms with the fact that if I am going to teach internationally that I will most likely be working within an education for profit setting again. However, I hope that there is a focus on education as opposed to profits.

What are your opinions on education for profit? Have you had any experiences with this system? Do you plan to seek employment in this system?

"I implore you, I entreat you and I challenge you to SPEAK WITH CONVICTION!"

Hey team!! These are some links my roommate showed me when she was thinking about the youth that we will be (hopefully) educating!!! I know many of you have already seen these clips along the way... but if you haven't, Taylor Mali is accurate. And you know the expression, "it's funny cause it's true"?.... it is in full force here! The first one is just inspiring, so you should watch it. The second one will make you laugh and will make you think, so you should watch it.

Moral is: watch these!!!!!! :)

the problem with teachers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

a few words on 'the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmLE2bliXCI&feature=related

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer....in social studies?

Hi Social Teachers!

Right off the bat I have to say I have no answers to this question.  So please, all you creative people, reply to this blog if you have any ideas!

Any of you that share the same 780 seminar class as me know that I am an advocate for transgender people because of some unique work experience I have had.  After writing the article review for Jason's class, I have been reflecting on how gay, lesbian, bi, trans, and queer people can be represented in social studies.  The article review I did was about including a female perspective on History into social studies class.  The idea that history is traditionally presented from the male perspective is understood by most historians and most strive to add some balance.  The article argued that in the reality of the classroom, the female perspective is often put aside to get through the curriculum.  The author stated that girls are still growing up with a belief that women were not important players in history.  Since writing it I have been reflecting on other marginalized groups, whose perspectives have been left out.  As social teachers we are aware of the shortcoming in perspectives of some of these groups like aboriginals and immigrants.  I feel, like the female perspective, that these views can readily be incorporated into our classes.  I am, however, unsure how to incorporate the GLBTQ perspective.  If anyone can recommend a source or idea, I'd love to hear it.  I think this kind of inclusion could do a lot to promote acceptance and understanding. 

Proposed Resolution For Model UN 2009

Proposed Resolution on Climate Change

We, the Caucus of Caribbean States, submit for your approval a resolution whereby:
The Member Nations of the United Nations Council,

Believing in the potentially disastrous effects of global warming and climate change;

Realizing the disparity in financial resources available to member states and recognizing the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases originated in that portion of member states with the greatest financial resources;

Reaffirming the principles outlined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:

Demand the co-action of all member states towards the reduction of global levels of greenhouse gases,

Call upon all developed countries designated Annex 1 in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reaffirm their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,

Reaffirm the principle that developed nations must undertake to supply developing nations with the financial and technological resources to further climate related studies and projects as stated in the UNFCCC,

Request that this mandate;
a)establish the levels of greenhouse gas emission reduction which each developed nation (previously labeled Annex 1 in the KPUNFCC) will undertake to accomplish.
b)set limits for the growth of developing nations greenhouse gas emissions.
c)establish a formal organization that will oversee the compliance of each member nation with this mandates guidelines, to be known henceforth as the World Environmental Judiciary.
d)establish a set of consequences that will be applied to member nations if member nations are found to be in non-compliance with this mandate.
e) establish 1.25% of GDP per annum as the percentage of financial aid which each developed nation will supply to developing nations for projects and research related to climate change.

Model UN

Talks are underway at the COP 15 Conference in Copenhagen.

The EPA (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) made its first step towards addressing the issue of climate change by declaring greenhouse gases a health hazard. Yay US its a step in the right direction. The politics behind this declaration are already under debate: the threat of EPA regulation is said to be designed to pressure the Senate into enacting legislation to implement a cap and trade system. Regardless of its motives the EPA is finally acknowledging the seriousness of green-house gases. What about Canada...how are we doing? Here is a quote from the globe and mail article...

"Praise for the Obama administration's move came as Canada's already battered image at the summit took another blow. Last night a coalition of 450 environmental groups awarded Canada a Fossil of the Day award, given to the countries “doing the most to obstruct progress in the global climate change talks.”

In a press conference, Michael Martin, Canada's chief climate change negotiator, made it clear that Canada's would not alter its stated carbon reduction targets, which are among the lowest of the industrialized countries."

Very saddening news! I look forward to the delegations of Canada and the United States speaking at today's meeting

Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED)

Hey Everyone, click the title.

Here is an epic site which everyone should go check out.

Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation

In this video, Dan Pink (former speechwriter for Al Gore) talks about changing our economic motivation model. Pink proposes that we move away from operant conditioning and towards a model of motivation based on autonomy, mastery, and purpose. To clarify, Pink describes each part of this model, "autonomy, the urge to direct our own lives, mastery, the desire to get better and better at something that matters, and purpose, the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves" (2009). Though Pink describes the benefits of his "right-brained" model of motivation, he does not clarify how to introduce the model into a society based on extrinsic motivation. In addition, John Durkin, professor at the University of Victoria, states, "Motivation is one of those concepts that seems easy to understand at first, but that becomes very difficult to define in specific ways, or to implement with specific strategies leading to expected outcomes" (165). If Durkin is correct, how can we determine if Pink's data is accurate?

However, though motivation may be hard to determine, I believe that Pink's model would be better suited to help students develop creativity and critical thinking. Typically, operant conditioning tends to divorce intrinsic meaning from actions by imposing a preset meaning and reward. Therefore, I believe the best way for students to find meaning in school work, is by allowing them to explore Pink's concepts of autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Durkin, J. (2003). Cases in educational psychology: A Canadian perspective. Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Pink, D. (July, 2009). Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation [Talks]. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_pink_on_motivation.html.

Students and Homework

Hello Educators,

Fellow Social Studies teacher Paul has brought to my attention CBC's story about homework. Though the question of this article is mainly about giving homework, I would like to explore what homework should be. As a Social Studies educator and undergraduate student, I would like to propose an alternative way to look at this question. According to the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), homework is effective "when assignments are engaging, relevant and meaningful". Harris Cooper, director of the Program of Education at Duke University, divides homework into several different categories, “(a) amount, (b) purpose, (c) skill area, (d) choice for the student, (e) completion deadline, (f) degree of individualization, and (g) social context” (4). I propose that as teachers, we should work with our students to find homework which works for them. Due to the high amount of diversity faced in most classes, I strongly discourage the traditional methods of assigning the same homework to everyone. Though this may be tough at first, over the course of a semester teachers should come to personalize the homework they give out so that every student feels homework is engaging, relevant, and meaningful. What do you think?


Cooper, H. (2007). The battle over homework: Common ground for administrators, teachers, and parents. California: Corwin Press.


In addition, through this story I became aware of the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL):

http://www.ccl-cca.ca/CCL/Home?Language=EN

Take your kids to the movies

I was checking out the IMAX a while back and found out some cool things. Even though the theater only has a few shows that are regularly promoted throughout the year, there is a collection of about 20 different films in the theater’s library. There are student prices for school groups where the cost is $4.75 per student (regular price for youths 6-18 is $8.50). There are special show times in the mornings 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 and other special times. Teachers can order a free pass to go and view the film before hand to prepare to add it to their class projects. The pass takes about two weeks to get.
There is also a page, “Curriculum Fit”, which ties the films to school subjects. This refers mostly to middle school grades, but gives a bit of a background of what the films cover. One of the best things about IMAX documentaries for teachers is that most of the films are only 40 minutes in length and make a field trip from a school in town doable for an 80 minute class before lunch.
Another resource to consider is that many movie theaters rent out there theaters to groups and a teacher can likely get a good deal. Most theaters now have digital projectors so nearly anything can be shown, not just film (copy write laws permitting). I thought it might be a great event to have a ‘Film Festival’ of short films that students do for class projects. A film night where family and friends could attend would be epic, but the chances of getting in on a theater’s prime show times would be difficult.
Troy
Here are websites for the other theaters in town too.

IMAX
http://www.imaxvictoria.com/schools/index.cfm

The Roxy
http://www.roxyclassic.com/

The Odeon and Silver City Tillicum
http://www.cineplex.com/Theatres/GroupSales.aspx

UVIC Cinecenta
http://www.cinecenta.com/

Caprice in Langford
http://www.criteriontheatres.com/langford.html

Empire Theater on Yates/Blanshard
http://www.empiretheatres.com/theatres/victoria-empire-capitol-6-cinemas

University Heights
http://www.empiretheatres.com/theatres/brandon-empire-capitol-theatre

some resources...

To wrap up an incredibly motivating and exciting semester, I thought I'd post some of the resources I stumbled upon in creating my eBinder for tech class. Danny (and others) may have already recommended some of these, but I'm hoping you can all find something of use here!

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Early Canadiana Online

http://www.canadiana.org/

This site offers a digital collection of Canadian print sources, from as far back as the first European contact and as recently as the 1920s. The collections relate to topics such as the history of French Canada, English Canadian literature, women's history, and native studies. Colonial and federal government documentation (pre-1901) and digitized Canadian periodicals (pre-1920) are also available, providing primary sources of information on agriculture, religion, medicine and health.

About 40% of the library’s materials are openly accessible, while the complete library is made available to subscribers only.

LearnNowBC

http://www.learnnowbc.ca/

LearnNowBC is an award-winning online educational resource for parents, student and educators. It balances traditional classroom and textbook learning with video lessons, online tutors and access to virtual libraries.

In the Learning Resource Repository, teachers can search through hundreds of free Learning Objects, which are self-contained and reusable units of learning that include videos, online activities, audio clips, documents, photographs and illustrations. Documentation is provided for how each unit supports the Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) of the BC Curriculum.

Educators will also benefit from tutorials on cyber safety and an online conferencing system called Elluminate Live! that provides virtual meeting rooms for discussion.

Canada: A People’s History (Website)

http://history.cbc.ca/

A website presenting a textual recount of the award-winning CBC television series Canada: A People’s History, which is a narration of the nation’s history through the eyes of those who lived it. This site is a valuable supplement to the video series, which is often shown in Canadian high school social studies classrooms. Features include an interactive timeline from 12,000 bc – 1990 ad, episode summaries and in-depth explorations of the topics covered in each, free activities and backgrounders for each episode, games, puzzles and more.

Canada’s Digital Collections

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/

This site offers digital access to projects from Canada’s Digital Collections, which catalogues content of local, regional and international interest. Project topics range from Aboriginal issues to Confederation; from art to portraits; from provincial-specific histories to individual biographies; and so on.

The works were accumulated from 1996 to 2004 and archived by Library and Archives Canada.

BC Archives Amazing Time Machine

http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/main.htm

Developed under Industry Canada's SchoolNet initiative, the Amazing Time Machine is a division of the BC Archives website created specifically for school-aged children. Historical documents, images, and other multimedia information are accessible online in a format suitable for young learners. Some of the categories include historical families and communities, First Nations, women, technology and economy, all within the context of British Columbian history.

Get Smart: Top 10 Research Tools

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-9239_7-6654999-1.html

This list of digital research tools, created by CNET Reviews, outlines the top services for finding expert sources and keeping your work organized as you go. These sites would be valuable for any educator, but particular for the busy teacher who wants to stay on top of the latest information and technologies.

The list of tools (in random order) includes:

1. Encyclopedia Britannica 2007

2. Wikipedia

3. FeedDemon 2

4. Diigo

5. Google Scholar

6. Google Book Search

7. Yahoo Answers

8. Windows Live Local

9. Google Earth 4

10. Google Home

11. Google Search

Access Copyright

http://www.accesscopyright.ca/

This organization provides educators (among others) with immediate and legal access to copyright protected materials. As a not-for-profit organization, Access Copyright has established agreements with other copyright organizations in order to make available over 20 million books, magazines, newspapers and other publications. This site is a great source for information on licences, compliance, frequently asked questions, and much more.

HTMLSource

http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/

Offering comprehensive information on HTML, this site is a must for educators in today’s technology-driven classrooms (virtual or otherwise!). From the most basic questions – “What is HTML?” – to higher-level problems on optimization and site management, this site has it all. Look for tutorials, diagrams, detailed advice, and lessons.

Aviary

http://aviary.com/

Aviary offers free virtual creation software for all types of artistic genres, from graphic design to audio editing. These online editing tools can be accessed from any online computer, giving “creation on the fly” a whole new meaning and providing teachers with a simple yet effective tool to aid in teaching and learning.

Teenagers Living and Learning with Social Media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmoc9F6fceQ

Researcher danah boyd discusses the implications of her studies of teenagers and their interactions with social media in terms of learning and education. Her work is specifically focused on how American teenagers socialize in networked publics like MySpace, Facebook, LiveJournal, Xanga and YouTube.

Her talk was recorded at the 2009 Penn State Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology.

Programs and Services for Educational Professionals

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/educprof_ps.htm

Located on the British Columbia Ministry of Education website, this page offers an extensive collection of useful resources for educators. With over 60 links to a wide range of programs and services, information is available on topics such as Aboriginal education, assessment and performance standards, daily physical activity, healthy schools, curriculum, scholarships, examinations, ESL, homeschooling, and more.

BC’s Ministry of Education Curriculum

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/

This site provides convenient access to all the BC Curriculum IRPs, which are organized by subject area and available in printable and savable PDF format. Also available are Grade Collections, which list and organize provincially recommended learning resources by grade and subject area, and Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) for the K-12 education system, which are accessible through a searchable database that allows you to search, browse, print and export PLOs.

The Age of Stupid

Over this past weekend, I watched the documentary The Age of Stupid. All I can say is everyone should see this film! I found it so incredibly inspiring. It made me look at my life, with my trivial worries and my countless material belongings, and truly want to change. It genuinely put things into perspective for me. All at once, I saw the many subtle ways that our society brainwashes us into unnatural patterns of thinking and acting. I realized that I needed to make greater efforts as an individual. At the same time, I also recognized how difficult that was going to be. But I think this film provides enough of an incentive to keep me from losing sight of the bigger picture...

Essentially, The Age of Stupid conveys the immense significance of climate change through a montage of video clips, narrations, and interviews. The film emphasizes that our current actions and decisions are critical for the future of our species and our planet, and implores that as a global community, we take immediate responsibility and make immediate change. Otherwise, it will be too late.

I’ve copied a short synopsis below, but I urge you all to visit these websites and check it out for yourselves!

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The Age of Stupid

http://www.ageofstupid.net/

'Not Stupid' Action Campaign

http://www.notstupid.org/

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The Age of Stupid is a 2008 film by Director Franny Armstrong (McLibel, Drowned Out) and first-time producer Lizzie Gillett. It is a co-production between Franny's company Spanner Films and Executive Producer John Battsek's (One Day In September) company Passion Pictures.

Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance? 

The production was notable for its innovative crowd-funding financing model, as well as its use of the Indie Screenings distribution system, which allows anyone anywhere to screen the film. The full story of the production of the film is told in the 50-minute “Making Of” documentary, which is free to watch online and also available on the double-pack DVD.

The film was released in 2009 and became one of the most talked-about films of the year. It also spawned the hugely successful 10:10 campaign.

The Age of Stupid was shot by Franny Armstrong (camera) and producer Lizzie Gillett (sound) over three years in seven countries over several continents. It follows seven documentary characters, including British windfarmer Piers Guy; Indian airline boss Jeh Wadia; Nigerian medical student Layefa Malemi; French mountain guide Fernand Pareau; Iraqi refugee kids Jamila and Adnan; and New Orleans Shell paleontologists Alvin Duvernay. 

COP15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVGGgncVq-4

Here is the video that opened the Climate talks in Copenhagen today, pretty powerful. Probably won't do much to get anything to happen at this conference though. Apparently oil producing nations (yes Canada included) are being hesitant to start anything. Most analysts or people in the know or whatever you want to call them already see COP15 as a failure, because talks have broken down even before all nations have arrived at the conference in Denmark. Saudi Arabia and the Czech Republic (we know, thanks to Doug) are trying to refute the idea the science behind global warming.

Thought I would share this as we will be continuing our model UN on the same topic tomorrow...

ambiguity? yes, please.

Jason often talks about the ambiguity of what we're doing -- how nothing is always as concrete, black-and-white, as we hope it will be. However, after getting through the program thus far, things are almost more unclear or vague or indefinite than I thought they would be. And rather than struggle with ambiguity or not having things totally defined, I am moving forward from this knowing that ambiguity offers more to me as a teacher.

Often, people will make comparisons in their lives that are best explained as “black and white.” Such as the truth and lies are black and white. Or the rules set in school are black and white, you break them, you get punished…no in between. But what about the grey? We strive so often for answers and understandings that we omit the areas that seem to have no concrete place; order notwithstanding. It intrigues me how much we leave behind when we are searching for one…or the other. I think what is interesting is that the most solid things are ones that occurred in the past: I had blond hair; I read that book; I went to school; I didn’t like that soufflé; I love soccer but now I love baseball more. All of these absolute experiences and favourites result from our dabbling in them.

Present blacks and whites are a little less obvious for me. There are very few things of concrete existence: I am 24, I work in an office, I have brown hair, I like to sleep, I go to university. Currently, these aspects of me are black and white, no variations, no opposites… what I’ve listed is what is true. And what is true is what is real. Yet the best part is those are all subject to change, I just won’t know it until it happens.

So why do we think in black and white? Why do lives so consumed in brilliant colours need outlines of white and black? Things are not always one or the other way… the little things, that often go unnoticed, do not always match very easily or stand firmly on their own. No, these parts of our worlds rarely catch the glint of our eyes and harness the avenues of our minds. I think that there is a huge part of me that is looking out for those components in my worlds, almost like if I blink I will miss it… or I look around, at everything, drinking in every littlest detail of my surroundings.

It’s why I think I WILL notice when the girl in the corner of my Social Studies nine class, whose bottom lip is trembling in fear to present to the class. Or the boy whose eyes lit like a house afire when I start talking about Nazi Germany -- I hope I WILL give enough variety in projects and essays and assignments where the kids can focus on something important to THEM; something that gets THEM excited...

I think I am starting to see this career and its ambiguity in shades of grey. The world is consumed by the lack of labels and the fact that the fantastic parts that colour my world are made so by their shadows of grey.. Because I can guarantee you, things we used to believe are black (or white) can get to be pretty grey now. We need to be vigilant in protecting those things we are sure about… so that once we stop focusing on the things we already know to be true, we stay driven to discovering and learning about those parts that are grey; The parts that stand alone and are in DIRE need of our attention.



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I know there's no resources in this... but I wanted you to be encouraged in the ambiguity of what we are learning -- Enjoy it!


Cheers to an awesome semester!
Kate

Finding my teaching philosophy...

In 2006/07, as part of UVic’s student exchange program, I studied abroad at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. We were given one month off for Christmas (December) and one month off for Easter (April), so I used these breaks to travel to continental Europe and visit a number of different countries and cultures, taking my husband and his younger sister along for the ride.

Our December trip included France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Germany. In April, we visited Italy, Spain, and Scotland. In order to achieve the full cultural experience in each new place, we made conscious efforts to find accommodation outside of the main tourist areas, in homestays and bed-and-breakfasts, where we could meet local people and see the local lifestyle in action. We bought our food in local grocery stores, ate in restaurants and cafes we stumbled upon off the beaten track, and spent time people watching and critically observing the cityscapes and countrysides we found ourselves in.

As we travelled through each new city, we found ourselves constantly amazed at both the striking differences and the underlying similarities between western and eastern European nations, and between European and North American ways of life. We found ourselves in situations that broke down negative cultural stereotypes, but we also had experiences in which stereotypical behaviours and actions were mirrored right before our eyes. It was an incredible experience, during which we never forgot that we were the intruders, the outsiders, the observers. At the same time, we experienced an enlightening sense of community and connectedness, and we began to understand how the motivations and intentions of people transcend borders and geography.

Traveling within a completely different region of the planet gave me the chance to reflect on my spatial perspective, my privileged background, and my regionally shaped beliefs and prejudices. Stepping into a North American classroom and teaching social studies to young people is a tremendous responsibility that will demand a critical perception of ourselves and our lives. Compared to North America, Europe may not be the most remote or diverse region of the world, but it does provide common ground for useful comparisons and insights into our society and way of life. After all, what is social studies if not the study of our society? There is something to be said for the importance of an objective perspective when undertaking any study, and in the case of teaching, there is no exception. The interactions and experiences I’ve had outside my own society have given me a more objective perspective from which to develop my own teaching philosophy and approach.

The subject of social studies is incredibly unique, in that it encompasses and relates to so many aspects of daily life. As social studies teachers, we will be in a position to expand our students’ knowledge and understanding in areas ranging from politics, history, and civics to geography, economics, global development, and environmental issues. We will have opportunities to guide critical investigations into the nature and meaning of citizenship, which will help students build a sense of their place in their community and in the world.

But how does all this relate back to my experiences overseas? I think the act of removing myself from a lifestyle and environment I was familiar with, and finding myself in a foreign place that I was only vaguely aware of the year before, was humbling. For the first time, I could comprehend the concept of a whole, wide world that goes on spinning, transforming, progressing, and existing whether we realize it or not. It was that awareness that fueled my motivation to teach youth about accountability and empowerment. With a renewed appreciation for a global perspective, my goal is to help my students locate themselves - in their community, in their country, and in their world.

But what if I don’t get the opportunity to teach social studies in my first, my fifth, or even my fifteenth contract? What then? Will all of these lofty goals just fly out the window? No. Not a chance. I’m going to do everything I can to incorporate concepts like perspective, community, and accountability into every course I ever teach. I think it will keep me grounded, and hopefully, it will keep my students engaged. As much as possible, I think we want our students to enjoy learning. We want to give them memorable early experiences so they’ll continue to pursue knowledge for the rest of their lives. So they’ll keep asking questions and searching for answers. That’ll be our big achievement.

"The Travelling Suitcase"

Yes I am going to launch into another combining social studies with English or visual arts blog! It is apparently my theme. I really liked that Adrian French (Mt. Doug, Mosaic presentation) had joined forces with an English teacher to teach The Three Day Road, and I thought of another possible idea for a cooperative effort between the two subjects. My mentor teacher, Wendy Muscat Tyler, created a holocaust education kit, mostly for English classes, which she calls the “Travelling Suitcase.” The suitcase itself is used as a prop to help students develop empathy for the children of the holocaust; what would you pack in those last moments before being sent away forever from your home and community ? The suitcase is full of about 25 youth books, mostly historical fiction, and a few other props to encourage discussion. In addition, Wendy has created a very comprehensive guide with an introduction for teachers, lots a lesson plans, reviews of all the books, worksheets and even a test. It would seem to me a great resource for a cooperative effort between Socials and English. The “travelling suitcase” is another example of a locally developed resource which can be purchased, like the Civic Mirror. Only Wendy sells the suitcase for a one time fee to the school, it can then be used as often as desired in any class. She mentioned that a few schools on the island have already purchased it, and it is definitely worth inquiring about. It was quite powerful and would be a good balance to all the WWII battle details.

Mock Trials

Hey people the end is very near. Since we are currently doing a model UN meeting I thought I would share an idea that I picked up at Oak Bay when I was there for a two week practicum. They were learning about Loius Reil and decide to set up a mock trial in the class. Each student was assigned a role and had to research it for their homework. I believe they also got some class time to do this and to talk to the teacher about their role. The trial was set according to the justice system at the time of Loius trial. It was filmed and assessed based on the students understanding of their role. The teacher had the tape as evidence of learning and could also refer to it for grades. I thought it went extremely well and one student really suprised me. He was one of the students that generally caused the teacher some anxieties however, he stepped up to play Loius when the original student was not there. He did an amazing job and taught us all a lesson.
Anyway, think about mock trials etc becuase the students loved it.

Together we can be great!

Fellow Social Studies Teachers,

Before we all head out and into the classrooms I wonder if some of us might like to share or brainstorm some ideas for "EPIC" socials classes. Im not talking about lectures or powerpoint slides, im thinking some UN style general assemblies, mini-debates etc....

In our class this semester we have done some sweet things, i thought it might be a good idea to blog about some of our own ideas or things we might have observed already. Plus im sure some of you need to blog a little, so what better way then to get in some blogs and pass along some great ideas!
My ideas:
- similar to the UN thing, but do House of Commons.
- text messaging or technology assignment (we all know are students love to use their phones and facebook) why not allow them to use them in academic ways. Get students in partners, have one studnet with a work sheet in the classroom, send the other to the library to get answers. Allow them to send information back and forth via text messaging or facebook chat.
- Roleplay or video. Saw this in a socials 11 class. Group made a video based on womens roles in canada during WWII. other group did a skit of D-day battle. allowed for a ton of creativity and high energy classes.

other ideas from this website:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/social/teacher_guide.htm
- rebuilding iraq
- revisiting pearl harbour

share, share AWAY!!!!!!!!!

Useful Websites in Social Studies (hope they help !)
Keys to History: http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/

- lots of archival resources, thematic approach

Statistics: http://www.statcan.ca/menu-en.htm

Archives Canada: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/education/index-e.html

Memory Project: http://www.thememoryproject.com/index.asp

- veterans (organize a speaker)

Dominion Institute: http://www.dominion.ca/

- includes a Canada quiz

Passages to Canada: http://www.passagestocanada.com/index.asp

- Immigration/refugees (organize a speaker)

Canadian Parliament:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/AboutParl_Education.asp?Language=E

Teaching for Thinking: http://www.teachingforthinking.com/weblinks/

- great resource on world history

Women in History:

http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/index.html

- be careful as some of the information was created by students, but still a very useful site

Fur Trade: http://www.furtradestories.ca/



Software: First Contact (preview):

http://www.monroco.com/portfolio/first_contact/index_f.shtml

World War I Scrapbook Assignment
( a fun project for grade 11 WWI)
Construct a “Scrapbook” of newspaper clippings and visuals from the First World War. Your scrapbook must include the following items:

A) A letter from a French Soldier fighting on the Western Front to his family back home.
B) A letter from a German Soldier fighting on the Western Front to his family back home.
C) A newspaper article found from a Canadian newspaper describing life on the “Home Front” and what is being done.
D) A “Battle Report” from an in the field reporter describing what was happening in 1 of the major WWI battles.
E) A letter to the editor of a Canadian Newspaper outlining arguments on one side of the “conscription debate.”
F) A drawing or visual a soldier might have drawn in a sketchbook from WWI.
G) A journal log from a person working on a transport/supply ship.
H) A newspaper article announcing and describing the finding of peace at the end of WWI.

Use your textbook and other books available to you from class to find the appropriate information for all of the above items.
Each item will be receiving a grade out of 10 and MUST include the following:
1) An appropriate date
2) Be on a separate sheet of paper
3) Proper spelling and grammar
4) Reflect the ideas and feeling about WWI
5) Relate to actual WWI events (be as realistic as possible)

JIMMY-JO RESPONDS

Thank you, Mr. Ross, for replying. My wife called as I was writing that post and I said to her that it is unfortunate we are cocooned in this program and that what we write or present, really goes unchallenged and is without consequence. We get a grade and some feedback, but that is where it ends. So, I appreciate the response. As teachers,we should be able to justify our positions when questioned.

Let me begin by saying that I am not opposed to many of the concepts of the free market. Besides being published, as I mentioned in the previous blog, I also ran my own business for several years without many moral qualms about the system that business existed within. Everyone has the right to make a dollar.

Although I stand behind everything I wrote in the initial blog, I do want to clarify the heart of my argument.

1...The only "commodity" I believe in as a teacher is opportunity. I recognize there are barriers in place, most often in the form of school budgets and apathetic political values. I am ideological enough to believe that teachers would seek out and develop resources which they would willingly make available to others, free of the influence of monetary value. There is no denying, our skills are part of a massive market called "education," but I, perhaps naively, believe we are in this business not, as you pointed out in your presentation, "to make money," but provide opportunities, regardless of socioeconomic status or monetary biases. Maybe my school in Smalltown, Canada, doesn't have the budget, or I don't have the money because as a new teacher I'm stuck paying off my 5 figure student loan, to even buy your simulation. And certainly not to keep buying it every class thereafter. In my mind, a discrimination is introduced based purely on one's financial status. Meanwhile, Richschool, in Centreoftheuniverse, Canada can pony up the cash, even bring you in to help facilitate teachers through the process. One set of students benefits, the other are denied the opportunity. And yes, before the counter argument is even presented, I will agree 100%, it is therefore incumbent upon me to provide my class with an alternative, just as stimulating and rewarding.

2...Which leads me to my second "argument." What if I then create something I feel is just as, if not more valuable, than your simulation, and copyright it? And I charge for its use? For me, this is really the heart of my position. Is a precedent being set (is there a previous precedent?), whereby a large corporate body could just start copyrighting lessons? I really don't know, but that's where I could see this sort of thing going, especially as privatization becomes more appealing to governments looking to unload the "cost" of their responsibilities.

I have zero issue with selling the books, selling the program, selling it online, charging for speaking and conducting workshops in schools and universities. None of that. My issue is the $299.00 first time fee and the $99.00 charge per class thereafter. It just doesn't sit well with me and I find the implications dangerous, especially in light of your comment that "the lessons me and my colleagues have delivered have been anything but commodities." Well, they are now!

Finally, I would like to respond to one particular point you made about what I wrote, and present a couple of questions.

I didn't mean to imply in my original blog that you "invented simulations." I meant quite the opposite, actually. I was more trying to point out that you merely copyrighted your simulation.

You did all this work and are now bringing it to the public in a myriad of different ways. You don't have to answer this question, but as I wrote in the beginning of this blog, I think we as teachers do have to be prepared to defend our positions. That said:

1...How do you justify charging the same teacher or class over and over again for the same product? Why isn't it enough to sell your product once to a class or teacher?

2...You mention in your response to me that I "don't like that [you] are building a business out of the notion of simulations" and that you "really get that sentiment." I would be interested in knowing just how you get my sentiment. Like I already said, I don't have a problem with you making a business out of simulations. I just have a problem with it when it imposes a barrier ($$) to students' opportunities. It seems a case of the haves getting what the have-nots cannot, simply because there is a monetary barrier.

Thank-you again for responding. I was flabbergasted to be honest. I think your ideas and your simulations are the most productive teaching tool I have come across in this entire program. The opportunities your model presents are infinite. You have given us a lot to think about beyond just your simulations and for that, I'm sure, we are all grateful.

-james

If anyone in the program is reading this, I'm interested in what you think. Remember, we are teaching in a public school system, which is supposed to be free, unbiased and accessible to all. More and more fees are being introduced for everything from students having to pay for being on a sports team to taking the school bus to and from home, while at the same time services are being cut back and schools being closed, predominately in "poorer" districts.

This is the first case I have heard about where an actual lesson -within a class, versus being sold online as a one time charge- cannot be used within that public system unless paid for. Do you know of another?

What do you think about corporate influences in schools? How much is too much?