In a previous article I talked about homework stress.

Here is another article which tells the story of a Calgary family that signed a no homework agreement with the Calgary School Board.

Here is a quote from the article linked below, "Tom Milley was frustrated by the amount of homework given to his children.
A Calgary family caught between busy careers, hectic school schedules and extracurricular activities has sought relief by signing a contract with their school to ban homework."
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Family+signs+homework+with+Calgary+school+board/2240268/story.html

For those who are not lawyers, here is a good balanced article from Anna-Liza Kozma, a writer with the CBC.
A quote, "Childhood passes quickly. And so do sunny days.
That means, in our house, sunshine trumps homework pretty much every time."

Here is the link to Negotiating an end to the homework debate.

Good teaching...Good listening...

Cheers - Mike

The first is about the anti-bullying legislation being considered. Here is an Edmonton Journal link to the teacher's response. On the other hand, here is a different aspect about the anti-bullying issue from the CBC called, Bullying is a public health issue.
And finally, here is an article from the Alberta Government website called, "Albertans urged to take a stand against bullying".

The next is about the school board and the 2009-2010 budget. Here is a quote from the article called, "Edmonton school boards approve ‘restrained’ budgets."

"Edmonton Public Schools officials described this year’s budget as “restrained” and said the goal was to preserve its core services to students."

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On a slightly different note, the Premier of Alberta, Ed Stelmach, has setup a Twitter account to see your feedback on a variety of issues. Here is a quote from the article linked to below, "This is an opportunity for all Albertans to ask me what's on their minds...".

The CBC Twitter article is here.

The Premier's YouTube main page is here, and his Twitter account is here. There are more links on his website here.

Good teaching...Good learning...

Cheers - Mike

Looking for free educational software that can help increase the productivity of your classroom? The Internet is a great place to find free, downloadable software for teaching, collaboration, online conferencing, and much more. Here are 15 education-related software products to try throughout the school year:

Mindomo - Mindomo is free mind mapping software that can be used to organize and iron out ideas. It works extraordinarily well for classroom projects.

GeoGebra - This award-winning math software is designed for all education levels. The software is built to handle variables, vectors, points, derivatives, and much more.

WordWeb - WordWeb is a free English dictionary and thesaurus that can define words in almost any program. The software works as a thesaurus and dictionary for British, American, Canadian, Indian, Australian, and global English.

Zoho - This site provides a suite of free tools that can be used for increasing productivity and organization. Within Zoho, users will find software for writing, spreadsheets, document management, notes, wikis, and much more.

Primap Software - The Primap Software features the MapCreator 2.0 for creating animated and standard maps. This software combines cartography and graphics programming for professional, high quality maps.

Celestia - Celestia offers free, 3D space simulation software that allows you to explore the solar system, stars, galaxy clusters, and more.

VoiceThread - VoiceThread provides free technology for sharing videos, documents, and images in a collaborative way. With VoiceThread, you can present collaborative slide shows that can be commented on with voice, text, audio, and video.

Question Writer - The Question Writer site provides free basic quiz writing software that can be used for creating multiple choice quizzes. The quizzes can be printed or published online with reports emailed to you.

iTALC - iTALC is a powerful didactical tool that can be used for viewing and controlling computers in a network. The software provides remote support capabilities, monitoring, real-time demos, texting capabilities, and computer control.

SugarLabs - Used daily by about one million children, SugarLabs is a great place for finding free educational software. The activities on SugarLabs are offered in 25 different languages and cover a wide range of subjects.

Anki - Anki is flashcard software for studying and learning educational material. This software allows you to review material from anywhere and split cards among students.

Yugma - Yugma is free web conferencing software that allows you to conference with up to 20 people at once. With this software, you can have online meetings, desktop sharing, real-time collaboration, and more. Yugma works with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

Audacity - Audacity provides open source sound editing and recording software for Mac, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. Teachers can use this software to record live audio, convert sounds to digital files, edit, mix, and change any sound.

Phun - Phun is free gaming software that can be used to help students understand and appreciate physics. This fun-based learning software allows users to create machines, games, and much more.

Sheppard Software - Sheppard Software provides a large suite of software designed specifically to aid schools and teachers in geography, math, and vocabulary. Throughout this site, teachers will also find free online games for all subjects.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online classes for OnlineClasses.org.

Videos of the main speakers and Dave Hancock are now available from the home page at http://www.inspiringeducation.alberta.ca. The speakers were part of the Inspiring Education Provincial Forum which took place October 18-20 in Edmonton.

videos for Dr. Jennifer James, Dr. Mark Milliron and Dr. Indira Samarasekera are available on the Inspiring Education home page.

It is well worth your time to visit and watch these guest speakers in action.

Good teaching - good listening...

Cheers - Mike

For those of you who have not been to TED.COM it is a terrific place to see video talks of a vast variety of subjects, which can be inspiring, educational, courageous, funny, emotional, creative, and much more.
This is a place where excellent speakers, who seem to really know their subject, enthusiastically bring the live audience into their world with thought-provoking presentations, delivered with style and humor.

This talk, Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity, is a fascinating talk, with humorous anecdotes, well worth the listening and the watching.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

There is much, much more at TED.com and you could be there for hours.

Have fun - good teaching - good learning...

Cheers - Mike

"Alberta Education is changing the way it delivers math, eliminating pure math and giving students entering high school more choices", so says an article on the CBC news website. This is a shakeup, so please have a read. It will affect students in grades 10-12.

Here is the link: Alberta adds, subtracts math classes

Here is one more quote from the article, "Math will also be taught differently, with students encouraged to find their own solutions to problems, rather than to follow a set formula".

There are many changes coming over the next year from Alberta Education. Keep your eyes on the news.

Good teaching - good learning...

Cheers - Mike

This guest article was written by Christine Howell who regularly writes about online health care degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, an online college degree guide.

Adolescence offers many challenges both to parents and teenagers. Increasing independence and consequent responsibilities, emotional and physical changes, and pressure at home and school can put enormous strain on a teen's already fragile self-esteem. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to help your teen improve his or her self-image and enhance their psychological well-being.

Listen

Parents often complain of a lack of communication with their teenagers. In fact, most teenagers are desperate for a friendly, non-judgmental shoulder to cry on and a willing ear to listen without scolding or criticizing. If you can provide this emotional support for your teenager, you can forge a closer relationship and build trust. It's essential to listen, rather than talk. Of course, you can give advice if it's requested, but don't interrupt in order to do so. By simply listening, you can better understand the challenges your teenager faces; you'll also be demonstrating respect for your child, which can also significantly bolster self-esteem.

Act

Staying active and participating in extracurricular activities can help your teenager feel included and important, and can develop social skills he or she will benefit from in years to come. By participating in church groups, sports teams, musical groups, or other interest-based activities, teenagers learn to work together and gain valuable experience in an informal social setting. This can be especially important for shy or socially awkward teens who lack self-confidence; by achieving small successes in these relaxed gatherings, they can build self-esteem. Athletic activities can also provide health benefits and improve appearance, another crucial element of a positive self-image.

Take risks

By stepping outside his or her comfort zone, your teenager can explore new ideas and activities that may be unfamiliar or require effort to understand and master. This promotes adaptability and flexibility, two traits your child will need in later life. Trying something new and succeeding can boost your teen's self-confidence. Even in failure, your teenager should be praised for having had the courage to attempt something new and encouraged to continue exploring unfamiliar options and possibilities.

Celebrate successes

While everyone enjoys being praised for their achievements, it's especially important to praise teenagers when they've performed well. Adolescence is a time of growth, but with that growth comes insecurity and uncertainty. Letting your child know that their accomplishments are noticed and appreciated is one of the best ways of boosting their self-confidence and motivating them to perform well in the future. Even the smallest achievement can build self-esteem if it earns praise and respect from others.

Set realistic goals

Teenagers often have unrealistic expectations of themselves and their own abilities; parents can help by discussing these goals and breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps. For instance, if your teen wants to be a famous actress, you might suggest that she try out for the school play or musical; for an aspiring rock star, guitar lessons might be in order. It's essential that teens realize the correlation between effort and achievement; memorizing lines and practicing chords may not lead to fame and fortune, but they will give your teen a clear idea of the kind of work involved in order to achieve their goals.

Most importantly, relax. Your teen will take many cues from how you react to various situations and challenges; be a good role model. Treat your teenager with respect and encourage his or her interests and activities. By showing your teen that you value his or her opinions and achievements, you can reinforce fragile self-esteem and promote a sense of well-being that can last a lifetime.