Andrew Pass's Blog – April 2009 Archive (9)

Yesterday I finally had some time to continue working with my new curricular unit which is a unit that challenges students to consider the relationship between F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and the Roaring Twenties, using Google Earth. I'm really excited about this unit because in addition to using Google Earth, students also have a chance to use Google 3D Warehouse and Google Sketch-up.



One of the most important themes that runs through this book is the distinction between… Continue

If I'm going to write that teachers need additional support, as I did here then it would probably make sense to offer this kind of support, to the extent that I am able.



Here's one suggestion on how a blog might be used effectively within teaching and learning. The educator, or for that matter a selected student, might post an engaging question as the actual blog post.



Lesson 1:… Continue

In 1995, David Tyack and Larry Cuban published a book entitled,

Tinkering toward Utopia: A Century of Public School Reform . In this book they argued that while numerous innovations had occurred within the American public school system during the Twentieth Century, most of these innovations had occurred around the… Continue

How bizarre would it be if a school had a pencil lab? You know, a place where classes went to use pencils, instead of having pencils available in the classroom. What about a textbook lab? Should schools have "pencil teachers" or "textbook teachers"?



If pencil labs/teachers and textbook labs/teachers sound so ridiculous why do we still have computer labs? As the First Decade of the Twenty First Century comes to an end we've come to a point when technology (computers) should not be… Continue

As readers know, I have begun developing core curriculum content that takes advantage of Web 2.0 resources. These types of resources have the potential to be both engaging and edifying. I'm in the process of completing my second unit on "The Great Gatsby." You'll see more information about the first unit that I developed here. Both of these units use Google Earth.



Well, when I was contemplating today's blog post, I thought about the act of Piracy… Continue

Former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor appears to have it right. She said, ""You're going to have greater success if you teach it in ways that [students] like to use"...According to an eSchool News article, O'Connor commented that typical students spend as much as forty hours a week in front of a screen. Twenty First Century students know how to learn digitally. Therefore, today's teachers have a responsibility… Continue

One more post related to Passover...



Every pre-service teacher educator learns that students tend to learn in one of three different ways: auditorily, visually, and kinesthetically.





I've always been amazed at the brilliance of the rabbis who wrote the Hagaddah, the booklet that is used for the Seder, or first (and second) night Passover dinner. The learning objective for the Passover seder is to be able to demonstrate an understanding that though Jewish people,… Continue

As you might know, tonight marks the beginning of the eight day Jewish holiday of Passover. Consider the meaning of freedom:



Traditionally, Jewish people remember the Exodus from Egypt during Passover. We are supposed to feel as if we ourselves were actually redeemed by God from Egyptian slavery. As such, we want to remember those individuals who continue to be enslaved, and highly disadvantaged, today. So, what does it mean to be free? (Teachers might consider asking their students… Continue

Ocean Now is a project led by Dr. Enric Sala to study and protect the last remaining places in the sea that are relatively untouched by humans. Enric wanted to design an expedition that readers all over the world - especially teachers and students - could follow every day.



We just launched a new website that is tracking Dr. Sala and a team of scientists over the next month as they explore the southern Line Islands in the South Pacific. Teachers and students can ask the crew… Continue