T&L News(129)

Week of: May 12, 2008

Robots in Overdrive
Budding high school engineers got a chance to show off their science skills at the annual FIRST Championship, a robot-building competition held recently in Georgia that brought together more than 1,500 students from across the world.
Student and Teacher Blogs that Succeed
There is a new teacher or student blog created every 2.2 seconds. Okay so I just made that up, but the point is we are seeing blogs created at blistering pace with the hopes of connecting with the world and providing an authentic audience for writers. Sadly, many of these well-meaning blogs die a slow death after a smattering of posts. Well-intended teachers and students often lack perspectives need for success.
Social Networking—Why Are We Afraid?
Cyberbullying, online predators, and other Internet-related dangers make headlines almost daily. Fear of what lies beyond that glowing screen at which our kids so love to stare dominates the current perception of what the Internet has become. In this climate of perceived threat, schools do what we all do with that of which we are afraid. We avoid the threat and try to forget it's out there.
The Trouble with Txt
A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life project confirms what many worried English teachers have reported-64 percent of teens admit that they use some informal writing styles used in personal electronic communication into their writing for school.
What students are searching for
Search engine site netTrekker.com now publishes a quarterly index to the most popular search terms by students with games taking the top spot this spring.