940.5318 The Diary of Anne Frank: A Classic Retold

On April 11, 2010, Holocaust Remembrance Day, PBS and Masterpiece Theater will present a new version of the classic coming-of-age story The Diary of Anne Frank.

Click on the picture for access to a video preview.

The Great Books Foundation, a partner with WGBH, has created and gathered together all kinds of support materials to use in conjunction with this new production and the Holocaust in general.

One of the most interesting things is a VoiceThread where students, teachers, and others can go in and comment on the production and project. Voice Thread has given free access to this sample, but there is a registration involved to make comments.

Ciick HERE to go to VoiceThread.

Here is another brief preview through YouTube .

In researching this new production, I also came across the only know movie of Anne Frank herself. It is a brief few seconds of her in an upper window watching her neighbor's wedding departure. There is no sound!

And of course , with the recent death of Miep Gies (at age 100), the last survivor of the real-life members of the history-making event, there has been renewed interest in the story and will likely spill over to the new production. Here is a portion of an interview where she talks about the diary and giving it to Anne's father.

In our district, the book and the time period have always studied and discussed on several levels so we have some long-time resources that also will probably come to the forefront again with this new production. Check our "cool new"catalog for other resources.

The message remains timeless.

92 Walter Cronkite: The Voice of My History

The voice of history as I remember it was stilled today. Walter Cronkite was a part of significant events in my personal timeline of history.

That day in Dallas...

(I was home for lunch and was watching when the announcement came.)

That summer night in July...

(My family stayed up way into the night, waiting, waiting, waiting...my father pacing like I had never seen him do)

At school for almost any history lesson I had...

(His TV programs were adapted for school viewing and were major classroom resources during my 1960s public education.)

In his own words:

"And that the way it [was]."

658.8 Double Meaning: A Lesson (and Laugh) in 2.0 Vocabulary

When I saw this on TV this week, it made me laugh out loud. I loved the company's take on the 2.0 term "social networking."

Coleman - Airtight® Inflatable System
Shared via AddThis

They have a companion video that I featured here.

And not to ignore the print part of the world, the Coleman Co. included one for magazines, etc.

Hummm...2 posts about ads back-to-back? Nothing but coincidence!

Visual & video available here.

659.102 100 Best Ads: Little Bits of Cultural History

Comments from bloggers can take you to the most interesting blog posts/sites.

The latest one lead me to the The Top 100 Advertising Campaigns, not necessarily a new site, but new to me. I had fun going down the list and remembering all those little mini-movies and stories that entertained us between breaks in the stories we were watching on TV. Most of these

became household icons because A. we had no remotes and B. we had only 3 TV stations to watch for a really long time.

Granted there are a handful from as far back as the 1920s included, but the vast majority made the list because of the time they spent on the airwaves, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s...up to and including the infamous 1984 Macintosh computer commercial!

As is my usual plan, I went thru the list thinking about a visual to include...one of the campaigns that was a personal favorite of mine. Most of the symbols, etc. were found on sites that had rights reserved so I decided on Smokey, the fun icon of my childhood who taught me a lot about how to be careful in the forests of my summertime home.

Once I started reading, I found out the campaign is the longest PSA (public service announcement), Smokey has a very comprehensive interactive website with all kinds of safety info and history of the real Smokey and the ad campaign itself!

By the way, Smokey doesn't remind you that only you can prevent forest fires. Starting in 2001, it was changed to wildfires...doesn't have quite the same ring...messes with the cadence of my brain, but nevertheless, is still an important thing to remember. AND even an icon as important as Smokey does have to undergo a makeover every once and awhile so "GetYour Smokey on!"

Ok, ok, I digress...back to the list of ads. There are so many on it that were fun: Where's the Beef...inspirational: Keep America Beautiful's Crying Indian...and even some that go straight to the heart: Hallmark anything! Come on, you know you tear up sometimes!

Now it's your turn. What's a favorite for you? What memory didn't make the list and should have?

P.S. Not sure what criteria was used in making selections and the information attached to the list doesn't always talk in the "lovely memories" tone of this post. Each to his/her own. That's what great about the 2.0 world!

Visuals from SmokeyBear.com

363.12 The Hudson Miracle

I have been watching the news on the Hudson River air crash the last few days and have truly been amazed at the stories that have come out of the event.

The Captain and his strength, ability and level-headedness at landing the plane so carefully is of course, a wonderful part of the miracle that occurred. But the individual challenges of all aboard are really something. Everyone helped each other, pitched in where it was needed, gave a hand out or an encouraging word...and turned the praise they received back towards the others.

And the images...gives new meaning to the old saying "on a wing and a prayer."

551.552 IKE: Preparing & Practicing Patience

Spent all day finishing the preparations for the effects of Ike upon my daily routine AND my impending move. Hardest part for me is trying to anticipate what things might be like this time tomorrow.

Did four loads of washing...it might be awhile before electricity becomes available. Need clothes to wear...and don't need to have to think about washing at the same time I move!

Cleaned out the refrigerator of all potential future science experiments...again based on the idea of no electricity being available. AND filled up every available vessel with water to make blocks of ice for the little freezer. Will keep the cooked meats and little bit of milk another day or so. Or I can put it on my head and pretend I'm cold!

Then I planned moving projects that can be done without much light. Yes, I have lots of flashlights and plenty of batteries, but I live in an apt with only three "windows"...great for protection against the angry elements, but means when the lights are out, it is pretty much a cave in about three-quarters of the place! Got my boxes arranged, found tape and scissors and markers. Ready...set...

Checked on the new place...battened down the hatches...locked the door...said a little prayer...and came "home."

Communicated with all the family and friends...assured everyone I was off the roads and ready to hunker down. Remembered to undo the garage door so my car would not be held hostage...in case the power was out longer than the roads impassable.

I know the media is doing its job, but continuous coverage on ALL the local channels ALL day and night...2 days prior to Ike's arrival. Ok, I know, picky, picky, picky.

I also know that not one drop of rain yet and the storm surge is already higher than many Gulf coast veterans remember. And they just reported that the bayous up here in my area are already rising from same said surge. WHERE is all the rain gonna go when it comes??

Oh, oh, first flicker of the lights...

I am lucky. I have very little worry about. I live about 50 miles inland and around 50 ft above sea level. My first hurricane was Alicia. My worst experience was tropical storm Allison who came and stayed...forever! There have been some other near misses that interrupted life for awhile. But I have never lost my house, my livelihood or someone dear to me. I am lucky.

Gonna go now. Turn off the computer. Disconnect it in case things go whacko in the night.

See you on the other side...hopefully soon and all intact.

BE SAFE. Hang on!

Visual courtesy of ABC-Channel 13

641.3 Peanut Butter: Fun with a Purpose

I Love Lucy ranks as one my all-time Top 5 TV shows ( I was a child of the 50s/60s) and so when I got to "live" one of my favorite episodes...wow! Remember when Lucy & Ethel switched jobs with their husbands and went to work in the chocolate factory...

Well, one of my best pals who is always up for a new adventure and I had an opportunity to do a shift at a peanut butter factory as part of a community service ... the Lucy & Ethel syndrome was very much on our minds as we drove to fulfill our commitment!

Yup, you guessed it...my part of the line was to control newly sealed jars of peanut butter as they made their way to the labeler...to send them down the next part of the line SPACED properly so the labels would be attached PROPERLY! Between machinery malfunctions and lack of rhythm, it was "nightmarish" at times! At times I couldn't keep up...the jars were too big for my hat so (with very special help) I was "dumping" them into grocery carts...without making them fall over!!

I took a screen shot of the exact turn I was responsible for from a YouTube video about the peanut butter factory. See that nice, neat spacing of the jars after the turn...well, about 65% of mine looked like those...the other 35%...thank goodness there are no pictures!

BTW, if you want to look at the peanut butter process, you can google peanut butter and there are several videos from YouTube and other sources!

Despite my "Lucy" moments, the whole experience was very interesting, lots of fun, and I was glad to share in the service project. I look forward in paying it forward sometime, somewhere, somehow!

Of course, I can't have fun like that without thinking about the tie-in to something educational!

If you find a useful video, you can talk about the science behind food processing, you can talk about jobs involved in making peanut butter, you can talk about the contributions made by George Washington Carver during a biography unit. And how appropriate that my adventure occurred at this time because March is National Peanut Month.

And naturally, I had to find some books to include
From Farm to Store
From Peanut to Peanut Butter
Make Me a Peanut Butter Sandwich and a Glass of Milk
Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme
The Peanut Butter Cookbook for Kids
The Peanut Butter Party: Including the History, Uses, & Future of Peanut Butter
I Like Peanuts
Life & Times of the Peanut
Peanuts
Science Fun with Peanuts and Popcorn

And a little peanut butter poetry

I am Getting Sick of Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Sandwich - Shel Silverstein
Hug Sandwich - sing it!

x

And here is an oldie (another sign of my age!)...includes an audio clip you can play!

The Peanut Butter Song - I think we even had motions to it!

and another song Peanut Butter & Jelly - anybody 25 & under probably knows the tune...it was a big hit at my kids' pre-school back in the 80's. Audio clip

x

Some other resources
Virginia Carolina Peanuts - activities, lesson plans

Peanut Butter Lovers - history, recipes, contest

The Peanut Institute. Eat Well. Eat Peanuts - nutrition facts
American Peanut Council - nutritional facts about peanuts Skippy Fun Page - recipes, Kid's Corner
Peanut & Peanut Butter Recipes
Video on making homemade peanut butter
How to make a PB&J sandwich Flickr slideshow - sequencing activity!

And a video on making homemade peanut butter cups!
Now isn't that a clever way to tie in the chocolate reference at the beginning.

I think I need a PB&J sandwich!

791.45 Mensa + Television History = Oxymoron?

Ran across this article where a Yahoo entity (person, team?) comments on the list that the head of Mensa put out as his thoughts of the Top 10 Smartest TV shows. Interesting comments from both as to the whys behinds the selections. A more complete picture of the original announcement can be found here.

The list (in no particular order) includes:
Jeopardy
Cosmos
M.A.S.H.
All in the Family
Frasier
CSI
West Wing
Boston Legal
House
Mad About You

I can hear the buzzing already.

1. Who would have thought anyone who is a big-wig (heck, a plain ol' member) in Mensa would have "wasted" time on the social wasteland of TV as many people consider it to be? ( I said many people, not I!)

2. Jeopardy and Cosmos are givens as far as I am concerned based on their intent and content.

3. M.A.S.H. -- my personal all-time favorite show. It made me think ALL the time...in between the laughing and tears.

4. All in the Family -- another personal favorite on many levels (including the fact it was the ONLY TV program my father ever talked to me about long-distance while I was away at school.)

5. Frasier -- ok, I think I can see this one...especially since it is on about 15 times a day right now in re-runs so there is plenty of opportunity to "study" it. I do think it has to do more with the "brilliance" of the brothers and an occasional spotlight among the other players than the overall program.

6. CSI -- science at a level similar to that of Cosmos made more "entertainable" with stories. The science is at such a high level that I just have to assume it is being portrayed closely. If I really want to understand the "why" I can not multi-task. I often found myself researching the results...the chemistry or physics or whatever. And if I had ever entertained the thought of committing a crime..well, that idea is completely gone now...for sure!

7. I loved the West Wing...another one I could not multitask around...great characters, but Top 10 "smartest?" I will have to think on that one. Same with Boston Legal and House...great characters...good representatives, but Top 10?

8. Mad About You -- huh? Did not watch it in prime time. Have seen bits and pieces because of re-runs. Would have thought Seinfeld would have taken this spot ahead of Mad. and I was not a Seinfeld fan simple because I didn't "get it."

But that is why I love trivia lists like this one...for the thinking and talking that will occur because of it!

As for a few more of my "why aren't they there" choices...
Lost--if you want something representing current TV. Especially fond of the literary "clues."
Rod Sterling's Twilight Zone--a classic though-provoking show (I bet there are few people out there surprised I would have this one MY list.)
Laugh-in --I was in high school. I wish it was in re-runs so I could study it as an adult now!
Northern Exposure-- enjoyed it, still not sure I understood it.

Wish there was a list of "most intelligent" books...that would be an interesting study!

Got any thoughts?

O, BTW...want some oxymoron info?

302.2 Communication Power: Why Not Use It?

This week, I was reminded about the power of radio in FDR’s time. 75 years ago he made his first presidential nomination acceptance speech in person…the first candidate to do so…took a plane ride to get there…and it was covered by radio. Of course he made communication history as well with his famous fireside chats.

An of course, many of us digital immigrants can remember first hand all the hulabaloo there was over the Kennedy-Nixon televised debate and the “famous” shadow problem. And how we all were riveted to the TV during those terrible days in November only 3 years later.

So why were “we” so shocked that blogs and other web pages were important elements in the last campaign or two and that this go-round’s candidates are also busy creating digital videos that show up on YouTube or the nearest cell phone!

Why would we expect them not to use the latest (and greatest?) methods of communicating to reach as many voters as possible with their plans for our country’s future?

So…why can’t “we” accept that it is JUST as necessary for our schools to use these tools in educating as many students as possible for our country’s future…and theirs!

92 Mr. Wizard: The First Science Guy

It was sad to hear about the passing of Mr. Wizard, Don Herbert, who was such a fixture in my post-Sputnik, race-to-the-moon, informal-learning-of-science life. TV was monitored in our house, but Mr. Wizard was a permissible Saturday program.

He sure knew how to make science a child-centered and relevant fun thing...even thru the grainy black & while venue called early TV. And he grew to meet the times.
Thanks Mr. Wizard!

371.22 Educational Technology: Videostreaming Resources

Hopefully, your school district has access to educational videostreaming products such as Unitedstreaming and Power Media Plus. They are subscription services, require passwords to access, and are worth e-v-e-r-y p-e-n-n-y your administration pays for their use!

However, there are other sources for videos that can be used quite successfully in the school setting with proper planning and attention by teachers and librarians. Probably, the best know of these is the video sharing site YouTube which has been discussed in this blog earlier this year. Individuals can create videos and upload them for all to see. There are many, many, many appropriate videos for school use...BUT... my and many other school districts block this resource.

So, as with many things technological, someone came up with a "work around"-- in this case, a site called TeacherTube, a video sharing site devoted to videos create for and quite often by students and their educational needs. It too has previously been discussed in this blog. Great stuff...you NEED to take a look. And that is possible at school! What a pleasant surprise!

There are the traditional news services such as CNN, MSNBC, ABCNews, Fox News and USAToday along with other educational and institutional sites that provide current events, science, social studies and other educationally appropriate video resources. But it would a lot of work to check all of these sources and the dozens of others available on a regular basis.

Hurray! To the rescue comes Blinkx... a video (and audio) search engine. You can put in your search term and get a list of videos from over 130 sources. You can then select the appropriate ones for your needs and can usually play them without additional software or other technology.

Often, because these videos come from reputable sources, they are not blocked. However, it is possible that the Blinkx site might be blocked, but you could locate the video from home, capture the address, and then be able to see the video from within the school district.

A word to the wise. Be sure you check these videos out before turning them over to students. They are not exclusively educationally appropriate items. Some are user created and uploaded to services such as MySpace, but the Blinkx crawler will find them.

Have a look at all of these..either at school or at home. You will be pleased, I think!

371.22 Good YA Books Workshop: Social Networking in Action

We have spent a wonderful day talking about books and the web!
The participants say:
"fantastic!"
"one of the best..."
"I am excited about learning how to blog"
"I want to try podcasting"
"Playaways!"
"I learned a whole new language...digital immigrants who can speak [Web 2.]!! "
"I learned that we need to get our district to let our students do some social networking...AT SCHOOL."
***************************
I spent the day with 15 teachers, librarians, and a library assistant (yes!) talking about YA Books in the Web 2.0 setting. We talked about some great books, some fun books, some reference books...that meet the needs on YAs on many levels!
To assist them in promoting and using these books we looked at websites from publishers and educational entities, we looked at author sites and blogs, we looked at blogs for books and FOR kids! We looked at kids' writing online!

We dealt with the typical issues that are attached to YA books and adult books read by YAs. There are no easy answers, but we all agreed that all the books presented or mentioned had value and purpose, despite what objections may be raised. We looked at ways of preventing controversy and still benefitting from the essence of the books.

We took a few minutes to look behind the scenes of a blog and did a quick post (the comments above were shouted out and typed and posted within 5 minutes.)

Perhaps, the most poignant (and even saddest) moments of the day were spent discussing HOW important all of this IS to and for the kids...and how much work we all have ahead of us in convincing the adults who lead and direct us, or even work beside us, of all this social networking, whether it is about books, math problems, current events, or life in general.

We shared, we networked, we bonded. And we laughed...a lot!

371.22 Educational Technology: TeacherTube

Been worried about using YouTube videos with your students?

Give this site a look. These are videos that have been done for using with students. I saw some interesting lessons for math on my first pass thru. I will be going back.

I sure hope you can see this from your venue!

302.2345 Social Aspects of Television Case Study: 24

Commercial television and the Web have made a marriage, shaky at best some days (YouTube?), and maybe a perfect example of a technology mash-up of sorts on better days.

Case in point: possibly the hottest set of two numbers to come to the forefront since the speed limit was dropped to the double nickel level back in the 70s!

24, the real-time action thriller involving the agents of the mythological Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) of the federal government and featuring the super hero character of Special Agent in Charge Jack Bauer, a man's man and a man not only mothers, but countless women, could and would love! Television hasn't seen the likes of him since Marshall Matt Dillion, I don't think.

Not only is the show a topic of conversation around the real water cooler on Tuesday mornings, it has a huge virtual water cooler community on the Web. Google the number 24 and Bauer together and you get about 25,400,000 hits. Search Blog, Bauer , and 24 and you get 1,420,000 hits.

The show has a slick website over at its parent network FOX site. You can catch up on missed episodes by watching streaming video pieces. One of the most interesting tabs is that of Profiles where the reader can toggle between the biographies of the actor and the character. Just where does reality stop and fiction begin?

In Wikipedia, there are 34 items in the contents list and countless links on the main page alone--a sea of "blue words" you might say. If you are unfamiliar with how Wikipedia monitors its articles, take a look at the Discussion and History tabs for this entry and see the incredibly minute details that are noted for editing and adding.


But this particular 21st century entertainment phenomenon rates its OWN WIKI. Not just an article in a Wiki, but the whole thing...all 1,573 articles and 2,220 images (so far) started on September 30th 2005. It includes its own "encyclopedia" of topics and its own list of worldwide community members. It includes information about the official magazine available on newsstands (yes, a real magazine printed on P-A-P-E-R!) and the reference books (their word, not mine!) available.

Would all of this hoopla be possible....or possible at this extreme level...if it were not for the social networking aspects of the Web and the partnership of the 2nd and 3rd screens of the technology world? Should education take a page from this particular case and from the many, many other worthy examples out there and see how to create the same level of interest and excitement for appropriate parts of the learning process? It is something to think about.

621.388 To buy or not to buy a new TV

Although I'm not in the market for one at the moment, it became apparent that I really didn't understand all the whoopla about HDTV, digital signal, or even the difference between buying LCD vs. plasma when thinking new TV until this holiday.
My extended family got together mid-month to celebrate a sibling birthday and one of the group gifts was a new flat screen TV. That is what started the discussion about the impending February 2009 date about the TV signal switch from analog to digital. This will be the biggest change in the "science" of television broadcasting since the early 1950's.
No, you don't have to run out and purchase a new set. Those of us with our old trustworthy sets will still be able to tune in. If you use a cable service you should not even notice a change. If you don't, you will have to get a converter box to continue using your old set.
Even when purchasing a new set, read the details carefully. The larger, higher priced models come fully equipped. The smaller flat screen TVs, especially in the 15-30 inch range will need an adapter added later.
So, we have some time to make our decisions, do our reading, and save our pennies before throwing out the old clumsy square black boxes. Here are a couple of websites that will give you some basic information without too much "science" mixed in!
Digital Television Consumer Corner
DTV Transition Q&A
Compare LCD vs. Plasma here.