Girl with Down syndrome thriving on swim team

Courtney takes off for some laps.

Courtney Pyburn, a 12-year-old North Carolina girl with Down syndrome, trains and competes on her community swim team with children without disabilities and is flourishing. "Other sports, there's a roster," says her coach. "... And swimming, it's much more individual in that you're competing against yourself as well as the other teams." The News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.)

Pianist with visual disabilities earns international attention

Nobuyuki Tsujii, who cannot see, has become a classical music sensation after tying for top place in a prestigious international piano competition in June. The 20-year-old Japanese man learns pieces by memorizing recordings. Reuters

Special educator to take helm of groundbreaking district

Special-education pioneer Michael Brinkos has become the superintendent of a Pennsylvania district that began offering special education years before it was federally mandated. Brinkos was an early proponent of inclusion, and his district recently won state recognition for its inclusive nature. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Should a second stimulus be spent to save teachers' jobs?

With some talk of a second federal economic-stimulus package, one blogger suggests using a second wave of money for education to prevent teacher layoffs. Other spending suggestions include saving summer-school programs at risk of being cut or increasing the length of the school year. This Week In Education/Alexander Russo blog

Podcasting builds student confidence, tech skills

McKayla Dulaney gets a good laugh out of a practice voice recording of Sarah St. Jean (foreground) during a summer class for editing audio and preparing podcasts at Christiansburg Elementary School.

A Virginia teacher is building student confidence and technology skills through a summer program that teaches students to create podcasts. Angela Williams says students create and edit the audio and video broadcasts that can be watched and listened to on computers and MP3 players. She anticipates podcasts will one day be an alternative to book reports and projects. The Roanoke Times (Va.)

Students embrace cultural lessons via Internet chats with Afghans

Linar Etemadi, a fifth-grade teacher at Glenelg Country School, coordinated Internet chat sessions between her students and boys attending Roshan High School, in Afghanistan. Etemadi also started the Kites for Kids program in which students flew kites made in Afghanistan to raise money for several organizations -- such as Champs International, Marshall Legacy Institute and Healthy Afghan Children -- that help children in the war-torn country. Here, Etemadi poses with several of the kites and the Afghanistan flag. (Staff Photo by Sarah Nix)

Some Maryland fourth- and fifth-graders are using the Internet to connect with students in Afghanistan. The Afghan students discuss their country's hardships, including the dangers of land mines, and help refute any inaccurate views held by U.S. students about Afghanistan. Howard County Times (Columbia, Md.)

"Energetic," focused NBCT named head of teachers union in Virginia

Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer Frank Cardella, the Chesterfield Education Association's new president, listens intently during a community meeting at Crestwood Elementary School last week.

A National Board Certified Teacher has been named president of the Chesterfield Education Association in Chesterfield County, Va. Frank Cardella will serve two years and be on paid leave from his high-school science teaching position. "He's energetic. He's very focused," said outgoing CEA President Lois Stanton. "As a National Board Certified Teacher, he has a strong interest in instruction." Chesterfield Observer (Midlothian, Va.)

Camp treats adults with disabilities like rock stars

Margot Carlson, left, rests with her counselor Emma Tannehill before the start of Camp ReCreation at the Marywood Pastoral Center in Orange.

A California church camp is offering more than 90 adults with developmental disabilities a week of activities and fun, including karaoke, a talent show and a rock concert. Participants "gain a real sense of independence, a sense of camaraderie, a sense of feeling loved and accepted and that they can take on the world," said camp co-director Meghan Schinderle. The Orange County Register (Calif.)

Special educator with visual disability wins national award

Annee Hartzell Distinguished Educator of Blind Children award recipient

Washington teacher Annee Hartzell, who cannot see, has won the National Federation of the Blind's distinguished-educator award. Hartzell teaches students with visual disabilities and says her own disability may foster optimism in her students. Yakima Herald-Republic (Wash.)

Summer program prepares teens with visual disabilities for adulthood

From left, Madison Pugh, Derek Bliss and Katie Firmani are preparing for adulthood in the sighted world.

A Florida transition program for students with visual disabilities is helping them prepare for adulthood. The summer program aims to increase student self-confidence and independence as well as teach life skills. St. Petersburg Times (Fla.)

Lawsuit challenges California insurers' denial of autism therapy

California regulations that allow insurers to deny treatment coverage to children with autism violate state laws, a consumer group contends in a lawsuit. Insurers say they are following the law and covering most autism care. They say they are allowed to deny coverage for applied behavior analysis because it is too expensive and is educational rather than medical. Los Angeles Times

Maria Angala Receives Outstanding Special Education Teacher Honor

From the WTU E-Newsletter:

The Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) would like to congratulate Maria Angala on receiving the honor of Outstanding Special Education Teacher for the school year 2008-2009 from the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET).

NASET is a national organization dedicated to assisting teachers in the field of special education, and this honor is awarded to teachers who demonstrate outstanding achievement in the special education field.

Angala serves on the WTU Executive Board as the Vice-President of Special Education and works as an Inclusion teacher for 6th, 7th and 8th grades at Jefferson MS. She has been with DC Public Schools for the past 6 years and decided to go into the teaching profession because of her love for children.

"I think that the key to effective instruction is understanding how your students learn and finding the best way to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge for them," stated Angala. A few months ago, Angala won a Promethean ActivClassroom Board through a national blogging competition.

Angala's blog "Digital Anthology" is an online extension of her classroom where she posts information about her class and is a resource for information for her students, parents and other special education teachers. Her other blog "Teacher Sol" is solely for educators and contains special education resources, news and issues.

Angala is a National Board Certification candidate in the Exceptional Needs Specialist category which is the highest level of certification for educators in the country.

You can follow Angala on Twitter by clicking here.

1st Filipino Teacher to Receive the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award

From the WTU E-Newsletter:

Aris Pangilinan, along with 20 other teachers from across the region, was recently presented with the Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award. The Washington Post presents this award to exceptional teachers in the Washington, DC area, and along with this honor, award winners each receive $3,000.

Pangilinan, a math teacher at HD Woodson SHS where he has been working for the past five years, is the first Filipino to receive this award. Born in San Juan, Batangas, he came to the United States in 2003. He encourages his students to study and appreciate the concept of math through innovative and best teaching practices.

"I am so blessed to be one of the five teachers in the system to be a recipient of the most recent educator internship opportunity," said Pangilinan. "Filipino teachers now teaching in the US continue to make a difference in the lives of young people and the community where they belong."

Pangilinan was also selected to be an intern in a new program within the DCPS central office where he will have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process at the central office and to gain first-hand experience in urban education reform at a macro-level. He has received several other awards, including: DCPS Distinguished Educator and Excellence in Education Award, Best Buy Teach DC Award and One of the Best Teachers of HD Woodson Senior High School.

To read more about other Agnes Meyer Award winners, click here.

Editorial: Duncan's teacher-pay plan has merit

Teachers are the most important factor in student success and the best teachers should be rewarded, according to a Washington Post editorial praising U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's push for teacher merit pay. Duncan's plan calls for increasing the Teacher Incentive Fund from $97.3 million to $487.3 million. The Washington Post

Studies: Small changes in genetic code tied to schizophrenia

New research published in Nature suggests that genes affecting the immune system may be linked to schizophrenia. Above, an illustration of the DNA double helix.

Small genetic changes in brain development, memory and the immune system may trigger schizophrenia, according to three new studies published in the journal Nature. Similar genetic changes have also been tied to depression and bipolar disorder, says Dr. Tom Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. National Public Radio

Toyota developing wheelchair steered by user's brain waves

Toyota is researching technology that could someday allow people with disabilities to control wheelchairs with their thoughts. A computer program in a cap worn by the user transforms brain waves into commands to move forward, right or left. Disability Scoop

D.C. Teachers Become Central Office Fellows

From The Washington Post's blog, DC Wire:

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, who presided over the firing of 250 teachers last month, is also continuing her attempts to build bridges with District educators by bringing six of them into her office for a five-week summer fellowship.

The teachers are: Aris Pangilinan (math), HD Woodson High School, a winner of the 2009 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher award presented by The Washington Post Educational Foundation; Brooke Buerkle (social studies), Columbia Heights Educational Campus, named Outstanding First Year Teacher by DCPS in 2008; Cynthia Robinson (first grade), H.D. Cooke Elementary, who serves on the board of the Capital Area National Association for Bilingual Education; Lynn Lahti-Hommeyer (elementary science resource), Bruce-Monroe Elementary@ Parkview, honored at a 2006 White House ceremony with a presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching; Margaret Slye (literacy professional developer), Scott Montgomery Elementary, a former Teach For America corps member, and Tondra J. Odom-Owens (fifth grade), Savoy Elementary, who co-wrote the current fourth grade learning standards in reading and language arts for DCPS.

Two of the well deserving Fellows are colleagues close to my heart, Aris Pangilinan who's making us Filipino teachers proud, and Tondra Owens (NBCT) who was with my National Board Certification class with George Washington University.

Did I apply? Yes. Did I make it? Obviously no :( I need to do better in phone interviews; there'll be next time.

2009 Promethean ActivSoftware Blogging Contest

OK, I hope I am not yet too late for this. I am reposting from Promethean's Contest blog because I don't want to miss anything...

A simple way to enter to win a complete ActivClassroom!

To kick off the National Educational Computing Conference in Washington, D.C., Promethean USA announces its 2009 ActivBlogging Contest.

Visit our booth at NECC, or, if you won’t be making it to NECC, share your experiences in the classroom and/or online for a chance to win a complete ActivClassroom.

Promethean will also “tweetaway” an ActivBoard+2 each day at NECC, with a complete ActivClassroom giveaway on Wednesday, July 1st. Follow us on twitter during the conference for a chance to win.

Here’s how it works:

*Open to RESIDENTS of the USA ONLY

Choose your own adventure – 3 Ways to Enter:

OPTION 1 – if you are attending NECC
(the National Educational Computing Conference):

Visit booth #3204 between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm and sit in on an activity, class or presentation.

Then, blog about what you see/experience/learn.

Ideas for blogging:

• Attend 30 min. class taught by 11 year-old Adora Svitak: Using Technology To Get Kids Excited About Reading and Writing. (Daily presentations at 11:30 each day)
• Take part in the ActivClassroom Game Show (Daily give-aways at 12:00 noon each day – visit www.prometheanworld.com/necc for instructions.
• Experience our Learner Response Systems, ActivExpression and ActiVote at one of our learning stations.(Presentations throughout each day)
  
  
  

OPTION 2 – Online Activity:
Sign up for Promethean Planet (http://www.prometheanplanet.com/ ), check it out and blog about your experience.

Ideas for blogging:

• What is your favorite feature or section?
• What works? What can we improve?
• How do the resources provided support you as a teacher?

OPTION 3 – Your ActivClassroom and the Environment:

We want to know how you are using your ActivClassroom to save resources and protect the natural environment.

Ideas for blogging:

• Do your children use your ActivClassroom technology in ways that conserve energy or reduce paper consumption?
• Do you use teach students to be environmentally conscious using Promethean technology and resources?
• Are there ways that your classroom reaches out into the community, neighborhood or world to promote conservation and/or environmental awareness?

Questions? please check out the contest rules.

NECC 2009, missed first day :(

I missed today's 2009 NECC 1st day sessions :( but will be there tomorrow :)

But I'm glad they have ISTEVision, ISTE's first-ever onsite communications network where we can get daily and nightly news from all over the conference, feature stories, interviews, session and event simulcasts, 2009 video-on-demand sessions, ISTE Webinars, Second Life™ machinima clips, contest winners, and user-uploaded videos from the members and participants.

They also have ISTEConnect with LiveStreaming, Twittering, Blogging, and a lot more connecting through the social networking sites (Facebook, Ning, etc). I was able to watch the ISTE International Reception through the streaming video :)

This is my Disney World!

DEN at NECC 2009...I was there!

I'm glad I didn't miss today's DEN's pre-NECC Birthday Party Extravaganza, "I learned a lot of cool stuff!" is an understatement! Many DEN STARs from across the country came to DC early for the 2009 NECC just to attend DEN’s fourth birthday celebration at Discovery Headquarters today.

Here are my favorite presentations from Jen Dorman:

- Power Up Your Professional Learning Network

According to her, there's a need to connect with colleagues both within the educational system and worldwide. The solution? Tap into professional networks and harness social networks for professional learning.

- Get Your ‘Og On

All about blogs, vlogs, and glogs!!! I am already proficient with blogs, and pretty familiar with using vlogs. What's new? Glogs! Glogs are like online interactive multimedia posters, which can be published publically or privately, and can also be emailed. It's so cool, colorful and creative that my students will surely become addicted to once I introduce this to them!

I also went to the session by Steve Dembo and loved his presentation: Top Ten Free Web 2.0 Sites. But the URL I have is a broken link and I can't find his presentation in his blog.

Discovery Education Booth Schedule at NECC

(from the DEN Blog Network)

NECC is just under a few days away, and we hope you’re as jazzed for it as we are! Our home on the conference floor will be Booth #3228 and we’ve got a packed schedule there. You’ll be able to see presentations such as:

• Discovery the Possibilities with Discovery Educaiton Digital Services
• Multimedia Einsteins: Discovery Education Science
• Using Multimedia in the Classroom with Mimio
• 50 Ways To Use Discovery Education streaming
• Bring 21st Century Teaching to Your Classrooms: Professional Development that Works
• Connecting Formative Assessment to the Power of Digital Media

And who will be presenting these sessions? None other than your favorite DE and DEN presenters, including Hall Davidson, Lance Rougeux, Steve Dembo, Matt Monjan, Jen Dorman, Eren Koont, Alex Morrison, and more!

Download the complete Discovery Education Booth Schedule

Don’t forget though, that’s just a fraction of what we’re doing at NECC. Be sure to attend the special Using Multimedia in the Classroom session we’re hosting with Mimio and the four DEN spotlight sessions.

Look forward to seeing you at the conference!

New stationary bike exercises students' brains, bodies

Some Illinois students are testing a new stationary bike called the NeuroActive Bike that works out the body and mind at the same time. Students pedal while playing memory games and solving puzzles. Chicago Tribune

Kentucky educators receive martial arts training

Keith Smith, left, an alternative school teacher in Pendleton County, simulates an Aikido technique to without harm, grab and control a student trying to punch someone, as Smith lays his hands on Todd Brendel, right, a school resource officer for Erlanger-Elsmere Schools during a class at the Northern Kentucky Cooperative for Educational Services in Cold Spring.

Some Kentucky educators are learning the martial art Aikido so they can better restrain students or defuse violence without causing injury. The techniques give educators confidence that they can gain control over a potentially violent situation without harming anyone, an Aikido-trained educator said. The Cincinnati Enquirer