[DeBakey Library Newsletter] Read Across America

[L. G. Hayes]

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

In celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday, we invite you to spend some of your time reading in the library for Read Across America Day, March 1st.  Bring your class or drop in during your planning period.  You can also send students with passes if they are prepared to read.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better.  It's not.  
Dr. Seuss

New Facility 

For those teachers envisioning our new facility, the following links might provide some inspiration.

High School Design for a New Generation of Students
Fielding Nair International Projects
Schools of the 21st Century
What is our District TAR Score?
from Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

There a growing schism between schools who seem to allow technology to be used in an open, productive and trusted manner and those who are TAR (Technologically Anal Retentive). Judge your own district's TAR score using the checklist below. 1 point for each item:

1. My district does not allow staff to use their own devices on the network.
2. My district does not allow students to use their own devices on the network.
3. My district only supports one operating system.
4. My district does not give teachers the choice of a laptop computer they can use outside of school.
5. My district does not give teachers administrative rights to their computers (the ability to add software, access control panels. etc.)
6. My district assigns passwords.
7. My district blocks (1 point each):
   • Facebook/LinkedIn/Google+
   • YouTube
   • Twitter
   • Pandora
   • Non-school email sites
   • Blogs and wikis (including Wikipedia)
   • Anything Google (apps, sites, search, images)
8. My district must approve all software I use.
9. My district does not allow student work to be published to a public website.
10. My district does not allow access to the student information system outside the district.
11. My district does not allow students and parents access their grades and other information online.
12. My district only offers technology training by technology department members, not staff.
13. I need more than one password to get into my gradebook.
14. I feel my district actively monitors my e-mail and computer use without cause.

Bonus 5 points: If your technology director cites CIPA, FERPA, or another mysterious acronym as a reason for blocking anything.

OK, here's the scale:

• 1-5 Your school is cool. Staff and students can use the Internet as an educational tool.
• 5-15 Your school needs to figure out a better collaborative process for determining what should and should not be blocked. 
• 15-25 Your technology department should be re-named "The Prevention of Education Department". A concerted effort by all true educators in your district needs to be made to overthrow the Technology Czar running the place.

I am willing to add other criteria to the TAR list. Your suggestions? 

Image by Scott McLeod under Creative Commons license

Let HISD know about blocked websites and software that that you believe can benefit your students.  


Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series

Amber Dermott and Jesym Ward will read from their books Monday, March 25th at Hobby Center. The presentations will be followed by an interview and book signing.

The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermot

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

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Posted By L. G. Hayes to DeBakey Library Newsletter at 2/28/2013 01:08:00 PM

[L. G. Hayes]