While we will always have plenty of uses for bookcases, will their traditional purpose become obsolete? Traditionally, bookcases are used to keep books readily available for easy reference. However, in this modern age many classrooms are relying on their classroom computer to hold a vast amount of information; once only found inside a bound paper book.
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Of course, there is always tradition for tradition's sake, right? Books are tangible, feel substantial and after enough time on the bookshelf, have a great old smell. Well maybe not. It was recently reported that many schools are actually doing way with their annual school yearbook. Traditional schools too, such as the University of Virginia; founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson himself. Reasons sited were budget, naturally, but surprisingly also because of online social sites. Sites such as Facebook, allow students to create digital memories online and remain connected without the need for a hand-scribbled addresses or phone numbers in the back of a yearbook. It makes packing up a door room a lot easier.
Have you been to a library lately? Most of the computer terminals are full, while only a handful of traditional library tables are occupied for open-book research. Many textbooks are now in digital format and students lug around only a laptop, rather than a huge backpack full of books.
This doesn't mean that bookcases are going to become a rare commodity. Even with the reduction of actual books in the classroom, bookcases will still be around for necessary classroom storage. Instead of encyclopedia volumes, they might be full of computer equipment, digital media files and teacher lunches. After all, we can't eat online around virtual cafeteria tables, can we?
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural (country) and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room. There, a single teacher taught academic basics to five to eight grade levels of elementary-age boys and girls.
The quality of facilities at one-room schools varied with local economic conditions, but generally, the number of children at each grade level would vary with local populations. Most buildings were of simple frame construction, some with the school bell on a cupola. In Midwestern states, sod construction was also used, as well as stone in areas such as portions of the southwest where trees were scarce. In some locations, the schoolhouse was painted red, but most seem to have been white.
The blackboard really is a black board, made of wide boards painted black. It was not until much later that slate was used for chalkboards, although students often had individual slates for writing practice.
Teachers in one-room schools were often former students themselves. During the winter months they would get to the school early to get a fire started in the potbelly stove, so the building would be warm for the students. On many occasions they would prepare a hot, noon meal on top of the stove, usually consisting of soup or stew of some kind.
A typical school day was 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with morning and afternoon recesses of 15 minutes each and an hour period for lunch. "The older students were given the responsibility of bringing in water, carrying in coal or wood for the stove. The younger students would be given responsibilities according to their size and gender such as cleaning the black board (chalkboard), taking the erasers outside for dusting plus other duties that they were capable of doing.
Transportation for children who lived too far to walk was often provided by horse-drawn kid hack or sulky, which could only travel a limited distance in a reasonable amount of time each morning and evening, or students might ride a horse, these being put out to pasture in an adjoining paddock during the day. In more recent times, students rode bicycles.
The school house was the center and focus for thousands of rural communities, hamlets and small towns. Often, town meetings and picnics were also held there.
The vast majority of one-room schools in the United States are no longer used as schools and have either been torn down or converted for other purposes. However, in some rural communities, including among the Amish, one-room or two-room schools are still used, primarily for elementary education, with students graduating to local or regional middle and high schools.
Here is an except from the remarks made by President Obama regarding education during the State of the Union address on 1/27/09.
"Now, this year, we've broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. And the idea here is simple: Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform -- reform that raises student achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science; and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to the inner city. In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential.
When we renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we will work with Congress to expand these reforms to all 50 states. Still, in this economy, a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job. That's why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are a career pathway to the children of so many working families.
To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Instead, let's take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let's tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years –- and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.
And by the way, it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs - because they, too, have a responsibility to help solve this problem. "
Enter your school today in the "Learn to Play"U.S. Playground Map Stencil Giveaway. The beautiful geographically and proportionately accurate educational map stencil is 16 feet by 27 feet and extends the classroom curriculum to recess and outdoor play.
Have students study up on their geography indoors using indoor political maps or educational carpets this winter. Then when spring rolls around students can take what they know out to their oversized outdoor map. History and geography comes alive with the games and activities included in the stencil set.
This geographically and proportionately accurate map of the United States is easy to apply and can be painted by four adults and 10 children in three hours.
Complete instructions with paint specifications.
This affordable, high quality, eight section single use paper stencil has holes which define detailed borders of the 50 states and the five Great Lakes.
Continental U.S. (48 states) covers an area 16' x 27'
Scale 1 foot = 100 miles.
Encourages Educational Classroom Projects in History, Economics, Geography and Politics.
Visit Peaceful Playgrounds website today for contest rules and entry form. Hurry, contest drawing is March 31, 2010.
Two projector manufacturers have just released new products that are sure to change the interactive whiteboard (IWB) market. News of these classroom projectors that can turn virtually any surface into an IWB without the need for specific projection screens or specialty dry erase boards.
The development means schools no longer have to buy separate hardware to enjoy the benefits of IWBs, whose interactive surface and ability to engage students have made them quite popular in classrooms.
“We would certainly consider this projector a game-changer,” said Claudine Wolas, project manager for Epson Electronics’ BrightLink 450Wi. “It’s not just the newest and latest in projectors, but in whiteboards as well.”
The BrightLink projector, introduced Jan. 13, can be mounted to any type of classroom wall (of course, the smoother the better—and old-fashioned, non-electronic whiteboards work the best). Because it’s an ultra short-throw projector, it can project a whiteboard surface image from a very short distance, meaning that as a teacher or student interacts with the surface, no shadowing exists.
The BrightLink 450Wi is compatible with virtually any interactive software, which would allow educators to use their current curriculum programs as well as expand to eTextbooks and more electronic content. The BrightLink 450Wi features 2,500 lumens white light output and 2,500 lumens color light output, wireless connectivity, WXGA resolution (16:10 aspect ratio), and can project images from 55-inches diagonal to up to 96-inches diagonal (WXGA) and up to 102-inches diagonal (XGA).
“The entire projection area is the interactive area,” explained Wolas. “Before, educators would have to consider board size in terms of both pricing and classroom size, and costs would differ accordingly. With this projector, which has Epson 3LCD technology and 2,500 lumens, now educators can choose any type of size for their IWB, at no cost increase. It’s every size of whiteboard in just one projector.”
Educators and students can interact with the whiteboard surface using an infrared pen, and the software driving the system is platform-agnostic, meaning students and educators can work with virtually any Web 2.0 application, digital media file, or eTextbook.
Epson also is partnering with RM Education to provide RM’s Easiteach interactive lesson software; however, the companies have not yet decided whether RM’s content will be provided free of charge with the projector or will come at an additional cost.
The day before Epson announced its new BrightLink projector, Boxlight introduced a similar product, the ProjectoWrite 2/W—a short-throw LCD projector with XGA resolution that can project an IWB surface up to 80 inches diagonally. The ProjectoWrite2/W improves upon a technology that Boxlight first unveiled in 2007.
Epson and Boxlight aren’t the first companies to come out with technology that can turn any flat surface into an IWB. AVRover’s SVS200 with ONfinity CM2 Max is a portable AV system that can turn almost any surface into an IWB. And mimio’s Interactive System includes a small bar, stylus, mounting hardware, software, and USB interface that can attach to any dry-erase board or other surface to make it interactive.
But to use these other systems, schools will still need a digital projector—whereas Epson’s and Boxlight’s solutions are self-contained.
For less than $2,000—half the price of the average IWB—schools can have twice the number of IWB surfaces in their schools, simply by purchasing the BrightLink, Wolas said.
“Or they can use the money saved for other school costs,” she added.
SentrySafe the world leader in water and fire resistant file cabinets has acquired Schwab Corp and now brings unsurpassed water resistant technology to the office to protect valuable documents. The SentrySafe fire resistant and water model went head to head at the independent facilities of InterTek the global leader in testing and product certification. Each file cabinet model underwent identical inspection and preparation and testing as mandated by certification standards. The bottom surface area was covered with paper towels, the paper towels were the weighed and replaced. Each unit was then continuously sprayed for 1 hour. After 1 hour each unit was wiped down before the paper towels were removed and re-weighed. The standard states that if any one file drawer exceeds 15 grams of leakage, about the weight of 15 paper clips, the test is deemed a failure. The competition allowed so much leakage that final weigh in was not possible. The competition failed the test!
The SentrySafe fire and water resistant model underwent the exact same testing and easily passed the tough requirements. Protect your documents against Fire and Water Damage with the SentrySafe Fire Resistant, Water Resistant Filing Cabinet.
“Teach your children well” is a classic lyric from Neil Young’s collaborative music group, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. This year’s annual Bridge School Benefit Concert hosted by Neil Young had no other aim. Two of Neil Young’s children live with significant physical impairments that prompted him improve the lives of those in need.
The Bridge School located in Hillsborough, California, assists children with severe physical and speech impairments. The Bridge School is composed of four interrelated programs: Education, Transition, Outreach and Research. They have ongoing programs, projects, and activities that move all people closer to a life without barriers to education, participation and communication.
This year's 23rd annual show, which got underway Saturday 10/24/09 at Shoreline Amphitheatre just north of San Jose with unplugged sets by No Doubt, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Monsters of Folk, Fleet Foxes, Wolfmother and Gavin Rossdale. Adam Sandler was scheduled to take over Buffett's slot as the only change on Sunday's lineup.
Many of the artists performed directly to the special-needs students, that watch from an onstage riser placed right behind the performers. Young wandered back to the riser and played for the students, who include his son with cerebral palsy, Ben. They heartfully enjoyed the musician’s intimacy, who would also return to the front of the stage to do the same for the contributing audience.
To donate or to find about more about the Bridge School, please visit their website at https://www.bridgeschool.org.
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