Wired Educator

Okay.  Wired Educator is going to try to have another contest.  We want to reward those innovative and hard-working teachers that have created their own websites for their students.  We want to see what they look like and learn how they are being used. So….send me your links!

We will post all of the websites we receive and so everyone can take a look, get jealous, borrow some ideas and improve their sites. I can’t wait to seem them.  So far we have one whopping submission, but it is a good one: http://web.me.com/zpipe/pipe_dreams_classroom_site/Welcome.html  

I will hold up posting any more until we get a good number collected.  Let’s try to have them all sent in by May 5th.  

What are the prizes?  Good question.  Anybody willing to donate?  Nah, we will find something good pronto and post it.

Please get the word out about the contest and please send us your classroom website so we can mention and post it here, on Wired Educator!

USA Today’s Tech section posted research today suggesting that students  using Facebook reported lower grade point average.  The research was completed at The Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!) with 219 students.  The testing suggests a link between social networking sites and educational performance.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/hotsites/2009-04-13-facebook-grades_N.htm

How do you feel?  Do you think social networking sites lower grades or reduce studying time?  The USA Today article raises some interesting questions but really provides no real usable conclusions.  The similar studies have been reported of TV, video games, and anything new that grabs a person’s attention.  A better question might be, if Facebook could be a learning tool?

Send us your thoughts.

According to Apple Insider (www.appleinsider.com) Apple announced plans to begin selling an aluminum 20 inch iMac for $899 to qualifying schools. The specs on the this iMac are: Each $899 20-inch iMac includes a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB of memory, 160GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive, and a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics subsystem.

This iMac will replace the $899 white 17 inch iMac previously sold to schools.

All iMacs now will have adopted the aluminum casings.

Editors note: These iMacs are workhorses and a great buy for education. Smart move by apple to increase the screen size, boost the contents, and maintain an affordable price.

Wired Educator needs your articles on integrating technology into the classroom, and now we are willing to reward you for your efforts with the opportunity to win  a $10 iTunes Gift Card. Only one card will be awarded.

 You can win the $10 gift card by submitting your best article on technology integration to wirededucator@gmail.com.  As long as the submissions are appropriate and related to educational uses for technology they will be posted on www.wirededucator.com.  All submissions must be emailed by April 22, 2009,  Earth Day. The article that receives the most number of comments by 11:59 PM on April 30, 2009 will be declared the winner.  Keep your submissions to 498 words.  Do not include any photos.  The winner will be announced on May 5th.  (You can submit more than one quality article.  They need to be about using technology in education.)

So here is your chance for fame, sharing what you know, and a chance to win an iTunes $10 gift card.  (Hey! We need your submissions. You might just like writing edu-tech articles and you can join our team.)

www.wirededucator.com