Life's a Carnival–the Education Buzz #2

Welcome to the Second Edition of the Education Buzz--an eclectic smattering of things buzzing about the EduSphere.

We'll unblock the midway and get things started here if Siobhan Curious would quit showing people how to put on eye shadow for one darn tootin' minute.

Now that we all look marvelous with our makeovers, Happy Chyck gives us some hope. And speaking of hope, the folks over at Sharper Brains talk about some promising results of neurofeedback and ADHD children.

Now before y'all get testy, listen to what the Dancing Crocodile has to say about standardized tests and national exams. Then check out Matt Ladner as he weighs in on Common Core Standards  and Checker Finn over at Jay P. Greene's blog.

And just in case the sun fried your brain over the summer, Stephen at Outside the Cave reminds us that "being a teacher is not about 'teaching,' it's about making students learn."

Forget that fluffy cotton candy stuff and grab something with more substance. Go find Joanne Jacobs who is discussing President Obama's call for more college graduates or Diana Senechal who guest posted a piece about that Race to the Top thing over at The Washington Post's Answer Sheet.

Now I don't know much about history…I don't know much about biology… Oh, wait… isn't that a song? Ok, so even if you're not a science teacher, you've got to check out some of the best 100 YouTube videos for science teachers  posted by Bachelor of Science. At the very least, forward the list to your science friends. Apparently I'm the only one on the planet who hasn't messed with diet cokes and Mentos. If you don't know what I'm talkin' about, then you better head over there speedy quick and check that little ditty out.

In the "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" department, Pat over at Successful Teaching earned her Amateur Radio license and talks about how to use her newfound skill in the classroom. (And, no, it doesn't involve an all call for  lawyers, guns and money either. Sorry, I had to sneak that in there to see if you were paying attention.)

Now that summer is winding down and school's almost here, Mr. Teacher over at Learn Me Good provides some questions as well as some rather interesting answers.

Before we get too far off track, let's head on over to those stupid whackadoodle mole games and talk about all the things that fall into the Big Fat Stupid Head category…Jeepers Creepers, we've got quite a few this time… Darren over at Right on the Left Coast talks about the Justice Department threatening legal action against several universities because they took part in an experimental program to allow students to use the Amazon Kindle for textbooks. And, of course, if you haven't already, you should check out my dirty little secret.

Now if all of that doesn't keep you occupied, see what's hawking along the midway…

And just so you don't get sidetracked along the midway, here's some good advice for Christians who decide to attend a secular college.  

The Teaching Master presents 25 websites that supposedly revolutionizes teaching. Check them out and see what you think.

I don't know about you, but aren't you tired of reading misstakes on signs? Their everywhere. Here's some pointers on how to decrease your chances of mispelled words. Here's a post on 10 Tips for the Spelling Challenged.

If you're worried stealing, here are some free sites for checking out plagiarism.

And finally, just for grins, Online Colleges and Universities gives us a list of 20 dorm room posters to avoid. And yes, I'm not quite sure of the educational value of this one, but I find it rather disconcerting that the Rolling Stones' tongue poster was included. Jeez Louise, what is the world coming to?

If your post was included, please link back to the carnival. Otherwise, I'll get snarky and may not include you next time. If you are interested in submitting a post, please check our guidelines first and then use this handy dandy form to submit. The carnival will appear back here in two weeks on Wednesday, Sept. 1. Submissions are due by 5 p.m. CST on Saturday, August 28.

Please let me know about any broken links or problems.  As always…

“I’ve got this feeling that there’s something that I missed…”

–Snow Patrol

And, if I did, my apologies.