Tweetin’ via SMS

40404 is the magic number now…. I just had to verify my number with Twitter under DEVICE UPDATES. I just want to tweet. Not necessarily receive tweets on cell because it can be costly if you are not on an unlimited SMS plan. There is a way tho to restrict tweets and Amy has blogged a way to do that via RSS to text message service sites.

Since we are on the topic of Twitter…

My daughter shared this youtube clip with me that explains Twitter in an interesting way…

BELIEVE

This week as I started watching the beginning of the fourth season of The Wire, I can’t help but to reflect on…

1. My first year of teaching in Baltimore City with real chalkboards and san air conditioning & technology (including calculators).

2. I remember back  in 2002 when Mayor O’ Reilly kicked off the Baltimore Believe campaign to lift the spirits of the citizens.

Funny as we go into battle training mode for high-stakes testing, we need to BELIEVE that our students can and will achieve. Also, first year teachers at this time are probably making career decisions based on their experiences from the past eight months. They too must continue to BELIEVE in themselves that they also are important in their craft in making valuable contributions to our children; and are valued for what they do.

Karaoke to the next level

What had happened was… I went into Walmart to pick up a few items and ran into this wonderful green-screen technology today. A company called Dancing Heads produced the right video of me for free! This event was sponsored by Coca-Cola. The setup was very basic. I could do the same with the software, camera, and the other equipment to entertain parties during my retirement. Something to definitely think about. Definitely karoke to the next level!

Unfortunately I did not get to take a picture of their setup due to cellular technical difficulties, but click on the picture on the left and see the results! Enjoy! LOL!

The worst has happened…

Yesterday, believe it or not, I went the whole day with sans Blackberry. This circumstance was due to an issue with my battery (well I thought it was my battery anyway). Every time I attempted to charge it up, it would not recognize that it was plugged up. Hmmmmm… went in to the AT&T store and spoke to a kind gentleman who assisted me in trying to solve my BB Curve issue. Looked like one of the phone’s female micro usb receptical pins were damaged. Warranty was out, and no insurance. Broham is out of luck especially when contract is up on JUNE 25. So until then, I will have to downgrade to my old Motoral Rokr phone. Well, I guess I can work on my iTunes playlists back again.

Anyway… now it is really funny how it so happens that yesterday, Apple announces their new OS version 3 for the iPhone. From the above pic, Apple may have just won me over to the dark side. Great preview found on youtube… Sorry RIM, gotta kick ya to the curve, oops curb…

Real World Math Problem #2: Ice Cream Sammichs

The other day at the supermarket, I ran into this great “we all use math everyday” problem.

1-box of 6 Ice Cream Sandwiches for 2/$4.00
1-box of 12 Ice Cream Sandwiches 2/$5.00
1-box of 12 Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches 2/$5.00
1-box of 6 Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches 1/$3.99

The above image is great for having students make conjectures or to produce a  quick write. I linked the above items to their calorie counts - another way to integrate some math.

As I always say… To activate students HOTS, have them (NOT YOU!) create problems/questions such as…

1. Which box of ice cream sandwiches is the better buy? Why?

2. When would the box of 6 that cost 2 for $4.00 be the better buy? Give some scenarios.

3. Why is the box of mini ice cream so expensive?

We can go on and on, however if you have some additional question to share, please comment!

Shameless self-promotion using…

Dum da da dum……

∑quΛtiØΠ ∑di†Ørs & SMART Notebook

Video blogged today… Happy 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937….. day!

Hats off to…

Dorothy Calloway

The above 75 year old math educator (yes, still in the classroom!!!) has truly inspired me. I stumbled upon an article in my NCAE newsletter that spotlighted her accolades and perseverance in the classroom as a fellow front-line  veteran soldier for over 50 years!        

From the reading, I took note of the following….

• She informally assess her students by their actions by watching their pencils, papers, and expressions. Also, she knows her limits.
• When she deals with troublesome students, she calls on a higher authority… no not the principal or superintendant, or even Obama. Dorothy calls their name before the Lord and ask Him to help her – and you know that God delivers! This is what I need to do… she seeks divine intervention with the students End-of-Grade tests.  She starts asking at the beginning of the school year!
• Dorothy believes keeps it old school. No electronics, that includes the overhead or even computers. The chalkboard is king – Away with dry erase markers  & boards, new text books, and calculators.  Straight OG, son!

Ms. Calloway….  thank you for your many years of dedication to the craft and may the Lord continue to give you
strength to mold minds and futures.

?nternet For Everyone

First, let me address one issue. I have noticed that some people do not know the difference between an internet an The Internet. For clarification…

1. An internet is an interconnection of individual networks where routers & gateways are used to mesh these networks together.

2. The Internet (yes, I am stressing capitalization) is the name of a specific worldwide network.

Since we are talking about this topic of the Internet… this weekend there will be townhall meeting in Durham discussing how the US can advance its accessibility to the Internet. I may go out and check it out; and if so, I will share!

Educational Leaders and Chess

Learned a great lesson while watching the first disc of the first season of The Wire…