Depending upon how this case comes out, this could REALLY drive a stake through the heart of creativity in schools. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1196318455194970.xml&coll=1

Some kids made a video for class. Fine.

Some kids edited the movie to make fun of the kid who starred in it. Wrong.

Mother of abused kid sues the school. Outrageous!!

http://www.eenews.net/tv/

There are those who will point to this site and declare it to be a very one-sided viewpoint – and the WRONG side to boot. Others will argue that it’s the correct side and impartial. Whatever your viewpoints this is bound to provide tons of material for debate, or some excellent writing prompt material.

How did I find this? First, I was perusing the list of nominated wikis for the Edublogs contest. One wiki (http://goapes.wikispaces.com/) was mentioned and I spent some time in there. (What? You say you can’t view wikis in school? Shame!) This wiki was put together by the teachers and students of an AP Environmental Science program. It is excellent! Check it out. Look at the books they’re reading. Look at the feeds they’re getting. Check out their projects. This is good stuff.

Oh, and here are the other nominated wikis:
Horizon Project 2007
Mr. Lee’s Math 12 Advanced Class
Salute to Seuss
Welker’s Wikinomics

Hurry and vote for your favorite wiki or blog. Voting ends on December 6^th. http://edublogawards.com/2007/best-resource-sharing-blog-2007/

J

Check this out: “The University of Illinois hopes its new "global campus," set to launch early 2008, will reach more than 10,000 new online students in the next few years. At the university's campus in Springfield, Ill., faculty already use blogs and wikis in their courses.”

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16709807&ft=1&f=1013 This is part two of the series I mentioned earlier. What struck me about that introduction to the feed is that it mentions the professors using blogs and wikis in their classrooms. Yet, many of the districts right around here do not permit such tools. Tools that not only should not be blocked but should be promoted.  Can they even say that they’re preparing students for college? They SURELY cannot say that they’re preparing them for life. <sigh>

Give part 2 a listen.