Greetings!  It's a blazing hot summer day and it's possible you are keeping cool inside the house, sipping on a cool drink and possibly checking your email.  I thought this would be a good moment for you to check out the new ESU 10 website.  We hope you take a moment and become familiar with it.  Although, I do want to point out to you for those who want to quickly get to the Media Catalog.  Scroll down to the bottom of the ESU 10 Home Page and click on ODIE Login box.  After logging in ODIE click on the Library link on the bottom of the left side bar.  The calendar is ready for you to begin reserving material for the coming year.  You still have a few weeks left of summer, so enjoy!

As many of you begin your curriculum work this summer, here are some timeline tools that would be great ideas for working into your classes.  Also, these might be a good way to lay out your curriculum!  Once again a GREAT blog post by Richard Byrne on Free Tech 4 Teachers blog.  Follow him on Facebook to get his wonderful links and information!

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/05/five-ways-for-students-to-build.html 

The long-awaited broadcast of Freedom Riders is right around the corner! The inspirational story of courageous civil rights activists who boarded interstate buses and traveled through the segregated South in 1961 will premiere on Monday, May 16th at 9/8c. Mark your calendars!

Fifty years later, American Experience invited 40 college students from across the country to "get on the bus." From May 6-16, the selected students will join original Freedom Riders in retracing the 1961 Rides from Washington, DC to New Orleans, LA.

  You will also find this listed in ODIE/Library.

Happy Spring Language Arts teachers!!!!  I am NOT feeling it... how about you?  Well here are a few links that might bring a little sunshine to your corner of the world!

• Google Tools in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy
• How a Web Search Works
• 10 Resources for Teaching Reading/Literature with Technology
• 5 Simple Things to Help Teachers with Web 2.0
• Video 21 - Are you wondering what 21st Century Skills look like in the classroom?  This is a great list of videos that give examples of different instructional skills.

If you are already using Google at your school or if you are planning to go Google soon, check out these great lesson plans I found.  Use the different Google tools to do these great activities!  These look like a lot of fun and very "21st Century!"  See what you think!

What did you try?  How did it go?
http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/lesson_plans.html 

Ryan Byrne has a great blog you may want to subscribe to.  He has tons of great free teacher tools in there with a new post at least every day!  This particular posting caught my eye for many reasons.  he gives a description of his 21st century classroom and how that works.  Enjoy!

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/03/there-must-50-ways-to-spell-gadhafi-or.html 

Google Earth has a great showcase established!  Check it out! One showcase item that I wanted to point out is the US President's Showcase.  You can learn about their birthplace and more.  Each is a downloadable Google Earth file!

Happy President's Day!

If you haven't heard about this, please take a minute to consider!  I think this might be a great opportunity for learning and collaboration!  I am putting it on my calendar and planning to attend!  Join me! 

http://edcampomaha.wikispaces.com/

For some reason, I have received many links this month and all of them are SOCIAL STUDIES!  How are you celebrating FEBRUARY with your students?

• 10,000 Newspapers in Google Maps
• Online Sticky Notes
• Paris Underground
• 25 Web 2.0 Web Sites
• iPads Replacing Textbooks in Georgia
• Shmoop - Black History Month
• Great Presidential Achievements from Thinkfinity
• Voki for Education
• Black History Month Collection from Thinkfinity
• 10 Simple Strategies for Engaging Students

Check out a recent blog from Richard Byrne on the lesson he was doing in propaganda. 

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/02/lesson-in-propaganda-through-protests.html