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Volume IX, No. 2
For this month's feature, we are pleased to collaborate with federal colleagues from the "Educate to Innovate" campaign noted in last month's edition, and specifically with National Lab Day, one of the five innovative partnerships that comprise this new initiative to improve the performance of America's students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
What's inside...
National Lab Day: More Than the Name Might Imply
What's New
- Special Report: ESEA Reform
- From the U.S. Department of Education
- From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
- From the Institute of Education Sciences
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- Arts Education
- Financial Education
- Parents
- Raising Student Achievement
- School Improvement
- Teacher Quality and Development
- Charters/Choice
- Early Childhood Education
- School Improvement
- Teacher Quality and Development
- Technology in Education
National Lab Day: More Than the Name Might Imply
The United States typically ranks well-below average in student science and mathematics scores when compared to the other industrialized nations of the world. That must change if the U.S. is to remain globally competitive. In a speech last spring, President Obama issued a call to action, saying, "… Make no mistake: Our future is on the line. The nation that out-educates us today is going to out-compete us tomorrow." As a result of this call, the President last fall an "all hands on deck call" to scientists, engineers, businesses, and the general public to work together in the service of STEM education. This campaign, "Educate to Innovate," has three main aims:
- increase STEM literacy so that all students can learn deeply and think critically in science, math, engineering, and technology;
- move American students from the middle of the pack to top in math and science in the next decade; and
- expand STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and girls.
NLD focuses on the part of the President's call to action that was specifically addressed to the nation's scientists:
I want to persuade you to spend time in the classroom, talking and showing young people what it is that your work can mean, and what it means to you … to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering … encourage young people to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.
—President Barack Obama, April 2009
NLD connects the scientists who respond to the teachers and students who need them, as a video on Vimeo evidences.
More than Just a Day
The name is misleading. NLD is not about "labs" in the usual, narrow sense – test tubes and bubbling beakers, frogs or scurrying beetles. Rather, it takes a very broad view of what a lab is: any place where students can tinker, explore, experiment, and test; it is any place that they can get their hands dirty and their minds engaged. A lab could be a laptop for a software designer, a mountaintop to a geologist, a computer link to a distant particle accelerator to a physicist, or a factory floor to an industrial engineer. It's a place where hands-on lessons in science, technology, and engineering can happen, or where math can come alive to a child. It could be anywhere in the physical or virtual world.
NLD is also not about a day. This year's activities will culminate in some events during the first week in May but the effort will not end there. NLD is an ongoing effort to bring exciting, hands-on, discovery-based learning experiences to students. It is a movement that is supporting STEM education in schools by giving students well-equipped labs and access to the STEM-based professionals who can inspire them.
"We know that teachers and schools can benefit tremendously from partnerships with scientists and engineers – and that benefit often goes both ways. National Lab Day is an innovative tool to make it easier to form those connections," said Michael Lach, Special Assistant for STEM Education at the U. S. Department of Education. "It really makes it easy to initiate partnerships."
Teacher-Driven Design
Teachers, in collaboration with their local communities, set the agenda for their own students. Teachers are the experts. Their needs could be additional lab equipment, personal mentoring from a scientist, a visit to a working lab, tech support, internships, help with a lesson plan or a science fair project, up-to-date career information, chaperones for a field trip, or just an extra set of hands for a class project. In all these instances and more, teachers know best what is needed to improve their students' hands-on learning experiences. They start the process by registering on the National Lab Day Web site and describing the goals of their project. Requests for equipment, books, or supplies can be automatically listed on DonorsChoose.org.
More than a thousand teachers have already posted projects on the website. The projects are wide-ranging. Some teachers ask for general help with curricular topics, such as:
Alternative Energy Resources. I am looking for any classroom projects that are cross-curricular on alternate (renewable) energy resources.
Chemistry of Fire: I would like to incorporate an in-depth study of fire into our unit on Redox. We live in an area of Florida where fire is used to control the growth of plants in certain areas. I might also like to incorporate a discussion of arson and chemistry.Other teachers have very specific projects in mind:
LED Light vs. Fluorescent Light on Hydroponically Grown Basil. Basil plants will be grown in a hydroponic system. Plants will be exposed to either LED light sources or fluorescent light sources. The vitamin C content of the basil plants will be assayed, using indolphenol. We are looking for experts or hobbyists willing to answer questions regarding maintenance of the hydroponic system and/or assay techniques and data interpretation.
Math and Science Lab Design. Seventh-grade students will be using math concepts such as scale, geometry, and measure to design a math/science lab for our growing school. The goal is to primarily introduce pre-algebra students to the practical applications of interior design. We have an available space that is currently in disrepair. The school plans to use the space for an auditorium and business offices, but the design for the math/science lab might be considered if it was close to professional quality and took very little space. We need an engineer to advise us and an architect to critique plans.
Biology Brain Night. Students would create biology-based projects that illustrate one or two important concepts of Biology that impact life in their community. The students would present their idea in an interesting way using formats such as video, poster, song, art work or interactive website. Alternatively, students would develop a program that trains young children on a healthy eating lifestyle. Students would then participate in a Brain Bee. would need materials for the health project and judges for the contest.
Air Capacitors. The standard model of an air capacitor is two peanut butter containers glued together with a piece of elastic material between them. These are fragile and break easily. What I would like ideally is to have each pair or triplet of students build an air circuit with a pump and pinwheels functioning as analogous bulbs. The energy stored in the air capacitors in the form of elastic potential energy could then be used to spin a tiny wind generator lighting a bulb. This would bring energy generation into the curriculum at an early time. I have 190 students in three completely different subjects: Pre-AP Biology, Pre-AP Physics, and Inquiry Science for 9th-graders, so I don't have much time to build and test equipment.Some projects are longer term, such as the following one based on an existing program. NLD is a great way to find more scientists and teachers for ongoing efforts:
Citizen Schools: What will YOU teach? We are all experts! In our careers, in the computer lab, on the basketball court, in the garden, or in the kitchen – YOU are an expert at something. Citizen Schools gives you the opportunity to teach what you know –in your professional career or personal pursuits – to help middle school students learn real world skills and get excited about learning. Remember that teacher who sparked a passion in you? Here's your chance to do the same. What we are looking for: No teaching experience is necessary. The volunteer experience lasts about 12 weeks. Volunteers commit to about three to four hours a week, which includes lesson preparation and the weekly 90-minute apprenticeship session. You will receive training, on-site orientation, and will be closely supported. Can't commit to 12 weeks? We also invite you to attend or serve as a judge at one of our end-of-semester "WOW!" showcases that take place in May and December. This will give you a firsthand understanding of the amazing work that volunteer Citizen Teachers do in sharing their expertise and career paths with students and in bringing science to life. What will YOU teach?
Other projects are short-term and relatively informal. Lots of teachers ask for local STEM-based professionals to help with science fairs, Olympiads, or festivals. Teachers may ask for tech support for computer labs or robotics projects, or they may ask for scientists to come and talk about their careers. One teacher is hosting a series of "dinners with a scientist" where kids and a scientist meet over pizza to talk informally. Another teacher has proposed "Skype with a Child" where STEM-based professionals sign up to interactively answer students' questions once a month. Other teachers, STEM professionals, and the public can view many of the resulting projects online.
Calling All Scientists and Engineers!
A super majority—94 percent—of teachers ask to be connected to a scientist or engineer, and NLD is about making those connections.
Scientists, techies, engineers, and mathematicians are needed in classrooms for their expertise and for the excitement and enthusiasm that they can bring to discussion of their field. They can connect to projects by first registering at the NLD Web site. Once they do, they will be automatically matched to schools in their local areas that need their expertise. Both the teachers and the volunteers receive periodic e-mail notifications of the matches. They are each free to respond or not. If they do respond, communications are handled through the Web site until both parties choose to reveal their personal e-mails or contact information. Scientists and volunteers can also find projects by searching under the "Projects" tab or by scanning the Project Map. If they see a project they like, they can just click on the "I want to help" button to get connected. Finally, potential volunteers can be proactive by going to their local school and telling them about NLD.
Connecting Teachers to Resources
National Lab Day is also becoming an effective way to disseminate resources. The Web site has lots of resources on project ideas, professional development opportunities, and information on relevant programs and events. It is a way to connect to a wide range of companies, federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations that offer STEM materials, programs, and events.
NLD is expected to last well beyond this May's events by mobilizing citizens – especially citizen scientists – to see schools as an important national resource worthy of their support. National Lab Day has enormous potential to change the way students see science. It can build the ongoing, long-term collaborations needed to make high quality, hands-on STEM experiences and practitioners routinely available to all students.
Check out the Web site. Register. See what projects teachers in your area are proposing. See what volunteers in your area have to offer. Put your project on the map!
Want to know more about NLD? Contact Jan Cuny, Senior Director of Professional and Federal Programs at the National Science Foundation, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
What's New
Special Report: White House Proposes ESEA Reform
The Obama Administration released its blueprint to revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to help raise expectations of students and reward schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. Following the lead of the nation's governors and state education leaders, the plan will ask states to ensure that their academic standards prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace, and to create accountability systems that recognize student growth and school progress toward meeting that goal. Announcing the blueprint in his weekly address on Saturday, March 13, President Obama stressed the urgency of committing to an ambitious goal of all students graduating from high school prepared for college. "Unless we take action – unless we step up – there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential," he said. "I don't accept that future for them. And I don't accept that future for the United States of America."
Following the release of the President's blueprint, Secretary Duncan focused on needed improvements in accountability for student achievement as a key area that the administration's proposal addresses. "To make ESEA work we have to fix accountability and get it right," he said. "A rigorous and fair accountability system measures student growth, rewards schools that accelerate student achievement, and identifies and rewards outstanding teachers and leaders."
Secretary Duncan is prepared to work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize the ESEA, and began the process on March 17, when he testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee. He stressed the urgency of the reforms proposed in the President's blueprint. "Our children and our future are at risk," Secretary Duncan said, "so let us together do the difficult but necessary things our schools demand, and our children deserve." (March 2010)
From the U.S. Department of Education
On March 1, President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined General Colin Powell for the announcement of "Grad Nation," a 10-year campaign by the America's Promise Alliance to mobilize America to reverse the dropout crisis. The President challenged states to identify high schools with graduation rates below 60 percent and discussed the Obama Administration's new investments to turn schools around. (March 2010)
Secretary Duncan invites comments on the draft National Educational Technology Plan, which describes how information and communication technologies can help transform American education. It provides concrete goals to inform state and local educational technology plans, and recommendations to inspire research, development, and innovation. "This plan was prepared for the Office of Educational Technology by leading researchers and practitioners," the Secretary noted in announcing the new plan. "It represents their best ideas about how we can bring forward our schools—making them centers of learning designed to close the gap between the technology-rich and exciting experiences that dominate students' lives outside of school while preparing them for success in today's competitive global marketplace." (March 2010)
Secretary Duncan joined former Secretary of Education Richard Riley at the fifth annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning 2010 in New York City. The conference brought together more than 8,500 educators with global experts, activists, academics, and artists to share their experiences in and outside of the classroom. (March 2010)
"2010 Census: Make Education Count," a fact sheet from the Census Bureau, notes that the accuracy of the 2010 census has significant implications for education. In fact, 2010 census data will directly affect how approximately $26 billion in annual federal education funding is allocated to local, state, and tribal governments over the next 10 years. Census data is used to create funding formulas for over 30 formula grant programs administered by the Department, which provide aid to low-income students, English language learners, students with disabilities, homeless children, and migrant children. (March 2010)
The Department issued proposed priorities for a new $439 million competition under the Teacher Incentive Fund to support states, school districts, charter schools, and nonprofit organizations in partnership with any of these entities in the development and implementation of performance-based compensation systems for teachers and principals. The goals are to increase educator effectiveness and student achievement in high-need schools. Applicants will have the opportunity to apply for funding to develop differentiated pay systems that reward teachers and leaders who demonstrate their effectiveness in improving student learning, take on enhanced leadership roles, and serve in hard-to-staff schools or core subjects. (February 2010)
In a recent meeting with the nation's governors, President Obama outlined new steps, as part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act(ESEA), to better prepare America's children for college and the workforce. For example, he proposed requiring all states to adopt and certify that they have college- and career-ready standards in reading and math to qualify for Title I funding. A state could meet this requirement in two ways: by adopting standards developed by a consortium of states or by verifying, in a process to be developed with state universities, that their existing standards are high enough. (February 2010)
From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the final priorities and released the grant application for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). The fund will support the development of path-breaking new ideas, the validation of approaches that have demonstrated promise, and the scale-up of the nation's most successful and proven education innovations. "Many of our generation's greatest breakthroughs occur when people are willing to invest in small scale projects with big scale potential," said Duncan. "We need to identify these pockets of promise in the education community and give them the resources they need to grow." (March 2010)
From the Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is requesting applications to evaluate Race to the Top Awards (Phase 1 and Phase 2) under its Evaluation of State and Local Education Programs and Policies Program (84.305E). Applications will be accepted on or before April 1, 2010, June 24, 2010, and September 16, 2010. The April deadline is only available for applicants intending to evaluate Race to the Top Awards. This first round allows applicants to start their evaluations at the same time that Phase 1 awardees are expected to be implemented. Applications to evaluate Race to the Top Awards can also be submitted by the June or September deadlines. (March 2010)
FY 2011 Requests for Applications for two research grant competitions, Education Research Grants (84.305A) and Special Education Research Grants (84.324A), have been announced. (March 2010)
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia will advance as finalists for Phase 1 of the Race to the Top competition. Race to the Top is the Department's $4.35 billion effort to dramatically re-shape America's educational system to better engage and prepare our students for success in a competitive 21st century economy and workplace. States competing for Race to the Top funds were asked to document past education reform successes, as well as outline plans to: extend reforms using college and career-ready standards and assessments; build a workforce of highly effective educators; create educational data systems to support student achievement; and turn around their lowest-performing schools. (March 2010)
The Department of Education approved State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) Phase II funding for Illinois, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. SFSF's Phase II application required states to supply data that will lay the foundation for education reform. State applications are being approved on a rolling basis. (March 2010)
Arts Education
A five-year, comprehensive study of the Oklahoma A+ Schools provides documentation of the growth and effectiveness of this 60-school network that includes public, private, and charter schools from early childhood through high school, in urban, suburban, and rural Oklahoma. Schools commit to a set of eight A+ Essentials™ that include the arts, enriched assessment, and collaborative instruction. A+ schools, according to the study, evidence higher student achievement, decreased discipline problems, and stronger parent and community involvement. (March 2010)
The Arts Education Partnership's Wire-[157KB] currently features a summary of the findings of a recently released study of analyzed data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (NELS:88), a study of some 25,000 secondary school students over their high school years and then an additional 10 years, until age 26. The results, presented in Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Arts, by James Catterall of UCLA, strongly connect arts learning with both general academic success and pro-social outcomes. The study offers evidence of the significant role that the arts play in preparing young people for success, both in academia and in life. (March 2010)
The Southeast Center for Education in the Arts third national Arts & Education Forum: Arts @ the Core of 21st Century Learning will take place in Chattanooga, Tenn., on May 14-15, 2010. The Forum will examine how artistic concepts and processes can be illuminated and propagated for more creative and meaningful instruction throughout the curriculum. Participants will experience, discuss, and explore the influence the arts can have on 21st century competencies as well the impact of integrated teaching and learning on arts education. The deadline to take advantage of special hotel rates is April 13. (February 2010)
Financial Education
The National Financial Capability Challenge, unveiled last December by Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is an awards program that increases the financial knowledge and capability of high school-aged youth across the United States. It challenges high school teachers and other educators to teach the basics of personal finance and rewards students, educators, schools, and states for their participation and performance. Join more than 5,000 educators nationwide whose students are expected to take the voluntary online exam. The deadline for educators to sign on has been extended to April 9, 2010, which is the final day to administer the exam.
State Laws on Family Engagement in Educationfrom the National PTA is designed to help State PTAs and other family and child advocates to increase systemic, effective family engagementin schools. The reference guide has two purposes: First, to provide information that will help families to effectively advocate for their children's education on the school and district levels. Second, it guides policymakers' and advocates' development of their legislative reform initiatives as well as their efforts to monitor the implementation of existing laws. The guide covers six topics, including state grant and award programs for family engagement; labor laws regarding parent participation in school activities; and family engagement targeting children in high-risk situations. (February 2010)
Raising Student Achievement
A draft of the K-12 Common Core Standards was made public on March 10. The standards define the knowledge and skills students should have in mathematics and English language arts in order to graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic courses and in workforce training programs. The Common Core State Standards Initiativeis coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and involves governors and state commissioners from 48 states and the District of Columbia. These standards are open for public comment until Friday, April 2. (March 2010)
Each year, on the anniversary of the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools, Achieve releases a 50-state progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers. Closing the Expectations Gap, 2010-[3.81MB] is the fifth annual report in this series. The report details state progress implementing the American Diploma Project policy agenda. (March 2010)
A long-term study of the effects of paying students for high achievement, "A Stitch in Time: The Effects of a Novel Incentive-Based High-School Intervention on College Outcomes," found that Texas high school students who were paid for passing scores on Advanced Placement exams attended college in greater numbers, earned improved GPAs in college, and remained in college beyond freshman year in higher numbers. The study was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in its Working Papers series. (February 2010)
School Improvement
A new report from the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy reveals reasons for the decrease in the statewide dropout rate in Massachusetts, which dropped below three percent in 2008-2009. The report, "Meeting the Challenge, Promising Practices for Reducing Drop-Out Rates in Massachusetts Schools and Districts,"-[246KB] addresses the question of what is working in the state's schools and highlights strategies being used in 11 high schools and a number of Massachusetts school districts. (February 2010)
Teacher Quality and Development
In a new report on teacher evaluation, "More than Widgets: TAP: A Systemic Approach to Increased Teacher Effectiveness," researcher and former teacher Jonathan Eckert describes an approach for differentiating between effective and ineffective teachers. The report addresses the four "levers" that, based on research of TAP™, need to be work in concert in order to create a sustainable evaluation structure. TAP, which is supported by the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, currently impacts more than 7,500 teachers and 85,000 students across the country. Jonathan Eckert was a 2008-2009 Teacher Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education. (March 2010)
Innovations in the News
Open houses, fliers, sophisticated Web sites and blogs, visits to daycare centers – these are some of the ways that public schools in Harlem are marketing themselves to attract students who might otherwise select one of the increasing number of local charter schools. At a recent open house at P.S. 125, which has fewer than half the number of students it did five years ago, principal Rafaela Espinal not only touts her school's A on the last school report card, but proudly shows off an ornate auditorium and swimming pool. "We have to think about selling ourselves all the time," according to Espinal. "We have to get them in the door if we are even going to try to convince them to come here." [More—The New York Times] (March 10)
A dozen young men – 100 percent of the first senior class of Urban Prep in Chicago – are not only college ready; they are college bound. And the 12 have come a long way from their freshman year, when only four percent of them were reading at grade level. Tim King, Urban Prep's founder and CEO, was joined by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and city schools chief Ron Huberman as well as the graduating seniors' families at a recent all-school assembly where the seniors traded their red uniform ties for striped red and gold ones, the symbol of being accepted into college. "Being accepted to college is the first step," said the school's director of college counseling, Kenneth Hutchinson, "to changing their lives and their communities." [More—The Chicago Tribune] (March 5)
Research is increasingly pointing to teaching as the sine qua non in an effective classroom, but Deborah Kenny, founder of the successful Harlem Village Academies, knew that to be the case nearly a decade ago. Rather than program elements, such as curriculum and class size, Kenny put the greatest attention on the quality of teaching when she began in 2001. It was "100 times more important than anything else" to Kenny to have "an amazing teacher who was talented and passionate and given the freedom and support to teach well." When that element is missing, according to her, it's very difficult to repeat the success of her schools. [More—The New York Times] (Feb. 23)
Early Childhood Education
Ninety-seven percent of Oklahoma school districts offer pre-kindergarten programs through the public schools, and that kind of commitment has garnered the state the No. 1 state status for early childhood education from the National Institute for Early Education Research for six consecutive years. The state's commitment to its youngest students took a major leap forward more than a decade ago when pre-kindergarten funding became part of the State Aid Formula, which made all 4-year-olds eligible to attend school. Three quarters of the state's 4-year-olds are voluntarily enrolled in publicly funded pre-K programs, and about half of those children are in full-day programs. [More—Oklahoma City Friday] (Feb. 25)
School Improvement
"International education benchmarks make disappointing reading for the U.S.," according to Andreas Schleicher of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), who testified before Congress on comparisons of student achievement among OECD countries. He reported that New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and Mexico have lower high school completion rates than the U.S., which stands at 70 percent of American students earning a diploma. More successful nations, according to Schleicher, centralize control over standards and curriculum, and provide local schools with more freedom from regulation. More schools with "charter-like autonomy" would make the U.S. schools more like those in the world's best-performing education systems, he noted. [More—The New York Times] (March 10)
Students in Colorado's Aurora public schools will be able to follow their specialized interests in a range of academic subjects when the district's new P-20 school open this coming August. Four specialized pathways – STEM; health sciences; arts, humanities and music; and business, marketing and entrepreneurship – will be offered in a new school that is designed to eventually house grades P to 20; a number of colleges in the Aurora community are expected to be involved and have a presence at the school. [More—The Aurora (CO) Sentinel] (March 5)
Leaders of the Baltimore City Schools and the John Hopkins University are partners in a unique volunteering arrangement by which the University's 14,000 employees will be offered two days of paid leave a year to volunteer in the City schools. "We know how an education can transform a student's life," said Johns Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels, as he announced the start of "Johns Hopkins Takes Time for Schools." The University's employees will be able to volunteer for a wide range of tasks in both classrooms and support areas such as information technology and administration. [More—The Baltimore Sun] (March 3)
A panel of policymakers and educators outlined a vision and comprehensive system of assessment that proposes a move away from multiple-choice tests "toward the development of a set of deeper, more analytical questions, tasks, and projects that ask students to solve and discuss complex problems."The proposed assessments can be "of, for, and as learning," according to panel leader Professor Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University. The panel was convened by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), which have also coordinated the efforts of 48 states to devise common college- and career-readiness content standards. The common standards are essential but will not be adequate to improve education, according to CCSSO's executive director, Gene Wilhoit, unless they are accompanied by improved assessment. [More—Education Week] (Feb. 23) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Science and math teachers could do more to familiarize students with career options in science, technology, engineering, and math, according to a recent online survey of students in grades three to 12 commissioned by the American Society for Quality. Eighty-five percent of the 1,000 students surveyed gave their teachers at least a "B" for their knowledge about science, but nearly two-thirds of high school students gave their teachers a "C" or lower for the extent to which they talked about engineering careers, and 42 percent of the high school respondents thought their teachers could better demonstrate how science can be used in careers. [More—eSchool News] (free registration) (Feb.25)
Teacher Quality and Development
After playing an instrumental role in creating and developing the Uncommon Schools network, Doug Lemov went in search of an answer to a question that long perplexed him: Are effective teachers born that way or is greatness in the classroom a learned behavior? Lemov sought out and documented the practices of effective teachers nationwide, developing, as a result, "Teach Like a Champion: The 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College," often referred to as Lemov's taxonomy. In addition to it being adopted as part of the teacher-training program at Uncommon Schools, the taxonomy is being widely shared by Lemov in workshops for charter schools, Teach for America, and the Match Teacher Residency in Boston. [More—The New York Times] (March 4)
Timely and informative data on student achievement and committed teacher teams discussing data and devising strategies to span common grade-level classrooms is reaping rewards in a Florida elementary school. The team of third-grade teachers at San Antonio Elementary has been sharing assessment data on reading as they prepare students for the state's reading exam. A strategic, data-driven decision to increase phonics instruction and implement pullouts for students with specific needs was credited with moving the median score on the reading assessment from the 21st to the 50th percentile. San Antonio principal Vanessa Hilton is committed to data-informed teacher teams at all grade levels, seeing it as a way to meet the goal of helping all students achieve. [More—The St. Petersburg Times] (Feb. 25)
A teacher team in Newport News, Va., responded to research on their fifth-graders' learning styles by creating a dual-classroom arrangement, one for the more artistic, creative problem-solving side of the brain and the other set in a more structured and traditional approach to learning. They think they are on the right track to their goal of meeting each child's needs with the physical as well as instructional differentiated learning. The students have responded well to the dual environment by taking ownership of the right-brain room where the teachers have noted a discernable lack of tension and greater willingness of students to work together. [More—Daily Press (Newport News/Hampton, Va.)] (Feb. 21)
Technology in Education
Videoconferencing allows the students in Stamford High School to not only access a multitude of places throughout the U.S. and the world, but to share indigenous aspects of life in their rural Texas community with their peers. As part of a videoconference class at Stamford High, students designed a program about cotton growing and processing, a staple of the local economy. Through a virtual field trip for grades 3 to 5, students anywhere go from being in a cotton field in Stamford to participating in a discussion with Stamford High students about cotton products and by-products. [More—T.H.E. Journal] (March 5)
Students across Pennsylvania may use video games to help them learn math and science if plans recently initiated by the state Board of Education take root. State board member Ed Sheehan, a business executive in the technology sector, will work with a team of video gaming and special effects experts to launch "an innovative statewide technology program that boosts student math, science, and technology achievements by actively engaging them with cutting-edge 3-D gaming technology, real-world, project-based internships, and technology camps." [More—Pennsylvania's Tribune-Democrat] (March 2)
Students at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick, N.J., are charting their path to high school graduation with personalized learning plans as part of a 16 school, statewide pilot program. The 428 sixth graders at Linwood each have electronic portfolios containing information about their academic interests, career goals, learning styles and more. New Jersey is among 24 states and D.C. with policies that support the development of individualized learning plans for middle-grades students. [More—The New York Times] (Feb. 28)
Who should ensure that kids are safe for life and learning in cyberspace – their parents or teachers? The jury's still out on this according to a recent survey of school administrators commissioned by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). "There's no national consensus around what we are supposed to be teaching kids about being participants in a digital age," according to the NCSA's executive director Michael Kaiser. Administrators reported that about half of their school systems require lessons in online safety, and 40 percent of teachers have not taught students about such security measures as changing online passwords. [More—The Christian Science Monitor] (Feb. 26)
Students played a central role in designing the Student Space in the Seaside Schools, and more of that kind of student involvement is needed, according to surveys of students about their use of technology in and outside of schools. A recap of the findings of the 2008 Speak Up survey, conducted by Project Tomorrow, is the springboard for an online discussion by Education Week about the role of students in decisions about technology use. Join the discussion by using the link in this recent Education Week feature. [More—Education Week] (Feb. 3) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Office of Innovation and Improvement
Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary
Doug Herbert
Cynthia Cabell
Sr. Production Editor
Dramon Turner
Production Editor
Emily Archer
Erin Pfeltz
Copy Editors
Janice Cuny, National Science Foundation
Article Contributions
Doug Herbert
Dean Kern
Michael Lach
Jośe Rodrĺquez
Issue Reviewers


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Autobiographies of Chris Jericho, Batista and Mick foley
Autobiographies of Chris Jericho, Batista and Mick foley
<Avi Drawing Credit to PirateNeko
My DeviantArt:http://mediafan658.deviantart.com/
My FC is 3308-4620-6155
I should finish Clock Work Orange....I started it a while ago. Currently I have been reading a lot of Jodi Picoult(not literature). Her books are an easy read but still interesting.
Twilight = Bleach
Harry Potter = Naruto
i'm reading atlas shrugged by ayn rand. ^ ^ i read the fountainhead a couple years ago and absolutely loved it, so i finally got my hands on a copy of atlas shrugged. i've read the first two chapters so far, it's already pretty good.
recently i read through about half of lolita. omg. i couldn't even finish it, the book was freaking me out so much. the author, i forget his name, is so good at writing. i rarely find books that actually make me feel terrible when i read them, most of the time it's just like, a fun story or something, you know? but lolita... uhg, i don't know how anyone can get themselves to finish that book. the main character is just so wretched, and the writer somehow gets you to relate to him anyway, which in-turn makes you feel wretched as well. i definitely recommend at least trying to read this book though! it's really famous for a reason. :[
I just finished Inside the Kaisha.
It's probably boring as shit if you don't know/care about real life in Japan but getting a different perspective on Japanese culture from two people that are businessmen and not anthropologists is fascinating at fuck.
An amazing read for anyone interested in real life here.
on Camus,
I've read "The Stranger"
is good.
But Complicated
Another book I read not long ago that was
"O Cortiço" of Aluisio de Azevedo.
Brazil is one of the literary poles world.
and as I said I'm reading Crime and Punishment
but I stopped because of exams
Last edited by C_uggs; June 26th, 2010 at 05:38 PM.
When AP used to be good:
What makes you think this? Just curious.Really? I'm no Camus fan, but he's certainly better J.K. Rowling; Harry Potter is the Naruto of literature.
Maybe, but you can probably find more literary techniques in Harry Potter than in Twilight; Harry Potter is, in general, written much better than Twilight (I'm not going into details, I'm sure someone else has elsewhere). It may not be on the same degree as The Stranger or Pride & Prejudice, but they are a fine series of books that raised a generation. My generation. So I love the books, and I most likely always will.Well that's because harry potter is not literature, it's commerical fiction.
The Stranger and harry potter are both fine. It depends on your mood
Let's not turn this thread into an argument over weather or not Harry Potter is considered literature, it's been done somewhere before.
I'm more inclined to agree with this statement, by personal preference. To each his own, though.erm, never heard of the Camus fellow but I rather thought that Twilight is the naruto of literature.
Harry Potter is one of if not the best Book Series of the last 10 years.
Twilight is overhyped, as most of the media and hype about it is about Robert Pattinson.
Harry Potter is what got me, and a lot of peope my age, into reading. Whether or not it's "Literature" doesn't matter.
However, it has all the archetypes of classic literature, and, as my old english teach liked to say, all the characteristics of an epic.
Other people will disagree with this statement and that's perfectly fine; to each his own.
Whether it's this or that, it's still a fun read, and something I will definitely read to my kids one day.
Worlds at World:The 2,500 year struggle between east and west by Anthony Pagden.
The worst book I've read was Our Town.
I think the worst book I've ever read is Great Expectations.
Right now, I am reading Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Not actually literature, I know, but it's what I'm reading.
fun for me, and allowed me to develop a genuine interest in literature, in fact, I want to be an English teacher so I daresay the books have influenced my whole life !
Brilliant Series indeed ! :)
maybe for 10 year olds
When I was three months old, my Dad gave me Crime and Punishment and I read it in a day, understanding every word of it. And it was untranslated.
No, but really, if Harry Potter gets you into other literature (just like Naruto may get you into other manga), it's useful. Most of my feelings come from my generations view on books. Just look at Facebook; common favorite books include "lol who reads," "sorry im illiterate," and "HARRY POTTER, TWILIGHT, MOTHER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES, WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS."
Last edited by Bucephalus; June 22nd, 2010 at 05:41 PM. Reason: No, but really, if Harry Potter gets you into o
I kinda agree that harry potter is kinda like naruto. I liked the first few books then it kinda got ehh. Twilight is only comparable to trash.
I've read all the Twilight and Harry Potter books (I don't like to completely hate books if I've never even read them, which seems to be a trend nowadays), and I can honestly say that I enjoyed Twilight more. Even if the writing is garbage in both books, I have to admit that Twilight did have a few cool concepts. It took the standard Romeo and Juliet relationship and bent it out of proportions, adding extremely supernatural twists; a cool idea if I may say. Too bad the plot was fucking terrible.
Has anyone read a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift? One of the best satires ever. Too bad we were foced to read Gulliver's Travels by him after. Even if it was an honors english class, it was a bad idea making sophomores read Gulliver's Travels
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subset: commoncrawl


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"Not My Problem...Yet"
You have been off the water for weeks waiting for wind and it is finally here. It is blowing nicely side shore about 15 to 20 kts. You head down to the nearest launch for 30 miles to meet a dozen guys in the regular crew and have a long overdue shredding session. As you are walking downwind of the crowded bather area to an almost empty area a few hundred feet away you see a couple of kiteboarders standing on the beach. The appear to be newbies flying a 10 m 2002 four line inflatable without harnesses or the kite depowering leash attached. They are just upwind of the crowded bathing area and keep crashing the kite to the beach. There is a new guy selling kiteboarding gear out his van and these guys, like a few others you have seen in the past, appear to be brand new customers. You stop for a second and think about talking with these guys but figure it is the first good wind day for a while and these guys aren't your problem. You head down the beach, rig up and go offshore and tear it up with your friends.
After a while you notice some squall clouds moving in and decide to head in well in advance, land and derig your kite pending possible unstable winds slamming into your area. As you are heading in you see the two newbies still onshore but now crashing their kite down in and among other beach goers. They seem to be laughing hysterically and waving the bystanders out of the way. Between pelting beach goers with the kite they have it parked straight overhead at the zenith or vertical. You come into the shallows in the nearly empty area downwind, have an assisted landing and start to secure your gear. The squall hits a bit later and the wind gusts up to 25 to 30 kts for a short period of time fortunately your gear was well anchored in advance of the squall.
About 15 minutes after the squall passes, you hear a couple of sirens heading to the crowded area upwind of you. You walk down to see what is going on. You see one of the newbies lying down unconscious and bleeding from a head wound. Also you see a nearly hysterical family surrounding a teenage girl with a bad cut to her neck. Both injured parties are under the care of EMTs. Apparently the newbie had the kite parked at the zenith when the squall winds hit, didn't let go initially and was lofted. He let go of the bar on impact and the runaway kite lines wrapped around the girl. She furiously clawed at the lines and managed to get them off of her before the kite fully powered back up.
The newbie recovers with from a concussion with some memory loss. The girl also recovers but will need cosmetic surgery to deal with the prominent cut on her neck. It was a slow news week so the incident was picked up in both the local newspapers and TV news. The city has halted all kitesurfing at this launch indefinitely. The next nearest good launch is about an hour away by car.
What should you do?
1. How to avoid the problem in the first place.
a. We are all in this sport together, like it or not. Whether you know the guys at your launch or not their misdeeds can end your access as surely as if you caused it yourself. If you see people doing unsafe things or are too close to bystanders, please talk with them. If you have friends in the area, bring them along as a group substantially amplifies peer pressure. Kiteboarders flying upwind and close to bystanders are all too common. NO ONE should be on land for an extended period with a full sized kiteboarding kite in the air. If they need to practice they should be using a trainer kite otherwise they should be in the water body dragging or on a board. Incidents and accidents are inevitable under these conditions. It is worth your while to get involved, even if it takes away from your time on the water. Talk tactfully and effectively to try to attain positive results. If we are effective in building a sense of kiteboarding community and self policing, most access issues will fade into the past. If we don't bother the future is likely to be very rocky in many areas. The above scenario has frequently been described and is no doubt relatively common in various areas around the world. No gusts or squalls are needed to generate the same outcome as described in this sceanrio. Normal winds are plenty adequate to do the level of harm and more than described in this scenario.
b. This sport is potentially very dangerous to poorly informed participants and to bystanders. Retailers need to do the responsible thing and compel new gear purchasers to take adequate lessons. Th It doesn't take ESP to see that doing anything less than this will lead to accidents, incidents, lost access, some law suits and ultimately, lost revenues. So, for the guy selling gear out of his van to whomever has the money it would be worth your while to talk with him. If talking doesn't work, bringing pressure to bear through official channels would be appropriate (i.e. occupational licenses, zoning requirements, etc.). Talking with all riders and potential riders in your area to boycott this retailer would also be in your best interest.
c. Join and support your local kiteboarding club or association. Get into the habit of greeting new riders that show up at your launch. Get a feel for where they are in the sport and advise them if necessary to protect your access. If we act as a group and look out for our own things will go a lot smoother than they appear to be headed at present in many areas. Talking with local lifeguards about launch specific guidelines and potentially designating a kiteboarding launch/access corridor may be a good preemptive move against future restrictions.
2. How to deal with the problem if it is too late to avoid it.
If you don't act to talk with these guys and get them to move downwind into the empty beach area or preferably into getting adequate lessons, there is very little that you can do. All you can try to do is to do damage control after the accidents have occurred. Contacting your local kiteboarding association for assistance would be a good idea. If you don't have one, seriously consider forming a kiteboarding club or association. Ideas in this regard are given in the AKA Kiteboarding website at: http://aka.kite.org/ The damage has already been done but following through on the actions described in "b." above would be worthwhile.
3. KSI accounts, if any, that are related.
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurf/ ... formation/)
43. Incident 6 02 3
29a. Incident 3 02 02
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Corridor Art 121
DescriptionWe have commissioned Dianne Silverman to create seventeen original paintings in the theme of painting. Her images tell the story of many adventures in painting with youth and families of all ages, ethnicities and abilities. The corridor images will be 22 inches high by 30 inches wide.


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Kirsty Healey and Matthew Macfadyen regained the Pair Go crown at the 2013 British Pair Go Championships. Defending champions Natasha Regan and Matthew Cocke came dressed as a medieval queen and king, and so won the best-dressed competition, but lost the final by 12.5 points.
In the handicap section, it was the previous year's runners up who triumphed, namely Rebecca Margetts and Oscar Selby from Epsom. They beat Roella and Paul Smith in the final.
The international food quiz was won by Alice Bradley and Boris Mitrovic.
Results [1]
[1] http://www.britgo.org/results/2013/rengo
[2] http://www.britgo.org/taxonomy/term/23


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Young Product - Hold On [Unsigned Hype]
McKinley reports "Hold on is a true story to many. The realest out of Detroit. Young Product. Directed by the young gun McKinleyPresents!"
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May 15, 2014
LAWT News Service
AltaMed, a health care organization that has delivered care to the underserved communities of Southern California for more than 40 years, held its second annual Senior Mothers Day Celebration at hale Lewis Morris Manor in South Los Angeles on Thursday May 8.
More than 75 seniors were feted with a three-course meal and dessert and presented certificates celebrating them as both seniors and mothers.
Additionally, AltaMed provided the women with gift bags and important information on the variety of services offered at their multiple facilities, which includes comprehensive Adult Healthcare.
Designated by the Joint Commission as a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH), AltaMed prides itself in the quality of its care delivered by its premier health care professionals. Many of their professional staff was on hand to answer questions and facilitate needs of the seniors.
AltaMed will soon be opening a new Adult Day Care Senior Center in Watts. For information visit altamed.org.


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Becoming a number 1 iPad 2 game is probably as challenging as building a futuristic robot and navigating him through scrap yards. Not coincidentally, Czech game developer Amanita Design accomplished both with its critically acclaimed online adventure game, Machinarium, built with the Adobe Flash Platform.
The game tests players' puzzle-solving skills, as they guide their robot through puzzles and obstacles to reach the city of Machinarium and save his girlfriend from the bad guys. Gamers praise the gameplay, but were particularly impressed with the game's textured and animated graphics. Since it began in 2003, Amanita Design has used the Flash Platform to not only deliver great visuals, but also easily bring Machinarium to virtually any desktop or mobile platform.
The team leveraged Adobe Flash Builder to reuse original code from the web version of the game to bring it to other platforms like Android, with BlackBerry Tablet OS coming soon. The best part is that it only took two months! To create the game's rich graphics, Amanita used a combination of Photoshop and Flash Professional, as well as Adobe AIR to deliver the game across mobile devices.
To learn more about how Amanita delivered this top game so quickly across different devices and platforms, visit here.


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text: Jay Brown: 28 Machine Builders Part III of IV By Jay Brown As a machine builder these are some of the things I look for in a machine. And I am not saying that this is it, the gospel, this is just the way I look at it. So the other day I thought to myself, "Man, this would make a great article." As I started listing candidates for the article I found that the list got long really fast. Thus, I decided that I would stop at 28, because it's as good of a number as any, and it was enough for a broad spectrum of builders. So here it is, 28 tattoo great machine builders... (If I missed anyone don't be offended, it's nothing personal, I just had to think of space. Maybe there'll be additions in a future article?) So without further ado here they are, starting with historical builders, because they were the pioneers and should be recognized first, (plus I'm a history buff) and then moving to present day. Again this is not a Top 10 list, just a list of great builders, hope you enjoy… PART III on expanded page... Morgan Pettit My name is Morgan Pettit, I tattoo and build machines in Sydney, Australia. I've been building machines for sale since 2007, but tinkering with machines and building them for myself and friends as long as I've been tattooing, which is 16 years. I started building machines because I was inquisitive about the machines that I used on a daily basis. I was frustrated with how badly the machines I was using worked, and the lack of knowledge and misinformation about machines from the people I worked with. Basically, I wasn't satisfied by the machines I was using every day. I am influenced by Marv [Lerning], Seth Ciferri, Mike Pike, Mike Godfrey, Soba, Austin Riley and many builders from the past like Mike Malone, Paul Rogers, Bill Jones, and a bunch of others Contact Morgan here: E-mail: email@example.com Website: www.modernelectrictattoomachines.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/customtattoomachines Rob Rutherford I got into tattooing in 1999, but it wasn't until 2001, when a buddy and I attended the Richmond convention, that I fell in love with handmade tattoo machines. I ran into Shaun Anderson and he showed me his Mad Bee and J-Frame, and that was pretty much all she wrote. As soon as I got home, I went straight to my neighbor's shed and searched through his scrap metal and started cutting out parts. It was a total disaster. But I'd never felt such an urge to do something in my entire life. I think it's safe to say I've always admired and been influenced by Paul Rogers for his creativity and resourcefulness. He had the ability to take the bare minimum of materials and make something extraordinary. So I got online to do more research about his work, and it was then that I crossed paths with Ernie Carafa. For some ungodly reason he took a shine to me and shared some of his stories and info about Paul and his work. I was thrilled to say the least. Ernie was really instrumental in teaching me about metals in general, and passed along so many little important tidbits of information. He made me step back and really think, and that led me to refine the way I was doing a lot of things. I'd also have to say I've been influenced by Percy Waters, mainly for the pure aesthetics of his machines. The shape of his frames have always been really pleasing to my eyes, and that's a quality I've definitely tried to incorporate into my work as well. Contact Rob here: www.facebook.com/RobRutherfordTattoos http://www.myspace.com/robstattoos http://www.robert-rutherford.com http://www.kingpintattoosupply.com http://www.tattoomachinez.com http://www.blitztattoo.com Cory Rogers I started tattooing when I was 15 years old. My uncle was heavily tattooed and he is the person that intrigued me enough to build my first homemade tattoo machine. It was 1991 or 1992 (I was 15) and I put together one of my Grandmother's spoons, a racecar motor, a button, an old guitar string and some superglue. I professionally started tattooing in 1997 and began building machines soon after. I met Carson Vester around the year 2000 and he is the one that influenced me the most in tattoo machine building. Along with Carson, other influences are Scott Sylvia, Juan Puente, Seth Ciferri, BJ Soba Johnson, Justin Martinez, Mike Pike, Damon Burns, Kevin Wathke, and all my fellow builders at Workhorse Irons. Contact Cory here: 832-334-7238 email@example.com www.anvilirons.net www.workhorseirons.com Paco Rollins My tattoo career started out, like many, with several years of false starts prior to getting my break when I started working with Ernie Gosnell at Lucky Devil South. Ernie had recently relocated from New Orleans where he owned Electric Ladyland, and together we built his second Seattle shop, a street shop, in South Seattle. In terms of major influences, Ernie has been my true mentor, teaching me all aspects of the tattoo business, and inspiring me to branch out into machine building, sign painting and pin striping. Through working with him and listening to his stories I became interested in the history of tattooers and tattoo machine builders, and started collecting tattoo machines. The first decent machine I tattooed with was a National Deluxe, and with that machine I saw the performance difference better components made. I started researching everyone's components and tinkered with refurbishing machines. Because the National Deluxe was, in essence, a Bill Jones "Jonesy" style machine, I researched his formulas and frame alteration ideas that I found in old pamphlets. His geometry and formulas impressed me, as did the similar formulas of Owen Jensen and Mickey Bee. All three of those machine builders kept their machines simple and straight forward, making quality, affordable machines built by working tattooers -that's the business model that caught my attention. After a few years I realized that what I brought to the table was my inborn abilities as a tinkerer –I could keep everyone's machines running. I started to handcraft my own machines in my shed, using a hacksaw to cut the frames, and researching magnets, doorbell motors and metallurgy at the local library. Eventually, word of these machines spread and my hobby developed into Paco Rollins Tattoo Machines in 2001. After over a decade in the machine business I still rely on happy customers rather than advertising to spread the word about my machines, and purposely keep the business small, limiting distributors so that I can personally maintain the quality that built the reputation of my machines. I currently own Sea Change Tattoo Parlor on Vashon Island, a small island in Puget Sound located between Seattle and Tacoma. I split my time between the tattoo parlor, the machine shop and the road where I'm hosting a series of Machine Tuning and Truing seminars at conventions and tattoo parlors. I'm also spending a lot of time on my newest project, painting tattoo artist travel trunks, as well as constantly designing new custom machines. Contact Paco here: http://pacorollinsmachines.com/ http://www.kingpintattoosupply.com Mike Schaefer I started tattooing 17 years ago, I would screw with my machines in the beginning just to fine-tune them and customize them, and then as the years would past I would build complete machines for whoever was working at the shop at the time. From there it started to snowball into more builds. I've always loved building hot-rods and motorcycles (anything mechanical) so it was natural to just build machines. I've only been building complete machines for 10 years. I'm into finding anything old and incorporating it into a custom build, always hitting a flea market or antique store. My influences are endless! There are a bunch of builders out there that grab my attention, all the ones in this article kick ass! I look up to all of them, it's one of those things where each person has a style I dig. Contact Mike "Schaf" here: Flying Irons 307 N. Higgins Missoula, Mt 59802 email@example.com 406-360-8740 Blaque Owl Tattoo 307 N. Higgins Missoula. Mt 59802 firstname.lastname@example.com 406-543-0688 Tony Urbanek 11 years of machine building and 21 years of tattooing… You'll have to hit up his website for more info… Contact Tony here: www.inkadinkadoo.net www.turbanek.com Brandon Lewis I have been collecting tattoo machines since the year I started tattooing, around 1988... I started with the production stuff that was available at that time, then moved on to Micky Sharpz, and they were better. But when I started getting into hand-mades everything changed, tattooing became fun, and there was instant improvement. So I started buying tons of machines from everyone out there, some ran killer... some didn't. And I guess just from years of daily tattooing I really started to try to figure out why I loved some of my machines, and why I hated others? So I started cutting my own springs. For me that's where it started. Soon everyone I knew was having me tune their machines... That led to assembling machines on to frames I could buy from National, Spaulding etc... and I was building them up for friends. But… Once I started getting hit up by tattooers that I didn't know... I soon realized that it was lame and unethical to sell machines that were not actually mine, no matter how well they ran. So I invested in a casting of my own, and taught myself to mill. I am not trying to get rich. I tattoo full-time, and don't want to make machines for a job. I only make around two or three a month and I am happy with that amount. I have so many influences I really don't know where to start... I guess, Jason Schroder, Brian Hibbard, Jimmy Whitlock, Seth Ciferri, Soba, Mike Pike.... Shit, anyone in this article really. Contact Brandon here: Heavy Duty Tattoo 801-627-4900 email@example.com Facebook Page [Editor's note: The list complied by Jay Brown will be broken up into four separate blog installments.] (Jay Brown is a tattoo artist, a machine builder and a contributing blogger for TAM. Jay can be found at A Fine Art Tattoo www.gypsy-tattooer.com and Tattoo Machines by "Peg Leg McGee" www.gypsy-tattooer.com/coinshop.) Related Tam Blog Posts: Jay Brown: 28 Machine Builders Part I of IV Jay Brown: 28 Machine Builders Part II of IV


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by Terri
Purple Minion Costume Photo 9 of 9
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This homemade costume for girls entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Brooke, the 'Purple Minion Gone Mad' costume creator:
My youngest daughter went as an "evil" purple minion this year with much delight! She is only 3 and did a great job wearing her costume all night, waving at fellow trick-or-treaters, and posing for... Read more »
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A couple of my friend's and I are planning a pizza party later in the month since we've all been on a quest to learn how to make good pizza at home. I've been making my own pizza for a while now, but it's always fun to try out new pizza dough recipes. I'm in charge of bringing dough to the party, so I'm trying out a few different recipes to find the best one. First up is Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough. Check out his recipe and video. His key to good pizza crust is handling the dough gently and baking at a high temperature.
The recipe says that it makes enough for 4 pizzas, but those would be very small pizzas – good for personal size pizzas. I cut the batch in half and made one normal sized pizza out of the half batch. Like no-knead bread recipes, the dough needs to rise for a long time. I made the dough a day ahead of time and let it rise about 18 hours. I put my pizza stone in the oven and set the oven to preheat to 500°. I tried stretching the dough out like he shows in the video, but my dough turned out fairly sticky and fragile, so I couldn't stretch it by hand without it breaking. Next time I will try cutting back on the water a little to see if it turns out a little less sticky and easier to work with. I ended up putting the dough on a piece of parchment paper that I drizzled with olive oil. I was able to stretch the dough out on the parchment paper and put toppings on.
I tried to gently pick up the parchment paper to place the pizza directly on the pizza stone, but there was no way I was going to be able to transfer it without it sliding off or dropping it. Instead, I slid it onto a metal pizza pan and put that on top of the hot pizza stone in the oven. His recipe calls for baking the pizza for only 3 minutes, however I ended up baking it at 500° for 5 minutes, then lowered the temperature to 450° and baked it for another 10 minutes until it looked done.
The bottom of the crust turned out really well. Despite being hard to work with, I think this is the best pizza dough I've made at home. It was nice and crispy, but firm enough to hold all the toppings. The edges were still a bit doughy, but good. If I'd been able to stretch it out further, I think the edges would have been crispier as well. I would definitely make this recipe again and play with the amount of water to flour to get a more flexible dough. The toppings were a perfect combo that I will definitely try again. The asparagus, pistachios, red onion, and artichoke went especially well together. Next up, I want to try the pizza recipe from the book The Bread Baker's apprentice. Do any of you have favorite pizza dough recipes or toppings I should try?
Update: I made this recipe again and it turned out perfectly! If you stick to the exact amount of water in the recipe, it will seem dry as you're mixing it, but don't add any extra water. Just keep folding it and it the extra flour will eventually incorporate. This leaves you with a dough that is much easier to stretch out by hand. Stretch the dough into a 6-8 inch round and let it rest for a few minutes, then continue to stretch it out to it's full size. Place the dough on the pizza stone and pre-bake it for 3-4 minutes. Then take it out and top it and finish baking for 3-4 minutes. This creates a crispy, but still chewy soft crust.
1/2 batch of Jim Lahey's No Knead Pizza Dough
10-12 stalks of asparagus
1/2 red onion
2 shallots
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of shelled pistachios
dried rosemary
2-3 chopped artichoke hearts
- Prepare the dough ahead of time and let it rise overnight for about 18 hours. Once it's ready, place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500°.
- Snap off the ends of your asparagus and break or cut the stalks into bite sized pieces. Thinly slice the red onion and shallots. Press or mince the garlic. Saute the asparagus, onion, shallots, and garlic in a little olive oil.
- Stretch out the dough being careful not to put holes in it. If you do, try to patch them up. As I mentioned earlier, I had the best luck stretching the dough out on lightly oiled parchment paper.
- Top the pizza with the sautéed veggies, pistachios, salt and pepper, dried (or fresh) rosemary, and artichoke hearts.
- If you can, slide the pizza directly onto the pizza stone. Otherwise, place it on a metal pizza pan and then on the pizza stone like I did.
- Bake the pizza at 500° for 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to 450° and bake 10 more minutes or until the crust looks golden brown.


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Explore five World Heritage areas on a journey through Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia on Australia's adventure drive, the Savannah Way. This trek across the top of Australia starts in the tropical city of Cairns where you can visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest, and takes you to Broome's spectacular Cable Beach. Diverse landscapes and incredible natural attractions can be found along the way on this 30-day drive.
Discover the world's longest lava tube, fossick for topaz, glide through gorges and go croc spotting in Queensland. Take a historical train ride, visit a gold mining ghost town and see where Burke and Wills set up camp in 1861. Gorges, natural springs and remarkable stone outcrops punctuate the scenery as you drive across the Northern Territory's top end. See the wetlands of World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park, discover just how good the fishing can be around Borroloola and visit the Aboriginal art sites at Gregory National Park.
The Kimberley region of Western Australia is the country's last frontier with highlights including the World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungles and authentic Aboriginal cultural experiences. End your journey soaking up the unique outback atmosphere of Broome.
Travel from the reef through the rainforest to the outback beauty of the Gulf Savannah on the Queensland section of the Savannah Way. Starting in the tropical city of Cairns, you can explore the dual World Heritage areas of the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest.
This route includes the world's longest lava tube at Undara Volcanic National Park, Mount Surprise where you can fossick for topaz and Einasleigh where the Savannahlander train stops outside the pub.
Enjoy the serene beauty of cruising Cobbold Gorge before admiring the amazing mineral collection at Georgetown and reliving the gold mining days as you explore the well preserved buildings of Croydon's historic precinct. Go croc spotting or fishing on Normanton's mighty river, then head to the coast for Karumba's famous sunsets and amazing fishing.
Travel through grasslands rich with wildlife including an array of birds to Burketown where the Morning Glory cloud formation rolls across the Gulf of Carpentaria. Relax in the outback oasis of Adel's Grove before exploring the World Heritage-listed Riversleigh Fossil Fields, then be awestruck at Boodjamulla National Park's spectacular Lawn Hill Gorge.
The Aboriginal community of Doomadgee is the last stop before the remote Hell's Gate Roadhouse.
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Meet the friendly characters of the Savannah Way as you travel through pioneering outback towns and rugged landscapes with dramatic natural features. This route starts in the modern tropical city of Cairns where you can explore the dual World Heritage areas of the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest.
Leave the coast behind as you travel across the Atherton Tableland though Queensland's highest town, Ravenshoe at 920 metres, for the outback beauty of the Gulf Savannah. Undara Volcanic National Park is where you can explore the world's longest lava tube, enjoy a hearty bush breakfast and see diverse wildlife.
Learn how to fossick for semi-precious stones at Mount Surprise before heading into Georgetown to see the incredible mineral collection. Croydon has a rich heritage landscape with mining machinery and buildings from the gold rush era. Its well preserved historic precinct showcases public buildings from the late 1800s.
Normanton is better known for its colourful pubs and fishing in the mighty Norman River where you are sure to spot a crocodile. At the mouth of the river is Karumba, the centre of the Gulf's prawning and barramundi industries and the place to watch the sun sink into the ocean.
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Whether you enjoy digging dusty creek beds for sapphires or using a metal detector to uncover hidden treasure, there are fossicking locations galore on this gem of a trail. Mount Surprise is a gem fossicking centre with topaz, quartz, spinel, garnet, cairngorm and aquamarine to be found. Learn the techniques for sieving at Mount Surprise Gems where you can see how faceting is done.
Head out to O'Brien's Creek Designated Fossicking Area, just 37 kilometres north of Mount Surprise, to try your hand digging for topaz in the creek bed.
Georgetown's TerrEstrial Centre is a magnificent mineral display and nearby Flat Creek Station welcomes visitors with gold detectors. About 85 kilometres south of Forsayth, the Agate Creek Designated Fossicking Area is where you may find agate or thunder eggs in a range of rich colours.
From Forsayth, where you can see the Goldfields Hotel display of agates and gold, head to Einasleigh to visit Copperfield Gorge before travelling to The Lynd Junction. About 90 kilometres south is Moonstone Hill where you can fossick for feldspar, known as moonstone for its silvery-white to blue sheen. Another 16 kilometres south, turn off to Chudleigh Park to look for gem-quality peridot
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The Gulf Savannah is the land of legendary fishing spots where you can hook mighty barramundi, duel with queen fish or snag threadfin salmon. Fish the estuaries for grunter and fingermark or head offshore to troll for cobia and Spanish mackerel. Start at the largest body of fresh water in the Gulf Savannah, Lake Belmore near Croydon where you can catch red claw, barramundi, sooty grunter and black bream.
Next stop is the mighty Norman River at Normanton, the barramundi capital of the Gulf of Carpentaria and host of the annual Barra Classic. Take a fishing tour or try the old bridge on the Karumba road - a king salmon and barramundi hot spot at night. Karumba at the mouth of the Norman River is the centre of the Gulf's prawning and barramundi industries. Cast your line off the beach or join a cruise to catch mud crabs or a variety of ocean fish.
Visit the Barramundi Discovery Centre where barramundi are bred for release into the Gulf rivers and feed the 20 kilogram barra. Burketown hosts the World Barramundi Championships and has the Albert and Nicholson Rivers as great fishing locations. Offshore is Sweers Island, a popular fishing resort.
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Diverse habitats including rainforest, swamps and savannah plains are home to extraordinary birdlife on this drive. Start on the Atherton Tablelands at the Mareeba Tropical Savanna and Wetland Reserve where 204 species of wetland and bushland birds live, including black-throated finches and the jabiru.
Sarus cranes nest at Bromfield Swamp, while the two-storey bird hide at Hasties Swamp gives a clear view of resident and migratory birds. Wongabel State Forest has the remnants of endangered mabi forest, home to endemic Wet Tropics species including Victoria's riflebird.
More upland rainforest birds are at Mount Hypipamee. Woodland and aquatic species are found at Millstream Falls National Park area while thousands of black swans flock to Wurruma Swamp, east of Mount Garnet.
The Savannah Way is rich with birdlife especially at dams like the one near Cumberland Chimney, west of Georgetown. Flocks of pink and grey galahs live at Croydon, and diverse species can be seen from the bird hide at nearby Lake Belmore. Water birds including brolga, godwits, sandpipers and the near threatened Australian bustard are at Mutton Hole Wetlands on the way to Karumba where you can take a cruise early in the morning or at sunset to go bird watching.
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Start the trail at the Cairns Museum to get a feel for Far Northern history from the early Indigenous inhabitants through to the influx of European and Chinese gold seekers and the pioneering cattlemen. Explore World War Two history on the Atherton Tablelands, Australia's largest military base during 1943 to 1945.
Learn more at the Mareeba RSL or take a flight in an ex-military aircraft at Warbird Adventures. Listed on the National Heritage Register, Herberton is the Tablelands' oldest town and you can explore Australiana at the Herberton Historic Village.
Stay in a restored railway carriage at Undara Experience or travel on the historic Savannahlander to the outback towns of Mount Surprise, Einasleigh and Forsayth. Visit a working cattle station at nearby Cobbold Gorge before heading to Georgetown to see gold and other treasures that lured prospectors to the region.
Croydon's historic precinct is a snapshot of life in the 1800s and where you can board the Gulflander Train to Normanton's Victorian railway station. Visit the site of Burke and Wills' camp of 1861 on the way to Burketown where the cemetery - thought to be Australia's largest mass grave - reveals how "Gulf Fever" killed much of the population.
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Starting in Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, you can drive through the Wet Tropics rainforest to visit Barron Falls and browse the markets in the rainforest village of Kuranda.
Continue on to Mareeba, set amidst orchards, coffee plantations and sugar cane fields, and explore the Atherton Tablelands with its rainforest walks, mountain bike trails and waterfalls.
Visit Atherton's century-old Chinese temple, a bird watching hide or a volcanic crater lake. Drive into the savannah grasslands and stop to soak in the therapeutic mineral waters of Innot Hot Springs.
Tour the world's longest lava tube system in Undara Volcanic National Park and enjoy campfire entertainment at the Lava Lodge. Start the day with a hearty bush breakfast and spot kangaroos, wallabies and birds on your morning walk.
Drive to Mount Surprise where you can learn how to fossick for gems and continue on to the stunning mineral collection at Georgetown's TerrEstrial Centre. Take a good unsealed road to Cobbold Gorge, a working cattle station with a picturesque gorge cruise. Glide past sandstone cliffs to see freshwater crocodiles basking in the sun and darter birds drying their wings after they dive underwater to spear fish with their sharp beaks.
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Start in Townsville where you can experience the laid back lifestyle of the tropics at The Strand, a 2.5 kilometre stretch of inner-city beach and playgrounds. Head towards the Outback over Herveys Range through Thorntons Gap, following the route of the prospectors trekking to the remote western gold mining camps. Here you can see one of the oldest buildings in North Queensland, a split log cabin circa 1865.
Take the Gregory Developmental Road to The Lynd to have a beer at the Oasis Roadhouse, said to be the smallest bar in Australia as it holds just two thirsty travellers. Next stop is Einasleigh to see Copperfield Gorge and then Forsayth where relics of the Etheridge Goldfields including a rail engine are displayed.
Cobbold Gorge can keep you busy for days whether it is gliding on a boat between the sandstone cliffs of the narrow gorge, bushwalking to spot crocodiles, fishing for barramundi or seeing a working cattle station in action. End the journey at another natural wonder, the world's longest lava tubes at Undara Volcanic National Park. Explore the tubes with a guide, see the rim of the volcano and watch micro bats emerge from the tubes at dark.
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Hughenden is where the first entire dinosaur skeleton was found in Australia and today you can see a life-size replica of Hughie the Muttaburrasaurus at the Flinders Discovery Centre.
Take the Kennedy Developmental Road to Porcupine Gorge National Park which features 500 million years of layered rock formations known as Australia's "Little Grand Canyon". Admire the gorge from the lookout before walking to the base for a swim in the cool water.
Drive through Blackbraes National Park where basalt outcrops and ironbark woodlands are home to grey kangaroos and abundant birdlife.
Stop at The Lynd to have a beer at the Oasis Roadhouse, said to be the smallest bar in Australia as it holds just two thirsty travellers. Head to Einasleigh to see Copperfield Gorge and then Forsayth where relics of the Etheridge Goldfields including a rail engine are displayed.
Cobbold Gorge can keep you busy for days whether it is gliding on a boat between the sandstone cliffs of the narrow gorge, bushwalking to spot crocodiles, fishing for barramundi or seeing a working cattle station in action. End your journey at Georgetown and admire the TerrEstrial Centre's extensive mineral collection from around the world.
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Tour the northern section of the Matilda Highway from Cloncurry, the birthplace of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the landing place of the first Qantas flight.
Stop for fuel or a meal at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse, then turn on to the Wills Developmental Road to Gregory Downs on the tranquil Gregory River where you can canoe and bushwalk.
Stay at the outback oasis, Adel's Grove, a haven for wildlife which was once a botanical garden. Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park is where you can canoe through emerald creeks past sandstone cliffs and see Waanyi rock art.
Follow the Wild Dog Dreaming path, take in panoramic views over the Constance Range and see freshwater crocodiles and unique birdlife. Tours to the nearby Riversleigh Fossil Fields interpret this World Heritage-listed treasure trove of clearly visible bones revealing the history of Australia's mammal species.
From the Aboriginal community of Doomadgee travel through grasslands rich with birdlife to Burketown where the Morning Glory cloud formation rolls across the Gulf of Carpentaria. End your journey at Normanton at the very top of the Matilda Highway where you can pose with Krys, the life-size replica of the largest crocodile ever captured (8.64 metres).
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Drive from the dry savannah plains to Cardwell on the coast, taking in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and a former logging trail, considered to be one of Queensland's great engineering feats.
Start at Undara National Park to see the world's longest lava tube and travel along the Kennedy Highway, turning right into Gunnawarra Road, just four kilometres before Mount Garnet. Take Kirrama-Cashmere Road to Blencoe Falls which drop 90 metres into a pool before cascading a further 230 metres into Herbert River Gorge.
From the camping area, the five kilometre Jabali walk goes to Blencoe Falls and Herbert River Gorge lookouts. Nearby is The Wet Tropics Great Walk, a multi-day hike following the Herbert River.
The Kirrama Range Road in Girringun National Park has a long Indigenous and pioneering history, and features bridged creek crossings, a roadside waterfall and wide elevated views of the valleys. At Tuckers and Murray Valley Lookouts are signs detailing the history of the road. A boardwalk at Society Flat in Kirrama National Park takes you past kauri pines and rose gums which were logged in the area, showing the difference between open woodland and dense rainforest as well as logged and unlogged areas.
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Discover dramatic gorges, lava tubes and brilliant gemstones on the Lava Tubes, Gems and Gorges Trail which loops from the Savannah Way through the Etheridge Shire. Here you will experience the Australian outback and its wildlife on an adventure taking in the McBride Volcanic Province where eruptions millions of years ago formed a spectacular landscape and left behind a rich mineral heritage.
Explore the longest lava tubes in the world at Undara Volcanic National Park, learn about fossicking at Mount Surprise and look for topaz at O'Brien's Creek. Georgetown's TerrEstrial Centre is where you can see more than 4,500 gemstones and minerals from around the world.
Flat Creek Station is home to the rare Gouldian finch and popular for gold prospecting. Cruise through the narrow sandstone cliffs of Cobbold Gorge and visit the Agate Creek gem fields which are famous for the world's most colourful thunder eggs.
Four wheel-drive vehicles can continue on to Gilberton Outback Retreat while conventional vehicles and caravans must travel via the Lynd Junction where you can stop for a coldie in Australia's smallest bar.
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