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No, it’s not about roasting peas around an open fire, an ironic form of itself, nor the latest Spanish shoe. It’s an unconference, and more than ‘un,’ it’s in. As media returns full-force to circles of communities educating each other, so does learning. Think of a knitting circle or a food co-op, but around podcasting. (Come on, we feed our ears like our bellies.) At Podcamp NYC, it might be your grandma teaching you, your roommate’s sexy boyfriend, or another hero in the field. And maybe you have your own recipe to share. Flavorpill arranges it before us like the tasty morsel it is:
Net-savvy New Yorkers know Web 2.0′s bevy of social-networking technologies and user-generated content are volatile but powerful tools that have the potential to topple textbook media and marketing; at NYC’s inaugural PodCamp, learn how to best use them all to your advantage. Bloggers, vloggers, and would-be podcasting personalities can attend how-to (and how-not-to) panels for amateurs; business-minded sessions gear pros towards marketing, branding, editing, and selling content; and seminars teach how portable media affects education and nonprofit organizations. Gung-ho newbies can test tips and tricks they’ve learned by volunteering to document the festivities for the Video Team. (IB)
Note: Registration is required. There’s also a networking party on Fri 4.6 (6-9pm) at Slate (54 W 21st St), free with RSVP.
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For The Future
by Wendell Berry
Planting trees early in spring,
we make a place for birds to sing
in time to come. How do we know?
They are singing here now.
There is no other guarantee
that singing will ever be.
It’s time to find a piece of earth and put some roots down. Take advantage of Arbor Day on April 27th as an opportunity to make NYC and our little Earth a cleaner, greener place, by doing a few of these little things:
Find a Location
If you talk with the Parks Department (contact someone in your borough’s office), they might be willing to help you plant on school grounds or a neighborhood park! My students and I will be planting a park close to our school off the BQE to try and absorb some of those particulates that are giving our students asthma.
Get the Trees
If you join the National Arbor Day Foundation, you’ll get 10 free trees. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a School Seedling Program and you can get free trees or shrubs from them too! Talk with the Parks Department to decide which variety is best for your location. You can request a street tree from the City, but that can take awhile.
Extend the Activity
The Arbor Day Foundation has a bunch of free materials for teachers. They also have great resources for kids. Leaf Miner is fun for any age. And “The Giving Tree” (HarperCollins) and “Miss Rumphius” (Barbara Cooney) are good lessons on victory over tribulation.
Get Famous
The NYSDEC has a National Arbor Day poster contest for fifth grade students.
Just enjoy getting your hands dirty!
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This week’s New Yorker has a quirky article on how one teacher is teaching the art of scrutiny in the form of ad-busting to kindergartners in Park Slope. A little reminder for teachers everywhere to figure out a way to incorporate critical thinking against the grain, using the most pervasive blandishments. Does milk really do a body good if it’s full of hormones? A question an early burgeoning eight-year old might be interested in.
There’s a slew of resources out there to stir things up, so the most profane rises to the top for an opportunity to be skimmed away – okay, stew season is over. Well, you won’t find talk of soup on Super Size Me, but if your students haven’t seen it, you’re sure to get them talking (Netflix is a write off for teachers, isn’t it?). I’m sorry to say I have Charlotte’s Web in my queue – not because it isn’t an excellent commentary on cruelty to animals, but because I heard it sucks. Nevertheless, my students loved the book and movies make their toes wiggle.
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Clean Air NY is offering a free 5-day Air Quality Awareness curriculum for teachers. It helps educate and inform students about air pollution and prevention. Teachers are provided with everything they need – a teacher’s manual, workbooks for students and all other materials needed for the exercise. The program meets State Science Standards. They’ve got some great links for students up on their site to supplement their program, plus ideas on how individuals and organizations can reduce the ozone. Contact them if you’re interested in signing up.