One note on the artificial tree story. It was mentioned that one artificial tree cleans as much CO2 out of the air as 1000 real trees. What was only mentioned in passing is that the artificial trees create a carbon byproduct that must then be stored. It would be interesting to follow up on this and see exactly what form this byproduct takes, how much of it is produced and how it is stored.

Thanks for the great stories!

Matt

Thanks for writing in, and thanks for listening to the podcast!

It gets mixed reviews from the students, as it is an unfamiliar concept to many of them. Others find it to be a lot of work, especially when they keep putting off working on it until the end. However, from my end, it provides both a level of collaboration hard to achieve in other places and a good knowledge check on what they have been learning this semester.

Thanks for writing in, and thanks for listening! Keep spreading the word.

Clark

Thanks for writing in, and thanks for providing that link! Sounds like it might make a GREAT follow-up.

Clark

Dick

PS. It does matter how many listen; otherwise someone there will pull the plug. So let’s build up the listeners with more positive stories like this one.

I love the show. It was great to hear about cell phones in the classroom. I use them, including Poll Everywhere, in my Digital Technologies electives classes. We also use them to take pictures and videos of Science lessons like dissections. We’ve used them to study how a cell phone disrupts the magnetic field of a compaass and of course, the calendaring/reminder functions to keep track of due dates. I had to get special permission from my principal to “violate” current policies in a pilot project last year but now the front office is asking when they can come and participate in a cell-enhanced lesson. (Just for your information–about half of our staff hates me for it, 25% are ambivalent, and 25% are very interested. I suspect our group is representative of other schools across the country.)

I never understood the point of Evernote but thanks to Greg’s interview I get it. Thank you.

It’s a shame that this year a lot more of my 11-14-year-old students either aren’t allowed or can’t afford a cell phone. There are ways to involve those students in phone-enhanced lessons but it is not easy. So the barriers are two-fold: as you know, too many educators are afraid of harnessing the love teens have for them. Also, you can’t assume all kids have mobile devices.

Anyway, if you really want to know about cell phones in classrooms, you should visit the From Toy To Tools web site (and book) at http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/. Liz Kolb, the author, is presently the expert in the field and she’s great. Maybe a follow-up podcast?

Keep on podcasting, please. Yours is one of my favorites — and I listen to about 30 a week.

Yes, it IS a classy first name! Thanks for listening. Spread the word!

Clark

Thanks to you for suggesting the chat with Greg!

Clark

Love this week’s new motto and, by the way, classy first name.

Cheers,

Clark P.