•  Introduction
• Word Smart (linguistic intelligence)
• Number Smart (logical-mathematical intelligence)
• Picture Smart (spatial intelligence)
• Body Smart (kinesthetic intelligence)
• Music Smart (musical intelligence)
• People Smart (interpersonal intelligence)
• Self Smart (intrapersonal intelligence)
• Nature Smart (naturalistic intelligence)

Your comments, thoughts and ideas are encouraged! Thank you – Jason

This intelligence covers logical and mathematical skills. It is working with numbers, abstraction, reasoning and logic.

Permission to use for educational purposes.  © 1999 Fablevision

What are some personality qualities of number smart people?

Number smart people like to crunch numbers. They enjoy math and games of logic such as chess. They excel in activities such as computer programming and other logic based activities. Number smart people learn best in critical thinking activities and experimentation.

What are some activities and technologies that would help number smart people in a learning environment?

Google Finance - Our budding economists will enjoy having all the tools Google Finance has to offer, from current news to building custom portfolios to discovering trends in the stock market.

Programming – This is a great area to reinforce logic and systematic thinking. There are two very good programming languages that come to mind when thinking in this area. MIT has a program called Scratch which I feel would be a good fit for all ages, young and old. Alice is another language for programming in a 3D environment which is more advanced. There are also the traditional programming languages typically taught in a programming class although these won’t be as conducive to developing a digital story or other project for something other than a straight math or programming class.

Sketchup – This is a 3D modeling tool that every future engineer should use. Sketchup lets you engineer the next mega-bridge or build skyscrapers in 3D. Students will be able to build these 3D models and share them with the world.

Games – I am going to use games again using both mobile handhelds (cell phones, iPods, PSP’s, etc.) and online. There are many resources in this category to challenge the number smart persons. Baingle has brain teasers, games such as Chess and Sudoku, and much more.

Google Docs – This is again a standard tool every student and faculty needs access to. For the number smart person, they will enjoy working with spreadsheets and charts. Click for the standard Google Docs link. I will also again urge the use of Google Apps for Education.

With the Internet resources we have available and the computing resources now in everything from cell phones to super-computers, number smart people have many opportunities to learn and express themselves. What would you do to help support this intelligence from a learning standpoint or maybe harder yet, from an assessing standpoint? Share your comments…

This intelligence covers verbal/linguistic skills. It is working with words, spoken or written.

Permission to use for educational purposes.  © 1999 Fablevision

What are some personality qualities of word smart people?

Word smart people like to read, write, talk and/or listen. They revel in words, books, languages and telling stories. People with a preference toward this intelligence learn best by reading, note taking, and lectures.

What are some activities and technologies that would help word smart people in a learning environment?

iTunes U – many lectures on just about any topic from professors and universities all over the country. This could be used for direct instruction or for those that need a place for extra resources on a topic of interest. Click for more information on iTunes U.

Podcasts – Listening to and creating podcasts would be a great activity for word smart individuals. For a great starter resource, take a look at Learning In Hand.

Blogs – Both reading and writing blogs is a way to engage these learners. Edublogs is a wonderful resource for educational blogging.

Stationary Studio – This software is a fantastic way to get reluctant or elementary students writing using theme based stationary. Check out this and other creative software from Fablevision Learning.

Digital Storytelling - Planning and writing scripts. Digitales has great resources for the beginner and the advanced storyteller.

Games – Using both mobile handhelds (cell phones, iPods, PSP’s, etc.) and online, there are many games for the linguist. For a few to try, see Word Games at the Gameroom.

Google Docs – This essential resource should be in any toolbox. With it’s suite of word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, it’s a must have for collaborating for any student or faculty. I am going to post two links because I feel strongly every school should really, really consider having Google Apps for Education. Here is the standard Google Docs link.

The applications and resources for this group are wide and varied. There are tons of tools but putting those into effective practice is the hard part. Please share other technology resources you have used for this group and how you put them into practice by commenting on this post.

This brings up an important point. We need to not only think about how our students prefer the input of information but also how they may best output their knowledge. Given the same information some students will prefer to convey their thoughts on the topic verbally. Some will prefer to write and yet others might like to portray their knowledge with a skit.

As I thought about what I wanted to blog on, I reflected on many learning styles models. From Dr. Felder’s Index of Learning Styles to Dr. Kolb’s Learning Styles Model. But the model that made the biggest impact on me is Dr. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory. Before we get started with this week of, hopefully, fun and spirited discussion on this topic, I would like to have Dr. Gardner share a little bit on his thoughts on the use of technology given his framework in Multiple Intelligence Theory. Click the clip below to view an interview excerpt from Edutopia. Here is a link to the full article and interview: Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences

I would also like to introduce you to the eight intelligences I’ll be writing about. We probably see signs of these in ourselves and our students but have preferences for one or another based on our context in terms of our environment or what role we are in when we need to draw on our learning preference.

• Word Smart (linguistic intelligence)
• Number Smart (logical-mathematical intelligence)
• Picture Smart (spatial intelligence)
• Body Smart (kinesthetic intelligence)
• Music Smart (musical intelligence)
• People Smart (interpersonal intelligence)
• Self Smart (intrapersonal intelligence)
• Nature Smart (naturalistic intelligence)

As you review these areas, do you see signs of preference for yourself and do these change depending on where you are or what role you are playing. For example, are you more prone to linguistic intelligence when you are taking a class or are you more kinesthetic when doing yard work. Or are these just stereotypes that, as we think about them, need to turn on their head! Do you really map out your yard before planting anything? Come on… you can tell me! Comment here…

As I explore the topic of using social networking for adult educators, I see many advantages to both the educator and the student.

For the adult educator, this is a wonderful opportunity to find others in your field who are also passionate about this topic (adult education) and maybe even the subject you are teaching. It is a professional development opportunity every time you connect with your social network. Colleagues are sharing resources, participating in discussions and debates, and sharing details as they struggle and succeed in their everyday journey. It’s a place to ask questions and make connections on a global scale. You have access to people and resources that are global, instant and diverse. It can become a rich community of sharing and support.

Additionally, an adult educator who provides social networking opportunities for their students opens the door for an endless learning experiences limited only by the student’s own sense of adventure and creativity. No matter the topic, the abundance of social resources will become an ever flowing river of resources to your students. They will have access to people following the same interests, experts in the field, and social filters only those working with the topic on a daily basis will have. I believe you will also find this is an environment some students will thrive in as they have an opportunity to express themselves in a different, typically non-threatening, medium.

Some important resources to investigate and try with your colleagues and/or students.

• Social Bookmarking – Delicious, Diigo
• Social Editing – Wikis, Blogs, Shared docs, VoiceThread
• Social Media – YouTube, Flickr
• Specialized Social Networks – Ning (Classroom 2.0), Dogster, GoodReads
• General Social Networks – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

As we work more and more in this online collaborative space, what tools do you find most useful and what do you feel are the key advantages of social networking to adult educators? Please comment!

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Take a Hike: How to Make Being Outdoors In

As gaming devices supplant games of catch, schools counter nature-deficit disorder with outdoor experiences.

by Susan Brenna

Though his parents once lived in the countryside in Mexico, Juan Martinez grew up in crowded Los Angeles, barely noticing the earth and sky that was masked by the concrete and smog. Six years ago, when Martinez was fifteen, his science teacher proposed he earn extra credit and raise his failing grade by joining the school’s ecology club. He found he liked working in the school garden, which led to a trip to the Teton Science Schools, in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. It changed his life.

More at Take a Hike: How to Make Being Outdoors In | Edutopia.

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It’s All Happening at the Zoo School: Innovative Education with Practical Applications

At Minneapolis’s School of Environmental Studies, learning is about becoming an expert and solving real problems.

by Diane Curtis

When Mark LaCroix and his classmates at Minnesota’s School of Environmental Studies (SES) discovered patches of buckthorn crowding out native species at a local park, they didn’t just write up their findings as a science report to be read by the teacher and then handed back. They compiled data in a form familiar to government agencies and submitted a technical report to local officials, who used the information to direct park gardeners to eradicate the invasive plant.

More at It’s All Happening at the Zoo School: Innovative Education with Practical Applications | Edutopia.

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Five Tips for Introducing Outdoor Education to Your Class

Follow these easy-to-implement suggestions about how to go outside with learning.

by Andrea Mills

This how-to article accompanies the feature “Early-Childhood Education Takes to the Outdoors.”

Here are five ways to adopt the ideas behind the Waldkindergarten concept:

1. 1. Partner with a Local Nature Center
   2. Connect with a Natural-Education Initiative
   3. Network with Other Professionals
   4. Bring the Forest to Campus
   5. Gear Up

via Five Tips for Introducing Outdoor Education to Your Class | Edutopia.

Initially, the electronic welcome centers will have a color map of the building and daily workshop/meeting information to direct our visitors.

There has been much talk about what version 2 (and beyond) of the Welcome Centers could offer. The more they get used and as more potential is envisioned, we will update these devices and hopefully make the experience for our visitors more inviting and pleasurable.

Andy Grove, then the CEO of Intel, said in 1999, “In five years, companies that are not internet companies won’t be companies at all.” He was widely ridiculed at the time. But in fact he was very perceptive. What he meant was that we were entering a period when internet access would become like electricity supply: very few companies generate electricity, but all companies use – and rely on - it.

More and more great services are available “in the cloud” but they require Internet access. This makes me thing about the “Internet OS.” What is next in providing access to all of these resources? Google Gears is a next step but only a stepping stone in my eyes. Operating Systems are going to take on a whole new dynamic in the future and it will be based on cloud computing. What are your thoughts?

Schools:

A main goal of education spending in the stimulus bill is to help keep teachers on the job.

Nearly 600,000 jobs in elementary and secondary schools could be eliminated by state budget cuts over the next three years, according to a study released this past week by the University of Washington. Fewer teachers means higher class sizes, something that districts are scrambling to prevent.

The stimulus sets up a $54 billion fund to help prevent or restore state budget cuts, of which $39 billion must go toward kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education. In addition, about $8 billion of the fund could be used for other priorities, including modernization and renovation of schools and colleges, though how much is unclear, because Congress decided not to specify a dollar figure.

The Education Department will distribute the money as quickly as it can over the next couple of years.

And it adds $25 billion extra to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, which help pay teacher salaries, among other things.

This money may go out much more slowly; states have five years to spend the dollars, and they have a history of spending them slowly. In fact, states don’t spend all the money; they return nearly $100 million to the federal treasury every year.

The stimulus bill also includes more than $4 billion for the Head Start and Early Head Start early education programs and for child care programs.

That’s where Advanced Search comes in. It lets you think about those keywords that work with your search. With the advanced search, it is easier to find results based on:

• All search terms you enter (AND)
• An exact phrase you type (“quotes”)
• At least one of the words typed (OR)
• Words you DON’T want in your search (NOT)

And more…. let’s consider some examples.

You want to do a search for dolphins and are finding that the football team keeps intruding your results.  Your search could look something like this: 

dolphins “marine mammal“ atlantic OR gulf –miami –football

You will find a host of other options in both the Advanced Search, Search Features and the More Google Products page.