Long ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I started to write a post about my Star Wars-themed writing program in January.  However, I'm finally just posting it now.  This project has been in the works for six months and I just finished my second weekly class (of six) with a group of ten middle-school aged young men.  We'll finish the pilot of this class mid-July.

Those who have read my other posts here and at my other blog know we're a geeky lot at my house.  I have my stepfather and husband to thank for that.  I grew up watching Star Trek re-runs.  My stepfather hauled us all to Star Wars when it came to our local theater in a tiny town in central Wisconsin.  My husband and I have spent "quality time" watching all generations of Star Trek since our dating days.  We even stream episodes of Next Generation from our early married years and fondly recall snuggling on the couch together.

And it was my husband who introduced me to Joseph Campbell.  When we first met, we talked and talked about what we liked.  Before we even started dating, we met for lunch during a work day (no, it was not a date) and he handed me the book The Power of Myth.   I loved it.  And we talked more about Star Wars and how Campbell greatly influenced George Lucas.  And, Campbell held a place at our wedding.  A poem from The Power of Myth was on the back of our wedding program.

As we had kids and have homeschooled them, the Star Wars and Star Trek sagas have played out in our lives in different ways. For example, we have no less than sixteen reference guides to the Star Wars world, not including the Star Wars Lego guide books.  We have Star Wars Risk.  We, of course, own the movies, but at our house it is a rite of passage when you turn eight years old that you get to watch Episode 4.  The month after you turn eight, you get to watch Episode 5 (Dad's favorite) and then a month later, Episode 6.  This goes on for two more months.  We've determined that Episode 3 is just too dark for kids.  My husband considers the new Star Trek movie one of the best he's seen and the kids have seen snippets of that, too.  We inherited about thirty Star Trek novels from my stepfather.  Like I said, we're geeks.

So, I'm running a writing class for boys.  Here are the rules. They write six pages of story a week.  No grammar or spelling grades.  It's volume.  Have you ever heard boys play "Star Wars?"  This process is all about getting what they play together out of their head and down onto paper.  No interrupting to ask, "Are you sure you spelled that correctly?" or "Are you sure that's the right tense?"  This is about letting the creative process work and to let these boys see they ARE capable of quality writing, and volumes of it.  They are creating their own stories and producing up to ten pages per story a week.  These are boys who don't like to write.  And the stories are good!  The other boys are cheering, laughing, groaning and faking pain while listening to their comrade's stories.  While they are listening, they are getting ideas about what to do with their stories. 

The boys' stories use Joseph Campbell's model for myth in The Hero With a Thousand Faces, also know as the "monomyth".  If you haven't read the book, I suggest you do because in it you will find the archetypes and model of every good story ever told.  Once you have read it, you will be able to find the holes in bad stories and realize what it was in the stories you loved that worked for you.  The book is often the text for college mythology classes, but I have found it to be a valuable resource for those who want to write a good story.  And the class follows many of the exercises of the"progymnasmata" protocol, but don't tell the boys that.

Technology in the Homeschool: To Boldly Go Where No Homeschool Has Gone Before

Kevin and I would like to thank those who attended our presentation today on Technology in the Homeschool.  As promised, here are our links.  Enjoy.

NETS STANDARDS (http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx):

Digital Citizenship http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/internet-safety/?searchterm=internet%20safety http://www.gomcgruff.com/ http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ http://ikeepsafe.org/ http://www.netsmartz.org/Parents http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec04.pdf http://www.onguardonline.gov/ http://www.katyisd.org/parents/Documents/Digital%20Library.pdf http://web2011.discoveryeducation.com/ http://opendns.org http://www.gcflearnfree.org/internetsafety http://itsallaboutcharacter.com

Research and Information Fluency http://www.diigo.com/ http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers http://www.studygs.net/research.htm http://infomine.ucr.edu/ http://www.ipl.org/ http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/ http://google.com/ http://bing.com/

Creativity and Innovation http://goanimate.com/ Storytelling Alice - http://www.alice.org/kelleher/storytelling/ Ruby - http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/ Sandbox - http://sandboxgamemaker.com/what-is-sandbox.html Scratch - http://scratch.mit.edu/ Python - http://www.python.org/ Java - http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/java/index.html Shoes - http://www.supershareware.com/basic-edition-shoes-free/ Logo - http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~bh/ http://w3schools.com/ - learn to program in almost any language http://www.creax.net/

Technology Operations and Concepts http://www.gcflearnfree.org http://csunplugged.org/ http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Jefferson_HS/lscomp.htm http://h30187.www3.hp.com/ http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-free-computer-science-classes-online/ http://www.intelligentedu.com/cat1-computer-hardware.html http://u.about.com http://www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org/ http://www.openoffice.org http://www.google.com/options/ http://sites.google.com/site/cliotech/google-docs http://learnthat.com/computers http://educationonlineforcomputers.com

Communication and Collaboration http://www.edmodo.com http://edu.glogster.com/ http://p2pu.org/ http://www.nixty.com/ http://Iuniv.tv http://www.ocwsearch.com/ http://www.ning.com http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/Directory/

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making http://ali.apple.com/cbl/index.html http://www.bie.org/ http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/ http://www.bie.org/index.php/site/PBL/pbl_handbook_introduction/#standards Textbooks free online: http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/ http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/

10 Digital Commandments for Kids

I promise to follow these commandments while using gadgets, phones and the Internet to keep my family, my friends and myself safe:

1)       My parents will decide when I am allowed to use the computer, cell phone, gaming system and the Internet.  I promise not to nag or ask for more time.  I will only visit places they say I can and do things we agree are appropriate.

2)       I will never tell anyone that I am home alone, give out my last name, home address, phone number, parent’s work or work phone numbers to anyone without getting my parent’s permission first!  I will also keep this information about my friends as private as I keep my own information.

3)       If anyone does or says anything that bothers me, I will tell my parents.  I will not use bad language, say bad things about others or send mean messages.  I will tell my parents if someone does any of those things to me.  If I use code words online, I will tell my parents what they mean.

4)       I will never post or send pictures of myself, my family or friends when I use email, instant messaging, chats or on web sites.  If I set up a blog or online profile, I will tell my parents where it is and how they can read it.

5)       I will never, ever meet with anyone I’ve talked with online without first talking to my parents.

6)       If my parents ask for my password, I will give it to them.  I will never give out my password or any others that I know to anyone, not even my friends or others besides my parents.

7)       If I want to download anything (applications, games, music, movies or programs), I will ask for permission FIRST.  I know I must pay for these things.  If I take them I am stealing.

8)       I will not try to win free things or buy things on my phone or on the Internet.  If I get a message that I have won something, I will show my parents.  If I ever get an email asking me to enter my password or other private information, I will ask my parents FIRST.  I will not forward emails or messages that tell me bad stuff will happen to me if I do not forward them.

9)       I will not open any of my parents’ files.  I will not change any settings or install any new software without my parents’ permission.

10)   I give my parents’ permission to look on the computer, at my phone or any other device to see where I have gone on the Internet, what emails and text messages I’ve sent and received, the things I’ve downloaded or what I do.  I will not erase my browsing history or record of sent messages.  If my parents install programs that track what I do on the computer or limit where I go online or on my phone, I promise not to turn them off or alter them.  I will not close a window when my parents come into the room to hide something I’m viewing.

Child’s Signature	Parent’s Signature
I have read the above and follow these rules.  If I do not make good choices, I understand I will lose the privilege to use electronic devices and the Internet based on my own decision not to follow the above rules.	I agree to let my child use electronics so long as these they make good choices and follow these rules.

10 Digital Commandments for Kids modified from www.KimKomando.com where you will find LOTS of great resources for parents keeping kids safe on the Internet.  http://www.komando.com/kids/parent-tips.aspx

10 Things You Can Do Right Away to Use Technology Safely

1)       Start using Opendns on your computers. Install monitoring software like McGruff Safeguard. Lock down YouTube and Google with SafeSearch.

2)       Have your kids read and sign the 10 Digital Commandments.  Explain Good Choice, Poor Choice and Your Choice.

3)       Password protect all PCs and make sure they are in a public location where everyone can see (not in bedrooms).

4)       Create accounts for your kids separate from yours.  Give your account admin rights and don’t give admin rights to the kids.

5)       If your kids have Facebook accounts (or any other social networking accounts), get one yourself, friend your kids and get their account info and passwords. 

6)       Find a smart friend in your support network who can help you make your equipment more secure.

7)       If you have Internet anxiety, set up a pc for your kids to use that is not connected to the Internet for typing software, word processing, and other computer software.

8)       Have your kids start using Microsoft Office, OpenOffice or GoogleDocs to do their homework.

9)       Consider using a service like www.mediafire.com to back up your data.

10)   Set up a Yahoo! Group to get your feet wet in collaborative schooling and invite another homeschooling family to join you.

Yes, in truth, there is beauty.

In season three of the original Star Trek series, there is an episode  called Is There in Truth no Beauty?  My husband thinks otherwise. 

To say my husband has no hand in educating my children would be lying.  He brings a tremendous amount of resources to the table.  He's more educated and better read than I am.  Here is an example.  He uses Star Trek to educate our children and introduce them to important pieces of Classic Literature and important periods in history.  Or perhaps he just wanted to have an excuse to watch Star Tek with the kids.  You decide.

Ed. Note:  He started this project in 2009 and it is still a work in progress.  

References

http://trekguide.com/tos1.htm

http://www.treknation.com/episodes/tos/

http://www.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/star.trek.html

www.wikipedia.org

Season One, 1966-67

#	Title	Description	Analysis
101	The Cage (pilot)	After being tricked by an illusionary distress signal, captain Pike escapes from his captors who wanted to use him and his crew to rebuild their world."	Note that some components of this, such as referring to the second in command as “Number One” were used later in The Next Generation The actress who played Number One was recast as Nurse Chapel, and also as Gene Roddenberry’s real-life wife!
102	Where No Man Has Gone Before'	"When the Enterprise nears the galactic barrier, two crewmembers develop telepathic powers which threaten the ship."	Explores a common theme within Star Trek and other science fiction:  what if our abilities advance faster than our ability to control them?
103	The Corbomite Maneuver'	An alien ship threatens the Enterprise with destruction, causing Kirk to use a ruse to trick the opponent.	Essentially a lesson in the merits of playing poker rather than chess.  This is a common theme across all Star Trek iterations. It establishes for the first time that, all things being equal, intuition is more valuable than logic or intellect.
104	Mudd's Women	Kirk rescues Harry Mudd, a pirate, and the three beautiful women who are his cargo, en route to a lithium mining colony.	Parental Warning:  ultimately scores points for advocating “the beauty within”, but not before showcasing the objectification of women.
105	The Enemy Within	A transporter malfunction splits the captain into a good Kirk, who can't command very well, and an evil Kirk, who makes passes at Janice Rand and manipulates the crew	Pure Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide, Robert Louis Stevenson
106	The Man Trap	A shape-shifting "salt vampire" which seduces its victims by appearing as someone attractive to them comes on board.	Parental Warning:  the creature is pretty scary for younger ones.
107	The Naked Time	The crew contracts a disease which brings their repressed emotions to surface, causing a young lieutenant to shut down the engines and leading Kirk to fear he can't command the ship.	This story line is revisited in “The Naked Now” episode in ST: TNG Shows what happens when one loses their moral compass; their inhibitions
108	Charlie X	When the Enterprise transports Charlie, an adolescent human with powerful telekinetic abilities, back to the Federation, he makes crewmembers vanish and takes frightening steps to make Yeoman Rand fall in love with him.	Parental Warning:  one brief image really frightens younger ones, when one crew woman’s face is completely blanked out and she can’t speak or breathe Good lesson on proper etiquette for treating women
109	Balance of Terror	The Romulans destroy an outpost and Kirk pursues their commander, whose cloaking device enables his ship to vanish from sensors.	Retelling of the classic WWII movie “Run Silent, Run Deep”.
110	What are Little Girls Made of?	Kirk pursues the missing fiance of Nurse Chapel, who has survived underground with the help of androids from a vanished civilization.
111	Dagger of the Mind	While delivering supplies to a facility for the criminally insane, Kirk is taken hostage by a power-hungry doctor who uses a neural neutralizer to control the minds of his patients.	Title is a reference to MacBeth, William Shakespeare See “Animal Farm”, George Orwell See the Zimbardo Prison Study:  http://www.prisonexp.org/
112	Miri	On a planet of decades-old children, one of whom develops a crush on Captain Kirk, the away team becomes infected with a genetically engineered disease that prolongs youth but kills adolescents.	Lord of the Flies Parental Warning:  creepy make-up effects showing lesions
113	The Conscience of the King'	When the leader of a traveling theatrical troupe is suspected of being a genocidal governor, the suspicious deaths of people who could identify him concerns Kirk - especially since he's one of the survivors.	The title is a reference to Hamlet. There is more in this episode as the main plot concerns a traveling troupe of Shakespearean actors
114	The Galileo Seven	An away mission led by Spock falls victim to a disastrous crash on a hostile planet, where Spock and McCoy fight over the ineffectuality of his strictly logical approach to the situation.	Rather lame, actually
115	Court Martial	Kirk is put on trial for negligence when the computer records contradict his logs about the death of a crewmember during a shipboard crisis.	Mediocre
116	The Menagerie, Part One	Spock takes over the Enterprise and faces the death penalty to take his former Captain, who has been horribly disfigured in an accident, to a planet where an alien race has learned to turn thoughts into reality.	Contains footage from the pilot episode, called “The Cage”, featuring a bellowing Spock.
117	The Menagerie, Part Two	During Spock's court martial, Kirk learns of his predecessor Captain Pike's encounter with the illusions created by a race desperate for breeding stock to help them rebuild their planet.
118	Shore Leave	The crew takes shore leave on an idyllic planet, but when people's fantasies begin to come true - deadly as well as benign - Kirk must evade his own demons to solve the mystery.	Alice in Wonderland Don Juan This one is really fun
119	The Squire of Gothos	A powerful alien named Trelane abducts crewmembers for his amusement, but when Kirk refuses to play his games, Trelane puts him on trial and prepares to execute him.	Lesson in Einstein’s theory of relativity
120	Arena	When the Enterprise encroaches on alien space in pursuit of a ship that apparently helped to destroy a Federation outpost, Kirk finds himself and the leader of the alien vessel, the Gorn, stranded on a planet where they are forced to fight for supremacy.	Contains an overt chemistry lesson Many ancient wars were averted in this same manner; Prince Caspian is the latest example.
121	The Alternative Factor	The crew meets two nearly-identical men named Lazarus, one from their universe and one from an antimatter universe with the potential to destroy both universes should they come together. Kirk must work with the Lazarus not of his own universe to trap the other, a madman, in a void between the universes with his twin, thus keeping everyone else safe.	The name Lazarus was not an accident, as one can arguably refer to the Gospel account of Lazarus for a deeper understanding of this episode. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Discussion of parallel universes
122	Tomorrow is Yesterday	When a black hole sends the Enterprise back in time to the 20th century, an air force pilot who spots the "U.F.O." is beamed aboard when the Enterprise must destroy his ship and its weapons. Kirk must return the pilot to his own century, yet find a way not to disrupt the timeline, before he can try to return to his own era.	Time travel paradox
123	The Return of the Archons	The Enterprise pursues a missing starship's crew on a planet ruled by a being named Landru, which takes over their minds to make them part of a passive, complacent society	Frankly, a dig at organized religion
124	A Taste of Armageddon	An arrogant ambassador places the Enterprise in the midst of a civil war between two planets fought entirely by computer, which reports the casualties so that people can voluntarily report to disintegration chambers without their societies risking physical destruction.	Another heavy-handed anti-war message
125	Space Seed	Kirk and his crew find a "sleeper ship" of genetically bred superhumans, led by the ruthless 20th century dictator Khan Noonian Singh, who tries to take over the ship with the help of a 23rd century archaeologist who falls in love with him.	KHAAAAAN! Refers to despots in the past and future history of civilization, including Napoleon and Hitler Milton’s “Paradise Lost” is referenced at the end.
126	This Side of Paradise	Humans are kept safe on a planet bombarded with deadly radiation by a spore which has the side effect of making people blissfully content. Spock is reunited with an old friend who uses the spores to make him fall in love with her, but when Kirk realizes that the price for paradise is an end to exploration, he determines to recover his crew from the spores.	A smiling, laughing Spock; weird Moral:  seeking only contentment squelches innovation and progress
127	The Devil in the Dark	A creature that can eat its way through solid rock is killing miners on a distant outpost.	“No Kill I” Important biology lesson, distinguishing between carbon-based versus silicon-based life forms
128	Errand of Mercy	Sent to establish an alliance with the peaceful, unsophisticated planet Organia which is located strategically between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, Kirk is disgusted to find the inhabitants apathetic to the presence of Klingons on their world.	Lesson in the tyranny of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) concept
129	The City on the Edge of Forever	An accidental drug overdose sends Dr. McCoy on a disastrous trip through a time portal, where he changes the course of Earth's history. Kirk and Spock pursue him into the past, where Kirk falls in love with a social worker whose life plays a pivotal role in the events McCoy will affect."	The one with Joan Collins Time travel One of the best
130	Operation: Annihilate!'	Kirk's brother's family is devastated by an interplanetary crisis of mass insanity and Spock is attacked by one of the creatures which caused the crisis. McCoy must find a way to kill the aliens without destroying their hosts before the creatures can take over the galaxy	We think of this as the flying pizza’s episode Biology / neurology lesson