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Brain function increased by art and music
Brain researchers have long thought that studying art and music led to better performance in other school 
subjects. Centers designed to bridge the gap between scientists and educators, such as the Neuro-Education Institute at Johns Hopkins University, are beginning to share their findings and create more in-depth research projects to back up those thoughts.
Although research about the correlation between brain function and art and music is still in the beginning stages, there is promising news. A study of students who go to an arts high school found a relationship between those who were trained in music and their ability to do geometry. Another study on the effects of music on attention showed that training in the arts helped students who are motivated and creative develop attention and intelligence. The results of a third study, in which researchers used imaging technology to take pictures of jazz musicians’ brains, showed that people are able to shut down the parts of their brains that regulate inhibition and self-control when being creative.
Source: www.baltimoresun.com
Increasing student performance through decreased parental assistance
Instead of helping middle school students with their homework, parents might want to consider telling their kids how important academic performance is to their future. New research shows that instilling the value of education and linking good performance in school to future goals and profession does better for middle school-aged kids than parental assistance or involvement at school.
The preteen and early teen years are times when kids begin to assert their independence. Analytical thinking as well as problem-solving and planning skills all increase; at this age, kids want to make their own decisions with less guidance from parents and other adults. Parents shouldn’t see this as a sign to stop all involvement in school or help with homework, however; parental involvement in school events still has a positive effect on performance, just not as much as help focusing on and planning for the future.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com
High school radio
Students in Mesquite ISD are providing a service to their community by sending news, traffic updates and weather reports accross the airwaves. KEOM-FM, a radio station owned and operated by Mesquite ISD, gives district high school students a place to earn school credit while they learn the different aspects of radio broadcasting, from disc jockeying to producing behind the scenes.
Tune in to 88.5 FM in the Mesquite area, and you’ll hear Top 40 music from the 1970s, as well as informative shows on topics such as arts, cooking and Mesquite ISD sports. Three Mesquite ATPE members, Peggy Brooks, Shondra Tharp and Connie Hale, are educators on the station’s faculty. They guide students through lessons in the classroom and hands-on experience in the studio.
Read more about KEOM at www.keom.fm.
Source: Southern Living
Better spelling and worse grammar, in no more than 140 characters
When sending text messages and posting on Twitter, users have limitations on how much they can say; text messages have a limit of 160 characters, and 140 characters is the max for a tweet. (See Tech Support for more information on Twitter.) Proper spelling and punctuation often fall by the wayside in order to get messages across via cell phones—e.g., “mt U @ 8” means “meet you at 8”—but a new study shows that people who post on Twitter are actually better at spelling than their non-Twitter counterparts.
An online editing site, www.gooseGrade.com, surveyed 100 random English speakers who were both users and nonusers of Twitter. Participants were asked to write 100 words about what they did during the course of a day. They were then graded on spelling, grammar and punctuation. Twenty percent of Twitter users made more grammar errors, but those same users were half as likely to make spelling mistakes. The grammar errors are likely attributed to the tendency to cut corners to fit posts into the site’s 140-character limit.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
More than ever, kids are logging on
Internet usage has grown by 59 percent during the past nine years. A recent study by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shows that 65 percent of American children ages 2 to 17 use the Internet from home, school or some other location.
Families have also increased their Internet usage since 2000; between 2000 and 2002, the number of homes with broadband Internet access went from 10 percent to 37 percent nationwide. And kids haven’t been using this increase in Internet access just for playing games; in homes with broadband access, parents reported increases in their children’s grades. One in five students polled said they go online at least once a day at home for educational purposes. Even 64 percent of teenagers, who log on more than any other age group, said they go online to do research for school every week, putting educational use at a close second behind general surfing.
Although this might seem like a huge increase in usage, a 2008 study showed that young Americans trail their peers from the Czech Republic, Macao, Israel, Britain and Canada in amount of Internet use, due in part to availability. Of the Americans ages 12?14 surveyed, 88 percent had access to the Internet, while 100 percent of British youth, 98 percent of Israeli youth and 96 percent of Canadian youth had access.
Source: www.eschoolnews.com, www.reuters.com
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