'Tis the Season

Whether or not you believe in the fat guy in the red suit, you do believe in the holiday season. Regardless of your religious affiliation, Christmas time (or the holiday season as retail capitalism would like to call it) has somehow infiltrated our very culture so much that other religions are scrambling to find relevance to it (in my opinion). I am reminded by the South Park song "It's hard to be a Jew on Christmas", and I laugh. Yet, I know that children of any religion are expecting presents for whatever reason can be squeezed out of the marketing machine.

Okay.. what the heck does this have to do with technology? Stay with me here; I promise I will do my best to make sense of this.

The day after Thanksgiving is called "Black Friday". Bananas of all ages and genders flock to their local shopping places, and they push, shove and jockey their way to the best bargains of the season that has just officially started hours before the stores usually open. Some live for this insanity. Being someone that dislikes... no make that absolutely loathes shopping malls during the rest of the year, let alone holiday time, Black Friday isn't even close to being a suitable option.

I remember when I first heard of people buying over the Internet. Everyone was worried about stealing credit card information, stores that didn't exist etc. Consumer confidence was not all that great.

Oh my, how things have changed. Nowadays the market share of Internet purchases is so strong that there is a day called "Cyber Monday" that shows the first big day of online purchases (at the expense of employers!)

What does this have to do with anything? I challenge that as technology becomes more used, more relevant and more accepted to the general community, it will become much more commonplace. The rate at which this has happened with commerce is staggering, but yet the rate at which the education system is transforming is not quite as quick. What must we do? Do we have to provide that level of safety, security and comfort to our teachers and administrators? How do we give them that warm, fuzzy feeling about emerging technology?

One thing that I have noticed about the Internet today (and web 2.0 tools in particular) is that they do not cater to the "coders" as they used to. Applications are much more user friendly and 'approachable' than they were years ago. The Internet, once reserved for the power user super geek, is now home to countless students of all ages and people using it for many uses. So here we have something that reaches ages and tech familiarity of all levels, but how can we bring that comfort to our schools? I don't know.. I am just wonderin..

Merry Microsoft or Mac to all... and to all a good night.
Happy holidays.

Mnemonic Awareness

Which is the real penny? Whatever one is worth one cent of course. The cognitive theory materials are really making me think (and if the theory is correct I should have the capacity to do so). In one of the materials, it said "Learning results when information is stored in long term memory in an organized, meaningful way. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information because of memory loss, inference, missing cues, inadequate cues, etc."

As a learner in high school, memory was my saving grace. Despite the fact that I studied a bit (not as much as I could have or should have) memorizing was what saved me. Memorizing bits of information and regurgitating it on an assessment might get the good grade, but it doesn't mean that the learner has truly synthesized the information. When it has been applied by the learner, it is clear that it has been learned.

Another item that hit home was the use of mnemonic devices. Strategies like "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" and "My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles" served me very well in my academic journeys. The fact that I still remember them to this day is a testament to the power of such devices, but I must questions whether memorization truly is learning, or is it a pathway or resource to learning.

Before I begin a math, social studies or science lesson (those are the vocabulary heavy subjects to me), I begin with relevant vocabulary. Instead of handing out the vocabulary premade or simply reading it from a book, I have the students read it and record it themselves. My hope is that they will understand, internalize and memorize the vocabulary and the concepts that will be explored. Of course we revisit the material throughout the lesson and through subsequent lessons, but I think that the initial plant makes a difference in how it is presented.

So what does this all mean to the learner? Activating prior knowledge is something that we as teacher depend on every day. One skill is most often built on another, and without that foundation it will surely be more difficult. There is much to be said about familiarity. it eases anxiety and increases comfort. Memorization aids that, but for information to be really 'learned' it must be more than just memorized.

A Deeee-l.icio.us World?

So today I ran out to Subway to get my standard "I only have $4 left" lunch. Pulling back into the parking lot, I hear a commercial for HD radio that the manufacturers are putting a "Tag" button on them. If a listener likes the song that he or she is listening to, he or she can simply click this "tag" and it will send the information to your iPod. (iPods of course can dock into the HD receiver.) So now when you next log into iTunes, you can go right to that song or songs.
Of course, as soon as I heard that, I thought of del.icou.us. I remember at first how I thought that it was a waste of my time. I had favorites on every one of my computers, and I was very happy with that feature. As my del.ico.us bookmarks grew, I found myself using them more and more. I then found myself building and adding to them. I then found myself starting categories within my tags. Wow... I can't believe I have been converted.
I have to wonder (yet again) about the future, and this is for once outside of our schools. If you are watching TV and you see a new food, toy, DVD etc and you want it, would you simply be able to 'tag' it? Would you then be able to go to the mall (or better yet how about an online mall)where all of your selections would be ready for you? Would a list of vendors show you pricing and availability options in an effort to gain your business? Unreal! I can only imagine the possibilities. Do I want that? I honestly don't know... you do want people to actually "do" work and not be lazy.. but it certainly would be COOL!

It's an exciting time to be an educator! v3,535,125.5

It's the most.. tiresome time.. of the year!!!
As the first semester of T.E.A.M. comes to a close, I must sit back and reflect. I only sit back because my legs hurt from running around, but it's a great match for my headache. Between report cards, curriculum, state tests, outside school family responsibilities like building my little girl her new bedroom, T.E.A.M. responsibilities, my own hobbies (my poor car has already started sitting waiting for the spring. It was barely driven all fall! Oh the humanity!) and trying to infuse technology into my classroom at a pace that is reasonable and comfortable for both my students and myself, I have found very little time to actually just sit. The semester has been one of growth, frustration, trial and error, and successes and failures: and often can be all in one week! Whenever I stumble on something new or hear about some type of resource I suddenly wonder if it works with my educational style and philosophy (at least I think I've got style!), and if it is suitable for the developmental, academic and technological level of my students.

What an exciting time to be an educator! I think that I might have said that before. I heard it in grad school from quite a few professors. At first I thought it was because of new student-centered strategies and theories that were being used in classrooms. Then, I thought it might be because of new special education reforms that were on the horizon. I heard a variety of reasons that it was "an exciting time to be an educator." Now, a few years later, here I am saying yet again that it is an exciting time to be an educator! I think (in my subjective reality) that it is ALWAYS an exciting time to be an educator! Just the other day, my Technology Integration Facilitator Noel Forte, my Library Media Specialist Karen Kliegman and myself used SKYPE to talk face to face with a class in South Carolina. My kids LOVED it, and to be honest I was quite impressed and enjoyed it as well. Our students are working on a native american research project with them (along with a few other classes) with Noel and Karen, but to speak with and see them was an incredible opportunity. We didn't ask questions about our research. We took the time to get to know them, their school and what they are exploring in thier classroom. They also did the same. Imagine... projected on the SMARTboard was their class, and conversely on their SMARTboard was us! It was almost as if, through technology, they were there with us.

So what is the point of all of this rambling? I don't know, you tell me. I don't interpret, I just write it. I know it's an exciting time, because I see it on the faces of my students. I know it's a tiring time because without coffee I probably wouldn't exist. I know it's a challenging time because Advil has become a good friend. When asked if I would trade it all away for peace and quiet.. well.. with all of that peace and quiet how would I get any work done?

The World Through Panoramic Glasses

As the first semester of T.E.A.M. comes to a close, I am thinking about how it has changed me. Notice that I said "change" because change can be good or bad. It just means that the way I was before might be different than the way I am now.
I am no newbie to technology, and I identify myself as a moderately proficient user. I love new tools, and I can usually find my way around using simply by 'playing' with them. You can imagine how I was a bit skeptical about the T.E.A.M. program as far as technology goes.
At almost the conclusion of semester one, I find myself immersed in a learning environment that allows me to grow at my own pace. We do reach out to others in the program - students and mentors alike without fear of consequences. I have taken my 5 workshops now. Some were better than others, but they were all applicable.
In my classroom, tomorrow will be the culmination of over a month's work. For American Education Week, we are inviting our families in to view our Crayfish Vodcast Project, affectionately called "The CrayCast". It was an inquiry based project with students working independently and collaboratively. They were assigned characteristics to research and used resources such as their observation notes, the Internet for content and images, and non-fiction literature. They then used Microsoft Photo Story to collaboratively create movies based on that research, and they applied narration audio that they had written and record themselves. They blogged about it. They talked about it. They wrote about it. They were excited about it, and so was I. I took a Flash workshop last weekend, and I used Flash to create two movies for it. One is the opening credits (that I am especially proud of since I always found Flash to be cumbersome), and then a nice simple movie with scrolling closing credits. I will finish it off with a game of Millionaire to make sure that our parents were paying attention (but mostly just to have a little more fun).
The purpose of this entry is not to brag, because I simply can't stand that crap. I need to give credit where credit is due. First of all, some of it goes to my students that had the creative energy and enthusiasm to embark on this project with me.
That being said, most of the thanks goes to T.E.A.M. This program has given me the panoramic glasses mentioned in the title. Seeing the wider, bigger picture is what it is all about. Technology was only a part of our project. It was the vehicle through which the project was presented, but it was not the sole force or resource used. Technology did not change how or what I taught, but rather it extended and enhanced it. Direct instruction would surely have been easier to teach the concepts that they explored, but at what costs? Convenience vs. Constructivism I guess, right Prof. Dornisch?

Deeper into Flash on a Saturday

So this morning I got out of bed even earlier than I usually do on a Saturday. I had a workshop at Long Island University CW Post on Flash basics. It was given by Faye Lourenso. She was excellent! The pace was perfect, and instruction was clear. I have used Flash before (Flash 5 WAYYY back in the day), and although I enjoy figuring out software applications by myself, Flash is cumbersome and frustrating at times. I made a short movie back in the day as well, but it was simple and took me quite some time stumbling along the way. I would have liked to get into Flash navigations and more action script usage, but unfortunately I was not able to stay for the second workshop that no doubt digs a bit deeper. I think now that I have a decent base I can just play and find my way around decently. If I get frustrated, it is easy to reach out.

Here is one of the two files that I was able to create. Although I still think that it is cumbersome at times, I will make an effort to incorporate it or at least use it as an option for my work.

I know it's silly, but it's just a practice. Thanks also to Noel, Frank and Karen for keeping it light and fun in the room. It sure is nice to have friends in T.E.A.M. Sharon and Tammy were there too!

Student Originated Literature Blog Part 2

In a a recent article, I mentioned that a student had presented a recommendation for a blog article. I ended up using that recommendation as a blog assignment with minimal modifications.
My students (and I myself) are big fans of the author, Mr. Robert Kimmel Smith. I assigned the blog, and then I put the assignment up on our classroomblogmeister site (thanks David Warlick for the excellent site!)
When putting up the assignment, I wanted to put up a picture of Robert Kimmel Smith, but I didn't want to do it without permission. I went to his web site, and I sent him an email. I told him how we have been enjoying his literature, how we have been using it in our writing, how one of my students had constructed a blog assignment and how I would love to use his picture on our blog site. He wrote back and commented on how impressed he was with how students are using technology. He gave the picture his blessing and recounted some quick connections to himself growing up. I must say that his sense of humor is even apparent in quick emails!
When I told my class that Robert Kimmel Smith had read out blog site, they were ecstatic! One of my other students emailed him herself and invited him to our classroom (he had mentioned that it might happen - fingers crossed!). She also mentioned her blog to him. Just yesterday I check comments on the blog and there it is! He commented on her blog article! What a great guy. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until Tuesday to mention to my students (Monday is Veteran's Day). I just thought it was very nice of him to do that. Technology and student created learning has just created an interesting connection to the literature that we are exploring. Now the books are more than just paper and words (as it truly should be!)

Constructivism and Tomorrow's Classroom

I am somewhat hesitant to hear educational theories. There is always something new that is (at least for the time being) perceived better and more modern. I recall in grad school studying the theories of Piaget, Vigotsky, Bloom, Gardner etc... While I sometimes think about their writings, I also understand that, as teachers, our customers are living, breathing children that have learning needs that change day by day (sometimes hour by hour) despite any underlying learning styles.

That pedagogical disclaimer now stated, I do agree with many constructivist ideas. In a PowerPoint presentation I viewed, it listed:

Complex and relevant learning environments
Social Negotiation
Multiple perspectives and multiple modes of learning
Ownership in Learning
Self-awareness of knowledge construction

Learning should always try to be relevant instead of totally abstract. In reading, we make connections to literature. In Math and Science, we might write about what we are thinking or relate concepts to real world situations. In Social Studies, we might role-play historical events or write from a historical point of view. Regardless of what method you elect to use, the goal is the same: relevance. "Ownership in Learning" is something that I personally seek to bring to my students. Watching a students invest himself or herself in their own learning is truly one of the greatest things that can be witnessed.

After reading all of that, you must be thinking "This must be the Poster Boy for Constructivism!" I wish it were that easy. I teach fourth grade, so I have many subjects that need to be covered. I have state standards, federal education laws, district curriculum and state assessments that all need to be satisfied in just a few hours each day. Add in instructional and non-instructional pull outs and specials and you can imagine how time is precious throughout the day. In a perfect world learning could be more exploratory, but in the real world it simply cannot. I strive to create a happy median. I offer more conventional, using some direct instruction along with guided practice, collaboration and student-centered learning to teach a new tool, resource or concept. I then use an approach that has more exploration or student constructed projects or techniques to reinforce concepts and provide extension activities. The pace at which we must move often dictates how we can teach despite our best efforts.
I enjoyed listening to Roger Shank talking about his book Engines for Education. It is very thought provoking to think about what drives our students to come to school, and how learning - the very core reason for education - is seldom mentioned. I think that learning is inherent to education, but it should be the reason to be there. The purpose of education should also be to expand one's learning horizons. School used to be depositing facts and concepts into student minds, but that only creates a culture of programmed idiots. Learning by doing is a great idea, as hands-on learning is exciting and fun. I don't dispute that.

Shank says that "Computers offer the possibility for revolutionary change." I agree, but as any good tool, we must explore its use. We must find its strengths and weaknessess, and we must develop it further to make it safer, faster and easier for the pedagogical "do-it-yourselfer." I suppose that's what I am wondering. Where do we find the time?

Whatever we do as educators and however we present curriculum to our students, it must 'make sense' today and be relevant to the world of tomorrow. That is the challenge we will face indefinitely.

Virtual Me Makes Learning "Funner"

While reading some of the emails from the classblogmeister group on yahoo groups, someone listed links to useful web page gadgets. I had been checking out the ones from my colleague on Wired Librarian, and I have been testing out a few of them. Here was even more to look at.
Among some of the really cool (and age appropriate) ones was a site/application called DoppelMe.

In a matter of minutes, I was able to create an avatar in my pseudo-likeness. You can choose from a variety of expressions, hair, top clothes, bottom clothes, eye wear, shoes, hats and even facial hair... Make sure to bookmark or favorite the second page, not the first (to use with your students). The first page asks if you want to create a male or female, and the female one shows a little 'bumpy' if you catch my meaning, somewhat like a Barbie doll. The male, on the other hand, is as ambiguous as a Ken doll.

In this world where technology is not just viewed as a great learning tool, but as a place of great fear and danger, keeping a child's identity safe is necessary. I won't put pictures of my students on our blog site, but why not make avatars of ourselves and put those on?

That is just what we did. I presented my avatar to my students along with a brief (3 minute maybe) tutorial on how to use the tool. In about 10 minutes in the computer lab, each student had his or her own avatar. They were so engaged and so excited to do this, and I was very excited for them. We uploaded each to their classblogmeister page, and I think that it looks great. Feel free to check us out at http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=93503.

I also took that avatar that I made, and I animated it using Adobe ImageReady (the predecessor to Adobe Fireworks). It took all of about 2 minutes to do it, and I put it as the title header of this blog. I hope that it brings a chuckle.

One of the coolest things this week was that I received a second blog entry recommendation. It concerns the work of an author that we are reading, and I think I might use it. It is nice that my students feel empowered enough to suggest new blog assignments. Even though it is homework, I really think that they view it in a very different way than more conventional assignments. I know that's how I feel about them.

Technology Breeds Global Awareness?

Ordinarily I would not enter a blog posting not even one day after the previous one, but this one seems to be justified.
After I told my class what their new blog assignment was, one of them asked to see how our cluster map was doing. They were impressed at the visitors from around the globe, but they pointed out (as they have before) that the only continent without visitors (besides Antarctica) is Africa.
Shortly thereafter, one of my students walked up to me and said that he had an idea on how to get our blog read by people in Africa. I told him to write his idea down on paper, and I would look at it before lunch.
To my surprise, the paper said that our class should blog about what is happening to children in Darfur. He explained that this would get people from Africa to read out blog.
Picture me standing there speechless. Part of me was impressed that this student knew about the situation there. Part of me wondered how he knew; whether it was from his own research, dialogue within the family or if he saw it on the news (either by himself or with his family). Regardless of how he came to be aware of Darfur, he used technology as a device to connect the class to a real world issue. I asked him if perhaps he would like to do the blog article as a special project just for him (as I am not sure if all of my students would be able to understand what is happening there) and he replied that he would rather the entire class do it.
Here I sit still in awe of this. I wish I could take credit for him thinking this way, but I really can't. Sure, I like to think that I offer a learning setting that students are free to express their ideas and sure, the blog is a way to express those ideas in a fun and exciting setting, but this.... this is way beyond me. I like to think that I facilitated it (there is something that you hear from educational theorists, that teachers should play the facilitator role more than the depositor of information), and encourgaged him to bring this idea to light.
If a 9 year-old can do this, imagine what a 12 year-old or even a high school senior could come up with if given the empowerment, time and creative outlet? It truly is a wonderful time to be an educator. The world of tomorrow won't simply say that technology is a great way to accomplish these goals... it will demand it.

Another week, another challenge...

My students are very much excited to be blogging, and they even look forward to each new blog assignment. I have been assigning them weekly, and the response has been pretty positive. Imagine... students looking forward to homework. My biggest challenge continues to be making them relevant to both my students and to my curriculum.

Now that my students have completed their research for the vodcast project, it is time to move to the next step. I have taken pictures of them investigating and observing their crayfish. I also want to give them the opportunity to find images that they might want to use for the characterist attribute that they are responsible for. With those tools, they are going to use Microsoft PhotoStory to put together their mini movies. These mini movies (chapters) will be joined together for one presentation. To accomplish this, they must understand how to use the tools. I will be working with our library media specialist and technology integration facilitator to help teach my kids how to do this. In the real work, the most difficult thing is scheduling.

Once we conquer this monumental task, we can move onto the next one...

My thought for the day as I sit here on a Sunday watching football... is this working? They are excited about using this technology, but is it serving their needs? I will surely have to use PhotoStory again to reinforce what they have learned, and also if they are competent and confident with it, why not take advantage of that 'prior knowledge'? Is this scaffolding at the technology level? I guess so, but then again isn't technology an area that is truly scaffolded? Isn't each skill learned truly reinforced in some way whether it is how to use a word processing program, learning to type, moving the mouse or even touching a SMARTboard?

My First Attempt at a Vodcast...

Okay.. so it's nothing spectacular.. but I just finished it. I used Switch, Audacity, Sound Recorder and PhotoStory. Imagine how much work the real deal will be! The purpose of this video is to present an introduction to our Craycast Project. My students are researching print and online media, and they will be bringing it all together for a series of vodcasts. I also will be working with our Technology Integration Facilitator and Library Media Specialist; using Digital Communicator to transform two students into anchorpeople on a new network. I hope it is half as much fun for them as it has been for me to dream it!
Here is my vid.. be gentle...

How Has Technology Changed Our Lives?

That is the question that I posed today to my students. As a result of an online conversation I had with several educators regarding a GLEF story, I started to ponder the question myself.
It was a story (from 2001) where veteran teachers were essentially taught new technologies by elementary school teachers. I understand how those students are being empowered and are interacting socially and almost professionally on a higher level. I love how teachers are getting more familiar with technology in an informal setting. I just don't understand how it fits into our curriculum, as I believe that technology should be an extension of what is in the classroom (or another way to present the material for learning, assessment tool etc), but it should have some relationship to a content area.
Still thinking hard about it, I decided to assign this question to my students for this week's blog assignment. We had them brainstorm technologies that we use in our lives, and they came up with several.
Here are the questions that they will be blogging about:

1) Is technology important to you? Why or why not? Use specific details to prove
your opinion.
2) Do you consider yourself very good or close to an expert at
one piece of technology? What is it?
3) What part of technology do you hope
to learn about this year?
4) Is there any part of technology that you would
like to see used in schools someday?

Let's see how they do. Perhaps we can learn from our students... we shall see.

What Good Is It All Anyway?!?!?!

Last (school) year, we had a technology guru come to speak to those teachers that wanted to listen. He spoke about this thing called "Web 2.0". He got me excited and animated, and that is one of the reasons that I find myself in the T.E.A.M. program. I have a good, solid technology background, but things like social networking, blogs, WIKIs and the like didn't exactly blow me away. I understand how they help our students learns skills that are truly relavant today, and provide them with a basis for the competencies that they will need for tomorrow. They also provide a positive social outlet using the internet as a tool. With all of the talk of internet misuse nowadays, it is nice to hear that it still can be a good thing for interaction.
That being said... I now have my students blogging. They are commenting on curriculum related topics that we are exploring in our classroom. They are commenting and interacting with each other's writing. They are excited to be part of this, and they are amazed that our cluster map shows people in Europe, Asia and Australia checking out what they are writing.
We are currently doing online and print research related to a unit in our science curriculum. Students will be gathering information, organizing it and presenting it. We will be putting it together into a class vodcast. The students are obviously very excited about this.
One might be wondering "What the heck does this have to do with the title? This seems like it is working!" Here goes... I have seen quite a few student blogs outside of my classroom. I have seen students constructing WIKIs and the like. My big challenge is "How does this fit into my curriculum???" Encouraging social interaction and broadening thinking are definately things that I want for students, but as a classroom teacher, I am unfortunately (or is it fortunately) working within the constraints of the district and state curriculum. I made a post on my Classroom 2.0 page called "I'm ready to blog, but what about my students and my curriculum?" This feeling still stays. I have put together what I believe is a good, solid project that uses the internet among other resources. It will be neatly packaged using technology, but then.... the silence might come out again! "What next???" as I reach my hands towards the sky? How can I dissect my curriculum to find another golden egg? Blogging simply for the sake of blogging.. what good is that? So you can proudly proclaim to other educators that you are using the technology? How is it fitting into the curriculum? How is it improving the academic and/or social life of your students? Podcasts are cool, but how is it improving anything? What is it doing? Where does it fit in? Anyone can record a student narrating something and then publish it. It takes a teacher to provide a path for learning somewhere in the fun... away from the record button. That's what I am thinking about. What do you think?

Who, ME? SKEERED? NO WAY!

So many people speak about teachers fearing new technologies. I hear all the time how educators get into a groove and refuse to accept anything new. That is a crock. Sure, there are some teachers that are fearful (or perhaps cautiously critical) of the latest resource or media for student learning, but I'd like to think that it is because they know themselves as professional educators, and they don't want to mess with what works by taking a risk on something that might not. On the other hand, teachers must be free to 'make mistakes' with emerging technologies so that they can continue to grow and polish their craft. Add into the mix that we are dealing with dynamic, ever-changing customers (our students) and you can only imagine the challenge if you are out of the educational system.
Back to the fear. I say "I AIN'T SKEERED!" Technology does not scare or intimidate me in any way. I enjoy the challenge of a new software application or piece of hardware and learning its use. I like to 'play' with it, and I think that is something that teachers must be free to do. Of course, life does have a habit of getting in the way. Between work responsibilities, home and family responsibilities, and now T.E.A.M responsibilities, not to mention some time for yourself in all of this (it's a wonder I have time to do this blog!), having the time to invest is something that is very difficult to come by. I love to watch my students "play" with technology. Watching them using a computer to search out a video on crayfish, using the SMARTboard to splat their multiplication facts or even watching them writing comments to each other on the class blog... it is just awesome. They don't need to embrace the technology - their world has always had it.
My fear, or apprehension, comes from this. Once the technology is understood, it must be assessed. It must be examined to find what part of the curriculum it lends itself to. It must be analyzed and dissected so that each competency can be taught. Technology is often considered thematic; an extension to another subject area, but it can easily be its own entity.
I often find something great- whether from a colleague, professor, administrator etc. and think "Wow this is awesome! The kids will love it!" The problem is "How does it fit into my (our collective) curriculum?" That is the fear. We all know reading, writing and math are the cornerstones of education. Where does that new technology fit in? Does it have to fit in?
Deep thoughts with Dugger.... talk amongst yourselves...

To Infinity and Beyond!!!

That line was made famous by the great Buzz Lightyear. I often ask my students to channel him and say it with pride when we're learning to speak aloud. The quote also seems to hold true for my aspirations this year. My students are now blogging, and the enthusiasm is awesome. Our school's library media specialist Karen Kliegman and I introduced the concept of blogging to the students in one lesson, but you can read about that in the collaborations section of this blog. Anyway, my kids are now starting to think of their respective blogs on our classroomblogmeister page as their little places on the web that the whole world can see. Initially, I used it as a resource for personal and reading response to literature that we are exploring in our classroom, but I hope to expand its use to reach one small percentage of its total potential. So I guess as I look toward the sky with the hopes and dreams of a successful, engaging and fun school year, I proudly and loudly proclaim "To infinity, AND BEYOND!!!!!"

Putting it Down on Paper

I collaborated with my library media specialist using a lesson to introduce the concept of blogging using paper. We introduced the term "blog" to the students and identified the difference between a personal journal and a blog.
Students were each given a blank sheet of paper and asked to describe one of their favorite foods using words and a picture. The kids were then given the papers of other students in the class. They were asked to interact with each other through post-its by writing comments. Then, the papers with post-it comments were again given to other students in the class that were then able to comment on either the original paper or the comments that were made. It was engaging and exciting, and it sets the stage for 'real' blogging.
I found the lesson at http://bookwyrmish.edublogs.org/2007/09/01/paper-blog-lp/.

It was a very successful lesson that the LMS then used subsequently with other classes.

And Away We Go!!!

I was asked to think about what I am hoping to learn. This is a refreshing change, as most 'higher education' will take the liberty of telling you what you will learn. Sure, there are electives and the like (undergraduate perhaps), but the majority of learning is already charted out.
My past graduate educational experience was very positive. It was a source of tremendous growth and learning, but at a cost of an incredible amount of work. This brings me back to the original question - what am I hoping to learn...
I guess I am hoping to learn new ways to engage my students. I am looking for new methods and ideas, along with resources both in technology and those that compliment it to allow my instruction to evolve. The very nature of our business is ever changing. We face new challenges every school year, and within the 'live subjects' that sit eagerly in our classrooms can be daily or even hourly changes. I want to ensure that my skills, my instruction and my strategies have the ability to change with them and utilize whatever resources I can.

Once upon a time.....

Once upon a time, there was an educator looking to use the latest resources in his classroom. His love of technology and a hunger for engaging media for his students has led him here...