Yesterday and today I have been immersed in PhotoStory. This application, preloaded on the student laptops at SILSA, seems like a good introduction to digital publishing for our students. I have finished two stories, one about the NSP Conference in Winston and one about NECC 2008.
The NECC 2008 story is much longer, and I worked on it almost continuously from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm today. I would have finished much sooner, but I lost more than an hour's productivity by being slack about saving my work. Now I know that PhotoStory doesn't autosave.
I will use both stories during the staff development April and I are preparing for the SILSA Faculty Retreat. We are charged with sharing what we learned at NECC 2008 with the other staff members for a full day on Tuesday, August 12. Greg asked that we do as many hands-on activities as possible.
I am considering creating a folder of SILSA photos for each staff member and having each of them create a PhotoStory. We might be able to use those stories later at potlucks or recruitment events.
I will also present information from the Primary Sources workshop I attended at NECC. I want to make sure others know about the resources available at the Library of Congress website.
Finally, I want to discuss teaching students how to use InspireData to keep track of their progress in their classes a la Robert Marzano. I think Greg is going to order each of us a copy of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works for professional development this year. Without reading the book, I have only a vague idea about how this might work.
We are leaving on Saturday for a final beach camping trip before school starts. We won't return until August 10, so I am trying to do as much as possible right now. I say, "Good luck!"
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
EduCon 2.1
Chris Lehmann just posted some information about EduCon 2.1 on his blog. I want to go!
In some fairly superficial ways, the Science Leadership Academy reminds me of my own SILSA. The EduCon Axioms would sound familiar to my school's students, parents, teachers:
The Axioms / Guiding Principles:
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, project-based and empowering for all members. (Honestly, I'm beginning to look for something more meaningful than "project-based..." I don't think it speaks to the deep-level we want to get to. Inquiry does, Understanding does, Empowering does. Dunno.)
2) Our schools must be about co-creating -- together with our students -- the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can -- and must -- be networked.
(Retrieved from http://educon20.wikispaces.com/planning on July 21, 2008.)
If I make it, I will need to do it under my own steam. (I wonder if I could write a grant for this?!?) If I can't go to Philly in January, maybe I can visit EduCon2.1 in Second Life. Gives me a good reason to get off Orientation Island, huh?
In some fairly superficial ways, the Science Leadership Academy reminds me of my own SILSA. The EduCon Axioms would sound familiar to my school's students, parents, teachers:
The Axioms / Guiding Principles:
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, project-based and empowering for all members. (Honestly, I'm beginning to look for something more meaningful than "project-based..." I don't think it speaks to the deep-level we want to get to. Inquiry does, Understanding does, Empowering does. Dunno.)
2) Our schools must be about co-creating -- together with our students -- the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can -- and must -- be networked.
(Retrieved from http://educon20.wikispaces.com/planning on July 21, 2008.)
If I make it, I will need to do it under my own steam. (I wonder if I could write a grant for this?!?) If I can't go to Philly in January, maybe I can visit EduCon2.1 in Second Life. Gives me a good reason to get off Orientation Island, huh?
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Working on attaching a file!
I know you can't read my diagram. I am trying to learn how to put the file on the blog. Any ideas?
Technology in the Classroom
I hope you can read my Inspiration tree about how we might use technology in the classroom. I worked on this draft this morning. I know it isn't complete. Please feel free to remind me of ways to use technology in the classroom that I have forgotten.
Three Weeks? Just three weeks?
Someone said to me yesterday, "I bet you dread going back to school." NO, I am extremely excited about going back to school. BUT, I am beginning to feel a bit frantic about all the projects I need to complete before then.
In the summer I love taking my kids to the pool, biking around the neighborhood, reading novels, camping at the beach. I am thankful, though, that our family schedule also allows me a few uninterrupted hours of schoolwork most days. Since my kids adjust their summer schedule to maximize time with Dad, they don't usually go to sleep until he does at 10:30 or 11:30 pm. Then they sleep in until 9:00 or 10:00 am, and I have three or four hours for schoolwork.
As a teacher, the summer is my most creative work time. Next year I will teach American Lit for the first time in 11 years. I began the summer with no plan, but I will have mapped out the entire school year for this class before August 20th. Will we go chronologically or thematically? What novels are available for my students to use? How much of the textbook will I use? What online resources are worthy of our attention? How much collaboration can the American History teacher stand? How will school-wide PBLs affect my curriculum and our schedule? I am creating a new curriculum from almost nothing, and the sheer creativity involved tingles my brain.
Sometimes I can't make myself sleep until 6:00 am. Sometimes I have get up at 5:00. Sometimes it's 4:30, and I will myself back to sleep.
I am also trying to assemble a coursepack/textbook for Survivor, our study skills PLUS class for ninth graders. Most of the textbook is just a compilation of resources we use regularly in SILSA, but there are a few pages that require me to write a few paragraphs. I am sure this will be a very helpful tool when it is finished, but I this work is dragging for me a bit.
Much of this summer has been spent thinking about how I can be more successful with integrating technology into my classes. There are so many possibilities to consider. I would like to have my students working online as much as possible. At the district level, we are still trying to determine which resources are the best fit for our schools and our students. Of course I would prefer to know sooner rather than later. I would like to be able to set up the groups before school starts. I would like to use the tools myself before I need to teach my students how to use them.
We finished our WNC IMPACT workshop on Thursday by presenting our implementation and evaluation plans to the group. I was very pleased by how much we had accomplished in the two and a half days. In the coming year we will focus on using instructional technology to build our professional community and to help our students grow as learners. The SILSA faculty will use technology tools for our own work, so that we can become more knowledgeable, proficient and efficient. We will also use the technology in our classrooms with our students. We made some specific plans for this work and determined how we would measure whether or not it had been done.
We will present all of our summer work to the rest of the faculty at our SILSA Faculty Retreat beginning on August 11th. I have three weeks to finish several projects. Just three weeks?
In the summer I love taking my kids to the pool, biking around the neighborhood, reading novels, camping at the beach. I am thankful, though, that our family schedule also allows me a few uninterrupted hours of schoolwork most days. Since my kids adjust their summer schedule to maximize time with Dad, they don't usually go to sleep until he does at 10:30 or 11:30 pm. Then they sleep in until 9:00 or 10:00 am, and I have three or four hours for schoolwork.
As a teacher, the summer is my most creative work time. Next year I will teach American Lit for the first time in 11 years. I began the summer with no plan, but I will have mapped out the entire school year for this class before August 20th. Will we go chronologically or thematically? What novels are available for my students to use? How much of the textbook will I use? What online resources are worthy of our attention? How much collaboration can the American History teacher stand? How will school-wide PBLs affect my curriculum and our schedule? I am creating a new curriculum from almost nothing, and the sheer creativity involved tingles my brain.
Sometimes I can't make myself sleep until 6:00 am. Sometimes I have get up at 5:00. Sometimes it's 4:30, and I will myself back to sleep.
I am also trying to assemble a coursepack/textbook for Survivor, our study skills PLUS class for ninth graders. Most of the textbook is just a compilation of resources we use regularly in SILSA, but there are a few pages that require me to write a few paragraphs. I am sure this will be a very helpful tool when it is finished, but I this work is dragging for me a bit.
Much of this summer has been spent thinking about how I can be more successful with integrating technology into my classes. There are so many possibilities to consider. I would like to have my students working online as much as possible. At the district level, we are still trying to determine which resources are the best fit for our schools and our students. Of course I would prefer to know sooner rather than later. I would like to be able to set up the groups before school starts. I would like to use the tools myself before I need to teach my students how to use them.
We finished our WNC IMPACT workshop on Thursday by presenting our implementation and evaluation plans to the group. I was very pleased by how much we had accomplished in the two and a half days. In the coming year we will focus on using instructional technology to build our professional community and to help our students grow as learners. The SILSA faculty will use technology tools for our own work, so that we can become more knowledgeable, proficient and efficient. We will also use the technology in our classrooms with our students. We made some specific plans for this work and determined how we would measure whether or not it had been done.
We will present all of our summer work to the rest of the faculty at our SILSA Faculty Retreat beginning on August 11th. I have three weeks to finish several projects. Just three weeks?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Western NC IMPACT Academy
Day one of IMPACT Academy saw us develop two IMPACT goals for SILSA for the coming year. We created a Logic Map that illustrated the links among those two goals and their related strategies and measures.
Our first IMPACT goal describes using technology to build our professional community, and our second IMPACT goal speaks to using technology to facilitate our students' growth as learners. I was quite pleased that we incorporated verbatim two of our SILSA Learning Outcomes for Graduates into our IMPACT goal about students. How much easier will it be to work toward IMPACT goals that are directly tied to our NSP goals?
Today we will develop an evaluation plan. I am looking forward to the work.
Our first IMPACT goal describes using technology to build our professional community, and our second IMPACT goal speaks to using technology to facilitate our students' growth as learners. I was quite pleased that we incorporated verbatim two of our SILSA Learning Outcomes for Graduates into our IMPACT goal about students. How much easier will it be to work toward IMPACT goals that are directly tied to our NSP goals?
Today we will develop an evaluation plan. I am looking forward to the work.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Another Visit to Orientation Island
I returned to Orientation Island this morning. On the NECC 2008 ning, I read a post by a fellow teacher who also lamented (as I often have) about wanting to check out Second Life but not being able to do anything but fly around Orientation Island. A wonderful fellow told her he would be happy to help her and any others who were stuck there.
Just knowing that someone else was struggling like I did, just knowing that one successful Second Life person would help, rather than make fun of me, gave me the confidence to try again.
I am still on Orientation Island, but now I know how to fly and how to use a Segueway and a car. I know how to use a torch and put on a different shirt. I know how to read a notecard. I am making progress.
As insanely stupid as it sounds, my overriding desire is the same as it was when I tried this a year ago. As soon as I get off Orientation Island, I am going to go straight to Diagon Alley. I can't wait! And who knows where else I might go? What if there is Ender's Battle School or, more importantly, what if I could visit those piggies on Lusitania?
And I wouldn't mind trying to find out where those SL edtech people are hanging out.
In Second Life the stories will be happening in real time, and I will be a character in the story who is helping write the story.
I am such a reader and such a geek. I can't even stand myself.
NECCst Time, or Social Networking is Cool!
When I go to Washington, DC, for NECC 2009, I will be so much better prepared. Yesterday, 10 days after returning from San Antonio, I finally joined the NECC 2008 Ning. Wow! It would have been nice to have done that while at the conference. And it was on my list of things to do. In nearly every workshop, I wrote "Join ning" at the top of a page in my notebook.
I knew I wanted to join the ning, but I had no idea what it was. Now I am in it, and I am learning what it is. I've been thinking that I wanted to blog with my students, but the ning seems more organized than that. The ning is a social network, right? It is very colorful and easy to use.
(I acknowledge I am ignorant about this.) The ning seems like what we have been trying to do at my school with the school intranet using SharePoint 2003 (?). But the school intranet is hard to navigate, and there are no pictures on the pages. When I try to use it, it feels like having to write code, or it feels like the first networking class Haig and I took at Haywood Tech in 1997-- all trees and forests and a constant struggle just to figure out where you are and where to put your "object".
I don't do My Space or a Facebook. I recently read a post by another teacher who thought that teachers may not use those sites much because they don't feel "right." That's why I don't have a Facebook page. Despite the fact that I am trying to be a person of integrity, trying to make sure the teacher, the mother, the wife, the friends, and the neighbor are all the same person, I don't want to give any impression that I am open to being online in anything other than a very professional way
I like the idea of a "closed" social network. (I'm sure I'll soon learn the correct terminology.) I think the teachers at SILSA would use the intranet more if it felt more like the ning and less like the SharePoint site that's so difficult to use. I can see great benefit in having something like this for teachers only at school.
I can also see that it would be very nice to have such a place for classes. I know lots of teachers and other edtech folk blog, and this is how they engage in discourse online. But the problem with that is that the discussion is sometimes very disjointed. Conversely, easy-to-navigate forums would allow all the conversation about a single topic to happen in one place. Wouldn't that be easier? What if I could post a question in an online forum to all 70 of my English II/III students next year and then they could read all of the responses?
In what ways is this better than conversations and groupings in real life? I think it's an obvious question I need to be able to answer. There's much to think about.
I knew I wanted to join the ning, but I had no idea what it was. Now I am in it, and I am learning what it is. I've been thinking that I wanted to blog with my students, but the ning seems more organized than that. The ning is a social network, right? It is very colorful and easy to use.
(I acknowledge I am ignorant about this.) The ning seems like what we have been trying to do at my school with the school intranet using SharePoint 2003 (?). But the school intranet is hard to navigate, and there are no pictures on the pages. When I try to use it, it feels like having to write code, or it feels like the first networking class Haig and I took at Haywood Tech in 1997-- all trees and forests and a constant struggle just to figure out where you are and where to put your "object".
I don't do My Space or a Facebook. I recently read a post by another teacher who thought that teachers may not use those sites much because they don't feel "right." That's why I don't have a Facebook page. Despite the fact that I am trying to be a person of integrity, trying to make sure the teacher, the mother, the wife, the friends, and the neighbor are all the same person, I don't want to give any impression that I am open to being online in anything other than a very professional way
I like the idea of a "closed" social network. (I'm sure I'll soon learn the correct terminology.) I think the teachers at SILSA would use the intranet more if it felt more like the ning and less like the SharePoint site that's so difficult to use. I can see great benefit in having something like this for teachers only at school.
I can also see that it would be very nice to have such a place for classes. I know lots of teachers and other edtech folk blog, and this is how they engage in discourse online. But the problem with that is that the discussion is sometimes very disjointed. Conversely, easy-to-navigate forums would allow all the conversation about a single topic to happen in one place. Wouldn't that be easier? What if I could post a question in an online forum to all 70 of my English II/III students next year and then they could read all of the responses?
In what ways is this better than conversations and groupings in real life? I think it's an obvious question I need to be able to answer. There's much to think about.
Friday, July 11, 2008
iPhone DENIED!
Our whole family made it to the AT&T store on Patton just before 8:00. There was no parking, and there were about 30 people in line. The store on Hendersonville Rd is a little bigger. We were there by 8:20. There were at least 40 people in line outside and about 20 already in the store. The Seventh Customer came out with a new iPhone. He had arrived at the store at 5:35. There were only 4o iPhones in the store, but you could stand in line to pay today and they would call you when your phone arrived.
We left.
Haig "needs" a new iPhone to test for work. I have been using a phone from the junk drawer for over two years. I don't need anything, but I do think I would learn how to use an iPhone more quickly if I got one when Haig did.
Haig's current work plan doesn't allow him to receive texts, so we were missing out on a good communication tool. He can receive email on his Blackberry, but I'm not always at my computer. I like emailing or texting him because it's less intrusive than calling. I've tried Twitter. I really like it, but there was no one who could/would receive my twits, so what's the point? Now I think I can post my twits to my blog. That might be cool, just for fun. (They do call them twits, don't they? Right now, all I can think of is the book by Roald Dahl.)
Haig's company is moving over to providing some reimbursement credit for employees' cell phones, rather than providing and supporting them. Now he can have texting! But if we have iPhones, I guess we can email. The possibilities are overwhelming.
We will have to wait a while, though!
We left.
Haig "needs" a new iPhone to test for work. I have been using a phone from the junk drawer for over two years. I don't need anything, but I do think I would learn how to use an iPhone more quickly if I got one when Haig did.
Haig's current work plan doesn't allow him to receive texts, so we were missing out on a good communication tool. He can receive email on his Blackberry, but I'm not always at my computer. I like emailing or texting him because it's less intrusive than calling. I've tried Twitter. I really like it, but there was no one who could/would receive my twits, so what's the point? Now I think I can post my twits to my blog. That might be cool, just for fun. (They do call them twits, don't they? Right now, all I can think of is the book by Roald Dahl.)
Haig's company is moving over to providing some reimbursement credit for employees' cell phones, rather than providing and supporting them. Now he can have texting! But if we have iPhones, I guess we can email. The possibilities are overwhelming.
We will have to wait a while, though!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
In the Blogosphere, But Not of the Blogosphere
Yesterday I got lost in the tech ed blogosphere and ignored all other responsibilities until after lunchtime. I spent two hours trying to compose a comment to a post I disagreed with. When I mistakenly hit the wrong key and the post was gone forever, I took it as a sign that I should back off. Then I made the mistake of reading a comment to another post that made me feel like a total dork which sent me into a mad funk. The post made fun of teachers at NECC who were starstruck at meeting ed tech consultants who author widely-read blogs and books on ed tech topics. The post also made some dig about teachers who blog about blogging. [I didn't meet any bloggers at NECC, but I did blog about how cool it was to be there with them.]
I had hoped that I would some day feel a part of the ed tech online community. That's not going to happen. There are too many Senators and not enough constituents at that table. I don't have time for anything that's so disconnected from all the work I am doing right here in my own community.
So, if I am not blogging so I can enter the ed tech blogosphere and if no one I know reads my blog, why do it? I don't know. Maybe because I hope that one day some of my colleagues will begin to blog. Maybe because I like to write while thinking. Maybe because I want to share some of my ideas with anyone who might drop by from my website. So far, this is working for me.
I had hoped that I would some day feel a part of the ed tech online community. That's not going to happen. There are too many Senators and not enough constituents at that table. I don't have time for anything that's so disconnected from all the work I am doing right here in my own community.
So, if I am not blogging so I can enter the ed tech blogosphere and if no one I know reads my blog, why do it? I don't know. Maybe because I hope that one day some of my colleagues will begin to blog. Maybe because I like to write while thinking. Maybe because I want to share some of my ideas with anyone who might drop by from my website. So far, this is working for me.
Creative Summer Days!
I will not be able to blog about each of the other workshops I attended. My energy is being directed in other ways. I woke up this morning with several items for my To Do list. I found my Getting Things Done-style notebook and tried to write everything down. (And now I need to go consult the GTD book because I can't remember what's an "Action List" and what's a "Project/Goal.")
I love being a teacher in the summer. I feel extraordinarily creative. Next school year is a blank slate, and the possibilities are endless. Most every day, I spend hours thinking about what I might do with my students and how I can help make SILSA a more successful school. And I am not doing this because I feel like I should do it; this is truly how I like to spend my time.
I try to limit myself to just a few hours of schoolwork in the morning. In the summer, my kids love staying up late and sleeping in. I am fine with this because I think they are naturally adjusting their schedule so they can spend more time with Dad. If I wake up at 6:00, I can have three or maybe four quiet hours for work.
I love being a teacher in the summer. I feel extraordinarily creative. Next school year is a blank slate, and the possibilities are endless. Most every day, I spend hours thinking about what I might do with my students and how I can help make SILSA a more successful school. And I am not doing this because I feel like I should do it; this is truly how I like to spend my time.
I try to limit myself to just a few hours of schoolwork in the morning. In the summer, my kids love staying up late and sleeping in. I am fine with this because I think they are naturally adjusting their schedule so they can spend more time with Dad. If I wake up at 6:00, I can have three or maybe four quiet hours for work.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
New Schools Project Summer Institute 2008
I just spent 48 minutes in an interview with a writer for The Innovator, The New Schools Project's email resource. I appreciated the opportunity to think about the great work we did in Winston-Salem a couple of weeks ago. I hope I was articulate and accurate.
During the SILSA Faculty Retreat August 11-13, those of us who were at the Summer Institute will present our list of Learning Outcomes for SILSA Graduates. I am so proud of this document. We spent several hours thinking about the five to seven outcomes that SILSA should focus on. We were charged with deciding on outcomes with specific measurements and with beginning to list the supports that we would use to help our students achieve those outcomes.
Our NSP Summer Institute binder included several exceptional examples of other schools' graduate outcomes. These models were helpful as we began our work. But it was very important to us, especially to me, that our list be tailored to our students and our school.
We worked very hard to ensure that all of our voices were heard during our work sessions. Our group's facilitator Heidi Lyne encouraged us and helped us meet our goals for our time together. I am extraordinarily pleased with the document we created. In particular, I am thankful that we were willing to step up and make some promises to our students and their parents, and I am thankful that our document is written simply, without a lot of educational jargon. When we all reach consensus, we will have a list of Graduate Outcomes that are easy to remember and to articulate to others. I can't wait to share our list here.
I can't do that, yet, though. Those of us who were at the Summer Institute will present our work to the entire faculty in a month. When we've reached consensus as a faculty, then we will bring the document to the SILSA SPMT. It's crucial that all of the SILSA stakeholders work together on these outcomes since they will serve as the common vision from which decisions about our school are made.
I love my work.
During the SILSA Faculty Retreat August 11-13, those of us who were at the Summer Institute will present our list of Learning Outcomes for SILSA Graduates. I am so proud of this document. We spent several hours thinking about the five to seven outcomes that SILSA should focus on. We were charged with deciding on outcomes with specific measurements and with beginning to list the supports that we would use to help our students achieve those outcomes.
Our NSP Summer Institute binder included several exceptional examples of other schools' graduate outcomes. These models were helpful as we began our work. But it was very important to us, especially to me, that our list be tailored to our students and our school.
We worked very hard to ensure that all of our voices were heard during our work sessions. Our group's facilitator Heidi Lyne encouraged us and helped us meet our goals for our time together. I am extraordinarily pleased with the document we created. In particular, I am thankful that we were willing to step up and make some promises to our students and their parents, and I am thankful that our document is written simply, without a lot of educational jargon. When we all reach consensus, we will have a list of Graduate Outcomes that are easy to remember and to articulate to others. I can't wait to share our list here.
I can't do that, yet, though. Those of us who were at the Summer Institute will present our work to the entire faculty in a month. When we've reached consensus as a faculty, then we will bring the document to the SILSA SPMT. It's crucial that all of the SILSA stakeholders work together on these outcomes since they will serve as the common vision from which decisions about our school are made.
I love my work.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Reflecting on Teaching with Primary Sources
On Sunday, 06/29/08, I attended Cheryl Lederie-Ensign and Danna Bell-Russell's workshop on "Teaching with Primary Sources." Both women are educational outreach specialists with the Library of Congress. I learned so much in the workshop, and then I went to their booth in the Exhibit Hall and Cheryl taught me even more!
I have explored the American Memory project in the past. I used the incredible lesson "To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective" two years ago. I modified it a bit in order to differentiate assignments, since all of our freshmen attend the same honors English I class. Since then, I have used photographs from the American Memory project as I teach.
I have struggled with the Library of Congress's website. I find it difficult to find what I am looking for sometimes. Cheryl and Danna gave me so many great search tips and wonderful lessons about how to use the primary source documents in my own classroom.
At one point, Cheryl said, "Texbooks give answers. Primary sources give questions." Because SILSA focuses on inquiry-based education, I was very excited about using primary sources to generate questions and to try to construct meaning from several sources.
In groups, we completed a Primary Source Investigation. Each group had maybe four to six manila folders, each with a copy of a different artifact. All of the artifacts pointed to a single person, place, or event. As my group examined and discussed the artifacts, each group member filled in boxes on a sheet for "I see," "I think that," and "I wonder." My group examined a picture of an Easter card, a picture of a man holding an Easter card like the first, a picture of a page from a poet's journal, a copy of a proof page of "O Captain, My Captain," and a letter to a mother during the Civil War. In the letter, Walt Whitman described to his mother the joy of finding his brother alive after they thought he might have died during a battle. The activity was extremely engaging, and I can't wait to put some of these together for my students!
We also discussed point of view and the importance of knowing about an artifact: who created it? what was happening when it was created? when was it created? and for what purpose was it created? We examined a political document that was a fake ad for Abraham Lincoln, a document about immigrantion statistics that was published by an anti-immigrant group, a filmed re-enactment of a firing squad, two films about the San Francisco earthquake and fire (one fake, one real), a picture of an African-American in which his satchel had been replaced by a watermelon, and several pictures of Billie Holiday. Through all of it, we were carefully examining to the documents in order to determine who created them and why.
Gail Petri, a colleague of Cheryl and Danna, stopped in to share her work with books and primary source documents. She has developed sets of primary sources documents to accompany different picture books and novels. As she reads a book, she notes dates, names, events, places, etc. Later she locates primary sources that correspond to those.
We also talked about how to navigate the Library of Congress website. There are several different areas that have great information for teachers. If you are having trouble locating some information, then use the Ask a Librarian.
(I realize that I refer to these women by their first names and to Konrad Glogowski by his last name in an earlier post. I believe I have done so because Cheryl and Danna were my teachers, and I spent the morning talking with them and learning from them. Konrad Glogowski presented a lecture I attended, so I wasn't introduced to him, and I didn't speak with him.)
I have explored the American Memory project in the past. I used the incredible lesson "To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective" two years ago. I modified it a bit in order to differentiate assignments, since all of our freshmen attend the same honors English I class. Since then, I have used photographs from the American Memory project as I teach.
I have struggled with the Library of Congress's website. I find it difficult to find what I am looking for sometimes. Cheryl and Danna gave me so many great search tips and wonderful lessons about how to use the primary source documents in my own classroom.
At one point, Cheryl said, "Texbooks give answers. Primary sources give questions." Because SILSA focuses on inquiry-based education, I was very excited about using primary sources to generate questions and to try to construct meaning from several sources.
In groups, we completed a Primary Source Investigation. Each group had maybe four to six manila folders, each with a copy of a different artifact. All of the artifacts pointed to a single person, place, or event. As my group examined and discussed the artifacts, each group member filled in boxes on a sheet for "I see," "I think that," and "I wonder." My group examined a picture of an Easter card, a picture of a man holding an Easter card like the first, a picture of a page from a poet's journal, a copy of a proof page of "O Captain, My Captain," and a letter to a mother during the Civil War. In the letter, Walt Whitman described to his mother the joy of finding his brother alive after they thought he might have died during a battle. The activity was extremely engaging, and I can't wait to put some of these together for my students!
We also discussed point of view and the importance of knowing about an artifact: who created it? what was happening when it was created? when was it created? and for what purpose was it created? We examined a political document that was a fake ad for Abraham Lincoln, a document about immigrantion statistics that was published by an anti-immigrant group, a filmed re-enactment of a firing squad, two films about the San Francisco earthquake and fire (one fake, one real), a picture of an African-American in which his satchel had been replaced by a watermelon, and several pictures of Billie Holiday. Through all of it, we were carefully examining to the documents in order to determine who created them and why.
Gail Petri, a colleague of Cheryl and Danna, stopped in to share her work with books and primary source documents. She has developed sets of primary sources documents to accompany different picture books and novels. As she reads a book, she notes dates, names, events, places, etc. Later she locates primary sources that correspond to those.
We also talked about how to navigate the Library of Congress website. There are several different areas that have great information for teachers. If you are having trouble locating some information, then use the Ask a Librarian.
(I realize that I refer to these women by their first names and to Konrad Glogowski by his last name in an earlier post. I believe I have done so because Cheryl and Danna were my teachers, and I spent the morning talking with them and learning from them. Konrad Glogowski presented a lecture I attended, so I wasn't introduced to him, and I didn't speak with him.)
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Revised List of Workshops I Attended at NECC 2008
So here is a final list of workshops I attended at NECC 2008. I will work on sharing some of the best of these through this blog.
- Teaching with Primary Sources
- Blogging Communities in the Classroom
- Differentiating Instruction in Reading and Writing Using Readily-Accessible Technologies
- 21st Century Poetry Slam: Student Poetry Collaborations
- The Ripple Effect: 21st Century Innovations That Matter
- Technology and Differentiated Instruction
- Podcasting as the Curriculum: A New Paradigm
- Youth Media Programs for Developing Digital Literacies
- GIS, Google Maps and More for Literacy Projects
- Audio is Great! Video is Cool! iPods Can Do More!
- Digital Investigators: Using Digital Media for Project-Based Learning
In San Antonio I quickly reached a point of saturation, when I had too many cool new things to think about, when I could barely process any more new information. Several seasoned NECC attendees said I should pace myself by spending some time on the exhibition floor or by hanging out at the Bloggers' Cafe.
I was afraid to miss any workshop opportunities, though. Most of the presentations were of extremely high quality. Chris Shamburg, who wrote a book about using technology in the English classroom, taught one of my sessions. (I have a copy of his book; it's fantastic!) I was in a workshop that the creator of Google Lit Trips Jerome Burg also attended, and I spoke with him briefly afterward. I didn't realize until later that Will Richardson, whose blog I read, was the one who Ustreamed Konrad Glogowski's presentation just a few feet in front of me. AND, I am quite sure I saw David Warlick in the lobby of my hotel. I saw him and couldn't help but give him a huge grin and a jovial, "Good Morning!" Only later did I realize that the instant sense of familiarity I felt when I saw him was because I read his blog and admire him so. All that to prove that in San Antonio I walked among the giants of Ed Tech, and I was afraid to miss any opportunity to hear them speak.
So, I sat in every workshop I could, even if I was beyond thinking well, and I dutifully took pages of notes thinking that I might spend the rest of the summer reading through them and processing them as I am able. I chose workshops that seemed like they might be immediately useful to the work I am doing right now at SILSA. (I missed cool workshops on things like teaching and learning in Second Life because that's just so far ahead of where I am currently.) Even still, I don't know if six more weeks will be enough time study my notes and make sense of what I can incorporate in August.
On the plane I began a To Do list. I will continue to work on that here next time.
Friday, July 4, 2008
High School Students Want to Be in Third Place
I am still thinking about Konrad Glogowski's "Blogging Communities in the Classroom" workshop at NECC 2008 (06/30/08). Of all the workshops I attended, his was the most immediately relevant and, therefore, the most thought-provoking. I can't wait to share what I learned with my colleagues.
As accurately I can manage from my notes, Konrad Glogowski is a middle school language arts teacher in London, Ontario. He began blogging with his students in 2002. He just completed his PhD dissertation on blogging communities in middle school through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is a terrific teacher/presenter!
Glogowski says there are three steps for creating a successful online classroom community:
As accurately I can manage from my notes, Konrad Glogowski is a middle school language arts teacher in London, Ontario. He began blogging with his students in 2002. He just completed his PhD dissertation on blogging communities in middle school through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. He is a terrific teacher/presenter!
Glogowski says there are three steps for creating a successful online classroom community:
- Create a community.
- Extend the classroom discourse.
- Redefine your presence.
I am stuck on Glogowski's step 1. At SILSA, "relationship" is one of our New 3 R's, and we have felt quite successful with our school community. I think I have a much better handle on why we have good relationships with students, and the workshop has made me think about ways that we might improve what we already have.
Glogowski taught me about Ray Oldenburg's idea of the Third Place, the informal, public place for socializing, working, being with others. (Home is the First Place, and Work/School is the Second Place.) You can read more about this at the Project for Public Spaces website. Both physically and virtually, the classroom should be a Third Place, says Glogowski.
I have a much better understanding of why we have good relationships among SILSA faculty and students today than I did before Glogowski's workshop. Now I believe that it is in the Third Place that human beings move from childhood to adulthood. Too many students today do not have access to healthy Third Places, and school must, therefore, begin to provide them. At home adults tell kids what to do and how to think; in school adults tell kids what to do and how to think. By definition, people think for themselves in the Third Place. By definition, there is honest, unstructured, and not proscribed discourse in the Third Place. By practicing thinking for themselves and speaking for themselves, kids grow up.
Students and their families are drawn to SILSA because our small school provides greater opportunities for experiencing Third Place. We provide more opportunities for students, teachers and families to interact with one another in less formal ways. Our potlucks are Third Places. Our extended advisory events are Third Places. Our Turkey Day Feast (Thanks, Fleck, old friend) is a Third Place.
And, now I know that students want to go on field trips, in part, because they provide a Third Place experience during the school day. Field trips are less structured experiences. Teachers, students, and parent chaperons participate on field trips on a level of greater equality. When we go on the Ropes Course, I am no expert. My fear and my excitement are genuine. I ask students for help and am thankful when I receive it. Our cheers for one another are heartfelt. I love to go to Purchase Knob because I get to study biology and ecology along with my students. I don't wear "teacher clothes;" I marvel at every salamander, and we all eat lunch together.
A clarification: I am not AT ALL advocating that teachers and students begin socializing outside of school as friends. Because of our profession, we teachers must be careful to respect the boundaries of the formal relationship we have with our students.
Our schools, though, must intentionally create opportunities for teachers, students, and their families to interact in a Third Place. At one time schools were small because they existed within a geographically small community. These schools functioned as Third Places because their auditoriums provided community meeting spaces and their lobbies or libraries served as voting locations. In such schools, students, parents, and teachers enjoyed less-structured discourse. Students conversed with adults more spontaneously about a wide range of topics. Our small, redesigned high school should re-create the school space as a community Third Place.
We should have regular, monthly potlucks during which we showcase student work. We should have at least one field trip on a Saturday, with school transportation, where students and teachers bring their families for a shared learning experience. I understand that, in Year 1, all of the SILSA community read one book and discussed it together. We should do it again. We should have some more movie nights. Also, we need to begin thinking about how our small community will celebrate our first graduates in June.
Of course, Glogowski's presentation wasn't about potlucks, field trips, and book clubs. He spoke about online learning communities and how he made a Third Place for his students in the blogosphere. I have described his lecture as life-changing. I am sure that I will continue to reference it for a long time. (Note: He did not mention how he addresses issues around the Digital Divide. I intend to email him to ask about that.)
I am excited about SILSA's future online community. I intend to spend much of the rest of the summer thinking about how I can use Web 2.0 tools to achieve greater success for my students in all of the New 3 R's: rigor, relevance, and relationships. I had these same intentions last summer and was not able to implement much at all this last school year. I am confident, though, that this next year will be better. I am privileged to work with some fantastic people who will help me begin to realize my vision.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Titles of NECC Workshops I Have Attended
For now, this is the best I can manage, a list of titles:
- Teaching with Primary Sources
- Blogging Communities in the Classroom
- Differentiating Instruction in Reading and Writing Using Readily-Accessible Technologies
- 21st Century Poetry Slam: Student Poetry Collaborations
- The Ripple Effect: 21st Century Innovations That Matter
- Technology and Differentiated Instruction
- Podcasting as the Curriculum: A New Paradigm
- Youth Media Programs for Developing Digital Literacies
I am having a great time, still.
I will try to add more soon.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Greetings from San Antonio!
(I sent this email to the SILSA faculty yesterday morning from NECC 2008.)
Greetings from San Antonio!
My workshop on Sunday was fantastic! I learned a great deal about the Library of Congress's American Memory Project. I discovered connections to science, math, as well as the easy English and history ones. The three presenters were all educational outreach specialists for the Library of Congress, so I was learning from PRIMARY SOURCES. So much excellent information about inquiry and bias and paying attention. i can't wait to share it all with you. One of the presenters was Martha Geitner's soul sister. Her Book Hooks are phenomenal, just like what Geitner does with lots of links to primary sources at the LOC. I will try to send links soon.
(I am writing from a conference room that has already closed for the 11:00 session. I got in a few minutes ago and thought to check email and send word to you all while I waited. The room is full and no one will be allowed in now.)
But what I really wanted to tell you about was the lecture I attended this morning. It was life-changing. The presenter is a middle school language arts teacher who just submitted his PhD dissertation about online blogging communities and their impact on students. He spoke the truth, eloquently and passionately. I don't want to wait any longer to blog with my students. The bulk of his lecture was about COMMUNITY and RELATIONSHIPS and how to foster those in an online community. Of course, I wanted to ask him about the Digital Divide, but he was surrounded by admirers afterward. I will not forget to email or something about that. (I am too distracted here to write well about it, and it's all so fresh and new that I am still processing it. I do want to do a better job of telling you about it soon.)
April and I are taking lots of pictures, but I forgot my cable, so you will have to wait for my PhotoStory at the SILSA retreat. Can you imagine 18,000 teachers in one place? It is mind-boggling! I feel like such a newbie here.
The thing that intrigues me most, on a personal level, is Second Life. Due to the work of hundreds of volunteers, this conference is also happening in Second Life. Do you know about this? For example, last night there was an Opening Night Hoe Down after the keynote speaker. As the band played on the stage, a GIGANTIC screen to the left of the stage projected a scene of the band playing in front of the Alamo, all virtual, happening in real-time in Second Life. To the right of the stage was a raised platform with eight people sitting in front of laptops watching the show and controlling the avatars of the band members. I barely understand this, but it feels EXCITING to me. That is the new frontier.
Even the lecture this morning was happening in Second Life. I sat behind one of the guys who was making it happen. I wish you could have seen it.
WHEW!
Well, my lecture here is ramping up. This one is on using technology for differentiation in reading and writing.
I will write when I can. If I were cooler, I would be blogging!
Love to all of you,
Theda
Greetings from San Antonio!
My workshop on Sunday was fantastic! I learned a great deal about the Library of Congress's American Memory Project. I discovered connections to science, math, as well as the easy English and history ones. The three presenters were all educational outreach specialists for the Library of Congress, so I was learning from PRIMARY SOURCES. So much excellent information about inquiry and bias and paying attention. i can't wait to share it all with you. One of the presenters was Martha Geitner's soul sister. Her Book Hooks are phenomenal, just like what Geitner does with lots of links to primary sources at the LOC. I will try to send links soon.
(I am writing from a conference room that has already closed for the 11:00 session. I got in a few minutes ago and thought to check email and send word to you all while I waited. The room is full and no one will be allowed in now.)
But what I really wanted to tell you about was the lecture I attended this morning. It was life-changing. The presenter is a middle school language arts teacher who just submitted his PhD dissertation about online blogging communities and their impact on students. He spoke the truth, eloquently and passionately. I don't want to wait any longer to blog with my students. The bulk of his lecture was about COMMUNITY and RELATIONSHIPS and how to foster those in an online community. Of course, I wanted to ask him about the Digital Divide, but he was surrounded by admirers afterward. I will not forget to email or something about that. (I am too distracted here to write well about it, and it's all so fresh and new that I am still processing it. I do want to do a better job of telling you about it soon.)
April and I are taking lots of pictures, but I forgot my cable, so you will have to wait for my PhotoStory at the SILSA retreat. Can you imagine 18,000 teachers in one place? It is mind-boggling! I feel like such a newbie here.
The thing that intrigues me most, on a personal level, is Second Life. Due to the work of hundreds of volunteers, this conference is also happening in Second Life. Do you know about this? For example, last night there was an Opening Night Hoe Down after the keynote speaker. As the band played on the stage, a GIGANTIC screen to the left of the stage projected a scene of the band playing in front of the Alamo, all virtual, happening in real-time in Second Life. To the right of the stage was a raised platform with eight people sitting in front of laptops watching the show and controlling the avatars of the band members. I barely understand this, but it feels EXCITING to me. That is the new frontier.
Even the lecture this morning was happening in Second Life. I sat behind one of the guys who was making it happen. I wish you could have seen it.
WHEW!
Well, my lecture here is ramping up. This one is on using technology for differentiation in reading and writing.
I will write when I can. If I were cooler, I would be blogging!
Love to all of you,
Theda
SUMMER BREAK!
(I posted this on my webpage, but now I am trying to get my blog going again, thanks to NECC 2008).
06/16/08
SUMMER BREAK!
My schedule includes a couple of weeks of beach camping with my family, four days in Winston-Salem for the New Schools Project Summer Conference, four days in San Antonio for the National Education Computing Conference, an Asheville City Schools technology conference, and the SILSA faculty retreat.
I am also enjoying more time for reading! So far, I have re-read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Since my daughter is reading New Moon, I am currently in the middle of Eclipse. (I will go back to New Moon when she is finished, but it was my least favorite of the three.) Of course, I am re-reading the series in anticipation of the August 2nd release of Breaking Dawn. Surely this time Bella will finally become a vampire and marry Edward! (I devoured Meyer's newest book Host right before school ended. The sci-fi geek in me loved it.)
I have also read The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I cared for Mary and despised Anne just as I was meant to do. Some of it was too graphic for my tastes, but I appreciated the opportunity to think about life for women of the court in 16th century England. I might read some of the others.
06/16/08
SUMMER BREAK!
My schedule includes a couple of weeks of beach camping with my family, four days in Winston-Salem for the New Schools Project Summer Conference, four days in San Antonio for the National Education Computing Conference, an Asheville City Schools technology conference, and the SILSA faculty retreat.
I am also enjoying more time for reading! So far, I have re-read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Since my daughter is reading New Moon, I am currently in the middle of Eclipse. (I will go back to New Moon when she is finished, but it was my least favorite of the three.) Of course, I am re-reading the series in anticipation of the August 2nd release of Breaking Dawn. Surely this time Bella will finally become a vampire and marry Edward! (I devoured Meyer's newest book Host right before school ended. The sci-fi geek in me loved it.)
I have also read The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I cared for Mary and despised Anne just as I was meant to do. Some of it was too graphic for my tastes, but I appreciated the opportunity to think about life for women of the court in 16th century England. I might read some of the others.
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