School Spirit Banter

I am SO impressed by the creativity of two local area high schools and their students’ videos. As quoted in this Get Schooled post, these ARE examples of what the best “spirit cheers” look like today. You can check out the original video in this “battle” here and the response here.

For me, these videos show just how multiliterate our students are and all of the neat ways in which they are reading, writing, and engaging with the world around them. These videos use rhetorical strategies, rhymes, video angles, music — and this list only continues — all to help show their school spirit. And, I love the fact that they pull in lots of different members from their respective student bodies to be a part of the banter.

No matter which school wins the game, the main point is that these two videos have just under 400,000 hits (combined) in two weeks. Where these students’ voices heard? [I think so!]

Positive Footprints

As you all know, I feel very strongly about helping kids understand how to create and why to create positive digital footprints. I’ve thought about this topic a lot, and yet it’s something that is still weighing heavily on my mind. [Maybe it’s because the means in which we work digitally is constantly changing???]

Anyway, I’m seeing more and more kids not understanding what their digital footprint is all about and how it can/will affect them now and down the road. I know that I stress it a lot when I work with my students and try to emphasize it’s not about culling their creativity, but a way to push them to think critically and post information that is appropriate (and in a way that still gets their point across). So, I’m curious…how are others helping their students develop positive digital footprints? How can we keep kids motivated to produce and stress to them they can still “own” that digital space (without them not being “googled well”)?

Digital Essays

I’ve been intrigued with the idea of a “digital essay” ever since Jim Burke posted an example of one awhile ago. When I asked him what his assignment sheet included, Burke said that he didn’t really have a “formal” one and just told the kids to create. I think the biggest reason I’m drawn to the idea of a “digital” essay and what that “format” might encompass (beside my love for rhetoric and comp!) is the fact that I see this format as one that would be more real-world applicable in many ways versus a traditional essay for English class.

When I tried it out with my students

Lit vs. Lang

I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to teach Lit this year! However, at first, I was a bit nervous about the differences between AP Literature and AP Language. And then I reminded myself: reading is reading and writing is writing!

One of the things that my students struggled with the most (particularly in regards to Lang): the multiple choice questions. One of the key words that always messed them up involved picking the “best” answer. Many would talk themselves around the correct answer. In my opinion, stressing MC strategies is helpful; however, I think it all comes down to

Thoughts on AP Lit Workshop

During the AP Lit workshop I attended a bit ago, I truly learned about a lot of different techniques and resources that will be VERY helpful for me not only with my new prep (AP Lit, of course!), but also with my other classes as well. I have to admit that I have been a bit nervous about the transition from AP Lang to AP Lit…however, I was reminded that though there are differences between the two classes, reading is reading and writing is writing. And it’s true. Helping kids become more critical thinkers, readers, and writers is key in all of my classes no matter what the title of it is.

One thing I really liked a lot

Philly!

I recently headed to Philadelphia for the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference. Through my experiences with ISTE, I’ve already been lucky enough to meet a ton of other educators from all over at the conference (and virtually) who are using technology in really neat ways!

A goal of mine is to help other young educators connect with the ISTE Young Educator Network. Too often my colleagues say, “Oh, that’s not me! I’m not tech savvy like you!” However, the reality is that this network isn’t about how “tech savvy” you are, but instead it’s a place to share ideas and gain confidence in utilizing technology in the classroom to enhance what you are already doing in it. One of the ideas I brought up at the conference was to host a Twitter “chat” (like #engchat) to help extend the conversation of the YEN. We’ll see how it develops … maybe even joining the conversation of the #ntchat sometimes, too! (By the way, if you aren’t branching into all of the edu chats going on, you should do so. It’s a great way to not only network, but have instant PD!)

Below, you can watch me and all of the other award winners during the opening Awards Ceremony. It was a huge honor to be named one of the Emerging Leaders for 2011! Enjoy!

What the 2012 Campaign Means to Me

Today I saw a tweet from our President, @BarackObama, discussing what the 2012 campaign means to Americans around the country. With everything going on around the world, I am constantly reminded just how fortunate we are to live in a country where each individual can share his/her opinions/ideas on what he/she feels the campaign (rather the future of America) truly means. For this reason, I wanted to share a few of my own thoughts on what the 2012 campaign means to me.

Times are hard…for everyone. And yes, changes need to be and have been made. However, one of the most important areas our country does NOT need to cut corners with is EDUCATION. Education is the key to success and empowers people. That’s why when I hear about programs that work (and no, I’m not talking about ones that “supposedly” work surrounding more standardized testing that ultimately influence teachers’ pay scales) and the fact that they are being cut, I feel very concerned about the future of our country.

Our future is dependent on the generations to come. The generations to come are being taught by teachers every day all over this great country to prepare them for jobs that are not necessarily even present today. So why would we cut programs that help our educators? Educators that touch the lives of tons of kids a year? Why would we cut funds that directly impact our future?

Teaching is a profession many of us choose because we wanted to make a difference. Please help us do that by supporting, by valuing, how we grow professionally and how we help teach kids. Please help us continue to engage, challenge, inspire, and motivate the next generation of critical thinkers, consumers, and producers that will be running our country years from now.

So, in my opinion, the 2012 campaign is about protecting our future…and valuing what truly matters — EDUCATION. Focus on what WORKS! And support programs like the National Writing Project that make a difference in the lives of Americans all over.

Grammar Girl!

Since National Grammar Day is just a few days away, I FINALLY unpacked a particular book on purpose…

I know many of you are familiar with Grammar Girl’s work, but I wanted to highlight The Grammar Devotional since it was one of my  purchases at the NCTE Convention in Orlando this past fall.

Introduced to Grammar Girl in one of my graduate classes, I instantly fell in love with her Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Grammar isn’t necessarily everyone’s favorite thing, and I appreciated the lighthearted approach to solid grammar tips that I could use within the classroom (also used the GG podcast which led into kids creating their own grammar podcasts to share with others).

Anyway, I really like The Grammar Devotional and think it would be a great book to use with some of my classes (immediately AP Lang comes to my mind). I know there are tons of grammar resources already in our text, but as an optional text, I think GG’s book is totally worth it!

ISTE Young Educator Video

Here is the video I created for my entry to the ISTE Outstanding Young Educator Award. I had so much fun creating it and it really got me thinking about how important it is to think critically about the technology we use in our classrooms. We have so many opportunities today to engage, challenge, and motivate our students through the use of technology — the possibilities are endless!

Just Keep Swimming

I feel like I have been going 90 miles/hour without stopping…even coming off of our winter break. (Speaking of winter break, SO thankful for the opportunity to do our remote school during all of the ice days so that we could still have it!) So tonight I’m reminding myself that it’s important to take time for me — and I need to do more reading/writing for ME! 🙂 (note: continuing Wuthering Heights on the iPad while on the elliptical has been taking care of some of these things! realized it’s a great way to keep up with training for my races and to enjoy some “down time” reading.)

Anyway, here’s a quick rundown of some of the upcoming BIG projects on the to-do list:

• Blended class: Working on creating a face time/online class for next year for English which will ideally lead up to an American Studies course in a year or two (hopefully!). Really excited to have the opportunity to work with one of my colleagues and to utilize our school’s resources to create this online learning realm. (note: Any good examples of blended classes out there? Please let me know! So far, this is one of the great ones I’ve tracked down.)
• TED Talks: I’m really looking forward to incorporating these talks into the classroom. I can think of so many ways to use these. Right now, as my Honors 10th graders are leading up to their research essay, they are responsible for one worldly current event each week. I’m thinking these talks might provide yet another way to get them thinking about worldly issues that they could ideally use as a topic for their research projects.
• Curriculum makeover: My former dept head and I started discussing how we could revisit our curriculum last year and it’s something I am trying to piece together bit by bit. Looking for exemplar ideas out there that other schools have found success with. Our basic foundation will still include 9th – genre focus, 10th – world lit, 11th – American lit, and 12th British lit.
• Articles/Packets/PD/Videos: only a “few” things I have on my plate to put together in the next few weeks as well.

This list definitely continues on, however, I’ve got to get on Wuthering Heights and marathon training right now! (Not to mention pack for tomorrow’s 3.5 hour bus ride for our soccer games tomorrow!) And even though there never seems to be enough hours in the day lately, I have to remember to “just keep swimming!” (After all, nothing feels better than marking more and more off that to-do list, right? 🙂 )