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!]

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

Google+ Update

So, after poking around a bit today, I came across a link to this article that breaks down Google+. It’s pretty in-depth and I really appreciate the screen shots. However, the problem is the same as I mentioned before…how would I use it and why would I use it?

I promise I’m not being THAT resistant, I just can’t visualize how I would use it. However, I do see how creating something within this realm might be neat to use with the classroom. And it means only one login and one password to use if you and your students are using other Google apps (i.e. gmail, calendar).

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!

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!

Changes in Reading Habits

As if they read my mind…reports are now out that the iPad might just be changing many people’s reading habits. There is SO much potential here! I really am excited about the possibilities of its integration into the classroom and people who are finding success with it.

And speaking of changes in reading (and writing) habits, some of my kids are “tumbling” on-the-go through apps that allow them to access their Tumblr blog on their mobile phones. I think that’s so neat! Also, was asked if we could “tweet” somehow for class. A lot to think about as far as extending the classroom walls in many ways.

iPad + Books = A Bright Future

And I think my new best friend is going to change the way we look at text in many ways.

I’ve debated an e-reader for awhile. Was set on the Kindle until the iPad came out and then thought about how much more resourceful an iPad might be for me and what I need. However, I didn’t get one, still, for a very long time until this past Thanksgiving when I opened up my new best friend, an iPad, as a birthday/Christmas gift from my family. [note: best give ever! thank you all! :-)]

The iPad has a plethora of applications and uses that I still have yet to uncover. At times I still feel overwhelmed by all of the things I can do with it. I feel that I see a new tip every day. However, I’ve enjoyed figuring out the ins and outs of its many uses, both personally and within the classroom…

Remote School Days

Well, I’m sure most of you have followed along with the news reports to hear about the Atlanta area being on a stand still due to all of the ice and snow that hit our area this past week. It has been unbelievable! [And to think I moved south to get away from all of that “stuff!”] Many local streets are still covered in thick sheets of ice a week later, but we are all hoping for some relief this weekend as temperatures will hopefully raise enough to melt it all away.

Anyway, my school (along with most of the local schools) was closed the entire week. However, we implemented our remote school plan which allowed us to have school for the past three days. Three days that will count for school days and not require anything to be made up. Three days of instruction that could continue outside of the classroom. Three days of creative thinking to truly infuse the content through the technology integration to keep our kids learning.

Overall, I was really excited to see the kids jump right on board with everything. They were so enthusiastic about their work! And in fact, one of my students was quoted in one of the local news resources stating,

“At first I thought it was a crazy idea, trying to control students’ via computers and the Internet. But now, as I sit here and do my homework willingly, I realize that there is a characteristic that pushed me to do this. One that I, and plenty of other Lakeview students obtain, that is respect for our teachers and respect for our education.”

I think the last line really sums it up about the kids’ work ethic during this entire remote school experience. And, for us teachers, it allows us to not miss a beat and continue our instruction…just in different forms. So, what did my kids do? We blogged. We created visual analyses. We read articles. We wrote and recorded. We submitted assignments via Moodle. We took quizzes via Google Forms. We researched. We prepared for our units by watching videos (uploaded via Dropbox). The list continues…and needless to say this first experience of remote school has brought about many new ideas I am eager to try out in the future. (Or with integration into a blended classroom…which is something I am VERY interested in.)

So, here are a few things I’m interested to look into for down the road:

• creating Evernote notebooks to share (more on this to come!)
• using Skype for group video conferences (though you are limited to only 6 participants…with this in mind, maybe a Ustream lesson?)
• uploading instructional videos to youtube (reverse instruction)

As you can see, just a few random ideas that have been bouncing around! Also, I would love to hear from anyone with experience with teaching in a blended classroom or with reverse instruction!

NCTE Day 3: Teachers are learners, too!

And isn’t this the truth!

The day started off with one of the NCTE author strands with some of the big names in our field (Sara Kajder, Deborah Appleman, and Bob Fecho to name a few). I really suggest checking out this series as I’ve already checked out Kajder and Appleman’s books and know the rest will be great, too, if these are any indication. Another point that hit me when I listened to these authors talk is that researching and teaching DO go hand in hand (read my previous struggle/thoughts here). And I absolutely believe that they SHOULD.

The next talk I attended was another great one that dealt with Google. (However, I’d have to say that many people were still talking about the “tools” and not the “whys” and “implementation.” See previous note here about my thoughts on moving this mindset.) The presenters all praised the Google Teacher Academy as they participated in the program (note: I only wish it weren’t half way across the globe this year or I would absolutely LOVE to submit an application! just have no idea how I would EVER find the funds for that trip).

One of the biggest things I liked with this presentation was the idea of using Google Docs to have kids collaborate, publish, and share as link to others (note: I’m thinking it would sort of look like this example shared by Jim Burke here — which will lead me to another blog post in a bit on the idea of multimedia essays). In addition, I liked the idea of sharing lesson plans within a department using docs (and ties into my thoughts here on collaboration).

NCTE Day 1: It’s about literacy practices — not tools.

I’m backtracking a bit here, so I plan on going back through my NCTE notes and posting some thoughts from the talks I attended.

Reports from Cyberspace inspired the tag line for this post: “It’s about literacy practices — not tools.” Too often I think teachers get caught up in the tools aspect without ever thinking behind the “so what?” ideas about the implementation. I’d really like to see this mindset change within more classrooms. This mindset NEEDS to change within classrooms. Tools come and go. However, the practices that our kids are engaged with remain (and evolve into multiple forms).

Two other thoughts from this talk (and Middle Level)…I love the idea of creating a video process essay. We have a “snapshot” of essays that my seniors practice leading up to their graduation second semester. I think this would work really well (and, as I’ve stated before, may work well with cross-curricular collaboration). Also, Because Digital Writing Matters is definitely on my must read list.

Finally, be sure to check out Digital Is.