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!

Bringing awareness to what matters to US…

…equals PSAs (public service announcements). Or at least this is how I have pitched the final component of the research essay to my sophomores. The assignment was for them to pick an issue around the world (since our focus is on world literature) that they felt strongly about. Research about topic and compose an essay. Finally, create a PSA in which you would ideally show during a morning assembly to your peers telling them a bit about your issue, why it’s a problem, and what you think can/should be done to solve the problem.

Yet, I didn’t consider…why NOT show the PSAs to the school (we have an assembly every morning)? AND, believe it or not, many of the students liked that idea and were hoping they would be showing them to the others!

I think next year I will look to add this component to the project. I guess the main reason I didn’t think of it this time around is simply because of time (we only have two more days of school left before exams). However, the fact that kids were talking about showing their work off to their peers reminds me of why and how technology can act as a venue to get students’ voices out there…so that they can see their voices matter, too, in the bigger scheme of things.

Tomorrow the kids will give their presentations to their class. Pretty informal presentation designed to simply give a bit of background about their issue, why it mattered to them, and then show their PSA. Topics will range from movements to go green, terrorism, STDs, poverty, and animal cruelty. PSA mediums will also range, including videos, podcasts, posters, glogs, cupcakes, etc.

I love “presentation/project” days because kids get to really show what they’ve learned, help others learn, too, and have a chance to showcase their work. Plus, I’m always amazed at how creative their hard work turns out to be as well!

The BIG Project

I promised the details of my seniors’ final eportfolios and here they are! I titled this “The BIG Project” (for lack of better words). Essentially, the goal of this project was to have students writing in multiple forms while also reflecting on the reader/writer they are today and how they have become that way. Though at first, I’ll be honest, introducing an end of the year project to seniors did not go over too well. Seniors + end of the year projects = are you crazy? However, I told them that this was their opportunity to truly dig deep and show what they had learned as well as what they had learned about themselves too.

Another thing that came about with this project is the ability to pick tools that 1) get your point across the way you want it and that 2) you find convenient to use. I wanted my students to be able to pick and choose what they felt would work best, try new “things,” etc. I’m not going to be there next year to tell them, “Hey, go to this website…” They’ve got to be able to find resources that work for each of them based on their need and purpose.

And the end results? Despite the complaining, last minute preps, and frustrations their projects overall were awesome! I am adding some of their work to our gallery for the National Day on Writing, and I really am very proud of all of their hard work!

Top 10 Thoughts (1st “real” semester teaching)

As you all know, I’m big on my “top 10” lists and think these lists are an important part of my reflection process. So I figured it would be a good idea to continue my trend with my top ten thoughts from my very first semester of teaching!

Here we go…

My “official” NCTE recap

As I mentioned before, I haven’t stopped reflecting about NCTE. In fact, if anything I keep realizing more and more how important reflection is…And with that said, let me officially recap my NCTE experience.

To start off, I attended the opening session with Teri Lesesne in which I got a ton of ideas for YA Literature for my students. The idea of moving kids from book to book, creating a “reading ladder,” so we don’t lose them is one that has stuck with me. And stemming from the idea behind creating reading ladders led me to think about writing ladders and how we engage, challenge, and keep students as active writers, too. I think new technologies aid in the ladder for writing, such as blogs and yes, even texts and tweets! In the end, however, it’s all about finding connections for our students to help them see they are already active readers and writers in their every day lives (and this is something I feel very strongly about which you all already know!).

Another interesting idea that I am still pondering after one of the sessions…how do the ideas behind

Podcasting & Grammar

My students keep making little random grammar chants (and reciting some from their elementary days) to help them remember everything from gerunds to prepositions. So, I thought about a way to connect all of it together. And my answer: podcasts!

Some of you are already familiar with my podcast channel here, but you all get the idea. I like Gcast a lot (super user friendly). To me, podcasts are a great way to publish student work, to have students reflect on their work, to set up walk throughs of museums/literature/etc. — the list continues.

So, I’m looking to incorporate a podcast channel in my class where students come up with various ideas/songs/etc. Then, we broadcast! Perhaps share with some of our lower school (LS) companions and with anyone else out there who needs some grammar info. in his/her life!

Stay tuned!

They get tweeting!

Check out this link talking about more Twitter/Web 2.0 ideas for the classroom.

The teacher in the video states something along the lines of if we aren’t engaging our students, we might as well be talking to a brick wall. (So true, no?)

But for me, the debate should not be focused solely on “teaching” how to use twitter….that’s not the point. At all. Yes, that is a skill that is easy and should quickly be picked up by students. However, the point here is teaching your students what goes into that 140 character tweet. What is the content they are supposed to place on wikis, blogs, etc. And why is content different between these mediums (think: audience/rhetorical approaches here)? The list continues here, by the way, but I hope you get my point.

It (web 2.0 applications) is not a “fad;” in a sense, it has become a part of every day life. And I appreciate the comment at the bottom of the posting that says web 2.0  communication is here TODAY. So true.

The point is not to “teach” Twitter…the point is to teach English and engage students with English “things” through contemporary applications…so ultimately students can make stronger real world connections.

Writing today

Also, I wanted to pass along this note on writing today. I find an interesting note here about teachers thinking on a “practical and pedagogical level” about how writing looks/works/happens today. To be honest, I don’t feel everyone out there thinks about things like this; I’m not seeing it. Writing is a 5-paragraph essay that happens 3xs during the semester. Thus, once again why at times I feel like the “other” in this big teaching world I have found myself in. HOWEVER, conversations like the one highlighted in the link are little gems that keep my hope alive that maybe I won’t feel like the “other” teacher forever…

(Once again, it’s not about replacing traditional goals, but complimenting them with 21st century/new literacy “tools” to engage/challenge our students and help them make real world connections.)

Freebies!

Loved this note talking about a new, free tool from National Geographic called Wildlife Filmaker. Also, I LOVE the idea of creating PSAs that is expressed here…

Critical technology

Today there are lots of discussions going around about technology and its place/use in the classroom. Specifically in the English classroom which has traditionally been a text (i.e. pen/paper/book) only learning space. With that said, as I’m catching up on some of my reading, I came across this article. Basically (as some of you probably already have heard), many people out there are claiming that the use of technology is resulting in a decline of critical thinking skills. However, I don’t agree with this claim.

I feel that we do need more assessment methods, a “balanced media diet,” and more emphasis on visual media (Yes!). As I’ve said before, it’s not about replacing traditional styles, but instead integrating/complementing with new pedagogical strategies. Students are reading and writing in different ways today. Why deny them the skills they need to know to effectively “produce?” They may be using these new technologies, but it is OUR job to push them beyond the user-friendly interfaces and question what they are using, how they are using things, and why they are using one over the other.

As I read here, this debate is not just happening with technology, but in other realms in the classroom, too. And as this article concludes:  “we must adapt.”

Finally, I want to highlight this quote because I think it really hits upon a key point when we begin to question the “so what” impact on using new literacies in our classrooms.

“We must adapt.”