Okay, okay, I know - that was a cheesy title. Just be thankful you weren't here in my living room to hear me singing it! ;)
With the state of education today, I can pretty much expect to pay out of pocket for any events I would like to attend (like TedxNYED and potentially ISTE in June) so more and more I appreciate the wonderful PLN I have developed online.
Yesterday evening I participated in the #elemchat that focused on teaching students about digital citizenship. As always it was a wonderful discussion, and during that time Aviva (@Grade1) mentioned how she uses Evernote in her classroom. I had heard of Evernote, but as of last night it was on my "things to learn when I have time to figure it out" list. Several people asked Aviva to write more about how she uses it, and she did not disappoint.
Her top ten list of ways to use Evernote is extremely informative, and the comments that went along with it also showed me that I needed to move Evernote to the "let's do some learning on a Sunday morning" list. So while I was reading her post and the comments, I went and downloaded the software, signed up for an account, installed the clippers and got myself started. My PLN provided me with an opportunity to learn about something new and gave me specific ways to use it in my classroom. At no charge to me or my school district.
The best part of the whole experience this morning is that a coworker and I were just talking this week about how we would like to do our Daily 5 / CAFE data collection next year, and we talked about doing everything electronically. I have already shared Aviva's post with her, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we can create together. Thanks to my PLN I have a workable way to solve a problem I was pondering this week.
Getting information from people around the world, and trying out new things. Now that's what I call learning on a Sunday morning! Thanks, PLN!!
Showing posts with label #elemchat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #elemchat. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
More Reasons to Have Kids Blogging
In preparation for doing progress reports I had my kids go back through all of their posts on our blog and their pieces in Google Docs and select the three pieces they felt were the best examples for the marking period. Each student completed a reflection sheet explaining where I could find the pieces, why they selected they selected them, how they have improved their writing this marking period, and a goal for the next. This weekend I sat down to grade all of their choices, and it has been an amazing learning experience for me.
Reason number one to get kids blogging? The sheer amount of writing that all of my students have completed is pretty incredible. Doing things the "old way" I was lucky to have the required three writing pieces at the end of each marking period. By allowing my students the freedom to write whenever and about whatever they wanted, with the exception of two assigned pieces per marking period, the writing practice has increased dramatically. Like I tell my kids every day, you would never expect to be a professional ball player without practice. Why would we expect writers to be any different?
Having an authentic audience has also caused my students to think more about their purpose. They aren't just writing because they "have to" for a grade. They realize that they are writing because they are communicating their ideas with other people, and I see them going back over their posts to make sure that everything is just right before they click that "Submit for Approval" button. Does that mean every post is edited to a polished perfection? Absolutely not. But my kids are recognizing that without editing others will not be able to read and respond, and everybody wants to be the person who logs in and finds comments on their blogs each morning.
The third reason is more about me than the kids, and it's the one that's been the most unexpected today. When faced with 22 students x 4 writing pieces per student (their 3 picks and our required marking period writing sample) my first thought was, "How am I ever going to grade 88 writing pieces today?" (Yes. I admit it. I am Chapter President of Procrastinators Anonymous. I prefer to say I work better under pressure.) But today has been different. I'm not reading 22 versions of the same 3 writing pieces. Sure, the kids selected some of the same assignments, but each and every child has given me some sort of twist. Not only have I read the 4 pieces needed for progress reports, I've spent the time going back and reading most of the posts on their blogs and their Google stories. The growth that my kids have shown is fantastic, and they recognized it when they shared how they have improved on their reflection sheets. In addition to the growth they've already made, each student also was able to give me a meaningful goal that they would like to work on to improve their writing during the third marking period.
I knew that getting my kids blogging would make writing more fun for them, but I wasn't sure what else it would mean to them. Now I see that they have taken their roles as real writers very seriously. They are all working very hard to learn the skills they need to communicate effectively with our newfound audience. So thank you - to everybody who reads this blog and reads and comments to my kids, THANK YOU! You have made a difference to my kids and have helped them see that writing is something more than just a skill we need for our PSSA tests.
Now, to put all of that into 1300 words or less on each child's progress report...
Reason number one to get kids blogging? The sheer amount of writing that all of my students have completed is pretty incredible. Doing things the "old way" I was lucky to have the required three writing pieces at the end of each marking period. By allowing my students the freedom to write whenever and about whatever they wanted, with the exception of two assigned pieces per marking period, the writing practice has increased dramatically. Like I tell my kids every day, you would never expect to be a professional ball player without practice. Why would we expect writers to be any different?
Having an authentic audience has also caused my students to think more about their purpose. They aren't just writing because they "have to" for a grade. They realize that they are writing because they are communicating their ideas with other people, and I see them going back over their posts to make sure that everything is just right before they click that "Submit for Approval" button. Does that mean every post is edited to a polished perfection? Absolutely not. But my kids are recognizing that without editing others will not be able to read and respond, and everybody wants to be the person who logs in and finds comments on their blogs each morning.
The third reason is more about me than the kids, and it's the one that's been the most unexpected today. When faced with 22 students x 4 writing pieces per student (their 3 picks and our required marking period writing sample) my first thought was, "How am I ever going to grade 88 writing pieces today?" (Yes. I admit it. I am Chapter President of Procrastinators Anonymous. I prefer to say I work better under pressure.) But today has been different. I'm not reading 22 versions of the same 3 writing pieces. Sure, the kids selected some of the same assignments, but each and every child has given me some sort of twist. Not only have I read the 4 pieces needed for progress reports, I've spent the time going back and reading most of the posts on their blogs and their Google stories. The growth that my kids have shown is fantastic, and they recognized it when they shared how they have improved on their reflection sheets. In addition to the growth they've already made, each student also was able to give me a meaningful goal that they would like to work on to improve their writing during the third marking period.
I knew that getting my kids blogging would make writing more fun for them, but I wasn't sure what else it would mean to them. Now I see that they have taken their roles as real writers very seriously. They are all working very hard to learn the skills they need to communicate effectively with our newfound audience. So thank you - to everybody who reads this blog and reads and comments to my kids, THANK YOU! You have made a difference to my kids and have helped them see that writing is something more than just a skill we need for our PSSA tests.
Now, to put all of that into 1300 words or less on each child's progress report...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What Happens When They Leave?
I've always felt that one of the hardest things about being an elementary teacher (sorry I can't speak for my secondary friends) is saying goodbye to "my" kids at the end of the year. Even with all of the switching throughout the day for various subjects, I become very close with my students and always pass them on with a bit of trepidation. Did I prepare them well? Are they confident enough to be successful? Will they be the good people I know they can be? These are the questions I ponder at the end of every year.
Today I had my mid-year conference with my principal. I got to show him all of the wonderful things I have learned through my participation with the PLP IU13 cohort like our class blog, our private class wiki, and some of the different things I have accomplished as I have been building my PLN on Twitter. He was very enthusiastic and excited about all that I was sharing, and he asked several great questions about how we can get more people to use these different tools. But then he asked me one question that stopped me in my tracks. I can't remember the exact wording, but he asked me something along the lines of, "So how do you feel about teaching your kids like this and then knowing they might not get to learn like this next year?"
This is a question that has popped into my head on several occasions, and I have very quickly shoved it right out. I am focusing on the opportunities I have right now to work with my kids and trying not to think about "what ifs" for the future. The future? I do not know if my current class will have these same learning opportunities as they move on to future grades. Nor do I know if I will have the technology resources available next year to teach my own class the same way I'm teaching this year. It's a scary prospect because I am seeing kids who are starting to love reading and writing, kids who are enjoying connecting with the world around them, kids who have some choices in their learning opportunities, and kids who are seeing the value of learning beyond filling in bubbles on a test.
Please understand, I am not commenting on the abilities of the teachers in the grades following mine. They are all amazing teachers, and they take wonderful care of the kids. But I'm starting to really look at my role and my students' educations very differently. Am I doing them a disservice setting up my classroom in a way that may not be replicated again for 1, 2, 7 or even 11 years? My gut tells me that kids are resilient, and many will adjust to a traditional classroom setting, but should they have to?
I throw this out to those of you who are and have been doing things differently in your classrooms. Whether it's a different behavior management system, different grading or instruction, the incorporation of self-directed or project based learning, or utilizing other types of web 2.0 tools. Do your students go back to traditional classrooms after they leave you, and if so how do they do?
Today I had my mid-year conference with my principal. I got to show him all of the wonderful things I have learned through my participation with the PLP IU13 cohort like our class blog, our private class wiki, and some of the different things I have accomplished as I have been building my PLN on Twitter. He was very enthusiastic and excited about all that I was sharing, and he asked several great questions about how we can get more people to use these different tools. But then he asked me one question that stopped me in my tracks. I can't remember the exact wording, but he asked me something along the lines of, "So how do you feel about teaching your kids like this and then knowing they might not get to learn like this next year?"
This is a question that has popped into my head on several occasions, and I have very quickly shoved it right out. I am focusing on the opportunities I have right now to work with my kids and trying not to think about "what ifs" for the future. The future? I do not know if my current class will have these same learning opportunities as they move on to future grades. Nor do I know if I will have the technology resources available next year to teach my own class the same way I'm teaching this year. It's a scary prospect because I am seeing kids who are starting to love reading and writing, kids who are enjoying connecting with the world around them, kids who have some choices in their learning opportunities, and kids who are seeing the value of learning beyond filling in bubbles on a test.
Please understand, I am not commenting on the abilities of the teachers in the grades following mine. They are all amazing teachers, and they take wonderful care of the kids. But I'm starting to really look at my role and my students' educations very differently. Am I doing them a disservice setting up my classroom in a way that may not be replicated again for 1, 2, 7 or even 11 years? My gut tells me that kids are resilient, and many will adjust to a traditional classroom setting, but should they have to?
I throw this out to those of you who are and have been doing things differently in your classrooms. Whether it's a different behavior management system, different grading or instruction, the incorporation of self-directed or project based learning, or utilizing other types of web 2.0 tools. Do your students go back to traditional classrooms after they leave you, and if so how do they do?
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