Blogs

I've really enjoyed getting blog entries via RSS feed this year. This
was a new thing for me (I'm SO web 1.0) My google reader is now my favorite home page. I found a new favorite today, at www.authenticeducation.org. I have enjoyed reading their responses to essential questions about education. Lately, they've been discussing "What one change would you make to public education?". For me, it would have to be the standards. It is exceedingly difficult to bring in depth of knowledge for my students when we have so many standards that are fact-based that span three miles of knowledge. We go three miles wide, and a half-inch deep. It would be nice to be able to take the time to delve deeply into an area, and let kids explore for awhile. It seems to me, as an average Jane, that everyone had a pet project to throw into the standards, so now instead of doing a few things well, we do a lot of things poorly. There are far more factoids to teach than thinking skills or processes. Another thought I have is that it would be nice, if we are going to have standards, to make them truly standard across districts. It would have been nice, when my son moved from the district where I used to teach to the one I teach in now, if there hadn't been so many gaps to fill between curricula. I enjoyed homeschooling last summer, but it didn't help me prepare for my new classroom!!

So many meetings, so little time . . .

With this being my first year in a new district, at a level I've never taught, with all new everything to me, I'm stretched beyond my capabilities to blog most days. I tend to read a lot as stress relief, but posting has taken a back burner.

We had a "technology workshop" on Monday. It was SO different from what I was used to in my old district. We saw all these great things you can do with technology, but we were in a school with only two computer labs for the entire elementary teaching staff for the district (7 schools x 40+staff at each > 60 people!!) I am used to tech workshops being held in a space where we can try out what we've learned right away. In this case, we had two sessions altogether in the morning, and then we were sent back to our teams in our own building to share what we'd learned. The rest of the afternoon was supposed to be "exploration" time, but as is true for most teachers, with two hours of unstructured time in my own building in my own room, I didn't spend it all looking at web resources (please don't tell the powers that be!). I did take care of my part in a web project we saw, and I used a couple of the sites in my teaching already this week. I am excited to share resources with my team, but I am afraid they aren't all as stoked about the things technology can do as I am. Change is a slow process, isn't it!

Here are some of the great sites we were exposed to (thanks to Adrian Champine for her great presentation and for sharing her list publicly!): http://www.district112.org/cre/Media/online%20tools.htm

I have already used the Bobbie bear activity (from the math illuminations site) with my math class when I was teaching how to make an organized list. I plan on using the biocubes (from readwritethink) with my ELA class next week, as I head into a biography unit.

What are your favorite web resources for teachers? One not mentioned on her site that I just LOVE is teachingbooks.net. I have found many resources to use in my ELA classes here. Also, I didn't see any mention in any of my classes about the power of social bookmarking (del.icio.us). Seriously, I couldn't live without that one tool and continue to teach!

http://www.leadertalk.org/

This is a great blog I ran across last Spring. There is great motivation for teachers and educational leaders from other leaders in the United States. Two posts today were particularly profound for me, in regards to the use of technology in the classroom.

http://www.leadertalk.org/2007/11/sharing-ideas-a.html refers to the power of social bookmarking and twitter (!) to connect with other educators around the world, and to quit re-inventing the wheel of technology.

http://www.leadertalk.org/2007/11/co-create-thril.html slams the OEA's recent decision to "suggest" that teachers avoid social networking sites like myspace and facebook. He believes, as do I, that kids need role models on these sites (and everywhere else, as well!). We would never recommend teachers stop shopping at the mall, or the grocery store, or working out at the club just because they might run into a student. The key is to maintain professional boundaries and relationships, as in everything else. Teachers can have a powerful impact on students' lives, both online and off. Let's not ban a tool based on fear and hyperbole.

mood lifters

Some days in the classroom are hard. Sometimes it seems like we're fighting the entire force of the universe to get the kids to stay in one place at one time. Uff da. As we edge closer to the holidays, with a higher sugar intake for the kids, and less sleep for adults, more and more I'm feeling that the kids resemble this little guy:



When I need a break from the momentum, I love to cruise for videos like this. Everyone needs the ability to laugh (at themselves and with others).

Other digital stress relievers I like include:

My Grateful Journal (http://mygratefuljournal.blogspot.com/)- a woman's notes to God about the things she is thankful for. It began as a way to fight her own depression, and now she helps me remember how much I have to be thankful for, as well.

-and-

The Splintered Mind (http://thesplinteredmind.blogspot.com/)- a man with ADHD and depression uses humor to alleviate his symptoms, or at least make light of them for sanity's sake!

Grades due soon

I am grading papers fast and furiously in hopes of entering the grades into our software program this week. Once they are there, I have to print a final grade report, and enter each grade by hand into the Report Card Maker. Apparently, the gradebook software company hasn't made a link between its software and the report card software. I know they've done it for other programs, because it worked in my old district. I know, it's a petty thing to be stressed about, but at this time of year, it is a pain to have to hand enter 22 report cards for my homeroom, 19 more for ELA, and 13 for Math.

At least I have the software to do the calculations for me. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to calculate everything by hand! I am definitely part of the technology dependent generation. I am not a digital native, but I have emigrated, and I don't ever want to go back!

To do lists

So, I'm a bit concrete random, so my to do lists no longer look like a traditional to do list. They exist, but in several places for several things. My random nature has kicked them out of my Palm Pilot, into my lesson plan book, and then onto random sheets of paper wherever I find to write them down. Apparently, I'm not alone! Check out these statistics: http://todolistblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/eight-surprising-to-do-list-facts.html

I admit, when I am working from a real-life pencil and paper list, I will regularly add and cross off items I have already done just to have that feeling of accomplishment! How about you? How do you use a to-do list? Any good technological advice? I know there are to do list websites, such as http://www.tadalist.com/. I'd love to hear from someone who had used one.

I used to use a program in Palm that prioritized my to-do list by date due, category (home, work, school, etc.), and level of importance (1-5). I found that I spent more time organizing the to-do list than actually doing the tasks, so I gave it up.

The kids loved it! So do the parents!

My students got to see my ezedia project Friday, and they LOVED it! They thought it was SO cool that I made it myself (they didn't believe me when I first told them. They thought I was kidding!).

Another fun tech moment: Tuesday after school the Brownies were in our cluster, and were talking about biomes and habitats and animals. The mom in charge had forgotten her visuals, and the kids weren't really understanding what a biome is. So, me being the tech nut that I am, pulled up Internet Explorer, found a website with good pics and information on the major biomes, tagged it in del.icio.us, and pulled out the projector so the kids could see real-life images in living color before they began their project. The moms were SO pleased, and I owe it all to del.icio.us!