It's a little long, but worth a listen--interesting thoughts from Daniel Pink at the 2010 Creativity World Forum in OKC.

It's Fall Ya'll

School is in full swing, and things seemed to have calmed down a bit--even the temperature is starting to cool off. Yesterday we had a professional development day, and the other LMS and I met with our district's Director of Instructional Technology to brainstorm some "big ideas."

I'm looking forward to introducing faculty to ways that we as media specialists can provide opportunities to assist in teaching information literacy skills that directly correlate with core curriculum PASS objectives, thus helping improve API scores, and perhaps taking a little load off teachers' already overloaded shoulders. Here are a few lessons we're working on providing:

• evaluating sources
• teaching summary and generalization skills through podcasting
• using thinking maps for organizing information
• lessons on primary and secondary sources
• literary genres and sub-genres
• using GoogleDocs for note-taking and collaboration
• reading for pleasure

We'll be looking at ways to incorporate various Web 2.0 tools, information literacy standards and standards that are tested on the EOIs in the spring. Exciting things are coming!

Powerful Ingredients for Learning: 21st Century Learning Skills

Professional Development with the district's LMS's led by Wes Fryer

Kids most at risk in the “real” face-to-face world are the kids who are most at risk in the cyber world. We, as educators, must be teaching responsible digital citizenship!

Big Ideas:
1. We don’t consider someone LITERATE who can read but not write, yet many people today don’t write/create/publish with a computer (Mitch Resnik)
2. Information literacy is NOT sufficient--we need to focus on COMMUNICATION, THOUGHTFULNESS, and EMPATHY (Michael Wesch)
3. Creativity is VITAL--without creation there is NO creativity (Wesley Fryer)
4. Interactivity is not enough - kids need to become CREATORS and MAKERS (Mitch Resnik)
5. We don't just use English in Language Arts - same should go for digital expression (Mitch Resnik)
6. Expressive environments need to have low floors and high ceilings - AND thick walls (Mitch Resnik)
7. We need to focus on helping students learn how to Think creatively, Reason systematically, Collaborate with others (Mitch Resnik)

NETS (National Education Technology Standards) for Students

Moodle Bootcamp

I am very excited about things that are happening in Mid-Del. About nine other educators and I are going through a detailed training of Moodle--I believe I've mentioned it here before. Moodle is a learning management system that makes the life of the teacher a little easier. It is an online extension of the classroom--assignments, assessments, activities, resources, links, etc. can all be posted and managed on Moodle. Up front, teachers will need to be dedicated. It will require extra time to enter quizzes and assignments, but because Moodle will grade these for the teacher it saves time in the end!

Another open-source, Web 2.0 tool we're being introduced to is Mahara.org. Mahara is an eportfolio site--students can have resumes, blogs, essays all on Mahara. They can set their account to public or semi-private, where they share their work with friends, teachers, or colleagues. How exciting?!?! Maybe this means the crates full of paper portfolios can finally be retired.

Animoto

Animoto (www.animoto.com) is a website that creates video/image/text slideshows set to music. It is SUPER SIMPLE, and can be used by both educators and students for various reasons. Recently, I had an English class create Animoto presentations for books they had read. They chose images from creativecommons.com or found cover shots and photos of the author. Along with the images, they incorporated key quotes from their novels along with their opinions and theme statements. They were also instructed to choose songs that fit the mood, theme, and tone of their novel. This was perhaps one of the parts of the assignment that they enjoyed the most! Once they gathered all images, text, and sound, Animoto created eye-catching slideshows and the students presented them to the rest of the class.

This idea could be used for teachers to create presentations to introduce students to new concepts. Librarians could create Animotos to spotlight various authors and books or as a new innovative way to do a book talk. It's also an excellent way for students share books they have been reading!

Poll Everywhere

If your school allows cell phone use for educational purposes, then I highly recommend www.polleverywhere.com. This is another survey tool, but it can be done via text messages. Users sign up for an account (free or paid, and free has worked just fine for me), create questions, and students respond by sending a text message. Much like Survey Monkey or Quizlet.com, it can be used for review, assessment, or to find out more about students and their interests. PollEverywhere has worked well for me because it shocks students when they are told they can use their cell phones. They appreciate the chance to access their mobile devices, and I get valuable information about their knowledge and interests. If teachers or librarians have access to a projector or interactive white board connected to a computer, then they can have Poll Everywhere on the screen so students can see the question, number to text, and the results. The results are conveniently displayed in bar graphs with percentages as soon as text messages are received by the website. In my use, it's only taken seconds.

Google Docs

Our school has officially transitioned to Google Docs account. Pros: students can access documents from anywhere they have the internet. Cons: students have to have internet access. I only bring up the cons because in the middle of getting on our accounts for the first time yesterday, I received a lovely email with the subject line, "The internet is down." Good thing I've figured out how to be flexible. Finally, today I got every student online, ready to type, and it was a success! I now have my students essays on my account--they "shared" their essays with me. It's a great way to save paper! It's also great for allowing students to get their work done without saving on a flash drive, floppy disk, or remembering what computer they were using. Despite the slight set-back, I highly recommend Google Docs!

Our media specialists will be encouraging students to keep their notes about references, works cited, etc. on their Google Docs accounts so they can access them from anywhere in the school--not just the library computers.

Google Docs is also exciting because, much like a Wiki, it is a way for people to collaborate on a document. Teachers can share work, lesson plans, etc. and edit together.

Survey Monkey

Get familiar with www.surveymonkey.com ! This is an excellent web resource to get quick feedback from students, faculty, and even parents. They offer a free account that will allow up to ten questions, including multiple choice, free response, etc. For a fee, users can create longer, more in-depth surveys. This tool is especially useful for media specialists who want to find out more about their patrons. I have used it to create a Reading Interest Survey to find out what students are interested in reading. I also created a survey asking students which Sequoyah book they enjoyed reading the most. It could also be used to assess students' understanding of library rules and policies.

Information Overload

Ever feel overwhelmed? I'm sitting in on a professional development workshop with Apple's Steve Cowdrey. In an effort to remember some key thoughts, I'll be jotting notes here.

"If the questions you are asking can be answered by using google, you're asking the wrong questions."

"Teachers need to stop practicing management and begin practicing leadership." Too often teachers get caught up with classroom management when we should be leading students--the best way to lead is by example! If we want our students to read, we need to be readers!

Digital Learning is made up of three key characteristics:
Mobility--24/7 access
User Created
Social Networking/Collaboration

Thought: Are the applications/tools I am using in my classroom meeting these three criteria?

Useful site: www.go2web20.net

Some wonderful Web 2.0 tools: Dropbox, Wiggio, Evernote

Student vs. Learner

Just a Thought...or Two

I recently attended a College Board AP Workshop for a couple of days and sat in on various sessions. While most were directly tied to AP exams, close reading strategies, and poetry there were a few thoughts I'd like to be sure and "record" on this blog as a way to remember them. The following is not a funny joke, but a way to make a practical point:

--A teacher, lawyer, doctor, and car mechanic all traveled in a time machine to the year 1950. Which one had the easiest time adjusting to their occupation? The teacher, of course. While laws, medicine, and cars have changed drastically over the past sixty years, unfortunately, many teaching practices have not. FYI: this should be a horribly shameful fact to those of us in the teaching profession.

--If a teacher is planning a lesson, and it can be taught or continued with all students absent, then the lesson (and probably the teacher) needs to change!

Both of these points were convicting to me. While most days I try to have student-centered learning, using innovative new methods such as technology, all too often I fall into the trap of lecture, power point slides, note-taking, and the ever-dreaded worksheet. I realize these all have their value, but they should not be a constant. I hope and pray I will not be the teacher who could easily adapt if placed in 1950 or the teacher who could carry on without the students.

Excellent Poem

Glogster

Success! My students loved using Glogster. They turned their "I Am" poems into creative collages, and it's easy for me to grade. Until February 28, 2010, teachers can obtain 200 free student accounts. After February, it goes down to only 100 accounts. This is a great way to see students' creations and grade them without printing. I plan on using it in the library someday to advertise certain books, authors, or PR campaigns.

NING

I should have already mentioned that one way I incorporate technology is using www.ning.com This is a social networking tool. The thing that's great about it is that the creator has total control. I can choose who becomes a member. In my case, I only allow my AP Lit students to join. We use it for weekly discussion threads. This has been great for graded discussion, which is a key part of any AP program. Students who would otherwise stay silent in class, feel more comfortable discussing on the Ning. It's not anonymous, but it isn't as intimidating as face-to-face discussion.

For media specialists, a Ning could be created in order to discuss books. It would be an excellent way to have book talks without having to meet face to face. This may get students involved who wouldn't otherwise participate!

Try this!

There is a great website that my AP students love--quizlet.com. All I do is enter in their vocabulary words, and they can go to this site anytime and study. It creates flashcards, has some review games, and even gives practice quizzes. This could be used in a media center by creating lists of words having to do with research and using search engines. Librarians could teach a unit and then ask students to go to quizlet.com for review. It's a great resource!

Today, I'll be using Glogster for the first time in class. www.edu.glogster.com This is a way to create collages online--the website slogan is "poster yourself." I've used it personally before, but never with students. It's a great way to avoid the mess and chaos of old fashion poster collages. It also means we'll be a little kinder to the environment. Hopefully, things go smoothly. I'll update later today about how the students do. I'm certain I'll see some very creative glogs.

Useful Site

Check out www.teachertube.com for useful educational videos! YouTube is also a great source, but be careful to monitor if allowing students to use it. There can be some "sketchy" material to say the least.

Why blog?

This blog was started in an effort to document some useful tools available for teachers, media specialists, and others involved in education. I am currently a high school English teacher pursuing a masters degree in Instructional Media. Most days, I love my job. I get to be around some amazingly unique individuals, and hopefully teach them something that will help them become successful adults. However, I go home many days feeling frustrated. I believe that all too often I "teach to the test." And I believe that the current educational environment practically forces that upon teachers. This does not mean I blame administrators, NCLB, accountability, assessment, parents, fellow faculty, or students on my teaching deficiencies. The blame lies solely with me. I fail to come up with lessons that do something other than "teach to the test." I am too selfish and too concerned with what my students' benchmarks scores or EOI scores will look like. Yes, that is important, and I in no way take those assessments lightly. HOWEVER, if all I do as a teacher is prep my students for the next benchmark or EOI, then I have failed miserably. When my students leave my classroom (and someday my library) I need to have given them something more than test-taking tools and how to identify tone, metaphors, and similes. I need to prepare them in ways that allow them to become creative, critical thinkers. I need to use the tools that they use on a regular basis. I need to incorporate technology--ipods, cell phones, computers, etc. in a way that isn't just an afterthought. Hopefully, this blog will serve as a way to showcase useful ways of doing just that. And hopefully, I can become an educator that doesn't just "teach to the test."