Thing 5-Wait Wait!

So I have been using my Google Reader since last semester (Fall 2010) and did not have a lot of good "things" to read.  With the new additions, it is slowly becoming my favorite thing!  Happily, I am using it mostly for my addiction to "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!"  I have been working in my classroom while listening to my favority NPR show that I rarely catch when I am in the car.  This is how I learn my news...how else would I have known about Usher and Homer Simpson have a song in common???? (Episode 1/8/11)  I also got to learn about Snookie's new book...I guess that is a good thing?

I have not only been listening to podcasts, but have actually read somethings.  I read an article on how to take the Harry Wong Teacher Effectiveness Quiz.  I do believe that Harry Wong knows a lot about classroom management, but I do not agree with my results.  I fell into the "Good job! You are a master teacher." range.  However, I do not feel I am a "master teacher."  There is more to classroom management then just answering questions...implementation is where the heart of the matter lies!  Give it a shot though...it is interesting!

Thing 4-Get Others Obsessive About Bloggin'

In my search for blogging grading guidelines, I stumbled upon many different ideas!  I was shocked to see the pro-graders versus the anti-graders.  I just assumed that everyone would be pro-grading (I guess I thought this because of the bubble I live in!). While doing Thing 3 and Thing 4, I came up with a blogging assignment for my advance students; I have taken all these thoughts and meshed them with my teacher world.   One thing I read described basing grades on goals (http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/how-are-you-going-to-grade-this-evaluating-classroom-blogs/24935)…what is the end product you want the students take away with them from the blogging experience?  Blogging really is not about punctuation and proper mechanics.  It is about getting your thoughts out there and forming opinions on topics.  If blogs were graded for proper grammar and punctuation, I think my grade would plummet!  I always type straight into a word document, but I do not blog formally.  This is a very informal “thing” for me, so I can be ME and not Teacher.    

The goals I came up for my blogging assignment (which is almost finished being created so I can take action!!!) is for the students to acknowledge due dates (not the most important part by any means, but due dates are important for 8^th graders), create a science dialogue, forming opinions on science topics, and asking insightful questions.  The assignment would be taking their current event presentations and creating blogs.  They would have to find any science article, summarize, and give their opinion on the article.  Within their groups, they will respond and ask questions so they start talking about science and hopefully will help them start forming opinions outside of what their parents and teachers tell them about the world around us.  The main purpose for blogging would be the creation of science dialogue.  What I have noticed from current event presentations is that they do not really care what everyone is saying because they are just listening to someone ramble and they have not read the article themselves.  The blog will help them to take their time thinking of how they really feel and trying to portray that to their peers in a healthy, educational way.  The current event does not have to relate to Physical Science, but it does need to be school appropriate and relate to science in some way.  I have already discussed all this with my advance classes and they are excited!  (The excitement makes me so happy since whenever students hear the phrase “current event” it is usually followed by groans.)

I was reading one blog (http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?post=46889) where they were discussing why grading blogs is a ludicrous idea and should never happen, because it is not what blogging is about.  This really got me thinking about how I would grade my students based on the goals I have come up with, since there are so many aspects of blogs that make them different from writing a report or paper.  When I kept reading the comments left on this blog, someone said something that really got my gears turning!  The blogs can be graded not on content, but on the quality of the reasoning, that supports their opinion.  As an adult, it is normal for us not to all agree on one topic, but when we broach these topics, we know to support our opinion with proof.  These are 13/14 year old young adults.  They may not know that you cannot just give an opinion and have someone believe them.  We the teachers need to start helping them develop supporting opinion with fact, so why couldn’t their blogs be graded on this theory?  Well, I did base the rubric on this great idea!  It is still a work in progress, but it is really starting to form a shape that I am ready to give to my students.   

Criteria	Unacceptable	Acceptable	Target
Blog Posts by Students	Student summarized the article found. Opinion was not formulated or defended.	Student summarized the article found and gave opinion.  Opinion was supported briefly, but more research should have been done to fully defend the opinion.	Student summarized the article found and gave opinion.  Opinion was supported with facts and details, along with links to the sources used in the development of the opinion.
Comments or Responses that students leave on other student blogs	Student leaves a comment being “good” or agree/disagree with opinion. Student asks a question that can be answered within the article.	Student leaves a comment that agrees/disagrees and gives a reason why. Student asks a question that requires more research besides the article written about.	Student leaves a comment that agrees/disagrees and gives a detailed reason why with a link to his/her source of information.  Student asks a question that requires more research besides the article written about.

Thing 3-Slightly Obsessive Bloggin'

Blogging…O how I love thee!  Blogging is such a fascinating realm of Web 2.0 because it allows people to come through your screen while simultaneously becoming your long lost friend who have inside jokes.  While reading Will Richardson’s book “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms” (http://www.amazon.com/Blogs-Wikis-Podcasts-Powerful-Classrooms/dp/1412977479/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296331417&sr=8-1) my vision of blogs developed and deepened.  I was really moved by Richardson’s labeling of blogging as “connective writing.”  This term flitted around my head and finally settled into my heart…because I want to be a part of this.  To open up and express my true self to anyone is nearly impossible for me due to some anxiety issues I deal with on a daily basis. However, through the use of blogging I can express myself and lean on the shoulders of complete strangers (who are really not strangers because they are my long lost friends!) and become connected when I am not always able to in my “people life”.  “Blog lives” can help people express what is on their mind when people in their “people life” do not always have time or care about what they think (not in a mean way, but in the whole educator trying to explain hormonal 8^th graders to a single businessman…not the best two-sided conversation ever).  Blogs allow people to express themselves and connect with people who do care what they say, because somewhere out there in the Internet, there is at least one person who will read what is posted and care or at least be ambivalent, but think about what you wrote.

Now that I have finished my rant (which I am not sure how it started! Maybe it was the power of blogs J), blogs really do express a person on multiple levels when there is only 1 level of text.   Reading a blog is very similar to reading someone’s journal you “happened” upon while he/she is in the bathroom except the person is not in the bathroom (well…they might be but that would be too much information to post for my comfort!).  You do happen upon blogs by searching and following links, but someone chose to trust the world and post their inner thoughts and opinions for others to read and reflect on.  Reading a blog is a very personal experience, just as writing one is personal.  It might not seem to some that there is no personality in a blog. It is just words linked together with commas and periods.  No big deal.  However, the commas and periods do not matter.  It is what is written, not how it is written. 

For this grad assignment, we were supposed to go and read 5 suggested blogs to help us shape the way our minds view blogs.  The blog that stood out the most to me about supporting my whole “the what vs. the how” idea I have was Patrick’s 5^th Grade post (http://itc.blogs.com/patrick/2005/02/5th_grade.html).  He did not spell correctly or have the best grammar I have ever seen (I am a reader…I have seen lots if you are second guessing my credentials), but his “what” was one of the most powerful pieces of written word I have seen in some time (that might have to do with my reading selection, but I still stand strong on this point!).  Patrick had a blog as a class assignment and this particular post discussed why he was going to make good grades.  You could feel his passion and drive.  You could see him for who he is and not for just his misspelled, bad grammar post.  Blogs offer anyone a way to show the world who they really are, without the world ever knowing them.

To make blogs “connective writing” the connect part needs to be there, besides the actual aspect of just reading.  I can read someone’s personal thoughts and opinions any time (so long as they go to the bathroom long enough for me to happen upon their journal), but I cannot comment on their journal.  If I did, they would know I happened upon it and there goes my invite over again!  However, with blogs you can comment…it is the connective part of the connective writing.    Blogs also allow people to link to other websites to further explain what they are talking about (just like I have done…this blog is connected!).   Cool Cat Teacher’s blog post “Spies Like Us” really shows how connected a blog can be.  (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/01/spies-like-us.html) She did research on for her blog post to show that her opinions are really occurring, which helps others to make an informed decision by following her links to her research and reading it themselves.  Also, the comment section of her blog is full of life!  People are commenting on her post (even 4 years after the original post! Have you ever had a conversation 4 years after the fact???) and they are commenting on the comments.  Actual conversations are occurring on her blog, which only furthermore connects people together, just like they were long lost friends.  That is the power of blogs.  Forming connections where they normally would not be.  Can you really connect with the person 105 miles away reading the same book as you?  That would be hard!

Now that I have gone on and on about blogs (for probably way too long for most people…sorry!), I shall now touch on the subject of blogs for educational purposes.  They do exist, even if I have not brought that up yet.  My classroom uses a blog for daily assignments, upcoming due dates, and documents.  I am in the process of starting student blogging with my advance Physical Science students.  They will be blogging for their current events.  The hope is that they will become “connected” through their blogs by reading and responding to their assigned groups.  I hope that discussions will be created that we would not normally have time for in the classroom.  Educational blogging allows the classroom to continue outside the building and enter the students’ lives.  Since there are so many different uses for blogging in the education world and I decided to link to a blog that helps explain it better than I can! I Read the blog and go to the link for the matrix.  The author has come up with such a simple way of explaining the main reasons.  http://www.edtechpost.ca/wordpress/2003/10/09/matrix-of-some-uses-of-blogs-in-education/  There is so much to say about blogging, but I think I have covered a lot for now…until the next blog post about blogging comes along!

Design and Development "STUFF"

I do believe that all this design "stuff" will help me as an educator and technology leader. The "stuff" can help to create effective, easy to read worksheets or classroom websites where any student of any age can navigate and find the necessary information. There are so many teachers out there who have great ideas but they struggle with how to present the information in an easy to read/understand/digest way. With our journey through the ins and outs of design and development, our new knowledge can help those who struggle and want/need help breaking into the world of technlogy, where aesthically pleasing and easy to read are the keys to successfully distributing information.
I am still curious on how to share my knowledge when it comes to helping others with design. I know based on some conversations I have had with some of my co workers that they are too worried about design. Design is the fluff that most of them do not have time for. They are more worried about getting the content out there, even though design can help with that. I think the way to help others with design and development is to keep have these dialogues. Talking is the best way for others to learn new information because it gives them time to digest what you said, how they feel about it, and they will come back to discuss it further with you. I am excited to start learning about design and development so I can start changing my ways and hopefully others will start being open to it as well!

Thing 1 - Shifts Happen!

I feel comfortable being able to make the statement that Web 2.0 has found its way into almost every classroom, if it is only a slight presence that currently resides there.  I am still young for a teacher, so it was not that long ago I was in school.  Teaching practices have changed drastically since the short time I was the student, which helps me to make the statement that Web 2.0 must be in almost every classroom.  I remember sitting in math class waiting impatiently for the teacher to write the problems out from her piece of paper to the overhead projector.   I then had to copy quickly it down before she erased it and wrote the next problem.  Today I have seen math teachers incorporate the problems into PowerPoint with moving animations that show the multiple steps.  At the end of the presentation, there are tutorial videos linked to help those students who are still struggling.  The teacher even posts the presentation to her update website the students check nightly.  Web 2.0 is making its presence known within the classroom.

In my classroom, I am not anywhere near the caliber of David Warlick’s article “A Day in the Life of Web 2.0.”  However, I do incorporate some Web 2.0 in my teaching.  I have a class website where my students check for upcoming due dates, notes, and major assignments.  I use interactive websites and videos in my lessons.  I communicate with students and parents through email and posts on my website.  Warlick’s article is an amazing utopia of Web 2.0, but I know that I am not sure I am ready for that yet… It sounds wonderful and somewhere I would love to teach, but as of right now, I know that I am not at that point and most of the teachers I work with are not there either.  There are a few teachers who I think will fall perfectly into that situation and it is something I would love to partake in, but it also makes me very nervous.  I am not in the stage of comfort with Web 2.0 to be able to give my students the teaching environment they deserve according to Warlick’s article.  I hope that by the end of this class, I will be ready to tackle the world, but right now, I am only ready to tackle the readings and learn as much as I can! :)

Even in my scared realm of chicken-ness, I do believe that Web 2.0 holds great power in helping students learn the content and actually be excited to do so.  Students like to learn new things that interest them and a good portion of them are interested by new and exciting technology.  Web 2.0 lends itself towards creating an engaging classroom where students are excited to be there and not plotting their next “sick” day.  I have always been fascinated with the idea of student blogs and websites.  Allowing students to create their own space while following the parameters of the assignment sounds freeing for the students where it allows them to explore their creative selves.  When I was in school, I always looked forward to the creative assignments, even if the creative aspect was small.  A blog could allow students to complete the assignment while still having a unique space and a unique voice in a world that can sometimes squash the timid. 

Warlick’s article really did depict a perfect use of Web 2.0 tools in a school.  That is going to be the school of the future and from there even more changes will occur, because things are changing in a rapid fashion.  It is difficult to keep up with the changes and constantly stay abreast with all the new additions to Web 2.0, but then things will forever change.  There will constantly be some new method for teaching or theory for adolescent behavior.  Change is the way of the world, but it is how people accept those changes that matter.  Having an open mind and trying not to keep up with every new item but focusing on the few that are realistic is how Web 2.0 is going to take over the classroom, lending Warlick’s article to go from idea for the future to the present.  There will always be shifts in ideas, but really matters how those shifts are embraced.