RSS Feeds...I'm not there!

RSS Feeds

Okay, I think I've missed the boat on RSS stuff and I need to paddle fast to catch up. While I read this chapter, I honestly didn't get alot of what was written! I think this is a case where I need to spend some time--a lot of time--trying this out and experimenting before I will have much to say.
Here's an interesting article on Web English Teacher....a site that will be my first RSS feed.
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2631

Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All
This chapter intrigued me the most of all we've read so far. Like the author, I'm fascinated with Wikipedia. When students ask me if they can use Wikipedia for research, I want to say YES! It's so cool! Go ahead!....but the teacher in me says something else. I am very interested in having students contribute to Wikipedia, or possibly create their own Wikis. This seems VERY empowering for students. So...
4 IMPORTANT THINGS FROM THIS CHAPTER
1. Wikipedia is very cool, almost always correct, and an "amazing resource".
2. Wikis prove the concept that everyone together is smarter than anyone alone.
3. We live in a world where collaboration is the expectation rather than the exception. Wikis fulfill that expectation.
4. Students can be empowered to contribute to the wealth of knowledge presented to the world through wikis.
3 CONNECTIONS TO MY TEACHING
1. I have often questioned the same thing as the author regarding Wikipeida. When students ask if they can use it, I want to say "yes". But I make them search for more. What they find is often already presented in Wikipedia. So, is it better to have them LEARN what other people have already researched or to research? It probably depends on the assignment, but the question is an important one for every assignment. What is the desired outcome?
2. Wikis seems very useful for studying a book. I can especially see students contributing their ideas on a character study, for example. If all students contribute their ideas to the wiki, we will have an intriguing, more-complete idea of how the students understand a character.
3. I keep wondering when grading time is accounted for with all this technology! Apparently, WetPaint is the solution. While I haven't checked it out yet, it seems that this website might be able to help.
2 CONNECTIONS TO OTHER READING/WORK
1. Wikis are like the modern-day "add on to the story"--where notebooks are passed around a classroom so that everyone can contribute. The notebook on steroids! Everyone contributes. How cool is that?
2. Here's a great chart that shows whether to use a blog, a wiki or something else for a lesson: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=ddnzwcn8_15g3jrbpdf&pli=1
1 QUESTION
Because we live in such a technology-integrated world, I'm wondering when it will be expected that schools/teachers integrate wikis (and other technology) into their classrooms. And thus, when we won't need permission from parents to involve their children in internet-related work. Or are we there now?

Cooking blog

I heard about this blog yesterday. Since I love cooking, I am fascinated with the idea of this woman who cooks (and blogs) in her tiny New York City kitchen. If she can cook all these things she's taking photos of, I should be able to cook in my regular-size suburban kitchen!
http://smittenkitchen.com/

Chapter TWO: Weblogs Pedagogy and Practice--Here we go!

I like blogs and read a few--but to be honest, sometimes I wonder how people have time to keep up with their blogs about their everyday lives. Honestly, I'm so busy just living my life that finding time to keep an on-line journal about that life just doesn't work. Not yet, anyway. But using the blogs in the classroom--now that seems like a good idea. And reading/responding/keeping teacher blogs to share ideas--that is a GREAT idea.

Four of the most important things from this chapter:

1. With a blog, writing truly is an on-going process.

2. Students discover that there is a much bigger audience for their writing than simply the teacher (and the gradebook). Because of that audience, which might be their peers, they will take more care to write with care.

3. Blogs can be used as classroom organizational systems. LOVE this!

4. Blogging is conversation--between students, between student and teacher, and more. Perhaps this generation is right--you CAN have a conversation on the computer.

Three connections between my teaching and the reading:

1. I've always felt that I shouldn't go through the effort and motions of grading an essay if that was the end of it. I wanted more revisions, more editing, more writing. I can see that student blogging will allow that. Even if a student doesn't edit and revise a specific assignment, the next blog should include the writing revisions learned from the previous entries. It's an on-going process and writing should improve as time goes on.

2. I try to be a very organized teacher. The ideas for using a blog as an organizational tool are great. When students know that they can count on the teacher blog to be updated, the student is accountable for their work, especially on days they are absent. This does bring up a question I have, however....see the question below!

3. As a Creative Writing teacher, I see the blog as especially interesting for publishing student writing in a safe, classroom environment. I always wanted to create a book of student writing for each class but of course, didn't have time or budget to do so. Blogging will take care of that!

Two connections to other reading and research:

1. I did master's work on writing across the curriculum and was fascinated by the idea of teachers in other areas (math!) requiring writing. The examples of the Calculus blog highlighted how blogging encourages not only the math part of the class, which is obvious, but also writing and conversation between math students. How wonderful!

2. I've read quite a bit about encouraging reluctant readers to read and write. I wonder if blogs are more user-friendly to kids who really don't want to read or write. Or will they be just as challenged by blogs and perhaps even more reluctant because the blogs can be public and they risk making embarrassing mistakes? I'd like to hear more about this type of student and their response to writing in a conversation style on a blog.

One question I have:

1. It seems that a blog could duplicate the website that a school district supplies for teachers. Would my website refer to my blog as "the place" to get information on a class?

Chapter ONE: The Read/Write Web--I need to change my thinking!

While reading the first three chapters of our book, I kept thinking how far behind I am in this technology "thing"! I clearly remember when my new husband told me about the "internet"--what is was and what we might use it for. That was back in 1994 or so. Because he is (or was) much more technically--able (he's an electrical engineer and I'm an English major), it all made so much sense to him. Today, I feel like it has to make sense to me too...or I'm in trouble.

In chapter one, the most important things I learned:

We are no longer a READ-and-learn society, but instead are in a READ/WRITE society. We read and then respond to what we read by using the keyboard and writing. I tend to think that teenagers often do this very quickly, without a lot of thought before they write what they think. That certainly is something to talk about with classes--what do you really want to say before you hit that ENTER button? What do you really think?

"The people who'll understand this best are probably just being born." YES! And they're in our classrooms and in our homes. Yikes. I feel this every day when my own children say, "mom, this is a different generation. We ARE COMMUNICATING when we're "talking" on facebook." I'm not buying it, but I guess I have to learn how this generation and the next communicate best. And learn best.

Kids today have "hyptext minds". They're able to jump around while they're learning. This scares me so much because I have a hard time doing it myself. I concentrate on one thing at a time. I try to understand how they can do it, but just don't get it! I do wonder if their brains act differently because they've been thinking and learning and exploring in this manner for their whole lives. Their brains ARE able to work that way because they've always done it that way. This is new to me--while I'd really like to see kids focusing more and seemingly be less distracted, I might need to open my mind to their style and method of learning more.

BLogging....

I'm enjoying reading other people's blogs...about school, running, and especially politics this year. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to integrate blogging into my classroom, but I am inspired by teachers here at Chaska who are doing it. I'm hoping that next semester I'll be able to blog with my class, especially in Creative Writing. And--I've got my name--the Augustine Blogostine--so I've got a start!

Quite honestly, it is hard to take time to blog when I'm creating new lessons every day for school. But...here's the really good news. I worked on a research project for the literature class and used the research project calculator steps. Using the bonus material, I developed a step-by-step research packet for them to complete during the research process. The assignment is all about the process, which I feel good about because they can use these same steps for any assignment, not just this particular literature assignment.
And, while we're just in the middle of the project, so far so good. So, I don't feel like I'm using the new technology that we're learning in this particular assignment, but I'm using the materials we learned about. I saved the project on my home computer so I can't attach it right now--maybe I should have created it in Google Docs so that I could access it anywhere...hmmmm...now I'm thinking...