Slice of Life - Here comes the challenge

I actually started this blog as a way to participate in the Slice of Life Challenge each Tuesday. As a teacher who asks my students to write I need to be modeling that writing. SOLC gave me a way to put some of my writing out there in what I hoped would be a safe forum. Even though it has only been a couple of months both the discipline and the community of writers has been both encouraging and refreshing. (Wow, I went and looked and it has been more than six months!)

Now the March Challenge is nearly upon us. Thirty-one days of Slices. I have been trying to psyche myself up for this challenge. My grade level science fair, which I oversee, falls during this time. Spring Break falls during this time. The rest of life falls during this time. (That is the good part, life to Slice about.) Will I make it? Just like taking other major challenges, be it a masters degree or major backpacking trips or a marathon (or completely natural childbirth) I set out to accomplish the task to the best of my ability, but I do realize that there are things that are outside of our control.

So, barring anything crazy, I plan to make it through, slicing everyday. Hopefully April first will bring a respite (though brief as April 3rd is a Tuesday). Bring on March!

What Are You Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
It is a chance for book lovers to share their reading accomplishments as well as what is on the proverbial nightstand. She even does a giveaway. Subsequently Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts added an opportunity for those reading kidlit to join the fun. Since I read both I will post to both.
Check them out, join the conversations, and discover more great books.

Okay For Now by Gary D Schmidt

Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

My reading was accomplished this week thanks to flights to and from Bombay as well as eating hotel meals solo (with great food).

Inspired to Link

We, the Web Kids by Piotr Czerski
We do not use the Internet, we live on the Internet and along it.

Why Does Writing Make Us Smarter?
The different brain processes used for writing by hand and typing [have] found that there are cognitive benefits to putting a pen to paper. These findings give support to the continued teaching of penmanship and handwriting in schools.

Functional bathtub made from books by Cory Doctorow
The idea is of immersing oneself in knowledge, books, truths…

And Dr. Seuss for the Digital Age…

Supervisor, not Sub

One of the things we love about our school is that our 2.5 year old comes with us everyday and is in daycare. This is a fabulous arrangement for all of us, until she is sick. She had a low-grade fever starting about 6 in the evening, which is a no-go for school the next day. Once she was in bed we sat down to arm-wrestle discuss who would be going to school. I realized I didn't stand a chance. Career Day necessitates the principal being on campus. Once again, being merely the teacher, I got to stay home.

Several things play into my next burst of creativity.

• Our sub pool is shallow.
• I really like teaching.
• In two days I would be out of the building anyway for a conference.
• My future principal had talked about how he Skyped in for meetings when he stayed home with their daughter.

Ah, Skyping in. There is a thought. So I asked my husband to go into my room, get out my LifeCam, setup my computer,  and logged me in to our secondary Skype account (great for when we need to Skype each other).

I then let our ES administrative assistant know that I would not need a sub, per say. I would Skype in to do our literacy block. And for math I would either Skype in or be able to come in (depending on how 'sick' she was in the morning and if she needed mommy snuggles or if a friend could hang out with her). It was an early release day and they have specials in the afternoon so I wasn't needed.

So, the 8 a.m. bell went and I said my usual "Good morning ladies and gentlemen!" My students' eyes lit up as they saw me appear on the screen and their behavior was exactly better then if I was actually in the room. I reminded them what homework to have out to be looked at (our grade level assistant was in the room to answer my calls and be an adult presence) and what their beginning tasks were. After 'bell work' we read for 30 minutes. I told them I would be back to correct the 'bell work' and have our writing mini-lesson. I signed off and showed up later, teaching just as I would have, except the little girl on my lap. The camera was positioned in such a way that I could see them and call on those with their hands raised, draw in those who weren't fully engaged, etc. It worked fabulously.

Our administrative assistant had gone up to my room to see how this would work. Later she sent me a chat saying "You don't need a sub. You just need a supervisor".

What Are You Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
It is a chance for book lovers to share their reading accomplishments as well as what is on the proverbial nightstand. She even does a giveaway. Subsequently Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts added an opportunity for those reading kidlit to join the fun. Since I read both I will post to both.
Check them out, join the conversations, and discover more great books.

I am finally caught up so here are the books I completed this week…

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu*

Divergent by Veronica Rother

Choice Words by Peter H. Johnson

It was a very good week! The writing in Breadcrumbs is such a treat. I had barely started Divergent when I knew I was going to be sucked in. It is also the first time, in a long time, that I have started a series that I wanted to plow through before the entire series is even published. Choice Words gave me some new ideas of phrases to use with my students. A very good week, indeed.

An * indicates my ‘must own’ list, either for myself or my classroom library.

Inspired to Link

5 things I have learned from students about education technology…
Are we taking these five things into account as we are plotting a course and planning our lessons? Allowing essays to be texted instead of typed - that is one I hadn't thought of. How about you?

 

Beware: the Internet could own your future
This article is not new, but I just stumbled across it this past week. Lots of things to think about regarding being 'out there'. Even when you think you are being careful things you don't expect can show up.

"Imagine coming across a random Web site that features one of your photographs without your approval…"

I was looking through Wonderopolis for the next wonder I would use with my students when I came across a Wonder of the Day that started off with a video of teacher friends of mine and their son. I quickly emailed them to find out the backstory. Turns out, they had never even heard of Wonderopolis. So you never know. Things that make you go hmmm.

Change

How are my thoughts changing? My thoughts have been preoccupied with notions of Unplugged. I know my thoughts will be changing plenty later this week as I am surrounded by people who share a goal of providing students with the technology skills they need through integrated lesson. I am sure I can't even imagine some of the changes that will happen within my own understanding of what 21st century schools and tech integration look like. I am anxious with anticipation.

One of the filters I will be taking things in through is that of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Map. As Andrew Churches points out in his article, "Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally", our goal continues to be to push thinking to the higher rungs, but now we need to think about how to do that through a digital medium. I have printed out Bloom's Digital Taxonomy Map and have it inside my plan book. It is there, as a hard copy, to remind me to look at it often as I try to push myself and my students further up and further on.

I love the list of verbs on this map. Verbs are how we think about what we want students to be doing and this handy resource lets me think of the verb and then reference the map to see what rung that action applies to. Is there anyway I can incorporate rungs higher up the ladder in the same lesson? This is my goal. Yes, students still need to be able to understand, but remembering and understanding lessons are plentiful. Even finding ways to apply their learning are not atypical. How often am I encouraging them to analyze, evaluate, or create? That is the question I will be focusing on. How about you?

Mater's Heart

Mater was my grandmother, my dad's mom. She and I had a very special relationship, especially since I am the only granddaughter. She taught me to cook and sew. She paid me to pick the dandelions out of her yard. (We were also paid .01 per bone in fish - this was to ensure we would slow down and look for the bones.) I stayed with her when I had the chicken pox in second grade. I was even with her one night, sleeping, when she had to call the paramedics - she went to the hospital and I went to my other grandparents'.

These are the things I remember.

Sewing on an old, wood, Singer. Learning to cook granola. How much she cherished the created world and poetry.

These are snapshots I carry of her.

The last Christmas present I every received from her was a brown, Gund, teddy bear. I still sleep with Teddy.

She died when I was nine.

There are times where I ache to have known her as an adult. To be able to sit and have adult conversations. I only have the perspective of a little girl and the grandmother I adored.

I do still have one thing. When my dad was in middle school he made a heart pendant for her in shop. It is clear plastic with a seam of red down the middle and hangs on a red velvet ribbon. I wear it every Valentine's Day.

What are you Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
It is a chance for book lovers to share their reading accomplishments as well as what is on the proverbial nightstand. She even does a giveaway. Subsequently Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts added an opportunity for those reading kidlit to join the fun. Since I read both I will post to both.
Check them out, join the conversations, and discover more great books.

I will catch up and then it will be a week at a time. First, here is what I have read, thus far, in February.

Pink by Lili Wilkinson*

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness*

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater

A Week at the Airport by Alain De Botton

Girls Will Be Girls by JoAnn Deak*

An * indicates my ‘must own’ list, either for myself or my classroom library.

Inspired to Link - The Failure Edition

If you are trying to build your PLN, Dr. Mark Wagner wrote an article entitled Personal Learning Networks for Educators: 10 Tips, which is a good overview of a variety of tools and strategies. I read most of the article thinking 'ya, ya, OK, ya' (not that I do all of the things he listed, but I know about all of the things he listed). And then I got to a quote by Will Richardson.

 “If your school system hasn’t changed a year from now, I get it… but if you haven’t changed a year from now, you’re a failure.”

That stopped me in my tracks. I went back and re-read it. And then again.

What a true statement. We are only as good at our jobs as we are willing to reflect, try, fail, and try something different.

 

Which leads me to, Why I Hire People Who Fail by Jeff Stibel. I have ideas percolating for a "failure wall" in my room incorporating writing and reading into the unit. (Adding math would be easy, too.)

 

Successful scientists fail over and over and over. Kenneth Boehr was not expecting success when his 5th grader asked about a chemical she had just 'created', but Susana Polo's article, 5th Grader Accidentally Makes Explosive in Class, Gets Co-Authorship on Subsequent Paper explains the true outcome.

 

A thought to ponder. When Students “Fail” Should They be Allowed Do-overs? Robert Ryshke wrote the article and I would agree with him. Do you?

Tonight, one of the assignments my fifth graders are tackling is their "Math Test Corrections". They can earn back missed points by telling me what they did wrong, what they should do to fix it, and then showing me the correct work and answer for the math problem. To me that furthers the learning process, which is what I ultimately care about.

Online Presence: Public or Private?

Will Richardson in his article World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others talks about online collaboration. At one point he says,

"Likewise, we must make sure others can locate and vet us. The process of collaboration begins with our willingness to share our work and our passions publicly."

This brings up the notion of privacy online. Once I finally decided I was willing to part with my money in order to participate in COETAIL I was eager to get started. As soon as the video posted, showing us how to get 'in' to the COETAIL community, I was revving to go. And then I stalled out as we had to choose our username and blog URL and won't be able to change them.

How public or private did I want to be? I pondered and stewed and then sent Jeff Utecht an email.

Hi Jeff,

Here is the discussion I want to have: How much privacy should one keep with their digital footprint? The place I would love to have it would be within the cohort, but I can't get there until I choose a username and then I have made a decision one way or another. I read the first few chapters of Reach to see if you shared any insights, but since you didn't you are getting an email.

Until now we have taken the stance that private is always better. I have Googled myself and I know you can find out all kinds of things, including who my husband is. If you then Google him you can figure out what school I am at. (He is an administrator and you can't really keep that off the web.) I never use his or my daughter's names when I blog. I am also careful to never put up security risk type information.

I am ready to ponder a more open username for public use. I started looking at the blogs I follow to see if they use their full names and most do. I understand the benefit of future employers being able to find my thoughts, etc.

Has there been a shift from 'keep everything as private as possible' to 'sharing ideas under your true identity is a good thing, just don't give them your S.S.#'?

That is the gist of my ponderings. Any thoughts?

Kristi

Thankfully he wrote right back…

Great Question Kristi!

We'll continue to talk about this throughout the program.

Has there been a shift? Absolutely...as sad as it might seem...there is no longer such thing as privacy. There hasn't been for awhile....we just pretend there is.

He then pointed me toward a blog that quotes an article called "Nine things that will disappear in our lifetime". Jeff prefaced my read by saying,

Privacy is one of them...and I would argue it's already gone.

The article has privacy as number nine on the list.

"If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone! There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits."

If people want to know where we are at any given point 'they' have the ability to find out. (And actually have for more than 20 years.) Even the 'average' person can discover quite a bit with refined online search skills. Perhaps the shift for us 'normal' people is taking this idea by the virtual horns and owning it rather than pretending it isn't so.

So if privacy is gone or is going away then we need to learn to live in public. Which means you take control of your profile on the Internet by putting your stuff out there full name and all and as sad as it sounds almost "promoting yourself" but not in the "I'm cool" kind of way. More of the "I'm here", kind of way. (Note: This idea is further flushed out in Reach, Chapter Two under Growing Your Professional Network.)

Now as a teacher...you've been public for a long time anyway. You are a public person...not in Hollywood public but in the sense that you interact with a lot of people. Kids, parents, community and because of that I feel teachers are at a bigger risk then many others about being "slammed" on the Internet. The last thing you want is the community controlling your profile.

So....jump in with both feet! Get your name out there, build your profile. After all if you're not in Google do you even really exist? :)

Jeff

That last bit really got me thinking. (No, not the do you really exist part, before that.)

"I feel teachers are at a bigger risk then many others about being "slammed" on the Internet. The last thing you want is the community controlling your profile. "

Below is a great infographic from kbsd. The bottom of the graphic addresses strategies to keep your 'e-reputation' under control. The first point is to take charge and set it yourself.

So it is no longer simply about a great defense, but the game has been changed to require full coverage offense as well. I think that is the winning argument for me. It is still going to take time for me to completely come out from behind my usernames and pseudonyms, but I have been convinced it will be for the best.

Gleaners vs. Guides

World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others, an article by Will Richardson, brought up several ideas that are now percolating within me. He says,

"as teachers, we must begin to model our own editorial skills -- how we locate and discern good information and good partners -- at every turn, in every class, reflecting with students on our successes and failures."

How many of you have thought of something you wanted to share with your students, spur of the moment or planned, and typically will look something up, choose the best source, get the information cued and THEN turn on the projector? It was an ah-ha moment for me last year when I realized that I need to be modeling the entire process of information searching, retrieval, and selection.

We are no longer the gleaners of information, searching through books, etc. to find the best information to disseminate to our students. Our role has shifted to that of guide. We must remember to openly demonstrate the entire process, even when it doesn't work out as we thought it would. Even the 'failure' is part of the process. If we aren't willing to guide students through the steps how will they learn the steps? Or at least learn them well?

Waiting

I have been waiting to find out if I am starting a class/program this week. (I am!)

I am waiting to share some life changes. (Can't tell yet.)

I am waiting for a PD trip in a couple of weeks. (I fly two weeks from tonight.)

In the mean time I shall be doing report cards
(and all the fun that goes with them).

That is my Slice of Life today, with linked images. (Join the fun!)

What are you Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you Reading?” is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
It is a chance for book lovers to share their reading accomplishments as well as what is on the proverbial nightstand. She even does a giveaway. Subsequently Jen and Kellee at Teach Mentor Texts added an opportunity for those reading kidlit to join the fun. Since I read both I will post to both.
Check them out, join the conversations, and discover more great books.

This is my first time joining in. I have been pondering participating in the fun and finally decided I would kick off with everything I read in January. My list does not include books read with my students. Those are kept on an ever growing display in our room. I enjoyed many of these books for a variety of reasons, but the one with an * is on my ‘must own’ list.

How Tia Lola Came to Visit (Stay) by Julia Alvarez

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Bigger Than a Bread Box by Laurel Snyder

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

Money Boy by Paul Yee

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

The Running Dream by Wendelin VanDraanan*

Notebook Know How by Aimee Buckner