Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Cool Multi Grade Blog
Did you see what I added to the Check This Out! feature? Duck Diaries is a really cute science inquiry blog about Daisy, the mother duck who built her nest on a school playground. With a narrow focus, a real purpose, a clear audience, and a finite "life," this blog serves as a great example of using technology to serve an authentic purpose. It won an Edublog Award a couple of years ago.
Digital Tools Galore!
Chapter 2 of Beach's book was exciting and frustrating at the same time. I find myself wanting to know more about digital notetaking, mapping, storing, etc. I'd like spend days immersed in the latest ideas and resources contained in the book's wiki. At the same time, I am frustrated by the frantic pace of life and how each week comes so quickly that I have barely started chewing on one topic before we move on to the next one.
Digital Notetaking
In this chapter, the digital notetaking intrigues me because I like to take notes on my computer, using plain old Word. I’ve used Google Docs to collaborate on minutes and notes from meetings. Now I’d like to try Google Notebook to be able to capture and link websites to my notes.
In that same section of the chapter, the Tablet PC example where students take simultaneous notes reminded me of an incident that happened this week during a workshop on equity. The presenter asked everyone to close their computers because she didn’t want people doing emails or hiding their face behind a screen during uncomfortable conversations about race. A group of administrators challenged her thinking and explained that they were using their three Tablet PCs to take notes for the other administrators who stayed at their building but were following the workshop through these notes. They were exchanging information and opinions in real time, while collaborating on a synthesized version of their notes on Google Docs. Wow! They were extending learning outside the workshop. The presenter highlighted their work as a great example of opening up communication within their team. The computers stayed on.
My Favorite Survey Tool!
In this same chapter, Beach talks about collecting research data through surveys and polls. Tools like SurveyMonkey lend themselves well to multi-question surveys. But these tools are not free and the surveys can get quite lengthy. For elementary kids, there is a one-question survey feature on the student blogs of Think.com but those can only be accessed by people in the class.
If you want to extend a question to those outside the class, my favorite tool is Doodle. Doodle lets you create a poll (the survey question) in any of 21 languages. There is a yes/no/maybe option called making a choice that works very well for a quick survey. You enter a possible answer and, for each potential answer, people tell you if they agree (yes), disagree (no), or are neutral (maybe). You could use it to ask kids what their favorite fruit is, to check if they understood the meaning of a vocabulary word, or to find out who is working on pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and who needs to conference with you. Students could answer the survey by rotating through 1-2 computers at school. Families could be polled by emailing them the link to a particular survey. I’ve used it to figure out what toppings people wanted on the pizza we ordered for our CoP, as well as finding a meeting date & time for people around the metro area. It’s super easy to use!
Digital Notetaking
In this chapter, the digital notetaking intrigues me because I like to take notes on my computer, using plain old Word. I’ve used Google Docs to collaborate on minutes and notes from meetings. Now I’d like to try Google Notebook to be able to capture and link websites to my notes.
In that same section of the chapter, the Tablet PC example where students take simultaneous notes reminded me of an incident that happened this week during a workshop on equity. The presenter asked everyone to close their computers because she didn’t want people doing emails or hiding their face behind a screen during uncomfortable conversations about race. A group of administrators challenged her thinking and explained that they were using their three Tablet PCs to take notes for the other administrators who stayed at their building but were following the workshop through these notes. They were exchanging information and opinions in real time, while collaborating on a synthesized version of their notes on Google Docs. Wow! They were extending learning outside the workshop. The presenter highlighted their work as a great example of opening up communication within their team. The computers stayed on.
My Favorite Survey Tool!
In this same chapter, Beach talks about collecting research data through surveys and polls. Tools like SurveyMonkey lend themselves well to multi-question surveys. But these tools are not free and the surveys can get quite lengthy. For elementary kids, there is a one-question survey feature on the student blogs of Think.com but those can only be accessed by people in the class.
If you want to extend a question to those outside the class, my favorite tool is Doodle. Doodle lets you create a poll (the survey question) in any of 21 languages. There is a yes/no/maybe option called making a choice that works very well for a quick survey. You enter a possible answer and, for each potential answer, people tell you if they agree (yes), disagree (no), or are neutral (maybe). You could use it to ask kids what their favorite fruit is, to check if they understood the meaning of a vocabulary word, or to find out who is working on pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and who needs to conference with you. Students could answer the survey by rotating through 1-2 computers at school. Families could be polled by emailing them the link to a particular survey. I’ve used it to figure out what toppings people wanted on the pizza we ordered for our CoP, as well as finding a meeting date & time for people around the metro area. It’s super easy to use!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Blogging Resources on the R: Drive
Molly S. and Mike W. have put some great blogging resources on the R: drive:
- Blogging Do's and Don'ts for students
- Web 2.0 permission letter for parents
- Blog Overview (includes ideas for classroom and individual blogs)
- Cheat sheets for using various blogging sites
Check it out on R:\Technology\Blogs!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Take Aways from HOT Blogging Article
Let me preface this by stating that my struggle with blogging is keeping the posts short! So I decided to write my reflections in a Word document and only post small snippets. Here are two paragraphs from my 2-page thinking process...
There are two pieces from the Zawilinski article that I want to act upon. They are both from the HOT blogging stages. In the “Prime the pump” stage, students prepare for a class discussion by reading others’ posts and comments. Then, during the discussion, they share others’ posted comments, not theirs. This year for LINKS—our monthly course for new teachers—we’re trying individual blogs. I would like to structure our face-to-face conversation about the online discussions using a similar format. It would ensure "better listening" of what others are saying (i.e. deeper reading) and I also think it would help the online communication remain at an excellent level.
The second quote that resonated with me came from the “Make multiplicity explicit” stage:
“Students read their classmates’ responses, noting which are similar and different and in what ways, and these responses show students how diverse perspectives can further deepen and enrich one’s own thinking (p. 658).” My ah-ha moment was connecting this with the equity work we are all engaged in. Digital writing is a way to give every student a voice, even the ELL who has difficulty producing perfectly edited text but can record a podcast. By sharing perspectives and experiences and by asking students to focus their thinking on understanding the other person’s point of view won’t we build a more tolerant, more equitable community? It’s a win-win situation!
P.S. Did you know that the International Reading Association has an ongoing "Blogging in the classroom" discussion on Facebook? Check it out!
There are two pieces from the Zawilinski article that I want to act upon. They are both from the HOT blogging stages. In the “Prime the pump” stage, students prepare for a class discussion by reading others’ posts and comments. Then, during the discussion, they share others’ posted comments, not theirs. This year for LINKS—our monthly course for new teachers—we’re trying individual blogs. I would like to structure our face-to-face conversation about the online discussions using a similar format. It would ensure "better listening" of what others are saying (i.e. deeper reading) and I also think it would help the online communication remain at an excellent level.
The second quote that resonated with me came from the “Make multiplicity explicit” stage:
“Students read their classmates’ responses, noting which are similar and different and in what ways, and these responses show students how diverse perspectives can further deepen and enrich one’s own thinking (p. 658).” My ah-ha moment was connecting this with the equity work we are all engaged in. Digital writing is a way to give every student a voice, even the ELL who has difficulty producing perfectly edited text but can record a podcast. By sharing perspectives and experiences and by asking students to focus their thinking on understanding the other person’s point of view won’t we build a more tolerant, more equitable community? It’s a win-win situation!
P.S. Did you know that the International Reading Association has an ongoing "Blogging in the classroom" discussion on Facebook? Check it out!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Elements of Successful Blogs
While reading Beach’s chapter on “Using blogs in the classroom” two things stood out.
- The most successful blogs are the ones where students take full ownership for the blogs: they have individual blogs and they interact continuously through their blogs, using each other as both audience and resource. These blogs “created a sense of community where students were free to exchange ideas and anxieties, protest and receive feedback, without fear of reprisal or a lower grade (p. 118).” I'd like to get there someday. I think the first step to getting there is being crystal clear on the purpose for blogging.
- The five stages of blog entry (below) helped me label the various blogs I have read, some effective and interesting, while others seemed superficial and incomplete. The stages helped me think about blogging on a continuum: it's OK to not have the perfect blog right away. It's about the journey. As the teacher, that journey is also about how to set up the blog to encourage those higher levels.
The five stages of blog entries move from least to most sophisticated:
- Discover: looking at blogs to define a topic of interest
- Define: post entries to begin sharing ideas; much like this blog right now
- Immerse: research a topic through links & RSS feeds
- Build: posts show new learning and interaction with others
- Contribute: create resources for others that show thorough understanding of the topic
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Blogging for all
I embrace the idea of using blogs in the classroom. In the words of Will Richardson, "Writing stops; blogging continues. Writing is inside; blogging is outside. Writing is monologue; blogging is conversation. Writing is thesis; blogging is synthesis." (From Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (Corwin Press, 2nd Ed, July 2008).
While reading Beach’s book, I found myself excited at the examples he showcased while feeling disappointed that there was no connection made for elementary teachers. That is really lacking in this book so far. Implying “you the reader can make the leap and tweak this to fit your teaching world” is disrespectful of K-5 teachers. In Chapter 6, the classroom blog vs. individual blogs part should have considered an elementary level audience. There are some great examples of blogs at the elementary level, most of which are classroom blogs.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
What is digital writing?
What does digital writing mean to me as a writer? As a teacher?
As a writer, I find digital writing fun. It’s more than just my words: I can choose to make my message joyful, vivid, dreary, or mysterious. I can personalize my writing even more to convey emotions, moods, or capture the reader’s interest. You and I could say basically the same thing but what we add to the words—visually or through music—as well as the format we choose to share our writing could lead to two completely different messages. I’ve always been an aspiring techie so I find it fun to learn new tools, new ways of doing things. I could play with a new software or website for days! So as a writer, I’d like to learn more cool ways to write digitally. What else is out there that I haven’t yet played with?
As a writer, I also like the instantaneous nature of digital writing: once I click on that save/send/upload button my writing is “out there” for all to read: no need for stamps or multiple copies; no long wait for feedback. More importantly, as a writer I can choose my audience. I can restrict to share my thoughts with only a chosen few or I can voice my opinions for the whole world to hear. Regardless of the scope of my audience, it’s an authentic audience and the fact that I chose it gives purpose to my writing. I’d like to learn how to better guide teachers’ thinking in order to broaden the scope of their students’ audience.
The same things that excite me as a writer concern me as a teacher. Students need thoughtful guidance and structure to choose the right format, the right tools, and to not get lost in the glitz of multimodal writing. The danger is there: think PowerPoint slide transitions overload to the tenth power! How do we help teachers and students think clearly about their purpose to choose the right tools?
Also, being an aspiring techie is a dangerous state. I’m enthusiastic so I go deeper but it’s when I reach an impasse that I realize there’s so much I still don’t know… It’s the “how did I get here?” syndrome. Add to that a class full of young elementary students depending on you to be “all knowing” and we’re all stuck. Kind of like when the server goes down in the middle of your lesson… The ever-changing technology can be daunting. If teachers try to do too much, they will crash and burn in frustration. And if we ask students to do too much, we will “wiki them to death” to use the expression of a colleague. I’d like to spend time thinking about how digital writing stays manageable for teachers and students. Along the same lines is the reality that digital writing can’t be an add-on: it has to replace paper-pencil writing tasks.
As a teacher, the instantaneous nature of digital writing also worries me. First of all, it encourages too much short-answer, one-liner type of writing. While that might be exactly what a primary student or an ELL need, but it’s no way to foster deep thinking through writing. How much depth can there be in 140 characters? Secondly, the instant nature of digital writing encourages us to upload writing before it’s polished. We wouldn’t publish an article in a newspaper that wasn’t properly revised, edited and fixed. Likewise, we shouldn’t publish digital writing that isn’t “perfect” (I know there is no such thing). It’s no different in the digital world than it is in the paper-pencil world: we need to insist on following the writing process for digital writing before it is shared. How do we structure instructional time so digital writing works within the writer’s workshop but isn’t the last publishing step in the process (and an add-on)?
One of the greatest benefits of digital writing is the real audience it provides students. Who cares about writing a description of the monarch butterfly’s development for the teacher? But using pictures, videos, interviews to describe the monarch’s life cycle and its incredible journey to Mexico for a class halfway across the world that has never seen a live monarch... now that’s cool! Or maybe it’s sharing the daily observations of the monarch’s development with a local school that is studying monarchs but can’t afford to raise them, while exchanging hypothesis and research. Or maybe it’s sharing the same information with a school in Mexico where students wonder how far north the monarchs fly and how long it takes them to get there each spring. Each task, geared to a different audience, takes on a different purpose. As a teacher I have two concerns. First, are we finding truly authentic audiences for students’ writing? Secondly, are the needs of that audience surpassing our primary purpose: fulfilling our state standards? Sometimes projects with the best intentions become huge. Yes, they really motivate students. But are they truly what we need to teach?
Lots of thoughts… Lots of questions… I can’t wait to dig into digital writing!
As a writer, I find digital writing fun. It’s more than just my words: I can choose to make my message joyful, vivid, dreary, or mysterious. I can personalize my writing even more to convey emotions, moods, or capture the reader’s interest. You and I could say basically the same thing but what we add to the words—visually or through music—as well as the format we choose to share our writing could lead to two completely different messages. I’ve always been an aspiring techie so I find it fun to learn new tools, new ways of doing things. I could play with a new software or website for days! So as a writer, I’d like to learn more cool ways to write digitally. What else is out there that I haven’t yet played with?
As a writer, I also like the instantaneous nature of digital writing: once I click on that save/send/upload button my writing is “out there” for all to read: no need for stamps or multiple copies; no long wait for feedback. More importantly, as a writer I can choose my audience. I can restrict to share my thoughts with only a chosen few or I can voice my opinions for the whole world to hear. Regardless of the scope of my audience, it’s an authentic audience and the fact that I chose it gives purpose to my writing. I’d like to learn how to better guide teachers’ thinking in order to broaden the scope of their students’ audience.
The same things that excite me as a writer concern me as a teacher. Students need thoughtful guidance and structure to choose the right format, the right tools, and to not get lost in the glitz of multimodal writing. The danger is there: think PowerPoint slide transitions overload to the tenth power! How do we help teachers and students think clearly about their purpose to choose the right tools?
Also, being an aspiring techie is a dangerous state. I’m enthusiastic so I go deeper but it’s when I reach an impasse that I realize there’s so much I still don’t know… It’s the “how did I get here?” syndrome. Add to that a class full of young elementary students depending on you to be “all knowing” and we’re all stuck. Kind of like when the server goes down in the middle of your lesson… The ever-changing technology can be daunting. If teachers try to do too much, they will crash and burn in frustration. And if we ask students to do too much, we will “wiki them to death” to use the expression of a colleague. I’d like to spend time thinking about how digital writing stays manageable for teachers and students. Along the same lines is the reality that digital writing can’t be an add-on: it has to replace paper-pencil writing tasks.
As a teacher, the instantaneous nature of digital writing also worries me. First of all, it encourages too much short-answer, one-liner type of writing. While that might be exactly what a primary student or an ELL need, but it’s no way to foster deep thinking through writing. How much depth can there be in 140 characters? Secondly, the instant nature of digital writing encourages us to upload writing before it’s polished. We wouldn’t publish an article in a newspaper that wasn’t properly revised, edited and fixed. Likewise, we shouldn’t publish digital writing that isn’t “perfect” (I know there is no such thing). It’s no different in the digital world than it is in the paper-pencil world: we need to insist on following the writing process for digital writing before it is shared. How do we structure instructional time so digital writing works within the writer’s workshop but isn’t the last publishing step in the process (and an add-on)?
One of the greatest benefits of digital writing is the real audience it provides students. Who cares about writing a description of the monarch butterfly’s development for the teacher? But using pictures, videos, interviews to describe the monarch’s life cycle and its incredible journey to Mexico for a class halfway across the world that has never seen a live monarch... now that’s cool! Or maybe it’s sharing the daily observations of the monarch’s development with a local school that is studying monarchs but can’t afford to raise them, while exchanging hypothesis and research. Or maybe it’s sharing the same information with a school in Mexico where students wonder how far north the monarchs fly and how long it takes them to get there each spring. Each task, geared to a different audience, takes on a different purpose. As a teacher I have two concerns. First, are we finding truly authentic audiences for students’ writing? Secondly, are the needs of that audience surpassing our primary purpose: fulfilling our state standards? Sometimes projects with the best intentions become huge. Yes, they really motivate students. But are they truly what we need to teach?
Lots of thoughts… Lots of questions… I can’t wait to dig into digital writing!
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