23 Things for Web 2.0

Mark Fox from TheTeachersHub tweeted about a single school's initiative to invite their teachers to explore the wide and wonderful world of Web 2.0 via a list of 23 "things." I don't think I've really recorded much about Web 2.0 so far in the life of this blog, so I think this is the perfect opportunity to do just that. I'm a few weeks late though, whoops. Here's to catching up with all my free time that I enjoy so blissfully...

Thing #1 of the 23 Things Project is - Blogging. :) The assignment is to create a Blogger account (check), create a blog (check,) choose your template (check). Now for the questions, to be answered in post form:

Q1) Why am I participating (from a distance) in the 23 Things Project?

A) See the above statement regarding Web 2.0 and the purpose of this particular blog.

Q2) What interests me about Web 2.0?

A) Teaching, as I know it on from both sides of the desk, is an art that ought to be constantly evolving to meet the needs of the students. Today, this means walking that fine line between entertainment and engagement. It means competing with iPods, YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, the Internet in general, TV and radio for students' attention - which, sometimes, can be done by pointing out exactly how Beyonce's new song expresses the theme of the novel we're reading in class, or by making Facebook pages for the characters from the short story unit.

But this kind of creativity and "fun" teaching is so much easier said than done in a culture of standardized tests that requires proof of proper performance to determine who passes and who fails (i.e., who gets funds and who doesn't). When we are so pressed and harassed by that urgent need to make sure as many students as possible understand as much as possible about English literature as quickly as possible, and all in time for the test, who really has time for this Web 2.0 stuff?

And yet. It can be done. I think starting small is the key. Like that Facebook page idea. A poster project. Clear requirements about the information needed. Time to work on it in class and share it with everyone. A billboard or wall devoted to the end results.

Web 2.0 is about connections. And in a time when students are more connected than any other generation of human beings have ever been before, Web 2.0 is the set of tools that fits them and their learning needs. It's up to the teachers to dig in and experiment to find out what is out there that can be put into a student's hands to help her build a bridge to connect ideas.

In conclusion, the tools I am interested in are:

• Classroom wikis that students add information to periodically during class throughout the school year.
• A class blog with updated entries that students must reply to for homework.
• Podcasting or creating a VoiceThread to compile students' reviews of a book, story, or unit, or even a project, while having a little fun.
• Photo or slideshow animation to jazz up those important Powerpoints or Keynotes.
• Google Tools, like using Google Earth to create Google Lit Trips, where students can actually map out significant places on the globe from stories we read in class.
• My Mac software, like iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand, which I would love to use frequently in my future classroom to jazz things up a bit.

I'm so excited about this 23 Things Project because I still feel like I have a long way to go to competently use these tools. Fortunately, in this case, being unemployed is a benefit - I can spend the next several days brushing up on what I do know and adding to my arsenal what I don't know yet. Hooray!

In the words of the indomitable Black Eyed Peas, "Let's get it started. Ha!"

possible jobs + contagious encouragement

Good news...although this is a poor economy for new teachers to enter, and high schools all around the area are cutting more teaching positions this year, there are still schools hiring here and there. I have been learning about God's provision and personal flexibility. He is going to bring me opportunities, but they may not look like what I thought I would pursue for my first year teaching job.

For example, I am currently working on a lesson plan for an interview for a 6th grade Language Arts position - and I am getting more excited by the day. On Feb. 9 i get to teach this lesson plan to some students and then we'll see what happens...

Also, today I had coffee with a good friend from college, and we spent the bulk of our time together emphatically discussing how great it would be if she became a high school theatre teacher. It's so great to see people catch on to teaching, especially when it's obvious how great they would be as teachers.

So, here's to trying out new things and continuing the job hunt.

thoughts on Haiti

*Quick sidenote: please pray about giving to support aid to Haiti! Here are at least 3 reputable organizations that you can trust to care for the Haitians' physical AND spiritual needs during this disaster: WorldVision, Compassion International, and Samaritan's Purse.

As news coverage of Haiti continues to provide updates in the wake of the earthquake, I find myself wondering again how power and wealth reside in some countries, but not in others. Apparently I'm due for an Anth 200 review of world history and the World Simulation.

I'm also wondering: How does God feel about the state of poverty in the world, particularly countries like Haiti?

Based on Scripture and what I know of His nature (the very little I know), I assume it breaks His heart far more than it could ever break ours. In Psalm 12, David writes about the oppression of the poor by wicked people. In verse 5 God speaks suddenly: " 'Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor, I will now rise up,' says the Lord. 'I will put in a safe place the one who longs for it.' " These two sentences show so much about God's awareness of the effects of poverty and His compassion towards those caught in it.

It's times like these, when news of the world's hurt touches our hearts, how true it is that the only One who can fix the mess is Jesus Christ. Emergency aid helps, donations help, education helps (of course I believe in this since I plan to be an educator myself), community programs help. But ultimately, all that help falls short of a person's real need: to find purpose in getting lost in the story of God for His glory.

I began following Samaritan's Purse on Twitter and saw this for myself:

BHMhaiti

@SamaritansPurse chaplains have led 5 ppl to the Lord in our hospital today. God is moving even in the desperation that surrounds #Haiti. (about 3:30 pm)

merry end of 2009!

Well, the student teaching semester officially ended on December 10, 2009. I graduated from college 2 days later and now I find myself enjoying the life of a lazy bum a little bit too much.

Good thing the holidays are here to help me excuse my behavior for a few more days. There's something about just hanging around the house that I love so much: eating our leftovers, eating our Christmas candy, watching Nat Geo or History Channel specials with my dad, watching movies with my family, basically eating and watching TV in general...it could be pretty embarrassing if everybody knew how much TV is actually watched and how much treats are actually consumed around our home on a daily basis.

Anyway, the thought of going back into a school makes me groan inside. Just a wee bit. I sure do love not having to do anything. I guess I could more adequately say: I love wasting my time. This love of cruising Facebook for the latest gossip is sometimes beneficial - today I was able to call a friend and congratulate her on her engagement and her fetching new diamond, a mere day after the event, because of FB photo updates. But lingering over FB to get all caught up on everybody's doings is slightly lame. Just like zipping around on Etsy and jcrew's sale section to shop for everything I don't really need is kind of silly. Especially when it takes up an hour or two.

I have all this free time because of a December graduation with a degree that doesn't lend itself well to a mid-year-job opening. So, this would really be a great time to write. To read. And write some more. To scrapbook - maybe even finish scrapbooking freshman year of college (which was begun this summer...yick)!

But I do want a job, though. At least there's a few more days of productive leisure to be had before I hit up the school websites again...

week 13: Bueller...Bueller....

Good thing my blog is not like a classroom, or I'd be that incredibly frustrating, constantly absent student who is currently failing. This email is an attempt to sum up the past 3 weeks.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED LATELY, OR, THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

The Good:
1. Some students will like you, not because they think you're a great teacher or you're really cool - they'll just like you. This can mean a lot when you aren't sure how well you're connecting to other students or how good your lessons are.
2. Constant criticism is sometimes given by people who want you to toughen up and meet your potential.
3. Seeing students grow has become the goal and joy of my teaching. The rapport between me and them is also wonderful.

The Bad:
1. There's a lot more to memorize and remember than I thought.
2. Nobody ever tells you in college about handling students' papers and materials, or about getting procedures down. This is something you get to experience firsthand.
3. You WILL have to teach grammar, and they WON'T teach you how in college, so you have to learn on the fly.

The Ugly:
1. It's more important to get less-exciting lessons planned for a month or more than it is to plan on the fly as great ideas come to you. The latter method of planning will kill your spirit with stress!
2. I absolutely hate receiving passive-aggressive disapproval. And I've been getting it a lot with one teacher.

Hard to believe that I am going to be done full-time teaching in 2 1/2 weeks. After that I get to co-teach for a few days, then visit other classrooms to observe other teachers, and then I'll graduate. The graduation stuff came in the mail yesterday, and looking over those Powercat-emblazoned graduation announcements, I could feel that my parents were very proud of me. Another little thing that means a lot.

THE DEATH - OR REFOCUSING - OF IDEALISM

My best friend Katie wrote about a change in her perception of idealism last week. It's a timely post, especially as I've found that I am developing a more realistic way of looking at education.

During this student teaching semester, my romantic notions of teaching have been revealed to be a thin veneer of icing on top of a rock-hard cake of reality.

All the cool lesson ideas I gleaned from the Internet? Impossible or difficult to apply to the classrooms I've had.

My goal of implementing so much cool technology it would rock my students' worlds? Only 1 assignment, to make a Facebook page for a short story character, came close. And that was done on paper, not Facebook itself. (Although I will be learning to utilize some neat software called Beyond Question next week, through which I hope to get more tech in my teaching before I'm no longer the lead teacher.)

My dream of students loving me? HAHA. Most are tolerable of me, which is a bigger deal than I thought it would be, and a few do seem to genuinely like me. But all of a sudden, it's no longer such a need for me to have students think I'm more happening than Bella and Edward put together. Instead, it's more important that they have enough stuff to do and that the stuff is relevant.

To be idealistic is to believe fervently in the hope that people will change. For me, the idealism includes:

• nurturing the next generation of great novelists and newswriters;
• bringing students who can barely sound out words to a point where they can read and comprehend grade-level text on their own;
• directing students' hearts and minds toward the people and situations in their lives who can most benefit from their compassionate attention;
• and, most importantly, shedding light on the Truth that I know is present in the good works of literature that Westerners revisit again and again.

It's not that these things aren't worth believing in and pursuing. It's just that they can't be touched or even glanced at until the mundane practices of procedure, control, and discipline are firmly set in place. Without control and guidance, students become their own bosses, and suddenly, directing their attention to worthwhile things is not unlike an attempt to herd 50+ cats - all with iPods and cell phones firmly attached to their ears.

It's amazing how quickly my sympathies for these kids fizzled to the point that I was having to lay aside their actions and force myself to care about them. I never saw that coming. It's those kids who refuse to do even the simplest assignment; who boldly mouth off to you; who can't quit talking to or harrassing their classmates even for a few minutes; who sit and stare into space while their grade quietly swirls down the drain. I have come to this part of the semester more realistic about loving kids - it's an act of the will sometimes.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned this semester is that the idealistic views I hold about everything must be tempered by reality - particularly with teaching. But I still think once I get into the rhythm of establishing my classroom as a place to learn and grow, learning and growth will happen, and these idealistic hopes and dreams may come true, even if just for one student. In which case, the belief and endurance of idealism will have proved to be so very worth it.

LOOKING AHEAD

This coming week, I will apply for my first year teaching license. It's called an initial/conditional license. The emergency sub license should be on its way next month and then I'll receive the REAL license in January.

I've nearly completed 3 applications for employment in the "big 3" districts. The part I'm waiting on is references, because I am hoping and praying for a positive reference from one of the school principals next week. I have 2 observations by the principal and 1 of the associate principals on the SAME DAY. YIKES!

Looking forward to: applying for my license, finishing these last 2 units so things can wind down, seeing my sister in Springfield this weekend. Joy.

week 9: organization and adaptation

To any education student who may have stumbled across my last post:

Student teaching will NOT ruin your life! (It shouldn't, anyway.) You will probably have at least 1 day like the day I described most recently during your teaching career, but you should know that even the best and brightest teachers have challenging classes sometimes. Besides, you may not be unorganized like me. But to anyone who IS a little less of a type-A, color-coordinated-folder using, list-generating, anal-retentive person...work on being a little more like that. Get organized. Then you will have less to worry about when student teaching. Trust me on this one.

My conclusion on the struggles and difficulties of the past 2 weeks is ORGANIZATION and ADAPTATION. I will now be committing to making handwritten lists of everything until I can create a spreadsheet or some other tool to keep track of missing assignments. I will also be sending both Ms. S and Mrs. B lesson plans in advance. Feedback is a good thing.

This week the schedule is wacko macko because the end of first quarter is Friday. That's so insane. I can't believe I've come to the end of 9 weeks! Halfway through. Goodness. Sakes.

Now on to This Week At School!

9th grade: writing and turning in their Personal Narrative this week. The Personal Narrative is a page length essay, double spaced, about 500 words, about a 5-minute experience that is significant to them. I had a neat moment with one of my students who Just. Won't. Work. last week. By sitting down by his desk and helping him to think about things he enjoys and memories he recalls, we managed to get him to choose to write his narrative about the time he landed a very difficult skateboarding trick. I am looking forward to reading this one. If only kids like him could get some intrinsic motivation...instead of waiting for a teacher or a para to hover around him.

10th grade: finishing Julius Caesar. They will create illustrative projects for this play instead of taking a test. I am definitely looking forward to this!

Web 2.0 question: Would it be worth it to create wikis for my next 2 units, Romeo and Juliet and various short stories? I'm exploring this question and am not sure. If you have thoughts, let me have 'em PLEASE!

just another manic monday. - the bangles

This is slightly unorthodox, but today was wretched so I feel that it deserves its own post.

Well. I thought I lost control of my 9th graders a week or two ago. That little episode cannot even compare with what happened today. Basically, my Chatty Cathy class was chatty to the extreme today. By that I mean: 2 verbal warnings. Then a mark on the board (standing for 1 minute after the lunch bell till they got to go eat lunch). Then another mark.

Then 3. More. Marks.

All this while I was trying to get them to do a group reading of the short story.

Anyway, I found myself working in a group, while the 2 other adults were working with 2 other groups, so that we were all completely engrossed in dragging them through the story when the lunch bell rang.

My students vanished. I was left with just a couple lingering behind. They eventually left too - and then it was just me, staring at my marks on the board and feeling any shred of a sentiment that I am a teacher who follows through on what she says vaporize into the suddenly empty room.

And then the tears came. I tried to hold them back, but I was so upset that I couldn't get them to pay attention today and that they seemed to respect me so little. Good thing my cooperating teacher was there to encourage me and give me a much needed hug and good advice to make sure I let every student know that I would still make good on my promise to give them consequences for being so booger-y earlier (to put it VERY VERY mildly).

I let them know after lunch that they got lucky since I was working with a group and lost track of time. I had them serve 2 1/2 minutes of silence after the bell rang at the end of the hour. They will serve the other 2 1/2 minutes of silence on Wednesday when I see their class again. And I can assure them and myself that I will NOT forget next time they're rowdy before lunch. Few things speak to kids as much as denying lunch for a minute or two.

But I confess that I was most hurt today by recognizing the simple truth that I am such a passive person and this passivity is working against me as a teacher.

It's so easy at times like this to wish I was different. I want to cope with the frustration of failure by curling up inside myself and numbing the pain to the old familiar tune of, "If only I were ___________ instead of _________." If only I were bold instead of meek. If only I were loud instead of quiet. If only I were funny instead of goofy. If only I were confident instead of hesitant. Etc.

Succumbing to berating myself, however, never fixes the problem. "Duh." Here's what will fix my particular problem, or at least aid in the eventual fixing:

A pause.

Regathering of my strength and focus.

Prayer.

New plans.

Moving forward.

Ignoring the desire to whine about my personality.

Reveling in the fact that, as Anne so wisely learned, "tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."

Basically, today I learned that my 9th graders are just not mature enough to handle any group or pair work. For the next several class periods, until I see improvement, they will have to deal with an ironclad structured classroom. Whatever it takes to establish myself as the boss and the law. I don't like it, but I'm going to do it so that, by the end of my time with them, we can move past this immaturity to something far more interesting and exciting.

In college, education professors like to focus on what I call the "fluff" of education - Web 2.0 tools instead of books, for example, along with sweet stories of reaching difficult kids and not giving zeros as grades. The truth is, those folks have been out of the regular classroom for Way Too Long. They have forgotten, or pushed to the back of their minds, the significance of first establishing control and management over the classroom. If you don't have control, you can have the coolest lesson in the world, and you'll never get to see it happen. First things first - establish authority and procedures for learning. Hopefully it won't take the rest of the semester for these students to straighten up and move past the madness to take some responsibility over their learning in my class.