Serious career goal...

...Become a Google Certified Teacher in the next 5 years.

Google's program for teachers is like everything I want to accomplish in teaching. Ok, ok - not everything. But it gets at a lot of it! One of the things I grapple with almost every day is how we could be so much more effective in working (including teaching/learning) if more people used social tools on an everyday basis. I think about this for myself - what if my school had a social network just for the school of education students and alumni? It would be a perfect networking platform, and an awesome space for people to share and learn from others who are experiencing or have experienced the same things. Of course this is Social Networking 101, but it doesn't currently exist for my school, and the key here is the commonality we would all share - i.e. our university. Could I create this myself? Yes. Will I? Well, if my school gave me some money! Maybe I should pitch it to our dean :)

Anyways, I also think about social platforms in how they can get kids excited about learning - sort of in disguise. For example, ever heard of GoodReads? Or WeRead, on Facebook? These are just networks for sharing books you've read. How do you choose books to read for pleasure? Usually, or at least often, our selections are based on the recommendations of friends and family, or other people you know personally. Well, GoodReads and WeRead had the bright idea to put that concept into a social network. I think this connection is even stronger for kids - kids love reading what their friends are reading, and they recommend books to each other all of the time. And kids spend most of their non-school time online. So mash those two things together, and you have a very powerful tool for promoting literacy.

I feel like, in general, education is a fairly "downlevel" sector - the funding and also the experience/knowledge just is not there to support and embrace technology in an everyday way. The technology use I've seen in classrooms is fairly isolated, rather than integrated into teaching. Ok, SmartBoards are pretty cool, and I like seeing some PowerPoints. But technology is SO much more than power points! That barely qualifies as "new media" and actually I would say it doesn't really qualify at all! What if we gave our kids the tools they like to use, and integrate them in smart, effective, and engaging ways in the classroom??? Money is a huge issue, but sometimes we have to dream before we can create reality.

So, I've provided just two examples of how social tools can help us in our everyday lives. There are infinite others out there. I guess some people will think this isn't all that important, but I believe it's the future of work: using social tools can help us all to learn and share with each other. Sounds hokey? Fine, but I truly believe in collaborative work, and I think we all engage in it quite regularly (in what ever sector you work in). I think becoming a Google certified educator would - number 1, be AWESOME, and #2, will give me the credibility to evangelize these tools in my district and my general region. So I am absolutely DETERMINED to do it!!!!!

Read more...

I <3 my library

I was at my town library today and decided to swing by the young adult section just to take a glance around. We have a great YA section with a large wall almost entirely dedicated to teen fiction. On a nearby table, I found these little cards with tons of categorized suggestions! Yippee! I scopped up one of each and went on my merry way.

I bet your town/county library has lots of YA suggestions too. I think I'm also going to begin harassing my younger cousins to fill me in on some of their favorite books.

(Did you notice my eyeball?... creeeeeepy.....hee hee!)

Read more...

Writing is Thinking

A little while ago I posted that one of my professors urged me: "Don't think. Write."

Yet in my literacy class, our mantra is "Writing is thinking." Engaging students in writing - any kind - is to get them to actively think about a topic. Their writing does not need to be perfect - grammar and spelling are not the focus. Instead, the idea is that if you have a student write about something, however informally, they need to think about that something to be able to do it.

After hearing both (seemingly conflicting) concepts, my first thought was, "Ok great. Which do I believe?" But the truth is I believe the two can exist in unison. I think the idea behind "Don't think. Write." is just to get ideas on paper. Just let your fingers move and allow the ideas to pour out. In this way, of course you need to think about a subject, but not get bogged down in whether your answer is perfectly worded, spelled, and punctuated. In doing so, students are inherently thinking through their understandings, beliefs, opinions, ideas, thoughts, etc., without the inhibition associated with worrying about how their writing sounds or what other people will think of it.

So really, it's: "Writing is thinking. But don't think, ok? Just write."

...Or the other way around? Ah anyways... you get the idea!

Read more...