Meeting My Goal With a Dangerous Writing Prompt

The reasons I have this blog are to allow me a place to reflect and to help keep me more accountable for what I want to do.

By having a blog, I force myself to think about what I'm doing (mostly in my classroom). It gives me the opportunity - in a more formal way - to think about what's going well, what's not going so well, and what I'd like to try.

I also feel the blog makes me more accountable for my own goals.  If I set out a goal in a blog post, then I am declaring it to the world. Sharing the goal makes it more real and makes it more pressing to achieve that goal.  Sure, few, if any, people may read the blog posts, but the internet is live, public and forever.  This puts my goals out for everyone to see. Instead of keeping them private and being accountable to only myself, I have the sense that others could be looking over my shoulder, checking in on me.

So, as a result of this reflection, I’m recommitting myself to this blog.  This time, I’m giving myself a specific schedule. Expect a new post every Tuesday (there’s that goal made public). Today is Tuesday; so far, so good.

I also know that I can often have writer’s block, not knowing what to reflect upon or share. Consequently, I’m giving myself permission to be brief - a few paragraphs will be okay.  Also, to help break any blocks, I will use The Most Dangerous Writing Prompts. Game-like, the site has the writer keep working for a certain amount of time. If no progress is made after a certain interval, the program starts warning the writer, then the screen turns red, and you can no longer type (It does allow you to save work even if not finished.).

Not knowing what I would write for this post, I used The Most Dangerous Writing Prompts, set to three minutes. (I found it was a low expectation.)  I produced a few paragraphs in that time, then moved over to a word processor to finish up. I envision using the site with my students for activities like warm-ups or brain dumps in order to build their writing stamina and writing readiness. I am hopeful that they can see it as a tool that encourages improvement. 

I am optimistic that the schedule and the site will make my blogging goal manageable and attainable.

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If you have strategies to be a consistent blogger or to help develop students’ writing stamina, or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share in the comments. I would appreciate hearing from you.

Growth & Inspiration from Others

I refer to others’ blogs regularly.  They both inform and inspire.  Part of whom I am as a teacher is due to their willingness to share through their blogs.

The first blog I began to follow was Richard Byrne’s Free Tech 4 Teachers.  His work opened my eyes to the multitude of resources that exist which can enhance a teacher’s toolbox.  His daily review of tech tools and his tutorials are invaluable.  Nearly every day, there is something on his blog that makes me stop and pause, thinking, How can I use or do that in my classroom?”  My eyes have been opened to see the possibilities of technology in the classroom by Byrne.

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day is another phenomenal blog.  Taking regular dips in his posts reap rewards as Larry Ferlazzo presents endless resources.  Some of the varying topics he addresses are student motivation, educational policy, ELLs, holidays, and his “best of” list of resources.  This just scratches the surface of what his site has to offer.  No matter the topic or subject area, Ferlazzo has curated resources for it.  Looking for something on metacognition?  How about movie clips of bad teachers?  Maybe you need “What If” history lessons?  Search his websites of the day to get yourself pointed in the right direction.

Certain needs led me to the first two blogs mentioned.  I have no idea what first led me to Paul Bogush’s Blogush.  Whatever it was, I am thankful.  Bogush wears his heart on his sleeve right where you can see his passion.  He is not afraid to put forth his opinion - that’s what a blog is for, right?  And his honesty is always rooted in what is best for his students and his own reflection.  He shares glimpses into his classroom and school through his blog and student videos that show he believes students are incredibly powerful beings capable of impacting the world as soon as they are ready.  In short, Paul Bogush makes me think about students and my own teaching.

This will be the third year my students keep blogs.  My former students who are now in eighth grade will be continuing their blogs with their current teachers.  I’m so pleased their current teachers have taken the opportunity to support the students’ blogging.  These blogs energize me as I gain greater insight about my students.  I also see my students opening themselves up to the world, inviting others to engage, trying to make an impact on the world, and crafting a positive digital footprint.  I will continue to encourage my students’ voices through blogging, as I have much to gain from their sharing.

If you do not currently follow some blogs, I encourage you to do so.  Check out the ones I’ve mentioned and seek others that help you to grow both personally and professionally.

If there are blogs that inspire you or, if this post has generated some thoughts of your own, please share them in the comments. I would appreciate hearing about them.

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This post is inspired by Share#YourEduStory. The prompt from @bjornpaige was “Whose blogs do you draw inspiration from and why?”

Evidence of Learning Lags

I was impressed with what my students turned out for their first blog posts.  (You can see them at the Walking With Giants blog.) They really seemed to rise to the occasion for their initial attempt publishing to the world.

At the start of the year, the students investigated digital citizenship and literacy.  Since they had the opportunity to experience an one-to-one environment in my class, I wanted them to be aware of how they should respect and use the computer as a tool.  Their blog post culminated their work, as they reflected on what they had learned.

The students had demonstrated what they had learned through other assessments, but the blog posts really allowed me to see their understanding in a different light.  Although some were still showing misunderstandings, writing for the blog gave an additional chance for students to clarify their understandings.  By incorporating the chance for feedback and revision prior to publishing, students were able to enhance both their understanding and their writing.  It was a valuable process for both students and teacher and one that I will replicate.

Somewhat disappointing, after their learning and reflection, has been the implementation of their knowledge.  Many students pointed out the need to respect copyright laws and acknowledged that have, and should not, simply copy and paste images and the such from the internet.  In practice, however, the students are still falling a bit short.  The inclination to copy and paste images from Google is hard for them to resist.  Even though they know they should take other steps, even though they are being given explicit directions so as to avoid it, they still go immediately search for an image on Google to copy and paste into their work.

Clearly students need more practice in using tools like Creative Commons to find images and other information they can use in their work for school.  They have not been instructed otherwise, until this year, and so, will need to break habits.  

Even though the evidence of their learning is lagging behind what they can state as what they have learned, I hope their practice will make perfect.

Taking New Steps with Students: Blogging

By Cortega9 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

My taste for technology as a tool began as I worked on the newspaper at the college I attended.  I had a knack for the precision and eye required to lay out newspaper pages by hand, and as I grew in my proficiency, I guided the paper to purchase computers and software so that it could be done more efficiently.  As a I moved into the teaching profession, seeking to infuse technology into my classroom became natural.  What had started as my realization that technology was an important tool for myself, evolved into knowing that students needed to become adept at using technology so they could learn and produce more efficiently themselves.  

Having utilized the one computer classroom, academic computer labs, mobile laptop carts, students bringing their own devices, and, as of this year, a one-to-one classroom, I have tried to create situations for my students so they could use the technology available to engage in a more robust learning experience.  

One avenue I took students down last year was blogging.  Students created blogs within our school’s learning management system.  Viewers outside the learning portal did not have access to the blogs so I attempted to create opportunities for interaction by assigning students blog buddies so that they would read each others’ blogs and leave comments on the blogs.  Since we are in our second year of students using Google Apps for Education, I wanted to be more ambitious with student blogging.  Students will be using Blogger.

To outline my reasons for student blogging, for both students and parents, I provided the following for parents:

Dear parents/guardians,

As part of social studies class, students will be blogging.  My intention for doing this is to provide the students with an authentic opportunity for learning.

Blogging is essentially keeping a journal on the internet and will become, especially if used in grades K-12, an archive of learning.  In my class, students will reflect on what they have been learning in class. Student blogging is a beneficial exercise that has existed for a long time as profiled by this 2004 BBC article:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3804773.stm.

Students blog for the following reasons:

• Writing:  Students will write more, gain feedback, and be able to see growth in their writing through a process.
• Audience:  A blog gives students an audience to write for which gives greater purpose and authenticity to their writing.  This will further enhance the students’ writing.
• Reflection:  Students will reflect on their learning through their blogs.  By thinking about their learning, they will learn better.
• Interaction:  Students will have the opportunity to interact with a wider variety of students and adults in a different way, expanding their understanding of others and the world.

In addition, blogging touches upon the following learning standards:

• Writing Standard 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
• Writing Standard 5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
• Writing Standard 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.
• Language Standard 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing.
• Language Standard 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

The students are setting up blogs through Blogger which is part of their school Google account and will publish their first posts soon.  I welcome and encourage you to both read the students’ blog posts and leave appropriate comments.

As I like to struggle with my students and not have them attempt things I have not tried myself, I have created this blog to expose myself, just as I am asking them to do. I hope this blog will serve as a model for them and as an opportunity for them to see my learning and growth.