Thing #5

Here I am at school today on my day off, freezing my butt off (I have on my winter coat, hood, polarfleece and vest, and my hands are still cold). Being a teacher is a glamourous job, let me tell you. I need to work ahead for next month because things will get busy w/the end of the term and starting a new semester. Also, I'm going to be working for Close Up Foundation during the Inauguration Week and will need to get together sub plans, etc., so things will be busy.

Thing #5:

What is your experience with public libraries and librarians? Long-time user? Scared away by a mean librarian in your youth?

I've always liked getting new books at the library. I went regularly as a kid and always did the summer reading programs, which have always been positive experiences. Now that I have kids, I go more than I used to. I'm not a big reader outside of social studies content or if I'm planning a trip or something, so I would say having kids has gotten me back to the library.
What would you improve about your library and its services?

Not much. Although one thing I don't like is the outward look of the Chaska library (my library) vs. the Chan one. The Chan one is newer, has a larger section for kid's books, so people think it is better, and that bugs me because the staff at Chaska is friendlier and more helpful, especially in the kids section.
How do you use the public library to support your teaching?

Public libraries support my teaching big time - they offer interet and word processing access to ALL of my students. If I need something typed for class and a kid says they can't because they don't have a computer or it is broken - I point them to the library. They hate this, but need to know about their options.

So I think libraries provide a MAJOR role in providing equal access to ALL people in the digital age so that "no citizen is left behind".
How will using MnLINK help your students? Is timing an issue?

Again, it will provide access. Timing is more of an issue on the current block schedule. Next year as we move to a modified block, projects will be done over a longer period of time, which will make timing of receiving materials less of an issue.

How can you help students plan for ILL for completing their projects?

I have a dumb question - what is ILL? I just went back to the Thing #5 site and I still don't know.
Have you used MnLINK in the past? What was your experience?

I haven't used MnLink specifically, but did use my Carver County library links this summer when I needed to find scholarly book reviews for an AP History class I was taking this summer. I was able to link to EBSCO and find some things. Although, what really would have helped me was knowing that you can click on "full articles only" while searching. Finding articles in Oraganization of American History, for example, did not help me when I wasn't able to access the article.

Thing #4

OK - I'm at school on my day off (again), the day before X-Mas Eve. I'm trying to stay on top of my assignments, which is why I'm doing this - I need to get my Dec. thing done. I really should be home w/my kids getting ready for the 5 X-Mas events will will be attending in the next 3 days, don't you think? I will answer these questions as best I can, but I'm still dealing w/the same response w/all of this technology stuff - yes, technology is great, but I find it very overrated. There are only so many hours in the day. How will I find time to follow a blog, read and recieve updated journal articles, etc. while doing everything else I do in a day? Something has to go if something if I'm going to suddenly have time to check my RSS feed, for example.


Which customizable homepage did you choose? Why did that one appeal to you? Will you make it your permanent home page?

I'd like to create one on Google. That seems the most popular and it is private. Maybe we will have some time to create that in class? I'm not going to do it right now.

Did you find a tool that has some uses for you at school or home? Which tool(s) would you recommend to others?

I like the 4teachers.org. It lists so many options, all right there. I can see myself using some of those in the future.

How can the online calendars be useful to you?

I've resisted them thus far - I prefer the printed page. My husband had a online calandar and an iphone, yet I'm the one who is organized and knows what is going on and when - how is that for overrated technology?

What about the To Do Lists -- helpful? too much work?

Too much work - I'm not near a computer or have time to login, etc. to access - a piece of paper works fine for me.

How would you compare and contrast the use of paper-based assignments and assigment notebooks to the potential use of online assignment calculators and to do lists for students?

Love the idea, but until all students carry laptops, I don't see how we could equitablity implement such a change. It is even weird to think about, but I'm sure a matter of time. I mean, I'm still using an overhead projector for goodness sake! BUT - this is the first year I've had an LCD in my classroom, so I do have a reasonable excuse. But I don't even like using powerpoints. I know, I need this class really bad! I'm so lucky to have it even though I end up feeling bad about it because I really don't have the extra time to put into this right now. So I work, I also work at Lifetime (I teach group fitness classes), I have 3 small children - 6, 4 & 1.5 yrs. - that is my excuse. Speaking of which, I need to go home and hug them right now.

I'm behind on blogging

So I mean to blog after class a few weeks ago on 12/10, but I guess I was so immersed in learning about how to get a journal alert from ELM, that it got away from me. I'd like to reflect on how I will use those journal alerts, but honestly, I'm not sure I will. It certainly was beneficial to be exposed to additional ways to navigate through the sea of information overload, but I'm not sure I'll actually use the alerts and other strategies explained - sorry. Just being honest here.

I had meant to do Thing #4 today, but got busy getting caught up and planning sub plans for when I go to the Inauguration 1/21-1/23 that this got away from me. So I am here at school on my day off and now it is 4pm and I need to get home. My babysitter is costing me $. Certianly the little check we got this month was nice, but I think I need to get home now and maybe I can do it tomorrow, as I plan to come in as well.

weekly blog

So now I'm a week behind, but I'm hoping we get "time off" over the holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving was last week, and it was a busy, short one!)

Thanks to Connie and Karen who posted comments to my Thing #3 responses. It is interesting that Connie wrote that MILI's RPC and Research Process are implemented. My question would be WHERE? I have not gotten any info. from Curriculum or anywhere else pointing us in that direction or encouaging teachers to use it. The only reason I know about it is because of the MILI class. I think the RPC will be even more helpful as we move to a 7 period day, rather than the block schedule. On a block, depending on the project/activity, I may only give students one period of in class work time to complete a project and then we present. When you are on a tight schedule and the deadline is the next day, using the RPC is not as useful. The resources are ALWAYS useful, just not the e-mailed deadlines.

Thing #3 Assignment

Thing #3 Blog

What is easy for you about teaching research?
Getting organized is easy for me. Breaking it down into smaller pieces for the students is something I've done enough now and fee comfortable with.

What are the challenges?
Motivating students to do the work. In our instant gratification society, they want the answer right away. Wikipedia comes to mind. After looking at some of links, on Factmonster, for example, it is obvious to my why students are so tempted to cut and paste. I think the challenge is what we have already discussed - how to create good "plagiarism proof" assignments, and how to teach students the skills so they don't feel like they need to cheat to accomplish the objectives.

How might the RPC Teacher Guide help you plan and manage research projects?
When I first saw this in Aug. I e-mailed it to every teacher I knew. It can be huge in helping kids stay on task, especially if it is a long term assignment.

How can you keep the planning, teaching and managing of research projects sane for you as a teacher?
By using tools such as Rubistar, it can keep the grading of it more manageable. A good rubric and solve many problems and create better products. It matters when kids know exactly what is expected of them.

What additional support or resources do you need to be successful in this area of information literacy?
More paid time to explore and create meaningful projects. More time to do this in teams, as projects created collaboratively are usually better.

Other Comments:

After looking at the various links given at Thing #3, I think it would be VERY helpful if District 112 would get organized and adopt a "Research Process", such as the one put out by RPC or the other organizations/universities listed. It would be helpful for students to hear the same message in their various grades/classes throughout their 6-12 education. Also - do BOTH middle schools teach and information technology class now? Is that going to continue? Where is Cathy Gallagher when we need her?

Databases

So tonight we looked at Databases. It was great to have time to actually search around. It was fun, but also frustrating - probably a good experience as we ask students to do things all the time w/o remembering being in their shoes. For example, I was looking for a specific political cartoon. It took me 30 min. to find it - yikes!

FDR's Fireside Chats replaced by Obama's Personal E-Mails

Since I'm behind on posting, I'm going to get another one here tonight.

I have to comment on the impressive and effective use of technology during the Obama campaign. The way they used and sent me personal e-mails, address just to me of course, gave me the impression that Obama was talking to ME. Remember what we say w/our students - perception is reality. I mean, how many times did he respectfully ask me to donate just $5, $10 or $15 more?

I think this strategy, along w/others of course, made a big difference in his win and has massive potential to make his Presidency more effective.

Think of the social capital he has now going forward - millions of e-mail addresses that he could potentially send messages to. Soon you are going to hear "Yes we Can!" around the nation and the world!

Further, think of all the funny e-mails you got that keep the propaganda going (palinforpresident.com was my favortie). Will.i.am's song on YouTube - the list goes on an on.

This election, this presidency, will break boundaries on so many different levels. Hopefully, the boundaries breaking will contiue to be only for the better.

The Online Reputation Game

OK - So I now realize I'm two weeks behind in blog. Since I haven't had anything to say and we were discouraged at the last mtg. not to blog unless it is something of substance, I haven't done it. But I did make it through the last two weeks of Term 1 and my grades were in on time, so I guess I'm making progress.

However, I do have something to write about tonight, so maybe this will make up for the past two weeks. Further, it is a Friday night at 10pm, and I definitely deserve extra credit for that.

The 10/6/08 issues of Time Magazine had an article entitled "Outsmart your Haters - How to Win the online reputation game". I don't know how many of you have googled your own name or have gone to the site "Rank Your Teacher". Many of you would be surprised to know you are on there. Students at my former HS, Wayzata, were notorious for going to the site. I have been at CHS since 2005 and no one has switched the commentary yet (which if fine, fortunately for me it was positive compared w/other colleagues), so I'm guessing not as many kids in our district know or care about it. However, it brings up some interesting points. As the author noted in the article "unbridled online attacks are wreaking havoc on people's reputations".

I love the story of one Professor who was criticized on RateMyProfessor for being a "rude, disrespectful, pretentious snob" and fought back w/a Web Video on Professors Fight Back. On it I guess he wrote "We're not there to babysit. We're there to train professionals. Grow up."

At our last class we discussed how certain websites get to the top of the google search. I still don't have that answer, however now I know I could go to an online reputation management firm, Reputation Hawk, and for $1,500/month, they can create Web pages that case me in a positive light. Since that fee would eat my entire paycheck, I think I'll pass on that.

However, this was the advice the Time author, Anita Hamilton gave: "Engage on your own - Attacks can lose their sting if you calmly respond to them..Post a reply, create your own site to correct the record or send an e-mail requesting a retraction." Good luck with that folks!

Thing #2 Comments

BLOG
What was your reaction to the videos (or one video in particular)?

The links to the videos didn't show up for some reason. And since I'm at school, I didn't even try opening You Tube.
Are you thinking about using blogs in your classroom? Why or why not?

No. That would be one more thing I'd have to monitor or grade. If I made it required, I'd have to ensure all students had access to a computer and internet. I see more value in some of the higher level courses (AP) where you have students who are more intrinistically motivated.
Are you using blogs in your classroom? How?

No - See above.

What are some ways you envision blogs being used in education?

In AP classes, because those students usually want to talk. Or in a situation where it is vountary. I think the way Nancy Flom set up a blog for students who read something and want to comment on it is very cool - that connects readers who want to be there and makes it a neat, rather than nerdy, thing. (Not that reading is nerdy - I'm just looking at middle/high public school kids in general).
What do you like or dislike RSS readers (or Google Reader in particular)?

It is overwhelming. I signed up for one website and the one time I go there, there are like 100 articles that have been sent to me. I'd like to, but I don't have time to go through it.
How do you think you might be able to use RSS in your school or personal life?

If I were in a different season in my life (not w/3 kids ages 1, 3, 5) and working full time, I think it would be cool to get updates on things I cared about.

Did you find any great resources we should all add to our Google Reader?

Sorry - I'm not that cool. However, I do wish the guy who wrote the article about his Darfur project would share his scavenger hunt website he used - that would be cool. If anyone finds it or something similar, e-mail me. I don't have time to create such an assignment, but I think students would think such a thing would be pretty cool.

Thing 1 comments

I'll just answer the questions:

What do you think?

I think Web 2.0 is both exciting and overwhelming. Overwhelming - Just reading that Washington Post article online made my eyes go buggy! The text was first on the left, then in the middle, then on the right, with Ads and links in between. Yes, I probably do have undiagonosed ADD, but reading in that format made me nuts! How come publishers don't follow basic readability rules, ie. text shouldn't be in colums.

Exciting - especially after linking to Web Classroom 2.0 - as a social studies teacher, imagine the collaborative capabilities! There was an English teacher looking for cross time zones connections and they found someone in the U.K. I thought I was pretty cool when I student taught in New Zealand and brought letters from my 7th graders to exchange in NZ, but this you can do instantanously. So why don't we have world peace yet???

How do all of these things fit together (information literacy, web 2.0, classroom 2.0) -- or don't they?

Of course they fit together and have to be taught together. I think that video by that culutural anthorpologist said it best at the end of it.

How do you gather, interpret, organize, and store information? How do your students do it?

Personally, it depends on what I'm gathering information for, i.e. a class or my personal use. Internet searches, libraries, and a big file cabinet in the basement is how I do the above. My students - google, and they don't store it unless they learn it.

I accidently deleted this Q while I was trying to bold it (and don't see an UNDO highlighted under EDIT and don't know how to fit it - how is that for information literacy?), but here is the answer:
Yes - I think it a through definition, which is what it should be - info literacy requires so many skills

How has your understanding and/or attitude toward web 2.0 changed in these first steps of MILI?

It makes me both excited and scared to learn it. I'm not a person who is drawn to technology (I can't sit still, instead of sitting here inside on my day off while paying a babysitter, I should be outside w/my 3 kids). I wouldn't do this unless required - not intrinsically motivated to "do" or use technology. I'm learning it because I have to - I don't want to be left behind (but already feel like I am)!

I'm here on my day off!

I'm at school on my day off - Fall Break/MEA whatever you want to call it. I'm about to try and complete 2 things of the 23 I have to do. Whereas I should be planning the sociology curriculum, I'm doing this instead. Deadication or Dumb? We'll see.

Delicious

How delicious is delicious? This is so cool. I just got Emily's bookmarks, and since she is so much more savy than me, I'm ready to go!

So here is my weekly blog confession. Our dept. wiki has not been used, I haven't read anything on the RSS Google site we are supposed to do. I still plan to use Google docs for an assignment, but haven't gotten there yet.

No Time

So I was supposed to blog last week and got busy. Now I'm going to do it today and maybe later this week fo make up for it.

If I were to integrate a blog, I'm not sure how I'd fit it in.

RH

Meeting the once a week quota

Wikis, Goodle Docs here I come

OK - I'm making sure I'm completing my weekly bolg assignment - yes, I am a nerd. With school around the corner, I don't know how I'd integrate blogging into my curriculum at this point.

Day 3

This still feels a little uneasy. I feel like I'm learning to swim.

First Post

Test, Test, Test.