Be a Little Spontaneous This Holiday Season

   Today our middle school students dressed up with Ugly Christmas Sweater day.  It is always interesting to see which students get involved or attempt to join in, as well as, teachers. The 8th grade teachers dressed up as snowmen and looked very jaunty in top hats and orange paper carrot noses.  Our principal found a tacky holiday sweatshirt complete with a bow-tie! Several students outdid themselves after visiting the local thrift stores and embellishing their sweater finds with additional holiday potpourri.   
   Since half of my day is spent teaching middle school classes, I decided to join in the fun.  Lacking an ugly sweater and itchy wool is not my thing, I opted for a classic vintage t-shirt and added a very, very large bow to the top of my head.   Students and teachers were doing double-takes all day and I kept hearing chuckles and giggles. One student confessed that he just could not take me seriously with such a large bow on my head.   It certainly kept my students attention on me during my lesson rather than playing with the mouse or icons on their computer screen.  But it was a kindergarten student who sweetly asked me in a whisper that made my day...."Mrs. Brown, did you know that you have a rather large red bow on your head?"  "I do?" I asked innocently.  "Yes, you do. I just wanted you to make sure that you knew it was there."   I had a hard time keeping a straight face as I thanked him for letting me know.  
    So surprise your students.  Let them see the fun side of you. Don't let them see only your serious teaching side but show off a little spontaneous fun.  I guarantee you will enjoy watching their faces and loving the smiles and giggles from everyone. 

Digital Storytelling - Part 2

    My father was 3 when WW 2 began and has vivid memories of the bombing of Rotterdam that no young child should ever have.   "In war....there are no children...", says my father in a letter that he wrote to my oldest son for his high school graduation gift.   I had asked my dad for years to write down some of his memories of what life was like growing up in the Netherlands and then immigrating to Canada when he was 10 but he kept putting it off.  I could never understand why he wouldn't write down his experiences until he gave my son the letter.   After reading his letter, I cried for now that I knew how difficult and scared my dad must have been as a child growing up in a war.       
     The 5th graders in our school are studying the 1940's and WW 2 in their history classes and many of my students know that my father grew up in the Netherlands during that time and ask me if I know what it was like.   I have told the students snippets but I never felt I could do his story justice until I realized I could use digital storytelling to tell my father's story.  
     I began by collecting the photos I have of my father and his childhood. There are not many photos of his childhood.  Certainly no photos of him as a baby.  The youngest photo is his kindergarten picture and a photo of him with his teachers and classmates.  The other photos - his family on the ship that brought him to Canada, a family photo where my father looks so serious and candid photos of his siblings.  All of these photos tell a story, but the photos that mean the most to me are the photos of my father when he lived at Kluntz Zoo after the war when he was 9 -11 which was one of the happiest times in my father's childhood.  
     My father was 3 when war began and 8 when the war ended.  From preschool to 3rd grade he experienced a childhood of fighting, fear and hunger.   Of all of the memories of war being hungry all the time seems to stand out more than fear of the Germans.  I created this video so you could hear his story.....

In War....There Are No Children....

Delicious Bookmarking

     I have a new favorite site,thanks to this grad class (Edu 653 ReadWriteWeb) that I am taking - Delicious: Social Bookmarking, an incredible tool to keep track of websites and links that I want to refer back to!  Here is a link to my favorite bookmarks: https://delicious.com/bookgirl5337.

 

Un-MakerSpaces

     Have you heard about makerspaces?  The makerspace movement is gaining momentum right now in libraries and media centers and students are thrilled.   A makerspace “is a place for students to take raw materials and create “things” using their imagination” (Bedley, 2014)  exploring science, technology, mathematics, reading, writing, etc.   What students put into the creativity and the real-time learning of a makespace is what makes this such a great tool!  Check out some Vicki Davis’ ideas.

     Scott Bedley has come up with a great idea that I want to try about “un-making” in his article in Edutopia, Dissecting the Un-Makespace: RecycledLearning.  Bedley suggests turning classrooms into a place to take things apart such as; old cassette players, broken computer mice or monitors.  Having students dissect old and unwanted items and asking questions and finding possible answers is what learning is all about!   My Mouse Squad class has already taken a part an old CPU, a laptop and keyboards but why should we stop there?   I think I need to start asking parents to donate any unwanted devices and get my students busy dissecting!  

Bedley, Scott. "Dissecting the Un-Makerspace: Recycled Learning." Edutopia. N.p., 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.

Digital Storytelling

   When I heard about digital storytelling, I was excited to try out this concept since I read and tell stories to students every week when I wear the Librarian hat of my job.   However, I soon learned that this is not as easy a feat as I first expected it to be.  My first challenge was to decide what story to tell.  I have many but are all the stories worthy of a digital telling?       My second challenge was pacing between my words and the pictures.  Telling a story to an audience in front of you is much easier to control and pace with pictures, but in a digital story I seemed to agonize over the seconds a picture was focused on and the next words I was going to say.   The third challenge was actually listening to my own voice.  Do I really sound like that?  Really? I cannot even say I like the sound of my voice although I have been told I have a good reading or story telling voice.  But really, that is what I sound like?!
    Once I got through those challenges, creating a digital story was not so bad after all.  Sort of fun, I think....
   So here is my first attempt at a digital story that I created this past summer. 
Click on this link: http://youtu.be/ak-AiLWlikY

Now to complete my next digital story....

Sources For Preventing Plagiarism

     Lately it seems that my students are pushing back on plagiarism.  By that I mean that although I have taught my students to avoid plagiarism, they are still trying to get away with it especially since they have other teachers who are not so diligent about preventing and detecting plagiarism.   An article by Richard Byrne on his site Free Technology for Teachers caught my eye, 7 Good Resources for Avoiding, Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism.   While educating students is the best prevention, Richard Byrne also lists several sites with tools to detect plagiarism.   Here are a few of his updated resources:

• Purdue’s OWL website – to refer students about plagiarism as well as any part of the writing process.
• An infographic by Kate Hart called A Magical Guide toAvoiding Plagiarism.
• Google or Google Scholar – great for checking a student’s work for plagiarism by putting a suspected phrase in quotes and searching.
• Plagiarism Checker – enter text in the search box and the Plagiarism Checker will tell you if and where it was plagiarized from.

Byrne, Richard. "Free Technology for Teachers: 7 Good Resources for Avoiding, Preventing, and Detecting Plagiarism." Free Technology for Teachers: 7 Good Resources for Avoiding, Preventing, and Detecting Plagiarism. N.p., 28 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

Fun Tech Gifts

   My son reminded me that I needed to give him a wish list of things I’d like for Christmas and that the list should be fun and not necessarily practical.  I was having a hard time thinking of fun gifts when I came across a blog entry by Gwyneth Jones– The Daring Librarian.  Gwyneth posted a great list of ‘luxury and geeky’ gifts for the holiday season.   Here are just a few of her suggestions:

• Belkin SurgePlus 3-Outlet Mini Travel Swivel Charger SurgeProtector with Dual USB – This will be a great item to use when I present workshops next summer! Approximately $20.00
• PicMonkey – a fun and FREE digital photo editing site but has an upgrade that makes it even more fun for only $33.00 a year.  

   Not on Gwyneth’s list but one item I’d like to recommend is the LogitechWireless Keyboard K400.   The science teacher’s projector broke and she really wanted an interactive whiteboard to replace it but my principal told her that what not an option.  Instead, I showed her my new Logitech Wireless Keyboard for only $30.00 and she is ecstatic!  “This sleek wireless keyboard comes with 1 wireless controller. The controller gives you cool plug and play technology, multimedia hot keys and more.” So you don’t have to spend a lot to get a great interactive device to add to your teaching tool box!

 Jones, Gwyneth. "The Daring Librarian: 14 Fabulous Finds - A Daringly Geeky Gift Guide." The Daring Librarian: 14 Fabulous Finds - A Daringly Geeky Gift Guide. N.p., 23 Nov. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Family Coding Day - Dream or Reality?

   This school year I was asked by my principal and dean to offer some new tech classes for Middle School students so I thought I’d try coding.   I will admit I was somewhat intimidated by venturing into this unknown.   I mean really who did I think I was thinking about teaching coding?   I am an elementary education teacher who began working in a library, took on teaching technology mostly for the students who needed a tech teacher (and partly for job security) and eventually my job evolved into be the Technology Specialist for the whole school which means if something’s broken the teachers (or students) call me.   Two years ago, I ventured into creating a student-run tech Help Desk at our school with MouseSquad.org.  (An absolutely fantastic program that you should look into for your school! )  Our Mouse Squad ventured into a bit of coding when a student offered to show the class how to use Scratch in between tech jobs. 

   So I thought ‘why not? I could lead a coding class…..I think?”  Well, it’s been 3 months and the students are loving it and have learned way more that I could ever teach them.   We started with the Hour of Code and then Scratch.   The past two weeks I have I introduced my class to the ADDIE system and we are designing basic learning games for 1^st graders.   Now I think what the students are learning is great but I would love to see younger students from our school see how fun it is to explore this program.  So when I saw the article in Edutopia by Sam Patterson, Create a Family Coding day for Hour of Code I was thrilled especially when I noticed that Mr. Patterson teaches K-5.   So now my next project to focus on is a Family Coding Day in March. 

     Here are some of his ideas that I am eager to implement on our Family Coding Day: 

• Doubles learning – 2:1 computing gives parents and kids learning together on the same device using 12 iPads and 24 people per room.      
• Keep sessions to 40 minutes and easy-to-do. Showcase the types of lessons used in Hour of Code.    
•  Ask parents and kids to lead sessions and share their passion.    
•  Code.org/Learn site has lots of ready-to-go lessons and online tutorials.

    I will definitely be contacting Sam Patterson for more tips and suggestions to make this great family event idea a reality this spring!   Check out Sam's blog for other great insights and ideas: http://mypaperlessclassroom.com

Patterson, Sam. "Create a Family Coding Day for Hour of Code." Edutopia. N.p., 14 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

Why Are We Not Nicer to Each Other?

    The other day I was browsing through my favorite bookstore looking through the bargain books when I came across an old favorite, Alice in Wonderland, and it was an edition I did not have!  As I was perusing the book, I heard someone's voice getting louder and louder until almost shouting.   I cringed when I realized it was a customer angry with an employee as I have worked in a retail bookstore in a former job-life. 
    The customer wanted a specific book and had traveled across town to pick up the book and it was not on the shelves.   Now I can understand the customer's annoyance but this customer had not called ahead of time and reserved the book.  Instead this customer just assumed the bookstore would have the particular book on hand just for her.  
    It struck me as sad that many of us have come to just assume that whatever we want will just be there for us.   I guess since the internet provides almost instantaneous gratification, this assumption naturally happened over time.  When we want information or an item, we can just find it online with just a few clicks.  A few more clicks and my favorite online company can ship it to me with free shipping in just 2 days!   That is instant gratification.  Now we expect everyone to do the same, even this poor employee who did not know this irate customer needed a particular book.   I know that if the customer had just called the bookstore, they would have pleasantly told her that they did not have the book on hand but could order it for her and it would arrive in a day or so.  But I also know that this particular local bookstore would have even called around to the competition to see if they had the book and let the customer know where they could get the book immediately at another store!  Yes, this local bookstore will do that because they are customer-focused.  
   So this little episode of the irate and annoying customer reminds me of my list of things that I really bother me that people do to each other. By the way, this list is not in any particular order...these items are really all equivalent in what we should not do to others.
1) Interrupting.  Why is it that we cannot wait until someone is done talking to give our 2-cents worth?  We teach children not to interrupt but what is it that makes adults think they can get away with it?
2) Stop one-upping each other.  No one likes to tell a story and have the listener give a comparison or a story that the listener thinks is better.
3) Entitlement.  When did we get to the point that we should be entitled to everything and anything.  What happened to working hard and enjoying the work to get there?  
4) Queuing impatiently.  If there is a line, you can bet people are sighing and getting annoyed about having to wait.  Why? I want the employee that is waiting on people to treat me respectfully so shouldn't I be respectful in return?
5) Gossiping = Rumor Mill.   I admit there is a fine line between telling someone about someone else just in conversation and then it becomes gossip.  The line in the sand is asking yourself "why am I telling this person about the other person,  Is it to share a concern or a nasty tidbit?
     So why do we do these things to each other?  We teach our children not to interrupt or boast or gossip, yet many of us as we grow older revert to these bad habits.  
     As a teacher, there are a few things I want to have my students remember about me...a kind of legacy that I want to leave behind.....I would love it if my students remembered me for the great, exciting things that they learned or that I always encouraged them to "try it, make mistakes, and try again - that's the only way to learn!"  But really, I would like to be remembered as the teacher who is patient and does not interrupt or one-up their stories. A teacher that doesn't act like I deserve their respect and confidence unless I have earned it. That's what I want to be remember for.... and just maybe when my students are adults they will want to be remembered for the same things too.  Just maybe....

Check It Out Podcast

Welcome to Check It Out! Podcast
        A Review of Books, Apps & Web Tools for Kids and Teens
Today's Topic is: Celebrating November as Picture Book Month! 

Check It Out Podcast

Podcasts, Video and Screencasting With My Students

     Last year I ventured into screen casting with my 7th & 8th grade students in my Mouse Squad.org group to fun success.  There were a few teachers in our building who wanted to know how to learn more about what Google Docs/Drive could do for them as teachers so I decided to make a few screencasts. When I mentioned this to my 8th graders, they were excited to try to make screencasts of their own.  So I suggested that they start with something simple like explaining how to make a power point in Microsoft and then move onto other types of web tools like Fotobabble.   The students had moderate success using Screenr since our school intranet had issues allowing the students to have accounts but had much better success using Screencast-O-Matic even though the students thought that Screenr was easier for them to learn to use. 
   This year my goal was to venture into podcast and video but I really haven't felt completely comfortable taking the next steps.  The class has just finished creating some great screencasts for other students and teachers to view on using Edmodo, Google Slides and Google Sheets and I really wanted to take the students to the next level.   After reading chapter 8 in the class textbook, gleaning some good ideas and working on my own podcast, I feel lot more comfortable taking my class to the next level of web tools to learn.  
   Here are some of the tips and techniques from the text that I will definitely use: 

• Listen to (and your students should too) some podcasts from other students.  The textbook recommends: Radio Willow Web and Coleycasts .   
• Get other teachers involved in the creation of podcasts, especially teachers already have an interest in trying new web tools.  
• Whatever ideas you have, "put them into practice simply by recording digital audio, but the key is to turning the recordings into podcasts is to publish them" (Richardson, p. 117, 2010)  so that you share them with others. 
• Before you have your students podcasting, make sure you try it out first several times, so you experience it and know what it expect...
• Use your blog software to get your mp3 file published on the internet. If you are using Blogger, watch a YouTube video for help since it is a bit more complicated.  

    So with a few more practices of my own, I should be ready to teach my students the art of podcasting!   

Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2006. Print.

Post-it Notes®

    Yes, I admit it.  

    I am a Post-it® note freak.  

    I will also admit that my use of Post-it® notes is color-coded.  I mean that when I use a Post-it® note the color represents something specific in that if the note is about a tech note or library note or student note, etc. I think it goes along with my desire (obsession) to be organized and not forget anything.   

    Today I found my new favorite app on FreeTech4Teachers by Richard Byrne.   Post-it Plus® is a free iPad app that you can use to turn your physical sticky notes into digital sticky notes.  With the free app you can snap a picture of the physical sticky notes and have them digitized where they can be re-arranged, shared with others or send them to be stored (Dropbox).  If you have multiple notes you can combine them onto one board in the Post-it Plus® iPad app.  

Now, I am one very happy & excited Post-it® note freak.  

Pham, Michael. "Post It Notes - Google Search." Post It Notes - Google Search. N.p., 1 Mar. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Five Lessons about Blogging in School

     Writing is something that I enjoy and I guess I am a bit old-fashioned in that I enjoy writing letters.  In fact, I would rather write a letter than make a phone call.   So blogging is just an extension of letter writing and I find that I rather enjoy it.   Kind of therapeutic actually…..

     Richard Byrne recently presented a workshop on blogs for teachers and school leaders and posted his presentation on FreeTech4Teachers blog.   He has a 90-page Complete Guide to Using Blogger in School that he has posted online for teachers to download and includes a slide show of 40+ classroom and school blog examples.   Here is a list of five important lessons Richard Byrne has learned about using blogs in school:

1. Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about how the blogs looks because you can always fix it later.  Just choose any template and get started.
2. Send out a blogging mission and permission notice to parents.  Always let parents know why their children are blogging and how privacy will be protected.
3. Review Internet safety and etiquette protocols with your students.
4. Create guidelines for how the class blog is to be used by students.  Talk about tone and online discussion norms.  Discuss how to offer constructive feedback.
5. Expect that something will go wrong – whether it be an inappropriate comment or grammar faux pas – use it as another opportunity to review Internet safety and etiquette.

    So am I ready to start a class blog?  Almost…..I just sent home the permission notices to parents.  Next step: Internet safety and etiquette.  

Flickr Images

Taylor, Nick. "Computer History Museum." Flickr. Yahoo!, 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Assignment: We have been discussing various inventions that influenced the invention of the computer that we use today. Create a timeline of the history of computers using 8 photos from Flickr.com ("Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs License") Add an explanation with each photo as to why you choose to include this image for your timeline.

Vincent, Scott W. "Rosetta@home Cruncher." Flickr. Yahoo!, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Assignment: Pictured above is a photograph of the inside of a CPU. From the school project drive, save the photo to your student drive and open the picture in MS Word. Using arrows and boxes, label the various parts in the CPU that we have learned in the last week. 

Do You Feel Appreciated Today?

     One of the greatest privileges I have had as a teacher is to be a mentor to another teacher.   While I will admit that it is hard to find the time to meet and sometimes I feel so overwhelmed with all the things on my “to do” list, I really look forward to meeting over lunch or after school with my mentees.   It could be the smile on their faces when I bring along a treat that they like to our meeting or maybe it’s the sigh that they release as I just listen to what they say and not try to one-up them in the conversation.  (BTW – that’s #2 on my list of top things that people should not do to each other.  But that’s for another blog post.)   But I think it is just that it gives them a chance to feel appreciated as I share what I have seen or heard from students about the great things going on in their classroom.  Sure it’s my job to give the mentee some counseling in dealing with tough students or lessons that are not working but I feel that the day-to-day anxieties of teaching are so intense at times that everyone needs building up and to feel appreciated.  

     Reading Elena Aguilar’s Edutopia article Teachers: FindingAppreciation at Work reminded me that I need to thank and love on more teachers in my building. Ms. Aguilar says that “ acknowledgements help us feel seen, help us focus on what we need to do more of, and help us feel as if we’re having an impact – which is what all educators in schools want. These feelings build our emotional resilience helping us manage stress and rebound from setbacks.”  YES!  That is exactly what I have been doing with my mentees but I really need to spread the love around my building. 

     Here are just a few of Ms. Aguilar's suggestions for increasing appreciation in your work life:

•         If you don’t feel appreciated appreciate someone else first!  Like the custodian or the administrative assistant who greets and deals more with parents than most of us ever need to.  (Need I say more?)
•        If you don’t feel appreciated by your principal, talk to him.   He needs to hear what may be missing and you are probably not the only teacher with these feelings.  
•       Send notes of appreciation if you can but sending a mental appreciation helps you name the things you are grateful for. 

     Giving appreciation is much more important than receiving it.  I know that full well from loving on my mentees.   So let’s all go ahead and try this with our school staff this week – it’s going to be a good thing for your mood and your view of your school.    

Aguilar, Elena. "Teachers: Finding Appreciation at Work." Edutopia. N.p., 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Going 1:1 with Students, but What About the Parents?

    In January, our school is going 1:1 with Chrome Books with our 6th grade students.  The plan is that in 3 years all our Middle School students will be 1:1 with Chrome Books.   This is an ambitious undertaking that affects not only the 6th grade teachers and myself but the other Middle School teachers in 7th and 8th grade too.  The 6th grade teachers have totally embraced the change from paper to almost paperless, from using Microsoft Windows to Google.  They are excited but a little anxious about the what-if's.  What if a student forgets to bring their Chrome Book to school or it needs to be charged.  What if the internet is down for an hour or two, what will we do?  The students are not just excited, they are elated to be getting Chrome Books before anyone else Middle School. 
And the parents?   Well, no one has really asked them how they feel.   
     In her article, Empathy and Research: Engaging Parents with Tech Initiatives, Devorah Heitner, says "it's worth doing some research to better understand parents' concerns. My own research suggests that these are some of parents' top concerns about kids and technology."  Teachers and students get so excited about the prospect of having more tech or more devices in the classroom, that we forget that there is a key group of people that support us daily that also need to be in the loop with our plans and goals as they are the adults that support our students at home while we are the adults in their lives at school.  
Devorah Heitner says that some of the concerns that parents have over 1:1 initiatives are too much screen time or safety on the internet.  But one of the main concerns were that "parents objected to homework turned in digitally because they felt "out of the loop" with regard to teacher feedback. In other words, they were used to visible comments from the teacher on their child's homework. The familiar "red pen" gave parents a great window into their child's progress, and now they missed this valuable feedback."  
    That means that as the Technology teacher, I need to be working with my principal and the Middle School teachers on training the parents on 1:1, as well as, the students.  In fact, I see that training the parents will take more than just one Parent Night meeting but rather teaching staff and I need to work out a planned series of nights to educate our parents who want to know more.   
      Here are a few Do's and Don't that Ms. Heitner suggests: 

Don't talk down to parents or treat them as if they are in the way.

Do take parents' concerns seriously -- and enlist them for committees to research solutions.

Don't assume that their objections are "simply" an inability to accept change.

Do communicate with parents early and often. Invite them to attend events where they will get to experience the approaches, applications, and projects their students are investigating.

Don't spend all of your resources on technology, leaving insufficient funds for parent engagement and professional development.

Do provide your teachers with excellent professional development, including in-school time to prepare, learn in partnership with one another, and get support.

Do let students lead demonstrations and experiences for their parents and other parents in the school community.

     Our January, 2015 1:1 Initiative for 6th grade will be much more successful (and enjoyable) if we have our parents feeling like they are an important part of this new venture rather than bystanders without any input or participation.

Heitner, Devorah. "Empathy and Research: Engaging Parents With Tech Initiatives." Edutopia. N.p., 3 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Digital Citizenship Prezi

Digital Citizenship

RSS Feeds updated

Using Mistakes As Part of the Teaching and Learning Process

      My father taught me two valuable lessons in life early on: 1) never  "one up" anyone and  2) admit it when you have made a mistake no matter who the other person is.   The first lesson I consider not to be too difficult.  If someone is telling me a story, I have learned to keep quiet and not compare their story with a similar or greater one of my own.   However, the second lesson is the one that I struggle with.  When I read Dr. Richard Curwin's article, It's a Mistake Not to Use Mistakes as Part of the Learning Process, in Edutopia, it struck a cord with me. 
     Dr. Curwin suggests that the mistakes we learn from and the mistakes we learn from and share the knowledge with others have the greatest potential to increase learning and teaching.  When teachers build relationships with other teachers or with a mentor teacher, there is often a sharing of advice and learning from each other.  "An important side effect of discussing mistakes might be to change the perception of mistakes..for teachers...and students as well." Teachers share their mistakes with other peers but what about sharing with students?  Dr. Curwin suggests that changing perceptions about student's mistakes is the second way the mistakes can improve learning.  Since mistakes are typically indicative of poor performance, students get a low grade and are encouraged in report cards and conferences with the teacher not to make mistakes.   Dr. Curwin believes that this system is ridiculous.  Learning from past mistakes was invaluable to him, while what he learned from his successes was not as meaningful.
    The problem is not that student make mistakes but that teachers don't use those mistakes to promote learning.  Rather than put shame on the mistakes and have students fearful of taking chances or thinking for themselves, teachers should take mistakes as opportunities so that students take risks and solve mysteries.   This reminds me of Mrs. Frizzle and the Magic School Bus when she challenged her students to "Take chances, make mistakes and get messy!" 
      Here are 9 suggestions by Dr. Curwin to change the way teachers think and evaluate: 
1) Stop marking errors on tests and papers without explaining why they're wrong. 
2) Give students a chance to correct their mistake and redo their work so that mistakes become learning opportunities. 
3) Improvement needs to be the focus. Nothing shows more learning than student improvement. 
4) When a student makes a mistake in a class discussion ask refocusing questions like "Why do you think so?  Can you give an example?"
5) Don't say "You're wrong" when a student gives an incorrect answer.  Instead focus on the positive and find a positive connection to make to the student's answer and then ask another question to lead the student in the right direction. 
6) If a student needs help with an answer, suggest asking a classmate or "Ask 3, than me". 
7) Rather than fill the walls with student achievements, have students brag about their mistakes and what they learned from them. 
8) Host bi-weekly meetings where students can share mistakes, what happened after and what they learned. 
9) Most importantly, tell the students about your own mistakes, especially the funny ones of the past and if you make a mistake in class, admit that you made a mistake.  
      Teachers should want learning not to be about being afraid to make mistakes but to think that producing a mistakes makes something to be learned from, improved upon and feel good about.  

Curwin, Dr. Richard. "It's a Mistake Not to Use Mistakes as Part of the Learning Process." Edutopia. N.p., 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Tips for Helping Students Find Books

      Working in a Media Center, I am surrounded by books and computers.  I tell my students that they have to keep a big secret from the principal that all I do all day is play (on the computers) and read (the library books) all day long.   Kindergartens look at me with longing for my job and Middle School students look at me with a smile on their faces as they imagine what it would be like to play video games or read the latest dystopian novel all day long.  
      As a teacher, of books and technology, I help my students everyday learning how to make choices on the internet and how to choose books.  
      Rebecca Alber in her article 5 Tips for Helping a Student Find the Right Book  does a great job of summing up tips to keep in mind as one helps students find the right book. 
    #1 Get to Know the Student - make it a personal mission to get to know the students interests and previous book choices.  Knowing the student's reading level is also key in getting to know the student. 
    #2 Experiment - You need to experiment and try different genre and your students will too. " Ms. Alber suggests that you share your own story or another student's story of genre switching.  Middle school students especially relates to the personal testimonies. 
    #3 Exposure - Scavenger hunts, Book Talks, Middle School Book Trailers, and Book Speed Dating  or Author visits or Authors who Skype are all great ideas to give students a taste or glimpse of a book.  Ms. Alber suggests  a "read and tease" by reading aloud the middle of the book where there's action. 
    #4 Permission to Abandon a Book - I suggest books with the disclaimer that "if you don't like reading it tonight, come back tomorrow and we'll find something better."  You don't want a student to keep trying to read a book that they don't enjoy.
    #5 Time to Look - The books in our Media Center are in 2 conditions - very worn because they have been lovingly read a lot or brand new because I have just purchased and cataloged the book and I don't expect that book to stay in that condition.   Our collection of books is for the students and I have displays everywhere that are seasonal or genre related.   Our students know that they can check out whatever book is in the collection even the display copies.   I take it as a good thing if I have to redo my displays because there are open places where the books have been removed and checked out.   
       I believe that Rebecca Alber's best point is when she says that we need to provide the students with time to read.  As Ms. Alber's quoted from author Kylene Beers, "the single best way to improve reading interest and reading ability is to read."  

Alber, Rebecca. "5 Tips for Helping a Student Find the Right Book." Edutopia. N.p., 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

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Project Based Learning Myths

   Most of my teaching centers around PBL or Project Based Learning.  When teaching technology it really is the best way and most of my teaching peers agree.   However, during a grade level planning meeting when I tried to suggest that they do something similar with their social studies curriculum on Central America, I got a lot of "oh that works well for you but not with what we teach".
   In fact many of the excuses or myths that my co-workers have are very similar to the article by Suzie Boss  Time to Debunk Those PBL Myths in a recent Edutopia article.  According to Ms. Boss, one of the most common misconceptions about PBL's are that they are not 'academically rigorous' because most of us remembering doing projects in gradeschool like making paper-mache or styrofoam planets.  Those projects really did not involve much critical thinking but were very hands-on says Suzie Boss and she is right. 
   We cannot "expect students to gain the full benefits of PBL unless you give them time and instructional support needed for an extended, in-depth, inquiry experience."   So it really depends on what teachers put into before, during and after the PBL.   A PBL cannot be just an extra activity rather teachers need to utilize a whole design process and begin with their content standards and objectives, design assessments and/or rubric to meet the objectives.  Suzie Boss links in her article to an Edutopia video 5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning that she says sets the "record straight by focusing on PBL as a route to rigorous learning. 
   I have already sent links to Suzie Boss' article to my teacher friends who I met with the other day during their planning time.   I can't wait to meet up with them this week and begin planning and creating a great PBL for their 6th grade students.

Chapter 1 - The Read/Write Web

   On Saturday, my husband and I had friends over for lunch that we had not seen in over 15 years.  Before kids we had been able to travel to each other's homes in different states for a weekend and spend time going to ball games, dinners out and late nights.  Once we started having children, all that free "play" time was over while we spent weekends watching our kids sports games or other parenting things.  But now that all of us are empty nesters we are able to get together again and the topic at Saturday lunch was how different our kids from what we were like in college and how they envision their future jobs versus what we wanted to do after graduation. 
   We all agreed that our college-aged kids grew up so different than us with having instant information and technology at hand and that our kids are more culturally aware than we ever were at their age.  While we rolled our eyes at our parents that they did not know much about us, our children roll their eyes at us that we really don't know what's going in in the world.  In the textbook, Blogs,Wikis, Podcasts..., the author says, "There is a growing gap between how this digital generation defines privacy and the way most adults do.  To our kids, making their lives come alive online is a part of the way they live.  Communicating and collaborating with peers using instant or text messaging....allows them to be "always on" and always connected." (Richardson, 2010, p. 5)
   My oldest son is a college senior and regularly communicates with students on the other side of the world in video game enclaves and in political or environmental discussions.   When I graduated from college, my focus was to get a good teaching job and have a family.  However, my son's focus is to be aware and focused on the world around him and getting an engineering job is not really a concern as much as doing something that he will enjoy and be a part of in the world around him.  Our expectations are completely different for what life out of college will be for him.  He is more 'plugged in' to the world around him and he wants to experience and focus on more than just getting a job. 
   I agree with the author, Will Richardson, in the first chapter when his says that "our students' realities in terms of the way they communicate and learn are very different from our own".   (Richardson, 2010, p.6) From my own children to the middle school students in the school I teach, I can see vast differences.   The first thing I might have turned on when I got home from school would have been the radio to listen to rock music but my students turn on their smart phone to see what social news they need to be updated on or to update their friends on about themselves.    My students want to seek and find answers rather than be told how to find or what the answer is.  Teachers and schools need to change their pedagogy in the classroom and rethink what changes we need to make in our teaching and become learners of this new Web. (Richardson, 2010, p. 6)