Blog Juice for Educational Technology

Now this is news! I read Paul’s post, ‘The aim in Maine stays plainly in the game’ where
he reports that “Middle schoolers and some 9th and 10th graders across
the state of
Maine will benefit further from Maine’s laptop initiative with free
home internet access.”  Now that is leveling the playing field!
I’d love to see that at the best elementary blogging school in Georgia! Read Paul’s blog to get all the details and enjoy a very creative post. He must have seen “My Fair Lady” recently as I did at the Fox in Atlanta. So to Paul I say…

BoardBuzz 2.0
is here! Be sure to check it out. It is now based on a Moveable Type
platforn. The blog has been redesigned for better readability of
entries and more logical oranization of related links. It has a
searchable subject database.Plus, RSS feeds!  It also has a new
comment link. It’s quite nice!

They are continuing to hunt for information on hurricane-affected
schools and for ALL news related to hurricane news related to K-12 in
that part of the country. Yesterday’s post, ‘This is our tsunami’   states “Jefferson Parish officials say schools could reopen by Dec. 1.”  The state schools superintendent says restarting schools is not as big
a priority as ensuring that they are available to their communities as
shelters.

On a personal note, I sure will be glad when we hear from Nancy on her blog at Random Thoughts.

c/Net news publishes this article, Bloggers record Katrina destruction. It was good to see Kaye Trammel’s name in the article. She gives us an up close and personal account on Kay’s Hurricane Katrina Blog.  Check her post on How to help and the one on Lessons learned.


I still find it
amazing to follow the conversations and be a part of these first-hand
accounts. The article has numerous links to blogs and many other
resources. What a top-notch resource all these first-hand accounts, photo galleries,
and discussion forums will be for classroom teaching now and in the
future.


This storm has had devastating effects for Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The remnants of Hurricane Katrina crashed into Georgia last night. The
western part of our state seemed to get the worst of it.I read on Wikipedia that  80% of New Orleans is now said to be under water, which in some places is 25 feet deep.Some experts predict a million people could become homeless as a result of the storm. What a devastating event this is! It will have far reaching effects for quite some time. My heart goes
out to all the people who have been in Katrina’s path. FEMA has  a list of voluntary organizations who are seeking cash donations to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in Gulf Coast states.

A couple of things I noticed about Kaye’s blog that is of interest from a blogging perspective.

I
wanted to point out the ‘about’ space as I think this is so important
on blogs. I have been reading numerous blogs over the past few days,
both Katrina related and educationally related. It is incredibly
frustrating not to know who is behind the blog. It really makes a
difference and let’s you understand the author’s perspective. 

Then her response to a national media reporter who said “in storms like these we see the limits of technology”

You can tell Kaye is a
“true educational blogger” because in the midst of this devasting event
she is continuing to teach and learn.

 Here’s her post on what the blog has done for her:

  Year One

   Year Two

  Year Three

Picture
three years of blogging at the best elementary school in Georgia!
That’s what I have had the priviledge to do and now it is my pleasure to pass the
“blogging” torch to Hillary Meeler! What joy! She is the instructional
technology specialist at the school. She has her group and it is
exciting to point you to the class blog, appropriatedly called Blog Write.
What is really neat is that I get to be part of their audience and
comment, comment, comment! I hope you will join me because I know we
will see some amazing posts! Bloggers emerging! Blog Write!  I do
like the sound of those words!! I know Hillary will do an incredible
job of guiding the students. I was able to work one on one with her
last year and she gets it! Listen to part of her first post…..

1. Think about what you are learning in and outside of school.
2. Pick a topic that is relevant and interesting to you.  Read more
   about it.  Also re-read to clarify your knowledge.  Use books,
   internet, newspaper, TV, and other resources to extend your learning. 
3. Write about your learning experience on your blog.  Remember to
   give credit to the people or sources you used on your learning
   journey. 
4. End your post with a thought-provoking question that will encourage others to comment.
5. Proofread your post.  Have a peer edit it and get help from the teacher if you need it.
6. Pubish your post on your blog to the internet.

Now
go read the rest of her first post. She’s hooking the students and
setting the stage. I love it! She is an excellent teacher and blogger!
I’m
sure I’ll get to visit her and the school “bloggers” a few times
this year. I look forward to that!

I’ve already pointed you to several of the other blogs at the school. I
know more will follow! Now I’m waiting to hear from a high school that
expressed interest about a blogging project at the end of  last
year. They wanted to begin this school year. I’m not sure if they still are interested but if not I’ll soon be
on another search soon for a school “ready and willing to blog!”

Last year Julie posted one of my all-time favorite posts, A Final Goodbye. Check out the wonderful comments that followed, especially one from Steve Dembo.
I hope I get a chance to enter his classroom through blogs this
year.  Entering each others’ classrooms and learning and sharing
together. It doesn’t get any better!

Cherie Babin has created Babin’s Cool New Flavors. This blog is going to be exceptionally “cool” and is another third grade blog we can follow. Both of these teachers teach
third grade.  One by one……. I can’t wait to see the final
count on blogs that are developed at this terrific elementary school in
Georgia!

Hillary is getting the job done at J.H. House!  Hillary Meeler is the Instructional Technology Specialist. She worked with me last year on The Write Weblog. This year, the school purchased TypePad and Hillary is getting blogs up and going, one by one. It is so exciting!

First, here is her House Highlights. Then check out Principal’s Quest II,  Counselor’s Corner,  Get Your Blog in Shape, and Get Your Blog in Tune.I
know lots more will follow. Mrs. Goode of ‘Get Your Blog in Tune’ is
new to blogging this year so drop by and give her a warm welcoming
comment!

I was browsing the new J.H. House website. It looks spiffy - even has a ‘Meet Our Bloggers’ page. Kudos to Hillary!

My Teachers & Technology
site which I used with my IT3210 class last winter is now used to just
post some good internet sites for teachers. I promised the students I
would do that for a while. Yesterday’s day post was about Annette Lamb’s EduScapes. It has lots of relevant information for teachers. I especially like the 42eXplore but I want to point you to her blogging pages here and here. The last link is titled “Blogs and Blogging: A Homerun for Teaching, Learning and Blogging”. Here’s her description:

Blogs are the hottest new way to promote reading, writing, and thinking
in all content areas and grade levels. Through this project, you’ll
learn to create and integrate these web logs into your classroom.
Using free, simple, online tools, you and your students can add digital
photos, web links, and multimedia elements to bring writing alive! If
you want an easy way to promote thinking, address standards, promote
information fluency, and promote collaboration, let’s blog!

Check out her entire site. It is terrific!

Board Buzz points us to Brian Wheeler’s SchoolMatters blog. He is a school board member from Virginia. His most recent post is on Internet Safety and Our Children. Anybody know of any other school board members who have blogs?

Let’s Talk Connecticut is a blog by Kevin B. Sullivan who is the state’s Lieutenant
Governor. I am always interested in finding political blogs or administrative educational blogs where
public input is actually sought. Now this blog asks questions and you
have some comments but note this particular comment. It should be noted
that it is from “Anonymous”.

 


It has been 10 days and there are no new posts and one post has been removed.


The writing is on the wall.



Will you let this blog rot or will you delete it?



There is a Republican Mafia in this state, will you help us fight it?



Those that have lived long and seen it all know what is really wrong with Connecticut.



Anyone
in or out of the inside circle that tells it like it is has been burned
beyond recognition. This blog tells me you are one of the few that
hasn’t been tainted by being in the Connecticut Mafia.



I would be glad to have you to our dinner table in what is now my twilight.



Sir, please don’t lose the spark that prompted you to start this blog.



What is even more interesting is that there is no reply to the comments from Mr. Sullivan. Unlike this blog, Tom Watson,
from the UK. Now I am NOT interested in these blogs for the political
commentary.(at least not at the moment)  I find the conversations
most interesting on Tom Watson’s blog. It is rich with ‘give and take’
conversations. I am looking for blogs here in the U.S. that have the
politicians or administrators  really responding, where there is back and forth dialog. I know of Clayton Wilcox’s The Classroom 
Anyone know of any others?

I nudged Nancy McKeand to try Skype and
she jumped right on board!  Nancy is a real trooper. She keeps
persevering despite various obstacles. I admire that.  She truly
sees the value of blogging. I wanted to  cheer her on and offer
my help.

We had a great conversation this morning. I am still amazed at how
clear and easy the process is. The voice quality really is excellent.
Installation is a breeze. What more could you want? And oh yes, the
best part is that it is free!

School reform - OK, I hope
to open up the discussion with a small group of at-risk students at a
local high school this Friday. I’ll be setting up their blogs and
getting to know them. I plan to tell them that they are the ones whose
voices we need to hear. They can help us learn how to improve the
learning.. We’ll be using
our blogs to write about issues that matter to them. We need their help
on how schools could improve. Tonight I’m working late so I’m thinking
about questions to ask.

• Do you think schools need to change? If so, in what ways do you think schools need to change?
• What is the school doing to help you be a successful learner? What could they do?
  
• What is a successful learner?
  
• What should the school be teaching to help you succeed in the future?
• How could students help schools improve?
  
• How do you know if you are successful?
  
• What motivates you to learn?
• What do you wish your teachers were doing to help you learn?
• What makes a good school?
• What makes a good teacher?
• What helps you learn?
• What hinders your learning?
• Is school relevant to you? If not, how could it be relevant?
  
• What would you change in your school? What needs to stay the same?
  
• What does your school do really well? What does your school need to do better?
  
• Is technology a part of your learning? Tell me about it.
  
• Do you use technology outside of school? What technology do you use?
  
• How would you like to use technology in school?
• Do you get a chance to talk about your goals for learning? Would you like that?
• How do you learn best?
• What’s your favorite part about your daily routine? What’s your least favorite part?
  

Now I am just
thinking. I usually start with questions and many times the questions
lead me in different directions. I probably won’t even get to this on
Friday
but I thought I’d toss these ideas out. I’m open for any input or
suggestions. This is a group who have not always had good experiences
with learning. They could teach us a lot if I can gain their trust. I’m
in a whole new arena and know I have much to learn. I have some great
teachers I’ll be working with who will be my navigators as I start this
learning journey.  I’m looking forward to it.

I really enjoyed reading Rob Reynolds’ “The New Spontaneity of Communities in Learning.”
He discusses his experiences with learning groups as a student. He
emphasized how much fun it could be to sort through everyone else’s
ideas and debate those ideas without it being personal. What was
interesting to me the most though was his observations on the teacher
being the controlling factor in most of the learning groups in school.
It all does revolve around the teacher. We call it good classroom
managment and it is but we need to learn to let students have more
choices in their own learning. We need to ask more of them and shape
that process. We do need to guide them and offer suggestions. Most of
my teaching experience has been with elementary so
guidance is necessary but I think that applies at all ages. At the
elementary age it doesn’t
take long for them to get into what I call the “please the
teacher mode.” I’ve noticed that same mentality here at the university
level. The difference is that at the university level it for the
grade.When my students ask me if this is what I want I always turn it
back to them with a “Is this what you want?” Many are just unable to
answer that. Let’s get them talking and thinking. 
We need to develop more activities that will encourage young
people to take risks with their writing, their learning and their
working
together.Learn to please themselves with their efforts and feel the
pride from that kind of inner growth.  As teachers we need to work
hard to develop a spirit among our students of honoring each other’s
thoughts and work. Young people are so vulnerable to what others think
of them. They are not always so nice to each other and this is where we
can have control.  We have to create teams that work together.We
have to encourage the risk-taking and build the community. Control the
parts of the environment that shape this but work at letting go of the control that does not give students a voice..
Talk to the students about it. We have them so conditioned to “the way
it is” that most times they can hardly function when we let go.  A
teacher does have to oversee that but the teacher must learn to honor
honest effort, even if it sometimes falls short of our expectations.
That’s learning. Providing opportunities for them to learn how to work
together and see the different gifts they each have is learning. After
that we need to work
double hard to help them exceed our and their expectations. We put them
in the “please the teacher mode”. Let’s get them out or at least make
sure the ‘please the teacher mode’ means they are taking control of
their learning. There’s lot to think about as far as the “teacher control” goes. I’m still thinking and learning.

Busy, busy
Monday. I had a workshop with a group of early ed students today. I had some
time but not as much as I would have liked  to introduce them to blogs.
They created a weblog in Blogger. Several
had problems finding a name and then an address that Blogger would accept. We
came up with some bizarre names but it would not accept them. Go figure. Then
when they got to posting they found that they had several blogs already
created. Lots of unusual glitches. I’ve not had problems like that with Blogger
before. It usually goes pretty smoothly. I use it when I have very short times
to introduce blogs. You really need time because you just can’t really explain
it thoroughly in a one or even a two hour workshop. Then you don’t get to see
them again usually for follow-up. I am lucky. I will get to see this group but
I’ll be teaching other technology but I’ll weave the blogs in where I can. I lost out
on an emerging technology workshop I proposed. The faculty members wanted
PowerPoint. Again, go figure….

I was wondering if anyone else was having the same kind of problems with
Blogger?????