Do U C What I C

Whenever I read a great post, usually the first thing I do is put it directly in the context of my classroom.  I do that because, frankly, I want to see how I measure up.  I can post, comment and chat about this stuff all day long, but the reason I carve out hours of my day to be a part of this conversation is because I want to be a part of the change!  I want to be that place where students can collaborate, have conversations, and prepare for the future.  Some might say that Will’s post was perhaps talking about the bigger kids, but I think that he’s not.  I think that kids come with some of these skills, and school takes it out of them.  By the time they get to me in third grade, they think that collaborating=cheating, and conversation happens at lunch.  Maybe we just need to nurture those talents from Kindergarten on…..can you imagine how that would accelerate the process, if we didn’t have to “re-teach” them some of this stuff!   So, here is me thinking out loud- seeing how I measure up.

• Networked- Hmmm, have not done as much of this as I usually do.  I interpret this as not only knowing how to connect with others in the class, but also in other classrooms, other states, etc.  Sharing information.  We have done a couple things within the school, but nothing beyond that this year.  A few years ago I did e-pals with a class that lived on a reservation in New Mexico, and what started out as a way to practice friendly letters became a full-blown cultural exchange.  I would call that crude networking….am I right?  Give me more ideas on how I can help 3rd graders network.
• More collaborative–OK, I feel good about this one.  My students share a computer with another student, and they collaborate on almost everything.  They read and interpret web information to complete assignments and projects, they write and publish stories together, they become experts in particular math concepts and then peer tutor each other, they plan class parties, run our government system, solve their own relationship issues, and discuss any problems in our classroom at our community meetings each Friday.  What do your kids do to collaborate?  Please share!
• More globally aware–This is a tough one, because my students have a pretty small world around them.  Some of my kids don’t go more than 60 miles from here…ever.  The past two years, I have started using literature as a springboard for these kinds of connections.  I try to concentrate on awareness, respect, and empathy.  It is difficult to find ways to talk about global issues on a third grade level.  Even our conversations about war while reading “The People of Sparks” is sensitive and difficult, but important.  I don’t think anyone takes the time to listen to these kids, and hear their fears and misconceptions about our world.  I love the global connections voicethread project, and hope to incorporate something like that in my classroom next year.  What are your ideas?
• Less dependent on paper- I am good here- in fact, I have to remind myself to have them write on paper occasionally just so that they are ready for the state-mandated test.  Can’t they just type, print and glue it in the test booklet:)
• More active– I interpret this as being more active participants and decision-makers.  My kids run my classroom, have jobs, get paychecks, self govern, and manage social issues on their own for the most part.  I facilitate, and step in when needed to handle social issues. 
• Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–This is a big part of our day, but I love to read great books, and that is a big part of our day as well.  I will say that consuming hypertext is difficult as a third grader because so much of the content out there is not leveled for this age.  I spend hours and hours searching for relevant, well done, age appropriate content for my students.   Anyone have good resources to share in that area? 
• More connected– I see this happening in my school through our character education program, and a program called watchdogs.  We also live in one of those towns that is actually quite large, but still feels small.  The people in this community have strong ties to our school, and I think this changes the climate of our building drastically.  The kids feel very connected and safe.  Connections to the world….need to work on that one.
• Editors of information-This is something I need to work on, and something my peers and I have discussed.  We don’t let kids “search” in our rooms- we filter the content for them, and put it on our websites for them to access.  I have never doubted that practice, but it is now apparent to me that I am not protecting them from anything, because they go home and search!  So do we teach them how to search and edit information here at school in a controlled environment where we can help them, or continue to pretend that we are protecting them by not letting them do it here at school?  What are your thoughts on this?  Keep in mind, they are third graders….

Now, I know that alot of what I talked about had nothing to do with technology, but I think that is part of my point here.  I think that a part of my vision has to include these emotional connections.  I do want my students to fully recognize the power of technology, and know how to use that in the future…..but I also want them to know that they are loved- that always has to be a part of my plan for the future:)  OK, so I have my “to do” list for the future as it relates to my classroom.  Thanks for making me think Will! 

Well, it’s over.  I am back home ready to finish out the year, and wait impatiently for NECC to get here.  I have to say that I saw this conference through different lenses this year.  I think for me it was more about making personal connections this year, and less about seeing something totally new to ooooh and aaaah over.  So I am barely back into my routine, and really trying to spend less time online, and more time with family this weekend.  You know how it is…the pendulum was way over on the tech/professional/teacher side last week, now I have to swing back the other way for a few days:)  But here it is…in a nutshell…my top 10 favorite moments of METC 2008…in no particular order…so as not to show favorites among my PLN:)

1.  8 hours in a suburban with four of my very favorite techie people, talking the whole time- no really- the WHOLE TIME! 

2.  Re-connecting with my first ever “teaching soulmate” Jules.  I can’t tell you how much I needed to see her again!  We got her all hooked up on skype and twitter so now we can STAY connected.

3.  Having the guts to introduce myself to Dembo-chickened out on Warlick….now I’ll have to wait until NECC- drat!

4.  Having Dembo actually know who I was!  What a great feeling to know that my twitter/SL virtual connections can so easily connect us in real life!

5.  Complimentary drinks and dry snacks every night from 5:30-7:30…nuf said.

6.  Watching Dembo present- what a great presence!  Thanks for showing me something new (LOL).

7.  Being heckled by my friends for being on “twitter/sl watch” at all times-  I managed to meet a few twitter buds just randomly…in the hallway…on the elevator…it was great, but apparently embarrassing and somewhat annoying to my friends:) Sorry guys!

8.  Presenting with my BFF to a small but enthusiastic crowd.  They had great questions, and I truly hope they will go straight home, get a reader, and read this post!  Go newbies!  Read this, then go read something important:)

9.  Have I mentioned the free drinks? 

10. Realizing that my place in education is changing, and I can now give back what I have been given for so many years…it’s less about me getting fed, and more about me feeding others.  I think I (we) can continue to make this conference better and better each year, and I am already planning what I want to do next year to help make that a reality.  Save the date:  METC 2009 ?? well, sometime in February I’m guessing:) 

Last year at this time, I climbed into my van with a couple of my tech buddies, and headed to St. Louis to attend and present at METC.  I was excited to be going, but truthfully did not expect to come away with anything that would impact my teaching in a huge way.  I don’t mean to be disrespectful about that, but I have been to many tech conferences, and each time I come away relatively empty.  Done it, seen it, had it, thanks.  Perhaps I have been tainted by the fact that I was trained by one of the most talented tech integration specialists in the country, and over the years she has left no stone unturned when it comes to inquiry, cool tools, and tech. tips.  BUT, last year at METC, I got really excited, because there were new ideas, new energy, phenomonal keynotes like David Warlick, Bernajean Porter, Hall Davidson…I left with a ton of questions spinning in my head.  I was renewed and re-energized.  I felt a new urgency for impacting education.  That was the beginning of this most amazing year of professional growth.  Second Life, SL virtual conference, twitter, skype, k12online, ustreams, blogs, connections with educators all over the world, and on and on.  What a year!

Now, I sit here writing this post with great anticipation for METC 2008 coming up in only 3 days!  Our group has grown to 5 this year, all presenting.  I look forward to every bit of it…the 4 hour drive- (time to re-connect with my tech buds), excellent keynotes, meeting some SL and twitter folks f2f for the first time, soaking in all the conversations and connections that I can possibly manage in 2 days.  If any of you reading this are attending, please come introduce yourself- I will be the one with the goofy smile of anticipation on my face! 

Yesterday I had the experience of presenting in a district that is very different from my own.  I am not going to go into the whole long story, but it was one of those times when I stood there thinking to myself…just stop talking….they are not in a place where they can hear this and utilize it…just stop.  I did my best to adapt on the fly and make some impact on the situation.  Then I packed up my laptop and hopped back in my minivan for the two hour drive home.  I love driving by myself sometimes. I listen to podcasts of presentations that I have missed, sometimes I mentally plan out my next big class project, and sometimes I just crank up the radio and sing out loud until my throat hurts.  All of these are healing times for me.  Yesterday, I spent the first leg of my trip going over all the possibilities of our impending building and grade level split.  It is a big stress for me, because our building is so great, and our principal is a visionary, leader, and most of all a friend.  It is one of those situations that will be an emotional upheaval on some level, no matter what happens.  I thought about how I wish this was not happening, and how I could help adjust and adapt after the split, and what if I lose my great teaching partner, or my computer room, or my (gulp) principal? 

Then I walked into my presentation site.

The second leg of my trip was a much different kind of reflection.  I prayed out loud for forgiveness….for being so self-absorbed and worrying about the little things.  Even if I teach in a closet next year, with no computers in my room, with total strangers, and (gulp) for another principal, it will be ok.  I have come so far, and sometimes I forget to look back…..yesterday, I looked back.  I love looking forward, having those pie in the sky conversations about where we will go.  But I need to remember to look back.

Just a quick post because it seems that I have once again somehow gotten into some sort of one sided verbal joust with one of my favorite bloggers.  It all started a couple weeks ago when I saw a twitter that at first read seemed a bit out of character for dwarlick.  I wanted to hear more about this thought, and so I muddled around with twitter for awhile, then realized that he could not see me, because he does not follow me.  So I let it go, and never really got to the bottom of that, no big deal.  So NOW it seems that I have somehow said something that was taken as criticism in his current post, and I really feel bad about that.  I was just thinking out loud, and I only really comment when I feel that what my brain is spitting out is worth exposing to the rest of the world.  I really didn’t meant to be a critic.  So I set out once again to find dwarlick, and apologize for any misconception of my ramblings.  I could email him, but I tend to think of that as “invasive” when I don’t really know the person.  (Except for Dembo on his B-Day) No chance of getting him on twitter-already explained that, hmmm…I could comment on his post, but I really don’t want to look like a dork…so I ask you- when something you comment on is perhaps taken the wrong way, do you see it as comment etiquette to comment again and explain?  Should I comment, or let it go?  If I don’t comment, do I risk blowing my photo opportunity at METC next month?  Is it bad to be critical when we are all trying to figure things out together? OK, these are all obviously rhetorical questions since I just linked the post here, and now it will trackback to his blog….well then, I guess this IS my apology….what would Miss Manners say about apologizing in a trackback?  Well, as I told my friend JW the other day, I have spent half my life with my foot in my mouth, so here we go again!

I have been spending the past month finding a balance- a center point at which I can maintain something that resembles a personal life, and still stay plugged in to my PLN, keep up with lesson plans, and continue to blog on a regular basis.

 Well….it didn’t happen.  Not because I don’t have time, not because I spend too much time on twitter (that’s for you BFF), and not because I am any busier than anyone else out there.  I think its me.  I am finding some things out about myself as a learner, a teacher, and a mom.  I thought I would take a few minutes to share these things with you.

First, I function in waves.  I can’t just spend 10 minutes reading blogs, checking twitter, and responding to posts.  I have to track back all the embedded links, think about the questions, jot notes about how I might utilize a new idea in my classroom.  I am like a camel who has to fill it’s hump really.  I get in these moods where I just want to suck up as much information as I can, and interact with others, share ideas, create projects.  I ride the learning wave until…I crash.  Either because I realize that my husband is starting to look at my laptop with green eyes of envy, and I fear I may find it smashed to bits next to my chair, OR because I realize that I have been “shooting from the hip” a bit too much in my classroom, and I have no grades entered for the quarter that ends tomorrow.  Is this a good thing?  Probably not.  Can I do anything about it?  I really don’t think so. 

I am not just like this about technology, I am like this about everything.  I get a new lesson idea, and I stay up all night working on it.  I can’t leave school until my desk is clean. I can’t just do some laundry, I have to do it all.  I can’t just watch what I eat, I have to count every gram of fat.  When I “turn off” I totally turn off and spend the whole day in my pj’s playing battleship with Tanner.  I can’t dip a toe into anything.  I have to jump in with my whole heart. 

I have decided that this is my blessing and my curse.  I am OK with that, and I will accept it.  So tell me, is balance really all it’s cracked up to be?  Should I be seeking medical help?  Does anyone else out there function like this?  Gosh, I hope so- I would hate to be the only unbalanced one out there!

So much for posting every day! Probably not the first wet-behind-the-ears blogger to fall off of that lofty pedastal. Still, what have I been doing? Where have I been for almost a month, while my blog sits collecting dust? Well, apparently I have done nothing noteworthy because had I anything to say, I would have been blogging about it I suppose. That got me thinking….I have really been absent from not only blogging, but from reading blogs, twittering, and SL. My whole social network has been on hold. But then, so has my teaching. I am in an educational funk. Why? I was not really sure until today. Some recent conversations, and this post by Colleen King helped me realize that I am unbalanced, and I need to fix that.

OK, those of you who know me personally already know I am unbalanced- but that is not what I am talking about right now, so stop laughing and listen up. I have stopped trusting my own instinct about what is right for kids. I have sold out. I have spent way too much time worrying about how my kids will do on the big test, and way too little time on everything else. I am going against my gut, and it has me wishing I was not teaching. I know in my heart that if I help them learn HOW to learn, they will be fine on the big test. Constructivism and inquiry are not counterproductive to test performance- I have had good results in the past. I know that there are some basic skills that I always have to throw into the mix. I just let the assessments take over this year.

There is no reason to go into the “why” because it will only keep me from moving forward. So, now that my dirty laundry is out there, my question is what should I do about it? I have a huge need to differentiate this year, as my student levels are all over the place. I have done well with that part of my plan, and teach almost nothing to the whole group. That is easy to do when you are assessing and re-teaching almost constantly. I have done a few tech integrated projects, but can’t seem to let go and just see where the kids will take it this year…is it because I feel they can’t? Maybe…but perhaps I am not giving them a chance to show me what they can do. Any words of wisdom? Have you ever had a year where you just felt your kids weren’t ready? My gut says they were born ready…. Should I keep doing what I am doing, or cut them loose?

This week, I decided to tie up some loose ends. The nature of my classroom creates many loose ends, and sometimes I just want them all to be tied up in a neat bow, and finished. I don’t know why- it doesn’t last long. It just makes me feel better I guess. So I went in determined to do nothing but tie, tie, tie. No sidebars, no interjecting personal stories to drive a point, just tie, tie, tie. Well, it was all going as planned…until journal share. Alex had written about a dream he had, and someone asked “what part of the brain does that come from, and how come I can’t remember mine?” We wrote that question down to add to the list of questions on my website…another loose end. During workshop I realized that several kids needed a refresher on states of matter so that they could finish their powerpoint project…small group time scheduled….another loose end. Then during choice time someone found moviemaker, and asked if I would show them how to use it….now he wants to do his matter project on moviemaker, and spends the next 20 minutes sketching ideas and firing questions at me….loose end. After school, a student emails me to ask whether she should get a pink or orange cast on her broken hand….so I post a blog survey for my kids, and decide we will take that data and use it to make bar graphs for math tomorrow. That will give me a chance to show them create-a graph, which we have not done yet this year. 2 more loose ends…hmmmm. So I think I ended the day with at least 5 more loose ends than I started with….it was a good day. I guess I should just let my loose ends go….because that’s when I see the most…..I see kids who are not afraid to ask questions, I see my instruction changing to meet student needs, I see curiousity, flexibility, and reality. I see loose ends. Ah well, I was never really a “bow” kinda gal anyway:)

Just a quick new blog to say that my current vice is watching Current TV while folding socks on Sundays.  You all have probably known about it for awhile since it has been around since 2005, but I just recently ran across it in my attempt to distract myself from sock matching.   I like it because it is almost totally viewer created content, with a huge variety of topics.  This morning I learned what it’s like to have a mom with cancer, found out what waterboarding was (yikes), and watched as several young Katrina survivors told stories about how life is for them now.  They also have viewers doing music and movie reviews, current google search trends, and random statistics about things like the 5 lowest paying jobs in America.  I guess it is sort of like CBS Sunday Morning for the 21st century junkie.  No story lasts more than a few minutes, which I suppose reflects the attention span of the current audience.  I do wonder who filters the content though…it’s privately funded cable, and they say on their website that Al Gore is somehow involved in it.  So I guess if you have issues with that, you might not want to watch…otherwise, take a look.  I have already gotten a few ideas that will somehow reflect into my teaching I am sure.  Hmm..Branson Elementary Current podcast perhaps?

This weekend I was checking and posting comments on my blogs, and I had two firsts.  My first spam comment on my student blog, and my first student with his own blog.  The first one was no big deal, just deleted it.  The second, however, got me thinking.  I was excited and scared at the same time.  I loved my job, and feared for my job at the same time.  Would I hug him, or scold him?  This one was going to be tricky.  I don’t want to crush the spirit of a young blogger after all.

My students are no strangers to blogging.  They comment on my class blog, start their own strands of conversation on my class blog, post to the library blog, and read and sometimes post on our principal’s blog.  This particular student also writes on a blog that the gifted teacher has created.  So should I be surprised that he went out there and made his own?  I guess not, but I am.  Why?  Because they are 8 for gosh sakes!  When I was 8, what was I doing?  Playing jacks, or reading a book that I DIDN’T get AR points for, most likely. Would I have been blogging if there were such a thing back then?  Maybe……Probably…..ok, YES!  But this is the part of teaching that gets scary for me, because whether or not he knew about blogging before I showed him,  I feel responsible for opening up this world to him, and I have to be sure that he is safe.  Do his parents know he has a blog?  Does he have his own email?  So, I call out the troops- alert all interested parties, and today my whole class had a presentation on internet safety- something that I had already done on a small scale, and a lesson that would have been taught by the library media specialist in the next few weeks….but we bumped it up a little because…..well, because I was freaked out, and my LMC lady loves me:) 

I am not sure if the internet safety lesson made me feel better, or worse.  They sure knew all about webkins, and facebooks, and how to make a fake email when you need it to get to the game you want to play!  YIKES!  Well, at least I know now what they know, and hopefully our talk today will make them think.  Tomorrow, my young blogger will have a little private session on blogging safety, we’ll clean up his blog, perhaps move it to edublogs, and then let him write- I see how this could be the start of something great….or not.  I guess that’s what experiential learning is all about, and I can always be a Wal-Mart greeter, right?