final

I actually really enjoyed the final project--can't believe I'm saying that about a final. Wendy and Matthew were an absolute pleasure to work with, and everyone was focused and productive from beginning to end. I think our projects are doable and would be a very valuable experience for everyone involved. I particularly like the community component--I think that would motivate students to do their best work and foster a critical connection between school and community.

Nick Donofrio

I wanted to like him, I really did. Obviously a very bright, accomplished guy. (the introductory speakers made sure we understood just how much so) Amazing public speaking skills. And, a familiar cultural tilt--he reminded me of a few of my relatives! All the ducks were in order for a great gig--so why did I leave there disappointed?
I guess the main reason is b/c is lecture, while provocative, was very short on specifics, particularly with regard to innovation in education. I mean, what does all that techno mumbo jumbo vacuum tube this, nano-technology that really have to do with teaching English? I know he was trying to impress upon us the notion of thinking BIG, and I appreciate that, but I need some sort of connection between that and the realities of school bureaurcracy. That in the end, is what is going to govern our lives, like it or not. I want someone to teach me how to think BIG and actually have the ability to see it through given real life constraints. At this point in my life as well as my academic career, I've kind of had it up to here with theory. Theory is great, but it's like wishing I could lose 30 lbs without having to exercise. It's not reality. I hate to sound so negative, because enthusiasm is infectious, but only if what you're talking about is something I think has a prayer of happening. Until then, just tell me how to get my school district to give my students access to a wiki w/o 6 months of delays.

Second Life

Great, another way to waste countless hours in front of a monitor approximating real life instead of living it. No, no, I get it--there are lots of possibilities for educational applications of Second Life, but to be completely honest, I can't imagine the hoops I'd have to clear to bring this into my classroom. You can't believe what I went through to get my measly little wiki up and running. I feel for schools, I abhor how litigious American society has become. I know why they're fearful and tend to say 'no' far more than 'yes' to each and every new technology. But going up against old school administrators and/or board members to defend what looks an awful lot like a video game seems daunting, to say the least. I'm curious about the whole second life thing, but I need to learn more before I can sort out the logistics of putting it into my curriculum.

Copyright guidelines

Ouch! So many rules, so little time--my head hurts! Intellectual property is passed around so freely on the web, it's so easy to forget about ownership. I admit, I have a slightly anarchic tendency when it comes to this stuff, but I know the rest of the world doesn't share my laissez faire approach. To be completely honest, it never once occurred to me that using music behind my powerpoint slide shows required special permission. I always assumed, unless I was trying to profit by it and it was purely for educational purposes, I was in the clear. The whole thing is a big buzz kill, to be honest.
What did shock me was the public domain designation. I had no idea copyright protection only extends backward to 1923. It's all really confusing to me.

My wiki

Thought you might want to check out some of my students' work on my wiki. If you want to leave them a comment, I would GREATLY appreciate it!

http://virtualpenpals.wikispaces.com/

Excited about my wiki

Today was a very satisfying day in my fieldwork school. I was able to show my students the books they wrote and designed earlier in the semester uploaded onto the wiki site I created for them. It's actually the same wiki I started in computers class before the break, though I've been expanding on it slowly and will continue to do so as students complete assignments I've been giving them. Trying to get it up and running within the confines of the school's content-blocking software has been a slow and arduous process, though I'm now realizing that part of it goes with the territory. Virtually all of the teachers who responded to my survey complained about the school's AUP policy, and that it regularly interferes with what they are able to accomplish on the school's network. I can certainly see how it would make them crazy, and I touched on this in my classroom observation powerpoint (slide 6).
My fieldwork teacher has been incredibly generous about letting me 'experiment' on her kids, most of whom have significant behavior and/or learning problems. However, as I had anticipated, they have been extremely receptive to the idea of publishing their work on the web for the world to see. I've read several articles in English journals and literacy books about the motivation potential of web publishing for reluctant writers. For many of these kids, they often can't or won't produce classwork because it feels 'pointless' to them. But when they know it's going up on the web for other people to see and and comment on, they summon an energy I seldom see applied to more traditional writing tasks. It's been a valuable learning experience for me, and hopefully for them as well.

classroom observation debacle

Well, it all started out great. I created an online survey which I sent to every teacher in my fieldwork school. I got 23 responses- which I was very happy about. I compiled the data, and because it was so statistic heavy, thought powerpoint would be the best way to go so I could use all of their chart and graph templates. I learned A LOT--I had previously only known how to use powerpoint in the most rudimentary way, and I do see TONS of applications for it in direct instruction/lecture portions of a curriculum. I'm pretty proud of the visuals I created. I know for some of you it's old news, but as the name of this blog suggests--this old dog is late to the game. But better late than never...
The problems came in when my husband informed me that there would likely be compatibility issues between the Mac and Windows versions of the program, and as usual, he was right. The problem is, he told me as I was finishing the presentation around midnight last night. (long story--blackout) I came to school this morning to see what I wound up with, and I'm basically rebuilding the slide show all over again--cutting out of another class to do so. And I lost the sound file completely, despite sending it 3 different ways. Yes, this is all part of technology, and because most schools have Windows and my home pc is a Mac, it's a problem I better get used to dealing with. Still, I'm feeling incredibly frustrated and upset right now. Just needing to vent...