The classroom teacher who participated in the research with us this past school year emailed me and she may start blogging with 3 classes this year! Wow! Usually there are four teachers in the fifth grade but this year there will just be three. They are working out blocks of time to meet every three days for an hour and a half. One will teach Science, one Social Studies, and the classroom teacher will be able to get all three classes blogging! I call that success, logging having a slot right up there!
Steve Dembo recently posted about the Dragon software that I am using to transcribe. I’ve had the same frustrations he mentioned. Now the CastingWords site fascinates me to but adding up what it would cost me is astronomical. No way could I afford that! Sigh….  It is slow going and I am still doing that as I can.

Ewa and I have sat down and we’re in the process of working on the first piece. This body of information that we have collected lends itself to quite a bit of publishing. We have a lot of choices and that is always difficult. I don’t like leaving parts out.

We also have a lot of digging down into it and studying different aspects that again requires thought and time. I haven’t blogged much this past year due to all this and I have to say that that part of research drives me up the wall. I realize the worth of it but I love the way we can just put it out there when we blog. There’s much value in that too. Hmmm, maybe that’s what we need to research. We do hope to write a piece on the research process itself and the difficulties of having to be quiet or at least we felt we had to be so careful so we would not do anything to hurt the research but the best part of blogging is the feedback and that was missing for me.
Right now Ewa is in Poland visiting her family so early August we will be setting up a schedule that makes all this a top priority. The time it takes is mind boggling.

But just think 3 classes blogging is part of what came out of the year long process. I call that success of the highest level!! I’ll keep up with them and let you know when they get going. I’m soaring again!

Last week I finished up a blogging project with elementary kids (sniff, sniff). It’s hard to let go of these wonderful groups of students. So I thought I’d jump into another project I’ve been wanting to try.

I have a blog “A School of Voices.” I created it to encourage voices from students and teachers everywhere to get their voices heard about events that are going on in the world today. Current events needs to be discussed by students and teachers so we can learn and grow together and be responsible global citizens. It was active for awhile but with all the research I’ve been buried in this year it was neglected.

Then an idea popped into my head that had been brewing for a bit. I am going to bring it back to life. I invited a previous student blogger of mine to co-author the site with me. Katey is the young lady who will join me on the journey. She will be a sixth grader next year. We will be communicating through email about the blogging. I’ve wanted to see if this would work with this age student. Her mom was in agreement for Katey to participate. I communicate with Katey through her mom’s email. I told Katey we would learn together. I also told her that if at any time she wanted to move on to other things to let me know. I would still feel the same way about her blogging or not. I didn’t want her to feel like this was something she had to do. I want this to be fun and a learning experience for us both. We’ll see where it leads.

Katey was delighted. Katey made great strides in her writing while blogging and she loved it. So Katey has officially made her first two posts. If you have a moment go comment and encourage her! The first post for the project starts with my post, A Shift in Direction. Her posts follow. Her post name is mind4blogger.
For those of you who might be interested here is a post that gives a little more background on why I think current events should be required for every student. And this was in 2003!!

Scott McLeod of Dangerously Irrelevant has a post “Know a great commenter?” Well it just so happens that I know many but I would like to recognize three bloggers who comment frequently on all of my student blogs. Their comments are kind, helpful, relevant, and very thought-provoking for the students.

I nominate:
Lani Ritter Hall
Chris McIntosh
Carolyn (not sure of her last name)

For those who are nominated Scott has created a neat badge that you can place on your blog, if you like. Thanks you for making a difference in the lives of students.

Nominations like these are great but they also leave me thinking that I left people out so with that thought in mind I’d like to say a huge thank you to all commenters. You all make a difference.

I am constantly amazed at how much students learn from the comments they receive on their blogs. The other relevant aspect to this is that the learning is so applicable to the standards we are asked to teach. Today I browsed through the student blogs and reread some comments they received over the past school year. I just thought of one standard for each- I could have selected many more standards but this will give you the feel for the awesome power of commenting on our students’ learning.

Anni and Donna

Anni on her post entitled Water stated lots of good reasons supporting the need for a water fountain on her school’s playground

Donna, a teacher from Queensland, Australia commented back to share how each of their schools had rows of “bubblers” outside for student use. She congratulated Anni on her foresight in regards to this issue. Then she added more good reasons for installing a water fountain that Anni could think about as she tries to persuade her school to consider this action. Donna made the point that adequate water consumption is required for optimal brain function! Now I’d say that’s pretty relevant to student learning, right?

Here’s one standard that applies:

ELA5R3

ELA5R3 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.

Anni’s learning from the comment. I’ve seen her search for a word or head over to the dictionaries in the lab. Plus we now have Answer Tips installed on each blog and that makes it even easier. I love that tool! Anni will remember lots of these words because they are relevant to her. They were meant just for her. New words to add to her vocabulary – bubblers and foresight for starters in this comment.

Eddie and Darren

Eddie’s post on The Language of Math prompted a response from Darren Kuropatwa, a high school math teacher in Winnipeg, Canada. Darren made math come alive in his comment to Eddie. He explained numerous ways math is everywhere. This led Eddie to further explore and communicate about all these concepts. Were they communicating mathematically? IYou can count on it!. And that post fostered lots more comments that kept coming in over the following days. New conversations about math continued both inside and outside our classroom.

Here’s one standard that applies:

M5P3

M5P3 Students will communicate mathematically.

Eddie sums up his feelings here:

I have made new friends outside of school because of blogging. I have had teacher form other states and countries comment to my blog. I had a teacher from Winnipeg, Canada named Mr.Kuropatwa comment on my blog. He teaches senior math and the children in his class were overwhelmed because of what I knew. He even showed his class my blog and they made a podcast and sent it to me. I have also had a person named Lani comment to my blog and she is from Chardon, Ohio. She’s always trying to encourage me to write better. She always gives me tips and strategies on how to read and write better.

(The above is from The End of My Blogging Year)

Victoria and Kate

Victoria’s post, Melting Down the Ice , explains that the ice in Antarctica is melting and she points to a movie that shows how this may cause the polar bears to drown and become extinct. Victoria picked up on this concern by reading joey girl, a blog by Kate. Kate is a student in Mr. Fisher’s class in Snow Lake, Canada. Several commented on this post and information was being shared and ideas were exchanged.

This standard applies:

ELA5LSV2

ELA5LSV2 The student listens to and views various forms of text and media in order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand ideas.

Victoria has done an exceptional job of applying the above standard. Her post Are We There Yet? says it all.

Now I could find many more examples and in most cases more than one standard applies. Students need practice with the standards that are being taught. Blogging is a great way to provide that practice. Blogging helps make it authentic and important to the student. They have ownership. Now again the classroom discussions are very important- it is crucial to take the time to share and reflect on how the comments are shaping our learning.

I may come back to some more of these. Better yet wouldn’t it be neat to let the students find samples. Hmmmm I’m going to ask the blogicians what they think about that.

The bouncing baby bloggers entered the blogosphere with this delightful announcement this past February. To say that have come a long way is an understatement. Remember all you seasoned edubloggers out there, as Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach said in reply to comments on the announcement “it takes a whole blogosphere to raise a digital child.” Sheryl is their instructor for their class. Here’s the course wiki. So if you haven’t commented to any of them consider doing just that before they close the class in May. Give them the benefit of your experiences and wish them well. I’d like to whet your appetite for some of their interesting thoughts on their learning. Of course you’ll need to travel to their blogs to read some of the conclusions - a great way to spend a few minutes of your day! Enjoy!

Chris of c.michaels says Own It!

All semester our professors have been continuously talking about the idea of ownership and how students need to own their learning in order for them to better understand the material. My first impression of this idea, was that is completely ridiculous. It simply didn’t make any sense. As I heard more and more though, it made more sense and it seemed like it might actually be effective in the classroom. Now after being in the classroom for a few months and looking specifically for examples, I’ve seen it and that it does indeed work.

Kimberly of EDUC 330 (incorrectly ) labeled herself as Computer Unable in a beginning post had this to say in Learning through practice.

Working in pairs on Monday the class split up to complete a public service announcement about forest fires by using video clips, audio clips, and photos. The iMovie program proved to be simple to use with the guide, and we cut, edited, added transitions, and completed a video in one class period. I was amazed at how simple it was to create the video. I would definitely consider using this technology in an elementary classroom.

Rachel of EDUC 330 proclaims “I Have Seen the Light!!!”

Praise the Lord - I understand! To be completely honest, all throughout my learning of how to incorporate technology into the everyday classroom, I’ve had doubts. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the concept of fluidly using technology in elementary lessons without it being a huge distraction (or in my case, complication). Yes, I heard mentors talk about blogging, wikis, projects, etc. but growing up without technology in the classroom and not seeing it used, it was a stretch of the imagination for me.

Priyanka of Teachers’ Words of Wisdom expresses horror and follows up with good counter points on What, No Recess?!?!

I was horrified to read that 40 percent of American schools have or would be eliminating recess! I couldn’t believe it! In Changing The Recess Paradigm?, it talks about how quite a few schools want to cut down on recess in order to increase more academic instruction.

Megan of Megan McInnes on her post Observing Technology in the Classroom shares some real benefits in technology as a tool for learning.

What was the neatest thing for me to see was there was a student in the class that had a few disabilities. I thought it was so neat how well his project was done. Using this technology of making a video really seemed to suit his learning style and the limitations he had. Now I can see how important technology can be for students like him, he could present what he learned in a technological fashion allowing him to learn and do the same projects as his classmates.

Andrew of Learning Enhanced Technology shares a new tool, WOT, that sounds quite interesting.

WOT is a social networking device designed to enhance internet safety and reliability. I downloaded Wot yesterday as a browser extension for Firefox and am intrigued. WOT allows you to check the reliability of a website based on user feedback, so that when you go to a website the WOT icon shows whether or not other users view the website as safe and reliable based on a general trustworthiness meter, reliability as a business partner, as a keeper of personal information, and as a safe destination for children.

Sarah of Sarah’s Technology Enhanced Learning posted about students’ reactions to technology in “Teaching about Plane Shapes” .

I can’t put into words how shocked I was by the student’s reaction to the laptop, it was the equivalent of buying a new driver a brand new car when they get their license. They were absolutely thrilled and their excitement for technology really made me think about how much I take computers and my laptop for granted. It also made me think about how little the students must be using the computers in their school if it seems so novel to them when I presented them with a computer. I also found it unique how I was able to take a technology free lesson and turn it into a technology friendly lesson. I know that it strengthened this lesson.

Sharlene of If you give a girl technology shares a post entitled “Education In a Non-Traditional Classroom Setting” about an after school program that she finds promising.

Going above and beyond the required basics of model after-school programs, this program provides economically disadvantaged students opportunities that may not have been readily available to them prior to this experience.

Monica of Me & Technology has a profound post that will touch your heart. The title of the post is The Missing Piece Meets the Big O.. by Shel Silverstein.

Wednesday evening, a 20 year old sat in the children’s books’ section and read this short simple story, but found a strong and courageous message

Angel of Ariana’s mom posts thoughtfully about Protecting Our Students!

The tragedy at Virginia Tech has really caused me to think of my life, my future career and my family and put everything into perspective. The story of the Professor who was a Holocaust survivor and risked his life and died trying to save his students touched me deeply. It caused me to reevaluate what my role as a teacher will be.

Jennifer of techlife is feeling Technologically Torn.

Technology has its pros and cons and there are definitely situations when it is difficult to determine which side outweighs the other.

Lizzie of The new and improved technological Lizzie shares her continuing journey to use technology in the classroom with this post, So I used Technology…a little bit.

I had this wonderful lesson plan all ready and created to use to integrate technology within my classroom, but as soon as I had it done my class was done learning about that subject. So I switched really quickly into integrated technology into the science circus that I taught with Angel.

Katie of Designs for Tech gives a thorough Lesson Plan Critique.

Even though the lesson was quite stressful, it was 100% worth the stress and effort. The students begged for math to continue when I told them the lesson was done and I am scheduled to go back in a week to allow the students more time to play math games during their “Friday fun.”

Lydia of Technology Enhanced Learning has many good reflections on her blog. Her closing statement on High Stakes resonates with me.

Hopefully soon, our nation will return to valuing more than test scores.

Amy of EDUC 330 is seeing the value of having her materials on a wiki in Wikis and Webquests.

I always wondered why W&M was pushing for us to create an online portfolio. It is so inconvenient to make and it’s almost like learning another language. However, today it hit me when i was talking to my CT. I was planning the math lesson for next week and she asked me if she could look at my lesson plan to review it and make sure it fit into her curriculum. I told her that the lesson plan is saved on my computer and that I didn’t have access to it now. I was in the process of making another appointment with her when it hit me that I had uploaded it onto my wiki. I pulled up the wiki and my lesson was there! We were able to look at it right then and there. It felt really cool to have my stuff on the web and I didn’t even have to e-mail it to myself or print it out. Now I understand a little better how an online portfolio could come in great handy!

Amaya of Amaya’s Edutastic Blog has a really intriguing post on Teaching is Candy…No…Cookies…and I’m A Cookie Monster!

I challenge all three of the people who read this blog to pose a simple question to someone today, and see if you can’t change their life for the better. Maybe you’ll get a “fine” or maybe a “well, thank you, how are you?” But, you could get a “well, I have this problem with my mother, well, not really with my mother, but, wait, sit down and I’ll tell you… I think I want to be an elementary school teacher, but I’m not sure and I really need to talk to someone about it, but my mom lost her cell phone.” Don’t you wish you’d listened before?

It is very important that we provide many opportunities for students to talk about what they are learning and the strategies they are using to question and learn. Open dialogue that welcomes the voices of the students in a give and take spirit is what is needed, not just one way conversations spoken mostly by the teacher. I can’t think of many teachers who wouldn’t want this but our current “testing” focus on skill, skill, skills really gets in the way. Most schools have completed the week long testing agendas and you can almost hear the collective sign of relief through the schools. I’ve even heard some comment on how nice it is now that they can get to some fun projects and take some time to “enjoy” the learning. That’s more than sad.

If we took the time we spend in schools on testing and spent it on writing as a means to improve learning in our schools we’d be much further along. Writing can be a tool for learning in all disciplines.

Blogging is a space that gives them that needed practice with writing. I first got into blogging as a means to improve student writing as well as my own writing. Blogging truly gives students reasons, authentic reasons to write and the commenting feature adds to the conversations. We need conversations that encourage and make students comfortable to give their opinions. We can help clarify understandings and lead the way to help students to become better thinkers. It’s an additional avenue to do further reading and thinking. It’s a place where we can teach them about responsible public writing and how to make a difference. Just musing……

Head over to  Blogical  Minds to see this post about Educating our legislators!

If you haven’t seen Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s bouncing baby blogger announcement you’re missing out! I had the distinct pleasure of talking to this emerging group this past Monday. I have a strong feeling that some really good things are going to come out of this group. I talked about my experiences blogging with elementary students.  If you are interested, there’s an archive of the session here. Let them hear from you! Head on over to these pre-service teacher blogs and give them a “warm blogging” welcome!

This is such a noteworthy post! Mark Ahlness writes about  SSR - “sustained silent reading” with a 2.0 twist.  He has his kids reading blogs. He has turned them loose on blogs - to read. Mark points out that he will probably not do this every day as there is still value in cuddling up with a book. But he goes on to note that by the time they grow up their reading preferences will be worlds away from where he and his students are now.

This statement by Mark jumped out at me “So much is made of young kids creating content, that I think it’s real easy to overlook the positive aspects of young kids consuming content - created by their peers - and who knows who else?” Mark gives us  much to think about! He is doing some remarkable work with his third greaders.