The Witches of Lang and Student/Teacher Blogging

Part 1: Blog Reading

     In started this new year at my new school, I have decided there are some new key curiosities...passions I want to create and pursue.  I have narrowed the list down to three for the beginning of the year: Digital Citizenship,  Metacognitive  Processes/Analysis, and Student/Teacher-paneurship.
     In a sense this post is a great starting post topic because it taps into all three--Student Blogging.  Sometimes,often times, the best learning comes when teachers are also learning and then modeling.  I want being an ELA teacher to inspire and push me to write in the same vein I want the feel of being a student at my school and in my class pushed and inspired to find and build their voice and identity through reading and writing. I want to design a blogging unit to build culture, reading, writing, and thinking skills.
     I started digging for research and resources and found something extremely helpful.  I found a woman, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano.  Just to be clear, I did none of the work for the information below.  It is a lot of copy and paste in order to give all of the information a more efficient design for my own personal understand, collecting, and organizing.  On her site, you can find a lot of very interesting info about her and her practices:

 

-Third Culture Kid (TCK)
-Born in Germany
-Raised in Argentina
-Lived shortly in Brazil
-Now planted in the United States

-Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish
-Minor in International Studies
-Masters in Education
-Emphasis in Instructional Technology.

She has worked as
-World Language teacher
-Technology Integration Facilitator
-21st Century Learning Specialist
-Social Media Coordinator
-Professional Development
-Educational Consultant.

"Her passions include globally connected learning, technology integration,  contemporary upgrades and amplification of the curriculum, documenting for learning (from digital portfolios, digital storytelling, new forms of teacher observations, to building institutional memory), blogging as pedagogy, visualize learning and developing & maintaining a Personal Learning Network."
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     I am using this post to organize and review the first seven articles in the first unit.  It will help me plan and organize my thoughts before sharing them with staff and students.  Let us journey...


She has two archives.  The first title you see below; it was designed to help teachers. The second is an actual unit plan. First I will walk, us, through the seven articles below.

“Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” 

Part I: Reading 

Part II A: Writing 

Part II B: Student Writing 

Part III: Commenting 

Part IV: Connecting 

Part V: Reciprocating 

Part VI: Consistency 

Part VII: Quality

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Learning About Blogs FOR your Students: Reading

Misunderstanding about Blogging
-only real used for technology integration

Understanding
-more about Writing than Tech
-starts with Reading

#1 As a Teacher
-become an avid blog reader
-read a variety of blogs
-be exposed/learn the potential blogs have in student learning
-formulate/address learning outcomes
-outcomes need to go beyond "tech-integration/LPS"

"Connective writing is, for the most part expository writing, but the process starts with reading […] But more than just reading, bloggers that write in this way learn to read critically because as they read, they look or important ideas to write about. It is an important first step, for as Samuel Johnson said, “I hate to read a writer who has written more than he has read”.

#2 As teachers the more regularly we read blogs the better we'll become at:
-RECOGNIZING learning opportunities via a blogging platform

-FORMULATING learning outcome for students seeing quality examples of other blogs

-IDENTIFYING curriculum learning outcome and match them to blogging

-UPGRADING and REPLACING: blogging can replace traditional assessment

-GAUGING the quality (or lack) of blogs they read, but also the quality of their own students’ blog (relevant to their age group)

-GETTING USED to the new genre of digital reading and writing

-RECOGNIZING that writing is changing The writing process. Hitting the publish button on a blog, might just be the beginning, not the end of writing.

-UNDERSTANDING the grammar of social/networked writing. How ideas are linked, connected, expanded, influenced, etc.

-EXPERIENCING the culture of sharing

-BROADENING their horizon by being EXPOSED to an array of content and global points of view

-ENGAGING in reflective practice being

-AWARE that there is a Global Learning Community out there and available to them anytime/anywhere

-LEARNING and CONNECTING in their own professional journey

-REALIZING that blogs are self-designed, self-directed, and interdependent with all other media forms.

-OBSERVING the ability of blogs  (over time) to function as a tool to curate learning

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Dean Shareski, on his blog post Student and Teacher Blogging that Succeeds, expresses the obvious, but sometimes hidden truth for the novice blogging teacher:

"Blogging is about writing, but it begins with reading. […] Teachers recognize that in order to be a good writer you have to read good writing. Yet when it comes to blogging, most want to write immediately and sit back and wait for the world to pay attention. It won’t happen. Provide as much time for your students to read blogs as write."

She remixes his thoughts to say:

Blogging is about writing, but it begins with reading. Teachers recognize that in order to teach about blogs, they have to read good blogs. Most want to jump immediately in and have their students start blogging, sit back and expect students to write quality blogs. It won’t happen. Teachers need to take time in reading other blogs, before they expect to be able to lead their students in quality blogging.

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#3 Where does the novice blogging teacher start?
Silvia says to start with your PASSION!

"Passion is what will make you read when you are too tired or have too many other things to do."

#4 Make a commitment to:
-Read at least 4 blogs regularly

-Make it as easy as possible

-Set aside a few minutes EVERY day to read them.

-Be aware of your own learning as you are reading.

-Take notes

-Read the comment section of the posts as well to get a feel for the conversation style

-Learn to recognize quality commenting

-Start to practice commenting on your chosen blogs to become part of the conversation

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Blog Sites/Writers I discovered through her article:

http://jennyluca.com/

I’m Head of Digital Learning and Practice at Wesley College in Melbourne, Australia. I was previously Director of ICT and eLearning at Toorak College in Mt. Eliza. I’m fascinated by Web 2.0 applications and their potential in educational settings. I launched myself headfirst into this world in 2008 and have found the experience to be transformative . It’s my aim to share what I discover with you through this blog.

http://thecleversheep.blogspot.com/

As a teacher; learner; consultant; speaker; and collaborator, I'm on the lookout for opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations with others who see themselves as learners. Professional development; project based learning; and Creative Commons are topics that are always on my radar.

http://www.maggiehosmcgrane.com/

I've been teaching for 25 years in international schools in Europe and Asia and am currently working at the American School of Bombay in India. My blog reflects my thoughts and wonderings as a tech coordinator, a R&D core team member and a member of ASB's Design Thinking team.

http://blog.williamferriter.com/

Bill Ferriter has about a dozen titles—Solution Tree author and professional development associate, noted edublogger, senior fellow of the Teacher Leaders Network—but he checks them all at the door each morning when he walks into his sixth- grade classroom!

http://edtechworkshop.blogspot.com/
As a 4th/5th grade teacher, I read a lot of middle-grades literature. I have noticed that it is not uncommon for the villain of the story to be a mean teacher or a teacher who doesn't really understand or appreciate children.

http://www.teachthought.com/author/terryheick/
Educator focused on social improvement through learning innovation. Director of Curriculum, TeachThought.

https://tuftsacm.wordpress.com/tag/max-goldstein/

Branches 2 & 3: Circles and Cycles Part 2

Writers are the Best Teachers
To teach effective writing, you yourself must be an effective writer. We can't teach what we don't know, and when it comes to writing, it's important to continue honing your craft. If you haven't engaged in much formal writing since college, you will remain a less effective teacher. No matter what you teach, try starting a blog, writing articles, or developing short stories -- all terrific ways to engage the mind and keep your skills sharp. Reading is important, but reading alone isn't enough to strengthen your writing skills, or to make you a credible authority on the subject.
                     --David Cutler

                        High School History, Government and
                        Journalism teacher from Boston
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Time
     It is time to reconstruct my writing practice--scheduled on the daily, but ordered and categorized separately...specifically.   I enjoy, and am quite good at organizing and scheduling my time.  The image below was, in general, how my weeks worked over this past school year.



I reduced my life fraction down to five core pillars and allocated the time I had.

     However, once the school year ended I found myself with an un-renewed contract, an 8 hour manual labor day job, and a need to recharge my heart-mind-and-soul.
     I have since then found a new school, stopped the day job, find myself feeling fairly recharged, and now ready to rebuild a new life schedule.  But, before I get there, I want to use this space as a canvas for my organizing personal composition projects:

1. I have a blog: Under the Willow Tree I want to upkeep.
2. I have a poetry chapbook in the works.
3. I have two graphic novel story archs.
4. I want to stay active with my poetry writing.

5. I want to start profiling myself as an educator on some quality education websites, respond to articles relevant to my practice, and then submit some of my own.
(the first title at the top is a link to a post a site called Edutopia.)

6.  I will have to write consistent lesson and unit plans.

Branches 2 & 3: Circles and Cycles Part 1

Branches 2 & 3: Circles and Cycles

     Those of you who know me would not argue that as much as I can keep them "relevant," I do my best to remain a creature of habit.  Here I sit on this Sunday morning at a cafe ruminating over teaching, my social tendencies, writing projects, and love/attraction/sex.  All of this with a background chorus of hip-hop/rap music.  This entire construct, a recycling, I have circled and cycled through for the last three decades.

Teaching

     There are certain phrases concerning my struggle with education the last half decade.  Originally, that struggle was the reason I left California. And, ironically enough, the same exact struggle I ended up landing in when I came to New Orleans.

          -education use to be a humanity, now it's politics and business

          -we use to develop young humans and now we develop adolescent operating systems

         -administrations are not transparent with staff and students

         -...and so on

         -and it may not be all that simple, but I am binary and need as highly a reduced fraction as

          possible to drive myself into powerful and purposeful action.

Some networks seem to do things better than others--most networks have some different interests or strength they focused on.  You would think there would be more cross-collaborate, like teachers who support each other cross-curricularly.  Maybe they do, and due to where I have been for the last two years, I have been unaware.  Giving where I am now, I have high hopes, potential certainty, that that will change for me.

Where have I been the last five years professionally: 

     Nola Year #1: ReNew Schools/Elementary Reading Remediation & Kindergarten Co-Teaching

     Nola Year #2: McDonogh 42/ 7th & 8th Grade ELA

     Nola Year #3: Carver Collegiate/Founding Freshman Teacher of Composition

     Nola Year #4: Sophie B Wright/English II World Lit. General/Pre-AP

     Nola Year #5: Sophie B Wright/English III American Lit.  General/AP

     Nola Year #6: Success Preparatory Academy...Here we Go!

Transition Why's

      Nola Year #1: Wanted to go back to Secondary ELA Full Classroom Teaching,

                             had no spaces + lack of admin follow through.

      Nola Year #2: School lost their charter, take over network re-offered me position--

                              charter network offered me a square on my "bucket list."

      Nola Year #3: Admin lacked enough transparency for me to feel comfortable come EOY

      Nola Year #4: Stayed--received highest growth award/offered AP training.

      Nola Year #5:  Lack of transparency, dialogue, openness.

     Each school/network is like relationship with a significant other.  Both sides of the relationship have strengths and weaknesses.  What are they willing to compromise and what are they not?  This is what creates the temporary or the longevity of  the relationship.  Sometimes you stay for the children, until you can't.  Each school/network added a positive piece to my New Orleans experience, and I hope i returned the same.  I am for excited for the culture I am joining at Success Prep this year!

     to be continued...

     Part 2: Introversion/Attraction/Friends