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
-------------------------------------------------------------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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"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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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:
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.
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/
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