Maine teacher, Angela Roy, is taking some type of course on new technologies. In her blog, which was evidently established for the class, she writes, “I would like to become familiar with (new) technology tools I can use in my classes to begin the process of implementing new technology tools into a course.” She has read and written about Cool Cat Teacher (fellow southerner, Vicki Davis) and my blog, 2¢ Worth (and she cleverly figured out how to include the cents symbol).
In describing my blog, she writes…
After reading some of the blogs and clicking around on the blog 2¢ Worth what I have come to realize is that these blogs not only have great information in them but they also have links to other great blogs with great information. (Blog writers) tend to be connected with other (blog writers) so I found myself reading blogs that (they) read – what a wealth of information!!!
Angela has captured so much of what blogging is about. We blog to learn. We blog to form and to become a part of online communities, social networks, from which we can learn buy sharing, adding, adapting, and building knowledge that helps us do our jobs in a rapidly changing world.
Great luck to Angela Roy!
I wish more teachers would “get it”. Where I teach, there are only a handfull of teachers that even know why I have a blog. They equate me blogging to playing on the internet. I have a feeling that as time passes, there will be more Angela’s… Hopefully!
David:
Thank you for taking the time to post about Angela’s blog. As the instructor of the course, I had the thrill of walking in to class this morning and seeing a very excited, motivated group of teachers eager to try new things in their classrooms. What a wonderful moment for any teacher.
David, One of the most incredible things about being a teacher is that when we learn something new we can pass it on to our students who can pass it on, etc. Angela Roy is not just learning for herself. She is learning for the future. Great post!!
A better version of this comment is here – http://btcactus.edublogs.org/2007/07/26/wednesdays-at-the-gorge/
I would concur with David, we blog to become part of a community. They are a way to keep in touch with what is happening in our world or in our area. With that thought in mind, I imagine a class of kids writing about experiences happening to them. This experience could go something like this: (imagine all the new writing skills that we need to teach – I will comment on them after the “fake student post”)
Student Post:
Last night my dad took me to Artpark, a New York State park near the Niagara Gorge. We went because my dad wanted to see a band called Pure Prairie League, a band from the 70s that my dad listened to when he was a kid.
They played for about two hours and I had a lot of fun dancing and watching the boats float down the Niagara River. Artpark has free concerts each Wednesday night – here is a list of who is playing in the future. There was plenty of food and drinks to be had, which cost money, but they help to support the free concerts.
We sat on a hill, watched the music, ate french fries and had a great time with friends.
If you are interested in getting to Artpark to see free music, here are the directions. I would love to go back, hope he takes me again. 😉
Now, let me breakdown new “writing skills”:
1. Adding Hyperlinks to Text- Students can hyperlink to places and things which provide readers with a richer reading experience. Notice how I linked to Artpark, to Pure Prairie League’s web site and the google map directions.
2. Tab Manipulation – In order to do this hyperlinking, students will need to be able to manipulate tabs on their web browser. Using tabs is much better than trying to manipulate Internet Explorer windows. They will need a tab open to their blog and a tab opened to do their searching for web pages to link to.
3. Search – They will also need a web browser with a built-in search tool. This is helpful because having to visit Google’s home page each time is an extra step.
4. Copy – Paste – Students can copy and paste information like URLs to add to their post.
So, when we start to teach the writing process, we need to include these new writing skills.
David, I would venture to say that you have inspired many to start a blog and experience the beauty of blogging. Of all the workshops I attended at necc07, I found your adv. blogging workshop the one that I have come back home and utilized the information the most. I have extended it to SL and the bloggers cafe, classroom 2.0 and twitter. I am sharing what I am learning with everyone that is willing to listen! I hope that we can implement more web 2.0 applications in our school. I love reading the feeds I am subscribing to. It is invigorating. I, too, am hooked on blogging!
David,
I followed links from the email from Edublogs 2.0 to the Edublogs newsletter where I randomly clicked on the “the digital classroom” link on the right and then, poking around, clicked on Angela’s name. I totally understand her comment on how her brain was on “overload” as a result of all she’d learned in the class. There is so much to absorb. I recently attended NECC in Atlanta, where I had the pleasure of speaking with you on the walk to the Aquarium. NECC had so many choices, it was overwhelming. I am glad to be able to sample a lot of what I missed by listening to podcasts from the ISTE and Apple sites.
Anyway, getting back to Angela. I followed her link and got back to your page and then found your blog about her. How exciting this connected world is! She must be so thrilled to have attracted your attention.
I plan on following more of the links from “the digital classroom” link. When I clicked on the wiki link, I was very excited to learn that the class from wence these blog entries originated was held at my alma marta -the Gorham campus of the University of Maine. I graduated from the University of Maine-Gorham-Portland in 1969 and moved to CT to teach English. Now 38 years and two children later, I am the computer technology integration teacher at a middle school in Bethany, CT. I am so excited by all the collaborative tools that are at everyone’s fingertips. I hope to continue to help move our school towards the future by encouraging our teachers to incorporate these 21st Century tools into their everyday curricular activities.
Thanks for all the resources you offer and for finally supplying a easy way for teachers from all over to connect, share ideas, learn from each other, and better serve their students.
Have a nice time at the Maine Maritime Academy later this week. I hope you get a chance to visit some of the surrounding towns.
I have lived in CT for 38 years, but Maine is still home.
Carolyn