Blog Blog Blog

So, I loaded up my new feeds and spent some time looking through all of my new information. It does feel like an email account in which I JUST get news-y stuff. I started with the Grammar Graters, being an English teacher and all. I didn’t find anything SUPER exciting there, but then went on to find some interesting blogs on the Students 2.0 feed. I enjoy reading posts from students. I like to hear their points-of-view on education. I said this in my last post - I REALLY need to get with it when it comes to engaging my students better. I like this class for that. Although the more I learn, the more I realize there is to learn, and it kind of freaks me out. BUT, baby steps, right? THEN, I found the most amazing thing. I had a vague memory of my wonderful IT people telling me about a site called Google Lit Trips (Thanks, SP & DW). But I got caught up with the every day-ness of every day and never got a chance to explore it. Till tonight. I following the link called “A Great ‘Mash-up’: Mapping Literary Journeys” .I then followed the link to the actual site:  Google Lit Trips .  I read some of the testimonials and watched the video on the blog and sort of perused the site. I realized that they have a “Google Lit Trip” lesson plan for a novel we teach in the spring:Elie Wiesel’s Night. I am so excited. I downloaded Google Earth, and I am going to become familiar with it and DEFINITELY use it in my classroom. I am sure I am so behind the crowd on this one, but if you have not played with Google Earth at all, you HAVE to. It’s fun just to see what it can do, but more importantly, the lesson plans that they’ve put together are amazing. I can’t wait to show my students Wiesel’s actual route from his home in Romania through the camps and finally freedom. I LOVE this!

EDUBLOGS…  I am relatively new at the world of blogging, so my visits to the blogs on the Web 2.0 Thing 4 page were very interesting. The first thing I noticed is the format… fairly informal and somewhat opinionated. It seems to be a place to hear and be heard. I noticed that several of the chosen blogs were educationally controversial, i.e. The GREAT HOMEWORK DEBATE. A very interesting post, and very interesting comments. I think a blog can be a valuable resource for getting all sides of an issue. Many teachers tend to just talk with the people with whom they know will agree! Used in a classroom, I can see how blogs can be helpful to give students a voice, to allow a different format of discussion and even assessment. To see students reading and writing and connecting to others in ways they actually ENJOY and can relate to is fabulous. I read Mark’s edtechblog and can see how to use the blogs in my classroom to increase my students’ literacy.

There are so many things in our list of 23 THINGS that I have been wanting to try. Blogging for one thing really has the potential to change my teaching. I’m pretty sure my students spend most of their time in front of the computer (at least compared to their English books), so to think that I can access them and they can access and blog with ME is really neat. As an English teacher, I can think of so many things we do in class that can be video-casted, so many topics to add to a social bookmarking site, so much material to wiki about.I am learning — on the job so to speak — that the ENTIRE world can beconnected - like a giant puzzle!

1. Most challenging of the 7.5 HABITS of Lifelong Learning: The most challenging of these habits will be using what I learn to my advantage. I feel fairly technological at times, but I RARELY seem to find the time to use it. I want to feel comfortable enough with it to use it in my classroom, with my students, in my personal life, etc. I want to be able to fix problems as they arise, and at least TRY to meet the future needs of my students.

2. EASIEST of the HABITS: The easiest of these habits is NUMERO UNO. I am a pretty goal-oriented person (no surprise to anyone who knows me).3. MOST important of the HABITS: Obviously they are ALL important. Cop-out, I know, so… probably to create a learning toolbox. Having those resources is important to making the technology sustainable in life.