EDU5506EA SU20 Final Reflection

Final Reflections

Well, my online PLN (Personal Learning Network) course is nearly over. We learned more about blogging, Web 2.0 features, RSS feeds, and podcasting. We examined our own PLNs. The task now is to take this learning and form a plan. The plan to grow my learning network and how this will contribute to other administrative colleagues. This made me think deeply. In fact, I have thought about it all week. 

I think that in order to grow my PLN, I will need to follow even more educators and administrators across the country, or even world, on social media platforms. While my Twitter is nearly all educational persons, they are limited. Many do "Follow Fridays" where they post great educators and administrators they follow. I will need to follow these links. And I as I move into an administrative position (hopefully soon!), I probably should not be so heavy in my own subject, but seek to understand the most up-to-date skills, pedagogies, and philosophies of other subject areas. 

Another way to grow my PLN is to follow the people I go to see at conferences. I have not done much of that before now. I can follow on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media. I can follow their blogs. I have discovered that many of them have blogs! I can listen to their podcasts. Oh, so many podcasts! I have fallen into a rabbit hole of podcasts. 

With that said, in order to contribute to my colleagues, I do not need to be passive in these various forms of networking. I have Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, but I rarely post or even comment on other posts. As a professor once told me, I need to use my voice. Good advice that I am slowly learning to use. Perhaps this class was the kickstart to adding my voice to the body of learning in my subject area, as well as schooling, in general. 

Changes, Changes, Changes

Good morning, my beautiful people!

As time changes, so do I. I started this blog many years ago and abandoned it. Picked it up. Abandoned it. As I am currently taking an online professional development course, I am again revisiting. I am considering how to best utilize this resource to reach students, parents, the community, and maybe even other educators and administrators! Most of my online communication with students now occurs through Google Classroom, but that is not an effective way of communicating with parents and the community, or other educators and administrators. Eventually, I will not have my own students in Google Classroom either; my students will be all of the students in the school, one day in the future.

With that said, I suppose there are some housekeeping things I need to attend to before continuing to use things resource for too long. The blog list needs to be updated. There are several blogs that I followed that are no longer kept. I need to remove those and replace them with blogs that I follow that are still updated.

The second is changing my blog's name. I have a few names I am considering, but I will leave it for now. The title still fits, although one day it may not. :)

The third is I think the theme needs to be updated as well. I will be looking through to see what fits me now.

I guess that is all for now!

Smiles,
Mrs. Bodine

Ideas for 2016 - 2017

I still enjoy writing in my paper journal better than posting online, but sometimes there are things that I want to try. I am going to try something different next year. I would start this year, but as the syllabus has already gone home, I am hesitant to change.

The idea to change came with this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wr7OPT5R2M

I will keep you updated. Right now it is just a thought, a seed, that has yet to take root.   The idea is student-directed literature. There will be structure, but I haven't decided the best way to implement, much less plan and so forth.  It is probably not a new idea, but I think it will be a great change.

Worth a Listen

I have read lots of articles about the pros and cons of Common Core. The radio show linked below, shows both. 

The idea that Common Core is horrible is a problem for me. I think the basics of Common Core and the benchmarks offered are valid and fair. I think the roll out of Common Core was the problem. I feel like Common Core was rushed with little support and great expectations placed on teachers as they were learning the new way of instruction. I think the idea that a few could be trained and bring the information back to the school was not the best way to provide professional development.  After all, IF the information was shared, it was not "first hand" information any longer. It was filtered through a rushed understanding of the training and the bias of the teacher bringing the information back to the schools. 

I think if the Common Core tests are used punitively in the schools, it could be a problem. This adds a layer of fear in the teaching of the standards. It makes it difficult to try these "new" ways of teaching when worried that making an error or allowing students to find the answers will lead to poor scores that will adversely affect a teacher's livelihood.  Also, Common Core was not meant to keep the focus narrowed on math and reading. It was meant to allow arts, sciences, and social sciences to have equal footing with math and reading. We will see if this is the case.

Anyway, this is worth the listen:

http://www.americanradioworks.org/documentaries/greater-expectations/

Ah. It has been too many days. I guess I didn't make the 100 posts in 100 days. It is okay though.  My portable hard drive is dead, dead, dead. No redemption. I have tried all. I guess I will have start over, but it is okay.  I usually start over every year anyway.  :)   My graphics are gone. My pictures are gone. Those I worry about, but it is still okay. Starting over is good.

I do have some pages, if anyone would like. You can add lettering, change colors, whatever floats your boat. :)

The last one is transparent, in case I want to print it on colored or patterned paper.

Smiles,
Trish

A couple days

It has been a couple days since I posted last.  I have been trying to finish up my classes for the summer early so I can work specifically in my classroom and on classroom stuff over the next two weeks. I still need to open and try to salvage my external. I have many helpful shareables on it, if I can get it open.

Smiles,
Trish

First day and Before

I may be getting ahead of myself, but as I am planning, ideas come to the forefront and I have to write them down or lose them forever!  One idea I am going to try this year (STOLEN IDEA FROM MIDDLEWEB) is a homework assignment for parents. It will be a piece of paper with one sentence at the top: In a million words or less, tell me about your child.  I will not grade them, only read them, to get to know my kids better.

So far on day one:
1. Million words or less parent homework
2. Student survey (Adapted from http://firstday.wikispaces.com/General)

Feel free to snag, if you like. The original was free, so this one is too. :)

I am working on my own binders for classroom information.  I will upload items as I finish them.

Smiles,
Trish