Final Project: Esperanza Rising Unit

To view my final project, click here. 

Overview
For my final project, I created a series of assignments and activities related to the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.  I chose this novel because it is taught in the sixth grade at the charter schools I support.  My plan is to share these ideas with my supervisor and, hopefully, promote more discussion about bringing technology into our classroom.  As discussed in previous posts and during class, I do not anticipate that major changes will be made immediately, but I hope to position myself as a person who can help when the company is ready to invest in our students' 21st century literacy skills.


Inclusion of Technology
Given the reluctance of some to bring technology into the classroom, I tried to design activities that blend traditional print literacy with digital literacy.  For example, the Character Journals assignment could be done in a notebook or on a blog.  I was also cognizant of the fact that sometimes technology is hard to access in schools.  There seems to always be more teachers and students wanting access to computer labs than time available.  So, I tried to build some flexibility into the activities if the technology was unavailable.  For example, the Image Slideshow could be narrated live for students in front of the classroom or recorded with a microphone on VoiceThread.


Additionally, I limited the inclusion of technologies to VoiceThread.  Digital literacy skills addressed are limited to image selection and description as well as audio recordings (Image Slideshow, Character Interviews, Digital Book Talk).  Blogging is suggested but left as optional (Character Journals).  I also focused on point-of-view and role play (Character Journals, Character Interviews).



Sequencing
Activities are designed to build on one another.  The Establishing Historical and Cultural Context assignment prepares students to complete the Image Slideshow.  Likewise, Character Journals serve as preparation for Character Interviews.

Each activity description includes:

• Preparation or collaboration needed in advance
• Assignment description with step-by-step guidelines for implementation
• Customized rubric created for the assignment
• Rationale of how the skills build digital literacy and why this matters
• References to outside sources (when applicable)

Design
I decided to create a wiki since it seemed like the most logical way to organize the information.  I created a sidebar to help viewers navigate from page to page. 

Reflection and Portfolios

Taking this course has been an eye-opening experience.  When this course started, I viewed it primarily as a means to completing my Masters degree.  I was hoping learn new ways of engaging the urban, economically disadvantaged students that populate the charter schools I support. Unfortunately, I do not know whether I am any closer to accomplishing this task.

Learning about the incredible possibilities that digital media affords in the classroom, whether it is primarily used by teachers or students, has lead me to be quite frustrated with the company I work for.  The classrooms in our schools do not even have ONE computer.  Not even one.  In most schools, teachers share about 2-3 computers in the teacher workroom.  Our teachers do not have the training or resources to bring in critical 21st century digital literacy into the classroom.  My awareness and heartache about this has changed since this class started.  Previously, I really didn't think much about it.  Throughout the semester, I have been brainstorming ways of bringing what I'm learning into our schools, and I do not believe that I am any closer than I was before.  We even had one school administrator REQUEST a website where teachers could share questions, successes, lesson plans and more about the literature anthologies developed by our company.  When I learned of this, I offered to develop and maintain a wiki for teachers at the school, and I said that I would do it without pay in my spare time.  I mentioned that I've been learning about this and could use it as part of a final project for my graduate course.  I was turned down.  They said that they didn't want me working on that project, paid or unpaid.

One classmate suggested that I continue to bring up my ideas and suggestions, even if they are turned down.  Eventually, the company will realize that it's 19th century model (and I do mean 19th century...our teaching method was developed in the 1880s and is now copyrighted) is not sustainable in the American public school system.  It will have to change.  They will have to adapt.  I can poise myself to be a resource during that time.  I like this idea.  It gives me hope and motivation to continue learning about the value--and potential drawbacks--of bringing digital media into the classroom.

It would be interesting to track student responses to writing prompts or reading passages in an online portfolio.  For example, students could post a blog or wiki page on a regular basis.  The prompt could either be a state-style writing prompt (many of these encourage students to write about personal experience or aspirations) or as a reflection of a novel, short story, poem or other reading passage.  If these were done weekly or bi-weekly, be the end of a semester, each student would have a nice portfolio of his or her writing.  Advanced or older students could be encouraged to incorporate personal photos and other images into their writing.  Mid-way through the term, students could go back and reflect on how their writing has developed and set goals for themselves in future postings.  For this type of an assignment, I believe that the most important aspect of assessment is development--how has the student's writing changed or advanced?  One potential problem with student reflections is that they might not be authentic.  Students might hesitate to offer honest criticism of their own writing so that they don't put "bad ideas" into mind of the teacher (i.e. grade-giver).  If the reflect is viewable by classmates, they also might not want to point out their flaws--or strengths--to their peers.

Minnesota e-folio might be useful for high school students applying for colleges.  It would be a way to store their writing, other work, transcripts, and personal statement(s) all in one place.

As stated earlier, I plan to continue learning about the benefits of bringing computers and digital literacy into the classroom as a way of positioning myself for the inevitable future development of our company.  I think the best way for me to do this is to regularly read educator blogs, keep up with the latest information from education organizations (e.g., NCTE), and network with other educators who are currently employing these technologies in their own classrooms.

Writing Assignment

For my final project, I am working on planning a unit for the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan.  As part of that unit, students would write character journals as they read the novel.  Character journals are nice for several reasons.  Students become more engaged with the story because they start to look at events and dialogue closely to see how it impacts or is interpreted by a specific character.  Character journals also allow students an opportunity to engage in role-play, which as we have discussed, has a variety of benefits.  Journal entries are typically shorter, so they are assignments that can be done quickly during class or as homework.

My assignment gives a nod to blogging but would primarily be a paper-based assignment.  I did this intentionally because I am trying to develop a unit that could easily incorporate digital writing to add depth but could also be implemented if the technology were not available.  In the assignment description, it notes that entries could be completed in the students' blogs, which implies that it is something that would  have already been developed.  I'm still not sure how comfortable I am with using student blogs as a form of communication or assignment medium in a middle school classroom.  It brings up questions of privacy, availability of computer-access, and efficient use of instructional time. (SIDEBAR:  I predict that much time would need to be spent on set-up, organization, maintenance, and introduction to blogging.  Instructional time is valuable and limited and could probably be spent in better ways.  I think blogging would be great if it could be done in collaboration with a technology or computer class so that English periods could be spent on the communication and writing aspect of it.)

The rubric I created does not address presentation in any way.  This was not an oversight.  The focus of this assignment is on content and voice, which seems most appropriate for a character journal of this nature.  Other parts of the unit will concentrate on presentation.  I think it is important to focus primarily on only a few traits of writing in each assignment.

One concern I have about using rubrics is that they tend to skew the point value.  Too many points can be assigned to a given trait or element when the same value of points is used for each row.  I think the rubric I created avoids this because it has multiple rows for the same trait (content) that focus on different skills (support and accuracy).  In my experience, rubrics are helpful for grading.  However, I typically find errors in them in terms of how grades are distributed after I start the grading process.  I don't know how to avoid this.  I spend time thinking about possible scenarios and outcomes to see if the rubric is fair and accurate, but something almost always surprises me.

While completing this assignment, I found a very helpful website from the University of Wisconsin - Stout that includes many rubrics for use with digital writing.

Website Design: DOE sites

The design of a website is CRUCIAL.  It doesn't matter if the site is for commerce, personal connections, information sharing, or entertainment.  If the site is poorly designed, then it will not effectively serve its intended audience or purpose.

For a comparison this week, I decided to look at the design of two department of education websites.  I look at these often for my job and have found that some states are definitely more on-top-of-it than others.

LOSER:  Arizona Department of Education
Why is this website so terrible?  Oh, let me count the ways...

1. It is not as "user-friendly" as it could be.  There are too many links on each page with minimal explanation.  It is not always obvious based on the link title which one you should choose.  Often, there are links that have similar titles so it's especially confusing about which is the most appropriate.  Also, there is not always a pathway that shows you how you got to the page you are on, so it is hard to navigate your way back.
2. It is not visually appealing.  Whoever chose the color scheme and banner photos must be color-blind.  On the home page alone, text is shown in: blue, a brighter blue, black, white with green highlights, white with maroon highlights, and black with yellow highlights.
3. The font is not appealing.  Multiple--but very similar--fonts are used.  All are relatively normal sized, with nothing standing out or designed to grab your attention.
4. The images in the banner are cluttered and there is too much to look at.

WINNER:  Ohio Department of Education

1. This website is designed with a nice, simple color-scheme (mostly a muted red with some primary colors).
2. Headings and other "important" text stands out because it is larger at the top of the page.  When you hover over these headings, drop-down menus with more information appears.  Although there are many links, like in the Arizona DOE site, these links are much more clearly labeled.  Once you get into one of these sections (e.g., Testing), additional areas of interest appear on the left with descriptions of various links on the right.  I wish that the descriptions were not cut-off mid-sentence, but something is better than nothing.
3. The images chosen for the banners are simple and easy to recognize.
4. Links and information are grouped in ways that make sense.

It was difficult for me to complete this assignment because I wasn't exactly sure what to compare.  I wondered if I should focus on visual appeal, functionality, organization, color-scheme, amount/size/type of font, etc.

To teach students about web design, it would be interesting to have them complete a similar assignment that has a few more parameters.  As a class, students could generate a list of features that they think are important to website design.  On a SMARTBoard or projector, the class could compare a few websites to see how the design impacts the user's experience on the site.  I think that this would be a great way to introduce the concept of web design in a way that is engaging and covers the material in a reasonable amount of time.

My First Prezi: Justification for Digital Literacies in the Classroom

I decided to try Prezi to create my presentation for class this week.  I've used PowerPoint quite a bit and was ready to try something new and different.  Overall, Prezi was fairly easy to use, but it took me a while to figure out how everything would look in the final presentation.  There are so many possibilities with text layouts, presentation paths, frames, etc. that it could get overwhelming.  When I started, I envisioned a much more complex presentation, but then I realized that part of Prezi's beauty was in simplicity.

I had recently read several journal articles about digital literacy in classrooms, including "An American Perspective: Justifying Uses o Digital Tools to Foster Critical Media Literacy" by Richard Beach in The Journal of Media Literacy (Volume 57, Numbers 1 & 2, 2010).  The quote at the beginning of the presentation is from that article.  I was hoping that this presentation would help me flesh out some ideas for a final project.  Maybe it did.  At this point I'm not entirely sure, but I am also not entirely sure of the shape my final project will take.  Mostly, I've done a lot of brainstorming and thinking about it.  This my first tangible product.  Alright, let's cut to the chase.  Here's my presentation:

Justification on Prezi

Camping: A Breakfast Story

These photos--and to some extent the storyline--are from a camping trip in Kentucky a few years ago.

Overall, creating a comic was really fun and easy.  ComicLife is super easy to use.  It was really simple to drag in the images and add the text.  The characters are based on friends that were camping with me at the time, but I had to think about what they might say or think in brief snippets to make the story come to life in this comic.  Because so much of the story is told through the pictures, it was also important to for me to choose appropriate photographs to convey the story.  This is one thing that differs from most traditional print texts for adolescents and adults.

Digital comics would be great to incorporate into a multigenre writing unit, or even as a prewriting activity for narratives.  My students often struggled to zoom in on characters, slow down the storyline, and--the classic--show versus tell what is happening.  It would be so great to teach these skills using digital comics.  If I were writing a narrative about camping, I could use this comic to prepare me to write a scene about making breakfast.  When I was teaching, we actually did use a comic to demonstrate "zooming in" in writing, but it would have been even more engaging to have students create a "zoom" and not just look at one.

Unemployment: A Comic...sort of but not really

This is my feeble first attempt at creating a comic.  Although, this is not at all comical.  It sort of tells a universal story about the all-too-common experience of facing unemployment.  I chose this topic because I created a digital poem based on a found poem called "An Unemployed Machinist" by by John Giorno on poets.org.  I had the images prepared and the topic was in my mind.  I would like to make more of an attempt at creating a comic with more of a storyline, since that is a genre very unfamiliar to me.  My home computer is old and not the quickest machine on the block, so I will try to make it to class early next week so that I can give ComicLife a second attempt.

My digital poem

I created this digital poem for an assignment in class 11/9.

The poem is from poets.org.

Images are from flicker.

Potentials of Podcasting

I really enjoyed creating a podcast.  It was fun to choose a topic (reading a personal essay from 10 years ago) and then to actually do it.  The topic I chose allowed me to step back into the shoes of my 18-year old self, which was interesting.  It was encouraging and surprising to read my words again.  Especially since I was recording myself reading, I tried to get into character and feel the emotions I felt when I wrote the piece.  I loved it.  It also allowed me a chance to read my teacher's comments again, which was so encouraging.  Now that I am an educator, I read the comments differently than I did previously.  I understood how essential it is to provide feedback on a student writer's ideas, not just her mechanics.  I knew this before I did the podcast; I internalized it as I was re-reading my teacher's comments.

Once I finally figured out how to turn my blog into a podcast using Blogger, morphing my audio file into a podcast was simple.

Podcasting could be used for a variety of activities in the classroom.

• Booktalks:  If the technology were available, podcasts of booktalks could be shared among students, classes, and even from year-to-year to promote a culture of reading in the classroom.  Although I would not use this as an assessment for comprehension or independent reading, since students could easily read a summary online and translate that into a booktalk.  It would be a nice supplement to other classroom activities.
• Interviews:  There seems to be a lot of potential for using podcasting as a tool for interviews.  Specifically, I think it would be neat to have students interview characters, authors, or other readers about a book.  These would be excellent extensions for other activities in a regular English class.  Depending on the unit of study, students could interview other students, teachers, family members, community members, school staff members, etc. for a variety of reasons.  There really are so many possible uses for this tool!
• Radio Shows:  In a media class, it would be neat to have students research information about various radio shows, such as All Things Considered, A Prairie Home Companion, This American Life, call-in shows (for advice on finances, relationships, etc.), sports shows, conservative talk radio, etc.  It would be neat to have them look at the different kinds of radio shows, targeted audience, bias, and other unique aspects of the genre.  As a culminating project, students could create podcasts of radio shows.

It's been really fun for me to learn about podcasting.  I believe that this medium has so much potential for use in classrooms that have the available resources.

Getting Rid of the Gunk Podcast

Getting Rid of the Gunk

Here is an audio recording for a podcasting assignment.  For this project, I decided to record myself reading an essay entitled "Getting Rid of the Gunk."  I wrote the essay as part of a "Culture of Me" project during my senior year in high school.  Writing this essay was a liberating experience because it allowed me to voice my own thoughts and struggles.  My twelfth grade English teacher, Mr. Wiebe read this essay to all of his other English classes and told me to send him my first book when it was published.  I've often thought back to that experience.  It's not only a great example of what a powerful writing assignment can do but also the power of a teacher's encouragement.

At the end of my essay, Mr. Wiebe wrote, "We could let all incoming 9th graders have this paper to read along with whatever else they receive at orientation.  It would be the most valuable gift by far [...] Blessings and thanks.  What a powerful vision of life as based on a real life you lived and live.  This inspires!"

That feedback resonates so much more than any editing marks a teacher ever made.

Listen to my essay, Getting Rid of the Gunk

My first iMovie

Although I have used MovieMaker a number of times, this was my first success at using iMovie. The last time I tried iMovie, I just about had a conniption since I was so unfamiliar with using Macs.  This time around, I was much more patient and determined to be successful.  This might not be the next Oscar winner, but it does have images, sound, and transitions.

  I didn't get around to adding a title, but these photos were taken during a family trip to Duluth for a wedding.

A Reflection on an Online Debate

Debate topic:  Public schools are failing American students and therefore should be dismantled.

1. What were some things that you did to create your role through use of language, information in/images used for your bio?

I explained my role (charter school administrator) with brief descriptions about my "experiences" at our school.  I drew largely from personal experience with different charter schools, their students, and their administrators

2. What arguments were you making to convince other roles to support your position?

My primary argument was that we should not dismantle the public school system because we do not have a plan to replace it.  A secondary argument was that the problems identified in the public schools are exacerbated by societal problems that are beyond what a public school system can remedy.

3. What evidence or reasons were your employing to support your positions? Do you think that this evidence or reasons were effective in convincing others to adopt your positions?

Again, I drew from personal experience. Because the debate stemmed from issues surrounding charter schools as a solution to the problem in public schools, I felt that my professional experience was a huge asset for me (I work for a company that takes over "failing" public schools and manages them using a charter school model).  I used actual examples of situations in our schools to support my arguments.  I wish I had spent more time planning and sorting my thoughts to create more cohesive, well-supported ideas.  The debate over the role of schools, assessments, standards, and standardized tests is something that I internally dialogue daily.  Due to a business trip and poor internet connection, I didn't learn about the topic of this debate until 2 days before it happened.  If I could do it again, I would spend more time developing my role, arguments, and evidence.

4. Which roles had the most versus least power in this role-play? What are some reasons that these roles did or did not have power? What were some strategies that the roles with power employed?

I'm not sure that any roles stood out to me as having the most power; however, it seemed that the roles played by Rick and Erin had the least power.  I think this is because they were so belligerent and one-sided.  Roles that were more insightful and interested in multiple perspectives had more credibility.

5. Were there differences between your personal beliefs and those of your role? Did your own personal beliefs on this issue change at all due to the role-play?

Yes and no.  I agree that the problem is much bigger than the public schools.  I believe that we are crumbling as a society; however, I also believe that we have a responsibility to do the best we can in the situation we are given.  I'm not entirely sure whether charter schools hold the answer to "fixing" public schools or not.  The topic is so multi-faceted that it is hard for me to break my opinion down into a simple pro or con.  Nothing was brought up that I hadn't already considered.

6. How might you use an online role-play in your teacher to address certain issues or teacher about an event or text?

To be honest, I don't think I will.  This was a great activity for graduate students, but I still have questions about how beneficial it would be in an elementary, middle, or high school classroom.  In addition, I plan to stay at my job for quite some time.  Whether I like it or not, our schools are not going to have enough technology to make something like this a realistic possibility anytime soon.  Furthermore, our schools operate using a very structured, traditional, teacher-centered teaching method that would not endorse this kind of activity.  While I don't always agree with that stance, it is a reality for me, as well as all of the teachers and students at our schools.

Picky about wikis

Hello, my name is Lisa. And I do not like wikis. I apologize, Rick. Despite your many attempts to demonstrate the potentials of this medium, I still have not become a fan. I have created wikis, joined wikis, edited wikis, imported images and videos to wikis, but I still have not been won-over.  I would even insert hyperlinks to my previous wikis for you to critique, but I guess I deleted them out of sheer embarrassment and frustration.

I can certainly see the benefits of wikis. They can be used to collaborate and share information. You can add images, links, and all kinds of other fabulous things.

Here are the reasons I do not like wikis:

1. Because multiple people can edit a wiki, something that I might not want changed or deleted could be modified by someone else.
If I do not allow others to edit a wiki, I might as well just create a website. Maybe this is the controlling, only-child side of my personality coming out, but I think it is a legitimate concern. It might be valuable to look at previous comments, edits, or dialogue. This is an option for email, blogs, and websites that allow comments. This is not an option for wikis, at least not that I am aware of.


2. The pbwikis that I have worked with are cumbersome.
Wikis have so many links and pages within pages, that they are often difficult to navigate.  It can be overwhelming and confusing.  Maybe I just haven't seen--or created--one that is organized in a way that suits me.

3. The pbwikis that I have worked with are unattractive.
I can't help it.  Any website, blog, or wiki MUST be visually appealing and reasonable to navigate.  If not, I generally will not bother with it unless I have no choice.  Yes, this can be harsh.  However, I believe that an inherent quality of digital media is that it should be user-friendly and appealing.

4.  I don't trust the content on wikis.
With so many people contributing information, I do not trust them as sources of credible information.  Wikipedia is the best example of this.  Yes, there is a lot of information on this site.  Yes, it can be helpful.  No, you should not trust everything you read on it.  No, you may not use this as a source for your research paper.

That said, I still think I might create a wiki for my final project.  I might also create a website or do something entirely different.  I'm still not quite sure.  Like I said earlier, I think there is potential for wikis; I just need to figure out how to make it work for me.

I have started a wiki that may or may not turn into something more for my final project.  I've been thinking all week about what I could create a wiki about that would be helpful to me or others.  So far, I have not come up with any great ideas.  Tonight I was hoping to spend more time sorting it all out, but I'm stuck using the computer in the lobby at my hotel (I'm traveling for work this week).  The computer is ridiculously slow and has frozen up several times on me.  Fortunately, I set up my wiki and wrote most of this post before I left.  Nonetheless, I was hoping to have a base of the wiki started tonight.  Alas, I am at the whim of technology.  I PROMISE I'll work on it next weekend when I get home.  I'm thinking I might use it as a way of gathering, organizing, and possibly presenting information and ideas for my final project.  I'll keep you posted about that.

Minneapolis, Myself, and I

I love Minnesota.  I found this vlog about Minneapolis and why Mayor Rybek, among others, loves the city.  I enjoy watching this vlog because I think that the passion for the area is obvious and contagious.  I especially like when the little kid says, "It's in my blood."  Awesome.  The audience for this vlog is more than likely Minneapolis residents, or at least people who are familiar with the area.  Although the vlog highlights some of the sights and activities around the area, it does not go into the kind of depth that would be required to help an "outsider" understand this place.  The sight of the Minneapolis skyline, wildflowers, and Lake Calhoun appeal to "insiders" because we are familiar with them. We know them.  Most of us have memories of them.  The video techniques are pretty basic and don't stand out to me.  I do like that the interviews are done close, so that I can see the expression on the interviewees' faces.  Most of all, I like that it is about a place that I love.



And now for a little bit more about me (myself?  I still can't figure that out...).  I created this vlog to introduce myself to fellow students the graduate class I am currently taking.  Enjoy!



One thing I did not mention is the inspiration for the title of this blog.  Olive was my hamster.  Indeed, she was a wonder hamster.  She was awesome.  She is the one and only hamster I have ever held or loved.  When I created this blog a few years ago, I looked over and saw her scampering away from my husband who had just given her a bath.  Yes, a bath.  She loved baths.  She was special.  She died in July 2009.  I did not change the title of this blog because I like how it makes me smile when I remember her.

I also thought I should include a photo of Jax, who is turning 1-year old on September 28.  This photo was taken when he was about 8 weeks old.

And this is Jax with his brother Scout, who is 2-months older.  Jax and Scout are not biologically related, but they are brothers and best-friends nonetheless.

Search sites and strategies for my final project

For my final project, I am considering doing something that involves one or more of the following:

• teaching writing in urban schools
• relevancy and/or validity of state test scores and/or internal exam scores as it relates to writing
• role of digital technology in student motivation or performance as it relates to writing

My ideas are very vague at this point.  I'm trying to think of something that will be useful to me in my current job, and something that relates to this course.

Currently, I work for SABIS Educational Systems, a company that globally manages many public and private schools, including several charter schools in the U.S. My focus is on curriculum support and development for the K-6 English program.  Among other things, I conduct teacher observations, write mock state exams, create teacher guides, review internal and external exam scores, and align our curriculum to state standards.
 Recently, our focus has been on improving student performance on both state exams and internal exams. I am convinced that one of the main problems that keeps our students from performing well on writing exams is that they are simply not motivated. My supervisor disagrees and believes that our teachers are not knowledgeable about how to relate our writing curriculum to state exams.  She put together a lovely and informative presentation that teaches teachers to review state tests and rubrics, and then incorporate that information into their writing units. While this is helpful and good to know, I do not believe that it will solve the problem that we are in.  Our students know how to write, they just don't want to do it. I suspect that digital writing will offer some type of solution. However, like most public schools, our schools operate on very tight budgets. Frankly, there is minimal technology available for teachers to use with their students. English classes never are scheduled for a day in the computer lab. Computer labs are booked for the entire year for testing and computer classes. Some classrooms have SMART Boards, though. I would like to learn more about how these can be used to motivate students.

All of this brings me to the point of this post.  What are some search sites, search strategies, and databases I could employ to collect information to investigate these topics? In the past, I have utilized the full text databases in the University of Minnesota library. These might prove useful, but I have not yet looked to see what is available on this topic.  I am quite certain that the National Council of Teachers of English will have information.  Some state departments of education might also have relevant information.  I expect these will be the places I begin looking for information.  They are reputable and have a vested interest in the field of education.  Another avenue might be to use Google to search for teacher websites, blogs, etc.  There are so many sites for and by teachers that address writing, student motivation, and incorporating digital technology.  The lack of resources at our charter schools is certainly not unique, so I can probably find information from other educators about they have addressed the same problem.

When evaluating websites, I look for several different things.  First, I look at the domain name.  Anything ending in .com tells me that I need to take a look at the site developers, authors, background, etc. Not all .com sites are irrelevant, but it is important to discover who is producing them and why.  A similar principal applies to .org websites.  Many of these have a particular bias that may or may not discount their credibility.  Sites ending in .gov are generally credible, but they might not have information as current as others. When looking at .edu sites, I note whether it comes from a K-12 or post-secondary school.  I also evaluate the look and feel of a site to determine whether or not I want to use it as a source.  If the site is poorly designed, difficult to navigate, or visually unappealing, I am less likely to use it.  If a site is easy to navigate, contains good information, and is credible, then I will use its links to outside sources to find other helpful sites.

I'm still learning how to effectively use Google Reader and Diigo tools, so I don't yet know how I will use them as I conduct my research.  The highlighting and notetaking feature on Diigo is appealing, and I would like to learn more about that.  Google Reader seems a bit overwhelming at this point.  I need to learn more about filtering and sorting all of the information as it comes in.

Let the journey begin!

Blogs are a fantastic medium for communicating with others.  In my personal life, I utilize blogs for keeping in touch with family members.  Specifically, my sister-in-law keeps a blog called Just a Blink about her family as well as inexpensive do-it-yourself projects she creates.  I love the blog since it helps to stay connected with the incredible things the kids do and say as well as become inspired by her homemaking skills!

My nephew and nieces, photo courtesy of Just a Blink

For a couple of years, I kept a blog as well.  My blog was focused primarily on the crazy experiences I had teaching.  It was an outlet for me to express things that I found funny, profound, frustrating, and exhausting.  For a variety of reasons, I stopped keeping up with my blog.  Since then, my life has shifted quite a bit. I now work at a job where I spend the majority of my day in front of a computer screen, so I'm not as likely to turn to electronic media for as a creative outlet.  Instead, I prefer to spend my time feeling the sunshine and wind on my face, dirt in my fingernails, and the incredible feeling of moving after sitting for at least 10 hours each day.

In this course, I hope to learn ways to inspire students to write.  Nearly all of the charter schools I support are in urban areas with high poverty.  Many of the students are English language learners and most struggle with writing.  When asked to write multiple paragraphs on an assessment, it is far too common that students will write only a few sentences.  I am convinced that our curriculum is not motivating them to write.  I am convinced that it is--truly--preventing any passion for writing from taking root.  This year I hope to find ways of motivating students to write and enough support that I can make some changes in our writing curriculum.  Since I am not in the classroom, the changes will not be as immediate, nor will have have the control of them that many classroom teachers do.  However, I am in a position to influence curriculum decisions that impact thousands of students.  For that, I take this responsibility seriously.  Given the lack of funding for our schools as well as lack of computers in most of our students' homes, I'm skeptical that blogs or wikis will prove to be the answer.  Nonetheless, I am quite sure that I will find aspects of digital writing that can translate into our schools.

Let the journey begin!