Interesting Book just out from ASCD

I am reading the new book by Yong Zhao, Catching Up or Leading the Way. It talks about how our educational system is being ruined by NCLB and that while we're trying to be more like other systems (China), they're trying to be more like what we were-- a country that promoted innovation and creativity. Really interesting stuff!

My Focus Keeps Changing

Not only does my life keep taking new twists and turns, but so does the focus of my inquiry. I thought I was going to study New Literacies, but that turned into Collaborative Classrooms. Now I've discovered that it's student engagement and empowerment that will affect learning, regardless of the medium used. At least, that's what I'm seeing in my classroom thus far. My students are excited about using the Wiki as the forum for their research, but they are MOST excited about making their handmade Zines.

Who knew?

School Convocation Day

Well, what do you know? Deb Delisle was the keynote speaker today at our opening convocation, and what do you think she focused on? 21st Century Skills, working in COLLABORATIVE GROUPS, and Informational Technology. Talk about twists and turns! She also emphasized the importance of the teacher-student relationship and building that rapport (of course!).

I was just thrilled that my classroom plan fits right in with that of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of Ohio. I sat there listening to her and I must've had a stupid grin on my face, although I hope not. Just was a true affirmation for me today and I feel good about the direction I've chosen.

New Start

Well, I began this blog as a place to muse about life in general and about unexpected twists that life takes. Once class began, the posts reflected my learning regarding New Literacies. I had never heard of a ning and didn't really know what a wiki was, but all that's changed.

I have a feeling that my whole world has changed because of this class and the fact that I have so much more ahead of me as I embark on my quest for my PhD. Life does take unexpected twists and turns and I can't wait to see what waits just around the corner.

I do want to thank Dr. Kist and my classmates for all I have learned from them, and hope we continue to meet in cyberspace (and in realtime, too).

YFYNOA!

That's Yay For Yahoo Newsfeed Once Again! That's my textspeak for coming across another appropriate article while logging in to my email. The article is all about how adults need to keep up with all the text abbreviations that are becoming part of the lingo and it outlines a few instances that caused some embarrassment. If you're interested, you can read the article here.

The Flickering Mind

I've been reading parts of an interesting book by Todd Oppenheimer. The title is The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Technology in the Classroom and How Learning Can Be Saved. I almost passed it by in the library, but decided to have one resource that I felt was probably in opposition with what we'd been doing in class.

I haven't read the entire book, but basically he's warning school systems to use technology (and spend money) wisely because at the end of the day, it's less about the technology, and more about what you do with it. He also warns against losing the personal touch and helping students enhance their ability to relate to one another.

So it really is in line with thinking about what 'new literacies' really are and, as Bill said, it's not always about technology.

Wikis Here, Wikis There

Wikis, wikis, everywhere!!! Who knew? I started out investigating e-Zines (which I'm still doing), but I've fallen in love with wikis. I can see so much potential with them and am bound and determined to incorporate them into my classroom, too. 

Just so you know,  offers free, unlimited k-12 wikis for educational purposes. I'm also finding that the process of writing this paper isn't so different from what I experienced putting together the multi-literacy autobiography and therefore, it's taking  FOREVER! I read one thing, which leads me to investigate something else, and on and on. I don't even need hyperlinks to do that :-) It's happening with print, too, so reading actual printed books and articles is becoming a non-linear activity for me.