My initial group of four has come a long way in their writing and are becoming more confident in what they choose to write about. They are incorporating their own voice into their writing and it is wonderful to see each of their personalities making an appearance through the words.Pictures are appearing that are increasing the interest and they have shared with me that when they go places now they always carry a camera so that they will have pictures to share. To my way of thinking they are now working regularly with two important areas of Literacy – visual and text.  It is exciting to see.  I recently came across a page that suggested that there are 26 different kinds of Literacy. As I read the list I realized that in many ways it was true as there is a different vocabulary for each item on the list that must be learned in order to be understood and that is Literacy.

The second group is moving forward: most of them are English second or third language learners and face their own challenges.  What has been really helpful is the Reviewing feature of Word.  My students now send me an e-copy of their blog post and I review it, make the suggestions in the right hand column indicating the area that needs to be changed and then send it back to them or give them a hard copy.  We now have a period every Wednesday morning when we are able to use the IT Lab just for our blogging. The students use this time to correct their blogs, post them to their site, read other blogs (both our students are other classes) and make good comments. At the moment we are working on everyone writing at least one good blog post a week and having it posted.  That seems to be a good balance.

Some of the students are struggling to find topics to write about such as Jack’s blog post today and others have many ideas and need support sorting through what they should write.  We are working on ways to let them use their own creativity and still provide guidance for what they may write about.  We have created a Blog Idea Box where students can put in blog post ideas to share. Students who are stuck for an idea can choose to go to the box and see what the suggestions are.  This may kick start their thinking process.  Writing is all about thinking.

My struggles are keeping up with the process.  I have 18 bloggers in my Literacy class and to give them time they need can be time consuming when I am pulled in so many different directions. Yet, I strongly feel that student blogging is essential to produce writers that are comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas to others.  The students have spent their school years writing strictly for the teachers, other students and their parents.  Giving them an audience is vital and is creating enthusiasm for the process. Checking the map on each blog has become of paramount importance.  I must stay up with the students, do may part. We are committed.

March 6-8 are the days to mark on your calendar and make sure students are involved.  Right now we are using the incredible World Education Games practice site.  Each day we check to see how our class and individual students are going along.  Today was exciting when we saw that our class was listed in the top 50 classes practising Spelling.  While these scores will all be wiped out once we begin the actual Games the way it is set up this year is already exciting.

Playing against students and classes around the world is fantastic and always adds some interest especially when my students end up playing someone from their home country.

Each special day actually last for 48 hours.  Why is that you might ask?  The rules are that as long as it is March 6th any where in the world the game is still rolling along.  It is a great opportunity to also bring in study on time zones and distances.

Finally, this is also a wonderful fund raiser for UNICEF. School-in-a-Box is a learning kit which gives around 80 children the opportunity to start school.

My final word is “Please check out the website and see what all the excitement is about.”. Http://worldeducationgames.com.  It begins in 20 days….

Beijing Spring

This morning I had a bit more time to read my Google Reader as it is a wonderful Saturday and it is beginning to feel a bit like Spring here in Beijing.  As I did that a new blog was Guiding Digital Nomads was recommended and so I went over and visited it and now I am going to recommend it to you.

Guiding Digital Nomads

I was really interested in the blog post about digital nomads.  I commented and then decided that I would post it on here as I really think it is an interesting concept. The following is my comment.

“I really enjoyed your use of the term “digital nomad”.  I have always felt that digital native and digital immigrant that Marc Prensky coined in 2001 is a bit too dogmatic especially when I look at how far I have come.  I certain fall into the immigrant position but that doesn’t sit right with me anymore than digital native seems to fit my students. To me it implies that children are born with an innate understanding of technology and how it all fits together. It seems to indicate that somehow in the womb children are now different just because of the outside world. (Ok, I admit that it taking it a bit far but that interpretation seems to be there.)

In actual fact children that are born into our digital world are not intimidated by the the world around them because for them it is their reality.  They do not fear technology but they do not just intuitively know how to use it or operate it.  Just that their approach is different.

Therefore, I think the term “digital nomad” fits well for all concerned even a digital immigrant like me.  I was a stranger wandering in a strange land when I came to know about Web 2.0 but gradually found a direction with the support of many guides.  As I see it – that is my job as an educator for my students who fall under that digital native category – I am their guide, not their leader because often I learn as much from them as they do from me.”

I have also found some apps that I love and want to share.

1.Blogsy – as funny as the name is it is without a doubt one of my favourite apps and easy to use.  It allows you to blog and post to any of your blogs.  While I am doing this particular blog on my laptop the post I did last night while watching the fireworks was done on Blogsy.  It is amazing.  I wrote the post, pulled up my Categories and tags, filled in what needed to be completed and then posted it directly to my blog.  I would be able to input pictures if I wanted to do so.  You can start a blog and just save it until you are ready to go back and complete it or to post it.  I love this app.  I am finding that I am blogging more frequently as I can work on a blog wherever I am.

2. iAnnotate PDF – one of the best apps to use with PDF’s. It has just recently been updated and is sleeker than it was before.  Underlining, highlighting, note taking are just some of the incredible tools you can use with this app.

3. Notes Plus – an excellent note taking app that will allow you to make folders and notebooks as well as convert your handwriting to text. You can download to Evernote and Dropbox as well as email. They have just updated the app and it works even better.

What I would really like is an app that I could use in the classroom to take notes.  I have found a couple but they don’t quite do it for me yet.  Does anyone have an idea?  This makes me wish I knew how to create apps…or at least knew someone who does and I could share my ideas with them.  Until that happens I will listen to your suggestions.

Courtesy of: newgre.org

I have decided that is what I am in my current job – square peg in a round hole. I have always just thought that I was marching to the beat of a different drummer but today when I was reading a post for Tech Transformation written by Maggie Hos-McGrane, things became much clearer to me.  I am in the wrong place. While my pedagogical thinking has changed for the most of the people I work with they haven’t even realized that there is a different approach let alone begun to think about it.

Don’t get me wrong- I have really enjoyed my time at my present school for the most part. I was able to expand my horizons and turn my classroom into my learning lab. It was here that I saw there was another way. This is not because the school is pedagogically attuned to change but more because they are not. For some there is the desire to change the direction but the difficulties of getting teachers to change their outlook and direction is almost impossible. I believe this is especially true when it comes to an international school setting as there is so much more going on with living in a different culture, struggling with just the day to day things and the language that teachers fall back into what they are most comfortable doing. Our classroom becomes our safe place and taking on new challenges and stretching to incorporate new ideas is seen as an impossibility or a challenge to their teaching credibility.  On the other hand, international teachers have already made a huge, life changing move and so it would seem that they would be willing to branch but that has not been my experience. 

But what does this have to do with my sudden epiphany?

1. For the past two and a half years I have run IT Tuesdays for teachers in the Primary/elementary section of our school.  When they first started I ws a relative newbie and finding out all of this great tools and wanted to share my excitement with other teachers to help them begin to transform their classroom. I shared Google Reader, Audacity, Animoto, Prezi, Edmodo, Dropbox, Evernote, Glogster and on and on. At first there was a lot of interest but gradually it disappeared and while I would get apologies for teachers not coming eventually that even died off until at the last session in November only two people were there- one was our Librarian and the other Curriculum Coordinator. So I decided to end them for the time being and focus on student doing an after school club with computers.

The discouraging part that I have just put a name to thanks to the above mentioned post is that never once have I seen any teacher actually use the things I was teaching.  My enthusiasm and their initial interest did not translate into a change in their classroom. So I have asked myself the question “Why?” we are a well funded and IT supplied school – equipment is not the problem. Every classroom has an interactive whiteboard and at least two computers plus teachers all have been given a laptop.

2. It has been a lonely journey except for my small PLN. While I am supported in what I do in the class most teachers eyes glaze over when I start to talk about it. The general feeling is that they are too busy (they are very busy but so am I), it is too steep a learning curve to attempt (it is a high mountain to climb) or the one mentioned the most is “it is the schools job to provide the Professional Development not mine to find”.  That is such an old approach. The amazing thing about all of the information available to us as educators is that we no longer have to be locked in a box with a textbook or help up by finances to develop our knowledge.  It is all right there.

What it does take though is a proactive spirit.  How can a profession that is responsible to educate the world citizens of tomorrow be so stuck in the past as to refuse to move forward unless someone else arranges it and virtually forces it on them absolutely boggles my mind. We look longingly at Finland and their school system.  It is good but will probably be the flavour of the month. We have testing because the Asian system was looked as the answer to the problems. Trust me it is not. They have good things certainly but if you want individual and creative thinkers do not look at the Asian system.

When I get discouraged I am lifted up when I read a blog like the one Dave Truss wrote yesterday on Pair A Dimes about the new learning initiative he is involved in back home in Canada. It is exciting……it gives me hope….. Check it out….doesn’t this sound like something you would like to be a part of??????? at least for a while to get a feel for what it could really be like.  This is not a pipe dream….this is a dream that is developing and now has legs to move forward.

What do you think?

So back to the website – with my coming move to Guatemala and the last six months here in China I decided now would be a good time to put a few things together. I have just started and it will develop so hopefully you will come back now and then to visit it.

http://lifewithheather.weebly.com

Midnight Excitement Year of the Dragon arrives in Beijing

Double check under the page Digital Tools for the Classroom to see what I have been sandboxing. At the moment the most interesting one has been the Technology Integration Matrix. Well worth a look and a think. That is what I am doing as I spend time analyzing it.

Why am I writing a post to celebrate my own birthday? Because so much good stuff has happened during this past year and 365 days ago I was very depressed about the future and what it might hold. Now I am excited about the future and all the possibilities. I know where I am going to be working next year and am thrilled at the opportunity to learn a new culture, meet new people and possibly learn a new language. (I have not been very successful on that previously with French and Chinese but I live in hope that my language learning gene will suddenly kick in).

Celebrating my birthday with my great class