Thinking about blogging...

Blogging Research Wordle by Kristina B (flickr)

I was reading an ...And This is Why Teachers Should Have Blogs post by George Couros that someone tweeted. And it has be again thinking about a post that Anil Dash wrote titled, "If You Didn't Blog It, It Didn't Happen." That post from Anil Dash started a pretty interesting conversation amongst my friends about blogging, our own blogging habits and its importance in our lives.

I agree with Couros that having a professional blog is important and is a great tool to reference what you did in the past or what one's thoughts are on trends in the field. I have been trying to be much better about posting here. However, one of the concerns I have is the fact that these blogs, which can be both personal and professional, can be taken out of context and used against you in court. (Read MizzMurphy's post here).

I have 2 blogs. Both are fairly public and I try to keep my personal one as separate from my professional one as possible. However, I struggle with that decision, which is probably one of the reasons why I hardly blog anymore. It is difficult to divide those 2 parts of me. I find that sometimes this blog just lacks personality. I always wonder how those people out there balance the two? Do you have a super secret blog? That's password protected, invite only? Or do you just write about it all in one place?

I do find that keeping a blog helps me re-evaluate my school year. And helps me think out loud things I am struggling with as a teacher. However, if this blog could possibly be used against me...why should I do it?

This year, I am trying to start a class blog but that has its challenges. I want to open it up but at the same time, I wonder about how we are affecting our students "digital footprint." I do have issue having students creating accounts even if there is approval from administration and their parents. Do teachers who have their students blogging think about the digital footprint they are creating for their students?

Communicating With Parents

I am currently reading From Fear To Facebook by Matt Levinson and this struck a cord with me.

"[Coach] Bob Knight said that if the chemistry teacher at IU was making an impact

on a student and if Knight was struggling to reach the same student, he would go

talk to the chemistry teacher to find out what was working. Parents need to do the

same. They need to swap stories of success and failure, so they can find the right

catching point with their child" (p.78)

The last couple of years, I have had some great students with challenging traits. I have had students with ADD, ADHD and even a form of Tourette syndrome. I am so grateful that we have deans who help deal with the situation as well as parents who are willing to help us out. I am still not comfortable talking to parents but I am working on it. I have learned some valuable techniques and I can say that I think those kids are doing exceptionally well when that communication continues.

Recently, I emailed one of my former students parents because their child was taking initiative and coming up with amazing ideas for our book club. The student was creating book displays and leading discussions and I thought it would be great to let them know. I hardly ever email parents but there were some challenges the year I thought this child and it just seemed like a great way to tell them that their child was doing well.

This is a part of the email:

Thank you VERY much for your email. It isn't often someone stops and takes the time to let parents know that the little boy they were raising, is still somewhere in the adolescent cloak [their child] has adopted as [their] current attire.

I forwarded the email to my fellow librarians and we all teared up a little. I forget that what we see and experience at school can be completely different from what the parents experience at home. It is also different from one teacher to the next. This is definitely something to keep close during the coming year. Also, I have to remember to not be so frightened by parents. :)

Web 2.0 lessons - Networking and Kids

For the past couple of classes, we have been having our students explore various web 2.0 tools. One of them happens to be networking (I'm dropping the "social" and the "educational" because that is a whole other post) tools available online. A few of my students are comparing Myspace, Facebook and Imbee. One of them came up with the an amusing analogy after I asked them to describe the difference between the three tools and how the privacy tools work. This student is really energetic so just picture someone talking very excitedly about the topic.

Student: "Ok. Ok. so Myspace is like a kid jumping off a cliff. right?" He then proceeds to "jump off a cliff)

"and Facebook is like, you know, a normal kid." (then he points to himself)

and all the while his partner is agreeing with him and then throws in

"and Imbee is like a kid wrapped in bubble wrap!!!"

Eureka!

I cannot wait to see how they demonstrate and talk about these tools and am steering them towards the educational value of these sites but sometimes it's just fun to hear them talk.

On My Mind: Dealing With Eating Disorders

Being stuck up on the hill and no longer being at the heart of campus, I do not see as many students as I did before. The library used to be at the center of campus, so I saw kids who did not normally hang out in the library but would just pass through. I did not realize how separated and possibly out of touch we are now that we are so separated from the classrooms. Yes, students still come but now they come with a purpose - to work.

However, now one of the obvious drawbacks in now seeing a lot students is that I do not feel I know what is going on.

Recently, I saw a girl who I taught and I was struck at how unbelievably thin she had become. I remember seeing her at the beginning of the year and it was a marked difference from September to now. I was concerned and then I was told, "Oh, they (the important ones) know. It's actually better now."

Not that I think everyone on campus should know about these things but how transparent are most schools about certain students? I felt strange voicing my concerns so late especially when "they" are dealing with the situation. Maybe it was the look and tone I received when I shared my concerns...

I still have no idea what to do in those situations. I suppose, we are lucky that we have a really great counselor and also wonderful deans but still what would you do as an educator? Does it depend on your relationship with the student? Do you just ask how they are doing and leave it at that and hope and trust that the situation is being dealt with the best way the people above you know how?

Filled with "Fence Riders"

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to go to Mark Boynton's BER workshop called "Working Successfully with Difficult & Disruptive Students: strategies that work."

Overall, I really enjoyed the workshop. Mark Boynton knows what he's talking about and he's a very dynamic & energetic speaker. He used a lot of film clips from 80s teen movies, like "The Breakfast Club" and "Better Off Dead," to illustrate some of his points. He also showed a lot of these Suburban Auto Group Trunk Monkey commercials to show that these challenges and the techniques he was discussing would not be solved overnight. Also, do not worry, he went through the proper channels to get permission to use these clips! (YAY! That makes a lot of librarians very very happy.)

Honestly, I wish, I had taken this workshop at the beginning of the year instead of the end of the year. I am not sure if I posted about how much trouble I was having this year. I care about my class but I have a lot of "fence riders." You know, who the fence riders are, the kids who are good but can also swing either way in behavior depending on how good your class management style is. Well, unfortunately, I do not come from a teaching background, I'm a librarian and learning about how to deal with students and children is not a requirement. Though at this point, I think, it should be especially if you are going into the public library field because we get all kinds of kids in the public library.

The main point, I got out of the workshop was the obvious, care about your students - ALL of your students even the most challenging ones. I had only one last year. This year I have 15. I know, I am so lucky that I am at a school where the teachers and administration want their teachers to succeed and help out when you ask them. This year, I asked our class management guru, Dr. D, to help out. She was my cop. She actually pointed out a lot of techniques, like proximity, eye contact, assertive voice, etc., that Mark Boynton spoke on during the workshop. It has been a long year and I am still becoming more comfortable being an "authority" figure but this workshop definitely helped me reassess the techniques I was implementing during the year and also gave me techniques to apply for next year.

My worst nightmare (I am probably over-reacting)

Today, I began a lesson about copyright, public domain and fair use. It was going well until I told them to open up Flickr's copyright symbols page. Instead, being students and the temptation of searching for me is way too hard to pass up, one of them typed in my name.

One of my students, raises his hand (smart, I thought he was going to make a comment about copyright) and goes, "Ms. Martino, are you Miss Martini?"

My eyes popped out of my head!!!

And low and behold, there I was! But it was actually a picture from my friends' pages.

Then came the bombardment of questions and the accusation that I'm a liar because my profile says I lived in another city. I mean, it was all in good fun and they are just curious but oy. I knew this would happen. Thank goodness for the privacy settings.

I am not sure how I am feeling. I think, it's because I'm a little more human now. Do you remember when you were in school and teachers always seemed not from this planet? I mean, I never knew where the teachers' lounge was or if they had lives outside of school. Now, if you have an online presence, well, you have some of your life just out there in the open and people do not seem as inaccessible as they once were.

I am not sure what will happen now. It will be interesting I guess. They will probably find this blog as well. Well, all I can say is, "Welcome."

Paper Planes and Bib Cards

Before I forget, "Happy Thanksgiving!!!" I cannot wait to eat. Too bad Thanksgiving is not tomorrow then I can get to all my favorite foods sooner.

I am almost done with the library lessons portion of class. This is where the librarians teach a bunch of 7th graders how to conduct research. We introduce them to the library and staff, familiarize them with the various tools available for their use, and help them understand the research process. It is a great and important class to have because I know for a fact that not a lot of students get this kind of hands on and practical instruction.

Though these classes are important, at this time in the school year, I am exhausted and a little burned out on the lessons. I do not know how some teachers/instructors stay motivated when they teach the same lesson one class after the other. Luckily, today's class was on bibliography cards and most of the students were pretty successful in completing the task. We had enough time at the end to make paper airplanes and have a mini contest.

I was being a little selfish because I was gaging how many students would be interested in a paper plane flying contest. A couple of the boys, who had finished the assignment, took part and I was very impressed with what they created. The rules were just folded paper planes, no glue, paper clips or anything other attachments. A couple of them made really great gliders. At the end of class, they asked if they could throw them off the balcony. Some times, you need to be a little lenient to engage students and gain their trust. They were well-behaved, there were not a lot of people in the library and it was research for me.

SNS & Education - Thoughts?

I am currently researching the use of social networking sites in the classroom. Does anyone out there have any thoughts on the topic.

I am reading about Ning, Elgg, and Imbee. I think it is best to stay away from MySpace and Facebook.

It would be good if I got some feed back from people out there.

Thanks!

Another fun-filled retreat

I got back from Joshua Tree on Thursday night and I will say it was certainly an interesting trip. It was a lot of fun but there was also some drama.

Some times, you get a group where the personalities of the kids all seem to mesh and other times, you are not so lucky.

I think, I am at a school that fosters a lot of different personalities. I observe some kids and I know that they probably would not fend very well at a public school. But sometimes, I tend to forget that kids are kids and they can be insensitive and intolerant. That is something I will have to keep in mind during the school year.

There were some things that these kids said or did that totally rubbed me the wrong way. And hopefully, I can point it out and have them think about these things.

Our ethical theme this year is "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." Just because you can say some things does not mean you should.

Overall, the trip was again pretty amazing. Orion was really bright, we did not have a moon to keep us up on the overnight, there was an amazing breeze and the temperatures were mild. I met some new students and there were moments where they really showed that they could work together, like when we were crawling through some caves or when they were helping each other carry tents out.

I heard some pretty great stories that I probably would not hear during a regular school day.