Where do we go from here?

I'm sad to see this course coming to a close. For me, this has really been a provocative class. It's challenged my beliefs in such a way that encouraged me to revise my views on how to best teach English, what meaningful work looks like, and how to bring classrooms, schools and districts into the world our students already live in.

What happens to these blogs we've been working on? I know that I will miss reading our course blog and my classmates' blogs. When Will visited our class, Larissa asked him how he learns about the best new technology out there. He said he has a network of "teachers." These blogs are my network of teachers. People are constantly posting links to interesting articles, helpful resources and amusing song parodies. Equally valuable has been the experiences of people in terms of bringing some of what we discuss into their classrooms. I will definitely continue to visit Chris' blog to hear how his students are doing and how his colleagues react to his letter suggesting a revamping of the English program. I hope to hear how student teaching goes, and how what we've done in this course becomes a part of that experience. I think most of us have felt the effects of this course when talking to our families and friends. It's been a powerful experience.

I realize this post is a little "link-happy," but I wanted to try to show how valuable these blogs are. I haven't even mentioned the books we've read, and the thoughtful discussions they have encouraged. What I'm trying to say is, please keep posting. I love the learning that continually happens in and out of the classroom as a result of this class. Thank you, teachers, for making this semester such a meaningful one.

Bloglines test

For some reason, the two posts I made two days ago are not showing up on bloglines. I'm posting again to see if this one will show.

Web Site Update

Continuing to work on my site through the weekend. Enjoy a few photos and a special effect courtesy of my husband's web magic. Thanks for the feedback - it is much appreciated.

Project Abstract

Fences: A Read/Write Web Unit Plan by Sarah Ostrom

I will be presenting a unit plan for teaching Fences by August Wilson using some of the applications we have worked with, strategies and suggestions from our guest speakers, and the guidance of Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms . The final product will be a website contrasting traditional lessons with lessons that reflect the technology of our world today.

Professional Web Site

Well, here's my site so far.

I am working in Dreamweaver (with technical support from my husband).

I'd appreciate feedback on what you'd like to see more of (okay, besides the missing teaching philosophy). What would be eye-catching, interesting, and professionally appropriate?

Naive or idealistic

It's been a little while since I posted, so here I am to try and remedy that in spite of feeling like I've come down with a case of blogger's block.

I've been thinking a lot about our class with Will. I feel very lucky to have had that experience. My brain gets such a work out from trying to manage all this new information. When I reflect back on our conversation, something that I keep coming back to is Joe saying, "Maybe I'm naive, but...". I've been thinking about the difference between naive and idealistic. Is it naive to have high expectations of yourself and your students? Is it naive to think that you can bring about the changes that we are talking about? Is it naive to think that your students will find meaning in their work in your class? I hope not.

In a somewhat related story, I have been struggling to get my students to attend class. Most times, this means me either going outside or to the cafeteria to find them and bring them to class. What has been frustrating me about this endeavor is the apathy of some of the security guards, teachers, and administrators (NOTE: not ALL are apathetic). As I walk outside and debate going off to the creek to search for my students, I wonder, "Am I being naive to think that this will help anything?" One thing that I know for sure is that whether or not they come to class and do their work, these students know that someone is paying attention to them (and aren't we in an attention economy after all?). I really believe that they know that I care about them on some level. Is this naive or idealistic or both?

Web 2.0 Solutions

My friend sent me this link of a huge list of applications for teachers and students. Not only are there a lot of applications/programs/tools out there, but clearly there are a lot of people out there who are moving towards using these kinds of technology in their classrooms. Exciting stuff.