Change is still a slow process for me, I am now in CSE 697 and attempting to figure out what I am supposed to post, where I am supposed to post and when I am going to find the time to do all the research that I need to do, but more so, all of the "practicing" with these new tools that I need to do. So.... I have returned to my blog to create an entry as I have seen, in this new class, that our blogs are part of "google reader" (I think) which is tagged and added onto our igoogle accounts and if someone is checking their google reader, they will see that I have posted a new blog. I am still trying to figure out if I am supposed to document in google documents in regards to my research in this class; so I if someone has that answer, and know how, please enlighten me.

So.... to get to the point of what I wanted to truly share....... I am looking for help from all of you. At the school where I am a teacher, I am part of the arts/health and wellness team and we have been asked to develop some new courses, complete with lessons plans aligned to Oregon State Standards in those disciplines. Again, we are primarily, an online school, but follow a hybrid design. My team is looking to develop a course that high school students can earn credit it and that students (roughly 3-8) can participate fully as well and learn through the arts and physical movement.

We are attempting to develop two different courses (trimester in terms of length). One of which will be cultural art around the world (producing art using the different mediums that cultural art lends itself too) and the other; cultural dance around the world. We plan to incorporate some social studies/geography into each lesson building schema and background relevance to the projects and dances that we will be teaching.

My task has been to explore within the greater metropolitan area of Portland and vicinity, dance instructors from various cultures that would be willing to be guest lecturers, and instructors on a volunteer basis (as we have no money for this venture, and what little we have will be spent on renting studio space). We have thought about the possibility of these different dances: Hula (which I can provide the instruction for), Irish dancing or clogging, African dance, flamenco, salsa or latin dance of some sort, and I am open for suggestions. My challenge has been in finding someone willing to donate their art/talent for free. It would really only require once or twice per term to come to our class for about 1.5 hours. These intsructors do not need to be professionals, they can be advanced students of professional instructors or studios looking for a way to share their skill etc. So..... if you know of a talented cultural dancer who may be interested in helping us out, or have any ideas of where I may continue to look (I am using google or course to search for leads) please pass them onto me or feel free to give them my contact information; gmail account or have them respond here in my blog.

Much mahalo (thats thank you in Hawaiian) for any leads or ideas that you can send my way!

Reflections; Looking Back and Beyond

Deadlines have always loomed over me. I am the great procrastinator! Last to try something new, clinging onto the past. Last to complete a project, wanting to savor every moment of freedom with the false notion that I work best under pressure. Deadlines mean I need to come to a conclusion, I can not sit and contemplate any longer. They have always felt like the point of no return. But are they really?

Here is my free association to Blogging: (loosely follows some of my thoughts/emotions and reactions to all I have been introduced to in the last few weeks)

what?
computers
sterile
not for me
whats the fuss
overwhelming
fun
innovative
interesting
addicting
challenging
frustrating
complex
interactive
useful
innovative
feeling incompetent
appreciative of others words and art
endless possibilities
time consuming
love-hate fascination
excited

I truly had no idea a few weeks ago what blogging was. Heard about it, but never read one.
I feel like I am very much still in the infancy stage as a blogger. I am very dependent on those who have forged before me for information, encouragement and support. But, like an infant, my curiosity has been peeked. This "thing" has been dangled before me. I have grabbed it, pulled it closer to me to explore and taste and test out. Will I like this thing? Perhaps!

I have been very impressed by the quality of the blogs of my classmates. The artistic, creative and aesthetically pleasing features as well as the content, the links, the incredibly wonderful writing. By far, my favorite part of this experience has been the exchanges of ideas and knowledge and the fun, more lighthearted touches that some of you shared (loved the Sesame Street stuff!)

I survived the creation of my own blog; albeit very amateurish compared to others. I got lost in the exploration phase. This was the addictive phase for me. From one link to the next with so much information available and one thing just kept leading to another.

I was blown away by the amount of literature and research that has been done on this phenomena already, (oh thats' right, I am just behind the times!). And then..... there was the whole question of how it could be used in education. I have turned from skeptic to believer in the infinite possibilities it has here. I am excited to turn my marketing plan into a reality and to begin the process for building my classroom blog for book reviews. Thank you, by the way, to those of who you provided me with some clever, catchy titles for this blog! I have yet to make my decision.

My downfall, the technical skills. Adding media, connections and the gadgets and what not is where I have stalled in my quest for change. I will need a great deal more practice and patience to conquer this battle. I don't know why it is so hard for me, but it is. I will persevere, however, because I am now a believer in the blog as a fun and effective educational tool if used properly.

Thank you all for your wisdom, your support, your art, your words, your being. Each personality was present in your blog designs and blog sharing. This, in and of it itself, was testimony to me that blogging was not the impersonal world I had presumed it to be. I have changed my attitude towards blogging and as a result I will work hard to change my technical (or lack thereof) skills in blogging so that I can utilize this tool to enhance student learning.

Marketing Ideas

After reviewing several of my peers' comments and research findings on marketing; I feel confident that I now have a solid grasp of what I will work towards as I develop my next blog. In fact, I already have the idea of the blog that I would like to create for my students.

In keeping with following good marketing strategy; the first thing I must do is define my goals for my blog and to know my audience.

My goal for this blog will be to allow my students to be a book critic, and to have a place to go to that is easy to find when in search of a good book to read. My goal is that through this blog my students will feel empowered as readers and as authors to publish their reviews in a forum of peers.

In an effort to keep consistency, I will provide my students with a general outline that they will need to follow in terms of book review format/content. This will also allow me with an additional tool to monitor what they are reading and how they are developing as writers.

Secondly, it will be important for this blog to include links to other blogs related to book reviews. I will need to explore this first and plan to include links to blogs that are easy to navigate and that are geared towards student reading.

I have been thinking about what I want to name this blog and this is in keeping with the marketing strategy of having a title to the blog that reads like a Headline! Does anyone have any clever suggestions? (Oh, by the way, by being inviting, and welcoming comments by readers I am also utilizing another marketing strategy.) But seriously, I am truly asking for your input here.

I will definitely put my blog URL on my signature page of my email as being an "online" teacher, much of communication with my students is via email. I could also look into putting the URL onto my business card (if allowed by my employer).

Lastly, it will be important for me to keep learning all that I can about blogging and its' tools so that I can make this blog appealing to my audience. My students range in age from 9-18 so it will be important to be careful with images that are suitable for all ages.

I am excited about the possibility of this blog becoming a reality. I know it will take some time to create, and I don't want to just put it out there quickly as I want it be attractive, user friendly and committed to its content intention from the get go.

YouTube - To Blog or Not to Blog!!

YouTube - To Blog or Not to Blog!!

Hope you enjoy this little tune as much as I did. Music as a medium has always been a fun way to express oneself. Music has always been integral part of my life and culture. Music can soothe the sole, bring about a memory, energize one, celebrate life and more. This tune made me excited about blogging. Enjoy!

Part 2 - ADETA keynote

Writing and media literacy


Here is an interesting video that talks about art being the 4th "r". The speaker is Jason Ohler he is talking about how "'writing" now means the ability to use visually differentiated text on the web. Moving from the old format of writing expectations for K-12 kids. Todays students are living in a visual culture. It is a long video; but very interesting. And..... I am happy to say that I have now successfully inserted a video into a blog.

Part 2 - ADETA keynote

Blogging from the Classroom, Teachers Seek Influence, Risk Trouble - US News and World Report

Blogging Information; Marketing Strategy to Come

My apologies for not sharing sooner, it has been an overwhelming week for me at my new teaching position. Up BEYOND what is a reasonable hour each night and up early. The good news is I am making headway into understanding this new "classroom" and will therefore be able to resume my blogging quest.

Let me shed some insight.I am now a teacher with AllPrep Academies and Early Colleges. The founder of this school, Tim King began with a vision 9 years ago that all students were not getting their needs met through the traditional educational models. While some or many of you may be familiar with other schools of this nature, this is the first one I am aware of in Oregon. Online education is nothing new for the college level students and for some highschools, but I am not sure about elementary and middle school. Anyway.... AllPrep is a state charter school and we offer Hybrid on line education for grades K-12 (K-3 uses a curriculum that is not based on line.) Each student is assigned a teacher who grades student work, offers support to the families maintains daily contact view many options (phone, email, odyssyware/classroom messaging) as well as going into the home two times a month ( each visit lasting 1.5 hours) bringing individualized lessons based on student need as indicated by grades the teacher sees through the online curriculum (Odyssyware) and comments what is communicated by student inbetween home visits/tutor sessions. Students are also able to join classroom sessions related to classes such as geomety/algebra, etc. offered by a different teacher within AllPrep who is has expertise in those areas by participating in a Wimba classroom. As teachers, we also have the autonomy to add other components to our "classroom" of our own design to enhance the online curriculum. School field trips designed by a coordinator are also available for students in the school and attendance is by choice and dependent upon topic and grade level applicability. As a state school, students are still responsible for passing the Oaks Testing at determined grade level and subjects.

I have just begun to journey out to students' homes and have already been impressed by the possibilties that this type of "school" offers. One of my students has a kidney disease that makes attending school in the traditional challenging due to fatigue and incontinence. Another is an 18 year parent who made different choices while in highschool, but is now highly motivated to earn her H.S. diploma, not a GED but again, a traditional school would be difficult due to childcare issues and beyond (her husband in Iraq) and limited support. I could go on and on. Allprep provides any student that needs one, a laptop (they must provide their own internet access). We have school counselors assigned to groups of teachers to help with additional issues and credit issues for this high school student, principles, SPED coordinators, etc. If you can't tell I am excited to be a part of this.

I felt it was relevent to share all of this as this class on blogging is about so much more than how blogging can be used in education, but how we truly are changing and defining new ways to reach students so that learning is available and accessible to all. In order for a student to put effort into learning, they must first believe that they are capable of learning. Many traditional settings have limited how a student with different interests, challenges, skills and personas are accepted or accomodated for by administrators, teachers and peers. With the emergence of all of the techonology available to us, these types of schools are now a possibility and can reach out to students who may otherwise be written off, or discounted, or forgotten about. The home visits truly add that personal touch, that human connection to the student that I would truly miss. I feel like my connections with my students, though limited by face to face, are truly going to be so much deeper. They will be my student for as long as they remain in the school ("looping") and the chance to have that one on one time is invaluable. I have much to learn in this new job (the technical stuff), but where I feel most comfortable is in building my relationships with my students and their families and supporting them in their educational goals/journey. The technical stuff will come.

So here is an article that I found relating to ethics in blogging. I actually included it here by highlighting, etc. not just copying and typing in. So some progress on my part. I need to find a video to include next time to practice that skill and next the whole marketing concept.
Happy Saturday to all enjoy the link



Blogging from the Classroom, Teachers Seek Influence, Risk Trouble - US News and World Report

Research Findings, musings and sharing commences:


My head just keeps getting more full. Information overload; I believe I am at maximum capacity. Last night I searched the internet for several hours hunting for professional articles around the issue of blogging or media techonology and education. Some frustratin occured when some sights I had hoped to open were tagged as not found, or whatever terminology they use that puts a dead end to that hopeful connection. I did discover a number of links that often got me "off task" or "on task" depending on how you interpret the process. It is somewhat of a scavenger hunt, isn't it?

From Joomla; Creative Classrooms on line they provided several sites (blogs or websites?) that can be used in education to support online classrooms. Most of these were in connection with the arts (yeah celebrating those portions of our brain; check out the link in Nancy's blog). Here are some of those sites:



I know that we are supposed to practice "linking" them here, but I was having no success and gave up when I got over frustrated. I will keep working on adding those gadets and hopefully they will be part of my blog next time.



*http://ology.amnh.org This site offers interactive and friendly information pages for kids

*www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm This site of the National Gallery of Art allows viewers to tour
some of their exhibits and also has project ideas for kids


*www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmnh The American Indian mineral and gem and Jurassic fossil
exhibits are available for viewing at this site.


In an article from The Journal: Transforming Education through Techonoly, July 2009, an article by Ruth Reynard talks about how blogging allows for more constant contact with students beyond the Mon-Fri, 8-5 access that kids and parents would have. This calls, however for consistent attention by instructors to making their blogs interesting and meaningful for its intended audience.

http://thejournal.com/Articles/2009/07/15/Beyond-Social-Networking-Building-Toward-Learning-Communities.aspx?Page=1



Throughout my reading of several other articles and magazines other points to ponder included:



the deabte of whether this techonology is widening the gap in educational choices between schools with money and those that do not (private vs. public; where in their our more affluent public schools and many public schools who have extremely limited resources both on site and for students at home to tap into this educational tool. While blogs are a relatively "free" resource, it assumes that all people have equal access.



There is no denial that explosion of this media technology and form of communication is upon us. According to Diana Schaffhauser, 11/2009, in the last six months twitter usage has increased by 250% and facebook by 192% with blogging and widi editing by a factor of 39. She reports these figures from a research project done by firewall vendor Palo Alto Networks.



So..... for better or worse, these forms of information sharing, communicating etc. are rapidly spreading, an epidemic of sorts. Something new will be out next year, and the next and the next. The imaginations of those that create these tools continue to push the envelope in search of the best, fastest, most effective way to communicate with our neighbors whether next door of thousands of miles away. As educators, we cannot ignore the importance of these tools and need to learn as much as we can. This last comment I say especially for myself as I have avoided this for far too long. I am on a quest to CHANGE my ways.

Last but not least; I had promised in class to provide the blog address of the teacher I am working with at my job. Here it is:

http://mscouch.blogspot.com

Happy Blogging!