The Grand Finale

• What did you learn about yourself as a writer?

As a writer, I've learned that I need to write more outside of academic writing. I've been doing academic writing and journalistic writing for so long that creative writing has become very difficult. And that's most likely attributed to the fact that my reading over the last few years has been academic and professionally focused. I very rarely read for fun anymore because of all of the academic reading that I have to do. Because I was self-conscious about my creative writing, this made the blogging experience a little difficult for me, but I definitely see its benefits.

• What did you learn about digital writing or being a member of a digital writing community?

I didn't particularly like this form of writing. I realize the benefits of it, but if I'm going to share my writing digitally, especially where I'm not able to control who gets to read it, then I want it to be on my terms and it probably wouldn't be very often. 

• What lessons can you take to your classroom or share with future teachers about integrating blogging into instruction?

Going back to the benefits, blogging allows for collaboration outside of the classroom. It also allows students to have a wider audience, which widens the purpose of their writing. This collaboration not only helps students with their writing, but also builds a sense of classroom community. However, going back to what I mentioned above. If I were to use this in the classroom, I would probably want to find some way where the blog is viewable by class members, but give students a choice of whether they want it to be shared to the wider public. 

• Challenges/Successes?

One of my challenges was being a terrible accountability partner. Most weeks I was posting way before time or at the last minute and I would forget to check in with my accountability partner to ensure that she had posted. I also would just respond to posts at the same time that I posted mine, usually whoever had posted by the time I did. I typically did not come back to the link-up for the rest of the week. I saw the assignment as a chore because blogging isn't something I typically engage in and that presented a challenge in me being fully engaged in it. Another challenge was responding to people's responses to my blog. Since I usually didn't go back to the blog once I'd posted and responded to others, I wouldn't see or respond when people commented on my blog until a week later, sometimes longer, sometimes not at all. That stopped the flow of communication and wasn't very polite (bad netiquette). Sorry, y'all!

One success, however, was that I was able to share things with my classmates and read what they had shared. I believe this created a sense of community in our class. 

What I read: Teaching Arguments

What I read: Teaching Arguments

Memorable lines
These are some of the portions of the book that I highlighted during my readings. They provide some aha moments and some important aspects of writing that need to be communicated to students as they develop their writing skills, especially in argumentative writing: 

"We attempt to suspend all judgment and personal reactions as we work to understand a writer's meaning" (p. 5). 
This is so important for writers to do, but it is not an easy task. As teachers we have to guide our students in this process so that they can better analyze works, better respond to texts, and create substantial arguments.

"Another way of thinking about occasion, audience, and purpose, then, is that all three are about opportunity to respond to something, to reach someone, or to change something" (p. 54). 
I think we sometimes assume that our students know this, but it's always good to ensure that they do. Students need real reasons for writing and this helps them think of their writing in meaningful ways - even writing for testing purposes. 

"How do we prepare students for academic work if they don't see themselves as students" (p.181). 
This is such an important question. As teachers we have to help our students realize the importance of being a student and best ways to cultivate beneficial learning practices. I love how the book ends with that!

But before we jump to the conclusion that Americans are philistines with wacky priorities..." (p. 57). 
I chose this quote just for fun. It came from chapter 3 when the author discussed context by using the Joshua Bell experiment where Bell, an accomplished violinist played in a DC subway station and barely anyone recognized him or his talent. "Philistine" being used to describe the passerbys' attitudes tickled me and I highlighted it. 



Things I want to Try 
This book had some many detailed examples! They are out-of-the-box activities, but very simple to understand and carry out. I'll list my favorite examples that I would like to try: 

1. The believing and doubting game (p. 7). This activity allows students to practice objectivity which is essential in argumentative writing. The doubting game takes students through a teacher-led think-aloud about a chosen piece. Students are asked to "temporarily [try] on the writer's ideas for size" (p. 7). They do this by using a checklist that's also provided in the appendix. Students cross things off the checklist by putting a plus sign by everything the teacher does during the think-aloud. The doubting game is just as simple. Students use the same checklist, but put a minus sign on all the items on the that the teacher doesn't do in the think-aloud. In the believing game students side with the author and in the doubting game they question the author, which allows them to see both sides.
2. Translating for Outsiders (p.85): This is a great activity to help students successfully target their writing to appropriate audiences. Students think about a subject they consider themselves to be experts in (eg. a sport they play). Next, they will fill out a provided chart (on page 86) with selected terms, insider language or jargon, and translation. Finally, they write a paragraph using the insider language for the subject they have chosen. The chart allows students to see how talking about the same thing but using different language appeals to different audiences. Also, I think it allows them to see how certain audiences can be shut out from their work if they don't provide the write language or explanation.  (The Mock Rejection Letter - p. 96 and Back Cover Book Description are also really cool activities from Chapter 4). 
3. College Success letter (p. 189). I like this activity because it alloaws students to practice all the techniques they have learned and apply it to a world-world scenario that directly affects their future. In this activity, students write a letter to themselves answering the following question: "What does it mean to me to be successful in college?"
4. Everything in the entire Appendix section!

Questions I still have

One main question I had was, "all this information is amazing, but do we really have time to delve that deep into the nitty-gritty of each type of writing with our students?"

Wordless Wednesday

I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but this is me trying to finish the semester. :) We're almost there, guys! Only a few more weeks to go, especially for those who are graduating. Let's do this! #finishstrong

Tech Creation

For my tech creation post, I decided to try an infographic with piktochart. It was a bit more challenging than I originally thought. I used one of the templates and it limited me a bit in how I could structure the infographic as opposed to creating my own. Then I realized that if I want to add pictures to a colored background I need to be able to have pictures that have the backgrounds removed and there aren't a lot of those on Google images.

But, I really like its potential and I'm going to try to create one from scratch next time and see how I do with those. I did my infograph on the new Common Read selection that we will be using in the Freshman Seminar course this year.

We usually put information about the Common Read on our website, so I might re-design this so that it can be used on the website this year!

Tech post

1.     My tech life

If I had to live out my tech life in a wordle, it wouldn’t contain the variety that Dr. Scanlon’s does. 

Before, coming back to school, in my personal life, I was involved in most of the popular social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube etc.) and I used those either via my smart phone or computer on daily basis. I also used academic tools for work such as Microsoft office, prezi, and video-editing software like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. Over the last year, however, my tech use in the form of social media has been extremely limited. I use the computer and Microsoft tools for schoolwork mostly. This is very different from the college students I currently work with who have the latest technological gadgets from fitbits to apple TV and they use all of them daily. I recently reactivated my Facebook account because I felt like I was somewhat out of the loop, which was ok with me, but I realized that the less I stayed connected into current tech trends, the further behind I was becoming in catching up with all the new technologies and social media platforms that are being released. My former teachers operated in this way. Most seemed not to be able to keep up with the latest technology, which created a student-teacher gap.

2. I tried out VoiceThread for an assignment for another class I am taking this semester. I ended up not using it for the assignment. I used WeVideo instead. While VoiceThread allows you to add video, pictures, and sound to create video stories, I didn’t like how the voice overs had to be recorded. In VoiceThread, if you upload a large number of pictures that you want as the background for your video story, you have to narrate each one separately. However, on WeVideo you can upload all your pictures, or videos, put them in the order that you want, record your entire narration all at once and then just place the narration under the images/videos. It also allows you to add music and to cut or lengthen the images/video so that they match the audio. I think both platforms offer the same concepts, but WeVideo is more user-friendly and flexible. I will be using WeVideo with the new group of peer mentors that I will be working with starting in June. They will use WeVideo to create a digital personal narrative to share with their class of mentees as an introduction. Here is a link to the WeVideo I created for another class. The peer mentors will do create something similar.

2.     Authentic Tasks for Students:  Here are a list of a few tools that you can use with students to write virtually.  Why is this important?  What are the benefits? The risks?  Write about your favorite discoveries. 

Today’s students are so virtually plugged that it does them a disservice to not take that into consideration in ELA classrooms. As our text points out, allowing students to use virtual tools in their writing can provide engagement and heighten interests. It can also allow students to collaborate with each other and it provides a larger audience for students to share their writings with. When students who that their writing will be shared with a larger audience they will be more willing to put forward their best effort and their best work. Some of the risks that come with virtual tools and writing include digital responsibility. In sharing their work in a virtual space, students may become vulnerable to cyber predators and cyber bullying. It will be important for me to ensure that students are taught good digital citizenship along with the use of these technologies and virtual spaces.  These are all great virtual resources provided and I LOVE flipgrid. My group members and I used it in a group lesson plan presentation last week on a lesson on personal narratives. I loved how it allowed students to be able to share their writing in a different form and also have their peers respond to their writing in a more dynamic way. One of the things we learned from the implementation of the lesson, however, is that some students may not be comfortable sharing their writing in that way so choice will have to play a role when using some virtual tools in the classroom. Popplet seems interesting. It reminds me of a cross between an infographic and a Prezi. I’ve used Prezi in the past and I describe it as an upscale PowerPoint. I enjoy using word images and one that’s not on this list that I like using is called Tagul. I like it because it allows used to change the shape of their word cloud along with some other cool features. Here’s an example (I used it for my word cloud above as well):

4.     What Lies Ahead?  

What I noticed was that I was familiar in most of the first 10. However, of the 100 there were a lot that I didn’t know. I was excited though that WeVideo was one of the new tools. Even though I didn’t find it out on my own, I was glad that I learned how to use it and that I’m planning to use it in the future. It was also interesting to find that Adobe Premiere and Adobe Illustrator are being used in schools since I used it professionally when I worked as a reporter.

5.     The Thinking Matters aka Choose Your Tools Wisely:  

There are so many digital tools that can be applied and adapted into the classroom. However, review of the Bloom’s Taxomomy chart below indicates that teachers should be intentional about which area of expertise each digital tool used in the classroom develops. This will allow teachers to ensure that they aren’t overdeveloping certain areas and underdeveloping others. A balance will be created.

6.     Based on your exploration, what do you want to try next? I only try to get good at one tool at a time. Currently I have been working on HaikuDeck and my next is FlipGrid.

I’d like to do some more exploration into quizizz. I create a midterm and final review game for the peer mentors to lead in their classes each semester. We are currently using Kahoot and jeorpardylabs, but I want to check out quizizz more to see if they could be some new options.  I’m also fascinated by popplet. I might consider using it in my training meetings with the peer mentors.

Things that make you go, "hmm."

Creativity. Hmm. This is a hard one. I'm not certain how creative I am. Dramatic, yes. At least that's what my family members always say. But, I find it to be a compliment. I figure, if I'm going to expend the physical energy of conversation, I might as well make it worthwhile. When I think about my creativity, I have to take it all the way back to my teenage years.

One year, coincidentally, my dad won Teacher of the Year for the island we lived on and one of his prizes was a camcorder. Remember those? This was 1999, so I'm talking one of the big ones. Well, my siblings and I decided that we needed to put it to good use. We recorded everything! And by everything, I mean ourselves. On the weekends we would make little productions. We'd sit down, talk up a script and then get to acting. When it came to the talent there was always a hierarchy. My brother and I were always the actors. Our younger sister was an extra and our older sister was the audience (her acting skills were a bit...lacking. Let's hope she never reads this). This was one space where my dramatics were welcome. I remember one production in particular. It was a Friday night and my sister was in charge of running the youth program after church the next day. She needed to come up with something, so my brother and I jumped in to help. We decided to make a video about peer pressure and the dangers of drinking and driving. We had about three scenes. Even a car scene and wardrobe changes. I'm not being biased, but it looked professional and the attendees at the youth group got a real kick out of it. It also opened up a great discussion.

My siblings and I all live in different places and it's hard to get all of us together very often. But, even still when we do get together, it's always a production. :)

Yesteryear. Cast and Crew (including my sister-in-law)

Spring!

My Spring will start early. I will be going to visit my sister who lives in the Cayman Islands over Spring Break. I am so excited about the trip. She has lived there for three years and this is my first time getting a chance to go visit her there. Besides doing all the touristy things that she will probably have me do, I'm excited to be able to visit her at work. She teaches at an elementary school there, so, I'm excited to go visit her classroom, see the school, and meet her students. Our dad visited her there last year and she said all the kids loved him, so I'm aiming to out-do him a little. 

I'm hoping to also do some fun things with my family and friends here in Orlando. We decided to do a planned meet-up at least once a month and I'm looking forward to that. We've also talked about starting a "book circle" as opposed to a book club.  We all have books and we decided instead of everyone buying a copy of the same book and reading it together like in a book club, we will share books we have with each other and get together to chat about them once the book we've chosen for the time has made its round in the group. We're still working out to details to see if it's feasible. But, I'm excited about the prospect. 

It's hard not to include work and school into my Spring plans because that's my life, but this made me want to think about making Spring plans that don't include work and school.