I am pumped about next week., here’ s why:

1.  Testing is over, so we’ll be back to a normal schedule.

2. Round two of Book Club gets cranked up.

3. We’re going to write some poetry in honor of National Poetry Month!

4. I’m doing a workshop for my coworkers on using Google Reader.

5. There’s a webinar on Monday Night, and there are always some of my library idols that host or attend them 🙂

I’m really looking forward to putting on this Google Reader workshop. I’m hoping for a good turn out and some enthusiastic teachers! Surely some of my excitement will rub of on them. Watch for some posts throughout this very exciting week!

Here’s the PowerPoint that I’ll be using for my workshop, for anyone that’s interested…

[slideshare id=3760866&doc=googlereader-100417164755-phpapp01]

I’m so frustrated with my laptop situation! For Christmas (I think 2007, but maybe 2008? Sad that I can’t remember…) my darling husband got me this laptop as a surprise.

I loved it! It was PINK! My old laptop was starting to flake out, so I was excited about this gift. Then I turned it on and started using it. It had Windows Vista and I HATED it. It would freeze up and act like it had a mind of its own (with sub-par intelligence, of course). After about a month I reverted back to my old laptop. About a year later, old faithful kicked the bucket so I was forced to start using the Vista infested computer again. It works well about 70% of the time…when the mouse isn’t freezing up, etc. So I should buy Windows 7, right? Well I haven’t done that because I’m still bitter about Windows Vista. Just because I got a new laptop in this particular window of time means I get the short end of the stick.

So here I am with ISTE coming up this summer, as well as my launch into my Masters program. I need a piece of reliable equipment. What should I do? What I (think I) really want is a MacBook. Mostly because I can get the extremely cool Book Book cover to go on it. Yes, I’m that much of a dork.

Part of me is afraid of getting a Mac because its so different from what I’m used to. Another part of me wants to just go for it since I’ve heard so many people who love their Mac.

So what should I do??

1 – Keep this Dell, suck it up, and buy Windows 7

2 – Buy a netbook because they’re cool

3 – Try to buy another PC brand laptop that will fit in the Book Book case

4 – Go for the MacBook

You must watch this video:

[ted id=815]

Adora Svitak has some really strong ideas in this TED talk and they are definitely things that educators need to hear. I especially liked the part about internet filtering, but that should come as no surprise 🙂

Did you notice, though, that she used a Prezi?! I love it!

I got this from the Free Technology for Teachers blog, which is in my opinion the most awesome blog out there for educators.

Shame on me for not posting yet about my “Read Around the World” program. I’m considering it to be one of my biggest successes this year. Why? Because my students are starting to read outside of their comfort zone!!!

“Read Around the World” may not have been the most fitting name, but it’s what I went with. Here’s the scoop on what we’re doing:

Students who are interested in participating picked up a “Reading Passport” from me in the library. I made it cute and colorful. On the inside is a 3×3 grid with different genres. Students are to read one book from each of the following categories: a picture book, a chapter book, an award winning book, an animal book, a science book, a book about a place they’ve never been, a folk or fairy tale, a biography, and a free book of whatever they want. So many kids were stuck in a series and weren’t reading anything else. My great geography, folk/fairy tale, and biography sections were getting so little love. I made a few catchy videos to promote the program, and let them come to me if they wanted to do this. It has been such a wonderful experience for the students, teachers, and myself. Are they all participating? No, but many (if not most) of them are and they’re actually reading some variety! So many times a day I’m asked where the biographies (pronounced beeographies by so many of them) are. And they love it! They’re telling me about the things they’re learning about other states they’re reading about. Teachers are commenting on how much this is expanding their knowledge base and how they hear them talking about what they’ve read with other students. The first week in May I’m going to have a drawing of all of the completed passports and a student will get the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid set. Plus I got some bookmarks from Raising Canes for a free kid’s combo, so I’m giving those out to students who turn in their completed passports.

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m so proud and totally pumped about the results from this program. My awesome assistant principal shared this new free tool called Prezi with me the other day. I had to play around with it, of course, and I created a little Prezi for read around the world — check it out below. You’ve got to click here and actually see how Prezi works. It’s quite a nifty presentation tool.

In preparation for the upcoming iLEAP testing, I’m trying to prepare our students for the information resources section. I’m trying to expose students to the types of resources they might see on the test, but I’m trying to pull it together in a relevant way. I know they’ve been practicing for this section in class a little bit in class. I also know that these resources really won’t mean much to them if they don’t actually put their hands on them.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to pull in some books relating to geography and different cultures. I heard the teachers talking about what a hard time their kids have with understanding how life is different in other places around the world, so I thought it would be good to pull in some multicultural literature.

Last week, we read Grandfather’s Journey, by Allen Say. It’s a beautiful book and wonderful, simple story. It’s a Caldacott winner, which we talked about in relation to our “Read Around the World” program (I’ll write about this later on this week). After reading the story, we talked about the geography of this story. I really honed in on talking about continent, country, state, and city because I found this was something the students were struggling with. Then, we started talking about reference books and how they help us. I introduced the atlas, put them in their hands, and let them explore. We used the table of contents, looked and different kinds of maps, found Japan & California from our story, and talked about real life situations where an atlas could be used. Kids love maps, so giving them a chance to explore was fun for them. I think it was a pretty successful lesson! I did it with both grades, but pushed it more with 3rd grade. It was less structured with the 2nd graders, but I think they benefited from the exposure of this lesson.

This week, I’m planning to read When Marion Copied by Brook Berg. I read this one with my 3rd graders last year, and I really love the Marion series. My plan for this week is to read this story with both grades. Afterwards, we are going to look at some copyright pages and the sample bibliography page that is provided on iLEAP.  Once again, I’ll push the activity further with 3rd graders, but I want the 2nd graders to get this exposure now.

Next week, I’d like to pull in some magazine articles somehow. I’m still in the thinking process on how I’m going to pull it all together. I’m sure I’ll read a fun Easter/Spring story to 2nd grade since we’ll be off for Easter break the following week.

I’m really in shock over how quickly time is flying by. We have Easter break right around the corner, we come back for a week, then we have testing. After that, we only have 6 more weeks! It’s going to be overwhelming with DIBELs, DRA, inventory…and packing up the entire library since they’re redoing the roof at school. You heard me correctly. We are packing up the library. Please pray for me.

Time is flying by, and I can hardly keep up! I’ve been in a funk lately, so I haven’t been posting. A lot has been on my mind, including make the decision to withdraw from the Take One! program. I may see about deferring to next year, but I’m definitely not going to submit my entry this year. This has been a very difficult decision, but I was unable to really commit myself to doing this whole-heartedly and I cannot scramble to get everything submitted in the next month.

Today was the last meeting of our after school book club. This was really an incredible experience for all involved. I am so happy that my principal suggested this and that we were able to make it happen. I think the students really got a lot out of this experience. My group read Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Cricket in Times Square, and A Good Night for Ghosts and loved them all. They made commercials, informational videos using PhotoStory, newspaper articles, and book reviews. We are going to have another round after Easter break and testing, but this one will be 4 weeks (which I think will be better). I’m not looking forward to the pressure/stress of choosing the students to invite for this round, but I know those students will be so excited to get an invitation letter!

Tomorrow is a conference day, so I should be able to get my book orders done…YAY!

 

I am so unbelievably excited! This week, my principal invited me to go to Denver this summer for the ISTE 2010 Conference. Um…yes, please! I’ve been trying to expand our uses of instructional technology in the library, and in the process encourage teachers to bring it into their classrooms.

I’ve had some success, but it’s a slow process since teachers already have so much on their plates. I did work with one class in doing a “commercial” about the Haiti earthquake using Photostory, and it was a great success. I’ve been using the heck out of Photostory in the library – I think it’s the bomb dot com. I desperately wanted to create a blog that is affiliated with my school, but that was shot down due to a rediculous Lousiana law (watch for a post about this soon, I’m really fired up about this one). I know what I’ve been doing is barely scratching the surface, but I’m trying to just start somewhere. I know I’m going to get so much out of the ISTE conference and come back completely pumped up. I just hope I’ll be able to actually use the ideas I get, not be shut down by district/state restrictions.

I know this is going to be an incredible experience. My principal, assistant principal, technology teacher, and myself will all be attending. This makes me so excited for next school year, and I can’t wait to start putting things into practice. And the tech teacher and I are planning to go early and do some sightseeing in Denver, so I know this is going to be a fun trip!

I’ve written quite  few times about my National Board Certification aspirations. In fact, I’m planning to video my Take One! entry lesson tomorrow. And I have a meeting on Monday about the grant available for those taking part in the National Board Certification process for next school year. NBC is an intense process that requires a lot of refection on teaching practices.

Today, this article ran in the paper.

I knew this was a possibility, as funding has been cut in some other states recently. I was hoping that this wouldn’t happen here, because I was planning on using that extra stipend to go back to grad school. My own personal disappointment aside, this is a really outrageous move on the part of Superintendent Pastorek. The statement that certification does not equate quality teachers is infuriating. Someone who is able to meet the NBC requirements and successfully complete all aspects of the portfolio and testing sessions is capable of delivering high quality education. The committment required to complete the program speaks to their drive to go above and beyond. Could someone be a high-caliber educator able to succeed in the program, but not put forth the effort everyday in their classroom? I’m sure that’s possible, but is that possibility a reason to deem the program is not successful? I think that it’s the school and district’s responsibility to make sure their teachers are doing their jobs! There are so many educators who are constantly seeking ways to grow and improve, and the removal of an incentive that promotes this is disheartening.