My own blog - entries that I like

This is probably the fourth time that I am trying to write this entry. It is very much unlike me to say something that I like about myself. So, I will be very brief. I like my Blog Reflection entry for its face value - reflection. I also like my Hatched rock entry because the rock spoke to me and it seems that I was able to show what it was saying. I like the overall design of my blog - featuring my favorite books on the sidebar. I have also enjoyed using the blog for a notepad of sorts - jotting down notes or ideas as they come to my head.
As far as people's choice award goes - I would give it to Mary K.'s blog! Mary, I love reading your thoughtful and very insightful entries. I hope that you will keep writing when the class is over.

Digital Writing Project

My project is ready! I am so excited - I think it turned out really well. I can use it as a sample with my students, and I really learned a lot about Windows Movie Maker! I used Click to DVD program before, but not having it available at school prompted me to try this new tool. Windows Movie Maker is awesomel!:)
Be ready for the "In Search of the Hawaiian Turtle!"

I was really reluctant to start on my project, but then I could not stay away! Now I am trying some new tools - I am working on a staff presentation usting the Presentation tool I wrote about in one of my previous blogs. This tool is also very intuitive (just like the Movie Maker) and so far has been quite fun to use. If you like, check out my work in progress. However, I would recommend looking at some completed projects as well. If you do look at it, please keep in mind that it is not done yet and it is designed to be used in a particular order while I am talking and adding other things to the presentation.

Interesting Tool

I just stumbled upon this "presentation tool" called Prezi - I think it is worth checking out. Reminded me of something Maureen showed us. They also have a free plan (not the greatest, but nevertheless)...

Blog Reflection

Looking at the calendar three months do not seem like a long time. But apparently you really can't judge time by the calendar. September happened so long ago. I was thinking of the progress my students made in this short period of time, and I really can't believe that they are the same kids who walked into my room on the first day of school.
I also had the same experiences of school this year. Coming to class every week is exhausting and very difficult. My brain tries to block the idea of class out of my memory, but there is one thing that keeps it in check. My blog. It seems like it is always due. We just had a class, I just posted something, and it is still due. That annoying little word "due" makes me appreciate my students so much more.
My blog also helps me sort my thoughts out and create order out of the chaos of synaptic connections. Sometimes it does not even matter what I write, order is still born if not on paper, but in my head.
I think that the main goal that I had for this class was learning new digital applications and actually applying them with my students. Reading the assigned readings certainly provides the framework and food for thought, but ultimately the product that I personally strive to create is not so much my reflection, but rather the application of the readings and learning.
Have I been successful? To a degree, I think that I can answer that I was. I have had my students work with two new forms of writing - wiki/role play for descriptive and persuasive writing purposes, as well as voice thread for descriptive writing. I have been through ups and downs with my digital projects. There are some things that I will do differently next time, but some things will stay the same.
Today was a very important day in my personal digital journey - my students posted their essays on the wiki. They read their peers' work, and provided feedback for each other. Together as a class they have produced more writing than I could have ever imagined. Can I attribute that to the digital format? I think so. I believe that this particular group of kids enjoys the self pacing of digital writing, as well as the ability to take a break for a minute or two, but not get too distracted by outside factors. Computer screen does not intimidate them as much as paper does. Did all of them follow the writing format that we have been practicing? No, not really. But I have to keep in mind that most of these kids just came to this country this year or last year! I just can't imagine myself writing so eloquently (forget the grammar for a moment!) in a language that I have not even yet internalized. And as a bonus I have kids now who could be labeled completely proficient creators of wiki. They are really amazing!!!
Voice thread... Well, we'll see what we will get. I hope that it will happen sooner rather than later. We are trying to create voice threads using the pictures that we took during our ESL field trip to the Science museum. We are at different stages of writing at this moment, so I will have to report on that one later. Kids love it so far.
Well, I hope second semester of my studies will be as fruitful as this one. I have definitely enjoyed the enriched classroom opportunities that digital writing is providing. Can't wait to do more... Can't wait to get below the surface and discover what makes learning so unpredictable - you never know exactly what you will find below the surface.

Collaborative Writing

This year I used a wiki for a role-play in my classroom. The final project (students are working on it right now) was going to be a collaborative writing essay. Having gone through the process with my 9th graders has been a valuable experience. Some things were very successful (level of student engagement and the amount of writing they were willing to produce). Other areas require a lot more work.
I am going to concentrate now on areas of growth for all of us.
First of all, while students are working on their wikis or any other collaborative writing tool, it is very difficult to monitor what exactly they are working on. By nature they are very social creatures, so they just can't help it but post comments unrelated to their assignment. For the wiki and the purposes of letting students express themselves freely, I let them post social comments after they have done their assignments. They really enjoyed that freedom.
Second, writing collaboratively lacks a certain amount of responsibility. I have seen some students work very hard on reading/analyzing literature, while others just let their partners work hard. As a teacher I certainly realize that not everyone puts equal amount of effort, but I have seen students work harder when they were accountable for their own work.
Third, collaborative writing requires a lot of time. And I am not talking of writing only. It is also teaching students how to collaborate, when to write and what the appropriate etiquette is, etc. Again, it requires a lot more time than individual writing.
Having gone through the process I am wondering if I would do it again and what I would do differently... I think that I would definitely do it again, but I don't know how I would modify it yet. Also, every year the make-up of my classes are very different, and I would definitely not work on a collaborative writing with all of my students.
If anyone wants to check out our "wiki in progress", go to Mrs. Wegner's classroom here and check out the side bar on the right (9th grade role play).

Digital Practices and Media Education in my Classroom

A few weeks ago I posted a picture on my sidebar. I titled it "A Hatched Rock". This picture was taken two years ago in one of the State Parks on the shores of Lake Superior. Thanksgiving up north is one of my favorite times of the year. Nothing is what it usually is. A rock is not a rock, and leaves leave the strangest impressions on ice. It seems that I went back in time into an ice age or sorts. Or maybe exploring an alien planet.
"A Hatched Rock" was the most amazing sight: the warm sun pushed the thin ice off the rock that it was covering creating the most amazing shell - beautiful in shape and color. Exceptionally unexpected right in the middle of a path. Created collaboratively by the rocks, water, sun, and cold temperature. Nature's multitasking and appropriation at its best. On top of it, ice managed to adopt a completely alternative identity. Normally brittle, it looked exactly like a rock. And yet, I couldn't pick it up, couldn't touch it or possess it. I did actually manage to keep it - in my memory - after I admired it and took a its picture.
Digital literacy, I think, is in many ways like my hatched rock. It is collaborative in nature, and it creates things that are exceptionally unexpected. I hope that one day I will be able to create a hatched rock of my own - walking with my students on the path of digital literacies and experimenting along the way.

Voice Thread Reflection

I really LOVED voice thread. And that means a lot! I usually don't just love something right away. It takes me a while to warm up to it. But here - I just love the possibilities. As an alternative to Power Point presentation in the classroom. Or any kind of presentation. Particularly with expository non-fiction type of text. I think it would work really well with social studies (sometimes students need to research and present a person in history, for example). That would work really well with voice thread. I am going to try it with my students next quarter.
As far as my own little project goes, I did not want to record voice. I really don't like my own voice too much. Typing is a better friend of mine, so I just typed. Recording voice would be no problem with my students because we already use microphones for some other language software that I use in the classroom.
I will write about the chapters that we were supposed to read later.

Meet Cassie

Voice Thread

Playing with voice thread...
Check out my Meet Cassie voice thread...

One more role play reflection

Well, here I am again. Trying to process things - late as usual. Somehow I can't process things in a scheduled format.
Anyway, I was just reading my students' postings in our role play. Lots of chuckles... They are so very interesting! My students, I mean. They seem very casual and relaxed in this form of writing. Maybe because I am one of the participants and taking on a role of a student. One of the kids told me today that it is really cool to be able to call me by my "first name". And having me call him/her Mr. or Ms. I think that they are so used to chatting with each other on face book that it is hard to let that piece of it go. But then all of a sudden, they would post a real gem. I am not sure that I want to shut down the playful side of the "play". I think it is OK for them to enjoy it in their own way. As long as they are trying to work on the actual assignment...
Well, so far students are really enjoying this form of writing. They were really animated and involved. And I think that this is the most writing they produced on a prompt...

Role Play reflection

I feel that it is a little bit too early for me to write a reflection on the role play... I need to have it "settle" in my brain...
For now I can say that I have been using the learning and experience happening during the role play in my own classroom. We have started a "Homework - Friend or Foe" (the favorite subject and gripe of my 9th graders) as a role play. We are using a wiki (Moodle turned out to be too complicated with lots of outside people involved in setting it up). The students have really enjoyed writing up their own little personas. The set-up itself provided a lot of opportunities for teaching, and I hope that the momentum will carry us through the debate itself.
I feel like I should link my wiki here, but somehow I feel squeamish about sharing that with "the world". So, if anyone wants to look at our masterpiece, please email me and I will gladly share a link.
As far as our own role-play is concerned, I can say that I did not particularly enjoy the format of a Ning. It is a bit too confusing for me. So I have no regrets about the Ning being blocked on the district server. Other than that I loved the experience. But like I said earlier, I need to let it stew for a while...

Role Play in my classroom

My classroom is a perfect place for playing with language and voice. I really like to use reader's theatre a couple times a year. Sometimes we set up TV interviewes or write our own scripts/plays. It is perfect for writing assignments using different voice and practicing roles and language that is not normally "your own".
This week I decided that I would like to practice what I am learning in this class right away. I am afraid that the role play will get left behind and forgotten. So I have set up a Moodle course for my own role play: "Homework - friend or foe". My 9th grade students came up with the idea of debating the homework issue. Ninth grade is very different from the rest of the middle school experience, and right now my students really have a lot to say about the issue. We'll see how it goes. They are really excited to take this on, and I am thrilled to play a student who really hates homework. I will keep you posted on our developments...

My ning profile

I kind of like this picture of my fictional character. Ursula Trustworthy, proud mother of three children.

My personal research preferences

I must admit - I like Google. And Yahoo. And their Russian equivalents. At home they are my preferred search engine. Of course, you get a lot of "junk". But I am usually searching for something home-related, like Irish dance shoes or dresses... As a teacher I use National Geographic a lot. Our ESL curriculum is published by National Geographic, and I feel that their resources complement the curriculum very nicely. They have a great site for kids with a lot of multimedia resources that I absolutely love! And if you are looking for great articles check out National Geographic Explorer magazine - great readability high interest articles for students. I think that these are my favorite websites for all kinds of resources. National Geographic Rules!!!

What is Literacy in the Digital Age

I received my new issue of NEA Today Magazine. Cover story - What is Literacy in the Digital age. It reiterates all of the ideas we have been discussing - motivation, creativity, ability to collaborate across the globe. What struck a chord with me is the argument whether technology is distracting young people from reading books and taking time away from learning proper grammar and"smart" writing. Sometimes I wonder when it is a "good" time to bring in technology to the classroom. Is technology complimenting my instruction or takinig time away from teaching students to decode text and practicing essential reading skills? Do I need to first get a student to a certain reading level so that he/she can more comfortably navigate the ever-changing world of Web 2.0? I really like to use multi-media resources in my classroom - not only do they break up the routine, but they are also a great visual tool for my students. Creation on content on the web is another story - much more time consuming, and that is where I start debating how much time I should (and could) devote to that. Well, I guess, I will keep thinking about that...

Using Blogs in the Classroom

I think that I would like to try to use the blog in my classroom for literature discussions... It would have to be an in-school type of work (most of my students would not have computer access at home), but I think that we could spend 30 minutes once or twice a week working on a blog... Fictional blogs sound interesting too... It is so difficult for my students to bring their own voice into writing. Role-play would provide this opportunity.
What I am wondering about is this. I can see how a group of kids (30 or so) could get into a nice discussion on an issue. My classes are a lot smaller, and I am worried that they will be very self-conscious about publishing something with spelling and grammar mistakes. I have kids who have great ideas about something, they get ready to write, they can easily tell you what they want to write down... But when it comes to the actual act of writing, they can't do it.

Digital Note-Taking Tools

I need to figure out how to use them... How many times have I seen students take notes on paper, lose them, search for information again and lose the notes again? Also, my students often struggle with reading their own writing... Digital writing tools will not only offer a better way to store information, but also practice summarizing and paraphrasing and they search and gather information.
I am also kind of excited to read about searching for information in general. That whole idea of narrowing the topic goes hand in hand with the new writing curriculum that we are using. It is nice to reconfirm that what you are doing has a solid and sound best practice base behind it.

I have to check this out:

Literacy, ELL, and Digital Storytelling: 21st Century Learning in Action
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2790

I am really excited about this idea of learning through play. It just makes things so much more fun. And a lot more engaging.

I would like to check this out:


Dialogue on Writing: Rethinking ESL, Basic Writing, and First Year Composition. Edited by Geraldine de Luca, etc.

http://books.google.com/books?id=i_Ceiee_a7cC&dq=writing+in+esl+classroom&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=iy-xSsCXE5PIMfzY7PIN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11#v=onepage&q=writing%20in%20esl%20classroom&f=false

Digital writing course

Hmm... What are some things that I would like to learn in this course? I am hoping to get some useful ideas on how to use digital writing in my classroom. My students' language development is at such different places right now, so I am not really sure how to include everyone in this exciting adventure. I actually talked to my students about the possibility of digital writing in my class, and they are more apprehensive than I am. The funny thing is that most of them don't even want to do it. Younger students have a more positive attitude. I was really surprised by this.
As far I my own personal use... I don't know if I have a great interest in doing digital writing for myself. I am more of a private person, I don't need to share things with anyone on the internet... So I am really not sure.

Hello from Natasha

Hi,
This is Natasha. I teach ESL at Valley View Middle School in Edina, MN. I teach students in grades 6-9.