pimp my profile

I just got finished "pimping" my myspace and I have to admit it was sooo much fun. Normally the only reason I go on is to look at people I know and to spy on my younger brother and sister. I also figured since I really didn't catch on to facebook, I'd surf around myspace to try to make my page look nice like everyone else's. I still think myspace is more user friendly. I also think it is more fun. The different backgrounds, the graphics, the photo albums, the tickers, etc. are all things myspace allows you to (easily) find and apply to your page. Facebook seems alot more bland. Like Michelle said facebook seems like a lot of writing and not much more. I can see our students being more interested in myspace than facebook. Maybe I'm being alittle biased, but I think my attention span is just as short as many students and since it was taking time to navigate through facebook to find things, I just gave up. Maybe some other time I will sit down and try to figure it out more, but as of right now, I'm going back to myspace to see what else I can add to it...

Facebook, myspace, oh my!!!

Coming into this class I already had a myspace (that my little sister set up for me) so I decided to create a facebook page. Working through it I think I like myspace better. I feel it was a bit more user friendly and easier to set up. Although it seems like facebook is more private. As I was trying to find people I knew, I found it almost impossible to view their profiles without them knowing. I know in myspace I can look at profiles that aren't private without the person knowing. Sometimes you want to see what people are up to without having to have to talk to them.
What surprised me the most was how impatient I was about having to set things up and conduct searches. (it also can be that I am working on my home computer that goes through dial-up) In facebook it was constantly asking me to type in the text I see in the box. It was annoying. Oh well I will play more with it tomorrow at my mom's house (they have dsl) and write more!!

a lil chuckle

I thought we could all use a small chuckle.. Here's a joke a friend of mine sent to me.. Hope you enjoy and no one is offened.

HOW TO STAY AWAKE IN TEACHER INSERVICES: OFFERED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE...
Do you keep falling asleep in teacher meetings and inservices? Here's a way
to change all of that.
1. Before (or during) your next meeting, inservice or staff development,
prepare
yourself by drawing a square. I find that 5" x 5" is a good size.Divide
the card into columns-five across and five down. That will
give you 25 one-inch blocks.
2. Write one of the following words/phrases in each block:
* no child left behind
* test scores
* core competencies
* communication
* standards
* multiple exposures
* benchmarks
* proactive
* win-win
* think outside the box
* action plan
* result-driven
* assessments
* knowledge base
* at the end of the day
* touch base
* mindset
* differentiated
* retention
* skills <>* background knowledge
* effective learning
* exempla rs
* implementation
* reflection
3. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those
words/phrases.
4. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally stand
up and shout "BULLSHIT!"
TESTIMONIALS from satisfied "Bullshit Bingo" players:
-- "I had been in the meeting for only five minutes when I won." -Adam W.,
Atlanta
-- "My attention span at inservices has improved dramatically." -David T.,
Orlando
-- "What a gas! Staff development will never be the same for me after my
first win." - Dan J., New York City
-- "The atmosphere was tense in the last inservice as 14 of us waited for
the fifth box." - Ben G, Denver
-- "The speak er was stunned as eight of us screamed 'BULLSHIT!' for the
third time in two hours. The Bullshit Bingo Championship will be played at
the next inservice." -Rod H., Nashv ille

Tenure

This year is my third year teaching. I am very nervous about getting tenure. Alot of people in my district have told me that once you're here 2 years you're good, they rarely let people go after three years. That's all fine and dandy and may have been true, but as of right now we are 1 class too many for next year. We had a really large class this year so we increased our classes from 10 to 11. Next year's class isnt so big so we go back to 10 sooo someone has to go. I have had 3 good observations so far this year and I have been trying really hard to think of creative and different lessons. At the end of this week my principal asked for times that he can come observe me next week. Anytime he asks I always get nervous, but this time I think I am the worst. This is the last one before the big decision.. Yikes I hope I do good.

Need Help!!

I need help... Does anyone know examples of marginal annotation. For my other class I have to find a marginal annotation strategy and write how I used it to read a chapter... Does anyone know one??? I would be forever in your debt :0)

So much has changed over the years about exactly what the word “reading” entails. Before starting this program, if asked what I read I would have stated that I read books, recipes, directions, and the newspaper. Today many students are reading, but not the traditional items such as books. Students are on the internet, instant messaging, using emoticons, and texting. Many people, including some students, may not consider these practices reading although they clearly fit what the definition of reading states.
As Gee has stated, literacies are bound up with social, institutional and cultural relationships, and can only be understood when they are situated within their social, cultural, and historical concepts. The way one reads and writes is related to where they come from and what they practice. This is true throughout many different countries, states, cities, and even social groups. I may text my friends on the phone different than someone who lives in California. We have developed our own literacies in the way we communicate using technology. As Knobel, and Lankshear have stated, “People read and write words differently out of different social practices, and these different ways with words are part of being of persons and different ways and facets of doing life.
Today most people view reading as a part of literacy, or literacy practices. It is important to mention that being able to fit into a literate society varies upon the ability to adapt to different social practices. Gee spoke about the importance of using ones secondary discourses to become literates. For Gee, a powerful literacy is not a specific literacy per se but, rather, a way of using literacy. He goes on to say that language is not the only form of literacy, all of the gestures, tone of voice, attitudes, and beliefs, help define ones discourse.
I never really thought of speaking as a form of literacy, or reading for that matter. Now, I realize that speaking involves processing information and that it is related to both reading and writing. The way that one interprets what they are reading may depend on how they speak. This related back to how our discourses determine how literate we are in different areas. Theses areas could include; computers, science, math, and so on. Knobel and Lankshear write, getting closer to more literal associations with language per se, we nowadays hear frequent references to ‘oral literacy’, ‘visual literacy’, ‘information literacy’, ‘media literacy’, ‘science literacy’, and even ‘emotional literacy’. Basically this involves any way in which we communicate.
Being a fifth grade teacher, I see that sometimes it is hard getting my students to open up books. However, they are communicating daily using text messaging, instant messaging, and even updating their my space accounts. Knobel and Lankshear write, “at present one of the hottest ‘literacies’ going around in this sense is ‘digital literacy’.” It is a little scary that students are spending so much time using these new literacies, and less time opening books. However, I think it is time that we start moving into the new age and accepting these new literacies for what they are. Students are constantly reading and writing when they are on the computer or on their cell phones. They are still partaking in literacy practices. It is up to us as teachers to be able to incorporate these things into our classrooms.
The book raises a good point of how these “new literacies” are impacting the way we once thought about the term literacy. Lankshear and Knobel write, this paradigmatic sense of ‘new’, in relation to literacy is not concerned with new literacies as such but, rather, with a new approach to thinking about literacy as a social phenomena. At one time, you would hand write someone a letter. Now you just have to sign on your computer and email them. The same goes for making a phone call, now you can just send a text. It is the way our fast society now works. Many people are on the go, and just don’t have the time to pick up the phone. You are able to multi task if you are using these new forms of literacy.
It is interesting how fan fiction is mentioned in the book. If one were to look online there is a ton of fan fiction on the web. Many people are responding to television shows, movies, and just about anything else you can think of. Many of these responses are from adolescent students. They are practicing in literate practices, yet it may not be recognized in an academic setting.
I think it is important as educators that we all start thinking about new literacies and how they are affecting our students. It is important to recognize that they are reading and writing when they are on the internet. Teachers need to be more aware of what their students’ interests are and what forms of communication they are engaged in and use them in the classroom. At the same time, it needs to be recognized as such at the state and national level. If students are still going to be tested on “book based” material on standardized tests, the teachers are going to be forced to teach from the book and not use these new technologies. It may take some time, to convince everyone of that. As we all know times are changing and so is technology. Our state education systems need to catch on to this, otherwise we will continue to lose our students in the classroom.
I bet our students, can even teach us a thing or two when it comes to technology. It is amazing how much literacy has changed over the years, and how it continues to grow. It is my hopes that one day state tests, will match what student are actually doing, and interested in, instead of things that aren’t relative to their actual lives.

where does the time go???

I cant believe it is mid week already. I feel that I have gotten nothing done both in work and for my classes, as well as personal stuff like cleaning my apartment and doing laundry. I cant wait for next week when I wont have to coach cheerleading everyday afterschool. At least then I will get home at a deceint time and hopefully get more accomplished.
Even in my classroom I feel like it takes forever to finish anything. That is one thing I wish I were better at, time management. I've always been horrible at it. I am either late or early, nothing in between. I guess that's why I make it a point to get to school an hour early. :0) Oh well, I guess I will just go to sleep now and worry about it again tomorrow.

2/3 readings

I really enjoyed reading this week’s readings. The articles were informational and really got me thinking. I think it was interesting to really see how technology shapes our lives today. The article that I enjoyed the most was “Children Online: Learning in a virtual community of practice”. As I read the article I was brought back to my undergrad education classes where we were told that children learn best in environments where they feel comfortable, and that when they are comfortable learning would come natural. That we need to create classrooms and lessons that were student led where students were so engaged that they wouldn’t know the difference between having fun and learning. The community that the children in the article created was just that. They created a world, on their own, that had rules, standards, problem-solving, and decision making, all without being told to. They were all equals, they learned from each other and were not restricted by having to follow a certain criteria. No one was telling them what to do, how to do it, or telling them they were wrong. If something they attempted to do didn’t, work, it was ok. They just tried something else or did it another way. The children were comfortable because they were working with a topic they had a high interest in with a media they were comfortable and familiar with. From that, they were able to take risks without worrying about whether or not they were correct or what would happen if they were wrong. That is the type of risk taking teachers try to persuade students to do. I think the problem with the way it is done in school is that it is done with media students are not necessarily interested or comfortable with. Students view the computer and internet more as a toy than a tool and are therefore more comfortable using it. Some teachers on the other hand are not as comfortable using computers as their students and are afraid to utilize it. I think some teachers feel that these programs are too hands off, that they do not have enough say in the directions that they go. I think teachers need to practice what they preach and take risks in these non-traditional exciting new programs. I’m sure we will be pleasantly pleased in the results.
The article I liked the least was “Zero to Six Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers” I thought that a lot of the findings were obvious. I also think that we need to look at the circumstances that surround these findings. Parents today are very different from those in the past. Fewer mothers are staying home to raise their children. Many parents are juggling parenting and working and do not have as much time to really sit down with their kids. Not only that, we now have more single parent households than in the past. Many parents do rely on television and videos as a “babysitter” so that they can get things done. I don’t see this as a bad thing especially when they are educational. What I think we need to keep in mind is that these things should not be used as a replacement, but as a supplement to reinforce skills we try to teach our kids but may not have the time to fully do ourselves. I do agree with the article in that we should monitor and set limits on the amount of time children spend exposed to these things. Children’s lives at this age are almost entirely dictated by their parents. It is up to parents to balance out children’s lives to make sure there is a balance in their exposure to all aspects of life. It is up to the parents to make sure that children have time to spend outdoors away from the television and be with other children. Giving them this exposure allows them to practice real life interactions they witness in some of these videos.
I enjoyed reading the other article, “What Next? Toddler Netizens, Playstation Thumb”. I liked how it pointed out how each generation has thought that new medias would cause children to become lazy if they use it. I think that it is a big eye-opener for us. A lot of people today claim that computers and video-games have caused children to become lazy and can no longer think for themselves. That computers do so much that children can not problem solve for themselves anymore. They do not realize that children are problem solving when they use these medias. They have to choose what they think will work best to help complete their tasks. If children didn’t have to think to use these things, they everyone would be able to do them. What we need to do if find ways to utilize these things the way our predecessors have. The creation of books did not cause people to stop using their minds. It actually did the opposite. Books have expanded our thinking. Just like books helped expand our minds and thinking, computers have too. Children are able to find things easier than before because they are more accessible. Children are more likely to look up words they don’t understand when they use a computer because it is so much easier to access. They do not need to look things up in a dictionary. Many times all they have to do is click on a word. Without this media children are more likely to ignore words or concepts they don’t understand.
These three articles remind teachers that we are moving into a technological world and we need to embrace it and not fight it.