Until Next Time

Whether we realize it or not, writing is a huge and very important part of our lives. We write every day, whether it be a grocery list or the next great American novel, writing is writing. We would not have gotten very far without it. This semester I realized just how important writing is to me, and how much I actually enjoy writing. I used to be an avid writer, keeping journals about my personal life or writing stories to pass the time. But as I got older writing became a mere assignment instead of an enjoyable way to relax. This class, through the time we spent free writing and participating in the writing demos, helped me rekindle my love of writing. 

Digital writing is interesting. I learned that it is a great tool to have in your classroom, and that a lot can be done with it. However, I also know that it is something that takes time to develop and cultivate in the classroom. Creating one class blog site will not result in 150 students that become authors. In my future classroom I will definitely be open minded about having students use digital writing, but I also need to make sure that I have the tools to keep them moving forward so that they do not become bored and their writing is stagnant. That is my advice to other teachers, pre-service or veteran, make sure that you are knowledgeable about digital writing before you ask your students to do it. There are many opportunities for digital writing in the classroom, but choose one and try to master it before introducing your students to it!

I love to read and write, and I love to teach literature and not writing. So this semester was a bit of a challenge for me, to create both a writing demo and mini lesson. However, I felt that this was both my challenge and success. This class made me do something that I would not normally want to do (create lesson plans centered solely on writing) and enjoy it! I also felt very successful just listening and watching my classmates experience the class with me. Although it was a lot of work, I enjoyed everyones writing demos and learned from them. I also got a few awesome lessons that I would love to replicate in my classroom one day! 

All in all it was a great semester, so until next time...write on!

Argument Writing

For my second professional text of the semester, I chose to read Teaching Argument Writing: Grades 6-12 by George Hillocks, JR. I chose this particular text because I remember that I liked to write argumentative papers when I was in school, and I wanted to know more about how to teach argumentative writing. Additionally, educators know that in the state of Florida, the new standardized writing exam (the FSA) may come in the form of an argumentative prompt; I thought that this book would be most appropriate for a pre-service teacher. But even more important than teaching students how to write to complete a standardized exam, is teaching students how to formulate a real and concise argument and be able to support that argument; the real world is difficult to navigate, but with the tools to support oneself (through argument or not) make it a much easier ride.

Hillocks believes that argument should be set up and taught using the following steps:

1) View the situation
2) Create a claim based on the situation
3) Add supporting evidence based around the claim
4) Create a warrant connecting the claim to the evidence
5) Find the rebuttal or counterclaim for the stated claim

While the above steps may seem to be simple or some may even say "obvious" I think that it is brilliant. A part of argument that is very rarely taught (or used) is that of finding the counterclaim or rebuttal against your own argument. Or in other words... viewing the argument from both sides.

What?! You mean that I do not have to metaphorically "stick to my guns" and scream my argument until the other side gives up?!

No you don't! This was my "aha" moment. Students need to be able to view an argument from both sides. The skill to view a problem, argument, or opinion from both sides (a skill that many adults lack) is one that will propel the student as a writer and a person to be well-informed and reasonable. Additionally, being able to find counterclaims and rebuttals will create a stronger argument for the writer!

I found this book to be very enlightening and engaging... Hillocks is one funny guy. The different lesson plans or classroom lectures that he describes throughout his book are not only interesting, but educational.

What it Means to be a College Student

I am sorry but movies, books, and television do not do the "college experience" justice. On movie and television screens college looks like it is a happy-go-lucky, boys and girls gone wild experience (which sometimes it is). However, anyone that has ever gone to college knows that most of the time this isn't the case. So here is a list of what it means to be a (real) college student:

1) More than half of your classes will be in a lecture hall... with 600 other students.

2) You will spend hundreds of dollars on required* textbooks.

3) You will learn how to cook spaghetti in the microwave and strain it over your dorm room sink (true story).

4) There is a 50/50 chance that you will hate/love your roommate(s).

5) There is no such thing as late work, makeups, or do-overs.

6) You will learn where the on-campus free printing labs are, because professors couldn't care less about how your printer ran out of ink the morning that your midterm is due.

7) Most professors/counselors/advisors will never learn your name or know who you are when you walk into their office.

8) You will be required to take online classes...that suck.

9) There is a 99% that you will gain the freshmen 15 (or 20... or 30...).

10) Single serving mac n' cheese, granola bars, and popcorn will become staples in your diet.

11) You will not make real** friends in your classes until you are in your major***.

12) You will see that the "walk of shame" is an actual thing... don't be that person no matter how crazy your Friday night was.

13) Whenever the word free is involved you are there... t-shirts, food, scantrons, foam fingers... it's all good.

14) College bars are not glamorous... they are dirty and crowded... but they are also (mostly) cheap and (always) fun so it all balances out.

15) The one thing that the movies, books, and television got right is that college is the best time of your life, so enjoy it while you can because eventually you'll become a senior (no!) and have to graduate (we don't want to grow up!), but thankfully there is grad school... so we don't have to leave quite yet!

*required- is a word that professors use that really means"we will use this book one time in class so I can show you one example and then never use it again."

**real- is a loose term meaning the other students in your first two years of classes that only want you for your notes.

***friends in your major- will save your life, explain things that your professors just expect you to understand, and be a soundboard for venting... they are invaluable! 

In Honor of Halloween Past

It's six thirty and you cannot wait to get out the door. You've been in your costume since noon and no matter how hot, sweaty, or itchy you are you refuse to take it off! Your mother pleas with you, but there is no way that costume is coming off until it is bath time later...and maybe not even then.

Finally your parents finish cleaning the dinner dishes and you wait by the front door for them to get their cameras, stroller, and everything else (that is seemingly unimportant to you) ready to go. You have been waiting since last Halloween for this Halloween and it is finally here. Your pillow case turned candy bag is clasped tightly in your small fist, and you jump up and down and scream with excitement as you see your parents making their way to the door.

Whoosh! The door is open and you're off like a horse at the races, sprinting to meet all of your neighborhood friends at the end of the driveway. But before you can run off to your next door neighbors house your mother pulls out her camera... You (unenthusiastically) smile your best fake smile at the camera so that she will stop taking your picture. After fifteen minutes of posing and taking in all of the adults "oh-ing" and "awh-ing" (yes you know you're cute) you are finally released from their capture and thank God because if you had to wait for one more minute you might have exploded!

By now you're a pro at this, you know what houses to make sure you smile extra big at and throw in a twirl in your costume to get that extra piece of candy. You also know which houses are notoriously known around the neighborhood for being the "fruit and veggie" houses, and you conveniently tell your parents you are too scared to go to their front door (even though there are no decorations at all) so that you can keep moving towards your end goal... the lady at the end of the road that gives out the FULL-SIZED candy bars.

It is nearly eight thirty and you have hit all the houses (at least the ones that matter) in your neighborhood. You have lost your prized glitter tiara, the little boy two houses down has lost his army goggles, and the girl from one neighborhood over lost one of her shoes. Two other neighborhood kids are crying, your parents are bickering, and you are exhausted. You slowly walk back through your front door and plop yourself at the kitchen table, spilling your haul into one big pile. You shift through the candy, separating the chocolate from the DumDums while your mother shakes her head and picks up certain pieces of candy, throwing them away because they could be "dangerous." As long as it isn't a Reese's Cup you really don't care.

You are allowed to eat three pieces of candy and have to save the rest for another day. Your mother finally coaxes you out of your costume, throws you into the bath tub, and you are scrubbed clean. Later that night as you lay in bed you swear you can hear your parents riffling through your candy but when you ask them the next day they will claim innocence. You slowly drift to sleep feeling the pride and accomplishment that only a child with a full bag of candy can feel on Halloween, and dream about your costume for next year.

Creating for the Classroom

This week is all about creating for the classroom. There are SO many great tools available for teachers and students out there, it would be a full-time job to explore them all. However, as an educator I think it is important to spend time playing with new websites, apps, etc. because you never know what you will find to use in your classroom!

Personally, I love quotes. I have always found quotes motivational, and I plan to integrate quotes into my classroom as often as I can, whether it be through classroom decoration, essay prompts, or quick writes.

A website that I often use is a great tool for integrating quotes into the classroom. The website is quotescover.com, very easy to use, this website generates quotes into pictures that teachers or students would be able to use in a variety of ways. The tools within this website allow you to pick quotes that are already loaded on the website or type in your own quote. You are then able to choose the background color, font colors, add pictures, change the text, etc.  This site is user friendly, and gives a variety of options for saving the image that was created.

Below are examples of quotes that I have created and posted on Twitter for my JV volleyball team!

Technology in the Classroom

In this weeks blog post I will be channeling my inner teacherella and her thoughts on technology in the classroom.

As far as technology is concerned, I consider myself to be a technology native. I have grown up from young age using technology, and feeling comfort in its use. Although I cannot say that I recognized about more than about half of the sites listed on the class link, I know that if given the opportunity I could learn to use them all. On a daily basis I text, email, browse social media sites, and use academic technology such as BlackBoard.

The three links that I liked best and think would be most useful in a classroom are as follows:
1) Screen-Cast-O-Matic found at www.screencast-o-matic.com
2) Voice Thread found at www.voicethread.com
3) Slideshare found at www.slideshare.net

The screen cast website is very useful to give step-by-step instructions to students for any kind of digital platform. If students need to learn how to use tools on a particular site or computer application, teachers can upload files that would assist students to do so. The voice thread site is very interesting. This would be a great way to upload online lectures, or supplemental material for students to look through for class. I would also like to use this instead of having to do online discussions, for students to be able to record their voices and their picture speaking about a certain topic, instead of using plain text would add a whole other element to assignments! Finally, slideshare, although a simple tool, would be very helpful. Students could upload their presentations for easy access and safe storage. Teachers would also be able to use this tool to upload any class files that students need for note taking or review. I think that this site would be particularly helpful for students who miss class, or are slower notetakers and make need to go back and add information to their notes.

To be quite honest, I have yet to start thinking about how I will keep learning after school, other than the far off thought of getting a masters degree; so I feel I have very little insight into virtual professional learning. However, after browsing the sites on our class list, I notice that there are basically unlimited opportunities for virtual professional learning. Although I am sure that some sites, or platforms are held in higher esteem than others, it seems that learning opportunities for educators is endless! It also seems that a lot of professional learning comes in the form of blogs, which would be a great way to get involved with student writing as well.

Virtual writing is quickly becoming the chosen platform for discussions, both personal and professional in nature. I think that it would be a great way to get students writing, however there are benefits and drawbacks to consider. For instance, students using a digital platform for writing will be able to reach a much wider audience than they would using traditional writing. However, teachers and guardians also need to monitor and guard students against any unprofessional and immodest interaction through the Internet while completing their digital writing.

After reviewing Jane Hart's slide show, Top Tech Tools for Educators 2014, found here...

http://www.slideshare.net/janehart/top-100-tools-for-learning-2014

I notice that teachers are increasingly using the dreaded....social media... in their classroom! Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest... all being used by educators. And I say about time! I think these are great platforms for students to be using in a classroom, as long as they are using them in an academically appropriate way during school hours! These platforms can lead students to research opportunities, networking opportunities, and all around great learning opportunities, which after all is what we want for our students!

Just as teachers should use the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy in an academic sense to challenge students, they should use the higher levels of Bloom's technology taxonomy as well! We want our students applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating with technology! As teachers, it is our job to foster our students, and to do this we must push them in the right direction, but always remembering to keep grade level in mind!

There is simply SO MUCH technology out there that it can become overwhelming for an educator to try and choose what to implement in their classroom. However, I will always remember that before I introduce new technology into my classroom that I will test it out, and try to master it before I share it with students. I will also remember that not every piece of technology will work as planned, teachers need to remain flexible and open minded, and that's when the magic happens!

What if it was Me

Car idling, I was impatiently waiting for the left lane turn arrow to change from red to green. I needed to make a U-turn so that I could get into the Wendys parking lot. I stared blankly out the window, trying to decide exactly what to order for myself and my boyfriend when I saw a tall African American man walking up the median to stand next to my car.

He was tall and very thin. The kind of thin that people do not choose to be. His shirt was ripped, and dirty. His jeans were frayed at the bottom. He held a sign that read, "Hungry and in Need, ANYthing helps."

He looked like he was my age...

Without realizing what I was doing I rolled down my window. I told him to meet me in the Wendys parking lot, and that I would be right there. He nodded, and limped across the three lanes on University Boulevard, watching as I made the U-turn I had originally been so irritated to make.

I parked and got out of my car. I looked at him and smiled, he held the door open. We walked into an almost deserted restaurant. There was one man ordering at the counter and two girls running the register. We waited in line for a moment; I looked up at the menu while he looked at me. I suddenly became very aware of exactly how tall and thin he was. He stood three feet away from me and I knew it had been weeks since he had showered.

I turned and asked, "What's your name?"
He slowly replied, "Dean."
Wondering if that was his real name, given our proximity to Dean Road, I smiled anyway and continued, "I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you."
He nodded.

I ordered a meal for myself, a meal for my boyfriend, and a meal for Dean. I had mine packed to go, as I was already late meeting my boyfriend. But asked that Dean's be for here, figuring he would want to sit in the air conditioning while he ate. After I paid the $16 bill, I walked away from the counter to get napkins. Making my way back to the counter, I realized Dean had asked for his order be changed to "to-go" as well.

We left the restaurant; Dean held the door.

I said, "It was nice to meet you, Dean."

He nodded.

I got in my car and Dean walked away.

I again found myself waiting for the left lane turn arrow to change from red to green. Only this time I felt an indescribable heaviness weighing on me. I watched Dean walk across the six lanes of University Boulevard, and into the forest that sat on the other side.

The light turned green, and I began to cry.