I wanted to take a look back at some older posts or links that I thought were worthy of sharing. This is very easy to do by using Diigo as a social bookmarking tool. If you look at my bookmarks, you can see lists from the last few years categorized and open to the world. It is definitely one of my favourite tools and would be great to use to share with your classroom or school community (scroll down, and on the left are ‘lists’).
Here are some links that I wanted to share this week:
1. 14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging – Great resource to help with blogging with students so that they can start sharing their own ideas Below are a few tips that are shared in this post:
Teach them how to blog first. We did an excellent paper blogging lesson first (found on the blog of McTeach), which brought up why we were blogging and how to do it appropriately. This got the students excited, interested as well as got them thinking about what great comments look and sound like.
Talk safety! We assume some students know how to be safe, but don’t assume it; teach them the do’s and dont’s. I came up with the lesson of why the Internet is like the mall and it really worked. I also sent home safety plans for students and parents to discuss and we discussed it throughout the year.
Teach them how to comment. In order for blogging to be effective, comments are needed, but if students don’t know how to properly comment they will lose out on part of the experience. We discuss how to thank people, how to answer their questions, and most importantly, how to ask questions back. This is all part of common conversational knowledge that all kids should be taught any way.
2. When Do Teachers Transform From Teacher to Teacher Leader? – I am a huge believer that leadership can come from any part of the school, and the voice of “teachers” is something that needs to be active and heard. Below are some great questions to help educators think about themselves in the role of “leader”.
When do teachers shift their mindset to see themselves as active contributors in the profession, rather than “passive” participants? What are the personal and professional factors in making this transformation? Can all teachers become teacher leaders? If so, what supports do they need? Or, is there something internal in each individual that either encourages or limits one’s professional growth potential? These are the important questions to be asked in helping bring about this much needed transformation in our profession.
3. Dear 16 Year Old Me – Get out some kleenex for this video as it is extremely powerful and will have you laughing one moment, and crying the next. There are so many reasons why I believe sharing these types of videos are important. First of all, it is important that we know how to take care of ourselves. Secondly, it shows the power of using video to send a message and make an impact on people’s lives. Finally, how can you take this video and help your students to become a leader or advocate in the world for anything? There are so many way our students can make a difference.
Watch the full video below:
I hope that you have a fantastic week! Enjoy our students; they are the greatest resource we have in our schools 🙂
cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo shared by gcouros
