JB3 Class Blog Journal (EME6414 )

Well this is it. The end of the semester and the close of this class. It has been great blogging and reflecting on our learning. I have enjoying getting to know all of you through your blogs and your work. I am hoping to continue getting to know many of you through our social media connections and to continue to have those network connections. It has been a crazy summer and a tiring one. This class has provided me with more than I could ask for and each of you have influenced my learning in your own way.  Some of you gave me confidence and encouragement without even knowing it (and some of you straight up said it). Some of you challenged me through your work ethic, your words, and your passion. And some of you touched my soul with your openness and candor.  Thank you Dr. Dennen for being an amazing professor and being there for each of us. You are a leading example of how to teach online and still have connections with your students. Thank you Omer and Bruce too, you have been amazing!

I am really struggling with completing my PLN paper. I know I have a PLN and I have some/most of the paper written, I just can not get it finished. I have never in my life found myself trying to meet a page or word requirement, but I am finding myself pushing for this assignment. It is weird. Why? Why am I having so much trouble? This should be so simple. This should be such an easy task at the end of the semester. Something that ties the whole semester together and yet I am struggling to write this paper. I feel defeated and overwhelmed with the fact that I just can't find anything else to add.  I have written, walked away, come back, re-read, and tried again. I have used every strategy I can think of to end this writer's block and nothing is working. I am running out of time......

I'm trying to get the last of all this semester's work done. We have the PLN assignment, participation logs, and blogs. I have another class that has a big technology project due this week also. I've been teaching an online class that ends this week so while I'm teaching all this week, I am also closing out that class. On top of that, as odd as it feels, emails are trickling in for the start of the new school year. I just saw a preliminary roster/schedule today for my classes and I have more meetings this week than I want to deal with (I'm on too many committees and do too many things).  I'm excited and exhausted all at the same time. I like being busy but at the same time, I have no interest in doing any work. It's a weird feeling. I've been doing some reading too, at first I was reading some books that I have been previewing for my book club idea (the one I used for my Produsage assignment) and now that I have read most of the books I was previewing, I

At the beginning of this semester, I was tasked with an assignment in my other class that frightened me a bit: a Twitter ed Chat. First , I was new to Twitter and wasn't a big fan of it to begin with. I had no idea what a Twitter chat was and was afraid of the unknown. So like anyone, I put off the assignment until I couldn't anymore.  This past week, I realized I needed to face my fear and get this done. The assignment was due soon. I had actually attempted to do this assignment for a few weeks, however every chat I attempted to do seemed to be on a hiatus for the summer. This didn't help my fears and anxiety. I was also trying to schedule doing this chat around my children's bedtime and my husband being on shift. This limited my time frame. I found a feature on Twitter, where I could be notified of each day's chats three times a day. This way I could see what was on the agenda for the day and plan. It also included #hashtags and handles to each chat to help me see

If you read my blog often or scroll through my Twitter feeds, then you probably already know that I am a Global Ambassador for Pen Pal Schools . If you have not heard about them, they are an amazing platform that connects students from around the world to practice writing, collaborate on projects and make friends. The platform has also become a space for educators to connect and collaborate. We are able to connect via the platform and via social media platforms. The platform is growing and transforming and with the new features coming this school year, we will be able to connect our classrooms to collaborate on projects and students will be able to seek answers to specific topics and questions from students and classrooms in locations around the world. I have the honor of being a Global Ambassador for this platform and this means that I get to meet monthly with the other ambassadors virtually. Being able to meet and discuss the platform, collaboration, curriculum, ideas, and more is an

So I am teaching an online class to 4th and 5th graders right now and we are reading the book "No Talking" by Andrew Clements together. I've been really thinking about the whole concept of the book and childhood and school and growing up and everything. I asked the students if they thought they could do the experiment from the book. While most thought it might be challenging for school, they didn't think it would be too hard around their friends or family. The reality is, the majority of society can function without talking nowadays. With the use of cellphones and emojis along with body language, we can all communicate without even saying a word. And while we may not think about it, our children are very capable of doing this. Don't believe me? Tell a class of students that they can't talk the whole class period. I promise they will find a way.  During midterm exams, students have to be silent. I am not allowed to dismiss students until the exam period is over

As a Geography teacher, Google Earth becomes a valuable part of my classroom. Beyond using Google maps personally though, I had not used Google Maps in the classroom until two years ago.  When I was working on a National Geographic Educator Certification  , I discovered some awesome resources, one of which was Google Earth.  The use of technology has expanded the Social Studies classroom. In the past, students looked at globes or standard maps and read pages of textbooks. Without any experience, any visits to any places, the content was simply that, content and information. Students were unlikely to make connections.  Now with technology, students CAN visit places. They CAN have experience and make connections.  With Google Earth, we can take students anywhere in the world. They can drop into street view and walk the streets of Paris.  With Virtual Field trips, we can take students to museums and they can experience paintings and historic artifacts up close and have guided tours. We ca

So I have been more than confused as to what to do for my Produsage assignment. I think I finally have something though.  Since I teach English and Geography, I could do this in either subject but I am actually trying to prove to my administrator that you don't need to be 'sitting together' in a classroom to do literary circles. So I thought I could use this assignment to prove my point. Two birds...one stone kind of thing?  So using one of my book circle ideas that I have been working on this summer, maybe I could use Padlet to have students curate supplemental materials to guide and support discussions about topics/themes in their book. All the books I have chosen for my circles throughout the year are focused on central themes . I was thinking of using either the group of novels centered around 9/11 and post 9/11 (war and terrorism and cultural bias) or group of novels centered around BLM & implicit bias/identity. Students can each create their own Padlet board or ma

It's so strange that the conversation this week in class is about Digital citizenship and activism. I say this because in a conversation on Friday last week I was asked by a co-worker about digital citizenship and my thoughts on it's place in curriculum planning and development and in teaching. And then again today I was in another Global Ambassador meeting for PenPal Schools and the conversation was centered around Digital Citizenship and Activism.  I have long felt that students not only needed and had a voice, but I have also felt that they needed to understand how to use it responsibly in their changing world. With younger and younger users on the internet and social media, students need to know how to navigate the waters. They need to know how to decipher the fact from the fiction, the good from the bad. The need to know when to speak up and when to listen. They need to know how to research and source check. Beyond that, they need to understand what a digital footprint it,

I have been more than thankful for the last 2 weeks that Dr. Dennen has given us to recharge. I have recently been asked to take on an online summer class. I will be doing an online 3 week class for 3 hours a day teaching reading and writing skills for 4th and 5th graders. I am a bit nervous as I have not taught these grade levels in almost 20 years (and I'm teaching online). While my degree and certifications are in Elementary Education, I spent the majority of my career teaching 6th-9th grade (I am certified in these other grades also). These last few weeks, I have spent researching and building a solid 'curriculum' for this class. Interestingly enough, I have three 4th graders I can use as a focus group and gain insight from.  I have put together something that I think is wonderful and I hope the students will enjoy and parents will find 'worth the time and money'.  I have utilized Google Classroom, Jamboard, Flipgrid, Actively Learn, and Nearpod. This will be my

Ok so I know wrote already about the drop of Hamilton on Disney+ the other day and how it was my first time seeing it or even hearing the music. But I can't help myself. I can't believe that I never listened to this music before. I can't believe that anyone who knows me never made me listen to it before. While the musical is visually wonderful it is the music and it's lyrics that have me in Awe.  Let me explain.  From my middle school years, I have been someone who has connected with music lyrics on somewhat of a spiritual level. I would spend hours in my room listening and analyzing lyrics. I love all music and fell in love with the grunge and alternative scene and the rap/hip hop music; each for their own unique styles and what they brought to music.  For rap and hip hop, I was fascinated with the rhythm and meter, the timing, the connection, and the vocabulary. Now while there are those out there that are vulgar and not a good representation of the quality of the mus

So I think the whole world is watching Hamilton today. I can honestly say that before today I had never seen it. I never understood the hype...until today. While I understand that this show has nothing to do with our class, I came across something from a friend via social media that made all the difference for a first time viewer like myself and my children.  One of my very good friends happens to be a performer, an opera singer (few records) and has been a theater geek her whole life. She pushed out a post the other day that made a world of difference. She recommended that anyone who hasn't seen the musical or listened to the music already (doesn't know it well), to put the captions on when watching the musical on Disney+. She said they would appreciate the writing and the musical more. I can not thank her enough for this. As my children and I sat down to watch this morning, we put the captions on and I was immediately drawn in. As a writer and a lover of poetry (and therefore

We have been talking a lot about platforms and tools. One tool that I didn't discover until I started classes online at FSU was Flipgrid. I have to admit that at first I hated it. Just like any one, I hated the idea of selfie videos and was self aware of what I was putting out for others to see of me. After the first few videos though I started to care less. Eventually I began to explore and play around with some of the features.  Once we went on remote learning, I decided to try out Flipgrid from the teacher side. I used it with my students to foster class discussion in my English Literature classes when we weren't together. I found they had some of the same concerns I did when I started. Some groups/classes fell in love with the platform and it became their favorite part of remote learning while other groups/classes avoided doing the Flipgrids as best as they could.  I've spent some time this summer with the platform and looking at where I went wrong with my classes and t