JB3 Class Blog Journal (EME6414 )

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...

Just a little promotion of my latest blog post for my Knowledge Sharing assignment. If you feel inclined, please hop over to  Triplicity  and visit my latest post "If I had a Dollar.."  This will probably be the last post I am able to do before I have to grab all my analytics and put the entire presentation together.  It's been fun starting my old blog back up but it's also been a lot of work. I hope some people have enjoyed reading it and that someone, somewhere has gained something from sharing in my experiences. It's been nice to just write again.  Thanks for the support #eme6414 even if I'm just another mom blogging about her kids :)