Walden Classmates:
I can't speak for all of you, but my district has this week off and I really need this catch-up time. Not just for sleep, but for my own classes, Walden stuff and also that thing called life.
As my school is closed, I don't have much going on for my GAME, but there are a few updates. First, the Media Specialist didn't know anything at all about a video book brag idea, let alone a rubric for one. She did offer to let me have the videos / finished products play on a loop on one of the Media Center's TV's. I'll probably end up using http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ - this was suggested in our text (pg. 157)
As for sitting in with the TV production / studio teacher, I got a reluctant 'yes' on that from my administrator and was told I could only do it once or twice. The teacher told me after that he would help me with whatever I wanted so that is going to end up being part of my fall-back plan. Importantly, my son is home from college this week and he knows far more about iMovie than I do. If I can drag him away from turkey and football, maybe he can help his old man out.
On the communication end, I sent out my bulk email about the report cards and got a lot of 'Thank you's' back. I only had one email bounce back as bad, and I picked up one more Twitter follower. So I guess this worked out fairly well. But again, as this is a no school week, things may change next week when we are back in action and I email again. This monitoring thing is going to take more than just one week.
Hope you all had a good few days off and rested up.
Wayne
Wayne,
ReplyDeleteLove the honesty here...I think it is easy for people to say "I am working really hard on my project", but as you have stated this can be very difficult when you are not at work with the resources and students available.
For your first issue with the media specialist, I would suggest sending out a district email and ask all the teachers in your district for ideas or help. Once I reached out to my working colleagues, I was astonished by how many actually are using technology and different programs successfully in their class. I really had no idea.
When dealing with the TV Production/Studio Teacher, I would make sure that you have solid questions already mapped out so your time together is not wasted. Just from my own experiences of people asking for help, I often get frustrated when people are simply looking for me to do it for them rather than asking direct questions that I can answer. I am sure this isn't your intention, but I know that sometimes meetings can be a complete waste of time without proper preparation. Just remember you are the one seeking help, not the other :).
Hope you enjoyed your Turkey Day!!!
Justin
Wayne,
ReplyDeleteWOW! It sounds like you have been quite busy for being off school this week. So congratulations on the progress. I too was on break this week, so my research was postponed as well. However, it sounds like you still spent time considering what you had planned for your classroom and where you want to continue your focus when you return.
I hope you enjoyed your break!
Hi, Wayne,
ReplyDeleteI am profoundly jealous since teachers and students at my school slogged away until 12:30pm on Wednesday! Once we all have a rest and a bit of thankfulness, I'm sure we will be more perky. :) Other than that . . . your intention to use http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ interests me. Let me know what you think about it. I'm also looking into it, but I'm not sure if my students will do it. Sometimes my students can be frighten of being out in the world, and I don't blame them. After reading Will Richardson's resources (articles and blog), I feel strongly that high school students need to develop a positive digital footprint on the web. Safety is uppermost in my mind, but there has to be a better way than to never give your last name. I'm asking my students to give serious thought to their digital legacy and I hope to find acceptable guidelines for us all. What guidelines do you give your students?
I hope you had a successful collaboration session with your son and a peaceful time to rejuvenate your spirit. Enjoy!