Last Post??
No, probably not, I just thought it sounded good. Actually, my hope is that people will continue to contribute their great ideas about how they are incorporating Web 2.0 into their teaching. I’m also hoping people might have time for reviews of some great books.
Even though the formal part of this course is over, and sometimes it felt like climbing a steep hill, I am very thankful for all the possibilities that have come about as a result of it. Thanks, Carleen and Donna. I am amazed at my own enthusiasm. I am also pleased with my teachers, who although I am often speaking a foreign language to them, are willing to take risks with me.
My last assignment is indeed taking a fairly easy route. Several teachers have agreed that incorporating the Snow Willows into an independent reading assignment for Language Arts will work. So I have created a link to the Willows web-site for each of the nominated books; in particular, to the activities which a committee has come up with. Therefore, I’m not doing any re-inventing. Their assignment is to read one book, create a blog response on our library blog, and choose one of the activities to complete. That assignment will then be added to the blog for others to see. If they choose to create a visual, we will add a picture of it, and so on. I’m just in the process of putting together an evaluation sheet, so they will know what the expectations are.
So that’s easy. But next year, I’m already prepared to take a page from Chris’s and Diane’s ideas. I think we’ll have a wiki for the Snow books next year- I like the ease of creating discussion. I also work with older students and Literature Circles a lot, so a wiki will be a great way to go- in fact, probably later this year.
Assignment aside, some other practical applications of my learning are coming about. At one of my schools, the teachers would love to have a list of books to support their teaching in Mathematics. One of our teacher-librarians recently set up a wiki to share great new titles of books that we are reading. So I thought- why not for Math. So instead of working on my looming book order, I set up a Wiki with categories and listed some of the books I knew. Then I showed it to one of the teachers who wished to have this and suggested that this format would allow any and all of them to add to the list as they became aware of, or used titles. She was impressed with the ease of it, and I’ll be showing it at a staff meeting soon. I think it’s also a great way of dividing up the workload.
So hats off to all of you and our fearless leaders who have shown us the way.
By the way, if you subscribe to LibrarianInBlack, you will have received this. A great place to check out many image generators. http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/ I added it to my del.icio.us account- something else I wouldn’t have bothered with 6 months ago. So we’ve come a long ways and I know there are more challenges ahead but they seem just a little less scary than they used to!!
Uncategorized | Comments (5)5 Responses to “Last Post??”
Leave a Reply
Jane,
I hope this won’t be your last post. You have made great contributions and I always look to see if there is anything new from you in my rss reader. Please don’t stop!
I am glad that you have enjoyed this course. I am thrilled to hear of the blogging and the wiki activities that you are undertaking with your students and teachers – it seems as if these tools have now become a part of your teacher-librarian ‘tool-box’.
Librarian in Black is one of my favourites in my reader too… I often pick up a new tool or new idea from her posts.
I will continue to look for new posting in my rss reader…
Donna
I hope too Jane that this is not your last post although I at least can see you in person if you don’t have time to blog. I’ve loved all your ideas and often something you’ve posted has sparked ideas in me! I agree with you whole-heartedly that one of the best things about this class has been the sharing of knowledge and ideas!
Hi Jane,
The anti-spam word I had to enter to post a reply this time was “enjoy”. That sums up your blog for me. I always check to see if you have posted when I click on our class wiki. I’ve enjoyed your enthusiasm, your insightful comments, your honest remarks as you struggled with some of the new technologies. Thanks for sharing and contributing to this class. The professional exchange has made the experience for me.
I thought you were making an allusion to Remembrance Day with the “Last Post”.
That is just too great that a student dressed up as Lord Death. Awesome!
The wiki that you have started and will share at staff meeting is a great idea. TLs in my system have started and fizzled out on this a couple of times. Good luck with it. Your colleagues are lucky to have you leading them on!
Chris
Hello Jane,
Thank you for your kind words. Donna and I cannot express the awe in the way the participants of Meet The Stars embrace the assigned tasks.
As a member of the Snow Willows as well, I also struggled with Horvath’s eccentric writing style. The darkness and complicated plot impeded my reading enjoyment. This book will have scant appeal to the Snow Willow student audience.
Jane,
I am so proud of all of us!!! It was so awesome to know that you and Diane were on the same journey. What an awesome experience! Although frustrating at times, it really is amazing to reflect at the overwhelming amount that we learned in such a short time. I’m sure that the learning will continue. It would be impossible to go back now – and who would want to?
I too look forward to more Jane on Books posts. You have a spot in my googleReader, and I love when there is something new from you. This is much easier than at the beginning of the course when I checked everyone’s blog every day to see if there was a new post.
I think that we should go for supper to celebrate. How is Tuesday after TL meeting for you?
Tanya