This is an excellent model on many levels. Making these connections is important in encouraging persistence in working on the needed reading and writing skills. Oxford Hills Adult Education teachers help participants in developing skills before the discussion group . . . and follow up after the discussion is over.Session 1: Recalling Our Past
- When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
- Miz Berlin Walks by Jane Yolen
- Leon’s Story by Leon Walter Tillage
Session 2: Discovering Our StoriesSession 3: Other Ways of Telling
- When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor
- Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza
- Arctic Memories by Normee Ekoomiak
For discussion: How do we tell our own stories? Why are they important? How do we decide what to tell? What do we learn from telling our own stories? From reading others’ stories? How and why do we share our stories with others? How do our personal stories connect to the stories of our communities and country?
“One of the reasons we fear these technologies is because we as teachers don’t yet understand them or use them. But the reality is that our students already do. It’s imperative that we be able to teach our kids how to use the tools effectively and appropriately because right now they have no models to follow.”Essential Question: How can classroom communication and collaboration be enhanced with the use of blogs?
~ Will Richardson
A few years ago I listened to a curriculum coordinator give an example of what not to do in the age of NCLB accountability. The story was that a teacher had been able to engage an otherwise unmotivated learner by connecting with his interest in lobstering. The student was "hooked" and excitedly researched everything he could find about lobsters. With this information, he made an incredible presentation, using a variety of tools while developing a rich set of skills in doing so. The point of the coordinator was that despite the impressive amount of learning that had taken place, this was not the content that needed to be covered according to the curriculum . . . and so the teacher was wrong in encouraging it.
"Episode 4 of OnTiME has been released. We discussed the Apple Executive Summit, the upcoming PackageMaker sessions, and http://www.rememberthemilk.com if you're so inclined.
OnTiME can be downloaded from the iTunes music store by searching either for OnTiME or ACTEM, or you can download it directly from the ACTEM website at http://www.actem.org/Pages/ACTEM_OnTime/index "
Photo Credit
Today the participants of the TelstarToo PLC will be gathering resources for specific math skills and themes . . . and then adding them to a wiki resources page using LIM's Resources Wiki. 
I found these posts on the HSHAWJR blog fascinating:
Check out this experimental podcast at Wicked Decent Learning. Using Skype, listeners from Maine and beyond joined together on Friday evening to share "wicked decent" happenings in our schools. Jeff Bailey and Dan Ryder of the Western Maine area are pushing the boundaries in sharing the real world of school, with a growing following of educators around the State. Learn about new possibilities and the challenges of making change happen.
On Friday, May, 30, 2008, the 5th annual MLTI student conference will take place at the University of Maine at Orono. Having been to this incredible event for the past two years, I have to highly recommend it as a wonderful opportunity for Maine students and adults to be highly engaged in learning about the many possibilities that the MLTI 1-to-1 laptop program offers. Jim Moulton is organizing a full day of exciting activities that includes student-led workshops as well as contributions from many educators throughout the State of Maine. BTW, you just can't beat the price!
Go here to get all the information on how to participate on Wicked Decent Learning's first live podcast episode. Be sure to let Jeff n' Dan know that you're comin'.
A half dozen of us woke up early on Monday morning for a sunrise adventure on the Samoset breakwater. With Juanita Deschambault's permission, I'm sharing a link to the awe-inspiring photographs she took that morning of the rising sun . . . which seems to be an apt symbol for a push for a re-awakening of the arts in our schools.
~Albert Einstein
