Finding Dulcinea: The Librarian of the Internet and so much more

There are a ton of websites out there that have been developed to help students and teachers with internet inquiry.  One such site is Finding Dulcinea.  Check out my Group Prezi that provides an overview of using finding Dulcinea in the classroom.
You may also be interested in checking out:
Thinkfinity
Webspiration

Enhancing the Writing Curriculum with Technology

With the emergence of new technologies the process of writing instruction and composition is beginning to take a new shape in the classroom.  Technology is enhancing the writing curriculum in many ways from making it more meaningful to more practical.  According to the article Writing Re-Launched: Teaching with Digital Tools "Outside of the classroom students most often encounter digital writing—that is, writing created or read on a computer or other Internet-connected device."  In the 21st century classroom it's becoming seemingly more important that students are composing through digital writing in the classroom as well.  Educators and research findings are finding that students are more motivated, collaborative and reflective when it comes to posting their writing for an audience to read through a technology tool.  Technology tools such as class blogs, wikis, email, google docs, and internet penpals spurs student engagement and creativity in ways conventional writing cannot.

Through the process of blogging students are encouraged to collaborate and share their ideas in a public forum.  Teachers can create a class blog where they can organize class information and facilitate class discussions and assignments; class news can be posted; project highlights are detailed; and students can respond to literature prompts.  Teachers can also use class blogs to aid in reading comprehension by having students collectively research an upcoming topic and post on the blog to build background knowledge.

The process of composing and teaching about writing digitally is much different than the traditional hand and pencil method.  The article Beginning to Write with Word Processing: Integrating Writing Process and Technology in a Primary Classroom highlights that students feel that composing through word processing is easier because it is less tedious, rereading occured more frequently when typing and that students tended not to use a web or prewriting strategy before composing.  Teachers have to adjust their teaching practices from the traditional to the digital style of writing as well.  Mini lessons may have to be shorter, a greater degree of interaction may be required and the pacing of the writing sessions may need to be grouped in shorter chunks to allow for students to take short breaks.  
Having students publish their writing on the internet is beneficial because it allows students to feel like their writing has purpose and is authentic.  A negative aspect of publishing writing via the web is that students could become desensitized to the fact that real people will have access to and read their published work.  

Hooking Reluctant Readers

Every year I have a few students that require a little creativity in order to hook them into the wonderful world of reading.  What better way than to use multimedia books.  I wish I had heard of these books sooner.  Check out the podcast with author Patrick Carman, where he describes what goes into creating a multimedia book and how reluctant readers are responding to them.
Check out his personal website for more details on his books.

Using Interactive Whiteboards in the Classroom

I have spent a great deal of time researching the effects that interactive whiteboards have on student learning and engagement.  I have been fortunate to be able to dedicate a great deal of my time and energy through my graduate assistantship researching and developing resources and content for teachers and pre-service teachers.  IWB's have been proven to enhance student motivation and engagement, in turn increasing test scores and achievement throughout the year.  I had a Promethean AcivBoard in my classroom for two years and can personally share that the board made a huge difference in my learners on many levels in all subjects.
Three things that are very important for teachers to take into consideration when using IWB's in their classroom are time, student use, and taking advantage of the capabilities that the software has to offer.  If teachers don't incorporate the IWB into their daily routines and instruction throughout the day the board will not reach it's potential benefits.  Teachers need to adopt a new pedagogy when incorporating the IWB into their teaching.  Simply using the board as a glorified whiteboard and projecting notes and instructions is not going to produce learning gains.  The software that goes with the boards, such as Smart Notebook and Activ Inspire, allows teachers to create content in flipcharts that are interactive and engaging for students.  It's important that teachers develop these flipcharts in ways that allow for the students themselves to interact with the board.  If the board is mainly used by the teacher as a means for presentation the students are not gaining the full benefits.  Centers are a great way for teachers to ensure that all students get time throughout the week to interact with the board and even create their own content to show their learning.

In the Reading Rockets article The Digital Whiteboard: A Tool in Early Literacy Instruction a primary teacher discusses how she uses the IWB in her classroom and the benefits her students gained from it.

"The Paperless Classroom"

Classroom websites are an amazing way to keep your students, parents, and others connected to what you are doing in the classroom.  But what if your website was the hub for all that you teach and plan to present?  What if it takes the place of your filing cabinet and allows you to store and post all of your lesson plans and activity sheets with the click of a button?  Mark Barnes discusses the "Paperless Classroom" in this linked video.  From podcasts to message boards he covers a plethora of web 2.0 tools and how to embed them into your class website to enhance student learning and digitally organize all of your teaching tools.  I was amazed by all of the wonderful information and resources he shares in this video.  You have to check this out!
My goal is to try and work to organize my classroom in a similar digital fashion.  It will take a great deal of time and energy in the start, but will greatly pay off in the long run.  I think everyone will eventually be driven to this type of organization, especially with so many virtual classrooms coming into view.

Check out/Subscribe to Mark Barnes' Blog page

Are your students engaged and motivated to learn?

The best compliment I get as a teacher is when parents tell me how their child loves coming to school and that I make learning fun and exciting for them.  I think the biggest part of my students motivation for learning comes from our reading and writing workshop time.  To me the most important element during workshop times is sharing.  It is so important that we make time for kids to talk about what they're reading and writing with enthusiasm.  My enthusiasm for reading and writing carries down to them and then they motivate each other through activities such as book shares and author share time.  Students learn so much from each other when they have the chance to listen to another child's thoughts on what they're reading or writing.  My students look forward to getting to the next book on their "Books I want to read next list" and enjoy giving their book recommendations to others.
Setting up specific procedures and practicing what this share time looks and sounds like is key.  It's important that students are taught how to listen and reflect on what their classmates are saying.  This is not something that just comes naturally for most children.  I always post some guidelines for listening/sharing during these times for students to continually refer to on my Activ Board.  I have also been known to video tape the discussions and share sessions for us to reflect on as a whole class.
Take a listen...
The author of the blog site Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, discusses in this Choice Literacy podcast how she defines 'engaged' reading and her role in motivating students.  She talks about how she thinks one of the most important things you can do to motivate student reading is by taking time to conference with each child on a one on one basis in the beginning of the year to find out what their interests are and helping them get excited and engaged in a book.  
What do you think is important and necessary to engage the students in your classroom?

Sites to try for helping kids find a just right high interest book:
Access book talks and trailers on this blog site:  http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/
Have your kids check out "bookcasts" to find a book that interests them:  http://www.readinginaction.org/

Conferencing Time Constraints

One of the most challenging things for myself and colleagues during reading workshop time is spending one on one time conferencing with my students.  We all know how important this time is in goal setting and monitoring each students reading growth, but meeting with (give or take) 25 kids during even a weekly period can seem overwhelming and impossible.  How do you manage conference time, yet make sure you are getting it all in? 
I have found that organization is the number one factor that helps me to keep up with my readers and which students I need to meet with and when. Keeping binders with individually labeled sections where I write anecdotal notes, goals, and needs for future meetings are key to being prepared for each conference and staying on task.  Using a conference calendar is also an essential organization tool, where I can see at a glance where I can add students to days and where I know I just won't be able to fit everything in.
In the Quick Take: Time for Conferences Video by Aimee Buckner she discusses how she limits her time with her conferences.  She says that she uses time to guide her future planning for mini lessons.  If her conferences are taking longer than 5 minutes she reflects on what she is discussing with the student and how she can address it in a whole group mini-lesson.

The following links are resources that I've found helpful on conferencing:

This site has tons of printable forms and rubrics that you can use in your conferences and that can help you stay organized and make your conferences purposeful.
http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/tools.htm