This Blog Is Still Here and I Am, Too

My sister sent me an email with a link to information about the warning signs of heart attack/stroke. It was a caring and thoughtful gesture. I considered following the link, but chose the delete button. I'd prefer for Death to surprise me. Then, I let the dog out into the backyard. 

When he came in, he gifted me with a frozen turd. Maybe he discovered it today in the melting snow. I'm sure he felt disappointed finding it rock hard and impossible to eat. On the other hand, I was pleased to avoid his post-turd vomit session. I headed out the back door with a plastic bag to search for the source.

And I landed on my butt.

It was a legs-in-the-air, flailing slip from the icy stoop down to the second step. I think my arm slammed down on the dog's tail, but he didn't hold it against me. My first thought... Well, my first thought was OW! So, my second thought was Wow! I could have died right here and now, falling down my steps. Thank goodness I didn't spend much time this morning worrying about my heart. I soon felt an urgent need to get up. To move. To go forward from the experience. I pulled myself together and headed into the yard looking for the poop pile. Never found poop. Instead, I walked a couple of laps to ease the ache in my left butt-cheek (I believe that's the anatomically correct term) and found some good ideas.

What I found on my mindful walk was an understanding of life as a flowing stream where I ride the twisting, turning current. I don't want to see my experiences in this flow as bad or worrisome. A stream flows onward in spite of branches and boulders. I want to see myself continuing to learn and loving my progress as I'm carried forward. There's no point fighting the flow. It's a power bigger than the universe. I think it links all of everything in a perfect plan of action. 

I wondered how much perfection of the big picture I could recognize. I made a cup of tea and thought. My dog always poops during neighborhood walks. On Saturday guests delayed his evening walk. He probably pooped in the backyard. How perfect that it snowed and froze the poop. How perfect that he found it this morning in 27 degrees and not this afternoon in 50 degrees. 

I thought some more while I made a batch of granola. How perfect that I could chop a handful of almonds left in the fridge to fill in the amount of slivered almonds I lacked. How perfect that I had the exact measurement of brown sugar remaining in the cannister. How perfect that my music video ended in time for me to hear the oven buzzer. 

Noticing perfections that manifested this morning reinforced my trust that everything represents perfection in some way. There are folks who might have said the fall, the poop present, and the almond shortage were bad. Last night, I removed ice from the stoop thinking it would be safe this morning. Am I able to explain why I fell on my left butt-cheek? Not really. Maybe I needed a free adjustment to counterbalance a fall on my right hip a month ago. Maybe the fall established a condition necessary to some future unfolding of good.  It is easy to accept the neat little coincidences in life. It is more challenging to grasp the idea that life is consistently good. That every moment of the day coincides with a perfect plan of unfolding goodness, even if a moment is a painful "bummer." 

I finished drinking tea from my Kar-ma cup. Karma--a Sanskrit word meaning "action." In Yoga, the broadest sense of karma is that it is action that leads to more action. I appreciated that my morning was filled with so much interesting action leading to more action. So much evidence of a continuity in goodness and life. I thought, after 10 years, this blog is still here and I am, too. I'll write something. 

Now, I wonder what this action will lead to. Where is your karma leading you in life?

News From The Rose

I have been following Miss K's posts and learning about technology from afar. How nice that computers can bring us closer no matter where we are in the universe. As a matter of fact, I, a humble rose, would like to share a special thought with Miss K. and others who are tackling the challenge of learning new technology and new digital programs.

Former British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, said, "Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it." You can scroll down to one of my earliest posts to see a photo of a baobab tree. What an interesting thought. Each time the Little Prince pulls up a baobab because its long, strong roots could break apart our home, I will be thinking about all the learning in the world waiting to be discovered. I cannot even wrap my leaves around the tiny baobabs on Asteroid B-612. But to wrap my thinking around the knowledge that an ancient baobab represents...Wow!

Perhaps I could scatter my seeds around the great baobab and grow into great wisdom, unfolding gently.

It's a plan.

Tool #11 Self Assessing and Reflecting

FAVORITE TOOLS

I think I had the most fun making a video at http://www.xtranormal.com/. I'm also eager to continue exploring the activities at TES iboard (http://www.iboard.co.uk/), and I see a lot of possibilities for using Wall Wisher. In the near future, I think I will have students make a poster displaying fractions at Big Huge Labs and respond to a question about natural resources on Wall Wisher. I also will use the TES iboard punctuation and narrative-writing activities at work stations.

TRANSFORMED THINKING, CHANGED VISION, CLASSROOM CHANGES

I have a better grasp of technology possibilities and as I plan lessons I often get ideas for technology to integrate with academics. I am getting students to the computers more often and giving them activities that are highly effective learning tools, which are also well-aligned with our content.

UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES

It was nice to see that the district had a compilation of suggested sites each time I was instructed to go explore online. That made the task quicker and easier.

I did not expect to be posting my responses toTool #11 one-and-a-half hours after beginning the assessment. I had to look up a lot of unfamiliar language used in the questions and deeply analyze some of the questions word by word. After reading the question analysis at the end of the test, I learned new information from the corrections. I was surprised that the question analysis did not provide correct responses for the questions that had multiple answers. I really wanted to correct my thinking about what I had mismarked.

Some of the tools that asked us to explore various sites and register to do activities took an inordinate amount of time. I did not expect to have to dedicate that much time to 11 TOOLS above and beyond the time-consuming daily obligations of teaching. In the future if teachers are required to do more online learning, it would be a kindness if lengthy online assignments like those were broken down into smaller bits.

I was very surprised to see the video in TOOL #9 with Sir Ken Robinson talking about changing paradigms. I'd seen it before and really liked it.

I am quite pleased with the technological savvy I have acquired and am looking forward to using it with the new electronic equipment our classroom will soon be issued. I appreciate the informative 11 TOOLS blog posts that got me started each time.

Tool #10 Digital Citizenship

First, I'd want to make sure that my students never, ever give out personal information over the internet. In connection with that, I would not want them to carry on personal communication with others across the web while working at online academics. Secondly, I would want them to know how to check the reliability of their sources before they use the information from a site. It is cyber irresponsibility to pass along information that is fabricated or only partially true. Lastly, I would make sure they understood that cyber bullying would not be acceptable. We are researching bullying, and my students should all know by now that a bully is in a sad state of mind. I'd like to use the Brainpop video for cyber-citizenship. My students love to take the post-test using their ACTIVotes. I could also recommend that parents watch it at home with their children if they can log in before 5:00 pm. I would send home the log-in and password for weekdays up to 5pm.

Tool #9 Incorporating Devices as Tools for Learning

Why tie technology to our teaching objectives? That's like asking why we give out candy on Halloween! It's fun! It's significant! It's memorable. And we are in the business of finding ways to help students remember some very important information. I've heard at workshops that the one who does the talking is the one who does the learning. With technology, I think the one who works the keyboard/camera/microphone is the one who does the learning. And that addresses the question of accountability. Students who apply their understanding of what they are learning are those who will carry it away. When students know at the outset that they will have to provide proof of their attentiveness to the learning, they will be more alert to the learning objective and ready to proving their understanding.

I'm very excited to discover games that will support our probability and statistics unit in math with double dice rolling and decision trees. They are in year 5 under Handling Data at TES iboard http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#mathsks2-topicYear55maths_year_ks2year5 I included a link to the measurement page which also has a great game for practicing calculations for perimeter and area. The calculations students make in their math journals would prove their engagement in the practice. The site also has some very exciting literacy and grammar/punctuation activities. My students need a lot of practice placing punctuation around dialogue and they would really benefit from going to http://www.iboard.co.uk/curriculum.htm#34226 where they can punctuate simple, complex or their own original dialogue for scenes from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There are activities at the literacy menu for students to practice using There/Their/They're, applying apostrophes, replacing the verb "walk" with a better word, and correcting noun/verb agreements, among the many other choices. I would have students copy their sentences into the "Word" section of their writing binders where we collect examples of great language and punctuation. That would be a record of their participation and a reference for later writing.

Some apps that would work well for an iPad station are BrainPop Featured Movie. I use BrainPop a lot for introducing science concepts. Students would be accountable for the post-movie quiz. I will definitely get Dictionary.com. On Mondays, students look up the meanings of their spelling words and write them in their spirals. They could use the iPads and iTouches as well as classroom dictionaries. I think, by partnering, the whole class would be actively participating. Animation Creator and Sock Puppets would be good sites for demonstrating understanding of a science concept as well as correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. We could print and hang the comics and show the sock puppets on the white board. My students are researching information for a debate and would benefit from Discovery Channel, Time Mobile, USA Today, and Diigo. Our librarian has provided them with a form that guides their note-taking and reminds them to reference the sites they use.

Tool #8 Taking a Look at the Tools

Three things I learned about the new technology:

• The netbooks will have a camera (Cool, because I set up a Skype account)
• That, as a center activity, I should have all the students sign in to every device the first time
• When I download to the I-Pod Touch, I should select I-Phone apps (I didn't know this because don't have an I-Phone)

Management:

• Write the device name on the back of the device
• Assign students the job of taking out and putting up technology tools (and trouble-shooting to inform me). Model for everyone in class how the removal and storage should look.
• Discuss with class what collaboration looks and sounds like when using technology. Add comments to our Collaborator's Code posted on the wall.
• Post alternate assignment on board for students who find it difficult to live up to technology usage expectations (30 or more math problems or several work sheets, spelling practice, etc.)
• First several sessions, walk around room checking screens and behavior. Hope to catch someone breaking the rules, even for a minor infraction, and assign alternate work.All students will come to a clearer understanding of the level of expectation tied to their use of the technology tools.

Tool #7 Reaching Outside the Classroom

My students are beginning to find the fun in writing and I would like for them to continue growing in their enthusiasm and comfort level as they polish their ability to critique their own work. At this point, though, they are still not well skilled at analyzing writing with the insight of a writer. I want to use Google Docs to anonymously present a personal narrative or a sample of expository writing by a student in my class and see what feedback will be given by students in another fourth grade class. My class could critique a writing sample from the other class at the same time. This is an activity I see fitting into our writing plans in coordination with up-coming lessons on personal narrative. We could use it several times before the STAAR writing test in the spring.