Class Blogs: I am enjoying the class blogs that I have set up this year. What I am finding is that the blogging is a lot more successful for my students and myself when the blog contains something that provokes strong emotion, opinion and thought (imagine that). Especially in Spanish 4 I am able to use the blogs as a sound off for them to really think and reflect upon something controversial. I am finding that their language becomes more authentic and they take bigger risks on the blog (than in the classroom). I would like the blog to continue to be a positive thing for my students. My hope is that they get excited to read and respond to the next one.

This week I have been (and in the office as a whole we have been) reflecting on the spiral of learning. Because let's face it, when you don't use it, you loose it. So how can we ensure that students are continually reusing the concepts taught the year before and the year before that? I am not suggesting that we teach the same things over and over again every year; however, I must spiral in previously taught concepts/vocabulary in all of my new lessons to ensure connections with the material and hopefully transition those concepts into their long term memories. Of couse, the issue then becomes time for everything! I have always used warm ups as a way to bring in previously taught material, but I would like to really imbed those concepts into the new learning. I am hoping that learning more about the constructivist approach may help me think of some new amazing ways to spiral student learning!

August 23 (5 minutes to reflect)

This year I am using the blogs and assigments and not just enrichment/extra credit. It is definitely more work for me and a learning experience (200 kids now blogging to me!). I really thought I would save paper, and I do a little, but I do need to print them and comment, because I want to give them feedback and how else can I do that? I am also finding that the new projectors are AMAZING. I think our department will save a great deal of money because we are all using the projectors instead of overhead transparencies/copies for most assignments. Hey Lindsay, we might just save a forest or two this year!

Reaction to "The World is Flat"-
As I read this book, I definitely had a huge range of emotions. The first emotion, was one of shock. I was shocked at how quickly the world "flattened" (about one decade). Like Jessica pointed out in the meeting, I also remember barely using computers in high school. Really, I just used them for simple word processing, to now when I get on the Internet daily, email daily, and now blog. Fear was another emotion I felt. Fear as to how quickly the flattening seems to be changing the world that my daughter will one day enter. The competition for the next generation will be different and quite competitive as children from all nations essentially will be trying to get the same job. With this fear, also came the emotion of anxiety. I feel that there is an urgency to examine the way we teach and make sure we are pushing our students to "learn to learn", critically think, problem solve and have a strong work ethic. I truly feel that without these essential things, our students will not get and keep the jobs of the future. This then points the finger at me, the teacher. How am I going ensure that the students that enter my classroom leave with these essential abilities? What are some strategies that I can use in my classroom to create "self thinkers" that have the ability to use the resources in their world to find truths, expand their thinking and become innovators.