Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wimba Wk4 Sharing
Publishing/Presentation Project MAC Wk4
 |
| from http://www.gaetc.org/ |
 | |||
| from http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/ |
"The EdMedia World Conference on Educational Media and Technology is an international conference, organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)." (from http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/)
because is it located near enough to travel without too much difficulty and it covers my area of interest.
Links:
Think Out-Loud Blog Post 1
Think Out-Loud Blog Post 2
BuderLoriPresentationDoc
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Response to Heather Hane's Blog MAC Wk4
Wk 4 Reading: The Sky is not the Limit!
Again I found this week's reading to be so in tune with where I am in my life. Often times I find myself wondering what else I have to do to get my students attention and help them learn. Then I read the chapter about lighting the spark. I realize that I need to get them enrolled in their learning. I have to light that spark of interest...which in itself is not an easy task.The idea of "being the board" is one that is wonderful, but one that you have to make a conscious effort to do. It is so easy to put blame on others or even yourself. It isn't as easy to take a look at everything and assign no blame. I can relate this to my current administration. It seems as though she is always after me about something...I need to stop and look at what is causing this instead of feeling resentful about it. What has caused her to react to me this way? How can I get her enrolled into my vision? Again...easier said than done!
Creating frameworks is something that I would like to focus more time on. I like the idea of not assigning punishments or consequences for everything. I like the idea of creating vision led goals and objectives. I this might be the link I need to help them with the high stakes testing. If I can create a vision that sparks the interest of the students, it doesn't have to be about "passing the test".
There is a sense of power in telling a "WE" story. My ex-husband and I told "I/YOU" stories. We didn't mean to do it...but it had the same end results...a realization that we were no longer happy together, yet couldn't pinpoint the moment that this happened. Since then, I have made the effort with my current fiance to change the wording. I use "WE" stories. It's never "I want this" or "You did that". It's this is what isn't working and how can WE fix it together. I also found that there is less likely to be an argument of grand proportion of you say "WE", thus saying I am in this with you.
This book has greatly opened up my eyes to a different way of thinking. It also came at a great time! We currently have a family member that has moved to Florida from New York and is living with us. She has recently become discouraged since she isn't finding a job as quickly as possible...I introduced her to the "Universe of Possibility" and various other teachings in the book. I have noticed a change in her mood and she now has 2 interviews next week!
My response:
- Hi Heather,
I really like the way you are incorporating what you read into your life. I am sorry you are having difficulty with an administrator. Relationships are our most difficult challenges in life and I think your positive attitude will serve you well. We cannot change anyone else only how we are which often makes it necessary for them to respond by changing.
Lori
The Art of Possibilites Ch. 9-12 Wk4 MAC
9. Lighting the Spark – The authors give the example of
needing 50 cents to pay buy air to inflate a bicycle tire order to get to a
museum. Today someone asked me at a gas station for 50 cents to get to Orange
County. I gave him the $3 dollars I had. He said, “Sweet!” and thanked me. It
was an interesting story of trying to find solutions and that can sometimes
seem hard to do when faced with needing to negotiate. This week I began
observing a severely disabled student in a classroom to find a solution to some
undesirable behavior. I was concerned that the classroom aides may be unwilling
to cooperate fully. The student
demonstrated the behavior immediately which was useful and a few minutes later
he tried again. This time he was unsuccessful in his attempt. The interesting
part was that he communicated (though he is nonverbal) to the aide that she
needed to mark on a tally sheet that he had made the attempt. When I mentioned
after class, that I believed the tallying might inadvertently be reinforcing
the behavior, the teacher immediately responded by moving the sheet from the student’s
line of sight. By just being there I have changed the environment, the aides
began discussing the behavior openly which led to the revelation about the
tally sheet. It made me think about how every environment we enter is changed
by our presence, hopefully for the better.
10. Being the Board- a somewhat difficult concept but not so
much if you have faith. When you have faith, you have to believe that what
happens in your life has meaning or leads you to where you may not have planned
for yourself. I already know I am not in control of my life and trying to
understand the world from my experience is an important part of realizing that.
When difficulties arise then it is time to accept that you need to change.
11. Frameworks for Possibilities – this chapter speaks about
stating visions. I had to write mission and belief statements this week for a
model school counseling program. They included such things as: all students are
worthy of love and respect and deserve to be cherished, and all students have
the ability to achieve. I agree with the authors that a broad vision opens
things up to possibilities and helps give us a direction.
12. Telling the We Story- I am always aware of
the “we.” Groceries do not magically appear on shelves and roads are not paved
by magic. We are intricately dependent despite the lone cowboy mentality that
drives our country's identity. I almost laugh when I deal with people who
believe they are independent. That is just not the truth. Understanding our
interdependence is key to compromise and seeing the greater good.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Response 2 David Burch's Post MAC Wk3
Wk3 Reading - Building the perfect sandbox city...
Rule #6, Lighten Up. Taking yourself, your goals, your end-game a
little less seriously is good advice. This is not to say that the
end-game isn't important or doesn't require undying tenacity, rather it
indicates that the trip is the thing. My goals are just that. Mine.
No one will ever be as invested in my goals as I am, but I have an
opportunity to inspire, observe and revel in many beautiful things along
the way. I am a biker. I love to ride to new or familiar
destinations with my friends. The destinations can be awesome and
bragg-able, but the trip is the thing. Getting there, the ride, the
filler (the stuff in between) is the real destination. Allowing things
to surprise you, allowing the people and happenings around you to
inspire or enlighten you will make you a better person. When the deal
is done, when the thing is built, when the degree is earned, when the
dream car is in the garage, when the license is in your wallet, when the
perfect sand city exists in your sandbox…what do you do? You go right
back out and do it again. You build another thing, you make a new goal,
you flatten the sand and you take another ride.
Making a move: the idea that a person can lead from anywhere or even
better, allow, encourage and facilitate non-leaders to lead from their
own perspectives. Through teaching, we have this opportunity every day.
It doesn't take any preparation or set up. It simply requires the
teacher to pay attention. As soon as you notice a student surprising
you with an answer, meaning something that is off target but intriguing
(like they are looking at the issue or problem from a different
perspective), stop teaching and ask the student to teach you. "I hadn't
considered it that way, what do you mean?" Listen with the rest of the
class and ask for elaboration. While you listen, ADJUST your lesson or
your point. Not to the extent that you aren't teaching the same topic
(unless you have time to make it up), but enough to teach it - or learn
it - from a different lens. With your new perspective, ask the student
with the different perspective to teach what they know or explain their
idea. Lead or guide the discussion based on the new ideas. This is
incredibly empowering for all of your students and leads to new
possibilities.
Give up your pride - reveal truth. Allowing students to see that you
aren't perfect and have all the answers seem easy, but when a teach is
struggling to maintain management of a class, it is very hard to show
weakness. This was one of my personal struggles. I wanted to remain
aloof. Coming in front the corporate world, I thought some teachers
revealed too much about their personal lives (probably to kill time) and
that this was less-than-professional. Over the last few years, I've
learned that revealing some personal difficulties makes the teacher less
over-bearing and more relatable. Students learn that navigating the
issues in life requires help and advice or input from the people around
you. Just because you are in a position of authority doesn't mean you
have all of the answers. Letting your students in a little allows an
intimacy that you will create buy-in you may need at some point down the
line.
Downhill Challenge - ride with the ice. Welcome the difficult
situations. They make life interesting. The challenges are where we
learn what works and what doesn't. They are our practice. Again, enjoy
the ride.
My response:
-
Hi David,
I agree with you that the journey is the fun part. The relationships and creating memories are what makes things interesting. I am glad to read that you chose to deviate from your corporate persona, even corporations are beginning to realize that good relationships are what matter when trying to accomplish great things!
Lori
Think Out-Loud PPP Wk3
|
| From Georgia Educational Technology Conference website. |
 |
| Created using Wordle |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)