NYSCATE Day 1

I got there way too early and left even earlier. I heard that registering was trouble if you didn't get there early enough, so I I did just that. There wasn't much going on when I got to the Convention Center, but I was able to hook into the RRCC's wireless to check out the sessions for the day. I also got to check out my new Bean. It is very cool... 3.2 mega pixel digital camera, video camera, webcam, mass storage device. Talk about a do all tool... Thanks NYSCATE.

I went to two sessions this afternoon and got exactly what I was looking for. The first was a sessions about PLNs and how to develop one. The second was a session about blogging and using wikis in an elementary classroom. I left after that. I wanted to see David Jakes, but I did not pay $45 for the banquet/dinner/keynote. When I got home, I felt short changed and all night I felt like I was missing out on an opportunity to make new friends and learn from them.

I didn't miss everything though. I was able to catch Jakes' presentation via Ustream, compliments of Brian C Smith. Thanks Brian!

So here's what I take from today:

• I feel ahead of the ballgame with what I do in my classroom. Many of the ideas that were thrown around today were things that I am doing or have experimented with. I was able to grab some specific ideas that I will certainly use.
• I'm on the the right track to developing my Professional Learning Network. I have been following blogs for over a year and writing here for almost half. (Before today, I didn't realize this was a way to develop a PLN.) I've got some work to do with Twitter though. I need help, both technical and theoretical. I will be sure to tap into the playground tomorrow.
  
• Next year, pay the $45 to go to the dinner. Or even better, get school to pay for it!
  

More tomorrow.

NYSCATE 2008

In about an hour I will be heading downtown for the 2008 NYSCATE conference. I am psyched! I am looking forward to learning some new things and making some new connections. I've set some goals for myself... Here they are:

One thing I hope to do this weekend is to make a connection with a teacher who is interested in collaborating in some sort of distance learning project. My students are really starting to see that learning does not merely take place inside our room. They are researching earthquakes at home, writing on their bogs on Saturdays and while they are away on vacation. I really want to foster this and keep this movement happening. What better way than doing a project with someone far away? Any takers?

Another thing I would like to get out of this week is to challenge my thoughts of technology in schools. I am really looking forward to listening to all of the keynote speakers, particularly David Jakes and Gary Stager. I am looking forward to the 'big picture' discussions and how they will challenge my previous thinking of technology's role in schools.

Last, among many others, I want to continue to develop my PLN. That may include trying out some new tools like Twitter, and it hopefully will include meeting many fantastic people.

Check back for more, I will be writing lots over the next two days...

Sweet Tool

Northside school is fantastic. We are lucky to have a supportive administration, brilliant colleagues, and great technology tools. And we have the greatest selection of books ever! We have hundreds of class sets of novels to read. Our school's Lead Teacher, Linda S., has devoted herself to keeping the latest titles coming in and finding a place to put them. We have so many books that we are out of space (I'd rather too many books and not enough space than the contrary) and organization is an issue.

"Linda, where so I find A Dog's Life? What Level Q, dog books do we have? Know of any good adventure books?" I think she hears questions this 12 times a day. And she knows the answers to all of these questions. Every time.

Enter a fantastic tool to save the day... Library Thing. Library thing is a 'social network' for readers. It will allow us to enter all of our books, tag them, and easily search them for what we are looking to use with our class. We'll know where to find the books and who has resources that we can use. On top of all of that, Library Thing is web based so it is accessible from home for those of us who know no boundaries between home and school.

Linda, you are now free to order us more fantastic books!

Gas in the Engine

Comments are the gas that drives blogs. In my (inexperienced) opinion, comments are what drive a blog. They inspire, they encourage, and they challenge readers and writers to learn. Comments motivate bloggers to write more and readers to read more.

I have witnessed how comments can put the proverbial 'pedal to the metal' for bloggers, even 4th grade bloggers. My 4th graders each had their own blog through classblogmeister. It was a great experience for all, but the students that got the most out of blogging were the ones who received the most comments. The kids who got the comments were the ones who write from home, blogged during their free time , or wrote on their blogs while they were on vacation. They had an audience to listen to them and they knew it. They performed for them.

One of my gripes (see my Pie in the Sky post from June) was that there was not enough parents or other family members commenting on my students' posts. This year I got my wish. I routinely have 4-5 comments awaiting moderation in my inbox. This has certainly translated to more writing. One of my boys even writes posts on Saturday mornings... How cool is that? Let me just say that I am so enthused that my kids are learning and working outside of the four walls of my classroom.

I can't say the kids are alone here. When I opened up this blog I received few comments. I worked hard to gain readers. I went commented, I linked, I tried all the tricks I could think of short of offering free stuff. I had a few loyal readers (Thanks Bret and Brian!) but did not receive many comments. Total comments up to last week: 4. I started to feel like I was writing for myself (not an awful thing, I suppose) and I felt that I was wasting time. You can guess what happened next, I stopped writing.

Of course, there is one other explanation to the lack of comments... When I was writing last, gas prices were out of this world ($4.09 was the highest I paid). People were conserving their gas. Comments were at a premium,. Now gas prices are coming down... I have been thinking of things I should be writing about lately and I have a dashboard full of unfinished posts. I am re-energized to write and this time I hope I find an audience who wants to fill my engine with gas.