Jenni Clark

Dealing with the "right now"

I have not been checking in with this blog and finding and linking to new content as I would like.  I am afraid that life is happening and I have so much to attend to as a working wife and mother. I am dealing more with the "right now" and less with the "what could be". With 2 boys in middle school, our life is very busy.  When I have logged on to the internet, I have found that it is more for an escape than for work right now.  I am completely hooked on my iPod and have downloaded several workouts and other self-help podcasts.  Now I have to hit the road and exercise.  I know it will make me feel better but so does sleeping until 6:15.

I am taking a long look at the direction I wanted to take my class this year and I am not happy with it.  I started wanting to dive into authentic research and we have done some meaningful work with graphs and timelines and their functions and uses.  In an effort to familiarize my group with the wonderful novel, James and the Giant Peach, by Roald Dahl, I have found myself wanting to go into another direction.  We started last week and I am finding so many other curricular connections that I believe are more appealing to kids so I think I am going to ride this wave for a little while.  If you are a parent of one of my students, please bear with me on this journey. 

Today, I am meeting with my colleagues in gifted ed.  We have already found Tapped In, an online community building resource that will make collaboration so much easier.  We are also moving into wikis and getting the framework for these laid out so our kids can jump in.

Before too long we will be starting the 2nd grade child find procedures that the state requires.  I am always curious to find out who will show us some sparkle.  The process is tedious but worth it.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!  I am catching up on home stuff over the long weekend. I love my crowd but they are a mess.  Lots to do!  So glad I have an extra day off...lol!  As if...

More later.
Jenni

All-Stars...

Just got back from Headland, AL.  My son's baseball team won their second game in the sub-district.  Very exciting stuff....much different from regular rec league.  We play again on Monday night....got a bye for tomorrow and practice/cook-out/play the parents game on Sunday.  My husband will not be participating...we don't need to spend any more time in pain, thank you very much!

All-star baseball...sweet!

Citing, giving props and instant info

I have been thinking about the importance of citing sources when using the internet as a resource.  I am especially impressed with the instant cite information provided by Answers.com.  In case you don't know about them, Answers.com is a search engine that provides only academic results.  Dictionary, almanac, encyclopedia, journal type of results.  I thought Google was the be all and the end all but I think I am going to have to change my stance with my students.  I made a special point to drive this home with them..."Why does Mrs. Clark just LOVE Google?"  They would hollar back..."Because it puts stuff in order for you by the most popular!!!!"  And we would all jump up and down and celebrate because we could not be bothered to click on the other pages of our search results....not enough minutes in our computer lab time.  However, this did not take into consideration the possibility of Google bombing.....if you don't believe me, just try doing a search for failure in Google ( I cite Patrick Crispen with that nugget of internet joy.  I heard him talk about Google two years ago at the AETC.)

So many people are making so much information available to the masses. I appreciate the information that I am absorbing.  I am trying to give props where I need to as I write.  It does not bother me to slow down and find the right link to give the proper credit.  Last year, I did an enrichment lesson that connected dreams and Dr. Martin Luther King.  I made a PowerPoint and started looking around for images.  I came across this really great looking piece of art...on Google Images, of course.  Digging a little deeper, I found the site and an email address.  I sent a message requesting permission to post the image in my PowerPoint.  The artist was truly grateful that I took the time....probably no more than  5 minutes total....to search for the right image, find the site and to ask permission and move forward.  Could I have right clicked and forgotten about it?  Sure!  Am I glad I didn't?  You bet.  The artist wrote back and was so grateful that I had asked permission to use her work....not to mention, no one had ever connected it to Dr. King!  I had created a teachable moment without even planning it....aren't those the best ones?

Just thinking about my own children....they need the info instantly, it is on the web...right click, copy.....right click,paste, save, print and turn in......is there a problem?   Not to them.  There is to me because....wait for it....it is really good.....I HAD A TEACHER THAT MADE ME REALIZE IT WAS IMPORTANT TO CITE MY SOURCES.  That was back in the days of index cards....please tell me they still aren't using index cards at the middle and high school level!  I will be checking into this because they both have a paper due on the first day of school.  Seventh grade, here they come.  Why do I feel like some real learning is about to start