Goal Setting

Setting goals is an important life skill that I think is lacking in the classrooms. Most goals that are set in the classroom are set by the teacher. I think we need to give kids more ownership of their goals. If the students have a say in their goal, aren't they more likely to work to achieve it? Won't the making the goal be all the more meaningful to them if they had a say in the goal and how they achieve it. I think that one of my goals for this year is to give my students more of a say in setting their goals and how they will achieve them. I also want to set some goals of my own in the classroom and model for my students how I meet the goals I set for myself.

Me...for a Change

I decided to focus on me a bit more for the month of June. I want to ensure that I am continuing to grow and change as a teacher. This blog is a part of that growth and change. I have decided that I am going to blog every day. The posts don't have to be long or deep. I just need to get in the practice of daily writing. I advocate it with my students. I need to walk the walk myself. I have also decided that I am going to walk around my neighborhood on a daily basis...in sunshine, rain, or even snow (but as warm and muggy as it was today...I'm pretty sure that I don't need to worry about that snow keeping me from the computer.  In addition, I am participating in the #edugood project again. My goal is to take and post a photo every day for the month of June. For this project, I am posting my photos on Instagram (you can find them through the #edugood or on my Instagram (@jhox1). Those are all daily activities and so far, so good. I am 2 for 2! For the next 4 weeks, I also plan to learn a new skill or concept that I can use in my classroom. This can be through a book, a video, or online webinar. The point is the month of June is all about me...changing my mind, body, and soul... for good.

Summer School

Tomorrow I start four weeks of teaching an enrichment class for summer school called "Computers Don't Byte". I always look forward to this time of year because we (my summer students and I) can just be learners and have fun doing it. It is not just 4 hours a day of just playing computer games. That would be boring for both me and the kids! Even though it is summer, I am still a teacher and I want these 26 first and second grade kids to learn some things about using computers while we do projects. Even though these kids are young, they always amaze me with what they absorb, create, and what they end up teaching me.

**If you have an idea for a project we can create with computers, please feel free to share. I am always looking for new ideas!

This Is Why I Teach...

I don't teach because...

• it's a respected profession. -It may still be for some, but just look at the way teachers are treated in the press or by some legislators.  We are getting blamed for so many problems that are more societal issues than they are educational issues.
• I only work from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. -Seriously? I'd like to meet the teacher who has this work schedule!
• I have off during June, July, and August. -I have never had all three months off.
• of the huge salary I receive for my work. -If anyone believes that, well, let's meet for tea and...you're buying.
• I have an endless supply of red pens and post it notes. -So many of us buy our own supplies and some of us buy supplies for our students who cannot afford school supplies.
• I receive quality professional development. -Don't get me wrong...I have had some really good professional development, but most of what I have been to has not been helpful at all.  As many of my PLN on Twitter have said over and over, I have learned more from the people I have connected with on Twitter and reading blogs than I have in any workshop I have attended since I started teaching.
• I enjoy endless lesson planning, grading, meetings, and paperwork. -Uh...right.
• I have my evenings free and I never take work home. -I think my son would be able to argue this one for me.

I teach because...

• I like to learn.
• I can make learning fun.
• I want kids to question and think.
• I like sharing my knowledge, experiences, and interests with others.
• I like watching kids think and process information and I get joy out of them making connections.
• I like to listen to kids conversations and help push them farther.
• I can be a mentor.
• I do genuinely like working with kids!

The biggest reason why I teach??? I know that if I can make a difference in ONE child's life, it will make it all worth it. I teach because I want every child to be a success.

What I Did on my Spring Break

My spring break did not involve travels to a sunny, warm climate or to a fabulous ski resort, but I did have an opportunity to go to camp... an EdCamp that is. I had attended the EdCampKC in Kansas City last November and it struck such a chord with me that I knew I wanted to do it again. EdCamps are about connecting and conversations (if you have never heard of an EdCamp, then you should read this Edutopia article). I had my car loaded up so that when we finished our district professional development meetings on Friday at noon, I was ready to hit the road for EdCamp Omaha. The drive to Nebraska took about 6-1/2 hours, but I arrived just in time for the Tweet-Up at Jimi D's. There I got to meet some of my fellow "campers"....some I already knew from conversations Twitter, but many I was meeting for the first time. If you go to an EdCamp, I would definitely recommend trying to attend a Tweet-Up as a way to network with your fellow educators before the conference the next day. I was not able to do this at EdCampKC and I feel that I was more connected the next day during the sessions.

Saturday was snowy, but I was ready to connect with educators from around the mid-west. Most of the educators seemed to be from the Omaha area, but there were people there from Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, and Texas (Hi, Matt!). Some of the educators I had seen at EdCampKC. Many were new to the EdCamp experience (and even new to teaching-Hi, Alee!). I have to applaud all those who came to discuss and learn. In EdCamp fashion, the sessions were created on site after the EdCamp Omaha organizer, Josh Allen, gave a few opening remarks and explained the process for the day. I decided to join the discussion on what is a PLN for my first session. It was led by Michelle B. and Kristina P., but it was truly a discussion with everyone participating, sharing, and questioning. My second session was the Web 2.0 Smackdown with several people sharing the tools they love to use in their classroom (and personal life). I was able to share about Edmodo which is a social networking site for classrooms. My favorite suggestion during this session, however, was to put your iPad (which I don't have...yet) in a gallon-sized ziploc baggie and then you can use it in the kitchen and store your favorite recipes on it. Genius!!! After lunch, we resumed the conversation and I participated in a fantastic discussion about defining what authentic learning experiences are in our classrooms and schools. The last session of the day, for me, was spent discussing ideas for providing tech staff development. It was interesting to see how different districts provide staff development for their teachers.

I had a great time at EdCamp Omaha! I enjoyed all the conversations and connections that I made. I definitely grew my PLN through this experience and found some new people to follow on Twitter. I would have liked to have stayed longer and attended the after camp dinner, but I was trying to get ahead of some dicey weather in Missouri for my drive home (which I ended up taking a detour to my hometown of Lawrence, KS, anyway because of the weather and road conditions). I reluctantly said good-bye to my fellow campers and new friends and headed toward home with thoughts of all the conversations and ideas just swirling in my head! The idea that I kept going back to was that we need to have an EdCamp in St. Louis. I would love to organize this, but I feel that I need some help from some people who actually live there (my district is about 100 miles away). I think that St. Louis would be an ideal area to have an EdCamp. It would be able to enable educators in eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, Tennessee, and northeastern Arkansas to be able to come and start a conversation about education in this area.

Coming home on Sunday from Kansas was not the end of my professional development activities on my Spring Break. No, on Wednesday, I headed to a friend's house in rural southern Illinois (about 35 minutes from downtown St. Louis) to work on a three day workshop that we are presenting this summer. Carol and Pat both work as education consultants for the Missouri Department of Conservation. We worked late into the night Wednesday and were up early on Thursday to finish up our planning for the workshop. It is a unique take on using technology with students combining technology with nature. I am so excited about it! If you are an educator in Missouri, you need to think about signing up for Take Technology Outside (scroll down for more information and contact info).

So now my Spring Break is over and even though I didn't travel to any exotic locales, I feel rested and refreshed and ready for the rest of this school year. My "break" was full of connecting and conversations and this helped to revive my spirit. Thanks, fellow EdCampers! I hope to see you next year!

A New Beginning

I started this blog two years ago as part of a class assignment for my Master's Degree in Computer Education from Fontbonne University in St. Louis. I used it for several classes for different assignments. When I created the blog, even though it was for a class, I had always intended for it to be used as a tool to share ideas with others, to reflect, and to continue to help me grow as an educator. I finished my degree and graduated on December 18, 2010. I think it's about time to get busy before this year passes me by!

Currently, I have 21 third graders who are very excited about anything that is a project or that uses technology. These kids are hungry to use technology. They constantly amaze me how much, at age 9, they already know about using many different tools of technology and how quickly they learn how to use the new tools that I share with them. I enjoy using technology and I enjoy using it with my students. It is not the only way to teach, but it sure helps.

I take my inspiration for this blog from my students and my fellow teachers...both where I work and around the world.

Second Life in Education

As an elementary educator, I do not see much usefulness in this technology for my students. For one thing, it is definitely blocked in our school district. In looking at the different videos and links provided to learn more about Second Life, as well as doing research on my own, I have learned that Second Life is really for adults and those under 18 are not allowed (I am not sure how they "police" this since I know 8 year olds with Facebook accounts and they are not supposed to be able to do that either!). I also learned that there is a Teen Second Life that is for students from 13-17 years old and that adults have to have special permission given by the SL team to have access to certain areas of Teen Second Life.
That said, I do see some benefits of SL for students at the college level in terms of distant learning and virtual learning in some disciplines. Many colleges already offer some programs utilizing SL. The students can participate in symposiums or take "field trips" without leaving campus. Second Life can allow students to work collaboratively on projects. This would be especially helpful in collaborating on a project between different universities around the world.
To step aside and be a proud mom, for a bit... Last summer, my son who will be a senior in Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University this fall, was working at an internship at Virginia Tech University last summer. Part of his project was to build a training module in SL that would allow students to learn how to use a particular type of CT scanner in a virtual manner. He then made a video to describe the SAM-CT facility to explain about the training center. So, while I do not see me as ever needing to use this Web 2.0 application, it does have it's purpose in our world and in education.