The best rubrics are designed by learners who are investigating and defining quality work. Rubrics allow learners to articulate criteria based on this discovery. The rubrics they design can then guide their own work and inform the feedback that they provide to peers. Creating a great rubric isn’t a simple undertaking for learners or for teachers, and when people set out to do so without studying how to do it most effectively, a whole lot…
Internet filtering is a reality wherever I work. I’m sure it will remain so for some time to come, and in most cases, for good reason. I’m fortunate to work in places where many of the tools that I prefer to use are open, including Google tools and YouTube and even Facebook. When things are blocked, all of the administrators that I work with are happy to open sites up in order to facilitate great…
Sending positive energy to all of you administering and taking the New York State English Language Arts Assessments this week! Here’s a little treat to reward your efforts. I know many Amy VanDerwater fans. Did you know that she is blogging? Take a peek at how she is celebrating National Poetry Month. Beautiful stuff here!
I bought some new books to devour this week. And I’ve added a new blog to my reader, too. I’m thinking….I like the way Claudia thinks. You can follow her on Twitter too.
I’m not wild about Interactive White Boards. My reasons are fairly simple– we don’t expect young people and teachers to identify their real learning and creative purposes often or early enough, and I question how IWBs facilitate this well. I feel it’s important to begin most learning there, and I have a hunch that when we overlook this, we increase the chances of integrating technology in ways that don’t serve any one very well. So…
On Saturday, I had the privilege of watching the middle and high school interns from the WNY Young Writers’ Studio guide small groups of writers through the next phase of our collaborative digital storytelling project. The last time we met, writers finished story boarding. On Saturday, they came prepared with props and ideas and spent a portion of the morning capturing digital stills. We plan to “wrap this up” at our Celebration of Writing on…
The WNY Young Writers’ Studio celebrates its third anniversary this summer! Thinking about joining us but haven’t just yet? Well this year, we’re opening up greater opportunities for you to do so. Studio is not a camp. It isn’t a workshop or an institute either. It is a learning community comprised of teachers and students who have been writing and learning together over time. Many of our fellows have been a part of our program…
Over the last month, several educators (including quite a few in my own network) have launched new communities in Ning. I’m looking forward to joining the conversations that will unfold as others join and connections begin to build. Hope you will add to our learning! Jenny Luca and Jackie Gerstein have launched Students 2.0 and are opening dialogue around the potential for this exciting new space for kids. Heidi Hayes Jacobs has invited everyone to…
I had such a great time tonight. A while back, I was invited to keynote a regional forum of the New York State Middle School Association. I chose to speak about something I feel really passionate about–the possibilities created when our classrooms become communities— and ever since, I’ve been excited and terrified in equal measure. That’s quite a huge topic for the small chunk of time I was provided, after all. And anyway, what would…
How are you celebrating National Poetry Month? Some ideas: Bud Hunt is publishing a photograph a day on his blog as a means of prompting poets, and if you haven’t visited the comments section to see what has transpired as a result, I highly recommend. The New York Times invites readers to celebrate poetry with them in 11 different ways. New and timid poets often begin by mimicking the work of their favorite poets or…