I am a teacher first and a techie second, so I will never be the frontrunner with my tech teaching. But since the summer is for review and reflection, today's topic is Google. I certainly am not the most educated user of "the Google," but I do find myself expanding my tools regularly. Though my skeptical half worries that Google "is taking over the world," my getting-through-the-day side lives and breathes Google. I did not realize how useful the myriad Google tools are until my husband asked me about my iGoogle page. So started an hour of show and tell discussion about just the few tools I use. If you are a Google beginner, here's a quick overview of some of my Google favorites:
Blogger: my first tools were on Blogger. I now have three blogs, Healigan's Home, where my students write, Healigan's Second Home, the blog you are reading now about teaching in Healigan's world, and Movies at St Marks, a blog that I am trying to get going with my Film Club crew at school.
Blogger is free, easy to navigate, and though not as zoot as WordPress, does the job.
Reader: I just switched to Reader from Bloglines. Both are owned by Google, but Bloglines is no longer supported efficiently, so I switched all my RSS feeds to Reader.
Google Docs: just starting to use word processing in the cloud. My most recent project was taking notes and tracking links as I read American Gods with @1B1T2010. Cool. And since I think I am going to attempt the book with my Phase 5 (Honors x 2) World Lit seniors next year, I've already got a core source for my lessons. My colleague Mike D. just used Google Docs for his annual research essay with his juniors--start to finish. I 'm looking into that too.
GoogleBooks: no more do I have to worry about students who "lost" their book or left it at home. Not my problem. Any book no longer under copyright is being scanned into GoogleBooks faster than I can write this. Many books can be read online or downloaded for free. Nuff said.
GoogleScholar: this is a great source to start your students on a research project. A search engine that contain only articles, mostly actual research, on your topic. My students resist researching with tools other than Google, so Scholar offered a happy medium for my classes. I teach English, so take that with a grain of salt if you teach other subjects.
Gmail: I love the way it tiles conversations.
Google Calendar: I access my calendar from my iGoogle page. It tracks personal and professional calendars and I link it to the calendars from members of my family. Now that everyone is 18 +, our schedules are wild and not totally under my control, so this feature helps.
Google Translate: each year I teach several students for whom English is a second language. For some of them, using Translate for small blocks of text which are difficult is a real boon. One Chinese student survived Frankenstein this way last spring.
Google Earth: I first used Google Earth for Google Lit Trips to Macbeth's Scotland and the Odyssey. It gets better and better. It is just too cool to miss. Considering having one of my classes build a LitTrip next year--Oohh, that would be fun with American Gods!
Sites: I am investigating Sites this summer as a possible replacement for my wikispaces pages.
Picasa: I only keep blog photos on Picasa. Not a great lover.
So there is the minimal scoop. Enjoy.
25 June 2010
DIGITAL DOSSIER: Your Life on the Net, Part One
This April, we watched the Digital Natives YouTubes video in class before I assigned a Digital Dossier project to my seniors. We were approaching the end of the year, zero hour, and I thought I might hide the unit on World Poetry I introduced in APRIL ("you are one wild woman, Ms Healey," Ben told me. Really.) if I added this "fun" project too. What a laugh! The drama, the angst, the panic... I figured after a year with me, the Tech Center could hold no sway over their tender egos. I was wrong.
It appears that only two of my honors seniors had ever even considered their identities on the net--and those two are wannabe hackers (maybe real hackers, but it could just be panache). So the project became more important than the World Poetry Wiki. (scroll to the bottom of the wiki page to click on their individual wiki pages.) So we began with Facebook--how many friends do you have, how many of those friends have you actually met, photo tags, QUALITY of the photos in which are you are tagged, etc. While they were proud of the number of personal photos on Facebook, some admitted that they were not so happy with the prospect of me seeing them. SCORE. And so it went. Discussion, then work, then many questions in many emails at night.
The amount of time that they spend watching (not creeping though, they swear) others is astounding, unless you consider that in high school, what peers think and believe is truly more important for many than what they think themselves. I laid out some parameters for the project--letting them know up front that I was new to this too--and gave them a deadline. We moved the deadline as needed. I requested that they post their dossiers on our secure school site (Studywiz Spark--another post required later). And when they were completed, discussion began anew.
Not one student asked what I was going to do with all this personal info on the official school site. Not one. And every single one gave me some info and photos that they could not possibly have wanted me to see. SCORE. What are you doing, people, giving me all your personal info? AND posting on the school site, where any teacher or dean could access it? They did not know that I was not going to scan every photo or read every post, or that I would take it down the minute I reviewed that they had completed the work. (I know enough to realize that nothing is ever really gone, but really, there was nothing illegal or disgusting, just high school). Your life is yours. Time to start asking questions, people, with respect of course.
First rule in the digital world: no one will protect you unless you protect yourself.
Second rule: think before you post. Consider your audience--there are as many audiences as there are websites.
Third rule: You get to be who you want to be on the Net--maybe even more than one "you." But...make sure YOU decide who you become and don't let it just happen to you.
Another post below: what I learned about my students!
It appears that only two of my honors seniors had ever even considered their identities on the net--and those two are wannabe hackers (maybe real hackers, but it could just be panache). So the project became more important than the World Poetry Wiki. (scroll to the bottom of the wiki page to click on their individual wiki pages.) So we began with Facebook--how many friends do you have, how many of those friends have you actually met, photo tags, QUALITY of the photos in which are you are tagged, etc. While they were proud of the number of personal photos on Facebook, some admitted that they were not so happy with the prospect of me seeing them. SCORE. And so it went. Discussion, then work, then many questions in many emails at night.
The amount of time that they spend watching (not creeping though, they swear) others is astounding, unless you consider that in high school, what peers think and believe is truly more important for many than what they think themselves. I laid out some parameters for the project--letting them know up front that I was new to this too--and gave them a deadline. We moved the deadline as needed. I requested that they post their dossiers on our secure school site (Studywiz Spark--another post required later). And when they were completed, discussion began anew.
Not one student asked what I was going to do with all this personal info on the official school site. Not one. And every single one gave me some info and photos that they could not possibly have wanted me to see. SCORE. What are you doing, people, giving me all your personal info? AND posting on the school site, where any teacher or dean could access it? They did not know that I was not going to scan every photo or read every post, or that I would take it down the minute I reviewed that they had completed the work. (I know enough to realize that nothing is ever really gone, but really, there was nothing illegal or disgusting, just high school). Your life is yours. Time to start asking questions, people, with respect of course.
First rule in the digital world: no one will protect you unless you protect yourself.
Second rule: think before you post. Consider your audience--there are as many audiences as there are websites.
Third rule: You get to be who you want to be on the Net--maybe even more than one "you." But...make sure YOU decide who you become and don't let it just happen to you.
Another post below: what I learned about my students!
19 June 2010
DIGITAL DOSSIERS PART 2
The digital dossiers are gone because I copied them to a flash drive and then deleted them from the school website. I made sure to tell my students I did it, to model decision-making on the net. Teens seem to be sure that we are all watching them 24/7, so they got it. I doubt anyone at school was dying to see the digital CVs, except me. In fact, some of my colleagues thought it was just another one of my "techie" things.
But it wasn't "just" techie. It was one of the most important projects I did with my seniors this year. They are well read and had already written almost double the amount the school requires them to write each year (and none of them realized it). This was one last way for me to get them ready for the challenge of college. One last time to talk about WHO ARE YOU? This project will return for next year's seniors as well, because I learned so much! I will spend some time this summer ruminating over these facts and how they will influence my teaching next year:
1. Many of my students are entirely comfortable shopping online with credit cards, but not able to build an excel worksheet. ARGH!
2. The self-identified artists had done the most to create themselves online: deviantart.com, myspace, tumblr, youtube, etc.And those sites were wonderful, creative, intelligent.
3. Almost none of them is supervised, not even in a "how many hours have you been playing Halo 3?" or "What did you buy?" kind of way. (I am guessing many have their own credit cards)
4. The ones that did not have facebook accounts were too busy for facebook--many other things taking up their time, like volunteering, a job, close family (usually evidenced by their photo files).
5. They all visit youtube, but few had accounts. No one manages their viewing list on youtube. Few other video sources were noted, except the ones that I introduced like vimeo.
6. They visit many media sites but do not comment or register. (this makes their online lives easier for sure, but just by accident).
7. Some (three) protested "life on the net," and really had limited presence there. I can respect that, but advised that they keep track of what other people and organizations post about them.
8. The athletes were documented over and over, and could not believe how many places the same pics and stories were posted--and how far back they went (middle school, for some of them). That certainly led to a class discussion of whether newspapers were really dead or not.
9. The scholars were not documented anywhere near as often as the athletes, and most of them did not care. Scholar athletes noted the imbalance as well.
10. My students' perception of their online lives was baffling. Very few even noted our wiki or their blog postings on their dossiers! No collegeboard.com mentions. No COMMON APP, which I know 80% of them used as part of the college application process.
11. They did not note the brand new email addresses that most of them had received from their colleges. Teens as a rule do not use email unless it is with a teacher. We discussed how this would have to change, and soon.
12. Since I teach at a private school (albeit parochial), all have phones and many have smartphones. No one noted that that their phone apps constituted internet connections. This part seemed to upset them. Still not sure why. They did not seem to understand how texting worked either.
13. No one counted iTunes or another music source as an internet connection unless it was illegal. This is important to all of them, but they did not note it.
The last section of the assignment had them imagine what results would appear on a Google search of their name in 5-10 years. I read ALL of these and was delighted to see their dreams and their creativity. Some designed an updated Google page, and others noted their accomplishments. Most of them will be in the news (for good or bad), if their plans come to fruition. The last thing we discussed was how the internet would play a role in making their dreams come true. It was a great end to the year.
But it wasn't "just" techie. It was one of the most important projects I did with my seniors this year. They are well read and had already written almost double the amount the school requires them to write each year (and none of them realized it). This was one last way for me to get them ready for the challenge of college. One last time to talk about WHO ARE YOU? This project will return for next year's seniors as well, because I learned so much! I will spend some time this summer ruminating over these facts and how they will influence my teaching next year:
1. Many of my students are entirely comfortable shopping online with credit cards, but not able to build an excel worksheet. ARGH!
2. The self-identified artists had done the most to create themselves online: deviantart.com, myspace, tumblr, youtube, etc.And those sites were wonderful, creative, intelligent.
3. Almost none of them is supervised, not even in a "how many hours have you been playing Halo 3?" or "What did you buy?" kind of way. (I am guessing many have their own credit cards)
4. The ones that did not have facebook accounts were too busy for facebook--many other things taking up their time, like volunteering, a job, close family (usually evidenced by their photo files).
5. They all visit youtube, but few had accounts. No one manages their viewing list on youtube. Few other video sources were noted, except the ones that I introduced like vimeo.
6. They visit many media sites but do not comment or register. (this makes their online lives easier for sure, but just by accident).
7. Some (three) protested "life on the net," and really had limited presence there. I can respect that, but advised that they keep track of what other people and organizations post about them.
8. The athletes were documented over and over, and could not believe how many places the same pics and stories were posted--and how far back they went (middle school, for some of them). That certainly led to a class discussion of whether newspapers were really dead or not.
9. The scholars were not documented anywhere near as often as the athletes, and most of them did not care. Scholar athletes noted the imbalance as well.
10. My students' perception of their online lives was baffling. Very few even noted our wiki or their blog postings on their dossiers! No collegeboard.com mentions. No COMMON APP, which I know 80% of them used as part of the college application process.
11. They did not note the brand new email addresses that most of them had received from their colleges. Teens as a rule do not use email unless it is with a teacher. We discussed how this would have to change, and soon.
12. Since I teach at a private school (albeit parochial), all have phones and many have smartphones. No one noted that that their phone apps constituted internet connections. This part seemed to upset them. Still not sure why. They did not seem to understand how texting worked either.
13. No one counted iTunes or another music source as an internet connection unless it was illegal. This is important to all of them, but they did not note it.
The last section of the assignment had them imagine what results would appear on a Google search of their name in 5-10 years. I read ALL of these and was delighted to see their dreams and their creativity. Some designed an updated Google page, and others noted their accomplishments. Most of them will be in the news (for good or bad), if their plans come to fruition. The last thing we discussed was how the internet would play a role in making their dreams come true. It was a great end to the year.
03 June 2010
Let me break it down for you
Revising my poetry devices sheet for the 850th time last night, I realized that they were not using it because they did not see how it could help them. We had just used the Romantic poets to choose common examples of all the traits of poetry for their final exam study sessions over and over again. But no one seems to have put it together. I am embarrassed to say that that I forced myself to relate it to math: "It's an equation, people, all these add up to the prize=meaning and delight."
"I know.....right? Ms Healey, does this worksheet count towards my grade?"
Tonight I am thinking it is all a matter of semantics, of word choice. Let me break it down for you.......
I am confounded by their immediate, powerful response when I read poetry to them and then their complete shutdown when I ask them why they feel so strongly. It sucks the fun and feeling out of it for them, and I do not know why. Should I turn my lesson on its head-make them take control of the inner workings of the poet's mind? And how shall I do that--more to follow.
"I know.....right? Ms Healey, does this worksheet count towards my grade?"
Tonight I am thinking it is all a matter of semantics, of word choice. Let me break it down for you.......
I am confounded by their immediate, powerful response when I read poetry to them and then their complete shutdown when I ask them why they feel so strongly. It sucks the fun and feeling out of it for them, and I do not know why. Should I turn my lesson on its head-make them take control of the inner workings of the poet's mind? And how shall I do that--more to follow.
31 May 2010
NOTES: WHAT ARE WE DOING IN HIGH SCHOOL?
WARNING: the yearend meltdown continues. Remember that I teach high school juniors and seniors. Paramount to my teaching is the knowledge that they are about to be released into the wild, and I do not want them to be eaten alive by other wild animals........
So many thoughts are roiling around in my mind as I grade research papers, and I realize that they prove my two overriding observations this year:
1) children need more practice in thinking critically and therefore writing critically and analytically because they do not read as much anymore, and
2) the emotional and moral youth of my students may prevent them from achieving what they so desperately desire-independence, integrity and happiness. Add to this the random (really?) ideas that come to me by way of students, other teachers, our student teacher, blogs I read, my kids--
** the move to retreat to young adult fiction for high school students that our student teacher is researching in her classes (not very happily either)
**the negative judgment of the classics as worthwhile (or the canon as I hear it now, though I am not sure what is on that list)
**the acceptance that new modes of writing are equal or superior in their significance and skill sets to the "old"--emails all of a sudden are "long" writing, blogs replace reviews, tweets are great creative tools, etc etc. Why can't we see them as new and not replacements?
**the expectation that everyone copies homework and that's not a big deal (for teachers either). For me, that means reading enotes is as good as reading the novel. Knowing about the book is the same as knowing the book. Really?
**that students cannot sit for long and should not have to.
**everything we teach should be fun and instantly engaging.
**grades are bad for kids. no grades are good.
The list goes on. I feel the need to react to these new "truths" in some way--no one wants to fail all the time (meaning me, not them). But everything in my heart cries out for the measured journey to achievement, surviving the bumps in the road, doing the hard stuff and being proud of yourself. Even the characters in the novels know this--Elizabeth Bennett suffers through her life until she knows what she feels. Holden Caulfield won't let go of what he instinctively knows to be true. We all suffered this year with Oedipus as he careens desperately towards truth and damnation in equal parts....... Kind of how life works, isn't it?
Is it true that they really do not need to read, to consider their own visceral reactions to something someone else wrote, anymore? I do know that I will not be teaching carmen figuratum to seniors in the future, because on the list of skills they must have, it is lower on the list than it used to be (a very long story, I assure you). But I would not understand my life today if I didn't know I exist in the myriad layers of human experience that now mark soft spring rainfall as a motif that a billion human beings still recognize as an archetype for cleansing. But are there skills and concepts that I feel are critical, that aren't anymore? Have I lost my instincts?
And maybe this only means that I need to stop focusing on the kids that take the short cuts or know that doing the minimum will be enough, and focus instead on the great kids, who GET what you read and want to learn with me.....more later. Got to read more papers, hoping that they are the authentic ones.
So many thoughts are roiling around in my mind as I grade research papers, and I realize that they prove my two overriding observations this year:
1) children need more practice in thinking critically and therefore writing critically and analytically because they do not read as much anymore, and
2) the emotional and moral youth of my students may prevent them from achieving what they so desperately desire-independence, integrity and happiness. Add to this the random (really?) ideas that come to me by way of students, other teachers, our student teacher, blogs I read, my kids--
** the move to retreat to young adult fiction for high school students that our student teacher is researching in her classes (not very happily either)
**the negative judgment of the classics as worthwhile (or the canon as I hear it now, though I am not sure what is on that list)
**the acceptance that new modes of writing are equal or superior in their significance and skill sets to the "old"--emails all of a sudden are "long" writing, blogs replace reviews, tweets are great creative tools, etc etc. Why can't we see them as new and not replacements?
**the expectation that everyone copies homework and that's not a big deal (for teachers either). For me, that means reading enotes is as good as reading the novel. Knowing about the book is the same as knowing the book. Really?
**that students cannot sit for long and should not have to.
**everything we teach should be fun and instantly engaging.
**grades are bad for kids. no grades are good.
Is it true that they really do not need to read, to consider their own visceral reactions to something someone else wrote, anymore? I do know that I will not be teaching carmen figuratum to seniors in the future, because on the list of skills they must have, it is lower on the list than it used to be (a very long story, I assure you). But I would not understand my life today if I didn't know I exist in the myriad layers of human experience that now mark soft spring rainfall as a motif that a billion human beings still recognize as an archetype for cleansing. But are there skills and concepts that I feel are critical, that aren't anymore? Have I lost my instincts?
And maybe this only means that I need to stop focusing on the kids that take the short cuts or know that doing the minimum will be enough, and focus instead on the great kids, who GET what you read and want to learn with me.....more later. Got to read more papers, hoping that they are the authentic ones.
19 May 2010
Healigan loses her heart......
Well, it has been a week since I got my iPhone. I will admit that I was anxious to get a phone with internet access--my feeling that my own children would communicate more often with me has proven true. I know, we texted before, but now I am getting pics and I am in their loop--just another person on the list every day. Yes!
But... I find myself struggling to leave it in my desk, instead of checking that quote or looking up the word I need. I teach at a cellphone-free school, for better or worse, and though as a teacher, I am not restricted in my cellphone use, I have always tried to respect the students by avoiding my phone throughout the day. Whether or not I agree with the policy has been irrelevant. Not so anymore.
First, I did not understand the strength of the addiction that they must feel all day long every day when they cannot answer texts or check facebook. After the first hour, I found myself thinking of the phone as "she." After one day, I wanted to name it. And I love the way it feels in my hand; it is beautiful, like the Movado watch in the MoMA. Third, there are changes in the way I work already. Using my StickyNotes app to assess student iMovie presentations Monday night, I found my iPhone notes to be succinct and more meaningful than the notes I made on my MacBook after the phone battery died. It forced me to get it done, and working did not feel like working. The more informal work pattern--in my hand instead of sitting with a flat surface for the laptop--was great.
So today, after six days in AppleLand, I went to Tech and demanded that they load Words with Friends on the 10 iTouches the school owns so my seniors can play on their last day of classes (next Monday). The problem? They have to set up a network to work it out--and I'm impatient because I do not have to wait for ANYTHING with Mr. Job's little toy. I am not usually demanding and petulant, but I suddenly realized that I was being rude and impatient. I am not sure how I feel about myself with an iPhone......more to come later. I am stopping now to go read American Gods on my Kindle for iPhone.
But... I find myself struggling to leave it in my desk, instead of checking that quote or looking up the word I need. I teach at a cellphone-free school, for better or worse, and though as a teacher, I am not restricted in my cellphone use, I have always tried to respect the students by avoiding my phone throughout the day. Whether or not I agree with the policy has been irrelevant. Not so anymore.
First, I did not understand the strength of the addiction that they must feel all day long every day when they cannot answer texts or check facebook. After the first hour, I found myself thinking of the phone as "she." After one day, I wanted to name it. And I love the way it feels in my hand; it is beautiful, like the Movado watch in the MoMA. Third, there are changes in the way I work already. Using my StickyNotes app to assess student iMovie presentations Monday night, I found my iPhone notes to be succinct and more meaningful than the notes I made on my MacBook after the phone battery died. It forced me to get it done, and working did not feel like working. The more informal work pattern--in my hand instead of sitting with a flat surface for the laptop--was great.
So today, after six days in AppleLand, I went to Tech and demanded that they load Words with Friends on the 10 iTouches the school owns so my seniors can play on their last day of classes (next Monday). The problem? They have to set up a network to work it out--and I'm impatient because I do not have to wait for ANYTHING with Mr. Job's little toy. I am not usually demanding and petulant, but I suddenly realized that I was being rude and impatient. I am not sure how I feel about myself with an iPhone......more to come later. I am stopping now to go read American Gods on my Kindle for iPhone.
02 May 2010
In which the bookworm teacher misses reading........and her seniors
Recently, I have been reading blogs from teachers linking children around the world, digitally collaborating to create knowledge, and developing methods and techniques to prepare our children for this new world. They inspire and motivate me to keep my mind and heart open to my children, to celebrate what they teach me every day. At the same time, I love my literature: not only its beauty, but also how it has painted the world for me throughout the life. I have not traveled much, to my great regret. Many of the reasons have been beyond my control. But books always filled in the blanks for me, helped me never to lose that desire to know more, to meet others, to ask questions, to thrill at the unfamiliar. So it is always a mystery to me that my students 1) no longer enjoy reading and 2) don't believe me, the avid reader whom they respect, when I say "try it, you'll like it."
And maybe my mystification comes from being educated in the latter half of the 20th century. During my school days, teachers knew "it" and they gave "it" to us. We did what we were told, because our teachers knew. We worked alone. Studying paid off. If you got an "A," you were smart. Everything was measurable. Working hard had its rewards. Owning information or a book was achievement. Reading the book, living the unknown secrets the author hid between its leaves, ploughing through the book even when it was hard, have become the foundation for my fondest memories of school and childhood.
And then all of a sudden it was 2000, and knowing where to find information became achievement instead. Reading about Jane Eyre was enough. Knowing the story got you what you needed. Information. Not the tingle of love, epiphany of self-discovery, the thrill of not knowing, hate that you could taste in your throat, grief for which there (still) are no words, edge of the seat suspense, madness that made you step back in fear: that is why Jane Eyre is still one of my favorite books. I suppose that I read it at the moment I needed it, when I felt the female becoming in me, but did not know yet what it was. If you tell someone the plot of Jane Eyre, their eyes glaze over. They have heard it before (I know, it is THIS plot that has been copied, but they do not know that). I still yearn for every moment stolen in a story read late at night with a flashlight under my covers.
Jump to the present: we just finished two critical projects in my World Lit classes: video podcasts on magical realist writers and personal digital dossiers. The podcasts are fabulous because at the end of high school, magical realism taps into the limitless possibilities that all my seniors can feel at this point in their lives. The world is theirs, all they can see is the blue sky and endless road ahead. I remember feeling that way, and my heart still jumps at the joy of it. It is how I manage my middle aged sadness every year when I lose them to their futures. Magical thinking is the last thing I can give them. They leave with their heads full of women with stars in their eyes and men who live forever. They never forget Federico Garcia Lorca or Charles Baudelaire. Students always return later, wiser, and tell me they understand "Get Drunk" now--seriously, Healigan, I do.
I'm getting lost here. I can imagine the comments sternly reminding me that they discover these joys themselves, that the new ways are better, and I get it. I really do. And I teach accordingly. But the reality is, they are just learning facts, listing plot points when they read sparknotes and wikipedia, just like I did when I memorized the names of all the Victorian authors. But what I remember most about English in high school is deciding on a Trollope summer after my 11th grade English teacher went nuts about him in one of her numerous digressions while we read Great Expectations. My students, who know so much, are not internalizing the experience of reading. So much of our learning throughout life is unconscious, experiential, random. Every time they wrote an essay this year, I find myself naturally sorting the essays by who reads and who doesn't, because their writing is starving for the experience of reading, of easy, sure expression of one soul communicating across centuries, genders, lands, races, languages, to touch one other soul. Reading is personal, intense, thrilling and creative. It informs their thoughts, feelings, relationships, values, clothes, music, driving, tastes, and decisions. Literature is the final and most critical character education (am I using the PC term?) that we have at our disposal........and posting 140 characters on Twitter (follow me, I'm @1healigan) is just not doing the same job.
And maybe my mystification comes from being educated in the latter half of the 20th century. During my school days, teachers knew "it" and they gave "it" to us. We did what we were told, because our teachers knew. We worked alone. Studying paid off. If you got an "A," you were smart. Everything was measurable. Working hard had its rewards. Owning information or a book was achievement. Reading the book, living the unknown secrets the author hid between its leaves, ploughing through the book even when it was hard, have become the foundation for my fondest memories of school and childhood.
And then all of a sudden it was 2000, and knowing where to find information became achievement instead. Reading about Jane Eyre was enough. Knowing the story got you what you needed. Information. Not the tingle of love, epiphany of self-discovery, the thrill of not knowing, hate that you could taste in your throat, grief for which there (still) are no words, edge of the seat suspense, madness that made you step back in fear: that is why Jane Eyre is still one of my favorite books. I suppose that I read it at the moment I needed it, when I felt the female becoming in me, but did not know yet what it was. If you tell someone the plot of Jane Eyre, their eyes glaze over. They have heard it before (I know, it is THIS plot that has been copied, but they do not know that). I still yearn for every moment stolen in a story read late at night with a flashlight under my covers.
Jump to the present: we just finished two critical projects in my World Lit classes: video podcasts on magical realist writers and personal digital dossiers. The podcasts are fabulous because at the end of high school, magical realism taps into the limitless possibilities that all my seniors can feel at this point in their lives. The world is theirs, all they can see is the blue sky and endless road ahead. I remember feeling that way, and my heart still jumps at the joy of it. It is how I manage my middle aged sadness every year when I lose them to their futures. Magical thinking is the last thing I can give them. They leave with their heads full of women with stars in their eyes and men who live forever. They never forget Federico Garcia Lorca or Charles Baudelaire. Students always return later, wiser, and tell me they understand "Get Drunk" now--seriously, Healigan, I do.
I'm getting lost here. I can imagine the comments sternly reminding me that they discover these joys themselves, that the new ways are better, and I get it. I really do. And I teach accordingly. But the reality is, they are just learning facts, listing plot points when they read sparknotes and wikipedia, just like I did when I memorized the names of all the Victorian authors. But what I remember most about English in high school is deciding on a Trollope summer after my 11th grade English teacher went nuts about him in one of her numerous digressions while we read Great Expectations. My students, who know so much, are not internalizing the experience of reading. So much of our learning throughout life is unconscious, experiential, random. Every time they wrote an essay this year, I find myself naturally sorting the essays by who reads and who doesn't, because their writing is starving for the experience of reading, of easy, sure expression of one soul communicating across centuries, genders, lands, races, languages, to touch one other soul. Reading is personal, intense, thrilling and creative. It informs their thoughts, feelings, relationships, values, clothes, music, driving, tastes, and decisions. Literature is the final and most critical character education (am I using the PC term?) that we have at our disposal........and posting 140 characters on Twitter (follow me, I'm @1healigan) is just not doing the same job.
19 March 2010
This is who I want to be on the great days:
Found this quote on Andrew Sullivan's DAILY DISH: 11/1/09
To the extent that the Internet and the proliferation of long distance learning deprive us of being in the presence of charismatic, kind, scholarly people, it will be a tremendous loss. When a Hasid said that he traveled miles just to see how his master tied his shoes, he was expressing this beautiful idea. What we learn from a great teacher cannot be put into a book, because it is in a look, an inflection, a quirk of personality or a tossed off comment. The greatest human lessons are found in the power of presence. david wolpe
I have been doing it "old school" for the past three weeks. Somehow I just don't want to repackage myself and my subject right now. Though I am a great missionary for teachers to recognize that new methods are necessary to prepare new students for the new world, I can't help but feel that my subject matter deserves attention as well. My age tells me that the old ways do the job too. There are so many advantages to reading Chaucer, no disadvantages. It seems to me that my students will be correlating past, present and future on a moment to moment basis every single day as they live the next 80 years. The connections between the present, past and future are real, they are vibrant, and they are meaningful. It matters that students read, and that they read the unfamiliar and as well as the familiar. Multitasking is not only about doing many things at once, it is also about linking many tasks, many knowledges and many experiences. Some of that does not happen in 140 characters, or in 4 open windows or or in 4 genres flashing at once. I am thrilled with 17-year-old speed, spark, opinions. I am also appalled at the ignorance, their lack of curiosity, the dismissal of so many new things with so little experience."Old school" in an old school is right just now: trust Ms. Healey. Shakespeare IS your past, your present and your future.
16 March 2010
CAUTION: smoking brain!
Here's what I have noticed during this Frankenstein cycle. Since many of them have not read on their own since middle school, they seem unable to recognize plot, characterization, metaphor, and themes of classic works or even contemporary adult novels. I have noticed that some are no longer doing my "Readers Write" extra credit projects for each quarter. I generally offer a short list of novels as extra credit opportunities each quarter. So for British Lit, they could read and review The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh or The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, or even a William Monk mystery by Anne Perry. Should I be backing off to young adult books--maybe just for extra credit choices? I do not want to, but need to work through my purpose in offering extra credit projects--to spark reading. To be fair (to me), those who do participate usually like the book they choose. But they are a tiny group, this year.
This generation of students is so isolated from general knowledge in some ways--for some kids in my parochial high school, their parents make enough to buy them cars, but don't have the time to teach them how to change a tire (really!). They can buy fundraiser T-shirts for $20, but can't do their own wash. They know all about the opposite sex, but little about themselves. Does this mean that this most technologically savvy, worldly generation of American teens is actually not mature enough to handle adult themes, though they partake of adult behavior?????????? I won't really give up treating them as if they are ready for my content, but the nagging question of whether or not I serve them as they need to be served will not go away. I think there is smoke coming out of my ears!
07 February 2010
OLD BIO from PBWORKS Summer Camp
English teacher, St. Mark's High School
British literature, World Literature, Film Club.
Part-time college instructor.
"Healigan" is a meld of my maiden and married names, and I first used it years ago to provide a more secure environment for my class blog. The name stuck, and now my students use it as a "password" into my room (and my good graces). I am a ninja only in spirit.
BIO: I have been teaching high school for 3 years. Before that, I taught middle school English and social studies for a year, and before that, I taught for 10 years at various colleges in my area: composition 1 & 2, remedial reading and writing, technical communications, writing & lit for design majors, and other stuff too. I worked as a writing center coach as well. In my other life, I was a stay at home mom and writer with my three daughters, one of whom presented special challenges (still does at age 21, but I'm used to it now). Two of my daughters came to us by way of South Korea, which inspired my interest first in Asian lit and art, and now of world literatures. I am lucky enough to teach it now!! Before that, I worked as marketing communications specialist in industry, and a fundraiser in several hospitals and university settings. GOSH, I SOUND OLD!! But I am not singing the blues, like Sita here. (a shameless plug for a great movie I taught this year.)
LESLIE & TECH: I have been blogging with my students for three years, and have just completed my first year with a wiki. I LOVED IT! I teach Phase 3, 4, and 5 juniors and seniors (that translated to college prep, honors, and pre-AP). The juniors did alot of blogging about British Lit and practiced SAT writing. The seniors blogged and then began to use the wiki in January 2008. First, we did projects like scavenger hunts and poetry posts, to get them used to it. Then my Phase 5 seniors constructed individual pages for world poets--6 of them. They worked in small groups and rotated through the pages over a period of 8 days. Each student worked with each poet, and they all practiced specific skills. They were uncomfortable, which was great, because they are all "good" at school, and needed to start taking charge of learning, instead of just getting As. When they finished, I had the Phase 4 seniors use the pages that the others had created. They did scavenger hunts of each page, and then chose a poet to analyse. Their end project was an explication of their favorite poem by their favorite poet. They, also, had to reach a bit--choosing their own poems, searching the pages and the links, etc.
25 January 2010
I think I need to formalize my PLN...............
A “working definition” by David Warlick says that a Personal or Professional Learning Network:
1) I need to think more about how they learn when I choose what to teach. Some of this might have to do with technology, but some might not. I do believe that their learning paths are changing because of all the media, tech and visual input they have now. I need to take advantage of that. If more of it is going to be in their control, then what I choose to have them read is probably the most critical decision. More to think about here. PLN to adapt my teaching to facilitating??? Hard to let go of loving the content and letting them get a little when I can give them alot. If this was on a teacherblog that some of the biggies read, I would be taking a hit: but so what? I have already decided that my main focus is not networking but teaching my kids. That's where my creativity will go.
I don't want to change just for the sake of change. Maybe my age is part of this. A 26 year old teacher embracing new methods is not really changing so much. Me, I have done some work or used some techniques that are old school and still good, strong techniques. I am old enough to have figured out that I am not going to get rid of it just because something new has come along. That would be like throwing out the coral cashmere sweater my MIL gave me 25 years ago, after she owned it for 20. It is still more beautiful, soft and warm than any of the new ones I have. Plus, it reminds me of her, and I still miss her every day. Since teaching is an art, I can only hope that my teaching gets better as I add the layers of experience. New is not always better. Old is good. I am old. I am good!
2) I want to find my personal comfort level with change. I do not want to change what I am doing just because ..........everyone thinks we should. Reading expands your knowledge, your self image and your decision making skills. Not reading limits your confidence, problem solving and literacy. It probably does not matter so much what you read, but that you do, that's the common wisdom these days. I guess that's true, but I am so bored by the series mentality, the repetition of the same plots over and over, the inaccurate diction and barely adequate manipulation of the language. I think maybe part of my job is to help them develop discernment in their reading, info gathering, knowledge and wisdom development. SO... PLN to investigate how much do I want to absorb the new without losing the old?? Who would be in this network? Part of the reason I am blogging is the lack of colleagues who have time or interest in discussing these ideas.
3) another idea--how to organize the tools I do use--which tools (tech) for which classes? What order do I introduce? Which ones are best suited to which lesson? So far I have hit on things by instinct (one of my strengths) but that will add up (like my delicious tag for toolsforteachers) into chaos. Chaos is not good. Planning ahead is good. So how do I put together the big picture? The syllabi that the department uses are almost irrelevant for me now--it is all about what to teach them, not what they need to learn. For instance, BritLit now contains from Beowulf to Martin Amis, approx 1300 years lit. I am not sure that a chronological approach is useful or possible anymore! Back to tools--more thinking needed. This is one that Gina and I can work on for World Lit.
1/25/10:Learning is messy! Who is in my PLN already? Most often consulted: Barbara, Gina, Val, Andy. Also important: Fio, Katie, Anne, Geri T. I think I need people from other departments. Tech PLN: Donna, Holly, Dale, Linda, Fio, Michele A?, Barry, and my twitter list, EC Ning. This is a pretty weak list: they are not weak, but I need to fill in the gaps in experience and knowledge.
http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=755
More later..............
involves an individual’s topic oriented goal, a set of practices or techniques aimed at attracting or organizing a variety of relevant content sources, selected for their value, to help the owner accomplish a professional goal or personal interest.My personal goal: to be an even better teacher, of course. But what, specifically, would do that? Here are the ideas that keep rolling around in my head:
1) I need to think more about how they learn when I choose what to teach. Some of this might have to do with technology, but some might not. I do believe that their learning paths are changing because of all the media, tech and visual input they have now. I need to take advantage of that. If more of it is going to be in their control, then what I choose to have them read is probably the most critical decision. More to think about here. PLN to adapt my teaching to facilitating??? Hard to let go of loving the content and letting them get a little when I can give them alot. If this was on a teacherblog that some of the biggies read, I would be taking a hit: but so what? I have already decided that my main focus is not networking but teaching my kids. That's where my creativity will go.
I don't want to change just for the sake of change. Maybe my age is part of this. A 26 year old teacher embracing new methods is not really changing so much. Me, I have done some work or used some techniques that are old school and still good, strong techniques. I am old enough to have figured out that I am not going to get rid of it just because something new has come along. That would be like throwing out the coral cashmere sweater my MIL gave me 25 years ago, after she owned it for 20. It is still more beautiful, soft and warm than any of the new ones I have. Plus, it reminds me of her, and I still miss her every day. Since teaching is an art, I can only hope that my teaching gets better as I add the layers of experience. New is not always better. Old is good. I am old. I am good!
2) I want to find my personal comfort level with change. I do not want to change what I am doing just because ..........everyone thinks we should. Reading expands your knowledge, your self image and your decision making skills. Not reading limits your confidence, problem solving and literacy. It probably does not matter so much what you read, but that you do, that's the common wisdom these days. I guess that's true, but I am so bored by the series mentality, the repetition of the same plots over and over, the inaccurate diction and barely adequate manipulation of the language. I think maybe part of my job is to help them develop discernment in their reading, info gathering, knowledge and wisdom development. SO... PLN to investigate how much do I want to absorb the new without losing the old?? Who would be in this network? Part of the reason I am blogging is the lack of colleagues who have time or interest in discussing these ideas.
3) another idea--how to organize the tools I do use--which tools (tech) for which classes? What order do I introduce? Which ones are best suited to which lesson? So far I have hit on things by instinct (one of my strengths) but that will add up (like my delicious tag for toolsforteachers) into chaos. Chaos is not good. Planning ahead is good. So how do I put together the big picture? The syllabi that the department uses are almost irrelevant for me now--it is all about what to teach them, not what they need to learn. For instance, BritLit now contains from Beowulf to Martin Amis, approx 1300 years lit. I am not sure that a chronological approach is useful or possible anymore! Back to tools--more thinking needed. This is one that Gina and I can work on for World Lit.
1/25/10:Learning is messy! Who is in my PLN already? Most often consulted: Barbara, Gina, Val, Andy. Also important: Fio, Katie, Anne, Geri T. I think I need people from other departments. Tech PLN: Donna, Holly, Dale, Linda, Fio, Michele A?, Barry, and my twitter list, EC Ning. This is a pretty weak list: they are not weak, but I need to fill in the gaps in experience and knowledge.
http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=755
More later..............
29 November 2009
31 October 2009
RE: the Nobel Prize, from Garrison Keillor in Salon.......
"Some conservative pundit suggested that the president should've declined the prize, but it is not gracious to reject a compliment, one should accept it with becoming modesty, as Mr. Obama did, that's what your mother brought you up to do. The prize isn't about you, it's about Peace, or Literature, or Homecoming, or Champion Hog, or Male Vocalist of the Year, so walk up there and smile for the cameras, say thank you and sit down.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth that you hear among Republicans is 68 percent envy and 32 percent sour grapes. Here is an idealistic, articulate young president who is enormously popular everywhere in the world except in the states of the Confederacy, and here sit the 28 percent of the American people who still thought Mr. Bush was doing a heckuva job at the end, gnashing their teeth, hoping and praying for something horrible to happen such as an infestation of locusts or the disappearance of the sun, something to make the president look bad, which is not a good place for a political party to be, hoping for the country to slide into chaos. When you bet against America, you are choosing long odds"
I still don't get wishing the other guy would fail. It is un-American. We elect a man for four years, and then we live with it. Some of us are happy with the situation, some aren't. And in four years, it changes again. I think we should all be pleased that the rest of the world has stopped hating us for a few minutes.........and amybe think about why they think President Obama is such a big deal.
11 October 2009
from Gaiman's blog:
I'm madly trying to finish things before I head out to China for a few weeks, to wrap up the research on my Journey to the West project... http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/10/it-snowed-this-morning.html
02 September 2009
WHAT MY JOB IS.....
Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, "How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?" and avoid "How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?"
That's James Thurber in a 1959 memo to The New Yorker.
Thanks to kottke.org for the reminder: it is great to be a good writer and an involved teacher, but sometimes the writer/collaborator has to sit in the back seat while the teacher takes over, especially when we are working on the blog or the wiki. If I were to focus exclusively on formal writing conventions, then the magic would POOF! They are writing more often and more clearly than I even hoped for before the blog. Last year, I saw them to begin monitoring themselves, as they needed new modes and styles to discuss more complex ideas and emotions. It is not always possible to see the line that I need to draw in the "blogger" sand, though. This year I am giving myself more detailed requirements for their self-reviews as well as my assessments, especially with my seniors. More or that as the year progresses.
update 9/20: first blog done last week. UCK! chapter 2 will be an assessment activity. Maybe have them read other posts and choose a good one--but I tell them how to decide what's good--1. mention of more than one device used by the artist, 2. some criteria directly mentioned by the writer of the post, 3. direct reference to work of the artist, 4. what criteria they mention--should have some connection to the artist as writer, creator, producer (I mean, come on, guys, this IS an english class, the 11th you've had already!) entirely too many people just noted the subject of the artist's songs. a few mentioned genre--incorrectly used by most mentions, etc
and then have them apply lit terms to music, duh! it works. maybe they will finally remember their terms--or more accurately, find them useful
Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, "How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?" and avoid "How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?"
That's James Thurber in a 1959 memo to The New Yorker.
Thanks to kottke.org for the reminder: it is great to be a good writer and an involved teacher, but sometimes the writer/collaborator has to sit in the back seat while the teacher takes over, especially when we are working on the blog or the wiki. If I were to focus exclusively on formal writing conventions, then the magic would POOF! They are writing more often and more clearly than I even hoped for before the blog. Last year, I saw them to begin monitoring themselves, as they needed new modes and styles to discuss more complex ideas and emotions. It is not always possible to see the line that I need to draw in the "blogger" sand, though. This year I am giving myself more detailed requirements for their self-reviews as well as my assessments, especially with my seniors. More or that as the year progresses.
update 9/20: first blog done last week. UCK! chapter 2 will be an assessment activity. Maybe have them read other posts and choose a good one--but I tell them how to decide what's good--1. mention of more than one device used by the artist, 2. some criteria directly mentioned by the writer of the post, 3. direct reference to work of the artist, 4. what criteria they mention--should have some connection to the artist as writer, creator, producer (I mean, come on, guys, this IS an english class, the 11th you've had already!) entirely too many people just noted the subject of the artist's songs. a few mentioned genre--incorrectly used by most mentions, etc
and then have them apply lit terms to music, duh! it works. maybe they will finally remember their terms--or more accurately, find them useful
15 August 2009
WIKI TAG! YOU'RE IT!
http://deangroom.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/how-to-play-wiki-tag/
Noticed this cool idea checking through my Langwitches links.......gotta think more about this on Monday. I can use this with the seniors this year, as I am planning to start wiki projects earlier in the year. I still want to do the Poetry Pages near the end of the year, since by then, it is all I can do to keep seniors awake. The year end iMovie project linked to the wiki project should help us survive the last three weeks of class.
Noticed this cool idea checking through my Langwitches links.......gotta think more about this on Monday. I can use this with the seniors this year, as I am planning to start wiki projects earlier in the year. I still want to do the Poetry Pages near the end of the year, since by then, it is all I can do to keep seniors awake. The year end iMovie project linked to the wiki project should help us survive the last three weeks of class.
09 August 2009
plagiarism discussion/unit
I am going to be doing a"unit" on plagiarism. This post from Lisa Gold's blog always gives me the right words:
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/laziness-is-not-an-excuse-for-plagiarism/
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/editors-and-fact-checkers-fix-sarah-palins-resignation-speech/ hahahaha. I wish I could use this in class, but it is not POLITICALLY correct.........I'll have to find a speech of my own to mutilate!
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/never-assume-anything-tips-for-greater-accuracy/
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/01/what-plagiarism-look.html
http://search.creativecommons.org/
Vicki Davis has done it again: this Guitar Hero will be a great example for the students when I approach this topic:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-see-dead-people-kurt-cobain-and.html
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=6
since I can't see the kurt cobain video anymore--this might help: http://news.aol.com/article/the-most-scandalous-misuses-of-dead/784210?icid=sphere_tmzcom_inline
9/21 idea from Dale: start with a prequiz testing what they know about intellectual property, their digital dossier, what is legal and what isn't..........i Movie as a product
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/06/26/laziness-is-not-an-excuse-for-plagiarism/
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/editors-and-fact-checkers-fix-sarah-palins-resignation-speech/ hahahaha. I wish I could use this in class, but it is not POLITICALLY correct.........I'll have to find a speech of my own to mutilate!
http://lisagoldresearch.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/never-assume-anything-tips-for-greater-accuracy/
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/01/what-plagiarism-look.html
http://search.creativecommons.org/
Vicki Davis has done it again: this Guitar Hero will be a great example for the students when I approach this topic:
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-see-dead-people-kurt-cobain-and.html
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=6
since I can't see the kurt cobain video anymore--this might help: http://news.aol.com/article/the-most-scandalous-misuses-of-dead/784210?icid=sphere_tmzcom_inline
9/21 idea from Dale: start with a prequiz testing what they know about intellectual property, their digital dossier, what is legal and what isn't..........i Movie as a product
03 August 2009
FIRST SENIOR ESSAY 09-10
First essay this year is going to be the college essay: I review so many that are BAD, and it happens primarily because they do not know what to write about themselves. I think I will start by having them make a shortlist of the most important ideas in life. They can all tell me what they want to OWN in 10 years, or what they want to be DRIVING, or what JOB they should score, but few of them are able to identify what lies at their own core--maybe I should do a kind of "this I believe" (NPR)thing--they could podcast it, and then they could create an essay from that--the podcast will eliminate some of the conversational smoke they all blow in the written version. Now I have to come up with some models.
see high school bits
see high school bits
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