New Changes to Delicious are Simply Divine!

When Delicious first introduced “stacks,” I was not completely sold on their functionality.  Then, I took time to really play with the “stacks” function.  And… I love it!  I began to realize all of the potential that this new element of Delicious can have on classroom instruction.

In case you aren’t familiar with this site, Delicious is a free social bookmarking web resource for storing, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks.

Click on this video to see how stacks work!

As 21st century educators, one of our charges is to teach students to be media literate.  We throw around this terms, but one important component of teaching students to be savvy consumers of media is teaching them how to navigate resources on the web.  How do we teach students about how to access reliable, factual information?  Delicious stacks can help in a number of ways.

Students with Little Research Experience:  The teacher can create a stack on a topic the teacher wants the students to research.  The teacher can provide the link to that stack, and students would use only websites in the stack to conduct their research.

Students with some Research Experience:  Students could create a Delicious Stack of every site they use in their research.  This would help students on a number of levels.  First, they could quickly revisit any site where they retrieved information.  Next, teachers or peers could review student resources to check for reliability.  Then, students could use the text option to write a description of what they found on this site.  Their comments could be helpful if they use their stacks to collaborate and share ideas with other classmates.

Savvy Researchers:  As part of a research assignment, one of the components of the rubric could be to create Delicious stack as part of their final product.  This stack along with the text description could help serve the purpose of our notecards of old.  These stacks can also provide teachers with a quick resource to check citations and reliability of information.

 

For a short read on eight ways to tell if a website is reliable, share this article with students:  Eight Ways to Tell if a Website is Reliable

 

Follow my Delicious links at:  www.delicious.com/mullinshe

 

Collaboration

I have been lucky in my teaching career to always have incredibly bright and innovative teachers with which to collaborate.  When I started my career, my mentor and I would brainstorm for hours and create lessons together.  I learned from her experience, and she learned from my willingness to go out on a limb and try something daring with students.

 

When I came to Hickory, I was blessed with a colleague who really pushed me to be my best.  She found innovative ways to use technology, we collaborated to create units that engaged our students, and we were driven to make our classrooms inviting and challenging.  I can honestly say my interactions with these ladies made my classroom better for my students and for me.

 

 

When teachers say that they collaborate, they may mean many different things.

 

Sometimes they may be referring to working together in a classroom to instruct a group of students.

 

At other times they may be describing grade level or departmental meetings they attend to discuss their content.

 

They may also be reporting on the efforts on a committee or a staff meeting.

 

Last week, I visited two classrooms where I saw the same concept being taught.  These classrooms were just doors from one another. 

 

 

In one class, the teacher was presenting the information on an overhead, writing definitions for students to copy, discussing with students the information, and providing examples of the concept. 

 

This was a good lesson.  Information was facilitated; students were listening and attentive and felt free to ask questions.

 

 

 

However, when I visited the next classroom where the same concept was being taught, students were engaged in completing a graphic organizer.  The teacher provided students with opportunities to demonstrate their learning by using leading questions, and Think-Pair-Share activities for the students in the classroom. 

 

This was a GREAT lesson.   

Students caught on quickly, and the teacher was able to cover more material at a faster pace due to the fact that she incorporated so many different student-friendly teaching methods.

 

This situation is not isolated.  We see it all the time.  I can’t even tell you the number of times that I have walked into a colleague’s classroom during my planning period, saw something great going on, and later asked the teacher to collaborate with me so that I too could improve my classroom practice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Friend and Cook’s (1992) definition of collaboration states that “collaboration is a style of direct interaction between at least two co-equal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work toward a common goal.” 

 

 

 

The following characteristics can be used to further describe teacher collaboration: 

 

It is voluntary.

 

Teachers may be required to work in close proximity, but they cannot be required to collaborate. They must make a personal choice to work collaboratively in such situations.

 

 

 

 

 

It requires a shared goal.

 

Teachers collaborate only when they share a goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It includes shared responsibility for key decisions.

 

Although teachers may divide their labor when engaged in collaborative activities, each one is an equal partner in making the fundamental decisions about the activities they are undertaking. This shared responsibility reinforces the sense of parity that exists among the teachers.

 

 

 

It includes shared accountability for outcomes.

 

This characteristic follows directly from shared responsibility.  That is, if teachers share key decisions, they must also share accountability for the results of their decisions, whether those results are positive or negative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is based on shared resources.

 

Each teacher participating in a collaborative effort contributes some type of resource. This has the effect of increasing commitment and reinforcing each professional’s sense of parity.  Resources may include time, expertise, space, equipment, or any other such assets.

 

 

It has emergent properties.

 

Collaboration is based on belief in the value of shared decision making, trust, and respect among participants. As teachers become more experienced with collaboration, their relationships will be characterized by the trust and respect that grow within successful collaborative relationships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think about your own planning periods and grade-level or departmental meetings or even planning periods. 

 

How much time is allocated for sharing of ideas about how to best teach a specific concept, unit, or event? 

 

How much better could your classroom be if you put two (or more) heads together?   

 

 

 

 

 

It is based on parity.

 

Teachers who collaborate must believe that all individuals’ contributions are valued equally. The amount and nature of particular teachers’ contributions may vary greatly, but the teachers recognize that what they offer is integral to the collaborative effort.

 

 

Collaboration is not just important for our students – it is crucial.

 

 

Message of the Week: Digital Age Delights and Amazes

The future is here!

The digital age is not only upon us, it has invaded us. 

 

As educators, we are faced with a dilemma, either to embrace the new face of education, admit that trekking in this undiscovered country fills some of us with trepidation OR to run kicking and screaming from it and hope no one realizes that we still relying on only the same methods that we have used for years. 

 

 

Recently,I have been working diligently to launch myself even more deeply into the world of Web 2.0 tools.  What an amazing world it is – with endless possibilities for students, classrooms, and collaboration.  I continue to be astonished by the endless number of the resources at our fingertips, resources that are multiplying as I type.

 

For starters, this is my new blog that will highlight  messages of the week as well as provide you with links to resources I am researching for individual teachers, principals, our district, School Improvement Plans, instructional strategies, and staff development opportunities.

 

Now that you are here, let me share some of the functions of the site. 

 

First, on the left side of the page, you will find today’s message and other past entries.  You will also find “links” followed by a date.  Thanks to Donna Murray, I have used Feedburner to link any new Delicious bookmarks directly to my blog.  So, every morning, any new web pages I have bookmarked load directly onto my blog for viewing.  Way cool! 

 

Take a look at the right side of the page.  Under the picture at the top of the page, you will see a box that reads:  Subscribe to Heather’s Weblog by E-mail.  By clicking here, you will receive an E-mail update any time I update my blog.  You will receive my daily Delicious links as well as any content, weekly messages, etc that I add to this page. 

 

Under this tab, you will find another tab that reads My Delicious Links.  If you are interested in what I am marking on the web or searching my archives, tags, and bookmarks, just click here, and you will be directed to my Delicious page and my bookmarks by category/subject.

 

The last tab on the right side of the page is titled, What do you want?  Here, you will find a list of tabs that serve as tags for concepts, topics, and information shared in the blog.  If you know what you are looking for, you can simply click on a word or phrase, and you will be taken to a list of blog entries on that topic. 

 

If you would like to comment on an entry, just click the Comments or No Comments links that follow each entry.  Then, you can leave your comments or feedback for others to read.

 

What an amazing collaborative tool!

 

Many of you have professional blogs, Delicious accounts, and other wonderful collaborative resources.  I urge you to share them with all of us. 

 

Please take this opportunity today to share how you use web 2.0 tools to collaborate.

 

If you are interested in setting up your own Delicious account or blog for your classes, parents, grade level/department, or school, please let me know.  I would love to assist you.

 

Have a great week!