What about Internet?

My dear wonderful Globaloria students!
Reading your blogs was a great way to see what you thought about your rights and responsibilities. Your posts were as different as you all are, which provided me with tons of engaging reading. Chuckie shared his knowledge of the amendments, so if you are not sure what each one means, go check out his blog and don't forget to leave a comment! Billy and Roger talked about our rights to freedom of religion, and Amber and Kaitlyn concentrated on the dress code prompt I included in my previous post. These are just some highlights for this week, so be sure to blog on, as you all are doing an excellent job!

Now, let's move on to this week's discussion. Since Globaloria's curriculum is delivered online with many Web 2.0 tools used by you on a daily basis, it is time for us to think seriously about our rights and responsibilities on the Internet. You have a right to education, and Internet can serve as a great tool to learn tons of new stuff.

• What is important for us to know?
• How safe are we making ourselves online?
• Is the Internet safe or dangerous? Or is it as safe or dangerous as you make it to be? Watch these videos to start thinking about Internet and your rights and responsibilities that come with it:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Think about the code of conduct on the Internet
  , reflect upon your rights, and responsibilities when it comes to your education, safety, and responsibility when working and communicating online.

  Good blogging!

  Mrs. B.

  
  

Do rights come with responsibilities?

As citizens of the United States of America, we have the privilege of enjoying many freedoms people in other countries cannot even imagine having. We have the rights that have a long history and are given to us at a price: they come with responsibilities towards our country, our fellow citizens, and ourselves. We know that the Bill of Rights protects us from unfair treatment by our national, state, and local governments, but as good citizens we have the responsibility of elect great leaders who would make and enforce the laws that protect our rights. But, is it enough? We do enjoy such basic rights as freedom to speak freely, believe in what we desire to believe, and feel free to express our individuality without being afraid for our lives or the well being of our loved ones. What do we do to handle these rights responsibly? Do our rights come with responsibilities?

"Suppose you have formed a committee to decide about the rules of the dress code at school in collaboration with your principal. You have the right to speak and add your suggestions. What responsibilities come with your speech and the speech of other members of the committee? What happens to your right to free speech if these responsibilities are not followed? How would you form the rules about the dress code? How can your freedom of expression be restricted by your rights and responsibilities within the school? What if your right to freedom of expression offensive to others? "

Before you write your blog, check out these cool resources and express your opinion!
Do I Have A Right?
Seattle Times Article on Student Rights to Expression

Student Rights and Responsibilities:



Good Blogging to you all!
Mrs. B.

New year

Well, the new year has officially started. It was nice to see familiar faces and get acquainted with the new sixth grade students. Of course, I greatly miss my last year's 8th grade students who were a great group and for whose support I might be reaching this year. We have a lot more students this year in Globaloria and are reaching out to 7th and 8th graders. I am curious to see the differences/similarities in learning these groups will display.

My plans for this year are very ambitious- we are taking on civics games and are to establish communication and collaboration with other schools in WV as well as TX. I am excited and maybe a little scared not to meet the expectations, but these feelings usually drive me to achieve more and help my students meet the goals of my class.

Globaloria is such an exciting class that, despite its complexity and new ways to deliver curriculum, it interests kids tremendously, challenging the high achievers and helping the struggling students take interest in school in general and see purpose in their education. I often compare the essence of this program to any other educational innovations, challenges, or problems schools deal with today.

I was recently reading Ian Jukes's blog When Flogging a Dead Horse It's Probably Good to Dismount and could not help but think that so many programs we run at school feel like a dead horse that we fail to dismount and keep on trying to find the ways to revive it. Ian Jukes notes that, unfortunately, it is common practice in education. I got a good laugh out of reading his blog, but in retrospect, the issue does not feel funny. Change is hard but it is now or never that we need to embrace it in education. Ian Jukes connects his ideas on educational practices of "riding a dead horse" to the issue of the biggest annual drop in reading scores in 31 years on SAT. In this case, the dead horse is our TTWWADI (that's the way we've always done it) and the demands of NCLB "running headlong into Digital Natives who are tuning us out and shutting us down."

"We try to engage kids who are neurologically different (Prensky, Small,
Tapscott, Pink, Dryden, Medina...) by using a PhD (piled higher and deeper)
approach. This much medicine didn't work so we'll just give them more of the
stuff. Based on the assumption that what doesn't kill them will make them
stronger." (Ian Jukes)

That's where Globaloria comes into play. This program does try to address the needs of these neurologically different kids by engaging them in the activities they feel are important to them, thus making their learning more meaningful.This program helps students use the skills they so artfully develop outside the classroom walls for academic purposes. Additionally, Globaloria lets teachers dismount their dead horses and try new strategies and approaches.

Wow! How did it change my life?

Looking back at certain moments in my life filled with angst, frustration, working under pressure, I surprisingly came to a conclusion that these were the most powerful learning events of my life. They made me - ME, shaped my teaching style, formed my outlook on various things in life, and opened my mind to tolerance, understanding, and compassion. Mainly, travels to different parts of the States and Europe contributed to my most powerful learning experiences.

I remember one of my travels specifically. It was my first visit to the United States, the country with culture so different from mine that at first it left me confused, searching for connections to my understanding of life, and scrambling to better my English :) Luckily, I ended up in New Hampshire, where the language was easy enough to understand for a newcomer. Beign a part of Easter Seals camp staff was an eye-opening experience as well as it was the first time I worked with children with disabilities, an entirely rewarding and humbling experience by itself. Even though I was questioning my sanity at the time, wondering about how in the world I was stupid enough to sign up for this crazy deal, but eventually I came to understand the importance of my undertaking as it helped me realize how big this world was, and how different, but not unequal, cultures were, which made me a better teacher and still helps me try to inspire my students in the secluded county of McDowell to look beyond the county line, open their minds to a multitude of possibilities ready for them to undertake, and view the world as a place for collaboration, not division. And, Globaloria enhances my beliefs even more!

Homework assignment

Just as doing my homework assignments for the admin class I took this semester from Concord Univeristy during the four weeks of Twilight obsession, I am unveiling my blogs to follow early in the morning, while it' not too late!
Lately, I have been following Ian Jukes's blog after listening to his presentations last summer. His insights into the 21st century learning gave me tons of food for thought and provided good support for opening my mind to the teaching and learning opportunities initiated by Globaloria. The work my students have accomplished this year proves that 21st century learning is taking place in WV schools . In the end of the year, my studetns have produced a video that shows their accomplishments in this class and is a great evidence of their engagement and hard work.
I have also decided to follow up the edu blogs website suggested by Rachael yesterday during the session. I am extremely interested in the issues of 21st century literacy and digital divide as these are the roadblocks we frequently hit as teachers working in high poverty areas. Despite the location and peculiarities of school locations, teachers still need to leave no child behind and find ways to help all the kids to be successful within the 21st century workspace.

Tying up loose ends...

Last week was a bit hectic as the much-anticipated and feared date of the game presentations neared. We also had visitors from Globalora staff and Texas who came to see how Globaloria works within the middle school setting. Students willingly shared their insights into Globaloria, what they learned, how it helped them work better in groups and become more familiar with Web 2.0 tools.

Wednesday, the day of our presentations, was both nerve-wrecking and rewarding. The students have put in a lot of work during class hours, after their lunch, and after school. Even though their games were not completed, the game presentations were engaging and well prepared for. Every group member, even the shyest one, contributed to the presentation. To share the student success and the results of their hard work, Sara and I invited our county assistant superintendent and technology integration specialist to be on the panel of judges. We also had a teacher from another middle school from the county come and videotape the presentation. Of course, our administration was present, supporting the students.

Even though the presentations are over, we still have a lot of work to do. The students have to assemble their games, and with Jeff's help, they are slowly moving to their goal. Even though student motivation is there, we still promised to bring cookies and milk (their choice!) for the groups who upload their finished games to the game gallery by next Friday! Middle school bribing sometimes works magic :) Blogging, organizing pages, and finalizing games is all that's needed to successfully finish up the year.

The time we spent in our first year of Globaloria was challenging, highly educational, and very rewarding for the students who embraced the 21st century learning skills and tools and have come out being ready for challenges future might bring them!

Presentation time nears...

Well, the students are almost finished with their individual units and are starting on their game scenes, which brings a lot of creativity, frustration, and seeking for answers into play. The presentation at the board is in three weeks, so I encouraged the students to produce a game demo and talk about their learning process within the course. They are worried about talking in front of the board, but that will help them in the long run.

Our assistant principal and I are trying something this semester. Her acquaintance is an owner of a graphic design company in Florida. We got in touch with him about possibly talking to the kids about this industry and his experiences with it. The guy is very willing to talk to the kids, so we might be setting up Skype session with him some time in future. I am very excited because this session would let our students see the significance and reak world application of what they are doing in this class. Of course, none of my students need to be really nudged to attend Globaloria. They perceive it as "fun learning", with some spending more time on playing rather than working for a specific goal- their game. However, work or play, they are still learning, so I am not complaining much.