Persistent Pondering http://persistentpondering.posterous.com Where do social action, art, music, technology, media, pop culture, and most importantly, student needs intersect? posterous.com Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:50:04 -0800 Let's Get to the Good Stuff http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/lets-get-to-the-good-stuff http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/lets-get-to-the-good-stuff

Here are some Voter Education and Civics Education PSAs NTH@C Rookies created for our Election 2012 project in November.

 

 

Here's a video created for an anti-bullying campaign learners created for elementary school students.

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:10:00 -0800 Happy Digital Learning Day! http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/happy-digital-learning-day http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/happy-digital-learning-day

What a great event to celebrate how digital tools have transformed education!

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence
Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:54:00 -0800 Creating a Community of Readers and Writers http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/creating-a-community-of-readers-and-writers http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/creating-a-community-of-readers-and-writers

Digital Learning Day is February 1, 2012. Although I will also be exploring the best way to get my students to write/read digitally for that day, it dawned on me that we, as educators, need to continue to learn in the digital milieu. In response, I have decided to take a step back and blog about what literacy instruction means to me in hopes that these posts serve as resources for other classroom practitioners. 

This activity has also enabled me to revisit what I believe in as an educator. I have been able to reflect what pieces contribute to the whole of my teaching. In doing so, I am able to become reacquainted with some of the principles that keep me motivated. I'm able to articulate what I do, not only to refocus my practice but to also share it with a wider audience. At the very least, this may invite others to revisit what shapes their teaching.

Enjoy!

 

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Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:30:00 -0800 What are your plans for National Digital Learning Day on February 1, 2012? | NWP Digital Is http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/what-are-your-plans-for-national-digital-lear http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/what-are-your-plans-for-national-digital-lear

What are you doing for Digital Learning Day? I would love to hear your ideas. Anyone else trying to get the whole school involved? How are you doing this?

Thanks for your input!!

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Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:21:00 -0800 Navigating Multiple Identities of Learners? http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/navigating-multiple-identities-of-learners http://persistentpondering.posterous.com/navigating-multiple-identities-of-learners

I am most intrigued by James Paul Gee's notion of gamers having an arsenal of identities to choose from when playing video games. Isn't that the case for most of us in this participatory culture of ours? We all have various identities that we carry with us. Be it mother, student, teacher, consultant, blogger, wife, daughter, etc. These are the many hats we wear, and like it or not, we cannot or should not try to be all of these identities at once. There is a time and a place, a context specific for each identity. Some may overlap, but it takes experimentation, practice to figure this out.

How do we help students with this skill? How do we encourage them to adopt a certain persona in our classrooms? How can we create an ecology that fosters positive learning relationships where certain roles should be adopted for optimum learning? How do we generate conditions that challenge students to drop whatever identity may hinder learning at the door? 

In a video game, various characters are adopted and even created depending on the skill, strength, and intellect required to vanquish a boss on that particular level. Savvy gamers continue to progress to fine tune their multiple characters, all in hopes to increase their chances of progressing in the game. "How can I find an additional weapon to be used at a later time? How can I find more money to purchase a potion to use in the future?" This type of forethought often motivates gamers. They know that in order to succeed, they must be more than the character they were at the beginning of the game. If not, they will surely perish.

So what about learners? How can we get this same sort of survival of the fittest mentality across to them? Instead of weapons or magic, how can we urge them to seek habits that will better equip them in the quest for learning? How can we promote such reverance for learning that our students feel invested enough to craft a new identity that will better serve the purpose? How do we even invite them to this type of inquiry, this sort of self-reflection?

Maybe a bigger question is do students realize the need for this? Are they willing to do this? Why or why not? 

Once again, more questions than answers, but a thought is forming. A kernal of insight is developing. Let's see what happens.

 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1385196/Photo_on_2011-07-24_at_11.26__3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4wzEg0n9lkIx Janelle Bence Janelle Janelle Bence