Thing 9: Flickr...Say Cheese!

I have had a Flickr account for some time but have not utilized it as I should. Oh, yes...oh, time, where art thou?

For Writer's Notebook topics, I might use these photos...Unfortunately, at this time, I cannot determine how to post these pics here! Here are my links, though:

1. Snow Train Express Winter (photo by Mieke Photos): Discuss what the color red might symbolize in this picture.
2. Snow Cap (photo by Ivly): Discuss the pun intended and create one using the word cap or another word of choice.
3. King of the Mountain (photo by em'n'm): What is personified in this photo? To speak directly to this king would be an example of an apostrophe. Create an apostrophe with using the punctuation mark called the apostrophe!
4. What theme do you see being repeated in these three photos?

STREEEETCH:

• While roaming around, I created two groups: Classroom Redesign and BSD 21 Things.
• Please join and share photos related to these BSD projects...live action projects, created thanks to Lisa Huff and Debbie Miller!

Thing 8: Creative Commons...and Stretch!

What does Creative Commons mean to me?

1. A sense of accomplishment.
2. Credit where credit is due.
3. Validation.

But yet...I have yet to use it, for, honestly?

• Much of what I create is simply "borrowed" ideas.
• Or at the time, I did NOT have the time to think through the process. Yes, oh, time, where art thou?

Thanks to Thing 8...maybe, just maybe...yes! I now have a Creative Commons "plugin" on my class wiki (or what I refer to as my online filing cabinet: Mrs. Gillmore's Info Page). Please check it out...click on previous link...and scroll down...

Now to stretch even a little more...

I viewed two sites (all great ones for English teachers, in particular) and could find no Creative Commons link/button...hummm...

• Huff English
• The English Companion

Then I searched Creative Commons for "grammar" and found this site Guide to Grammar and Writing (to obtain this link I had to "copy shortcut" as there was no link to the site on the page...other than this: http://search.creativecommons.org/# ... or at least one that I could quickly find. Please share if you have the answer to this dilemma!).

Thing 7: Extension...on my part

Thing 7 involved multiple steps...actually this one is quite complex. Good luck!

As a result of Thing 7, though, I created another digital page! Please go here to check out Gillmore Cafe: A Web 2.0 Treasure Chest. This is just my page on the BSD 21 Things Wiki.

Since then I have created another wiki for our BHS Book Study of Strategies That Work...visit us here at BHS Reads ~ Sweet Stakes: Teachers Claiming Ownership.

ADVERTISEMENT: You may still join our book study! Mrs. Moran's husband is cooking chili for us, and I will bring the cheesecake of choice...yes, in honor of the season...Pumpkin Cheesecake!

• Your homework assignment: Read chapters 1-5 and bring your appetite!

Back to my wiki discussion...on the BHS Reads wiki, teachers will be posting lessons created as a result of this book study. Eventually, discussions will be held here...so check in often!

Thing 6 Stretch: Wikipedia in Our Futures

While I will not allow Wikipedia as a source in an assignment requiring research, I quite often (shhhhh!) start here when researching most any topic. Maybe this is because when conducting a search, the wikipedia result excels at the top of the list?


For the sake of this post I researched alzheimer's disease, an afliction that my mother endures. Maybe I should clarify that...my mother's family endures this disease, this very sad disease.


Back to my topic...


I had actually not ever investigated the discussion button until this post. I appreciated the flow of validation of some information that had been submitted.


Do I allow my students to use Wikipedia...yes...and no. Yes, this is a great site to obtain an overview and is a great way to teach validity of sources, for although a source may "sound" oh so good and true, one must always hold the authors to high standards.

Will Wikipedia one day be "reliable" source? For the answer to that question, let's ask Wikipedia: Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information.

In the meantime, though, Wikipedia will continue to be my friend, the source I turn to when needing a quick overview of a topic.

Thing 6: All Things Wiki

I never seize to be amazed by the varied purposes of the wikis I review.

• FHS Wolves Den: This one initially caught my attention because of the grade-level focus and the multi-academic areas (English and history). Wouldn't that be interesting to host a wiki for cross-curricular classes....for example English and history classes collaborating on National History Day projects?
• Flat Classroom Project: This I might be interested in! Imagine communicating, collaborating with other classes across the country, across the continents! This one I will investigate more before the January 2009 deadline.
• Holocaust Wiki Project: Intriguing. It looks like a "real" wikipedia page. This, I think, would interest the students, for one might see this as an opportunity to be read by "real" people. Good idea.

Wikis are a central part of my classes. Mrs. G Info serves as our class filing cabinet. I love this wiki! Metaphorically, this wiki is my pacifier! It comforts me, soothes me. This wiki is housed by pbworks...the wiki of my choice.

Wikispaces (this one is prettier...but not quite as friendly) hosts my individual class wikis:

• Cafe Pre-AP
• Cafe English 11
• Cafe Newspaper
• Cafe Methods (Lyon College Secondary English Methods)

This fall in the methods class I promoted wikis and asked the class participants to create a wiki in which to house their portfolio for this class (and to begin their own online file cabinet). One chose pbworks; the other chose wikispaces. I thought that was interesting; this just reiterates that one should choose what works best for him/her. No one method is THE best, for a method is only as good as the energy behind the person using it. Maybe?

Have to say "thanks" again to Lisa Huff, who introduced me to wikis some time ago. This tool has completely changed how I organize my classes. Very cool!

Thing 6 (Part 1): Using a Wiki

Please check out this post at Treasure Chest of Thoughts to view how my students are using our class wikispace...it just might "quack" you up!

Thanks!

Thing 5: So Proud of Our Own ADE!

Some time ago, I subscribed to the Arkansas Department of Education's blog ADE Briefs and continue to develop an appreciation for their regular updates on happenings at the state level.

They are also diligent to remind of us important events at the national level. For example, this week is Teen Read Week, hosted by the "Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association."

What can we do to celebrate this national event? One thing I am going to do is add this event to my Holiday Hits on my Mrs. G Info Page so that, maybe, next year this one will not slip up...or nearly slip by...me as this one nearly has!

As you will discover when you visit my info page, the Young Adult Library Services Association has its own recommended list of reads, of which I only have four in my classroom library. I will start with book talks of those four, though, and hand out the already created (and did I mention free?!) bookmarks to my students.

Thanks, ADE, for the gentle reminder! You, too, oh, reader-of-mine, may follow this blog by subscribing to ADE Briefs in your Google Reader...for being informed, in the words of Martha Stewart (who also blogs!), really is "a good thing."