Social media is not just for those damn millennial or generation iY. A majority of Fortune 500 companies are now using Twitter and Facebook for branding and mass marketing.
Again, more proof why teachers should be as active as possible on social media. As I tweeted the other day, I follow my kids on social media to show them how much I care. If they know you care, they will do remarkable things for you (like turn in a 6 page essay on the first day of class - which is the first College Comp 2 assignment that I texted and tweeted out to my first semester students).
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I love this: the toughest questions apple asks during their interview process
"What are your failures, and how have you learned from them?
"If we hired you, what do you want to work on?"
"Have you ever disagreed with a manager's decision, and how did you approach the disagreement? Give a specific example and explain how you rectified this disagreement, what the final outcome was, and how that individual would describe you today."
and the most essential one: "Are you creative? What's something creative that you can think of?"
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An Open Letter to Millennials . . . Thank You for What I See in You
Take this Bauerlein!
The author, the remarkable Angela Maiers, examines what she loves about this generation that everyone else derides them for.
Here is what she loves about them (as do I)
The one that interests me the most is thanking them for their impatience.
We all know the incidents of young workers coming into the workplace and wanting to be CEO after six months.
Whatever happened to paying your dues?
And that is a legit concern. But there is something to be said about wanting to aim for the top.
In my profession we often reward something who has "paid their dues" (and yet has been teaching the same year over and over 25 times) while we punish untenured teachers (who might be very good) because they "don't fit our team."
I don't think this is necessarily a good thing.
And I love the idea of thinking of this trait as a positive.
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This one might be geared more to elementary folks (and many of our teachers at CES do this phenomenally well via Twitter and class blogs), but I think it's vital for high school teachers to do this too. One of our best, Coach Mumm, involves families quite often.
I need to get much, much better at this.
Speaking of ways to involve parents more, here is a cool way to convert tweets to texts that can be delivered to parents, so even if parents aren't on Twitter, they can still see what's going on in your class.
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This post, 10 Things I Want All New Teachers to Know, goes great with my current reading of Educating Esme.
I wish I would have taken advantage of #2 (during your prep period go observe other teachers in your building) more. I just hunkered down in my room and tried to survive. I wish I would have watched one of my heroes, Mr. Dyrud, teach more. I could have learned so much.
I also think #4 is vital (don't worry about discipline and punishing kids) is vital. I think too often young teachers buy into the old school concept of "Be an asshole to the kids for the first 2 months. Then you can lighten up on them."
What sense does that make? I think this that is indicative of a far larger problem in teaching: We often dump the hardest classes on the newest teachers (I know what sense does that make? See my comment "you have to pay your dues" in my previous post).
Engage kids. Connect with kids. Show them you care. And discipline will not be that big of a deal. But if all you do is asshole kids, well, you're going to have one arduous year. Remember, "Kids don't learn from people they don't like."
And the final one - "Get Connected" is so vital and more important than ever. It's so easy with Twitter now to follow great and important peers and educators. But it's also vital to stay current in the research in your field (for English folks - subscribe to the English Journal (or read it in your professional library) and use Amazon to read the latest research - again for English teachers - let me suggest Tom Romano, Penny Kittle, and Thomas Newkirk as well as the masters, Peter Elbow and Donald Murray).
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Luckily for us, going 1:1 in just a few days, every class will have the chance to use some of these ideas.
The key of course is under 'provocation' - how do we design a space that focuses on the learning experience and engagement. How many classes have you been in that sound like that?
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Speaking of change, I love this post from Seth Godin, how long between leaps?
What I love about teaching is that I'm still growing and changing (thus, leaping). Several years ago the new leap was taking on College Comp. Then I had another leap when I had to teach College Comp 2. Then most recently I had another chance to stretch myself with Lit & Lang 9R. Now, I've got a chance to leap again with my Intro to Education class at UND this fall.
We make our students take leaps all the time (usually one school year or even sports season to the next), but how often do adults get to take a leap?
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Be a Digital Citizen
When we are 1:1 in a few weeks, we will all be digital citizens. I can't wait.
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Here is another resource from the amazing Angela Maiers. Here is a link to the blogpost where I found the slideshow document below.
How to Change Education - from the Ground Up Amen, Sir Ken. Amen.
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Another great link and reminder that I need to begin using QR Code scavenger hunts.
How can I use these with stories?
How can I use these with essays?
How can I use these with my syllabus?
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Snapguide sounds like a great resource. It's a how to guide that helps you with step-by-step processes. Not only is this a great resource for me, but it's also a good model for my kids when it comes to their how-to essays.
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The 7 Types of Social Media Users and How to Engage Them.
How many of these are sitting in our classes (or teaching them) every day?
I've gone from the "ranter" (every time I go into Wal-Mart) to more of the "cheerleader." That's a good thing.
(by the way, I sure hate the new version of Pinterest. It used to be so simple to Pin an infograph and then embed it from my board. But now now. You have to install or embed it as a widget, which is a major pain! Sorry for the small info-graph pics!)
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Here is a great idea. Read my blog, not my resume.
Again, I'm a proponent of all teachers (and students) blogging. As an English teacher I adamantly believe that thinking is writing. Thus, let's get out thinking our to the public to show them all the amazing things we're doing in our classes. Not everyone will like it, obviously. But not everyone has to choose to read our blogs.
I've been in on the hiring of three positions at our school. We had copies of resumes and grilled them during the interview process, but how more effective could it have been for us to search around and find the candidates' blogs and see what they really think and believe and will bring to our school.
Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, but what a great way to evangelize what we're all about as educators and life long learners!
Blog baby blog!
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This one is worth it just for the free download as a resource
How to Use Wikipedia as a Teaching Tool
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This is as cool as it gets.
Some examples
How much fun would it be to re-create a Lichtenstein, Rothko, or Mondrain?
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And finally - this is an oldie but a goodie -
what an interesting assignment this would be, with so much potential
Fact vs. Fiction?
How did the do this?
Misleading advertisement?
There's a ton of potential here for a variety of subjects.
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