First Try

It’s amazing to see the wikis for the different grade levels.  The educators have been able to gear their wikis to the appropriate students; even for those who can’t yet read, like the Kindergarten Counting Book, which uses pictures of items.  And they engage the students on a variety of subjects – Go West, U.S. History for third graders; FHS Wolves Den, English and U.S. History for high schoolers; Kubler Reading, Book Study for fourth graders.  So it appears there’s a lot of learning going on!  What am I going to do for a Wiki?  I DON’T KNOW!!!  I will have to think long and hard.

I really do enjoy reading the blogs I’ve connected to, once I force myself to actually stop to take the time to read them.  The vast amount of knowledge, news, extraneous and esoteric info, etc., is almost overwhelming, but fascinating.  I have been very impressed by my fellow 23-thingers.  And what strikes me, is how well everyone writes.  The writing part is what I come to kicking and screaming – not good at it, hate it, don’t want to share my thoughts with the whole world – I just want to read.

BUT, of course, writing is communicating, and that’s what blogging is all about.  This really jumped out at me when I was reading a link in weblogg-ed about writing on the internet.  The article was Writing in the 21st Century by Kathleen Blake Yancey.  She wrote, “Good writing may be the quintessential 21st Century skill.”  Good reading and Good writing seem to be soul mates.

I chose to link to Get Some Perspective on the Galaxy with Videos because of the fascinating YouTube videos, as well as great links to other astronomy clips.  But, I could have chosen hundreds of other equally interesting and educational.  I’m looking forward to searching for feeds to enhance my work, such as info on grants, alumni relations, etc.  I can see that the prospect is good for finding a feed on just about anything you can think of.

I am learning so much as I attempt to maneuver through all of this.  I thought I lost my unpublished post a couple of times, and then discovered how to retrieve what has been saved…  I am again reminded of the value of just jumping in and trying.

The further I go with this blogging, the more I understand its appeal.  It provides an opportunity for conversation and discussion; something that has been lacking in our homes, probably ever since television took a prominent place in family evenings.  As Anne Davis points out in her blog A Rationale for Educational Blogging, blogging gives students (and everyone else for that matter) a totally new perspective on the meaning of voice – collective and collaborative learning.  Expressing our ideas and hearing another’s perspective causes us to clarify our thoughts.  Blogging provides a creative venue even for the very young, as evidenced in A Duck With a Blog, which gives second graders the opportunity to write a story in response.

All of this amazes me!  And I was so impressed when I saw the blogs of some of the teachers at Fryeburg Academy, and how they’re using these tools to engage their students.  I can see the need for the FA Alumni Office to be using these tools to keep our alums connected to the Academy and to each other.

I find one of the hardest things to do is to set time aside for this.  I thought that I would be able to add it to the end of my day, or fit little bits of time in here and there. But, I realize that I need to devote quite a lot of time and effort; and will need to ”schedule” this into my day, rather than hope to “find” the time.

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