New resources you may find valuable!

Voicethread
Just learned about Voicethread - a really cool and easy way to create an engaging portal to share text, video or voice memos about whatever! This link will allow you to get a feel for how the site works: http://voicethread.com/share/3352/

Generation YES
Genyes is a program that encourages students to help teachers use technology in the classroom. Read about one school’s successful program in the Edutopia.org article “California Kids Use—and Teach—Digital Storytelling”.

Wordle
Wordle is a free tool that turns a block of text, or simply a list of words, into a cloud pattern. Words that are used most frequently are displayed most prominently. You can play with layout, font, and colors to change the appearance or highlight certain vocabulary.

Edutopia 10 Top Tips for Teaching with New Media
This is a really great paper that is free to download - actually the tips above came from that resource. The edutopia site in general is a plethora of interesting, engaging and fascinating information about "what works in education".

Enjoy!

New semester... new opportunities!

So, here we are "beginning again" with another new semester. I love to think of these new semesters as opportunities for creating and implementing systems that support student learning as well as learning about the new developments, technologies and curriculum that are available.

I hope you are enjoying the process. I am actively pursuing some new developments that will make the tutoring resource more effective and more available. Once these details and logistics are finalized, I'll be sure to post the whole of the info!

Stay tuned and know that what you do is the most honorable of professions and you are commendable for the fantastic dedication and effectiveness you demonstrate!

Cheers,
Todd

Summer break is for enrichment... right?

As the end of the school year approaches, I often look foward to summer break for some enrichment... mostly personal but also professional. I'm sure you agree that, as a teacher, we not only 'deserve' a break but also can be enriched during that break in both our professional life and personal life. I've listed some things I'd like "to do" over my summer break; I'd love to hear your plans, dreams, ideas, comments, etc.

Summer break "to do" list:

• landscape the yard
• road trip through Colorado & Wyoming
• ride my bicycle
• remodel my bathroom
• visit my family
• build a sweat lodge in my back yard
• kayak the oceanfront in Northern CA
• hike the Lost Coast
• rewrite the Community Partnership curriculum
• work on the new PE curriculum
• learn how to show slow motion in imovie
• climb in Yosemite & Tuolomne
• become more familiar with Moodle
• do yoga outside
  
• cook LOTS of yummy veggies fresh from my garden
• laugh a lot
• read a lot
• share a lot
• move a lot
• be still a lot
• be enriched by being, doing, seeing, hearing, feeling, living, breathing...

Whether or not I get all these done and whether or not I do things other than are on this list, I know that I'll have been 'living deliberately' as HDT would say. Have fun!!

Five Ways to Enrich Your Teaching Life

I found this article, "Five Ways to Enrich Your Teaching Life", to be really enriching. If you have time, I encourage you to read it.

Here are some thoughts I have about how each of the 5 ways applies to VIE:
1. Collaborate: At VIE, it's easy to work in isolation and a challenge to collaborate :( My experience is that reaching out pays off - saves me work, gives me energy and supports my students even more!
2. Stand up for your profession: As we all know, VIE is under the microscope as an 'alternative' school & is therefore even more susceptible to negative views. We can counteract this by simply sharing how we support students with an education that works for them! Tell the world how hard you work & inspire them with your courage and dedication.
3. Mentor other teachers: I am grateful to have had the chance to help other teachers with a variety of issues from math to technology, etc. It's not only been rewarding to help but given me great insight into teaching; working with 'students' of all ages!
4. Be a student: One of the things I love about VIE is the fact that there is so much room for growth - always LOTS to learn. Being a student myself not only models "life-long learning" but allows me to have compassion for the students I work with. Being a student doesn't have to mean just academic learning... learning anything new is enriching!
5. Stand up for yourself: My experience at VIE has been very supportive when it comes to pay for extra duties. I think this bit of advice makes a good point in general but not as applicable here at VIE. To me, "standing up for myself" would be more inline with the statement, "Make sure you are doing your best in everything that you do..." That relates to #2 above.

I'd love to hear your thoughts....

Education Today and Tomorrow

Why do I teach? How can I teach better? What is this blog all about? The answer to these questions can't be summed up easily nor can they be answered succinctly or definitively... the answers could be different for me each time I am asked. The essence of my answer, however, is consistent - I teach to stimulate thought (in myself as well as the learner). I can teach better by continuing to think (and learn) about being a better teacher.

For a thought-provoking video, click here to visit youtube and see "Education Today and Tomorrow".

So, what is this blog all about? It's about me trying to be a better teacher, it's about me trying to stimulate thought (in myself, in my coworkers, in my students...), it's about creating, sharing, growing, being inspired and taking action in line with that inspiration, it's about doing what I can... the best way I can. It's about knowing that there is no one way but a continuum of finding my way in this adventure of teaching.

I hope you enjoy the postings I'll be sharing. I'll also be creating resources that will be valuable in support of the VIE curriculum. So, stay tuned!