Gee....I was only going to drink Diet Coke tonight but now you have tempted me to really let go and get wild and crazy re my consumption of beverages.So.........I think I will go for the Coke WITH caffeine.

jim

Connie....

Love to share with you the latest on my work.  Actually some time after the first week of January will be a good time for us to get back in touch.  Saw your pictures.  With all of that snow I am sure Santa had no trouble getting to your house.  Hope you got what you deserve.  ( I will not comment on whether getting what  you deserve would be a good thing or a not so good thing!!!!!!!!  Happy New Year!  Drink some GOOD champagne for me!

Hi Connie!!! Happy holidays! I was down in Austin for a week to see my parents and just got back - I just now  the round-up; here it is:

http://firesidelearning.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fireside-roundup-sunday-320

:-)

Connie,

 

Thank you for the kind welcome. I am excited about the potential for personal growth that will translate to more effective teaching.

 

JKer

So much to browse here! I am going to dip my toes in slowly. Looking forward to connecting and sharing.

Connie and friends... I'm still trying to get the "hang" of how this place works. For now, I'll put this "timely" poem by Wendell Berry here. Other suggestions on where to put this on the website would be helpful, especially how to.... What WB wrote about "How to Be a Poet" applies to teaching. Your thoughts? --Kind regards, Stephen York, Stonington, Maine (an island)


How to Be A Poet by Wendell Berry

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.
ii
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.
iii
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
--Wendell Berry, GIVEN: New Poems

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/
I love the collaboration at this center, which engages "the departments of Learning Sciences and Computer Science and the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems. Wow. The very first sentence of their "About" page is refreshing: "Northwestern's Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling (CCL) is dedicated to the creative use of technology to deepen learning. " Wow, again.

You've expressed interest in the past in ways your students might be introduced to "the science of sciences"--complexity--and to expressing their interests in computer programming languages. Here's a link to a free, downloadable language whose aim is to allow agent-based simulations of complexity to be composed by students. I wonder if it may be beyond your students' current capabilities, but, knowing what I do about kids' amazing ability to develop competencies beyond our adult pre-judgments, I doubt it. It might be worth a try. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/

Hi Connie, when I was editing a discussion forum I put up this morning I accidentally hit the Feature button instead of the edit button - DOH. I unfeatured it, since that is not something I ever miss with but I thought I should let you know! Just sleepy fingers this morning hitting the wrong button. :-)

Thank you for starting this web site to allow teachers to share ideas. Sometimes we just need a place to vent and ask for help and it's nice to have a place to do it where people understand what you are talking about.

Connie,
The students who are joining this network this week are all graduate students. They are a part of a cohort of elementary teachers who are taking an online block of six hours of course work that concentrates on instruction and technology. I am hoping that they will develop connections here and begin to see the value of professional online networks.
I team teach this block with Dennis Potthoff. We have asked them to ponder the "Big Questions" of life and how our instruction of elementary students prepares them to join the human conversation.
I will send a note to the students asking them to post a picture. I agree that it is helpful to have something more personal to identify a person.

Hi Connie! How are you? I got here through your invite. Must be the one sent for the E.T. group...

Thank you Connie...this is the 3rd day of week 4 at my new Habitat and unopened moving boxes still abound. I will join in soon. Happy Day to you. Hope the weather is as nice in Ann Arbor as it is in Bay City today.

I am happy to have found Fireside Learning through the help of Janet Navarro. I hope to benefit from and contribute to the learning community. I especially appreciate your welcome. Thanks.

Ha ha, my husband was very extravagant and bought me some of my favorite Belgian beer to celebrate!!! Yesterday was the 1000th download of the book. Whoo-hoo!!! :-)

Thanks for your comments, Connie :)

Hi Connie,

Thanks for your note. Nice idea to post a discussion question related to our research. As we embark on a new portion of our study, one big question we have is how (if at all) do you young people define their online social networking, tweeting, blogging, gaming etc. in political and/or civic terms? How are notions of civic engagement and citizenship changing because of youth engagement with new media. I wonder if that kind of question might spur some discussion. Also, I've been reading Jaron Lanier's book which raises provocative questions about what digital media is doing to all of us.

It was good to see you at FOL. Hope you enjoy these last few weeks before the school year begins. What do you have planned for your students this year?

Best,
Carrie

Thanks for the warm welcome to Fireside Learning! 
I have my first classes of the new school year tomorrow, and plan to try using
 "I See, I Think, I Wonder"  to engage all my young students, in thinking, talking and
 dancing about possible answers to the 
question I posted on my bulletin board- "What is Dance?"