Music

Well this seems to be a conversation I have yet to add to. I only know the TFF songs that were on the radio, and don't ask me the name lol. Bowie, well I like some of his stuff, most I can leave. As far as my favorites, Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Eagles, Beatles, Santana, Shakira, Yo Yo Ma, James Galway, The Chieftains, Eric Clapton, I could go on. I really love all genres of music (except rap and hip hop). From classical to jazz, gospel to blues, klezmer to rock, I love music. The picture is Yo Yo Ma. I saw him this summer at Tanglewwod (BSO summer home in the Berkshires).

A Promethean board ( http://www.prometheanworld.com ) is a board (it looks like a whiteboard but has sensors in it), connected to a computer and projector (we have lcds). With the software, as I type on my laptop, or write on it with the pen, the text appears on the board. If I or a student use the Promethean board pen and write on the board, it is transmitted to my laptop. Then I can save it as a file, print it, etc. just like a word file. Since my laptop is connected to the board, it makes spontaneous lesson adaptation easy. For example, in my one reading class, the mini dialogue we were reading was about 2 people in a museum looking at abstract art. When none of the students knew what abstract art was, I did a search and found paintings by Pollack, Picasso, etc. so they could see what this genre of painting was all about. With the Activ studio software I can create lessons on "flipcharts" (think of paper flip charts meets PowerPoint on steroids). I can create quizzes and have the students take them using the activvotes. These devices look like wireless mice. Each student is assigned one. The vote has buttons on it, so when we take a quiz (multiple choice, t/f), they press the button for their answer. The Activvotes appear across the top of the screen, so you can see when everyone has voted. Then I can show the results so students get immediate feedback and I know if I need to reteach the whole class, or just a few individuals.Then I can save the test results for my gradebook. If this explanation doesn't answer your question, check out the website and the teacher website ( http://www.prometheanplanet.com/ ) where teachers using the board/software share files and lessons.

It seems that a lot of people in the MA program work in the writing center, I wonder if I'm missing something. On the other hand, I've been teaching since I got my credential and attending at least one professional conference every year. Riverside USD has been great about professional development as well, from PLC to Quantuum Learning workshops and conferences as well as everything in between.

I don't know about this blog thing. I'm at the point now, after just a couple of weeks where I'm trying to find a use for this form of writing in my classroom with my students. It gets tricky when students start posting on the web (as far as the district goes, security).

Yesterday was a really great day at work. My GATE class is reading "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. We've only read the first page or so since Thursday. Yesterday I asked them about a specific paragraph ( the language is about altars, gods, rituals, etc.) Well, we started talking about symbolism and by the end of class we had gotten to North Korea and nuclear war. As they left the room, I heard the conversation continue as they walked down the hall. How cool is that! The next class ( Level 2 reading), which has a number of students with behavior problems, worked really hard and behaved really well (compared to their usual behavior). I gave them all a reward (Halloween pencils) and high fives as they left. It was a pretty amazing thing for the last 2 class periods on a Friday afternoon! Now if only they come back on Monday and continue from where we left off lol.

Today I went to Armstrong Gardens and bought a variegated hydrangea, a pink camillia, a sweet olive, and mt little flute playing gnome. Tomorrow they get planted. Til next time!
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