Finding My Voice
Ever since I was a little girl I loved to write. I savored each and every writing opportunity I would have. I was even part of the school paper for several years. What’s more, my great uncle is a poet and once wrote a poem for me, saying I would be a poet one day too. I used to share my writings with him. I would get a kick out of hanging out with him, just talking about our writing. And, I was only 9 years old…
Years passed by and I wasn’t exactly going through the best of times. Unfortunately I totally lost my inner voice. I couldn’t write anymore. Even though I tried and tried, words wouldn’t come. I had writer’s block for several years.
As I became older and more connected with my passions, teaching and technology, the writer inside me seemed to be waking up. Words kept swirling inside my heart and my head. I even signed up for this WordPress account, but I still couldn’t write… Something inside me was changing… yes, but I still couldn’t get my thoughts out.
As I got more and more involved with my Personal Learning Network, I began commenting on other blogs. Boy, it took me so long to write a comment! But I was just thrilled words were finally coming out. One day, I received a message from my friend, Pernille Ripp. She was asking me to write a guest post for her blog, she asked me to share an Aha Moment. I was so honored and humbled. Despite being thrilled about it, I was also absolutely freaked out but I admire her so much that I couldn’t say no and dived into the guest post adventure. Magically words began to flow and I wrote my best piece ever. A story that changed me and my teaching. As I began getting feedback, questions and thoughts from other people, I felt the strong urge to start writing again. I felt this deep need to share my passion, my classroom adventures and my thoughts.
And that’s how my blog, About a Teacher, was born. I haven’t blogged as much as I’d love to, but blogging has definitely changed me in so many ways. I’ve found my voice, I’ve found myself. Thanks to blogging, I have been able to reconnect with the writer in me.
Furthermore, my teaching has changed too. Writing for an audience helps me deepen my reflection. I know my classroom walls have been knocked down thanks to blogging. The happenings in my classroom are now shared with many other educators from all over the world.
I’m not just a teacher in a classroom anymore. I’m a teacher who blogs, which means that, not only has my writing an audience, but also my teaching does too. It’s powerful to know that amazing educators from all around the world are interacting with me. It’s amazing how much I get to learn from them. I also find reading other blogs absolutely beneficial. Conversations happening in blogs are powerfully inspiring and always challenge me to think differently. I’m a learner and a teacher. Blogging connects both aspects in an immensely enriching way.
Yes, blogging has helped me rediscover my voice but what’s more important is the fact that blogging keeps inspiring me to step away from my comfort zone. It also makes sharing what happens in our classrooms and our success stories possible. Leaving our fears behind and reflecting on our teaching are essential in a world that keeps changing. Stepping away from our comfort zones and sharing what we do are essential if we are to transform education.
I have written this post as a response to the Rockstar Meme – How Blogging Changed Your World. I would like to invite these 5 amazing bloggers to share their story. Can’t wait to hear them!
Edna Sackson
Joan Young
Kelly Tenkely
Nicholas Provenzano
Tania Ash
Kids Motivating Other Kids to Blog!
As we get ready to start our blogging journey, we decided to host a special event in our classroom. We invited my last year group to share their blogging adventure with us. What would be more motivating for my students than to learn about blogging and commenting from other kids?
It was amazing to see how engaged in the conversation every kid was. It was powerful to see how everyone wanted to participate either to ask questions or to answer them. There were no shy kids, no quiet kids. Everyone had something to say or ask. Blogging is meaningful not just for my former students but also for my group, which is surprising since they haven’t even started to blog!
Since, I can’t share the video, I carefully picked some of the things they said, which show how much blogging means to them and how important it is for our kids to learn things which they are really passionate about.
“The blog was awesome. I wrote stories and Marcos, my uncle who lives in Spain, read them and left comments for me!“ MiliR said proudly.
“People READ our blog. Greta read our blog too, but we got comments from all over the world,” said Alex – “Don’t forget, the map!, interrupted Tody.
“Oh yes! We had a map and we marked all the places we got comments from. It was full of colorful marks“, said Marti
“I loved to write on the blog. I got comments from all over the world. We are famous now“, exclaimed Vickucha.
Then one of my students raised his hand and asked, “What did the blog mean to you?”
“The blog was the best, I blogged all the time, when I was happy, sick, bored… all the time!“, said Vickucha.
“The blog was amazing. We learned and had a lot of fun“, expressed MiliR.
Just then, another boy inquired: “Where did you get your ideas to write?”
“I wrote stories. I wrote adventure stories“, shared Marti. “Yes, she also drew a map on her story“, added Vickucha, looking proudly at her friend.
“I blogged about everything I like: my friends, my pet, my thoughts. I even blogged when I was sick and couldn’t come to school“, mentioned Vickucha.
“I blogged about my passion: rugby,” voiced Pipita.
“I wrote a song and then sang it in our Singing Fridays!”, Ber said joyfully.
“I sometimes didn’t know what to write, but I read my friends’ posts and left them comments”, said Lalo.
“I wrote about our country and things that were important to me,” expressed Alex.
I was totally speechless… I just let them lead and do the talking. I savored each and every minute. It has been one of my most inspiring moments as a teacher. Kids teaching kids. Kids encouraging kids to blog. It absolutely blew my mind.
What the kids said speaks for itself. These are my former students’ voices. Seeing them laugh and share proudly their work was priceless. Seeing my students’ beam as they heard the older kids advice and experience was incredible. Needless to say, my students can’t wait to start blogging and to be honest, neither can I.
Believing in Our Students
We started working on a special project to help build a better community and stop bullying issues. Our first step was to focus on what a group is, how it should work and how special each and every member is. I encouraged my students to imagine that our class was like a giant puzzle and that each puzzle piece was one of us. It was a highly enriching opportunity to discuss our thoughts, feelings and expectations. I was excited to see how engaged kids were and how everyone spoke their mind. While we were sharing our ideas, Martin* raised his hand and said: “We’ll never be a good group… All the teachers always tell us how terrible our group is.” I was deeply hurt by what he said and what hurt the most was the fact that Martin was totally convinced of his words. At that exact moment, I remembered a wonderful talk by Angela Maiers on the importance of believing in others and letting them know they matter. I looked at Martin, then I looked at each of my kids and said: “Each of you is a wonderful child. Please, don’t say that again… Yes, there are things we can do better, but I believe in this group and most important of all, I believe in each of you.”
I gave all my students a puzzle piece and invited them to decorate each piece and add information about their likes and hobbies too. They put such passion into their work! It was inspiring to see kids who are usually reluctant to use colors, draw bright colorful pictures. It was amazing to see the shiest kids step in front of the class and proudly present their pieces. It was powerful to hear what everyone had to say about our group; what they thought they were doing well and what they thought they could do better. It was such a special time that we all decided to create a video to treasure the moment forever. Guess, who came up with the idea?… Yes, Martin!
Do you believe in your students? Are you positively convinced you can make a difference for them? I know it can sometimes be hard. All it takes is caring, believing in them, connecting with them and most important of all, patience and effort. We need to tell our students we believe in them at ALL times. How do you feel when someone believes in you? Imagine how powerful this can be for a kid! If we show our students how much we care and trust them we’ll be definitely paving the way for them to thrive.
* not his real name
Blogging with Students – LiveBinder of Resources
Last #elemchat discussion on blogging with elementary students was really inspiring! So many wonderful resources, ideas and stories were shared! What I loved the most was that a lot teachers expressed their willingness to start blogging with their students and many others said to be really looking forward to continuing blogging next year.
As you might well know I am really enthusiastic about blogging with students. I have shared my adventures through several opportunities and I’m determined to keep spreading the word in order to bring other educators on board.
Therefore, I have created a LiveBinder with useful tools, examples and resources. I thought this would be a good idea to encourage other teachers to get their kids blogging.
Kids DO Want to Learn!
Jack* was born in the US and moved to Argentina when he was 5 years old. He is now in 4th grade and I had the honor of tutoring him for a couple of months. Although he has lived here for many years, he never felt Argentina was his home. He is an exceptional boy who is crazy about video games, computers and movies. I was amazed the first time I met him. He’s such a sweet and funny boy! I really enjoyed each and all of our lessons together.
Jack was having trouble at school. He was labeled as an unmotivated boy who energetically refused to work and his performance on his English lessons wasn’t exactly the best. I found this particularly odd, because he speaks English so fluently. What’s more, his teacher told his mother that his writing was really incoherent and messy. She even suggested he should undergo psychological treatment.
On our first meeting, Jack did really well. When he focused on tasks he even had little need for explanations! As soon as our class was over, Jack dashed off to play with his PS3 and I had a chat with his mom. She was really sad about the reports from school so we discussed possible tactics to engage him. Meanwhile, in the background, I could hear him playing and interacting with someone in the US! Boy was he motivated to play! It was at that exact moment that I decided not to do the regular school work with him anymore. Instead, I’d use online sites, videos, Skype and, of course, I’d start a blog for him. I thought blogging would be perfect for practicing and improving his writing skills.
Our second lesson was amazing. He so was engaged in learning! It seemed like there was a totally different boy sitting next to me. I could tell how he savored each and every minute of our class. When our lesson finished, he looked at me and said: “Can you stay a bit longer?” I couldn’t believe my ears! He even asked me if we could have two lessons instead of one the following week!
He was thrilled when I told him he’d be blogging and sharing his stories with the world! Needless to say, when the lesson came, he wanted to blog right away! Jack worked really hard and with great enthusiasm on each of his posts. He loved reading the comments he received. It was wonderful to see how all those comments kept inspiring him to share more and more about himself.
Last week, Jack moved back to the US. As we were saying goodbye, he hugged me and said: “Can I keep blogging, Greta?” I was speechless. He even promised “his blogging buddies” he would get back to them as soon as his family settled in their new home.
Blogging and tech tools have really helped Jack connect with learning. His attitude has changed and so has his performance at school. Jack loves to learn. Jack loves learning English. Jack is a boy who lives in 2011 and his reality is the internet, video gaming, web 2.0 tools and iPods. He’s also an expert iPad user and has even taught me some great applications!
Kids keep proving to me that they DO want to learn when they find learning meaningful. We should encourage our students to pursue their passions; this will empower kids to learn. Unless we do something about it, our classrooms will be packed with demotivated children. We can make a difference: it’s up to us educators to foster the love for learning in our students to really help them flourish.
* not his real name.
Jack's 1st Post
#CO11 – Recording, Slides & Links
Classes started on February 28th and I have been extremely busy with school and tutoring since then. That’s why I haven’t posted new stories. Things are settling down now and I am really looking forward to sharing my new adventures with you all.
Presenting “Blended Instruction Using Blogs and Wikis for Young Learners” at #CO11 together with Shelly Terrell in early February was a wonderful experience because she is so fantastic to work with!
You can find the recorded session here
You’ll also find all the links and resources we shared on this Google Doc
These are the slides that were used in the session.
Blended Instruction with Blogs and Wikis for Young Learners
I’m so excited to be presenting together with the wonderful Shelly Terrell for the CO11 Free Online Conference. We’ll be presenting about Blended Instruction with Blogs and Wikis for Young Learners. Our session will take place on Saturday, February 5th at 12pm EST/5pm GMT. You can find more details about it here.
We believe blogs and wikis are amazing tools that can help us engage students in their learning. Not only are they really motivating for young learners, but they are also powerful resources to engage parents in their kids’ learning process. Shelly and I will be sharing our experiences using blogs and wikis and we’ll also be providing tips and ideas on how to use them effectively in the classroom.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
#RSCON11 – Creating Safe Learning Environments
On Saturday, January 8th I presented on “Creating Safe Learning Environments” for the New Teachers Reform Symposium. I want to thank everyone who attended my presentation. I’d also like to thank my PLN for your constant support and encouragement. I’m amazed by how much I keep learning and growing thanks to you! Presenting for #rscon11 has been an incredible experience for me.
I have put together all the links and resources shared during the presentation here.
You can watch the recorded session here
These are the slides that I have used in my session.
Please contact me if you need any help or have any further questions. I’d be glad to help!
My #RSCON11 Take-Aways!
January 8th’s New Teachers Reform Symposium was a wonderful learning opportunity for me. Not only was I part of the incredible organizing team, but I also had the chance to attend many fabulous sessions. I’m amazed by how many wonderful and passionate educators out there were willing to spend an entire Saturday learning alongside other educators. It’s been powerfully inspiring to see so many fantastic educators sharing their knowledge and experience. My mind is buzzing with fantastic ideas and things I’ve learned. There was so much information, learning and inspiration to process!
After the 1st Reform Symposium on July 2010, I read this great post by Paula Naugle, where she mentioned she had heard Vicki Davies say: “try to limit your take-aways from a large conference to the top three.” I really enjoyed putting this into practice last time. I must admit it has been incredibly difficult to reduce the choice but, after doing some thinking, I managed to find my three take-aways:
- “It’s the end of education and the beginning of learning” – Alec Couros
- “Let’s get rid of what is not needed and focus more on what is needed. Discipline issues will begin to vanish” – Monika Hardy
- “Student-centered means putting students first!” – Pernille Ripp
I’m also really excited about the New Teacher Mentoring Project. I love the “Pay it Forward” concept behind it. Sharing our experiences, our successes, our failures, is a great way to help other teachers and to contribute with the educational reform. What’s more, mentoring a new teacher is emotionally and professionally enriching. Would you like to mentor a teacher or would you like to have a mentor? Please check out this wonderful project!
Passionate, enthusiastic educators were everywhere! It was so inspiring to see them all together in action! That’s what struck me most about the Reform Symposium – it was a powerful learning adventure in which I had been given the gift to interact with so many exceptional educators. Teachers should build connections with other educators. By collaborating and sharing our experiences we can transform education.
I’ve always thought that passionate and enthusiastic teaching was contagious and #RSCON11 has confirmed this for me! Let’s continue sharing our learning journey… I’d love to hear what you have to say about #RSCON11. Did you have any A-ha moments? What are your take-aways?
My 2010 Most Memorable Teaching Moments
I’ve just read Larry Ferlazzo’s post on his 2010 most memorable classroom moments. So much can be learned by reading other educators’ successful stories. It’s so important to share them. It’s by spreading the word that we can help and inspire other people. So, here are my 2010 most memorable classroom moments. I decided to share them, because I truly believe that passionate teaching is contagious!
Blogging with my students has been amazing. It’s been an A-ha “experience”. Blogging with them has proven to me how much they are willing to work and learn when they find something meaningful. I’m still amazed that many of them have kept blogging even after school finished! Our blog has helped us create a wonderful learning environment in our classroom. It has made such a difference – for my students AND for me. I was even invited to present for the 3rd Virtual Round Table Conference, which has been recently nominated for the ELTons awards.
You can read about our blogging adventure here:
- Jumping into a Blogging Adventure with My Students
- Hearing their Voices
- Sharing Good News (Our Blog)
- Bring the World in – Blogging with Your Students (#VRT10 Presentation)
- Blogging with Students: My Interview with the wonderful Shelly Terrell.
Our Singing Fridays event was magical! This has been one of the most incredible moments in my classroom. Students singing, having fun and of course, learning! Having my students prepare their songs so enthusiastically was great. They spent a lot of time at home looking for songs, practicing and listening to them. What’s more, some of them have even written their own songs! This meant a lot of language exposure outside the classroom, which was great. Oh yes, we learned and had fun!
You can read more about it here:
Connecting my classroom with the world has been so wonderful. We Skyped with Joan Young’s class in the US on our last day of school. We shared our “Singing Fridays” with them. It was one of the most incredible moments in my teaching career. Let me tell you, once more my students have proven to me they are willing to give their best when they find projects, tasks and activities relevant.
You can read about out adventure here:
- Diving into a Skyping Adventure
- A Skype Adventure – One of my students’ post about the experience.
- Connecting Across the Globe with Song – Joan Young’s post about it.
Another memorable experience was being able to help a struggling student who has attention deficit disorder. He had serious confidence issues and was left out quite a lot. Not only has he changed greatly, but he is also a really good student now. What’s more, he has even developed leadership skills!
You can read his story here:
On September 15th, Mrs A., a really passionate teacher, died at school. This was an extremely sad moment for us all. It was such an intense experience. Although I didn’t know Mrs. A much, I did know she was absolutely inspiring. Everyone at school loved her so much. My students were really devastated and so was I. To be honest, I was totally unprepared for this.
You can read more about this moment and how I handled it here:
This has been a memorable year all round. Bringing the world into my classroom has made a big difference for me and my students. Not only have my students learned and grown, but so have I. I’m really thankful for my students. Stepping away from our comfort zones and learning together was truly inspiring.
You can read my goodbye letter to them here:
You can also check our end of the year video. I asked my students to write a few words on their thoughts about our year together:
I’d like to especially thank all my readers and members of my PLN. You have all made such a difference for me. You have inspired me to take huge steps and challenged me to jump into wonderful adventures! Thanks to you I have grown and my teaching has changed greatly. I’d like to wish you all a wonderful New Year. A 2011 packed with memorable moments and learning opportunities. Looking forward to continuing learning and collaborating together!
About a Teacher 