BloggingSmart.org

Some of you may have noticed that I dropped off the twitterverse, history teacher’s discussion forum, and the various blogs I comment on a few weeks ago.  I think I am now back… at least I was able to put together a coherent blog post and make it back onto twitter.  Tomorrow will be the test to see if it can last. :-o 

I think it was the beginning of the school year that kicked me out of my networks.  I became a spectator, rather than a contributor.  In some ways this has been good for me.  I focused on my teaching, and implemented some great ideas I found in my feedreader. 8-) 

Sorry to everyone that was expecting resources from me… especially Nick who is still waiting for some stuff on 19th century China… I promise it is coming!

To anyone else who is feeling information overload… take a break… focus on important things… family first, then friends, then work, then the cloud… it helped me!

Isn’t it incredible how quickly the new year comes around?

I have spent the last weeksetting up my room, welcoming new ninth graders, and trying to get a plan together for the new school year.  I am excited to be teaching World History AP again, and to begin to teach World Religions.  For the first time since I left the UK I will be teaching some of the same students… it is quite a privilege.

Every year I ask my students to set goals, and my administration ask us to pen our own (a recurring theme across the world, I think).  This year I am going to publish them here… feel free to hold me accountable cyber-space

1. Ensure that I am as available as needed for each student.
2. Plan at least one field trip for each class.
3. Attend an extra-curricular event for every student I teach.

You may be surprised that none of these involve technology; That is almost a given in my teaching now.  In fact, I know that I make more of an impact through the relationships I build with my students, than I could with any gadget.  I want this to be my focus for this year.

Finally, I included a goal concerning field trips because, even though I live in an incredibly well located area for history, I do not seem to take advantage of it.  This year I am going to take my students to DC, and hopefully a number of other places.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Following a trend across the history edublogosphere…

See drdennis.edublogs.org/2008/07/26/need-i-say-more/

Blogs have been a huge part of my online life for the past two years, but this post constitutes my first (or kind of) venture into the edublogosphere. I am an avid follower of Jeff Utecht’s Thinkingstick, and Doug Belshaw’s blog in particular. In fact Doug’s list of plugins helped me to get this blog set up the way I wanted it to… I am certainly endebted to him.

As a newbie I am unsure exactly how I am going to use this blog. I want to reflect on my current experiences as an educator; so expect posts on history teaching, the use of technology, and school leadership. However, I think that, most importantly, I want to engage in blogging so that I can help my students to develop their ability to express themselves online. Just this summer I have installed Wordpress MU on my server, and I am planning to roll it out with my students in the fall. How can I teach them how to blog when I have only ever been a spectator?

I think this is central tennet of my educational philosophy… I want to be a participant in my student’s learning and will never ask them to engage with material I have not emmersed myself in.

Thanks for reading this first post, and feel free to leave a comment below… you are welcome however you found me: twitter, history teacher’s discussion forum, AP World list serve, or from a comment I left on another site.