Angela Maiers Educational Services

Chalk Talk - 7/3/09

Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere.  From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart!

More on ISTE's NECC09 and EduBloggerCon (my head is still processing all the great info, my heart remembering the great friendships forged!  Hope to see you all in Denver for #ISTE10)

• Twitter Search on #NECC09 - all the chatter and so many links to posts, pics, and videos
• Flickr Photo Album - A photo album of NECC by and with Flickr members at NECC
• Google Blog Search for all posts on NECC
  
• NECC09 presentations uploaded to SlideShare
  
• ISTE Connects - a post-event online program

I went directly from NECC to two days with Omaha Public Schools ELL/ESL teachers (a great group of leaders!). I look forward to talking more about both events next week!  Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

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Reflections and Reminders: June 2009

I like to use the last day of the month as a way to look back at some of this month's best posts (and the year before that), a bit of reflection and a bit of a reminder in case you missed a good one:-)

• The Promise Poem Series: The Poem | The Wordle | The Slides
• Summer is Institute Season:Here's to Des Moines and Clinton
• Some Preview Links to my 1st NECC & EdubloggerCon
• Mini-Lesson on Turning Good Readers into Great Readers
• The Des Moines Register allowed me to do a series of posts for their Education section

From 2008

• Is Comprehension a Commodity?
• My 1st Wordle!  And it's shaped like a brain. Incredible!
• Had a bit of a scare just before Institute season with a short hospital stay

I also like to take this time to say a big "Thank You" to those who listen; those who share; those who teach with abundance of care. I am your biggest fan! Together...

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The Promise Poem: The SlideShow

I so thoroughly enjoy Angela's Promise Poem, after creating the Wordle yesterday, I invested some time in creating The Promise Poem slideshow. Hope you enjoy rereading as much as I do:

Angela Maiers Promise Poem

View more documents from Mike Sansone.

Would love to see different renditions or presentations on this work (movies, voiceovers, etc.). Let us know.

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The Promise Poem: Wordle Edition

Here's the Wordle edition of an earlier post (and what's becoming a theme of what I'm presenting recently), The Promise Poem

Thanks to my buddy, Mike Sansone for Wordle-ing this and sending my way.

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Chalk Talk 6/26/09 - EduBloggerCon and NECC Edition

Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere.  From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart!

I'm in Washington, D.C. this weekend for EduBloggerCon and NECC 09. Should be great fun as I get to meet many old friends in person for the first time (I would've laughed at that line two years ago).  There are sure to be some great backchannel conversations, and here are some:

• EduBloggerCon Agenda (includes links to some virtual chatrooms)
• NECC Unplugged (the fringe of the NECC event - think of NECC Off Broadway) - Some great virtual presentations go on here!
• ISTE's Blog (includes Ustream chat and various link)
• Bloggers Blogging About NECC
• Kevin Jarrett's Photostream as he takes 'em
  
• I'll add links to this post as I find them
  

Also watch for Twitter hashtags: #edubloggercon, #necc, and #necc09

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Des Moines Literacy Institute 2009: Yes, we can!

Yes, we can! Barak Obama said it during his presidential campaign, and I felt that same conviction and energy during this year's Des Moines Literacy Institute. What a truly amazing experience. Times like these with teachers remind me that everyday we are changing, shaping, and impacting students lives...in spite of all the challenge we face. 

I watched teachers work to improve their skills, explore new tools and technologies, and grapple with the best ways to ensure this important work is done well. I could not help but smile and imagine how very different the conversation with students will be in the coming year.

It is not easy stepping out of our comfort zones, challenging ourselves to think and do differently, and remain positive in the process. Yet, it is the single most important thing we can do for our students. 21st Century teaching is not about implementing new standards or adding technology to our already filled plates. It is about deeply understanding the kind of learner WE need to be in order to model that for our students.

These teachers will stand up in front of their students next year, not only as a model of content expertise, but as a model of continuous, lifelong learning. Doesn't every student deserve a teacher who is:

• passionately curious? 
• willing to push their imagination to the limit? 
• ready and willing to risk?
• flexible and prepared to adapt?
• capable of persevering through the challenge, change, and in spite of both...willing to do whatever it takes?
• courageous, tenacious, and filled with confidence to stand up for what is right?

That is exactly what I saw, and why I feel so confident in saying? YES WE CAN!

I so want to thank all those who participated in the day. I so appreciate your time and commitment. I also want to share a special thanks to "Team Maiers", our breakout presenters and folks who lent helping hands, all without whom the conversation could not have happened. 

And with the wonderful images, including some great pictures captured by our photographer John Johnson, we are able to remember the day with this slide show from Animoto: 

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Today's 21st Century Literacies Day Back Channel on Cover It Live

Today's 21st Century Literacies workshop will have a backchannel for the keynote and breakouts on CoverItLive:

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Chalk Talk 6/19/09

Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere.  From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart!

• Literature Map makes the journey to finding the just right book just easier and more exciting! Enjoy looking for your favorite author and discovering other great works along the way!
• Geographical Media is a great way to research stories and news from a global perspective.
• No More Boring Book Reports- Check out these 10 fantastic ways to spice up the dreaded book report. Great ideas from Apple! 
• We just keep finding more and more interesting things to do with words! Check our Wordnik- a very cool online word dictionary. 
• Love this video of Twitter Ideas for the Classroom! (HT to @SuzanneWhisler for this great find!)

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21C Literacies Day in Des Moines ... Taking the Conversation Global

We're on the final turn before my biggest event of the year, the 8th Annual Maiers Literacy Bootcamp -- and this year the intensity is packed into a single day. We'll be looking at how to design a great student experience, core curriculum, habitudes, and several breakouts on using technology and techniques to enhance teaching and learning.

One amazing thing about this event is the response I've received from out of the area. Not just outside of Iowa (though several are coming from various states), but several outside of the continent!  Actually had a few teachers from Brazil and Australia inquire about coming.

So...

We'll be making the keynote (and possibly the closing segment) conversations accessible to the global community We'll be doing so via UStream, Cover-itLive, and Twitter.

(If you're thinking about registering at the last minute, stop thinking and just do it -- or just show up at the door. It's already a full house...but why not?)

It's been less than two years since I've begun laying digital footprints, and I am so thankful for the friends, teachers, guides and collaborators because of the tools that are available to use. Would you believe two years ago, if you'd have searched my name, you'd find one single picture. Unfindable two years ago. WOW!

So stay tuned. Though only a small portion of the day will be available Live, I'm sure many of the presenters and participants will try to keep the conversations alive in the breakouts. 

Thanks for a great two years! Here's to a smashing day on Monday.

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Where Conversations are Hushed, Creativity is Stunted

In this TED talk video, Clay Shirky says we are witnessing the end of the era of top-down control, and a big reason is the social prowess of tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and SMS and TXT messaging.

There is an important message not to miss here: Where conversation is hushed and (attempted to be) controlled, collaboration is slowed and ideation, production, and creativity are stunted.

I'm a big fan of Twitter, not only for its connective and collaborative possibilities - but the real-time search of breaking news (as Clay points out several times in this 17-minute video). I love, love, love the changes that are happening.  And what great possibilities for our learning and our teaching!

Related Video
 - Clay Shirky on Innovation vs Collaboration

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