Bio Poems

Bio Poems enable students to introduce themselves in a creative way. Check this website posting for some samples: "Bio Poems, Created and Composed by Div. 2." Use the Play button to scroll and see each sample.

Mr. Kaliar is the teacher, and on his website, Our Learning Journeys, look for the tab, Student Showcase" to find examples of other student projects.

Here are two examples of the students' Bio Poems.

After looking through more examples of the Bio Poems, what do you think of this class project? Have you tried similar projects? If you looked through samples of other students' projects on the class site, what do you think of theses? How do you feel about teachers publishing student work on websites or blogs?

Three Approaches to Blogging

One of my favorite bloggers, Richard Byrne, just posted a blog, "Three Approaches to Blogging," on his famous blog Free Technology for Teachers.

image: headers on http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

In this post,  "Three Approaches to Blogging," Byrne outlines the benefits of blogging, its varied uses, and its potential for reaching a wide or varied audience. Do you believe teachers should maintain blogs? Do you have one? If you don't, would you consider having one for your students as an audience or for the parents of your students to read? With what points that Byrne makes, do you agree?

The New Digital Divide

In this recent feature article (Dec. 2012), "Bridging the New Digital Divide," from District Administration Magazine, we hear advice for school superintendents to take the lead in integrating technology into the schools. Some key points addressed include:

• Teach students with the tools they are already use
• Students in the most poverty-stricken schools need even more so to be introduced to the technology early on to level the playing field
• Teachers need more guidance in the successful use of technology tools
• Principals as well need to take on leadership roles in pushing for technology integration
• The digital divide separates the world of education from the world of business, with the world of education behind the times

One image in the article speaks to the very last bullet point:

Read the article in full. What is your response to the assertions found in the article? With which to you agree? Which do you believe need further analysis? Where do school systems with which you are familiar fall in terms of the "new digital divide"?

Help Desk

This video, Medieval Help Desk, produced in 2007 is still worth watching today. Its message remains relevant through the ages, but particularly as a parody of our adaptation to technology. Take a look, and leave your reactions. What does this video say to you? Why do you think it was produced? Why is it a good spoof?

More About Author Will Richardson

Given Will Richardosn is the author Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the classroom, to learn more about his perspective, here is a slide show presentation he recently delivered at an educational professional development event. After viewing the slides, project the themes of the presentation and add comments about your perspective on those themes.

The 4Cs in the 21st C from willrich45