Enter every day!  I am.  …And if you win, please gloat let me know so I can be jealous happy for you!

Keep reading and keep learning!

I stumbled on this blog as I was preparing to teach 8th graders how to research current events. The Learning Network, an educational site using New York Times content, has been around since 1998 but it was just transformed into a blog last October. I’m somewhat of a news junkie now but as a teenager I didn’t have a clue what was going on in the world. You’d think students today, with global internet access and hundreds of cable channels, would be much more aware of current events. Surprisingly (or not), I’ve found that most teenagers I know aren’t too sure what is happening outside of their circle of 643 facebook friends. That’s why I was excited to find The Learning Network blog. It’s for older middle school/high school students (and teachers and parents) and includes current news items, related activities, quizzes, and even lesson plans. I’ve probably just scratched the surface. You need to check it out for yourself. I particularly like the 6 Q’s About the News activities, the Daily News Quizzes, and the Word of the Day (today’s was “dupe”… haha). I’m going to start quizzing my 16 year-old about current events each weekend. I’m sure she’ll love me for it… …later… …much later.

Keep reading and keep learning!

The first day of the Mid-South Technology Conference did not disappoint.  I only wish I’d been able to go to more of the sessions.  Thankfully, I have friends who’ve agreed to share their notes from some of the sessions I missed… and  I, of course, will share with them as well.  Ahhhh, collaboration….

The day started on a high note with Keynote Speaker Alan November with just the right amount of humor, great information, and motivation.  Very cool.   Earlier this week a few of us at school were having a discussion about the need for students to work harder than teachers.  How exactly do you motivate middle schoolers to work harder than their teachers?  As luck would have it, Alan November outlined a number of ways to move toward this goal.  It includes students teaching themselves (finding answers on the internet and designing rubrics), students teaching their peers (creating video tutorials and interacting globally), and focusing on the process rather than the answer.  Awesome speaker.

I also attended a great session on Edupunk with Aaron Fowles and Laura Smith.  The wealth of information is included on the wiki they created.  Go check it out!  They explain it much better on their wiki than I can here, especially at midnight.  Hmmmm, I’m blogging at midnight.  Could it be that I’m coming out of my technoslump?

I also attended a scary session on copyright law as it relates to digital content.  More on that at a later date.  I need to get some sleep before Day 2.

Keep reading and keep learning!

We’ve all experienced it.  (Well, maybe not… but that’s what I tell myself.)   The technoslump… …that uninspired period of time when you can’t MAKE yourself upload your pictures, edit your video, or attempt to compose a decent blog post.  I haven’t been keeping up with my RSS feed aggregator either…  It’s sad, really.

But, there’s hope yet!!!  I have found a cure for my technoslump!  It’s called the Mid-South Technology Conference and it’s being held here in Memphis tomorrow and the next day!  How fortuitous!  So, stay tuned.  I fully expect to be amazed and inspired during the next two days (no pressure, guys) and will write about what I’ve learned.

If you are in or near Memphis, I hope to see you at the Mid-South Technology Conference!!

Keep reading and keep learning.

a november haiku by mrs. dowty

work, life, spinning plates
blog plate getting wobblier
will get to it soon

picture borrowed from diggingalot.org

The more I read, the less I write.  Sorry, but there are some really great books out there…  These three all stretch the imagination.

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

I’ll be ordering this for our middle school library. I really liked the main character, Lucy, and her very supportive foster parents and friend. I spent three straight hours finishing this book because I HAD to see if they could do the three impossible tasks to break the ancient curse placed on Lucy’s family. Interesting tie-in with Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair”… Did y’all know it was based on an old Scottish ballad called “The Elfin Knight”?

The story contains some topics that aren’t typically included in middle school fiction (spoiler alert:  a teenage pregnancy resulting from date rape by a possessed young man who then is involved in a fatal car accident) but it’s not as bad as it sounds.  The details are limited and these unsavory events are actually germane to the plot.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I think I like book series almost as much as my students.  I bought this sequel to Hunger Games the day it came out and finished it in four days.  I was worried that this second book might not live up to my anticipation but it was actually better than I expected.  My only complaint is that the cliffhanger ending was just cruel.  How many days until the third book comes out???

I do think it’s interesting that Katniss, the main character, remains torn between two incredibly great guys, as she was in the first book.  Although her two romantic interests are very different from each other, they are both devoted to her.  Does this sound familiar?  I’m looking forward to introducing my library’s Twilight fans to this great series.  I know they’ll love it!

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This is a strange story about a young teenage boy, Todd, who was born on a recently settled planet where all of the men’s and animals’ thoughts are audible (ugh).  The women of the settlement did not survive long, so only men remain.  Todd’s guardians, determined to save him from an upcoming manhood ritual, force Todd (and his dog) to run away.  Todd’s escape and his discovery of a girl in hiding with the whole town in hot pursuit results in a gripping, gut-wrenching read.

I’m not sure what else to say about this one… I picked it up because, after enjoying those last two books, I was looking for another fantasy/science fiction type YA series that I might could order for our collection.  I almost immediately realized that this was not the type book I could put in our middle school collection.  I didn’t particularly like the story or the fact that it was full of profanity and near-profanity but at the same time I couldn’t put it down…  …I just had to find out what happened to the characters.  It was sad, tragic, and occasionally disturbing.  I may change my mind later, once the story fades a little, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of this series…  (LOVED the dog, though.)

Keep reading and keep learning!

September 19th is, ye guessed it, International Talk Like A Pirate Day!  I wasn’t plannin’ t’blog about it, but those swashbucklin’ buccaneers o’er at Libr-ARR!-yThing made me bring a spring upon me cable.  Blimey!  Come around and go smartly, matee!  Go check out LibraryThing in pirate-speak.  If ye miss it, t’is shown below.  T’is handsomely done! Arrrrrr!

Shiver me timbers,  me pirate name is Calico Anne!

Stay yer course, heartie!  Keep readin’ and keep learnin’!