Last week, our district held it’s first annual Summer Tech Institute, a 30-hr technology camp for students all over the district to receive hands-on training in podcasting, digital photography, digital video, music, animation and gaming, and blogging. It was incredible! Were there problems? Did I mention it was the first year? That’s where the “incredible” part comes in… …The classes were taught by district teachers who, in some cases, were fairly new to the technology they were teaching. These teachers rallied and did what they do best, they inspired their students to learn. When the internet faltered, or the equipment didn’t arrive on time, or the application didn’t respond the way we thought it would, these teachers just kept adjusting and teaching. The result? Students and their parents left Friday afternoon saying they had a great time and were looking forward to next year’s Summer Tech Institute! You know what REALLY bowled me over? The teachers left saying the same thing!

Last week, I had the great pleasure of attending the Int’l Reading Assoc. Conference in Minneapolis.  I was so impressed!  I guess I don’t get out often enough, but I felt very much like a kid in a toy store.  Rather than go into great detail, I’ll just list some of what I loved about my trip (in no particular order):  Minneapolis’ weather, listening to authors, all those BOOKS, meeting teachers and librarians from all over the world, free stuff and BOOKS, great sessions on writing and digital literacy, the shopping cart escalator at the two-story Target, having to FedEx BOOKS home because I maxed out my luggage, Ben Carson’s keynote address, …and did I mention all the BOOKS?

I heard authors Gordon Korman and Patrick Carman speak about their recent books, One False Note (2nd book in The 39 Clues series) and Skeleton Creek, respectively. I’m planning to read both books as soon as school’s out.  Both Korman and Carman were hilarious!  I’m sure the books will be just as entertaining.  I wrote a post about the first “39 Clues” book (The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan) back in November.  The books in this series have different authors, although some authors will pen more than one.  Korman will be writing another one later in the series.  Patrick Carman is the author of the fifth book in the series, which hasn’t been released yet.

Carman’s Skeleton Creek experiments with a new format.  The two main characters adopt different ways to tell their stories.  Ryan writes his story and his friend, Sarah, films hers.  The story is told in alternating written chapters and short video chapters (via the internet).  I’m looking forward to reading/watching this one!

NOTE:  The first two South Side Middle students who comment on this blog post will receive a copy of either One False Note or Skeleton Creek, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR!

Keep reading and keep learning!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the SMCTE Spring Mini-Conference at Wooddale Middle School. I know… I’m a librarian and have never “officially” taught English, but they were very nice and didn’t kick me out or question my credentials. …and really, shouldn’t we all be teachers of English, promoting writing and reading throughout the school?

I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. There were three breakout sessions and I chose one with a writing focus, one with a focus on reading, and one with more of a technology focus. The first session, presented by an English professor from the University of Memphis, stressed the five common grammar errors that students need to correct before they graduate: spelling, fragments, run-on sentences, pronoun/antecedent agreement, and subject/verb agreement. Strategies to help students learn these skills were provided. The second session I attended was a discussion of graphic novels and their relevance in today’s classrooms. My third session was a demonstation by two Wooddale Middle teachers about using blogs with their classes. Using blogs in teaching is still relatively new in our area and some great points were introduced and debated.

Consider attending local mini-conferences when you can. The cost is typically low and we all need to keep learning, don’t we?