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Sprite is keen to demonstrate the interaction that Sprite’s Site has with other blogs by participating in blog tours, leaving and receiving comments and mentions and inclusion in blogrolls. Last August I received an email telling me that I needed to either close my other blog, Gifted Resources blog http://www.giftedresources.org/giftedblog/ or update it to the newer format. I had neglected that blog as all my blogging energy has been poured into Sprite’s Site for the last few years. My tech guru, Jamie Tarling, put in a lot of work to update the blog and transfer old posts into it. It was exciting to see the possible formats and themes on offer for the updated version. The picture in the blog header changes randomly from a selection of Gifted Resources pictures at each page refresh. http://www.giftedresources.org/giftedblog/2012/08/18/theres-life-in-the-old-blog-yet/ http://www.giftedresources.org/jo/blog/

Sprite's Site

How Teachers Learn:Learning with Blogs and Wikis

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb09/vol66/num05/Learning-with-Blogs-and-Wikis.aspx Few ideas about teachers' professional growth resonate with me more than those of Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, who has gone as far as to argue that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and nothing short of impossible at worst. In a 2002 report for the Albert Shanker Institute, Elmore wrote, As expectations for increased student performance mount and the measurement and publication of evidence about performance becomes part of the public discourse about schools, there are few portals through which new knowledge about teaching and learning can enter schools; few structures or processes in which teachers and administrators can assimilate, adapt, and polish new ideas and practices; and few sources of assistance for those who are struggling to understand the connection between the academic performance of their students and the practices in which they engage.
I had GREAT intentions of linking up with Blog Hoppin’ last week for Teacher Week, but shame on me…I did no such thing! I think it goes without saying that the beginning of the school year is always a little crazy, but in addition to getting things ready for a new year & attending lots of trainings, I was also planning a wedding shower for my sister. Have I told y’all she’s getting married?!?!?

Classroom Pics

http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/search/label/Classroom%20Pics
Ashley Bouknight from Batesburg- Leesville, South Carolina was so kind of enough to share her beach themed classroom. What an amazing space! I was most impressed with the different colored beach umbrellas at each table. She created a “WOW” factor by incorporating one at each table. I also loved the colored stools around the table.

Cute Classroom Inspiration – Ashley Bouknight from South Carolina

http://www.schoolgirlstyle.com/2011/08/cute-classroom-inspiration-ashley-bournight-from-south-carolina/
http://openthedoortob4.blogspot.com/p/global-projects.html

Open the door to B4: Global Projects

One of the exciting aspects of blogging is the opportunity to be involved in global projects. We try to choose projects that will fit in with our literacy outcomes as well as enhancing our general education. The Tale Trail Term 2 2012
http://leakeysblog.edublogs.org/the-postcard-project/ Want to be involved in the Postcard Project? It’s simple and fun. Read on to find out more!!! Although blogging is great, there’s something quite nice about good old fashioned snail mail, in particular, receiving postcards.

Pirates of Room 4 » The Postcard Project

Today Online > TILE-SIG Feature: QuadBlogging–The Next Big Thing To Inspire Classroom Writers

http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/blog/BlogSinglePost/12-02-24/TILE-SIG_Feature_QuadBlogging%E2%80%93The_Next_Big_Thing_To_Inspire_Classroom_Writers.aspx#.UVUBFdF-P0M by Julie Coiro Do you have a classroom blog with lots of active writers, but wish there were more visitors outside of your local community? If so, Quadblogging might be just what you’re looking for!

10 Reasons you should get your class blogging

http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/12/10-reasons-you-should-get-your-class-blogging/ Kids Love it! This has to be the number one reason. I have spoken to dozens of teachers who have recently started blogging with their classes and the big take home message is that the kids love it. So blogging seems to be an activity that when handled well is a great way of getting students motivated, engaged and on task.

Quality Blogging and Commenting Audit Meme

Silvia Tolisano (@langwitches) challenges us in a meme to audit blogs and comments to raise awareness of quality blogging. I'm honored that both Kathleen Morris and Sheri Edwards tagged me in this meme. Here is Silvia's meme challenge : Select a blog post or blog comment to audit (Professional or Student) Take a screenshot or copy and paste the post or comment into your blog post (be sensitive whether you want to reveal any names or references) Include or link to the rubric you use to assess the quality of post or comment Audit the post or comment by describing your train of thought regarding the level of quality you would assess your chosen post or comment Suggest how you would coach the author of audited post or comment to improve Tag (at least) three educators and challenge them to audit a post or comment Leave a comment with the link to your audit post on Langwitches Quality blog posts http://wwwatanabe.blogspot.com/2011/12/quality-blogging-and-commenting-audit.html
Dear Friend, I'm sharing this collection of 12 Favorite 2011 INSPIRATIONAL Tweets of mine for those of you who may have missed them during the year. They are my personal favorites.

12 Favorite 2011 INSPIRATIONAL Tweets by A Former Teacher, Principal & Kid > Richard Lakin's Thanks2Teachers.com - A Wellspring of Teacher Appreciation and Teacher Inspiration > Inspirational

http://www.thanks2teachers.com/Home/MyFavorites/Inspirational/tabid/67/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/192/Default.aspx

50 Must-See Teacher Blogs Chosen By You

100 Web 2.0 Tools Every Teacher Should Know About 44.08K Views 0 Likes We're always trying to figure out the best tools for teachers, trends in the education technology industry, and generally doing our darnedest to bring you new and exciting ways to enhance the classroom. But I wanted t... 50 Little-Known Ways Google Docs Can Help In Education 96.78K Views 0 Likes

Best group blog 2011

Scroll down this page to view the shortlisted nominations in this category in alphabetical order. To vote for your favorite just choose the category from the drop down menu below you want to vote in, who you want to vote for and then click Vote. You can vote in as many categories as you want per day! Please note only one vote per category per day will be counted per IP address. This means, if your school uses one IP address, you’ll need to ask students and staff to vote from home, or only one vote will count Vote here!

Edublogs Serendipity webinar overview – End of year activities!

Stop Press – last two days of voting #eddies! We have been shortlisted for the Edublogs awards Thank you so much if you nominated us. And thank you also if you are voting for us. ONLY TWO DAYS TO GO – deadline 11:59pm US EST Tuesday 13th December. That’s the early hours of Wednesday morning in Europe and late morning/early afternoon Wednesday here in Australia if you would like to vote for us (Serendipity/FineFocus Webinars in Edublogs award)s click HERE to go to the site, see nominations and cast your vote.

Blog

You are reading Part II of a series of blog posts that started out of the desire to help teachers learn more about blogs for themselves in order to help/coach/facilitate their students’ blogging adventure. My guiding questions for this series of blog posts are: How can I make it easier for teachers to learn about the process of teaching and learning with blogs? How can blogging enhance student learning? What are components of QUALITY blogs? How can I guide teachers in experiencing a shift in teaching and learning and help them make a pedagogical commitment to blogging.

Inquire Within

Three Levels of Inquiry Year 5 students at my school are inquiring into how the growth and survival of plants are affected by environmental conditions. The world is helping them out! Level 1: The conversations on the 5B blog are evidence of the meaningful inquiry that’s taking place. The images from around the globe have inspired the students to question and wonder about a range of related issues. It’s plain to see that a rich ‘invitation’ provokes thinking and learning.