Looks Like It, Smells Like It, Must Be Parent Orientation

In the fall, my younger daughter will be attending the local middle school--the same school my older daughter has attended for the past two years.  Last night, even though I know a bit about what goes on during the 7th and 8th grade years, I attended the parent information meeting for incoming middle school students.  

Having insight due to experience is not always great.  It can lead to being able to smell bull-shit from more than a mile away.

Below I've listed a few points that I hope the administration will consider before holding their next parent orientation meeting. If action is taken for the better, it is possible that I may acquire some enthusiasm for witnessing my second daughter enter that most tumultuous right-of-passage we like to call middle school.

1) Late Arrivals to the Meeting:

When a parent shows up more than 15 minutes late, sits down before realizing she doesn't have the handouts, gets up to retrieve the hand-outs and disrupts the meeting for the third time as she returns to her seat, please stop talking.  I can’t hear you and I am very distracted by her need to wear short shorts to a parent meeting.

2) Academic Program Information:

If an academic program is significant enough to include in the informational meeting, please do not use acronyms to describe its various aspects.  Some of us are not familiar with what the acronyms stand for.

3) Handheld Devices:

When telling us about your student handheld device policy, which includes how you will confiscate them if they become distracting, please make sure the parents around me have stopped texting on their iPhones and actually hear you.

4) Teacher Web Pages:

Please check with teachers before telling us that their Web pages will be full of informative tidbits concerning what is going on in the classroom.  A majority of the faculty fails to post content, and if they do, they fail to update content past the first week of school.

5) Appeal for PTO Volunteers:

Inform the president of the PTO that saying, “You'll want to know which kids invite your child to their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs," is not going to compel me to volunteer in the school.

6) School Trip Funding:

Please do not tell us that in lieu of hiring an educational student tour company, the assistant-principle organized the entire Washington D.C. trip himself in order to save money.  Our property taxes are extraordinarily high and I purchased enough cookie dough and wrapping paper from the PTO fundraisers to hire a tour company myself. 

7) Athletics:

When telling us to check the athletic department’s website for information on sports, be sure to first try navigating the site yourself.  It’s confusing.

8) Facebook:

Telling us that our children’s behavior on Facebook is "worse than what we think" does not scare uninvolved parents into looking at their kid’s Facebook pages.  It just doesn't.  Those parents probably aren't at the meeting.

Saying, “Facebook only becomes my problem if it keeps a student from coming to school due to embarrassment," and "What kids do during non-school hours is not my problem,” is terribly misguided.  The kids are on Facebook while they are in the school building, during school hours.  They post updates all day long.  And if you take a look at the way students are socializing during lunch after they've eaten, they are not talking and playing ball.  They are nose-down into their handhelds updating Facebook.  It IS your problem.   It’s OUR problem.  Consider us working together on creating a social media strategy that works both at home and at school.

9) Dress Code:

“I know there are really cute outfits out there available for girls.  But if someone shows up wearing something they’d wear out on a Friday night, you’ll hear from me.”

As far as policy goes, this is subjective, relative and vague.  What do you think a 13 year old wears out on a Friday night?  And where are they wearing it?  At a sleep-over?  Our ideas about Friday night attire for the middle school girl are apparently different.

“How students dress for school is a decision to be made between students and their parents.”  

This is nice in theory, however, have you looked at your students' Facebook pictures?  They wear that stuff to school! Are you actually in the school?  I know you are, but you can't be because you'd then see that some parents and students have decided that booty shorts are appropriate academic wear.  I'm so confused.

Additionally, kids are in school for a majority of the day--more than they are at home.  Don't you think the adolescent brain could use some developmental support while away from the nagging voice of their parents?   Your lack of interest in maintaining standards for a school dress code indicates you lack interest in students'  growth outside the realm of academics.

Not only could my kid use your support, I could, too.  You're the professional and you probably came across the topic of adolescent development in your studies to become an educator.  Have you heard of parent education?  The most information you ever sent home regarding the emotional development of my child came as a reminder that she needed sleep and a healthy breakfast due to an upcoming achievement test.  I suppose the other days I should send her to bed at midnight and feed her Cracker Jacks in the morning?  Scoring high on the OAA only gets a person so far in life and only looks good for the school on paper, or as data.  How your students dress and act are more reflective of the school district than the score card published by the state's Department of Education.

Lastly, what if Susie Smith’s parents don’t care what she wears?  Are you to allow her to attempt navigating through clothing decisions on her own?  During adolescence?  When she's toying with her identity?  You think she'll outgrow the need to base her self-esteem on being sexually attractive?  Well, then.  You must not have seen the short shorts on the mom who arrived late to the parent orientation.  See point number one for further information.  

photo credit: Rinoninha via photo pin cc
photo credit: Enokson via photo pin cc

Save It for Later on Pinterest

I have to say, I have a million posts swirling around my brain.

There is so much I want and need to deliberate in the form of sharing here at Sperk*.  The high-quality responses I typically receive in the comments always surprise me and I am grateful.  Your stories and insight propel my initial pondering into compelling conversations, helping me to discover even more of what I am trying to grasp.  THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS.

To gather my thoughts into a cohesive and purposeful state, I usually read articles of interest via Twitter or Pulse News, or I will pin, pin, pin on Pinterest.  However, today, organized thought eludes me. 

I am thinking that if I share some of the content I have been curating at Pinterest (or using in desperation to bind an idea into a succinct bit of writing), it may be fruitful in helping me to work out whatever restlessness keeps me from focus.

 

I visited Delilah over at Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama this morning because I know she regularly shares her pins of interest in a category she calls “Pin…teresting.”  I was taken aback to find that she too is feeling restless.  She questions the change in weather in being the cause and I, too, am going to go that route:

Please enjoy this bit of a highlight from my beloved curating project over at Pinterest as I attempt to deal with the global warming that is transpiring within my brain:

For Fun: Vintage Dresses

Did you know that I love vintage dresses?  I do.  I really do.  If I ever acquire a ton of expendable cash, I'm going to line my mega walk-in closet with archival quality boxes full of them.  I may wear them, too!

                                                                       

Source: nymag.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

                                                                       Source: omgthatdress.tumblr.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

                                                                       

For Kids: Tech and EdTech

Summer is coming!  What are you going to do with your kids on a rainy day?  How can you be sure your students don't lose skills they acquired during the school year?  Check out my Tech/EdTech board for ideas on engaging your children over the summer.

Are you a fan of TEDTalks?  You'll love the newly launched TEDEd:

                                                                        Source: youtube.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Kids too young for Facebook but dying to get social online?  

Help your children learn social media skills on PixyKids: Social media for ages 6-12:

                                                                          Source: pixykids.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Maybe summer is a good time for your kids learn Spanish?  There's an App for that:

                                                                        Source: blogs.kqed.org via Sperk* on Pinterest

For You: Stories About Moms

Just in time for Mother's Day, I created a pin board of stories found around the blogosphere about mothers.  If you come across an great one, let me know.  If you would like to collaborate in gathering content, by all means, let me know and I'll add you to the board.

Me, My Mom and Elizabeth Taylor, 
by Jenna Petroff of Girls's Guide to the Galaxy via BlogHer:

                                                                                  Source: blogher.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Stephanie, at People Do Things With Their Lives, 

shared this moving story about her mom this week 

in the YeahWrite #55 Writing Challenge:

                                                                        Source: peopledothingswiththeirlives.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

There couldn't be a pin board curating stories about moms

without this one from Ado at The Momalog:

                                                                        Source: themomalog.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

My brain now feels cooled off and clear.  Thanks for accompanying me as I sift through the stuff that obstructs clear and concise thought! Go check out my Pinterest profile for more curation-creation by Sperk*.

Wednesday's Woman: Role Models in Educational Technology

You can be sure your child is getting the most out of school by staying informed on the latest educational practices and finding out how they are being implemented within your school district.  Educational technology, a trend coming into the light of mainstream education, is a vital necessity that should be incorporated into every classroom.  Our children's education should include experiences and tools that enable them to become informed, skilled digital citizens.  To raise awareness of technology’s critical role in education, today, February 1, 2012, educators across the country are celebrating the first national Digital Learning Day:

Digital Learning Day

Parents are critically important in ensuring the nation’s schools continue to improve. . . February 1 is just the beginning of a year-round campaign to improve outcomes for students. The potential is endless and it starts with you. Join us in a journey to bring education into the twenty-first century so the nation’s children are prepared for the world that awaits them! 

In accord with Digital Learning Day, Wednesday’s Woman highlights two stand-outs in the field of Educational Technology.

Kathy Schrock has been in the field of Educational Technology  ever since 1995 when she created Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators, an award winning site partnered with Discovery Education. She has worn many hats in the field of education technology including a school district Director of Technology, an instructional technology specialist, an adjunct education professor, and a middle school, academic, museum, and public library librarian.  She currently teaches online graduate courses for Wilkes University and is a world-wide speaker and workshop leader focusing on technology integration in education.

Judy O'Connell is on the Editorial Board of School Libraries Worldwide and on the Advisory Board of Horizon K-12 Project.  Her website, Hey Jude: Learning in an Online World, is beneficial to not only educators, but also to parents.  You’ll find information on the latest trends in educational technology with reflection on how to keep students, not technology, at the center of learning.  Judy O'Connell also keeps us up to date in supporting student's development of digital citizenship on Facebook at Digital Citizenship in Schools.

Because of their contributions to educational technology, 

Kathy Schrock 

and

Judy O’Connell 

share this week’s 

Wednesday’s Woman.

{This is the third article in my new series, Wednesday’s Woman.  Each week I will feature a story of an inspiring woman.  Last week I featured Jill Sterishevsky, author, lawyer, and advocate for victims of child sexual abuse.  If you know of someone who should be featured, please let me know!}

photo credit: Dan Zen via photopin cc

Save It for Later Saturday: Open Classroom, LEGO Friends, and Pinterest

I am excited by information.  Every time a tweet with a link shows up in my feed, I click, it appears, and a great rush overtakes me.  I enthusiastically begin to read, yet there is always something waiting to distract me:  another tweet, an email, or a dog scratching at the back door. 

Thankfully my Diigo toolbar never fails me.  I click “Read Later,” throw in some random tags, designate the article to a list, and it is added to my endlessly increasing inventory of great reads from the Web.  But when do I read them?

Saturday.

By the time Saturday arrives, the items I have chosen to save for later have accumulated into a sizable catalog that rivals the overwhelming lump of laundry that is thrown in the corner of my room.  And because I find catching up on the week’s reading a priority over a clean cardigan, you now have Save It for Later Saturday.

In Save It for Later Saturday you’re getting a brief run-down of the stand-outs from my week's "Read Later" list.

airport

One of my favorites on Twitter is @timbuckteeth, aka Steve Wheeler, Associate Professor of learning technology in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society at Plymouth University.  His background in e-learning is extensive.  He is a vanguard in the field of educational technology.

In Open door classrooms, Professor Wheeler challenges us to look beyond the classroom where learning is restricted to a teacher and students behind a closed door: 

It is happening in some schools. Many schools are using videoconferencing links to connect with schools in other countries to facilitate cultural exchange and language learning. The next step would be to enable live web streaming, dynamic social networking and Twitter backchannels to operate while classroom sessions are in progress. Think of all the archived learning resources that could be generated for later, on demand use. Think of all the live interaction, dialogue and discussion that could take place during such lessons.

The causes for obstacles in creating open door classrooms are surprising.  After reading Professor Wheeler's article at Learning with 'e's, you will want to email your school's Superintendent which will provide you with a voice in making decisions about your child's future.

On Thursday night I was busy writing about Sydney Spies' senior photo that she submitted to be published in her high school’s yearbook.  While I was speaking out for mothers to support their daughters in expressing themselves beyond their sexuality,  Nancy Gruver, founder of New Moon Girls, was hosting a #GirlsNow Tweet chat to discuss LEGO Friends.  Perhaps if toys were marketed differently to girls, they would not grow up thinking their self-worth is limited to stereotypes.

I think the LEGO Friends controversy is valid and significant.  We should take note of what toys we purchase if we want to change the way our young women see themselves. Parents play an important role in shaping a child’s vision of what she can do with her life.  And in LEGO Friends vs. LEGO Education: What's the Lesson Here?, Empowered by Play gives weighty reasons why understanding the LEGO Friends controversy is vital to understanding girls.

 

I finally received my Pinterest invitation yesterday.  In the middle of carefully, and sometimes randomly, selecting things to pin, I stumbled upon some tips from Mashable’s Stephanie Buck in Pinterest: 13 Tips for Cutting Edge Users.  I found the pointers helpful and even a seasoned user will pick up good ideas.  After devouring the article, I pinned some great infographics I found at Good. Have I told you that I love infographics?

See you next Saturday!

 

Need to Graph Screen Time? Use Chartle!

Chartle has a short demonstration video on its home page.

In Why Ed Tech is Not Just for Teachers, I explained my enthusiasm for following educational technology blogs, news, and tweets.  Educational technology applications are well suited for families.  Many Web 2.0 tools can be used to track family spending, to create timelines or infographics preserving family events, or to share with your children while they are online which fosters the development media literacy skills.

One of the many Twitter users I follow in the category of Ed Tech is HP Teacher Experience Exchange—a free Web 2.0 professional development community for educators. And what are parents?  Educators! Recently HP Teacher Exchange tweeted a link to their tutorial on Chartle, a great Web 2.0 site that offers tools to easily create charts and graphs.

I like Chartle because it is very easy to use.  Once you arrive at the home page, click “Create” which takes you to an impressive and easy to use interface that displays the types of graphs you can choose to make. You can choose from: bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs, maps, plots, diagrams, and dynamic charts. Select the type you’d like to create and fill in the fields with the information you want your graph to display.  You can change the number of sections, colors, field directions, etc. 

Choosing Labels for Pie Chart

When you have your graph or chart completed, click “publish” which saves your creation to Chartle’s gallery.  There you can bookmark the link or copy the HTML code to embed your creation into your website.

Saving to Chartle's Gallery

So what can families do with Chartle?  Here’s some ideas:

Create a Pie Chart depicting how family members use their time. 

I created a colorful pie chart showing how I spend my time during a 24 hour period.  It is embedded  at the bottom of my site, Sperk*.  You can also find it via the link here:  My Daily Activities.  This is a great activity for kids who need support in time management.  (It also is a fun tool for math practice in the area of calculating percentages).  Once your child sees how he spends his time, he can work to spend less or more time where needed.  As he makes adjustments in his time management, he can create another pie chart.  Seeing the areas of the pie chart expand or decrease can be an exciting motivator.

 

Create a Bar Graph depicting screen time usage.

This is a great tool for families who have resolved to cut down on screen time in 2012.  Track each member of the family’s screen time, create a bar graph on Chartle, and email everyone in the home the link to the chart, or embed it into the family’s web page.  As screen time decreases, it is easy to create another chart based on the original by clicking “Create [ a new Chartle based on this one ].”  I created a fictional one based on a family of four that wants to track time spent watching television, using the computer, and playing Wii.  You can find it in Chartle's gallery here: Screen Time 

Create an O-Meter depicting amount of work completed for a project.

Teaching your child how to create an O-Meter for her school project may be just the thing to spark her enthusiasm in a less thank favorite subject.  I created one for a fictional science project.  I based it on a project containing five components: researching, essay writing, creating and inserting graphs/photos (which can be easily done with Chartle), composing reference page, and proof reading.  My O-Meter can be found in the Chartle gallery here: Science Project Completion Meter

Selecting Font Color for O-Meter

The O-Meter can also be used to track progress for a personal goal in a school fundraiser or for the amount of money needed to be saved for that new gaming device!

What are some other ways your family can use Chartle?

Celebrate Family with Web 2.0

We have plenty to do.  There are more cookie recipes to try, presents to buy and the tree has been up with just lights and no trimmings for three days. But after the gifts are opened and bellies are full, what do you do?  You can gather around your technological devices and remember 2011.  Here's some ideas:

Make a family infographic.  I got the idea from My Life as Prose.  Each family member can make their own infographic based on 2011, then you can share and compare.  Find infographic ideas at visual.ly, a site I came across in one of my daily reads Free Technology for Teachers.  Other Web 2.0 tools for creating infographics can be found at MakeUseOf.  (Always preview internet content before browsing with your kids or you may end up discussing things you haven't planned).

I quickly made a family themed infographic at Wordle.  My kids have used this application at school and love it.  The one below was done hastily but still turned out visually appealing.  You can copy and paste text from blogs, journals, and newletters written throughout the year or input words that identify meanigful people and events of 2011.  Once the text is entered, the app generates the infographic for you.  If you like, you can customize the layout, colors, and fonts.  

Get out the popcorn. Make a family film. Last year during the holiday break we made our own video.  We simply used our digital camera's video app and editing tools in Windows Live Movie Maker.  As an alternative, I know you can make some great video slideshows at Animoto.  My daughter made one for her dad of photos and videos from her birth to now and it brings tears to everyone's eyes.  This would be a great way to celebrate 2011 either by creating a video slideshow together or each family member making their own and comparing different perspectives of the same events.  Or you could film a "Year in Review" news broadcast, a cooking show demonstrating how to prepare the family's favorite meals of 2011. . . the possibilities are endless.

I haven't decided how we will make our family film this year, but it is fun to look back on the one from 2010:

Create a family treasure hunt based on family events that transpired in 2011 using the QR Treasure Hunt Generator.  This looks incredibly fun but I just stumbled upon it today via @russeltarr on Twitter and have not tried it.  It is definitely something I am planning to do for our New Year's Eve celebration.

Don't be afraid to incorporate Web 2.0 applications into your family time during the holiday break.  It's a great way to support your children's media literacy skills, which are vital to today's tweens and teens, along with sharing memories of 2011.  There are many more tools out there and if you have some to share, let me know!  Remember Ed tech is not just for teachers.

Why Ed Tech is Not Just for Teachers

I spent the morning attempting to make the header on my blog eye-catching, representative of my writing, and professional looking.  I am not the most versed in design software so I chose to use a combination of Microsoft Word, Photobucket, and the snipping tool accessory.  It may have been easier to either install Photoshop on my laptop or open my daughter’s laptop that already has it installed.  However, I am not confident in my skills with Photoshop.

Although I don’t think it’s representative of how much fun adolescent girls are to parent, I got the header to look acceptable.  Then I continued with my morning reading of blogs and posts of interest.  During my stop at Diigo, I found the link for LogoType Maker in the Hot Bookmarks.  I need to give it a try before I give you any feedback on it but some of its listed features are: upload images; modify logo, drop shadow; outline; cliparts; export png, zip, and pdf; and FREE.  I am assuming that had I used it for my header, it would now be just what I intended.  

If I was not an educational technology enthusiast, I would not have come across LogoType Maker.  One year ago, I was in a computer literacy class required for my degree in Early Education.  There were several Web 2.0 sites that were mandatory to use and Diigo, a bookmark sharing site, was one of them.  Also included on the list were Jing, similar to the snipping tool but better, and Prezi.  Prezi, an application for creating lively presentations, was the most difficult for this digital immigrant to learn, but the results were incredible.  From there I came across Free Technology for Teachers, an educational technology resource blog.  And from there I . . . I am now addicted to educational technology.

Ed tech is important to everyone, obviously, because it is being implemented into our children’s schools.  Even if I didn’t have school-age children, I would still want to know what was being implemented in my community's school curriculum.

 Also, applications found across the web are great for use at home.  Parents can support their children’s engagement in media of all sorts.  This increases their media literacy skills, especially when parents spend time with their children as they interact with peers online.  There are even great applications for creating cool videos, interactive timelines, and ebooks that can be used for creating unique family memories.

I am finding that educational technology gives light to easy to use applications that are not just for the classroom.  They are tools that can be implemented into personal writing and parenting blogs.  Because ed tech writers introduce media-rich applications as they could be applied in a classroom, they break it down very simply because teachers don’t often have time to implement tricky tech stuff--nor do bloggers. 

If you want to get started following educational technology because you are a parent, a blogger, a blogging parent, or just someone who wants to know what’s new and hip, check out The Edublog Awards Blog.  There is a comprehensive list of ed tech teachers’ blogs that were nominated for awards.  You are likely to find something useful and fun.  And if you find a blog you like, go ahead and give it a vote!