What's In A Name?

I am trying to set up a classroom blog where I can start to update students and families about things over the summer.  Eventually I would love for the kids to take over the blog.  Once the school year gets started I see it as a place for absent students, parents, and local people that we are working with on projects to find out what is going on at school on a day to day basis.  I think the posts will be relatively short and include a variety of media types.  I don't know if it will be necessary to have it obvious that a lot of different people are posting or if there should just be one general author name that is actually many different students.  I anticipate that the students (at least some) will start their own personal blogs to go into more depth on specific learning experiences and their reflections.

I have looked into several platforms, and I think I am going with Tumblr., although I like the ease of having multiple people work on a Posterous blog.  If you have experience with either of these platforms, I'd love to hear what you think about them.

Here is my bigger question.  What do I call the thing?  The obvious: Ms. Smith's Classroom Blog or something more inclusive?  The whole point of this school is to create a student directed, individualized learning environment.  Does plastering my name on everything take away from the community feeling I am trying to create?  Would a 'house name' (it is my understanding that Griffindor is already taken) say to students and visitors "This is a student-centered learning environment?" more so than using my name?  Or would using a house name create unnecessary confusion?  (Wait, which ridiculous, made up word is my child a part of again?)

The blog is what is forcing me to make this decision, but I am thinking about an entire vocabulary switch.  Why should only my name be on the door?  Why should students say "I am in Ms. Smith's class" instead of "I am in the Tiddlywinks".  (I am a Tiddlywink?)

Also, if I do have a group name, I don't want to choose the name.  If the whole point is to give the kids ownership, it would be dumb for me to pick a random word or non-word to use.  (The Caffeines?  The Penguins?  The Heffalumps?)  But, as afore mentioned I want to get the blog going before the beginning of the school year - so what do I go with now?

Of course - I could be over thinking things a bit.  Thats always a possibility as well :)

Dream Classroom

Recently I have seen several interesting posts by teachers reflecting on what their perfect classroom would look like.  If I were to create the perfect classroom it would include

• Project Based Learning.  I was reading Star in the Storm aloud to my students today and the phases of the moon were mentioned.  I saw the students were a little confused, so I set the book down and drew a model of the orbits on the board and we talked about how the phases occur.  This led the students to further questions and I pulled up Google Sky on my phone and showed the students where some constellations and the moon were at that very moment.  We talked about how the recent earthquake in Japan shifted the axis of the earth and the literary and scientific meaning of the phrase "blue moon".  At one point a student raised her hand and said, "Wait Ms. Smith, are we doing science now?"  I laughed a little and said, "Life kinda mushes all of the things we study together and when you think about it, it is a little odd that we have to split them up so much in school."  She agreed. 
• Student Choice.  I am currently using a modified Daily 5 model for my literacy instruction.  In my ideal classroom, I would expand my knowledge and implementation of this strategy.  I love mini lessons and use them in all subject areas to support my student's Individualized Learning Plans.  I have also been utilizing strategies found in the book The Strategic Teacher.  This book has been a great resource as I continue to implement research-based best practices in my classroom.
• Technology.  Currently I work in an environment that offers very few technological options for students in school.  However, life offers them a plethora of tools, skills, and decisions.  As I currently work with middle school peanuts, I know how important twenty-first century skills and digital citizenship are.  As they are just beginning to create their digital footprint, I would love to teach them about the various tools available, and how to select the right tool to fit the job on which they are currently working.  This also includes teaching students how to vet a source.  This skill is important off-line as well, but is so much more important when reviewing online information.  Obviously, a 1:1 classroom would be ideal.  I would also love mp3 players to listen to lectures and podcasts, recording devices for audio and video, and adaptive technologies for students who need technologies to meet learning needs.
• Mobility.  Learning should not end at the threshold of my door.  I would love bicycles, kayaks, and a webcam.  Digital field trips would be a great way to supplement local expeditions.  This way my students could experience their local community and the world.
• Organization.  I am a certified, card-carrying member of the Type A Club.  Currently, I have a color for each class.  Binder tabs, background paper for bulletin boards, magazine holders - all color coded to keep me sane.  I have to thank my sixth grade teacher, Ms. H. for this one.  She was the queen of organization, and although I didn't know it at the time, she set me up for a lifetime of organizational success.  She modeled organization for us in so many ways.  I learned how to organize my notes, my desk, and an English paper.  I have obviously modified her organizational tactics and made them my own, but she gave me a blueprint.  I hope to provide the same model for my students.
• My Grandma's Sofa.  My Grandma was always my biggest fan.  Sadly, she passed away a few months before I got back into a classroom position.  By the time we were ready to sell some of her furniture, I knew I had a classroom to call home so I brought her couch along with me.  It now sits in my library area and I dutifully yell at students when they put their feet up on the couch.  But the kids love that I have it in the room.  Sitting on the couch is a highly coveted place.  I love that I have a comfortable space that welcomes students and other staff.  I have counseled and counseled on that couch, just like Grandma did for me.
• Authentic Assessment.  Learning, in my humble, should be relevant and rigorous.  My goal is to make students be able to be successful in the "real world".  Projects should be multi-disciplinary and incorporate a wide variety of Gardner's multiple intelligences.  Too many teachers talk about the virtues of the "real world".  Let me tell you, I have worked in the "real world" and I never turned in a project past deadline.  However, if I did, I don't think my boss would have taken off 10% per day it was late.  I don't know if I would completely commit to a no-homework policy, but I definitely believe in a limited-homework policy.  
• Digital Picture Frames.  I would love for each student to have a digital picture frame where they could load inspiring pictures, photos of projects, photos of family and friends, and anything else they felt expressed or inspired them.  Digital picture frames are pretty cheep on Black Friday, so this dream may become a reality next year!  I think the idea of digital picture frames also represents having an aesthetically pleasing classroom.  I want my classroom to have a comfortable feel where students have a sense of ownership.
• Parent Communication.  Just as it is important to create relationships with students, it is equally important to create relationships with parents and other stakeholders of student success.  Ideally, I would have weekly communication with each parent.  This could include face to face contact, a phone call, or an e-mail.  I would also like students to take ownership of communicating their learning to stakeholders through daily blogging, videos, or updates to a classroom Facebook page or Twitter account.
• An Open Door.  Just as no man is an island, no teacher should be an independent contractor.  My ideal classroom would support co-worker collaboration through common planning time.  I would also like to explore team-teaching and guest speakers.  Parents, community stakeholders, and other educators have a wealth of knowledge.  I would be remiss in my commitment to the best interests of my students if I did not tap these great sources of information.  Technologies like Skype and digital field trips would also allow students to meet with other experts from around the world.

Hat tip to Helping Young Minds to Grow and Tartan Learning for the inspiration to write this post. 

photo © Michael Jastremski
for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Useful Bulletin Boards

I am quite the creative gal, if I don't say so myself.  I scrapbook as if my pictures are going out of style.  HGTV is the one reason I miss cable (well, and the History Channel makes two....).  But when it comes to bulletin boards I used to be at such a loss.  As a secondary teacher it seemed as though everything was too elementary.  Sure, I have the quintessential current events board, but beyond that?

Thanks to a colleague, I have a new plan of attack this year.  She calls these bulletin boards "Walls that Talk, Walls that Teach".  It is a usable board that students can use for information and reference and changes with each unit.  

The nitty gritty - a board for each class includes:

• Vocabulary
• Objectives in student centered language "I will be able to...."
• Key question or unit focus
• Examples of student work and associated rubrics

I also sometimes add a timeline for the unit, lists of assignments, or major project rubrics if it seems to make sense.  Anything I post on the board is fair game and can be used and referenced during class or assessments.  My theory behind letting students use the board during assessments is that there are very few times in life where I have a problem that I can't Google.  Some of my boards are on windows with blinds, so by simply closing the blinds I could have covered specific information as well.

There are laminated yellow stars that I move each day to highlight the objective on which we will be working that day.  I also used plastic sheet protectors to hold vocabulary and unit questions so that I can easily swap information in and out because a lot of my boards are not actually boards, but butcher paper taped to windows and walls.

I would love to hear what everyone does to use their wall space!