WordGirl

Why did ThursdayNext become WordGirl? After many weeks of exploring Web2.0 through the 23Things, I began to develop an online persona. ThursdayNext, SleuthingtheWeb, and my teacher-wearing-salwar-kameez avatar were all developed in the first weeks. At that time, using Web2.0 in the classroom (or out) was more of a mystery, so my mind went to the heroine, Thursday Next, of my favorite mystery series: The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde. She is a sleuth, and a book lover, so that seemed to fit.

When I created my second blog (mstunik.blogspot.com)Thursday just didn’t seem to belong there.  At the same time, I was trying to find just the right avatar or photo for facebook, and some other applications. I still like my Indian-clothes-wearing avatar; she reflects me.  But she doesn’t seem right for all times and places on the web.

Thanks to my three children, I manage to stay current with PBS Kids.  (The poor tykes are deprived of cable, video games, and commercial television.)  WordGirl is a PBS superhero. (Check out WordGirl).  She fights crime with her pet monkey, Captain Huggy Face, and teaches wonderful vocabulary at the same time.  (There are 4 vocabulary words introduced and reinforced in each episode.) I share her sense of humor.  And when my elementary-aged children use words like “absurd”, “immobilized”, and “cumbersome” correctly in their everyday conversations, well that gives me the same joyful jolt I get when one of my students figures out how to write a thesis, or express themselves through poetry, or explain Orwell.

And, after all, I am a word girl.  I like words, and I believe in their power.  Like the PBS WordGirl, and most teachers, I consider myself an ordinary person capable of superhero changes in the classroom.  WordGirl protects the innocent, she teaches, she helps those who have gone astray find reason.  WordGirl knows that “crime doesn’t pay…but knowing the right word for the right moment is priceless.”

Until next time, Word Up!

Thank you, Cameo, for the theme song:word-up-11

I have learned so much from participating in 23Things.  Thank you to our library staff, Anne, Susan, and Connie, for the guidance, troubleshooting, and wonderful ideas.

Many of the THINGS I used for teaching, even in this short time: LibraryThing, Diigo, a second blog on blogger.com, podcasts, Ning, and wikis.  I must say, I’ve become very, very good friends with Diigo.  And I can see the possibilities for the future.  Some of the THINGS have changed my personal computing for the better:  again Diigo, avatars, RSS feeds.  And then there were a few which, though I had no use for them now, will encourage dynamic lessons in the future:  online productivity tools, image generators, and more general ideas (like ichat and icomic).

I hope that next year, or the year after, when I am trying to figure out one of these tools, I can still come to the MCHS library site and find a link to the 23Things.  It is a fabulous tutorial and will help teachers new to Moreau, and elsewhere, as long as it is available.

Anne has shown me the wonders fo Diigo.  I am going to love using this with students.  I hope there is enough time left to do a project this year.  The ability to highlight and post is wonderful, for me to quickly direct students to important information, and for them to prove they can annotate as well.  The ability to turn a list into a slide show is cool.  This could be a great possibility for student presentations, or my presentations.

Thanks for all the In Plain English productions that helped 23 Things.  YouTube is a great place to find them all.  It was actually easier to get the stuff I wanted there than going through inplainenglish’s site.

This is not just for Halloween:  Zombies In Plain English

What I don’t like about YouTube for school is the links they give. You could have students on a perfectly fine video, and the other suggested videos are highly inappropriate.

I definately must explore the online book options more.  What I found while hunting was the OED’s fab site.  I love to use the OED for Shakespeare lessons, having learned how to teach the bard’s work from CalShakes.  The problem is, this requires subscription.  The school library would need to subscribe.  That would be the best case scenario.  Not only to they have all the wonderful things I’ve come to expect from the OED, but they have a few lesson suggestions.  This would be good for basic language/spelling skills, apart from Shakespeare.  It would also be fun for creating spelling lists and playing dictionary games (like guess the correct definition games.)  visit the site at http://www.oed.com/

On my newly created blogspot, I added librarything as a direct link and, even cooler, the ability to search my library.

Now I am trying to figure out how to link a specific podcast to my blog.

I approached our illustrious library ladies, fearless 23 Things Captains, with a question about a grammar project I’ve had stewing.  We brainstormed about the best tech format to use, and a new blogger account was born.  Visit me, especially if you have a grammar violation to report, at http://mstunik.blogspot.com/

I like google docs so far, but I wish I could practice with it.  Any other teachers want to practice?  And does anyone have insight into how using a wiki with a class differs from using something like Google Docs?   I’d like to hear about the pros and cons from those who have tried it in the field.