21st Century Literacies

After three days of talking about podcasts vs. vodcasts, blogs vs. wikis, Skype vs. iChat, and how to actively engage kids in learning using tools already available in our classrooms, my head is spinning. There is so much yet to learn about synthesis and design, the flat world, and becoming global collaborators, that I will be scurrying about from now until August 18 to get some new lessons ready to go. If anyone knows of a ninth grade classroom in India ready and willing to partner with a ninth grade classroom in Kirkwood, MO,  just let me know!

Here are a few of the tools to be incorporated in lessons taught in W-117 next year:

Skype (www.skype.com)

Voice Thread (voicethread.com)

Ustream (ustream.tv)

Flip Video (theflip.com)

Jing Project (jingproject.com)

Oh, This Face!

These eyes will forever be worth a drive of huge distance. What a blessing!

On The Road Again

If it's June, there must be a road trip, and this will an exceptional one, indeed. The first stop will be spent spoiling my little Amelia Jane. I can't wait to smooch those cheeks and snuggle that sweet little place on the back of her darling little baby neck. I get to babysit on Friday, while Lindsey goes to work for a few hours, and I hope to kick Lindsey and Matt out of the house for a "date night", as well.



The second stop of this trip is Booth Bay Harbor, Maine, where I will attend a conference on twenty-first century literacies. I am thrilled, in a very sick and nerdy way, to attend this meeting. The photo on the front of the conference brochure inspired my principal to sign the HR form for me to attend, without even reading about the content of the conference. Two books were assigned as pre-reading, A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, and The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Both are excellent food for thought, and I recommend them highly.




The third stop will be Amelia (and Lindsey and Matt), Part Two. I get to see them on the way back from the conference, as well! Life doesn't get much better than that.

I love these long drives, as they allow me to think deeply and reflect on life in a way that I don't often allow myself the time to do during the school year. This was an extremely difficult school year. We experienced many tragic losses. I hope to use this time, away from the hustle and bustle, to work through some things that I have pushed to the back burner, in hopes of just getting through the school year. Hooray for the gift of time.


When I reached the hotel tonight, I happened to flip to the channel airing the public wake being held for NBC Washington Bureau Chief, Tim Russert. What a life well-lived. Sunday mornings and election nights will not be the same without him. This photo (AP Photo/Meet The Press, Alex Wong) breaks my heart. As I drive through Buffalo tomorrow morning, I will think of the Russert family.

Amelia Jane

Perhaps the most anticipated road trip, for people of my age, is the one that takes you to meet your first grandchild. We have awaited this little one's arrival with great anticipation. Not knowing the gender heightened our excitement, and I highly recommend this old-school practice to all. Lindsey had a healthy, full-term pregnancy, though her last two weeks were spent with a cane and serious hip joint pain.


Little Amelia Jane entered the world on
April 2, 2008. We were thrilled to hear of her healthy birth and delighted in the first pictures that arrived via e-mail. Several days later, Jim and I were on the road (in a rented pinkish Cadillac, that absolutely screamed, "HERE COMES GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!!!), and were honored to help out a bit for the first week of Amelia's life.






I can't imagine a greater joy in life than getting to see your child grow into their role as a parent. Lindsey and Matt get it, for which I am eternally grateful. They see the wonders of the ages in the eyes of their daughter. I am smitten for a lifetime.