Ever since the birth of my first child, gift-giving holidays tend to fill me with anxiety and trepidation as I look around my house and wonder where in the world I am going to put all of the things my child(ren) will soon receive. There are several influences at play here: I don’t like to feel overrun by “stuff”; I want my children to feel a sense of gratitude for what they have, which I think gets more difficult as the mountains of gifts pile up; and I really just don’t know where to store it all.
These feelings, in conjunction with a desire to “give back” and to put my unwanted items to good use, have led me to cull through our existing toys prior to each birthday and Christmas looking for those that are outgrown, unpopular, or that I just never liked in the first place. This year I decided that my 3yo was old enough to understand and participate in the process.
I began just after Christmas by initiating a conversation about all of the friends and relatives who had given her gifts. We talked about how nice it was to have so many people who cared about her and wanted to get her gifts. Then I brought up the idea that some kids don’t have a lot of other people who can give them gifts (besides the gifts that Santa brings to EVERY kid, of course). I asked if she thought we could pick out some of her older toys to give to kids who had not received so many nice new presents, and she readily agreed.
We spent the next hour or so rooting through every toybox, bookshelf, nook, and cranny and choosing toys she was willing to part with. I respected her decisions, even when she insisted on keeping toys that I know she never plays with, so that she would feel a sense of control and ownership of the process and not think I was taking her toys away from her.
She only wanted to donate 1 out of every 8 or 9 toys we looked at, but in the end we loaded 4 shopping bags into my trunk and dropped them off at a local women’s shelter. It was only about half of what I would have given away had I done it myself, but my daughter learned about compassion and generosity, my home is a bit less cluttered, and the shelter has new toys for their playroom, so it really was win-win for everyone. I plan to make this a semi-annual tradition and will be looking for more ways to develop my daughters’ sense of gratitude and compassion for others as time goes on. Any good suggestions?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Managing Symptoms
Getting ready for the holidays was hectic, so this is actually the first chance I’ve had to write since early December. To follow up on my last post, I had an appointment with an endocrinologist at the beginning of December. She went over the basics of Reactive Hypoglycemia, most of which I had already gleaned from the Internet, and we discussed my specific symptoms and trouble-spots. My primary care doctor had already suggested I eat something every 2-3 hours, and that practice was making a difference during the week, but on less-structured weekends I was still crashing frequently. I was also having symptoms – shakiness and queasiness – every time I went running, although if I ate immediately afterwards I could avoid crashing. But feeling sick after every workout was not helping me stay motivated to exercise, so I was hoping to find a way to prevent this.
The main outcome I was hoping for from this appointment was a referral to a nutritionist, which the doctor actually suggested right in the beginning. She also sent me home with a glucometer so that I could do some sporadic testing of my blood sugar levels. She asked for a few fasting levels (first thing in the morning) and a few levels when I was experiencing symptoms. My follow-up appointment is scheduled for February, so look for an update sometime mid-month about that.
In the meantime, the pre-Christmas frenzy prompted me to stop working out altogether in favor of running holiday errands. Either coincidentally or as a direct result, I’m not sure which yet, my sugar hasn’t crashed since the beginning of December. This easing of symptoms has led to a lack of motivation to contact the nutritionist, but I plan to make an appointment in the next few weeks. For diet management, I now pay much more attention to the protein content of the meals that I eat – no more large bowls of pasta unless I pile on the meatballs, too – and I have stocked up on protein-rich snacks, as well. I buy trail mix in large bags, then immediately split it up into several snack-size bags which I store in a container by the back door so I can’t grab my car keys without seeing them. I also bought cheese sticks (I hate the bland mozzarella ones, but the sharp cheddar sticks are a tasty treat!), yogurt cups, and trail mix Kashi bars, all of which are easy to grab between meals or throw into my lunch bag to eat during the work day.
Goals for January – ease back into running while still successfully managing my symptoms; and make that appointment with the nutritionist that I’ve been putting off.
The main outcome I was hoping for from this appointment was a referral to a nutritionist, which the doctor actually suggested right in the beginning. She also sent me home with a glucometer so that I could do some sporadic testing of my blood sugar levels. She asked for a few fasting levels (first thing in the morning) and a few levels when I was experiencing symptoms. My follow-up appointment is scheduled for February, so look for an update sometime mid-month about that.
In the meantime, the pre-Christmas frenzy prompted me to stop working out altogether in favor of running holiday errands. Either coincidentally or as a direct result, I’m not sure which yet, my sugar hasn’t crashed since the beginning of December. This easing of symptoms has led to a lack of motivation to contact the nutritionist, but I plan to make an appointment in the next few weeks. For diet management, I now pay much more attention to the protein content of the meals that I eat – no more large bowls of pasta unless I pile on the meatballs, too – and I have stocked up on protein-rich snacks, as well. I buy trail mix in large bags, then immediately split it up into several snack-size bags which I store in a container by the back door so I can’t grab my car keys without seeing them. I also bought cheese sticks (I hate the bland mozzarella ones, but the sharp cheddar sticks are a tasty treat!), yogurt cups, and trail mix Kashi bars, all of which are easy to grab between meals or throw into my lunch bag to eat during the work day.
Goals for January – ease back into running while still successfully managing my symptoms; and make that appointment with the nutritionist that I’ve been putting off.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Diagnosis
For about 7 months now I have been experiencing some odd symptoms that I could not explain away. It began very abruptly in April while I was attending a conference. It was mid-morning and we were all standing up participating in a workshop activity. I began to feel out of sorts and wanted to sit down, but I kept looking around the room at all of the people who were many years my senior and felt silly about needing to sit down if they could still stand. The feeling progressed and I soon left the room, headed for the bathroom. I thought I was getting a stomach bug but upon reaching the bathroom I realized I wasn't exactly nauseous, but more dizzy and queasy. I had to sit with my head between my knees for a while before I felt okay to stand again, and as I returned to the conference room I passed the lunch set-up and shuddered at the mere sight of the food. When we broke for lunch a few minutes later several people asked me if I was okay, saying I looked very pale. I was feeling a strong aversion to food but decided a piece of bread might be worth a try. Within moments of nibbling at the bread all of the symptoms subsided. I went back and loaded up a plate with a salad and a sandwich and even dessert - it was as if I had never felt ill at all.
I called my mother that evening and described the episode. I had a feeling that she might have some insight. "It's your blood sugar," she said, without a moment's hesitation. I can recall countless times in my life in which my mother has interrupted whatever she was in the middle of with the comment, "I feel shaky, I need to eat something," and she is in the habit of carrying snacks around with her at her all times. In my self-centered adolescence I always perceived this as a minor annoyance, and perhaps even a weakness on her part - couldn't she just wait 20 minutes until we were done what we were doing?! I was also in the habit of teasing her for refusing to leave the house without a snack, even if we were on our way to a restaurant for dinner. Oh, how those taunts are ringing in my ears now!
I experienced a repeat of these symptoms, quickly alleviated by eating something, a few times over the next few months, but not with enough consistency or severity to prompt me to call a doctor. Sometime around the beginning of September the frequency of the symptoms increased. Now, although eating would cure the queasiness and shakiness I was feeling, within half an hour I would have an overwhelming need to lie down wherever I happened to be and go right to sleep. I began to think of it as *crashing* and then *sleeping it off.*
The increase in frequency and life-disruption finally prompted me to call a doctor. I have not had a primary doctor since I moved to this area 7 years ago, so it was not as simple as picking up the phone to make an appointment. First I had to choose a doctor, and then I had to wait almost 5 weeks for a new-patient-appointment, which is a much longer ordeal than an ordinary sick visit. During those 5 weeks I crashed at least once a week, if not 2 or 3 times, and I was feeling extremely frustrated at my inability to prevent or manage the symptoms. I did some Googling about blood sugar disorders and diets, but couldn't come up with any definitive information.
When the doctor's appointment finally arrived, I felt both relief and trepidation. Would the doctor think I was a hypochondriac? Would she rue the day Google was invented, spawning legions of self-diagnosers? Luckily, she was empathetic and also seemed to take my concerns seriously. She ordered a very thorough blood work-up, but said that she expected it to come back normal. She explained that only about 4% of the population is clinically diagnosed with low blood sugar - hypoglycemia - but rapidly dropping blood sugar (with levels that still fall within the clinical bounds of *normal*) can mimic symptoms of true hypoglycemia. She proposed that if she was correct and all of the tests were fine, I do a follow-up glucose tolerance test to further investigate.
She was correct - all of the tests came back fine. I went to the lab for a 2-hour glucose tolerance test feeling like I was wasting everyone's time - my own, especially. But then the results arrived in the mail. My fasting blood sugar level was low, but still a few points above the *normal* cut-off. But there were several asterisks next to my one-hour level, and according to the fine print it fell in the range of *critical value*. Critical?! That sounded ominous. I called the doctor and she confirmed what I already realized - I fall within the 4% of the population who are diagnosed hypoglycemic.
While I waited for my endocrinologist appointment, I returned to Google (of course). The type of hypoglycemia I have is called Reactive. As I understand it, when you consume sugar - which includes carbs and starches that get converted to sugar - your blood sugar levels rise. Your body responds by producing insulin, which counteracts the sugar and returns the levels to a more even state. In a person with reactive hypoglycemia however, the body overreacts, producing too much insulin, which tips the balance in the other direction and results in extremely low blood sugar levels.
As much as I would prefer to not have this, I must say it's kind of nice to have a diagnosis. I pride myself on being a trooper (what mother of young children isn't?), and I was feeling very guilty about not being able to just "shake off" the shakiness and subsequent exhaustion and just get on with my day. At least now I know it's not a character flaw on my part, but an actual condition that I can learn how to manage. More on management in a later post...
I called my mother that evening and described the episode. I had a feeling that she might have some insight. "It's your blood sugar," she said, without a moment's hesitation. I can recall countless times in my life in which my mother has interrupted whatever she was in the middle of with the comment, "I feel shaky, I need to eat something," and she is in the habit of carrying snacks around with her at her all times. In my self-centered adolescence I always perceived this as a minor annoyance, and perhaps even a weakness on her part - couldn't she just wait 20 minutes until we were done what we were doing?! I was also in the habit of teasing her for refusing to leave the house without a snack, even if we were on our way to a restaurant for dinner. Oh, how those taunts are ringing in my ears now!
I experienced a repeat of these symptoms, quickly alleviated by eating something, a few times over the next few months, but not with enough consistency or severity to prompt me to call a doctor. Sometime around the beginning of September the frequency of the symptoms increased. Now, although eating would cure the queasiness and shakiness I was feeling, within half an hour I would have an overwhelming need to lie down wherever I happened to be and go right to sleep. I began to think of it as *crashing* and then *sleeping it off.*
The increase in frequency and life-disruption finally prompted me to call a doctor. I have not had a primary doctor since I moved to this area 7 years ago, so it was not as simple as picking up the phone to make an appointment. First I had to choose a doctor, and then I had to wait almost 5 weeks for a new-patient-appointment, which is a much longer ordeal than an ordinary sick visit. During those 5 weeks I crashed at least once a week, if not 2 or 3 times, and I was feeling extremely frustrated at my inability to prevent or manage the symptoms. I did some Googling about blood sugar disorders and diets, but couldn't come up with any definitive information.
When the doctor's appointment finally arrived, I felt both relief and trepidation. Would the doctor think I was a hypochondriac? Would she rue the day Google was invented, spawning legions of self-diagnosers? Luckily, she was empathetic and also seemed to take my concerns seriously. She ordered a very thorough blood work-up, but said that she expected it to come back normal. She explained that only about 4% of the population is clinically diagnosed with low blood sugar - hypoglycemia - but rapidly dropping blood sugar (with levels that still fall within the clinical bounds of *normal*) can mimic symptoms of true hypoglycemia. She proposed that if she was correct and all of the tests were fine, I do a follow-up glucose tolerance test to further investigate.
She was correct - all of the tests came back fine. I went to the lab for a 2-hour glucose tolerance test feeling like I was wasting everyone's time - my own, especially. But then the results arrived in the mail. My fasting blood sugar level was low, but still a few points above the *normal* cut-off. But there were several asterisks next to my one-hour level, and according to the fine print it fell in the range of *critical value*. Critical?! That sounded ominous. I called the doctor and she confirmed what I already realized - I fall within the 4% of the population who are diagnosed hypoglycemic.
While I waited for my endocrinologist appointment, I returned to Google (of course). The type of hypoglycemia I have is called Reactive. As I understand it, when you consume sugar - which includes carbs and starches that get converted to sugar - your blood sugar levels rise. Your body responds by producing insulin, which counteracts the sugar and returns the levels to a more even state. In a person with reactive hypoglycemia however, the body overreacts, producing too much insulin, which tips the balance in the other direction and results in extremely low blood sugar levels.
As much as I would prefer to not have this, I must say it's kind of nice to have a diagnosis. I pride myself on being a trooper (what mother of young children isn't?), and I was feeling very guilty about not being able to just "shake off" the shakiness and subsequent exhaustion and just get on with my day. At least now I know it's not a character flaw on my part, but an actual condition that I can learn how to manage. More on management in a later post...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Web 2.0 enters the classroom
Through the course of my Web 2.0 Tools graduate class, I explored many technologies with exciting potential for classroom integration. Wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasting, photo sharing, social bookmarking… my head is spinning! All of these tools have amazing potential for reforming the classroom experience, but the one I will be focusing on right away is blogs.
My school district’s main initiative this year is Literacy Across the Curriculum, and I see blogs as the perfect technology tool to forward this goal. The integration possibilities for English and social studies are readily apparent, but I also see wonderful potential for math, science, and related arts teachers, as well. Blogs seem like the perfect way to get kids reading and writing across all areas of the curriculum, while also developing 21st Century skills.
Over the last few weeks I have managed to convince on English teacher and one social studies teacher to begin using blogs with their students. The English teacher has set up a class blog at 21Classes.com to use with her literature circles. Every book that students are reading has its own blog page where the teacher posts assignments. Each student reading that book logs onto their book’s blog page and answers the assignment in the form of a comment on the post. This allows all of the students reading the same book to discuss and debate the story elements with each other, even if they are not in class at the same time, or have never even met. The social studies teacher has started a central blog where she posts assignments and debate topics, and students respond and rebut each others' arguments in the form of comments.
Both teachers are very excited about their use of blogs so far, and I am hoping to “use” them as cheerleaders to get their colleagues excited about trying blogs, too. I have many integration ideas for other teachers, if I can only convince them to give it a try. I think blogs would be a great way to get AP calculus students to write about the math they are learning and enlist comments from people in the “real world” who use calculus everyday. Blogs would also be great for Bioethics students who are researching many of today’s hot-button issues (cloning, nuclear energy, genetic research), to track their research, reflect on their learning, and make connections with others who are studying the same topics.
The integration possibilities for blogging are practically endless. As a technology coach, I’ve officially adopted blogs as my tool-of-choice for this year, and will be working to get as many teachers and students on board as I possibly can!
My school district’s main initiative this year is Literacy Across the Curriculum, and I see blogs as the perfect technology tool to forward this goal. The integration possibilities for English and social studies are readily apparent, but I also see wonderful potential for math, science, and related arts teachers, as well. Blogs seem like the perfect way to get kids reading and writing across all areas of the curriculum, while also developing 21st Century skills.
Over the last few weeks I have managed to convince on English teacher and one social studies teacher to begin using blogs with their students. The English teacher has set up a class blog at 21Classes.com to use with her literature circles. Every book that students are reading has its own blog page where the teacher posts assignments. Each student reading that book logs onto their book’s blog page and answers the assignment in the form of a comment on the post. This allows all of the students reading the same book to discuss and debate the story elements with each other, even if they are not in class at the same time, or have never even met. The social studies teacher has started a central blog where she posts assignments and debate topics, and students respond and rebut each others' arguments in the form of comments.
Both teachers are very excited about their use of blogs so far, and I am hoping to “use” them as cheerleaders to get their colleagues excited about trying blogs, too. I have many integration ideas for other teachers, if I can only convince them to give it a try. I think blogs would be a great way to get AP calculus students to write about the math they are learning and enlist comments from people in the “real world” who use calculus everyday. Blogs would also be great for Bioethics students who are researching many of today’s hot-button issues (cloning, nuclear energy, genetic research), to track their research, reflect on their learning, and make connections with others who are studying the same topics.
The integration possibilities for blogging are practically endless. As a technology coach, I’ve officially adopted blogs as my tool-of-choice for this year, and will be working to get as many teachers and students on board as I possibly can!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Teaching in the 21st Century
As educators in these rapidly changing times, we have the extremely important and challenging task of preparing our students for a future that is difficult for us to even imagine. How do we prepare students for jobs that haven’t been thought of yet? How do we prepare students to use technologies that haven’t been invented, or to solve problems that haven’t yet been created? And of course, we must prepare ourselves first, since we were all taught in the traditional ways that we know are inadequate for today’s students.
This job is not for the faint of heart! Teaching in ways we weren’t taught ourselves, learning the latest technologies as they are emerging, preparing students for challenges we haven’t dreamed up yet… A daunting task, at best. But even for those among us who jump at the challenge, there is another obstacle to face – this groundbreaking work must be done within the confines of a system that is entrenched in the past. Everything about our schools, from the facilities themselves to the systems they operate under, needs to be rethought if we are to be successful in preparing our students for the 21st Century.
Schools and those associated with them have always maintained an internal focus. School boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students focus on what goes on inside the four walls of the physical buildings. That focus has to shift outward, and our definition of “school” as a brick and mortar building needs to be reshaped, in order to meet the needs of our current and future students. Connecting, communicating, and collaborating with people around the world – and developing the skills needed to do these things effectively - needs to be the main goal in education today. Standardized tests that measure only the traditional skills of reading and math are no longer adequate predictors of student success in the global marketplace in which they will be living.
What we need is top-down change, beginning with the highest authorities. The mission and vision of our educational system need to be revised to encompass the 21st Century reality in which our students are immersed, rather than the 20th Century traditions in which our schools are entrenched. The pioneers among us will do their best to reform their classrooms and serve their students well within the confines of the current system, but true systemic change is needed to revolutionize the way we educate ourselves and our students and to bring about the reform needed to be competitive in the 21st Century.
This job is not for the faint of heart! Teaching in ways we weren’t taught ourselves, learning the latest technologies as they are emerging, preparing students for challenges we haven’t dreamed up yet… A daunting task, at best. But even for those among us who jump at the challenge, there is another obstacle to face – this groundbreaking work must be done within the confines of a system that is entrenched in the past. Everything about our schools, from the facilities themselves to the systems they operate under, needs to be rethought if we are to be successful in preparing our students for the 21st Century.
Schools and those associated with them have always maintained an internal focus. School boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students focus on what goes on inside the four walls of the physical buildings. That focus has to shift outward, and our definition of “school” as a brick and mortar building needs to be reshaped, in order to meet the needs of our current and future students. Connecting, communicating, and collaborating with people around the world – and developing the skills needed to do these things effectively - needs to be the main goal in education today. Standardized tests that measure only the traditional skills of reading and math are no longer adequate predictors of student success in the global marketplace in which they will be living.
What we need is top-down change, beginning with the highest authorities. The mission and vision of our educational system need to be revised to encompass the 21st Century reality in which our students are immersed, rather than the 20th Century traditions in which our schools are entrenched. The pioneers among us will do their best to reform their classrooms and serve their students well within the confines of the current system, but true systemic change is needed to revolutionize the way we educate ourselves and our students and to bring about the reform needed to be competitive in the 21st Century.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Podcasting
Ok, I give up! I like to think of myself as being pretty tech savvy, but this one has me beat. I am not exactly a digital native - I was born just a few years too early for that - but I am familiar and comfortable enough with these tools to be able to figure most new things out just by "playing around" with them for a while, and transferring my knowledge of other technologies to the new ones I am learning. This process has served me well in the past, but not this time.
Create a podcast? Got it! Turn it into an Mp3? Sure! Teach kids the process? Absolutely! Post it on my wiki? No problem! But getting the darn thing into my blog? Not a chance! I'm sure I'm only missing some small little step, but after several frustrating failed attempts, I officially declare myself out-teched. Therefore, no podcast on this blog entry, or any other for the time being. If you'd like to check out the Intro to Moodle podcast I created for my teachers, you'll just have to view/hear it on my wiki. :(
As for podcasting in the classroom, this is one activity that my teachers really ran with last year. Almost any traditional report, presentation, or activity can easily be *tweaked* to take on the form of a podcast instead. I have science teachers who have turned the traditional lab report into an enhanced podcast instead. Students capture their experiment on film, then add background music and record a voice over narration about what is happening during the experiment, as well as their hypothesis and conclusion.
One of my math teachers took the process a bit further. She created an entirely new project called "Adopt an Anchor." Teams of students were each assigned one high school math Assessment Anchor (the concepts which PA uses to create our standardized tests). The students had to explore the math concept in their anchor, and then create a podcast to teach it to their peers. The podcast included an explanation of the Anchor, a sample problem, and step-by-step directions for solving it. Each of her students received a copy of all of the podcasts, which should be a valuable resource for them as they progress through their high school math classes.
These projects address many of the NETS for Students, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Create a podcast? Got it! Turn it into an Mp3? Sure! Teach kids the process? Absolutely! Post it on my wiki? No problem! But getting the darn thing into my blog? Not a chance! I'm sure I'm only missing some small little step, but after several frustrating failed attempts, I officially declare myself out-teched. Therefore, no podcast on this blog entry, or any other for the time being. If you'd like to check out the Intro to Moodle podcast I created for my teachers, you'll just have to view/hear it on my wiki. :(
As for podcasting in the classroom, this is one activity that my teachers really ran with last year. Almost any traditional report, presentation, or activity can easily be *tweaked* to take on the form of a podcast instead. I have science teachers who have turned the traditional lab report into an enhanced podcast instead. Students capture their experiment on film, then add background music and record a voice over narration about what is happening during the experiment, as well as their hypothesis and conclusion.
One of my math teachers took the process a bit further. She created an entirely new project called "Adopt an Anchor." Teams of students were each assigned one high school math Assessment Anchor (the concepts which PA uses to create our standardized tests). The students had to explore the math concept in their anchor, and then create a podcast to teach it to their peers. The podcast included an explanation of the Anchor, a sample problem, and step-by-step directions for solving it. Each of her students received a copy of all of the podcasts, which should be a valuable resource for them as they progress through their high school math classes.
These projects address many of the NETS for Students, including Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Technology Operations and Concepts.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Using Flickr in the classroom
Here we go again! As with so many of the Web 2.0 tools I’ve been studying for my course, I was already familiar with photo sharing for personal use, but had never thought to integrate it into my classroom. I have an account with Snapfish, which I use to share photos with my family and friends, and to order prints and other products (books, calendars, etc). This site is really more appropriate for personal use, so I created an account on Flickr to explore photo sharing as a classroom tool.
The first thing that struck me about Flickr was the ability to search by copyright-type. This is a fabulous resource for any educator or student who needs that perfect photo for a project, but is concerned about copyright infringement (as we all should be). And the wealth of images is amazing – my search of the Creative Commons group for pictures with the tag “Teacher” resulted in over 3,000 pictures! No slim pickings here! The page on the Creative Commons group site has definitions of the various types of C.C. licenses, making this a valuable starting point for a class discussion about Copyright and Fair Use. Clicking through some photostreams and reading the member profiles may also help students to connect with the idea of online images belonging to individuals, and therefore reinforce the idea of proper use and citations.
I chose two Creative Commons photos as examples of Flickr activities that I will be suggesting to my teachers next week. This first one represents an idea I will suggest to our creative writing teacher. Students can search Flickr for an intriguing photo – or the teacher could collect specific photos ahead of time for the students to choose from – and then use it as a writing prompt for a fictional story. The teacher could post the photo on her webpage, blog, or wiki (or even just show it on her projector), along with prompt questions to get the students started. For example:
What is happening in this picture? Why is your character(s) here? Where were they before? What are they doing here? What are they feeling?
The second picture is for a math teacher, though it would also be appropriate for an art or history teacher. I’m not well versed in higher-level math, but arches can be used in an exploration of radius, and various other functions, and this picture is perfect for that:
Both of these activities address not only the curricular
subjects of writing and math, but also the 21st century skill of visual literacy, and the following NETS*S: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship.
Photo credits:
Boats in Swan River: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24548102@N00/2870774788/in/photostream/
flickr photo-boats and rainbow
Arches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alykat/5545146/
flickr photo-arches
The first thing that struck me about Flickr was the ability to search by copyright-type. This is a fabulous resource for any educator or student who needs that perfect photo for a project, but is concerned about copyright infringement (as we all should be). And the wealth of images is amazing – my search of the Creative Commons group for pictures with the tag “Teacher” resulted in over 3,000 pictures! No slim pickings here! The page on the Creative Commons group site has definitions of the various types of C.C. licenses, making this a valuable starting point for a class discussion about Copyright and Fair Use. Clicking through some photostreams and reading the member profiles may also help students to connect with the idea of online images belonging to individuals, and therefore reinforce the idea of proper use and citations.
I chose two Creative Commons photos as examples of Flickr activities that I will be suggesting to my teachers next week. This first one represents an idea I will suggest to our creative writing teacher. Students can search Flickr for an intriguing photo – or the teacher could collect specific photos ahead of time for the students to choose from – and then use it as a writing prompt for a fictional story. The teacher could post the photo on her webpage, blog, or wiki (or even just show it on her projector), along with prompt questions to get the students started. For example:
What is happening in this picture? Why is your character(s) here? Where were they before? What are they doing here? What are they feeling?
The second picture is for a math teacher, though it would also be appropriate for an art or history teacher. I’m not well versed in higher-level math, but arches can be used in an exploration of radius, and various other functions, and this picture is perfect for that:
Both of these activities address not only the curricular
subjects of writing and math, but also the 21st century skill of visual literacy, and the following NETS*S: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, and Digital Citizenship.Photo credits:
Boats in Swan River: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24548102@N00/2870774788/in/photostream/
flickr photo-boats and rainbow
Arches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alykat/5545146/
flickr photo-arches
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