I checked out a blog recommeded by Farrah, and ended up following a link to a blog that this teacher and his class put together. It's about a guy who lived like a Civil War soldier for two weeks to raise awareness and support for a civil war museum; the blog has his journal copied on it. It is really cool. The website is: http://civilwarsoldier247.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/bretts-final-days-on-picket-duty/#comment-17 It's a really cool and unusual way to get kids interested in history and it shows them that people care about history - it isn't just dead and boring.

Last Class

The whole discussion about tech etiquette made me feel more optimistic about teaching tech savvy students. I know when I go into my placement, that I'll have to follow my mentor's rules, but I can observe what she does and how well her rules work. I'll be able to start planning a list of my own rules/etiquette guidelines for my future classes. I do think that one of my rules is going to be no earbuds visible. I know a lot of students here at the U of M who leave them tucked around their neck during class or leave one in during class. I just think that that's too much temptation, so I'd actually want my students to tuck them away in a pocket or something. A similar rule would be no phones/ipods out unless I say that they can use them for looking something up online. I know many students keep their phones in their hand and text under their desk. If I see a phone/ipod, then I'm going to confiscate it until the end of class.
I really liked some of the stuff the guest speakers said. I'd love to find a way to cut down on papers by using clickers, but I'd need someone to help me set it up. Also, I liked the idea about that sticky-note wall cite. That's great because you can get input from everyone, but they can't go on and on (thus saving me a headache and teaching them to be concise.) It's also great that I, as the teacher, can edit anything before it's visible to all. That is the one downside to a blog or something like that - one kid with a bad mouth can tarnish the whole thing and get me in a lot of trouble.