Interpreting Visual Representations

Think for a minute about the visuals you read or write in your life. I made a quick list, and it included diagrams, figures, maps, menus, labels, captions, charts, schedules, timelines, and graphs. Then I scanned through my house and office to find text materials that included something more than words and letters. I found magazines, newspapers, ads, food containers, manuals, cards, and catalogs. Then, there’s what I can see on television and the Internet. We truly are surrounded by visuals, and it’s important for our students to understand how to interpret what they see.

One of the lessons that surprised my students was on advertising. I showed them a range of magazine ads about smoking, and we discussed what they saw. Their initial responses revolved around how pretty, handsome, successful, and happy the people appeared to be. That led to a discussion of advertising techniques and propaganda. Students quickly realized that it’s important to look beneath the surface to determine the real meaning of ads.

I was recently in Lynn Kelley’s classroom, where she did a similar activity. After teaching types of propaganda, her students created videos demonstrating the various techniques. As she said, “I think they will remember it when they see a question on the state test because they had to create their own examples.”

RIP Steve Jobs

As many of you may have, I learned of Steve Jobs death on an iPhone. I remember the Apple IIC and then I taught with several Apple IIes. We moved our school newspaper from a typewriter to an Apple computer. I've never lost my love for creative products, and for an unwavering commitment to education. Steve Jobs inspired me by refusing to give up when everyone else said to quit. Second, I learned to have a vision, dream big, and move forward, no matter what. And now, I am privileged to watch how IPads, etc. are changing classrooms. I believe he changed how we view technology, especially in education. I wish peace and hope for his family and friends.

Awesome new search engine...plus readability levels!

From my friend Erin Klein...a search site that also shows the readability of the site.  This is one of the coolest ideas for teachers I've seen!  By the way, her site, http://www.kleinspiration.com/ is definitely one to bookmark!

Technology for Instruction

Today, I wanted to share a blog that I'm following.  Promoting Student Engagement is a new blog written by Eric Williams, a superintendent in Virginia.  Before you write it off since it's not written by a teacher, check it out.  It is surprisingly teacher-friendly, with examples of what the teachers in the district are actually doing.  It also has a technology flavor, one that comes from a perspective of using technology to improve instruction, rather than just using technology for technology's sake.  As a technology lover who still believes it's what you do with technology, not what the coolest new toy is, I love Eric's perspective. As a bonus, many of his examples are rigorous.   I've also been following him on Twitter (ewilliams65), where you'll find much more information and see lots of examples.  I encourage you to take a look, follow him on Twitter, and hopefully, the blog will be expanding more in the future! 

Online Resources for Teaching

I started to compile my list of other great online resources for teaching, but I ran across this site  and decided not to reinvent the wheel!  As the author points out,

The possibilities for social media tools in the classroom are vast. In the hands of the right teacher, they can be used to engage students in creative ways, encourage collaboration and inspire discussion among even soft-spoken students. But we’ve already made our case for why teachers should consider using social media in their classrooms. What about the how?Even when people say they want to incorporate social media, they don’t always know the best ways to do so. It’s especially daunting when those efforts can affect the education of your students. To help, we’ve collected seven of the the best classroom tools for incorporating social media into your lesson plans.

Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning

This is another great resource from the ALA.  It's their list of the top 25 best websites for teaching and learning.  Here's their introductory description:

The "Top 25" Websites foster the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. They are free, Web-based sites that are user friendly and encourage a community of learners to explore and discover.

• Media Sharing
• Digital Storytelling
• Manage and Organize
• Social Networking and Communication
• Curriculum Sharing
• Content Resources: Lesson Plans and More
• Content Collaboration