Why am I talking about Tri Sodium Phosphate?

The databases I typically use for work are Discovery and OCR (Office of Civil Rights). These both keep extensive records on students and are very helpful to me as a dean of students. My job by nature demands that I wear many hats. I am counselor, social worker, disciplinarian, academic advisor, supervisor (of students), nose wiper, heck, I’ve even stood in as the lunch lady for a bit! These two databases provide me much of the information I need to get to the bottom of issues. In Discovery, I can look at disciplinary history (which I don’t like to do because I don’t want to pre-judge but, sometimes you have to if there is an incident—recurring patterns). Test scores, credit readiness, immunization records, special services, contact lists all help to provide information that help me discern individual student needs and try to find solutions. OCR is also an invaluable resource and service. I tend to use OCR to get “bigger picture” types of information. Data about our school as a whole, or about specific programs such as attendance trends, test scores, and demographics help inform initiatives we take as a building. It also informs the initiatives I take as a dean and program coordinator. To be honest, at work, I use Discovery the most because much of my attention is consumed by individual student needs.
The only other search engine I use consistently (and this would be in my personal life) is Google. It is just so simple to type in WHATEVER you are looking for. For example, I needed to clean some mildew off of grout in our downstairs bathroom. I knew that TSP worked great for outside projects but that it was pretty heavy-duty and might destroy the grout. I called my handyman brother-in-law, looked in a book I had about 101 Cleaning Projects, neither provided the solution. So I Googled, “Can I use TSP on grout?” and I immediately had an answer from a website specifically about TSP and a discussion that took place in 2005. This is STILL mind boggling to me. So much information is back-logged and just floating on the Web. By the way the answer is no, you shouldn’t use TSP on grout. It can cause it to break down much more rapidly especially if you use a strong solution.
This brings me to the validity of the information piece. In this case, it was very safe because the info was simply don’t use it. I figured it was good information because it was actually a TSP site (why does that exist?) and the several people who actually took the time to have a discussion about this topic were in agreement. Why would they lie about TSP? This speaks more to making a gut decision about validity, which I think is what most people do when seeking information on the Web.
So, for the databases I search, two are sanctioned by my employer, so I don’t question the validity of the info. For the rest of my searching, the information sought is usually for entertainment, or personal interests the likes of which no serious discernment is necessary.

Blogventure! Is that a word yet?

Greetings all! This is my first real venture in to the Blogosphere and I have to say I’m extremely excited. To be sure, this has been a long time coming. On a personal level, I have always wanted a creative writing outlet that matched my style. On a professional level, I have always wanted tools that would engage students and allow them to be more active participants in the writing process. I have also sought effective ways to document what I have done in the classroom (especially pertaining to student work) without accumulating GIGANTIC files of paperwork. Blogging may meet all of these needs.

This blogventure (is it o.k. to create words here? it seems so) is also timely because my colleagues and I are in the first year of creating/implementing a Digital Media Studies program/curriculum at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. The process actually began at the beginning of the last school year largely because of reform strategies in our district, and because of the desire to attract more students to our school. This will be a topic I will cover in a later blog. But, for documentation sake, this blog will serve as an excellent resource. I will also be able to receive input (comments) from my colleagues and classmates that will only enhance the inevitable discussions that will arise.

It amazes me how Web 2.0 tools, and various digital writing techniques make things so “real time”. They should enhance our program because I will be able to step out of a class I am observing and blog about, for example, the challenge of technological access, and how a firewall can suddenly lead to an increase in the number of behavioral referrals for profanity, and this before the students arrive!

Some of the main topics that are of interest to me and that I want to learn more about are:
1) From the NCTE standards: Students should be able to manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information.
This seems to be MUCH easier for students than for teachers (I have difficulty listening to a lecture, chatting, and brainstorming discussion topics) How do we ensure that students are getting the content?
2) The essential relinquishing of control by the teacher to use these techniques is a topic of unlimited discussion. The shift from author à readers to collaborative sharing of knowledge between author ó readers, Kress (2007) mirrors the paradigm shift necessary for the new teacher/student relationship formed by implementing Web 2.0 techniques. They are NOT just vessels to be filled with our knowledge.
3) The first “challenge” acknowledged in chapter 1 of Beach, Anson, Breuch and Swiss’ Teaching Writing Using Blogs, Wikis, and Other Digital Tools is Technological Access and Use. How true! The aforementioned relinquishing of control is not only required of teachers, but administrators, IT people, etc., all the way to the top of the district. Our IT people have been extremely supportive, but some issues naturally exist. Subtopics: low income schools and families, lab usage, blocking, first amendment rights, appropriate usage, and so much more


Signing off for now.