Why I Teach: Twitter Poll Inspiration by Joel Wagner - April 30, 2009June 30, 20108 This morning, I asked my Twitter and blogging friends the simple question: Why do you teach? While most of the responses came in via Twitter (limited to 140 characters), some also came in through the comments. What I found in my nonscientific cross sampling of technolgically literate teachers was interesting. If you missed out on your chance this morning, feel free to add your own comments below! Without any further formalities, here were the responses: @flourishingkids I teach because I love cultivating the joy and efficacy of learning @kaferico I teach because is my vocation and passion. There is never a dull day. My goal is to make every day an A-HA! moment for my students. @flotoonie To use tech
Twitter And 35 Other Ways To Kill Productivity Personal by Joel Wagner - April 28, 2009June 30, 201010 Here are some quick things that you can do with now that will help you fall further behind in your workload. MySpace Facebook Check your email Edit your blog design Check your blog stats Catch up on RSS Watch TV Watch a movie Take a nap Drive around aimlessly Daydream Window shop Listen to music Take a walk Go to the park Go out to eat with friends Spend your lunch break talking Call a friend Call your mom Read a fiction book Read a magazine Fly a kite Sort your clothes Watch a baseball game Play a video game Surf the internet Read blogs Write in your blog Write an email Text Chat Comment Blog Sign up
No Rights Reserved Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 26, 2009June 30, 20109 This blog is about sharing ideas. The ideas and conversation are far more important than me personally. For that reason, you are hereby free to take any articles or comments that I (Joel) personally have produced for So You Want To Teach?and use them in whatever way you so desire! Call it Open Source Blogging, call it Uncopyright, call it Public Domain. I call it No Rights Reserved. Absolutely. Unequivocally. If you want to take an entire article, or even a series of articles, and publish them in a book, magazine, newsletter, newspaper, ebook, or whatever else (edited or unedited), go for it. Let the information flow! What if I want to sell ? Feel free to find one of my witty quotes
Should All Great Blogs Have A Comments Policy? Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 26, 2009June 30, 201023 Recently, Holly left a comment that brought out a few points. I wanted my readers to address her question, and so I posted that question. In the process of doing so, I realized that her comment (and a few others lately) raised a key question for me as to whether or not I should have a codified Comments Policy for So You Want To Teach? As I've been working my way through Darren's 31 Days to Build A Better Blog project, I've been analyzing a lot of things on my site. I've come to realize that there are a few things lacking on my blog that a lot of the great blogs I read out there have. With Holly's question
Special Education Students In The Classroom: How To Effectively Teach Them General by Joel Wagner - April 26, 2009June 30, 20104 Holly writes: I am a nineteen year old (3rd yr) secondary education student (yrs 8-12 ) at the University of Queensland in Australia. I have read the above comments and would love with your permission to use some of your comments as a reference (In which you will be quoted) in a case study /research report I am writing on Asperge’s (Task Outcome: A written Report reporting the procedures for preparing and conducting a face-to-face interview and integrating the outcomes/findings of the interview with the ideas from the academic literature and research.) On this blog I have found your opinions to be very informative and would be very appreciative if you could tell me some teaching method’s you have used
Where Do You Want To Teach? Navigating U.S. State Educator Certification Criteria New Teachers by Edward Kim - April 23, 2009June 30, 20107 This is a guest post by Edward Kim from The Certification Map Team. Joel, thanks for letting us write a guest post on your blog. This site is a great source for educators who want meaningful information with a down-to-earth touch. For Joel's regular readers, thanks for taking your time time to read this post. I want to start out by asking you a simple question: Do you know your state's teacher certification requirements? How many of you have experienced or heard horror stories about people trying to navigate through your state's Department of Education website trying to figure out the certification process (not to mention long phone conversations with the DOE that lead nowhere). It can be a
10 WordPress 2.7 Hacks That Make My Blog Totally Rock Out Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 20, 2009June 30, 20101 This post has absolutely nothing to do with teaching or education. It's totally about blogging. More specifically, WordPress. If you have not yet discovered the wonders of WordPress, I recommend checking it out sometime. With that disclaimer out of the way, I'll start out by listing the hacks that I have done, explaining why I did them, and then explaining how I went about adding them. Here goes: Added a featured article Put Featured & Latest images on home page only Thumbnails of all images in main and archive pages Moved most ads to search visitors only Added social media links to individual posts and searches Retweet button Reader submitted links page Added links to the footer and
Survival Kit For Teachers Looking To Relocate Why Teachers Quit by Joel Wagner - April 16, 2009June 19, 20162 Someone left a comment on another article on my blog yesterday that I wanted to address more in-depth with a Survival Kit of sorts to help you find a new teacher job. I posted a teaser this morning to see what kind of responses the community would come up. So far, I have read some incredible (and almost all positive) pointers. I’ve written a great deal about classroom management in the past here I’ve written about how I changed course and overcame a poor history of teaching in March of my second year of teaching I suppose this is sort of a follow-up to The Honeymoon Is Over: What Killed My First Teaching Job And 7 Tips For Getting Your Next Job. In that initial
Help A Struggling Teacher Out! Why Teachers Quit by Joel Wagner - April 16, 2009June 30, 201015 I got a comment on one of my articles about quitting teaching last night that touched my heart. I will respond to her more in depth later on today, but I don't have time right now to get back except for briefly. I thought I would use the opportunity to tap the resources of the SYWTT community and throw the question out to the readers for some feedback. She writes in part: I think it is too late for me. In my 2nd year of teaching 5th grade - first year barely made it and this year is worse. I definitely have some helth issues that have just sucked away my creativity this year. I always struggled with lesson plans
Inspired By So You Want To Teach? Inspiration by Joel Wagner - April 14, 2009June 30, 20108 New readers are coming to this blog all the time. As a new reader, the comments below will show you some of the many ways that reading this blog can be beneficial for you! I have received a large number of comments and emails from people who tell me that they have been inspired to begin blogging as a result of this here blog. I must admit, I am very interested in getting other people to begin seeing the benefit of blogging through their experiences. I also am quite focused on personal growth in many areas of my life. With that in mind, I know that I say some things very bluntly and don't pull too many punches. Sometimes the
Twitter Guide for Teachers Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 12, 2009June 30, 201014 Also be sure to check out the guest post 30 Twitter Tips for Teachers When I first read Mashable's article 10 Ways Twitter Will Change Blog Design in 2009, I was a bit reluctant to buy in. I mean, I had heard of Twitter before. I even got a Twitter account way back over a year ago. But I didn't really explore it much, and I didn't see the point. But as I read the post on Mashable and its comments, I began to see that Twitter was something I should begin to explore much more in-depth. I have come across a few resources about Twitter for teachers lately that I thought you might enjoy. Nine great reasons why
Carnival of Education #214: The Day To End All Days Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 8, 2009June 30, 201012 It all started innocently enough. As a band director, I have been to numerous rehearsals of orchestras, jazz bands, mariachis, bands, and even choirs. So when Mr. Teacher (of www.learnmegood.com) asked me if I wanted to join him for choir practice, I was excited. "Well, I was just watching these 100 Free Online Lectures that Will Make You A Better Teacher. But I have a few minutes to spare. Wait a minute, I didn't know you could sing!" I responded. "I doesn't," was the puzzling reply. Thus began the longest day of my life If I had simply pulled out my handy New Revised Teacher Dictionary, I would have known I was in for way more than I had bargained
20 Blogs I Wish Were Around When I Started Teaching Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 5, 2009June 30, 201040 When I first started out, I was living by myself far away from home. I didn't have any friends in the community outside of the school. And those were either other band directors or band parents. I didn't do anything to really try to keep in contact with college friends, I sort of had the Lone Ranger type approach. That was way back in 2002. My how things have changed! Now, education prep programs all over seem to be requiring students to read and comment on blogs as part of their education. With that being said, I have seen quite a rise in the number of educational blogs out there since I started blogging two years ago. I have seen
April Fooled You!!!! Blogging & Technology by Joel Wagner - April 4, 2009June 30, 20106 Since nobody commented on it, I am not sure that anyone really caught on that Wednesday's post was an April Fools Day joke. It was actually written by The Scholastic Scribe. I don't normally rant in real life, and I'm not about to start doing so on my blog. I'm sure a lot of you were worried, which probably explains why there wasn't a single comment! I posted on Wednesday, but my article 10 Things To Help Keep An ADD-Inflicted Teacher Focused actually ended up on one of the few edublogs I regularly read, It's Not All Flowers and Sausages. I gotta tell you, this was some good stuff in the article also. This whole April Fools Day Switcharoo was
Mrs. Scribe Has Left The Building General by Scholastic Scribe - April 1, 2009June 30, 20100 This is a guest post by The Scholastic Scribe.This just in to the Scholastic Scribe newsroom... Mrs. Scribe has finally lost it. After one too many inservices, smarty pants Cherubs & general malaise, she's finally gone & done it. She's Mad as Hell & She Might Not Be Able to Take It Anymore. A little background, if you please. Your Humble Scribe trained as a professional journalist. I labored in the trenches, as it were, for what seemed like eons, before I got into this teaching janx. The 4th Estate is no stranger to moi. I'm used to disorder. Mayhem. Hell-for-leather, whisky-sodden, ink-stained wretches, who'd rather cuss and spit tobacco juice my way than dispense the time of day. But with the New