Have you forgotten something, Dr. Bloom?

I was reading Center for Media Literacy's Literacy for the 21st Century from the MediaLit Kit this evening (all in the name of my capstone!) when I was struck by the parallels between the media literacy processes and good ol' Bloom's Taxonomy (Revised, of course!). Now, never mind the knowledge dimension for just this bit. My brain just couldn't take that addition right now.

Demystifying Student Research: Part 2

I confess: I'm really excited about this series! I suppose I really could expand this series into, well, I guess a whole blog, huh? But I think a miniseries is good. (And this way I sort of look like I know what I'm talking about!)

If you want to know more than what I'll share here, find out what your local librarian takes in his/her coffee and stop by Starbuck's. Librarians and Media Specialists are the true experts when it comes to this stuff. Sadly, too few work in schools anymore. School libraries are being run by paraprofessionals and volunteers, and while that's well and good if all you need is someone to manage a book collection, we have lost a tremendous source of knowledge. This research stuff is tough to teach! 

Demystifying Student Research: Part 1

I love and hate the messiness of research. I don't mind messiness myself, but it is a matter of providing support to students so that they too can navigate messiness. I think that is the challenge and the reason why so many of my research activities have blown up in my face in the past. Without a doubt the biggest mistake I've made is trying to do too much at once. Giving the kids too much responsibility at once is the easiest way to have a research project fall apart.

One step closer

I am finally in my capstone! I am delighted to know that the end ... yes, and the start of BIG loan payments, is close. But the end is in sight.

Meanwhile, I am suffering from monstrous writer's block. I am supposed to be writing the first part to my curriculum development project right now, outlining my journey and interest in my subject area. But goodness! It sounds like I have a stick stuck ... you know what I mean! So, here are my rambles just to get my brain "turned off" and my fingers moving. Thank you for subjecting yourself to it.

The Possibilities of iBook Author

OK, forgive me ahead of time, for I am not the resident expert on Apple products by any means. Only today did I learn how to remove apps from my iPads in iTunes (no joke). But everyone has an idea about iBooks Author. I might as well chime in what I'm thinking seeing as it hits pretty close to home.

As a technology coordinator for a STEM elementary school, it is my job to maintain an iPad lab of 30 devices. To manage the lab, I have a Macbook (nope, not Pro, not Air, just a Macbook). Still, I love the setup and I enjoy searching the world for apps for my students to use.

I was teaching when the big announcement about iBooks 2 and iBooks Author was made. Watching my Twitter feed, I watched it blow up with some ecstatic responses and some exasperated responses.