C4T #1

Using Diigo
For my first C4T assignment I was assigned to read Beth Still's blog. The first post I read was about using Diigo and Twitter. I found this article very useful. I had never heard of Diigo before but after reading about it, I plan to use it when wanting to share information. This program is an easy way to share and communicate articles and other resources to administrators or other teachers. It allows you to make groups, for example you could group by student grade level or classroom subject. the articles are given descriptions and filed away until they are needed. In her post Still also explains how Diigo can be linked to Twitter so you can have easy access to twitter feeds or posts that you have liked or saved.

My comment to Beth Still was that I believe this is a fantastic program. The ability to share articles and resources with administrators and teachers easily and hassle free is great for improving the learning experience for students. Diigo also gives the teachers the ability to share their ideas and discover new and creative ways to use the information that they might not have thought of themselves.

No Potty for you!
The second post I read by Beth Still was a rather comical post. Beth shared a tweet from Seth McLeod saying that at an open house he was told if a student asks to go to the bathroom more than 3 times a quarter they will received a fifteen minute after-school detention. Beth shares a story about her second year of teaching and how she tried to enforce a similar rule. She explains how this was a learning experience and how this was not a success. Beth ends her post giving advice to new teachers; her advice was that we should give our students the chance to realize on their own what is acceptable and what isn't in a classroom. She also says that as a new teacher it is smart to choose your battles wisely.

Having had a teacher in high school who only allowed us three bathroom passes a quarter, I know how difficult it is to decide when to use your passes and when you should hold on to them. In my experience with this the class spent more time arguing with the teacher than we did actually having a lesson. This caused the class as a whole to not have a very successful semester. I have enjoyed reading Beth Still's post and plan to follow her blog and continue to read and learn from her posts.