Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. --www.transliteracy.com I felt a rush of adrenaline when I learned that a requirement of my capstone project was building a website. I envisioned pages and pages of inspiring and highly educating verbosity. Pages and pages of sweet, glorious verbiage. All in ten point Times New Roman.
Thank goodness that did not see the light of day. I'm very fortunate to have been introduced to the idea of transliteracy. I strongly believe that a project of this caliber cannot be designed without it in mind. In order to reach my readers, I have to use a variety of mediums besides my illuminating text. I believe that a website that is too text heavy will soon loose the interest of the viewer. This is very hard for me to admit because I am a unrepentant logophile. However, the use of videos, infographics, and images relaxes not only the eye, but the mind. I am terribly near-sighted. I can only see a few inches in front of my face. I find text, especially on the screen, hard on my eyes. As my eyes strain, my head aches. This will cause me to lose focus on the content. The designer of the website failed. I move on to the next website that doesn't cause me physical pain. Whatever the author wanted to share is lost. I did not want that to happen to my website. I wanted to keep my reader's interest until the very end. The same principle can be applied to the classroom. As teachers we should consider using a variety of mediums to keep our students engaged. I've known some teachers who continually use the same yellowed ditto sheets year after year because back in 1999 they accidentally made 200 copies. I challenge myself and my peers to think outside of the file cabinet. Transliteracy doesn't mean more computer use. It asks teachers to think globally. It asks teachers to think of varieties of ways to reach their students. It is not a secret that the longer you keep your students' attention, the more they learn. Why is this so important? Our world has changed since 1999. Domestic and International business is conducted under the umbrella of transliteracy. Education is no longer limited to a book, a stack of note cards and an erasable pen. We are in the business of educating children beyond the classroom. Please read my blog 703 Session 2 Blog: Transliteracy for more information on transliteracy.
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It's Been One Heck Of A Ride!On my 37th birthday, my friends took me to Six Flags to celebrate. Since I had never been on a mega-roller coaster in my life, they thought it was a great idea. I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. I'm prone to puking on merry-go-rounds and passing out on anything higher than the second floor of JCPenny's.
But I went along with their plans. Not because I enjoy puking and passing out, but because I wanted the challenge. I wanted to find out if I had the stomach for it--pun intended. The ride up the roller coaster was fine, but as we headed around the bend, and I could see the slope, I started to get really nervous. My life started to flash before my eyes. There was my dad in his fishing gear. Over there was my seventh grade boyfriend, What's-his-name. And way in the back was the book I never wrote. Down the slope we went! Fear kept my eyes shut the entire 90 seconds. I could feel the cold wind burn against my face. I'm not sure, but I swear I tasted the bitter guts of moths. My hands hurt from gripping the grab bar with every drop of adrenaline my adrenal glands could pump out. My arms and legs ached, and my head felt like it was going to burst open. When the ride finally stopped, I felt exhilarated and exhausted. That's how I feel right now, right in this moment. Exhilarated and exhausted. I am at the end of my master's program. I have two days left before everything is submitted and ready for review. For several weeks now, I've been pulling what I call all-day-ers. I've been working on homework, blogs, videos, posters, and the website for my capstone project. I feel exhausted...and exhilarated! This year has been a roller coaster ride. There were events that I never anticipated when I signed on as a Touro graduate student. 1. The rat infestation. For the first three months of school, I literally taught in a storage room because the EPA quarantined my classroom. 2. I lost my students. It was like musical chairs. Groups of kids came and went. I spent too much time searching for my experimental and control group of kids. I needed the data. What else could I do? 3. I was laid off. Smack in the middle of my master's program, I find myself without a job. 4. I'm hospitalized. I was hospitalized FOUR times due to a mysterious respiratory infection. Probably from the rats. 5. My dogs are hospitalized. First Ellie, then Chloe, then Bailey, and then Teddy. At different points in my master's program one of my furry babies was in critical care. I was forced into a dilemma no fur mama wants to be in: my degree or my dog. $7700 later, everybody seems okay. 6. Poison ivy. At the beginning of the summer, when I should be focused on finishing my master's program, I decide to pull out that strange plant growing out of my hedge. An hour later, I have stinging blisters all over my fingers, hands and arms. What gives? I need those to write my capstone. 7. Blindness. Seriously, I start to lose even more of my eyesight. What the heck? I need my eyes to write my capstone! 8. Hives. I've developed an allergy to some mystery allergen. Usually when I'm working on my capstone, I'll suddenly break out in hives. I'm exhausted, but exhilarated. Despite the obstacles and stress, I am so proud of myself. I have worked very hard throughout this program. I learned more this year than I ever have. My passion for writing has been rekindled. Most importantly, I feel hope. Hope for a better future for myself and my doggies. Hope for my struggling school district. And hope for the hundreds of kids that will pass through my classroom door. I don't know what will come out of this journey, but I do know what I will never go back to. It is impossible for me to revert back to my old teaching ways. Why would I? That would be insane. This has been a cyclone roller coaster ride. I'm glad I got on. Once Upon A Time in HollyWood...I had a vision. Setting: a 19th Century Feed Store/Schoolhouse transforms into a progressive 21st Century school community. Why a feed store? I wanted to demonstrate through my art how education took a backseat to industry in the 19th century. Clever, huh? Characters: An old schoolmarm, chickens, goats, pigs and a classroom of bored children. A wise-beyond-her-years modern teacher with a flare for fashion and implementing digital writing tools. Crisis: Old Schoolmarm is stuck in her old habits, thus her unmotivated, whiny students don't want to take out their Big Chief writing tablets and work. Resolution: Fashionable teacher comes in and saves the day with digital tool infographics and TPACK expertise. Months ago, when it was revealed that a requirement of our capstone project was to produce a 90 second video, I literally could not contain my excitement. For you see, not long ago, I, Teresa Eleanor Giner, was an award winning actress. Yes, it's very true. I treaded the boards on many a community theater stage. But, like Angelina Jolie, as much as I am a phenomenal actress, my real passion is directing. So, I got right down to it. Wrote a magnificent script. Built all the sets (how else was I going to shoot a 19th century school house and feed store.) Sewed all the costumes. Turned my dining room into a studio because the lighting was p-e-r-f-e-c-t! My initial plan was to shoot a stop-motion video, but since I have poor vision and arthritic hands, that was a bust. After all the footage was spliced, I cast my friends for their voice over talents. Despite some complaints of nepotism, my very best friend Carla was cast as the schoolmarm. She has a schoolmarm voice, after all. Despite the fact that Rosie, Yolanda and Randy are senior citizens, I cast them as the school children. The girls could pull off little kid voices, but Randy? Oh my goodness, his character sure had a deep voice for a seven year old. After wrapping up, we celebrated with root beer floats and Mylanta. At this point, you must be thinking, "Wow! This is an amazing behind the scenes expose'." AND, just like the twist at the end of every Dateline episode, there is a shocking conclusion. There was no market for it. Where did I go wrong? Unfortunately, my vision was too big for my $24.97 Walmart gift card budget. The 19th century feed store and school house were unavailable. I literally don't know any children outside of school. Literally. Skywriting TPACK and filming it before the wind blew it away was impossible. And! Like every Steven Seagal movie ever made, poor casting was an issue. I used my extensive Calico Critters collection to represent the transformation of sad, uninspired writing instruction into the optimistic modern world of digital writing. It turns out my video was too damn cute. My critics applauded my final cut, but, like Jennifer Lopez's The Cell back in 2000, it didn't have a place...yet. So, like Joel Schumacher after Batman and Robin (1997), I picked myself off the floor where I had cried like that infantile Steven Seagal for three whole days, and eventually got up and moved on to the next project. Lessons Learned from the Academy's Next Power Director My advice to anyone who has been kicked in the stomach after putting their heart and soul into something they believe in, only to watch it fail: Try again. Don't Give Up. Every experience is taking you closer to greatness. My advice to other teachers: Let your students see you fail, and get up, and try again. Through your glorious mistakes, you will teach them how to persevere. Technology is not easy. Writing is not easy. Giving up should not be easy. For Your Viewing Pleasure I present to you both of my 90 second videos. (Only 5 star comments will be posted.) version 1 version 2
"Touro University California is a university under Jewish auspices founded upon the universal values of commitment to social justice, intellectual pursuit, and service to humanity. As such, Touro University California is dedicated to the following:
Consider how the work you have done during this program fits within Touro’s values and how you are going to take what you have done into the world to make a change. Will you share your work with your principal or colleagues? Will you post about it on twitter? Or will your focus be making a change within your classroom or something else? What practical thing will you do to be of service?" Touro University is special to because it has strong ties to Chabad. I call the Chabad of Solano County my spiritual home. My rabbi and his wife have been an amazing source of encouragement as I traveled on this journey to expand my own education and strengthen my skills as an educator. I don't have enough words to express how much I appreciate their friendship and support. I am committed to adhering to the Jewish values set so long ago by Touro not out of obligation but because, if you read them carefully, you realize that the values are the framework for an ethical and conscientious attitude toward teaching. Educators should "respect the value and dignity" of all students, teachers, parents, staff and administrators. In the melting pots that our classrooms have become, we should "accept and appreciate diversity." We should put our students first, since they are the future. We should strive for authentic collaboration with other educators; learning and sharing with each other in the pursuit of fulfilling goals that benefit all students. Will I share what I've learned with my colleagues? Of course! Like Ms. Jona Sandau has exclaimed for the world to hear, "It does take a village!" There is no such thing as an individual Superteacher. One link does not hold up the bridge. It takes all of us, working together, to tackle any challenge that rears its intimidating legs up at us. I don't plan to stop reiterating the importance of explicit writing instruction. People may label me "The Crazy Writing Lady," but I will continue to educate myself and teach others what I learn. You will find me in conferences, classrooms, online and on panels advocating for better writing instruction in schools. I'll start my mission within my own classroom. Ironically, during my research, I found several articles claiming that the art of writing was dying. Soon emojis and gifs would eliminate the need for text-rich compositions. I plan to prove them indisputably wrong. Honestly, I'm very, very tired. I've been working long hours on my website and this video. I start working around 8 in the morning, and don't stop until I my eyes literally can't focus any more. This is EXTREMELY important to me. My grades are EXTREMELY important to me. I need an average no less than an 98 to qualify for the UC Irvine Writing Program, so I've thrown myself completely into this Master's Program. I put my entire life on hold so that I could fully focus on the work needed for this program.
Right now, I feel overwhelmed. I finished my 90 second video a few days ago, but I have been stressing over it to the point that I am covered in hives. I actually have a prescription for the hives because I have such a bad case. All I really want is honest feedback. I don't want to know that I'm okay. Okay will not get me into UC Irvine. I want to know now if I have to change things so that I can get the highest possible final grade. I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed. And I don't know where I stand. |
Tess Giner
This is my 25th year as a public school teacher. I've taught every grade between Kindergarten and 12th grade. I hope to encourage my students to love writing and reading as much as I do. Archives
July 2019
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