Saturday, January 04, 2014

Celebrate!

Check out all the celebration posts at RuthAyresWrites.com -- thanks, Ruth!


This week, I'm celebrating all the learning that comes from even a casual, intermittent relationship with FaceBook and Twitter.

I'm celebrating Paul Hankins, who posted his illustrated note taking of TED talks. I followed Paul's link to the talk and found the free (FREE!) TED app (iTunes / Android).

Then I took my first illustrated notes as I watched/listened to Diana Nyad (one of my swimming heroines, in close second place behind Lynne Cox) tell about her history-making Cuba to Florida swim. At age 64.


It was so much fun that I made an amendment to my #nerdlution: I will watch 1 TED talk per week and take illustrated notes. I'm hoping that these notes yield up some poems in their own time, but I'm not going to make that part of the goal.

Taking these illustrated notes got me thinking (along with Steve and Julieanne and Vicki and Fran) about how we and how our students read and respond to fiction vs. nonfiction. This blending of right-brain note taking with left-brain information processing might be something that will help students move past the WOW of random facts in nonfiction to making deeper connections between ideas and texts. It occurred to me that I had stumbled into this blending by accident when I introduced the option of using a common craft video as the presentation tool for my students' upcoming persuasive essays. It will be fun to see how that turns out in the upcoming weeks.

Yes, today I celebrate the fact that I don't have to commit hours to the fire hoses of information known as FaceBook or Twitter to find ideas that will become thought-changers or game-changers.


18 comments:

  1. Oh, this is one of those posts that will change my practice! I'm going to try the illustrated note taking with a TED video. Thank you for sharing!!! I can't wait to try it! I agree...learning things via my PLN on twitter, Facebook, and blogs inspire me! :) Thanks for being my inspiration today!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have begun helping students take illustrated notes in their research, Mary Lee, but now I'm going to share about taking notes from videos too. It's been amazing to see the responses from the students. Thanks for this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing not just your thinking but your notes! Wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've got the TED video/drawing on my to do list! I love all TED talks and can't want to it. Thinking it is a great @nerdlution revision move. Thank you Mary Lee!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mary Lee,
    Ted Talks are like menus in some restaurants. There are so many good choices I don't know what to choose. I hope you'll share some of your favorites as you watch over the weeks to come.

    Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with Cathy; I get overwhelmed with Ted Talks, but I know they can be powerful. Would love to hear your favorites.
    On another note, I've been noticing Paul's illustrated thinking as well and wondering what would happen if I tried it. Thanks so much for taking the leap and sharing what happened! As always, I learn so much from you my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. ...and now I don't have to search for hours for ideas because I read and bookmarked your post, Mary Lee. Happiness!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mary Lee--I LOVE your illustrated notes and the entire celebration post. Thanks for the great reminder, that it doesn't take hours and hours of reading Facebook and Twitter to inspire us, teach us, or transform our thinking and practice. Thank you!! Happy Saturday!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love this thinking. I just got Goodnotes for our classroom ipads and am hoping it opens up some thinking about annotation in various ways to support this kind of thinking. Looking forward to hearing where your kids go with it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous12:37 PM

    The TED Talks resolution sounds like a great idea! I may do that too! I didn't realize illustrated notes was a thing. But I've definitely done that and worried I was just doodling and not really listening to people speak!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I too LOVE the potential of SO MUCH PD available at the click of the mouse! I remember the old days....workshops and books...ordered...awaited...but now I just wish it...and with a click find so much available in minutes!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love seeing what you are working on. There is something special about peeking into a notebook.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your illustrated notes are incredible. Thank you for sharing such an amazing idea. We just watched Diana Nyad's TED talk yesterday. We think it is a great talk to show kids about perseverance

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the illustrated notes. I have done this from time to time. There is so much that we can discover in this world.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mary Lee, thanks for giving us a peek at your illustrated notes. I was worried because I thought here's another strategy that will frustrate my non-artistic students (I'm one of those). However, when I looked at your notes, I saw how easy it is to add to notes with a bit of color and simple illustrations. Thanks for all the great links!

    ReplyDelete
  16. The learning that has come along through virtual world is just amazing. Sometimes it is simple steps to take, sometimes it's a shift in thinking. The best part is not doing it all alone but having people around to help with clarifying or giving examples or probing. It is great to have someone next to you, but sometimes having someone just a few keyboard clicks away may be enough. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for showing the world your processes and practices, Mary Lee. You inspire me!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Mary Ann,

    I love this! Thank you for the inspiration! I will try this in the next little bit! I also want to hear about your Common Craft videos. I have been eager to try this with my 5th graders.

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.