Digital Tools to Power Up Instruction

As I prepared for the #NYEDChat conversation tonight on "Digital Tools to Power Up Instruction," I happened to find the perfect start-up conversation to let my creative juices flow. #BFC530 this morning opened my day with this question: "Authentic #art integration is important. How do you melt the arts into your content area?" What followed was an exciting multi-level conversation that began at 5:30 am ET. That's right! Educators around the country were having an engaging conversation before their educational day started. 

At the onset of the conversation we discussed "the journey." My response to that was "Passion inspires the journey. There is a quest for knowledge, curiosity to explore and discover, and relationships to develop along the way (of course, this was shortened to 140 characters). Throughout the conversation there were inspiring thoughts and leads to digital tools to bring art to life. One tool that I never explored was Piktochart. Paper was also mentioned. Being inspired to create, I chose Piktochart as my one area to explore this morning before #NYEDChat. This digital platform served several purposes for me, beside being the medium to let my inner voice flow. Since I am preparing for the opening of the Finding Fall Gallery, I wanted to create an advertisement to send out via social media sites that would create interest and inspire others to submit a late autumn offering. I also wanted a new go to site to mention during the #NYEDChat conversation tonight at 8:30 pm EST.

Join Margaret Simon,
the host of DigiLit Sunday

Lastly, I wanted to have a different approach for DigiLit Sunday's blogging site (even though this is a day late in coming). Conversations always spark my thoughts and today's #BFC530 did just that. 

Connecting a digital tool with an image from a fall walk in the trails in my neighborhood, allowed me to create a haiku for my advertisement. I hope you find my first attempt at Piktochart engaging. 

If I was to introduce this poster to a class of young writers, I would like to introduce music to allow for another medium to engage my learners. The song, Some Call it Autumn, Signs of Fall for Children, is a delightful song to inspire observation. 

 

I will leave you with two final thoughts this morning: 

Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

William Cullen Bryant

Be observant,

savor the moments of this season, 

let your voice fly to inspire others. 

cvarsalona 2014

Notice, Reflect, Write: Celebrate Life this Week

Today is a day to celebrate life by noticing, reflecting, and writing.

Each Saturday, Ruth Ayres asks us to CELEBRATE This Week. 

This week, Ruth Ayres is celebrating purpose. Please go here to read her thoughts. Then check out the offerings from the Celebrate this week writers. Each writer looks at life in a different way making the reading of their pieces an enjoyable weekend experience. 

I engaged in several writing experiences this week that I would like to celebrate. They were:

• Twitter chats, such as #BFC530, #ChristianEducators, #satchat, #whatisschool
• Co-moderating #NYEDChat on National Day on Writing 
• Blog posts for Spiritual Journey Thursday and Poetry Friday 

Besides those meaningful happenings, I traveled to New York City for an annual visit to my oncologist. This visit was the start of my week of celebration because I have now completed eleven years of being in remission from lymphoma. The power of faith, medicine, and the support of family and friends have allowed me to rejoice in life and its experiences so that I can fully share my joy. 

Because of all of these face-to-face and virtual events, conversations have flowed seamlessly and positively affected my daily life. I captured the essence of all those events in the following poem:

Reaping a Harvest of Connective, Collective Talk

May all of my connected colleagues, whether it be from face-to-face or virtual encounters, celebrate life and learning this week.