NCTE 15 Snippets

Learning is a unique gift appreciated by those who recognize its value. 

While attending NCTE 15 this year the gift of learning unfolded as I listened and conversed with literary luminaries, authors, colleagues, publishers, and connected educators.

The aha moments outweighed the long travel time, overcrowded sessions, and packed exhibit hall. Meet-ups were filled with joy; photo ops were frequent and social gatherings memorable and fun-filled.

Not on one but many occasions did I find tweetable bites of knowledge tucked inside sessions, in hallway conversations, and at social gatherings. Through the theme, Responsibility, Creativity, and the Arts of Language, educators explored best practice to create authentic classrooms where students thrive, use their talents, explore learning, and become digital citizens and lifelong learners. 

From the opening addresses to the last sessions learning occurred, virtual friendships became face to face ones, colleagues connected, and moments were savored.

Snippets of Learning To Ponder:

We must also value students not only as future workers passing tests but also as complex people making personal connections, engaging ideas, making their ways through a multi-layered world that’s so imperfect and yet so ripe with potential. ~Douglas Hesse

From Diversity in Kidlit is More Thank a Trend:

• Children should not feel invisible. ~Salina Yoon
• Diversity is a powerful invitation into the center of the classroom. ~Matt de la Pena
• We are three-dimensional, multi-faceted people and need to see identity in books. 

A poem is like a literate act of discovery. ~Taylor Mali

Use images to evoke questions that kids cannot resist answering. ~Harvey Daniels

Show me your thinking in a question. ~Sara Ahmed

Curiosity leads to questions and questions lead to actions. 

I arrived home from Minneapolis inspired by the learning and ready to share takeaways with colleagues and connected educators across the globe. This is my third post on NCTE 15. You can read the first one, Celebrating Professional Growth, here and the second one, NCTE Takeaways, here.

There are still many questions on how to propel learning to the next level. Through collaborate educational chats on Twitter, such as #NYEDChat, issues will continue to be explored. Questions will lead us all to sustainable action. 

Please visit Slice of Life at Two Writing Teachers to hear how other slicers view their world this week. 

Full Moon Rising

During the Thanksgiving holiday, November's full moon struck a striking pose as it nestled in a darkened sky. Intrigued by the beauty of its glowing light, I researched its history and found that it was referred to as the mourning moon. You can read the article, Why You Should Care About Tomorrow's Full Moon, to find out why. With information from the text and the image I captured on my iPhone, I created a quick digital composition. From an old tale, wise thoughts about life evolve.

Advice from November's Mourning Moon

Speaking of the full moon, I was excited to meet the award-winning author and poet Marilyn Singer at two NCTE 15 author signings. Attending her session with a few Poetry Friday friends was a marvelous way to end the conference experience. 

Marilyn is small in stature but her voice rings loudly with the love of poetry and the game-like nature of poetry. During the sessions she shared several poems from various books; read aloud to the group and carried her theme, Game of Poems, from her award ceremony to her session where she shared several

poems from her various books; read aloud to the group; had others in the audience read the best picks of the various books she showcased. I especially enjoyed hearing about her book, A Full Moon Is Rising, that is filled with poems about the full moon in various lands around the globe.  

While my poetry about the full moon is a little echo in a big sky, Marilyn's poems on the same subject are a big ripple in the world of children's poetry. There are many reasons why Marilyn was honored and applauded at the conference last weekend. Her love of research, the craft of writing, and the art of the read-aloud were exemplified during her NCTE 15 session. No wonder that she was announced as the winner of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award. I cannot wait for my copies of Marilyn's books to arrive at my house. In the meantime, we can search through Marilyn' website here.

Now please turn your attention to Poetry Friday hosted by Carol at Carol's Corner. 

NCTE 15 Takeaways

It's dusk on the country highway heading north to central New York. I watch the sky turn from a lighter shade of grey to a darker one as nature shuts her eyes to the world. The road is lit only by headlights. In these long stretches of road, I recall the darkness of the night sky over Chicago when returning home from NCTE 15 on Sunday. It was a different darkness, a sky lit by rows of lights that reflected onto a glistening snowy landscape, a new wonder of late autumn's passing days that I never experienced before Thanksgiving. 

Reorienting myself after the hustle and bustle of NCTE 15 has been a slow process. Conference energy is no longer felt as my family makes our way to my hometown. I am trying to readjust to the real world of life as I know it but exhaustion from traveling is setting in. Nonetheless there is so much to be said about the learning gathered from the conference. 

Falling into Learning

Igniting wonder in learners was a focal point for my NCTE 15 team who spoke passionately about fueling the fires of creativity and independence. You can access my first post with a photo of my team here. 

Throughout the conference I captured tweetable nuggets of wisdom:

From the opening day:

• Song and poetry are like sister arts. ~Taylor Mali
• Celebrate the arts of language: the ability to read, write, and think critically is important.
• Get caught trying. ~Chelsea Clinton
• Failure is a badge of courage. ~Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Throughout the conference:

• If children need to grow, to stretch, to dream, to laugh, to cry, to find a friend, to vanquish a foe, they should read. AND When we want our kids to become readers, we have to do something really, really important. We have to let them read. ~Kylene Beers
• Part of writing is breaking the rules and finding your voice. ~Kate DiCamillo

At the Heinemann breakfast:

• Lucy Calkins posed a question for all of us to ponder: How can we use the written word to lift the level of reading? Then, followed with we need to lead children to literate lives.
• Essence of writing workshop is "Watch me. Let's try. Off you go". ~Maggie B. Roberts

From the Wonderopolis breakfast:

• Wondering builds a habit of mind. Students need to become participatory citizens of the world. AND Nonfiction is about wonder. It has been transformed through wondering. ~Georgia Heard
• Teachers need to be concierges of wonder for kids (Paul W. Hankins) and the connectors (Kristen Ziemke).
• We need to teach children to be uncommonly courageous. ~Paul W. Hankins

A statement that sums up the essence of why we continue to learn:

• Recognize the power of literacy and reading to transform students' lives. ~Dick Robinson, Scholastic's CEO

Although the trip to NCTE 15 was a long one with many delays on the return, I walked away with inspired to continue to transform education. Learning alongside literary luminaries, colleagues, and others made the trip a worthwhile endeavor. 

This post is dedicated to all the eduheroes of NCTE 15 and to be included in the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life. 

Celebrating Professional Growth

Here I am, back into the folds of daily living after an inspiring weekend of learning at the NCTE 15 Conference in Minneapolis. The excitement that I felt before the trip is still fresh in my mind, despite the drain of traveling eleven hours from the midwest to the Long Island shore. As I start my day, I turn my attention to #CelebrateMonday as a perfect venue to share a snippet of my NCTE celebrations.

Being at a national convention is like turning on a switch. My learning space gets immediately illuminated. Sparks flow. Fast-paced movements from academic sessions to hallway conversations round off the feeling of being continually energized. PLNs grow exponentially as friendships are made with each new encounter. 

Aha moments happen throughout the day but even with all of the excitement, brief moments of quiet are needed to replenish energy. Short respites restore balance and allow the pace to continue. Conference life is a surreal, out-of-the ordinary experience that I value as my time for professional growth. 

Looking through my notebook entries, photos, and tweets from NCTE 15 makes me feel grateful for the learning. I celebrate the opportunity to experience new thoughts, chat with colleagues, authors, vendors, and literary luminaries, and bring home new books for my collection. 

I dedicate this celebration of learning to:

• Ruth Ayres' blogging community at Celebrate This Week. (By the way, I met Ruth for the first time this weekend at NCTE 15.) 

• My NCTE Roundtable team who worked diligently these past few weeks preparing for our presentation, Igniting Wonder in Students and Teachers: Fueling the Fires of Creativity and Independence. 

• All educators who seek to be lifelong learners.  

Off to NCTE 15

Anticipation is mounting. It has been one year since I drove with my family to NCTE 14 in Washington, D.C. The autumn winds have died down and Indian Summer-like days have settled once again on Long Island. But wait! The weatherman is predicting 30 degree temperatures in Minneapolis during NCTE 15 signaling a packing nightmare for me. Because I am not a great traveler who packs lightly, I must rethink the organizational plan for my suitcase. Out of my comfort zone issue #1 is coming up. 

Eeks! Calm down. What to do?

Reflect

I remember the good times of meet-ups, learning, laughter, aha moments, and fun at NCTE 14 to calm my nerves. 

Create

The creative process often helps me when I feel overwhelmed. Creating a video with iMovie while Willie Nelson is singing On the Road Again is my go to release for stress this afternoon. I open iMovie and of all things, I totally forget how to create a trailer. 

Okay, remember. I did watch an Apple tech creating one with a group of 3rd graders. It looked so easy. 

Clearly this was another out of my comfort zone moment for me. 

Pause. Take a breath. Move forward.

I pause to remember my words, "Educators need to push past their comfort zone" as I start to design the video. 

Ready, set, release.

The video flies into the public arena and pops up on You Tube. 

Celebrate!  

I did it. I captured NCTE 2014 in a 2 minute short film that honors some literary luminaries and colleagues. I also see a blooper in the movie-a statement from Aunt Ellen. 

Reflect Again.

I laugh because I do not have an Aunt Ellen. 

Ah, yes, the template had Aunt Ellen as a set piece. I guess my attempts to delete that never made it to the final cut.  This is a LOL moment for me.

A movie mogul I am not but a learner I am. I step back to think ahead so I can prepare to travel to NCTE 15 where I will present at Roundtable, E20, and learn alongside colleagues and literary luminaries. 

Indulge me as I tweet live from NCTE 15 starting on Thursday. Perhaps, you will also wish me well as I plan how to pack like a pro and travel fearlessly alone to Minnesota.

NCTE 15 here I come! 

Please visit Slice of Life at Two Writing Teachers. While moderating NYEDChat last night I mentioned that #SOL15 is one of the blogging sites that I frequent. I thank all of the educators who slice each Tuesday. Your writing from the heart pushes me to find the sweet spot in my writing life.

Creating Digitally for NCTE 15

In a world of fast-paced communication and interactions, we need to slow down and reflect upon ways to power up our classroom practices. As awakeners of learning, teachers and leaders are guides to a future ready world. Using collaborative protocols and digital tools, they engage learners in cultures where risk-taking is honored. A variety of resources are available to educators to power up classrooms but it takes time to discover which ones to use. Appropriateness and ease of use are two important considerations when choosing digital tools for passion projects or writing.

In this digital age, students are trying to find their identities, offline and online. Technology allows them to discover and explore their world. Through the use of appropriate digital tools, students notice, wonder, discover, and explore topics of interest. From choice, voice rises leading students to own their learning.

While preparing for the NCTE 15 Roundtable presentation with my team, Debbie Diller, Blanca Duarte, Paul W. Hankins, Trudy Ludwig, Holly Mueller, Margaret Simon, and Terry Thompson, I utilized a variety of digital tools to bring us together. Through digital means, we were able to collaborate with each other from our homes across the United States. 

Digital Team Tools Utilized to Prepare for NCTE 15

• Google Hangout for collaborative conversations online
• Google Docs for shared writing
• Google Slides to prepare our introductory presentation 

Am I personally ready to present at NCTE 15? Since I am not quite there yet, I will dedicate the afternoon to complete my roundtable presentation.

Digital Tools I Am Using to Create my Roundtable Presentation

• Google Slides 
• Blogger that hosts my digital global galleries of artistic expressions
• PicMonkey along with Waterlogue
• Sketchnote 

My sketchnote on writing was a labor of love that I created for a workshop last Monday. I shared it with a group of teachers and would like your feedback as to its merit in the classroom. 

The experience of designing a NCTE presentation digitally with a team from across the country was an amazing one. Without the advancement of technology, we would not have been able to collaborate online and seamlessly merge individual slides into a group presentation. We are now ready to bring different perspectives on the topic of igniting wonder in students and teachers to NCTE 15 participants. It is our hope that individually and collectively, we will fuel the fires of creativity and independence in classrooms. 

Stay tuned to next week when I be tweeting from NCTE 15 in Minneapolis. I will share the link to our presentation, Igniting Wonder in Students and Teachers: Fueling the Fires of Creativity and Independence in the Classroom. 

If you are at NCTE 15, please join our session. 

Until we meet again online, please visit Margaret Simon's DigiLit Sunday site to read other posts on digital literacy.