Pet Peeves

We all have pet peeves. Some of us aren't as good as others at repressing "triggers" that elicit an emotional response.Here are a few of mine. Feel free to comment with your own,

1. receiving emails with no subject - Why are concise, descriptive email subject lines so crucial? I don't know about you, but an email subject header informs me of the focal point before I open the message.
2. Cross-communication: It's probably happened to you before. You place a phone call and leave a message. The recipient responds immediately, but their response is made using email. It's days before you discover the individual's reply because you didn't check your email. By then potential opportunity has expired. If a conveyance takes the form of an email, respond using email. If initiated by phone, follow up by phone unless the sender asks for a response in another fashion,
3. You call someone and leave them a voicemail.  They call back and say something like this: "I saw where you called. What was it you wanted to tell me?"  Considering the elapsed time between calls they may or may not have received your message. Some services are faster than others at sending messages to your voicemail. If sufficient time for the message to transmit has elapsed and the recipient asks what was in the voicemail, It makes me want to shout (throw your hands up and...) Just check your voicemail! Nothing is more satisfying than to leave a voicemail, only to be asked to repeat it. Like I have all the time in the world for that kind of duplicity!
4. How about the email from one who is experiencing difficulties and needs some HELP!!!? If it's that urgent and they're extremely upset because I didn't immediately reply to their message, they should try using a more suitable mode of communication, like a phone call or personal visit.
5. Multiple Phone Tag - It's played like this: You call a person from a cell phone that goes to the recipient's voicemail. They return the call to a different cellular number than you indicated. Why does this happen? Is it because they don't know how to write down a number, or is it because they'd rather use speed dial and it's linked to a different number?
6. how about folks who fail to employ any use of capitalization punctuation or other writing mechanics such as greeting body closing (New sentence follows) I've heard it said that those who write in that manner just might be highly intellectual. That may be so, but could it also be that such a person is lazy and is capitalizing on that premise of intellectualism?Learn how to write! Using email doesn't extend the privilege to abandon good writing skills. In fact, the very "faceless" nature of email should make one write more clearly; to format words (bold, italic, underline, text size, font, and color) to add substance to what the written word in all of its nakedness fails to convey.
   
7. One last gripe (although there are more) has to do with folks leaving messages on voicemails. Did you know that there exist multiple voices, each to be used according to circumstances? The same exists for the written word. The "voicemail voice" speaks at about 175 words per minute. The voicemail voice runs sentences together so rapidly that the message has to be played three or four times before one can write all of the pertinent information. The really poor voicemail mentions the contact's phone number at the outset so that by the time you've reached the end of the recording, it needs to be replayed in  order to jot down the number (A hint follows.)
8. Why not speak in a conversational tone, at a normal speed? Oh, and make the phone number be the last detail you mention.

Children (and many adults!) must be taught which mode of communication to employ in a given situation. Communications should be delivered based upon immediacy. Teach individuals the various forms of communication and response. As the song says, "Teach your children well..."

Create Your Own Online Petition

I came across a website that offers much in the way of learning about current events. It's at http://www.change.org

At this site, one can create,view, and sign current petitions that will be sent to representatives at all levels of government.

This site has a lot of potential for the instructional integration of higher-order thinking skills (interpretation, cause & effect, rationalization, and debate to name a few).

Those studying history, sociology, psychology, and politics could glean much from Change.org. We've heard occasional stories of students who've created petitions for causes about which they are passionate. This site adds leverage to those who are thinking of drafting a petition.

Who knows? Maybe the representatives will read and listen; perhaps even invite students to speak at a house meeting when legislators are in session.

What better way to seamlessly integrate collaboration, technology and writing across the curriculum; for a practical, real-world reason, using 21st Century technology?

Global Connections; Cultural Connections

Looking for a safe source to connect your classroom with others throughout the world?

Here's THE place to go to:

http://eflclassroom.ning.com/page/classroom-connecting

'Nuff said!

;-)

Homes That Promote Learning

What Kind of homes promote learning? The answers to those of us in education may be obvious, but to those who are new to parenting (or who have less than adequate parenting skills), the answers may be elusive. Check out http://tinyurl.com/d62sw8 and the other videos to learn more, or to provide parents with timely information.

---

Take Note!
In past entries, I've mentioned online resources that allow for journaling and retrieval of notes. Here's another that takes journaling to another level. It also accommodates video and movie clips. Of course it's free. Check out http://www.evernote.com Learn how to journal or send notes, photos, movie and audio clips from your cell phone, iTouch, or other mobile devices and send them to your Evernotes web account. Great for students with cell phones when on field trips or other out-of-classroom situations. The applications are endless!

Student Writing: Online, Anywhere, Anytime, Integrated

WRITEIT! LIVE, an online student writing platform, appears to offer a untold potential! Accounts start as low as $4.00 per student as of this posting. The publisher offers a myriad of educational products, but this one in particular catches my eye.

Visit the publisher's site at http://www.ftcpublishing.com or go directly to the writing site and sign up your school (up to 250 free fully functional trial accounts) at http://www.writeitlive.com.

Another site to explore is JAYCUT. This site is free, and allows you to audio, video, and photos. You can also create transitions and special effects. Great for podcasts and digital storytelling! http://www.jaycut.com.

As an aside: While performing recent installs of DIBELS software, I can say with confidence that the vast majority of computers need antivirus definitions updated. This is a very important "maintenance" procedure. If you'd like a refresher on how to perform this simple task, let me know. I'll be glad to assist you.