Traci Gardner

@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-14

November 14, 2011

Publishing Student Writing to the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch Using Smashwords and Bluefire Reader — FREE « The Cheap http://t.co/wrx9gTWw #
Melville, Irony, and Occupy Wall Street | Book Think | Big Think http://t.co/OeFCCPvK #
Write or die – High School – TimesUnion – Albany NY http://t.co/dmxTKY12 #
How Online Schools Work – http://t.co/T0r4mszS http://t.co/u6X5CiAx #
Writing lessons? Please stop – Class Struggle – The Washington Post http://t.co/VD6iynSw #
Growing up Digital: Experts say social media isn't hurting today's teens – Framingham, MA – The MetroWest Daily News http://t.co/DplZlPie #
Life begins anew for new veterans coming home – Aurora Beacon News http://t.co/vnmfC2v4 #
Diversionary Tactics, or How to Lose Your Readers – Lingua Franca – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/rVN8KehG #
Reader's Almanac: Nathaniel Philbrick asks “Why Read Moby-Dick?” and many rise to the “cunning test” http://t.co/fqnQCPVG #
Barbara Grier, Publisher of Lesbian Books (Naiad Press), Dies at 78 – NYTimes http://t.co/GaMKY8mF #
Some Lessons in Damage Control (Penn State) – NYTimes http://t.co/gFaFkJUh #
Homework and Jacuzzis as Dorms Move to McMansions in California – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/sfHkhGKp #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-13

November 13, 2011

Can 35,000 People Learn Anything from an Online Class? | MindShift http://t.co/reGVO82z #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-12

November 12, 2011

How Updike Judged (Review of Higher Gossip By John Updike) – NYTimes: http://t.co/jje2dSPA #
Hemingway at Sea: Arthur Phillips on New Books About Ernest Hemingway – NYTimes: http://t.co/s2b9BkIj #
Break These Grammar Rules! | Family Goes Strong http://t.co/QZi3EdBs #
Muphry's Law of Grammar Irony | Work Goes Strong http://t.co/mGiqXb1H #
Online Education: My Teacher Is an App – http://t.co/T0r4mszS http://t.co/XL1MtRDX #
Remembrance Day reminds us why poetry matters — Telegraph Blogs http://t.co/3QsjOS8b #
Essay on what an English professor learned teaching soldiers | Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/8mUN8tuV #
Dear student, It’s time you learn to read – more than 140 characters. | Get Schooled http://t.co/6Rw37GhI #
5 catchiest (and most annoying) reform phrases – The Answer Sheet – The Washington Post http://t.co/nG1HPa3j #
Share Books & eBooks with Our Troops – GalleyCat http://t.co/NvELXtcB #
RSA Animate – The Divided Brain – YouTube http://t.co/dovmqQhw /via @profhacker #
inVideos: Cartoonist Keith Knight Talks Comics and Animal Farm — inReads http://t.co/2XhjqLjy #
The Kids are All Right: Understanding Student Veterans – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/rd9njXhz #
My Censorship Problem with NCTE | http://t.co/5FVEyXtS http://t.co/cq8E5LYQ #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-11

November 11, 2011

Electric Literature: 'Your Fate Hurtles Down at You' – Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg – Video – The Atlantic http://t.co/pYDsizuZ #
Beyond the Book Report: Ways to Respond to Literature Using New York Times Models – NYTimes http://t.co/9xqjDDMk #
I Will Never Be a Ranter – Lingua Franca – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/UwwHcSSu #
The College Textbook Shakedown (infographic) http://t.co/CKlwMCRd #
Lost Among Words: Constructive Criticism — inReads http://t.co/5eLH2DK9 #
The Shadowy (Work) Side of Academia – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/O183inyg #
The Heart of Innovation: John Cleese on Creativity http://t.co/wvHIcGC9 #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-10

November 10, 2011

Teachers Paid Much Less Than Their Peers | Debate Club | US News Opinion http://t.co/pZCI14GS #
Are Copy Editors Bullies? – Lingua Franca – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/LZc630O5 #
Why I Write: To Spark Creativity, Not Kill It – National Writing Project http://t.co/PuBEdXC2 #
Ballad to Billboard: An Audio-Visual Tribute to “Mack the Knife” | viz. http://t.co/QlvtyhYp #
Should Teachers and Students be Facebook Friends? http://t.co/Smmlf3ow #
5×15, London Salon, Offers Lectures Short and Sweet – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/k7lMXA02 #
Flash better not be dead (or a whole lot of educational content just became toast) | ZDNet http://t.co/ZpkSRyvL #
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: List: Seven Bar Jokes Involving Grammar and Punctuation. http://t.co/nSKOcoTB #
Teenagers Tell Researchers It's a Cruel, Cruel Online World – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/K3yo9Oky #
Of Fart Machines, Tootsie Roll Pops, and Meeting with Students | GradHacker http://t.co/ukPeIwOG #
Quality of plagiarism improves with age | Nought 101 http://t.co/pTN4Ec9e #
Accidental plagiarism: It has a long prominent history | The Hook – Charlottesville's weekly newspaper, news magazine http://t.co/JfYjkkva #
Online-Course Enrollments Grow, but at a Slower Pace. Is a Plateau Approaching? – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/FqswsJGQ #
Steve Jobs' Plans to Disrupt the Textbook Industry. How Disruptive Were They? | Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/5IBc5iTe #
Survey shows that as online enrollments have boomed, doubts about online quality persist | Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/lZTiHx7S #
First Lady Backs Liberal Arts | Inside Higher Ed http://t.co/h4p9t37T #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-09

November 9, 2011

F.C.C. and Cable Companies Push to Close Digital Divide – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/JZUjG8f7 #
NCTE Secondary Section: Follow Hashtags to Learn http://t.co/tZ4F9lLe #
Facebook facts revealed – http://t.co/CdKbwMpf http://t.co/e6TsCRwH #
Yeah. 'Right.' – Lingua Franca – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/yTYK2T4g #
Using Twitter in Classrooms and for Professional Development – National Writing Project http://t.co/cQvhiTMA #
On the importance of preservation http://t.co/7Y74KCmC #
Little, Brown Pulls Novel, Citing Plagiarism – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/G4Dw10nv #
Bullet-Stopping Books: Can Literature Literally Save Your Life? – Video – The Atlantic http://t.co/yi92uUgM #
When professors plagiarize — – Macleans OnCampus http://t.co/Axr2ohcG #
Conjunction-itis : CJR http://t.co/aAWMkZwq #
What the Kindle Owners’ Loaning Library Means for Students | HackCollege http://t.co/dWgL9bci #
Tech Tip: Need to Know for Kindle Lending — inReads http://t.co/XaFvb8gd #
Surviving a Long Power Outage During the Semester – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/5C1VIFYh #
The Halloween Snowstorm: an Avalanche of Apostrophes – Lingua Franca – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/rc0UgzNG #

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@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-08

November 8, 2011

Comments Are Censored on Southern Illinois U. Facebook Page – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/UIWkVS22 #
Your Classroom Is Not an Airplane! (a metaphor for how electronic technology can help students & teachers) | Edutopia http://t.co/YJ1zlRGr #
Northern Virginia Writing Tutors Lead the Way: The 2011 High School Writing Tutor Conference – YouTube http://t.co/GTadYhCc #
40 Years Celebrating Email http://t.co/QRRgWj6P #
How to Load Up Your Ereader with Ebooks For Free http://t.co/GXLL6HuX #
Plagiarism Differences in High School and College Students | MindShift http://t.co/SWCDgUL9 #
Accessibility in a Digital Age 1.5 – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/aC9uQ9wl #
Flash Mob of Student Writers on National Writing Day – National Writing Project http://t.co/iBNPpvkm #
infoGraphics: What People Are Saying about Your Book and What They Mean — inReads http://t.co/yM1pIjvo #
Text Your Classes Easily with Remind101 – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/rM27EzEW #
Deeper Learning Blog Carnival: Six Questions for Better Professional Development | Edutopia http://t.co/EgsdohXC #
inTouch: Saying So Long to Short Books — inReads http://t.co/Kv3T8s3e #
inAuthors: Eric Olsen Riffs on Not Writing in Restaurants — inReads http://t.co/ARZbdGMk #
Scrivener (finally available for Windows!) – ProfHacker – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/ZHMcIz7T #
Scrivener for Windows finally here! Award Winning Mac Content Creation Software Launched for Windows http://t.co/fWAd7spG Hooray! #
Tool Roundup: Mind Mapping Software | GradHacker http://t.co/NtqCuOnt #

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How do you define “teacher quality”?

November 7, 2011

Today I’ve read two articles that make me curious about the way “teacher quality” is being defined and measured these days.

First, I read a New York Times article about a school in Tennessee where the principal is so busy with paperwork and unnecessary observations that he’s lost touch with many of the things happening in the school. The title of the article neatly summarizes their feeling for the way that Race to the Top has led to a redefinition of “teacher quality” at their school: In Tennessee, Following the Rules for Evaluations Off a Cliff.

Then, I read Six Questions for Better Professional Development on the Edutopia Deeper Learning Blog Carnival, and wondered about how different the assumptions about “teacher quality” were compared to those in the Times article. The author talks about quality teaching (and professional development) as collaborative, organic, and reflective. It involves “cultivating a healthy professional community,” and that school in Tennessee seems to be on a track where they are able to do anything BUT support professional growth and “teacher quality.”

Maybe it can be partially attributed to the language that’s used, but the Edutopia blog seems to posit “teacher quality” as something that you nurture and encourage while the the Times article seems to describe a scenario where “teacher quality” is something you have to badger people into developing or revealing.

I understand the desire and need for ways to measure “teacher quality.” I’m just not sure of the right way to go about it. How do you think “teacher quality” should be defined? I’d love to hear some real teachers talking about the issue.

Cross-posted as a Discussion Question in the Verizon Thinkfinity 101 Community on the Thinkfinity Community site.

Filed under ReadWriteThink Tagged with assessment, evaluation, professional development

@newsfromtengrrl for 2011-11-07

November 7, 2011

Martin Scorsese’s Magical ‘Hugo’ – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/v7GUQegj #
What Message R U Sending? | http://t.co/jd2U4LO4 | http://t.co/aDo5bKfg #
Book Review: The Shakespeare Thefts – http://t.co/T0r4mszS http://t.co/ItGBcGXX #
Widespread Sexual Harassment in Grades 7 to 12 Found in Study – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/XofTuTVI #
Tennessee’s Rules on Teacher Evaluations Bring Frustration – http://t.co/Xvcmte90 http://t.co/TPN9XAd1 #
The Breakroom: the role of silence in a writing center – YouTube http://t.co/2xKSOEw2 #
6 FREE Writing and Publishing Guides! « The Cheap http://t.co/GF9EtPdL #
Escalation in Digital Sleuthing Raises Quandary in Classrooms – The Chronicle of Higher Education http://t.co/Q8jnniTx #

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Bits Week in Review for November 6

November 6, 2011

Here’s the round-up of posts from last week on teaching composition and rhetoric from Bedford Bits, on teaching English language arts at the secondary level in High School Bits, and on teaching literature and creative writing from Bedford Lit Bits. I hope you find something you can use in the classroom or your research!

Susan Naomi Bernstein (Bits) describes “The Day She Learned to Occupy Revision,” and what it means for teaching writing.
Crystal Farrell (HS Bits) addresses the single biggest obstacle to student achievement in her series on Increasing Student Motivation.
Traci Gardner (Bits) shares a revision activity to help students Find the Best Features of a Text.
Doug Downs (Bits) asks, “Which is better: teaching about bibliographic citation styles or teaching the styles themselves?” in Transferable Knowledge About Citation.
Joanne Diaz (Lit Bits) talks about teaching literature with archival texts in Riding the Metro Haiku.
In his Behind the Textbook series, Barclay Barrios (Bits) discusses The Challenge of Early Semester Testing.
Jack Solomon (Bits) examines the widespread cultural tendency to engage in evasive and euphemistic language in Pre-Owned or Preposterous?
Does your workshop give a class reading? Michael Kardos (Lit Bits) asks about Professionalization and the Workshop.
Andrea Lunsford (Bits) thinks about the coming changes for the composition classroom and wonders, “What Does ‘Academic Writing’ Mean Today?”
Holly Pappas (Bits) talks about teaching the research process in “Why Settle for Google?”

A Few Extra Links

Head on over to Andrea Lunsford’s new Facebook fan page and “Like” it!
Bedford/St. Martin’s bloggers Nedra Reynolds, Tim Hetland, Holly Pappas, Nancy Sommers, and Traci Gardner in @ProfHacker Teaching Carnival for November.
Nominate your school for the Diana Hacker TYCA Outstanding Program Awards. Deadline: November 10.
Nominate a colleague for the Nell Ann Pickett Service Award. Deadline: November 15.
Mark your calendar for the Tour of TYCA, a taste of each TYCA regional. Online launch: November 25.
Check out Writer’s Help, a complete online reference that makes it easy for students to find answers to their questions about writing, and Like Writer’s Help at http://www.facebook.com/Writers.Help.