Live from New Orleans
So we're pretty much playing this song for the next week--It's the final countdown to our Annual Conference in New Orleans, and we're super-psyched that this year we'll be bringing you on-the-ground-coverage from blogger Dina Strasser.
Dina's the ed-blogger behind The Line, formerly a Fulbright Scholar English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea and ESL teacher now teaching 7th grade mainstream English at Roth Middle School in upstate NY (with the occasional adjunct professor gig).
Earlier this year, Dina posted a call to educators to submit their "burning questions," and she's using that feedback to guide what she blogs on in New Orleans. We hope you'll tune in next weekend for this exclusive content.
Learn more about our Conference blogger and how you can be a part of the Conference blog, after the jump.
Inservice: Why blog / write about teaching?
DS: Blogging, at its base, is a powerful multidimensional means of reflection on your practice--not just in writing, but via links, materials, pictures, music, and video. It's a digital scrapbook, holding all those teaching "bits and pieces" together into a cohesive whole--and putting them together is addictively fun.
It's also as personal or as public as you want it to be. You can keep a private blog, or you can comment on other people's teaching blogs and invite them to your own, creating a diverse and caring "personal learning network" which is so often sadly missing from our own buildings.
Inservice: Has blogging / writing changed your practice?
DS: Without a doubt. I am skeptical of misplaced technology in the classroom, and I had to be roped into blogging via what amounted to a bet with a colleague. But I haven't looked back. I get ideas, resources, feedback, support, and a subtle but significant sense of accountability, because I know what I post is going to be viewed by intelligent, querying minds. It's really invigorating. I'm planning on starting my first classroom blog with my students in a few weeks.
Inservice: What are you hoping to get out of the conference?
DS: I'm excited to serve as a representative for the educators out there seeking answers to their "burning questions," which so often are my burning questions too. Their concerns range from new teacher advice to overarching questions about school structure.
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Be a Conference Blogger
Are you heading to ASCD’s 63rd Annual Conference & Exhibit Show in New Orleans? Immortalize your Conference experience by blogging about sessions you attend! We'll be tracking Conference highlights here, but with over 500 sessions packed into three days; we need your help reporting on the rich exchanges that are the hallmarks of an ASCD conference.
So, whether it’s a snippet of a deep discussion, a priceless nugget, or just something that made you think--send us a quick e-mail at blog@ascd.org, and we’ll share your conference gem with the online ASCD community. Or, if you plan on using your personal blog to discuss Conference goings-on, send us your URL so we can link our readers to your coverage.
