C4T #3

Kelly Hines is the teacher I was assigned to this go around, and her blog is called, Keeping Kids First. Kelly is a 4th grade teacher in Washington, North Carolina. Her latest post is titled, "Read Across America Day." For those who don't know (maybe you do), each year in the U.S. we celebrate Dr. Seuss on March 2. This day dedicated to Dr. Seuss is call Read Across America Day. In Kelly's post, she explains that she thought it would be a great idea for her students to actually read across America. A few weeks before this day, she made a post to Twitter and Facebook (her PLN networks) asking if any teachers would like to have their classrooms collaborate via Skype. Kelly states that she was "overwhelmed" with the amount of responses she received. Chats were scheduled in 30 minute intervals. Kelly helped her students prepare for their conversations and invited all parents to visit the classroom on March 2 to witness the first "read in." On Read Across America Day, the students called the classrooms using Skype, then they read stories to one-another. Using Google Maps, Kelly also charted the "visits" with other classrooms so that the students could see how far they were reaching.

I thank Kelly for her post because I now have a new idea for Dr. Seuss Day! This collaboration could be used for many things, but I think it fits the title of "Read Across America" perfectly. I also think it is wonderful she is keeping her students engaged and trying new things with them. I am sure her students will never forget that experience.

Since Kelly has not made another post recently, I went back in time a bit and read her post, "The Sum of the Parts." Kelly writes about how she was disconnected from her PLN for a few weeks. She states, "The value of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." Too explain this statement a little further she says, "Have you ever noticed that you can eat way more of those mini-candy bars than you would if it were just one regular sized one? It’s the same idea." (I just love that analogy because I can totally relate!) Even though Kelly was not participating in the conversations of her PLN network, she still had a few teachers contact her personally. Although she usually engaged in conversation with these people daily, something didn't feel right when they contacted her individually. She realized, the power of the group wasn't in the individuals that made it up; it was in the collaboration that stemmed from the group interaction. 

Honestly, a puzzle is the first thing that comes to mind one reading this post. The individual parts seems "meaningless" until they are put together to form a whole. I am a little more eager to continue expanding my PLN. The more ideas, opinions, and experiences I can learn from...the better teacher I will be for my students.