Blogging Lets Me Self-Reflect

(Img credit: http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/2014/12/19/chicken-parm-you-taste-so-good/)

It's connected educator month - a time for educators on Twitter to tell other educators on Twitter how important it is to be an educator on Twitter. Well that is generally what it devolves into, but I want to do something a little different at #totallyrossome - I know, shocking - to mark the occasion. As we've done in the past, I'd like you to invite as many non-chatters as possible. If you can get people who are new to the Twitters this month to come, extra points for you.

So you may or may not have seen these Nationwide commercials. They play up the jingle which claims "Nationwide is on your side" in a very sing-songy way. Then they take regular folk saying regular things in the sing-songy way as a parallel to the Nationwide jingle. Now that's 3 Nationwides in the same paragraph, I think I've fulfilled my obligation for schilling for them. (4) Take a look at the newest ad below to get a sense of the jingle, and its many uses.

In education we find ways to reach students that may not be in the how-to manual. For instance, no one ever taught me in teacher preparation courses that a drum-line could be a way to demonstrate understanding of Lord of the Flies story progression, but it sure helped me get those 5 students to read it and fight to make me see how their self-written piece showed that progression. We try things that engage real students who sit in our classrooms. The alphabet is sung to a popular lullaby tune. There's at least one "clean up" song that encourages students to "do their share". I remember being a young man and learning the counties of Vermont in a song sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle. There are any number of mnemonics that can be employed to help students engage and retain information.

The other night at dinner when my 6-year-old sang, "Tomorrow is pinata day," I realized just how effective a tool jingles can be for helping young people access and retain information. (I don't have any idea why it was pinata day, but I know he was ready.) We do all sorts of things for our students to engage them. We should be willing to do the same for ourselves.

So it brings me to the assignment. Tonight at #totallyrossome, we're going to talk about being connected educators with a twist. All questions and answers will be "in the form of TV ads." (Hum the quoted words to yourself. It works. And while you're at it "see the title at the top". (I did it again.))

Remember - invite someone new. Have fun reflecting on your own connectivity. If we're not doing these things, Connected Educator Month becomes just another opportunity to pat ourselves on the back for stuff we're already doing, and that doesn't help anyone.

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#totallyrossome meets Tuesday nights at 9 PM EDT.