Good morning all,
I usually keep a low profile in the shameless self-promotion department, but, I just have to share this … an article I wrote this winter with Mary Ann Devine, a 6th grade colleague here at Northfield Community School, has been published in the February 2010 NJEA Review – and it’s the cover story!
“How to use backchanneling in your classroom” tells how Mrs. Devine’s 6th grade social studies students used TodaysMeet.com to enliven a movie discussion, in this case, a documentary about China’s Qin Dynasty. Let’s be honest, folks – movies like this are often not the most exciting learning experience for kids OR teachers – but TodaysMeet.com changes all that.
The inspiration for this project came from a blog post by Chris Webb of Minot Public Schools in Minot, North Dakota. He wrote about how his colleague, Pat Gerding, used TodaysMeet.com in his middle school social studies classroom. As soon as I read it, I knew we had to try it. When I explained the concept to Mrs. Devine, she enthusiastically agreed!
You can view the article right here (on the web) entire issue here online (it’s pretty slick – a ‘virtual PDF’ that gives you tons of viewing options) or just read our article here (4.4 mb .PDF). It’s so cool seeing our students pictures in this magazine! They’re going nuts, too! (I know, it’s not as impressive to your average middle schooler as a viral YouTube video, but we’ll take what we can get…)
I’d like to thank Chris Webb and Pat Gerding for the inspiration, Mrs. Devine for her willingness to try something new, and our administrative team including Superintendent Dr. Janice Fipp, Middle School Principal Maria Caiafa, and Supervisor of Instruction Dr. Carol Ferguson for their help making this happen!
-kj-
Kevin,
Great article! Congratulations on making the cover!
Richard
Kevin, great article. I just tried out TodaysMeet with my grade 8 kids. They loved it. AWESOME lesson ideas – Thanks. I’m going to use this for my next observation!
Kevin,
Congrats, it is so totally cool that your article topic is mentioned and illustrated on the front cover of the journal.
Keep writing your enthusiastic education related Tweets, articles and blogs. They really inspire me.
Nelly
P.S. Really enjoyed seeing and chatting with you, last weekend at #EduCon.
Congrats Kevin. Amazing…….Totally impressive…..Such enthusiasm…..Proud of You………Just,
Patty Fraser
Hi, Kevin!
Thanks for the trouble this morning and making it possible for me to read this article. I enjoyed it very much.
Backchanneling seems like a great way to keep students motivated, engaged and focused in real time on a specific task.
If I were still teaching, I’d definitely give it a try with my 1st 1nd 2nd year English students, though exceptionally they’d have to write in Portuguese to be able to comment on the spur of the moment.
I’ve been backchanneling at online conferences and presentations for quite some time and find it extremely enriching, especially when compared to f2f sessions where whispering to make a comment is considered rude. Just think of how much we miss out on!
Best wishes to you and Mary Ann,
Teresa (in the Lisbon area, Portugal)
Teresa! Happy to help! Thanks for reading from as far away as Portgual. Good luck trying to Backchannel with your students! Since you are familiar with it, you understand the power – hope the students will see it too!
Congrats on the article!
I held an online meeting for one of my math classes out of necessity due to snow day- and I got a lot more interaction from my students than I ever did from my regular class. The class wants me to do this backchanneling stuff more often!