links for 2007-08-06
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Sharing the art work of children from around the world. The common theme of the work is Hearts.
I just read a very unexpected blog post in my reader. One of those, that make you pause and wonder how someone else, that you don’t really know, might have the similar thoughts…
I was surprised when I found a post that connected me on a personal level to Miguel from Around the Corner Blog, which I read regularly due to professional interest. He writes about his feeling of having left his native Panama to come to live in the United States and that home is now
where his heart is…with my family, the quixotic (Walter Mitty analogy wouldn’t be far off here, either) struggle at work, in the streets and highways where I still get lost. Would I give it up to go back? Maybe, if I had the courage. Karyn’s post reminds me that “home,” especially when it is a memory, is always near…and that I can visit home anytime I want.
He quotes from another blog post from Karyn an expat form South Africa living in England who in turn quotes from Ron Lubensky (Canadian living in Australia). (Updated: Thank you Karyn for pointing it out)
“How long are you here for?”
“Forever”
“How often do you go home?”
“Every day”
Karyn also quotes an Afrikaan’s expression:
“ek sit in my eie agterplaas en verlang huis toe” – I sit in my own back garden and miss home. I need to remember that being at home is no guarantee of feeling at home.
All the above quotes caught my attention.
I am in a situation where I was born in Germany, lived there until I was 14 years old and then moved to Argentina for “only” six years. Those seemed to be my most formative years, since Argentina is where I call “home” in my heart. I have been living in the USA for almost twenty years now (!!!) and still don’t feel “home”. I go and visit Germany and feel like a complete stranger in the country, where I hold citizenship, speak the language without an accent, and feel oddly familiar in places without knowing what will come around the next corner. It almost seems like a dream to be in places that you “know”, but are still completely lost without being able to find your way around. Only when I return to Argentina, I feel it when I say ” I am going home”…
When you take things such as native language fluency, citizenship, memories that tie you to one place, a mortgage, your work, your family and friends into consideration, the questions arises:
Can you feel home without belonging and belonging without being home?
I had a powerful experience this summer at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. There is a Garden of Exile, that not only is beautiful, but also conveys the feeling that many exiles feel. In my Travel blog I posted the following that day. Walking in the garden of exile, one could feel a certain wave of nausea and even dizziness while trying to navigate through the labyrinth of columns, where you did not know what you were going to find around the next corner.
In the garden of Exile:
where 49 tilted columns are standing on a sloping plot of ground. They are filled with earth and with Russian oliver trees whose branches form a canopy of leaves in summer. The exile meant rescue and safety, but the escape from Germany and the arrival in a foreign country caused disorientation. The refugees often had difficulty gaining foothold in their new home.
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I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …
(3 Comments)
The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …
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I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …
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I am slowly coming down from an incredible high this past week. I was part of a team (Andrea Hernandez, Jon Mitzmacher and myself), that envisioned, organized and ran an education LEARNING conference. This was a first for me, since I have only been a participant an/or a presenter at such …
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If you are interested in following the blogs of the International Action Research teams on “Quality Writing through Blogging”, take a look at the following trailer and visit the classroom and student blogs to see for yourself the progress they are making, draw your own conclusions about blogging with students. …
(2 Comments)
Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective was …
(5 Comments)
Here are the participating classrooms with links to student blogs.
International School of Prague (3rd Grade)- Team Czech Republic
International School of Zug and Luzern- Team Switzerland ( 4th Grade)
Martin J. Gottlieb Day School- Team USA (4th Grade)
International School of Bangkok- Team Thailand (5th Grade)
Thank you to Andrea Hernandez for the image of the classroom schedule that inspired me to put the following visual of the Evolution of the Classroom Schedule together. No Pencil Class> Computer Class> 21st Century Learning > Learning It will take classroom teachers, who understand that “21st Century Learning” cannot …
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The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …
(No Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
Teaching ourselves, our students and other educators how to use screenshooting (images) and screencasting (video) tools is a relevant skill to have that integrates in so many areas. Think Tutorial Designers (A role from the Digital Learning Farm) or the Flipped Classroom model. Being able to create, share and take …
(7 Comments)
Should Teachers Be More Like Conductors? This bog post from 2009 took me to the following TED talk by Itay Talgam. Although I am not a musician, nor listen to much classical music, I was mesmerized. This TED talk was geared towards organization leaders, but I so agree with Tania …
(4 Comments)
Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective was …
(5 Comments)
I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …
(4 Comments)
I had the opportunity to speak to Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. Two educators who are making a difference in their students’ lives as well as thousands of other students and teachers from around the world. Vicki is a teacher from Camila Georgia. She blogs on the Coolcatteacher blog and …
(1 Comment)
This is the follow up post to the theoretical Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing. The post ended with Now…on from the wondering, theory and resources…to the practice in the classroom. I am ready to bring hyperlinked writing (and reading) as an important genre into the classroom! Can one just start “throwing” …
(6 Comments)
Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a post on Langwitches titled Teaching Hyperlinked Writing and Reading. 4 years later, many (most?) teachers have not heard, let alone are teaching and coaching their students in the use of hyperlinked writing. The word “hyperlinked” is still being underlined in red as I …
(6 Comments)
I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …
(3 Comments)
I felt it was worthwhile to update the Top Post (over 25,000 views) on Langwitches: Bloom’s Taxonomy for iPads I have added links to each app represented on the visual. Remember: Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers. describe name find name list …
(6 Comments)
It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being …
(4 Comments)
I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …
(23 Comments)
Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means …
(11 Comments)
I posted a few weeks ago about the ongoing Teddy Bears Around the World (now in its fourth year) project. The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/ I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make …
(3 Comments)
I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …
(No Comments)
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