HUGE URL, but worth it - promise! 
 
Olympics Video 

Posted by: Dan Cherry

These are my favorite links - professional, reflective, resources, and more. 
 
Please feel free to link to my network. If you are new to delicious, you have to try it out. Great tool! 
 
http://del.icio.us/dcherrynh 
 
Dan 

Posted by: Dan Cherry

Thinking....a ton of thinking.... Here is what my thinking is today and I will try to answer some of the questions that people are posting.  
 
One of the things that I will do early on as an assignment is have my children memorize and UNDERSTAND the preamble to the United States Constitution. I just feel that there is so much deterioration going on in our country today, that students must begin to know why it is so important to live in a free country.  
 
Another task that I will be promoting in the first week of school is understanding Bloom's Taxonomy. I want my students to learn that Bloom's is the tool that measures how hard we are making our brain work. I will have a big chart paper up of the taxonomy, and we will use sticky dots to chart the types of questions I am asking and the types of questions they are asking in class.  
 
I fear that the curriculum documents in our district are minimal. I guess this is a blessing and a curse. I do not want to go out on my own and be a renegade, but I also don't like being boxed in too much either. I have downloaded all of the Grade Level Expectations from the State and I will use that as my guide.  
 
It has been strongly recommended that I participate in a four day Professional Development workshop based on the Mosaic of Thought. I am interested - but I get an odd feeling when one of the goals is to tell me exactly what I should be doing the first 20 days of school! (Hmmmmmm)  
 
On the technology front:  
I will have about 5 laptops and two desktop computers in my room. I will have 10 digital cameras, 10 flip video cameras, 5 Ipods, and each student will have a thumb drive. We plan on making extensive use of Google Apps.  
 
I know what you are thinking - thats a lot of equipment. I am part of a grant project, but the idea here is to rethink 1:1 as in laptops only. Here are some specs:  
 
Refurbished laptops with 3 year warranty $450.00 each  
Flip Video Cameras $99.00 each (Sam's Club)  
Cameras 7.0-8.0 megapix (bundles from Tiger Direct - $99.00  
Google Apps - FREE  
 
You get the idea....  
 
I will be teaching sixth grade in a rural school district with high poverty, high free/reduced lunch rate, basically no minority population, very high Special Ed population. As I get into my classroom this week, I will post some photos of the space and how I hope to use it.  
 
Peace to all of you getting ready to make a difference in the lives of our children.  
 
Dan 

Posted by: Dan Cherry

My name is Dan Cherry. Some of you may know me as a National LoTi Trainer, or as co-author of Leadership, Myth, and Metaphor: Finding Common Ground to Guide Effective School Change,or as a member of the ASCD faculty. After 13 years I have come full circle and I am heading back to the classroom. Back to the school where my teaching career began in 1985 - even to the same classroom where my career started!  
 
I am dedicating this year to making my return a 180(+) case study about technology, kids, and the whole world of education. I am using this blog space for now and once I figure out how to post videos I will probably use that format to communicate with you.  
 
Here is what I do know - I am going to need help! Lots of feedback and input, questions and comments.  
 
I will be telling you more about my planning process, what happens when theory hits practice, and the successes and defeats (or should I say lessons learned) as this adventure begins.  
 
Keep an eye on this page - use your RSS Feed to subscribe and lets get ready to see what happens.  

Posted by: Dan Cherry