16 pages of composition notebook notes, 28 free books, and an insatiable thirst to get into my own classroom are just a few things I carried home with me after this year’s NCTE conference in Boston. Furthermore, I probably doubled my PLN in the whole sum of three days of convention I attended. I feel so connected! Twitter has been an amazing tool to help me get connected and to borrow ideas from others. Though skeptical at first, I fell in love with the hash-tags(?) and all the information they have lead me to discover. #Hashtags
Things I Loved about NCTE:
Boston: the city, most of the food, some of the people, the cutesy buildings
The Sessions:*
*NoRedInk- people who use red pens tend to find more errors (even when errors do not exist), also red pens are always seen as negative (even when the comments are positive)
*Impromptu Grading Discussion- what do you do when you can’t fit anymore people into a room for a session on grading? Naturally, you start your own mini-session on grading outside the room of the filled session. That’s what a few people did, so my friend Kelsey and I joined them. This was honestly one of my favorite sessions. I talked to real teachers about what they do in their own classrooms. What I enjoyed most from this session was the many different ideas and methods each teacher has used or continues to use in the classroom. I heard everything from “pity points” to portfolio classrooms to “Bloopers and Supers.”
Penny Kittle: This woman is simply amazing, in my opinion. I am glad we were able to meet her. I loved the Ignite session. I loved her session with Kelly Gallagher (he is pretty great too). I would like to run a classroom the way she does.
Improvements for the Future:
Next year, I would like to see the room planners put the bigger names and sessions into the bigger rooms. For example, Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher shouldn’t be in a one of the smallest rooms possible when they are doing a session together. However, the room planners tried very hard and did a wonderful job on the rest of the venue. Other than that, I loved the convention. I cannot wait to return to the NCTE convention soon! #NCTE
Nerd+Resolution=Nerdlution
I have been hearing much about this new craze. Here’s how it works: You come up with something that you want to accomplish. This could be anything; run everyday, find happiness everyday, read for 30 minutes everyday, or even browse the internet for pictures of cute cats for an hour everyday. Pick a resolution and stick to it for 50 days. I like this because it seems like a much more manageable time than a whole year. My Nerdlution? My goal is find my happiness every single day. #Nerdlution
rebajackson 