How To's
What Do You Know?
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, February 5th, 2009
In lesson four of the course the assignments include making and using KWL charts. These charts are essentially a useful instructional technique that teachers and mentors can use to find out what kids already know about a topic (prior knowledge) and help them consider what they want to know about the topic, and finally, to record and consider what they learned.
KWL charts are visual organizers, useful for a variety of learning styles. However, there were some concerns in the course discussions this week that the assigned activity was not appropriate to certain groups and certain students. So, I had an idea, and I think that addressing this problem resulted in a solution that anyone can use to make the most of what they are learning – in this course, and in any other.
KWL YOURSELF. Take some time to review the many resources on this blog, and (if you have access) in the course Resource Listings. Chose a topic that interests you and find a resource on that subject.
Create a chart – in the first column list what you already know about this topic. Then, in the middle column, consider what you want to know, what you hope to get from reading this article or resource. After you read, list what you learned.
When you are done, identify your resource (it doesn’t have to be on this site, a book, article or talk will do just fine.) Add a link if available. Tell us: Why were you interested? Was the resource worthwhile? Share at least three things you learned.
Please post it all to this blog. And keep in mind - this is a great activity to do with older kids as well - share your experiences using this with kids as well.
Topics: How To's, RESOURCES, Things to do, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Oregon Campus Compact: Capture the Impact: Alternative Break and Service Day Photo/Video Contest!
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
I recently posted information about the upcoming Weekend of Service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. (Be the Change: Sign up to Volunteer Soon)
Now, Capture the Impact: Alternative Break and Service Day Photo/Video Contest! offers another way that teachers and mentors (anyone taking the Making Connections class) can make the most of the weekend. Oregon Campus Compact, “a statewide membership organization connecting community engaged colleges and universities with resources, convening the state for collaborative work and advocating for the civic mission of higher education,” is sponsoring a photo/video contest. The contest is a perfect opportunity to creatively answer the question: What does Community Service and Engagement look like?
By recording what they see and experience in their community, mentors and teachers can spend quality time with kids, get involved in and more familiar with their community, provide some service, encourage creative thinking, and share what they learn. What a great way to add even more to a day of service
For more information and a contest application, click here
To increase your chances of winning 
here are Ten Tips for Better Photographs (courtesy of John Waller and the Photo of the Year Contest)
1. Be in the right place at the right time. Get out there, look around, and take your camera. It’s tough to take great photographs if even one of those actions is missing.
2. Take lots of pictures. Digital photography has opened up a world of possibility to the amateur photographer because now you can instantly review your pictures. Adjust your settings, try different angles, or capture the action at different moments. The more photographs you take, the more likely you are to get a great shot. But remember what worked and what didn’t and apply this new understanding when you take the next picture.
3. Watch the sun. The best times to take pictures are usually early in the morning and early evening; the worst time is generally midday, when light it most harsh.
4. Flash away. Just because you are outdoors doesn’t mean you should put away your flash. Subjects in shadow can appear much too dark when compared to a bright sunny backdrop. When using your flash outdoors, the camera exposes the background first, and then adds in the flash to illuminate your subject.
5. Get close up. Investigate the world around you in finer detail and you will discover a wealth of photo opportunities right at your feet. Most cameras have a macro mode that make getting those close up shots of insects and flowers a snap. Or when you are shooting action, zoom in so we can see the beads of sweat on an athlete’s or worker’s forehead.
6. Anticipate what is going to happen. To take a great outdoor action shot, you need to prepare for it in advance. What might happen, what would be the best angle, and are your settings appropriate? Then when your buddy cuts a sweet turn on their skies down the mountain, or a laughing kid comes zooming by on a swing, you’ll be there to take the picture.
7. Use a tripod for low light. Those sweet sunsets, or moonrises, or starry night shots can be really sweet pictures if they are sharp and crisp. But a tripod is necessary because even the slightest shiver or tremble from a hand-held camera can cause the scene to blur.
8. The rule of thirds. This time tested rule tells us that we should not put the horizon line in the middle of the shot, but rather drop it to the bottom third or the top third depending on what meaning you want to convey. A low horizon conveys a sense of open, vast airiness, and a high horizon instills a sense that the land is the dominant force. The same is true for framing people.
9. Get a sense of perspective. Sometimes having a person in your scenic and street pictures really impresses how big those trucks or buildings, mountains, cliff, waterfall, or landscape really is.
10. Get creative. There are a lot of predictable photographs out there. The unconventional photographs really grab people’s attention.
Play around with angles and settings and HAVE FUN!
Topics: Community Service, How To's, Quality Time | No Comments »
Listen and learn from each other
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Saturday, November 29th, 2008
In the Oregonian, and on the NPR website, I discovered that “a non- profit called StoryCorps http://www.storycorps.net/ is asking Americans to record conversations with people they care about – a sibling, a grandparent, a neighbor, even a stranger.” The idea is part of NPR’s National Day of Listening celebration, to offer a “more meaningful way to kick off the holiday season.”
For those of you who have not already discovered StoryCorps: (The Conversations of a Lifetime), the website is a treasure trove of conversations about our “experiences, our history, hopes, and humanity.” Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps, and their stories can be heard regularly on the radio, and on the website.
Since the goal of StoryCorps is to “Celebrate (and share) each other’s lives,” I recommend that you give yourself the gift of stories by taking the time to listen to some of the conversations. I promise you will go back again and again to hear more.
Then, plan a StoryCorps style project with your kids. What a better way to get to know them, their ideas and dreams and background, and, also, have them get to know you better, than by planning, conducting, recording and sharing an interview.
For more information on how to conduct and record interviews, go to www.nationaldayoflistening.org and download a do-it-yourself guide
The following tips to get you started are included in the Oregonian article
- Prepare five or 10 questions. (I have edited the questions to make them more suited to a kid audience, and to open up some conversational possibilities.) “What are some the most important lessons you have learned in life? Tell me about the best day of your life. What makes you happy? Who is the most important person in your life, and why? What would you like to be when you grow up, and how will you get there?”
- Find a tape recorder, video camera or computer and practice using it. Pick a quiet interview location.
- Start by introducing yourself and your interview subject.
- Listen carefully; ask follow-up questions.
- Distribute copies of the interview to family, friends, (share), and consider uploading it at www.nationaldayoflistening.org/#share and to OUR community blog.
It will be nice to hear from you.
Topics: How To's, Quality Time | 1 Comment »
Need Help Coming Up with Ideas for Things to Do? Brainstorm
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, June 23rd, 2008
“To have a great idea, have a lot of them.”
Thomas Edison (and he should know)
Mentors are frequently looking for ideas for things to do with kids. I recently came across an article on the website Connecting Generations http://www.cgi-de.org/index.html that had a good list of ideas for things to do such as:
- start a collection together
- play a game – such as hangman, jacks, monopoly
- make a photo album
- create a collage
- learn a new craft (origami is one that can keep you busy for awhile)
- learn some words or phrases in a new language
- etc …
By why let someone else tell you how to spend your time with a mentee? Why not use your time together to do something really fun, something that will stimulate creativity, open the door to lots of conversations, break through barriers, and help you get to know the kid you work with. Why don’t you and your mentee brainstorm your own list of ideas?
And, while you are at it – have fun doing it.
TRY THIS:
Brainstorming is easy once you learn a few very simple rules. It is a great way to stretch your imagination, build confidence in your ability to generate ideas, and allow you to discover new and creative ways to look at things. It is, of course, a powerful problem solving tool.
HERE”S A PROBLEM TO SOLVE: If we could do anything in the world, IMAGINE what would we do?
List as many ideas great ideas as you can.
Consider: Where would we go? What would we do when we got there? Who would be there? What would we eat? What would we wear? What is the weather, the season, the time? Remind your mentee that We don’t have to worry about money, or time, transportation or babysitters, what to wear, or what people will think. This perfect day can be anywhere, at any time - this is your imagination, your perfect day.
The rules: There is only one - all ideas are welcome. (This means we don’t say – oh that would cost too much, or, we’d never be able to get there in time.) Keep in mind that even ideas that may not work can stimulate more ideas.
The goal: Generate as many ideas as possible. Silly ideas, funny thoughts, wild imaginings are all welcome, the more the better.
When you are done, your list may be the jumping off point that will allow you and your mentee to discover themes, interests or activities that you share, and open the door the to an entirely new brainstorm – how might we spend our time learning more about …. Jazz, hockey, France, the moon, Cajun food, computer games, … you get the idea.
Variations on this activity can include a creative story, art work to illustrate this perfect day, what else? Share your ideas here. And, please share the visions for a perfect day that are generated by this idea.
Topics: How To's, Quality Time, Resources for Mentor, Things to do | No Comments »
How I help myself get to know the students I work with better
By Lisa Pfister | Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
*Visit each of their classes weekly. (I teach vaious health a social skills lessons to students.) This helps to get to know the students invividually and how they interact with their peers. It shows you who is: absent or late frequently to school; those with attention deficits; students who are more emotional; those who are cognitive challenged; those that work well in a group versus working independently; students with trust issues; etc. The students get used to seeing your face in their classes and in the hallways, and over time learn to trust who you are, and will start filtering down to your office for issues that can’t be addressed in a classroom setting.
*After I get to know students better, I try to pair them up with things they can do at school that make them feel positive about themselves. Such as, help me with some projects I am working on like cutting out things, stapling or taping things up on walls or on to bulletin boards. Set them up to volunteer in other classes, such as with the kinders, reading to them, helping them with their work, filing things for the teachers, etc…
*I randomly invite students to come eat lunch with me in my office and play board games afterwards. This builds trust, and lets me know if the student has other needs that are going unmet. I often go outside during their recess times and walk around and just talk to various students. I bring a jumprope and encourage students to come over and play the game with me. I have even gone to a few baseball and karate tournaments of some of our students.
*When I notice students are arriving late to school, I ask them if they have had breakfast today. If they have not, I let them know that they can always come to me and I will provide them a juice box and a granola or nutri grain bar.
*I often go to the cafeteria at lunch time and sit at random tables to just talk with students. Being where the students are in their social element is where you will most often build relationships with students.
Topics: How To's, Relationship Strategy | No Comments »
Blogging Guidelines
By WaiJe Coler | Monday, January 21st, 2008
Welcome to the newly formatted blogging site!
Here you’ll find out how to:
I hope you enjoy the new format. Happy blogging!
Topics: How To's | 1 Comment »
How do I Login?
By WaiJe Coler | Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
To login to the blogging site simply go to http://makingconnections.ceed.pdx.edu/wordpress/wp-login.php:
Here you can login and register if you’re a new user.
Topics: How To's | 1 Comment »
How do I Create a Post?
By WaiJe Coler | Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
After logging in you’ll be presented with a general selection bar at the top:
Simply choose ‘Write’ and you’ll be presented with this screen:
- These are your unpublished work. Published work can be seen by the public while your ‘drafts’ contains the posts you saved but have not allowed the public to see.
- The title of your post
- This is where you create the content of your posts. The bar below ‘Visual’ and ‘Code’ contain formatting you’re allowed to do.
- If you want to upload a file including images you would do so here. It’s as simple as that. ‘Browse’ and ‘Browse All’ will show the current files/images you are allowed to send to your post. More on this in ‘How do I Add Images to My Post?’
- You may create a new category on the fly and/or select a few other categories your post may fall under.
- Although autosave does exist for this blogging software, never forget to save your work and always remember to ‘Publish’ it if you’re ready for public viewing. You may also bypass the save steps and ‘Publish’ right away which would save your work and instantly make it publicaly available.
Topics: How To's | No Comments »
How do I add Images to my Posts?
By WaiJe Coler | Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
Simply browse for an Image on the ‘Upload’ panel below the textbox on the ‘Write Post’ screen.
Then click ‘Browse’ and find the image. You’ll be presented with this screen next:
Simply click ‘Send to Editor’ once you’re ready to send the image into the textbox where you write your post’s content. You may choose to ‘Show’ the full size of the image if you want, the title only or a thumbnail image. Once the image is in the textbox editor you can always resize it however you want.
Topics: How To's | No Comments »
How do I Comment on Someone Else’s Post?
By WaiJe Coler | Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
After each post on the main blogging page there is an ability to make a comment.
Simply click there and you’ll get the comment textbox where you are allowed to respond to the post. Be aware that there is an extra security process if you are not logged in. If you are logged in you may post comments pretty much on the fly without ’security text’ which is always presented if an anonymous user chooses to comment.
Topics: How To's | 1 Comment »