Today, I decided to make my Slice of Life through a different strategy. Stacey Shubitz had sent me this gift article about journaling on the phone. I was intrigued! So intrigued, that I shared the link on today’s post, and decided to give this strategy a go.
I was going through my living room, and I just saw this again, on the mantel. It felt like the first time I was looking at it. I couldn’t remember at first who gave it to me, or when I got it. It took me a few days to remember that this framed paper cutting sat in my mother’s office, and I took it with me as a memento when we cleaned out her apartment. She had an affinity for Winnie-ther-Pooh, and so do I. I think my students would enjoy seeing this, as we’re reading Winnie the Pooh right now…
I just got this oh-so-sincere “thank you” magazine in the mail. As someone whose name is chronically misspelled, I can quickly see the irony. I could probably fill a whole post with times and places folks have gotten my name wrong. Here’s a hint: travel down to Champaign, Illinois and visit University of Illinois’s College of Education. There’s a strong chance there’s a still plaque with my name on it, spelled incorrectly. I think my gravestone might have the same fate…
Speaking of giving things a go, I recently started this strategy with my students. We’re identifying strong uses of craft, then giving it a spin to see where it leads us. With one group, I worked on word choice to create imagery. And with the next, I was looking to create a mood. It was more an experiment in sentence length, but I was pretty pleased.
I was not pleased, however, with the way I introduced the activity to my second group. Many of them, instead of giving a particular skill a try, just listed the things they wanted to try. And that, my friends, is entirely mine. Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough. Maybe I didn’t model it the way I should have. But when most kids miss the mark, it’s almost always because there’s a place my teaching fell short.
Luckily, my students are highly forgiving creatures.
Luckily, we’ll have lots of chances to do it again.
So…how did I enjoy journaling on my phone? Honestly, the jury is still out. I used the “notes” app on my phone because I didn’t want to have to download yet another app. Unfortunately, “Notes” was clunky to use. I may try to download a better app to see if it’s easier or more enjoyable to use. I’ll keep you posted!
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
Thanks for this reminder that all kinds of tools can help us write our stories! Sometimes, I go back through my Notes app and it surprises me what I’ve recorded there!
I guess the key to any kind of journaling is finding a tool you like, is easy to use, and you are comfortable using. Good luck in finding what works for you. Keep us posted.
It is hard for me to write on my phone- it becomes stilted somehow. But yours seems to flow.
I especially appreciated this- “But when most kids miss the mark, it’s almost always because there’s a place my teaching fell short.” Because I was just talking to my student teacher about this concept yesterday— and how to frame it not as blame but as responsibility and a chance do do something differently next time.
Thanks for passing on what Stacey shared with you. I’ll admit, I’m a paper and pencil journal writer and then will retype into my blog to share digitally. But I’m glad to know of free apps, a good nudge to maybe embrace when I have some time, maybe Spring Break or this summer!
Your piece is like a free flow of thoughts on a day, as might be in an online journal, photos and all. I also appreciated your sharing the article and I read it. Might try 🙂
While the idea of journaling on one’s phone is convenient it’s also a little more tedious. I wish the Sidekick phone or the phones with the slide out keyboard were still a thing. Those were much easier to text with. I tried to write using the app last March, but I quickly became annoyed with how long it took me to “write” it all.
On a separate note I love the Winnie the Pooh paper cutting.