March 2014
Hello, friends, When I last wrote to you, it was June 2013. Many changes have taken place with WinkWorld and my webpages since then. I now have new web support friends, and the entire html 15-year history of WinkWorld and my professional/personal sharing on joanwink.com has all been rolled into a blog. I hope that this process has been seamless for you; my tech learning curve has been steep.
So, What Is New?
WinkWorld will continue, much like before, only it will be smaller. My goal: Small but mighty. To sign up for WinkWorld: http://www.joanwink.com/winkworld-sign-up/ All previous newsletters can be found at http://www.joanwink.com/winkworld-archive/ Comments are welcome at news@joanwink.com In addition, I will be posting even shorter tidbits on my new blog, at joanwink.com, which also will be linked to Facebook, Twitter, and Google +
Looking Back
WinkWorld, June 2013, http://www.joanwink.com/winkworld-newsletter/ Some of you may remember that we talked a lot about SOLE (Self-Organizing Learning Environments), an idea espoused by Sugata Mitra. When he speaks, he is talking about providing computers to children who have none. It also seems to be that SOLE can be found in libraries, book clubs, classrooms, or wherever people gather face to face or on the Internet together. http://www.joanwink.com/winkworld-archive/winkworld-june-2013/#8 Previously, I used to share books I am reading (Free Voluntary Reading [FVR] and Books for Teachers). Now, that repeated feature will move to my blog and will not appear on WinkWorld. Social Media I am fairly active on Facebook, and I’m always planning to be more active on Twitter and Google +. I am a LinkedIn dropout. Facebook: Joan Wink Twitter: joan@joanwink.com Google +: winkjoan@gmail.com
So, What Have I Been Doing Since We Last Visited?
I continue teaching part time at Black Hills State University in the English as a New Language (ENL) program. I absolutely love working with the local teachers, and if/when that ends, I’ll stop. I do not see that happening very soon. A Vision of Vygotsky We (Le Putney and I) continue selling the eBook, and I’m happy to report that you can now also buy a soft-bound copy. To purchase, click here: http://www.joanwink.com/store/vision-of-vygotsky/vision-of-vygotsky-order/ Le and I are hard at work on the second edition of this text.
Critical Pedagogy: Notes from the Real World
Sales continue via Pearson, Amazon, and/or multiple other outlets online. Teaching Passionately: What’s Love Got To Do With It? Sales continue via Amazon and/or multiple other used books outlets online. Sonia Nieto’s New Book and My Review of that Book Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Practices in U.S. Classrooms. Sonia Nieto, Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2013, 200 pages, $22.00 (paperback), ISBN-10: 0325027153, ISBN-13: 978-0325027159.
My Review of Sonia’s Book was Recently Published by National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME).
Joy is here, indeed: A Review of Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Practices in U.S. Classrooms, Multicultural Perspectives, 16:1, 50-52, a publication from Routledge. The first 50 people to this website can access the article free of charge. After that, there will be a charge by Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2013.872927
Notes from the Real World Our life on the ranch was tipped upside-down by the October 4-5, 2013, blizzard. We, like all of our neighbors, are still in recovery.Our kids and grandkids continue to thrive. One highlight of our year was when Wyatt (almost 18) received his black belt in karate.
Dean continues his work as Speaker Pro-Tem of the South Dakota House of Representatives.
The Really Big NewsThis is when I get to learn to how to spell septuagenarian. It’s easy to remember my birthday, as it is the first day of spring, and it is also Big Bird’s birthday. I always kind of liked my own birthdays, but since 2006, when I was diagnosed on my 62nd birthday with breast cancer, I absolutely love my birthdays. On that awful day 8 years ago, I never ever thought I’d get to live this long. Because I have a Ph.D. in the Obvious, I can promise you that being 70 is way better than being dead.
