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Thoughts on Teaching, Leadership, and Educational Technology

10 Years

1/24/2013

16 Comments

 
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mrcoley.com
Last week, I received an email from one of my website hosts reminding me that it was almost time to renew the domain name for my former classroom website (mrcoley.com). As I was going through the online checkout process, I noticed the date that I had first purchased the right to use mrcoley.com -- January 24, 2003. While I first published my classroom site back in 1999 as the culminating project for my master's degree, it didn't go by the name mrcoley.com until 2003 -- 10 years ago today.

I'll admit, I got a little emotional when I looked at that date. What began as a simple site containing only basic subject matter pages, student artwork, and an "About the Teacher" page became, over the course of the decade, so much more. It was my passion. As a youth, I wanted to be a computer programmer. In college, upon realizing I couldn't do calculus, I changed my major and studied to become a teacher. With my classroom website, I was able to combine two of my loves -- teaching and technology. I loved working on my website. People would often ask me, "Doesn't that take you a ton of time? Isn't it a lot of work?" The answer was yes. I did invest a lot of time and energy in my website. But to me it wasn't work. It was fun. In their free time, some people knit. Some garden. Some watch TV. I built my website. And I loved it.

If you are one who visited my website over the past 10 years, this post is my way of saying "Thank You." Thank you for taking the time to view the things my students and I were learning and wanted to share with the world. You don't know how much it meant to my students to know that their artwork, blog posts, and podcasts were being seen (and heard) by people around the world. Talk about authentic learning and a global audience! There was nothing better than showing my students a "website visitors" map showing them their work was being seen by people all over the world. My pupils always wanted to put forth their best effort on their artwork, writing, and ColeyCasts, because they knew I wasn't the only one who was going to see and hear their creations. And if you're one who took the time to email me regarding the site, I cannot adequately express the gratitude I have for your messages. Your words of encouragement and feedback were so appreciated, especially on those discouraging days when I asked myself if it was all worth the effort.

10 years. It's been a fun ride. And if you're wondering, even though I'm no longer updating it, I plan to continue keeping the site online. Thanks for following me on my journey!

16 Comments
Pam Coley
1/24/2013 10:57:12 am

What a pleasure to watch the journey and to have used many of the ideas provided.

Reply
Brent link
1/24/2013 09:20:15 pm

Thanks, Mom! It's been fun. And in the words of Gandalf, "The journey doesn't end here." :-)

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Linda Kelley
1/24/2013 12:08:24 pm

Congratulations Brent! I have used your site over the years for so many things. Love the Lit Circle stuff, all your tutorials, and thanks to you I just learned how to set up an online survey using Google Drive. :)

Hope to see you presenting at the CUE Conference in Palm Springs!!

Reply
Brent link
1/24/2013 09:24:52 pm

Thanks for the encouragement, Linda! I'm thrilled to hear my site has been a resource for you. Isn't Google Drive awesome?!

I'll be at CUE. I'm not presenting a full session, but I will be doing a CUE Tip (20-min. session) on Thursday at 12:30 on Google forms for administrators. More details can be found in the online catalog at http://2013.cue.org/

Thanks again for the encouragement!

Reply
Chris Copeland link
2/9/2013 12:52:48 am

Dear Brent,

A few years back I sent you an email about your website after stumbling on to it and I was pleased to receive a reply within a day. I was not expecting it because like you, I am a teacher (in Burbank) and there is only so much one can fit in one day. THANK YOU! It is truly a gift from one teacher to others. Teachers can't function in a vacuum.

Thank you for keeping your website up and running, I've been using it as an inspiration. It will be interesting trying to fit it in with the CCSS and new assessments coming in.

Best of luck to you! My best,
Chris

Reply
Brent link
2/16/2013 02:06:08 am

Thanks so much for the comment, Chris! Thrilled to hear my site has continued to be a resource to you. Good luck to you!

- Brent

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Glenda White
3/12/2013 02:35:08 pm

Thank you for keeping your site up. Once again my teaching partner and I are using your states and capitals unit. We appreciate all the hard work you did creating it and then sharing it with us.
Glenda
Cottonwood, Ca

Reply
Brent link
3/14/2013 04:46:44 am

Thanks, Glenda! Thrilled to hear my site is continuing to be a resource for you! :-)

Reply
Julia
4/19/2013 05:26:16 am

Thank you! What different ways did using a classroom podcast effect the student’s reading and writing?

Reply
Brent link
4/19/2013 10:16:31 am

Podcasting had a great effect on my students' writing and speaking skills. They wrote their own scripts, and their confidence when speaking skyrocketed! :-)

Reply
Barbara
5/8/2013 01:24:07 pm

Dear Brent,

May 8, 2013
Thank you for keeping your website up. I googled literature circles and your website came up. I loved how you set yours up-the jobs, etc... I told my principal and showed him things I was borrowing from you and my own ideas. Can't wait to check out the rest!
4th grade teacher

Reply
Brent link
5/8/2013 02:08:31 pm

You're very welcome, Barbara! Thanks for writing!

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Sheila link
9/21/2013 10:19:14 pm

I'm so relieved and happy you're keeping mrcoley.com up! I continue to share this with students who use your videos and digital flashcards. I have found just about everything on your website (powerpoints, lit circles, art etc.) to be extremely helpful. Your site has been my impetus to create one for my school.

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Barbara Ann Reilly
9/22/2013 12:44:45 am

It's amazing how your website back then is still relevant and continues to be so helpful still. Thank you for renewing it. I didn't discover it until the end of the school year last year-so I will be using more then just your great Literacy Circles information this year. Thank you again for leaving your site up!

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Shannon Ponzel
3/11/2014 12:25:06 pm

I just wanted to say thank you for all the time you put into your teaching career. I am currently taking a corporative learning class, and one of the things we had to do was search for blogs that have some type of lesson we would use in our classroom. The one I choose was the Roving Report blog spot, however I have followed up a lot of your links and found fabulous ideas to incorporate. I also found several of your more current blogs at http://www.brentcoley.com/ very thought provoking.

http://ponzelblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/student-blogging-project/

Reply
Brent link
3/13/2014 09:02:22 am

Thanks for the feedback, Shannon! Much appreciated!

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    About Brent

    Brent has worked in the field of education as a teacher and administrator for 25 years. He is currently Principal of Alta Murrieta Elementary School in Murrieta, California. Read more about Brent here.


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  • Home
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    • Video Tutorials: Google Forms
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