A Blog By Any Other Name

Almost time to shift to the new 'teacher' blog, especially since I'm now furiously reading a grand stack of high school oriented literature with underlining pen in hand...and the 'first day back' is quickly drawing near.

Wrestling with name of new blog.  Not so sure I'm being as creative/focused as I'd like.  Maybe some help would help.

Draft options so far. Thoughts?

• "Teach Long" -- play on last name, obviously.  Meaning:  a) "Teach me something, I'm really just a learner here"; b) "Hey, Teach..."; and c) "Planning on teaching for a long, long, long time to come."
• "Down the Rabbit Hole" -- closest element to "think:lab" in spirit, but focused on my own journey back into the classroom where more than a few things may have changed on me in the last 3 years.
• "The Other Side of the Desk" -- a bit too cliche and anti "school of the future", but it is definitely teacher-focused.
• "Learning D.N.A." -- standing for "Learning Design In Action".  Has long-term value with regards to combining my work as an educator, blogger, speaker, consultant, etc.  Plus, the 'genetic code' of teaching/learning has a nice secondary ring for me as well.
• Other????  (This is where you come in!  And all ideas will be greatly appreciated).

Comments

[jeremiah]

How about 'The Long and Short of It'?

Thanks for the kinds words on Will's space.

250x250? was a reference to Learning DNA, which is actually my favorite title.

[Bart Pursel]

I like what you had going with the "think:lab" Maybe keep the branding?

Learning:Lab
teach:lab
think:design
learning:design

I can't come up with any good combos at the moment, but maybe something similar to think:lab, that way you could start to build multiple blogs to put under one umbrella. That'll keep ya busy!

[diane]

From the movies: "Back to the Future" since you'll be helping to construct the future.

From literature:
The Sense and the Sounds..."Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of themselves."
Lewis Carroll

Jam Today..."The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday - but never jam today."
Lewis Carroll

Cabbages and Kings (has anyone appropriated that yet?)..."'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings.'"
Lewis Carroll

Tortoise..."We called him Tortoise because he taught us."

Just After..."I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections, Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling, Or just after."
Wallace Stevens

[John Powers]

I love these sorts of posts with comments. Jeremiah is onto something with the branding. Of your alternatives Learning D.N.A. seemed the most appealing right at the moment. So how about think:D.N.A.? I wondered why "learning" instead of "learner" I guess the question is coming from a perspective of a blog being a personal diary. "Learning" suggest your expertise and perhaps a more community-centered blog, but "learner" is more personal and suggests a work in process.

http://www.bustaname.com/ Bust a Name is a handy Web site for finding available domain names, but it's also a fun time wasting tool for experimenting with names.

[Jackie]

Hmmm...

LifeLONG Learning or Lifelong Learning (with long in bold - (I can't get the tags to appear as code - sorry)).

I think this conveys both being a learner and teaching students to be learners for life.

[Tim]

I agree with jeremiah in keeping the link to the past.

A lab is a place where people experiment, so how about think:practice since the classroom is about putting ideas into practice?

[Nancy]

Don't go with "Down the Rabbit Hole"---already 4-5 blogs with that name. "Other side of the Desk" sounds like a newspaperperson or a doctor. I'll think on it and pop back in if I think of a great idea. I have several blogs and write all my own curriculum so I'm always thinking about the "hook". I have a poetry curriculum called "What Rhymes with Squirrel?" so you know I'll come up with some good suggestions!! hehe

[Christian]

Definitely appreciating the feedback. Leaning towards a wacky AinW spin (not rabbit-hole, however, now that I've seen the range of blogs with that out there). Learning D.N.A. is my top choice currently because of long-term value, but I'm also intrigued by a play off of "This I Believe" (NPR, Murrow) thanks to Lucy Gray's use with teachers at a workshop recently. Thinking of "This I Wonder" as a spin, focusing more on my role as a "learner" even though I'm technically the teacher in the classroom. Plus, I have more to learn now than I have officially become an expert on, and imagine that it'll be an evolving process from the day I return. And as I typed "This I Wonder", I found myself nodding...so perhaps that's the blog title and I'll save "Learning D.N.A." for a larger brand URL that will connect to several blogs over time. Mmm. Again, really appreciate all the feedback. Been more helpful than you can imagine. Truly. Cheers, Christian

[Kimberly Moritz]

Why can't you keep the name, keep the current blog, shift the focus? Can't think of anything I'd rather have in a teacher's classroom than a "think:lab".

[Christian Long]

Kim, perhaps I need to wrestle more closely with the suggestion you offered. Stay with "think:lab" as a name/place. And put the energy into the transition, however messy or uncertain it may be.

Been working too hard (in my head lately) to differentiate between what I did via "think:lab" (these past 2 years() and what I intend to do via the "classroom" (starting in the next month). Assumed that I'd be muddying the waters to try to blend it all together in this blog, as if my experiences back in the classroom would somehow be less focused told through "think:lab", or that somehow "think:lab" was at the end of the day about everything in my professional life save being in the classroom.

Tim suggests -- and caught my attention because of it -- that I shift to "think:practice". If there is a need to differentiate between two blogs because somehow exploring concepts differs from exploring practice, I think he offers a strong tie-in.

But as I sit here a few days after posting the original intent to quiet "think:lab" so I could begin to move back into a teacher's life...and think about what you said, Kim, I'm left wondering if the name really matters if the intention of process is kept front and center.

I think that you're right. The classroom -- for me (and apparently for you as an admin) -- is a "lab". For me it is less about answers than it is about questions and reflection. Thus, "think" holds ground.

A rose is a rose is a rose, in other words. And thus the real energy needs to be focused on what you said: "shift the focus" rather than the name. Something I need to think about for a few more days.

Reminded of Sandra Cisneros novel, House on Mango Street, where the protagnist -- a young girl fighting to get out of a Chicago barrio -- is told by her elders (3 women in the spirit of the witches of MacBeth, but in a 'good' way) that she must "circle back."

Perhaps that is what you are reminding me to do as well. Appreciate it. Truly. Thanks, Kim. Cheers, Christian

[Dorai Thodla]

I think, I like

Think: Design

May be because I am enjoying Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (thanks to a recommendation from a friend, right now).

[5tein]

Future:Think