IPODs for classrooms?

Is the classroom a place for an IPOD? That certainly seems to be the topic in several websites that I reviewed. Successful Teaching blogspot has a great article to read about the use of IPODs in classrooms. Teacher, Pat Hensley, lays out in this article the problems that may arise by using IPODs in classrooms. However, she also gives teachers solutions and ways to remedy these problems before they ever get started.

But the question still remains, is the classroom a place for an IPOD? Well here is my professional (yet not professional) opinion:

We, as teachers, are here to meet our students where they are and to insure they are learning. If one strategy is not working, then we are to try another one, RIGHT? We are living in such a technologically advanced society, we must use any tools we can in order to get our students to learn and an IPOD is a perfect example. As a teacher, we spend so much time in a day on full classroom teaching. It would be so beneficial to use an IPOD for that teaching and spend your day on more individualized learning skills. Why not download podcasts for those lessons geared toward your entire class? The students can take these home to review. This even gives parents the ability to review what the students are learning. This in turns enables the teacher a few extra hours of teaching we normally would not have.

I am so impressed by all of the new ways people are coming up with using new technology. The use of these IPODs, the use of GPS devices and so many others gives us future teachers unlimited possibilities. I can't wait to get started!

All About Me Presentation

Geocaching

I became intruiged as I read through the website of Dr. Alice Christie
and her Geocaching activities. WOW - what a wonderful tool for classrooms all across the board. Geocaching uses GPS navigation devices in a "hide and seek" type manner. This is an excellent way for any teacher to incorporate social studies, mathematics, science and many other subjects into her classroom. I love the fact that this is a hands-on approach to learning for students. They are not sitting in a desk being taught through a lecture or writing on the white board, they are actually out of the classroom altogether.

Geocaching could also contribute to team building activities within a classroom setting and even the use of critical thinking skills. This is an amazing tool that I have never heard of. This would be a useful tool for a group of teachers, within a certain grade, to work together as a team to participate in. Why not purchase a set of GPS devices to have on hand at a school to use. I think it would be a great activity for a field trip where students have been on a bus for a couple of hours and then they are able to go and learn, but have fun at the same time.

Thanks Dr. Christie! Technology is expanding every day -- I just hope I can keep up!

Hats Off!

Although I was unable to pull up the WIRED story or the NPR article, I was able to listen to the Podcast on the NPR article page and I say HATS OFF to Virgil Griffith and his Wikipedia Scanner. Wikipedia is now and will always be a great source of encylopedia type information for the internet user. However, the users will just have to realize that the accuracy rate may be between 85 and 90% because of the ability of others to change what is being read and said.

Now, though, those wanting to read Wikipedia have the ability to track those things which are being changed. So does this make Wikipedia less reliable? I'm not sure. I almost want to think that this would make it more reliable, because you can actually see what is being done.

You know it has always been said to have more than one source, so whether you are a Wikipedia fan or not, check your sources. There are many other sites you can use to check things out, so if Wikipedia doesn't give you what you want - TRY, TRY AGAIN!

Wasted time OR not?

I chose the Best Blog of April, 2007 as my topic, titled 180 days?
There is a PowerPoint presentation in this blog that can bring to light some thoughts about whether there is wasted instructional time during a given school year. There are some very valid ideas and thoughts. For instance, how many days do we, as teachers, spend in preparation for end-of-quarter or end-of-semester exams and then we spend more time with end-of-year finals. In addition, how many days of instruction do we miss for those days before major holidays, days used for fire drills, assemblies, classroom celebrations. Are we giving up precious instructional time for unnecessary things?

On the opposite side of the coin, we can ask ourselves, can we have 180 days of total instructional time and not lose our students along the way? In my opinion there definitely needs to be a happy medium. Children (adults too) need some down time, some time for our brains and bodies to rest. I do not think students could function in an instructional setting of 180 days straight, at least not in the United States. Call it spoiled or whatever you will, but I feel in order to get a full understanding of things being taught, we need to have a few breaks in between.

Check out this blog and let me know what you think, wasted time OR not?

My Kids!

The 4 Basics - Reading, Writing, Arthrimitic and Technology

After reading "Best (?) of the Fischbowl 2007" I begin to evaluate my technology illiteracy. However, upon my evaluation I begin seeing this illiteracy not through the eyes of a teacher (yet), but through the eyes of a mother of two girls ages 10 and 12. My initial thought and answer when my girls ask me if they can do something on our home computer is "no". Now I question myself as to why I always tell them "no" and the answer is UNFORTUNATELY because of my technology illiteracy.

As a preteen I began experimenting with computers and taking college courses in computers. This was at least 25 years ago or more. Once I became a mom and working in a steady job that did not require much in new technology advances, my learning became stagnant. Because of this stagnant behavior I have been left behind with technology.

After reading this post, I know now that I am doing my daughters an injustice by not keeping up with technology. In addition to doing an injustice to my daughters I know positively I will be doing an injustice to those students that I teach in the future. It is not fair to my daughters or those future students for me not to have the knowledge that will enable them to succeed in their future careers.

My goal from this point forward is to learn as much as I can in order to give those who I influence the steps they need for success.

Blogging Internationally

I found a fantastic website titled Class Blogmeister at http://classblogmeister.com. It is a wonderful resource for teachers by state, name and even country. Check out what I found.

Ms. Kathy Cassidy based out of Canada has a website located at http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337 . She has included work the children in her classroom have done each day with pictures of the letters they are learning. The picture you see here is for the letter "F for Favorites". Ms. Cassidy also has a YouTube video with some of her children showing things that begin with the letter "B". The most interesting feature about this blog is the yackpack talk featured in the very beginning. If you click on the icon, and the class is nearby and available, you will have the opportunity to chat with the class live. This is amazing!!

The next wonderful blog I found was from teacher Kendall Mead from Australia. She has several different podcasts on her blog which you can view. She makes the statement that this will be her first time blogging, and so far she has done pretty well with it. At the top of her blog is a scrolling video to show her classroom as well as the school and playgrounds as well. It seems to be a very well built and well kept school. I have posted one of the images of her classroom for you to see. The children have responded well to Ms. Mead's blog as there are several posts on the left hand side from her students. For more information on Kendall Mead's classroom, visit her blog at http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?user_id=161988&blogger_id=161997.

Blogging Teachers

Blogging has become a favorite and useful tool for many teachers. I found two teachers using their blogs to support their classrooms below:

Ms. Osborne's class in Miami has a blog, http://www.butlerville.net/4a/, where she lists activities for her class on a weekly basis. She must have an ocean or dolphin theme going on in her classroom because she has this adorable picture of a dolphin on her website. Each Friday she makes a post to her class blog and updates the students and teachers on the upcoming week. She lists all the spelling words, vocabulary words and even gives the dates for the upcoming tests. At the beginning of school she posted a blog welcoming her class and telling them how she was looking forward to the new school year.

I found a larger blog created by teacher Bill Gaskins from South Carolina titled "Blogging On The Bay, http://bloggingonthebay.org/. His blog is much more extensive and detailed than that of Mrs. Osborne's classroom. A very interesting feature on Mr.Gaskins' blog is the live feeder column which shows the location of his most current hits to his blog. This teacher is on the technology band wagon and is out there to get his students to learn what is new and innovative. As his blog states, he is "creating a path to techno-constructivist learning in the classroom." His blog also includes comments and posts from other teachers who are discussing technology issues and is a great resource for us newbies.

Technology's Growth, Can We Keep Up?

I was astounded by the facts and figures that were presented on the "Did You Know" video. Technology has been rapidly increasing over only a few years and it is anticipated that the growth in this technology will only increase more and faster. My initial thought is, how do we keep up or can we keep up?

In order to even attempt to keep up with this rapid growth, we must begin implementing computer technology in our classrooms, even at the earliest of ages. According to this video, in a few years, a $1000 computer will be able to contain more information than the human brain. If this is true, can we afford to exclude this from our classroom studies? Many children starting school at the age of 5 have already been exposed to computers and/or video games, as reported from this video.

We, the United States of America, need to realize that although our country may be the wealthiest, we are falling behind on teaching our children what is needed to compete in a world of technology advancements. These advancements are going to leave us behind if we do not start NOW. It is sad to look at the figures of India and China versus the United States when it comes to college graduates. Have we become so stagnant that we are willing to let others succeed in the technology movement and just "go with the flow?" We have an obligation to those who follow behind us, our children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren, to give them the education and the desire to want to pursue advancement in their careers. This advancement in all careers will always include computers and technology and the changes that are made every single day.

Are we ready to step up our game? Are YOU willing to be a teacher that will push your students into the next decade?

ACCESS

Are you a technologically savvy teacher? Do you want to expand your horizons and teach more than those children sitting in your classroom? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, you would be a good candidate for the ACCESS Program, also known as the Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide Program.

Alabama has stepped up and initiated a program where classroom opportunities are opened up to students at schools where certain classes are not offered. For instance, a school that is more rural than another may not have the resources to offer AP (advanced placement) courses to their students, but through the ACCESS Program students can be taught through either web-based or video conferencing learning. This enables students in these rural schools the ability to obtain an Advanced Diploma in the State of Alabama. One draw back, however, is that the students selected for these classes must be organized and self sufficient in keeping up with their own workloads.

ACCESS has also opened the doors for the teachers of Alabama. This program gives teachers the opportunity to use top notch, advanced technology to teach a class, a classroom filled with students in various locations. This also gives teachers a much larger community base than they would while teaching at one single school. In addition, it provides smaller schools with more staff. As with the students, the same is true with the teachers, they must be well organized and well prepared. Furthermore, the teacher must keep this type of learning interesting so as to not lose their student's attention.

As a teacher we should be constantly learning new things and what better way to share your new knowledge than with the ACCESS Program.

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)

The State of Alabama has a wonderful new information library on the internet available for teachers named the Alabama Learning Exchange. This website has various links to help teachers in any subject or grade. As a teacher accesses these links, he/she will have the opportunity to view lesson plans, ideas from other teachers, as well as additional links to help support their teaching methods. This site allows a teacher the ability to communicate with other teachers through a support roundtable. Additionally there are links with grant opportunities and a link specifically for tips and tricks of the trade.

Another fascinating tool on the ALEX website is a link for teachers and students to participate in distance learning with the new ACCESS program. The ACCESS program is new and will soon be available in all of the Mobile County High Schools. ACCESS enables high school students to take classes online or through other interactive avenues that might not be available through their school. This ACCESS lab will give teachers the opportunity to become an interactive educator by participating in the ACCESS program.

Alabama is striving to be on the cutting edge of technology with both the ALEX and ACCESS programs. Both of these websites give Alabama educators as well as Alabama students access to things that would normally not be available by the touch of a keyboard. Take a moment to view the website for yourself, http://alex.state.al.us/, you may be pleasantly suprised.

The Real Me

I am a married, mother of three who works one full time job, one part-time job and attends school on a part-time basis. I have a son, one who may be the same age as many students I go to school with, and two daughters ages 10 and 12. Some of my hobbies include boating, fishing, gardening or just hanging out with my family.

As I stated earlier, I do work a full-time job as a medical transcriptionist. I worked for a local hospital for 12 years until October of last year when they decided to outsource our department. Although this was very upsetting at the time, in retrospect it was probably a blessing in disguise. This life changing event made me step back and look at my job, my life, and the things I really love to do. I have also worked part-time for years as the children's director at our church. It hit me, like a brick, that I love working with children. These events helped guide my decision to return to college to become an elementary school teacher.

My life is filled with schedules that pull me day-to-day and hour-to-hour. I have people needing part of me here and part of me there, but all in all, my life is filled with things that I do because they are necessary, I do many things because I want to do them, and finally all the other things I do just because I love doing them.

This is the REAL ME !

Welcome!

Welcome to my very first blog page. Keep watching to see what we can do!