Welcome Home Islanders!

Excitement fills the air as the new school year approaches for the John F. Kennedy High School Islanders. The We Are You Student Government is now diligently planning for a ribbon cutting ceremony to welcome us back home. This will be a historic day for all Islanders! More information will be forthcoming ... stay tuned!


Hip Hip Hooray! Biba Islanders!

Technology Today

Technology in today's world just keeps booming. Booming in capabilities, models, and resources. But, do we need to spend all that money to upgrade? Can we ever just settle for the basic model or must we always upgrade to improve our status with our peers? Will we ever be content with the technology that we currently have today?

So many things we can do...

There are so many things we can look up using the internet and apply in our classrooms to work for our students. I love using the computer, even though I am not a pro yet; I love to find new tools or sites that give classroom tools, lesson plans, and teaching ideas. This class has allowed us to browse through so many sites and it was really great to see how many places there are for teachers to collaborate and just have fun!

Technology is a learning tool and our diverse classrooms have to be able to relate and educate in a variety of modes. Even though my students do not have a computer and I do not own a laptop; our classroom comes with a computer for the teacher and I let my students get on it..every chance I can!

This class reminded me that I have to make time to learn more about what is out there and what I can bring into my classroom to expose my learners to technology and all that it has to offer.

I know that although I'm an educator, I started as and will always be a life-long learner.

Gateway to Technology, blogging

So here I sit trying to get caught up on technology. Some of the things I already knew but some are things that were new to me. I still hate spreadsheets but I love all of the communication options. Many of these are things that I wish I could do with my students but of course there are no computers in the class. The kids cannot bring in their electronics (laptops, phones...) and it becomes so frustrating for them as well as for me. Tom made a good point that the administration is so worried about break ins so they are holding back on providing the needed technology. The only thing that this is doing is denying access to technology to those who need it the most, those who cannot afford to have internet, computers or other technology at home.
I hope that we are provided with the laptops for our use but more than anything I hope that the kids are provided with the tools that they need to succeed. We must catch up!!!

No more crying on the first day of school!

Is your student having separation anxiety? Ask parents to sign up with Skype or Tinychat! Your students can have access to their parents during the school day! On another note...having discipline problems with a child...send him/her to the corner where the computer is set up to skype with the P A R E N T!

photo from dcf.wi.gov

Thoughts on this class

This is an interesting class...learned lots of new resources from the Web. As a graduate student, this will make help with research and writing papers. As an educator, I can share my experiences with my fellow colleagues. On the topic of communications, this course has made me more aware of the issue of communicating responsibly. There are challenges in this class, but this is what learning is all about. We need to meet and rise with these new challenges, and these experiences only serve to make us more effective teachers. Technology is a mode of communication that is ever changing and evolving. As educators, we need to keep up with these changes, including the ever changing times.

Overwhelmed...

Having computers in the classroom and using computers are two completely different things...along with that comes responsibilities, liabilities, and security issues!
I teach kindergarten...and would feel more competent if GDOE assisted a kindergarten teacher in understanding how to incorporate computers into their kinder classroom. Along with that how to deal with viruses, spikes, surges, hacking, backups, lack of connectivity, etc
Don't get me wrong it is good information what we are learning in our GATEWAY TO TECHNOLOGY CLASS...kudos to our instructors! Ideally, computers in the classroom are a great idea...but I have this sinking premonition... there's more to come; on top of EVERYTHING ELSE WE HAVE TO DO.

yours truly

-Overwhelmed

Gateway To Technology

It's been an interesting crash course in computer technology, so far. I was especially intrigued by learning how to do a basic spread sheet, since I had never done one so far. Beginning SY 2011-2012, I intend to work with spread sheets in my classroom from now on . So, I ask myself, "Why didn't I learn this skill long time ago?" Yes, it really does make a big difference in that it alleviates the stress and time involved in manually averaging grades of students. Honestly, though, I'm just so happy to learn something new about computers, everyday.

As for blogging, I picked up this skill from one of last semester's courses here at UOG, so I'm pretty much familiar with it. Also, my professor was a stickler for including quotes and images, and although tedious at times, I rather enjoyed doing them.

I'm really appreciative of this opportunity to learn basic computer skills inorder that I may integrate computer technology in my classroom. At the present time, exposure to computer technology is through the use of my laptop that I bring to class when I want to use it for my lessons or presentations. The fact that we'll be receiving a free laptop for our use is really appealing, and I'm sure that everyone taking this course shares the same sentiment.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are- Theodore Roosevelt

Class so Far.

Overall the Technology class has been very informative. I am definitely learning new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. I really hope that with all the money the school system was awarded that we will be able to take what we have learned this week and actually apply it. I would live to be able to do text to speech videos for example in my classroom, but with the proper equipment it will not happen. Tom, thank you for sharing the things that you have so far. I am especially thankful for the website that you have created so I do not have to take very many notes in class. =)

Jodie Barnhouse

I like this video I found.

First day of school

Imagine it is the first day of the next school year.   Students enter your classroom and see a table of computers or a cart full of laptops.  How will you feel?