Free Webinar on "Boosting Literacy" and Newsletter

Here is an ad for a free webinar on literacy and reading comprehension. It is scheduled for the 15th in the Mainland. Check out the link to see if you are interested.

Here is another newsletter for technology to help teachers read about new methods and issues dealing with the classroom. It is a free site.
http://www.smartbrief.com/edtech/index.jsp

Roberta

Outdated Policies on Technology

It would be good if the school and department policies would keep up with the new technologies. Telling us to demand the students not use the technologies, instead of teaching us how to utilize the technologies in our classrooms, is providing a disservice to all of us. We need to learn how to use the technology with the students, not how to monitor and ban the technology use.

Still Have a lot to Learn

Wow! Gateway to Technology is a great crash course for anyone who is not tech savvy. I can navigate through text processing and I enjoying creating spreadsheets. Today's lesson on Communication was interesting since it's out of my comfort zone. I was able to up an account on Edmodo and now I can Blog! I find these communication tools useful but I'm not sure how I'll incorporate it into an already full day in kindergarten.

My thoughts on technology

As I continue to take more classes at UOG, listen to teachers share, and watch more video clips of technology in the 21st century, I am learning to embrace technology as a way of life.

I used to think technology was and should be taught as a vocational skill, that it is isolated to a course students take at school. I am growing to see how technology is used everyday; to help organize, share, collaborate, relax, entertain, communicate, etc.

Teaching in today's world, we should use all the technology available to assist us in our delivery and expose our students to as much technology as well.

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.