535- Week 5

Google Earth is one of the most fantastic web tools I've ever used/heard of. I remember my brother downloading it for me in 2005. I put in my address and a was able to see a blurry view of what I suspected was my house. Now, I can see my house clearly from every angle! It's as if I am standing in the middle of the street looking at my neighborhood. This tool has so many features that make it relevant to everyone who uses it, and everyone who should be using it.

Skills that were once thought of as being used only by professionals are now being challenged by the progression of the Read/Write Web and other Web Tools. Much of my frustration lies with the reluctancy of schools/districts to totally buy into it. Social media is a part of our lives, whether we like it or not. We need to be guiding our children through their possibilities instead of blocking them. Another frustration of mine is that once I win the fight for more access for my students, I won't really have the time to use it to it's fullest potential. Allow me to stand on my soap box for just a moment. Our failing district status has convinced the powers that be to focus on, in my opinion, bandaid fixes and tunnel vision approaches. These initiatives and mandates have congested the falls of learning with stressed scheduling, fleating specials, and non-stop, ineffective assessment worries. When are the children going to become as important as the process? When they do, technology will likely take a huge step up in the process.

535- Week 4

I was really pleased to discover just how easy it is to create a screencast. This tool will help me tremendously to provide my inexperienced first graders with tutorials showing how to navigate the tools we will be using this year. Those students who are more advanced users will be able to work more independently, while I assist others.
This week, I also began working on my classroom website through Google. I want my parents and students to be able to use this tool as a central location for all necessary information that will be pertinent to their family. As I began this assignment, I was astonished to discover how easy it is to point and click your way to your own website! I remember being in undergrad learning how to create a site using "the language"!

It's Too HOT!!

A Tribute to Spring Bulletin Board
Originally uploaded by erin swan

I don't know about anyone else, but I've think I've been slowly melting for the past couple of weeks. I love the heat, but the humidity is making being outdoors unbearable!

535- Week 3- Feed Me!

After this week's readings, I finally understand RSS feeds! I'm so excited to learn that I will be able to keep up with reading in such an efficient way. My quest before school starts is to find RSS sites that will be appealing to the teachers I work with. I would really like to begin showing them little nuggets of useful technology to motivate them to use their computers more. With the school website being everyone's homepage, I could put a link to an aggregator that would be easy for all to access. Many of my co-workers really avoid technology like the plague, which is disappointing to say the least. However, unless they are ready to retire, which several are, they are going to have to get acquainted with the computer lab sooner rather than later. I have just learned that my district will be mandating a quarterly assessment for grades K4 through 12th that will be given on the computer! Unfortunately,from the school buildings to the teachers, right on down to the students who've had limited access, I believe much of the district is not ready for this.