Dead Week....REALLY?

It is not December. It is not December. It is not December! I wonder if I keep telling myself that I will wake up and it will be August. I can't believe how fast this year has gone. It seems like just yesterday I sat down at my computer and wrote my very first blog. I was so nervous. I had never written a blog before and I was scared to have other people read my thoughts and comment back on them. As the weeks went quickly by, I soon found myself very comfortable blogging. As soon as I finished one blog, I was thinking about what I would write about for the next one. I loved blogging about technology, but I found myself wanting to blog about what was going on in the world or my life. I really liked sharing my thoughts for others to read. I've thought about setting up another blog. I think it would be a great way to keep in touch with my family members or friends who do not live close by. I have really come to like blogging and look forward to using it in my classroom. I look forward to seeing my future students' reactions to blogging.

I feel as though I have learned so many great things in this class and have refreshed my memory of some technologies that I haven't used in a while. I was amazed by all of the technologies (simple and complex) that are available. I'm more than ready to try these out in the classroom!

Good luck to everyone on their finals!

Blogs, Blogs, Blogs

For my very first blog post, I wrote about some of the possibilities of using blogs in the classroom. I feel that since this class is coming to an end it would only be appropriate to add to the list. I remember writing the blog thinking my ideas were really good, but after hearing my classmates ideas and seeing classroom blogs, I realized there are so many wonderful ways to use blogs in the classroom!

First off, blogs would be a perfect way to create a classroom news page. The teacher and students could update this page with pictures of the classroom, homework assignments, notes, special events, stories written by the students, and many more! This would allow for parents and even grandparents to stay connected with the classroom.

Another idea for a classroom blog is to use it as a means for writing. There are A LOT of ways this could be done. The teacher could blog a writing prompt and then each students' response could be a comment or could be posted in his/her own blog. Blogging could also be used as a means for storytelling. This would make it very easy for a teacher to hold a peer review session. The teacher could also use blogs for journal writing. If this was done, the teacher would be able to check each journal from anywhere with an Internet connection and she would no longer have to carry around several writing notebooks. There are so many ways in which blogs could be used to for writing activities!

One of my favorite things about blogs is that I could connect with another teacher across the country even across the world and our classes could blog back and forth together in a matter of minutes! Before the Internet, if a teacher wanted to connect with a distant classroom, it could take days by the time the other class got the mail and responded back. Blogs completely changed the way this was done. I would love for my future students to be able to do a project about another country and get the information from students who live in the country. I think the experience would be amazing!

I've always known about blogs, but I never imagined being able to use them in the classroom. I'm glad that we have spent time talking about them, and that I was able to start one! I can honestly say that this is one technology I will try to use in my own classroom.

Web 2.0 tools and Interactive Whiteboards

Before this class, I had no clue what a Web 2.0 tool was or that they even existed. After learning about them, I can honestly say that this is one form of technology that I plan to use quite frequently in my classroom. I was especially impressed with some of the tools my classmates found! If it wasn't for having to study for other classes, I'm pretty sure I would be playing around on these sites. Some of the sites were so user friendly and even better free! It's nice to know that I have this technology at my fingertips and I don't have to pay a lot of money (or any) to use it. I was surprised by how many options were out there. You can create graphic organizers, slideshows, books, movies, classroom twitter pages, drawings, etc; edit pictures; write a story and have someone from across the room even across the country simultaneously add events to the story; etc....I feel that I barely touched on what is possible. I'm really glad that this class introducted me to this type of technology!

Since I have talked about how much I love Web 2.0 tools, I must talk about how much I love interactive whiteboards! I have always known what they were, but I have never had experience with them nor did I know everything that was available to download for them. I loved that you could download pre-made lesson plans and watch a video of how the lesson played out in the classroom. That was such a neat feature. I loved all of the classroom management downloads that were available. I feel things like that would save the teacher so much time! I really hope that the school district I work for has interactive whiteboards. I think I would spend an entire day playing around with all of the features and downloading lessons!

For those of you who have your own classroom or those who have experience these technologies in the classroom, have you seen Web 2.0 tools used in the classroom? If so, what ones and how were they used? Also if you have an interactive whiteboard, what are some of the ways in wich you use it?  I love learning how other teachers incorporate technology!

How Technology Saved My 22 Hour Car Ride

During Thanksgiving break, my family and I went to Florida to go on a cruise, visit Disney World, and see the new Harry Potter Theme Park. Sounds like a lot of fun right? When I first heard our plans, I thought so too then I found out we would be DRIVING to Florida....twenty-two long hours. How would I ever survive? I soon found out the twenty-two hour trip went a lot smoother than I could have ever imagined it to, and I honestly think I have technology to thank for this.

The first time we ever made this drive was when I was in third grade. This was well before the time of iPods, XM Satellite Radio, portable DVD players, GPS tracking devices, etc. We still like to joke about the "portable TV" my parents created for us. This consisted of a small TV with a VCR player and TV shelf strapped to the back of the driver's chair. This took up so much room in the car that no one could sit behind the driver because there was no room for their legs. Anytime we left the vehicle we had to put blankets over this contraption to cover it up. While it did help the drive, it was nothing compared to the technology we had this time around. My sister brought her laptop computer. This allowed us to play games, do homework, watch movies, etc. The best thing was that it hardly took up any room and when we left the truck we could put it under the seat and no one knew it was there!

Technology was definitely on our side for this trip. No more constantly looking at maps, searching for radio stations only to have them go fuzzy a couple hours down the road, and most importantly I could turn on my iPod and tune out my parents music. It's amazing to think about how much technology has changed in fourteen years. For the most part, I was always using some form of technology for entertainment or necessity. I really do believe that is the reason why this road trip went so smoothly.

And in case your wondering....our vacation was amazing! The Harry Potter Theme Park is unbelievable. The creators did a fabulous job of bringing the books to life!

Research Article Number Two: Who Should Teach Keyboarding and When Should It Be Taught?

This blog will be a summary of an article I read entitled "Who Should Teach Keyboarding and When Should It Be Taught?" by Maragret J. Erthal. I wanted to find an article that related to our recent in-class discussions, and I was very please when I stumbled across this article.

The article starts of by stating the classes in which keyboarding used to be taught. Erthal explained that most of the time keyboarding was taught in business classes. During one's freshman and sophomore years, the student would be taught typewriting I and II. The junior year would be spent learning Office Practice and shorthand I, and senior year would be spent learning Secretarial Practice and shorthand II.

The author then goes to explain how the computer completely revolutionized the way keyboarding was taught. Computers allowed students to be more efficient and soon other disciplines started noticing the advantages of using a computer. English and math teachers started requiring the students to use the computer more and more in the classroom. The schools even started a Computer Literacy class. The business teachers thought they were the most qualified to teach this course, but in time math and science teachers thought they were capable of teacher this as well.

Erthal explains that by the 1980s personal computers started making their appearance in elementary classrooms. When these students came to high school, the teachers found that enrollment in keyboarding classes had dropped and students were using the "hunt and peck" method.

From there, the author explains that with the rise in technology teachers must consider when keyboarding should be taught and who should teach it. She discusses some of the requirements of learning and teaching keyboarding. One must have the psychomotor skills that are capable of learning such a skill and there must be a sound pedagogical procedure in teaching keyboarding. Erthal then states some of the advantages of learning keyboarding early on. Those listed include enhanced use of time, effective use of computers, neater finished products, higher motivation, and better developed language skills. With all of this said, when does one begin teaching keyboarding skills?

The author suggested that children between the ages of 10 and 12 should begin learning keyboarding skills. Erthal believes that younger children do not have the dexterity or appropriate hand size to learn keyboarding. At the initial keyboarding stage, the author would like to see children learning the appropriate keyboarding techniques, and once this stage is completed reinforcement activities should take place afterwards to straighten these skills. Erthal suggests that it takes about thirty hours of initial keyboarding practice for children to acquire correct keyboarding techniques. The next question that comes to mind is who should teach this class. The author believes that the person who teaches this course should be very knowledgeable. She does believe that a business teacher can teach this, but that teacher must have know the methodology behind teaching elementary students. Otherwise a teacher who has had training in keyboarding can teach this skill to the students. The author believed that the next thing that must be decided was what software to use. This questions proved more difficult. Erthal stated that many software is good for "drill, remediation, enrichment practice, as well as adding variety to keyboarding instruction", however the software cannot recognize the individual need of the students. Choosing a good software can prove to be very difficult. The author summed up the article by explaining the importance of learning keyboarding skills, and summing up her arguments.

I found this article to be very similar to what we have learned in class. Erthal's age at which she suggested students start keyboarding was very close to the age suggested in our notes. She also agreed that when students first learn keyboarding teachers should spend around thirty hours teaching this skill and reinforce it throughout the years. She also talked about the difficulty in picking out a developmentally good software. I was happy to see another source that matched the beliefs from our class notes.

Keyboarding in the Classroom

Since our last class was devoted to talking about keyboarding in the classroom, I have decided to dedicate this blog to discuss some of my experiences with keyboarding growing up and some of my experiences with it during student teaching.

The first time I remember being taught keyboarding was in fifth grade. We had a class specifically devoted to the subject that met every other day. This class was taught to fifth through eighth graders. We were taught keyboarding through a leveled program. Each individual student would progress through the lessons at his/her own pace. At the end of each lesson, there was a game a to play. We, of course, all worked fast simply to get to the game. I also remember that as we got older we would have timed typing test. I was a decent typist and loved doing this. I don't remember any student being upset because he/she wasn't as fast as a typist as other students, but it very well could have happened. When I compare this program to the notes, it doesn't exactly match the suggested time for successful programs. We spent more than thirty hours on keyboarding the first year, and the following years the time probably stayed the same until eighth grade. I remember that year the class switched from learning the keys to learning how to use word, power point, and excel to create professional products which was very beneficial. We did begin learning keyboarding around the suggested grade level to start. We began in fifth grade, and our notes did suggest third or fourth grade. I don't think the program that we learned to do keyboarding was very successful. It got to be very boring and repetitive. I think my favorite part of keyboarding class was learning about the actual programs. This was a huge help when I went to high school. I do believe that were positive and negative parts of my keyboarding class.

I didn't have much of any experience with keyboarding lessons when I student taught, but I did require the students in my fourth grade placement to make power points. This was a disaster. In terms of keyboarding skills, the students were at so many different levels. I had students finish within two days, and I had students on their first slide on their second day. I ended up pairing students who were finished with their power points with students who were slower at typing. These students would type what the students wanted to say. I didn't want to do it like this, but unfortunately we were on a deadline. I wish I would have talked more with my cooperating teacher to find out how the students were taught keyboarding skills. It's something that I never really thought of to ask about.

After my own experience with learning keyboarding and my experience in the classroom, I realize how beneficial it can be to have students learn these skills earlier. I do think it allows the teacher to be able to incorporate more technology within the classroom and in turn will save time when using technology.

Video Recording in the Classroom

This past week in class we discussed the use of video recording in the classroom. I really like this technology because I believe that there are a lot of possibilities for use in the classroom and I think it's a rather simple technology. After class, I stared to think of some negatives about using video recording in the classroom and how I could make them less negative.

I'm the type of person who loves being in front of the camera. However, I know that not everyone is like this. Some of my students may be very shy and self conscious and not want to be in front of the camera. So how do I go about dealing with this? I think the students could be involved with video projects and not have to be in front of the camera. They could have more responsibility writing scripts, running the camera, or editing the video. There are other options that allow them to still be involved without actually being in front of the camera.

The next problem that I thought about was cost. Let's be honest, I could be in a school that may not be able to afford video cameras. What do I do then? If I wasn't able to afford my own camera to bring in, I could always ask for parent volunteers. The parents could volunteer a couple of different ways. They could either let us borrow their camera and the students could tape or they could come in and tape the students. Both of these also bring up issues. The first option of using parents video recorders is very risky, but just like if my students were using school equipment I would expect them to be extremely careful. The second option doesn't allow for the students to have experience with the technology, but it still allows for the experience of presenting material and for editing. Both options have some downfalls, but it's still better than not having the technology at all.

The last "bump in the road" I thought of was problems with editing on the computer. When we were doing our project for class, we encountered a few problems, but just like with anything other technology you have to be patient and figure out a way around your problem. I don't have a better answer than that. Any technology you use will not always run perfectly, but as a teacher you will have to learn to think on your toes and find a solution to your problem.

I really believe that video recording is a fabulous technology to use in the classroom. My group had so much fun recording our project that I know children will love it as well. These were just a few problems that I could foresee happening, but like any problem there's always a solution to it.

Digital Storytelling

A few weeks ago we were introduced to digital storytelling. I thought this topic was perfect because I had just read a research article about using blogs as a source to tell and share stories. After class, I really started thinking about storytelling in the classroom. How often are our students allowed to tell stories? It seems like most of the time when a student starts to tell a story the teacher stops him/her and says that it's not the time to tell stories. I will admit I'm guilty of doing this. After my experience with children, it's apparent that they love to tell stories,  and after I read that article, I realized how beneficial storytelling can be.

With all the avaiable technology, there is so much a teacher can do with storytelling. I really like the idea of using blogs to share a story. I think this is a great idea because students can read and respond to other students stories, and it doesn't even have to be students within the same classroom. It could be students from another state! I think in one class we talked about the idea of an on-going story. The teacher would start a story and the students would comment to keep the story going. This would be so easy to do using a blog. I also really like the idea of digital storytelling like the ones we talked about in class. I think this is such a great idea because students not only work on writing a story, but they have to work on their voicing. This is something that is typically not stressed until later grades. I say it's never too early to start learning this skill!

Does anyone else have ideas of other programs or internet sites that could be used to tell/share stories? I thought about using Skype to share stories. This way students could tell their stories to students across the town, state, or country. They could even Skype with parents or grandparents to share stories. Just a few thoughts on storytelling. Now if only I could decide on what story I want to tell for my project. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Online Class

I'm currently enrolled in an online English class. This week I have to make a presentation in an online classroom. I have to admit I'm still very nervous for this presentation. I've never taught a lesson through an online classroom, but am excited to see how well it works out. As I was procrastinating working on that presentation, I started thinking about how online classrooms could benefit elementary teachers.

The first thing that came to my mind was absences from school. If a student was gone from school, he/she could log in and either watch prerecorded lessons or watch a live lesson from his/her classroom. This would save the teacher a lot of time because he/she would not have spend time reteaching the lesson to the student. Of course, this brings up several questions like what if a student is too ill to participate or what about the students who don't have access to computers or internet. I will admit I don't have the answers to those questions. It could be a situation where whoever has the access and/or is not too sick to participate will do so.

Another idea that I thought of was use an online classroom to connect with students in other states or countries. How cool would it be to teach the students about Washington D.C. and be able to video chat with students who live in D.C.? I think students would love doing something like that. It would not only benefit my classroom, but another classroom as well. I think it would be neat to not only discuss each other's culture, but to discuss school topics. I think it provides the students with another perspective which is an important part of teaching.

These were just two of the ideas that I have came up with. Do any of you have any other ideas or have you seen suck technology used differently in classrooms?

Research Article Number One: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom

For this week's blog, I will sum up an article I read entitled "The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom" by David Huffaker. I was so happy to come across this article. The topic was almost too perfect!

The article started off by explaining a blog and the features of one. Huffaker then provided some statistics about the average age of most bloggers. I was surprised to find the average ages a lot younger than what I thought. In the first example, 51.5% of bloggers were between 13 and 19. Another statistic showed that 40.4% of bloggers are under the age of 20. Similarly, in the last example the largest distribution of blog users were under the age of 20 as well. I always thought most bloggers would be in their mid twenties.

From there, the author states the follwing as his hypothesis.

"This article hypothesizes that blogs can be an important addition to educational technology initiatives because they promote literacy through storytelling, allow collaborative learning, provide anytime-anywhere access, and remain fungible across academic disciplines. (Huffaker, 2005) "

Huffakerliertacy, but also prepares children for the technology driven world. He proceeds to discuss how blogs offer a best of both worlds situation. It not only has the children immersed in writing but also reading, and children do not need to have exceptional technical skills. It doesn't take much to be able to create a blog.

The author is a big believer in the impact of storytelling on children's literacy development. He explains that storytelling helps children's reading and writing skills grow, and that it does not stop during childhood. Adolescents and adults tell stories to make sense of the world, communicate feelings, develop relationships, use their imagination, and in a variety of other ways. He believes that the integration of storytelling in the classroom is something that teachers should really consider and what a better way to do this than to have students create a blog.

Huffaker begins to state all of the advantages of using weblogs in the classroom. The following is a list of the advantages he talks about.

encourages creativity

equitable for many age groups and genders

easy to implement

access anywhere with internet connection

both individualistic and collaborative

promote self expression

students can comment and give feedback to one another

multidisciplinary

These are just a few of the advantages that he listed. Huffaker then gave examples of some ways that blogs are used. The examples given were very similar to the ones we have discussed in class. The article did mention a specific blog that allowed for new teachers and mentors to share concerns and provide guidance. I thought that was a neat idea.

Huffaker sums up the article by again stating the importance of storytelling in literacy. He believes that blogs are an excellent way to foster this skill development. According to the research cited in this article, the amount of bloggers is only going to increase and Huffaker feels as though teachers need to realize this growth and harness learning through this new technology.

I think Huffaker has some really good points in his article. I found myself agreeing a lot with the information he present. However, I do believe that blogs have so much more to offer than what he listed. My classmates and I have discussed several ways in which blogs can be used. I do believe that storytelling is an important skill to foster and blogging could be an excellent way to do so, but I also believe there is so much more than can be done with a blog.

Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom.

AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.

Class Websites

Last week in class we took a look at a lot of websites that will be very beneficial when I start teaching. I was really intrigued with TeacherWeb and wanted to look more closely at it. I was really pleased with everything that it had to offer and felt that the $39 per year subscribtion is a very reasonable price. The website even has a school-wide option. There was no information about pricing for this option only an email address to send questions to.

The website has much to offer. One thing that I really liked was the class blog. We have dicussed several ways to use blogs within the classroom, and if you use this website for your class blog, the students wouldn't have to memorize another website, create an account for a blog site, etc. The teacher can also upload lesson plans for the students to view. This is very benifical if a student was absent one day. Another tool is the quiz and word search maker. A teacher can create those things and post it to the site. The quiz can even be taken online. This is all offered through the TeacherWeb website, and a teacher would no longer have go to another website to create these things.

The website is not only for student use, but parents can benefit from a class website as well. There is a calendar option in which a teacher can post upcoming events for parents to look at. The class page can also have a photo gallery for teachers to post pictures from class/field trips/special occasions, etc. I really like how this website offered a wish list function. Here a teacher can create a list of things that are needed for their classroom. This is so much easier than sending a note or email anytime you need something for your classroom. The teacher can also post his/her schedule to the website. I feel that this will help parents know when it's best to contact their child's teacher.

I could list so many more things that I liked about TeacherWeb, but I feel that I may write a novel. I'm sure it has it's downfalls, but without creating a website first hand it's hard to tell.  I know some of you who read this blog are teachers and may possibly have a class website or know a teacher who has one. What website/s do you use or have you heard of other teachers using? I know there are probably other good websites out there, and I'm curious to know what those are.

The wonders of an iPad

I absolutely love the iPad. I have had if for almost five months, but fell in love with it the very first day I got it. There is so much you can do with an iPad. I feel that I would be a fool to even try and list some of the best things about it because chances are I'll discover something even better by the time this class meets on Wednesday. It wasn't until we had an in-class discussion about iPads that I really started thinking about their potential within the classroom.

During our week off, I decided to search for learning centered applications. The first thing I thought of was the free application entitled iBooks. iBooks is basically a digital library. With this app you can purchase books and then the book will remain on your digital bookshelf for you to go back and read later. I was amazed to find so many free classic books. I thought about how I could use this app within my classroom, and I thought it would be a great way to purchase read aloud books. I wouldn't have to have a paper copy of the book. While some people may not like the move from paper books to digital, I really don't mind it. The amount of educational applications available is unbelievable. Here is a small list of what I found:

Fill in the missing letters
Tangrams
Alphabet recognition
Math flashcards
Spelling activities
Sentence builders
Story builders
Word matching
Biographies
US States location
BrainPOP movies
Science glossary
Money counting
Dictionaries
Time
Fractions
Grammar
Kid songs
Marine life
Star map
Letter forms
Animated books
Memory matching
Story books
Sign language

The list could go on. They even have apps for teachers! There are grade book apps, attendance apps, special education apps, seating chart apps, etc. I think that everyone should take some time and search the available applications. You will be amazed by what they have. Not all of the apps that they have are the greatest quality, but there are some really good apps out there.

I do think that although this technology is very new teachers will benefit from it tremendously. The number of applications available to teachers is only going to increase and hopefully become even more useful within the classroom. With this new technology available, I do have to add that we must not think of the technology first. Instead plan your lesson and then think about what technology or applications could compliment your lesson.

Youtube

I have been racking my brains all week about the subject of my blog. It wasn't until I sat down and read another one of my classmates blogs that I got the idea for mine. Her blog was about the different technologies that she used in the classroom this week. Another classmate had responded by stating some of the technologies she used in class and one thing she mentioned was Youtube.

When I was student teaching, the class I was with was learning about the Winter Olympics and on this particular day they were going to be talking about snowboarding. The teacher wanted to show a clip of a an Olympic snowboarder so she went straight to Youtube, previewed the available clips, found an appropriate clip, and showed it to her class. How easy was this task? This situation made me really made me think. What would she have done before Youtube? She probably would have had to plan a few weeks in advanced, contacted the local library, asked the AEA what they had, searched video stores, etc. That process could have taken her a few days. Youtube took about ten to fifteen minutes. Think of the time she saved! While teachers will not be able to use Youtube for all of their video needs, it is still an excellent source to consider when searching for a clip. Especially if what you want the students to few is only a two to five minute clip!

Classroom Experience

This past week I had the opportunity to sub in a classroom. It was a fairly easy job. All I had to do was pop in a movie, monitor students' behavior, and then ask a few questions at the end. The very last I had to ask students was what they would change about the way they were taught. Since I'm a recent graduate with a degree in Elementary Education, I thought this question was perfect. It would give me an insight to students' opinions on schooling.
I, of course, got silly answers like nap time, being paid to go to school, being allowed to chew gum, etc. However, I did get a lot of valuable answers. The answers varied from less group work, opportunities to be more creative, more hands-on activities, ability grouping, a fun classroom environment, more art on the walls, etc.
Now you may start to wonder how this blog relates to technology, but I promise I'm getting there. Since I didn't have much to do during my teacher's prep time, I started thinking about the students' responses. I got the impression that they really didn't like school. This saddened me. I started to brainstorm things that could possibly change their views on school. What did I think of right away....? TECHNOLOGY! I haven't been in CI 556 for very long, but I have already worked with so many programs that I feel would change these students views about school. In a world that's technology driven, I feel it's important for teachers to go with the trend and try to use more technology in the classroom. I think one of the great things that we have learned in this class so far is that when you use technology in the classroom it doesn't have to be a big ordeal that takes days to finish. It can be very simple, and it will still better your lesson and possibly even make learning fun for students. If you can have all of those things, why not use technology?

Facebook and the classroom

Facebook. Where do I even start? I remember when it was first started. I was unable to have it because as we all know Facebook was first started as a social networking tool for college students, and I was still in high school. They only way you could have a page was if you had a college email address. Wow, times sure have changed. Everyboy and their dog has Facebook now. This being said several young children are even starting their own page. As a teacher, I am of course thinking of how this website could be used within the classroom, and even should this website be used within the classroom.

I'm hoping to use this blog post to get feedback from my fellow classmates. I really want to know your views on Facebook and the classroom. Here is a list of questions that I hope you will answer:

Should teachers friend their students?
Should teachers friend their students' parents?
How could Facebook be used as a tool in the classroom?
Do you see any negative consequences with using Facebook in the classroom?

These are questions that I constantly toss back and forth in my head. At this point in my life, Facebook is used for something entirely different than what it would be in a classroom and for me it's hard to think of it in any other way. I posed these questions to you all because I am still very torn on the issue and am hoping to get some insight into what others think.

My feelings about CI 456/556 thus far...

I often think that I know a lot about technology and that I know a lot of the programs that are available. Although it seems that whenever I take a technology class, I learn how wrong I am. We have only had two CI 456/556 classes and I will honestly admit that I hadn't heard of half of the programs we talked about.

My favorite thing about experiencing these programs is hearing my classmates' ideas on how to use them. When we had to come up with an idea of how to relate our favorite children's book to  Bailey's Bookhouse, I was stumped. I could not come up with anything. I thought my book was too advanced and was positive I couldn't find anything that would work. It wasn't until I listened to some of my classmate's ideas that I realized there were ways to make a lesson fit. It would be a stretch, but it would work.

I love that this class gives me the opportunity to experience different programs and also to hear how others would use those programs in the classroom. I feel that my classmates often think of things that I wouldn't have thought of and I love hearing their ideas. I think that's one of the most useful things about this class.

My Very First Blog!

I was excited when Dr. Schmidt announced that we would be blogging yet a little nervous because other people would actually be reading my writing and be commenting on my thoughts. One of our requirements is to blog about potential uses of blogging in the classroom. I'm going use this first blog to talk about some of the things that popped into my head when I heard that.

My first thoughts related to how I could use this related to literacy. It seemed like ideas kept popping into my head. The first thing I thought of was rather simple. I thought blogging would be a great way to get student's reactions on the book we are reading as a class. I could create a blog and allow children to post their thoughts or questions about the story and other students could respond. I also thought student's could create a blog about the books they are reading. Each student could give a summary and a recommendation of the book and other students could read that to decide if they would like to read the book. This also provides students with a chance to practice writing summaries. I can also see blogs being used for literature circles. After each student has been assigned a role, that student could post their finding on the blog for other students in the group to respond to.

This is only a small list of the possibilities of blogging in the classroom. I find that I will be adding a lot to this list as the semester rolls on.