Another Step Towards 2.0

Today Education City, a web-based resource that we subscribe to at Falconer, launched their "Live Play" feature in the Math section. I had to give it a test run, so a couple of my classes tested it. It allows our students to participate in a virtual race that they can win by knowing their math facts. They compete on-line with other schools around the country that subscribe to the program. They get to choose an avatar for themselves and are randomly put up against other students on-line either in their class or from other schools. The children really seemed to enjoy it once they got the hang of entering their answers. I hope it is well received by my other classes.

Integrating Technology - Reflection

When I began this course I did so with great anticipation and apprehension. The anticipation was due to the fact that we were finally getting into some technology applications. The apprehension was due to the very same. Blogs, wikis and podcasts were not familiar territory for me. I had blogged a few times before and am a frequent user of Facebook, but felt a little intimidated about posting for my peers.

I will say that the experience of using these web 2.0 skills has been very rewarding. It has opened up a new perspective for me as to how these “digital natives” learn new skills. I started watching them more closely as I implemented some collaborative chats into my lessons. I noticed their eagerness to help one another with their new found skills and most of them were eager to contribute to the discussion, even if it was just a few brief words. This has definitely made me shift my focus to student centered learning. I want to see what other capabilities the technology that I already have access to in my lab I can utilize to further this goal.

I would like to continue exploring blogs, wikis and podcasts as part of my curriculum and also share some of the ideas with my colleagues through after-school Professional Development training. We already have a blogging workshop set to take place in the next few weeks. I feel that the more teachers on my staff that get comfortable using Web 2.0 technologies, the more we will be able to set up collaborative projects across the curriculum and grade levels. This is one of the goals that I would like to have come to fruition in the next couple of years. As my current students progress with the technology and move on to the middle grade computer lab, they will be able to help my future classes adapt to this technology more easily.

I feel that if I can get the students accustomed to working on projects using the chat room or blog set-up that the administration will see the benefits and lift some of the current restrictions. The older students are being given access to the system-wide e-mail service “First Class” and I think that by preparing the younger students for that  forum in the safety of “in house” chat that they will have the know how to use these communication skills effectively.

Podcast At Last

Here's the link to my 1st podcast (many technical glitches were involved in creating this podcast) which finally uploaded successfully. I am going to see if it can be linked to our school's server next week.

Time flies & bees & beetles...

We were having such a productive time today creating webs of insect facts for the 1st grade that half my classes went beyond the 40 minute time slot. The students were focused and trying their best to sound out words they were writing in their sentences. I find that the most important thing at that age is learning how to use the space bar when typing sentences so they don't read, "abutterflyeetsflowers"or "unamariposacomeflores".

Thoughts on "Partnership for 21st Century Skills"

After looking over the website for the "Partnership for 21st Century Skills", I was impressed by their vision and mission (see website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/). I would agree that we have to foster these skills in our students in order for them to compete in tomorrow's society. I don't agree with everything that is in the "No Child Left Behind" Act, but if we don't cooperate at all levels, like the partnership suggests, then a lot of our children will be left behind. There are some big money corporations behind the movement, because they want to be able to recruit from the ranks of our students for years to come. There is a motive behind their membership and hopefully there is their money behind it as well.

Death of a Mouse

I lost a mouse today. It was rather sad. It was the second one that has broken down since I took over the computer lab in May of '05. I was able to swap it out with the seldom used mouse at station #32, but when I have a full class of 30 I'll need to have a working mouse for that computer. It had to happen during bilingual kindergarten class with 26 little ones clicking away (some of them literally clicking away from the activity) and one third of them need help at the same time pleading "maestro, maestro" instead of raising their hands as we discussed. Ah, but it wouldn't be Monday without my little ones. we'll see what next weeks adventure brings.

Next...next...next...

I am in for an interesting ride this year with my Kindergarten classes. Some of them have an extremely short attention span. As we were using Kid Keys for the first time so I could assess their mouse skill level, one of the boys hadn't even finished the level when he turned to me and said, "otro juego, maestro". He already wanted to play a different game.