my first

<img style=”visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;” border=0 width=0 height=0 src=”http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzMjIyNjgxNDc1NjkmcHQ9MTMyMjI2ODc*NjUxNyZwPTk3NTA3MiZkPTAwMCUyMC*lMjBWb2tpJTIwV2lkZ2V*Jmc9/MSZvPTk4OWYxNGZkYWM5YzRiNzU5NmVjOTk3ZTdkZjU2YWJjJm9mPTA=.gif” /><object height=”267″ width=”200″ classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″codebase=”http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,28,0″ id=”widget_name”><param name=”movie” value=”http://vhss-d.oddcast.com/vhss_editors/voki_player.swf?doc=http://vhss-d.oddcast.com/php/vhss_editors/getvoki/chsm=37e4384faa204665d0b8df36791043c2%26sc=4816662″ /><param name=”quality” value=”high” /><param name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always” /><param name=”width” value=”200″ /><param name=”height” value=”267″ /><param name=”allowNetworking” value=”all”/><param name=”wmode” value=”transparent” /><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true” /><embed height=”267″ width=”200″ src=”http://vhss-d.oddcast.com/vhss_editors/voki_player.swf?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fvhss-d.oddcast.com%2Fphp%2Fvhss_editors%2Fgetvoki%2Fchsm=37e4384faa204665d0b8df36791043c2%26sc=4816662″ quality=”high” allowScriptAccess=”always” allowNetworking=”all” wmode=”transparent” allowFullScreen=”true” pluginspage=”http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” name=”widget_name”></object>

Lots of fun for students and adults…and the GIANT turtle in the petting zoo was amazing. The Forest Exhibit brought great reviews too! The voicethread that students made was a great success.                                                                                      Congratulations to all winners of the Science Fair Projects!

Way to go Ian! jr.

rocks

As I sit here in a warm condo surrounded by snow, I reflect upon the lessons I learned from EDUC-6713I-4 Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas Instructed by Virgil Kirk. My conclusion is it was another great class at Walden University. This class introduced me to the GAME Plan. Although, making a plan and following it was not a new concept for me the GAME Plan organized it into a very practical and doable practice. I benefited from reviewing the NET-(S) and (T)s and my strengths and weaknesses in integrating technology. Weekly reflections on my progress were very powerful in making strides in the goals I set for myself. I realized the importance of committing to change-both at my level and the level of my students.

Another positive gain from this class was the introduction to E-Pals and other such networks. From the postings of my colleagues and class readings, I was introduced to some safe, free online programs that can be used for connecting my students to the world outside our classroom. I recognize that I was only introduced to the experience and it is now my responsibility to further the experience.

Digital story telling is a medium that I will use in all content areas to help students learn to express themselves in positive 21^st century activities. Vicki Davis shared that students will gravitate toward their strengths when given the opportunity to express themselves in a variety of ways, making a student’s understanding of content more evident.

As I enjoyed the Christmas holiday with my extended family in this state of snow, I noticed that my five-year-old nephews were sporting new Leap Frog handhelds; my nine year old nieces were video taping different members of our family talking about the holiday (similar to the lessons of my kindergarten students) and my twelve year old was setting up his new laptop. The adults were mainly worried about what was going to be published on the Internet by these young artists, before the day was over because my eighty-five year old father has the Internet routed throughout his house.  Technology has evolved into social networking. Our children thrive on publishing their creations. They are quickly becoming experts at new forms of expressing themselves. EDUC-6713I-4 heralds the experience I had today. The people in our society, from very early ages to senior citizens, are using technology to share in problem solving, create artifacts that share their knowledge and make the world a smaller place. Educators must be making and following plans to use our new resources to benefit our students and emulate real world situations or our students will have no need or respect for public education. During this class I began to use social “educational” networking, and digital story telling with my students. These activities will become a permanent part of my school day . This class also nudged me to begin exploring free programs available to teachers; this activity will  become a permanent part of my professional development plan. EDUC-6713I-4 will have a positive effect on my teaching for many years to come.

We are trying to find what holidays are celebrated by families in our community. We hope that by having you take the poll we can get a bigger sample. Thanks.

http://snappoll.com/poll/351416.php

This week I have started working on my Game Plan to improve my NETS-T skills by researching. Paul McKenzie gave me a definite starting point when he posted the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-ifoHp6Y_A on my blog. It was a great U-Tube Video on Fair Use and the copyright law as it applies to educators. From there I found other sites that I was able to read and view more information on the copyright laws. I posted Paul’s link on my blog for others to visit.

I also visited a teacher in our school to observe him teach a class using his promethium board. He shared some of his ideas on how to incorporate the board beyond the large group setting. He also shared some of the lessons he had designed for the board that could be adapted easily for kindergarten. I left more excited about the board than I had been before. I also began having my students use the “clickers” on the board. It was a definite learning curve but it got better after a second try.

Another program I explored was Shoebox. It allows me to make slide shows and scrapbooks, notes and invitations to use as rewards and communication for my students and their families. It was a lot of fun and I know the kindergarten students will love it!

On the flip side, I spent a lot of time trying to use Audacity to record and publish my students’ voices on line and finally realized that my program had been corrupted. It was really frustrating to waste that much time and I realize I still need a lot more practice trouble shooting and knowing when to get help!

Finally, after reading other blogs, I began to understand that I need to begin sharing the experiences that I am having with technology with more of the teachers at school. I am comfortable sharing math with groups of teachers but have not yet started sharing my new knowledge from my classes at Walden. I guess I need to step it up!