Purposeful writing-Take 2

I have a set of turkey puppets that I use for a Thanksgiving song/poem and one of the birds had a torn beak.  One of my students was very bothered by this and wrote me the following note:

Translation:  Sew the chicken! Gotta love it!

Needless to say, I did take it home and sew it!

Reflections on my Journey

I have always said that when you think you know it all,  you need to quit, especially if you are a teacher.  Well, as I quickly discovered, I still  have a lot to learn!  I have really enjoyed learning about the vast array of technology tools that can help me learn and grow as a teacher.  I’ve also discovered many tools that my students can use as well. 

I have particularly enjoyed the format, because I could work as I had time.  Some weeks I completed the tasks for the week and other weeks when life was busier, I waited a week and caught up.  If I needed help, it was only an email or post away! 

I feel like I have learned so much in such a short period of time.  My only concern, is will I remember all of these cool things that I learned how to use?  My only consolation is that our fearless instructor is a short walk for me and I know she reads her email!  Plus I could contact her by Skype with my new web cam!  Thanks for your encouragement and patience,  Cindy!

ONLINE TOOLS

Okay, so when we were challenged to look at 4 new tools that we had never seen before, it was easy.  I had not used, seen, or heard of  MOST of them.  So, I began my journey... There were several that I had fun playing with (many more than four), but the ones I thought would be most useful in my current position are Wordle, GoAnimate, Prezi, and e-Learning for Kids.  Last night I spent probably over an hour playing with Prezi and I find it quite motivating.  To describe it in a few words, it's like creating a poster/presentation in a very fun way!  It looks professional and you can embed videos, pictures, text, virtually anything!  I am excited to use it to present information to my students especially when the content requires steps and cycles.  I found a tool that is much like Kidspiration's webs that can help students see cyclical processes.  On all of the "prezis" you can choose the path and the order of how things are presented.  I see great potential for me as the teacher, but even more potential for students to demonstrate their learning on a given topic.  I think it would be really cool for them to create their own presentations at the end of many of our units or even to show the steps to add/subtract numbers with renaming and regrouping.  Not sure, how this could work, but maybe there is something else out there that is similar that they wouldn't have to sign into???? 

Excited about Skype!

I am really excited about the prospect of being able to contact guest speakers and authors in particular via Skype.  I guess the only context I had ever really thought of regarding Skype was when you see those sweet family reunions or kids talking to their Dads at war.  Duh... I never thought about how I could use it in my classroom with my new WEBCAM!  I am really excited when I think of the vast community I have to choose from with this cool tool!

JING!

I am anxious to spend more time with this tool and see many uses and implications for my classroom.  It would be an awesome tool for students who are working independently in the computer work station or when I might be absent and need to communicate how to complete ANYTHING! to my students.  Can't wait.  Right now I'm just trying to figure out how I will remember all that I'm learning.  BRAIN TRANSPLANT?????

Reflections on Facebook and Twitter

The obvious advantages of both Facebook and Twitter are that they are great, accessible tools to communicate with large audiences and small, QUICKLY!  I certainly see the benefit more readily for older students and their teachers.  I think that regardless of whether you are using these personally or professionally, you have to be careful what you put out there.  What we think are casual conversations can often be misinterpreted and misused.  I still believe in the value of face to face communication when things are important.  I have read things on Facebook and Twitter that make me  wonder if the person who wrote it really thought about who might read it! 

My Little Darlings!

These are the reasons I come to school each day!