Teaching with Technology

Finding this video (thank you, Jenny Luca) helped me remember what failure can mean with the right perspective.

What kind of failures have been intense learning lessons for you?

Very simple explanation of my job!

This comes from the 60 Sec Tech site. It has great, short video tutorials on technology, especially the Smartboard!

I’ve spent the last week having a chance to go into classrooms and talk to kids about internet safety at East. While it’s not my favorite topic to teach, I’ve been amazed at what I’ve learned during the whole process. I have always believed our kids use more technology than we realize, but being there and listening to them talks cements it even more in my mind. I thought I kept pretty on top of the games and sites kids like, but I’ve heard about all sorts of new games and websites this trip! I’ve spent my weekend trying to catch up. And while I was pretty sure that many of our kids had cell phones, I was surprised when a third to half of a class of 5th graders raised their hands when I asked that question. Pam recently posted a video on her blog that we have been talking about redoing with our own students, and after this week, I’m even more excited about doing it. I can’t wait to see what I learn about our students. Here’s the original video:

Those of you that know me well know how much I love my dog. He’s been with me throughout all sorts of major life events, steadfast and loyal. So when I saw the Man’s Best Friend video on the CBS Fast Draw Blog, I had to share it. And yes, Macduff has trained me well.
If you have not seen the Fast Draw Blog, it’s worth checking out. I was first turned on to it when Carolyn Pillis mentioned the Super Delegates video shown on CBS News. The blog shows all the segments the Fast Draw Team has done for CBS, including the latest one explaining Daylights Saving Time.

A recent report from SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association) found that we do!

“In 2006, the Virginia Department of Education commissioned a study that examined the relationship between the instructional technology resource teacher program and levels of technology practiced in schools, impact of the instructional technology resource teacher program on classrooms and teachers, and impact of the instructional technology resource teacher program on students. The results indicate major improvements occurred in 32 % of the subject areas tested by the Standards of Learning tests, most dramatically in English reading. “

If you’d like to see a summary of the report for yourself (which also shows programs other states are implementing), click here.

A big, “Thanks!” to Brian McKee in Portsmouth for sharing the info on his blog.

Wow…when I see things like this, it always makes me wonder about the current group of students at our schools. Which “ordinary” child in your class will do something “extraordinary” when they grow up? Will it be who you expect?

Download Video: Posted by MissB924 at TeacherTube.com.

Garr Reynolds, a self-described design evangelist, has a very interesting blog called Presentation Zen. He also has written a book by the same name that I just started reading. Today I noticed his most frequent blog post: an 18 minute video of Jill Bolte Taylor’s presentation at TED Talks. It floored me. She describes her experience of surviving a stroke, with a Neuroanatomist viewpoint, and how the stroke really clarified for her “how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.” It’s totally worth the watch!!!

I ran across this video posted on the ICT U Can! blog and I just had to share it!  Too bad we’ve already passed the 100th day of school…this would be perfect to show!  Remind me, and I’ll send it out next year around that time.

Last week I was tagged with this meme by fellow Elementary Instructional Technologist, Kevin Jarrett. I do have to say that this is the first time I’ve ever been tagged for a meme, so I feel quite honored! Thanks Kevin!! I’ve been a little delayed in responding, though. I was supposed to post a picture and tell what makes me passionate about teaching with technology, I actually had a hard time deciding on just ONE. There are so many reasons I love technology and what it can do…

I finally decided, though, on this picture (thanks to FlickrCC), which I will call, “Technology: A Key That Opens Many Doors.”

One of the things technology can do for students is to open doors: doors to new places, doors to new ways of thinking, doors to an entire community of learners and thinkers very different than themselves, but also very similar. It can broaden the meaning of community. It can allow students to see and listen and even talk to people in places across the globe and to learn empathy, understanding, and tolerating opposing points of view. It provides a means to teach students what it is like to stand in someone else’s shoes, and helps gives them an audience when they tell what it’s like to stand in their own place in the world. These skills are of utmost importance in the 21st century, as our world gets smaller and flatter…

I can quickly think to some of the projects I’ve seen in going on in our classrooms during the past couple of months, and I see where this is true…

• Third Graders exchanging brochures and letters with students around the world, thanks to Jennifer Wagners’ Technospud projects.
• Classrooms virtually traveling to underwater with Meg Swecker as she explored coral reefs thanks to VoiceThread.
• Students collaborating, writing and publishing their own podcasts, and the excitement and creativity that this medium inspires.
• The 4th Grade bloggers who now have a global audience for their writing, from Connecticut to Australia…and to hear them talk about the impact and motivation that audience has for them as they share their ideas.
• I could go on and on and on…

3 Simple Meme Rules:

• Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
• Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
• Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

So I’m tagging these 5 folks to keep this meme going…

• Amanda Gibson — http://agibson.edublogs.org/
• Meg Swecker — http://mswecker.edublogs.org/
• Sean Sharp — http://sharpsitrt.edublogs.org/
• Pam Elgin –http://pelgin.edublogs.org/
• Susan Roustan — http://beyondpodcasting.blogspot.com/

I’ve been hit a lot lately with references and stories about abundance and “stuff.”  I think there must be a lesson for me to learn because of it…and I’m going to try my best to do so in the coming year.  The latest thing that I’ve run across was a video is from the Miniature Earth Project.  It’s a must-see…

The GenTech crew interviewed Sean Sharp, an ITRT from Floyd County, on their latest podcast episode. Sean talks about some exciting ways Floyd County is using technology to help with assessment.  He also talks a bit about the challenges and rewards of working in a rural school district.   Take a listen!  While you are at it, you might want to check out Sean’s blog too!

Just sat down this morning to watch a couple more of the K-12 Online Conference Presentations, and lo and behold, I ran into this one! It’s called Design Matters by Dean Shareski! It’s well worth the watch (and totally follows-up to my last post).

Be sure to also check out the Design Matters Wiki that goes with this presentation.

I also noticed a great link to a site called Color in Motion posted to Pam Elgin’s del.icio.us account that fits right into this “design” theme. It’s a great site about the ways colors impact an audience.

This video, created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University, is another one of those eye-openers.

I had the privilege of being asked to participate in a interview on the Gen Tech Podcast. If you are interested, you can listen to it here.

While you are there, be sure to check out some of the other great podcast episodes. Here is a description of their show:

“Generative Technology,” or GenTech, is a term we’re using to describe tools that allow for student-created content. GenTech includes computer-based tools like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker as well as Web2.0 software like Writely, Empressr, or gliffy. Think of it as the alternative to traditional educational software in which students are tested against a correct answer or made to practice a single skill over and over - also called “drill and kill” software.

The GenTech podcast is a weekly conversation about a particular tool or trend, and how it can be used educationally. For each topic, we’ll feature a definition, examples, and a roundtable discussion.

On the show, they share some great cutting-edge ideas for incorporating technology in the classroom.

Check out this video “What If Every Child Had a Laptop?” about the One Laptop Per Child Initiative from CBS.  Very interesting!  Want to learn more?  You can take a look at the One Laptop Per Child Website too!