Integrating Technology

The concept of a "blog" has been around for awhile, but it's something I've never really done. So to start off technology is something that I've always enjoyed as long as it "works" and doesn't get that frustrating. Being that I teach Reading / Language Arts and Ancient History, those topics tend to be of interest. For reading my school has purchased a new reading series called Storytown. There is a large on-line component in which the students will be able to leave their textbook at home and read a story on-line. The story / lesson can also be read to them. My teacher edition and any other workbooks / resources are available to me on-line. This will allow me to easily post / attach assignments for absent students / those who "forget" their homework at school.

I'm very interested in using technology to better link the partnership between parents and teachers. Currently I have a calendar webpage in which parents can view homework assignments, attachments for worksheets / handouts from class and also announcements. Throughout the last few years I have really started to understand how important it is for parents to have a place to be informed and know how they can try to ensure that their child gets their work done. This is something that I plan to update more often in the coming year. I'm excited to learn more from this class and find ways to make my website more user friendly and effective.

Having a blog or space for parents and teachers to ask questions / clarification might be nice as long as it is used just for help with homework and or classwork. Also if one student has a question about something, my answer might help others. Maybe on one of my sites I could post educational games / websites for students. I would have to let parents and teachers know that I will check in occasionally but not all the time.

Also so far I use technology in my classroom by using my proxima to project handouts, worksheets and short readings so that my students can visually follow along. I also use a program called Journal Writer to highlight sections and write notes. I can scan in any document that I want and then project it on a whiteboard. This has allowed me to get away from the traditional overhead projector. For grammar occasionally I show clips from a website http://www.brainpop.com/. It has short videos that through cartoon characters explain grammar topics and many other subjects. This was something that was purchased by my school and has grabbed my student's attention. Also as simple as it sounds I always try to find pictures and or websites to reinforce a topic or concept mentioned in a story we are reading. For example one time we were talking about Adobe houses that are made out of mud and clay. The textbook didn't give the best pictures so I found some on-line to help the students visually better understand what they were learning.

Lastly while it's not something I know a lot about, I'm interested in WIKI's. From what I understand they can be used to allow students to comment / discuss books or stories they are reading. I think if I learn more about it and understand how to make sure the students take the posts seriously, this could be a great way for them to reflect and think about what they have read. In addition it could help with their typing skills and social interaction!