Friday, August 7, 2009

Yesterday Josh and I worked in my classroom. I am so anal I like everything to match so it is off to WM tomorrow to see if I can finish matching everything. It makes it easier for the children too if everything is color coordinated. That's what I tell myself anyway.
Today the Thomas's are coming over for some pool time. It is beautiful out so I am going to do a little housework and then it is outside for the day.

Monday, August 3, 2009

A day on the boat

Today Linda and I went out on her boat on Merrymeeting. It was a great day. Earlier today we joined the gym and worked out. Yeah!

Friday, July 31, 2009

summer 2009

Wow, I am going to try this again. I haven't blogged since last year but it seems this is the way to communicate now. Everyone I know has a blog page now.
Technology, who knew!

Monday, June 30, 2008

summer June 30, 2008

It is summer vacation in NH but it seems like April. It has rained almost everyday. Although today is warmer it is very cloudy. I guess the god thing is that it hasn't rained yet.
It has been quite some time since I posted a blog or went on to visit others. I am excited about getting back in the habit of blogging and reading what other people are doing.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

time management

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted my last blog. Being back in the classroom leaves little time to explore technogy on the web. I did set up to use a smartboard in my class last week that led to a disaster. After spending 1 hour getting all the cords and equipment in place I ended up loosing the site that I thought I had book marked to have the kids use a thermometer on line. I did however take some video to send to the principal about the mess to drive home the need for wiring in the rooms to access online technology.
I haven't given up the idea to create a web page with my class that we can share ideas and post our own blogs.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Reflection

This class has really challenged me! Yet it has been one of the most rewarding classes I have ever taken. I think what I liked best about the Networking class is that we didn't just read about networking but we had to network. I have always been a hands on learner and although I am a bit slower when it comes to understanding all this new technology, I am excited about what I have learned to do: blogging, podcasting, and creating a wiki page with my class this year.
I think sometimes we avoid teaching with tools that we are not comfortable with. I feel better prepared to go back to school next week and use this technology with my students. I am ok with making mistakes and exploring together.
I have really enjoyed the collaboration project that I worked on with students in Australia, Canada, and other cities in New Hampshire without ever leaving my home. I am sad and relieved that the class is coming to an end. The workload was tough. I really put a lot of time into the class. That said, I feel that I have made some new friends who I could contact if I needed help. I am also blogging....who knew I would like putting my thoughts on the computer for others to read and comment on. The comments have all been positive and supportive.
The following paragraph from Siemen's book Knowing Knowledge talks about the change that is needed. The book talked about letting go of what we think we know and preparing for a rapid change.

A holistic, integral approach to thinking, learning, and knowledge is
required as our society grows in complexity. The opportunity for change is tremendous. Opportunities to restructure
organizations and society are rare. Yet periodically—in periods of
substantial social, technological, or ideological change—we have the
opportunity to remake our existence, to rewrite the inefficiencies of
antiquated modes of operation. With vision, foresight, and awareness
of change, we can move forward with a model that will serve humanity
well. We exist in such a time. If we are able to loose our faulty view of
control-in-advance and embrace an adaptive, flow-view of knowledge,
we have the capability to restructure our organizations to best serve our
learners, employees, and customers.

I am taking away so much from this class and I am anxious to share it with my colleagues.

Thanks to Jeff Utecht for doing such an amazing job teaching this class. He has opened my eyes and my beliefs in using new technology like wiki's in my class.

Laptops in the classroom

After searching the Internet for blogs or stories on how teachers are using laptops in the classroom, I came across an article about Technology in the classroom. There is a lot of good information in this article about how we need to use technology in the classroom. There are a lot of things that we can do but giving children the chance to use laptops in the classroom opens up a world of information that no one teacher could possibly know. I realize that it is expensive to have a laptop for every student but mobile laptop carts can solve that problem.
I found some information on an initiative that Maine had started to purchase a laptop for every seventh grader and continue to supply seventh graders with laptops. The only problem is the articles I found were written in 2002 and I couldn't find any current information. I do have two nieces who live in Maine and have just reached high school. They weren't given laptops so I think the initiative must not have been feasible. I don't think many school districts can afford to give students laptops nor should they have to.I believe that with technology changing as rapidly as it has that it would be extremely expensive for school districts to keep buying laptops or computers. By the time you order your computer it is almost obsolete. My laptop is only three years old and I found taking this class that it did not have many of the features that I needed.
However, classes should have the technology readily available and be using it on a daily basis.I think mobile laptop carts are one of the best alternatives.
Eventually I think that we will need to do away with a lot of textbooks and learn to use the Internet for the most current information. Maybe as we fade out some textbooks more money would be available to buy computers.