Interactive White Board

I've been doing some more exploring of online resources available. I like the tool interactive whiteboard. This would be a great tool for my students to use when I have them present projects and assignments to the class. This would also be a good collaborative place to create lessons and projects and be able to share with other 4th grade teachers.

Exploring Multimedia Folder

I LOVE learning new things that I can use with my students and different tools that I can bring into the classroom. I teach writing to all 4th graders at my school and I love the Voice Thread. I have seen it used in other Doane classes, but have not used it with my students. I definitely see how this could help students "tell" their stories, before they write them. I have quite a few that struggle with getting started with writing and I often use Audacity or a tape recorder and they love it! I'm excited to experiment with voice thread.

I also explored a little bit of the Xtranormal piece. I immediately thought of some of my high ability learners and how I could use this with specific projects in my curriculum.

Digital Natives

I thought the YouTube videos were interesting, and they really made me think. I was blown away by the idea that today's learners will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38. In the "Learning to Change" video, I couldn't believe that out of 55 industries, education ranked 55th for IT intensiveness. As educators we need to set new standards for 21st centruy learners. In the "Pay Attention" video, I had to ask myself about the richness of my curriculum.
I read the article: "Turning on the Lights". When he said "When kids come to school, they leave behind the intellectual light of their everyday lives and walk into the darkness of the old-fashioned classroom", that definitely stuck with me. I'm constantly think of new ways to better myself as a teacher, so I'm excited to learn more of integrating the internet into my classroom. I also need the means to do it. It would be great if our district invested some more money into technology, but I also need to learn how to make do with I have. At the end of the article he said that it is less about teachers mastering the skill, but just be willing to let the students explore. That is so true!