Tidbits for Early Childhood

TaDaLists is a collaborative list-building tool. You could use it to record ideas for class projects, supplies you need, or tasks you want to complete in the next week. At my house, we use it for grocery lists, movies we want to see, and reminders of what we need from Home Depot.

I used KidPix software for two years in the computer lab with Pre-k students. It's an easy drawing tool for the kids to get comfortable creating art on the computer. My favorite part is the set of stamps - letters, numbers, and lots of pictures are available and easy to use for students who don't yet know how to keyboard.

For Teachers and Administrators

News article from MIT about the benefits children derive from exposure to the digital culture.

A podcast episode about 'The Death of the Chalkboard'. This brief audio file offers some research results about the impact of a 'smartboard' in the classroom. It also gives some ideas for using this technology.

Middle School Items

A blog called CU Online. It contains resources about educational technology for PK - 12 teachers and student teachers. It is updated regularly, contains information about upcoming conferences, and links to lots of websites related to technology in education. The list down the left side is very helpful if you are looking for information about a specific type of technology.

A study of Texas wildflowers could include using pictures publicly available on Flickr. Students could also take their own pictures of wildflowers and post them for all the world to enjoy. A free membership to Flickr is required.

Build your own custom radio station. Pandora is a cool music tool. Load the tool and then enter the name of an artist whose music you like. Pandora will generate a 'radio station' that plays on your computer and plays music that is similar to the artist(s) you listed. Click on the double arrow in the upper right corner to go to the next song.

A Few Ideas for Lower School

An example of how a teacher is using a blog in third grade. This is from Mr. Wright's third grade class in Rolla, Missouri. Rolla is located southwest of St. Louis.

Radio WillowWeb - a podcast created by the students at Willowdale Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska. You can click on the 'Listen' button to hear the latest audio file. Or click on the grade levels at the top of the page to see recommended web links. There is also a link to some other elementary school podcasts.

What is a Blog and Why Would I Use One?

First, let's look at the Wikipedia definition of a blog. Just click on the link and you will go to Wikipedia. Scroll down to number 6.11 in the Contents window to see a brief definition of some of the educational uses of a blog.

Some people use blogs as private, online diaries. Some people are pursuing serious journalistic endeavors on blogs. Many schools are using blogs as tools to allow their teachers to communicate with students, parents, and each other; to allow students to collaborate on projects; and to provide another forum for getting students to write for an audience, hopefully increasing the interest in writing and the quality of students' writing.

BTW (by the way), what is Wikipedia? It is an free, online collaborative encyclopedia. People around the world can modify the definitions included. Are you an expert in some topic? Go to Wikipedia and see what you can add to the discussion.

Intro

The purpose of this blog is to say 'Thank you' to the administration and staff at Grace School for offering me the opportunity to interview for the position of Director of Academic Technology.

In this brief blog, I hope to show Grace School faculty and staff the definition of a blog; show how easy blogs are to use; and provide some links to education sites, articles, and examples of tools.

Have fun.