International teachers using blogs

The first teacher that I found is a first grade teacher in Canada. I was really impressed with the things she was doing in her class. I have a first grader, so it was really neat to se how involved in this technology her first graders were. The can post their art work and writings and share them with family that do not live close by. They have blogging budies in other countries. They also do podcasts. I think it is a great way to get kids that are only 6 or 7 years old to think outside the box. Most kids this age would not even think about other people in other countries. I am sure it really helps them to get a sense of the bigger picture. You can veiw Mrs. Cassidy's site by clicking here.

The second teacher I found is an eigth grade Humanities teacher at the american embassy school in New Delhi, India. First you can see the difference in his teaching compared with the very laid back teaching styles here. He seems strictly business. As you can see the only picture he had was a simpson of himself. His students can get a general class description, reflection of the previous assignment, look at previous weeks, access their own blogs, get condensed lectures, take a class poll, and get assignments from his site. You can access his site by clicking here.

Article assignment

I agree and disagree with the author. I think that it is great that we can access information quicker and easier with the internet. It make research easier to sit at home and do it on my computer than to find a baby sitter, go to the library and research a paper there. Also I like that it makes our children more curious. It is so easy to obtain info about anything. When my kids have a question and I do not know the answer to we go to the computer and find it together. In that ascpect I think it is a wondeful tool for everyone. I can also see his point about the original form of literature disappearing. I could see where that could happen and it would be a great loss. I expect my kids to read everyday and both of them love to read and be read to. I also expect them to write well. I encourage them to write and one of my children would rather write than do just about anything else.
I learn better as a listener and watcher, some people just do! I think it depends on the person. I think you can make reading and writing enjoyable and maybe even a passion for some of your students if it is presented in the right way. I try to tell my children that reading and writing frees you. If you can read you can learn anything or do anything. If you can write you can create a whole world that is all your own. It will be the responsibility of the adults in todays world to instill the importance of written works in our youth. Nothing is better than setteling in for some peace and quite with your favorite book!

First we will review the methods for creating links. Our first link will be to
the fischbowl , a blog for technology training used at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado
Here is a picture from Littleton High School

Teachers using blogs in the U.S.

The first teacher is Gordon Brune. He is a 5th grade math teacher at Mamaroneck Avenue school in N.Y.. Mr. Brune has a section for links that the kids can use from anything to researching to the latest scholastic news event. He has a list of names of all his students that you cacn click to get to their blog pages. He has pictures of his class and a map showing the different states and countries that his kids blog with. He also has a place fro his kids to post comment about anything they want and even leaves it open for his former students to post to as well. You can access his site by clicking Gordon Brune's class
The second teacher is Erik Langhorst. He is an 8th grade history teacher at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, Missouri. One of his blogs he uses almost like an online class. He posts questions about assigned reading materials and asks the kids to respond to the questions. He also asked for the kids to answer questions at the end of the school year to let him know what they thought about the online experience. His class blog has links kids can use to get extra info about the class topics. He also posts his weekly class letters and once a week he chooses a different student to post a blog about what the class has been doing that week. You can access his site by clicking Erik Langhorst's class

ACCESS

The ACCESS program is designed to give all high school students the opportunity to have equal education and advance their education via the internet. A student in any school can take a variety of classes; most are advanced classes that may not be offered in their home school. The student is in a classroom environment and is taught by another teacher at another school via the internet. The two classes are able to communicate and interact with each other and with the teacher live through video feeds.
This program also opens many opportunities to teachers as well. Teacher's are offered training if they are interested in becoming an instructor for ACCESS. They can widen their technological skills as well as gain more knowledge into the subjects they are teaching. Probably the best advantage for teachers is that you can reach students miles away and give them a better opportunity in life. These students are kids that may never have the chance to take classes like these and graduate more prepared for the world today.

Uses of ALEX

I thought the ALEX site was very useful. I think I would defintely use the help with developing lesson plans. I am sure as a new teacher your resposibilities can be overwhelming and this site could definitely be helpful in making a teacher feel more comfortable in thier duties. I also liked the professional learning. I think it will be great to learn helpful tips from people that have used them and been successfull with them. I think that it is great that it gives you grant information as well since some of our schools do not have alot of funding.
My favorite link was the Distance Learning. Iwas really excited about that. I have kids in the public school systenm and I know there are alot of things our kids do not get to learn that other kids in other states do. I think it has alot to do with a lack of funding. This gives you an opportunity to offer some of the advanced learning opportunities to our kids through the internet. I think it is a great way to give them a look outside thier own world and broaden thier horizons. I also think that kids ar eso into computers htese days and I think they would be very receptive to this type of learning. It could potentialy bring our school system more up to date!

ALEX

I thought the ALex web site was really cool. It offers a lot of usefull tools to educators as well as students. I can see where this site could be a very valuable tool for teachers, students and administrators alike. I also think it would be very usefull in helping new teachers feel more confident in making lesson plans and having the most up to date information.
The course of study link gives you an outline of what your benchmarks should be for each grade level and each quarter. It also has several lesson plans you can use for each subject and grade level. The web links link gives students, teahcers, and administrators links to help websites in every subject imaginable.The lesson plan link allows you to lok at other lesson plans from previous and current years and also offers an option for you to create your own lesson plan. The search link allows you t osearch ALEX's thinkfinity data base fro helpfull information.The personal workspace offers teachers a place to store lesson plans and other work. I did not login to that because it requires an account. The professional learning link offers developmental opportunities, learning tools, tells you things that work well for students and even covers special ed, library media, leadership development, training, grant opportunities,etc.. I thought the Distance learning link was the best. It offers teachers an opportunity top widen thier courses and course content by doing interactive web based courses.
I enjoyed looking at this website and will remember to use it when I am in a school!

Shift happens

WOW! Not only was I left with a feeling of disappointment, but also an almost fear. It is disappointing to know how far behind our country is and to be reminded of how low a priority education is here. It seems like the message was the same one that has been going around for years. Eventually we will all be replaced by computers. This is a sad thought. It leaves you wondering what you are supposed to have your children look forward to if the information they are being taught will be outdated before they even get to use it or that they may not be needed because a computer will be able to do it faster and better than they can.

Power Point.

Even though the break has been nice I am ready to get back and do our power points. I am excited about this assignment!

Holidays

I defintely enjoyed the holiday break. Hope everyone had a safe weekend!