Last Friday, there was an article in The Washington Post entitled "Some educators question if whiteboards, other high tech tools raise achievement." This article reflects an on-going conversation Ruth and I have been having about how much technology is really needed to teach writing well. (Annie, a third grade teacher who is the author of… Continue reading Do we really need SMART Boards to teach writing well?
Category: technology
Digital Storytelling: Technology & Mentors
The latest copy of NCTE's School Talk arrived in my mailbox yesterday. The present issue is entitled "21st Century Literacies: Young Children Reading and Writing in a Digital World." Ceil Candreva wrote one of the articles, "Paving New Pathways to Literacy in the 21st Century," in the issue. Candreva asserted: Digital storytelling expands the potential… Continue reading Digital Storytelling: Technology & Mentors
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A Different Kind of Pen Pal
I was so honored to chair "Integrating Blogs, Podcasting, and Digital Videos into Fourth and Fifth Grade Language Arts Classes" at NCTE this year. I learned a tremendous amount about the right way to integrate technology into classrooms from these California educators (i.e., Carl Withaus, Gail Desler, Aparna Sinha, Manuel Senna, and Lesley McKillop). What… Continue reading A Different Kind of Pen Pal
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Professional Talk: Shared Writing 2.0
I recently received a review copy of Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st-Century Classroom, which is edited by Anne Herrington, Kevin Hodgson, and Charles Moran. The text is comprised of short texts by a variety of teacher-authors who have mastered the art of using technology in their writing classrooms. The… Continue reading Professional Talk: Shared Writing 2.0
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Communicating Online with Families
I received an e-mail earlier this week asking: Can you steer me in the right direction for starting a blog for my students and parents? Where do I start? Hence, I decided to answer this person's question for all to see. Here goes! I've used a variety of medium for communicating online with my studetns… Continue reading Communicating Online with Families
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My Life as a Reader.
The first unit of study is coming to a close. The summative assessment is two part. First, students are to create a multimedia presentation (text + image + audio) of their past, present, and future reading lives. (Part two is an on-demand writing, where they summarize their learning about reading + a reflection of this… Continue reading My Life as a Reader.
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Tech Tools You Should Know About Too
I met with one of my colleagues after school yesterday to talk-tech with her. We did some URL swapping as well. Here are some of the amazing sites she informed me about, which I wanted to pass on to you. Common Craft is a small company that makes easy-to-understand videos about various aspects of the… Continue reading Tech Tools You Should Know About Too
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Standard English vs. Texting.
In my most November 2008 issue of The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, I came across an article by Gloria E. Jacobs, "We Learn What We Do: Developing a Repertoire of Writing Practices in an Instant Messaging World. The tag line caught my eye: Students can be proficient in instant messaging as well as… Continue reading Standard English vs. Texting.
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A Couple “Techy” Rubrics
Earlier this week, I posted about the process of determining how to attach grades to chats and discussion forums. Before break, my students divided into two groups and determined the areas which should be evaluated when assessing the success of a chat or discussion thread. I took their ideas and created two rubrics. The chat rubric… Continue reading A Couple “Techy” Rubrics
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Swarming Thoughts
Since I returned from San Antonio late Monday night, I've had two days with my students as I embrace my shifted paradigm of using technology. I really didn't realize that I needed to shift my thinking in regards to using technology in the classroom, but I did. And I wish I could pinpoint the one session… Continue reading Swarming Thoughts
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Netvibes
Every now and then I try out a new technology and really like it. This morning that new technology is NETVIBES. In an instant it allowed me to create a personalized page with news, technology, travel, and style widgets. In fact, I liked it so much, that I'm considering making it my new landing page… Continue reading Netvibes
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Start Photocopying Student Work Before Its Published!
Sometimes I think we forget to preserve our students' writing work as they're going through the writing process. Too often, I've forgotten to photocopy a great timeline or a first draft in which the child goes back, using revision strategies, adding more or taking huge chunks away with scissors or a thick marker. So this… Continue reading Start Photocopying Student Work Before Its Published!
