Unlike the personal blog where you only need to look after yourself, the classroom blog is a bit more complicated. As educators we are charged with keeping our students safe. School districts must comply with the Children’s Internet Safety Act and in doing such must come up with tons of policies. So how do you prepare your students with 21st communication skills and comply with all the rules and regs. This is where I have doing a lot of reading…
I have been thinking about the concerns one faces when you start a personal blog, be it a professional blog or one for your family members. There are some things you might wish to keep in mind as you post to your blog. Would you want your employer or future employer to read your blog? I have heard that colleges Google the names of future students to see what they have posted about themselves, I am sure some employers already…
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have been spending a lot of time looking at Web 2.0 tools. The possibilities excite me as I read about the tools and their uses in schools. I follow link after link and discover so much good stuff! I am working on ways to introduce these tools to my fellow teachers. I have played around with blogging, and some different Wikis. I have worked with a few individual teachers on Web 2.0 tools….
The new iLife arrived and my children (age 12 & 9) and I tested it out. We created a family website. Using garage band I had them each make a podcast, really a message to Grandma. In iPhoto they created a photocast, this caused some heated debate about what to include, one wants grandma to see the entire collection of 1579 photos the other wants just shots of herself. We compromised on just last months photos. We then tackled iWeb…
I work in a Windows world, but at home I am a very loyal Mac user. I was watching the MacWorld keynote address given by Steve Jobs. I was amazed at all the casting going on; podcasting, photocasting, videocasting. Using the software that comes on a Mac you are ready to create. You can use Garage Band to record a podcast and drag photos from iPhoto to accompany the podcast. You can work in iMovie to make a videocast and…
In my role as K-12 technology integration specialist I support technology integration in the classroom and the special education department with some of their assistive technology needs. I have often found myself trying to explain the difference between Differentiated Instruction (DI), Assistive Technology (AT) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I do not see them so much as different but related. All three are about providing options for learners. It is all about choosing the right tools for the job….