My Mind Is Racing....

The little ones have arrived. School has started, I have parent’s permission to begin posting and now the fun begins!
Now the fun begins????
Earlier in the summer I was formally introduced to Wed 2.0 and blogging in a class taught by David Jakes. (I had heard of some of it, but never really explored it)
I left there pumped.
(I still am!)
All summer long I have thought about blogging with my students. I had this idea that I would set up an account and input all their little names and we would just take off. We would share the happenings of Kindergarten Room 102 with our class, our school and our community... with the district and with the WORLD, if they cared to read about them all.
Now that the kids are here, I am somewhat afraid to act on my intentions. I want to make all the right choices. I feel a sense of responsibility for 46 little reputations. And for the first time in years, I am nervous about using technology. I want everyone to get the right image of what Kindergarten is in our classroom.
Maybe it’s not so much the sharing that is causing me angst. I am ready to do that, it’s deciding upon a method of delivery. I need to make a decision on which blog service to use. I worry that I might get into it and have to switch. For some reason, that strikes fear in me! (I tend to be “brand loyal”…. I am not one to change phone, cable, Internet services providers and the like easily ;-/). As I explored options this summer I looked at Blogger (of course), Class blogmeister, and Edublog to name a few.
Currently, I am very comfortable with Blogger. I have two blogs running through them now. But I question if it’s the best option for use with my students. My buddy Tony Powell has been a good sounding board for me. He has been both helpful and patient. I have bounced many ideas off of him in the past few days (poor guy). ;-)
After careful reflection of thoughts generated by his questions and comments, and re-reading my earlier post. I am going to enter this slowly with my students. I am not going to fret and fuss about which service. I am going to go with what I know. I am going to stay within my comfort zone for now. I am going to start here with Blogger. By staying here, I can focus more on the content of the blog and not spend so much time learning a new format (although something tells me there are a lot of similarities between the services). Right now I am not going to worry about having each student contribute individually. That can all come later.
Tony asked me, “What is your plan?” In part, my plan includes having my students develop a “mind set” about communicating, collaborating and connecting with others for learning. I want them to begin on their journey through school with the concept that learning can take many forms, including using technology. I want them to know we can learn from each other, near or far. I want them to see this unfold for themselves, in part, from what we share on our blog.

What I need to keep in mind about “My Plan” is that I don’t have to teach it ALL now….this year… in Kindergarten. If I can open their minds to the “possibilities”, I will have done well. If as a class, we get to the point where kids want to blog individually, we’ll deal with that then. If not this year, then somewhere down the line, I know they will remember these experiences, build upon them and tweak them to fit whatever the “new technology” of the day will be. (Web 85.0?) ;-)
I rolled back through other blogs that I enjoy reading and came across Jeff Utecht’s post at The Thinking Stick: 10 Things to Remember about Blogging. In his post he wrote about his blog does not focus on the reader, but instead on his passions! I like that. I have a passion for teaching Kindergarten, I have a passion for technology and I have a desire to bring those two passions closer together.
Jeff wrote about finding “power” in blogging. I feel that as well. There is something about putting it here, where anyone can see it, (or no one at all) that helps to bring clarity to “My Plan”.
I needed this…Thanks to you all David, Tony and Jeff!

I will continue to look to the bloggers in New Zealand (Rachel Boyd, Manaina Kindergarten, and Jody Hayes) among others as sources of inspiration for what can be accomplished with this age group.

Having said all of this….I am off to have my evening cup of coffee and begin to set up our classroom blog.
If you happen to read this…..(and even if you don’t) ;-)
…..wish me luck! ;-)

Blog Action Day...

I was looking through my RSS reader this morning and came across a blog about "Blog Action Day". The title caught my interest. October 15, 2007 has been deemed "Blog Action Day". The idea behind it all is that bloggers could unite on one day, to speak collectively about one issue: THE ENVIRONMENT. At first, I thought, "What good would it do for me to participate? I am just one tiny blogger, with a rather small voice." But then again I thought, "What good would it do for me to participate? I am one tiny blogger, with a rather small voice....and maybe, just maybe...someone will listen. If only one person makes a change, then I will have made a difference." So here I am....vowing to participate!
Personally, I have been gradually making changes and adjustments in my lifestyle that lean towards being more "green". Nothing drastic...a few of those energy saving light bulbs here or there, unplugging electrical items that don't get used very often at home...things like that. Nothing that most people would truly call "going green". I casually tell myself I am going "light green" sort of a green mixed with a tad of yellow. :-) I am building into my lifestyle conscious efforts to make small changes that I believe will have an impact on the environment. I plan to continue my small steps toward a darker shade of green...I am just a little slow to move there. A new small step for me will be to participate in "Blog Action Day", though I am not exactly sure HOW just yet. My thoughts include getting my students involved at some level. We'll have our classroom blog up and running by October 15th and that may be my level of participation. I really don't know. Take a look at this video, think about participating too and then, if you feel up to it, share your thoughts about participating. Thanks!

Cindy

Inspired...

I really should be asleep right now. I am enrolled in a writing class this week... (who does that just a week before school starts?) ;-)
Anyway, my new blog-buddy, Tony Powell shared a link to Rachel Boyd's blog. From there I have been visiting blogs all evening long. I just watched the video "One Woman's Wanderings With Web.20" (below) by AllanahK on Teacher Tube. WOW!! She is already where I would like to be when it comes to using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. I had a bit of a temporary, mental set back last week in my efforts to bring Wed 2.0 to life with teachers of Early Learners. But the works of both Allanah and Rachel have inspired me to continue on this journey into We 2.0. I won't give up! I will use these tools with my students and find ways to share them with teachers.
Watch Allanah's video, perhaps you too, will become inspired to use Web 2.0 tools in your classroom.

It's going to be an exciting year....

I am really looking forward to starting school. I should amend that to include the fact that I am NOT looking forward to waking up early. (I LOVE the option to sleep in) ;-)

Beyond THAT, I can't wait to meet new children, parents and families and make connections with them in ways I have not done before. Don't get me wrong, I've had a web page for my classroom for quite a while now. I keep my parents informed and provide many online opportunities for my students; but this year I look forward to expanding that to include blogging, online surveys, image and video sharing and so much more. As I said in an earlier post, (June 15th ) I am really excited to make use of the Web 2.0 tools that are available and useful to me as a teacher. I can't wait to make connections with others down the hall, across the District and around the world.

I have enjoyed the time spent this summer discovering and playing around with Web2.0 tools. At times I found myself becoming deeply lost in the learning process...sometimes to the point of having lost a sense of time. I would sit down to try something out for a few minutes and fall so deep that hours would pass at the pace of minutes. I LOVED it!!

I spend time during the year training teachers. I am anxious to share what I have learned (the power of the tools) with other teachers and to continue learning from them. I want the teachers I work with to see what other educators have created (online) and become inspired by those ideas. It would be thrilling to see the creativity of my colleagues manifest itself into the online world. I would love to see them share with their students and collaborate with teachers around the globe. I want them to know that in the (online) creative process, there will be times of frustration, as well as times of celebration. But then again, they already know this process..every teacher does...it's not completely unfamiliar territory. The delivery method is perhaps new and unfamiliar...but we know the process.. all too well.

I want the teachers to find a level of comfort in taking the process of sharing ideas and information with students and fellow educators beyond the walls of our school....outside of our grade level meetings and into the world. I will share with them information about social networking, blogging, podcasting, web site design and creative commons licensing. I want them to know that their voice can be heard, and everyone who comes into contact with their work will know who the voice belongs to. I know that once they start making meaningful use of these tools, they will soar. They will inspire others to join us and find joy in the creative powers of us all.

Yes, from my viewpoint, these are exciting times....I am so looking forward to the start of school!