Cindy's Sayings...

I love Fonts...

2011-03-28T12:02:00.001-05:00

I really LOVE fonts! I really don't know what the attraction is, but for me, the more the merrier! ;-)
True story...years ago I went to load a new program on my computer and got an error message that I had too many fonts (about 750) and needed to remove at least 250 before the program could be loaded. LOL!!
I thought I would share with you some of the online places I like to go to find fonts. Maybe you too are a FONT JUNKIE! ;-)

Free Fonts from Kevin & Amanda;
Font for Peas They can take your handwriting and turn it into a font!

They also have FREE SCRAPBOOK FONTS:

SUGAR FROG FONTS (free)

I visit LETTERING DELIGHTS on a regular basis. They are a "pay for" font site, but they often run $1 specials!

I will post more sites later. In the meantime, if you have a favorite site for fonts, feel free to share it here!

Finding Time...

2011-03-19T07:00:00.016-05:00

I have been spending the past week or so browsing several blogs that are new to me. I am both impressed and motivated to perk things up a bit on my own blogs. Seeing what's new and exciting, and how other teachers are using their blogs causes me to long for the days when I held "Techy-Tuesday" and Graduate classes for the teachers in my District. Those days seem worlds away to me right now. Economic hardships within the District have left little if any funds for improvements in the area of technology. We are using very old computers and as they break down, they are not being replaced. They have pretty much cut out all professional development for teachers as it relates to implementing and infusing technology into the curriculum.
As I look around at other teacher's sites on the Internet, I become inspired to find ways to share with my teachers again. The challenge will be to use what is available and try to be as helpful and supportive as possible.
Back when I taught courses for teachers, there was a sense that many of them felt technology was "just one more thing" piled on their already overloaded plates. It was always my desire to help them see at least one lesson or idea they could take back and use in the classroom right away.
That is the motivation I am having as I look at some new areas in the blogging world. I am inspired to teach the courses again....to help those I teach with see what's out there that is fun, exciting and useful to them.
I plan to share some links and ideas. I hope that some of the teachers in the District will have their interest level raised and begin to investigate ways they can use the online communities and resources to support their efforts in the classroom.

Making Books with Children...

2009-06-23T17:54:00.004-05:00

It's been a long time since I have taken time to post here. I recently came upon a site by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord. She has a delightful website called Making Books with Children, that teaches and encourages children to make their own books. She also has a blog featuring various handmade books! I love that she uses or should I say re-uses all sorts of papers. I especially like what she calls the HOT DOG BOOK! Here's a video on how to make one:

Or if you prefer to print out the instructions, here's a link to a PDF file: Hot Dog Book. I can't wait to share this with my students next fall!

Powerful Words...

2008-07-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I've come to this side of my blogging. The classroom blog has kept me very busy. I posted today at Teacher Tube. I am always interested to see what other teachers have posted. I came across this very moving video titled: "The Kid No One Wanted". It caught my attention. As I watched, I couldn't help but think how many others may be able to relate to this person's journeys in school? I couldn't help but think of my own son and how he could easily tell a similar story. Without a doubt his experiences parallel with those of this man, for many of the same reasons. How many kids do you know that share this sort pain? How many were able to find someone to help guide them through it and come out changed for the better? How many teachers do you know that contribute to the pain of young children, and how many do you know that are the ones that make a difference?

Watch and reflect:

Thoughts While on Spring Break...

2008-03-24T08:03:00.004-05:00

We're out on Spring Break, I don't know who originally thought of this idea; but I am happy they did! ;-) Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my students, colleagues and my work with them TREMENDOUSLY! But... this time off gives all of us the opportunity to refresh our minds and spirits. I welcome time for sleeping in, exploring web sites that I don't have time to explore on a day-to-day basis, do some spring cleaning, playing with the dog, reading, working out (OK maybe NOT!) organizing, RELAXING (what's that??), stamping and scrapbooking, shopping.....all the things I enjoy, at a much slower pace.

One of the things I enjoy about returning to school after the break is everyone seems ready and eager to "take in more". We've all had time to get recharged and energized.
I came across this video that made me smile and caused me to wonder....really wonder, who among my kids, past and present, will do extraordinary things? Will it be Darren? Casey? Anita?Kevin? Luke? Riley? Marissa?...... Samantha? Jack? Michael? Brenna? Tonia?.... Jimmy? J'Kolbi? Laura? Jill? Blaise? Jennifer?Brooke?.... Dillon? Chris? Amanda? Jayme?...Natasha? 'Bella? Celina? Emily? Dana? Monica? Mohamed?.... Who among the hundreds of kids that I have had the honor and pleasure to teach, influence and love will break away from the norm to take a chance to do something extraordinary?

Taking Another Step....

2008-01-24T22:44:00.000-06:00

I have been very busy with the Kindergarten Tales blog. It has taken off in ways I never imagined. As we enter our second semester with the blog, we are taking what seems to be the "natural" next steps. All this time I have modeled for the children how to post to the blog. They listened as I "thought" out loud the words I wanted to say. They helped me sound out words along the way, and got a sense how ideas flow and develop into a post. They have observed me as I photographed them as they went about the daily routines in class. Rarely was I looking for "posed" subjects, but tried to capture kids as they naturally moved about. Posed pictures seemed more appropriate for the times we were gathered with family and friends for No-Cook Nights or classroom parties.
We moved on to having the children help me decide which photos best fit our topic and the style of our post. We've created videos at One True Media and VoiceThread. The children have helped select music as well. We worked on recording our voices so they wouldn't seem as if we were "SHOUTING" to the world but rather, "sharing".
All this and more has led to me turning over more responsibilities for our posts to the children. They are excited to be the ones that are taking the photos, and dictating the words for the posts. Mind you, some of the photos lack the lighting and centering that one could expect to see on a blog, but then again, these are 5 & 6 year old students who are embarking on new territory. I am so incredibly proud of what they have produced so far. They handle the digital camera, microphones and other equipment with the utmost respect. I am thrilled with how all of this is coming together. I have several projects waiting to be posted, report cards, conferences and other matters-of-teaching limit the time I can spend going through the photos and having kids dictate their posts to me. But we'll get there. I remain excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities for sharing what we do in our class. It's VERY contagious and we continue to spread it to one another, back and forth between us. They keep me wanting to learn more. I will continue to encourage them to learn more and teach each other more about the various aspects of tending to our blog...but in the meantime....I repeat...I am so incredibly proud! We will continue on this road together taking small steps together!

Time Flies...

2007-12-02T21:13:00.000-06:00

My word, I can hardly believe we've started December already! Where has the time gone?
I have been keeping very busy with my classroom blog. The kids, their families and I are thoroughly enjoying the sharing that is taking place.
I could really use about a month to get caught up on all the links I have left in my delicious account as well as try out new tools I have discovered over the past few months. I would like time to sit and listen to a pile of podcasts on educational technology as well as design ways to help encourage teachers to move beyond their own fears and begin making use of the tools in their classrooms. Hmm... would a month really be enough time? I try telling myself I'll get caught up this summer, but by then there will be more tools and hopefully more classes (David Jakes that's a shout out directed to you ;-) ). I want so much to be "on top" of the technology, and yet time seems to fly by me....INCREDIBLY quickly. In the meantime....I keep plugging away at it all.....and am lovin' every nanosecond of it!

Blog Action Day is here...

2007-10-15T18:51:00.000-05:00

Today is Blog Action Day. I took time today to discuss with my students ways in which we can impact on the environment. In particular we discussed "Reusing and Recycling". We read from a couple of books about ways in which we can do our part to diminish the amount of garbage in landfills. The children shared thoughts of things they would like to try out at home. We tried to set realistic goals. Check out our blog to see the ideas the children came up with....Blog Action Day (Kindergarten Tales). I tired to let them know that through their small hands...BIG things can happen.

Journey into the Unknown....

2007-10-08T12:44:00.001-05:00

Each day I find myself connecting with more and more resources on the Internet. As I indicated earlier this year, I am trying to make use of the Web 2.0 tools that are available online. I am in a constant state of awe as I find resources through Delicious, Google Reader, blogs and more. It is part of my daily routine to check these resources to see what new and interesting ideas and additional resources have popped up overnight. Being new to this thing called Web 2.0, I am in many ways, playing catch-up! I find myself drawn to articles and blogs of interest that are several months, if not years old.
I came across the article “Are Your Students (and Teachers) Building Networks?” by Will Richardson. It’s dated almost a full year from today and yet it is very inspiring to me. While I know I have a long way to go, I can honestly say I am making a full blown attempt at what Richardson outlines in the article. He asks, are you teaching your students how to build these connections, construct their own learning networks that will nurture them once they leave your schools? Are your teachers modeling their learning for their students by building their own networks that range far outside their classroom walls? Are you becoming part of a larger community that can offer perspective, new ideas, and support your work?
I feel very confident in saying “Yes Will, I am!”
I feel as if I am on a never ending journey... to a place I may never really get to see. The view along the way is absolutely breathtaking.... I am doing all I can to pick up as many students, teachers and parents on the road as I can and bring them along for the ride.

What a wonderful ride this is turning out to be….

It's Been A While...

2007-09-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

It seems like a long while since I posted here. I have been rather busy with my day-to-day teaching responsibilities and my Kindergarten class blog. I've enrolled in an online course...continue work on the Kindergarten Curriculum...plan for courses for teachers....contiue to explore Web 2.0 options...and try to have a life! ;-)

It feels like time for some reflection.

I feel as if things are still going well. The kids remain excited about seeing our blog grow and develop. They absolutely LOVE seeing themselves on the computer. I know they check the blog from home because many of them come to class and tell me the saw the latest post. I get positive feedback from parents as well. I expected more comments on the posts, but maybe that will come with time. I hear from parents when they are picking their kids up, and in Email, but many are not yet comfortable with commenting directly on the blog. Even so, I am happy with the way things are going. We have established a good dialogue with our Blog Buddies in New Zealand. We have exchanged video questions and the videos spark interesting discussions among the children. It's AWESOME that we connected with them!

Blog fever is making it's way through several classrooms around the District. The Early Learners blog continues to expand. Mr. Schroeder has created Spring Trail Tiger Times, to communicate with parents from the Principal's office. Brenda, good friend who teaches 2nd grade, launched 2nd Grade News a class blog earlier this week and Julie is another 2nd grade teacher in the District who recently launched her class blog, What's Happening in 2nd Grade, as well. It's exciting to see all of this blogging. We've only been in school a month and things are looking great. I can't wait to see where we are by the end of the school year!!!

I remain inspired!

One Blog Leads to Another...

2007-09-07T20:54:00.001-05:00

Well...my last post showed how anxious I was about opening up my Class Blog. I read comments of support left here, thought about it some more..talked it over with a few friends a bit more..... took a deep breath and decided to GO FOR IT!

It's going so incredibly well, that I can't believe I almost set this venture aside!

The kids are LOVING the posts we have made. They are excited about making new friends across the globe. The parents all seem comfortable and excited. All is going well. I look to our new friends in New Zealand for both guidance and inspiration. We were so very touched to see the post/video by our friends at Manaia Kindergarten. Right now my district blocks Google Video, but many of the children watched the video from home. Thanks Tania & Beverly. (Thanks also for help with that "other matter"...you too Tony!)
I exchanged emails with several other Kindergarten teachers who blog as well. I didn't know they were out there...but one blog leads to another and with the click of a mouse, we're connected! I was visiting the blog by Rachel Boyd because I shared a fantastic video her students made titled: "Why Should We Reduce Rubbish?" with my students ( we ended up having a nice vocabulary lesson as a result). I wanted to leave another comment, but I got distracted and pulled away to visit another blog "21 Century Skills" by Mark Collinson of NSW Australia. There I found a video he posted from EduBloggerWorld. The video was by Jackie H. (Teacher Hacks) and titled "3 Steps". NICELY DONE!

I believe I always challenge my students to compete with themselves... to do their best and then take it up a notch. I watched 3 steps and felt validated in the fact that I am now opening up my students to the concepts of global connections and collaboration. Watch and maybe you'll see what I mean:

I am on a roll now....not overwhelmed or obsessed (despite what my colleagues may think) ;-) I plan to offer many opportunities for my students to experience these 21st Century Skills.

As we make connections with one resource, we find ourselves connected to another. I am excited, they are excited. Not only are we all learning...but having GREAT fun too!

Global Connections...

2007-09-02T23:58:00.000-05:00

This evening I was working on the computer when I got a message on Skype. It was Tania from Manaia Kindergarten, in Whangarei, New Zealand! It was so exciting to see Skype in action! I've had the account for a few days now, really didn't have anyone to call. This is thrilling... to have the ability to chat with someone on the other side of the world via the computer is amazing to me. Again, this goes back to an earlier post where I talked about so many sites, so little time. I know there are people out there who have used Skype for a while now, and for them, this isn’t anything new. They have been on board for a long time. But for those of us that are just beginning to explore the Web 2.0 tools, this is all VERY EXCITING! I would love to be able to have my students witness a live chat via a web cam, but there are a lot of details to work out to make that happen live in my classroom. In the meantime, we’ll keep plugging along on our Class Blog (Kindergarten Tales)…we’ll add some video, pictures and whatever else we come across that will help the world know who we are and what we do in Room 102. :-)

Thanks Tania, this made my day!

My Mind Is Racing....

2007-08-29T20:23:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-08-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-08-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

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....

2007-08-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

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!

Still Trying Out New Tools...

2007-07-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

I have spent time today searching for new links and tools for an upcoming course I plan to teach. Right now I am looking deeper into Technorati. While searching there I was asked to post this on my blog: Technorati Profile.There isn't much there, as I am still exploring. I am not even sure what one does with Technorati ;-). I love that the learning process never ends!

Preparations....

2007-07-25T15:48:00.000-05:00

I spent a good part of my day working with a team of teachers and administrators on revising our current Kindergarten curriculum. We are working hard to meet the deadline of rolling it out in August. The biggest hurdle is not so much the content, but the delivery method. We are moving from a papers-in-HUGE-binders format, to a DVD-online version. We ran into issues because no one could really lay a hand on the original files which meant nearly all the documents had to be retyped and or scanned. (not fun!)
We looked at State Standards, the District Roadmap, academic vocabulary and other areas to be sure everything is in sync. It's a lot of work, and we are really trying to get it done to the best of our abilities. Teachers will need to understand that it's a work in progress. Balancing what we know is developmentally appropriate with expectations from the State and others is rather challenging!
It seems we will have only the first part of this ready to roll out in August, with the rest to follow later.
I am excited at the prospect of the final project, which, when I think about it, will never REALLY reach a final step. The use of online resources, tools and websites, will keep it a living, breathing document...which is great. It will keep us all alert and in touch with the changes as they occur.

Or I am thinking it SHOULD!

For some, this new format will mean small steps toward easing into the idea of integrating technology....for others it will be a huge leap! We have to do what we can to ensure that we're all on board. I imagine it won't be easy, it's hard to let go of things within our comfort zone, but the time has come....we need to embrace what is out there and share what we find with our students. We can't keep using the excuses..."I don't know how...." or "My students don't have access outside of class"...or "We can never get to the computer lab"....and other such reasons to keep ourselves from moving forward.

It is our jobs as educators to share the tools with the students, let them explore the tools, work with them, make mistakes and learn from the mistakes as well as the successes. This means teachers will need to take the time to become familiar with what the tools are, how they work and where the power lies within them. FEAR is not an option.

There will be in-service and support provided, we won't leave teachers out there on their own to try to make sense of it all....but they will have to TRY!

Thinking out loud......I can only hope all goes well. ;-)

Just under a month to go...

2007-07-24T23:12:00.001-05:00

Today I spent time updating some links on my Teacher Resources page. I added a set of Back-to-School links in anticipation that some of the teachers from my classes/workshops might check out the site to see what's new and find some online resources that take them one step closer to using tech tools on a daily basis.
As school approaches I am trying to think through the details of the blog that Katie, Sara and I will share with our students. I am wondering how to begin the year with it...how to explain it all to a group of 5 & 6 year old students.? How do we get the kids motivated and interested?

I remember last spring my afternoon class went WILD because we received an Email from a teacher in New Mexico that happened upon our site and liked our page on Tangrams. They were thrilled that someone outside of our class/school knew we were learning about them. It was an excellent opportunity to share with them just how broad the Internet can be. A great time to (re)explain that if we put something out there...anyone in the world can see our work.

They were confused by "New Mexico" and wondered if the people there "spoke English". ;-) (Gotta love those little K's) I took this as yet another learning opportunity. We pulled down the U.S. map and found New Mexico. I assured them it was in the U.S., but that even if it were outside the country, others could still see it. They thought Albuquerque was the funniest word they heard all week. They repeated it over and over for several minutes...giggling the whole time. They wanted to know if we could send an Email back; which of course we did! The kids helped me compose the Email. We sounded out the words together and came up with questions we had about the readers on the other end. One big question was "How did you find us?" They wondered how many kids were in the class, what units of study they were on, etc. It was great! The kids ran in the door first thing the next day wondering if we had gotten Email back. The class in New Mexico was going on Spring Break. My kids wanted to send more emails to them while they were away along with photos of our class. We did all of that...but alas we never really heard back from the class in New Mexico. The last we heard, the teacher was going to work on learning how to take a picture and send it in an Email. The kids were disappointed...but there wasn't much we could do.
This year it should work out better for us. I am excited because Katie and Sara have good Tech skills and are both interested in following up with some dialogue between the classes. I want to share with pictures, blogs, podcasts and the like. It should be fun!
My head is spinning with thoughts of ways we can connect our kids for learning!

So many sites....so little time!

2007-07-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

I have been a very busy bee over the last few days gathering web sites and adjusting my web pages to include my latest findings. I edited my Wiki page to include tutorials and sites that may be of interest to PreK-2nd grade teachers. The tutorials include some that were originally on the front page (tutorials by David Jakes, TeacherTube , myself and others). There are so many interesting and exciting tools and sites, I can hardly decide which ones to try and which to save for later. I have been trying out the "links for you" portion of Delicious to share sites with my colleagues. I hope to get them motivated to use Delicious and to share their findings with one another. My eyes are getting weary...and yet I continue to surf! Never mind there are things to do here at the house. ;-) I'll get to them later. I am on a roll right now!!!

Testing out NEW things!

2007-07-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday and today I spent time working with podcasting. I am trying to stay on task with what I learned in class with David Jakes in that I want to use this technology to extend student learning outside of the walls of the classroom. I couldn't recall the name of the program David shared with us in class (Luke demonstrated it for us), so I went with Gcast.com. I telephoned in my comments and with the push of a button, the comments were posted! How easy is that??
It was a tad more complicated than that because I HATE the sound of my voice. ;-) I started over several times and posted and re-posted. One thing about Gcast is I couldn't find a "HELP" link, so I was flying solo. If anyone has done podcasting there, or at a similar site I have a few questions. One is, once someone subscribes to the podcast, can they see ALL of the files, including the errors? It seems they were all showing up in my RSS reader. That could be rather embarassing! ;-)
And I am also looking for any TIPS and TRICKS you may have to share with me regarding podcasting.

Cindy

Day 4

2007-06-15T12:22:00.000-05:00

Planning Ahead...

The morning was spent digesting some of the many tools/sites we have learned about this week. We did a lot of sharing of ideas, sites, procedures, etc., (oh and candy too!!). We were all very busy trying things out and crowding around computers to see what other people were exploring. It was a flurry of "clicking" and learning. I spent time at Slide.com, zoho.com, and googlemaps, to name a few.

Katie and I talked about making plans to do some cross-classroom activities. It should prove interesting. We are excited! We plan to include Katie's All Day Kindergarten class, my two sessions of AM & PM classrooms and a third Kindergarten teacher with AM & PM classes housed in two different buildings. (Who, by the way has no CLUE yet that we are including her in our plans) ;-) But she is techno-friendly and she'll LOVE it too.

We are thinking because of the age & skill levels of our students, using a program that requires them to read and write independently isn't realistic. Skill wise they just aren't ready to read and write (on their own). Our thought is that we, the teachers, would use our Curriculum Roadmap resources and incorporate activities into our blogspot. For example, one of the Roadmap resources is MAKING MEANING. With this resource the teacher reads certain books and guides children through strategies that will enable them to be better readers. The strategies include listening, discussing and reflecting. Often the reflection takes the form of turning to their partner and sharing thoughts and ideas about the story. Katie and I are thinking we'll continue with this process as it stands. Beyond that, we would have the kids come up with a "group" reflection to the story. The children would help the teacher compose a written reflection (all the while the teacher would be teaching strategies for sounding out words, beginning and ending sounds, proper writing formatting, etc.). Once the group reflection was completed, the class would turn to the computer (projected where all could see) and watch as the teacher typed their response into the blog (Blogmeister). They would see the process involved in taking a written document and transferring that into a computerized version, modeling spellcheck and the like. Meanwhile, Katie and the 3rd teacher would be doing a similar activity in their classrooms. Once the blog entries are posted, the teachers would read and share with the kids.

We are thinking this would allow our kids to learn about the concepts we discussed in class. Through their time sharing their ideas with others they would put into practice the concept of collaboration. They would contribute their ideas, create a blog entry and connect with other students across the hall as well as across the District who have read the same books.

On a more global scale, a goal of mine would be that by doing this type of activity on a regluar basis, the children would truly come to veiw the technology as tools for learning. It would become second nature to them, something they would consider doing without any hesistations.

I have seen this happen with my students over time as we use the computer to track pending snow storms at Weather.com, "google" concepts that we are curious about, send Emails to other classes across the country, and so much more. Once they go "automatic" on this process...look out First grade! ;-)

Katie and I keep coming up with all sorts of ideas here....we want to use googlemaps to show kids where our schools are and map out a path from our door to theirs. We want to take the blog entries and project them on the wall where kids can go to the screen/wall/chalkboard and point out our sight words (to, the, it, here, etc.)

I plan to continue my learning bylearning to create podcasts. I think this will be an awesome tool for my students because they are non-readers at the beginning of school. Katie and I discussed the possibility of taking our Kindergarten Chants, creating a podcast verision as well as a downloadable PDF file that the kids can print out and read along with at home. (COOL!!!!!)

I can see a lot of potential in that tool.

I would also like to expand my current webpage to include many of the tools we viewed this week. I would like to create slide shows at Slide.com that help students learn the names and faces of their classmates in the beginning of school. We would share our slide shows with the other classes so they too would be able to put faces with names. Later, we would There are so many tools....so little time! ;-)

I realize I have babbled on and on here....but I am TOTALLY JAZZED with the possibilities!

Thanks to David for the wealth of resources and the continued motivation to step outside my technology comfort-zone and try some new and exciting things. Check back with us later to see how things are going!
Thanks again David for all your guidance and support!

Cindy

Day 3

2007-06-14T19:29:00.000-05:00

WOW! I am learning so much this week. My brain is buzzing with thoughts of all the possibilities and implications for learning. I am looking forward to our time in class tomorrow to sift through all this new found knowledge and try to figure out what I'll put into place for the kids in my class. I am also thinking of ways to bring these ideas to the staff so that we all can add some of these Web 2.0 tools to our teaching toolboxes.
Thanks again to David for all the wonderful ideas and ways to get up to speed. ;-)

Social Bookmarking

2007-06-13T10:31:00.001-05:00

Today we worked with delicious. I have used delicious for about a year. The ability to access my bookmarks from any computer has been extremely valuable to me. I do a tremendous amount of surfing and keeping track of the sites that interest me can be a chore. Delicious takes care of that for me. The ability to network with people that are "like-minded" makes my online surfing time more productive. Being able to access the sites of people whose opinions I value is PRICELESS!

Here is a link to my delicious account: cblakely. Feel free to add me to your network, you can never have too many shoes or too many folks in your network! ;-)

My First Post

2007-06-12T13:31:00.000-05:00

Here I am in class with David Jakes (and fellow teachers). My brain is VERY full of techno stuff and it's still just day one. :-) We have learned about Wikis, social bookmarking, podcasting, and a lot more.

David has encouraged us to create this blog. I have no idea which direction to send this post. I am eager to experience these new tools and am anticipating how I would use them in teaching.

I would love to hear how other primary teachers are using these and similar tools in the classroom. I am ready to listen....are you ready to share? How do you use technology in the classroom with young learners?