Our First Attempt at Blogging with Elementary students

Our 3rd grade teacher wants her students to read over the summer and she knows that reading declines for students when they are not in school. We wondered if they blogged about what they are reading this summer, if that may be the "carrot" to get them to read more. We tested it out in class the other day to demonstrate how to blog, and she posted a question about what they thought about blogging for this reason. They went crazy! They did figure out in a hurry that they could post to someone else's post, but we discussed using the 3-B's applies with blogging also. I am afraid we may have created a monster. The kids were asking me how soon Mrs. Baker would be responding to their post...kids being able to communicate freely via the Internet was a first for the entire class! A quote taken from their blogging- "Mrs.Baker, I think this is going to be so much fun this summer even if we don’t see each other. But we will all have fun blogging."

Voice Thread

I am constantly looking for new ways to integrate technology into our elementary classes in Stratford, so when Dr. Z suggested I check out Voice Thread, I did, and after looking at some, I could easily see how I can use it in my classes....but first- I had to make one of my own to see how it works. I did one on my youngest daughter Maddie, and then sent the link to all her relatives and friends asking them to post a comment...still working on getting everyone to comment, but- so far so good! Check it out at http://voicethread.com/share/1140576/

iGoogle

Am trying to "organize" all the "tech gadgets" on one page using iGoogle. Hope it helps! :0

Spillin' about the Adobe Connect

Last night was great doing the Adobe Connect thing with my new UNI cohorts. I can see it has its limitations though. Wonder how many people can be "on" before you get the delay issues we had last night? Although I heard everyone as they were talking in real time, no delay...

I can definitely see the use in the education and business world, saving time and $$ on travel to have a "meeting."

In "my world" of elementary education, I can see an individual student or small group of students, using this a way of collaborating on a project in classroom across the globe. For example, my 1st/2nd graders skyped and now communicate via "snail mail" with Passamaquady Native American in Maine. We could group students from both locations and give them an project, like a book that they are to write, and this would be a great way for them to collaborate! The kids would LOVE it!