Thing #4

Of the fifteen blogs listed in our exercise, I enjoyed the 2nd graders' blogs about their ideas of what happened with a missing duck the most. CR's idea that Daisy " ralaxt in jamaca" was very creative. 

The blog from Cool Cat Teacher raises some concerns.  One of my moderately disabled students was recording on her cell phone during class time.  Of course she didn't get anything that could put me or my classroom aides in a bad light, but the fact that I didn't know when she did it gave me an "oh wow!"  There are so many things that people can do these days with digital media that can be distorted or taken out of context that it freaked me out just a tad. On the other hand, I like the idea of recording your class and putting it on an iTunes podcast.  I wish I'd had that capability when I was in my college government class.  I was in one of those lecture halls with a hundred other students trying to record each lecture on a cassette tape. It wasn't very successful!

I'll have to say that I almost agree with Dan Meyer's blog about why he doesn't assign homework.  I started substitute teaching way back in 1986 and remember the first time I heard a student blatantly ask another student if she could copy her homework...while I was standing right beside them.  That scenario is played over and over every day without any thought of the consequences. I would prefer to have students do their work in class or have a short pop quiz the next day to make sure who is truly learning and who is struggling.

Last, the Weblogg-ed post about plastic bags really made me think! I've heard that we are heading toward being charged for plastic bags here in the USA.  I hope it happens soon.  Until it hits our pocket books, we won't make any changes.

Thing #2

Having read the article “A Day in the Life of Web 2.0” by David Warlick and watched the videos I feel a sense of urgency. I don’t want to become obsolete or get so far behind that I cannot keep up with the changing times. It is staggering to think that other countries are passing the United States at such rapid rates. Our students need exposure to technology and high expectations for its use.

As a teacher of severe to moderately disabled students, I am anxious to find out what Web 2.0 offers and how much I can adapt to fit my students’ technology needs. This year I had access to a couple of iPod nanos.  I downloaded photos and soothing music for one of my autistic students as a reward for completing his work. We also used the message recording feature to encourage him to speak in full sentences and then listen to himself.  I believe I may have two iPads when I return to school and hope to use what I learn in this course to help him and other students be engaged in learning.

Thing #1

Wooohooo, here we go!  I definitely think the habit I will find most challenging is #3 - View problems as just another challenge.  Multi-tasking is a weakness for me because I tend to get lost in what I'm doing and put off what I don't want to do.  I'm going to have to be careful about "playing" so much on the fun "things" that I get behind in everthing else. 

The easiest habit will be #7 1/2 - Play.  (Refer to my previous paragraph, lol.)

The most important habit for me will be habit #5 - Create your own learning toolbox.  Since I know that I spend more time on things I enjoy, I will need to figure out how to accomplish the goal of "doing it all." Keeping up with the learning toolbox and the dates I've set for myself will make sure that the procrastination monster stays under control!