Thing #9

Adventuring in the sandbox was difficult at first, but it was fun to play in after my wife helped me figure it out. She is the greatest!!! Thanks Hon!!! My sandbox page is Burnt Orange Sand. Why does it always have to be a sandbox, why can't it be a sandcircle?

Thing #8

The first time I heard of the word "wiki" was last year when one of our science teachers mentioned he had set one up for his class. I had no idea what he was talking about but everyone was saying how great it was. I now know what a wiki is and look forward to implementing it into my class. I teach World Geography and this would be a great tool for my students if we could get information about places we are studying from people who actually live there. I am excited about this!

I really liked the Thousands Project this is what opened my eyes into implementing this into my classroom. If we can get responses and hopefully pictures from the places we are studying I believe that my students would become more interested in Geography. Also if the students were able to ask their own questions they would become more personally involved.

Primary Math was fun to see! Different classes from around the world were communicating what they were learning through a wiki, how cool is that? It helps students see that what they are learning is not just going on at there school or just here in the United States but all over the world.

The ability to receive the input from people outside of the classroom is awesome. Turn Homeward, Hannalee shows how this fifth grade class is learning about the Civil War era. It also allows parents and outsiders to view and comment on this class.

Thing #7

I know that it is important to comment when you visit a blog not just for the sake of leaving a comment but to let the blogger know that people are visiting their site. My wife has created a blog for our family so that our families can see what is happening with us and our kids. Both of our families may be visiting to see what is going on in our lives but we don't know because no one has left any comments. This makes us wonder if anyone is reading it.

Thing #6

It was good news to hear that the Dallas Cowboys had traded for Roy Williams, the University of Texas and Odessa Permian standout wide receiver. I had the opportunity to coach Roy when he was younger and have watched him grow up into a great athlete. The one thing that most people do not know about Roy is that he is a very shy person, but you sure couldn't tell it from his demeanor on the field. Welcome home Roy and good luck to you and the Dallas Cowboys!

Wow! The virtual world has taken on a life of its own, not only online but now its consequences are real life ones. A lady in Japan is going on trial for the murder of her online husband's digital persona after he divorced her. You have to read this to believe it.

Thing #5

Three Cheers for failure, a million cheers for honesty! When a student is not performing up to his or her potential how come the question is always asked of the teacher "What are you doing to help this student?" When is the question going to be asked to the student "What can you be doing to pass this class?" School life and real life are not the same, that is why so many students have a hard time in college or when they enter the workforce. Our younger generation is not being prepared for the type of situations that they are going to encounter. They have to find out the hard way that not everyone gets a trophy just for participating. Not everyone gets a promotion just because they show up to work everyday and they deserve it. Reality is harsh and the more we shelter our students from this truth the harder it is going to be on them.

Thing #4

I read a blog about a teacher who did not assign homework. I agree with his assessment of classroom discipline and time management. Many students see homework as points and not practice as Dan says in the blog, this being the case the A and B students will do the work and the lower students will attempt to find one of these students to copy their work to turn in. I do not assign homework in my class because I feel that if a student needs help with an assignment who better to help them then their teacher, ME!

Mark's edtechblog brings a great new way of reading into the classroom. With school districts struggling to keep students up to grade level reading what an innovative way to get them to read. It allows students to read what other students have to say about certain topics and agree or disagree with them. But, in order to pick a side of agreement or disagreement the students will have to research the topic on their own. This gets them reading even more, what a great idea.