Reflection on a feed article Thing #5

I found the article about Dr. Robert Esptein on Teen 2.0 to be very interesting. I have been concerned with changes I have seen in our young people and wondered how if at all the new technology will affect teenagers.  I have two teenagers at home.  This site might be very helpful in addressing issues in my family.  I would like to pursue more information from his book, Case Against Adolescence. The list of endorsers is pretty impressive:  Alvin Toffler, Joyce Brothers, Newt Gingrich to name a few.  This article was in the feed,  Infinite Thinking Machine.

Thing #4 Reflections on blogs

Mark Ahlness wrote a blog about using blogs for SSR for his third graders.  What a great idea!  I would need to modify this with lots of readable links for my kindergarteners.  I hope I learn how to get something like this running on my classroom computers.  I think I could do something similar to the blog, Duck with a Blog. With kindergarteners it would be very simple but I think they would have fun learning to write. Brevity is what kindergarteners do best as they learn the new skills of writing. Individual students could do a simple and short blog like Patrick in his 5th grade blog.  The students could express their opinions about topics we study in Science and Social Studies like in the web about plastic bags.  I have read about some great learning possibilities.

Thoughts on Reading and Writing Blogs
Reading blogs is like reading a letter from a friend but knowing that there is an underlining purpose in the communication. I read blogs differently than other reading materials.  I seem to read quicker, skimming as I read selectively.

Writing blogs is a freeing experience to express honestly, but within boundaries, my thoughts and ideas.

Contributing to blogs is a form of  encouragement to a friend or coworker, sharing ideas, urging them to keep going.

Blogs can facilitate learning by directing the reader to other similar areas of study.  Blogging is cooperative learning on 'world wide web' scale.

Post 2 Thing #2 Thoughts about Web 2.0

Wow! My mind is spinning with how fast technology is changing. I remember the time before computers! I’ve got to catch up and keep up. By watching these videos I read many unfamiliar terms. I am fearful and nervous with the amount of new information.

How might these tools change my professional practice?

As a Kindergarten teacher, I need to “catch up” and challenge my 5-6 years-olds. They don’t know a world without MP3 players, Wii, and cell phones. However, some of my students have never touched a computer. They don’t know the alphabet, never mind keyboarding. How can I take the technical knowledge and skills they already have and connect these students to the academic world of learning?
 
In communicating with parents, there is a possibility I might be able to use a blog instead of my weekly newsletter.

How might you be able to use these new tools to engage today's "digital learners?" Why?
If today's children have access to a computer at home and have learned by online computer programs, they will want to continue to learn in this same matter.  I want to make learning as interesting and interactive as the learning to which they are accustomed.  

I might be able to make learning of the students’ WWW done as an online game or activity.  Maybe I could eventually use blogs or podcasts with them in Writer's Workshop.

How might you be able to use these tools to support your own learning?
Tonight I took a course on the fundamentals of the Promethean board. I am so excited to use it in my class. I see how I can use this interactive tool to bring the world and endless learning into the classroom.
I know so little of what is out there. But “little by little walks the egg” (Ethiopian proverb). I have to take those first scary steps, then I hope to be up and running.

Post 1 Thing #1 Reflections on Lifelong Learning

Of the 7 1/2 habits I would say the habit I find most challenging would be #4 - Have confidence in yourself as a competent affective learner.   The idea of learning new technology is frightening.  We didn't even have computers when I was in college so I have witnessed enormous changes.  And now to be in the midst of it all, trying to learn new technology that is  past my "comfort zone of email" makes my palms sweat!  I have stepped out with earlier technology, if only to keep up with my own teenaged children.  If I can handle email, digital cameras, cell phones, and iTouch I should be able to handle 23 more things.

The habit that will be the easiest for me would be #2 to view problems as challenges.  Living overseas on the mission field for almost 15 years, I have learned to be flexible, quickly coming up with Plan B or C or D.

The habits that will be the most important for me as I work through this course would be #6 to use technology to my advantage and #7 teach/mentor others.  My kindergarteners have never known life without digital - phones, TVs, cameras, etc. They are not held back by "the way it used to be" mentality. I need to meet them right where they are and fit into their world, bringing  learning through technology in ways they are familiar and can understand.  We have to move forward together into our technological future.