Melanie’s Musings

Last week I was tagged by an ITRT from Roanoke with a meme quilt. At first, although I was honored that Meg selected me, I panicked so much that I decided to push this to a back burner. Blogging is pretty new to me so I was not sure that i would have much to say.

To participate with the tag, I was to find or upload a picture that demonstrates what makes me so passionate about teaching with technology. There are so many things that make me passionate about teaching with technology but as I stopped to reflect, I have to say that the picture below best represents it for me.

If you watch television at all, you will recognize the traveling Gnome. Technology takes us out of our classrooms and gives us a chance to allow our students to see parts of the world they would never experience and interact with other learners that they would never meet otherwise.

The first time I attempted a technology based lesson was after I attended a TTI conference, then known as NTTI. Prior to this conference, I had only dismal experiences working with a computer and I was not sold on the idea that this would be a useful educational tool. The first session I sat in was run by a kindergarten teacher named Betsy Weaver. She had the most AWESOME lesson I had ever seen, and integrated into it was technology. She made it seem so easy. I was sure that I could do what she was doing. I took her lesson back the next Monday to my classroom and with a few modifications, pulled off a technology based lesson. My principal was very impressed. Even more impressed than my principal was me. My kids were actually engaged and learning. And they LOVED it!

The school I was working with then had a large low-income population, and high Title I numbers so was considered an “at risk” school. As I began to look for ways to use technology to support my instruction, I saw my students’ achievement levels rising higher and higher. Today, as an ITRT I push for teachers to collaborate with others outside the four walls of the classroom. In fact, I just wrote and was awarded a grant which will allow me to place web cams in all our elementary schools. The best education can be obtained by interacting with as many other learners as possible! It use to take a village to raise a child; now it takes the entire world and technology makes this happen!

I am suppose to now continue the meme. The problem is, I am the only one in my division that blogs, and like I said, I just started. Most of the techie gurus I interact with on the web have micro blogs or Tumblr sites. However, I do have a few blogs  that I want to toss to.  These people are giants in our field and don’t know me so I hope they accept.

The rules are simple:

The Meme toss goes to:

Jen Wagner

http://jenuinetech.com/blog/

Tech Ice Breaker

http://cprout.edublogs.org/

Jeff Utecht from The Thinking Stick

http://www.thethinkingstick.com/?p=641

Sharon Peters

http://www.mtl-peters.net/blog/?page_id=21

Silvia Tolsano

http://www.langwitches.org/blog/

I am having so much fun with all the web 2.0 tools lately. I realize that I must look like a goldfish along side whales compared to some of the educators with which I follow, interact with, or watch as far as my social interaction on the web. But I can always improve!

I have now set up a Twitter account and am following several awesome techies. I had a skype conversation with another. There is a Page Flakes site with all my favorite blogs on the same page. I know in an instant who has updated and can keep up with my reading. I found out that I could send a question through my cell phone to Google and get text reply back with an answer! Awesome! And my favorite hobby these days is “stumbling” through the web with an internet plug-in called Stumble Upon. There are Digg and Pownce accounts that I have created too but I haven’t played with these two tools very much.

I know that I am later than most arriving to the social networking scene and that I have a long way to go but I am a stubborn person and will catch up soon. LOL!!!

It’s no wonder that our students prefer these tools.

     Two weeks ago I asked my Supervisor of Information Technology to unblock a site for me.  The site I requested was http://projectsbyjen.ning.com.  This site is an awesome site that has provided me with many ideas for integrating technology.  I love all the new gadgets and tools that I have been introduced to from this site, voicethread, skype, twitter.  The site was blocked by my division and each time I clicked on it, I got a red screen. In my division, a red screen means it’s a porno site.  It couldn’t be unblocked because if I were to be allowed on this site, students would be able to get to other social networking sites. 

     Today the webmaster of this site and I have been in a conversation.  She hosts some great projects that many of the teachers in my division have gotten involved with.  During the conversation I found out that she is a born again Christian!  I just love the new web 2.0 technologies!  It’s awesome to find a sister clear across the United States!  And one that shares both my love for the digital world as well as the spiritual world.        See we can learn from social networking sites!  LOL!!!!  

     Many of the new websites I have asked my division about lately have come from the social networking group Jen invited me to take part in.  She must have even a more difficult getting teachers and admin to accept what she does with technology.  She works in a Christian school.  She has come an amazingly long way! To see how far Jen has come while working in a Christian school is unbelievable.  I bet Christian schools are typically more hesitant than public schools to integrate new technologies. Sometimes I feel like I am always begging forgiveness for doing my job from admin and begging to be able to do my job from teachers.  And ITRTs are mandated by the state of VA.    

     Hats off to Jen and to her school for taking such a positive leap forward for their students.  And thank you, Jen, for taking the time to model and assist those of us who are trying to do the same.

My school division is out for a school snow day.  Snow days are suppose to be less stressful than your typical day but today was not to be so. 

My daughter is a freshman at Liberty Unversity this year.  She had a 7:40 AM class.  A little after eight she called, in tears!  She decided to take a back road to school to avoid high speed traffic.  Not that we have much high speed traffic in our area. This was just the first bad weather she has had to travel in.  Her phone call was to tell us that she was scared.  She could not see the road.  My husband went to get her.  He led her all the way back to the entrance of our subdivision but got my car stuck.  My car is now sitting at a gas station waiting for the thaw.  Oh well!  At least all my family is safe at home.  Liberty finally decided to close classes.