I chose the project, because I want to learn more about Google Docs.  What I know about it so far:  It’s everywhere.  It’s free.  It’s growing in popularity.  It’s not used in a second grade classroom that I’m aware of.  I want to learn how to use Google Docs because it’s widely used in the upper [...]

Why do you think we still have technology classes especially in the primary grades? This is a really good question, and I can only guess why it’s the case.  It’s easier to say how they originated, so I’ll start there.  Back in the dawn of computers becoming part of a school’s landscape it was cost prohibitive [...]

A while ago I wrote about the great benefits for teachers using iPads in the classroom. Clearly there are benefits for students too. One of them being that the iPad is quick to boot, rarely has network issues, and doesn’t lock up (knocking on wood). It is that time of year again when we need to [...]

I’ve been thinking about this question the last couple weeks, because I see a system that needs repair.  Having our students go to a technology class once every two weeks doesn’t seem to be the most effective way to meet my definition of technology integration. In an ideal world technology integration would not be a scheduled lesson, [...]

An infographic created from an earlier post.

My first attempt at a screen cast.  This was created using Quicktime and the internal microphone on a MacBook Pro.  *Just check the video and the audio seems to be stripped out.  I’ll look into the issue and re-upload.

With all the media attention on the iPhone and its tracking software , I was naturally curious to see where I have been. I downloaded a program that aloud me to peak into some hidden files and was only surprised to see that I need to get out of Taipei a little more. I’m not a secret [...]

This project was part of a much broader, Insects and Plants science unit.  As a side, I wanted the students to appreciate that the important role plants play in their lives.  The easiest way to do this was to have the students think about the foods they eat and how many of those are plants [...]

As we started talking about laptops and computers the conversation turned toward the Internet and the type of access each child has.  It was nearly a given that each one had an Internet connection at home. 100% of the homes were connected, but that wasn’t what was surprising.  What caught my attention was the number to students [...]

I was curious to see how saturated with technology my second grade students are and started going through an informal survey with them.  Being that they are in second grade this kind of a procedure takes some patience and needs to be conducted very methodically. As we sat in our ‘meeting circle’ I started asking them about technonlogy and what…[Read more]

I admit that teachers are sometimes a very tough crowd to teach. As teachers we expect our classrooms to have a certain amount of discipline so that we can cover material, ask questions, clarify information and share knowledge.  What happens when you get a group of teachers together for a professional development session? So how is [...]

After 1 semester of an iPad in the classroom I can tell you that it’s a great tool. I admit that when I first bought the iPad I tried to justify its purchase by telling my wife that, “Of course I’ll use it in the classroom too.” The device on its own, right out of the [...]

Listed below is our revision of the Acceptable Use Policy for KA to Grade 2 students.  As we put this together we looked at other AUPs and used components from them.  We ended up with a KA to Grade 2 policy that has a child, parent and teacher component. One of the goals of our [...]

The Great EqualizerWhat makes the web so powerful?  It is the one platform where everyone has an equal voice.  Everyone on the web starts out with the same size soapbox.  It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have.  I will admit that while we start on the same size soapbox, money buys [...]

Cyber bullying usually has one end result, to intimidate another person.  This story is a little different. Article link Federal authorities have charged an adult for cyber bullying.  Most of the time when I think of cyber bullying, I think of middle or high school students sending threatening messages to other students.  That was not the case [...]