Set my life to music!

http://animoto.com/play/gO45ti0qrcQQ4chCXaExuQ

Edu-sleuthing. Seek and you shall find!

Today began like any other Friday. I woke up with a sunny disposition, kissed my two daughters, hugged my husband and grabbed my coffee before I ran out of the door.  

On my drive to work, as I gazed up at the morning sky, sprinkled with drops of sparkling sunlight peaking through dark clouds filled with the rains of Fall, I began to ponder about the infinite amount of information that is available on the internet.  The sky is the limit when it comes to educational software to enhance learning experiences for students, and it seems like every day, someone develops a fresh and exciting way to integrate education and technology. 

When I arrived at my beloved destination, where I am a first year 8th grade Math and Science teacher, I decided to go on-line to do some edu-sleuthing. Edu-sleuthing is the action of conducting on-line research of a specific topic or content standard to help enhance lesson plans increase student engagement and foster dynamic learning outcomes.  As we are learning in technology class, there are a myriad of educational sites that offer free access to the latest and greatest innovations in education. 

So, there I was, edu-sleuthing using Google, and the thought occurred to me to look up my blog, Meranology, in the search field. I wasn't sure what I was going to find, if anything, but I was curious.  I must admit, I was presently surprised to find my blog staring me in the face! 

That is when it hit me! My "A-haa" moment. That is when I realized the fascination with the internet and technology, and why billions of people are drawn to blog, or screen-cast, or podcast. It's because we all have our own unique personalities and opinions and using the internet, combined with the latest technology, we are given the opportunity to voice our individual opinions in an open forum.  We are no longer dependent on traditional media to get our point across when all we need is a laptop and a microphone.  

Excitedly, I sent a text to a fellow classmate to alert them of my findings. I must say, I think they were impressed to find out that they too, are now a published author of an internet blog that can be accessed by millions of people through Google search. 

We joked for a minute about being part of the Matrix, and agreed that AnotherAndrewSchwab is Morphius. Metaphorically speaking then, that makes me a version of Neo, someone at the precipice, just beginning to open my eyes to the interconnectedness of endless possibilities.  A newly published blogger, who is excited to share my thoughts with the world.  

Hear ye...hear ye... Listen up!!

In classrooms all across the country, there are teachers standing in front of the classroom giving their lectures to students who would rather be anywhere else but in class.  What if there was a way for these students to receive information from the daily lecture, while being  outside the classroom? Is it possible for students to be engaged in learning while sitting on the beach in Santa Cruz on a sunny Friday afternoon?

The answer is yes!!! The era of pod-casting is here and is revolutionizing the way that information is being sent and received. Pod-casting, in layman's terms, is broadcasting over the internet.  Pod-casting is simple and harmless. All you need is a basic microphone, an audio recording program such as Audacity, and a hosting site like archive.org.

Pod-casting is an excellent way to get students involved in the Socratic method of learning through discussion.     Through pod-casting, students can take your lecture on the go. They can tune in to a pod-cast how to find the square root of 64, and listen to ways in which to solve variable expressions.

I think that pod-casting is an excellent teaching tool for working with ELL students. When you bring pod-casting into the classroom, you open the door to individual learning by allowing the students to literally speak their mind!

Thinking Factories For the Future

Gamification in the classroom. 
Is it possible to create a learning atmosphere based on gaming as a pedagogical strategy? 
 In the article http://www.scribd.com/doc/97223668/Case-Study-in-Gamification a Math teacher reflects on her challenges and triumphs of bringing gaming into the classroom as a teaching tool. Her belief is that the role of the teacher is to facilitate students in learning experiences. Gamification is an innovation on the rise. I think it is a great way to teach as well as keep students engaged with material while having fun.  
According to the article, you don't have to be a gamer to incorporate gaming in your classroom, all it takes is a little bit of imagination and a lot of time and patience to set up your game.  When using gamification as a learning tool, the options are limitless, and the more creative you are, the more creative the learning outcomes may be.  Gamification allows multiple users to to participate in producing knowledge.

#Digital Love#

In today's reading regarding digital natives and digital immigrants, there was a question posed that I thought was extremely thought provoking:
Should the Digital Native students learn the old ways, or should their Digital Immigrant educators learn the new?


Today many teachers are hesitant to change their way of instruction, but as educators, we must remember who are target audience is.  The students of the future are going to need to be taught in a way that suites their learning style.


As a novice teacher,  I am excited to share the 21 Century skills of technology and digital interactions with my student. I feel that today's teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students.  Today's students have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using  computers, video games, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age.  Computer games, email, the Internet, cell phones and instant messaging are integral parts of their lives.

One way to enhance the 21 Century skills of our students is to openly introduce and engage students in the use of technology in the classroom. Today I learned how to create a QR Code, or barcode scanner, for any link that I want to connect to.  With this technology, I can create a virtual field trip in my classroom. I can have the students use their smart phone or iphone to scan a code that will link to any website I program.  I can have the students study ancient egyptian math using their mobile devices to engage learning concepts.

Tech. Savvy.

I would classify myself as a digital native. I am very computer savvy,  and have found ways to incorporate technology into my classroom. One of my favorite sites to introduce students to is Scratch. Scratch is a program that I was introduced to this summer. It is a way for people to learn how to do basic computer programing using pre-fab avatars. The beauty of the Scratch program is that multiple people can program at once, making it very interactive for students.


Tonight's class was interesting because we were able to see different perspectives on the use of technology. Technology brings about rapid change, and our students are ever changing as well. When we bring technology into the classroom, we are able to bring students together in powerful ways.

The 3 E's of Education- Enabled, Engaged, and Empowered.
Technology is changing the way in which we introduce and instruct students. providing access to digital environment is a way to enhance effective learning for all students.