Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea is the perfect read for learning how to build relationships and recognizing the importance of family support in education. Technology is only a tool, and it is a great tool to help build connections from school to home. His book introduces readers to the struggles facing young girls in Afghanistan. Wining the trust of local families by building relationships is making a difference in Afghanistan.

In fact, Greg Mortenson will be speaking at Tarleton State University January 25 in Stephenville. His book is available in Google Books and on Amazon.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Why use Twitter?

Twitter is an excellent tool and can be used in so many positive ways in the classroom. Features include:

  1. Live feeedback: Communication can be recieved in real-time. Students, parents, teachers, staff, and the community can be informed on a variety of issues and events.
  2. Better than search engines: the ability to instantly recieve feedback is the inherent benefit of using Twitter over other search engines.
  3. Connections with students: Digital natives can communicate on their level with digital immigrants.
  4. Connections with parents: Teachers can tweet homework so parents are automatically updated.
  5. Feedback: You can use Twitter to recieve instant feedback from students. This is a great way to make sure students are on task.
  6. Twitter apps: There are a variety of twitter apps that are very useful. Check out Leena Rao's blog at http://techcrunch.com/2009/02/19/the-top-20-twitter-applications/ to learn more.
  7. Classroom of Community Learners: Students and Teachers will be able to follow professionals and find political figures, rocket scientists, colleges, or famous people.
  8. Tracking: Track a word or phrase to help keep tabs on current event.

What is twitter?

Technology Explosion at DISD


So many cool things are happening here at Dublin ISD, and I cannot wait to help teachers make their classrooms come alive for students in Dublin, Texas. First grade students at Dublin Elementary kicked off our first wiki project, and if you get a chance, check it out! http://disdfirstgrade.wikispaces.com/?954Nav=&NodeID=713. Dublin Elementary also received a Lexia computer lab this school year. Students at Dublin High School received a MacBook and it is awesome to see students and teachers so eager to utilize technology in the classroom! Many teachers on all campuses received Smart Boards.

The purpose of this blog is to communicate train, and inform teachers and staff on ways to integrate technology into their classroom. I hope to model learning and share valuable information with stakeholders using Web 2.0 tools. I may not know the answer to questions, but will do everything I can to assist you with technical problems in a timely and efficient manner. Coaching and mentoring teachers and staff will be my top priority. I am here to serve teachers and staff so that students will be successful life long learners equipped with 21st century skills.