Edutopia...is it possible?

This week i decided to review a website and it was www.edutpoia.org. When i first saw this website on our list of suggestions i laughed to myself and said i have to see what this website had to offer. I thought to myself can education or anything related to the field be an utopia? With so many different opinions on how and what to teach can there be a website that gives you a definite answer? Well this website does not give you a definite answer but it does give you really really good blogs, articles, and resources of what you can do as an educator.
I read this article in this website that was called, " How to keep kids engaged" and this article proved to me that this website will be so helpful and give you tips on how to teach.
I signed up for the free newsletters because just like ASCD smartbrief this website will help me with my becoming a teacher.
=)

Finding help online :)

This week I looked through the website www.k12connection.org The last 4 blogs i have done have been on individual articles and this week I thought I would do a whole website. This website serves as a resource tool for parents and students with areas that focus on the years of schooling before the preparation of college. It was really neat to look through the various area content, which included parts like career, education, news, school/school boards, and students. There was one excerpt I read that was dated February 16th named "Importance of a Daily Routine" under the education feed. it spoke about how young children need routine in their classroom lives. It may be half way through the year and they still can not remember that they have homework everyday. This goes back to classroom management, daily routine, and constant reminders. I can even safely say this ideal of daily routine works on college kids as well. I know that we have to write a blog every week and that gives me a constant homework rountine to follow. I am a very structured person and its comforting to know that certain things are due and on a concrete date.

I will honestly go back to website again in the future to see what new tidbits are posted. It was a good website which a lot of areas to go and explore.

They are Learning to write and they've got Readers

I have yet another article from the website i get daily newsfeeds from-ASCD Smartbrief keeps me update on all types of education news. One of yesterdays article was called "They're learning to write, and they've got readers. I skimmed through it Sunday night and saved the article to read for this weeks blog entry. This article talks about young students learning to have and mange thier very own blogs in the classroom. It talked about how teachers are excited to introduce blogs to thier classrooms because it gets the children interested and excited. Blogs give children a voice and platform to be heard on. The kids in the article were a 3rd grade class and they worked on everything from internet safety, internet manners, and overall writing concepts, such as staying on topic, no "text talk", and a bunch of other stuff that will help them in the long run with the ever-growing technology presence.

What i learned from this article was that children have a unique voice and we as teachers should always have something up our sleeves with ways to creatively and safely let those voices be heard.
Again i know that i reused the same website but when i looked at this article i found it so similar to us and our blogs in this class. A chance to express what we read and find interesting in the website or online journals about technology I could not resist.

What i want to continue learning about blogs in the classroom is how teachers find ways to keep blogging interesting and still safe for younger children to use.

Computer Bloppers Tech Trainers Funniest Moments

I found this weeks reading on the website www.educationworld.com . It was a fantastic read after the long week i had. This article talks about a lighter side of technology in the classroom. The article talks about the questions people are afraid to ask because they do not want to seem dumb, and therefore become increasingly computer illiterate. The article emphasizes that among the most scared to ask even the simplest technology question are Educators. I don't blame them because as educators we are supposed to know quite a bit, but we have to remember that technology is constantly changing and we need to always keep asking questions to keep up with current trends in technology education. Children now a days grew up with technology and we did too but they grasp concepts so much faster.

So i think this article should be read by everyone because it made me think about how scared we really are to ask questions about something we might not know to much on. With this day and age we have to be on the ball when it comes to technology and its ever changing waves to be effective teachers.

Student Engagement on the Go

This week i read an article from the website www.ascd.com From my foundations of education class a while back my professor made us subscribe to at least one online site to stay in "educational touch". It was the best advice i had gotten because i get top educational news stories straight to my laptop almost everyday.

The article i read today was named "Student Engagement On The Go". This article talks about how to make sure technology, once implemented in the curriculum, stays on task to enhance student learning. It talks about the use if i-pods and i-pads in the classroom to work on projects and group work. This article is very pro-technology use in the classroom. It even stated an example of referral rates before and after the introduction of technology and the difference was drastic. Students will be more involved and stay interested if engaged with technology.

I love that i get all different types of articles to my inbox daily so i can stay current on any educational hot topics out there. What i would like to read more about is more research about the quality of work turned in by technology and how it keeps children focused on task at hand.

Libraries & Librarians

I found this article on www.fno.org
called "Why we still need libraries and librarians"

This article was very eye-opening about the need for our current librarians to set up their game to keep up with the growing spread of technology and internet. In this article it stated that many people are asking why we even need libraries and librarians when we have things like smart phones and easily accessible internet almost everywhere we go. The article gives a pointers of how a librarian can change, for example becoming more tech savvy and also emphasizes doing things a computer simply cant do. Things like being storyteller, a magician, things like that.
-What i learned from this article is that people are starting to rely way to much on technology and it might not always be there to help you find what you are looking for.
-What i want to continue to learn about this matter is how current librarians are dealing with the technology transition. I would like to read an article about personal testimonies from librarians and their tips & tricks on how to out-smart technology.