Thing #2

Part 1
I think blogs are a good avenue for laying out short opinions and ideas, or rants if you will. I enjoy that blogs are instant, interactive and ever-evolving. Commenting and contributing to one anothers blogs give us instant insight into people's ideas that interest us and more possibilities for further discussion. I know I have had my opinions changed on certain ideas by reading other people's points of view and reflecting.

Blogging facilitates learning in many ways. It provides new avenues of learning in a more interesting way, it assists with reading and writing skills as well as critical thinking. With students, the interaction between classmates and respect for each other's writing will prove meaningful and more powerful as they become better contributors with more thoughtful things to say.

I am a mere art teacher, but I would love to one day be able to share more art and information with my interested kids via blogging. I think its a little farther off for me, especially at the elementary level, but I am hopeful about collaborating with our computer lab person and trying some new things out. Unfortunately all their computer time now is for skills reinforcement and remediation, blogging is not high on the list of what they need to to know for CRCT.

Tried writeboard

I think this is how to get there http://123.writeboard.com/1b3266c921dd212d0, I'll keep working on it.....the password is barrow

Thing #1-B

2.0 will evolve teaching in so many ways. Being able to connect live with people around the world in real-time in the classroom is a pretty amazing concept. I haven't been able to try it yet and I'm very excited about it. Being in field of art, it would be so much fun to have students able to directly engage in conversations with museum curators, working artists, live demonstrations of serious art being created. That alone would engage students much more than photos in textbooks and outdated library books. I want it because it's the way the world is moving, if we cannot accept change and grow with it and use it, what good are we to the kids we are teaching?

In that article, where all the kids have constant access to technology and can work together in the ways mentioned, they remained focused and involved on their projects, they cared about making it better and working harder and working together. I think it's still a ways off for us, most people in our county don't have enough personal access to computers in the schools or at home, but I don't think it's unreasonable in the future. I think we are quickly outgrowing the regular classroom setting and I like it.

I really loved the videos, I've shared them with several people already, thank you!!!

Thing #1-A

I teach at AES as the Art Teacher, K-5. I've been here since 2005 and only teaching altogether since 2003. I decided to take part in this because I'm always interested in learning new things and I hope to have some fun and learn new ways to use this information in the classroom as well as with my colleagues.