How will you use blogs in your classroom?
Comments (23) Tell us one idea that you have had about how you can use blogs in your classroom this next school year.
Comments (23) 
Bette’s Memorial Service, Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery
By schoolmarm, June 2, 2010
These pictures are from Bette’s memorial service at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery over Memorial Day weekend. The Navy provided funeral military honors for her. It was a moving tribute and a reminder of the sacrifice that our veterans make for our country.
Using Blogs in ELA Classrooms
By schoolmarm, May 31, 2010
The new ELAR TEKS require students to compare how various forms of media, including blogs and other Internet sites cover events. How does the nature of blogs affect the coverage of topics? How can we best teach students to evaluate blogs for accuracy and authority?
Bette’s Story
By schoolmarm, April 29, 2010
My mom passed away in March after suffering with dementia for over nine years. In tribute to her, I’ve posted a video I made in 2004 to honor her.
Doing What’s Best for Kids
By schoolmarm, April 7, 2010
I visited an elementary classroom in one of the many small, rural schools in our area earlier this week. The teacher was excited about using student interactive activities from Thinkfinity partner sites as centers to support her instruction. She is an excellent teacher who cares deeply about each of her students. Her room exudes warmth, collaboration, and active learning. The computers in her room, however, do not. They are dinosaurs, probably passed down the grades as older students’ classrooms received new computers. The Internet sites were slow to load, some of the plug-ins were missing so that the Illuminations activities would not display. Frustrating… I understand that money is tight, but I also know that when we grownups don’t have our students’ learning as top priority, our students are the ones who suffer. Oh, the bright, privileged ones will be okay. Some of their parents will supplement what goes on at school with these kinds of interactive digital learning experiences, but what about the others. The ones who will end up falling behind. College and Career Readiness truly does start in K-2 classrooms. Shame on us grownups for “talking a good game,” and then failing to live up to our words.
Building Better Teachers
By schoolmarm, March 7, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html
Keeping pace with technology
By schoolmarm, February 23, 2010
Anyone who thinks keeping up with the Joneses is exhausting and frustrating should try to keep pace with technology! As a colleague remarked yesterday, “sleep and you’re behind!” I have spent hours of my “free” time during the last week updating my website and working on my blog. I was sorely disappointed to discover that products I spent HOURS laboring over in 2006 no longer work because of advances in technology. I was so excited that I could save PowerPoint presentations as web pages, but just as exasperated to discover recently that they no longer work! Thank goodness I am a virtual pack rat and still have the original PowerPoint files…
My professional journey led me into a Target grant for language arts teachers that kindled my interest in technology integration, and I took online courses in order to earn my Technology Applications certification even though I never intended to teach technology courses. My certification is not yet four years old, and Texas is already revamping their Technology Applications courses and standards. Sadly, many of the skills that seemed cutting edge four years ago seem primitive today.
There is a lot of buzz in education about our students needing to be lifelong learners, but education will never keep pace and be relevant if educators don’t make the commitment to be lifelong learners themselves. That’s a tall order, though, for overworked teachers who must do their “lifelong learning” after hours, after family commitments, after the papers they have toted home are graded…. I read about politicians and philanthropists like Bill Gates declaring that the United States must provide a world class education to our young people, but their words seem hollow when I consider that few, if any, teachers are given time regularly during their workday for professional development, planning, and collaboration. Seems as if people don’t really think teachers are working unless they have a group of students to teach or monitor……..
On a positive note, many teachers are choosing to sacrifice their free time to learn about new technology tools and how those tools can motivate students and deepen their learning. Our world is a better place because of them!
Microsoft Office Add-in Embeds Creative Commons License
By schoolmarm, February 11, 2010
Office 2007 users can download an add-in that will allow them to embed a Creative Commons license into a document. The add-in creates a Creative Commons tab that takes users directly to the Creative Commons Web site to select the appropriate license.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides free licenses for creators to choose from that allows others to share, remix, use commercially, or any combination of the above.
One of the best ways to teach students to respect the work of others is to have them select a Creative Commons license for the projects they produce. The process of selecting the license of their choice provides a teachable moment when students can view copyright from the perspective of the owner rather than the consumer.
Even if you do not have Office 2007, check out the Creative Commons website and see how easy it is to choose a license and download the appropriate label to place within documents and video files.
YouTube Unveils Safety Mode
By schoolmarm, February 11, 2010
YouTube announced their new Safety Mode that makes YouTube a viable option for schools. Check out the video below for details.
Themocracy