I have been pondering for awhile to attempt to get my hands on a class set of handhelds. I have a few things in the works but we’ll have to see how things play out. (If you are feeling generous and have an incredible urge to purchase 30 handhelds, send them my way!) I went to a workshop last night put on by my friend, Jim Dornberg. He  has been using handhelds in the classroom for awhile and had some very good ideas. As I’ve mentioned before, I have two in my classroom that students seem to fight over to get to. I can see the excitement and interest that these generate. They are no longer used for creating a portable address and phone book or a “to-do” list. There is a plethora of software out there geared for education, and especially for elementary and middle school. Although I own two Tungsten E2’s, I have my eye on the new Tungsten TX. The big difference between the two? E2’s have Bluetooth capability (meaning you can hook to the interent if you have a Bluetooth hook-up) and TX’s are Bluetooth AND wireless~ready to go! TX’s run about $300. Palm does give an educator’s discount that brings it down to about $250.00. As I’ve mentioned before, Tony Vincent from Learning In Hand, has been on the forefront of using handhelds in the classroom. He definitely has a wealth of information and expertise in this area. Check it out until next time.

Prompted from reading an article for my tech class at Lourdes College, it started a whole new thinking;Why blog? What started out as reading an article titled, “Why Blog” by Frank Catalano, has now snowballed into finding several articles on this same topic. Why should anyone blog and why should we, as educators, have our students blog? This type of technology, along with Wikis and podcasting, is allowing anyone with access to a computer and the internet, as well as the ability to type, become a published author - well, sort of. The term “blog” as defined by Webster’s dictionary means “to author an online diary or chronology of thoughts”. The ‘Big Idea’ here is to ask yourself, “Will my blog add to the world of knowledge and learning or is it just for fun?”  Blogs are being used in schools across the US in various ways such as keeping parents informed about activities on a daily basis. In my classroom, although very simplistic in nature, my students type up short articles on classroom happenings. Due to the bad rap that web blog pages such as MySpace and Xanga have gotten recently, the higher powers of being are still debating on the purpose of using blogs in the classroom.

Using blogs and other web tools such as Wikis or even podcasting, require the student to build their writing skills. They are no longer writing for their teacher but to a much wider audience~the world! When you frame it like that for students, I have found that they begin to pay closer attention to their word choice and grammar. They are learning the power of  having an audience and a world-wide one at that!

Joel Arquillos,California Social Studies teacher, stated, “I wanted to make my classroom available beyond the classroom doors. I like the fact that it is a living document”. I think I have to agree with Joel.

There are some barriers to blogging. Security is a big barrier. Care must be taken to keep our students safe by not allowing them to divulge private information such as their full name or where they live. Also, making sure that blog posts are appropriately written is a concern for many. Most blogs have tools that can be activated such as password and member protection. This would allow only those people who have been issued the password could access the blog site.

I feel that as with any technology tool, students must learn the correct way to use blogs. An Acceptable Use policy is most likely in place for most schools. This policy spells out the acceptable guidlines to follow when using computers and accessing the internet. I hope that blogging, as well Wikis and podcasting, open a new world for my students. We are on the brink of something big, after all this has become the Read/Write Web.

I just finished reading Will Richardson’s book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Wow! Richardson is definitely in a place that I am striving for. He has a deep understanding of pedagogical practices and integrating technology into today’s classrooms. We are surrounded by ‘digital natives’, students who have never known anything but computers, internet, iPods, video games, and other tech gadgets. I don’t necessarily consider myself a ‘digital immigrant’. Afterall, I programmed a Commodore 64 to play a game back in high school! I also owned an Atari. Wow! We have come a long way. In Richardson’s book, he discusses how, as educators, we can learn to harness Web tools, to motivate student reading, research, and communication. He discusses what we’re coming to know as the Read/Write Web. He discusses Weblogs. Wikis, RSS, Flickr, and Podcasting and how to use these applications in the classroom. I had the opportunity to meet Will Richardson at the Macul Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan in March, 2006. I actually sat through three very informative workshops that he presented. Buying his book just seemed like the next step. If you are looking for an informative book that explains the uses of these types of applications in classrooms, then Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts is definitely worth the $. As Will says in the preface, ” This may look like a book about technology, but it’s really a book about the connections, collaborations, and conversations that the new “cool tools” 0of the Web are allowing us to create.” As I continue to move along in my journey of understanding how I, as an educator of ‘digital natives’, can harness this vast amount of Web tools and use them in my classroom, I will keep seeking out other educators who can guide me along this path.

Ok, I admit it. I’m becoming a tech gadget junkie. Earlier in the school year, I successfully wrote a grant and was able to obtain 2 Tungsten E2 Palms with keyboards, various science probes from Imagiprobe, a Sony Digital Video Camera, and a Kodak EasyShare digital camera. My class and afterschool group have been having a great time learning and integrating these cool gadgets into their daily learning. Not only do they use the E2’s with the science probes, but they use them to write their Roving Reporter article and then beam them to my laptop to be published on our class web page. They’ve made short commercials/news reports with the video camera and they take countless photos to record the happenings that occur during their Fifth Grade year. I have also personally purchased 2 USB Microphones from Logitech, (one headset and one desktop) for recording our podcasts. Just recently, I made a more personal and somewhat selfish purchase for myself - a 30G Video iPod! This has been one of the coolest gadgets I’ve played with. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning everytime I discover something new with this iPod. Now I own a 512 iRiver and my younger daughter has an iPod Nano, so it’s not like this is ‘new’ to me. The best part of this iPod, (other than the simplistic ease of loading music, photos, and podcasts on it) is the fact that my favorite podcasts that I listen to I can now take with me wherever I go! You have got to love technology! I have to admit that not only do I listen to podcasts for educators, but I like to hear what the students of podcasting are doing out there. One of the best, (I think) podcasts that is “By Kids, For Kids” is Radio WillowWeb. This particular podcast is produced by some extraordinary students from Willowdale Elementary and Tony Vincent. Tony definitely has a handle on this form of technology! Kudos to him and his students! Well,I’ve procrastinated enough. I had better get back to writing my paper for my final project this semester. Until next time.

After spending time reading some of my favorite and often frequented blogs I’ve decided to jump into this unknown territory and start blogging! I am hoping to have my students blogging soon, so I figured I’d better try it myself.

Some of the blogs that I read on a regular basis are:http://www.edtechupdate.blogspot.com/ ;http://weblogg-ed.com/ ; and http://learninginhand.com/blog/index.html.

I am always on the lookout for new things to try, especially in the area of technology, in my classroom. I never thought I’d say this about myself but I am definitely becoming a member of the Geek Squad and proud of it! Until next time.