Pause for Purpose

Hello all. It has been an incredible amount of time since I have posted to this blog. The time has been wisely spent. I have a new position this year as a fourth grade teacher at a new elementary school. Having spent a few years out of the classroom setting, it was a lot to grasp at first.

I have been spending my time getting used to the many idiosyncrasies of having my own class of 28... 14 boys and 14 girls. Wow, I forgot the rewards of watching students soak up knowledge like a sponge.

I have been using my wiki as a connection between school and home. I have been spending the entire beginning of the school year updating the wiki and figuring out how I was going to make it work with many Internet irresponsible 9 and 10 year olds.

I am opening the wiki up to students now. Students will be able to log on to the wiki during school and add information once work is complete. I have opened up the wiki for Reading, Social Studies and Math. They are labeled "A students View of..."

The students will post anything they deem to be appropriate for the sharing of knowledge with the world. Hopefully we will start with our first entry tomorrow. Depending on how this works out, I plan to have students create their own pages and eventually blog with a purpose. Wish me luck.

The Tools of the Future

One fact that rattles through my brain constantly... we have no clue as to the technology that will be available to us in 10-15 years. When I think back to what the world was like 15 years ago, I am amazed of the changes that have occurred.

Then...Cell phones were only owned by people with money, the Internet as we know it was non-existent, most homes did not have a PC, music was available at the record store on tape and limited Cd's, and MTV actually played music video's.

Now... 5th graders have cell phones, the Internet is a world of publishing and creativity, most homes have multiple PCs, music is available at the touch of a button, and MTV is unwatchable.

Many more changes have occurred. One fact will remain the same for the remainder of time... we do not know what is coming next! We can assume and make predictions, but, the technology of tools is moving at an exponential rate. This sometimes can be quite frightening. To think of the future and the new literacy's we are faced with as teachers makes me wonder... As an education system, are we ever going to catch up? When will we start to recognize, as a whole, that kids are learning in an entirely different world.

One example is our publishing capabilities. I grew up in the 90's. This was a short time ago. Being "published", meant you had to go to school to be a writer. Then, by a stroke of luck, you had to write a great book that people would buy. Then you would take this book and pitch it to a publishing company. If the book had potential, they may write you a book deal.

There were many "ifs" in this process. Now, there are many online publishing tools that can be used on the Internet. Publishing is as simple as having a creative idea and creating it with software on the Internet. You then click a button that says PUBLISH, and there you go. I created a 52 page book of pictures with commentary in a few hours, and had it on my doorstep in a week. It was a great alternative to a boring picture album. Now, I have a published book of my own pictures on my coffee table at home. I'll have to admit, the book was published with professional quality. It is also available for anyone to buy. The possibilities are endless with tools such as lulu and blurb.

What tools do you think will be available for us in the future?

Blurb for easy Publishing

I was searching through my http://www.flickr.com/ account seeing what other types of applications I could use with my photos. I came across http://www.blurb.com/. This sight allowed me to produce a unique 48 page picture book in about 3 hours. I used the the sights directions, downloaded the software, and now I have a published book that I authored and illustrated being mailed to me in a few days. The only thought that crossed through my mind was... this is amazing!

Think of the endless possibilities that this could create in the classroom.

I am using it for a gift to my family. I have compiled many interesting photographs from my journey to the northeast. I have added many informative captions and descriptions to the book, along with a unique cover. I have ordered the book in soft cover first. I am interested to see the quality that this company produces.
My book is Titled "A Trip for the Memory"