Sunday, June 21, 2009

Thing #5

Flickr was a pleasant surprise! There is a multitude of photos available that heightens the senses. This is a wonderful resource for pics that could inspire quickwrites, or serve as springboards to discussion, or vocabulary expansion or a resource for digital stories or...you get the idea - the applications are endless.


Well, because I am the Purple Princess, I absolutely had to download this photo...

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Thing #4

Whew! What a rush! I have now officially registered my blog with the school district. Time for a break. That was fun!

Thing #3

Setting up a blog is actually fun! It was much easier to start than I thought. The idea of this being like an online record of our classroom learning is exciting! I'm hoping that this can be a place where my students can get together and converge their thinking about books and discussions and topics and those burning questions that we explore all year long.

Thing #2

See kids! Learning never stops. While you guys were dipping in pools and sleeping in late, I was learning more about technology to make learning fun.

Lifelong learners use the following 7 1/2 habits to keep their brains active, even when they are not in school:
1. Begin with the end in mind.
2. Accept responsibility for your own learning.
3. View problems as challenges.
4. Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.
5. Create your own learning toolbox.
6. Use technology to your advantage.
7. Teach/mentor others.
7 1/2. Play!

For me, the easiest of these habits is to accept responsibility for my own learning. It doesn't matter what I want to learn, I seek out ways to find out how. When I wanted to learn salsa dancing, I took lessons. When I wanted to learn spanish, I took classes. When I wanted to learn more about technology use in the classroom, I signed up for this online exploration program. And my favorite part is taking it one step further and challenging myself to use what I have learned!

The hardest of these habits for me is to view the problems that I encounter as challenges. Sometimes the problems seem like they are too big to overcome, but I have to take a deep breath and be my own cheerleader to push forward. And you know what??? It feels really good when I succeed despite the challenges.

I am more than a conqueror!