learning is fun

Once again, this is a Thing that I need to address more in depth having just discovered the tip of the iceberg.  In Classroom 2, under Forum, I found a discussion of Playgrounds and Issues around Play which is a possible global learning project to explore farther.  In General Education, the song, “Not on the Test,” is provocative as are the various replies from teachers and administrators around the United States.  Under Tags, the Google Lit Trips is innovative and would be of great interest to English teachers.  The International Classroom (Ning in Education) is another promising network for classes around the world to share their respective cultures.  I was unable to access some of the sites as they are private which is understandable but somewhat frustrating.  Finally, the networks for educators are created for grades 7-12 which does not fit our school population of 3s-6^th grades.  However, it’s always of value to check these networks out as they

 may spark some ideas that will fit our population.        

Pageflakes was so much fun to explore.  I have created a home page that fits my personal needs.  The Pageflake example on Darfur seems to have the strongest possibility.  This would be ideal for students to create a page including their research on a particular world concern, a country, a topic such as endangered animals, etc. 

Thing 20:  Exploring Google Doc  In the future, there are a number of ways I can use Google Doc:·        Sign up sheets on line for teachers to reserve times for their classes to meet with Jerry Hightower, a naturalist with the National Park Service.  This will eliminate the need for teachers to sign up the old way:  going to the Teachers’ Lounge and physically signing a sheet.  As well, I can monitor how the sign up is progressing without having to walk to the Teachers’ Lounge to check a number of times.·        Sign up sheets on line for teachers to reserve times for their classes to reserve times in Discovery Gardens- either planting, harvesting or tasting.  The same advantages as the first bullet above apply.·        Signing up for parent-teacher conferences is a great way to use Google Doc. ·        In the likely event I want input for a grant, summary of a meeting, etc., I can send the Word document and have input from the people who can best help with this collaborative effort. 

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There are amazing videos available in You Tube. The ones I viewed were short and thus could be used to introduce a topic to create interest in an up-coming study. I can see having students create a video of e.g. explaining how a compost bin is constructed or what the contents are. This could be shared with other students on Trinity TV or via computer. Students could share videos of steps to planting a garden, harvesting a garden, eating from a garden. Again, this would be shared with parents, via Trinity TV or via computer.