The more I learn, the more questions I have

As we come to the close of SI, I find myself desperately trying to take the multitude of questions I have about my inquiry and make some kind of sense of them. I traveled to England several years ago. It was my first time out of the country and while I was excited, I had no idea how profound the experience would be for me, not only as a person but also as a teacher. I always felt that I had a very good handle on what England was all about because I had reserached British history and had taught British literature for many years.After seeing the palces in person, being able to walk through the buildings, smell the odors, talk to experts, etc. made me realize that my teaching and learning up to that point had been incomplete. I returned with the desire to give my students that experience but was not sure how to accomplish it.  Was the next school year started, I put these questions on the back burner to deal with the more pressing concerns of teaching, creating lesson plans, attending professional development, etc. However, the question did not go away. My time in SI has been phenomenal because it has given me the space to dig into the question of  how to create a global classroom, When I started SI I was not even sure what format would be appropriate for developing a "classroom without walls". I decided that I wanted my demo to focus on this question. After listening to the comments on the use of Skype, I was encouraged that this may be the medium to use in the classroom. I was also unfamiliar with face time, and through listening to how everyone was going to make this work logistically, it gave me options other than Skype to explore. The reaction of everyone helped reinforce my belief that ctreating a classroom without walls will be an enriching experience for both my students and myself. Reflecting on this demo has also made me realize that I still have a lot of groundwork to complete. I need to start making connections with others interested in this idea. This will be a challenge; however, I have had a little time to explore the internet and have found a number of places to explore making these connections. Although not ready to start this in my classroom, I now feel reassured that this idea is possible. There is an old saying thatb it takesn a village to raise a child. I have expanded on this idea and now believe that it takes the world to educate one. Thanks SI for making this possible. I feel as if I have a new lease on education.

Today's session on Twitter has gotten me thinking more about my demo. I am very interested in how to create a global classroom where students are able to have conversations with their peers around the world. I can see this working for both writing and the reading of literature. I initially thought that using Skype to connect with classrooms around the world might be an option, but I'm not sure how feasible this is. Maybe Twitter would work better. The only drawback would be that I see a classroom where students can have face to face real world conversations around the globe and Twitter is not face to face. Although students are very savvy when it comes to technology and its many uses, they have a tendency to use it in a very insulated way with people they are comfortable and familiar with. I want to broaden their horizons and open up the world for them. Any ideas?

When Assessibility Is an Issue

We have gotten a lot of great information about incorporating technology in the classroom. While I see the potential benefits to using more technology, I also see numerous problems. Since I work in a FOCUS school, we have a very high level of poverty. Many of my students do not have access to technology outside of the school, and needless to say, even the access in school is very limited. This being said, I guess my query is where to go from here. I.m thinking grants but I'm not sure how to go about finding appropriate grant opportunities. Any suggestions?

You can teach an old dog new tricks!!!

I knew before starting the UNCC writing project that I was interested in using more technology in the classroom. I know my students are writing all of the time, but because it is not "traditional" or scripted writing most teachers, especially English teachers, don't validate it. I want to find a way to incorpoate the technology that kids are using for their writing into the classroom. However, in order to do this, I need to become more proficient. So far the institute has lived up to my hopes. I was interested in the idea of using Goigle maps, but am curious about ways to take this semingly "square" peg and fitting it into the round hole of my curriculum. I can also see practical uses for the flip cam in my classroom. I'm going out this afternoon and buy one. Can't wait to try it out with my students.