Success Sometimes Appears in Surprising Places

I had mixed feelings about yesterday's blogging sessions. On the one hand, I really think the kids are starting to get the hang of things. On the other hand, I am frustrated by the inability of kids to remember simple instructions even after it's been explained and modeled, they've done the task once, it's written in front of them the entire time, AND they've been walked through it.

Some notes for next year. #1 Firefox is key. What a time saver it is to use firefox's password manager. Also to open web pages in tabs is really useful. I'm suggesting that the kids have a tab open for their blog, the blog dashboard, and my rms web page where their assignment is posted.

#2 Take advantage of the RMS website. I've been working with it only for about 2 weeks, but I am noticing beneficial results. I anticipate that as students become more independent in their use of the technology, they will see the website as the "motherload" of useful information and tools for not only my class, but also for school in general. I've loaded lots of information for our "Giver" unit. It is not only making things easier for my students, but easier for me to share with other teachers as well. That will be one of the first things I set up for next year. I only hope that as the year passes, it doesn't become to long and unwieldy that students won't use it.

#3 It's never too soon to move to a paperless classroom - sort of. How hard would it be form me to have a "classroom" set of computers for student use. I can see that kids would have one that they are issued (and share with a student in the other block) at the beginning of the year, and it is stored in my classroom. Kids should be able to take notes, and keep their "reading notebook" on the network instead of in a notebook? Is that unreasonable? Hmmm...something to think about.

In general, kids are not only getting used to blogging, but they are asking their friends and family to read their work. To me that's the coolest part ever! I'm glad to be a part of this project. I'm learning as much, if not more, than my students.