Where do I go from here?

As I stated in previous blogs, I hope to implement many of the new technologies in my classroom. Each technology introduced can be integrated into all aspects of the classroom.

I will definitely use a Blog in my classroom this year. I hope to create a blog that both my parents and students will be able to use. I would like to have a blog where I could update my parents about things that are occurring in the classroom. Parents might also want to use the blog to contact me if they are having difficulty understanding a topic/subject. I would like my students to possibly blog about books they are reading and maybe even to post their writing. I guess I am now wondering if I would need to create two separate blogs in order to carry this out.

The technology I am most excited to use is digital text and video. As I made my e-book I constantly thought about what a great motivator it would be for writing. My 4th graders get very bogged down in the formula writing that we are told to use in the 4th grade. Creating an E-book would allow my students to work on writing, reading, speaking, and technology skills. I hope to partner with a 1st grade teacher that my students could create books for. I also hope to use E-Books to create a digital yearbook for my classroom. Students could easily take pictures of important class events and incorporate them into a digital text/movie.

Moreover, I am also excited about using the gaggle e-mail site. Over the past few years I have been told that my students cannot have e-mail addresses. After viewing gaggle and its features, I do believe that my principal/central office will allow my students to have e-mail. The ability of the teacher to have access to all mail sent and received will be wonderful.
Finally, I had a lot of fun using Yak Pak, Skype, and Gabcast in our class. Although it was fun, I do not foresee using this technology as much in my own classroom. Much explanation would need to be given before implementing any of these technologies. If I have time I may use Skype as a way to conference with students about books.

In conclusion, I have gained a lot of knowledge from this class. I came into this class thinking that I was pretty competent with computers and technology. I left knowing a ton more than I started with. Super Class!