Well there I was ready for bed, trying to get comfortable and then my mind began to wander.
I tried to clear my brain and sort through some topics as I began to drift off into LaLa Land.
I started thinking about Dr. Walls instructions to "link" the photo in the last "thing" assignment that I had completed. It occurred to me that I had made some assumptions that were perhaps not correct. So here it is midnight and I have made those corrections and have learned a valuable lesson as well. Sometimes when I am doing online work for classes I "skim" the directions - I guess that comes from the speed reading habit that my daddy tried to get me to embrace as a teenager. Well I "skimmed" past the details on creating a link and did the link incorrectly. So now I am wiser and more tired, but one step closer to getting through the 23 things!!!
"Sleeping" off for now - skybluesue;-)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thing 7
Photo credit : Andre Boffin
Well I am not sure I can put into words what a treat this adventure has been for me. One of my favorite things is a waterfall. My formative adult years were spent in Europe as a young 2 LT in the US Army. One of my favorite vacations was camping in the Lauterbrunnen Valley in Switzerland, where the waterfalls are abundant.
So I looked up waterfalls - over 1,000,000 results. Then I refined my search to Lauterbrunnen and much to my delight there were over 800 results, in the very valley where I honeymooned. SWEET!!!
So now for the guided to tour: the photo is of the wildflowers that grow profusely in the spring with - TA DA - a waterfall in the background. If I close my eyes I can hear the cows with their big brass bells in the field next to the winding road that leads to the village. If I listen closely I can hear the water as it shoots down off the mountain side to the valley below. What a heavenly sound.
skybluesue "sighing" off for now! :-)
Thing 5
What does "School 2.0" mean to you?
What does it mean for schools of the future?
It seems to me that we are in the formative phases of Web 2.0/ School 2.0.
The descriptions I have read emphasize "for the 21st century."
Since we are in the first decade of the 21st century, I am sure my grandkids will get a kick out of hearing me, 30 years from now, explain how I used a computer, the internet, and so on.
I will probably tell them how teachers had to figure out ways to integrate the internet with the classroom lessons. They will probably be amazed that their parents had to haul books back and forth from school; a convention that I feel will go by the wayside as School 2.0 progresses.
But for now, I feel that the greatest challenge we have as teachers is to get over the perceived pressure of standards and figure out a way to teach and learn using all the resources we have at our disposal. If we can train this generation of students to THINK, I feel we will see test scores rise.
This is a technology generation, we need to get out of the book and stimulate their minds. Lofty words, I know.
For middle school level, when we are able to have computers, hardwired in all classrooms - that is when School 2.0 will be utilized to it's fullest. For now, it's great to have laptops on mobile carts for student use, but the time contraints of set up, etc. use up too much time when there is so little time to utilize. We may have to drag some in the school district into the technology age, but I know that is where the future of education is going. Operational technology, in my mind, will be realized when students use technology on an hourly basis at school and other learning environments.
What does it mean for schools of the future?
It seems to me that we are in the formative phases of Web 2.0/ School 2.0.
The descriptions I have read emphasize "for the 21st century."
Since we are in the first decade of the 21st century, I am sure my grandkids will get a kick out of hearing me, 30 years from now, explain how I used a computer, the internet, and so on.
I will probably tell them how teachers had to figure out ways to integrate the internet with the classroom lessons. They will probably be amazed that their parents had to haul books back and forth from school; a convention that I feel will go by the wayside as School 2.0 progresses.
But for now, I feel that the greatest challenge we have as teachers is to get over the perceived pressure of standards and figure out a way to teach and learn using all the resources we have at our disposal. If we can train this generation of students to THINK, I feel we will see test scores rise.
This is a technology generation, we need to get out of the book and stimulate their minds. Lofty words, I know.
For middle school level, when we are able to have computers, hardwired in all classrooms - that is when School 2.0 will be utilized to it's fullest. For now, it's great to have laptops on mobile carts for student use, but the time contraints of set up, etc. use up too much time when there is so little time to utilize. We may have to drag some in the school district into the technology age, but I know that is where the future of education is going. Operational technology, in my mind, will be realized when students use technology on an hourly basis at school and other learning environments.
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