Paperless Possibilities

I wonder if creating a “paperless space” at the elementary school level would work… In reading the Columbia University article on the ancient and classical traditions class going paperless, I was struck by a few similarities to what we do now with some of our assignments, even with students in grades K-5. On the H (Kids) drive [...]

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The Shifting Tide of Education

As a school librarian, I suppose I should discuss “Big Shift #5 – Know Where Learning“. After all, Richardson focuses on moving from “closed” sources of information, like textbooks, nonfiction books, and all things print that are no longer new once they are published. He says that teachers need to know all about the other [...]

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Responding to Connectivism

I agree with Group A’s Connectivism Wiki in many respects. Technology has definitely had an amazing impact on the amount of information now available, as well as the delivery of that information. Moreover, the number of technological tools and their implications in education grows seemingly exponentially each year. I liked how the group showed a relationship [...]

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Skyping Students Near and Far

I use Skype in my personal life for face-to-face chats with my mother, sister, and daughter. We email/text regularly, but like to see each other’s faces once in a while. (This is particularly true of my mom, who is 86.) However, this year I will have the opportunity to use Skype as a teacher, and [...]

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School Librarianship in Today’s Digital Times

     I would like to discuss the role of the school librarian in teaching, learning, and educational technology. I see a serendipitous parallel with this week’s discussion of connectivism and whether as educators we should continue to feed our students a steady diet of content or shift our focus to teaching them how to find and evaluate the information [...]

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Writing and Sharing Stories through Podcasts

While I often use Radio WillowWeb to introduce my fifth graders to podcasting, for this assignment I chose to discuss using podcasts to record/play first grade stories online using the Maple School First Grade Blog. Students each wrote a story, added dedications and an “about the author” feature at the end. Music introduced and ended [...]

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Flickring Ideas

I freely admit that this is the first chapter in Will Richardson’s book that sent my mind spinning. I think that stems in part from my mere acquaintance with Flickr… I have never used it as a teacher. I share photos with friends/colleagues locally and globally via Snapfish, but have not had the opportunity to [...]

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Wikis Work Magic

I looked at many of the wiki examples provided in our module 4 this week. However, I’m sure that there are many others out there that we don’t have access to because teachers/librarians are keeping them private. I would be one of those educators! This fall, with several of my district colleagues, I set up [...]

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Social Bookmarking for Professional Development

Given the time constraints of my professional life this semester, I’m not ready to devise a plan that would afford my intermediate elementary students, ages 9-10, the opportunity to delve into de.licio.us. However, in my brief experimentation with the site this week, I can already envision multiple professional uses for this fabulous tool. As I [...]

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Pageflakiness

Here is the link to my Pageflakes page. I agree with Elizabeth about it being fun deciding which resources to include. My mix demonstrates my love for both children’s literature and educational technology. School librarians often spend their days with one foot in each of those worlds. I often feel like I am walking a tightrope, balancing the [...]

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