Talk is Cheap, Texting is Free

I love technology, but I am cheap.  So I finally bought a phone with a slide out keyboard in November and upgraded my calling plan to include unlimited text.  Oh and my husband and daughter got phones and unlimited text too.  My husband and I text all the time now.  Our oldest daughter doesn't text much, but our younger daughter (who doesn't have a phone) can't wait.  She texts for me whenever I will let her.  So I know she will be a texting fiend when she gets a phone someday. 

That is why I found this guidance about setting limits with texting so helpful.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/responsible-text-messaging-tips?utm_source=newsletter07.28.11&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feature1

iPods for Kindergarten

After meeting Patrick Tart and Angela Sonntag at the MEGA Technology Showcase this spring, I was inspired to buy iPods for our school.  Angela creates instructional videos for her students to use during centers.  She posts the videos to a Web page that the students access with school iPods.  Caitlin Meseck, Candace Dymond and I visited Banks Road Elementary School last week to see the iPods in action and SO much more!  I was delighted to find that the two iPods our PTO purchased arrived last week.  So I am trying to figure them out, with the help of my 10 year old.  She is a natural!

I added a QR code reader application to one of the iPods and I am trying it out.  

If you want to learn more about how QR (quick read) codes can be used in education here is one resource from an ed tech leader in Winston-Salem.

We are planning to use them with kindergarteners. 

Missing ISTE

One of the blogs I read is Cool Cat Teacher by Vicki Davis.  She just posted about missing NECC, the national technology conference, because of a family situation.  I can really sympathize with her situation.  (You can read more about that in my comment to Vicki's post that I linked above.)

I am going to try to attend virtually though.  Here is a link to some of the content you will be able to access on the Web, http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/glance/simulcasts_and_webcasts.php.   I am also thinking about signing up to do a virtual workshop, http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/virtual_workshops.php.  Remote ISTE is $99 for a whole day of sessions.  There are two tracks with lots of great sessions.  I am interested in the several - Google forms, mobile learning devices, iPads and I would love to see Steven Covey talk about his new book, The Leader in Me.  It also looks like you can observe the wiki (http://digiteacher.flatclassroomproject.org/) for a session Julie Lindsay will be conducting about digital citizenship.

Anyone else going in person or virtually?

Food Pyramid for Screen Time

Some 'old-fashioned' parents see screen time of all kinds as bad for kids - like junk food for their brains.  Honestly I would put myself in that category.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 2 hours or less of screen time per day.  I control screen time for my two kids like it is potentially lethal.  One of my girls has to earn her screen time in 5 minute increments each day.  There is a timer at our house dedicated to tracking screen time.  Just imagine the damage to their developing minds if they spent an extra minute or two looking at a screen - TV, computer, or handheld game.

And then I think of my classroom where I lavish 40 or 45 minutes of screen time on my students just for showing up!  There is a real disconnect here!

I know that unsupervised, unrestricted screen time can be bad for kids (and adults for that matter).  There is inane, even violent and offensive content available to kids.  I don't think that 45 minutes of Mario Kart is necessarily the best way to spend time, but is that equivalent to 45 minutes on FossWeb or reading a book on TumbleBooks?  We need to start thinking about the quality of the content and encourage our kids to make good choices with their screen time.

Your Top Ten Tech Educators

Technology&Learning published their "Top 10 Influential Technology Educators" this month.  I was thrilled to see Dave Warlick of the Landmark Project in the list.  However, I didn't see many of the other technology educators who influence me on the list.  Here is my top ten:

• Vicki Davis
• Wes Fryer
• Caitlin Meseck
• Beckey Reed
• Danita Russell
• Kathy Schrock
• Bethany Smith
• Linda Tugurian
• Dave Warlick
• Jerry Williamson

Who are the ten teachers who influence you the most?

The Challenge

I have challenged the teachers at Little River Elementary to learn about Web 2.0 tools through our district's Technology Challenge.  So I am joining them in the challenge.  I have tried many Web 2.0 tools but haven't consistently used them in my professional life.  I'll be trying to use them regularly this summer and discover ways to integrate them into my teaching.

My Great Idea

One of the ways that I share my excitement for educational technology is through graduate online course development. I write ed tech courses for Pearson Higher Ed. This spring and summer I have been busy with a course featuring Web 2.0 technology. I wrote the course and then talked with Pearson's video guru, Vikki Myers, about video content. During our conversation I listed my Who's Who of ed tech Web 2.0 - Wes Fryer; Women of Web 2.0 (Jennifer Wagner, Vicki Davis, Cheryl Oakes, Sharon Peters); Will Richardson; Dave Warlick; Joselyn Todd; and Bill Ferriter. "By the way," I mentioned casually, "most of these people are sure to be at NECC. And they will probably be present for the edu blogger con."

My project manager and her supervisor loved the idea of talking to all these people at one time. So they started making calls and got permission to attend the blogger con and film it. I was so thrilled to be part of the project I could hardly contain myself. My husband listened to my delight bubbling over and even encouraged me to fly out to be there. Unfortunately it was the same day as my daughter's birthday party and I missed her birthday for NECC last year. So I didn't pursue it, but I could hardly wait for the blogger con to arrive and see if there was any buzz on the Web about it. Little did I know the buzz would be about my "great idea" and whether it was great or the ruin of the blogger con.

Some bloggers were mad that Pearson showed up, accusing them(us) of stealing ideas and changing the climate at the blogger con. I was crushed. I only wanted more teachers to be inspired by the great ideas of my favorite ed techies and now it seemed like it had all gone wrong.

I talked to Elaine Roberts the next day and she assured me that blogger con and the conversations there were awesome! Later that day her comments on Wes Fryer's podcast seemed to quiet the storm. I hope in the end this will continue debate about intellectual property, learning communities and commercial enterprises and maybe it will be a great idea after all.

Technorati Tags: necc blog Pearson

Image by Wes Fryer(http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/649225040/)

Swimming with the Pods

It's summer, but I can't get away from school or technology. My school district is hosting staff development sessions this summer. We don't have to pay anything to attend, but after arranging for a neighbor to walk the dog, paying for camp for two kids and asking a friend to drive the kids to camp it's not exactly free either.

But after all that, I am here with iPod, laptop and flash drive in hand. I have attended short sessions on podcasting before, but I was always dipping my toes in the podcasting water. Today I dove in head first.

I recorded a podcast, added it to a web page with a podcasting plug-in (podpress), set my iTunes settings and Voila'!

I am a podcaster!

Technorati Tags: podcast elementary media