Every year after returning from TCEA I am so excited about all of the new things I have learned about.  I brought some goodies back I was able to share with a couple of teachers and can't wait to share some new apps and websites I learned about this week that will help to engage students and get them excited about learning!  Amanda and I had another great year of presenting and are working on a blog to share some of the things we learned this year.  Check it out http://jisdtechtidbits.blogspot.com/2013/02/tcea-2013.html !

January's Skype Calls

Janurary was an eventful month for our class here at JES! We have met many new friends through our Skype calls with Ms. Turner's class. We Skyped with Ms. Weil's 3rd grade class in Highland Park, Illinois, Mr. Bowling's class in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Mr. Ross's class in Charlottetown, Canada. We had visitors from KSLA news who shared our Skype story on the evening news and a newspaper reporter from the Marshall News Messenger who wrote an article about us in the paper. Mr. Ross had a reporter in his class when we Skyped, so we also made the local news in Canada! Everyone has been so excited! We learned about the volcanoes and craters in Hawaii and the Willis Tower in Chicago. The students realized that even though we don't live in the same places, we all like to do alot of the same things. Many of our students want to go try some of the deep dish pizza in Chicago, and their friends in Ms. Weil's class want to come and try our steak fingers! We hope to work with all of our of new friends on some projects this school year! Click on the links below to check out some pictures from our recent Skype calls!

http://animoto.com/play/zdogdL8uwWctv73ufw8WOg?utm_source=blogspot.com&utm_medium=player&utm_campaign=player

http://animoto.com/play/06NS8t1ULzVgvOR15l95oA?utm_source=blogspot.com&utm_medium=player&utm_campaign=player

Skype FUN!

Today Mrs. Turner and I were able to Skype with Mrs. Fredrickson's Kindergarten class from Oh Stowe Elementary School in Birdville ISD. Our students read a Christmas story to her class, and they sang a Christmas song for us. Both groups of students really enjoyed being able to share with each other. Earlier in the year we also Skyped with author Frank Cole. The students were able to ask him several questions about his book we read, The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters. Technology is AMAZING!

Teaching with Technology

As another school year comes to an end, I begin to reflect on the happenings of the last nine months. I have learned so many things this past year. A new teacher came along who helped me to see how awesome technology can be in the classroom. She has introduced me to many news ways to integrate technology into my lessons. She has also ignited a fire in me to go out and learn more on my own. I have become passionate about technology now, and am always looking for new ways to teach using technology. (Thanks, Mrs. Turner!)

I also saw this same passion from my students. They were so excited about the new “toys” we had in our classroom. They couldn’t wait to do our lessons using these gadgets that weren’t much different from the ones that they are accustomed to using in their lives outside of school.

Our district was fortunate enough to acquire funding that allowed them to provide new pieces of technology in our classrooms. I was able to use a projector, a document camera, a Mimio, and an InterwriteMobi system. Last year at this time, I had never even heard of these items. They have helped to enhance a student- centered collaborative learning environment in my classroom.

I am so excited that summer is approaching, not only to have a short break from school, but also to have the time to investigate new ways to integrate technology into my lessons. I plan to spend the summer putting together technology rich lessons for next year that will keep my students actively engaged. I also plan to continue helping other teachers learn how to integrate technology into their classrooms.