Applications of Blogs to My Practice

All this work and no application! I think not! The sites I chose to post in this blog have been or are being used by me often. I will continue, once this semester is over, to utilize this blog as a means of sharing what I find with teachers and parents because technology is becoming to big of a thing to just waste! Sometimes our children are more tech-savvy than us, so why not have them work on things that they are good at? I have enhanced my teaching practice by means of this blog becoming a better collaborator, being a life-long learner through research and reflections, and I am showing that I am proactive in pushing for technology integration.

Insights About Myself After This Blogging Experience

Now that it's all said and done, how do i feel? Well who said it is done? This Blogging assingment may be over, but my experience will never end as I keep up with this blog. I have made this blog an information board for my co-workers who want to learn more about technology initiatives. I am, after being introduced to blogging, very much into creating, maintaining, researching, and sharing all that I can and what better way to do it? Emails can be annoying and not everyone wants to read them, but with my blog, I am able to share my findings with other teachers who want to learn more. I feel like I am growing into a more effective and efficient teacher through this blogging experience and can't wait to continue this journey!

Signigicant Postings from the Blogging Experience

I have posted a few sites on this blog that, when I found them were wonderful, but admittedly did not receive much attention beyond a week or two later. I, however, did find several of these sites useful and use them daily. Mrs. Meacham's site is so wonderful giving templates, pictures of her classroom, lesson and unit ideas and so much more. This teacher is the definition of dedication in this field. I also find great use in the ProTeacher forum for the same reason I enjoy Mrs. Meacham's website. I hope to continue to find "Gold Star" worthy sites and programs to share with others!

My first-hand experience in digital storytelling

I was excited to get started allowing my students to tell thier stories through digital media. In the movies below, you will see two examples of digital stories. The first story was written and narrated by myself so that I can have a first hand example of a completed digital story. The second story was a short, impromptu story I had one of my students write, illustrate and share just so that I can have an example of student work. Enjoy!

Story #1 by me



Story #2 by a student

Digital Storytelling

A new way to allow students to tell stories, express their feelings and show their growth as writers is through the process of digital storytelling. I have just been exposed to this concept this fall in a technology class at West Georgia, but in this short time, the wheels in my brain have been churning attempting to figure out when I will implement this powerful tool in my classroom. A digital story is an electronic way for students to publish their work be it poetry, short stories, or essays on specific topics.
The link below will direct you to an article written by a teacher who used digital storytelling with his students. He shares the steps that he when through to help the students create digital stories and that through the process, his students were able to see themselves as more effective writer giving them a new voice and structure and allowing them to enhance their confidence in telling a story.

Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroom
by Tom Banaszewski • Educator/Multimedia Author, Maria Hastings School, Lexington, MA

Writing Fix

Writing Fix
This website is full of interactive writing prompts you could use in the classroom. GA is currently in the process of recieving new GPS writing standards (for sure in the elementary level, I'm not completely sure about the higher grades) and this site is a great resource for several of the writing programs adopted by our schools.