Thursday, November 21, 2013

Equal Access to the Digital World!


               When I look back to my first days of teaching kindergarten, I can see just how greatly my classroom has evolved.  I have been writing to you about some neat tools we have been using to learn about pumpkins and how you can stay informed about the happenings in our pumpkin patch (our classroom).  

                Currently, we are using a WebQuest to discover how pumpkins grow.  Students are beginning to explore the digital world!  As a teacher, I work to give my students equal access to learning each day.  Our classroom and our school are committed to ”learning for all.”  This is the same for the use of technology in our classroom and school.  I want all students to have the opportunity to explore and use the digital tools that are the best for their learning.  I will be guiding them though the tools, but providing the access for all students is important.  The use of the tools should not be impacted by a student’s ability or need.  The tools in the digital work nicely compliment the needs of some students.  They help a teacher to have more access to the tools and strategies that can lead students to success.  We can work to help students access these tools just as we do with their learning.

             I hope that you too can explore digital tools together with your children that lead them to loving learning! 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Our Pumpkin Discoveries! Twitter:@MrsManningRm18


I hope that you have begun to hear about how wonderful our study of pumpkins has been in our classroom. We have been learning many interesting facts about pumpkins.  The students are excited about the important job they will have at the end of the unit study.  The farmers at Smolak Farms are excited to see what the students will create too.
I hope that you will be able to share in this excitement that is buzzing in our classroom.  I came across an article that gave me the idea to do just that for you through the use of social media.  I have created a Twitter page that will help you to know how our study of pumpkins is going each day.  In the article from the Daily Gleaner ,a young three year old girl that has a twitter account “shares her discoveries and commentary with her followers” (Daily Gleaner).   When I read the article, I was excited to start to see how beneficial the use of Twitter could be to my students and our classroom. I hope to use the site to inform you of what is happening during our study, but I also will be helping to students to share what we are learning with you! 

You can find us @MrsManningRm18
Go to https://twitter.com/ and search @MrsManningRm18
Wait till you find out why pumpkins have ribs!

Three-year-old a member of local twitterati; learning | peter cullen says he's using social media as an  
educational tool. (2013, Jun 13). Daily Gleaner. Retrieved from                                           http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1366783955?accountid=3783