Technology Hints by Hintz

I was eating Breakfast, looking at the ocean and what did I see, an Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal swimming by.  Check out the video of the `Ilio holo I ka uaua’, which means, “dog that runs in rough water.”

What kind of writings could you have students do on such a video? Compare and contrast to animals they see on land? Could they write a story or an essay about a Monk Seal, or Endangered Animals? How does an animal become Endangered?
For more on the Monk Seal, check out: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/hawaiian-monk-seal.html
For more on Endangered animals, Look at: http://www.kidsplanet.org/factsheets/map.html

Using Technology to Communicate with Families

As we start off the new school year, there is so much technology to consider.  Not only do you need to consider technology in the classroom, using laptop carts or computer labs, but using technology as a communication tool with families.  As you learn more about your students and their families, take an opportunity for them to interact with you and your classroom. 

A way to let parents into your classroom is through your Teacher Website or blog.  As you are looking into building a website, think about the purpose and outline best fits your personality. Check out these resources to help you make your website fantastic! …more

How Technology Affects our Lives
This is a huge topic, and one that First Graders are learning. How do dwindle this down to a manageable size. How about how Technology Affects our School?

 From Card Catalog to Computer Searches! 

• Library: Let’s look at the library, no longer do students search through the card catalog for books, instead they find a book by using a computer and search by keyword, author or title. Books are scanned with a computer and barcode, allowing the librarian to keep track of records with ease.
• Lunch:  Lunch count sent to the cafeteria by a computer to minimize wasted food. Students don’t have to carry money around, they have an id card to scan to keep track of their bills which parents can pay in advance!
• Storing Information: Teachers are able to store lesson plans and student records for years. No longer is it one handout that you can’t change, digital resources can be manipulated to fit different students. Attendance tracking throughout the school and even across a whole district now is made much easier with computer software.
• Communication: Emails from teacher to teacher, and home to parents make communication fast and efficient! Teachers and schools have websites where they can share information of upcoming events and even post newsletters instead of always sending home paper copies.
• Collaboration: Students and teachers can share files and resources with each other. Share thoughts and ideas through digital journals and blogs. The sky is the limit with how much technology collaboration a class can do with others.

As you are thinking of how Technology Affects YOUR life. Consider the following questions:
 How do you retrieve information from technology?
 How can technology be used to organize your thoughts?
 How can you use technology to demonstrate ideas?
 How can technology be used in measurement?
 How can technology be used to solve problems?