Communication with Parents

I can't tell you how many times I've sent out an email and gotten 20 responses sent just to me with the same question or comment.  Along the same lines, how many times have we sent a paper home and recived the same comment over and over?  A great way to remedy this is to create a Blog that parents can use.  Whenever there is an annoucement or a reminder, I can add a post to the blog (or put it on the website I have created) and they can leave comments for it.  Rather than recieving 20 emails or letters, I can read the comments.  This will cut down on clutter, time spent reading and respoding to the same thing over and over, and even increase communication between the parents themselves.  When my students are able (or with their parents' help), they can even post comments or questions on the blog. 

This could be a good way to even end the day. We can sit down as a class and blog about what we learned that day so all of their parents can see what we did.  So many times, parents have told me stories about the fact that their kids have come home and said, "We didn't learn anything today."  This would be a good way to remedy that!

Inspired Classroom

I am so excited because next week I get to go an visit an Inspired Classroom!  This classroom centers its whole day around technology.  Our school is going to start piloting the program a little bit this year, and then with at least one class per grade next year.  I get to be one of those that start the program!  From what I have researched and learned so far, there will be many small groups and the students are self-directed through the use of different technologies.  I'm very interested to see what this will translate to for a Kindergarten classroom, seeing as how we don't even know how to read yet.  But, from what I've noticed through their computer lab time, this may be an easy transition.  After next week, we'll see how easy it really will be!

For more about an Inspired Classroom:

Inspired Classrooms

Technology in the Classroom

In today's classroom, technology is more important than ever.  So much of our world takes place on the computer.  More people get their news from the internet now than they do from the TV (forget about newspapers!).  It would be a shame to go through 12 years of school without learning how to function in our computerized world.  For me teaching Kindergarten, it is so important to expose children to technology right from the start.  For those students that have computers at home, they need to start being able to learn and explore their world through the use of the internet safely.  For those that don't have computers, it's my job to make sure that they know how to navigate the giant world of computers.  They are going to be expected to live and function on the internet for the rest of their lives, so it's my goal to get  agood foundation in that. 

At the beginning of the year, we start small.  I will do a lot of modeling how to use the computers.  For now, we don't go on the internet.  I show them how to "double-click" on icons to get them to open (much harder than it sounds).  I also show them where the mouse is - you would be surprised at how many kids don't know this.  From there we would slowly gain confidence in using icons that are already on the computer and learn how to open and play a game on our own.  

By the second semester, I will begin modeling how to go on the internet to do research.  Of course, since we are still just learning, I will primarliy use Webquests or very structured websites that I have looked at ahead of time or created myself.  We will learn how to click on links and follow directions that are on the sites.  We will also learn how to get back to where we started in case they have gotten off track.  

Hopefully the foundation that I have built in Kindergarten will lead to successful technology use in the grades to come!