there is NO url that does it all

I think a lot of us are looking for the magic software that does it all

great thing about the internet is when a need is seen some one create slot for it

• Blogs filled need for journal on web
• iTunes filled need for music and content access for mobile device

etc...
etc...

and I AM GETTING OVERWHELMED

in this format I/we have seen tons of products that all do different things

I have to continually put check if product sticks to the wall.

Can I use if in classroom for a real EDUCATIONAL value

Not... use it for sake of using it

Attempting an audio post. Listen at your own risk.

I had an hour and a half drive home last night without the benefit of a carpool buddy. It was late, I was tired, and I decided to "audio blog" my thoughts. Sorry to inflict, but if I'm going to do it, I might as well do it here. :) This may be a bit of a rehash of some of the conversations during our strand time, but this is what happens when my brain reflects on the day (and posts without substantive editing). Part 2 to follow eventually.

Helping elementary teachers use technology...

Just a thought...In our district we made a MacAttax folder on our First Class system. Teachers see the folder everyday because they all have to open up their email. The majority of staff open up the posts in the folder. Some want to read what helpful hints are listed and some open it up simply because they do not like the red flag starring at them. Whatever the reason, they are opening the folder and they know that the resource is there. This works very well, but I am well aware that there is a vast difference between elementary school staff and middle/high school staff.

Building Community is a two way street

One of the things that I've grown to appreciate but not necessarily personally internalize, is the necessity for EVERYONE in a community to contribute. I know this sounds silly, but in my online involvement with places like Classroom2.0 or EdTechTalk or even the blogging community I feel like I have very little to contribute. Who could possibly want to hear what I have to say? Do my 2-cents matter? Sometimes this keeps me from writing that blog response to someone else's post - and that diminishes the dialog, even if no one ever goes to my blog to see it. I follow some teachers that are as novice in this tech thing as I am, and I love reading their classroom adventures, triumphs and outright failures -and how they are planning to pick up and move forward anyhow. I need to get over my own sense of boundaries and privacy to the point where I feel comfortable jumping in with my stories, perspectives and philosophical musings. I need to be a little less paranoid about who might take my ideas the wrong way and be confident I can state things clearly enough so most people can "get" what I mean.

Thankfully the community is patient. I can keep going to the well for buckets of information and it's ok right now to just put back with the occasional eyedropper full of thoughts. The generosity of the online community of teachers, administrators, geeks and philosophers continues to buoy my spirits and keep me moving forward. I hope everyone in this group gets to a point where they feel they are a part of the group, a part of the conversation, and contribute to the well from which we all draw.

WOW--tons of very valuable information . . . so much to remember. Our main "strand" is "on-line communities." So far we've had a lot of discussion around the resources we need, what best practices are, and some of the roadblocks we encounter. We are in the process of learning how to use many teacher tools like Moodle, websites, wikis, iChat, and Skype. We are currently concentrating on making blogs and have formed a collaborative blog to complete our assignments. Pretty cool! Tonight's assignment is to create one or two blog "posts" and "tag" them with certain pre-designated tags so we can better understand how that is important in the management of our vast quantities of information over time. So here's my first post . . . and on to tomorrow!