Required Reading and Math Tech class

This morning I attended a training session on the technology associated with our new series of math books. The resources available online to teachers and students is amazing. I am excited at the MANY possibilities. My next little project will be putting together a "How To" power point to the math teachers at my school. I am so excited to use one of the Teacher Tube videos as my "hook".

Required Reading #1 http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml

Blogging and RSS — The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators by Will Richardson, Supervisor of Instructional Technology, Hunterdon Central Regional High School

Mr. Richardson does a great job of explaining not only what it means to "blog" and RSS but he also gives different ways that teachers can use these tools to enhance learning. I liked the examples he gave, especially the example of the teacher in Ohio who had her students blogging as a book talk and included the author.
My plan this year is to have students and parents use RSS to subscribe to my blog. As a special education case manager I often hear parents make excuses for their students such as, "He can't read his own handwriting, so he didn't know what the homework was" or "the teacher didn't sign his agenda to make sure that he wrote the homework correctly". These excuses take the responsibility off of the student and onto the teacher which is only perpetuating the problems most of my guys struggle with. If parents and students have access to my blog on a daily basis these excuses will hold even less weight than they do now. Anyway that I can encourage and support my students to be more responsible young people I will.

Check this one out!

You must check this blog out as soon as you get a chance!
Mashable.com

This blog is updated several times a day and has an unlimited amount of information about technology. Warning: You can get lost for several hours in this black hole of information.
Have fun!!

I'm a blogger newbie.

Wow!! There is a whole new world out there!! The BLOGGING world!! I have just spent the past several hours browsing and adding many blogs. There are so many amazing ideas, thoughts, resources and people out there. Being an "insider" now to this blog world I feel that my job will be somewhat easier. My goal is to differentiate more and implement technology....there are oodles and oodles of resources and people out there to help me do this!! Yahoo!!!!!!

Here are some of my favorite-
http://gwegner.edublogs.org/--- great math ideas links, wonderful technology ideas and help.

http://teaching.mrbelshaw.co.uk/ ---cool resources, including some fun sound effects

http://makeitinteresting.blogspot.com/ - super duper ideas for math..check out the "unproject"

http://www.npr.org/templates/topics/topic.php?topicId=1013&ft=1&f=1013 - a place to find "All things considered"