Thursday, June 24, 2010

It just keeps coming...

Just when we thought there wasn't much else to learn, they pull out more. Today we learned how to make the best of blogging, how we can use it to track trends and communicate with the students and the community.

Alan showed us more about setting up and maintaining on-line newspapers, and gave us enough websites to keep us out of circulation for at least a couple days. (Thank you, Alan).

We also began thinking what and where the next generation of the Web (Web 3.0) will be. Holograms? Something we cannot even conceive of yet? Some of us have direct link to the 19th Century through our grandparents' stories of their childhoods. With their, and our parents', help we lived through the 20th Century.

We were at the beginning of the TV age, the transistor radio innovations (remember finally being able to carry our music with us?), the age of punch card computing and everything that has come since. When Jodie shared her joke at the ball park, I was thinking the first two ladies were the manifestations of Web 3.0. Who knows?

Sometimes the world of new technologies seems a little confusing, somewhat chaotic, even surrealistic. Detail of artwork at The Arizona Republic. Photo by Nunn Winship

What I do know is that there are at least 35 schools that are going to be leaping years into the future compared to last year. Some of us will have to fight conservative thinking that keeps the kids off blogging sites at school. Some are stuck with outdated equipment. But we have been given tools to go after grants, make the best of what we have and to convince those around us to try letting our classes move into the future, much the way the old sand lot has become the air-conditioned indoor stadium (right, Chase Stadium, Phoenix. Photo by Nunn Winship).

And it still keeps coming. We have been making connections between ourselves, with the people of ASU and the people at The Republic. As we return to our individual schools, we have so many resources to jump start our programs, or change their directions. We are one fortunate bunch of teachers.


What a reunion we could have in a couple of years, when we show where we have taken our groups. It just keeps on coming, and now we can keep it going.

3 comments:

  1. You're so correct, Nunn. We are a fortunate bunch of teachers! I am also already looking forward to the reunion so Jodie can tell more jokes and send more hotdogs through the crowd.

    Sarah Geyer
    South-Doyle High School
    Knoxville, TN

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  2. Nunn, I can't wait for those little fingers to hit the key board and blog in class. Have I got a blog lesson for them, no, I have a blog project for them. I will work our the detail and share it with you. You want to blog, then lets blog. Teachers should not fight technology in class but find a way to use it.

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  3. One of the things I hoped for as a result of attending this Institute was to come away revived for next year. WOW! I've got that and then some! I feel like I've made new friends as well as colleagues here and I, too, hope we stay in touch.

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