PPS Instructional Technology

I am very passionate about blogging with students. I am sure this doesn't come as a surprise to any of you who know me. Teaching students to be proud of their writing, express themselves in an authentic way, agree/disagree respectfully, and have intelligent conversations are all benefits of teaching students to blog. Last February, I introduced a bit about how I blog with my students in this blog post , and this fall I presented about blogging with students at the miGoogle conference in Brighton.  You can view the presentation here . This morning, I found these great little nuggets of insight from Kidblog.  Feel to add these great little articles to your files: 3 Tips for Successful Student Blogging The Key to Successful Student Blogging Top 3 Reasons I Have My Students Blog Happy Blogging!

I am currently in the midst of a blogging project with my 4th grade computer students.  Yes, you read correctly, I am teaching my 4th graders to blog.  There are so many wonderful higher order thinking/writing skills students can practice while blogging.  Blogging allows them to create a web presence that is uniquely theirs to express their learning or ideas.  It also encourages them to evaluate and analyze what others are saying and write kind, yet critical, comments in response.  These comments then spark further conversation and analysis. Now, there is a process to teaching students to blog.  I wouldn't jump right in and given them a "have at it!"  I think it is critical to teach each component of blogging on paper before you set them loose on the world wide web.  In order to do this, I have adapted a lesson I first learned about from the blog Notes from McTeach.   In her blog post, Karen McMillan discusses her adventures in teaching her...

The Schedule for June summer trainings is now available. Trainings will be held at then new Administration Building in the Computer Lab. To register for a course, simply click on the link in front of the date/time. This will take you directly to the KALPA registration page for that class. The August schedule will be available in the next few weeks.We look forward to seeing you all this summer! Google Sites for Beginners: Want to create a website for your classroom? Need a way to communicate with your parents and students now that your eboard has gone away? Google SItes is the perfect way to do this. Class will run approximately 1.5 hours. 435004 : June 11, 2013 at 8:30 am 435049 : June 19, 2013 at 8:30 am 435050 : June 25, 2013 at 12:30 pm Google Sites: The Next Step: Do you have a basic google site up and running and would like to learn more about how to customize your site by adding calendars, groups, pictures, custom banners and much more? Then this class is for you. Parti...