Heather's EDU 614 blog

For all of my concerns about technology, I am the first to espouse the amazing and positive changes that the internet has brought to my life when it comes to research. Although I am a complete and total library lover, having access to unlimited amounts of research and information at my fingertips and in my home has been a true blessing. Research papers are no longer the very daunting task they once were; If my daughters ask me how far away the moon is, I can tell them in about 10 seconds; If I want to know some strategies for helping a student with dyslexia, I can access a list quickly. The possibilities seem quite endless. In an early childhood classroom, students will have had varying experiences with using the computer for research. I can only speak to my own children, and I know that they do not yet know how to use Google. They would certainly not be able to open the computer and find me an appropriate source if I asked them to research dogs, for example. I understand that kids are

When thinking about the student as a scribe in an early childhood classroom, we have to think outside of our general perception of “taking notes.” Most students in a kindergarten class are not yet writing or reading. Therefore, our traditional idea of note-taking is thrown out the window (which isn’t a bad thing, is it?). So, let’s get creative with it! I came across one program that I could absolutely envision using frequently in my class: SeeSaw. Seesaw calls itself a “student-driven digital portfolio.” In the classroom, there are so many uses for this, especially when thinking of the student as a scribe. On Seesaw, students are able to take pictures or videos of their work. After that, they can record audio, text, or write over it. Let’s see an example. Since I am not yet a teacher, I had my daughters play around with Seesaw with me in a way similar to how I might use it in a class. In this sample, I created an activity called “Women in History.” The “assignment” was to look through

Many of us use Google all the time in our day-to-day lives: for searching, emailing, and likely even browsing with Chrome. Some already use it for writing documents, sheets, slides, etc. But as a teacher, there are a slew of uses and tips that you can take advantage of. Here are three ways to bring google into your administrative routine and (hopefully) lighten your load a bit: Google Sheets to Create a Lesson Spreadsheet Google sheets can be used in multiple ways. The most obvious are tracking homework assignments or tracking grades. However, there is another exciting way that I believe google sheets can be used effectively. As a teacher, you could create a google sheet that is basically a comprehensive database of all the resources you need for a given lesson. As you will see in the screenshot below, I’ve done a tab for each thematic unit. Each sheet has a column for: lesson plan (linking to the google doc), any slides or online presentations, printable materials (such as works