On Line Tools

The benefits of using on-line tools for personal or professional reasons are vast! There is an enormous array of on-line tools that are easily accessible. Some of my favorites are Google Earth and Google Maps, Del.icio.us, Picassa, Wikispaces, Snap, Answers.com, photostory, Webspiration, and Audacity. While have only touched the surface of these websites and tools, I anticipate going deeper into each one and engaging my students as much as possible. On the Wikispace for the Web 2.0 course I've just completed (lpslearning2oh), there was a resource listed called 101ResourcesLiC.pdf created by Ben Wilkoff of Douglas County Schools. Mr. Wilkoff has compiled a list of 101 resources which include a description and the link to the tool and/or website. The nice thing about this resource is that the footwork is already done. Another great resources is . You can find just about anything and everything you ever wanted in the way of on-line tools!


Blogs, wikis, Flickrs...a new way of communicating and doing business! I have finally entered the 21st Century!

Google Earth

What a fascinating application! I am on Google Earth a lot and I seem to get so engaged that I find it hard to walk away from my computer. I really like to play with the different tools such as Street View, Geographic Web, and Panoramio. Every time I go to Google Earth, I discover something else. I recently showed GE to my first graders and I've never heard so many oohs and awe's! We're learning a little about Canada and Mexico. I place marked the capitals of the USA, Canada, and Mexico and added some interesting links of photographs. The application is such a great visual of our world and an awesome way to take my students on a virtual field trip without ever leaving the classroom. If you have something earth shattering cool you've discovered on GE, please share! I've only just begun to explore Google Earth.

Voice Threads

Are you using voice threads in your primary classroom? If so, and you'd care to share your ideas, please post a comment or two on my blog. I'm always looking for ways to motivate my students by integrating technology.

Podcasting is amazing!

I just finished parent-teacher conferences and here it is my day off...it's a gorgeous fall day and I have been surfing the web for interesting podcasts. Not that I'm complaining, but I fear that I may be turning into a podcast maniac! I'm not alone, however, there seems to be thousands, maybe even millions of other podcast junkies out there. What 'sup with that? Send me your thoughts and any amazing podcasts you find. I'd love to spend more time today, but I must get out there and enjoy the beautiful day. My Cocker Spaniel says "Enough already!! Take me for a walk."

Social Bookmarking

In the past several years since I've been using the Internet in my professional life, I have spent countless hours looking for interesting websites that will help me educate my students. Now that I've discovered social bookmarking and delicious.com, I am spending less time on such a time-consuming task. With a mere click of the mouse, I can view hundreds of websites on any topic of my choosing! The footwork (or hand-work)has been done for me. This is incredible to me! Now I can spend a few minutes checking out a new website to use with my students and know that it has already been successful with a colleague of mine. Here is one website from a fellow-teacher, which I have found to be very useful with my first grade students. Social bookmarking is a great tool anyone can use and anyone can benefit from.

Try this one...

My kids (twin second graders) love mathisfun.com for great educational and fun math games.

Technology in the Primary Classroom

I teach first grade and I'm always looking for kid-friendly/teacher-friendly interactive web sites. Many web sites I view involve a lot of navigation to get to the activity and are either too difficult for first graders to engage in or are merely "games" which don't have much relevance to the learning goal at hand. Do you know of learning web site for the primary student? If so, please post it to my blog. Here's one you may find engaging: starfall.com