One Week Down

   Well, the first full week of school is almost complete.  What a week it has been!  My classroom has been filled with new faces and laughter.  We are jumping right into the world of technology and supporting each other as we do.  I have introduced the idea of blogging with my students and they are very excited about the idea of having a global voice.  Paired with a growing consciousnesses of what it means to create a digital footprint, my students are eager to get started.  We have begun "blogging" on our bulletin board as the students begin to choose their blog names and subjects.
      Last night was our school's meet the teacher night.  I have to admit I was a bit nervous to roll out my ideas about using technology in my classroom.  Most of my students have had no experience with any of the different social media platforms and their parents, rightly so, have been nervous to open that pandora's box.  My plans of teaching responsibility while giving them an authentic voice was received with enthusiasm by parents.  They were eager to read the paper blogs written by their children and gladly wrote comments to each of the students.  When the children arrived this morning in class, they immediately set to reading the comments written by the parents.  I had given each parent a different color sticky note to use for their comments and the children were very excited to see that the comments on their blog was not only from their own parents.  I am so eager to get them online, but I am keeping focused on fully equipping them with the tools and skills they need to be successful.  I must remember:  baby steps...baby steps.

Student Blog Bulletin Board