The top 5 most read posts in my first 10 months blogging at Learning Is Messy: . . .
1) Paper, Pencils and Books May Not Boost Student AchievementÂ
2) Too Much Time For Change To Happen?Â
3) Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0†Difference In A Child’s Life – Part 2Â
4) Working, Breathing, Reproducible, Intriguing ModelsÂ
5) Society May Be Willing To Invest In Children If They Are Seen As An Immediate Value To SocietyÂ
Learing Is Messy
Originally uploaded by brnzwngs.
Well we got a computer for our “Inclusion Project” – a brand new 17 inch iMac that I picked up Thursday night – but we ran out of time to get it hooked up before break – and we are still waiting for the DSL connection. I have already set up a Skype account on the computer and I have to install a few other pieces of software. I must say that our new Apple Store was very helpful – imagine going into a tech/electronics store and the people there to help actually know something about what they are selling!
On the one hand I am a bit bummed that we are not already up and going, it has been almost 2 months since the inception of this idea, but as I said in an earlier post “beggars can’t be demanders,†and since we are asking for much to be donated …
In the spirit of this time of year, as usual, people come through – and they have truly come through on this project. Now all we have to do is make it work. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
I got a Blogmeister account set up and had my students upload their first posts today (Thanks again Dave!). We have several finished pieces already, so hopefully by the end of the week we will have several posts going. I’m hoping to get them to finish writing posts about our “cutting edge†project to include a student that is assigned to our class, but has leukemia and can’t come to school, via a Skype audio and video feed. They are SO excited about being part of this and making a difference in someone’s life.
I had hoped we would have that up and going by now but we are still waiting for our donor to deliver a computer (and beggars can’t be “demandersâ€), so that won’t happen until after Christmas. That will give me time to load Skype and other software and maybe install the DSL in her apartment and teach her how to use it so when we return from the Holidays we are up and running.
So three-and-a-half weeks into our 1:1 laptop project we have learned how to log-on, open Appleworks, save, log-onto Flickr, add a photo to our written document, print, log-onto our blog, paste our writing into a blog document and post to our blog. We’ve also used several interactive web sites to practice math, learn about analogies and practice making them and do a bit of research about our state. And that’s just what we have done using tech!.
Learning is messy!
Note: this is a continuation of an earlier post about using SKYPE to include a student that has been assigned to my class that has leukemia and can’t attend school because of the effects of her chemotherapy. The plan is to have a computer/web cam at her house so she can see and hear us and we can see and hear her using SKYPE which is free web based voice and video over internet.
BREAKING THE NEWS
Thursday I finally felt we were far enough along with getting the “infrastructure†lined up that I could inform the class of what we were hoping to do. I didn’t actually tell them anything, I just did an activity to get them ready to hear about it the next day. I had them write about the following:
Imagine something has happened to you, and you can’t be around other people at all. You can’t leave your house or have friends over, and you even have to be careful about being around members of your own family. You can talk on the phone or watch TV – if you have TV – but most of your family is gone during the day so you are by yourself – and you don’t feel real well sometimes and you can’t eat many of your favorite foods. How would you feel? What would you miss the most? What would be the hardest parts of not being around others? How could others make you feel better if they can’t play with you or even be with you?
The last question was what I really wanted a thoughtful response to – it would be the last thing we would discuss Friday before I told them the whole story. NOTE: I am planning on posting the 4th graders’ responses on their blog once I get it up and going (I know, I know … well MAYBE this weekend).
The ideas students came up with to answer that last question on Friday were truly inspired. “People could write me cards.†“They could send me emails†(one of my 4 students with internet at home). “They could stand outside my window and we could talk that way.†“They could have a MyFace (sic) page and we could write on that and put pictures.†(When I asked later she said she meant FaceBook actually).
Then I broke the news. I explained to the class that unbeknownst to them we had a new student in our class that had been in our class for about six weeks. “So who is it?†I asked. They all looked around the room with puzzled looks. Then I told them her name and about how she had cancer (I’ve found some web pages I’ll share with them next week specifically about leukemia). I explained about their journal entries and discussion we’d just had and made the connection for them.
I reminded them how a few times in the last weeks when they had entered the room I had Skype going and they could see themselves. I told them we had a computer donated along with an internet connection and web cam and that we would use that technology to include her in the class.
Needless to say they were pumped. They are really looking forward to making this work. So am I. Now I am just waiting for a call to come pick up the computer – then I’ll have to make arrangements to install the DSL line, computer and teach her how to use them.
Learning is messy!
