My new tech tool

I would have loved to check out the voicethread, but was unable to pull up the link. I did however explore more with googleearth.com. I was able to pull up my moms home in Illinois, but wasn't able to view her house in a bubble. However they showed me an arial view of her home. I then looked up my own home! And I was able to pull up several street views of my house! It was kinda cool, and I can tell you that it was all taken this summer, and just by looking at my house and my neighbors houses I was able to sorta tell what time of the year it was taken! I also had to laugh when I saw that my newspaper was sitting out waiting for me to pick up! And while looking at both shots, I could tell what time of day they were both taken!
I think this would be a great tool to use with my students, or any learner for that matter! It was fun for me..who's about to graduate college! It is a good geographical lesson for students. It can be used in conjunction with a flat stanley lesson (find out where exactly stanley traveled). You could use this now in conjunction with all the olympic hype - find out where exactly vancouver is and find out what it looks like. You can use it to find out where things in history have happened. The ideas are endless!

Following blogs

So..I've been looking at a blog by a preschool teacher. I'm thoroughly enjoying her lesson ideas...like the "Goodnight Moon" theme. The blog is called "Teaching and Learning with preschoolers". I love getting new and interesting ways to do a lesson, especially when it has a literacy basis. The lady who wrote the blog also included literacy center ideas and much much more!

Technology Skills that Teachers MUST have!

I believe that teachers must first of all know how to use the technologies used in the classroom. Such technologies include: basic use of applications and navigation of computer, able to use and navigate the internet, use smart boards, use camera/camcorder, among other technologies in the classroom. Teachers must then know the different areas of digital citizenship, and then must be able to teach all areas of it to their students. Teachers must all be able to use different forms of technology to help students learn and meet target skills. Alot of teachers either just use technology as a filler or other reasons that aren't in direct relation of what the teacher wants the students to learn, so teachers must learn how to use these pieces as ways to encourage learning, specifically target skills.
These are the main skills that I believe teachers must have! Of course there are several others, but I feel that these are the ones I feel strongest about!