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Thursday 1/22/04 Reported & Photographed by Tim |
Class
Log |
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Turning on to Center Street driving west I had to put my sunglasses on so I could see. The sun felt so nice on this cold day. I was very excited as I was driving to class because I was going to get to finally use my “Palm Pilot.” Ooops, sorry Tony, I mean my “Handheld Computer. “ I felt like one of Tony’s fifth graders being excited about going to school. I was also a little apprehensive about it all considering it took me about 20 minutes just to figure out how to turn the silly thing off, but I was ready to get started learning. You might have noticed I was a little egger as I showed up for class at 4:00; class doesn’t start until 4:45. Everyone was there and it was 4:45 time to get started and after a few housekeeping items, and welcoming two new colleagues to class, we got started. First item today was a very funny cartoon about a young boy egger to get to church on Palm Sunday because his sister told him he would get a free handheld computer. Very cute joke. Next up, discussion of the Roving Reporter. Because I was this reporter tonight, I thought it would be a good idea to pay attention. Tony explained how this works in his fifth grade classroom, and what his expectations were for us as well. After hearing a few of those fifth graders reports, I knew I had to live up to some pretty high standards. What Tony has done with these young people and writing is phenomenal! The discussion in the group showed that all of us were impressed. Dan commented that many of his eighth graders can’t put that much style into their writing. Now, one of Tony’s awesome videos! Tonight’s selection was very POWERFUL. We observed how a third grade classroom at Mead Elementary in Michigan uses Hand-Helds in the classroom. The video stimulated excellent discussion about Handhelds and what they can do. It’s dinnertime! Stephanie brought an awesome Broccoli and cheese soup that everyone enjoyed. Dinner is a great time to visit with our colleagues and get to know each other. However, for me it’s all about the eating. Entering text is our next item and now I really do get to use my new gizmo. We learned the graffiti for Hand-Helds and later played with the Giraffe Graffiti. This reminded me of 9th grade typing class and wondering if I will ever get done with a sentence before the timer goes off. But after a short time I got more comfortable with it and actually thought it was fun. We also used the on screen keyboard and discussed the use of portable keyboards too. As a class we discussed how to get software for use in our classrooms. Tony told us that what he uses is almost always free. He told us that many of the programs he used in the beginning were not made with the classroom in mind, but he was able to adapt it. When the makers of the software found out he was using it they offered to help making more. We found out that there is a lot out there and we will be learning where to find it We ended the class by learning how to beam information to each other and Tony beamed us a fun game to use called Coconut Fern. This was an awesome class tonight and I hope anyone reading this finds Tony’s website for his 5th grade classroom. These kids are learning some fantastic things that are going to help them in their future educational endeavors. Simply put, IT’S AWESOME! |