Reflection Week 7 - iGoogle

Yes, I do iGoogle and have for some time.  I first got my Google account back in 2002 when a colleague suggested I join.  You had to be invited by someone who was a user, so he emailed the invitation and I created my account. So many gadgets have been added to the Google gadgets.  This is a great way to personalize and organize your information.  Some people do like to use this as their homepage because they can get their email easily and so much more is all on one webpage.  I have my Gmail on my iGoogle page along with my calendar, locate weather, Today’s Spotlight Video on YouTube for fun, and two news gadgets as I am a “news junky”.   When I worked at a job where I had to travel, I had Google Map Search right at hand.  I would like to suggest you check out one of my favorite gadgets Places to See.  The pictures change very often.      

As I was looking and thinking about my iGoogle homepage, I noticed the calendar.  I know 2^nd grade was working on the concept a few weeks ago because I pulled some library books for them.  I got to thinking how I could use this technology with the students.  I took a lesson I remembered teaching on reading analog and digital clocks and added the Google Calendar.  I made a podcast showing the calendar entitled Using the Google Calendar.  http://screencast.com/t/aWcQrrwyxT    It got a little complicated when I was thinking of the students’ using it.  The students do not have an account so I decided to print the calendar and they could color in their daily schedule.  I thought this was really cool for the young students to develop a calendar just like many adults do.

There are so many changes ahead of us as educators and librarians. We must stay current with technology and apply it to learning.  Both videos provoked much thought, for instance, what will a classroom look like in the next 5 years?  What devices will students bring into the classroom?  Our students do not know a world without technology.   We have to help these 21^st century learners be competitive in the global world.  We have to prepare our students for what the future holds for them.  When the students held up the boards that said “Teach me to think” and “Engage me” I had to stop a take a breath.  To me that was powerful.  Students can learn from so many different sources.  Using technology is a great way to accomplish these learning goals by using podcasts, videos, the Internet, Web 2.0 tools and more.