I teach literacy and children's literature courses at Emporia State University to undergraduate and graduate students. During the 2016-2017 school year I will be on a leave from the university and working as an elementary school librarian. Integrating technology into my teaching is a passion, and there are always so many new things about technology to learn. A blog seems like a good place to share my experiences and learn from others. Please join in the discussion.
Not too long ago, I observed two children as they searched the school’s library database for books on their chosen inquiry topic –Martin Luther King Jr. My role was to sit quietly and observe, but it was tough! The pair first struggled with how to spell Martin (Marten) and then argued over what exactly they … More No Wonder Kids Struggle with Searching for Information Online!
I think we can all agree that our students need to develop skills so they can be efficient and effective online readers, curators, and users of information. Right? Based on this idea, I wonder who is responsible for teaching these skills? The Common Core State Standards do call for students to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize … More Whose Job Is It?
A teacher, Mike, recently told me about his student who was ready to submit an assignment, but he couldn’t remember where he had digitally saved it, and so he had to create the assignment again. Aauugghh! Technology provides us with vast ways to find, store, and use information, but students need instruction, modeling, and practice … More Getting Organized for Web Reading
I reluctantly admit that I don’t know anything about coding – but I want to learn about coding for three reasons. First, coding, even on a simple level, lets technology users be creators of applications, which directs computers to follow our directions. What an empowering feeling! Second, my son is a computer science major, and … More Coding for Children (and Teachers)
I have always had trouble grasping the concept of Boolean logic – the use of the words “and”, “not”, “or”, along with +, -, and <>, when searching online. Since I use Google when I want to find information quickly, I am glad to see an evolution over the past few years towards the acceptance … More Boolify
Providing children with safe access to online information can be a challenge. Definitely no perfect search engine for keeping children safe online exists in the cyberworld of today. Teachers, parents, and caregivers must be vigilant with guiding children’s Web reading experiences. Google offers a Safe Search feature that can be activated to different degrees (off/moderate/strict) … More Safe Online Searching
Over the past few weeks I have been interviewing teachers about the ways they integrate the Internet into their instruction. Luckily two Kindergarten teachers agreed to share their experiences with me. I was a bit skeptical at first – how can students who aren’t reading independently be conducting research online? These two teachers, Jessica and … More Internet Inquiry in Kindergarten, Really?
