More Why Blogs

In reading a blog by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach she touched on a subject that I have pondered for a while and made it so simple-and perhaps that's the beauty and the solution-make it simple.
I want my students to reflect more effectively and maybe it can be as simple as this?

Learning to Learn
The learning journal assignment is the most important tool in making that transition from learning to learning to learn. There are four big questions to be looking at:

1. What have I learned (today, this week, whenever)?

2. How did I learn it?

3. Could I have learned it better/differently?

4. How could I use what I've learned to benefit someone else. (In other words, could I teach/coach/help someone to learn more effectively based on my experience?)

Our new podcasting venture

In the last couple of days of term I worked with our Tanya's Grade 2/3 students to help them voice record their reports that they had written about their frogs. They loved the experience and loved to hear their voice once we loaded it up on the web. It was really simple using audacity, an opensource software free download that records and edits sounds. we even used some copyright free music to add some background music to the recordings.
really cool and the kids loved it.
Next term I'm working with some students in Grade Three/Four and I can see that we are going to have a real opportunity to develop this idea further and perhaps create a real podcast with RSS feed and all.

Web 2.0 What is out there?

Bob Stumpel has put together a list of web 2.0 applications that seems to be growing by the minute. It 's worth thinking about how this will impact upon education and also how we as teachers can harness the development to engage and increase the learning of our students.