Tech In-Service

Today myself and a couple other staff members had the opportunity to go to a neighboring school to see a presentation about technology and using it in the classroom. I really didn't know if I would be the best person to go, seeing that I (only!) teach kindergarten and our school is 4K-8th grade, but since I am coming to realize that I am a tech geek in the making, I thought it'd be worth my while.  After all, 5 years olds are coming to school more computer savvy than I was in high school!  Well, the presenter, Kevin Honeycutt - was GREAT!  It's amazing to see how much teaching and learning is changing in this digital age!  Technology can do so much for us now a-days that it's kind of scary!  Will children even need to learn how to read in the future, or will computers and such read everything out loud?  Will people need to know how to write, or will we all just type - or dictate?  Will schools of the future even look like the schools of today?  Or will students be learning and collaborating via their digital devices from their living rooms and creating virtual projects in a virtual world, with "classmates" half way around the world!  The next 20 years will probably see more changes in how society interacts, functions, and handles everyday routines then the last 100!  As long as the premise of Idiocracy (one of my favorite satirical movies) doesn't come true, and we have people continually learning, creating, developing and sharing, I think (or at least hope!) I can handle it!  Anyways, I seem to have gotten off track here a bit...  I wanted to share with you some of the amazing resources that I found today!  There's so many you just need to go and check them out for yourself!  Click on the link and it will take you to Kevin Honeycutt's site.  Then, click on the picture of the toolbox and you will find a TON of links to various educational sites, resources, etc.  It's awesome!  Oh - and after watching the presentation, I REALLY want an i-pad for the classroom!  Sooooo many great educational apps!  Happy exploring!