Codecademy is an interesting link. I'm not sure why most people would want to learn to write in code, but I do believe that this is a good way to learn it. I was enjoying the 10-15 minutes I had playing around with the tutorial, but I'm probably wired a little differently than some. In working on this site, I did learn and have a bit of a refresher on items I had worked with in the past. You might want to check it out.

Three Key Goals for Instructional Design

In the linked Ed World article, the author(s) quite clearly define three necessities in creating instruction: engagement, student responsibility, and rigor. I have heard these things more in the last few years than I had ever dreamed I would hear. In reading articles like this and others, I totally agree with where the tools are taking us, but I have a hard time implementing many different techniques into the many different lessons I already use. I know that with instructional technology, I should be able to extend the classroom and lesson and take the students farther, but sometimes I feel as though the effort put into using technology only slows our progress and tends to make certain lessons almost elementary.

Antone Gonsalve's article on tablets outselling laptops does not surprise me, but I am curious to see if more companies are going to adapt the same combination that Microsoft recently released. Either way, I am reminded of learning to type on a typewriter (Smith Wesson) and being hesitant to go into a computer lab in my freshman year of college, which is where I received my first email address, as well as, learned what the WWW is.

I have both a laptop and a tablet because I don't know how to become independent of the laptop when I feel that I must have a keyboard and the other typical functions of a computer. I realize that tablets have adapters with keyboards and other types of accessories, but I can't seem to have the same confidence with the lack of programs (Word, PowerPoint...). I like to think that I am able to be independent, but many of the typical types of functions seem more practical on a laptop. In other words, I have typed a paper or completed an assignment completely on a tablet.

Which brings me to another inquiry that arises with this topic: when students go to tablets or e-readers for textbooks, will laptops and computers be necessary in the classroom. I do know that I haven't unleashed the many capabilities of my tablet, because I don't know how, but how many accessories and adapters will be required to implement the many resources offered by the tablet.  Who knows where we will go in the classroom?

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/readwriteweb/~3/4KZt87XWp8c/black-friday-projected-to-push-tablet-sales-ahead-of-laptops

Blogging befuddles me a little bit. I'm a person who does not talk a great deal, either with friends or new acquaintances, I am usually one who allows the other to talk, whether or not I'm actually listening is up for their interpretation. Regardless, I hesitate to blog, but now realize that I must remove this particular guard I constantly have up and express things on my mind. My students, as are all high school students, are curious about my life, and I rarely if ever offer up any information, yet I find a way to build a trusting student/teacher relationship with them. I wonder if it is necessary to change that aspect of my personality.

Ok, so I just spent what seemed like ten minutes reading about all of the possibilities in using technology in education, it was really 2 1/2 hours. I am completely awestruck with this link below. I have been trying to use the polling devices for formative assessments in an effort to improve classroom performance, but now I see a way to make this work. Students would be able to use their (smart) phones in order to give the teacher an opportunity to monitor their understanding of their targets being taught. I'm so happy to have come across the website socrative.com to have a new platform on which I can work with my students.

http://socrativegarden.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/new-teacher-paced-quizzes/