Week 4: Thing 9, Part I
Kathy Schrock's blog is chock full of information that is both useful and interesting - an unbeatable combo. One of her blogs that I enjoyed was an observation that she had about how technology can draw users into an event - even in absentia. Kathy told about her experience with middle schoolers as they watched, virtually, President Obama's back-to-school speech on September 14. She observed that her middle school students (watching virtually in Massachusetts) were as much a part of Obama's audience as the students who were actually seated in the auditorium of the Philadelphia location where Obama's speech was given. (Wow, was that a run-on sentence or what??) She said that when the actual student observers stood to clap, so did her virtual student observers. She noted that someone in the White House did a great job of angling the camera and giving thought to how the President's speech would appear to a virtual connection. It is an interesting dichotomy to me how technology can bring together a group of people, but also separate them by virtue of allowing us to communicate while apart.
As I perused Edutopia, I came across a blog about cool tools to use at the beginning of school.
One tool that was mentioned was Answer Garden, so I checked it out. It IS cool. What it does is allow you to embed a short question on your blog or web site that can be answered by limitless readers. It is a fun way to survey. I will post a question on my blog, and if you'd like to play with me, you can answer it.
Names for our school eagle:... at AnswerGarden.ch.
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