Smartboard Podcasts

As per my usual Monday morning routine, I listened to the Smartboard Podcast during my commute to work. Joan and Ben are always fun to listen to and have some great links each week. One in particular this morning was for Vyew. It's a browser-based online collaboration tool that has whiteboard capabilities, realtime sharing of desktops (it seemed just a bit slow, which would be expected), built-in text chatting and teleconferencing. Might be a great tool for the students but one downfall was that it requires Flash 9 and since it is not installed on my lab computers I will need to get a technician to install. Ugh!

Things are Changin'

I think back to the mindset I had when I first started my teaching career a decade and a half ago. It's so cool to see the transformation that has occurred both within me and the students I am teaching now. For me, the transition from being primarily a math and science teacher to my current position as a specialist in technology integration has been a HUGE step. It has also been most welcome. I see my kids in a different way now. The kids today don't just look different, they ARE different. Their lives are so infused with technology that they think and process differently today than just ten years ago. We have to speak their language to effectively reach them.

So....as I move along my 'techtrek' I will continue to ask myself - and my colleagues - not whether technology can be used, but how it can be used.