Response to Oregon Standards (3 A-D)

As I looked through the standards the first time I was really thinking about the diploma essential skills and wondered who is responsible for tracking these nine things.  Of course I got a little cynical and thought 'what in the world have we created?!'  Then I went back and reread them thinking about my fourth graders and that I'd better get on the ball preparing them for the things they need technology-wise!
In the fourth grade social studies curriculum the students study Oregon geography, Pacific NW Indians, Lewis and Clark, and The Oregon Trail.  We spend so much time on the first two items and I feel like we cheat the last two.  I was thinking it would be really fun to have the students research what it would be like to travel from St. Louis to the Oregon country BEFORE we study what is was like.  They could read a novel relating to the topic, research it online, create a timeline of a journey, write an online journal and then create a digital presentation for the class!
There are a few things I'll need to do differently this year, as I haven't made technology a focus in my class.  I think I'll plan to work in weekly keyboarding as a class in the fall to increase the students' comfort level and accuracy with computers.  Second, I will plant the seeds about researching online and what to look for when doing so.  Third, I'll take time to guide them through a research project using the computer lab, in addition to the library!  I'm excited for this new approach.

Organizational Tool Post #1 - Calendars

I read about the two different type of calendars and created a September calendar in both Google Calendar and 30 Boxes.  Both are relatively easy to use and automatically save, which is a huge plus for me!  When I read through the five tools, I considered three but decided on creating a calendar because I know I'll use it for sure in fourth grade.  Last year I created a calendar every two weeks for my students, but wrote it out by hand!
My plan is to use Google Calendar.  I am so excited to be able to update it daily, or as needed, this coming year.  This tool will be really handy for me to use because often students lose their calendars and this way I will know parents have access to their child's homework calendar!
In addition to using this as a HW calendar, I plan to create monthly calendars so parents and students will be able to refer to it for holidays, late openings, teacher planning days, evening activities, etc.   I chose Google Calendar because when I decide to share with people they are able to click through to the calendar I've created.  With 30 Boxes it just emailed them all the upcoming dates.

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging!