Lani

=Lani Langlois - Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School=

My thoughts for projects are focused on 8th grade. What will they DO?! (literally!) Since I will be teaching them on a fixed schedule this year for the first time, I need to gather ideas and tools that will hopefully, hook them. I also need to convince my administration of the dire need to focus on technology. As one site we viewed this week said, //we need to meet the kids where they are.//

Creating a wiki as the jump off place for technolog at our school and most specifically, the LMC, I have begun an assignment page for the 8th grade classes. I chose the topic of advertising/marketing strategies and consumerism, with the hopes they will become engaged with this idea and activites. I will embed a blog where they will be required to respond to questions and videos posted for them on the assignment page, and will discuss *blog manners* with them prior! Other features of the wiki presently include resources for book/author reviews, jokes, wiki visitor locator map and web site of the month. These, however, are only the beginning of a large package of ideas to be offered. This is only the beginning!! Although, I will include additional resources for students and teachers and eventually assignments for other grades, I intend on having the major percent of this be student created. Work will include but not be limited to: student created videos; slide shows via slideshare; book reviews and mini-bios of famous people using voki.com; digital storytelling via mixbook.com, flicker and/or blabberize.com; posters from edu.glogster.com or wordle.net. Please, visit my wiki @ http://mlk-library.wikispaces.com.

Meanwhile, I will be reorganizing and gathering personal files, blogs and favorite sites though dropbox and evernote! No need to redo lost docs, keep binders of old worksheets or search frantically for that bookmarked site again!

Since technology changes as quickly as one can learn it (or somethimes faster), I hope we have the opportunity to return for a continuation of this course next summer!