Blogs on Upper Elementary (3-5)

I often get a look of confusion when I tell my students to, "Go mess up, will ya'." Their eyes widen and they turn to a neighbor for a lifejacket because I just threw them in the deep end of technology. Come on, it's only a computer. Using tech in the classroom requires trust. Are they going to mess up? Sure. Are they going to add another call to your list, a dreaded call to the technology department? Maybe. Are they thinking? Absolutely. Are they applying what they know about technology to create something original or to solve a problem? Yes, brothers and sisters, yes.

"My screen is blue."

"My computer froze and I lost all my work."

"It didn't save."

"It's blocked."

One of the biggest distracters of technology integration is what I like to call the "technology fails." They are frequent, inevitable, and frustrating. This reason alone is why many teachers avoid integrating technology in to his or her class.

The newly released Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Language Arts included a set of standards for literacy in science and social studies.

Just two hundred more yards! Flip, push off, breathe. Right, left, right, breathe. Left, right, left, breathe. Long stroke, all the way forward and all the way back, deep. I can't get enough breath. Flip, push off, and breathe. Breathe again. You can do it, Ben!