Table got SMARTer - October 29th

I'm a big fan of using technology and web 2.0 resources in the classroom. The tool that allows me to do that in an interactive way is the Interactive White Board, or IWB. Since I started using it early this year, I embraced the countless resources it comes with, but best of all, it's the canvas I use to paint my classes with my originality and self-expression to present Science concepts and ideas.
Even though the goods of the IWB, one of the little flaws was the fact that only one user could interact with the board at the same time. However, it appears that it is not a problem anymore. Last thursday, Octobder 23rd Smart Tech (the manufacturer of the brand I use) released to the media the new version of the Smart family, The Smart Table. Customized for the little ones, primary students, those that get more enthusiastic when using it, the Smart Table allows several kids to touch the board at the same time, with a whole new set of ready-made activities and fully customizable. I'm certainly eager to try it, and I'm sure that all my students feel the same way too.

ICT in St. George's College - October 29th

This is the presentation and video used to inform the PTA from St. George's College about our Technological Innovation Project. Please review and make your comments.

Blogging at 95 - October 24th

I love blogging, because it is a great way to express, to learn and also to teach. But nothing is more impressive that appreciating when a person who is supposedly "outdated" in terms of technology embraces it and gets the best out of her to communicate it to the world. Amelia is a 95 year old lady from La Coruña, Spain who received a blog as her 95th present from her grandson.
Happy Birthday Amelia!
Keep blogging so we can learn from your enthusiasm and energy.

Wiki, Week, and Weak - October 15th

"Men are from Mars and Women are from venus" or so said John Gray when published his book in 1992. Cliché phrases are everywhere in our daily lives. I actually found a website that helps you find clichés. Technology doesn't escape from clichés. Female presence in the ICt area is not as high as the male one, yet. I think that proportion will reverse soon. My experience with Wikis is reduced to a few jonths only. I work producing weekly edits in my class wikis, even though I was as weak as any IT ignorant until I discovered the benefit of being "connected". you're in the loop as long as you participate in the world. The World Wide Web has opened new possibilities in the communication area. I read dozens of updates in my twitter network. I follow a lot of people in the same area. I benefit from them. I use all that expertise as an empowerment. ICT empowers my mind, it challenges my perception of things and keeps me very busy, that's for sure.

It helps me discover that there is a whole world of possibilities on a nanosecond base, and if you are out of the loop you'll be delayed in your professional development. Will that be my weakness if I stop checking information on a weekend? I saw a great video the other day, shifthappens, check it out. Information generated daily is doubling on astronomical figures and in shorter time than just a few decades before. I'll try to keep up-to-date!

Elections - October 13th

Even though this blog is not a political one, or it doesn't intend to be by any means. I have to recognize that elections have a special attraction, many times disappointing but mostly challenging, who will be the winner? What is that nation choosing for its future?
Sometimes little decisions can have a tremendous consequence, good or bad. Can you imagine how deciding the election of a new president might alter the course of a country over time?
We face that every time we, as adults, vote for a new president. I have to admit that choosing a new president for my country has been plagued with irregularities and/or decisions not in favor of one but against the other, at least in Peru for the last 20 years.
Just a few weeks ago we've been witnesses of the collapse of a big part of the financial system, and even though we dare to say that our world is too big, the financial tsunami has reached each and every continent, and those who were not properly protected economically, are suffering the consequences, starting in the very own capitalism epicenter, the United States of America.
So, I found a web 2.0 application, a timeline, to follow the US elections, soon to happen.
Therefore, if you're a little but interested, check out this timeline and decide which side you're on.