iPad to Replace Text Books?

The new iPad is supposed to be the new library. Some school districts are taking that library and giving it to their students. Read the two articles below aboout iPad's replacing of text books. Very interesting! I hope my district does this sooner rather than later!

Bay Area News May 5, 2010


Central Coast News May 5, 2010

What if...

As technology changes and the rest of the world adapts and continues to move with the flow, educators tend to hold back. Administrators block what they are unsure of and forbid what they don't know. This isn't a new phenomenon, created in the digital age. This is concrete in the mindset of the body of education. Watch the following video and let me know what you think at the end. The questions is simply, what if... ?

What If... Windows Media Player

What If... Google Videos

Well, here it is...

Here's my website. I really enjoyed working on it and will continue to use it with my students parents in the future. I will call it a work in progress.


Miss Smithers Class


Let me know what you think!

Almost Finished

As of today, there are thirty-six days remaining in the year-round calendar of my school. This year has gone by so fast! Already, my students are being tested for the end of the year benchmarks. I still have so much more that I want to teach them, but my time is almost finished and they will have to move on to kindergarten. Most of them have made great progress this year, and will be at the top of their kindergarten class. Those whom have not made as much progress will still do better than others because of their experience in prekindergarten.

At a meeting on Friday with other prekindergarten teachers we learned that four teachers were laid off by the district, and another three were retiring. I have been with the prekindergarten program for 12 years, and now with the retirements, have been teaching prekindergarten with Columbus City Schools longer than any of the other prekindergarten teachers. At the meeting, many complained of not having enough computers to serve their children. One teacher remarked that she has one computer for 20 children. I thought about the six up and running computers I have acquired over time in my classroom and was reminded that sometimes being a pack rat pays off. I have had assistants come and go, many who thought our room was too crowded and if we removed one of the tables with two computers, we'd have room for other things. I always stuck to my guns and insisted that the computers stay. I treat the computers I have with kid gloves because I know, once they die they will not be replaced. If they are replaced, it will surely be with higher powered computers with lousy software. I learned to save everything from my Mom, who learned it from her mom who survived the Great Depression by being a thrifty pack rat. I shall survive the Great Recession by doing the same thing.