The Blue Nowhere 2

I'm three-fourths through the book and can't read it fast enough. I'm so glad that Gillette is not Shawn. Gillette seems to be a pretty good guy, but I can't believe everything that he is able to do on the computer- the information he can "hack" in to. As I have been reading, I began to think that Phate was going to go after one of the investigators or families. I'm scared to read on to see if he did something with Bishop's wife's medication. And is Shawn a male or female? I'm wondering what kind of relationship the two of them have. I can't wait to read and find out!

The Blue Nowhere 1

I have a really hard time just sitting and reading a book because my free time is very limited. That is why I wasn't very excited about reading this LONG book. However, I can't put it down! It is very suspenseful and reminds me very much of the author's book The Bone Collector (I didn't read the book, but I watched the movie. Very good but won't watch it again). It is very scary thinking that this could really happen. AND, that there are some people that really may act this way. Many twists occur in the book that keep me guessing. I think that Phate will try and do something to Gillete's ex-wife's family now that he knows who's been helping the authorities. I had much relief after reading that Phate let Samantha go. I can't wait to read the next few chapters tonight. I literally have to make myself stop reading!

ISTE Standards

I had no idea that there are National Educational Technology Standards. I was very surprised to see these six standards that I should be teaching in the classroom. I do believe, however, that some of these are being addressed in my students' computer class. As a classroom teacher, however, I realize now that I should be addressing these standards also.

I read through the performance indicators for grades 3-5 since I'm a 3rd grade teacher. I was glad to see that I do address some of these indicators, but realized I need to introduce many of these skills to my students. For example, I can work on teaching my students how to give presentations using technology. Many of my students see others from the upper grades give Power Point presentations and get very excited.

Here is my review/reflection of each six standards:

Standard One- Technology Operations and Concepts: I do instruct my students on word, Power Point, iTunes, and e-mail. I would use excel more if I had more training on how to use it.

Standard Two- Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experience: I have done a better job in the past year of planning and designing lessons using more technology, but I still need to improve upon this.

Standard Three- Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum: I know that I don't use technology enough with my students. My students do use various programs on the computer: Reading Counts, Reading Academy, and Math Academy.

Standard Four- Assessment and Evaluation: Students use the computer for on-line State Assessment, MAP Assessments, and SRI Tests. I can use the computer more for my lesson assessments, maybe QuizStar.

Standard Five- Productivity and Professional Practice: To keep track of my professional development, I use the PDP Toolbox. I also use Power Point Presentations in my classroom. My district also has Technology workshops.

Standard Six- Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues: My district always has a school attorney come in at the beginning of the year to go over old and new laws regarding the Internet.

I've tried to incorporate technology into my classroom more often this past school year, but I know I need to do a better job.

Blog assignment

This is my first blog!