Mr. Rennie's Class

  Yesterday and today the students had the following list of items to work on in the lab.

1. Word Process "I Am From " poem on Google Docs and hand in a hard copy.

2. Invite four classmates to share online "About Me" slideshows using class gmail list.

3. Work on producing Inquiry notes and topic slideshows using google Docs and Internet.

4. If done WP new memoir from topics list in binders.

  They've been working on some of these things for weeks and were finally able to share them and work on them in the lab. Some students are at the end of that list while others are done one or two items. What they all had in common was they were working at their own pace, on their own writing and projects they selected, utilizing technology to complete and individualize their finished products. Their slide shows are cool and sometimes funny or touching. Their poems based on some we read written by older poets, are amazing. Their projects are on topics from wildlife species to ancestral homes and grandparents. Best of all, they are available for them and for their parents and those special few invited to do so, to share anytime anywhere with an internet connection. They won't be lost or ripped. They have an audience of classmates and families. They are really proud of this work and they should be. Please read and discuss it with them. John Palfrey and Urs Gasser in their work titled Born Digital, say "As students research and write, and create collaboratively through online environments, they will be learning skills that will serve them well over time, even as digital economies evolve." The skills these kids are learning and the work they are undertaking is preparing them for the future, a future where technology is not a luxury but a necessity. Are we already there? Before we left the lab on Thursday I asked the kids, " please raise your hand if you had fun in the lab today". Every hand went up. They are enjoying school work. Hmmmmmm.