Mr. Rennie's Class

  Today I spent the school day at Southgate Middle School's lab hosted by Mr. Rob Hatfield. Aside from renewing aquaintances with 50 or so former students who dropped by to say hi, I was there to get advice on web management and computer instruction. I saw the grade sevens and eights using their google docs accounts to make websites, practice typing and perform advanced animation using Flash. Iwas glad to see how useful and important their google accounts were since all our students already have them and will be able to get right at it if they go to Southgate next year.

  The one application I saw that I think would be most useful and applicable for us was the google sites app. This capability allows you to create a web site around any topic or theme. It allows you to add text, inset images and imbed video into the various pages of your site. I thought it would be a perfect way to explore the cultures of other countries or the rich heritage of Canada's provinces and territories. The sites are shared in pairs and with the teacher but are not open to the world wide web but more the trio of trust web. We'll give them a shot in January. Thanks to Mr. hatfield for a great and useful day.