Chapter One: The Read/Write Web

Actual quote from one of my first graders…”Last night while I was on my iPad I Facetimed three of my friends. I sent them a video of my first skiing lesson!”  At that moment I realized a few things, #1 I need to invest in an iPad, #2 I am so glad my mother does not have any videos of any of my “firsts” and #3 things have certainly changed since I was in first grade!  I am constantly in awe of how tech savvy my first graders are on a daily basis and how many of them have access to such a wide variety of technology tools at home.  I will be the first to admit that I was not raised with personal computers, cell phones or even a DVD player!  I think my first experience using a computer was in middle school and it was about the size of a small suitcase!  I can clearly remember the first day I used my Smartboard in my classroom and one of my students had to show me how to freeze the screen so I could do a search without showing the whole class.  Most of my students had a Smartboard in their classroom in Kindergarten and had a great deal of experience using it.  My children have a Smartboard in their preschool classroom and they know how to find apps on my phone faster than I can.  Technology is everywhere and there are so many valuable resources which can be used in the classroom.  I use some form of technology in my classroom everyday and not only do the students enjoy it they almost expect it.