Barb+Makowsky

My name is Barb Makowsky. I teach grade 4 at Robert Smith School. Two years ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Innovative Teachers Conference and found out that technology is not just hardware and applications. It is the ability to take what you have access to and use it to engage students (and yourself) while you teach. Thinking outside the box, seeing where I want to be and what I want my students to accomplish, in terms of technology, and then working toward it are goals I have for myself this year. I also want to take the technology back to my school and encourage my colleagues to use the available technology. Making it more accessible and less "scary" for other teachers will see our school make many more gains for our students.

This year, I have especially tried to use my FC webpage to link ICT's so that my students would have a webpage that is student friendly (and fun). My new favourite so far this year is: [|kidblog] - easy peasy to set up and use!!! Kids use the blog to:
 * comment on the class novel we are reading
 * copy, paste, and solve math word problems that other students in our class have created
 * We are even "blog pals" with the grade 4's from Mapleton (Carmen's idea)