:)

The school year is 3/4 over! It's hard to believe, but it's true. As the year approaches the final curve, it's time to take a serious look at what's happened so far. My district sprung for BlackBoard! I'm still excited about the possibilities! I'm amazed by the opportunities that this provides. Some students have really run with this program! Other have fought it for all they're worth. I get IMs from some students and frequent questions about a variety of things regarding class, which is nice. I also have some that log in frequently and watch for new things to appear. I'm impressed with these students! Just a little extra effort and they can be exposed to things that are really cool, but may not relate directly to what's happening in class. We've had some interesting conversations about things I've posted in BB!
Right now we're just beginning a space colonization project which is paperless and will be done completely in BB. The list of issues grows daily and students, overall, are very involved and most have their own beliefs about this venture. I'm open to all opinions as long as they are expressed appropriately and backed up by facts, not just gut feelings or indoctrinated "truths". I'm working very hard to get this group to think for themselves and to evaluate the information that they find, but overall this group is happy to hit wikipedia, copy/paste and call the assignment done. That's been one of the biggest issues so far. Several have earned "0" for their impressive copy/paste skills. There are some really noteable exceptions though. I have a couple of students that really do an exceptional job at making information their own. They interpret well and can synthesize facts into a work that reflects their thoughts and demonstrates and understanding without even approaching plagiarism. I've complimented these students and praised them for their individuallity, which shows in their finished products.
At the same time I have some 'gifted' students that seem to be used doing little thinking and sharing their work with many others. Similarities have been running through certain student groups, which has resulted in some interesting conversations. I'm most amazed with the students that have complained about grades. One in particular was upset that another student recieved a higher grade, even though it was obvious that the complainant did the work and the other copied...more than once. I guess it takes a while for some 'gifted' people to see the error in their ways, or their arrogance pervades their version of reality? What does it mean to be superior?
Oh well, overall this has been a really good year. I have a large number of students that are working and taking advantage of the tech available. The majority of my students seem to appreciate what they have and are willing to work to earn their grades. I've seen some remarkable progress and changes in the right direction. A few have really turned themselves around and have become impressive students as well as much more possitive people.

Sorry about the rambling this PM. It was a really LONG day today. With that April fool's virus, I spent every available moment today (including my lunch, prep and any free minute during classes) taking care of other teachers' classroom computers. While I was servicing all of these computers some were doing nothing, stating that they didn't know what to do and choosing not to learn rather than be useful. I know it's not part of my job, but I guess some just have to bite the bullet for the greater good, which in this case means lessening the chance of a full system shut down. Since I am quite dependant upon the network and classroom computers, I might not have done all I did for fully selfless reasons, but the people I helped could have at least taken a break from their lunches to thank me...while I worked through mine. Ah, that's just the way the world works sometimes...maybe our tech department will appreciate it and buy me a beer?
Well, that's my last thought of the evening. I'm tired. I might read this tomorrow and decide that it was too meandering or indirect, but for now it will do. I'm not going back to reread, spell check or edit for content: these are my thoughts at this point and I'll see what they look like tomorrow when I'm not beat....and see if they are still relevant.
Keep on infusing tech into the classroom and being creative in your uses of all the resources available! It's most likely the only way to stay sane in the world of education without becoming sedintary.