C4Ta#1

   For my first two C4T assignments, I was assigned to Vicki Davis's blog Cool Cat Teacher. Davis not only writes her own posts, but also provides posts written by others that are also very resourceful.

   For C4Ta#1 I read/watched her post 50+ Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom. In this video post, she introduces her two-step strategy for innovation and change. The first she shares is to "Innovate like a turtle", which means to basically just move forward in adapting the classroom slowly and steadily. You do not have to become a techonology wizard over night. It only takes small steps at a time to progress your classroom into becoming a technology based classroom. The second step is to always have your "Big 3" list, which is a list of three goals or things that you want to learn or accomplish for your classroom. She goes on from there to list many different things you can do in the classroom that will make it more tech savvy.

   For C4Ta#2, I read Davis's post "ECM #149 OER: TEACHING WITHOUT TRADITIONAL TEXTBOOKS". This was a review of a show with Amy Pace, a Presidential Award winning science teacher who is on a committee of outstanding teachers that create their own textbooks for their students to use. It is a source to save money, and it is also better tool for the classroom. These textbooks are revised every year by a committee who use the feedback of other teachers that use these textbooks. It allows for teachers to put information that they know students are going to need to know, and what will be taught. It also allows for more emphasis to be put on specific topics that may need it, but do not get it by large publishing companies. These textbooks meet state standards and are widely used in the state of Utah. Davis posts links to listen to this interview on iTunes and online.

Vicki Davis does a phenomenal job on her blog. She used technology to her advantage. She is very tech savvy, and I believe her blog is very resourceful for more topics than just technology in general.