I love using primary sources in the classroom. When I was designing my students' blog site header I found tons of pictures of "old" classrooms. When I was a kid (in the mid-50s) there were 35…

Comment by Nancy Bosch on August 7, 2007 at 7:52pm

I had a cathartic experience several years ago---I decided that I was going to use what I know, technology wise, to enhance my life and the lives of my students.

I spent 10 years presenting nationally at NECC, state wide and district wide. I was (am) an excellent presenter and I shared some wonderful things that could be done using technology. All participants were so excited about what they saw, I was voted in the Top 10 Presenters at NECC three years in a row, ---but that was it. I never saw what I was sharing end up in classrooms. I could hardly make an impact with the gal in the classroom down the hall much less across the country and NCLB has made it even worse---I realized I had probably 10 years of COOL stuff so I decided I'd use it with my kids and have stopped proselytizing. Much less preparation for workshops and more time for my kiddos.

Thanks for the kudos on the work I've done. My latest project is Titanic in the Classroom at http://connections.smsd.org/titanic. The curriculum schedule and database aren't finished but we'll be using it with 4-6th this winter as part of a Pirates and Shipwrecks study. Only 5 days til school starts. Yikes! N.

Comment by Aseem Badshah on August 8, 2007 at 3:25am

Notice how classrooms today look exactly the same as that in the picture...you’d expect something to change in over 50 years.

Comment by samccoy on August 22, 2007 at 1:51pm

Mmhmm! I hear you Nancy. In my first year,1976, I was teaching 63 kindergarteners, 31 in the PM and 32 in the AM. Still, we accomplished alot, and the children were very patient with each other and me.

Aseem has it right. You know when I was in the first grade, I thought we would soon have really cool virtual schools and lots of friends to play with in the real world. That's what I learned from reading "Weekly Reader". Ha!

Comment by Brian on December 17, 2007 at 2:12pm

I've been a facilitator for the teacher education institute at Col. Wmsbg. foundation--I have a wealth of primary source ideas if you ever need some.

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