Starting points...

How did this come to be? How did I find myself sitting in a sweet little coffee shop, on a beautiful Saturday morning, listening to jazz and thinking deep thoughts about teaching and learning? And for conversations sake, what would the goal of sharing those thought be? Do I have a purpose for this informative ramble?

My goals for this blog are tri-fold. The first is that I hope to share my experiences in implementing technology into my curriculum- with the goal of making my teaching more accessible to all students. Fairly modest in the grand scheme of things. The second is to receive feedback and suggestions from other teachers who may have traveled this path before. The third goal is a selfish goal. I hope to help organize my thoughts, process my experiences and problem solve electronically the issues that I encounter. If along the way I get to share a funny story, wander off topic, or even rant, that's pretty good too.

So, here is where our adventure begins. I am working the 2007-2008 school year with Cynthia Curry from ALLTech technologies. ALLTech is a division of the Spurwink Institute. ALLTech received a grant to work with a middle school science teacher. The goal of the grant is to make the science curriculum more accessible to all students through the use of technology and Understanding by Design strategies. To that effect, we will be using some pretty funky gadgets, some ultra cool-Bondesque gizmos and I get my own personal Q in the form of Cynthia. I will also be examining my curriculum in minute detail and thinking and working in depth to make sure that all the aspects are accessible. This includes, but is not limited to: finding and utilizing digital text options, speak text software, MLTI technologies, video descriptions, and projection microscopes.

My hope is to blend the technology into my classroom; to use it as a tool to enhance my teaching. I believe strongly that the tool is only as good as the craftsman. I hope to become a better craftsman through this experience. With more tools at my disposal, more tricks of the trade, I hope to increase engagement, understanding and enthusiasm for science. I'd like to create a few more science geeks like me!