The Classroom » What’s New

Upgrades Upgrades Everywhere…

Mr. G — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:55:45 +0000

Well folks, I upgraded the “backend” of my blog to the latest and greatest WordPress release and was very happy with the result. I love the new administration panel, and just the layout of the system in general. But sadly the new look and feel could only be seen by me, leaving everyone else out in the cold. So I upgraded my theme from “Freshy 1.0″ to “Freshy 2″! What does that mean for you??? Just a slicker looking interface, and cool new drop down menus on the nav bar to help you find what you’re looking for faster. I’ve also revived the use of Gravatar (though before it was MyBlogLog) Avatars on the comments posts. If you go to Gravatar and sign up your image will appear beside your post… if not the Classroom’s apple icon will take your place.

Last, but not least I’ve added a mobile theme that should allow you to view The Classroom on your PDA or Cellphone, I haven’t had a chance to test this yet, so please let me know if you run into any problems. In the end, all the upgrade are mainly cosmetic – but I think they’ll add a little polish to the blog.

Enjoy!
-Mr. G

Life Update

Mr. G — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 15:38:08 +0000

My first principal, Bill Drake, told me to always change schools every 4-6 years. Well after 7 years at Meyokumin, and 9 years of teaching grade 6 integrated mainstream – I’ve done it. I’ve graduated with my last class and moving on to Jr. High. I’ll be teaching grade 7-9 English Language Arts and Social Studies to literacy (special needs) students. I also get to be the English Language Arts and homeroom teacher for the 7B’s – a class participating in the 1 to 1 project. Each student will be given their own laptop, and the school retrofitted for wireless technology. We’ll be charting their progress over the next 3 years to see if this kind of 1 to 1 ratio of students to technology will actually effect their performance. It’s an exciting project, and I’m glad to be a part of it – and it’ll also give me a form to remind people that it’s not just the technology – but how we use it to teach that matters. A pencil is just a pencil, and a keyboard’s just a keyboard, it’s how we use them to inspire life long learning that matters.

To that end I’ll soon be adding another category to this blog for the 1 to 1 project – chronicling my journey with the project and sharing what I’ve learned about how to integrate technology into the classroom/school culture, and any of the pitfalls and triumphs I experience. I still maintain that I am not a technology teacher – I just use it to inspire my class, but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk about it right? I’ll still be writing my usual questions and comments on eduction in general – this will just be a nice addition to the blog.

Oh – and for those who’ve noticed I’ve been a little negligent in updating the blog lately – I apologize – but I was in the middle of final reporting, grade six farewell planning, and packing up and moving my class. The, seeing as it was summer holidays, I decided to take some time off! It’s still summer, so I won’t be writing as frequently as I did during the school year – but the odd post will pop up for time to time… promise.

-Mr. G

Some Additional Tweaking

Mr. G — Thu, 03 May 2007 16:11:18 +0000

I’ve been playing around with the blog – trying to make it easier to navigate, and to make sure all the important things get updated in my RSS feeds and tag cloud properly. So you may (or may not) notice that reviews are no longer found in the top bar, but are now in the category section. I’ll also be adding a new category soon call the “Professional Library” where we can review and discuss all the latest books and journal entries on educational topics. Remember – I’m always on the look out for people willing to help me keep this site going. If you have something you want to say – a resource to review, or a book you’d like to talk about – just e-mail it to me and I’ll post it! And please feel free to leave a comment on any topic that captures your attention!

As Seen on “Out on a Lim”

Mr. G — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:41:47 +0000

I think Janine Lim is an AMAZING teacher. I’ve thought that for years. After taking part in Read Around the Planet twice, listening to her speak at the Broadband Summer Institute last year (which by the way is open for registrations this year), and taking part in one of her on-line courses she offers she has fast become my Videoconferencing Idol. So imagine my surprise when I get an e-mail from my buddy Randy asking if I had check out the latest entry on her blog. She featured one of my posts about the success of this year’s RAP event. I still can’t wipe the smile off of my face. Yes it’s probably juvenile of me, but I feel like one of my heroes just patted me on the back and just said – “Nice job kid!”

Blog Update

Mr. G — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:24:54 +0000

I’m always playing around and tweaking the blog, and now I’ve just linked it up with MyBlogLog.com to host avatars for the comment section. Just sign up for your free account, upload a picture, and post your comment! You avatar will magically appear beside your words of wisdom!

I also want to take this opportunity to once again extend the invitation for anyone to write a post for The Classroom. Simply write about what your passionate about, and e-mail it to me. If it’s appropriate I’ll post it on your behalf and people can start commenting on it! I don’t mind starting the conversation (just ask my class… or my wife), but if other people have a great idea, I don’t mind stepping off my soapbox for a while.

Well with that said, I’m off to shape the minds of the future (that’s a scary thought…). Have a great day, and have fun!

-Mr. G

The Classroom 3.0

Mr. G — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:42:59 +0000

Welcome to the third incarnation of TheClassroom.Ca – Thoughts and Resources for Teachers. I have tried for many years to create an online environment where teachers from all over Canada and the world could get together and share ideas. I’ve tried to devlop many webpages and message boards – all of which were time consuming and difficult to manage – especially with the time constraints we all have. After blogging with my students for the last 3 years it finally hit me… if this technology is easy enough for my grade sixes to mannage and update, wouldn’t it be perfect for The Classroom?

And it is.

So welcome to The Classroom! Feel free to post a comment or two, and if you have a resource you’d like to recommend (or discourage others from using) feel free to e-mail me a review and I’ll post it for you!