Moving Along...

As the 2nd week of school comes to a close, I'm hopeful. None of the computers have been broken... well, by the kids, at least. The student logins are working properly... well, the ones I can find, anyhow. The network hasn't gone down in the middle of our work... yet. :)

The kids have set up their Online Math Journals and created their "First Post." That was the title: "My First Post." Not the most creative, but I really wanted anyone that reads them to know it really was their first post!

They have also been using Excel to keep track of their daily Warm-Up scores. Much to my surprise and delight, a few students have even commented on their progress throughout the week while looking at their spreadsheets! ("Look, Ms. M! I started with a 74 on Monday and look! I've gone up each day!" Come ON! Does it get much better than that?! Wait'll we create graphs of that progress!)

Having the Internet at their fingertips has been great! Yesterday, I mentioned to one of the kids that his homework was as beautiful to me as the Mona Lisa. When I heard, "What is the Money Lisa?" from the other side of the room, I literally jumped up and down with excitement as I shouted, "GOOGLE IT!!!" We learned the Mona Lisa is a famous painting, housed in the Louvre in Paris, France. A little social studies in math? Heck, yeah! :) (Incidentally, the kids agreed. His homework was just as beautiful... just "in a different way!")

I think the biggest plus so far to having laptops and wireless access in my room is the fact that I was able to schedule MAP testing for my kids for when it was convenient for us, not when it fit in the schedule. We'll be taking it tomorrow and I think being in the familiar, comfortable surroundings of our classroom will do wonders for their anxiety levels, and in turn, their scores. We shall see, right?