Welcome Parents...

Hello Parents and Welcome to The Cave.
The point of this blog is two-fold.
    1.) I want to share with you, the parents or guardians, exactly what I am doing in the classroom to educate you student in the discipline of history. This will be a place where you can go and be updated on what we are learning in class. Furthermore, I am using new methods of technology and innovation to convert what happened long ago into a relevant event for your child's life and sense of self. This is, however, a difficult task.
    2.) The other purpose of this blog is to encourage you as parents to help me reinforce what students are learning.  I do not expect you to know the content of what we are discussing in class like a historian, but I do need you to converse with your student.

 “If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.” - Yogi Bhajan  

     I want these students to be able to master this information, which means I need them teaching someone.  The most likely candidate to care about what your student has to share is you! If you show an interest, they are also more likely to show an interest in my classroom. So what I am saying, quite simply, is...

...to be interested in history and how I plan to use new methods and technology to share a very old story that is still writing itself out today!

     So what role does technology play in all of this? Well check out this great video on technology and education and maybe you will begin to see why we have to meet the challenges of the 21st century classroom with 21st century methods and mediums.

     In my classroom, I will use all sorts of new pieces of technology. SMARTboards, Youtube, blogs, podcasts, websites, even smartphones and apps are useful for learning. Nothing is too "out there" or "mainstream" that it has no educational value.  That is not say I will not have them pick up a book, I just can't guarantee that it won't be an e-book.

Also check these handy links for seeing ways I may choose to use technology in the classroom.  Furthermore, if you see anything sounds helpful for you, the parents, let me know and I can see about implementing that as a part of our means of communication!

Education World: Using Technology in the Classroom

Still not sold on all the neat things tech can do, read this article and I think you may change your mind!