Welcome. I too am expanding my horizons. I actually now belong to the IN Group at our district. It is a technology minded group that continues to learn to use technology in new and different ways. I love it. This is my 20th year and it is the young newer teachers who are avoiding technology. I don't understand it. They should be used to it. Blogging all started for me when my daughter began blogging and getting paid for it as an at home job. Now I love it too.
Next year will be my 30th year of teaching and it has been hard for me to get into this technology stuff, but I'm liking it more and more. Half of our faculty have smart boards and I would like to get one too. Do you use one in your room? Tell me what types of things you do on it if you have one. I am in first grade and I think the smartboard would hold their interest more for some activities.
I am actually getting an Activeboard in my class next year. I've been asking for one for the past four years, and my new principal has been the one to make my dreams come true! I am very excited and am hoping to learn some ways to use it in my classroom for next year. My favorite thing has been getting use out of our portable lab. We have 30 laptops with wireless Internet and printers that can be rolled to classrooms when teacher want to use them. It's so much fun to let the kids explore their learning online.
I know the Navy has smart boards and they quit using them. I have access to Alphasmarts which are individual word processors. The students really like them and then they download them to my main computer and I grade the work. They are waiting for a new part and them I am going to access them next year.