Mrs. Penner's Pen

As an educator, one of the main benefits of using technology to organize, analyze and simplify data is the ease with which information can be shared. If I am using tools such as Google Docs, Sheets, Classroom, Calendar, Gmail, etc., I can quickly and readily access my own information from any of my devices, whether at school, at home, or elsewhere. However, if I were to keep my calendar, for example, on a paper planner, I would either need to remember to carry it to and from school each day, or I would need to wait to view or make changes to my schedule. By using Google Calendar, I can access information about my availability as well as my planned meetings and events from my phone, iPad, or laptop wherever I am. I can also easily compare schedules or share calendar information with students, parents, and administrators. This ready access to information, both for myself and for others, is so valuable to simplifying a teacher’s busy life. In my experience, one very helpful technological ...

It was the late 1990’s when the first web log was developed, the term “blog” was coined, the Blogger platform was introduced, and a new electronic communications phenomenon was born (Thomson, 2006). Since then, blogs have been a popular way for people to share their thoughts both personal and professional. In the education field, blogs can be used in myriad ways both in the classroom and behind the educator’s desk. Blogs can be shared between teachers to communicate ideas, lesson plans, and experiences. They can be shared from teacher to student to share conversation starters or sample work. And they can be used to share writing between peers. According to Edublog research, applications for educational blogging in the classroom setting can be fit into three main categories: practicing reading and writing skills, reflection, and assignment/assessments. (Morris, 2018). Blogs can be a way for students to compile their thoughts about the material they are studying or even the learning proc...

Google Maps is a tool that I am well familiar with in my personal life. And for the most part, our relationship is a solid one. While I am not as dependent as my friend Elizabeth who I have witnessed ignoring physical road signs in favor of Google’s imprecise directions, Google Maps navigates me from point A to point B on most every occasion. (We will excuse that one alarming time that it turned me down a rural road in Italy that was in fact not a road and nearly got my tiny rental car stranded deep in dirt and gravel.) From mapping the best route to providing traffic and travel time data to locating gas stations to offering reviews on restaurants and coffee shops and much more, it is a helpful and frequently consulted tool in my car. But what about in the classroom? Educator Neil Jarrett (2016) offers five broad ways Google Maps can be applied to a school setting: Descriptive writing of scenes and settings Mapping, creating routes and tutorials Use it to inspire some artwork Conductin...