technology

We welcome LeAnn Morris, the 2008 Nevada Teacher of the Year, a technology expert and an elementary school teacher. Among the topics we discuss: the ways technology at her school is improving instruction and the abilities that define computer literacy at the elementary level. Nevada is the gambling capital of the United States, so it’s only appropriate that when it comes to education, LeAnn Morris is a safe bet!

If you're a teacher, I hardly need remind you that the summer is over and a new school year has arrived. Whether you view the new year as a blessing and a time of unique wonder (like seeing a rare flower suddenly surface along a well-trod path) or a time of surprise and panic (like seeing a hungry puma surface from the deep end of your swimming pool) depends upon your preparation. In this episode, we talk about how prepared a new teacher should be at the beginning of the school year. We also dish out the tough love in our new "We Told You So" segment. Everyone loves being lectured to, don't they? It is our fist show back, so the episode shakes off a little rust with a handful of bloopers at the very end, and I ask you: is that a rogue cellist suddenly playing a single, haunting note at time stamp 15:18? Spooky! Speaking of spooky, look out for the Halloween episode of the New Teacher Hotline at the end of next month.

Bring your teaching methods into the 21st century with the help of our special guest, Candy Shively of TeachersFirst.org. She's hand picked five different web resources (designed for varying ages and subjects) that can be used in the classroom right away. Whether you're new to educational technology or you know your way around monitors and computer mice, she's got something that'll interest you. We also respond to a listener email that asks us to define the term "digital divide." (Note: The web addresses--URLs for the techies among you--of the web sites Candy identifies in this episode are listed on our web site, www.newteacherhotline.com. Just check the comments section for Podcast #17. You can also find the links at Candy's web site, www.teachersfirst.org, by typing "tech toolbox" into the search box.)

We're back from summer vacation! In this episode, we talk to Candy Shively of www.teachersfirst.com. Every few weeks, she's going to stop by to present free web resources you can use to integrate technology into your classroom, no matter how much you know or don't know about computers. We're back on our regular production schedule, so look for another episode in two weeks!