Reach the World was founded by Heather Halstead and Marc Gustafson in 1997, in an effort to revolutionize the delivery of curriculum, enabling all classrooms, in all communities, to use interactive resources that bring the world’s environments and cultures vividly to life for students. RTW’s mission is to become a national organization that links travelers and their journeys with students in classrooms around the globe.

I have to say, it was amazingly simple to start using.  “Tap here,” and away I went.  In about 30 minutes, I’ve become fairly proficient and am having a blast.  ( Scroll down to read everything it can do and the specs)  For students, this is invaluable.  Not only does the pen record everything you write visably, it also records audio.

In fact, the SMARTPEN does more than I thought it would and the available information for learning how to use it makes it very simple; not the least bit intimidating, even for non-tech-savvy people like me.

By the way, it was really easy to plug the docking USB cradle for the pen into the computer after downloading and installing the software (very quickly, I might add) and it was ready to rock-n-roll.

I’m afraid this little pen is going to go from something to write about to something addictive-  and will make an awesome gift for a few writer friends and an engineer husband.  I am thoroughly impressed!!

The pen is a link between my laptop and what I jot down.  Very valuable for taking notes, interviewing or keeping track of things.  Later, you can go back and search for things in the documents  you create.  For instance, if a student wrote the word “test” and the date somewhere in their notes,  they could go back and search ”test” later and find it.

Not only does the technology allow classrooms to open up world-wide with each other, teachers can access institutions around the world for instant field trips.  Museums, technology centers, universities, even manufacturing facilities for vocational resources would be able to share real-time information, instruction and opportunities with students. The possibilities are incredible.

Full Screen Video Conferencing (Picture courtesy of Scott Feldstein, From Flickr Creative Commons)

As future teachers, we need to consider the potentials of technology that we have today.  Things change so quickly and what seems futuristic right now will be commonplace in a few years in our classrooms.  Techlearning.com is a great site that explains this technology as well as other opportunities for educators.

After writing this blog, I read an AP story about 10 schools who videoconference weekly with scientists and teachers in Antartica.  The students can ask questions and see what the teachers are discussing, which is primarily climate change.  To read the article, click here.

I chose Chatting About Books from Read, Write, Think because I enjoy teaching writing and love reading.  I really liked this podcast because there was great information on books for children age 4-11.  The speaker, 3rd grade teacher Emily Manning, is informative and has lots of insight into age-appropriate books.  I chose to listen to a podcast about election books and the election process, which has current and relevant information.   The first speaker highlights good points about three specific books and points out the positive parts of the book as well as caution against one book that may be challenging on some levels.

Then she has a “cookies and milk” conversation with a 4th grade student named Jared and the interaction is charming and helpful.  In fact, the student turned the tables on the teacher and got the teacher to question her own point of view during discussion of a certain book.

Next, the speaker talks to Kathleen Krull in “expert chat;” she interviews the actual author of the books she recommends, which is incredibly insightful.  She asks the purpose of the author’s blog, www.inkrethink.blogspot.com,  a group of non-fiction writers who write about interesting non-fiction for children.

Author Kathleen Krull, as a child

Podcasts are a wonderful use of technology in education.  To listen, check out my widget on the sidebar, there’s a link to the feed or go to the podcast at Read,Write,Think

For more on Smart Boards, visit the Smart Tech Website http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Boards/default.htm

Smart Board Technology