Yes, I know it is Wednesday, but I am still linking up. I had every intention of linking yesterday with Technology Tailgate's Techie Tuesday, but my baby boy packed up and drove back to college in Texas! True, he is not really a baby, but he is definitely this Momma's boy, so all day was spent with him! I was too emotional to even think about blogging after he left so I waited until today and I had heard from him. He is 22 and highly capable of doing this all on his own, but a huge part of me wanted to get in on the passenger seat of his 1981 El Camino and buckle up with him. He is well guarded and protected by a Lady of Guadalupe prayer card and charm. I'm just a typical mom today, anxious for that phone to ring letting me know he is safe and sound at Jarvis Christian College. I love you big bunches ARTIE!!
Back to my reality..... School is almost upon me! One week from today and I will have already spent 90 minutes with my new 5th graders! There are so many fun activities I can't wait to share with them. This is our first year of having 1:1 iPads and I know we will have a fantastic learning year. We are blessed to also have access to a computer lab, although I don't know how much time will be given to us, but I do know that my students will need time in there as well. Typing a lot of paragraphs on an iPad is not an easy task and as of this moment, I do not believe we will have keyboards. Plus there are a number of internet activities that would just flow more smoothly using a computer or laptop. We will also be blessed with 6 Google Chrome books and that will be a huge asset to our classroom.
In anticipation of our technology access and academic goals, I created a Symbaloo that I will attach to my classroom page on our school's website. I first heard about Symbaloo this summer during one of my online technology academies and boy, oh boy, is it a useful tool. IF you haven't tried it, I suggest heading on over to the Symbaloo site and checking it out. The link below is my personal page for my 5th grade students. I absolutely love that all of my links are easily organized and accessible to my students, both at school and at home. The background can be any picture you want and one of my favorite tools is the fact that I can custom the background color for every clickable window. My math are all one color, science, history, spelling, etc. If you have ever tried having students log on to a website by giving them the URL to type in and end up with misspellings, forgotten punctuation, etc. then you will truly appreciate the ease with which this little gem provides you!! All of your favorite websites in one place called a Webmix!! Fabulous!!!
To check out my Symbaloo, click here. I tried forever to embed the code so the image would appear, I obviously need more practice on that!!
Another great feature is that you can search other premade Symbaloo webmixes for activities geared towards your grade level or needs. Trust me, this is a great time saver!!
You will soon be asking your colleagues, HOW DO YOU SYMBALOO?
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