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I was looking over the DEN website and new STAR member blogs as well as a few STAR members I like to follow and I thought it was about time I posted something. Each year I learn new things I want to share with my students and this year was, I thought, the exception. I have, after all, three Window 98 computers in my classroom and everything I introduce to them has to be through my personal laptop and projector and then share 10 computers in the lab (which are at least XP, but slow). Then, I remember there has been something I have been sharing with my students - learning a step ahead of them.
This past summer I was able to attend an XO laptop training. Last year, our mayor (now indicted and convicted - but he did one decent thing for the kids) gave an XO laptop to each child in 1st through 5th grade. While at first I thought it was just a toy, I learned it could be a powerful tool. My favorite program to learn on it was Scratch. This program was created by MIT and is free. I am learning just one step ahead of the children and we are having a blast learning to create our own stories and games. To download this great program go to http://scratch.mit.edu
