my plugged-in students & sites, studies for reading

Today, after a long day of outdoor activities (known to us in the school world as "field day"), my students returned with an hour left in the day. Their sun-drenched, freckled faces were exhausted from swimming, running and leading the younger students in games. What did they want to do with their hour left? Plug in. Out came the lab tops and you could see their brains unwind but also feed upon the hand to eye coordination that was taking place. "Can we relax?" one of them asked me. "Yes", I said. They asked this because they know I only allow game sites occasionally; as I'd much rather see them use the hotlists I've put together to educational interactives. As they played you could here the exhale around the room and my mind tinkered on with observant thoughts.

Here are some articles to make your day:
(the first two are articles posted in a discussion board from my classes, the third an the article chosen by me)

Break it Down: Strategies for Using the Internet in the Classroom
very basic site that lists basics, but could include more

Old, but still present: The Internet in the Classroom:Benefits and Considerations
Alright, so this is an old article and the website design hurts. However it brings up my soft spot of professional development. Much hasn't changed since 1999 and internet safety just isn't about bad words and pictures. It's also about teaching teachers and students to identify correct facts and credible websites.

Teaching Literacy with Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.
This particular study, conducted by teachers, analyzes two online resources; one web 1.0 and one 2.0 resource. The audience was a contained fourth grade classroom of ELL students and students needing support with reading and writing. The authors analyzed the student use of Comic Creator and Blogster as it applies in the subject areas of Language Arts and Reading.