On any given day, I have my iPhone in my hand and/or at my side 12-15 hours. Sounds excessive, but I am still in iPhone Nirvana after four months. A couple of weeks ago I started to track the ways I use my iPhone on a daily basis, but last week I realized that my iPhone has changed my life even when I am on vacation. It certainly possesses some capabilities that I now find almost as essential as oxygen. I have started a list of the tasks and activities for which I use my iPhone regularly and se… Continue

If you are not yet familiar with ReadTheWords.com, I highly suggest checking it out. I first learned about ReadTheWords from Wesley Fryer. ReadTheWords is a free, web based service that generates audio files from written material. After setting up an account, you can upload written material in any one of a variety of formats, i.e., MS Word, PDF, HTML, Website Address, R… Continue

Do you have a weblin? It’s like Second Life meets any website. From the weblin website: “Weblin makes you and others on the Web visible as small avatars. There are others on the same page you are on right now. Weblin opens a new and exciting world on every website.” I just signed up for one 4 days ago. To sign up, I downloaded the software and confirmed my registration. I was then able to choose an avatar… Continue

I am in the generation gap, not necessarily a “digital native” but I don’t consider myself an “digital immigrant” either. Regardless of where I classify myself, we should all keep in mind every child we currently teach is most definitely a “digital native”, meaning they think and function in an electronic, digital world. Our challenge as teachers is to find ways to adapt to their learning by using technology in the classroom. Exactly how should we do that… on a school budget? Web 2.0! If you had… Continue

In Episode 6 of the Technology Shopping Cart podcast Karen Montgomery and Wesley Fryer discuss the important but controversial subject of using cell phones and other mobile devices for learning in K-12 as well as university classrooms. This podcast is the first of two parts, our next episode will focus specifically on iPhones and web applications for the iPhone which are relevant for classroom learning. In this episode we address the reasons it is important to utilize cell phones for learning, i… Continue