Classroom. It's not necessarily a word that conjures up images of the latest technology. In my teaching experience and in my own children's learning experience, the words "classroom" and "technology" describe two almost entirely distinct realms of experience.

So how can technology successfully be harnessed to enhance learning? The following blogs provide some useful ideas:

As Michael Gorman of 21st Century Education Technology  writes, we have to keep a few things in mind when aiming to update our classrooms: 

• First of all, it's a step-by-step process. Implement and integrate slowly, while constantly assessing possibilities that are opened up by the tools already implemented. 

• Most significantly, make sure the children and their learning, are not overshadowed by new technology. As Gorman writes: It is important that we take a moment to admire the shine and then move on to real learning possibilities. How might the newest tools or resource allow for student learning of the necessary content standards? 

 A blog that provides lots of specific examples of sites and apps that teachers can use to enhance their students' writing and reading experience is  Free Technology for Teachers. Richard Byrne, this blog's creator, provides links and descriptions of some of the latest free tools for students and educators. It's less about the philosophy behind incorporating technology, and more about the nuts and bolts of what to use. Of the tools Byrne introduced on his latest blog entry, I particularly liked Zing, a site that provides free e-books in a variety of different subjects, on a variety of different levels. Teachers can choose a book and invite their "class" to read it together. While I don't envision being able to use it for my current students, I hope to survey the available titles to find something appropriate for my own children.

The final blog I chose to follow deals with technology and mobile apps useful for education: Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. While I won't presume to judge the blog by my initial encounter, I must say that the first link they provided -- to a site that looked really interesting, called, apparently Histography -- did not work in my browser, Firefox. When I searched for it in Safari (without using the hyperlink), I didn't find it.

So . . . I'll have to report later, when I'm not on my Mac and am using Chrome, on neat tools and links to follow from this site.