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Online learning in public schools is a fairly new endeavor, especially for the elementary classrooms. Starting in pre-kindergarten, students are full of exploration and emotional and physical growth. This time of rapid brain development allows students to grasp new concepts quickly. It is essential that, as teachers, we make modifications for each and every child so that they can reach their full potential. With the use of online learning in the classroom, modifications within certain programs can be made much easier. Raz-Kids, for example, allows the teacher to set up a reading account for each student in the classroom with leveled books appropriate for their reading level. Each level can be met by reading the books and taking comprehension quizzes. Once the student has completed all of their books at one level, they can progress to a higher level, challenging themselves as they go.======

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One pro to online learning in the elementary classroom is that you can make the ordinary curriculum come alive by allowing students to use publishing programs to create stories and books. The students can be creative with their backgrounds, illustrations, and formats. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about how books are published. This integration into the curriculum adds to the programs rather than standing alone as its own entity. For the most part, online learning motivates students to learn. Students also come away feeling a very different sense of pride!======

The use of blogs and wikis in an elementary classroom could serve a couple of purposes. They can be created and accessible for families to use to keep up on communication and they can be made to coincide with particular curriculum assignments. The "new" technologies that we are using in the CT594 class will improve our ability for students to share their learning with others and receive feedback on their work. Being able to have an audience is a real motivator for kids. Wikis will allow kids to collaborate on a project. Sharing a writing project can be uncomfortable, but it apears that working together in a medium like this may become a skill that is needed more and more. Perhaps soon we will have a set of wiki sharing rules, a form of wiki ettiquette to teach our students that may make collaboration more comfortable with strangers.

The most important pro that is noticeable when using technology in the classroom is the increased engagement students display when they use technology. Computers can make even the most monotonous learning tasks more fun. Online games such as Math Magician can make even the memorization of math facts less boring. Along with flexibility to focus on the facts that each student needs to work, the site also offers students a way to measure their own progress by providing the speed and accuracy with which the student performs. Sites like Primary Games, Scholastic, Raz-Kids, Reading A-Z, Starfall, Readaquarium, Tumblebooks, Bookpals, Reading is Fundemental, and Discovery for kids are all prime examples of sites that have practice games and activities for math drills, science/social studies concepts, and/or literacy strategies. For example, these sites allow students to enhance their vocabulary and enrich their addition and subtraction skills. Another way in which technology is a useful tool in the classroom is the speed at which a teacher and school system can gather information about their students strengths and weaknesses. Many schools are using NWEAs to assess their students to quickly gather data.

Video conferencing in the elementary schools could be seen in a couple of different ways. What used to be a fun writing activty could turn into a more exciting venture with the use of Skype. For years students have been writing to pen pals across the world. In the future, students could correspond back and forth with their buddy school and eventually video chat. Another way to use video conferencing would be if students had an inquiry project and needed to contact "the experts". They could prepare questions to ask for an interview. In the Augusta School district the second graders were able to ichat with a horticulturist during their study of plants. Luckily they had an expert within the district because they are not allowed to video conference with people outside the district.

One significant con to using technology in the classroom is the cost. The infrastructure for a network is extremely expensive as are the computers, projectors, and printers. One of the difficulties in using online learning with an elementary classroom is that unless there is a computer lab with a weekly scheduled time, most classrooms do not have enough computers for every child. The cost would be outrageous! Unfortunately, the equipment we are fortunate to get wears out quickly and is outdated in a flash. One might wonder if the money spent on having the top of the line equipment at a 1 to 1 ratio might not be better spent on lowering the student teacher ratio. A common problem at the George J. Mitchell School in Waterville is the cost of paper. During computer lab every week, students make projects and are aloud to print them but towards the end of the year, students are told they can not print specific items due to budget shortfalls. One recent example of this is when the student made Mother's Day Card. The students made their cards but were not able to print them in color due to the cost.

In the Augusta school system one of the changes that needs to take place is an opening up of the network. The network is managed as though the teaching staff were children not to be trusted. So much is blocked because it might become a problem without considering that the risk might just be worth taking. Not allowing students to video conference with people outside the district really limits the possible uses of this tecnology. Another thing that needs to change is the teaching staff has to become excited about using technology again. It has been a number of years of an unreliable network so that the teaching staff is unwilling to invest the time to learn and plan lessons involving heavy computer use.

Before we can progress to more sophisticated online learning, we need to make sure everyone is all on the same page. Without the support of the superintendent, the principal, curriculum coordinators, teachers, and technology department, it would be hard to say it has and will be a complete success.