The Old Man and The Starfish






The Old Man and The Starfish



Everyday, an old man walked the beach with a pail, picking up starfish that had been washed in by the tide, and throwing them back into the sea.



One day a young boy stopped the old man and asked, "Why do you throw the starfish back? It does not matter. They will only wash up on the shore again tomorrow."



The old man picked out a starfish out of his pail, threw it as far as he could into the sea, and replied, "It mattered to that one."

Monday, July 12, 2010

Day 6- Busy getting things accomplished!!

Well, today proved that we are livelong learners and that I should question whether it is time for me to go on an IPP. I had a technologically draining cloud hanging over me today and it reminded me of two very important things. First, is the fact that not all students catch on at the same speed and it is very frustrating to be the one that falls behind as others begin to move a head. It is sometimes easy to move a long at a particular pace assuming all are able to follow. Secondly, is the lesson quite often realized in dealing with technology...have a back up plan. Thankfully our professer did not need to be reminded of these things and was very supportive and quickly moved us onto another direction. We were sent on a task to find low tech assistive technology. This is my favorite assignment yet. After seeing the large assortment that she had already gathered, we were rearing to go. The greatest challenge was limiting ourselves to a particular number of items. As educators, I find we are so caught up into our busy routines that we never give ourselves enough time to actually go out and see what is available. Doing such an activity as a pair was also a perk because it gave you an opportunity to throw ideas back and forth. There is so much out there and we really CAN NOT use funding as an excuse. I think it would be a neat exercise for my students and I to brainstorm together of things they feel would assist them in someway. I know it would lead to some GREAT ideas.
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3 comments:

  1. Lorraine AT courseJuly 12, 2010 at 5:11 PM

    Yes Jill, as teachers we have to care about those starfish and make the effort to get them back into the water. I felt a lot like you in terms of being the "dumb kid" with the itunes assignment. Nothing went right and I took a lot of missteps and by 12:00a.m. last night I was nearly in tears. Came into class feeling much the same but the support of peers and teacher eventually put things right. It was good for me have that exerience though as I can tend to think of myself as a "smarty pants" and being taken down a peg or two is humbling. So often teachers forget that experience (if they ever had it) and put it on the kid who "didn't get it" after lots of instruction, help and support. Differentiating is not easy but it has to happen in our classrooms for all learners to reach their potential and not dry up on the beach.

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  2. Lorraine AT courseJuly 12, 2010 at 5:13 PM

    Sorry ...I meant Jocelyn and wrote Jill!

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  3. DarleneJuly 12, 2010 at 5:17 PM

    Jocelyn,
    I was thinking similarily to you today. Actually, I was thinking I need an AT device that would pause time (like in the movie Click with Adam Sandler) so that I could have time to process the info given or have more time to check into more of the good info we are getting while others stay frozen in time.
    In terms of the low tech shopping assignment, it is pretty neat to see everyday items in new AT kind of ways. Some items can even become multipurpose! It will be interesting to see everyone's ideas over the next week.
    Oh - I also loved your quote at the top of your blog.
    Darlene

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