to blog...or not to blog?

That is the question. I have wanted to start a personal blog for a long time now. I am fascinated by blogs and can easily get swept into their allure. From scrapbooking, to the latest dish on Grey's Anatomy, to parenting, to educational technology to global warming-it's so interesting to find "connections" with other people's ideas.

Alas, I have yet to find the time to dedicate to that. Not to mention, I will not only stress over the content, but the design, and I'm not sure I have the time or skills to mess with design issues. So, I will be dedicating my blog to my research into the use of one on one laptops and its impact on student learning. I am new to my district this year, although I have been a classroom teacher for 12 years. This is also my first experience in a true "middle school" setting. For the last four years, the 7th graders each have had access to a laptop for the year, and I have decided to look into how student achievement has been affected.

Literature suggests that similar programs have promoted a sense of excitement about learning, a greater interest in writing and student projects, cooperation and community, less attendance and discipline issues, and increased test scores. I am particularly interested in students not only learning to use technology, but in learning HOW to use it to learn. Does that make sense? Through my research, I hope to discover whether the same is true for my 7th graders.

Stay tuned then, for more to come about laptops and learning. Please feel free to offer any comments, insights, data, you may have on the topic.