Since my first year as a teacher, I have been taking my work for a ride. At first it was essays, worksheets, plan books, grade books, novels, and more...Over the years, the bag got bigger, then smaller, then bigger again. Every school bag ended up torn by the weight of all that didn't need to be carried.
And here it is again. My work laptop comes back and forth with me. Every afternoon I have aspirations of greatness. Somehow I see myself sitting at our beautiful desk at home and working away while music drives me forward. It's an incredible vision. It's also a vision unfulfilled. Some days it's easier than others to be realistic and leave the work at work, but until the visions fade away, my work will see more miles than many people's cars!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Teacher Tube
The following is a video my librarian shared with me from Teacher Tube. It's a quickie. I think when she showed it to me, it was off of a completely different site. We had been talking about short videos like this being used to help teach the kids. I don't disagree with the message. Kids just believe they are invincible, up until they have to start paying bills. LOL!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Fast Draw on CBS Sunday Morning
I watched CBS Sunday Morning yesterday. They have a new section called 'Fast Draw' featuring two artists, Mitch Butler and Josh Landis. I went looking for yesterday's segment on YouTube today and haven't found it (yet) but did find their premier segment from the show. And it has to do (a bit) with kids and technology! I love how they incorporate audio clips into their segment...AWESOME!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Race Day
It's almost time for the Daytona 500. It's a tradition for me to start off watching the race with Stephen and fall asleep somewhere in the middle. I'll never get very excited about watching this race! The announcers are wearing puzzle pins for Autism Speaks promoting autism awareness. There is going to be an auction of wheels used during today's race. To read about it or learn more about Autism Speaks go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/index.php Okay...so there's something cool about today's race!
I finished Ysabel. I give it a solid 'B' rating. I didn't like the voice of the narrator or the way the women of the novel were all very much alike. I loved the weaving of history into the story and I liked the overall spiritual mysticism of the story. I got confused by the use of pronouns. Sometimes I would have to read and re-read paragraphs and entire pages to know which 'he' or 'she' was conducting the action. Don't get me wrong-I did really like it. But it's time for a new book!
So on to Hoot by Carl Hiassen. I read Stormy Weather this summer. It was funny, full of wit and sort of that extreme comic or caricature like feel in the entire story. It's meant to be a little shocking I think, but almost dry in delivery. Anyhow, Hoot was written for younger readers and my mom loves it. I know a teacher or two who teaches it in their classrooms with middle school students. The author's site is http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.html
And back to the races...when is the over-commercialism going to STOP!
okay, time for a nap!
I finished Ysabel. I give it a solid 'B' rating. I didn't like the voice of the narrator or the way the women of the novel were all very much alike. I loved the weaving of history into the story and I liked the overall spiritual mysticism of the story. I got confused by the use of pronouns. Sometimes I would have to read and re-read paragraphs and entire pages to know which 'he' or 'she' was conducting the action. Don't get me wrong-I did really like it. But it's time for a new book!
So on to Hoot by Carl Hiassen. I read Stormy Weather this summer. It was funny, full of wit and sort of that extreme comic or caricature like feel in the entire story. It's meant to be a little shocking I think, but almost dry in delivery. Anyhow, Hoot was written for younger readers and my mom loves it. I know a teacher or two who teaches it in their classrooms with middle school students. The author's site is http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.html
And back to the races...when is the over-commercialism going to STOP!
okay, time for a nap!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Lost Again
Time for a new episode of Lost...wondering WHAT are we watching and why are we watching it? It's like Twin Peaks all over again. The commercials are insane. Comcast should advertise its DVR service during shows like this (or Tivo for that matter). We're ready to commit!
Today at work, a teacher was complaining about the students' use of email in our course management system. They complained to somebody that they didn't know WHO was teaching them how to use it. How were they ever going to stop the students from using it in their classroom?! Oh boy...I SHOWED THEM HOW TO USE IT! I wanted to scream when I heard that story...have we ever heard of classroom management? teaching responsible use? 21st century tools? Well duh, middle school students are going to abuse an online communication tool if given the opportunity. But at what point do we admit we've lost control of what happens in our classrooms and the inmates are running the asylum?
Today at work, a teacher was complaining about the students' use of email in our course management system. They complained to somebody that they didn't know WHO was teaching them how to use it. How were they ever going to stop the students from using it in their classroom?! Oh boy...I SHOWED THEM HOW TO USE IT! I wanted to scream when I heard that story...have we ever heard of classroom management? teaching responsible use? 21st century tools? Well duh, middle school students are going to abuse an online communication tool if given the opportunity. But at what point do we admit we've lost control of what happens in our classrooms and the inmates are running the asylum?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Playlist
http://www.projectplaylist.com was one of the recent sites to go the way of blocking in our county. You can hardly blame the teachers for wanting it blocked. The kids were going to the site and searching for their favorite songs while they were supposed to be working. BUT they were also plugging in headphones and listening to their playlists and friends' playlists while they were working. I didn't stop kids from doing THAT while it wasn't blocked, though I did stop them from searching for new tracks.
The site will probably go away someday. I think that despite the fact that it is not sharing the files for download, it is linking out to sites that are violating copyright, at least as I understand copyright. I like the site and I really like putting music on my playlist. In fact, I go to my blog while I'm at work and play my playlist while I'm working. Eek! I'm like one of THEM! But I am definitely working and not goofing around. I just get it that sometimes to stay focused you need a distraction.
And if you don't like the playlist linked into this blog, please feel free to pause it! I found out about the site through a bit of fan fiction on another blog site. It had a soundtrack! I thought, "How cool is that?!" and figured that I could try to figure it out. I did! And it's easy! I don't have a myspace to link it into, but the blog will do for now.
Any recommendations for my playlist? I have learned about new artists through other people's recommendations and playlists and have bought three cds in the past month due to interest from these playlists. I don't cheat and search for free downloads. If I find something I like, I'll buy the CD or the track in iTunes. It's true. If that is true of all the users, then the music industry should like the playlist site...but chances are, the kids are finding their ways around it and not having to buy anything. I don't know! Until I do know, I will enjoy it and hope you will do the same.
The site will probably go away someday. I think that despite the fact that it is not sharing the files for download, it is linking out to sites that are violating copyright, at least as I understand copyright. I like the site and I really like putting music on my playlist. In fact, I go to my blog while I'm at work and play my playlist while I'm working. Eek! I'm like one of THEM! But I am definitely working and not goofing around. I just get it that sometimes to stay focused you need a distraction.
And if you don't like the playlist linked into this blog, please feel free to pause it! I found out about the site through a bit of fan fiction on another blog site. It had a soundtrack! I thought, "How cool is that?!" and figured that I could try to figure it out. I did! And it's easy! I don't have a myspace to link it into, but the blog will do for now.
Any recommendations for my playlist? I have learned about new artists through other people's recommendations and playlists and have bought three cds in the past month due to interest from these playlists. I don't cheat and search for free downloads. If I find something I like, I'll buy the CD or the track in iTunes. It's true. If that is true of all the users, then the music industry should like the playlist site...but chances are, the kids are finding their ways around it and not having to buy anything. I don't know! Until I do know, I will enjoy it and hope you will do the same.
Time for a new book
I'm now reading Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay. It was recommended to me by another ITRT in the county who learned about it through her librarian. Here is a link to the author's website about the book: http://www.brightweavings.com/books/ysabel.htm I haven't read far enough to really explain what it is about. I was looking for something to keep me distracted while I wait for Breaking Dawn (that's a whole lot of reading between now and August). It's like I was telling the fabulous librarian at my school, Lauren, ever since I read the Twilight series, I'm in search of a book or books that will keep me as interested and involved. I'm telling you, those books have voodoo!
The local schools are involved with the regional library system in a program called Cafe Books. The students who participate read from a preset list of books and meet over their lunch periods and/or online and have a chance to share and discuss the books with each other and librarians from the region. Why didn't they have something like that when I was in school? Here is the about page for Cafe Book if you want to see what local teens are reading and rating: http://www.teenspoint.org/schools/cafe_book/index.asp
It's hard for me to read during the week. I try to keep dinner on the table and my sanity in order before falling asleep around 10. Once I start reading, I get lost in the story and time slips away. It's not unusual for me to look at the clock and see that two hours have passed...oops! So I have to avoid it during the week. But it does help me relax at night and if I set a curfew of sorts, I get my sleep. LOL Like you care about that!
The local schools are involved with the regional library system in a program called Cafe Books. The students who participate read from a preset list of books and meet over their lunch periods and/or online and have a chance to share and discuss the books with each other and librarians from the region. Why didn't they have something like that when I was in school? Here is the about page for Cafe Book if you want to see what local teens are reading and rating: http://www.teenspoint.org/schools/cafe_book/index.asp
It's hard for me to read during the week. I try to keep dinner on the table and my sanity in order before falling asleep around 10. Once I start reading, I get lost in the story and time slips away. It's not unusual for me to look at the clock and see that two hours have passed...oops! So I have to avoid it during the week. But it does help me relax at night and if I set a curfew of sorts, I get my sleep. LOL Like you care about that!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Almost Forgot!
I almost forgot to mention the release date for Breaking Dawn-August 2, 2008! Now most of you will not CARE that the release date for the 4th book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is coming sooner rather than later, but I CARE and this is MY blog! If you do care, check out her website at http://www.stepheniemeyer.com . The books have a bit of voodoo in them, I'm quite convinced! They are delicious young adult reads. So far, my librarian's recommendation to me to read Twilight has touched seven people and they are all EXCITED about this release date. We are Twilight Teachers!
Okay, time for Lost.
Okay, time for Lost.
February Thursdays
I attended a workshop earlier this week on Differentiation and Visual Literacy with Technology Integration led by Lynell Burmark. She was excellent. I decided to add the puzzle link below. It will take you to jigzone.com, an old favorite site of mine. Lynell spoke about the need for images and the proper use of images in teaching. There was so much to it, I can hardly get into it on a February Thursday, just minutes before the start of Lost. But I enjoyed it immensely. She had me from the beginning with a discussion of making a 'Snickers' of the standards--taking all of the good stuff and making it all happen together. She related this to the standards and the technology where so many standards and the technology we wish to integrate are taught in isolation, bit by bit. But like a Snickers bar, where the chocolate and the peanuts and the caramel and the nougat would be yummy individually, aren't they so much better all together? Yum! A woman after my own heart...
Thursdays in February are generally cold. We hope for Friday afternoons as we cuddle in our comfies on the couch. We wish for the weekend with warm socks and quiet nights and good movies. We're tired and drained, but hopeful for an end to the week.
Thursdays in February are generally cold. We hope for Friday afternoons as we cuddle in our comfies on the couch. We wish for the weekend with warm socks and quiet nights and good movies. We're tired and drained, but hopeful for an end to the week.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
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