Thursday, February 18, 2010
Attention Deficit Reader
Hello everyone, so happy to see your posts and I plan to respond to them today if I can find the time. It turns out that I have some sort of attention deficiency when it comes to reading. As you know I started "I Know This Much is True" and I love this book, but suddenly this year's book awards were announced so I read "When You Reach Me" (Newbery winner) and "Going Bovine" (Printz award winner) and "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" (Isinglass nominee). Then I needed to read "Loose Girl; a memoir of promiscuity" in time for my book group meeting in February. Now where am I? I started "Nefertiti" for March book group, picked up "Reliable Wife" for upcoming plane flight, and then yesterday I received an Advanced Readers Copy of a book written by my friend Angie Frazier. Angie lives here in NH and we met starting with a book group about 9 years ago. Since then we did Arbonne together and she quit her job at Yankee Publishing and stayed home with her daughters and began writing. I have never received an Advanced Copy and I'm thrilled and immediately started that book, "Everlasting". It was hard to set it down to blog here, but I will pick it back up and finish it soon.Here is my plan for reading the rest of this month: Everlasting, Nefertiti, Reliable Wife, I Know This Much is True and the audiobook "Red Glass". Who knows what will pop up to change all of this? We leave Sunday for Cancun and I'm hoping for some great beach time to read.
Attention Deficit Book Clubber
Hello everyone, so happy to see your posts and I plan to respond to them today if I can find the time. It turns out that I have some sort of attention deficiency when it comes to reading. As you know I started "I Know This Much is True" and I love this book, but suddenly this year's book awards were announced so I read "When You Reach Me" (Newbery winner) and "Going Bovine" (Printz award winner) and "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" (Isinglass nominee). Then I needed to read "Loose Girl; a memoir of promiscuity" in time for my book group meeting in February.
Now where am I? I started "Nefertiti" for March book group, picked up "Reliable Wife" for upcoming plane flight, and then yesterday I received an Advanced Readers Copy of a book written by my friend Angie Frazier. Angie lives here in NH and we met starting with a book group about 9 years ago. Since then we did Arbonne together and she quit her job at Yankee Publishing and stayed home with her daughters and began writing. I have never received an Advanced Copy and I'm thrilled and immediately started that book, "Everlasting". It was hard to set it down to blog here, but I will pick it back up and finish it soon.
Here is my plan for reading the rest of this month: Everlasting, Nefertiti, Reliable Wife, I Know This Much is True and the audiobook "Red Glass". Who knows what will pop up to change all of this? We leave Sunday for Cancun and I'm hoping for some great beach time to read.
Now where am I? I started "Nefertiti" for March book group, picked up "Reliable Wife" for upcoming plane flight, and then yesterday I received an Advanced Readers Copy of a book written by my friend Angie Frazier. Angie lives here in NH and we met starting with a book group about 9 years ago. Since then we did Arbonne together and she quit her job at Yankee Publishing and stayed home with her daughters and began writing. I have never received an Advanced Copy and I'm thrilled and immediately started that book, "Everlasting". It was hard to set it down to blog here, but I will pick it back up and finish it soon.
Here is my plan for reading the rest of this month: Everlasting, Nefertiti, Reliable Wife, I Know This Much is True and the audiobook "Red Glass". Who knows what will pop up to change all of this? We leave Sunday for Cancun and I'm hoping for some great beach time to read.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Week #9 - Class Reflection
Wow, this summer has flown by and so has this class. So much learned in so short a time!
I have always viewed my computers and cars the same way. I like to use them, but I don't understand how they work. If something is broken or doesn't work right when I go to use it, I'm frustrated and discouraged and I ask my husband's help in fixing the problem. Being the great guy that he is, he always helps me! I'm nervous talking to mechanics or technicians because I don't understand the terminology or problems, I just want them fixed.
Before this class, I had never put software on a computer or set up my own email account. I had never bought a computer or done anything except use the software that my husband has loaded with a shortcut icon on my desktop (I didn't even know how to create these shortcuts). I had never bookmarked or tagged anything. I'm working to rely less on my husband, who's schedule is already busy with computer related work.
I started this class by purchasing a laptop. Although I was scared, I wanted to start at the very beginning and learn as much as I could about loading software and managing the computer myself. I came into this class knowing that I didn't know a lot about Web 2.0 tools and I wanted to learn what tools were available and how I could use these tools in the Library Classes I teach to K-8 students at the Marlborough School.
Little did I know how much I had to learn and how capable I would become in just a few short weeks. Here is what I have now learned to use in this class: Wikis, Blogs, Social Bookmarking, RSS, Skype, embedding videos, YouTube Tutorials, Voki, Audacity, podcasts, tags and Wordle. I also set up my own email account with Google and learned about Google Documents. I know how to download free software and love that YouTube offers videos to help if I am confused.
The most significant advancement for me this summer has been a new-found comfort in playing around downloading new software and knowing that help is available online in the form of video tutorials. I'm no longer afraid and now I'm willing to take chances and try new things on my computer. Some of what I learned has already made my life significantly easier. For example, I love Diigo! I can now easily find sites I'm looking for from any computer and I don't get overwhelmed trying to remember all of the addresses.
I can't wait to bring to school all that I have learned. The first thing I plan to do next week in our teacher workshop days is to sit down with our technology teacher and discuss access to Web 2.0 tools in our school. I know that we have increased bandwidth coming this year and I want to know what tools are accessible, what are blocked and how do we unblock it all! if our technology teacher can't help me, I want to know who to talk to that can and I don't plan to stop until I find access to the tools we need. I am already creating lesson plans using Wordle, blogs, YouTube videos and podcasting and I want to be certain that I can carry these plans out this year!
The purpose of this course for me is to bring this information back to teachers, administration and most of all my students! I plan to start doing so next week as we head back to school on August 19th.
I have always viewed my computers and cars the same way. I like to use them, but I don't understand how they work. If something is broken or doesn't work right when I go to use it, I'm frustrated and discouraged and I ask my husband's help in fixing the problem. Being the great guy that he is, he always helps me! I'm nervous talking to mechanics or technicians because I don't understand the terminology or problems, I just want them fixed.
Before this class, I had never put software on a computer or set up my own email account. I had never bought a computer or done anything except use the software that my husband has loaded with a shortcut icon on my desktop (I didn't even know how to create these shortcuts). I had never bookmarked or tagged anything. I'm working to rely less on my husband, who's schedule is already busy with computer related work.
I started this class by purchasing a laptop. Although I was scared, I wanted to start at the very beginning and learn as much as I could about loading software and managing the computer myself. I came into this class knowing that I didn't know a lot about Web 2.0 tools and I wanted to learn what tools were available and how I could use these tools in the Library Classes I teach to K-8 students at the Marlborough School.
Little did I know how much I had to learn and how capable I would become in just a few short weeks. Here is what I have now learned to use in this class: Wikis, Blogs, Social Bookmarking, RSS, Skype, embedding videos, YouTube Tutorials, Voki, Audacity, podcasts, tags and Wordle. I also set up my own email account with Google and learned about Google Documents. I know how to download free software and love that YouTube offers videos to help if I am confused.
The most significant advancement for me this summer has been a new-found comfort in playing around downloading new software and knowing that help is available online in the form of video tutorials. I'm no longer afraid and now I'm willing to take chances and try new things on my computer. Some of what I learned has already made my life significantly easier. For example, I love Diigo! I can now easily find sites I'm looking for from any computer and I don't get overwhelmed trying to remember all of the addresses.
I can't wait to bring to school all that I have learned. The first thing I plan to do next week in our teacher workshop days is to sit down with our technology teacher and discuss access to Web 2.0 tools in our school. I know that we have increased bandwidth coming this year and I want to know what tools are accessible, what are blocked and how do we unblock it all! if our technology teacher can't help me, I want to know who to talk to that can and I don't plan to stop until I find access to the tools we need. I am already creating lesson plans using Wordle, blogs, YouTube videos and podcasting and I want to be certain that I can carry these plans out this year!
The purpose of this course for me is to bring this information back to teachers, administration and most of all my students! I plan to start doing so next week as we head back to school on August 19th.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Looking for Matt?
I have moved the video "Where the Hell is Matt" to the bottom of my blogpage. I think it is easier to find new blogs this way but I wanted to keep Matt on my blogpage.
Audible Wordle Podcast
Week #8 - Teaching in a new Networked World
For the past several weeks I've tried to be a sponge absorbing all there is to know about Web 2.0 tools. Now that I'm thoroughly soaked, it is time to wring me out. I have all of these ideas floating inside my head, now it is time for me to see which ones are supported by my school's infrastructure and policies and which I need to wait on. I say "wait on" because the knowledge I have gained from this course will help me advocate for the use of Web 2.0 tools in my school that may be currently blocked, I just need to start with our tech director and see what doors can be opened for the teachers and the students.
As tools such as wikis, blogs, video and teleconferencing become available to students, they will become connected to the world. I believe that the educators role will then shift from protecting students from the outside world to helping them become digital citizens. For educators to encourage students to connect to the outside world, we need to ask questions and create projects that will require students to look outside of the classroom walls for answers. Project based learning will become incredibly important in our new networked schools.
I am a dreamer. I like the idea of breaking down borders and world peace and I believe that this networking can help us get closer to one another. What I have learned is to dream big and start taking small steps in the direction of your dream. It may seem daunting and it may take time, but that is no reason to stop working towards it.
You don't have to see the whole staircase to take the first step. ~Martin Luther King
As tools such as wikis, blogs, video and teleconferencing become available to students, they will become connected to the world. I believe that the educators role will then shift from protecting students from the outside world to helping them become digital citizens. For educators to encourage students to connect to the outside world, we need to ask questions and create projects that will require students to look outside of the classroom walls for answers. Project based learning will become incredibly important in our new networked schools.
I am a dreamer. I like the idea of breaking down borders and world peace and I believe that this networking can help us get closer to one another. What I have learned is to dream big and start taking small steps in the direction of your dream. It may seem daunting and it may take time, but that is no reason to stop working towards it.
You don't have to see the whole staircase to take the first step. ~Martin Luther King
Week #8 - Facebook Village
My oldest daughter is 11-years-0ld and I've been thinking a lot about how I will guide her use of social networking sites when she is ready for one. What will our house rules be in regards to information that can be added. I have already discussed with my children social networking sites and what they are used for and how they can be used by others (employers, college admissions, schools, etc.).
My husband has always asked that he have our kids' passwords and access to any computer files or sites they have. This is one way we can check up on them.
I have always told my children that you wouldn't want anything on a website that might hurt their "professional" or "student" reputation. Don't put anything on that you wouldn't want your grandmother to see or read! So here is my idea. I will be sure that my children's Facebook information can be read by their friends and what better way to help them then to be their friend. I will also ask that their aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and teachers be their friends. This will help keep them connected to family.
It takes a village to raise a child, so let's create a "Facebook Village" which will help to watch out over our children and will help our children be considerate of the information they are putting out to the world. They just need guidance from responsible adults, we need to model what we are expecting of them. We can also teach our children to use this social networking to their advantage in marketing themselves positively to colleges and employers.
My husband has always asked that he have our kids' passwords and access to any computer files or sites they have. This is one way we can check up on them.
I have always told my children that you wouldn't want anything on a website that might hurt their "professional" or "student" reputation. Don't put anything on that you wouldn't want your grandmother to see or read! So here is my idea. I will be sure that my children's Facebook information can be read by their friends and what better way to help them then to be their friend. I will also ask that their aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and teachers be their friends. This will help keep them connected to family.
It takes a village to raise a child, so let's create a "Facebook Village" which will help to watch out over our children and will help our children be considerate of the information they are putting out to the world. They just need guidance from responsible adults, we need to model what we are expecting of them. We can also teach our children to use this social networking to their advantage in marketing themselves positively to colleges and employers.
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