Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Wiki question
Why can't I publish/post a list of information on the wiki? I put up a list of words originated by Shakespeare and it smushed them into one paragraph. What's the deal?
Monday, November 27, 2006
The Cortland Downtown Blog: Developing, Maintaining, & Trouble Shooting a Professional Weblog
Here is the abstract for our final project:
Title: The Cortland Downtown Blog: Developing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting A Professional Weblog. On the day in which we are specified to present our project Ray and I will be able to perform in either lab; we have no preference.We will open up and travel through the Cortland Downtown website. We will be explaining the creation, process, and maintenance of the Cortland Downtown Blog. Most importantly we will discuss the possibilities that this blog could, and would have in a classroom.We have now been through the entire process of setting up and maintaining a blog which allows us to better prepare for interaction with this platform in the future. This fact will serve as another discussion facilitator throughout the presentation; we will have more knowledge as to some problems (and solutions!) that one might encounter when creating a blog.The technology we will be using basically speaks for itself. We will have to have access to a projector in order to present our blog for all to see.
See you all tomorrow night...
Title: The Cortland Downtown Blog: Developing, Maintaining, and Troubleshooting A Professional Weblog. On the day in which we are specified to present our project Ray and I will be able to perform in either lab; we have no preference.We will open up and travel through the Cortland Downtown website. We will be explaining the creation, process, and maintenance of the Cortland Downtown Blog. Most importantly we will discuss the possibilities that this blog could, and would have in a classroom.We have now been through the entire process of setting up and maintaining a blog which allows us to better prepare for interaction with this platform in the future. This fact will serve as another discussion facilitator throughout the presentation; we will have more knowledge as to some problems (and solutions!) that one might encounter when creating a blog.The technology we will be using basically speaks for itself. We will have to have access to a projector in order to present our blog for all to see.
See you all tomorrow night...
The Future is Now
This is what I read this weekend. I don't know if you'll be able to read it without logging in to The Ledger's website. But the article talks about a fifth grade class in Miami, FL that has gone paperless. The teacher, Judy Herrell has been implementing things like PowerPoint presentations and using websites instead of textbooks since 1999 when the school received a grant. The students love it, of course.
"Instead of writing with a paper and pencil and your hand getting tired, we can do it on a computer," said Robert Toledo, 10, as he reads a site about Abraham Lincoln. "It's faster and better."
This concept was so popular that Herrell's class was split up into two groups, morning and afternoon to give more access to the students. I can only dream of a classroom like this. Well maybe not only dream. I do dream about this but worry about achieving it. I know I could do it but it's school districts that need the encouraging. Herrell said she spends at least 10 hours a week looking for appropriate websites for her class. She also said that without an education her students will never have a chance at the American Dream. She couldn't be doing anything more right to get her students ready for the real world. Granted they are only 10 years old right now but she's preparing them for the rest of their schooling career and college.
My good friend Robin teaches at Marathon High School. She knows the woman I requested to student teach with. She said that she will often complain that her students don't want to work today. Apparently she's techno-phobic and doesn't expect much from her students. This could work to my benefit or be a complete disaster. I hope she'd be willing to let me incorporate some technology into her classroom, especially with her seniors who don't want to work. I can't wait to meet her 7th graders. If I am definitely placed with her that is. I observed her class once before and she has a great personality that students respond to. I hope her students trust her enough to welcome me into their learning environment. I know I can't adopt a paperless classroom overnight, especially not with student teaching. But I know there are some ways I can give them the technology they need! There is another English teacher in that department that uses technology, maybe I can get some suggestoins from her. Maybe I'll be able to use Jen Gee's YA lit site. I'd love to interview the students on my first days and ask them what they like to read. I want them to know that their reading interests are important to me. Reading is not dead and I don't want to treat it that way. Will Richardson posted literacy is changing for today's kids. I think we should be rethinking what reading literacy is. Paperless classrooms are one way to help students become literate today. If Will and Judy Herrell from Miami can do it....
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
I think what struck me most about Will Richardson's visit (I know it was over a week ago now) is the explosion of social networking and how public our information and writing is and now can be. I still don't understand MySpace and Facebook but it is certainly popular. So many people I know have albums of pictures of themselves online. My question is why? Why do I care what you and your friends dressed up as for Halloween? Why do I care what people write on their blogs? What has caused this gigantic shift to go public? I want my anonymity back! Well it hasn't really gone anywhere. I don't have any online photo albums or subscribe to MySpace- I don't need to have 347 "friends." Don't get me wrong I like blogging and will definitely use it in my classroom. But I am just amazed at what the internet has become in the last 7ish years since I've been in college. I find that any time I need information about something I'll look it up on wikipedia. I still don't edit much but I find the amount of information established there to be astounding. Technology is taking over the world and (I think) I love it!
Monday, November 06, 2006
A Post of Many Colors
It's been a hectic couple of weeks, which is why I haven't blogged much. Thanks to all who wished me well on my birthday and last week when I was sick. I'd like to make this post one big update. So without further adieu...
1. Movie Assessment
I was very lucky to have worked with Jenn on this project. She is great at trouble-shooting and figuring out how to fix minor problems. Except for when it's 10p.m. the night before the movie is due and her computer kept freezing. : ) I feel as though we worked very well together. We both came up with some ideas for the movie and then decided that Alex's PEZ collection would be the easiest and most interesting topic. We shared the filming aspects as well as the creative consulting. We had so much footage it really is too bad we couldn't have made the movie longer. Well I guess we could have because others did. Maybe A PEZ-U-Mentary Part II is in our future. If there were any real problems at all they would have been with the actual editing of the footage. But we really didn't have that much trouble. We didn't figure out how to stretch the clips to edit them until about an hour before we were done. That would have helped in the earlier editing process. Windows MovieMaker has a very easy to understand tutorial. The set up is similar to Garage Band which helped us as well. I think the movie had a good story, we introduced Alex and his collection and then explained the history and future of PEZ. Again if this had been let's say the final movie project for this or any other class we could've utilized more of our footage.
2. http://indorgs.virginia.edu/mess/wp-content/05ipod_blk_front.jpgThis is my new toy. Except mine didn't come with Bono. Alex got it for me for my birthday. It's all things fabulous and I can't believe I didn't have one before now. I traveled home to Long Island this past weekend and when I got home I showed my iPod to my Dad. He watched a few minutes of the Family Guy movie. As he was watching he said, "I want one!" Now my Dad has always been pretty good with figuring out new technologies. Or at least he knew how to use/work the old standards. He was always the one I called when I was having a problem setting my VCR to tape a show. But now forget about it. He and my Mom were arguing about the computer all morning before we left. Neither of them know how to use my Mom's digital camera. And for some reason their cable provider doesn't have a DVR service. But yet my Dad wants an iPod. The video ones are like personal TV's and he is all about watching TV. At any one time all the TV's in the house could be on and he's not watching any of them. But I digress...
3. On turning 25...
Karen had asked me to blog about what it felt like to turn 25. I had actually been thinking about it before she asked. Well now that I've had some time to process it this is how I feel: like I'm finally an adult. I feel like being 25 is a BIG deal. Well it's a quarter of a century. But also when I think about being younger and hearing that certain people I knew or celebrities were 25 it sounded like an adult age. This is a very big year for me as well; I'm student teaching in the spring and getting married in July. After this summer I'm really going to be an adult with (hopefully) a real job. A real job teaching real students real fun, exciting, and enlightening things. I've been waiting to have a real job for a long time. No more working weekends! But there's also all of the responsibilities that come with being an adult with a real job. But I've wanted the grown up life for a long time. I can't wait to buy a house, decorate, garden, entertain, raise children, and grow old with Alex in it. I think the scary part is that everything I've always wanted is actually here. It's staring me in the face and I'm hesitant to stare back but I'm doing it. It is definitely time for a new chapter in my life to start. If I ever write a book about my life this would be Part III or something. Part I would be growing up, Part II would be the adolescent years. And ok maybe Part III would be college. So Part IV of my life, here I come!
4. Final Project
As far as I know Ray and I are meeting with Jed this Wednesday. I don't know who's paying the bill. Lloyd did tell us that there isn't any money for this type of thing. Go figure. Ray and I talked about asking our employers to sponsor the blog. Or if not, maybe one of the businesses downtown would be willing to do that. Tom from Mando Books might be interested epsecially because his new bar is opening up soon. I still need to sit downtown somewhere and write. Hopefully I'll get inspired from something going on down there...
5. Will Richardson's Visit
I'm very excited that Will is going to be in Cortland tomorrow. Thanks to Natalie for hosting the breakfast. It will be nice to talk with him on a small scale. Maybe I'll ask him some questions about using web tools when student teaching. If he's encountered any student teachers and their problems/concerns with wanting to use technology in the classroom. I'm also going to bring my digital camera so we can take some pictures of his presentation in the library. I might write an article and submit it to the Dragon Chronicle. It's an important topic and our paper could use some articles with substance. Also it's about time grad students get some publicity! Would anyone like to help me with this? It's not that it's a big task it just might be easier with two brains working on it.
1. Movie Assessment
I was very lucky to have worked with Jenn on this project. She is great at trouble-shooting and figuring out how to fix minor problems. Except for when it's 10p.m. the night before the movie is due and her computer kept freezing. : ) I feel as though we worked very well together. We both came up with some ideas for the movie and then decided that Alex's PEZ collection would be the easiest and most interesting topic. We shared the filming aspects as well as the creative consulting. We had so much footage it really is too bad we couldn't have made the movie longer. Well I guess we could have because others did. Maybe A PEZ-U-Mentary Part II is in our future. If there were any real problems at all they would have been with the actual editing of the footage. But we really didn't have that much trouble. We didn't figure out how to stretch the clips to edit them until about an hour before we were done. That would have helped in the earlier editing process. Windows MovieMaker has a very easy to understand tutorial. The set up is similar to Garage Band which helped us as well. I think the movie had a good story, we introduced Alex and his collection and then explained the history and future of PEZ. Again if this had been let's say the final movie project for this or any other class we could've utilized more of our footage.
2. http://indorgs.virginia.edu/mess/wp-content/05ipod_blk_front.jpgThis is my new toy. Except mine didn't come with Bono. Alex got it for me for my birthday. It's all things fabulous and I can't believe I didn't have one before now. I traveled home to Long Island this past weekend and when I got home I showed my iPod to my Dad. He watched a few minutes of the Family Guy movie. As he was watching he said, "I want one!" Now my Dad has always been pretty good with figuring out new technologies. Or at least he knew how to use/work the old standards. He was always the one I called when I was having a problem setting my VCR to tape a show. But now forget about it. He and my Mom were arguing about the computer all morning before we left. Neither of them know how to use my Mom's digital camera. And for some reason their cable provider doesn't have a DVR service. But yet my Dad wants an iPod. The video ones are like personal TV's and he is all about watching TV. At any one time all the TV's in the house could be on and he's not watching any of them. But I digress...
3. On turning 25...
Karen had asked me to blog about what it felt like to turn 25. I had actually been thinking about it before she asked. Well now that I've had some time to process it this is how I feel: like I'm finally an adult. I feel like being 25 is a BIG deal. Well it's a quarter of a century. But also when I think about being younger and hearing that certain people I knew or celebrities were 25 it sounded like an adult age. This is a very big year for me as well; I'm student teaching in the spring and getting married in July. After this summer I'm really going to be an adult with (hopefully) a real job. A real job teaching real students real fun, exciting, and enlightening things. I've been waiting to have a real job for a long time. No more working weekends! But there's also all of the responsibilities that come with being an adult with a real job. But I've wanted the grown up life for a long time. I can't wait to buy a house, decorate, garden, entertain, raise children, and grow old with Alex in it. I think the scary part is that everything I've always wanted is actually here. It's staring me in the face and I'm hesitant to stare back but I'm doing it. It is definitely time for a new chapter in my life to start. If I ever write a book about my life this would be Part III or something. Part I would be growing up, Part II would be the adolescent years. And ok maybe Part III would be college. So Part IV of my life, here I come!
4. Final Project
As far as I know Ray and I are meeting with Jed this Wednesday. I don't know who's paying the bill. Lloyd did tell us that there isn't any money for this type of thing. Go figure. Ray and I talked about asking our employers to sponsor the blog. Or if not, maybe one of the businesses downtown would be willing to do that. Tom from Mando Books might be interested epsecially because his new bar is opening up soon. I still need to sit downtown somewhere and write. Hopefully I'll get inspired from something going on down there...
5. Will Richardson's Visit
I'm very excited that Will is going to be in Cortland tomorrow. Thanks to Natalie for hosting the breakfast. It will be nice to talk with him on a small scale. Maybe I'll ask him some questions about using web tools when student teaching. If he's encountered any student teachers and their problems/concerns with wanting to use technology in the classroom. I'm also going to bring my digital camera so we can take some pictures of his presentation in the library. I might write an article and submit it to the Dragon Chronicle. It's an important topic and our paper could use some articles with substance. Also it's about time grad students get some publicity! Would anyone like to help me with this? It's not that it's a big task it just might be easier with two brains working on it.
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