I FEEL GOOD!

Today I have submitted my last assignment. I can honestly say that I do feel so good about being done. In my first two years of teaching, I lost both of my parents unexpectedly. My brother in law was terminal, had a double transplant and is still with us, but not well. This is also the fourth course I have completed in one year.

I hope to continue blogging and using my newfound knowledge. I enjoy creating and having fun. So will my students.

Life has certainly changed. There hasn't been a whole lot of smiles lately but for today, I feel good.

James Brown will take us out. Sing it James...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzlpTRNIAvc

PowerPoint troubleshooting

I had a frustrating time even submitting my PowerPoint presentation due to the dial-up nightmare that I am living. I went to my girlfriend Jodi's just to upload it. At home, the presentation was timed perfectly with smooth transitions and appropriate sounds. At Jodi's, the presentation was off with sounds missing. Frustrating. I had only one choice; submit and hope it worked for Peter my instructor. Beggers can't be choosers so they say. I would have loved to do more with it with music and more specific examples actual projects.
The beauty is that it is not difficult and I will make a genuine effort to use it for my FSL students regularly. I do plan on using Smart Notebook so I will have to familiarize myself with it more. The students will enjoy interactive activities. And so will I.

As for my presentation, I would love to submit it here but there is no way I could without:
1. Poking myself in the eyeballs with chopsticks
2. Expiring from lack of movement
3. Missing the end of the course by the time it is actually submitted.

Downloading and toying with it further would cause me to stress beyond words today. One assignment down, one to go. Of course, I could always go to Jodi's again. But then again, I need to bite the bullet and get to work.

Digital standoff

Ok, my youngest, Cameron (age 11 and yes, the one that won't read without complaint), and I have had round 5 I think fighting for computer time. I won; of course, I will always win. I think I might have also had a teachable moment with him about the old saying, 'If you cannot beat 'em, join 'em. ' As I am creating my PowerPoint and making sound effects and inserting sounds and animations, he has become increasingly interested in what I am doing. He has previewed my presentation, made faces and gave gentle criticisms. Then, out of nowhere some time after, he commented on how he liked the last part and then took interest in making more sounds.

I think this is a surefire way to engage a reluctant reader and a student with little interest in subjects that do not use technology. As my research has proven, technology such as digital audio and imagery can be used across the curriculum.

Among his numerous complaints, my computer and digital camera were filled with Kindergarten pictures. It was a natural decision for me to do a presentation on digital media in the Kindergarten classroom. I certainly had hundreds of pictures to choose from. Then I began my clip art and sound searches. It is amazing how time gets away from you when setting up transitions, animations, timing and sounds.

I have been at this for hours now but I am going to have to yield the computer over at some point. This fight is exhausting. I am ready to surrender. For now. Cam and I will resume our struggle another time. What happened to sleepovers anyway??

O, What a Tangled Web We Weave

Today I am learning quickly that it is nearly impossible to backtrack your research findings on the Internet. I am trying to follow my broken links from my Library Internet usage. For some reason, the links are not valid or need to be opened in new windows. I will have to repair those links. Using DSL was great but now, I have not been able to locate some of my research. I will continue. Each page just leads to more and more possiblities. If I keep searching, I may not begin writing. It is easy to spend a lot of time doing this and accomplishing very little.

Digital photography in the classroom

I am at the Public Library using DSL and am in heaven! If only I could access information this quick. I downloaded Alexis' France PPT in 3 minutes. I gave up at home after 2 hours.

www.misterteacher.com/digitalphotography/creatingwithdigitalphotos.html Cool projects with digital images-cross-curricular ideas

avin.org/digphoto/ Digital images in the classroom. Features assessment, early childhood, one computer management strategies

www.pics4learning.com/lessonplans.php A complete listing of lesson plans in a variety of subject areas

www.techintegration.cciu.org/DigitalImages/index.html#Integrations Digital Image and Audio Resources. A listing of KidPix, Apple and other practical uses for digital images including portfolios.

Bloom off the rose of social networking?

In today's paper (The Windsor Star www.windsorstar.com 'No Time for Facebook'), there was an article about a Facebook revolt where people are getting fed up with spending so much time on Facebook that they don't have the time to do anything of interest to write about. It talks about the lack of interest in social networking sites. People are logging off and are actually going back to the old fashioned face-to-face conversation.

Perhaps this is another example of what is old is new again. Facebook has definitely been in the news as of late as people are starting to figure out that information stored on their accounts is never actually deleted or private. People have to be cautious about what they share as the information just might come back to hurt them one day. I know that I had to delete my Facebook account (suggested by the GECDSB) so that I cannot be associated with inappropriate behaviour such as drinking or drugs. You never know what my 23 and 21-year old nephews and their friends might post. I could be tied into something by someone I don't even know. I guess this is what some Facebook people are actually discovering.

One person had his account hacked into and then was known by his explosive rants to all his friends and his 'secret' confession of homosexuality and other activities. Of course, none of it was true. But it was posted to Facebook and everyone knows what is one the Internet must be true. Don't they? Lesson learned a bit too late. For this guy, it confirmed that he was done with social networking and Facebook completely.

India Calling...

I had a late night phone call last night. Or early morning. Which ever way you say it, I immediately thought, this can't be good. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it was one of my Kindergarten students calling at at 12:30 a.m. Ava was visiting her mother, an accountant, who has been sent to India by her company. Ava called to say that she missed me and that she is writing in her journal about her trip as I asked her to. She told me all about the rain as it rains every day. She has ridden on elephants, eaten great food and has bought me one of those pretty dresses. Ava gave me her phone number so I can call her. How sweet.

Her mother apologized for calling at a bad time but Ava really wanted to speak to me. Many teachers would think this is odd. But when you teach Kindergarten, you take on a nurturing role that often rivals parents. When I think about it, I have seen her daughter more than mom for the past few months. When mom was sent to India, Ava was very tearful and clingy. I suggested we make a "Mom Journal" so that every time she feels sad or is thinking of her mom, she can draw how she feels. As we prepared for the end of the school year, I asked her to continue drawing. Now, mom tells me she is drawing nearly everyday to keep her journal as a vacation log. I often suggested this to families that were leaving for vacations throughout the year.

Through her pictures, Ava was able to communicate her feelings and express herself emotionally in a safe, appropriate manner. This makes me draw the comparisons to the visual technology assignments we are doing. Visual images, just like drawings, allow us to visually sequence/order our thoughts and make sense of what we are seeing and feeling. With very little writing (she is 5 afterall) images have the power to heal, dream, synthesize, express emotion, and a have a variety of other functions. Images empower us and help make sense of things. I will use this rather winded thought as I complete this assigment.

My Life in Pictures:

I love clipart and using images. My K students were affectionately called baby birds. Below is my representation of my baby bird, Ava, in the rain. The colour orange represents her flaming red hair.