Weather and Moods

I've often wondered about the effect of changing weather on moods. Does a sunny day help one have a sunny disposition? And, conversely, does a gray day result in a sad, reflective day? How about rainy days...do they cause one to cry a lot (you know rain = tears)?

How about changing seasons...are we different in the winter just because it's cold and we have to bundle up...does that mean we're "hiding away" ourselves? Do we, in essence, hibernate in the winter by being less out-going. Does spring truly rejuvenate us? How about summer...are we better people then because we're more "sunny?" Is my melancholy mood caused by the end of summer and the cloudy days?

Just some thoughts.

First Days of School

Well, It's been a while since I've last posted a message to my blog. I could say it's because I've been too busy but in all actuality, it is because without the structure of needing to blog about the 23 Things course, I've forgotten to do it.

So, maybe a just a few thoughts about the start of school. I've been doing this "school thing" for many, MANY years. I began teaching in 1974 and, except for a three hiatus when I was re-thinking my career choice, I've been in the education business ever since. Boy oh boy, have things ever changed in those 30+ years!

I believe that this has been my hardest start ever...and I don't think it's because I'm older (I'm really not THAT old!). It seems like no one is happy about much of anything....talk about the pressure that puts on a person. You know, I am someone who really does like folks to be happy with what they are doing...but juggling the balls to make it all happen isn't exactly an easy task.

I have really done a LOT of reflection about how to be a better instructional leader and I think that choice is perhaps putting some "pressure" on some folks. I am all about trying to help teachers be better teachers and kids becoming better learners. I am depressed by our test scores and am sometimes at a loss as to what to do about them.

Anyway, there it is. I can only hope things get better!

A New Slide show

End of the Course

I have truly enjoyed this course...on of the best I've ever taken because I learned so much! It was nice to do it at my own pace and the support from Beth and Ryan (and the rest of you in the class) as excellent!

My favorite things from the class (the things I will most likely continue to use) are:

• My Pageflake...I have it as my Firefox log in page. I have many of my other "favorites" linked to my Pageflake (thanks for explaining the linking function, Beth). I also have some other helpful things posted there like my address book, local weather, news and sports links, and a calendar/to do list. It's nice to have everything in one place (it seems like I have finally organized my computer - maybe my office can be next)!
• TeacherTube is another great find. I think that along with United Streaming, there is an endless supply of helpful videos out there. I am amazed at how much is available on those two sites!
• On the fly concept mapping is another skill that I believe is a great teaching tool. I can think of many ways to use it in the classroom.

As life-long learning is not only a personal goal but also a goal we need to be instilling in our students, I believe that learning more about what is available at our finger tips is essential. I remember Beth saying that our students are not going to come g=back to us, we have to learn what they already know...at lest now I will understand what the students (and some of our more techie staff) are talking about.

I think that everyone needs to learn more about our La Conner Moodle. I think it is a great place to help develop a PLC in our school. I also believe that the sharing that has developed with some of the class members for 23-Something Things has been great. I have had assistance from many and I really appreciate it!

The biggest surprise that I have had in this course is that I really enjoyed doing it on line (in my blog, etc.). I think going at my own speed was very helpful as sometimes it took me a while to process some of the lessons.

The only thing I would do differently is maybe get together once or twice to discuss what we've learned. When I've met with folks in the class we've had great discussions about the new things we know.

Thanks Beth and Ryan for the GREAT job you've done. I truly appreciate your patience and all of the extra "tutoring" you've done. The comments by folks in my blog have been fun! I would certainly do another class if it was offered!

Google Maps

I made a Google map of the locations of my family. I often use this feature when I am traveling to give me clear driving directions. I enjoyed doing the satellite and hybrid maps. If you'd like to see where we're all located, please feel free to check out the link below (for some reason it doesn't go right to the map but you can get there by selecting my maps and then "Maps to My Family"):
http://maps.google.com/maps?tab=ml.

I also enjoyed Google Earth...don't know how much of my computer memory it took to download that appication but I have it for now. This world of technology sure is larger than one can even imagine!

ROLLYO

At first I really didn't understand what this was all about, but in the middle of the night it came to me what I supposed to do with it. So, here is a link to my ROLLYO on my main theme:
Team Building - Icebreakers: http://www.rollyo.com/editroll.html?sid=307228

And look Beth, I did it as a link!!!

I can see how teachers could use this to roll the specific sites they believe best cover a topic and save students the "pain" of the whole Google list or even perhaps limit where they go on the Web to keep them from [laces they don't belong.

Generator Blog

I really did have fun with the generators! I think I could really use the calendar generator but I got "stuck" in a series of "name generators" and would like to share a few of the favorites I got when I typed in my name:

• Indian name generator: Catherine Leatherbound Gander
• Japanese name: Peguji seeringu
• Middle Earth name: Crying Huora or Beleghiliel
• Hobbit name: Melilot Boffin from Deepwater
• Literal meaning of my name: stubborn understain
• and, my two favorites:
• My monkey name: Crackpot McChimperson
• My Orkish name: Gutdush the Horrible

So, I guess, as the saying goes, "it's all in the neame!"

My Slideshow - Enjoy!!!!

Let me know what you think of these special "kids."

Flicker

I had fun with this one because I enjoy taking pictures and never seem to do anything with them except put them on a disc! I found it really easy to upload pictures from my desktop...haven't tried to upload from anywhere else yet. I put the pictures into a group and tagged it scenery...I like that I can add location and descriptions to the photos. I liked several things in addition to the ease of this site:

• that it is an easy place to save an organized photo album
• that I can set privacy levels for my pictures to either share them or just keep them organized for myself
• I can give out "Guest Passes" to my account - so my family can see all of my pics with ease
• I REALLY had fun with the "view as slide show" maybe an easier feature than adding into a PowerPoint show?

LetterPop

That was fun! I actually created a newsletter about my pets...if you'd like to view it, I'd be happy to email it to you. I might try this for my weekly newsletters...it's really easy to upload pictures into it. Once again I'm amazed to find another thing I didn't know existed for free - free I LIKE!!!

Swivel Reflections

Swivel has me confused...the tutorial told me to look in the pantry and I found no pantry on the home page. But I did look under Aviators and Accidents - found out there is a reason I don't like landings (446 landing accidents in 2005 alone!).



I'm going to try to upload one of my graphs and see how it goes. Here's the link to the page I did...I couldn't get it to upload to my blog:
http://www.swivel.com/data_sets/show/1007865

Concept mapping

Wow - that was fun! Great tutorial Beth...I didn't quite get it until I watched your tutorial. I even did a map on the 9 Characteristics of High Performing Schools. I could get into this for staff meetings! I had a good time doing the "free hand drawing" but couldn't figure out how to get my "designs" to go away when I didn't like how they looked so I had to delete that map and start over,

I can see how this could be a GREAT teaching tool during almost any lesson. Kids could even be the ones doing it!

Google Docs

I enjoyed messing around with the Google and Zoho docs...I worked with the Zoho stuff previously. I do a lot of spreadsheets to keep data and found the Google spreadsheet okay to work with (after I figured out how it was set up). I did a spreadsheet for a loan I made to a friend....once I found the "fill" commands" I was satisfied with how it worked.
You'll have to take my word for it as I can't figure out how to open it to share with others (but it worked just like an excel spreadsheet in office).

I can see how the on-line docs would save a LOT of space on our hard drives and make it easier to keep up with all the changes - i.e., I wouldn't have to bug Charles to update my Microsoft office stuff : ) As with anything new, I would take a while to teach this old dog new tricks but I'd sure be willing to try as long as everything saved as easily and I could get to it as easily as I do now.

Teamwork Video

Thanks to Kerry, here's the video I like so much - I also found the same video in Yahoo videos, Google videos, and YouTube...must be a good one!

Teacher Tube is Great!

I "explored" both TeacherTube and YouTube for videos on teamwork. I viewed the moon landing...but, I watched it "live" as it happened...I think I was a sophomore (junior?) in HS when it happened...yes, I AM that old!
I loved one I found on TeacherTube: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ddb7a7cfa82574b6722d.
I hope you'll check it out (but elementary teachers will likely see it during our opening staff meeting). I wish I could actually add it to my blog like I've seen others do but I need further "tutoring" for that...maybe someone could call me and talk me through it or email the steps I need to take.

I also looked for videos on teamwork (as you can see, that is my theme for what I'm working on this summer) in United Streaming. I found both TeacherTube and YouTube to have a better selection and they seemed to be better done as well. I guess I wonder if the $$ we spend on United Streaming is worth it when the others are free....maybe worth exploring further.

Thoughts About United Streaming

I already have an account for United Streaming - but of course I had forgotten my password : (
I have done observations while teachers used United Streaming clips for parts of the lesson - some more successful than others.

Today I researched clips to use for our monthly character themes and clips to use for team building. I found that there were several clips for most of the character themes (respect, responsibility, cooperation, acceptance) that could be used for any K-5 grade level. They even had teacher guides and quizzes for them!

I thought the clips for team building were a bit "dorky" but that could just be me. I will look some more to perhaps find one to use at our welcome back staff meeting just to show that I can do some of this : )

I tried the "Assignment Builder" to save videos for character themes. But, after I got the first step done (the administration page) I tried to get to the next step and it kept telling me that I had to save my page...which I kept trying to do. I started over twice thinking I had done it wrong and got hung up in the same place. I finally just got frustrated and gave it up.

I DO believe United Streaming can be an effective supplement that has a high probability of improving learning because:

• students like to watch videos - tv, videos, game boys, etc. are their generation!
  
• the videos are short and to the point (which fits the "requirements" of our movie sheets
  
• they are 'teacher friendly and easy to use
• they have teacher resources such as curriculum guides and quizzes available
  

I hope to see more use of this tool as I do walk-throughs this year!

From the LCSD Library Assignment

Did you know that our library page was so well organized? Beth's TeacherTube explanations of the library catalog, online resources, and reviews was excellent! I even found a book on softball (only one though...come on Liberians, how come we only have one?). I enjoyed the link of "Stately Knowledge" for the 5th grade state reports...I sure hope the students are using this resource as it has much of the info they need all in one place with numerous links to other resources.

I actually did a short review of the latest Harry Potter book (yes, I'm a fan) even though I don't know if it is in our library. I didn't know how to "sign" my review...hope that's okay Beth.

Reflections on being 1/2 Way Through

I have taken a week off to go to Montana (had a great time: went white-water rafting, hiking, kayaking, and enjoyed sight-seeing and picnics in Glacier National Park....along the way I managed to get tanned - burned?- and didn't even gain any weight!!!).

Today I tried to add work on the Moodle assignment...still have some to go on that. I think I understand what I'm supposed to do (thanks for the extra help, Beth!). I also did the next assignment by looking at the Zoho Work Online (zoho.com). It is an online organizer (planner) on which you can do lists, set it up for email reminders of tasks, add notes to tasks to better remember what it is you need to do. The Zoho site also allows you to do online notebooks, chats, Wiki, and mail. I think that while this would be a good sight for someone who needs this organization assistance but I think that I have other tools to do the same jobs (I have my Pageflakes page set up for the tasks and email reminders and of course we've learned about Wiki, etc.) I also can't see how it would be any more helpful than my Palm Pilot and a lot less portable.

As far as being at the half-way point of the class, I have to say that I really had no idea that there were so many useful things available at my fingertips! I have really enjoyed doing this blog and reading the blogs of the rest of the classmates. The Moodle sure seems like a useful teaching tool...maybe even for an old principal to use (check out my entries on team-building) . I would love to see some classes do Wiki pages (maybe during their computer time?). Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what lies ahead in the 23-things and getting together to chat with some of you.

My Moodle Thoughts

As I began to work through the sandbox on the Moodle page I began to see understand why Beth uses this so much in her computer classes. There must be endless classroom uses for the various parts - "storage" of resources and information but also the ability to do tests. I was intrigued by the use of the "forums" (nice to see a curriculum question posted as well as a response by another staff member).

I was able to post a download into the Moodle - Life on a Train. This is one of my favorites (sent to me by LK) - I think it speaks volumes to all of us as we go through life. Speaking of which, I hope you like the pics I've added to my blog. Of course to great dog is Tika - they call the dog "man's best friend" but she certainly could be called "woman's best friend" - she has come to my "defense" more than once while I was walking on the trails at Paden....one can truly feel the love she has for her "mom!" The picture of my mom and me was taken at my family home in MN last summer. The "Memories of my Dad" is a photo taken of a display of his military career my niece did for his memorial sevice. If I haven't shared my dad's book with you, you might enjoy reading it sometime...it really helped me to understand my dad.

Anyway, HUGE thanks to Beth for being such a great teacher for this class. She has been VERY helpful as I have had many, many questions. If I could use this as an evaluation, she'd get a glowing write-up!

Wiki comments

I have spent the morning through the Wiki stuff on the assignment sheet. I really enjoyed two of the categories the best:
- Wikibooks (where I was brave enough to edit a recipe for hamburgers) - I didn't know how to add the page to this.
- Wikiversity - there is so much free material available to folks that I, like I'm sure many people, was not aware of.

I can see that this would be a great place for classes to do writing (a nice WICR and/or AVID exercise). I am not sure how long it would take to set up a Wiki page or if elementary students could maintain it without too much teacher time - I will be showing this to the staff (or maybe Beth could do that?).

I'm still confused about delicious...maybe need some ono-on-one tutoring. Are we going to have an end-of-session BBQ? I'd love to prepare the hamburger recipe I edited.

FYI: I will be hosting my mom for two weeks (one of which will be in Montana at a family reunion...may get behind on my claswork but I look forward to forging on when I get back.

Delicious and Wiki Report

Today I worked through the delicious and Wiki stuff. I have to say that the delicious was a bit mind boggling for me but I did manage to set up one bundle (Staff meetings) with one tag - facilitation. Found some good articles in there! I intend to use this for many things as the summer (and year) goes on.

I found the Wiki fascinating! I especially enjoyed the following Wiki:
- Book Lovers Wiki because I found some new summer reading materials in the mystery list
- Library Success Wiki because I found an article on Successful Collaboration
But I especially enjoyed the Room 15 Wiki! There was some amazing stuff on there from a 6th grade class. I bookmarked a Super Kids site that looked great!

I will do the assignment another day but I hope everyone spends some time with the Wiki sites!

At school things are "cool"

Just so you know, things at school are pretty quiet! We will be looking at the files of those that have applied for the HS job and doing interviews soon...I hope all of you HS folks will be involved in that process. I see a couple of interesting candidates.

I have been enjoying reading all of the blogs from my "classmates!" I see that I am not the only one that is learning a LOT of new things in this class. Hopefully we can all use our PageFlakes, blog, etc. as we enter into yet another year at LCSD.

My First Blog

Just a sample of who I am:
- I have four dogs:

• Tika - a yellow lab
• Darwin - a Westie
• Buddy - a Bichon
• Abbie - a Australian Shepard
  

- just for fun I also have 2 cats, 2 gerbils, a guinea pig, and a fish.

As you can guess, I am a real pet lover!