Facebook and Twitter

I have both - Facebook, since Jenny insisted I create a page at least five years ago. I love it. I have friends and family all over the country and sometimes the world. I love hearing from them and seeing them as often as I like. I'm not a rabid Facebook follower - these days only once or twice a week. I have "friended" students for several years. I find it invaluable in some cases - the tough ones - and a definite personal link to others. We discuss English, books, movies, class, homework, and Student Council issues. We also have a page for our classroom. (We thought of this public solution to Missouri's Senate Bill that prohibited technology access by teachers to students.)
- Twitter, since I was a fellow at Ozark Writing Project Summer Invitational Institute in 2008. I have spurts of appreciating it and not appreciating it. I think I was really put off by being around two people who could not communicate with those around them for tweeting. That really bothered me! I like to tweet on my computer - not my phone - and I find it would be really time consuming if I allowed it to be. After reading the articles Cindy gave us, I am amazed at how Shelly Blake-Plock uses Twitter in the classroom. I cannot see that happening at BHS this year, but maybe I'll try to get it going next year. Can anyone think of a better way to study grammar????? WOW!!!

Shelfari, Big Huge Labs, and Jing

Happy Halloween!!
I know I'm slow, but I'm surely taking time to enjoy everything! I explored and played with all three of the sites. Shelfari is by far my favorite! I would like to add friends and really get into the discussions. It's like a book club that meets any time I want it to! It will take me many more hours before I consider myself proficient. I see myself using Shelfari on a regular basis. The other two I'm not so sure. It's close enough to Christmas for me to see the possibilities of creating something with Big Huge Labs. I have Jing's sun on my computer screen - now we'll just see how much light it sheds on my internet use :>)

PicasaWeb, Animoto, and PhotoPeach

All three of these amazing tools are completely new to me. I feel like a child. I am so proud of my new creations! I am currently moving my digital photos to PicasaWeb. With so much of our family in other states, I think this will be our new way of sharing photos.
Animoto was just fun. I can imagine students using Animoto for multigenre projects. I am anxious to continue to explore the feasibility of instructing students and allowing them access at school.
The quiz on PhotoPeach was hard for me to complete, because my mind kept wandering with the possibilities. How refreshing would it be for students to take a photo quiz? I can envision actual scenes from The Crucible as the background for multiple choice questions OR writing prompts.
Oh!! My brain hurts from all the possibilities!!

Name That Restaurant - PhotoPeach Quiz

What can I say?? We love to eat!! And I love PhotoPeach! It was so easy to create the quiz. The hardest part was downloading photos and chosing a topic-and that wasn't difficult at all!

Life Is Just Too Short . . .

Life Is Just Too Short . . . was so easy to put together. The perfect song just "fell into my lap."



Animoto!!!! What a fabulous site for creating memories - for personal use or for the classroom. How would my students react to an Animoto introduction to a unit in Literature & Film?? How appropriate is that? I'll let you know! I am in the process of collecting Student Council photos for an animated album of this year's events for our seniors. I'm sure that will be a huge hit if I can come up with the perfect song.

Retirement??

Ahhh - warm sun, palm trees, and soft breezes!! When I chose this photo to experiment with Picnik, I began to dream of what I might be doing during this season in a few years. A hammock in a tropical climate sounds like a great idea. However, as I think about the tools we're learning to use in this course, I know I'm not ready to "sit down" yet. It will take me a few more years in the classroom to reach the point where I'm ready to say, "I've given my best, and it's time to rest."

Pieces of My Heart

To get to know me, or anyone, it is important to take a peek at what is in the heart. These people are my heart and my home - Stan, our children (born to us and married to us), and our grandsons. Welcome!!

Google Reader

I've had access to Google Reader now for over a week, and I'm having trouble making it a habit.  I can't get as excited about Google Reader as I am about Diigo.  I think my problem is that it's not an automatic "go-to" yet. It is obvious to me what the benefits are.  I can see, at little more than a glance, new posts that are specifically chosen by me to fit my needs.  However, I'm having trouble transitioning from my old "hard" source habits. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point.  Remember, I will always be a learner in the world of technology.  Many of you are natives - you don't recall a time when there were no computers, cell phones, etc. ("Oh, waaa, waaa," I say to myself.)
I envision myself involved with a massive learning curve. It is exciting, and I find myself getting lost and losing hours in blissful cyberspace.  The problem is that there are so many new things, when I miss a day and come back to that blissful place, it seems foreign again. I feel I'm sliding down the back side of that learning curve at incredible speed headed for Lord knows what!! I need more practice time!!
Back to Google Reader - are you using it constantly?  Does it take the place of other internet habits for you?

Diigo

I've been "playing" with Diigo for two weeks now - I got carried away!!  I find that it makes for much more efficient use of my internet time. I have bookmarked several sites that have to do with instruction - two of which I projected on the big screen in my classroom and used directly with the students.

My seniors continue their research projects tomorrow (Friday) with further instruction in the use of Diigo :>) What a great way to save paper - there's no need to print sources when they're right there in Diigo.  My students will also be able to access the sources easily from any location, so I hope they will use more sources and look a little deeper for information.

I'll keep you updated on how it goes!