The Teacher Times

Early Voter

2008-10-27T06:46:00.001-07:00

I'm still here. All alone. How to get noticed? Blogging is more interesting when it's shared, although I'm fine with the "private journal" take on blogging. Anyways, I wanted to say that I have already voted in the big presidential election, and it's a relief to do my part, and not have to weigh in any more on these ridiculous campaign speeches and false debates. I pray that our new leader will have the wisdom and competence to "preside" wisely and the moral strength to make difficult decisions with compassion. I also pray for his safety.

And you? Have you made up your mind about whom you will vote for? Have you "early"-voted? Using the voting machine is pretty easy (but not as simple as the old pencil & paper ballot!), yet the technology seems somewhat magical; I know my vote counts--I just hope it gets counted!

Obama or McCain or...???...

2008-10-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

The big election is less than a month away! Are you registered to vote? Who will you pick? Who will be our next president? It's pretty exciting!

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of us have bigger fish to fry, but with progress reports due and Hurricanus Interruptus, I wonder if a training or an upgrade or whatever on how to do progress reports/report cards/etc. remotely (from home or from a Red Cross shelter) is anywhere in our near future. I mean, isn't that one of the big reasons why the district issued us all laptops in the first place? Hurricane or not, the show must go on; the education/future of our children is at stake...

SBISD Lesson Plan, anyone?

2008-08-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or is this district-mandated lesson plan format clunky and awkward? If we teachers were to present a document in this style to our students, wouldn't they rebel? After all these years of "research", haven't we all learned by now to "keep it simple"??? 4 columns, from left to right: days of the week, objectives, activities/procedures, homework/assignments. Done. Alas, this is another one of those mandates that tries to re-invent the wheel, and worse, tries mold all of us into the one same robotic teacher. Or is there another practical purpose to this that I'm just not seeing?

Still Here

2008-08-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Check out my updated Avatar; still couldn't get the hairstyle I wanted, but that's just like Real Life, isn't it?!

Check out, too, my updated Library. You'll see my faves there!

I'm still here, playing, now that I have a little free time w/o deadlines, and can concentrate on one or two things at a time...

Just so you know, it's a rainy day...

Thing #23 Last Thing: Summary

2008-07-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

1. My favorite discoveries/exercises included The Blog, all the Google tools (notebook, docs), wikis, and the Blinkx search for videos. I already have wonderful--the best!--friends & family who exist in my real world, so the social/community/networking building activities weren't too appealing to me, not to mention how difficult they were to understand and complete.

2. I have never been one to shy away from innovations to my teaching if I think they will help. This experience has opened a whole new awareness of innovations out there which I'm eager to try out in the classroom. As a life-long learner, I suppose that when I'm old and decrepid and all my real friends-and-family have passed on, maybe I'll remember...ah, the Internet...as a source of companionship.

3. The one unexpected outcome that surprised me the most was my experience with Blinkx. I was trying my best to follow the Captains' instructions with no luck, and when I used Blinkx--poof! It was like magic to get my chosen videos to appear in my Blog! Also, there were some fun surprises in my blog searches.

4. To improve this program, you definitely need to cut back on the number of "Things" to complete. I would've like to have been more skilled in some of the seemingly requisite "Things" before falling flat on my face on the more complicated ones. Some sort of "Geek" service, phone help-line would be helpful. More step-by-step instructions are needed, or have different levels for us to register (novice, beginner, intermediate, advanced). Provide follow-up "courses" in various areas so that I could have more opportunities to practice--and ultimately master--my newfound skills, because I'll need a certain level of self-confidence before I attempt to implement them in the classroom. I would be interested in follow-up sessions, for example, called "Be a Better Blogger" and "Blogging in the Classroom". Or similar ones on Podcasting, at which I failed miserably on this Library2Play program.

Before I leave #4 here, I would like to request that consideration be given to granting us some roll-over hours beyond the 18 that could be applied to next year's Prof Dev requirements, as I am not the only one who spent WELL MORE than 18 hours on this project. Thank you.

5. I would choose to participate in another discovery program like this ONLY if it were smaller in scope, maybe focusing on just one or two tools. The hours to be granted would have to be MUCH MORE FAIR & REALISTIC!

6. The one word that comes to mind: FRUSTRATION. This whole thing brought out the worst in me. This honesty probably wouldn't do much to promote this project.

7. Check out my comments on, and the insightful postings of, the following blogs: Belle of Books, Eager Reader, It's Greek to Me, Never too Old to Learn, Paddywack, Reluctant Blogger, and Writing from the Woods.

I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, and now it's back to LIFE in the REAL WORLD!

Thing #22 Nings

2008-07-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

I explored all 3 Nings mentioned. The librarians' Nings were interesting, but for me, a non-librarian, the classroom teacher Ning appeared the most useful. I was able to type in a word in the search box to find a limited supply of lesson plans in my field. I also found a lot of plans from other fields that could be adapted to my field. In any case, Nings are a source of inspiration. In a classroom situation, a Ning could be used as a way for students to share their evaluations of various topics, such as literary criticism.

Thing #21 Podcasts

2008-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here's my attempt at delivering a Podcast or Vidcast...

Well, it's not working. I have to say, with my usual degree of frustration, you guys have once again left out something. Actually, it seems like you've left out A LOT, especially for us techno-newbies. I regret that you don't have more step-by-step instructions for doing this "Thing". Nope, you really don't have ANY, you're just hoping, as I was, that if I click on your highlighted words I'll know what to do. How lonely I feel when I see the pages of Audacity and Photostory and they fail to indicate to me how to do what you want me to do. I played around with them, but with all this registering and downloading, I really had no idea what I was doing or supposed to be doing. I even looked at other Bloggers' examples, and tried to replicate their methods, such as "Animoto", and am still left dazed and confused. Sorry, guys. What a shame 'cuz I think this probably would have some value in the classroom.

Thing #20 YouTube, TeacherTube, Blinkx

2008-07-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, evidently this was a lot easier to use than I expected! So easy, in fact, that, as you can see, I did it twice! Well, actually, these are 2 different videos that I found after clicking on Blinkx and typing "Marie-Antoinette" in the searchbox. I thought I was just experimenting, looking for the magic icon for "copying the code" and "pasting it into" this blog, but lo! and behold! they went off by themselves and made themselves at home in my blog. Just click on them and hold on to your head!!!

Blinkx Video: Marie Antoinette

2008-07-28T14:07:00.001-07:00

Blinkx Video: Marie Antoinette

Posted using ShareThis

Blinkx Video: EXPOSITION: Toutes les facettes de Marie-Antoinette au Grand Palais

2008-07-28T14:01:00.003-07:00

Blinkx Video: EXPOSITION: Toutes les facettes de Marie-Antoinette au Grand Palais

Posted using ShareThis

Thing #19 Web 2.0 Awards

2008-07-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

It was easy to find a sight right away: mangolanguages.com. What makes this special is that you can teach yourself a new language. For a library, this is invaluable in the case of a school that does not offer a particular language in a classroom setting; a student can independently use this resource to teach himself. In addition, students can reinforce their classroom learning through independent practice at mangolanguages.com. Lessons include conversational practice with native speakers. One of their useful tools is an online translator, although it's a bit unreliable with some awkward translations at times.

Thing #18 Google Docs

2008-07-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I chose to explore Google Docs because, so far, Google has been very user-friendly. I see a lot of advantages to this service, both professionally and personally. Eventually, it would be awesome for classroom teachers to use it to manage gradebooks and other data, so that we could work from home, or from any computer in the world. This means less stress as deadlines approach! Personally, my family has always been big on "Christmas Lists"; a shared List with sizes, color preferences, and other wishes would make holiday shopping a breeze and eliminate duplicates!

The advantages include: it's free!, nothing to download, can use any computer--even one at the Public Library, templates are available or you can customize, can transfer docs to your blog, can create an online resume for all the world to consider! The online storage is really convenient because you don't have to worry about power outages slowing you down. The disadvantages include: nothing is private, and with all the sharing/changing comes an increased risk of hacking.

Thing #17 Rollyo

2008-07-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

http://rollyo.com/rubyred/rubyreds_faves/

That's the link (I hope) to my very own Rollyo customized searchbox, which I plan to share with my students. I would think that would be very exciting to them!

I see that the name "rubyred" (my nom de plume) appears twice as the name of my searchbox (I was hoping to call it simply "RubyRed's faves"). That's probably a goof which I know neither how it happened nor how to correct it. Remember my motto, "It's always something."

Thing #16 Wikis

2008-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Wikis seem very useful to the classroom teacher. I plan to "steal" the ideas of the classroom blog (from the English 10 wiki) and of the classroom wiki (from the AP History wiki). I'd like to ask someone out there to please share the pro's & con's of a classroom wiki vs. a classroom Google notebook? Thanks!

Thing #15 Web 2.0 Library 2.0

2008-07-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

I found a lot of hope in the idea of a library as a place of training, where I could go to learn how to navigate efficiently through the World Wide Web. Traditionally, I've gone into a library, and searched the card catalog, then the computer catalog, then asked the librarian personally for help--this last my favorite, for librarians are a cheerfully helpful breed! But beyond the bookshelves, I'll need greater help, and librarians have an incredible opportunity here to teach the rest of us how to be life-long learners.

Thing #14 Technorati & Tags

2008-07-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

This'll be short & sweet: I just didn't "get" any of this! Sorry, guys, but I am trying. Maybe after Thing #23, I'll miraculously have the time to revisit this and try the "optional" activities.

If only I were a librarian...or young....

Thing #13 Tags & delicious.com

2008-07-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

It's always something. Always. For someone like me, a techno-resistor, y'all are having a hard time convincing me that ANY of these "Things" are worth the trouble. Today, the tutorial was extra long as it paused during EVERY single sentence to "load". This all is trying my patience, as I'm giving y'all well more than the 18 hours y'all are giving me.

Now, after having viewed the 2nd tutorial, I'm even more frustrated: seriously, am I expected to actually be able to SEE this tiny podcast? If I presented something like this in my classroom, no students could be expected to benefit! This is INEXCUSABLE, especially from an "educator"!

Having said this, I can nonetheless see the potential of this tool for research assistance. Using del.icio.us seemed easy and efficient: I was able to hit directly on sites useful to me both professionally and personally. Teachers can encourage their students to share websites on a common theme discovered through research that could ultimately lead to lively in-class discussions!

Thing #12 Commenting

2008-07-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Although this has been one of the most interesting "Things", once again, to do it right, is way too time-consuming. Anyways here go my responses to all you've asked of us.
1) The most important points I gleaned from all the reading about leaving comments are "criticize kindly/be polite/don't be condescending", "contribute--add value to the discussion", "ask open-ended questions", and "interact with comments left".
2) It was easy to leave comments at 5 Learn2Play blogs; the hardest part was choosing which ones (for me, it was somewhat random). I chose: "Vive le Francais", "A Teacher's Garden", "23 THINGS YS", "BJ's Bubbles", and "If I must..." I was surprised to see I wasn't the only negative player who felt behind in all this!
3) I used Google Blog Search to find blogs to comment on. I was interested in old movies, and found one I really liked, "coolmompicks" because I could relate to her first line about having a dad with a passion for old movies. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to leave comments! Then, at "Garden of Entropy", I was able to comment on a fun entry about "Why I like Old Movies." While searching for a blog about my favorite movie in particular, I found "Below the Crowd", but after typing my comment, it disappeared after a "submission error": I deliberately left off my email address on account of the author's scary disclaimer. Finally, at "Photos-in-Paris.com" or "Life in Paris", I discovered an interesting post about my favorite movie, at a blog site connected to my other passion, Paris! That was like a double prize! I was able to leave a comment, but it was labeled thus: "Your comment is awaiting moderation", which I didn't understand. But the movie/Paris thing was a connection I hadn't counted on, and proves that there all kinds of fun surprises along the big Blog Boulevard!

Thing #11 Library Thing

2008-07-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Who among us doesn't like to talk books? I really enjoyed this "Thing" and look forward to exploring it further. It would be useful in finding other teachers who teach what I teach and creating a book club to keep up with my subject area, to discuss pedagogical points, and to clarify ideas expressed in various works. There seem to be many groups out there who share my interests.

Thing #10 2nd Attempt at Picture

2008-07-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Thing #10 Image Generators

2008-07-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

I used ComicStripGenerator.com for this. Once again, the process of including this image on my blog was very difficult. You guys assume too much. I've definitely put more than 18 hours' worth of professional development into this. AND I'M NOT EVEN HALF-WAY THROUGH THIS!

Anyways, if I miraculously remember how to do this, and get better at it, this could be a fun and motivating way to get students to develop language skills, especially in foreign language.

Oh, I just lost the picture! AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!! Let me try again:

Thing #9 Useful Blogs & Feeds

2008-07-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, here is where it gets really incomprehensible to me, like it's all in another language. Maybe it would help if I were a librarian. I explored all the tools mentioned. The easiest was Google Blogsearch. The most confusing was Syndic8. I thought Edublogs award winners were the most useful, with lots of educology by wise people. As far as unusual feeds, well, they all seem unusual to me, such as topix.net with layers upon layers to choose from. I felt like Bloglines seemed to have the closest things that I was looking for when typing in a search tag. It also provided built-in communities (a "group" blog), one in particular I might be interested enough to join.

Thing #8 RSS

2008-07-10T17:22:00.000-07:00

1) What I like about RSS is that it's a way to group my favorite blogs together.
2) This technology could be useful if students needed a fast way to do research, all in one place.
3) Libraries can use this technology to guide students to themes for research.

I have tried to make a few of the articles "public."

Thing #7 Googling

2008-07-04T20:57:00.000-07:00

After exploring all the Google tools, I set up a calendar, and a notebook, and by accident I may have also set up an iGoogle page (I'll check back with it later). Now you want me to make these public...but I'm a very private person, so I'll have to think about that. I can't imagine that anyone other than my friends and family would want to "invade" my calendar anyways! As a classroom resource, sure, lesson plans & important due dates could be made available to students & parents. Students could also use the calendar to "track" historical timelines or plot points in literature. I thought the notebook could be an invaluable reference resource for students to share as we all collect images and research on a variety of curricular topics, and express our comments as we go. But then I got all paranoid when I read the copyright warnings, and once again, I end up feeling like I don't know what I'm doing.

P.S. Google doesn't make it very clear as to how exactly to make these public.

Thing #6 Fun Stuff

2008-07-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Today I felt successful upon creating a mosaic of Flickr images, a trading card, and a "movie poster". Classroom applications of these creations might include...
1) mosaic: bingo, identifying famous monuments
2) trading card: foreign language vocabulary building
3) movie poster: "If there were a movie version of the story [concept] we've been reading
[studying], what would the movie poster look like?"
All the fun stuff from the Big Huge Labs has lots of potential for reinforcing/enhancing curriculum, like the movie poster, and the magazine cover and billboard tools as well. The captioner would be useful, too, such as in integrating language with visual to create stories or presentations. One more exciting discovery I made, as a foreign language teacher, was the "Trip Planner" tool--the ultimate travel agent/scrapbook combo!

Thing #5: "Flickr"

2008-06-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I did my best. I hope you're not expecting to see a photo here cuz I don't know how to get it here. There always seems to be that one step missing, assumptions made that we all know what we're doing by now, now that it's the 21st century. But it sure would be helpful to provide "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Step-by-Step Instructions for _____". I explored Flickr, found a picture that was an intriguing version of a concept I teach, and was able to save it to my hard drive in "My Pictures". This was very time-consuming, and took me away from valuable family time. I'm told I should be embracing this technology, but the frustration I'm feeling brings out the worst in me. Was I supposed to open an account with Flickr? Will someone tell me exactly how useful Flickr would be in a classroom situation (high school)?

Thing #3 The Avatar

2008-06-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Sheesh! What foolishness! So far, I just don't get this. I sure hope "all will be revealed" in the end. AND--my avatar on this blog looks different than the one I created! She's supposed to have long hair! I can't wait to get off this computer and join the real world and do fun real things!

Thing #2 Lifelong Learning

2008-06-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

The hardest habit for me is "use technology to your advantage". I may be a bit of a techno-phobe, but really I consider myself techno-resistant. It's all so complicated and time-consuming.

The easiest habit for me is #1/2: "Play!" This is how I'd rather spend my time.

2008-06-06T14:32:00.000-07:00