Week - #7

I have two big technology projects going on right now and they are monopolizing my thoughts and efforts, but they are both well worth the time. First, I'm managing the implementation of textbook management software. It's about time my school got on board with this. It will definitely add needed accountability for both students and teachers. I'm just getting it started, but we will not be checking books out from the library.

My other project is to provide parent access to our student management system so that they can see grades and attentdance for their children -- This has been much more complicated that we had originally thought, but eventually we will work out all the kinks.

Hopefully before school gets out, I will get wireless access set up in the library, then I can have my multimedia projector that has wireless capability mounted in the computer lab. That will save a lot of my "cords run amok" problem.

So much to do -- so little time!

Week 3 - #6

The Trading Card Maker is really cool. I made a card, and I can see lots of applications for it at school. It would be a great way to focus on character development in a novel or short story or it could be used to focus on theme, setting, symbols. Mappr is awesome too -- it could be used in ways similar to Google Earth Lit trips or virtuala field trips, etc. Social science provides lots of opportunities too. Our science students create profiles of diseases -- they could make trading cards of the diseases as well! I hope I get the chance to use them this year.

Week 3 - #5

This is the Denver Art Museum and I chose the photo at Flickr because I hope to see the museum this summer. The design looks like a Frank Gehry work, like the Music Experience Project in Seattle and the Guggenheim in Bilbao --that is, geometric and metallic. It's really fascinating when the building is as interesting as the art inside.

The number of photos available is overwhelming -- I first looked at Westies, like my dog -- thousands of photos. I use Shutterfly for my own online photos, but this program has so much more potential, not to mention the hybrid features -- blogs, groups, tags, etc.

Week 2 -- #3 continued

Ok -- so I didn't finish reading the instructions for exporting the avatar! If I had, I wouldn't have had to use the process that I did. Yikes!

Week 2 -- #3

Creating the avatar was fun -- I could play with the clothes and accessories all day. Ultimately, I chose a conservative version, but I will probably change it to match seasons etc. Exporting it where I wanted it was a challenge. First, I put it in a post -- not a good idea unless you want to see it drop to the bottom on the posts. So then I had to save it as an image to the computer, then placed it as a page element rather than pasting the HTML. Much better!

Week 2 -- #2

7 1/2 Habits

Most of the habits of lifelong learning are ones that I already practice. Many of them are easy, especially given what I do every day. So I guess the easiest is to teach and mentors others. Every day I help students and teachers use the skills I have learned. The hardest for this project will be making the time to get through the activities. Since I tend to procrastinate, it will my biggest challenge. My goal is to finish in May.