NJCU -Ursula's ED. TECH BLOG

I found a new wikki, started by Scott McNealy of Sun Mcrosystems, it's called curriki.org. I've been trying to check it out, but my system has been slow the past couple of days.

In researching the AUP's I came across some good articles @ Education World. www.educationworld.com There are good links here as well.

One link is to www.blogsafe.com a safe site for children and teens.

I went to another mediatech tip talk last night...
It was 25 little known tips and tricks in WORD. The sessions go very quickly, but we get to take a cheat sheet home with us. I am just a casual WORD user, so unless I use these repeatedly, I would forget the tips. Even if I remember jsut one or two from the class, it's worth it. I always have the sheets to refer back.

I took a tip and tried 'slideshare", thanks to Dr. Z. How does she keep up with all this new information... it's all consuming!
I uploaded my powerpoint, but slideshare doesn't accept the videos, so I deleted them from the powerpoint. Slideshare is not perfect, it doesn't accept transisitons from your slides, but it's another way to share information... I'm happy that my blog is able to accept both, and you're able to view them. This project has been a lot of hard work, but I am richer for it.

You will find two video clips for my NJCU Digital Story Project
One video was created using MS MovieMaker, and the other used still video images with the MS photostory3 software.

I had difficulty posting it to my website on freewebs.com.
I also tried photobucket, with no luck there either. Photobucket said it supported the moviemaker format, but still, I could not upload.

I was able to get this to post, using a trial subscription of mydeo.com
Yeah!

As a teacher in two school districts, using e-mail has made Cx much easier for me.
Last year, at one school, email was not used consistently. This made it difficult to keep up to date with events & meet deadlines. Now I can keep track of what is happening, and become more informed. This year, with a new website, new email system, and new administration, I am more abreast of the day-to-day goings on of the school.

Very disappointing news.... Mediatech may close due to lack of funding.

I've attended 3 tech tip talks @ Mediatech given by Bob Flisser. They were very informative, and helped me to use Word, and excel more effectively. Although the talks are free, and Bob & Wendy donate their time, I am going to give a donation in the hopes that the center can remain open. If you are near the Flemington area, drop by, attend the 1 hour talks, & use the equipment.

I am coooking now! I just received by new laptop!!! Now I am waitng for my projector. I can't wait to be able to project images on the big screen for my students.
This will be a big timesaver for me. No more lugging a big portfolio of faded prints, or small images from my personal library of books. Big, clear images so my students can actually see what I'm talking about. ... that's just for starters, I have big plans for me & my laptop!

I managed to sift through the magazines, and I pulled out the current issue, November 2006 of NEAtoday. There were a few articles of interest to me, and relevant to our course.

The topic of this month's "Spotlight" article is "Plugging In" It highlights one school district in Indiana's goal to provide relevant Professional Development for teachers to increase their Digital Literacy. This "Digital Age Literacy Initiative" was funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment to provide 21st century skills to teachers that will enable them to learn the skills their students were growing up with. Some comments by me regarding the article:
District/Administration- Embraced the project - It was a school-wide initiative, and not a one time shot-in-the-arm PD "class".
The grant was 5.9 million - School Districts cannot keep up on their own, the need for grants for funding initiatives has grown.
Train Peers as Coaches- Teaching peers worked side-by-side in the classroom with teachers to assist in embracing into the content of the curriculum.
I don't know who said it first, but I believe you have to;"...embrace change, it's the only thing we have to look forward to!"
More comments on "culturally repsonsive teaching" article, later!

Wow!! I just attended my first TALK offered by The Software Training School at Mediatech in Flemington. Bob Flisser was amazing!!!! This fast-paced tutorial came with a "cheat sheet" for me to remember how to do these shortcuts. The topic of this evenings talk was MS excel tips & shortcuts.

You can go to: http://tinyurl.com/yjpfc8 to listen & view a sample tutorial for excel.

The main website is www.nerdybooks.com

The Software Training School is offering these classes free as a community service.

If I wasn't so tired, I would have stayed for the next session (a repeat) to put those tips into my long-term memory.
Thank you Bob!

Regards,
Ursula

Here I sit @ MediaTech, a non-profit foundation located in Flemington, NJ. It's located above the Flemington Free Library, in Flemington, NJ.

The room is filled with people of all ages. Tweens, teens, & adults.

A volunteer sits at the registration desk, and takes my personal information. She uses a webcam to record my photo, and issue a card so I may borrow sw titles. Two at a time may be borrowed.

Free access to the internet is available, as well as, a library of thousands of sw titles. There are also learning toys by Fisher-Price, LeapPad/Frog,

Some teens are doing research/homework. The adults are perusing the internet, while the tweens are playing video games. There is bantering between the players, but they are playing different games.

Everyone is low key, and cooperating. There are few rules, but therre is a no bullying code.
It's a very interesting environment with the mix of ages.

I am waiting for my Tech TALK class to start @ 5:30 p.m. Thus far, I am the only one here, so it may be a tutorial!

Whew! What a week! I am finally sitting down to blog. This blogging thing has really opened up my world. Every day, I travel within my own little circle, wjith a small sphere of influence. The web, blogging, email, and podcasting has allowed me to make more contacts than ever before. My communication and interaction with people has increased dramatically. There are many different groups of people I interact with on a daily basis. Geographically, we're around the globe, but only a keystroke away. Personally, I can chat with my family and friends. Professionally, I am in contact with parents, supervisors, and the community at large. I have varied interests, and the web allows me to tap into the vast resources available. Sometimes, sharing with an educator 3,000 miles away is easier and more open than collaborating with a peer next door!
I like the fact that by blogging, you are one communicating to many. It takes motivation on their part as to whether or not to connect with you.
I am also reconnecting with an old form of communication: the art of the letter.
I am enjoying building the muscle memory to create beautiful calligraphic letters. It takes practice, and a lot of ink! Being left-handed also complicates the matter, but as fortune would have it all of taking the class are lefties! How unusual is that.
The printed letter cannot compare to the sexiness of a hand-written letter. The curve of the letters, the spacing, and the flourishes are all personal. It is amazing that even with computers, calligraphy is still a popular Art form created today.

Hi!
I am wrestling with all of the information out there... to say it's astounding is an understatement. My mind acts like a web, weaving from here to there. So much interesting information. It would take a thousand lifetimes to absorb it all.
I love to cook, but I never buy books anymore. (except that I'm looking for old Julia Child books) I just search the web. I'm looking to declutter & purge. I guess I am at that stage in my life where I'm looking to rid myself of collections.
I have to focus when I search, and ensure I don't go off on a tangent. I'm sure many students are like me.
I say to myself, "I know it's out there if I need it." Catalogs get tossed, junk mail stays unopened, spam is deleted, e-mail accounts merged, calendars updated, bills paid electronically, even groceries purchased online (the closest supermarket is 20 minutes away) processes streamlined. I wonder if anyone has calculated the TCO of doing things online vs. postage stamps and gas... I'm sure it's out there!

Everyone Noticed....

I had a computer installed in my classroom last night. Today, all of the students noticed. Amazing, isn't it? How observant! Which is wonderful, since I am an Art teacher.
It doesn't matter that it's running Win'98, or that I can go to the bathroom, return, & still wait for something to load on the screen. At least now I feel connected! I was able to use my e-mail, and contact several parents w/o leaving my room, walking down to the lab, and risk interupting a technology class.
I am very happy!

Check out the benefits of blogging with the Seattle Times News article from 10-14-06
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2003303937_teachblog14.html

A good old fashioned Chat....

I have missed the auditory component of learnign with our on-line class. I love to listen to people talk, the differences in their voices, their accents, pronunciations, inflections, and tone.
It really adds a lot to be able to converse.... so.... our group had an old-fashioned chat via the telephone. I really think it helps to get to know someone more quickly. I enjoyed talking with the ladies. We can talk faster than we can type!

Ciao for now,
Ursula

Hi Everyone!

I was aksed to join the Technology Planning Committee by one of the computer teachers.
I am jazzed to have been asked! I am looking forward to finding out how things are planned and what is taken into consideration. I am also going to pick the brains of some people that were on it at the school that my children attended.

I look forward to sharing the information with you in the future.

Regards,
Ursula

Hi...
I had planned on working on my Edu. Tech. class today, but most of it was spent ironing out the details of our annual Halloween Window Painting. This is a time-honored event for the MS students of FES. Permission slips, letter to merchants, maintenance requests, etc..., etc.. etc...
Maybe I should rethink things and become a classroom teacher? HMMMM Only 20+ students instead of 420 students! I think I'm going to have to do a pro/con spreadsheet on the matter! If I weren't an Art teacher, I would want to be a MS Social Studies teacher. In that case, I'd have about 180 students, still better than 420. I only see a class 40 min./wk, that translates into 24 hours a year, which in turn means about 24 minutes spent with each child in a year. That is not a lot of time. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, I just wish I had more time individually to do it!

Hi!
I've been away since Monday evening. I was at the AENJ (Art Educator's of NJ) conference. My head is swimming with so much new information, and a yard long to-do list, that I had to table all conference related matters, and get back to reading my Edu. Tech. text.

The conference always has me in a quandry about what workshops to take. There are so many offerings, that I attended every one I could, didn't break for lunch, and still didn't get to every one that I wanted.

There were so many "hightlights", but I'd like to mention my biggest thrill. Attending the Robert Sabuda Keynote talk, personal lunch with him, and a workshop with 74 of my closest friends! Robert is the creator of many pop-up books which I love! Talk about 3-D, he takes you into the 4th dimension with movement. He's an incredible young man (41) I can't believe he's been at it for 20 years.

I took particular note of the presenters, and their use of technology. I was very surprised at how many used laptops, projectors, and streaming video. I was particulary impressed with one administrator who couldn't get her laptop to open... her tech person neglected to give her the password for the pc, but, like a good GS, she had a back-up set of transparencies & handouts!
There were only a couple of Ed. Tech. related workshops, I couldn't attend due to conflicts.
There's next year in NJ, and possibly NY this spring, I hope!

A Dr., and older gentleman, spoke on the topic of aesthectics. Aside from reading from his notes at times, he was very engaging. He used a slide projector, I didn''t know they made them anymore. He left me with an image that I want to try with the kids. .... I will post how I made out with his concept at a later date.

They were all wonderful workshops, but Stephanie S. gave the best workshop I attended. It was the best $10.00 investment!!! Unforturnately, since it was the last workshop, on the last day, it was not well attended. Too bad! She had some awesome ideas, that I hope to incorporate. They take work to set-up, but then it's smooth sailing! She also gave me the" 2 stars and a wish idea" to help young people learn about art criticism.

I also stepped up to the plate to chair Youth Art Month in my county. I'm probably one of the newest teachers in the county (not the youngest). I feel I would like to try and get a better dialogue with other teachers. Hunterdon is a rural/suburban area, and we are spread apart.

I am also the recording secretary of our central chapter. Since I am so isolated, I love to get together with other Art educators.

Overall, the conference rejuvinated me, and fed me spiritually. Early October is a great time to have conference.It's early enough in the year, so that I can add, delete, & modify, my lessons. I have a really big change in mind that I will implement in January. It's a new year, the kids are rested, and it's a good time to make big changes.

Ciao for now,
Ursula

Random Ramblings

I am still wary about putting personal information out there...
maybe it's my age?

My uncle's prolonged illness had me unfocused, anxious and sleep deprived. His death & funeral this week finally have put closure on the situation. Thankfully, My MIL is stable & set to come home from rehab. where she has been recovering from a mild stroke.