Thursday, September 23, 2010
Off Subject...PREZI!!
Sooooooo, I have signed up for oodles of PFK classes to get "back in shape" to start taking class for my Masters. I think it makes me sound like a complete moron that I have to psych myself back up to take classes, but that's the truth. Anyways, I took a class last week for creating an almost paperless classroom. It was great!! Learned some new tricks, started a moodle website, learned about polleverywhere.com, and really enjoyed making my brain hurt. :) Last night I had my first lesson on Prezi's. WOW!! I LOVED IT!!! I already knew that I loved it (researched it before I signed up for the class) but I REALLY love it now. Let me tell you how much I loved it...I scheduled the computer lab for today and tomorrow just so I could teach my students how to use it. Yes, I sort of jumped the gun. Yes, I was setting myself up for failure by not finishing the class first, BUT it was absolutely AMAZING today! so there. OK, only one period was amazing and the other two made me pull out half my hair, but still...even the other two classes showed great potential. It was the bomb.com!!! :D go check it out...www.prezi.com
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thing 2
Humming to Madonna's "material world"...We live in a technical world...and I am a te-technical girl.
I remember when the internet first became big. I remember when “windows” was something plural for a glass enclosed hole in the wall. I remember having to enter dos “codes” in my one semester computer class. My class was the first to have this class required. Most students know more about technology than I ever will. That does not mean that I do not enjoy the heck out of technology! However, How do I incorporate something that seems to take me 100 times longer to learn than students in my class? I make them do it, of course! I make it a game...the first person to "get it" (understand it) before Ms. Harris gets a prize. LOL It is great fun. I am getting better but it sometimes seems to be a slow process. I am taking classes to become more familiar with fun new technology products we have been given and asking students to explain something that is unfamiliar to me. I am humming the tune of “I will survive” by Gloria Gaynor. :) When I went to college for the first time in 1991 we did not even HAVE internet and it was windows 3.1 on every brand new computer in the lab (as in one lab of 30 computers for the entire school). When I went back in 2002 it was so different! There was a computer lab in every single building! In the library you could “check out” a book from the internet, put it on this new thing called a “flash drive” and it would stay there for three weeks. The internet did not eliminate the need for books…just reduced the need for waste. It was even better when I purchased my first laptop. I could buy some of my books on cd's and not even have to lug around the book. Technology seems to be created at an even faster pace than ever before! Ten years ago I carried a cell phone for emergencies only. Now I feel it is an emergency if I can't find my phone for 20 minutes. Information is so readily available! IT IS FABULOUS!!! Forget about outdated books...look online for up-to-date information. Need information for a lesson tomorrow? No need to go to the library...just turn on the computer and information is at your fingertips. I always laugh at the "bing" commercials that refer to the "bogged down" search engines filled with a smorgasbord of information that you do not need because some of the most interesting information I have found is found by stumbling on it on the web. I do not think that the world wide web is better for teachers or students in today's world...it is just different. There are good and bad points that could be made for both. I do enjoy it though. It makes (in my humble opinion) my job better. NOT easier...but different.
I remember when the internet first became big. I remember when “windows” was something plural for a glass enclosed hole in the wall. I remember having to enter dos “codes” in my one semester computer class. My class was the first to have this class required. Most students know more about technology than I ever will. That does not mean that I do not enjoy the heck out of technology! However, How do I incorporate something that seems to take me 100 times longer to learn than students in my class? I make them do it, of course! I make it a game...the first person to "get it" (understand it) before Ms. Harris gets a prize. LOL It is great fun. I am getting better but it sometimes seems to be a slow process. I am taking classes to become more familiar with fun new technology products we have been given and asking students to explain something that is unfamiliar to me. I am humming the tune of “I will survive” by Gloria Gaynor. :) When I went to college for the first time in 1991 we did not even HAVE internet and it was windows 3.1 on every brand new computer in the lab (as in one lab of 30 computers for the entire school). When I went back in 2002 it was so different! There was a computer lab in every single building! In the library you could “check out” a book from the internet, put it on this new thing called a “flash drive” and it would stay there for three weeks. The internet did not eliminate the need for books…just reduced the need for waste. It was even better when I purchased my first laptop. I could buy some of my books on cd's and not even have to lug around the book. Technology seems to be created at an even faster pace than ever before! Ten years ago I carried a cell phone for emergencies only. Now I feel it is an emergency if I can't find my phone for 20 minutes. Information is so readily available! IT IS FABULOUS!!! Forget about outdated books...look online for up-to-date information. Need information for a lesson tomorrow? No need to go to the library...just turn on the computer and information is at your fingertips. I always laugh at the "bing" commercials that refer to the "bogged down" search engines filled with a smorgasbord of information that you do not need because some of the most interesting information I have found is found by stumbling on it on the web. I do not think that the world wide web is better for teachers or students in today's world...it is just different. There are good and bad points that could be made for both. I do enjoy it though. It makes (in my humble opinion) my job better. NOT easier...but different.
Lifelong Learning Habits (or better known as Thing 1)
It is no fun growing up with a disability. Most people will either view you as someone that they should feel sorry for and will, in turn, make excuses for you not being on the "same level" as everyone else OR they will view you as someone that is a "whiny" brat that just needs to "suck it up and deal with it". Why am I bringing this up? I have ADHD. Yes, the most overplayed, outdated, yada, yada, yada learning disability ever used. Did you know that in the early days (I graduated from high school in 1991) there was only one option available? Medication. If you were not on any type of medication you just dealt with it. My parents did not believe (i.e. they were to poor to buy it) in medication. My dad used to say that "there isn't anything a good belt can't take care of". LOL I guess he was right. And I did...eventually. Having to deal with the issues was a nightmare and a blessing. I learned to deal with it-blessing. Learning to deal with it- nightmare. For years I felt "stupid" and "weird" and lacked any self confidence. Today I am glad that I have that wonderful gift known as ADHD. What???!!! Glad? :D Can you stay up for hours and still have oodles of energy? I can. Can you (at 37 years old) still keep up with students that are half your age? I can. Can you multi-task like today's students even though your generation was not trained in that skill? I can. Can you make random things coincide because your brain picks up on crazy, obscure points? I can! There are downsides (of course) but I have learned to deal with them and focus on the great stuff. I know what you are thinking...what??? Why did I need to read all of that? What is she getting at? Why, my most challenging habit, of course! That would be habit #4. I can talk, talk, talk till the cows come home BUT I am HORRIBLE with grammar and spelling. I actually failed spelling in 7th grade. Those years of low scores and failing grades makes for a not so great confidence in anything put in black and white. Yeah, spell check is my friend, but there is only so much it can do. Number 1 is going to be tedious but not challenging. I am great with beginnings,...not so great with middles or ends!
I do think that everyone is great at something. EVERYONE. I am great at play. I am also great at teaching and mentoring others. I had to teach it to myself and all that that involves...teaching others is a snap! Put those two together and you have fun learning; And learning should be fun! No matter what! Learning is exciting, shocking, interesting and fabulous!!! You should not be falling asleep for that. And if you find yourself learning something that is NOT fun it would be (or at least SHOULD be) interesting to find a way to MAKE it fun. The enjoyment is in the challenge. Yet, there is also a great line from Uptown Girls; "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun". I guess it all depends on that persons ability solve problems...would you push forward in an uninteresting class trying to gleam all that you can from it or assume it is not important enough because it is not interesting.
To be able to view any problem as a positive challenge is, in my opinion, the most important as well as useful habit. Challenges are a person's (I had written "man's" but had to erase it) best friend. They are the window into our soul. I tell my students every day that only when faced with adversity will the true person inside shine through. When someone (or something) makes you mad how do you respond? Do you yell? Do you shut down? Are you "ugly"? Can you stay calm? Can you see what has caused the adversity to begin with? Can you see the whole picture and reason through it? When you are stressed does your entire day fall apart or can you regroup and keep going? Even if you apologize for your lapse in judgment the damage has been done to you and the other person. A challenge is nothing but a test. To be able to reason through a problem in any situation in life would be a skill worth almost any amount in gold. I keep hearing in my head the commercial for Capital One credit card... "What's in YOUR wallet?" My will (pun intended) is in mine...and I plan to use it every time I find myself starting to drift off.
I do think that everyone is great at something. EVERYONE. I am great at play. I am also great at teaching and mentoring others. I had to teach it to myself and all that that involves...teaching others is a snap! Put those two together and you have fun learning; And learning should be fun! No matter what! Learning is exciting, shocking, interesting and fabulous!!! You should not be falling asleep for that. And if you find yourself learning something that is NOT fun it would be (or at least SHOULD be) interesting to find a way to MAKE it fun. The enjoyment is in the challenge. Yet, there is also a great line from Uptown Girls; "Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun". I guess it all depends on that persons ability solve problems...would you push forward in an uninteresting class trying to gleam all that you can from it or assume it is not important enough because it is not interesting.
To be able to view any problem as a positive challenge is, in my opinion, the most important as well as useful habit. Challenges are a person's (I had written "man's" but had to erase it) best friend. They are the window into our soul. I tell my students every day that only when faced with adversity will the true person inside shine through. When someone (or something) makes you mad how do you respond? Do you yell? Do you shut down? Are you "ugly"? Can you stay calm? Can you see what has caused the adversity to begin with? Can you see the whole picture and reason through it? When you are stressed does your entire day fall apart or can you regroup and keep going? Even if you apologize for your lapse in judgment the damage has been done to you and the other person. A challenge is nothing but a test. To be able to reason through a problem in any situation in life would be a skill worth almost any amount in gold. I keep hearing in my head the commercial for Capital One credit card... "What's in YOUR wallet?" My will (pun intended) is in mine...and I plan to use it every time I find myself starting to drift off.
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