L. Suzanne Shanks's Blog – March 2008 Archive (22)

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Colorado Conversations: Learning 2.0

If you just found me because of a Learning 2.0 connection, welcome.



I’m at the end of a great conference in Denver organized by Bud the Teacher (Bud Hunt). I believe Karl Fisch had a lot to do with setting it up as well, so thanks to them both. How energizing and encouraging to be surrounded by 100 or so other geeky, web 2.0, mostly Colorado educators! I have met several people who have felt as I have–that they were the only ones in this part of the country besides Karl and Bud who… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:15pm — No Comments

More News About Movement (Of My Blog, That Is)

If you are looking for my personal blog about Ed Tech, you have found it! And the cross-posting location is http://2020nexus.edublogs.org.



I was hoping to use my old blog space (thetechtrainer.edublogs.org) as one of my classroom teaching sites. However, even though the blog itself isn’t blocked at school, the editor is. So are all wikis. What more can I say? Denied again by the whims of Websense and the Powers That Be.



I’m still using Learn With Tech with my students,… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:14pm — No Comments

Shake It Up!

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!



First I’ll just say that there has been a lot of talk around here about a big snow coming. But as I look out my window I hardly even see wind, much less the several inches that were predicted. Sigh. I must admit I was hoping for a snow day. We haven’t had one yet this year, despite a lot of very cold weather, small snows, and near misses. We’re ready. It would have been a great Valentine’s Day present.



Our staff just got word yesterday… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:13pm — No Comments

Valentine's Day Passion Quilt Meme

Miguel Guhlin is sending around a Valentine’s Day meme asking folks to post a picture symbolizing” what they are most passionate about for kids to learn in schools today.” I wasn’t tagged; I just saw the tweet, but here’s my entry.



“Its Future is in our Hands” by aussiegall





Sure, it seems like a cliche’ but I do feel zealous about it. I’m concerned with teaching students to consider the environment and our physical earth… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:12pm — 1 Comment

Moving My Other Blog...

I’m gradually moving all my blogs, web pages, etc. to a new space and concurrently wiping out any old material under the previous name “The Tech Trainer.” The blog wherein I cross-post from here is http://2020nexus.edublogs.org. Watch that blog space for updates and improvements.

You will also be able to find me soon at 2020Nexus.com and associated domains.

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:08pm — No Comments

Can It Be A New Year and January Gone Already?

I haven’t been here in a few weeks. I haven’t been able to corral any particular thoughts that were worth blogging about. Could it be because I’m taking a spreadsheet class, a web design class, a data-driven instruction class, and an Italian class, plus another regular meeting once a week? I’ve been reading my RSS feeds just enough to find gadget news for my students (they love it when I take a few moments of class to show them new gadgets, online services, or mini-videos). Of course I followed… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:07pm — No Comments

I Have A Dream

I have a dream. I have a dream of a day when all our children, no matter what color, creed or nationality, will work, learn, grow, and play together online inside our schools!

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is next week. I am not being flippant or hinting that my work is anywhere near as important his was. This post is my homage to his brilliance, leadership, inspiration and sacrifice. Our country is a different and profoundly better nation because of his influence. Rest in Peace.

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:06pm — No Comments

Where To Go, What To Do, My Next Mission

There’s been a lot of talk in the edublogosphere about possibly leaving the classroom for higher-level positions, consulting, and the like. The discussion continues to challenge me about my practice, my career, my future and my mission more than ever. I’ve been seeking direction on a personal level since I became an empty-nester, so it follows that I would do it professionally as well.



I have some possible long-range goals and have previously made some attempts to move toward… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:05pm — No Comments

Signs of Life

First the bad news, then the good news. I’ve been trying since August to get my District to unlock our network to allow me to use my TabletPC in my classroom. I’ve got my own WIFI router working and I even have Bluetooth connecting the Tablet to my two teacher machines. I was so excited!



However, now the Almighty Network Gatekeepers have decided I can neither hook up to the Sacred Network nor the Dangerous Web because it’s a personal machine. Mild expletive. I’m just trying to… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:05pm — No Comments

And They're Off!

The second week of a new semester is almost here and we are well into the grind again. I only put in nine or ten hours left work early daily this past week and it was wonderful to have a life. I think I preserved some of the precious energy reserve I gathered during the short break. But now I must work today — Saturday — or have misery and gnashing of teeth next week. Frustration! I’m sure the other educators out there can relate to that from your own experience.



Sometimes I feel I’m… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:04pm — No Comments

Two Tech Trainers? Or Is There An Echo In Here?

Lately I’ve discovered there are at least two educators or consultants calling themselves ‘Tech Trainer’ besides me, and one of them is in the Denver area, just 60 miles away. (Although in the global web2.0 world, I suppose physical proximity doesn’t matter at all.) I am not surprised that others are using this nom de plume; after all, it’s now obvious to me that it’s too generic. But they weren’t around a few years ago when I was starting my first web site with that name. Now I feel I must… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:04pm — No Comments

Posting GoogleDocs to The Web

I was excited to find this article at one of my favorite blogs, Lifehacker, because my students are just getting into Google Docs and I know there will shortly come a day when we want to publish their Google Presentations to more than just each other.



To embed a Google Docs slideshow you will just open the presentation, use the Publish tab and paste the code into your web page. It will look a bit like an embedded YouTube video. Lifehacker also enumerates a few of the other new… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:03pm — No Comments

PQ Talking Photo

I’m blogging from my phone for the first time so forgive me if the coding on this post works strangely. I can’t get a preview…



My students get a real kick out of Gizmos and Voki — talking, animated avatars you can post on your blog, web site, or MySpace — they’ve even had their avatars ‘present’ segments of material for them at the end of a unit. That’s why I’m going to try PQ Talking Photo. It looks like great fun. They’re running a free software offer right now for bloggers. Here’s… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:03pm — No Comments

Me? Smug? Never!

Golly, neat! My real-world friend mentioned a web tool yesterday that I’d heard about in the blogosphere just that morning, and that she’s actually used it (Charity Navigator). So what, you say? Well, it’s not that this tool is any more spectacular than so many others (I like Charity Checks myself). Millions of cool sites come online every day. It’s not that my blogs are so up-to-the-minute; of course they are! I am a brilliant, discerning reader, you know.



The interchange thrilled… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:02pm — No Comments

Reflections on Blogging Exchange

Well, the lab is empty, we’re all on Winter Break, and I am in the midst of processing my thoughts about the collaborative blogging we did with Mrs. Hill’s classes in DuBois, PA. I want to thank her publicly again for her willingness to participate with us.



I would do this again with some caveats. Remember that I teach technology electives, not a content class. I center my units around the subject matter and standards the children study in their other classes while I’m (hopefully)… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:01pm — No Comments

Has Teaching Lost Its Magic?

Happy New Year! I hope you (all 5-6 readers–LOL) had a good Christmas and are enjoying your break from the routine. It’s flying by way too fast, isn’t it? Even so, I hope you are enjoying family or friends and unplugging just a bit. Personally, I’ve welcomed this time to catch up on my personal interests while completely ignoring my job responsibilities. What a blessing, too, that I have been getting more sleep and moving at a leisurely pace for once. I love being able to run out to coffee with… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:01pm — No Comments

Blogging Exchange

I’ve been sitting in Starbucks since 5:30 a.m this morning. I decided if I was going to be up, dressed, and working, it may as well be with good coffee and free WIFI. I’ll head off to work proper about 7:00.



I’m very excited about a new project I am doing in Think.com with my friend Nicole, a new, enthusiastic, and creative middle school teacher from Pennsylvania. We each have six computers/communications classes, so we are pairing them up for blogging and commenting. I think the… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Pigs Can Fly!

flying pigOnce again it's been a long time between posts but today I have some fun things to share. Before we get to that, let's just say I've been consumed lately by grading final projects (our first digital stories!), starting fourth quarter, learning a bazillion kids' names, training them in my lab's minutiae, preparing for state high-stakes tests, administering said tests, and so on. I've had the never-ending respiratory crud and fevers, too, but showed up for work anyway. Because you… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Pruning Again

I’ve come to the conclusion that I spend way too much time online. Some of it’s for work, some of it’s for fun, and some of it is for professional development. Some of it is very valuable, some not so much. It’s starting become like the TV or the phone were in the past - another way to stay over-busy, distract myself, avoid other things. It doesn’t keep me in the house, now that I have a great laptop, but it keeps me unavailable for other important activities that could engage me in a more… Continue

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 3:59pm — No Comments

Blogging 101

Here’s a middle-school-friendly presentation on blogging that I use with my students prior to their first post. I gathered the resources from several places and have noted those within the show. I hope it will be helpful to someone out there.

http://thetechtrainer.edublogs.org/files/2007/12/blogging-101.ppt

Added by L. Suzanne Shanks on March 28, 2008 at 3:58pm — No Comments

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