Christmas '08

Well, Christmas is over and we had a great time. This is a picture of all the Strannix brothers around the Christmas ham. I received the ham from some teacher friends at school. Jim did all the cooking and I feel that I did all the eating. Presents were good too. My favorite was a letter man type jacket with my first bowling patch attached. Thanks Steve!

Back from Oz!

Got back Thursday from Australia. Had a great time. Lots of laughs and good times. A trip of a lifetime!

Brett's Birthday

Steve rented Brett a Corvette for his birthday. 24 hours of fun! This is a shot of Brett and his son Kelly, who are now in Australia.

The Last 24 hours!!!

Very excited about tomorrow's election...hope for the best. Going to a victory party tomorrow at a teacher's house. Should be fun. No kids tomorrow, Staff Day. Not sure if I will have to present anything...hope so, teachers need so much info about stuff.

Obama

Saw Obama in Henderson yesterday. A very good speaker, very refreshing to hear some one who gives you hope in the future, inspiring! Vote on Tuesday and HOPE for the best!!!

Whew...too much work!

Got back from Ohio last Monday and felt I haven't stopped since. This is a pix of Steve's mom and friend (?). Had a great, relaxing time but now I am up to my eyeballs in work at Lamping. One thing after another. If it isn't a teacher that needs a toner cartridge, it is an admin who wants equipment moved from here to there and back again. I hope things slow down soon or I will never get technology integrated.....like I ever have in the past. Sometimes I think I am just a high paid "plugger-inner".

Off to Laguna!

I am off to Laguna with Steve and Danna to see the Pageant of the Masters. It is a way cool show where live actors recreate art, both paintings and sculpture. Sounds goofy, but once you experience it, you will understand. Didn't go into Lamping today, frick them. I may stop by tomorrow and see if I can chit/chat with Mike.

The end is near!

Just 2 more days to go until the end of school year 2007-2008. I am pooped. Handling 2 year round schools, one of which is Lamping, has been very difficult. I will have to spend some of my 10 day summer vacation getting a few things done - cleaning up Bass for Rocco, and reimaging computers at Lamping. Hope to go to Laguna next weekend for the Pageant of the Masters....one of my favorite things! Plus I will see Jim and Matt. Matt's dad was just diagnosed with lung cancer...big bummer.

Mexican Cruise

Had a great time on the cruise. Judy, Rick, Dee and I had a beautiful room and we got along famously! Drink, food and fun!

Judy's Pooch

Judy sent me this video of her dog taken with her new Flip camera. 99 bucks on Amazon! Not a bad deal! The camera not the dog!

Empowering Student Writers Through Technology

This was my last workshop, and I must say, my least favorite. It was conducted by Adora Svitak, a 10 year old girl who has written 2 books and travels the country teaching kids and grownups how to write. She was a bit much to take, maybe I was just being a grouch...you take a look at the video and see what you think. Not much content, she was brought to the conference by Microsoft, and worked the booth most of the conference. The technology she used was Word and PowerPoint....big whoop! www.adorasvitak.com

Audio is Great, Videos are Cool, iPods Can Do More

This was a terrific workshop...I got lots of good ideas! The presenter began by using handhelds with his students. Gave up teaching and focused fulltime on his websites and presentations. His site is www.learninginhand.com I took one of his classes last year in Atlanta, and have used his site extensively when I have a question or a problem with my iPod. A good tip when ripping cd's, select import and eject when ripping a lot of cd's, this will make the job go much faster! He also suggested voice recorders. There are stand alones, and ones you can attach to your iPod and record directly. Another good site is http://www.spokentext.net/ You can download speeches and such from this site. Make sure on you iPod you select view a file>select lyrics>artwork. You can enter the text of the speech and insert a picture. He showed us this video, below. kinda fun. You can put videos on your ipod from http://www.youtube.com/ using http://www.vixy.net/ as one of the many video converters. You can also sync your calendars and contacts to you ipod. The only catch is you need to us Windows calendar and Windows address book for this to work on a PC. It won't sync with FirstClass, which is a bummer. You can purchase Brainquest for you iPod. You can purchase that and other applications from http://www.portableapps.com/. Remember you can also connect your ipod to you projector in order to share with your entire class. Other good iPod sites are - http://www.ipod-notes.com/ http://www.ipreppress.com/ http://www.manybook.net/ http://www.talkingpanda.com/iwriter ipodsync.com/ . The most exciting part for me was iquiz. It comes with the new ipods, I had to purchase my copy through itunes for 99 cents. You can create quizzes for your ipod, great for ending presentations. I think it might be fun. http://www.iquizmaker.com/ will guide you through this process. You can also go to http://www.iquizshare.com/ download free quizzes. A podcast he really reccommends is called "Our City Podcast". Students from around the country upload self-made podcasts about their city...kinda cool and VERY collaborative! You can download his book "Podcasting for Teachers and Students" from his website for free!

Couldn't resist!

4th of July fireworks

4th of July fireworks
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Teufel

Happy 4th of July.....Just gonna hang around, probably see a movie, barbeque some burgers and watch fireworks......

NECC 2008 Vendor's Booth

bull
Originally uploaded by specialkrb

Just for fun!

Use Your Noodle, Use a Moodle

OK, this one is gonna take a little research on my part. Moodles are the latest thing, but not sure exactly what they are. I believe they are a database for lessons and assignments along with assignment, syllabuses and all things course related. Maybe I could use this for technology information and class projects for teachers. If you figure this our before me, let me know. Other sites - moodle.org/, http://docs.moodle.org/

Virtual Tour of a 21st Century Educational Resource

This presentation was about Route 21, a 9 state one stop shop for assessments, resources, reports about 21st century skills. The 9 states are rewriting their standards to match these skills and moving away from NCLB type standards...we'll see how far this goes. It was a Harvard/MIT venture...blah, blah, blah. They did say that now content is not the thing, but how to access and filter that content is what we need to teach...hmmmm Edutopia is involved with this project, so it can't be all bad. http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/ P.S. this is a picture of my hotel...loved it, very retro and very cool. They even had a Tiki Bar, although I wouldn't know about such things!!

The Price is Right: Free Online Resources for Educators

Judy will like this one. Basically the link - http://del.icio.us/almarow/ - lists hundreds of sites that are good. http://www.cutepdf.com/ 'nuff said.

Free Web-based Tools and Resources: Effective Instruction for Diverse and At-Risk Students

I felt that I should attend at least one Special Ed session, and this was it. The presenter went over this website. http://www.freewebtools.wikispaces.com/ Lots of useful sites for teachers and at-risk students. http://www.cast.org/ was another site they presented.

The Alamo

On Monday night I walked the Riverwalk, on Tuesday night, I walked to the Alamo. By the time I got there it was closed, but I did get to look at the outside. Smaller than I thought it would be...and in Texas too!

Producing a School News Show

Start with a committee - students, parents, teachers, office staff. Teach the whole child. Uses of a Broadcast System
*Communicate Announcements
*Document important events
*Highlight school activities/classrooms
*Display student accomlishments
*Informing new students at an orientation
*Showcase news for Open House and PTA events

Start with basic hardware - cheap - then upgrade. Brochure has list of hardware and benefits. Use shower curtains for backdrops....especially if you are doing "Psycho"! This makes the "sets" easily changed. We could sell our broadcasts - $10.00 - if this gets popular we will need to purchase a multi DVD copier. Profits go back into the broadcasting project.
At the presenter's school, they select a class of the week to produce content, establish topic, encourage school-wide sharing of classroom activities and let students brainstorm ideas. 1-800-free411 free information. Friday announcements are a bit more fun....guest speakers, special projects, presentations, culminating units, book talks, science experiments.

Student Podcasts as the Curriculum: A New Paradigm

This was a terrific session...lots of good stuff! I think most everything is on http://www.chrisshamburg.com/. We can use podcasts as authentic activities like media reviews, interviews of family, friends, famous people, etc. Can be within the school or outside the school environment. http://www.moodle.org/ is a site to create lessons, I think Chris has one. In class, we used audacity to record lines from Macbeth, and sound effects too - coconuts for horses galloping, potato chips for walking. It really sounded great - very old-time radio, but how fun for kids! Although I hated to see those potato chips wasted!!! Some sites for sound effects - freesound, ccmixer, audiotown, artmobs. We could use this to create audio tours of Lamping things like the greenhouse, the space shuttle, even the Art Show....it would be like a real museum...kids could describe their own art work. Not to mention, podcasts and photostories of their work. Always consider your audience, that will help determine the content. For example - if a student is writing a report for their teacher only, how different would it be if the report was written for the world, or at least for grandma to read? We could have students record mini book reports after each AR test, create a database of reviews, not unlike Reading Rainbow, for other students to access. Students must get into the habit of siting credits. Center for Social Media - check the Fair Use Laws. Students could also create oral history interviews and memoirs. Two more sites to check out are http://www.podcourse.blogspot.com/ and http://www.necc2008.ning/.

Creating Live Web TV for the Classroom

We can use www.ustream.tv to send a live feed over the Internet. WE can password-protect it so only certain people can view the feed. WE can use it to stream a play, DARE Graduation, any sort of special event. Parents, grandparents, friends who are unable to attend, we can give them the site and password and they can view the event from their computer at work, home or traveling. We could even stream morning or weekly announcements, then the teachers could just log in to the site and show it to their students, especially good if the teacher has a projector. I will have to check if this site is blocked. www.yeardot.co.uk, mogulus, viodea, qik, cometnow - sites to check out. Cometnow, I believe, allows us to view the stream on our cellphones, and even create streams....

Digital Storytelling with Minimal Clicks: Improving Reading and Writing Skills

http://www.scholastic.com/ just published an article stating that kids are reading more than ever due to the Internet: podcasts, blogs, social networks like facebook and myspace. On http://www.flickr.com/, the presenter has a group called "Tell a Story with 5 Photos for Educators". It is a place to post your student's digital stories. http://www.voicethread.com/ is a pay site, not very much as I remember, where you can create digital stories and post them there, some were very cute and moving. http://www.celebrateoklahomavoices.ning.com/ is a site where digital stories are uploaded based on oral history of the state.....very interesting. Maybe Lamping kids can interview grandparents etc. and create some oral history of their own...podcasts with pix? Tips for Professional Develpoment....Give teachers digital cameras, send them outside or at least away for an hour, bring them back, download pictures and create digital stories. You can use http://www.voicethreads.com/ for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthdays, Christmas, etc. You can use http://www.gabcast.com/ to phone in comments to http://www.voicethreads.com/ http://www.voicethread.com/ has step by step directions and it is free for teachers!

Classroom 2.0: Exploring the Potential of Web 2.0

Read/Write/Web = Web 2.0

Quite a lot of discussion on not filtering student computers...we should teach them appropriate behaviors and how to act when presented with inappropriate material. Parents must also be educated. This is due to the fact that in the real world, we are not filtered and should be ready to deal with that. There are filters available now that allow the teacher to override a blocked site....hmmm. Collaboration was another big topic. One panel member reported that many believe Internet collaboration will cure cancer and solve the global warming problem. Minds working together around the globe rather than alone in a lab. http://www.twitter.com/, http://www.skype.com/, iChat on a Mac - all programs designed to help collaborate. Slideshowexchange.wikispaces.com is a site where students can upload PowerPoints about their hometowns. http://www.google.com/ .-Google Surveys - a way to make a quick survey to give to your students or teachers....I thought this might be fun to give to Lamping teachers in the fall asking questions as to their Tech levels and what projects or programs they may be interested in. A "ning" is a do it yourself social network, for discussion and conversation. A wiki is factual, presented in final form, much like a newspaper article. http://www.nextvista.org/. Support the living, ignore the dead.

Day 3

Well, still here and still alive....I have fallen behind in my blog notes, but will try to catch up tonight. Had breakfast at Promethean, just about as expensive a retailer as having Breakfast at Tiffanys. Mostly an ELL presentation, but we we did see a http://www.brainpop.com/ demonstration with the white board, that might be something we look at later! Did the Riverwalk after the conference last night...very pretty, very long, my feet and legs got tired, but felt good to get out and about!

Podcasting and Podcatching

I have attached a link to the title of this posting to the podcast for beginners site. They say there are a lot of resources listed.....I will check later. They weren't kidding when they said this was for beginners, but I did pick up a few things, and truly I am still a beginner, even though Judy and I posted one last week! Podcasts give students voice, an audience, a mission, and experience. A good example of a student podcast is "Tech Savvy Girlz". Search it on iTunes. Using a digital voice recorder may be a good idea, that way we can have students record the audio, download it, then attach it to a powerpoint or photostory, or whatever, might be easier.An Olympus ws 311m is a good one, built in USB, but there are cheaper ones, check google products. Some software to look at in creating podcasts include: profcast - records a PowerPoint then publishes it as a podcast...ichat, skype - obtaining audio from long distances, say for doing an interview, Gcast - cell phone podcasting. Editing software - Garageband, Audacity, Amadeus, Mixcastlive, PodcastMaker, Podmatic, Feed4All, PodProducer. Good web resources - EdTechTalk.com, Lit2Go. Two good books Kidcast and iLife in the Classroom, both available at Amazon.

Day 2!

Well, they haven't sent me away yet....missed all of my picks for the first session, they were all full. Ended up attending a sucky one, but still interesting, just won't be able to apply anything he spoke about. I would need a million dollar grant! I am waiting for my next session to begin...."Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner"..PERFECT! Here we go!

My NECC beginning

First day of NECC in San Antonio. Should be lots of fun. Attended a welcome session and the Keynote address. Comedy and connections on the first one, and working in groups on the second. I did make a connection with a teacher that wants to know how we do things in Las Vegas as it applies to technology. Should I tell her the truth or what we are supposed to do? Probably a mixture. She wants to talk with Loretta too......

Happy Birthday, Larry

Well, 55 and still alive tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about it....although I guess I receive the senior discount at Denny's now. Grand Slam here I come!

What a pain this video was!!! It was so easy to create and post at Lamping but not so at Bass.....must be John's ghost..good thing I am leaving in August! Plus I am beginning to repeat myself...must be old age.

Yahoo!

We got a reprieve today, no class tomorrow!!! Julie was especially excited since it is her birthday tomorrow and wanted the day off. 34 tomorrow....shoot, I can't even remember when I was 34. Steve got the new bumber for the trailer today. Hope to see Sex and the City Sunday.

2 more days!

Just 2 more days of this dumb laptop project...and Julie got out of it for Friday, and she is leaving after lunch on Saturday...she really gets away with a lot!! Got the music teacher's Smart board working today, very happy and proud of myself! Woo hoo! It is no Promethean, but it will do for now!

School

I am still having problerms with my images at Lamping....I think Judy is coming over tomorrow to give me a hand. Plus Cheryl will be back from her trip, she can help me too...Friday is my Conference presentation....it should go well. Just a blog presentation and Interact account information, all in 40 minutes. Stephen is coming for a visit in 2 weeks, that should be fun! We helped Brett move to his new house yesterday, lot of work, but a good thing to do.

Whew!

Very busy time for me at school.....computer refreshment, Zen 7 push, that laptop curricullum writing project...added to the regular BS I get each day...I am one pooped puppy. Ready for Pahrump this weekend!

Ka is Great!

Terry, Mary, Brett, Casey, Steve and I went to see Ka last night at the MGM. We bought tickets because they were running a local's special, half off, and it was really worth it. The staging was terrific! Couldn't really follow the story, but visually it was stunning! Today we are going with Brett to tour his new theatre he built for the Jersey Boys! Should be fun too!

Bass Buddy Lunch

Had a great time the other day at the Bass Buddy Luncheon. Thanks to Ms. Passer for organizing the entire thing...and picking up dozens of Happy Meals! The kids and the teachers got some quality time together and I set my laptop up to show the PhotoStory of our last breakfast. The only bad part was that my buddy was on track break. 8-(

Paradise on the water

This is a shot of the ship we will be taking in July. Three nights and four days of fun and laughs...and a balcony!

Spring Break!

Well, made it back from Newport Beach in one piece...I think this was one of my best trips in the trailer...seeing friends and family was a real treat! Lots of food and laughs! Visited Balboa island and the Queen Mary too! This is Steve, Tim, and Ben.

This is a picture of my brother Stephen. He lives in Los Angeles. I will see him at Easter too.

This is my brother Jim. He lives in Laguna Beach and I am going to visit him at Easter.

This is a picture of my brother Tim. He just bought his first house in Fort Worth, Texas! Yee ha!

Damn Yankees - Heart

Almost baseball season!

I was flipping around the dial today and came across a Cub's preseason game......didn't watch it, but it got me all excited for spring-time baseball.....I really get a kick out of the Las Vegas 51's....added this video clip from THE BEST baseball movie ever made....Damn Yankees...this particular number actually got me through some hard times last year...I know, I'm a geek...

This is a picture of Sonji and her buddy. Sonji is the FASA at Bass Elementary School. We both are Bass Buddies, kind of being a mentor and friend to a student here on campus.

This is a picture of Julie Clark...she is the librarian at Bass elementary School. We are doing a laptop curriculum writing project and it is making us crazy...

Julie received some beautiful flowers from the Sunshine Committee at John C. Bass Elementary school, but to her chagrin, those flowers gave her the sniffles, so she let Mary and I keep them in our office. It sure brightens things up! Although it brings in more people to our office. Attached is a video that I downloaded, just wanted to see if it would work!