Thing #10

Copyright laws have always confused me.  Even with videos you buy.  If you've paid for them, why can't you view them in your classroom?  If you can look up pictures that are visible to anyone that has a computer, why can't you use the picture on a power point? If it's on the world-wide web, why is it not accessible to anyone that sees it?  

Its difficult to tell a student he/she can't use something in a project and put it on the web, when all they had to do is drag it from the site and save it to the desktop.  

Its good to know about Creative Commons.  Now we have some sort of guidelines on what they can use legally.  Its still confusing, but at least there is a safe way to access some materials.  Now we just need to be able to "filter" the sites that are CC. 

Thing #9

Well, I have to say, this was the MOST DIFFICULT assignment yet.  I must have asked Kelly a million questions, and STILL I remained lost.  And....if I had to do it again, I'd still be asking questions.  

I'm just happy its finished.

Once it was complete, it was fun to play with.

Thank you, Kelly!!!! 

Welcome to my wiki.

Thing #8

This is a great tool, but I can also see the downside if you aren't an informed participant/reader. I actually picked 3 totally unrelated wiki's to read. The first was SalutetoSeuss. It took me back to when my children were young and the wonderful time we had sharing Seuss' books. As I looked through, it listed the books Dr. Seuss had written. When I read the posts, I found that many of the nostalgic thoughts I was having were shared with many others. It was like a walk down memory lane.
The second wiki I read was codeblue. As a "science person" I found this one very useful. It allowed the students to post systems, individual organs, etc. and list their names, functions, etc. It even have face parts in English and Spanish. It had English/Spanish color books. It was a smorgasbord of information and fun things to do to help the students remember the human body and its parts. They even had a section of games related to the human body.
The third wiki I read was gowest. This wiki was information, pictures, time lines, daily hardships, and games dealing with the western expansion along the Oregon Trail. I found countless things to entertain the students while teaching them about history.

Now...the "downside". You would have to have an educator monitor the students to verify all the information on the website was valid. I can see this project possibly hit "overwhelming" for one educator to monitor if you didn't limit the number of students that were allowed to edit the material.
But I still see it as a more positive learning tool than negative. Its an excellent way to have the students interact and ENJOY while they learn!!

Thing #7

This has been an interesting assignment. I have been posting comments on a website belonging to a published writer. My main desire was to obtain the "inside scoop" on having fiction literature published. She is plain spoken and informative in her blog. I'm learning that "blogging" is a great tool to informally speak with people who have the expertise to help you achieve your goals. It really is enjoyable communicating with others as if they are "old friends". But....it also allows us to maintain anonymity so we don't feel inept for the questions we ask.
The other benefit to blogging is people seem happy to give advice or to communicate with you on the subject matter.
Everyone has opinions, and its often interesting to see what others think about a specific subject.
Discussing a controversial is very informative.

Thing # 6 Revised

I started reading more on the prior post I had chosen for Thing #6, and I realized this might be way above my head. This appears to be more geared to accomplished authors. Since I am a novice, at best, I feel a more simple blog would benefit me. This particular blog speaks in layman's terms and is much easier on comprehension. 

THINK #6

I'm a closet writer. I've started about 3 fiction novels, but get frustrated about 100 pages into them and wonder why they don't sound the way I see them. I'd love to be published, and I have numerous ideas, but I need some instruction of things to look for that make my book more desirable to a fiction genre reader. I've been to several blog sites regarding writing, and have included a couple I found interesting in my reader. If you have any interest in writing, and you're not published, you may find this of interest. This blog actually listed some ideas of how you might spice up your writing.

Thing #5

I'm all about books. I'm an avid reader, enjoying many genre. I enjoy mystery, sci-fi, western, biographies, and romance. During the summer vacation, I usually read thirty or forty books. As an educator, I know the importance of reading. I believe its important to impress on our students the enjoyment derived from reading a good book. One of the podcast I chose is a "book review". It gives me the opportunity to hear about several books and decide if I might be interested in reading it.
The review was actually very informative, and I'd like to share it with those that might share my love of reading.
I've also included a North Texas News podcasts.

My proudest moments

Quentin, Mark, Brent
Stephanie, Taira, Callie

My children are, by far, my proudest achievements. Taira is the baby and a May '08 graduate from UNT with an Education Degree. Quentin is a Communications graduate from UT-Austin. Brent is currently attending college to become a Constable.
Stephanie is Quentin's wife and attended college in Georgia. Mark is a graduate of UNT in Electrial Engineering, and my (possible) future son-in-law. Callie is a graduate of Southwestern University and is Brent's girlfriend (and hopefully my future daughter-in-law).