My Place in the World

I've really started thinking about my future a lot lately, mostly in regards to my job.  Librarians are dropping like flies across the state.  In my kids' school they may be able to get a librarian if they win a grant.  A grant?  Are you kidding me?  So what happens when the grant money runs out?  No more librarian?  Honestly, I would love to be in an elementary school but it's too much of a gamble.  I would also love to be a tech teacher for the little ones too.  But librarians are not considered essential personnel, along with guidance counselors, and many special ed. positions.  At least on the secondary level, one librarian is mandatory per district.  But do I want to be in a place where I have to jump around from school to school?  Or would it even be like that?  Support people in the other libraries maybe?  I really need to explore further what my new Master's will qualify me to do.  It would be fun to be an independent contractor--I could go around to different schools and workshop them on tech tools.  But I don't think that now is the best time to do that...
I do like my job, really.  I just don't want to wake up one morning without one.  I have to be proactive.
Okay, enough of the depressing talk.

I really like the blog, The Standardized Teacher.  However, I worry for her job.  She throws some people in her district under the bus.  But she makes some really great points. 

I found this bumper sticker.  I find it too funny that such a thing exists.  It's a link to an interesting news snippet...



Ah, the holiday weekend.

My right hand lady is retiring on Tuesday and I'm not sure what I'm going to do without her.  I'm going to try not to think about it this weekend.  I'm going to the beach with my kids where I'll dig lots of holes and get too much sun.  Then I'll drink a tall Weis beer and eat a hamburger.
I wish there was a Web 2.0 tool version of her.  Then I could log in everyday and send her out into the world so she could help everyone as much as she's helped me.

Raise your glass to Ceil:-)

Labyrinthitis

Labyrinthitis
It's confirmed.  I have it.  I call it "Dizzy on the Fringes".  My friend tells me that's a great name for a rock band.  So what is it?  It's an infection of the labyrinth portion of the inner ear, the area that affects balance.  At first it was terrible.  I felt like I was seasick all the time.  Now, I only experience it when I look up.  It's like having the bed spins without experiencing the "fun" of getting them.  Now I have to go for "vestibular therapy".  It's like physical therapy for the ear.  Who knew?  It could last weeks or months.  I'm curious as to how I will respond to roller coasters.  We've promised the kids all winter that we'd take them to Great Adventure.  Yikes.  Maybe the coasters will make me feel normal:-)?

Web 2.0 doesn't care about my affliction.  So I must press on.  I made a Google Site for our district summer reading program.  It's getting posted in June.  Hopefully students will use it to choose books.  I thought I was done but I keep going back to it to tweak it.  I will post it soon.

I found a fun site called Blabberize.  You upload a picture and make it talk.  It's like a primitive version of those commercials where the babies talk about eTrade.  Students can create Blabbers for presentations.

An eventful week so far!

Today I received an education on the art of course reimbursement.  I got an F.

The week before an assignment is due is always a fast week.  I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already.  My group and I now have some direction.  Our topic has allowed me to walk down Memory Lane.  Remember Oregon Trail?  Where in World is Carmen Sandiego? The first Sim City?  I forgot all about them!  I need to find an oil drilling simulation game that I played in 8th grade...Wait!  I found it!  I so remember Oil Barons for the Commodore 64!!
Games appear to have teaching value, depending on what expert you read.  Some say great, others...not so much.  I've always thought that students learn more when they're having fun (duh).  Teaching should be conveyed via different forms of media (it's why we're here, right?) so there should always be a place for a quality game/simulation exercise.

Now I'm going to search for popular "edutainment" software from the late 80's:)

(heehee!)

The original is from 1971--I'm as old as the Oregon Trail!

Back to Reality

Republica Dominica es muy buena!  It was so nice to relax with the kids.  No deadlines, lunches to pack, homework...  We saw humpback whales, horses on the beach every day, and cows by the pool on our last morning:-)  We're definitely going back! 

The view from our balcony...

If you look closely you can see horses on the beach!

(that's not me in the picture...)

But now, of course, I have to put my "media specialist/student/responsible parent" hat back on (it feels too small!).  Did I mention my massage under the palm trees?  But I digress...

Why

Isn't

My

Brain

Able?

Thoughts?

    Welcome to my very first blog!  I never pictured myself as a blogger but I guess I need to start:-)   
    
     The "publicness" of a blog is a little overwhelming to me.  I guess I understand how my students feel when I asked them if they would like post to a wiki.  Some loved the idea, but others feared it would open them up to scrutiny by their peers.  Ahh, to be young again.  I miss "youth" as a state but not the angst or anxiety.
     I wonder, is there a phobia to graduate school?  Or is there a fear of anxiety?  That's too much to wrap my head around!  Hopefully, when I have my Master's degree, my only phobia will be a fear of educational stagnation--edustagaphobia--(or spiders).
     Our new class seems like it will be interesting.  I'm excited.  I feel like I'm in control and I like that.  The expectations are clear and I can already see the end, which is good.  I hope to someday be the go-to lady when teachers want to infuse a new and fun technology tool into their lessons.  All of us "cohorters" will be technology rock stars among our fellow educators:-) Onward and upward I say!

In honor of our first project on IT history, here's a link to an interactive, ancient technology tool, the abacus!