Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I get by with a little help from my friends
I found this great website this afternoon for history teachers, people wanting to integrate history into their lessons, and anyone who wants to be a history teacher because they realize how cool we are! The site is http://www.besthistorysites.net/ and it has 1000s of links to historical websites and education sites dedicated to helping teachers. You can find lesson plans, games, links for art and oral histories, and history of every type and era. Even if you aren't a history teacher, take a minute out of your day to check it out. It's pretty darn cool!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Inauguration Day
On the eve of President Obama's inauguration, I am very excited to see all of the various ways technology will be covering the events of the day. Long gone are the days of listening to the President's first speech over the radio proclaiming "there is nothing to fear, but fear itself!"
Tomorrow is a day which will live in infamy, but in that so many people will be able to watch events on tv, streaming over the internet, and live on the radio. It makes me wonder that in 60 years, we've come from being able to listen on the radio, to being able to watch live over the net. How will we be able to view it in another 60 years? Smell-o-vision? Virtual reality tablets which make you believe that you are there?
I frequently think about what has happened with technology over a lifetime and am constantly amazed. My grandfather turned 90 in October, and in his lifetime there have been two world wars, the advent of movies and television, antibiotics, and even sliced bread (1928, when he was 10!) Maybe I'm waxing a bit too poetically for a Monday evening, but with all this recent change, I can't help but wonder what the future has in store.
Tomorrow is a day which will live in infamy, but in that so many people will be able to watch events on tv, streaming over the internet, and live on the radio. It makes me wonder that in 60 years, we've come from being able to listen on the radio, to being able to watch live over the net. How will we be able to view it in another 60 years? Smell-o-vision? Virtual reality tablets which make you believe that you are there?
I frequently think about what has happened with technology over a lifetime and am constantly amazed. My grandfather turned 90 in October, and in his lifetime there have been two world wars, the advent of movies and television, antibiotics, and even sliced bread (1928, when he was 10!) Maybe I'm waxing a bit too poetically for a Monday evening, but with all this recent change, I can't help but wonder what the future has in store.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Facebook Addict!
Facebook! How I love thee! Let me count the ways . . .
(Following my last blog, Karen asked me to elaborate on my Facebook experience, and I am pulling myself away from FB for 2 minutes to tell you why I admire it so.)
1. It's a great way of connecting with pals from work, sports, band, etc that you don't see on a regular basis. The primary reason I joined was to find "friends" from high school before my 10 year reunion last summer. Thanks to FB, I saved myself at least $90 and the embarrassment of proclaiming to friends from high school that I'm not the First Lady of the US. (yet!)
2. Along those same lines, the voyeur side of me can see how others have fared from high school and you don't have that awkwardness of trying to remember their name in the middle of the grocery store. (Trust me, some people should not put those pics on FB!)
3. There are actually some fun games and activities to play where you can interact with friends. I play Scrabble, challenge my friends to Geo Challenge (I beat them all--awesome being a social studies teacher), and occasionally "Kidnap!" someone to a far off land. (I am trying to take the Kidnap application and have it lend itself to the classroom. It's kind of hard without the technology component.)
4. It's awesome knowing what the students are doing for "fun" with technology at home. Knowing about FB, MySpace and others allow me to have a connection that others may not have. Not that I allow students to visit my site or be my friend, I can talk to them about applications and then they try them and find out that they are cool. (Exact thing happened with Kidnap and Geo Challenge!) Plus, I feel it's a huge advantage into staying hip and cool and trying new things that interest the students.
5. Finally, FB is what connects me to my best friend who lives in Las Vegas. I can send her a message, we can instant message, post pictures each other can see, or I can write on her wall. It's cheaper than a long distance call and has the potential to be instantaneous. What's not to love?
So there are a few reasons why I love FB. Now, I need to move my car on Parking Wars so it doesn't get ticketed by a fellow band nerd from high school.
(Following my last blog, Karen asked me to elaborate on my Facebook experience, and I am pulling myself away from FB for 2 minutes to tell you why I admire it so.)
1. It's a great way of connecting with pals from work, sports, band, etc that you don't see on a regular basis. The primary reason I joined was to find "friends" from high school before my 10 year reunion last summer. Thanks to FB, I saved myself at least $90 and the embarrassment of proclaiming to friends from high school that I'm not the First Lady of the US. (yet!)
2. Along those same lines, the voyeur side of me can see how others have fared from high school and you don't have that awkwardness of trying to remember their name in the middle of the grocery store. (Trust me, some people should not put those pics on FB!)
3. There are actually some fun games and activities to play where you can interact with friends. I play Scrabble, challenge my friends to Geo Challenge (I beat them all--awesome being a social studies teacher), and occasionally "Kidnap!" someone to a far off land. (I am trying to take the Kidnap application and have it lend itself to the classroom. It's kind of hard without the technology component.)
4. It's awesome knowing what the students are doing for "fun" with technology at home. Knowing about FB, MySpace and others allow me to have a connection that others may not have. Not that I allow students to visit my site or be my friend, I can talk to them about applications and then they try them and find out that they are cool. (Exact thing happened with Kidnap and Geo Challenge!) Plus, I feel it's a huge advantage into staying hip and cool and trying new things that interest the students.
5. Finally, FB is what connects me to my best friend who lives in Las Vegas. I can send her a message, we can instant message, post pictures each other can see, or I can write on her wall. It's cheaper than a long distance call and has the potential to be instantaneous. What's not to love?
So there are a few reasons why I love FB. Now, I need to move my car on Parking Wars so it doesn't get ticketed by a fellow band nerd from high school.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
All Apologies
I hate to say it . . . but I am rather technoed out right now. After being home for two weeks surrounded by Facebook 24/7 and all other forms of computer things, I just am not feeling the blogging bug at this time. With so much in the news about the inauguration coming up, trying to get grades done prior to the end of the quarter, and getting pumped up for 4 preps during 3rd quarter . . . I'm just not feeling like blogging. I am sorry.
The only thing that is really hitting me right now (pardon the pun) is the reminder in my "Today in History" gadget on iGoogle that today is in fact the 15th anniversary of Nancy Kerrigan's clubbing incident. But would we remember Nancy Kerrigan as much if that event had not happened? Probably not. So, in terms of her notoriety, happy anniversary!
The only thing that is really hitting me right now (pardon the pun) is the reminder in my "Today in History" gadget on iGoogle that today is in fact the 15th anniversary of Nancy Kerrigan's clubbing incident. But would we remember Nancy Kerrigan as much if that event had not happened? Probably not. So, in terms of her notoriety, happy anniversary!
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