Gas Money for HISD???

Has anyone else heard about the current news going on with HISD? I just read this story and I still can't believe it. It's sad that there are workers who are in those conditions, but I don't believe $250 is actually going to help anyone with gas. At least not for the whole school year. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Where I got my name from...

So now that I'm all done with my things, I think it's only fair that I shed some light on where I got my name from. No...it's not because I'm some great and ego minded teacher, (far from it)....it's actually because I really love playing ultimate frisbee. Imagine football and soccer mashed together with a very high intensity level. I'm looking forward to teaching to 4-5th graders next year after school. For more info about the sport click here.

If you're still not sure what I'm talking about, check out my youtube clips on the side bar of my blog. You'll find some highlight clips there. Enjoy.

Thing 23...

1) What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? - I enjoyed the ability to pace myself as I discover new (and old) tools. I really liked all of the google tools, podcasting, flickr, wikis, sandbox, comments, and youtube. There were sooooo many fun things that I'm kinda sad that it's over with.

2) How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? - Now I'm no longer have the fear of attacking or discovering new tools as I might have had. I also have more confidence in my discovering abilities.

3) Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? - I think I'm going to take away just about everything from this program. All of these tools are able to help me, and I'm looking forward to applying them in the fall.

4) What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? - The only thing is just add more things!!!

5) If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? - You bet!!!

6) How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities? Illuminating

Thing 22...

I like teacher social sites, I just didn't care too much for teacher lingo. I found it to be a bit empty, and not exactly easy to navigate around. I prefer pro teacher because as you can see, has several pages listed by either grade level or subject, or even a place where you can vent and socialize. I do like to check out these boards to find out what's going on at other schools, and if I'm the only one who feels little worn out from time to time.

Thing 21...

I really like using podcasts. I had won a podcasting grant, but I had a lot of problems with the audio. I do enjoy listening to a lot of podcasts, from many different teachers and education programs. I often find myself listening to them while I'm stuck in Houston traffic (which happens all the time). I would like to smooth out the edges around my podcast, so that I can have it up and running for the comming year.

Here's a link to a podcast that I just published about my experience. I used my ipod and a recorder and just uploaded it to audacity so I could convert it to an mp3, and then uploaded it to switchpod.

Thing 20...(again)

Since I am a male Elementary Teacher, I thought this was true. We do need more male teachers, but in the mean time, I'm happy with where I'm at.

Thing 20...

This video pretty much sums up what I think about teachers. Teachers do make a difference, no matter what.

As far as youtube goes, I think it's a great place for teachers, since our students are very visual now. I'm going to post a few more videos of things that I really liked.

Thing 19,,,

There are sooooo many web tools that I had to take a few days and process them in. I really liked how all the research has already been done, which just allows me to take a few moments and explore. It's so easy for us to just get in a routine, that we don't get a chance to explore the other thousand webpages out there. Here are a few of that thousand that I really liked:

One sentence is a great tool for writers to tell a story with just one sentence. I love it.
Docstoc is a great place for teachers and others to share files. I saw lots of great ideas for the fall from this place.
ifoods is like watching the food channel only without the commercials. I love to cook, and this just makes it even easier.

There are a ton more that I'm still checking out, but these are my top three. If you get a chance to check them out, let me know what you think.

Thing 18...

Ok...now that my computer is now working, I can get back to some blogging. I really liked google docs, and I think just the idea of being able to post a document where multiple people can see it is very cool. I was thinking that this would be a great way to post daily schedules, or any other routines that I would like to share with.

The whole world has just gotten smaller, and now with these tools, we can actually work with others around the world. Ok, so maybe we can already do that, but the convenience and the effectiveness has and, is constantly improving everyday. I can't wait to see what the tools of tomorrow will be like.

Thing 17....

I'm not sure why it took me so long to figure out Rollyo....maybe from lack of sleep or it could be because I'm just a little slow, but what a really neat idea. Building your own customized search engine allows you to filter out what your students don't need to focus on, and let's them get results that you want them to get. It's such a great idea...why didn't I think of that?
I can see this a big plus for research teachers who are having problems getting their students to focus on the task at hand. This site, allows teachers to actually go in, and create their own sites of where the search should take place. Very cool.