tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3835937649324911292024-03-05T10:45:34.444-06:00Lit's BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-29087207280046680652009-08-21T21:01:00.003-05:002009-08-21T21:12:08.072-05:00The Color of Water<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvKk-tjypTNIscciLF8epU05OmeET5P1D9ij3yqNgbTQpKRl6IWnqICCWxsPKhauSLRzIdwK9GTqi2vbCgPs7pE-jFxWLeOzX3sIkFu2svzVRF3nZl7iU-9j0pSwLmbTGJbXCMG_10K4/s1600-h/colorofwater.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372605152771099506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvKk-tjypTNIscciLF8epU05OmeET5P1D9ij3yqNgbTQpKRl6IWnqICCWxsPKhauSLRzIdwK9GTqi2vbCgPs7pE-jFxWLeOzX3sIkFu2svzVRF3nZl7iU-9j0pSwLmbTGJbXCMG_10K4/s200/colorofwater.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a id="thumbnail" href="http://marlboroughbooks.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/colorofwater.jpg"></a><a id="thumbnail" href="http://marlboroughbooks.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/colorofwater.jpg"></a><a id="thumbnail" href="http://marlboroughbooks.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/colorofwater.jpg"></a>This is now one of my top ten favorite books! James McBride, author of "Miracle at Santa Anna", has succeeded in writing a memoir/biography that not only tells the lifestory of his Jewish mother and the challenges she faced as the wife of an African American, and mother to eight children, but also what it was like for him to grow up as a "mixed race" child during the 1960's and 70's. He successfully relates the struggles of being mixed race without being preachy. This book is a must read! (PG)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-4345175135453185092009-07-01T11:02:00.003-05:002009-07-01T11:14:59.056-05:00Kissed by An Angel/The Power of Love/Soulmates by Elizabeth Chandler<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OWurd-z3p5rYqiAeTfKV3L9mKTHQkZCLkIvBsXCN8etZyj1qKFcojAmr8YFnq3b2PUtn0sIv3INar4B9Ed7OKL8A6f3TfRf3mosAsFNyUVlXOIKAyZBJczH_zGrwBaZhyphenhyphen-RrKpxAujk/s1600-h/kissed+by+an+angel.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353525658906269346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OWurd-z3p5rYqiAeTfKV3L9mKTHQkZCLkIvBsXCN8etZyj1qKFcojAmr8YFnq3b2PUtn0sIv3INar4B9Ed7OKL8A6f3TfRf3mosAsFNyUVlXOIKAyZBJczH_zGrwBaZhyphenhyphen-RrKpxAujk/s200/kissed+by+an+angel.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>A trilogy all in one book, this is the story of Ivy and Tristan, two high school students who meet and fall in love (and I mean REAL love). The deeply-caring-about-each-other's-welfare-want the-best-for-each-other-no-matter-what-love. Ivy is new to the school, and immediately garners attention because her mom is marrying the town's rich guy, which means she is going to be the step-sister to the high school's resident hunk (and mean guy), who seems to have an eye for her. Ivy catches the eye of nice guy Tristan, and it's love at first site. Sadly, tragedy steps in, and their relationship is cut short - or is it? And is the tragedy <em>really</em> a tragedy, or is there something more sinister going on?</div><br /><div>Rating: PG13</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-66896695291004200052009-07-01T10:55:00.002-05:002009-07-01T11:02:51.806-05:00Cirque Du Freak Series<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4KpF0AwYc3yP0NWnNoZHwE9RX8sok_kUF7PBqlgRt4Dstzi8p6x-Oxok0nKUX9YpTcTbzvZvklMM8BmG7t5tdZ4y0y8gWUosYoNUGdcbBO4sXnnGChjUq-ZPBH4rhPnmR8CEFvlRzug/s1600-h/cirque+du+freak.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353522753667092754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 129px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4KpF0AwYc3yP0NWnNoZHwE9RX8sok_kUF7PBqlgRt4Dstzi8p6x-Oxok0nKUX9YpTcTbzvZvklMM8BmG7t5tdZ4y0y8gWUosYoNUGdcbBO4sXnnGChjUq-ZPBH4rhPnmR8CEFvlRzug/s200/cirque+du+freak.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Okay - if you like a good story that's relatively predictable, and you find yourself asking,"Well, what do I read now?", then this series is for you. Written by Darren Shan (who is also the main character in the book), this tells the story of his adventures with a traveling circus of "freaks", only there's a twist - Darren is not with them by choice. Actually, to be accurate, he's not with them by <em>his</em> choice; well, actually it <em>is</em> his choice, only he doesn't choose the choice of his own free will. Make sense? If not, just read the books! Lots of adventure, pretty great writing, and a cliff hanger at the end of each book...doesn't get any better than that!</div><br /><div>Rating: PG (mild violence)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-60490950449525508542009-07-01T10:25:00.002-05:002009-07-01T10:27:12.539-05:00I'm Baaaa-aack!Finished the 11.5 Things class through the district, done the vacation thing, finished working on curriculum (first half, at least!) - and still managed to read some books! Actually, I've read quite a few books over the course of this year, so I think it's time I added those! Here we go...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-26034842250040211342008-08-10T21:58:00.003-05:002008-08-10T22:11:50.764-05:00The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaCfTQGEJVNwcGKAQ44I3eWJ4UAu_YXN93Y6S5gs1FJXASMSd6-z7m9b6ReX6Sf18HwxVvfkhe4G9upx9cMIbfdx7DftSvTq9uNwkRgGau6CLS7IK46GN8CyEmb15T4e3N3Mij-laP7s/s1600-h/ghoul's+guide.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233089867427633682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMaCfTQGEJVNwcGKAQ44I3eWJ4UAu_YXN93Y6S5gs1FJXASMSd6-z7m9b6ReX6Sf18HwxVvfkhe4G9upx9cMIbfdx7DftSvTq9uNwkRgGau6CLS7IK46GN8CyEmb15T4e3N3Mij-laP7s/s200/ghoul's+guide.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><em>Breaking Dawn</em> this is not. Still, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ghouls-Guide-Getting-Even/dp/0425213919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218423568&sr=8-1">The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even</a> starts out as a little hokey (okay, in all fairness, I <em>had </em>just finished <em>Breaking Dawn</em> a few minutes before jumping into this book, so maybe my expectations were a little too high), but then actually turns into a decent, spoofish (is that even a word??) take on vampires, only the main character in this book is an overachieving, somewhat nerdish future valedictorian who suddenly finds herself among the undead. Being the problem solver she is, she sets out to find a way to undo her undead status, taking the reader through several twists and turns before the book's end. PG13 (mild language)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-3750713514630880952008-08-05T18:00:00.003-05:002008-08-05T18:16:19.388-05:00Breaking Dawn (!!!!!!!!)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEnuTqiQNfGz7Qdt2JQCogorL-VeWRQj2pVaVyZLlj4U6Z232k17Gx31vi9g1DYLNXRBTVXvv747tZlyXeCNehDuwNFgM85KzQXdBv6QfQrRI_rnpAKIHeIrDHwHqwfbkcT3qSkqgCQY/s1600-h/bd.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231172967384518802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEnuTqiQNfGz7Qdt2JQCogorL-VeWRQj2pVaVyZLlj4U6Z232k17Gx31vi9g1DYLNXRBTVXvv747tZlyXeCNehDuwNFgM85KzQXdBv6QfQrRI_rnpAKIHeIrDHwHqwfbkcT3qSkqgCQY/s200/bd.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br />In a word (er... textspeak...OMG!!!! (translated "Oh My Gosh!")). <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Dawn-Twilight-Saga-Book/dp/031606792X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217977979&sr=8-1"><em>Breaking Dawn</em></a> was, by far, my favorite of the series - even surpassing that of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Saga-Book-1/dp/0316015849/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217978132&sr=1-2">Twilight</a>, which was in itself, an obsession from the moment I turned the first page. Without giving away anything, I think it's safe to say thatStephanie Meyers has accomplished what every author hopes for - a final novel (in a series, that is) that, one way or another, neatly wraps everything up with countless twists along the way. I'd better stop there before I given anything more away. Final word? Read it!!!! PG-13Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-36638612624706536042008-07-25T17:23:00.004-05:002008-07-25T17:40:58.724-05:00Stuck In Neutral<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiVoKjhopCLR3v_bZNluZZpn_LzlpmSGZ1xHGbEpfnkgGyaPNai41t3fnoZaDfSkr_4nMS6Daj0MxZ2kCQvQRsaKNFlVjdR6UXHsGucQ3JuT94-WYKDrqV4CNcabMuQx5pZa7DV2Y6TA/s1600-h/stuck.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227084776640372530" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiiVoKjhopCLR3v_bZNluZZpn_LzlpmSGZ1xHGbEpfnkgGyaPNai41t3fnoZaDfSkr_4nMS6Daj0MxZ2kCQvQRsaKNFlVjdR6UXHsGucQ3JuT94-WYKDrqV4CNcabMuQx5pZa7DV2Y6TA/s200/stuck.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNgKKsd5JjEkLL4qhVHLVUkHZtmE8S9kWypbp3gUuy8RW46Jab6GEjDirb820sgarKWfLc4ahPlt_g8awLkRGacxK7-MfOhfKxPCwxcXXRTNrIe423BpI78sBCQxvSefcWYTm_bTejQA/s1600-h/stuck.jpg"></a>I have to admit that I've had <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stuck-Neutral-Terry-Trueman/dp/0064472132/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217025588&sr=8-1">Stuck In Neutral</a> in my classroom library for quite some time, but never got around to reading it until just now. This book is unique, in that it tells the story from Shawn, a fourteen year old boy with Cerebral Palsy. Although he appears to be a "vegetable" (his words), he is actually just a normal fourteen year old boy, with all of the hopes, desires and worries that go with that age - with one exception. He believes that his father may be planning to kill him. Although this is completely a work of fiction, the author is the parent of a child much like Shawn, which lends a truthfulness to the story that I don't think would have been there. PG<br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-91028404175105239132008-07-24T18:54:00.004-05:002008-07-24T19:10:21.537-05:00Leaves - A Writer's Community NingI'm revisiting two things I have "touched" in my past, but didn't pursue at the time. The first came about four years ago, when I went through the New Jersey Writing Project Institute, and became addicted to the writing community, and went through GREAT withdrawals when it ended because I loved the interaction within the writing process. The second thing was recently when I "did" the Ning part of 23 Things. Over the last week I've been back into the NJWPT/Abydos Institute, working through a new piece with a community of writers - and have remembered how much I enjoyed being a member of a writing community. This has spurred me to revisit my wish to start a writer's circle in SBISD. Sooooo... I've created a Ning entitled "Leaves" (get it? Spring <strong>Branch</strong> - branches have leaves - leaves of paper??? ). The link to it is on this page. Please take a moment to visit, and, if you feel so compelled, join! I've set it up so that anyone who'd like to join, can.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-36396040121341008022008-07-22T17:50:00.002-05:002008-07-22T18:00:05.732-05:00Incantation, by Alice Hoffman<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqA3Myd0u3qkJ-wAqTKntuzyrG0aBeFF8kkrXtVJmmMsCm3TxZYhUAbjqYwBKE38-3f6zE6kkuofAhRVBK3aGdVnhdnFcLDsSHCDO8uqkWcr4wfbzG5O9qUdBFpWSapvbDUeoOO6lgHg/s1600-h/n172340.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225976896888369586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqA3Myd0u3qkJ-wAqTKntuzyrG0aBeFF8kkrXtVJmmMsCm3TxZYhUAbjqYwBKE38-3f6zE6kkuofAhRVBK3aGdVnhdnFcLDsSHCDO8uqkWcr4wfbzG5O9qUdBFpWSapvbDUeoOO6lgHg/s200/n172340.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I love it when authors sneak in history while telling a fantastic story! Set in the 1500s in Madrigal, Spain, we are given a glimpse into the lives of the <em>Conversos</em>, Jews who had converted to Christianity to avoid persecution during the Spanish Inquisition. Told in the voice of Estrella (a.k.a. Raven), Hoffman skillfully spins a tale of fierce loyalty, the importance of family, and most of all, the necessity of staying true to oneself, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable uncertainty and danger. An absolute MUST READ! G</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-77386037243298480352008-07-19T19:39:00.002-05:002008-07-19T20:01:06.956-05:00Fear Nothing, Dean Koontz<a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553579754.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553579754.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Okay - I admit it - I LOVE Dean Koontz novels. While he does have a tendency, in my opinion, to overuse similes and metaphors a tad too much, he writes one heck of a story, with complex characters caught in complex situations. As a teacher, I appreciate his ability to use dialogue to "flesh out" his characters (in my opinion, he is downright masterful!); as a reader, I can't get enough of his high intensity, non-stop action plots - PLUS, you just never know what twist he'll throw in. In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fear-Nothing-Dean-Koontz/dp/0553579754/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216515270&sr=8-1">Fear Nothing</a>, the books protagonist, Christopher Snow, finds himself in the midst of a mystery when his father's death sets in motion a bizarre series of events that will ultimately redefine his understanding of not only his closest friends, but the world around him. Koontz deftly weaves a story that asks the question, "What is risked when humans play God?" Definitely a "more mature read" due to some of the content, this one is not a book I would just put out on my classroom shelf, but would definitely recommend to "readers in the wild", as John O'Flahavan would say (at least I think it's John O'Flahavan that says that! :) ) R</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-27534705170141057002008-07-09T22:36:00.002-05:002008-07-09T22:50:22.932-05:00The Shack<a href="http://thechristianmanifesto.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/the-shack.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://thechristianmanifesto.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/the-shack.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Well...I wish I could say that I <strong><em>LOVE</em></strong> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237">The Shack</a>, but I can't. While the content in and of itself is beautiful, and definitely strengthened my understanding of grace, the writing is less than stellar. I could picture Young reaching for the thesaurus, just digging for that alternative verb - you know, the one your teacher encouraged you to find - the "active verb"? Still, I applaud the author for taking on a HUGE concept, and doing a lovely job of explaining some pretty tough topics in a straightforward, compassionate way. Even though the writing isn't great, it's still worth a read! GUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-68675088355092458652008-06-30T10:40:00.002-05:002008-06-30T11:21:20.840-05:00Catalyst<a href="http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/englished/yalit/catalyst/images/catalyst.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/englished/yalit/catalyst/images/catalyst.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I must admit, I've picked up and put down this book several times, for no reason that I can recall. I loved Anderson's other books, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fever-1793-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0689848919/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214842717&sr=1-1">Fever 1793</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/" ref="'sr_1_13?ie=" s="books&qid=" sr="8-13">Speak</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0670061018/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214840512&sr=8-14">Twisted</a> , but just never could commit to this one. Obviously, I finally committed, and found, not surprisingly, that<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0142400017/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214840627&sr=8-1">Catalyst</a> did not disappoint. In the last semester of her senior year of high school, and anxiously awaiting her acceptance letter to MIT, Kate, the character around which the story centers, suddenly finds her already complicated world even more so when through a course of events, the #1 female thug ends up living at Kate's house, an event with more than the expected implications. As with her other books, there is plenty of humor, with an equal dose of thought provoking scenes. I think this book is probably one of my favorites! PG-13 </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-18083189882883874782008-06-26T13:17:00.005-05:002008-07-12T10:30:18.178-05:00Wiki-wiki-wiki...Okay - getting on my technological soapbox! Do you teachers ever find yourself bemoaning the lack of time to really get down to the meat of the meetings whenever your team comes together to plan? Do you spend countless (and precious) hours trying to figure out where you put that wonderful short story/found that perfect poem on the web? Do you wish you could have more time to just wax philosophical with your colleagues on whether or not sentence diagramming is a worthwhile way to teach grammar (okay - that <em>might</em> be a bit over the top)<em>? </em>If you have not had time to play with the wiki in depth, I'd encourage you to give it a whirl. Back on Thing #16, I extolled the virtues of wikis, but my extolling was ridiculously ignorant! Now that I have gotten a chance to really start playing with the three wikis I set up for the L.A. teams on my campus, I am in love! I've settled on Wetpaint (see <a href="http://samplesbisdteacherwiki.wetpaint.com/?t=anon">sample wiki</a> for one modeled after the ones we're (hopefully) using at the Forest). Feel free to play, and share your ideas on how you can see it applied in your world! Happy Wiki-ing! (Note: I've included permission at the bottom to copy anything you see that you like - all I ask is that you let me know what you think!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-57247881928411989522008-06-25T15:49:00.004-05:002008-06-25T16:05:38.020-05:00Water for Elephants<a href="http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/156/512/big1565125606.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/156/512/big1565125606.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/156/512/big1565125606.jpg"></a>All I can say is "wow"! While this book is definitely NOT one for the kids, due to some adult content, it is a BEAUTIFUL story that leaves you satisfied. Without giving away too many details, this book tells the story of a young man who finds himself homeless and penniless during the early years of the American Depression. Desperate, he jumps what he soon finds out to be a circus train, and soon finds himself caught up in the life of a travelling circus. To say the characters are richly developed would be an understatement! I found myself smiling, laughing, crying and commiserating with all of them. As an added bonus, Gruen has artfully woven her extensive research into the book, basing several of the more humorous, and sometimes tragic, anecdotes on actual events from circus lore. As I said, this is not a book for students; however, I would absolutely recommend it for their parents.<br />R</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-46184775446313647742008-06-23T14:49:00.004-05:002008-06-23T15:18:01.278-05:00Thing #21 - Adventures in Podcasting - The Adventure continues...Okay - being the stubborn one that I am, I reshot my podcast with my camera, and basically redid it. I successfully uploaded the podcast to Switchpod (yahoo!), and am now hoping that all I have to do is load the url in a la html code. Soooooo... here goes...<br /><br /><!--TEACHERTUBE EMBED VIDEO START--><br /><embed src="http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/flvplayer.swf" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="&file=http://www.teachertube.com/embedvideo.php?viewkey=dc97ead9ad8794efde82&location=http://www.teachertube.com/skin-p/flvplayer.swf&logo=http://www.teachertube.com/images/greylogo.swf&frontcolor=0xffffff&backcolor=0x000000&lightcolor=0xFF0000&autostart=false&volume=80&overstretch=fit&link=http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=dc97ead9ad8794efde82&linkfromdisplay=true"></embed><br /><!--TEACHERTUBE EMBED VIDEO END--><br /><br /><br />Woohoo! It worked! Obviously, I chose to route this through TeacherTube, which was ridiculously easy. When I tried to figure out how to insert the actual podcast into my blog, I couldn't get it to work, so I just went to what I know, which is why I went to TeacherTube.Now I just have to figure out how to get rid of the static....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-85367652646641087872008-06-21T10:34:00.003-05:002008-06-21T10:58:16.482-05:00Thing #23 - I'm (NOT) out of here!Woohoo! I'm done!!!!!!<br /><br /><em><strong>What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? </strong></em><br />I'd have to say my two favorites were the Wikis (so ridiculously user friendly!!!! I really like Wetpaint the most, and have set up three planning wikis for my teams (I'd link them, but they're private)) and then it's a toss up between the blogs and podcasts (yes, even though I did my fair share of "gritching" because I couldn't get it to upload, I know the issue is not insurmountable). <br /><br /><em><strong>How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?</strong> </em><br />Talk about the breath of life! This has shown me a whole new set of things to "chase", and it's only a mouse click away. PLUS, like literacy, technology is a dynamic body of knowledge, always changing, so it's not like I'll ever know it all (even if it was static, I'd still never know it all). Finally, technology dovetails into just about every subject out there, so if I should ever move from a classroom teacher to another educational position, the knowledge will transfer, too!<br /><em><strong>Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? </strong></em><br />I am amazed, looking back, at how MUCH I learned, in such a short amount of time. The title of this post says it all - I'm not finished. I am going to go back and play some more (I WILL get that stinking podcast uploaded!!!!!).<br /><em><strong>What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?</strong></em><br />Maybe offer a "BYOL" (Bring Your Own Laptop) meeting - at a Starbucks, even - where people could come get in person support for specific issues they are having. <em><strong><br />If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? </strong></em><br />Absolutely! Put me on the list now!<br /><em><strong>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?</strong></em><br />Pivotal<br />Paradigm shifting<br />Dynamic<br />Life ChangingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-50061218271937245582008-06-21T10:09:00.002-05:002008-06-21T10:34:07.083-05:00Thing #22 - It's a Ning ThingWell, still haven't resolved the vid/podcast issue, but have decided to move on, since I think I've solved the mystery, and just need to shoot it so it'll be uploadable. I played around with several of the Nings, and then joined one of the sites and created a <a href="http://stratfordhighschool.ning.com/">Stratford Alumni</a> Ning - even emailed it to several of my husband's class (he's kept up with about ten of his buddies - kind of impressive, since he's class of '77, and I'm '84). He then informed me that one already exists, and is linked to the SHS home page. Oh, well, I at least got to play with it! I think I'll create a Ning for Writing Teachers - maybe some of my fellow 23 Thingers/Writing Teachers (hint, hint, Grammar god :)) will join in the fun....<br /><br />I can see all kinds of applications for Nings in the classroom. For the kids, contains so many of the other components (blogs, forums, insertion of vid and pod casts, that I can see it as a wonderful, user friendly way for groups (or individuals) to create focus groups, and incorporate research into that. For example, my skateboarders could create a Ning that included a blog for fellow skate boarders - complete with different threads - video insertions of famous skateboarders, photos, etc. In fact, creating a Ning would be a really cool end of semester or end of year project because it would require the kids to incorporate everything they learned, both technologically, and L.A. curriculum related (not that the two are mutally exclusive, though) into one final place. I think I'll explore that more this next year, as I'm sure there are parental approvals, and such, that I'd need to get.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-69075807407493710732008-06-20T17:05:00.002-05:002008-06-20T17:20:29.072-05:00Thing #21 - Adventures in Podcasting! Ready to SCREAM! Part III know this seems like I'm perseverating on this (and I am - it's 5:05, and I am still in my pajamas, and have permanently grown into my couch at this point). I searched all the graduates' blogs, but didn't find anything other than a lot of very cheerful (grrrrr!) posts regaling pod and vidcasts, and how easy they are to do. Being the stubborn one that I am, I decided to try creating a new Photostory with an actual photograph, to see if that made a difference - which it did! Sooooooo - I'm going to try to just photograph the Powerpoint slides I made, save those into Photostory as pictures (even though I saved the Powerpoint slides as .jpeg files), and go that route. In the meanwhile, if any of you Kickball Captains can advise me on how to convert those files into something that will upload through Photostory, I'd greatly appreciate it! I think I will forge ahead, though, to Thing #22.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-56545658932181187752008-06-20T14:32:00.002-05:002008-06-20T14:36:33.285-05:00Thing #21 - Adventures in Podcasting! Ready to SCREAM!Okay - ready to scream now! I've been to at least 10 different sites, trying to get my stinking podcast uploaded, and finally went back to Switchpod, thinking that maybe I'd clicked the wrong thing. I mean, after all, I created the podcast with Photostory, and then used Switchpod - both of which were recommended by the 23 Things instructions, but got the same message "The submitted file was of invalid type." I have NO IDEA how to get this stinking thing up! Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!!!!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-46400688640983506712008-06-20T13:42:00.004-05:002008-06-20T14:29:41.214-05:00Thing #21 - Adventures in Podcasting!Okay...holding my breath that this worked! This was, perhaps, the most complicated Thing of all - or maybe convoluted is a better word. I thoroughly enjoyed creating the Podcast with Photostory, and decided that rather than taking pictures, and using those, I'd try to see if Powerpoint would "translate" - which it does (although I think you have to save it as a jpeg file, but I may be wrong). With that decided, I sketched it out, and then created it (which took three days, off and on). Special props to my daughter for providing the voice work (I figured since middle school kids are my target audience, it would be better with a twelve year old narrating it than me). All of this was relatively easy - if not a little tedious. When it was time to upload it, though, it got a little more complicated. I went to Switchpod, but when it was time to upload, it looked like it was working, but then told me the format was unrecognized! UGH!!! I checked out the FAQ section, and found the link to <a href="http://ourmedia.org/Ourmedia">Ourmedia</a>, which required a download of Spin Express, a "translator" program. At this point, it was pretty easy - I had to register on an archive site - and then the upload wizard guided me through the rest. As I sit here typing, I've inserted the html code from the archive site (when the upload finishes, it takes you to your archived site, where the code is located just a little further down the page), and will now click "post", and see if it works. Crossing the fingers...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-30004580448108720072008-06-17T22:19:00.002-05:002008-06-17T22:22:11.474-05:00Thing #6 - Again!Okay - had a chance to play a little more with mashups. I initially intended to add a magazine cover, but found the jigsaw program, and thought how cool this would be to have kids find an image that represented a theme from a short story or book. So, here you go...<br /><br /><a href="http://bighugelabs.com/photos/ff71733bd16e54bdc93edcf6a2fb9b95/jigsaw2572830"><img src="http://bighugelabs.com/thumbs/ff71733bd16e54bdc93edcf6a2fb9b95/jigsaw2572830.jpg" alt="Image hosted @ bighugelabs.com" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-46128407837734318452008-06-17T21:58:00.002-05:002008-06-17T22:01:53.958-05:00Thing #10 RevisitedOkay - had a little more luck this time. I don't know what is going on with my connection, but for some reason, I just couldn't get to some pages the other day. ANYWAY, here's my contribution for the Image generator. I can see all kinds of applications for this tool. Kids can use it as a response to something they've read. I also wondered if these could be inserted into a powerpoint or PhotoStory, and then turned into a Podcast. Something to play with in the future...<br /><a href='http://www.fototrix.com'><img src='http://buy4cheap.biz/spiffytext/saved/www.txt2pic.com_6172008-69155130179-2303-2.jpg' border='0' alt='Make your own free clipart like this @ www.TXT2PIC.com with free web based tools (hundreds of image generators that run through a web broswer, no software to buy or install).'></a><a href='http://www.comedysearchengine.com'><br></a><font size=1>Made with free image tools @ <a href='http://www.txt2pic.com'>TXT2PIC.com</a></font>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-76239826945359889802008-06-13T16:39:00.004-05:002008-06-13T16:46:19.840-05:00Thing #21Woohoo! I've been looking forward to this Thing all along. Now I can finally figure what to do with all of those videos we shot this past year, after getting proper permission, of course! I particularly liked the video on TeacherTube on poetry slams, since I've been really wanting to take "Open Mic" to the next level, but wasn't sure how to give my kids a visual of what a poetry slam looks like. Check out the video below to see what I'm talking about. (Be patient with the beginning - it's a student made video, so you have the middle school flavor! :))<br /><embed src="http://www.teachertube.com/player/search/mediaplayer.swf" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="height=350&width=425&file=http://www.teachertube.com/flvideo/25858.flv&image=http://www.teachertube.com/thumb/25858.jpg&location=http://www.teachertube.com/player/search/mediaplayer.swf&logo=http://www.teachertube.com/images/greylogo.swf&searchlink=http://teachertube.com/search_result.php%3Fsearch_id%3D&frontcolor=0xffffff&backcolor=0x000000&lightcolor=0xFF0000&screencolor=0xffffff&autostart=false&volume=80&overstretch=fit&link=http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a50a632efddf40bbdd75&linkfromdisplay=true&recommendations=http://www.teachertube.com/embedplaylist.php?chid=67"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-84333403091321862142008-06-13T15:59:00.002-05:002008-06-13T16:10:39.018-05:00Thing #20Had a little trouble getting to the Web 2.0 listng. Something is up with the link, I think. I googled "Web 2.0", and found it that way.<br /><br /><em>What is special about the tool?</em> <br />I think the way that it's a "one stop shop", and it's a one stop shop of the best.<br /><em>What are its useful parts, especially with regards to Libraries and school?</em><br />It's almost like you have to know what you're looking for, and then it will be there (probably!). I think of it almost like a toolbox of tech tools. <br /><em>How might you use this tool in your own setting?</em><br />I can see how this might be a resource for the kids to use like a menu, of sorts, so that they can have whatever tools they need, technologically speaking, to create the product they are shooting for.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-383593764932491129.post-30342459317478171252008-06-13T15:32:00.002-05:002008-06-13T15:36:40.379-05:00Thing #19Open Office? Not so much! I couldn't get it to open, and when I tried to save it to my computer, it was going to take 11 minutes to download! And that's on my fancy-schmancy new district issued laptop. I did play with the Google Docs a bit, and like the similarity between those programs and Word. I could see it being an affordable way for kids who may have the computer, but not the software (Microsoft ain't cheap!). I can also see it kind of like a wiki, in that, if I understand the software, you can share documents with others. Not sure, come to think of it, if I saw where you can have multiple writers. If so, that makes it ever so much cooler!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0