Online Publications

Sitting in an all afternoon session in Columbia about creating online publications, I am glad that some of the information that is shared today is the same as our instructor has shared with us in our digital writing class. Yes, I got lost for some of it but to give myself a little credit, it was because the computer I was using was not cooperating not only with me but the publications "guru" as well. Apparently USC computer labs have the same problems as the high schools. Some of the information was helpful for what we are all attempting in the digital class also. Mmmmm...think this digital stuff is catching on???? :)

Common Cold

Why is it that the simple common cold can make you feel so miserable? I have made it through flu season, the stomach bug, mono, strep throat, and bronchitis that all of my students have been battling all year to be attacked by the common cold. At least with the predicted weather being wet and cold, I planned ahead (for once) and have homemade soup waiting in the crockpot at home and have found a Paula Deen recipe for bacon and pimiento cheese muffins that I am going to try. We may not get snow, and that is okay with me, but the wet and cold is when you need to call in the reinforcements.

Erma's Words Still Ring True

Since all of us are parents or prospective parents, I found this from Forever, Erma by Erma Bombeck. For those of you young'uns, she was a nationally syndicated columnist in the '60s-'90s and known for her downhome humor. Most of us will have no problem relating.

Get on the WORDLE bandwagon

If nothing else but to have a little fun try out WORDLE.

We are SO like our students

This weekend is going by a little more uneventful, thank goodness. This week has been full to say the least. Upon first meeting Sara Kadjer, it was nice to hear that not only does she teach at VT and write technology books, but she also is still active in the regular classroom. This adds so much credibilty to what she has to say in my eyes because she is actually using her information in the classroom not in some idealistic world somewhere. To give her credit, she did warn us beforehand that she was going to bombard us with websites and technology "wonders" and it was up to us to take in as much as possible and leave what we couldn't comprehend at the moment. Thank you, Sara, for being realistic with teachers as well!!

Hearts and Valentines??

This weekend my youngest, who is now a high school junior, decided he would go on the church ski trip for the first time. All was going well until we received a phone call on Valentine's Day afternoon with word that he had fallen and hit his head. Cleared by the ski patrol, the nurse on the trip was making sure he was okay and kept checking on him every 15 minutes or so. So mom and dad breathed a sigh of relief to know that his head was in working order but then within 30 minutes of each other he and the other two guys sharing a room had all come down with a bug with not real pretty consequences. My heart goes out to him and the other two boys. What is worse for a boy than not being able to ski or snowboard AND being sick AND away from home!? When I checked just a little while ago, they were doing better and had been able to drink something. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is only a 24 hour bug and they will all feel better tomorrow to travel back home. ( and that the bug doesn't come home with him)

High School is NEVER Dull

This week has gone by pretty fast. My sophomores are really great and my seniors...are seniors. If it hadn't been for meetings and outside commitments, it would have been a relatively quiet week. Today there were several fights at school and it was so amazing how quickly students can create their own take on things. Suddenly the assumption of the day was, "I heard if there were four fights in one day, we would be dismissed." Ummm...wrong! Technology helped this fairy tale spread so quickly that the principal had to announce that it wasn't exactly true...there would be no food fight at lunch and if things didn't get back on track that break would be a distance priviledge. Things cooled off and hopefully everyone will all play nice to make Friday a happy day for everyone. The joys of high school drama...you have to agree, it ain't dull!!

Hit the Ground Running

After enjoying a great Thursday-Saturday at Kiawah Island with 10 other collegues from Socastee at the SCCTE Conference, I have come home to hit the ground running. With a little trepidation, we have our first SKYPE conference tonight and I am not quite sure if I have all of this technology down yet. If all goes well, it should be a good discussion of all that we have read over the past several weeks. Then I have one meeting after another this week...between IEPs and 504s and even more staff development at the end of the week, it should go by quickly. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with all the activity.

Ideas Come to Light

The readings of Sara Kadjer bring home the idea that a student's reading may not be what is considered classical literature but at the same time it is important to recognize that they all are reading in some form or other. Gaming rules and instructions, manuals for everything from cars to Ipods to DVRs, etc. all are print material and often very technical material. We, as teachers, must find our students reading interests and be willing to start from there. We are losing too many of them because we don't acknowlege that they really are reading.

Long Weekend

Exams are over and graded and the new semester will soon begin. After teaching 27 years, I still try to figure out what needs to be changed, what needs to be continued, and what can I do to make the material more useful to the students. I guess it would be so easy to sit back and just continue with things done the same way as forever. But I guess I enjoy change (whether or not I actually want to admit it) for the sake of freshness in the classroom. Yes, some things end up being the same over and over again, but I am always open to new things. Maybe that is why I ended up with a video production class years ago with no training, and then 10 years ago became a publications adviser. Of course, I have learned and studied as hard or harder than the students but I thoroughly have enjoyed the journey. I hope that it continues.