In honor of all the summer haircuts....
Monday, November 4, 2013
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Road Trip Day 9
Day 9:
Moving right along to the Atlantic Ocean!!! We visited a nice beach here in Massachusetts where we could see the bottom of the ocean and discover sea life in the tide pools! We climbed rocks and saved crabs that were dying on land by throwing them out one at a time into the ocean! It didn't even occur to me until just now that I have seen one of those email forwards about a little boy saving the starfish one at a time. I will post it at the bottom of today's reading for you! I feel like this is a message straight from God to the boys and I!!! I can't wait to read it to them tomorrow!
We had a great time in the white sand, but the water was freezing! We were definitely not in the Gulf of Mexico anymore! We got home this afternoon and had our first real Boston driving experience. We showered and headed to the skate park where we got lost, were cut off multiple times, and never felt like we had a road large enough for all of the lanes they try to fit in it! I guess it's because this town is so old, the horses used to fit just fine between the buildings! We finally made it to the skate park where I was a bit shy about talking to the strangers. The skate parks we have been to haven't really felt very "open" for random conversations about God. This was no different so I just prayed while we were there and Dayne, Cole, and I had our own little ministry time together. It seems we are all getting a little tired and cranky with one another so we just talked it out and re-upped on our Lord list. We got real grateful again and made some heart changes. The rest of the night we spent some final time with this PRECIOUS family God allowed us to stay with....we ate dinner out at Doyle's (a pretty famous place here in Boston). It was no Cheers, but they have filmed movies there so it has something special. It was delicious and the family time was good.
We took a walk out by the pond that is across the street from Abra's house and the boys played in the "sugar bowl". It is a HUGE valley they use for sledding in the winter that was nicknamed sugar bowl since it fills up with snow! They ran down the hills and played while we hunted for bats. We found a few flying overhead and then came home to pack. We head to New York tomorrow and have a great rest of the week to look forward to. I have to say that I received so many blessings in Boston. Thank you so much to Abra, Daniel, and Simi for making our trip incredible.
Enjoy this story below and PLEASE pray for Sophia! She is in need of our prayers to get through this critical time as well as receiving COMPLETE HEALING!!!!
Blessed and highly favored!!!!
The Starfish Story
by Loren Eiseley
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a little boy, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The little boy was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The little boy paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the little boy replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
Discouraged he began to walk away. Suddenly the little boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference for that one." The man looked at the little boy inquisitively and thought about what he had said and had done. Inspired, he joined the little boy in throwing the starfish back into the ocean.
Moral to the story: No, YOU can't save the world but you can make a difference. And That's reason enough for me.
Moving right along to the Atlantic Ocean!!! We visited a nice beach here in Massachusetts where we could see the bottom of the ocean and discover sea life in the tide pools! We climbed rocks and saved crabs that were dying on land by throwing them out one at a time into the ocean! It didn't even occur to me until just now that I have seen one of those email forwards about a little boy saving the starfish one at a time. I will post it at the bottom of today's reading for you! I feel like this is a message straight from God to the boys and I!!! I can't wait to read it to them tomorrow!
We had a great time in the white sand, but the water was freezing! We were definitely not in the Gulf of Mexico anymore! We got home this afternoon and had our first real Boston driving experience. We showered and headed to the skate park where we got lost, were cut off multiple times, and never felt like we had a road large enough for all of the lanes they try to fit in it! I guess it's because this town is so old, the horses used to fit just fine between the buildings! We finally made it to the skate park where I was a bit shy about talking to the strangers. The skate parks we have been to haven't really felt very "open" for random conversations about God. This was no different so I just prayed while we were there and Dayne, Cole, and I had our own little ministry time together. It seems we are all getting a little tired and cranky with one another so we just talked it out and re-upped on our Lord list. We got real grateful again and made some heart changes. The rest of the night we spent some final time with this PRECIOUS family God allowed us to stay with....we ate dinner out at Doyle's (a pretty famous place here in Boston). It was no Cheers, but they have filmed movies there so it has something special. It was delicious and the family time was good.
We took a walk out by the pond that is across the street from Abra's house and the boys played in the "sugar bowl". It is a HUGE valley they use for sledding in the winter that was nicknamed sugar bowl since it fills up with snow! They ran down the hills and played while we hunted for bats. We found a few flying overhead and then came home to pack. We head to New York tomorrow and have a great rest of the week to look forward to. I have to say that I received so many blessings in Boston. Thank you so much to Abra, Daniel, and Simi for making our trip incredible.
Enjoy this story below and PLEASE pray for Sophia! She is in need of our prayers to get through this critical time as well as receiving COMPLETE HEALING!!!!
Blessed and highly favored!!!!
The Starfish Story
by Loren Eiseley
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a little boy, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The little boy was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The little boy paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the little boy replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
Discouraged he began to walk away. Suddenly the little boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference for that one." The man looked at the little boy inquisitively and thought about what he had said and had done. Inspired, he joined the little boy in throwing the starfish back into the ocean.
Moral to the story: No, YOU can't save the world but you can make a difference. And That's reason enough for me.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Course in Summary
First and foremost, I thank the facilitators for the opportunity to explore and learn about these 23 things in a safe, self-paced environment. I felt like the expectations from myself would be higher because of my job description but that is the entire reason I took the class! I don't claim to know everything and there is no possible way I can know it all. They best thing I can do is to learn more! That is just what this course did for me. Having the RSS feeds I chose in my reader will help with keeping me educated on the latest and greatest. It seems by the time I hear about something new at a conference, other districts have tested, implemented, and required it of their teachers!
There are so many ways for me to continue this learning process. The number one "thing" I am excited about is being able to go back and review any of this online information at any time! What a gift from web 2.0! During this last month, I lost a very close friend. From the second week of class until Sunday (when we held her final memorial), I have been an emotional roller coaster. The time I worked on this course was a good distraction, but my time was limited. So, I didn't continue with the stretch activities in an effort to complete the course by the required date. I love exploring on the web. It's what I do! This class is here as a powerful reference for me to do just that!
Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity and the great experience I had with this class! Have a great rest of the summer folks!
There are so many ways for me to continue this learning process. The number one "thing" I am excited about is being able to go back and review any of this online information at any time! What a gift from web 2.0! During this last month, I lost a very close friend. From the second week of class until Sunday (when we held her final memorial), I have been an emotional roller coaster. The time I worked on this course was a good distraction, but my time was limited. So, I didn't continue with the stretch activities in an effort to complete the course by the required date. I love exploring on the web. It's what I do! This class is here as a powerful reference for me to do just that!
Thank you again for the wonderful opportunity and the great experience I had with this class! Have a great rest of the summer folks!
Drumroll, Please. Thing 23
The Ning Network sounds like some sort of television station! I started a Ning two years ago before I really knew what a Ning was supposed to do! It is called IWANNAPLAYCOMPUTERS and I wanted everyone to join and give some great gift ideas USING technology. I am always creating books, calendars, movies, etc. for gifts and I wanted to know what others did. It never took off, though. As life goes, we got too busy to ever really pursue anything with my Ning! Back in February, we went to TCEA and our department had a Ning about the conference. This was the greatest use of a Ning for our department and a FREE resource we were able to share with one another. I really felt like I experienced the conference so much more because of the others sharing their thoughts with the world! Imagine how this could work in a classroom all year. The students would have a social outlet to use that is user friendly, and safe as it is monitored by the facilitator.
The Classroom 2.0 Ning has an incredible amount of information and resources. One thing I liked is the Visual Vocab app I found posted on the Ning. Since we are all fairly new at integrating iPods/touhes/Pads, etc., we need to see these new resources! There were also a ton of ideas to use with the kids in the classroom.
When I first found the Ning, I just thought it was like creating a web site, but have since discovered it is SOCIAL NETWORKING. It is an interactive site with friends, co workers, family, etc. It has so many uses and I hope we will be able to use it for free, or very cheap, in education!
The Classroom 2.0 Ning has an incredible amount of information and resources. One thing I liked is the Visual Vocab app I found posted on the Ning. Since we are all fairly new at integrating iPods/touhes/Pads, etc., we need to see these new resources! There were also a ton of ideas to use with the kids in the classroom.
When I first found the Ning, I just thought it was like creating a web site, but have since discovered it is SOCIAL NETWORKING. It is an interactive site with friends, co workers, family, etc. It has so many uses and I hope we will be able to use it for free, or very cheap, in education!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thing 22
Since social is my middle name, I decided to focus on the networking part of this thing! I already have accounts set up for My Space and Facebook. The cool thing about that, however, is that for the first time in my 23 things coursework, I was able to check these accounts without feeling like I was off task! Yipee! Social networking is one of the most incredible inventions of our times! We truly are separated by only six degrees. Networking has long been a way to get jobs, make connections, and change our lives! That is what these sites are doing for our society. Understanding how these work can help us understand the needs of our kids better. If we know what interests them, we can create lessons that "speak their language".
I use my site primarily for social networking with friends. I am not on these sites to meet new people or use the site to learn much. This has changed throughout my exploration of the sites! In the instructions of the lesson, we are told to add authors, schools, etc. A couple of years ago, while reading Wes Fryer's Blog, I was sold on this idea. Yet again, I didn't make the time so here I am rediscovering. Wes Fryer give examples of students setting up Skype interviews based on the usage of Facebook to track down authors, inventors, and others that can assist in educating students! It is an amazing way to connect and bring real people into the classroom where you never before would have had the opportunity!
I am biased to using Facebook as it's features are more simplistic and do not require an artistic or creative eye to develop! MySpace takes much longer to load pages and everyone has to be friends with the stranger named Tom. I like to add only those I know (LOL).
Integrating education in the use of these sites could impact our schools. First of all, they are FREE tools. All we need is Internet!It was once told to me that Japan utilizes these free resources for their students. I don't know the validity of that comment, but I have seen smaller school districts with less money implement more free materials with great success. Creating profiles of book characters is one of my all time favorite ideas! Questions could be posted and comments easily left starting incredible discussion groups. Students can utilize a MySpace page to upload all types of media created in the classroom. What better venue to access than his/her own space? Check out my spaces and places!
DeAnna's Facebook
DeAnna's MySpace
I use my site primarily for social networking with friends. I am not on these sites to meet new people or use the site to learn much. This has changed throughout my exploration of the sites! In the instructions of the lesson, we are told to add authors, schools, etc. A couple of years ago, while reading Wes Fryer's Blog, I was sold on this idea. Yet again, I didn't make the time so here I am rediscovering. Wes Fryer give examples of students setting up Skype interviews based on the usage of Facebook to track down authors, inventors, and others that can assist in educating students! It is an amazing way to connect and bring real people into the classroom where you never before would have had the opportunity!
I am biased to using Facebook as it's features are more simplistic and do not require an artistic or creative eye to develop! MySpace takes much longer to load pages and everyone has to be friends with the stranger named Tom. I like to add only those I know (LOL).
Integrating education in the use of these sites could impact our schools. First of all, they are FREE tools. All we need is Internet!It was once told to me that Japan utilizes these free resources for their students. I don't know the validity of that comment, but I have seen smaller school districts with less money implement more free materials with great success. Creating profiles of book characters is one of my all time favorite ideas! Questions could be posted and comments easily left starting incredible discussion groups. Students can utilize a MySpace page to upload all types of media created in the classroom. What better venue to access than his/her own space? Check out my spaces and places!
DeAnna's Facebook
DeAnna's MySpace
Thing 7b
I discovered online Art! I must have been last in line when God passed out art skills. When our abilities are limited, we tend to shy away from certain areas. I have always sensed a lacking in that area for myself. It was confirmed my first year of teaching when I tried to draw a ghost. One of the students yelled out, "that's not a ghost, that's a sheet". Yes, I drew a sheet ghost. You know what I'm talking about. My insecurities have carried over into my current position. I am not approached by many art teachers to assist with technology nor do I have any ideas. So when I scrolled over this blog, I was intrigued. There are 10 sites that allow you to implement art on the web in different ways!
The Art Pad records the picture to create a lapse time effect! I have always seen this on TV or videos and wanted to be able to do it! This is amazing!
Another site, Doink is fun. You can create flash style animations. We have a few drawing tools already on the images on the computers throughout the district, but there is so much more I need to learn to truly assist our art teachers with technology integration. At least there is always Promethean!
The Art Pad records the picture to create a lapse time effect! I have always seen this on TV or videos and wanted to be able to do it! This is amazing!
Another site, Doink is fun. You can create flash style animations. We have a few drawing tools already on the images on the computers throughout the district, but there is so much more I need to learn to truly assist our art teachers with technology integration. At least there is always Promethean!
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