Try the Ning

I've been writing this knowing full well that it's probable that no one reads this blog, especially since there's so many fine bloggers out there -- educational bloggers, that is. But, what the hey, you never know. That's why I was so surprised to find that someone, who had heard about my wiki and ning from the Trinity talk visited me at the Ning and left me with a juicy site to explore. Yea! Maybe more folks will stop by.
Anyway she recommended this site:

http://jenuinetech.com/

There's projects and ideas for K-6 and it's a nice looking site. I'm going to be sending it to our teachers and adding it to the wiki page.

The site is created by Jennifer Wagner, a former tech person, who also has a nice blog.

http://jenuinetech.com/blog/

I'm definitely subscribing.

I Survived (now I can worry about something else)

The presentation went fairly well, considering. I tried not to get discombooberated when I walked into the room and nothing was set up. I tried not to worry that I was going to forget something all through Mass. I tried not to get flustered when links didn't work because the computer I was given was so filtered that it's a wonder it did anything.
Those hardy folks (Cheryl & Marti included) who stuck around to the end seemed to be interested. I should have brought some cookies or something for them as a prize for sticking it out.
Hopefully, those who got the information will be going to the Ning, or at least the Wiki, so that we can get some networking accomplished. If you did -- please spread the word.
In the meantime, thanks be to God and a special shout out to St. Isadore of Seville.

I uploaded the dreaded PowerPoint to Slideshare so I can take it with me wherever I go and just in case anyone wanted to look at it again.

Technology Integration On A Budget

View more presentations from mrskellyscl.

Okay, I'm going to try to fit on my prezi presentation

http://prezi.com/i78dlm6kqakq/edit/#35

Who's in your classroom Wordle

Here's a wordle I did for the presentation

Slide Share Presentation about Wordle

This is a great Slideshare presentation I found about Wordle.

Thirty Eight Interesting Ways To Use Wordle I

View more presentations from Curtis Lee.

Here's a nice one I found

Trying not to panic

The countdown clock on my desktop is winding down. Wednesday is coming on like a speeding 8 year old and there won't be any time this weekend to work on it. Today we're at Hershey Park, tomorrow recording. Funny though, the thing I'm most worried about it oversleeping and getting stuck in the construction around Trinity. I don't think I'll oversleep, but I could get stuck finessing the presentation and forget to look at the clock. That's the problem with hyperfocus, it's a little hard to control sometimes. We'll see what happens.

I know, I know...I had all summer

Is it wise to have a person who is so ADHD teaching kids? Do I sympathise too much when they miss a deadline or do I give them more time than they should have to finish things? What is is about deadlines that can first lull me into complacency and then throw me into sheer panic?

I knew about the conference since the spring. "I will have all summer to gather my information and have it all together," I convinced myself. Even though I have lived with myself for ### years I still have a tendency to believe this brain when it lies to me.

Okay, it wasn't really a lie. I did intend to spend my summer doing many things. I always do. And then it's September and I look at the pile of good intentions that were started, but never finished and think, "Well, I can finish these at Thanksgiving."

Truthfully, I did indeed work on my presentation. I did gather buckets and buckets of ideas and information. I did begin working on a webspiration and I did play with Prezi. But the problem is there's so much information there and from the beginning of the summer to the beginning of the fall more was added. Heck, every day something new comes along. How do you zero in on the good stuff and not waste time on the useless?

Oooo, I know, I know -- you rely on others in your group to help you by sharing their experiences, successes and failures.That's why I'm hoping that I can get some folks to network with me and share their amazing stories of educational wonderfulness. Experienced teachers know when things work and when they don't. We know we've done a great job when we see the lights clicking on in the eyes of our little charges and when we're falling flat on our faces when they just sit and look at you (or when they don't if you're in middle school). So help us all out -- do tell.

More on getting ready for Trinity

I've been working away at trying to get my poor dislocated brain to settle down and focus. It's hard when there's so much stuff and so little time. Yesterday I got a confirmation from the Diocese and found out that I can't use my own laptop. Yikes!!!! At first I felt panicky, however, the more I think about it, the more I realize I can use some of the stuff I'll be talking about. We'll see what happens.
Just what I need, more challenges (opportunities for growth). That's a Pollyanna statement if I've ever heard one.
The grandboys are in the living room with their laptops playing Roblox -- again. I'll talk a little about that at the conference.

Getting ready for Trinity

Although it's a brave new world of web 2.0 many of the teachers I know are having a hard time trying to adapt to it, especially those of us who can remember the Beatles or even the Talking Heads. We are the digital immigrants trying to teach digital natives. I'm beginning to hate the terms, however, at workshops and conferences I've notices that the 20-something teachers are having no problems wrapping their brains around what's being discussed or presented. They're blogging and podcasting and uploading to Nings while I'm still trying to find a place to set my coffee down so I can get my laptop out.

I didn't even get into technology until I had already had a 25+ year teaching career behind me in music education. It was all accidental. I can't remember exactly when I bought a Gateway laptop for myself, sometime in the late 90's -- the purpose was to use Finale for music composition and arranging for choirs. When the principal saw me walking around with a laptop she assumed that I knew something about technology and asked me to teach PowerPoint to a particularly unpleasant group of 8th graders that no one else wanted to deal with. So without any knowledge or experience I ventured into the realm of technology education.

The day I discovered the joys of teaching technology was the day I made several other discoveries...
1. Most of the people I met back then at conferences and workshops were either:
a) former music teachers on their second careers or musicians
2. Most of the kids who really took off with the class were the most ADD kids on the block.
3. The possibilities for creativity were endless

So putting two and two together I concluded that technology and music (and ADD) are a natural fit -- no, not because of a tendency to do math well (please! not all musicians can do math even though some people think it's mystically connected), but because it stimulates the part of the brain, the part that's most ADD, that part that wants to create, find, gather, synthesize, consume, multitask, and hyperfocus. All these things came naturally to me.

Why I love teaching technology:
I could never sit still as a kid. My mother got tired of hearing "she can do the work, I've seen her do it" when she saw another poor grade. I was not a test-taker. I was unable to read books in black and white with small print because the words all jumbled together. Dates meant nothing because I couldn't connect them with anything I've experienced. School was a nightmare for me both in the classroom and socially. Teachers would call me out of the room just to scream at me for some reason that I still can't figure out. I didn't fit in. It wasn't until college when I began to attend study groups that I discovered that I wasn't so stupid, in fact, I was beginning to get A's.

Back then we were taught to teach the same way as our teachers taught -- but when you are in music education there's a lot more room for self-expression and creativity. Teaching is so much different now. If I were a kid today I think I'd have a fighting chance at success in school because there is so much more available for "different learners." When I see that kid coming into the classroom and sit by him/herself with a sad expression, when I see them begin to squirm or fidget, when they start to go off into another world -- that's me. And I am ready for them.

So watching some Youtube videos about web 2.0 and the future of education makes me smile because of the realization that change is coming - it's already here. The linear, black and white, gotcha, sit still and shut up era of the classroom is starting to go the way of the bag phone. The brave new world is being created at such a fast pace that even I can't keep up -- but the kids, the digital natives, they're having no problem. Teaching in a Catholic School is different. Taking classes online with teachers from around the country has opened my eyes to problems in the public sector that we, thankfully, do not have to deal with yet. However, we have things to overcome, too. Most of us weren't taught to teach in a Catholic School. We've had to adapt.So here's the reason I've started a Ning. I want to share with other teachers of the diocese about successes they've had, resources they've found, ideas for classroom integration. I think it will be useful for everyone.

Dearest Microsoft

(I jumped on a sweepstakes to go to NECC from Microsoft. Sure it's in driving distance, but in these troubled economic times even the gas money is dear.)

Microsoft, it was you who brought me into the technofold by showing me the wonders of PowerPoint and Word. It's you whom I spend my days trying to get kids to be happy and comfortable with you.

And it's you and your great applications that keep me from jumping on the Apple bandwagon with it's promises of educational ease and no worries.

Could you do more for me? Probably. You are really putting forth an effort to reach teachers and I applaud you for it.

If I were to ask one thing of you, it would be to help me teach the little ones, the children still trying to wrap their fingers around a mouse. You have a lot of great apps for high school and college age students, but I want my primary kids to be able to comfortably use the tools you gave us and have the tools grow with the kids. I want them to be able to use them for creativity that will enable them to be the next movers and shakers of the world. That's it.

Got through so far...

Got through the triduum and now the Easter Season. This week we have our visit from the middlestates team. Hope it all goes well.

Yikes! That was really depressing.

I just reread the post from Saturday. Hokey smokes! I guess I was a little depressed at the time. What happened after that was nice, though, because I got to play for a retreat at the diocese and got a bit of a spiritual booster shot in time for Holy Week. It was conducted by Father Luis Rodriguez and he really rocked it. I think every "cradle" Catholic should have to go through RCIA. There's some good stuff.
Tomorrow I have to go to a conference at the diocese and learn about how to protect the school's network from unscrupulous employee blogs and nasty searches. Sounds like fun. Oh, well.

Stupid, stupid brain

It's Saturday morning and I've been up since 5:15 -- the time I get up every day. I'm waiting for 8:00 so I can call Jinny (my sister) ((the one with cancer)) and catch up. We talked on Tuesday and she's right--the cancer dominates and colors everything, every conversation, every memory, every plan. I think about calling Jinny and the second thought is, "I wonder how much more time I'll have to do this."

Damn internet. Damn modern life. It's too easy to find out things you don't want to know. It's too easy to lose focus. I teach information skills and I'm beginning to think I'm being overloaded with it. Perhaps I should join the fundamentalists and move somewhere I can get all this junk out of my house.

Working on 2.0

I have spent the last several weeks trying to collect information on good Web 2.0 apps to use for the presentation at Trinity. It's so easy to get lost in fiddling around with things that are so cool. It's too easy to lose focus on the reason I am doing it all. I've worked in Webspiration and created a Wiki so I can list the apps I use in the presentation. I intend to list a lot of the things I find right here, as soon as I can figure out how to do some of them. Yeah, right.

Nice, Quiet Day

Today was a perfect day for staying in my robe until I absolutely had to get dressed -- cool & damp. I worked on my proposal for the Dio Conference presentation and started poking around in Webspiration.
Mind Mapping software is a good thing for folks who need visuals to keep themselves focused--like me. My mother probably would have given her checkbook to anyone who could map my thoughts. If they had this kind of technology around when I was a kid, I probably wouldn't have spent my entire school career thinking there was something wrong with my brain. I knew I was smarter than my test scores. That's probably why I spend so much time with kids who need the kind of help I can offer. With the right approach and application, I can give the kids who can't take tests an opportunity to show that they really know the material if you give them some time and a leg up.
So I signed up for Webspiration (beta) which is free for the time being. Who knows what they're going to ask for it once they're done with the trial. The software is not cheap at all. Soon afterward I got an email from them that they're going to stop adding accounts on the 18th. I just got in. So now I have something else to play with. But if it goes like I want it to, it will make the presentation that much cooler.
I also got started on a Wiki. I figure I'll need one for after the presentation so I can post my information on it for people who lose the handouts.
You can check out the progress.

http://mywebspiration.com/view/116168a32d39

100 Undiscovered Websites

I've become a champion of Web2.0. Spending over 30 years in a Catholic school you get used to looking for cheap, or better yet -- free. So, when PC Magazine had an article about the top 100 Undiscovered Websites, you'd better believe I was on it.
There they were -- a treasure trove of goodies for the teacher of technology to download and begin sharing. Gotta love it.

The grandboys and I had fun with Totlol last night -- looking up videos of kittens falling off ledges and laughing at dogs morphing. Totlol is YouTube for kids -- filtered for content and of age appropriate.

Viewzi Power Grid is one of the best search tools I've ever seen. Put in what you want to search and up pops the website index pages to browse. I'm going to see how to put the links on this blog.

Earth Album Alpha -- a mash up between Google Earth and Flickr. Click on any part of the world and up comes beautiful photos of the sights.

SearchMe -- another Visual Search. You can look for videos and music as well as pages. Ask for The Beatles and you can even find a choral arrangement of Michelle by the Kennedy Chorus (if you really want to hear it.) As for videos -- most of the ones I looked at were YouTube, however, instead of offering other things similar but unrelated, it has a plethora of videos by the artists right there to scroll through.

There was lots more besides, so I'll put in the link to the article.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2174685,00.asp (good stufft)

The Dow is Up (and so am I)

Went to Andi's today to see Theo. We played all morning while she went to the doctors. I don't remember having this much fun with my kids, although I'm sure I did from time to time. The great thing about going to see Theo is that I have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do except rummage through his toy box and put stacking toys together. At that moment, there was nothing more important in this world -- not work, not Church, not cleaning the house (joke). Just me and the boy wrassling on the floor and dancing to the ABC song.

The Dow is still Down

Sitting on the heating pad while trying to get the back to settle down, I'm watching the smiling babes at CNN worry about the Dow. It's below 7000. I don't like to think about the Dow or the NASDAQ or any other acronyms that mean numerical trouble for us. I don't understand them, and have never been able to figure out exactly what the numbers and arrows mean. That's not a good thing to admit since they have a direct effect on what happens in my life and the lives of those I love. I do understand that down is bad and up is good. I guess, since I don't know anything about Wall Street and the suits that run everything, I'll have to put my faith in the people who do, or say they do. Certainly, the Prez is thinking about it, and that's his job. Mine is to keep working for my paycheck and trust that I can keep doing that until I win the lottery.

It always makes me think about the stories of the Great Depression that my dad would tell. His favorite (and mine) was about a boy he knew in his one room schoolhouse who was so poor that he would go to the creek with two pieces of bread and catch a grasshopper to put between the slices for lunch (yeech). Whether it was true or not it made his daughters squeal and that was certainly the effect he wanted by the telling of it.
He'd talk about how he was born in one room and chicks were hatching in another and that it was more important that the chicks survived than him.

From listening to his stories and those my grandmother told of the abuses of the Industrial Revolution, I must conclude that we have quite a ways to go before we get as desperate as those who lived through those times.

Who knows, perhaps if we did get desperate enough we could produce another generation like that one.

Buzz Killers

So as I was saying, it's so much fun teaching.

However, I have discovered that when you know how to do things on a computer some folks automatically think you know how to fix computers -- not just computers, but any machine -- even TVs, smart boards, printers, handhelds and computers. Pa-leeze!!! Do I look like I know how to do that? I'm just a little old computer teacher, trying to achieve happiness and self-fulfillment in my lab.

Sometimes I'll get lucky and the problem will be a switch, battery or cable, and I can make myself look like a wizard without too much trouble. I once saw a T-shirt on Cafe Press that said, "No, I won't fix your computer." I should get that. Either that or get my own little pink toolbox and go to it. I guess this is why I get the big money.

Picking it up where I left off..

Mrs. Kelly -- the introduction:

Okay, so the last time I tried this was two years ago. I've been busy.

Changing after 30+ years of teaching music to technology has been interesting to say the least. On one hand, it's like a mental water ride . Educational technology is changing so dramatically and so quickly that I'm having a hard time keeping afloat so I kind of bump around the twists and turns and hope I don't hurt something necessary. On the other hand, I think it's been good for me. If I don't do new things I may as well start interviewing nursing homes because my brain will stagnate.

I've tried to twitter -- even found a few friends. I've come to the conclusion that I really don't care what people are doing nor do I particularly care what they think about their dinner or whatever. For that matter, I may not want anyone to know what I'm doing nor do I feel like sharing all the time.

I'm afraid of Second Life. I'm turning 55 shortly and I'm still trying to get a handle on this life. I'm afraid if I go there I may not come home, especially with some of those cute avatars running around.

I think what's most exciting, though, are the kids. As I was saying to Nino, my hairdresser, I think kids today are way more fun to teach than in the past. When I taught music I found a few kids that I could really connect with and the rest just kind of took up space for 50 minutes while looking at me like they wished I was in some other life but theirs. Kids that I teach now -- even the little ones-- are so excited by everything. They grab ahold of new ideas like they were legos (sometimes they are) and try to see how far they can run with it.

From my experience with my own kids and grandkids, I know they need to touch and hold and smell and taste everything to really understand what it is. Unfortunately, in this world there are priceless Hummels, glass lamps, sharp things, hot things, delicate things and things that will cause a grown-up to go into apoplexy if it's touched. Not so technology. It was made to be messed with. I think that's what I like the best. I think that's how I learn the best. The kids and I -- we can do it together and it's fun.

Anyway, I'm in this unique balancing act of trying to grow older gracefully yet not giving in to the temptation of slacking off and becoming granite. I need to keep playing with these toys and learning. So I'm going to add my two cents to the blogosphere and poke around other people's blogs and try not to be boring.