Andy Griffith will be sadly missed :(

I thought this video clip was a great way to honor Andy and the 4th of July. I miss Mayberry and often wish real life was more like it.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Welcome to a new year!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Snow, Snow, and More Snow!!!

Pics from our day off....Normandy, Sewanee-University of the South, overlook from Monteagle mountain into the valley, Jack and Chloe, and Mr. Snowman

Let it snow, Let it snow!!!

Jan. 10, 2011....our biggest snow in southern middle Tennessee in years! Why is it....it is so easy to get up on a snow day! I've been up since about 4am. Here are some of my morning pics of our winter wonderland:


 
 

Santa's Journey!

For those of us who still like to believe in Christmas magic, check out Santa's journey on Christmas Eve night at:  http://www.noradsanta.org/en/track3d.html
or
http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

For me, the Christmas miracle we are looking for is for our dog Bandit to return home.  He was obviously taken by someone from our home last Friday.  Although that day was supposed to be a happy one due to the fact that I graduated with my masters degree that day.  However, after returning home, we soon discovered that Bandit was missing.  After checking everywhere, even the local animal shelter, we decided to donate food and treats in honor of our dog, Bandit.  There were a lot of beautiful dogs there that need a loving home.  Who knows, maybe one day we will bring one home ourselves.  For now, we are still too sad about Bandit.

Technology Project Reflection

How do I feel as I reflect on the finished project???

VUE Tutorial

Below you will find a tutorial I completed for my 5th grade reading class.  Using VUE, I would like for my students to learn to create a graphic organizer or concept map for their weekly reading stories.  VUE is relatively easy to use and free to download.  Using the story title, I would like for them to create the focus of their map.  From there they can link to other concepts they find throughout the story.  Each of these topics can be extended to other subtopics.  The final creation should be an overview of the story and clearly demonstrate their understanding of the story.  You can view my tutorial at the following address via full screen:  http://www.screencast.com/t/QrsfnqalVZrH or by just using the embedded link below.

Happy Birthday Chloe!!

 Well, it's hard to believe, but Chloe will be 1 year old on Oct. 26, 2010.  Although we dearly miss Haley, she has definitely added joy and love to our home.  Here she is in her cute pink snowflake dress!

Well, they say it's a dog's life!!

Church Outside the Walls Murfreesboro, TN

What a great experience!  In Murfreesboro, TN, a day called Church Outside the Walls was experienced on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010.  Various churches from the area, including ours, Real Life Community Church, participated in taking the Church to the community.  Our church was divided into four groups.  Each group was assigned a particular place to go share and connect with others.  Our group visited Pittard Elem. School to work on landscaping.  There were approximately 150-200 people who worked at our site.  Afterwards, everyone who participated at each site went to the park for a cookout and singing.  All in all it was a great experience.  Thanks to the people who thought up this idea and shared it with our church!!

SlideBoom Presentation

Geometry: Identify Lines

View more presentations or Upload your own.

I created a game for my PowerPoint presentation last week.  So I really wasn't sure exactly how to present it on SlideBoom.  So, I was the narrator and the one who played the game and answered the questions.  The only downside to this is that I didn't show the slide that was displayed in case of a missed answer.

I think the version that uses both text and images is the most effective tool.  When using all images, I found it hard to give any directions and tried to convey those through the use of pictures.  However, not everyone would be able to know what the pictures meant for sure.  The use of SlideBoom is very handy and appropriate for many uses.  However, for my game, I think it would be best used without SlideBoom so each individual could interact in their own way.  Using this tool on a class blog for homework help however would be a great tool.  This could convey to parents as well exactly what directions were expected to be followed.  In the future, I will consider my images and text more closely to convey the meaning I am truly intending.

Summary of the 23 Things Journey

I have really enjoyed the 23 Things journey.  Although some of the things weren't totally new, I was able to rediscover why I looked into them in the first place.  I did, though, learn many new and creative ways to add info to my blog and my classroom.  I am truly a life-long learner, and I want to inspire my students to be too.  With all the technology we have at our fingertips, learning about about anything, from anywhere is possible, not to mention fun.  I have learned how much I really enjoy blogging.  Other than other classmates' blogs, I had never really checked out anyone else's blog.  Seeing what others are blogging about and just how creative their sites are is inspiring.  Although I only saw bits and pieces of the movie, I even searched for the blog about Julie/Julia Childs that was made into a movie.  Some of the items I learned about, but had never used before were the RSS feeds, Animoto, and the online image generators.  These are definitely items I plan to continue to use and learn more about.

Where do I go from here?  Well, I certainly hope to continue my blog even after my graduate classes are finished.  I was happy to discover one day that some of my students have been checking it out.  I know this because one came up and asked me "What thing are you on now?"  That was very exciting!  I hope that my work and ideas will inspire someone in someway.  The Cool Cat, in a former post, said it best, so here are her words, not mine:  "If you died today and don't share 'your secret', it will die with you and you will miss the chance to leave behind something far more important...a legacy."  I can only hope to do just that!