Bl – Bl – Blogging….
What a long strange trip it has been! But one that I am so glad I took the time to do! When I first started as a blogging virgin I never knew where this would lead or how I could or would manage it! So I started slowly, asking only one of my groups to blog. In no time, I was hooked with the idea of a virtual conversation to carry on with the ones that were started, and often abruptly ended in class. It has also provided me with another place to connect with each individual, something that is priceless because I am working with so many teachers!
I have also learned that blogging is not for everyone, and I get that. That is why when I tried starting up my own personal blog to see what would happen, I was very disappointed at how non-interactive it was. I don’t think I truly understood the nature of a blog or even the purpose of my own blog and so it sat, floating around in the virtual world, un-nurtured, unloved by all…even me!
It all started when I was invited to be a part of an artist’s blog. She is a young, vibrant woman who I connected with when we worked together in Deerfield. She had married, gone away and was pursuing her art degree and had left the world of teaching and all of her friends and family behind. She started a blog to connect herself with the creative souls that she was missing in her new home, in her new state, with her new husband, and her new career goals. The artful garden was a place that I would go every morning with my cup of coffee as I got to know people, interesting people through this crazy virtual world. It was magical. The conversations were so deep and thought-provoking. This was something I wanted more of!
So that is when I decided to start a blog of my own. But the interaction was not there and unfortunately, the interaction in the artful garden also waned. Busy people, busy lives. So how could I use this medium in my teaching world to make those deeper connections with teachers? Making blogging a part of their grade and requiring each one to go in a certain number of times and have those written conversations. It worked well in one school and so the second semester I integrated blogs into all of the groups of teachers I was working with. And I LOVE them!
I was also discovering the many different blogs that are out there. In the meantime, my sister started up a blog of her own and so it is to her place that I go each morning with my coffee. It is almost like having a daily conversation with her…getting to know what is on her mind and what it is she is thinking about on that given day. I am addicted. I am fascinated and I am upset if there is no fix. Her goal was to write EVERY day and I actually believed her! It is a sad day when I find no new entry on her blog!!
With my sister’s blog I discovered a new sense of purpose for my own. My idea of blogging was to create a virtual community. Hers was to make herself write every day. Could I perhaps change my purpose and make my blog more meaningful and purposeful for myself? I could, but with everything I have going on, I decided to just add things that I really wanted to have there. I would like to get to the point where I do write on it every day…no, not every day. There are very few things that I do EVERY day, other than brush my teeth, but as many days as week as I could. I can see how my sister’s writing has become even more powerful through her writing. Her voice has always been strong, but now the flow of her writing is amazing. Would I, could I become a better writer if I wrote deliberately every day? Of course, the answer is yes, and so this will be an ongoing goal for me.
And then there were the safety issues and privacy issues. So I started looking into edublog where one could close the learning communities and make them more secure, but every time I have gone onto that site I find it SO frustrating!! I do believe there are so many things I could do with it, but blogspot is just so much more user friendly and so with my frustrations in hand, I am just going to stick with what I know…for now. In the future I may consider using edublog if I can get myself to even work my way through one of the menus….can you say overwhelming???
And then in one of my schools the vice principal wanted access to their blog. I had to think this through and ultimately deny her, explaining that even though it was on line that I would never turn their journals over to her so this blog needed to remain private as well. A learning curve for us all!!
Then there is the research I have done as a blogging junkie! It is AMAZING once you venture into the world of blogging what you can find. People connecting through illnesses (my crazy sexy life), discussing the food sources in our world, global warming, politics, education and well as you can imagine the list goes on and on. And then you find one of those blogs that you just love! It is like you get to know a person through their writing and I find myself wanting to read more of their stuff and so I stop in when I have the time and see what they wrote about that week. It is SO amazing because you are in charge and well, it is almost as though you can read through newspaper column after feature articles after information articles but they are ALL of your choosing and the topics that you are most interested in!
I have also gotten to realize that for some the learning curve has been a brutal one. I still insist that those individuals plug through. We live in the information age and part of that is working to keep up with this technologically fast-paced world. I have heard frustrations and worries and also trust and know that for many it will never be a natural thing, but at least it will be something that they have tried.
So what next? Will I continue using blogs next year? I am not sure yet. What I do know is that I find myself discovering new purposes for each blog I create! My latest one is a “holding” place for the summer course I am designing on Music, art and literacy. I can store links to valuable websites, clips I want to show from the web and lists of books, articles and even movies that all relate to music and literacy. Nobody knows about this blog yet, but I will use it this summer as a reference point and also something that each person will be able to leave the class with as a reference point. That I am loving. In some ways it is helping me to be more virtually organized and to take advantage of all of the different ways I can use all of the technology that is out there. I will also reconsider my own blog (http://www.shinesistahs.blogspot.com/) and see just how I can make a commitment to that and if that is something that I even want to do! Check it out if you want to!!
So what have I learned about myself as a learner? I have rediscovered that I learn by observing, watching, using other people’s models and then diving in and doing. I do not like to read “how to’s” or tutorials, I have to “just DO it!” And with my learning style comes a great deal of frustration and then some successes along the way. I see what I am doing as part of a process that may only lead me to a new process or discovery. I am never done!!
I am a blogger and I love it! Wouldn’t you like to be a blogger too?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
30 comments:
Hooray for you, what a blogger! I think I'll pass. Let's talk about blogging and our class....when did it become 30% of our grade? In our syllabus you said blogging was 20%? I would also like to "catch up" on some blogging pieces during the break between April 16th class and our last class in May when I have more time to read these long articles and will be done with my integration project.
Now, my integration experimentation... I have made a moviemaker project. The movie covers the topic of Red Sox (surprise!) throughout my life. My mentor text is a repeative beginning of the line "When I was.." also repeative picture of the "curse". I have DVR commercials, my appearance on TV, and pictures ( yes, even my cement barn)imported into my life history. Hope you enjoy it!
As I am new to blogging and this has been my first experience I will say that I like it. It lets me say things that I am thinking but I don't have to think too much, if you know what I mean. I usually spend my time writing reports, which involves much heavy thinking, rewording, reworking to make sure that it sounds right for the "permanent file". It's nice to be able to write, and not worry about each line that I say, which might at some point in time come back to haunt me. Which is why, if you are wondering, I might have spelling errors or grammatical errors in my blog. For once I DON'T CARE and it is liberating! Not sure if that is what blogging is supposed to be about but...
I have also had the pleasure of learning a little more about my colleagues. I think the more we blog the more interaction we might have as I'm not quite sure we have the hang of it yet.
I did finally get my username and password in on the first try on my last blog. I call that an accomplishment! Thanks for the blog, I have enjoyed it.
It has been fun blogging. I groan when I realize I have not done it for a while and it is a "requirement", but once I take a moment, I enjoy it. We don't have to publish works of art. There is no right or wrong responce. Hearing other peoples points of view is always interesting. Some weeks I just write what I want and other weeks I enjoy responding to other peoples entries.
I got so involved in blogging I forgot to answer the question of the week about my integration experiment. That's why I don't work at night, my brain works much better in the morning!
Integration experimentation is a fascinating topic in that it is an assimilation of many different ideas rolled into one. The experimentation part of the title implies that you start with a hypothesis but, as in any experiment, your outcome might be something totally different from your initial thoughts. I have found that the journey was the most interesting component for me, as I wound my way down a variety of paths to finally find the garden in the middle of the maze. Initially, I bounced from one idea to another . I narrowed the topic down but then had the most difficulty with the artistic part of the project. I bought a computer program to help me and then I confirmed what I already knew, I am hopeless when it comes to reading manuals! I spent a few hours and then reverted to what I knew how to do. Someday I will go back to that program but probably in the summer when I have more time. I had fun with the book. I'm still not too sure it is what it is expected to be but...It is a little preview of Hawaii and the Hawaiian language and I hope it may entice some of you to visit some day. I know I will be back!
Integration Experimentation – Movie Maker: “What a strange trip it has been!” (Talk about relying on mentor text! Thanks for the opening line, Tomasen.) I decided on Movie Maker as my project for two reasons. First, it was being offered as a class at school. Secondly, I knew in my heart that I had to keep up with technology, and I thought this may be a fun way to publish student work. Classes met Thursday mornings before school and Nina was amazing. Each week introduced a new component, had a show and tell, and left us with a tutorial text to practice. This model fit my hands-on learning style perfectly.
My topic was easy, my son. I created a memory book movie for him. Narrowing my topic was more difficult. So I looked for mentor text and my project began to have a focus. LOVE YOU FOREVER by Robert Munsch was a favorite and regular night time read for us. Josh and I even came up with a little rhythm in which to sing the repeated phrase throughout the book. The first line in the story begins: A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth...As I began selecting from my vast collection, that story line drew me to rocking chair pictures and first photos.
Pulling out my favorite pictures brought me to another junction in which I had to focus and purge. I was sitting in my living room surrounded by six photo albums, over two dozen framed pictures, and a very large photo box titled “Miscellaneous. It was a cold November Sunday. I had my CD player on random when my second mentor text hit me. It was a song, “Count on Me to Be There” by Kathy Traccolli. She is an Italian girl from the Bronx who started out singing country and moved to Christian Rock. I met her five years ago at a woman’s conference, made a connection, and bought all of her CDs. “Count on Me to Be There” spoke to me immediately and I sang it in my heart to my son. This mentor text narrowed my photo selection. The movie was to reflect the relationship between the two of us. So my picture selection now had focus.
Tomasen wrote: We live in the information age and part of that is working to keep up with this technologically fast-paced world. Frustration set in early. But Nina sent me off each Thursday with, “I know you can do it, you’ll do a great job.” I would like to say that I believed her words, but the reality is that I just didn’t want to let her down. My learning style was to watch and then try and try and try again. The one concept a week was a good pace for me. But if I didn’t touch the project daily, I lost ground, forgot steps and had to go back to Nina.
The amazing part of this process was an unexpected surprise. Each year end, Nina asks us to move files from one drive to another (Z, C, P????) She would have to draw me a flow chart so that I would understand where files were and where to move them. I never really did understand, and John ended up moving them for me. Somewhere in the midst of Movie Maker I got it!!! With voice, music, video and pictures for Josh’s memory book all being saved at various places, this unknown technology path began to make sense to me. As a last mentor text I will refer to a picture book Tomasen recently introduced, Where are you going, Emma? by Jeanne Titherton. There is a picture of Emma peeking out from behind a tree. That was me, trying tentatively to venture into Movie Maker, afraid of technology. The next picture shows this little tiny Emma in a very large forest (me, in the middle of Movie Maker learning curve...feeling lost). The last picture, a close up of a basket of apples reflect the “ahha” moment, the “I get it!” for not only what I set out to learn, but a close up in technology all around. Where do I go from here? Since January, new technology and equipment brought to the school reinforces the phrase “technologically fast-paced world”. I have worked on three movies for my class and will keep on plugging!
Barb,
Just making sure you are paying attention!
Tomasen
Since I was so observant, I think I deserve an "A" for blogging! I was so jealous of your picture that I had to edit my profile, I'm so proud.
Nice picture Barb!
I had a lot of fun with my project. I am still working on seeing myself as a writer. I like to write, but have never written with large flowery text (which is how I personally view “good” writing). Taking on a book was quite the experience.
My mentor text was Patricia Polacco’s Thunder Cake, a book I read often to my children when they were young. I learned many things while writing my book. The first lesson was that I have a new understanding for authors. While I have bound my story, I in no way see it as complete. I have revised it endless numbers of times. I was even revising it as I was typing the “final” copy.
Another lesson was that I needed to be patient. Some parts were easier to write than others. Some days the writing flowed and other days I just had to put it away. It is interesting to me that I ended up writing poetry. I tried writing a “traditional” story, but for me poetry flowed much easier.
My family is everything to me. Using a personal experience involving them helped me. I have been baking a carrot cake for my sons Max and Ben for their birthday since they turned one. It is a recipe that is made with jarred baby carrots, something I liked incorporating into a babies first cake. I did not, however, want to write about just my boys and leave my daughter Julie out. In the end, my story is about a mother who bakes a special cake for her child (not sons or daughter). I have added pictures that bring them all into the story, thereby feeling that I am being parentally “fair”.
I hope you enjoy my project. Please clap no matter what (just kidding Tomasen)!!!!
It appears that we have all made meaningful as well as circuitous journeys on our way to our "almost" final form of our integration experimentation projects. Like others, I floundered in the incipient stages of this assignment. I was drawn to Ireland (not so sure why), but initially thought it would take the format of a travelogue and double as an investigation into what I might most like see when I next managed to get myself back to that lovely country. Two things moved me in a different direction. First of all, my memories of the book Trinity, one of the most powerful novels I've ever read, drew me towards research on the legends, myths, and superstitions of the land as well as its troubled history. Secondly, and more importantly, the ongoing impact of a 20 minute stop at the remains of the home of an Irish potato farmer one glorious afternoon as my husband and I invistigated the Dingle Peninsula. In all honesty, it was a stop I really wouldn't have made, but since Vinny was behind the wheel before I knew it we had parked and were climbing the hill to the small two-room stone structure. The "museum" was in reality the house, set-up as it would have been at the time of the potato famine (late 1800's) with signs throughout explaining life in this house at that time. It talked about the importance of the hearth, of course for food and warmth, but more importantly as a gathering spot for neighbors to enjoy an evening of music or a night of storytelling. It described the meager existence of the potato farmers who rented their land from British landowners and the horrific treatment of these people when unable to pay their rent. Most movingly, it told about the night the father of this house held his son in his arms and watched him die of starvation. It was an incredible moment for me, and one that ultimately shaped my project for this course. Over the past few months I have immersed myself in all things Irish: movie upon movie, novels (adult and children), novels on tape, music, dance, poetry(minimally), informational texts. What began to evolve was something that I was driven to write as a response to those experiences. Where I first thought I would tackle this under the umbrella of an ABC book, I came to a feeling that this format would allow me to invistigate many areas very superficially; what I came to realize was that I wanted to react and respond to fewer areas in more depth. I remembered enjoying writing "I Am From..." poems in the past, and, long story not really very short, I decided to spin off of that with a "You Are From" poem dedicated to my two daughters, honoring their love, laughter, strength and resiliency. I considered trying to mask my intentions by fabricating some introductory storyline, but it all seemed pretty forced so I decided, what the heck, why not be honest! What has finally evolved is something which in all reality will probably have meaning only to me. Nonetheless, it is a journey I am glad to have made. Not only do I have a far greater awareness of the history and culture of Ireland, but as a writer it enabled me to experiment with different styles while sticking to the "You are from" format.
About blogging...Thank you for opening this means of communication to me. I feel that I am oftentimes more capable of expressing my ideas and feelings in a written format than verbally. Getting "to know" my classmates this way has been wonderful. They too have given so much more of themselvles here than we ever would be able to find the time for in our daily lives here at Center School! The fact that I can even successfully DO this now without running to Barbara in tears is such an amazing accomplishment for me. Thanks for giving me this "high!!!"
So anyway, I guess I'm not so accomplished after all!!!PLEASE don't suffer through my blog twice. I pushed submit twice I guess and although I realized I had done it, I couldn't figure out how to undo it!! Barbara, where are you when I need you?????????!
I guess Merry keeps spewing out the blogs. I just want to warn all of you - I can't seem to get through my project without crying. Because my youngest child, Adam, doesn't have a baby book (being the youngest of 4)I thought it would be nice if I surprised him and made a digital movie of his life so far. After all, he would be shocked to see that his mother did make a baby book for him and so high tech. As I embarked on learning how to use Movie Maker, I found myself not wanting to do it and detesting computers. . I would go to Nina’s 8:00 Thursday’s workshops to learn how to use Movie Maker, only to realize that I could do things with her assistance and directives, but soon would loose what she taught us (part of the old age syndrome). Anyway, to make a long story short, I struggled, and found out something revealing about myself. In my old age, I seem to learn better if I have a set of written directions that I follow (after being shown what to do first), and, through trail and error, experiment and figure out how to do the task (s). At least this is true when it comes to technology. I also have to be in solitude and not have ANY distractions. I used to learn so well in groups, but now I seem to need solace, and working at my own slow speed. So, I plugged through this project, feeling both elated (with things I discovered I could do), and frustrated. My goal was to get this movie done by Christmas so that I could give it to Adam as a gift. Here it is April, and it is finally done thanks to the help and encouragement of Laura, Sandy, and Barbara. THANK YOU GIRLS VERY, VERY MUCH. It is a beautiful movie of Adam!! I started out using the book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, by Dr. Seuss as a mentor text. It’s a book Adam and I would read over and over, and it has so much meaning, especially for me to Adam. I started reading it as part of the movie, but soon discovered that it didn’t sound right, especially after using the song, My Wish,, which says exactly how I feel. Together with a poem I wrote for Adam (based on modeling from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!) and this beautiful song, I think that Adam will be glad that he never got a baby book, but instead get an awesome digital movie of his life so far, on DVD. I hope all of you will enjoy it too. I guess an old geezer like me can even learn new things in technology (even though it’s painful). Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
I LOVE WHAT BLOGGING HAS DONE FOR ALL OF US THROUGH THIS CLASS. I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN WEEKS WHEN I CANNOT ADD ANOTHER THING TO MY "TO DO" LIST, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE FOUND GOING TO THE SEA OF LITERACY SITE VERY THERAPUTIC. THE BLOGGING HAS HELPED ME TO BOND WITH COLLEAGUES THAT I HAVE LONGED TO KNOW BETTER. WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO HELP ALL OF US LEARN MORE ABOUT ONE ANOTHER WHILE BRINGING US UP TO SPEED WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY. I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERYONE’S PRESENTATIONS AND LEARNING ABOUT ANOTHER DIMENSION OF WHAT MAKES EACH OF YOU SO SPECIAL.
Honestly, where do I begin? Although I might be viewed by some on campus as younger and more experienced with the whole “informational-technology aged” world, forget about it, I’m not! I’ve never been one to spend time getting to know computers or wanting to spend time learning about new programs etc… So like many of you, as I first set sail on this blogging experiment, as I’ll call it, I felt nervous and anxious. I’ll tell you the truth, like most things in life it’s the “thought” of putting yourself out there that’s scary, not the actually outcome. Putting yourself out there, experimenting, learning about others, AND most importantly GROWING as an individually, that’s what life is ultimately about, right? Good luck to all who are presenting tomorrow-I’m looking forward to it!
May the experiment of blogging continue!!!
Here we are ready to present another round of projects. This time I focused on creating a Photo Essay of my journey through Joshua Tree National Park. It took me some time before I settled on what to complete. With help from Katie Wood Ray’s Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop, I was able to figure out how I wanted to complete the project.
I used photos, artwork, and poetry to enhance the essay which told about different experiences Steve and I had. It was wonderful to relive my vacation as I worked through this process.
I never would have dreamed at the beginning of class this year that my end result would have been this project. I began by floundering on what to do and how to branch into an unknown area. It all began by moving my mom this year and discovering lots of family heirlooms. I discovered that at this stage of my life I love knowing the stories behind different family antiques and understanding their history, too. But after the antique research I was not sure where to go with a project.
It turned out that after my discussions with both Sandy Holmberg and Christine Morabito, I was able to get more direction. Sandy gave me the idea for my mentor text. I used the show Antique Roadhouse as that mentor text. After watching several shows my interest was piqued. I seemed to be drawn to the old western types of antiques and then an idea began to form.
Christine had mentioned that she sometimes does some background history with the class before delving into a new subject area. This was the moment my vision was born!!! Hurray!! I finally had a project that could be used with my class. I decided that I would create a slideshow of antiques giving their purpose and use in the western times. This would coordinate with my Westward Ho Project where the children pretend to buy supplies to go west on an imaginary journey.
I found that through this medium I could give the children the visual picture of the item along with its purpose and use for the pioneers. In addition, I added some important points that may be needed as the students replied to the problem cards that they were given to their groups.
I tried this out with my class this year. I found that it was important to give them the list of items to buy first and let the group discuss some of the items. Then I popped in the video to answer the many questions that the class had about who went on the journey west and things they may have taken.
I also wanted to try something new with technology; so I did this project on Photo Story 3. This was a new way of working with slides and I found that it was fun and easy to use.
I plan on sharing this with the rest of my third grade team so that they can use it when they “Travel the Oregon Trail” with their class.
As for blogging, I have gone back and forth. Early in the year it seemed easy to read and respond but as the year progressed I found myself catching up from time to time. I'm sure a lot has to do with the busy time. But I do like to hear from my friends and often draw inspiration from what is written!
This project has been an arduos task. The reason I picked the subject matter "beads" was because last year I learned to weave with beads and became absolutely fanatical about it! My focus on beading has helped me through some rough times in my life. In fact, one of the entries in my project is a poem entitled "BEADING FRENZY" for which I used Dr. Suess as my mentor text.
The reason this task was so arduos is because there is so much information about the history of beads. I had to decide how to formulate all that information into a final project that was not too dry or boring. How could I make all this information flow?
I finally decided to focus my attention on several areas of the world and a couple of different time periods where beads played an important role in social status, religion, and forms of communication. I asked Merry Leonard if she would mind if I borrowed her idea of using the I AM FROM... poem format as my mentor text and she graciously agreed to let me do that. The end result is a book broken up into sections by area and time period, illustrated with pictures and real beads. I hope you like it!
Now, about blogging, as Sarah said there were times when I groaned because there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to do everything. However, I have enjoyed reading the responses of my peers. It has made me feel closer to them. I have really enjoyed the feeling of community and the feeling of trust that I get when we meet as a class.
WHAT? Think about something I've always wanted to do but have never taken the time to pursue.
You mean, I'm allowed to put my own needs before my school responsibilites and home responsibilities? GAAWD, not sure I know how to do that! But, I did my best. After several ideas had come and gone, I decided to try my hand at writing a children's book.
A humorous story (of course) about how many pets a home can handle.
I spent a great deal of time looking at children's books to use as a mentor text and found several.
For many weeks I allowed hundreds of ideas to simmer and grow. I kept beating myself up because I felt I was procrastinating, but after reading about writer's craft in our text, I realized that what I was doing could actually be considered productive.
I have come to realize that I am strongly visual. My story has developed from very specific pictures in my head. I have had fun visualizing the details of the illustrations I would like to see accompany the story. I usually like the outcome of my writing attempts, but it takes much effort for me to find the exact words that compliment my visual ideas. It is hard work, but usually worth the effort.
At this time, I am still toiling with the completion of my story. I know that I don't HAVE to finish it for our class, but I must also acknowledge that, knowing myself as well as I do, if I don't do it now, I may never return to this project...a trait I inherited from my dear mother who seldom completed a large project. I'm a bit frustrated with where the story is going. Usually, I have an idea of where I want a written piece to go and I am motivated to continue, but this story has not found its satisfying conclusion.
It is still a work in progress.
Your initial question has motivated me to look toward meeting a few other goals. I'd like to try out for a community play, take singing lessons, try my hand at writing a few humorous columns suitable for publishing, and find an activity that I would enjoy AND would make me more physically healthy and active. It was refreshing to stop and think about myself, without feeling guilty or selfish. Hey, it was an assignment...I HAD to do it!
I've enjoyed blogging with everyone. I agree that it has created a strong sense of community among those of us sharing this class together. I think blogging would be a great learning experience to share with students, as well. A topic to respond to each week would be a fun way to get kids to express themselves through writing and build community. Might be worth a try.
Thank you, Tomasen. Once again, your class has been a wonderful learning and growing experience.
11
11
Okay, I am in and ready to blog...
I am looking forward to sharing my project with my colleagues on Wednesday. My final project has changed a bit from my original idea. I am now going to take you on a tour of Holy Cross Church through the eyes of my two older sons Matthew and John. This project has helped me to continue my FAITH journey and realize the true meaning behind many of the rituals and traditions of the Catholic Faith. Thank you Tomasen for this opportunity. I have learned a lot about myself and my faith through this past year while working on this project. I would also like to compliment my colleagues for an outstanding job on their projects. You are talented individuals!!! Thanks Tomasen for another great year. I continue to enjoy learning new ideas to share with my 5th Graders.
Here we are ready to present another round of projects. This time I focused on creating a Photo Essay of my journey through Joshua Tree National Park. It took me some time before I settled on what to complete. I wasn't quite sure what project to complete. With help from Katie Wood Ray’s "Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop", I was able to figure out how I wanted to complete the project. I would create a type of photo essay.
I used photos, artwork, and poetry to enhance the essay which told about different experiences Steve and I had in Joshua Tree National Park. It came out pretty cool and Steve has said that he would like to add his thoughts and picutes he liked to the album. This will very an awesome memory book of our vacation.
It was wonderful to relive my vacation as I worked through this process.
My project turned out to be more than I had originally planned. I knew when I decided to
create a document about my mother’s life it would lead me to know more about the woman who created the map of my heart. Through shared conversations about her life and pictures that we discovered in her attic, I now have a deeper appreciation and understanding about what has made her the most important person in my life.
I also LOVED learning how to use the Photo Story program. Debbie was instrumental in guiding me through a quick lesson and I was off and running or should I say scanning! I am now addicted and look forward to compiling a Photo Story for Brendan who is graduating from high school in one month. I have always loved taking pictures, but the process of organizing, sharing and giving a personalized photo story to a friend is the ultimate gift one could receive!
Thanks, Thomsen, for a wonderful year of sharing and personal growth.
Dancing, it sounded like such a wonderful idea at the beginning of the semester. Me, my husband, nights alone, learning new dance moves, almost like dating again. Then “life” happens, priorities like new jobs and other adult responsibilities. Really long story short-after realizing that my cherished idea for my integration experimentation would probably not find the light of day, I unfortunately had to find a new topic, so like many others I had to continue on my journey of thinking of something I’ve been “putting off ‘til later”. This opportunity is golden I thought to myself, I’ll get that chance to finish something fun and exciting! My creative juices stared flowing, needless to say the old saying that females lose brain cells after child birth rings especially true for me. I played around with a few ideas until I finally over heard something, rather someone in the bathtub singing, “A, B, C, D -, -, G!!”… It was my little 22 month old singing all by herself, not like that is such an amazing thing, but usually I’m singing with her. This made me think, I’ve got “so many” photos that I’ve been meaning to scrapbook, plus we’ve been working on poetry in our classroom more than ever before, how about I create a “bilingual” alphabet book that she can enjoy and read in the future. There-I finally got it my integration experimentation idea: A bilingual poetry book write for my child.
The journey has been interesting. As I sat down to work on my project I realized that many ideas came to me easily, while some were much more challenging. The time away from home has made a big difference in my Spanish fluency. I was able to find many great mentor ideas, but finally decided on one mentor text-L is for Lone Star-A Texas Alphabet (poetry book). This project has allowed me to complete something I know me and my family will cherish for many years to come. Thank you!
How do I feel about “blogging”? To be perfectly honest with you, I have enjoyed reading and sharing ideas and comments with my peers this year. Will I use “blogging” in the future? Honestly, no. Why? I’m doing good using my classroom computer to email and use word documents. It’s not that I refuse to use technology, but I’ve never been one to stay inside on a computer and just type. I love being outdoors. Now that I know “how to blog”, I’m sure I’ll use it again!
Blogging....I love the idea of it, and I do enjoy responding and reading what others have written about their thoughts, beliefs....
But, I miss the human contact. I miss the actual voice and having eye contact with people.
We are a society that has become so solitary in some ways. My kids text, on the phone or computer all the time. They very rarely actually even talk on phone anymore. I guess texting does allow them to have multiple "conversations" going on at the same time, but what about the human voice?
I am a collector and more of a visual learner, so having the blogs to read and go back to are helpful, you just can't rewind or scroll back someone's conversation. When I like something I read I like to make note of it, so having the blogs saves that step for me. Plus, I am the type that likes to ponder things. Some might call it being slow, but I call it pondering...thinking and rethinking.
As far as my project goes, I was more successful completing the first part of my project. I made a dvd of Hanna's Freshman year High School soccer season, complete with music! It took many long hours, as I struggled remembering where and how to save files so I wouldn't end up with those nasty red "X's". I am pleased with the end project.
I was not able to take a class in photography as I had planned because the class was full. What I ended up with is a "cheat sheet" of camera options, that I can reference quickly while out and about.
I struggled reading the manual and trying to make sense of what they were trying to say, frustrated with the lack of clear cut directions and examples. I learn best in a situatio where I can have interaction with others and try things, talk about them, and try again.
"Tell me and I'll forget;
show me and I may remember;
involve me and I'll understand."
-----Chinses Proverb
Blogging has made me "cool" in the eyes of my 18 and 21 year old daughters...."YOU BLOG, MOM? Wow...it just seems so weird to hear/see that you're doing THAT!"
Yeah, well, I AM COOL, Chickies, and don't you forget it!!!! Thanks, Tomasen, for allowing me to learn an aspect of computers and technology that I otherwise would have missed out on. There were weeks when I had my computer mishaps and trouble with passwords (I have loved seeing Mike's "11s" repeatedly over the weeks.... gave me a chuckle every time!) Like Laura, I do miss the physical aspects of conversations: the eye contact, the body language, the smiles. But there is something that I really loved about the entire process. You give each BLOG entry your entire attention. You know, REALLY HEAR what they are saying without interjecting comments of your own or thinking of a response to add. It made me LISTEN attentively. Sometimes I responded with a written message immediately, but often times I left days between my reading (listening) and publishing a comment. I was, and continue to be, impressed with the caring, insightful individuals we have had the privilege to know more intimately through the blogging process.
Now, for the long journey I'm continuing on.... My integration project has two parts.
My parents live on a farm that was settled by my ancestors in 1791. The Farm is 135 acres of pristine land on top of the mountains in Plainfield, Vermont. The view is breathtakingly beautiful and is much like the view from the Von Trapp Lodge in Stowe, Vt. if any of you have had the opportunity to visit there. The old farmhouse is stuffed beyond capacity with pictures and antiques that have been used and/or enjoyed for generations. Unfortunately, my mother hoards these possessions and refuses to give them away to her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. So, while my parents were wintering in Florida, I went up to the farm and took some photos off the walls and out of piles. I have spent time scanning them onto my computer. It is my intent to put the copies of these photos on a CD for each of my siblings and cousins. You'll see some of what I've done in class. I'm going back to collect more photos...but rest assured, I WILL return the ones I took first!
The second, and most exciting part of the class for me, has been the "excuse" to find something that I've always wanted to do, and never made time for in my life. Meditating! Over the past 6 months I have read so many great books, websites,
etc. that could be considered mentor texts, like "The Secret" By Rhonda Byrne(HAD to read it for class...),"Starbright" and "Moonbeam", Meditations for Children by Maureen Garth; "Getting in the Gap" by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and "Take Time for You" by Mary Butler and Diane Mastromarino. My journey has allowed me to explore many different topics, all of which are interconnected to mindfulness, like Feng Shui. Over vacation I literally began de-cluttering my home. (It's gonna take a L-O-N-G time, but I'm determined!) A day is not complete for me if I haven't had a chance to sit and be still....REALLY still. The practice is invaluable for me, and due to my excitable nature, there are days that I need to do it several times! It is amazing the things that I've experienced, and I'm still a bit in awe of the power of quieting the mind. My project will be sharing some simple tidbits about meditation with you.
Post a Comment