Well, here we are, well at least the last few of us that procrastinate beyond belief…yes, I am referring to me. 

I have learned so much from this class, but still realize that there is much more that I need to learn to assess how to use all of the resources I have  discovered or uncovered this semester.  While I was used to the blogs, gators and TappedIn, I failed to make it to several of our scheduled chats and I was only disappointed because I learned a lot through them and enjoyed getting to know everyone from a “distance”.

Here is the link for the blog I created to use with my Language Arts classes.  http://elliott08.wordpress.com/

I also included the link for my class webpage..it is still under construction as we haven’t had them for too long…that and I have been a little busy with other things.  http://carter.ky.schoolwebpages.com/education/staff/staff.php?sectiondetailid=1538. You will have to go to Useful Links to see that I have attached the link for the blog I created. 

Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for a great semester!!

I will be the first to admit that I tried for extra credit, I even had help..but it just wasn’t in me to spend my Thanksgiving break traveling through the Last Outpost. Maybe because I had managed to kill myself too many times or the fact that I still find that game completely frustrating….I have to SEE where I am going..not read about it. I can see the benefits of this type of game though and how people could become addicted to it.
Oh well, no need to type more words about my experience across my page…but you can’t blame a person for trying for extra credit!

I will be the first to admit that I tried for extra credit, I even had help..but it just wasn’t in me to spend my Thanksgiving break traveling through the Last Outpost. Maybe because I had managed to kill myself too many times or the fact that I still find that game completely frustrating….I have to SEE where I am going..not read about it. I can see the benefits of this type of game though and how people could become addicted to it.
Oh well, no need to type more words about my experience across my page…but you can’t blame a person for trying for extra credit!

Since all of the grades, well most, have been posted, I thought I would try to recover the points I missed out on when I missed the last few chats. The last chat happened to fall on the same day as a funeral of our town’s 13 year old hero, who battled brain tumors for much of his life. While it is no excuse for me missing a chat and has nothing to do with this class, I wanted to share that not all heros have to be super or old, but children are increasingly becoming some of my favorite heros and they teach me so much.
I know that the last few chats have focused on our final projects and I am working on a blog to add to the webpage that my district now offers. I hit a snag this weekend when I couldn’t remember (stll can’t) my password to edit that webpage. I will complete this project tomorrow.

My district has now created webpages for all of the teachers.  I can link a blog on my webpage, but I am not sure if this would create a break to the confidentiality bond that is in place within the district. 

How would i go about ensuring that this bond isn’t broken?  I know that I should talk with my administrators before creating anything, but I do want something that I can use not only for my project in this class, but within my own classroom as well.

I could use some suggestions!!

Yep..I’m a little behind on getting this out. 

It is important to have a chat every now and then for the simple fact of getting everyone together at the same time, real time if you will, and making sure that everyone is on the same page as to what is going on in the classroom. 

Being that I missed the last chat, albeit my fault for not checking my email sooner and the church I’ve been attending was in revival, I completely feel out of the loop.  I have access to the chat session transcript, but I can assure you that it is not the same as actually being involved in the chat.  I miss getting to “chat” with everyone. 

On with the project at hand…I am still deciding if creating a blog would not impose on the confidential bond that my district enforces.  I may have to contact some people within the district.

Having been successful enough to gain the levels I need for 688, I learned some good, as well as not so good things about myself.

The best thing that this game taught me was that I am indeed a visual learner.  For example, I can, even at the age of (let’s just say–mid/late 30s), still get you to the house I lived in when I was six years old.  Now before you say “i can do that” I must explain that this house was in Houston, TX and I have moved approximately 22 times in my life. (5 times within one year)…my point is that while i can still get back to that particular house, as well as the others, I could not manuever my way through the Last Outpost to save my life.  One time I even mangage to get to the Lost Outpost that one player had to reassure another player, that was trying to help me, that I was not just providing her with a typo (lost/last)…

I also learned that friends can be very beneficial..especially when playing this game.  Had it not been for Chandra helping me one day after school (we teach at the same school) I wouldn’t have learned the lingo.  We were provided with a blog (Dr. Lowell’s) and that was helpful, but I also need someone to show me (again visual learning) what to do and where to go.

One of the not so good things  I learned about myself is that if I don’t understand something, I will not continue to plug away at it…unless it is something I am enjoying.  I should not have given up so easily, but when the game doesn’t appeal to me, well, I am not willing to spend any more of my time playing.  I know I shouldn’t be so frustrated by this game, but it’s not my thing.

I may play it again..(for the extra credit) because I did enjoy playing when I had help, but without help I felt like a complete idiot.

Although I will be “stealing” the idea from a former student, I have thought about how to create a capstone project that will show that I have learned something this semester while using it in my own classroom.  I still have a few minor details to work out, but this is what I am proposing as my final task this semester.

I am planning on creating an office in TappedIn for my students and their parents.  I will use this as a way to communicate with parents, thus increasing my number of weekly parent contacts, and having another way to “talk” with those students and parents outside of school hours about questions and concerns with school work. 

Here is what I am still trying to figure out: set time to meet; if this is a secure (confidental) way to converse with students and parents since my district has a strict confidentality contract; and how exactly to use this to the benefit of all parties involved (students/parents and me.)  I also wonder how effective this will be and I don’t want to single out those who do not have internet access at home.

This is just a few thoughts I had today and wanted to blog to see if there is anything I haven’t thought about, which is always a possibility.  I may come up with another idea before the week is over.

Okay, so I know that this will not have anything to do with our discussions this week, but after having about three weeks of people asking if I could help them….no one seems to be available when I need the help…I must say that I had one response to this article.  Please read it and then see my response below.

Of course, the article didn’t mention anything about the significant others (spouse, children, pets, etc.) in a teacher’s life that have us going in another direction, let alone all of our school responsibilities.

My response to the article’s finding that teachers are sleep deprived…”Well, duh!!”   

If there is still one among us that has plenty of relaxation time, would you please share your secrets!

In an email, I received a few days ago, I came across the link for this article.  This is not hard for us to believe, we are in a similar situation as these high school students.  Their teacher is in Florida while the students sit at computers at their high school.  We, of course, are in our own homes in the same state, sans a few that are in other states and one that is overseas, while Nate is sitting in Colorado.  However, this is new territory for these participants, teacher included.  This does seem to show how districts may be able to spend less money provided they have the necessary equipment.