Capstone Showcase

Tonight I attended the Spring Capstone Showcase on the Stockton campus. I was very impressed with everyone's presentations...all women by-the-way. Everyone's research benefited education in some way. The presenters themselves seemed calm and confident. I can only hope I'm in a similar place when the time comes...an evening well spent. Thanks again to my husband who made it possible to attend!

April 25th Class

I successfully logged on and participated in my first Wimba session this evening. For someone who feels very intimidated by new technology, I feel quite accomplished. I used my husband's laptop, because our home desktop was being finicky with Java. All in all, I feel I benefited from accomplishing this task. I knew I had to complete the Wimba/BB worksheet, but could not locate the handout on Blackboard. Amy was able to direct me to the handout, and my mini-crisis was averted...I like the format of Wimba, but it took some getting-used-to. I think I'm a very visual learner, so being so aware of listening was different for me. I actually look forward to becoming more proficient with Wimba by completing the worksheet assignment. I also mentioned that I'm attending the Capstone presentation at Stockton tomorrow. I think it will be helpful to see some examples of the end product. It also dawned on my that I'm a living example of the "it takes a village" philosophy in regards to reaching my grad school goals and raising a family. Thanks to my husband, and our "tag team" approach to parenting, I'm able to attend tomorrow night's event. Thanks HGxo! Talk to you soon...

Spring Break Perspective

The Years are Short

If you can, watch this 1-minute video. If you're a parent, it is a must-see. Enjoy!

Toddlers + Wimba = Not Happening

Hi All,
I had all intentions of logging into my first Wimba session. With one son asleep and another watching Dora, I thought I was safe. However, that plan fell through as Harrison came to visit, asking endless questions about what I was doing. Since my husband doesn't come home from work until 7pm, I was stuck. So, instead I spent 30 minutes setting up a Sesame Street account for my son and watching educational videos on their playlist-of-the-day. So, the score is Grad School 0, Family Time 1. I'll try again next Monday...missing you guys. I did watch the Wimba tutorials today. They were helpful...

Easter Egg Hunt

This past Saturday, my two sons participated in our church's Easter Egg Hunt. This technology-free event reminded me, once again, of the innocence of youth, that I'm able to continually experience through the eyes of my sons. It was a welcome break from the stresses of work and school. Thanks guys! Happy Easter.

Tech use this past week...

This past week, I implemented the use of the site www.goodreads.com with two of my classes. I created a private group to which my two classes are now members. They are tracking their independent reading selections and answering posted discussion questions. I run and control the group as the moderator. So far, I'm very happy and excited with the results. I've managed to create an intimate, academic setting for my students to discussion literature on the web. Initially, I would have thought intimate and internet was an oxymoron. I'll let you know how it goes...

The Kickoff

Today I set up my Blog, which I feel to be a huge accomplishment. First, because I actually found the time to do it and second because it seems to be up and running. I've been interested in starting a blog since seeing the movie "Julie and Julia." Of course, she was blogging about cooking and I'll be blogging about using technology. Hmm. Oh well. In a way, I am cooking up new ways to use technology :-)

I'll be back to write more when time allows...