JPringle's blog

I do not have a final TA DAH project in mind.  It probably would have been great to record the visit of the American Legion National Commander's visit to our school and add it as a podcast.  Unfortunately, that is hindsight.  Our days for this year are numbered and our schedule is packed.  Perhaps, and I am thinking as I write, we could down load the pictures from our WWII Intergration Day during which the students witnessed the Presenting of the Colors, the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Table Ceremony, etc, and met with members from the armed forces from WWII vets to active duty women.  Maybe I could incorporate these pictures into the social studies teacher's unit on the Civil War and use the visual to inspire some writing.  Is it possible they could

I spent the first part of the year helping my students understand how to read for implied meaning and how to ask though provoking questions based on that reading as opposed to level one facts.  This became so second nature to them that I had to rewrite literature exams to match their level of mastery.  Yea Explorer students.  It is difficult to measure everyone's individual mastery of this as I am not always sure if they came up with their own thoughts or borrowed them from class discussions.  YWP, I feel, has helped me and my students tremendously with this.  I was able to task them to ask their own higher level thinking questions and respond to their classmates questions.

I have to be honest.  I can not even think about multimedia.  I have to become more fluent in imaging and podcasting.  I need more trial and error time with these before I can move on.  I know, like many others, I blame it on time which I have never done before with a college class and my work schedule, but I feel this class is different.  This class, for me, require a level of mastery of concepts that is very difficult for me.  Then, if I do not practice it weekly,  and have written down step by step instructions for myself (thank you again Jack) then I fumble along until I remember what to do.  Occassionally I go back and suddenly it all makes sense, case in point again is my attempts to master using images in my genealogy.  I will get ther

I did manage to figure out how to attach the profile pictures, which, for my classes are their spirit animals.  We had a lot of fun with this.  Now, for more clever photos added through out, not yet.  I am, however, working on a genealogy project through Ancestry.com.  This has been an amazing journey of finding lost living relatives and the multitude of extended family members out there.  How does it related?  Well, a few months ago I could not take pictures from my camera and download them onto the computer.  Now I can.  I did not know what to do with them once I downloaded them.  Sometimes, I can find them again and attach them to my genealogy program.  Then I learned to scan.  It took be along time to figure out what to do with

So, I began podcasting, audio only.  The kiddos were really into it.  I found it very interesting to listen to them.  My issue is the same as always.  I am still not comfortable with technology such that I can present the lesson and trouble shoot with individual lessons.  I really need to just sit and play with the system, but with tech support (Jack, you are awesome).  My computer at home is archaic so I need to work on this at school.  FOr that, I need to find mutual time with Jack, who also teaches besides being our tech support.  SO, we did get one audio podcast done, but that does not mean I still understand how to use audacity to make the recordings.  I do think I could, using his instructions, down load once  I have the recor

I do not know where the directions are for uploading images from the internet or ading them to YWP.  I have a great picture of my totem (spirit animals) from the internet.  I thought I added it to images, but have no idea where it went or, if I found it, how to make it a tag.

I am sure there must be step by step instructions somewhere.  Where?

This is where I would put a sad picture.........here.

Thank you.

Personal essay disaster...at least from my perspective.

Students were asked to write a personal essay.  The options were YWP or just a hard copy if  it was too personal.  Seemed easy enough.  Then I became sick and it took weeks to figure out the culprit which put me behind on reading.

I am so into this right now that I forgot I carpool.  I will be back once I get home.

Commenting...isn't that a four letter word?  Some of my more memorable comments were....I like pumpkins.  (to bad their wasn't anything to relate that to)  How about  "enjoie pumpkins", "cats", and then the chat room conversation.  It wasn't anything bad, it fact it was quite amusing, but I did have to remind them it wasn't a chat room. 

So, on this particular day a very conscientious student was out sick but knew that we would be in the computer lab.  I noticed one of the girls looking around the room several times.  I asked her if she need something.  She said, "Isn't T our sick today?"  I told her he was.  She said, "Well he just commented on my paper." 

Confusion seems to come to me in varying categories.  Computers are a type of confusion that I can overcome, with work and motivation.  Unfortunately the difficulties sometimes overwhelm the desire to learn the ins and outs.  This is very similar to what some of my students go through.  I can see it in their eyes when the drift off, not because they are bored (after all, I am the teacher), but because they simply  do not understand the concept and therefore blank  out.  For me, learning was never an option as the physical and emotional ramifications of poor work ethic were very strong.  To some degree, it carried over in my life to a need for perfection.  It is why I do not like partner work as I may have to redo their work.  This I am w