WOW2 Chat

I was invited as a guest speaker on the weekly Women of the Web 2.0 (also known as WOW2) Chat.  For those who have never hear of WOW, you need to visit the WOW website.... and guys are welcome, too!  Every week there is a Tuesday chat that is facilitated by Cheryl Oakes, Jennifer Wagner, Sharon Peters, & Vicki Davis, four women who not only love using the tools of the Internet but also love sharing the tools with others.  I was honored to be asked to contribute to their Tuesday night chat.  They have had some well known folks on in the past - David Warlick, Will Richardson, Steve Dembo, and Leslie Fisher, to name a few.  Tonight's topic was staff development, and I shared some of the staff development I am facilitating in my district in SE Michigan - the web 2.0 usergroups and how we are using Moodle to assess 8th grade tech proficiency and also to fulfill the new Mighigan on-line learning experience.  I enjoyed the conversation and felt it was personally valuable to put my beliefs and visions on my sleeve for all to hear about. 

Great Example of Tech Integration

Mark Lada is a 6th grade science teacher at Sarah Banks Middle School. He is featured in a "Best Practices" video on Michigan streamnet. The lesson is about electromagnetism and is 21 minutes long. Check it out! http://www.mistreamnet.com/archnew.php

Beth Baker, a friend of mine from Wayne RESA, facilitated the videotaping and editing.

Vista (and Office 2007), Here We Come!

There's no way to stop it.... Vista will be coming to Walled Lake come Fall. Due to our laptop program, supported by our parental community, we must make way for Vista. Since parents cannot purchase a laptop with Windows XP any more, we have no choice but to support Vista. I don't know of any other school districts who are supporting both operating systems next year, so I'm a bit nervous about this! I'm working on a plan to get ready - training for our computer resource teachers after school gets out in June, then training for the classroom teachers in August. My first goal is to obtain a computer that has the power to run Vista and Office 2007. Then the fun begins!

Hero in the Hallway

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/PtFtbaKIYyg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

I saw this video on Steve Dembo's blog.  Authors:  Bobby Barrett of Cary Grove High School and Kyle Barrett from the University of Illinois.  Subject:  bullying. 

Graduation Day

Today I graduated from Oakland University with an Educational Specialist degree. I'm so proud. I learned lots, worked hard, and enjoyed the process. I've attended classes throughout the two years with a great group of teacher leaders from across SE Michigan. Most of us walked today. I volunteered to purchase graduation gowns for two of my classmates who could not easily get to the bookstore. I steamed them to get the wrinkles out and we were going to meet up an hour before the ceremony.

It should be a day of joy, right? My husband and two children went along and we were on route to the university when I received a call from Dan wondering where I was... I had entered the wrong time on my palm and was an hour late! Gulp. I told my husband to drive faster and prayed that I would get there in time. I was most worried about the two people who were there waiting without proper graduation garb. I felt like throwing up.

We arrived at the University, but there was a traffic jam of cars. I bolted out of the car and ran as fast as I could. I made it there with 10 minutes to spare, out-of-breath and discombobulated. I even forgot my tassel. I finally relaxed about an hour into the ceremony.  It will be a day to remember for sure!

The Red Wings just won and I'll soon be headed to Mexican Town for dinner with friends. I will enjoy a margarita tonight!