A new way to perceive life.

The following video gave me and my family something that couldn't have been timed better. We are facing a difficult decision. Our decision was to make a list of pros and cons to help us make a decision. We are now going to start with a look at how blessed our family is and each of us individually is to help make the list of pros and cons not be such a negative experience but instead a way for us to work together to find the best solution to a problem that has no good answer.

I am sure this video will touch you in your own way. I hope you take the chance.

New multi-media review for Amazon

I received an email from Amazon after I purchased the Kindle. It highlighted their new option of "writing" a video review. It is a great and creative idea. I am excited to take part and watch it develop. I think the more we know and share the better consumers we are able to be. It is wonderful how the web has led to a democratic rule (if the people choose) of what is worth time and what isn't. Read the following message for more information.

This is what the message said:

Dear Airin Hazelwood, Thank you for your recent purchases from Amazon.com. We invite you to submit reviews for the products you purchased or share an image that would benefit other customers. Your input will help customers choose the best products on Amazon.com. It's easy to submit a review--just click the Review this product button next to the product. Amazon Kindle 2 (2nd Generation) Silicone (PINK) Skin Cover Case (Purchased on 02/16/2010) by Amazon ...or share an image. Amazon Kindle ClearTouch Anti-Glare Screen Protector (Single Pack) (Purchased on 02/16/2010) by BoxWave Corporation ...or share an image. 2-Year Extended Warranty for Kindle (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation) (Purchased on 02/16/2010) by Service Net ...or share an image. New on Amazon!  Grab your video camera or webcam and add video to your customer review. Click on 'Review this product' above to upload a video or find a different product to review. Need help? If clicking the buttons above doesn't work, you can review your products by following these simple steps: Go to Amazon.com and navigate to the product. In the "Customer Reviews" section, click the "Create your own review" button.

Free Energy Education Kits with SO MUCH STUFF!!!

www.getwise.org


I ordered one kit of the Energy Wise program for EACH of my 30 students last year and received one for myself to use as a demonstration. These kits are sooo cool. The kit we got had 2 FREE CFL bulbs, one faucet aerator for the kitchen or other utility type sink, plumbing tape to ensure a good seal, thereby conserving more energy. It also contained a FREE gallon-per-minute measuring tool and so much more. AND did I remember to mention that it is all FREE!!!! Plus, when I participated, I was sent a $50 VISA credit card to use for my classroom as i wanted.

Here is a quote from their site:
In a Nutshell
"Through the LivingWise®, WaterWise™, or Energy Wise® Programs, students learn about conservation in a classroom setting. The new knowledge is then taken home and shared with their families and friends, reinforcing the lessons learned. The program provides students and their families with the tools needed to audit and retrofit their homes, generating immediate and lasting
savings."

Believe it or not, some parents did not want their children to change their bulbs or faucets so we did it in class with my set as a demonstration and then any materials left over we collected. Then we raised money and bought more CFL lights and donated enough to light 2 whole Habitat for Humanity houses and then some.

I can't express enough what a cool experience it was to go on a field trip to meet the families we were donating to and be able to give the bulbs and faucets in person. AND, if you can believe it, one of the families: a single mother with one severely disabled teenage daughter and one other teenage daughter who, by definition of being eligible for the program are POOR. This mother bought doughnuts for every child in my class and soda to celebrate the birthday of her disabled child and to thank us.

My students asked excellent questions like, "how much of the money that gets donated do these people get?". They got some real learning in that experience. It was all sparked by trying out this free energy education program which is sponsored by power companies and others.

It is more than worth it to sign your class up. They have a very worthwhile learning experience. It is not without flaws, some small errors here and there, but the value of the lessons overall was unable to be quantified.

I encourage you to check it out and tell everyone you know about it. Even better, they are available in both English and Spanish. That way when students take the kit home to improve and assess the changes in their home, their parents (if they speak no english) can participate with them. That is the central focus of this program is to get parents and children to work together to improve their understanding of energy consumption.

Let me know what you think.

My PLE visual

Safety on the internet

http://www.safetyweb.com/parents

http://www.staysafeonline.org/content/lessons-and-teaching-materials

http://technologyinclass.com/blog/2009/11/04/cyber-security/


They are all three worth the time.

SMART board lessons and activities *FREE*

Longwood School District in New York has hundreds of lessons grouped by grade level. Check them out.

http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/longsmart3.html

Wichita Public Schools has a SMART school which, hopefully, means there is some good teacher learning going on there. They have downloadable lessons; however you have to have the SMART Board software to view the lessons. They also are taking lessons if teachers are interested in submitting ideas.

http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smartlessons.htm

PBS has a site dedicated to SMART Boart lessons at

http://pbskids.org/whiteboard/

SMART Exchange has many lessons, also divided into categories for easy search.

http://exchange.smarttech.com/index.html

SMART Tech has them too...

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-us/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+activities/
You can also see showcased SMART schools to get a feel for how they are being used at
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Classroom+solutions/Advantages/Showcase+Schools.htm
And... professional development
http://smarttech.com/trainingcenter


If I find more I will add them here.

XtraNormal movie making

www.xtranormal.com

This is my example movie. I think it is really pretty neat for a free movie creation. Since I spent the time seeing what it was like, I threw together an assignment for my daughter who I am homeschooling right now. That means that this movie is going to tell you what to do. Don't stress, I am not waiting for your movie. :)

The setting, characters, number of characters in the movie, ambient noise and background soundtrack can all be manipulated to create many different movies.

It was fun to make and certainly worth attempting a writing assignment to test it out.

Free workbooks

Free books! This is really cool. The Library of Congress  published a TON of books. The subjects cover math, reading, writing, job training, test preparation, and so much more at various levels. Each link is a 3-4 hundred page workbook with pre-test, post-test and a key.

I am trying not to download everything at once.

To twitter or not to twitter, it isn't really a question!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhcbw9bz_228g76svdhf

If you go through these resources you will find that this title isn't unfair.

http://mrslwalker.com/index.php/2009/03/29/nine-great-reasons-why-teachers-should-use-twitter/

This is another good one, but I like the first one more.

Are you holding yourself to the best standard?

http://technologyinclass.com/blog/2009/12/09/teaching-the-unprofessional-profession/

This is an excellent article. I think every teacher should read it and reflect.

~In reflection on work: “that’s someone else’s job. I don’t want to step on any toes.”

How many teachers are too afraid of stepping on toes? That can't be how we approach our jobs or we are sacrificing the children we aim to serve. I have seen it too much. I refuse to be that teacher.

"When I care the work involved is not an issue. I’ll make the time because I’m passionate about it. I’ll work with my administration. Chances are they welcome the input from teachers on how to make staff development more relevant. This takes tact. We don’t want to make their jobs more difficult unnecessarily."

~I hope every teacher has the opportunity to reflect on this article.

Math Powerpoint games

http://mathbits.com/MathBits/PPT/powerpoint.htm

There are quite a few powerpoint presentations put together as games and study material at the above mathbit site. Everything is free.

More art and geometry

Creating your own mutated art is the idea behind this site at

www.mutapic.com

There you choose two images from their selections and what types of

changes you want to occur based on geometry terms and art terms. 

It was amazing to me how many things can be

interpreted like Georgia O'Keeffe made them herself.

I don't think I will be any more explicit than that.

I mutated these shapes as a representation of my experience of online technologies and my learning.

Because of that I will just give a short caption of what I see in each image.

My learning revolves around me.

 

It gives me joy to create. I think that is nature's way.

 

My entire family can be involved together.

 

I feel free

Sometimes it is frustrating. This mutation seemed to illustrate that feeling you get when you have had enough.

 

Even with the frustration, I feel like a part of a community.

Myoats geometric art

 

I made this.

I did not make the rest of these but I like them. This is a really cool way to show children the

geometry of art in action. They can use the language and the concepts to show a more 

complex understanding of what they learn in the book.

http://www.myoats.com/

Can you see the geometry?

 

  

I couldn't help but add this one.