Elfeanor

How to Create a Wiki Page

2008-09-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

Students will start their experience with wikis by opening a template titled All About Me. There is a list of favorites, and a picture. I created a very blurry guide in iMovie3. I plan to do a JING capture which should be clear.

Blogger hates my movie format, but PBwiki doesn't.

Digital Divide

2008-09-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Any article on technology dated 2003 should read like ancient history. The article I read by Bud Gillian, however, read like the running commentary in my head when I'm at work. The digital divide has many cultural causes, such as as age and economics. We are split between the Haves and Have Nots, the Wills and Won'ts, etc. The irony of reading this article after reading Autumn's excellent explanation of how to use PDF files with ActivStudio was quite rich. My only presentation medium for years at several schools has been a 3x5 whiteboard. One school I taught at just dismantled and dispersed its lab of new though basic Emacs because no one knew how to use them, except a couple of teachers. Yes, Autumn, I am jealous.

I am also very concerned about our students. One veteran teacher in my district said, "We're doing a great job of teaching, but they are not learning." Among the many explanations I entertain for this is that we are providing a 20th century education to 21st century learners. Brains formed by watching tv and using electronics of all sorts are very different from brains formed by reading. One of my hopes is that the School Library Program will help me understand how to reach these new brains, of which I do not have one.

Gillian, Bud. (2003). Crossing the Great Divide with Networks, Teaching, and Interactivity. Library Media Connection, 22(3), 38-42.

Louella Mae, She's Run Away!

2008-09-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

Louella Mae, She's Run Away, by Karen Beaumont Alarcon, is a delightful children's book in verse, with a surprise twist and a happy ending.
Here is a podcast of the book.

Enjoy! (Click the cover to play.)

Hmmm. What shall I read today?

2008-09-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you need a good laugh.

Try the jokes books in the 818 section for very short and very funny.

Maybe you need a short funny story. Try Mike Thaler's Black Lagoon series, or Susan Meddaugh's Martha books, or Margie Palatini's Piggie Pie.

Maybe you need a book full of funny situations. Try Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis, and learn about Bud's Rules and Things for Having a Funnier Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself. Or read about Betsy Byar's Blossom kids, who are almost as good at getting out of trouble as getting into it. Or visit the goofiest school in the world, Louis Sachar's Wayside School.

Have a funny day!

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