You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2009.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate digital media into your teaching, you might want to check out the new series of monthly webinars being offered by PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0.
These two sites are great resources for teachers by themselves, so I was super excited to hear that they are partnering to feature education technology experts, authors, or producers of PBS programs to share ideas on using digital media in the classroom.
This Thursday, John Palfrey, author of Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, is the guest.
From the Press Release:
In this discussion, you will learn about “digital natives”, whom Palfrey describes as a “select” population born after 1980 that processes and sees the world very differently than generations prior. The characteristics of these students demand a new paradigm for engaging learners. The discussion will also focus on how educators can become familiar with the technologies of digital natives and use these technologies to compliment their pedagogy.
When: February 26, 2009 at 8 p.m. EST
How Do I Register?
Simply sign up to become a PBS Teacher and you will receive a webinar invite the week of the event.
Wired and Tired Disclaimer: I happen to be a producer for a PBS station, so of course I think PBS resources are awesome…just sayin.
Like many people in this economy, I’ve been paying more attention to where my money goes. Last week was a typical week for me with tons of meetings, a school play, guitar lessons, and friends coming over for dinner.
It’s great being busy with all the things that I love doing, but I always struggle with staying organized and efficient. Not only is it a challenge for my schedule, but after paying closer attention, I realized how much of a challenge it is to my budget. Some examples:
I pay monthly for a parking pass that allows me to park almost anywhere on campus – except at the meters. Problem is, I was late for an important meeting and didn’t have time to park in a ramp and walk there. I had to feed the meter a couple of bucks to park right in front of the building in order to make it in time. Meter ran out and now I owe $2o bucks for a ticket. If I’d left 10 minutes earlier, I’d have had no problem. (This actually happened twice, but I got lucky the second time with no ticket).
For a couple months I had put off sending a package to a friend. She was supposed to be here for Christmas and then couldn’t get here because of the weather. I had waited so long to send it (ugh, I hate the post office), that I wanted it to get there quickly. On the day I went to send it, I was late getting to the post office and the line was huge. I needed to get out of there to pick up the kids, so I grabbed the first envelope I could find and got in line. When I got to the counter, I realized I was sending the package overnight for $30 after holding on to it for 2 months. This was a combination of procrastination and then desperation when I didn’t have time to repack it.
Ben Franklin was right, time is definitely money.
The kids each got a Nintendo DS for Christmas and it didn’t take long for them to figure out how to text each other. This is four year-old Wixi’s very first text to his sister.
Every mother should be so proud.
I found this TED talk by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of “Eat, Pray, Love” to be extremely inspiring. Maybe you will too.
Thank goodness for Creative Commons.
Whether you’re stuck in line at the grocery or trapped in the car on a road trip, it’s only a matter of time before the kids turn on you. Prepare yourself with these fun iPhone applications:
Ah, checkers. Checkers without the random plastic discs laying all over the house. Goooood checkers. Kids can play against each other, or ALONE. Free.
Think of this app like a 21st century Etch-A-Sketch. Scribble lets kids play around with colors and draw whatever they like, then just shake it clean. Or, they could pull a photo from your phone and draw a mustache on grandma. The possibilities are endless. Free.
The Pandora app lets kids create their own free music channel. My kids favorites are “Disney Channel Stars Radio” and “High School Musical Cast Radio,” because apparently we don’t consume enough Disney media in our house. Pandora chooses songs that fit the parameters of the theme the kids have set up (ex. Disney). Then, kids can program the channel according to their taste by giving a song a thumbs up or thumbs down. Once Hilary Duff gets enough thumbs down, she’s history on that channel. They will relish this authority. Free.
Tic Tac Toe is one game that even the littlest kids can figure out on their own. Like checkers, they can play together or alone against the game itself (though, I’ve been told that the game CHEATS big time.). Free.
Wordle is a word game that tests a kids ability to make a bunch of words out of six scrambled letters. Players have 3 minutes to reach the ultimate goal of finding the six letter word. The larger words are harder, but kids will still have fun beating the clock to come up with the two and three letter combinations. If stuck, they can hit the shuffle button to jumble the letters again and give their little brains a jolt. Parents love this one too. Just sayin. .99
Both kids are home sick today with a fever, sore throat, aches and chills. However, one of them claims to be dying while the other refuses to acknowledge that there is anything wrong at all – “I’m not sick, I’m just hot after running from the T-Rex all night!” (recurring dream – poor kid).
Almost every day Mimi comes home with a sore ankle, an upset stomach, or a wrist that got twisted in just a way that it hurts terribly when the microwave is on or the dog barks too loud. The endless drama makes it difficult to tend to her as lovingly as I want to when she really is sick.
Wixie is the exact opposite – never wanting to admit when something’s not quite right. So when he is sick, we have to be careful not to go overboard, because Mimi picks up on everything. Injustices are her specialty.
I have an old teacup saucer that I keep on my desk to hold paperclips. Paperclips are my thing. I need them to keep piles of paper and bills and to-do lists organized and I need them to pop open the DVD drive in my laptop when it’s feeling prissy. Every so often, when the piles of junk around me are completely out of control and I have squeezed out 5 minutes to try to get organized, I will find that Mimi has decided to make a necklace. She finds the most unusual ways to torture me – I’m almost impressed.
Almost.
I’ve mentioned before that I shop for comfort. This time of year is especially hard for me because winter seems endless and I’m always looking for a quick pick-me-up.
For instance, this little cardigan from J. Crew did the trick this weekend…
I also bought this t-shirt with super cute chiffon rosettes, even though I thought it was too expensive…
When I got home I found the J. Crew catalog in the mail. I flipped through it and found a full page devoted to the rosette tee. I think even the company know’s this shirt is too expensive – they are marketing it as “heirloom worthy.” This shirt is so expensive I should hand it down to my great-grandchildren? I hope they don’t mind pit stains.
It’s going back.
We had a rare playdate at our house on Saturday. I decided it would be good for Mimi to have a friend over for a few hours. I envisioned them disappearing into her room or the basement to play school or house or American Idol loser vote-off – whatever kids play these days. More importantly, I would have some free time.
That’s not quite how it turned out.
Instead, we greeted her friend, helped her off with her coat, the girls shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and then turned to look expectantly in my direction. Their eyes were gleaming and unmistakably demanding – ENTERTAIN US – they said, without saying a word.
After trying and failing to get them started on something (wii, ddr, music, board games) , I became discouraged. When I become discouraged or frustrated with my kids’ behavior- I lecture. Usually the lecture begins the way my mom began her lectures: WHEN I WAS A KID…..
But seriously, when I was a kid, we would disappear and play for HOURS without becoming bored. We didn’t need any adults telling us what to play or how to play it.
I finally ditched them by suggesting we play dodge-ball in the basement. They were not interested. When I was a kid….
