Friday, November 30, 2018
Sunday, July 1, 2018
Searching for a new path...
Hi Everyone
I apologize for my lack of blogging. My life turned upside down with the sudden death of my Mother in February 2018. All of my blogging was done on Facebook and Caring Bridge for the last year.
I wanted to take a second and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers through what was undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in my life!
Life is interesting, there are always so many twists and turns. I chose to share publicly versus go through everything in private. Some of my relatives didn't understand my need to share and hear from my "digital" friends. The funny thing is that my "digital" friends and family really helped me through everything. I believe that every little prayer and positive thought fueled our family. I would read the posts to my Mom and she would smile and take it all in, especially the stories, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My hopes and dreams for the last 2 years were completely wrapped up in my Mom, making memories, fighting the big "C" and surviving. Now she is gone and I am struggling. She was my best friend, my mentor, my cheerleader and my biggest fan. Every time I had a crisis of faith, or didn't think I was good enough, I would walk away from my Mom believing I could do anything!
I recently read the "Wisdom of Walt" by Jeffrey Barnes, and yes it was a book about Disney, but it was more taking life leadership lessons from everything Disney did and said. The one major piece I took away is that you need to share your ideas, no matter how big, no matter how small. Walt dreamed up the idea of Disneyland while sitting on a park bench, if he had never shared his dream, it would have died on the park bench. Where do your great ideas go? I know that personally, I have left some on the "park bench" somewhere. I need to rediscover my dreams. I need to figure out a new path to forge. I need to step out of my comfort zone. I am not exactly sure what that looks like right now, but I know it needs to happen. I need to feed my soul and I need to learn and experience new things. I need to learn to dream again.
I have given myself 3 goals to try and jumpstart my thinking.
1) I will blog and tweet more often. I will believe that someone is interested in what I have to say.
2) I will get back into the regular habit of reading blogs. Feel free to suggest some I should be following.
3) I will try not to "get lost" in my loss but use that energy to move forward. (This is probably the most difficult goal for me)
Today I will leave you with a #booksnap I created from the "Wisdom of Walt".
I apologize for my lack of blogging. My life turned upside down with the sudden death of my Mother in February 2018. All of my blogging was done on Facebook and Caring Bridge for the last year.
I wanted to take a second and thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers through what was undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in my life!
My hopes and dreams for the last 2 years were completely wrapped up in my Mom, making memories, fighting the big "C" and surviving. Now she is gone and I am struggling. She was my best friend, my mentor, my cheerleader and my biggest fan. Every time I had a crisis of faith, or didn't think I was good enough, I would walk away from my Mom believing I could do anything!
I recently read the "Wisdom of Walt" by Jeffrey Barnes, and yes it was a book about Disney, but it was more taking life leadership lessons from everything Disney did and said. The one major piece I took away is that you need to share your ideas, no matter how big, no matter how small. Walt dreamed up the idea of Disneyland while sitting on a park bench, if he had never shared his dream, it would have died on the park bench. Where do your great ideas go? I know that personally, I have left some on the "park bench" somewhere. I need to rediscover my dreams. I need to figure out a new path to forge. I need to step out of my comfort zone. I am not exactly sure what that looks like right now, but I know it needs to happen. I need to feed my soul and I need to learn and experience new things. I need to learn to dream again.
I have given myself 3 goals to try and jumpstart my thinking.
1) I will blog and tweet more often. I will believe that someone is interested in what I have to say.
2) I will get back into the regular habit of reading blogs. Feel free to suggest some I should be following.
3) I will try not to "get lost" in my loss but use that energy to move forward. (This is probably the most difficult goal for me)
Today I will leave you with a #booksnap I created from the "Wisdom of Walt".
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Excellent Extensions - What are they, where do I find them and how do I install them?
I have really gotten excited about Chrome Extensions lately and wanted to share. Chrome Extensions are small micro-programs that enable your Chrome browser to do things that a web browser normally can't do. I LOVE extensions!
For me Extensions make working in a Chrome browser easier and a no-brainer. I am also a heavy Google user, so the Google Chrome browser just makes sense. I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite Extensions, where to find them and how to install them.
First of all, in order to find Chrome Extensions you must go to the Chrome Web Store. The easiest way to get there is to google "Chrome Web Store". Once in the store on the left hand side choose Extensions (not Apps). Search for an Extension and click on "Add to Chrome". Once installed the Extension appears in top of your window next to your Omnibar or URL address bar (where you type the websites in). Here is a quick video demonstrating how to install an extension.
For me Extensions make working in a Chrome browser easier and a no-brainer. I am also a heavy Google user, so the Google Chrome browser just makes sense. I thought I would share with you a few of my favorite Extensions, where to find them and how to install them.
First of all, in order to find Chrome Extensions you must go to the Chrome Web Store. The easiest way to get there is to google "Chrome Web Store". Once in the store on the left hand side choose Extensions (not Apps). Search for an Extension and click on "Add to Chrome". Once installed the Extension appears in top of your window next to your Omnibar or URL address bar (where you type the websites in). Here is a quick video demonstrating how to install an extension.
Some of my favorite teacher productivity Chrome Extensions are:
- Tab Snooze - Allows you to "snooze" tabs until you are ready to use them
- Goo.gl Shortener - Lets you shorten URL and it is the easiest way to create QR Codes ever!
- Extensity - A manager to allow you turn on and off extensions easily
- Screencastify - A VERY simple way to do screen recordings and save them to Google Drive
- CraftyText - Created by a teacher for teachers. Lets you enlarge the text of anything typed
- Clipboard History 2 - Save your entire clipboard history
If you have some favorites please share below, if you explore and "discover" some new ones, please share below. Together we all learn more!
Monday, October 17, 2016
Censorship...my first big girl blog post
Today I was the victim of censorship and I can't tell you how angry that made me. Maybe I am over reacting, maybe censorship is too strong a word, I don't know, but it is how I feel. I hemmed and hawed about posting this at all but through some strong FB support, I decided to take the plunge and share.
I joined a G+ community that will remain nameless that centered on Googley Stuff. I joined the community and was approved. I posted a question asking about Pear Deck.
For those who don't know, Pear Deck is an awesome presentation tool that works hand in hand with G Suite (new name for GAFE) , Chromebooks and is web based. You create within G Suite and all of your work is saved in G Suite. Here is my post:
My post went into moderation because I am a new member of this group, a practice which is perfectly within the bounds of the community manager and not something that I think is problematic. As a matter of fact I think it is smart, it is a good way to weed out the spammers.
We have had a few conversations, back and forth, the first response was "This community is about G Suite." I responded that I understood that and that Pear Deck is a tool utilized solely through G Suite and I apologized for going against the policy. This was the response:
"It's not about 'policy' -- it's about a post that isn't clear. I would bet most readers have no idea what Pear Deck is, or that it works with G Suite. Further, the post doesn't share or even ask anything with regards to G Suite -- it's wording seeks collaboration with other Pear Deck users -- clearly nothing to do with Googley Education Stuff
I was angered and confused and saddened by this response. Isn't Google in Education all about collaboration? Don't we, as a community, pride ourselves on sharing and helping each other out? My post is clearly not spreading spam or anything inappropriate. Shouldn't members of the community have the right to learn by asking if they don't know or just ignoring the post if they have nothing to contribute? I learn the most in communities when people post questions or ask how to do something that I clueless about. I then start searching for the answers and following the post to learn more. I am angered that this particular community has a leader that won't allow them the opportunity to learn simply because I don't fit into the boxes they created. They could have asked me to explain what Pear Deck is instead of censoring my question.
I truly hope that this community manager takes my response into consideration and allows my post to be public,
I have a lot to share and even more to learn but apparently I won't be doing it in this particular community, which makes me sad. There was a whole new set of people to meet and collaborate with but now that won't happen.
This experience makes me wonder, how often do we do this to students without meaning to? When students turn in their written work and it doesn't quite follow the assignment and we ask them to edit and try again, aren't we in fact censoring students from sharing their thoughts? I don't know how I feel about that after my experience.
I joined a G+ community that will remain nameless that centered on Googley Stuff. I joined the community and was approved. I posted a question asking about Pear Deck.
For those who don't know, Pear Deck is an awesome presentation tool that works hand in hand with G Suite (new name for GAFE) , Chromebooks and is web based. You create within G Suite and all of your work is saved in G Suite. Here is my post:
Working with a district on Pear Deck, I have limited experience. Does anyone have any decks they would be willing to share for the basics, training and or amazing samples ?
My post went into moderation because I am a new member of this group, a practice which is perfectly within the bounds of the community manager and not something that I think is problematic. As a matter of fact I think it is smart, it is a good way to weed out the spammers.
We have had a few conversations, back and forth, the first response was "This community is about G Suite." I responded that I understood that and that Pear Deck is a tool utilized solely through G Suite and I apologized for going against the policy. This was the response:
"It's not about 'policy' -- it's about a post that isn't clear. I would bet most readers have no idea what Pear Deck is, or that it works with G Suite. Further, the post doesn't share or even ask anything with regards to G Suite -- it's wording seeks collaboration with other Pear Deck users -- clearly nothing to do with Googley Education Stuff
I was angered and confused and saddened by this response. Isn't Google in Education all about collaboration? Don't we, as a community, pride ourselves on sharing and helping each other out? My post is clearly not spreading spam or anything inappropriate. Shouldn't members of the community have the right to learn by asking if they don't know or just ignoring the post if they have nothing to contribute? I learn the most in communities when people post questions or ask how to do something that I clueless about. I then start searching for the answers and following the post to learn more. I am angered that this particular community has a leader that won't allow them the opportunity to learn simply because I don't fit into the boxes they created. They could have asked me to explain what Pear Deck is instead of censoring my question.
I truly hope that this community manager takes my response into consideration and allows my post to be public,
I have a lot to share and even more to learn but apparently I won't be doing it in this particular community, which makes me sad. There was a whole new set of people to meet and collaborate with but now that won't happen.
This experience makes me wonder, how often do we do this to students without meaning to? When students turn in their written work and it doesn't quite follow the assignment and we ask them to edit and try again, aren't we in fact censoring students from sharing their thoughts? I don't know how I feel about that after my experience.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
People often ask me ”How do you keep up with all of the changes in technology?”. This is a great question. I had to really think about it. It comes down to a many things.
I am a geek. Tech isn’t just my job, it is also my hobby.
- Most of my network is related to tech in education
- Twitter
- Blogs
- Google+ Communities
- Facebook
- Glide
1) This is self explanatory. I am a geek. I love technology. I love trying new things. I explore and play as my hobby and my life.
2) I have purposely set up my network to be mostly focused on my professional life not my personal.
3) I joined Twitter in 2007 and it has become one of my top go-top resources. I am @atruger on Twitter, follow me and check out my friends list. Follow almost anyone on my list and you will get tons of resources on a daily bases. Twitter is my professional development drive thru. I jump online and scan for new resources. I can spend hours on Twitter and I always learn something new.
4) The idea of blogging has been around for a long time but it is still one of the best ways to stay in touch with what is happening in the “real” world of education and technology. Here is a list of my favorite blogs:
5) Google+ Communities are filled with people just like you who just want to keep up with the changes. Join the Communities that match your needs. There are many to choose from. Find an active community and join.
Google Apps for Education - another one
6) I was very conflicted in the beginning. I tried to keep Facebook just for personal and family use but very quickly I realized that FB was just as valuable a resource for me as Twitter! This was because it was a n easy place to connect for people who didn’t use Twitter. I belong to several extremely active groups on FB, some private and others public.
7) Glide is an ios and android app that allows you to video chat. Basically you leave messages back and forth. You can add images, videos, and URLs. I have belonged to the same Glide group for 2 years with some of the most amazing educators I have ever known, “The Glidiators”. Glide will only be as powerful as your glide groups. We have the most intense conversations and also the most silly. I always learn something new or gain a new way of thinking about things. 
Image from http://www.visualscribing.com/
I guess shortest answer I can give people about how I keep up with all the changes, is that I make it a priority to never stop learning and to surround myself with people who have the same priorities.
How do you keep up with all of the changes?
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Community Families
Let’s get down to business! School is in full swing now and I am starting to get into this regular writing idea. There are so many people that I draw inspiration from, my former Waukegan Lighthouse Lead Learners, my Discovery Education family, my ISTE friends, my Googley friends and of course my own amazing family. I am the educator that I am today due to all of these experiences, so I wanted to take a moment and tell you how to get involved with some of these incredible life changing groups.
- Discovery Education - If your school uses any Discovery Ed paid products then you ARE already a DEN member. Now if you jump through just a few hoops, you can become a DEN STAR! Once you become a DEN STAR a whole new world of professional learning opportunities become available for you to participate in, including the DEN Summer Institute. I could write a book on how much I learned during each institute! If your school is not a Discovery school there are still incredible learning opportunities like virtual field trips, new instructional strategies, and a variety of other resources under Teacher >> Free Resources . The DEN Community is like none other that I have been a part of. Thanks for the last 10 years Discovery Education!
- My Google community is huge! I was lucky enough to be in one the earlier Google Certified Teacher Academies Chicago 2008. These academies are now called Google Certified Innovator Academies. They open up randomly throughout the year and in all different locations. This is another great opportunity to below to an amazing group of educators. If the GCI doesn’t interest you, another group to connect with is the Google Certified Trainers. This is a group whose ranks I hope to join soon. Check out the brand “new” requirements to be a trainer. It is a great educational experience and I learned so much! Excellent resources and wonderful educators to connect and learn with!
My point is, that you are not alone! There are so many educator and educator communities out there for you to join and connect with! I hope some of my readers can add their favorites in the comments. Find a group, join and participate. You will be amazed at how much your professional and personal mindset will grow.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
My favorite teacher and why
At the start of every year, I like to think about what type of educator I want to be. When I think of the perfect teacher, I think of Char Manchen, my beautiful, rambunctious music teacher from 3rd-8th at Ascension in Oak Park. She was the first teacher to really make a difference in my life and show me the kind of teacher I wanted to be. She made me feel special, like I mattered, during a very difficult time in my life. I will never forget her frizzy red hair, her infectious smile and the wire rimmed glasses she would peer over when you earned her 'look". She was a sassy small bit of a woman who could knock the biggest bully down a peg. I loved this woman!
Are you the type of teacher that kids talk about (in a good way) when they leave your classroom? Do you stand up for the quiet, shy and insecure kids who just can’t stand up for themselves yet? I hope so. This is the type of teacher I always strive to be. This is the type of teacher I want for my own kids.
Ms. Manchen was crazy funny and never took herself too seriously. Her class was the one where you never knew what would happen next. Once when the “boys” were causing problems in the back of the room and not paying attention...she did a quick handstand on the floor. It happened so quickly that the boys who weren’t paying attention missed the whole thing. We were all sworn to secrecy and couldn’t tell. It was awesome!
What will you do to set yourself apart from everyone else? Several people are making videos, which is awesome, but what’s next? How do you keep the momentum going? I love the Fish Philosophy and think it fits really well in school.
- Be There
- Play
- Make their Day
- Choose your Attitude
I think by following these 4 rules, we can all be amazing teachers like Ms. Manchen was and I always strive to be. How can you “Be There” for your students? How will you “play” today? What can you say or do that will “make their day”? What “attitude” will you choose today?
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
My Summer Adventure...now that everyone is back to school.
Today I wanted to share a little bit about my summer journey. Don’t worry this isn’t all about me again! (Still sharing resources)
I began this summer by attending the ISTE 2016 conference in Denver, this is where I ran into Kevin Honeycutt on the street in front of my hotel on the last day. He told me that I should try and take one of his Launch Me Academies for Presenters. Through a whole lot of luck, I was able to attend one right after ISTE. It was a life changing experience! I can’t give too much away but if you are considering going out on your own or trying to get yourself on the keynote circuit, this was a great “launch pad”!
After the academy, I was determined to turn in my Google Certified Trainer application. I had gone down this road once before but never actually turned it in! As part of my preparation, I decided to take the Level 1 and Level 2 Google Educator tests, they weren’t required at this time, but I wanted to experience them. The tests were actually fun to take! I enjoyed the application based nature of the tests and the “testing environment”, not so much the leaving on of my webcam...no testing in my PJs but the test itself was well done. I didn’t have any problems with Level 1, but Level 2 is quite a bit trickier! I ran through the Google Center courses and passed the first time. The video was a struggle but is now posted on youtube. Feel free to check it out! Now my application is turned in and I am biting my nails until Sept 21st.
A few days after that I was invited to a Microsoft Train the Trainer workshop. I spent several hours watching their courses on the website to help prepare me for the workshop. I really like the way Microsoft has set up their online training. You should check it out! Earning badges is fun! Thanks Carlos Fernandez for encouraging me take a walk on a different side of the street. I have to say I really like OneNote Learning Tools. (Even if you are a Google user check out OneNote Learning Tools)
After all of that training, learning and collaborating, it was time to recreate myself. I jumped on Legal Zoom to create my LLC and in just a few weeks….PRESTO! I am a business owner! Wait...I am a business owner?!?!?
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
I'm Baaack!
Welcome to my new adventure! I haven’t blogged regularly in years, but I am going to do my best to share something at least once a week. Blogging has always been a difficult thing for me to do. I never think anyone really wants to read what I write. My writing isn’t always grammatically correct and I don’t feel like I have very exciting or revolutionary ideas. After discarding the idea of writing just to write, I go and read other people’s posts and realize that I had the same thought and just wasn’t brave enough to publish it!
Writing and sharing my thoughts is a push out of my comfort zone, isn’t that what they say helps drive true change? Stepping out of your comfort zone?
Today I am leaping out of my comfort zone and it is terrifying. Earlier this month I decided to establish my own LLC called Truger Tech Talk. Of course right after I bought the name, people starting giving me their opinion of the name and all of the reasons it was the wrong name. Mind you I asked several people before choosing the name and everyone was supportive, until after the fact. Sigh. That is just the way things go. People don’t believe you really want their opinion when you ask and then you get the after thoughts, when it is too late to change anything.
Truger Tech Talk has been around since the first time I started a wikispace and blogged. I just felt that it made sense to go back to my roots. This LLC thing is much more difficult than I had expected, but I am not giving up yet! If your school district could use some professional development from a crazy, upbeat, energetic and passionate educational innovation specialist let me know!
I want to give a few shout outs to people who have helped me get started: Lea Anne Daughirity - working on my website, Ginger Lewman - created my logo, Carrie Baughcom - gave me my tagline, Kimberly Wright - my instant sister, Kevin Honeycutt- believing that I have what it takes to make it, Phil Hintz - trusting me, and the most important Lee Truger - my amazing husband who never wavers in his faith in me.
I promise that in my future posts there will be all sorts of resources and links to click on, but today I just needed to write.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Waking up from a Learning Coma
This will be my last post here at blogger.com. My own district is blocking it which makes it difficult to post here. From now on I will be posting at Discovery Education site.
Please join me there to continue our learning journey together.
~Anne
Please join me there to continue our learning journey together.
~Anne
Saturday, January 19, 2008
FETC Bound
I am so excited. I have been on a roller coaster of a ride lately at work. Getting really excited about all of the proposed changes and then slamming back to Earth when I hear about budget deficits. *SIGH*
This week I am about to get ramped back up to running on adrenalin as I was lucky enough to be allowed to travel to Florida for the Florida Educational Tech Conference. I am so pumped up because of all the learning that I know will be taking place. This is the first conference in years that I am "going" to and not "presenting" at. I am also supercharged because I get to meet up in person with several of my DEN buddies that I have not seen since the DEN Academic Excursion I went on last summer. I can't wait to share all of the amazing things I will learn! Florida here I come!
~Anne
This week I am about to get ramped back up to running on adrenalin as I was lucky enough to be allowed to travel to Florida for the Florida Educational Tech Conference. I am so pumped up because of all the learning that I know will be taking place. This is the first conference in years that I am "going" to and not "presenting" at. I am also supercharged because I get to meet up in person with several of my DEN buddies that I have not seen since the DEN Academic Excursion I went on last summer. I can't wait to share all of the amazing things I will learn! Florida here I come!
~Anne
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A Healing Wound
Two years ago my grandmother hurt her leg, since then she has had an open wound. The healing process has taken a very long time and was finally achieved in baby steps, but not without a lot of heartache and back steps.
This long healing process feels a lot like the battle with technology in my district. For a long time, things have not changed. Everyone has done their own thing with budgeting, purchasing and inventory. We now have a new dynamic tech leader who sees the big picture. He is not concerned with the politics as much as he is the learning in the classroom and the differences the appropriate tech could make in our classes.
We have had many "band-aid" solutions through out the years but every time we think things may be "healing" more "blood"seeps through the bandage, just like my Gram's leg wound.
I just want to jump ahead in our tech plan and heal everything already, but I am starting to realize that it will take many baby steps and lots of setbacks before things will be good. The speed at which technology changes adds so many challenges. This month we have been dealing with a virus that attacks Symantec (sp?) which was our AVS of choice. We have been cleaning up for 3 weeks solid. Just this week our district's network was attacked by an outside source, and our admin team had to make the decision to cut off the network to try and protect our information. This meant no internet, no servers, no email, no printers, no electronic IEP. In a special ed district especially this was simply a disaster. We are still in the process of cleaning up the mess. The only good thing to come out of this, is that the admin team is now considering the option of Macs across the board when we do updates next year.
We are taking small baby steps and as frustrating as this is to me as the tech integration specialist at least we are moving in the right direction. Three steps forward and two steps back, it doesn't feel like we are getting anywhere at all, but I must be patient. We will get there just like my Gram did.
~Anne
This long healing process feels a lot like the battle with technology in my district. For a long time, things have not changed. Everyone has done their own thing with budgeting, purchasing and inventory. We now have a new dynamic tech leader who sees the big picture. He is not concerned with the politics as much as he is the learning in the classroom and the differences the appropriate tech could make in our classes.
We have had many "band-aid" solutions through out the years but every time we think things may be "healing" more "blood"seeps through the bandage, just like my Gram's leg wound.
I just want to jump ahead in our tech plan and heal everything already, but I am starting to realize that it will take many baby steps and lots of setbacks before things will be good. The speed at which technology changes adds so many challenges. This month we have been dealing with a virus that attacks Symantec (sp?) which was our AVS of choice. We have been cleaning up for 3 weeks solid. Just this week our district's network was attacked by an outside source, and our admin team had to make the decision to cut off the network to try and protect our information. This meant no internet, no servers, no email, no printers, no electronic IEP. In a special ed district especially this was simply a disaster. We are still in the process of cleaning up the mess. The only good thing to come out of this, is that the admin team is now considering the option of Macs across the board when we do updates next year.
We are taking small baby steps and as frustrating as this is to me as the tech integration specialist at least we are moving in the right direction. Three steps forward and two steps back, it doesn't feel like we are getting anywhere at all, but I must be patient. We will get there just like my Gram did.
~Anne
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
My 2007 in Review - Part 3 (Final)
October sent me to the Closing the Gap conference where again I was reminded of the power of Twitter. One of my friends on Twitter noticed that I was at CTG and so was someone else she followed so we set up a meet at the "top of the stairs" in the hotel. Which is when I met Karen Jankowski. We had so much in common and we never would have met if it wasn't for Twitter. I was also introduced to several new blogs which I now follow: Free resources from the Net (for Spec Ed) being my favorite. During this conference I was also blown away my some assistive tech devices and software I saw. I joined my first ning: Assistive Tech. Shortly after that I joined a couple of other nings: Il-TCE, and SL in Education. The other tool I finally started using was del.icio.us. It finally became clear to me as I sat in session at CTG how I could use this tool to benefit my district and colleagues. I created an account and tagged all of the sites I was introduced to in sessions as CTG, so my colleagues could benefit from my account.
November led me to the discovery of Google Groups. Now I realize that this is old technology but it was the first time that I tried to use them in my school district. They worked very well for what we needed and showed the admin what we could do if we were able to collaborate more.
December was a mash up of so many tools. Every time something new comes across Twitter, I feel compelled to check it out. My friends there seem to have a lot more time than I do to surf and find the "cool stuff". My newest discovery via friends on Twitter is twhirl. Twhirl is a twitter interface that sits as a separate application on your computer. It runs in both Mac and PC. I like this much better than TwitterFox or Twitterific, both of which I have tried and discarded in the last year.
This brings me back to January. It's hard to believe another year is behind me. Apparently I can't even catch my breath before my next adventure begins. It is January 1 and I am already starting to learn new things!
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me...see you again soon.
November led me to the discovery of Google Groups. Now I realize that this is old technology but it was the first time that I tried to use them in my school district. They worked very well for what we needed and showed the admin what we could do if we were able to collaborate more.
December was a mash up of so many tools. Every time something new comes across Twitter, I feel compelled to check it out. My friends there seem to have a lot more time than I do to surf and find the "cool stuff". My newest discovery via friends on Twitter is twhirl. Twhirl is a twitter interface that sits as a separate application on your computer. It runs in both Mac and PC. I like this much better than TwitterFox or Twitterific, both of which I have tried and discarded in the last year.
This brings me back to January. It's hard to believe another year is behind me. Apparently I can't even catch my breath before my next adventure begins. It is January 1 and I am already starting to learn new things!
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me...see you again soon.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
My 2007 in Review - Part 2
June signaled not only the end of the school year but the start of some of the most amazing learning opportunities I have ever had. I was lucky enough to present at NECC 2007 in Atlanta. NECC of course was a very educational experience but by far my 2 best experiences came from Networking at NECC. The first was a pre-conf event with the DEN. On the bus ride over I finally got to meet one of my favorite people from SL in RL, Jen from WOW. We were introducing ourselves to everyone on the bus and when I heard her name, I started shouting it's me, JessieMarie! It was very funny. We didn't get a lot of time to hang out because there was so much learning to focus on. We were learning the finer points of green screening from the folks at Discovery. The learning that took place was important but the connections that were made were invaluable. The second experience was presenting a poster session. I was actually almost insulted when NECC "busted" me down from a concurrent session to a poster. I almost turned them down, but then good sense prevailed and I went ahead with it. I had almost 150 people come through my poster session and I presented nonstop for 2 hours. I ran out of business cards and nearly lost my voice. It was an amazing experience. When they asked me this year to do a poster session, I graciously accepted without a second thought.
In July, I was invited to an experience that would enrich my education far beyond my imagination. I was invited on the DEN Academic Excursion to the Bahamas. Imagine being trapped on a boat with 50 of the most innovative tech educators in the country for 4 days. Close your eyes and see Joe Brennan, Hall Davidson and Steve Dembo sitting at your table and giving advice on your quandries, laughing at your jokes, and in general enjoying your company. The group on the excursion started out as strangers but ended up as family. I was introduced to so many amazing tools, sites, projects and programs on this trip that it would take another blog entry to detail them all. However, the one tool that immediately became a daily use for me was Twitter. I never understood Twitter, it seemed, well "stupid" to me. Why on earth would I stop my day and go to a website to tell people what I was doing. My Twitter affair began in the airport, my flight was delayed by 2 hours so I bought internet and decided to give Twitter a try. Many of the people from the cruise had raved about Twitter. I just didn't get it. I set up an account and that's when the magic began. As I sat there in the airport, one by one the majority of people from the cruise created accounts. We were now able to stay in touch and share the amazing things we were doing. I actually found others in the airport who were also waiting for delayed flights through Twitter! It was so wild. My Twitterlove has continued since. Twitter has become as important as my email. I can get immediate feedback and I learn about new tools everyday from my TwitterFriends. The friendships I made on the cruise have continued in the real world due in part to Twitter. I am thankful everyday for each of you, you know who you are! (wink)
August brought Animoto into my life. Animoto is a video mixer program that digitally mixes up your photos with music and special effects. The free account lets you make 30 second clips with 15 photos, however that wasn't enough for me. I paid the $30 for the whole enchilada for a year. I wanted to make longer videos with more pictures.
September was the discovery of Voicethread. VoiceThread is am amazing tool that lets you upload images and then record messages either audio or text for each image. People have used it to narrate powerpoints and other types of presentations. The neat thing is that multiple people can record info for one image. We did this to try and describe our DEN academic excursion.
Thanks for sharing in part 2 of my excellent academic adventure! Stay tuned for part 3!
~Anne
In July, I was invited to an experience that would enrich my education far beyond my imagination. I was invited on the DEN Academic Excursion to the Bahamas. Imagine being trapped on a boat with 50 of the most innovative tech educators in the country for 4 days. Close your eyes and see Joe Brennan, Hall Davidson and Steve Dembo sitting at your table and giving advice on your quandries, laughing at your jokes, and in general enjoying your company. The group on the excursion started out as strangers but ended up as family. I was introduced to so many amazing tools, sites, projects and programs on this trip that it would take another blog entry to detail them all. However, the one tool that immediately became a daily use for me was Twitter. I never understood Twitter, it seemed, well "stupid" to me. Why on earth would I stop my day and go to a website to tell people what I was doing. My Twitter affair began in the airport, my flight was delayed by 2 hours so I bought internet and decided to give Twitter a try. Many of the people from the cruise had raved about Twitter. I just didn't get it. I set up an account and that's when the magic began. As I sat there in the airport, one by one the majority of people from the cruise created accounts. We were now able to stay in touch and share the amazing things we were doing. I actually found others in the airport who were also waiting for delayed flights through Twitter! It was so wild. My Twitterlove has continued since. Twitter has become as important as my email. I can get immediate feedback and I learn about new tools everyday from my TwitterFriends. The friendships I made on the cruise have continued in the real world due in part to Twitter. I am thankful everyday for each of you, you know who you are! (wink)
August brought Animoto into my life. Animoto is a video mixer program that digitally mixes up your photos with music and special effects. The free account lets you make 30 second clips with 15 photos, however that wasn't enough for me. I paid the $30 for the whole enchilada for a year. I wanted to make longer videos with more pictures.
September was the discovery of Voicethread. VoiceThread is am amazing tool that lets you upload images and then record messages either audio or text for each image. People have used it to narrate powerpoints and other types of presentations. The neat thing is that multiple people can record info for one image. We did this to try and describe our DEN academic excursion.
Thanks for sharing in part 2 of my excellent academic adventure! Stay tuned for part 3!
~Anne
Friday, December 28, 2007
My 2007 in Review - Part 1
2007 has been a whirlwind year for me. My learning journey has never moved so rapidly. My job title changed from Tech Facilitator for Differentiated Learning to Instructional Technology Specialist and my job responsibilities changed from being team focused to whole district. Our district is in the process of writing a curriculum. We have never had one before so this has been a huge paradigm shift. We also now have a new tech director who has a vision of our future that is very exciting to me, hopefully his progress won't be slowed down by bureaucratic red tape. I believe that between our curriculum director, leads, new tech director, tech savy superintendent and myself that we are finally heading in the right direction technology wise. It's a very dynamic time to be in education and I think we are finally going to start participating in it instead of just standing on the sidelines saying our kids can't do this, our teachers can't do this, our administrators can't do this....etc.
There are so many new things I was introduced to this year. Therefore this blog entry will be broken into three 4 month segments. I hope you will join me on what was a most excellent adventure.
In January new to me was the "buzz" about Web 2.0 tools. I had heard the term bantered about in conversation but I didn't truly understand what it was all about. I started to investigate, this sounded important.
One of the tools that I discovered early in the year (Feb) was Skrbl. Skrbl is an easy to use collaborative whiteboard. It's a great way to collaborate with people in other locations. I used it in several presentations I did to get people to participate in projects anonymously. No one knew who was doing the editing just that it was someone in our group unless they wanted to be identified.
Moving into March I discovered PhotoBucket which has become a place that I do a lot of image editing, hosting and resizing. There are many new tools here that I haven't had time to play with because of all the "new" sites that keep popping up in my learning.
April led me to the most time consuming and yet rewarding find of all. Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world created entirely by the users. It is a constantly changing environment with a plethora of possibilities for education. I am only a part of the Main Grid, but I know there are amazing things happening on the Teen Grid in schools now. This discovery also led me to becoming a part of an amazing team, the Discovery Education Network in SL Leadership Council. I am the Co-Chair of the building team. In world I am JessieMarie Flanagan known as JM. The DEN-SL offers FREE teacher workshops in world every Wed night. We also host a variety of events throughout the year. If you are interested in checking out SL let me know and I would be happy to hold your hand while navigating through this immense amazing place.
In May, Will Richardson ignited my love of blogging and I learned to use an aggregator.
My choice is Google Reader because it links into my iGoogle which shows up as my home page with all my links to other gadgets and gizmos...well you get the picture. I started this blog the day I took the workshop from Will Richardson, but then I failed to keep up with it. Partially because I spend so much time reading blogs and commenting on them from my Google Reader and partially because I "forgot" about it.
One of my goals for this year is to start writing more regularly and try to build up some readership. This will be tough for me as I feel like everyone else has already said what I wanted to but just didn't know how. I get stuck on what topics will strike a cord with people and get them talking. I want to be a part of the conversation not just a listener on the sidelines.
Please join me later in the week for part 2 of my excellent adventure. : )
~Anne
There are so many new things I was introduced to this year. Therefore this blog entry will be broken into three 4 month segments. I hope you will join me on what was a most excellent adventure.
In January new to me was the "buzz" about Web 2.0 tools. I had heard the term bantered about in conversation but I didn't truly understand what it was all about. I started to investigate, this sounded important.
One of the tools that I discovered early in the year (Feb) was Skrbl. Skrbl is an easy to use collaborative whiteboard. It's a great way to collaborate with people in other locations. I used it in several presentations I did to get people to participate in projects anonymously. No one knew who was doing the editing just that it was someone in our group unless they wanted to be identified.
Moving into March I discovered PhotoBucket which has become a place that I do a lot of image editing, hosting and resizing. There are many new tools here that I haven't had time to play with because of all the "new" sites that keep popping up in my learning.
April led me to the most time consuming and yet rewarding find of all. Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world created entirely by the users. It is a constantly changing environment with a plethora of possibilities for education. I am only a part of the Main Grid, but I know there are amazing things happening on the Teen Grid in schools now. This discovery also led me to becoming a part of an amazing team, the Discovery Education Network in SL Leadership Council. I am the Co-Chair of the building team. In world I am JessieMarie Flanagan known as JM. The DEN-SL offers FREE teacher workshops in world every Wed night. We also host a variety of events throughout the year. If you are interested in checking out SL let me know and I would be happy to hold your hand while navigating through this immense amazing place.
In May, Will Richardson ignited my love of blogging and I learned to use an aggregator.
My choice is Google Reader because it links into my iGoogle which shows up as my home page with all my links to other gadgets and gizmos...well you get the picture. I started this blog the day I took the workshop from Will Richardson, but then I failed to keep up with it. Partially because I spend so much time reading blogs and commenting on them from my Google Reader and partially because I "forgot" about it.
One of my goals for this year is to start writing more regularly and try to build up some readership. This will be tough for me as I feel like everyone else has already said what I wanted to but just didn't know how. I get stuck on what topics will strike a cord with people and get them talking. I want to be a part of the conversation not just a listener on the sidelines.
Please join me later in the week for part 2 of my excellent adventure. : )
~Anne
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Mac vs PC - Dead argument
I can't believe how time flies, is it really already Dec 2nd?! My Black Friday crazy shopping is now behind me and I am ready for the holiday craziness to begin. My family celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas which makes the holiday time even more stressful. My only saving grace this year is that Hanukkah is so early that our "events" don't overlap.
While wading my way through my stack of RSS feeds which seems to grow daily, I found this video on YouTube, I think it was on CoolCatTeachers blog, if not I apologize, I am getting old.
Anyway, I have truly enjoyed the Mac Vs PC arguments I have had with many of my male friends. I am a loyal Mac user and always have been since Apple IIe. What I enjoy most is now listening to them bellyache how they want a Mac for the holidays! My how the tide has turned!
While wading my way through my stack of RSS feeds which seems to grow daily, I found this video on YouTube, I think it was on CoolCatTeachers blog, if not I apologize, I am getting old.
Anyway, I have truly enjoyed the Mac Vs PC arguments I have had with many of my male friends. I am a loyal Mac user and always have been since Apple IIe. What I enjoy most is now listening to them bellyache how they want a Mac for the holidays! My how the tide has turned!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Learning a new skill and getting sidetracked
I am currently trying to learn how to personalize my blogger. I thought I would start with something simple adding a photo to my profile. Only to find this wasn't as simple as I wanted it to be. I finally figured it out but it led me a on a merry chase until I figured it out.
I used to use Photobucket for uploading images to a discussion board I belong to. It has been a very long time since I used Photobucket, I still have my account and miracles of all miracle I still remembered my password and log in info. Photobucket has completely changed since my last use. It is still very simple to use, but now there are many more bells and whistles then before. One of the things that I got caught up in making were Meez.
Meez are avatars that you create and then Photobucket saves them in 7 different sizes for you. It was like playing with dolls for adults. I got to choose all of the features, clothing, jewelry, animation, backgrounds and create my own little Meez. Signing up was free and I got 25 free coinz to use. There are plenty of free options but since my taste has always run on the expensive side I chose to sign up. I saved all of the free items I liked to my closet and purchased the few items that I wanted to buy. Now I have several Meez laying around photo bucket that I can use when I want for different things.
I got sidetracked by playing with the Meez for a good hour, but now I am back on track trying to figure out how to personalize my blogspot. Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!! Enjoy this time with family and friends and don't forget to give thanks for all that you have received in the last year.
~Anne
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Procrastination and Memory Loss
I had every intention of keeping up my blog. I had a nice opening post, a pretty good title and lots of ideas, but then long term memory loss hit and I totally forgot about this blog! Actually I can time it to the exact time that I developed my Second Life avatar, JessieMarie Flanagan, SL has a HUGE learning curve and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Within a few months I became completely submerged in trying to learn a whole new way of life. I also became an active member of ISTE-SL and a member of the DEN-SL Leadership Council. Around this time I also discovered Google Groups. The time period between April - August was a whirlwind of activity for me.
In April I had the workshop that I blogged about previously. This sent me off on the aggregator and SL trail. I then attended NECC and the DEN Academic Excursion which sent me off into the Twitterverse. Once I got back from all of these amazing experiences I had to start getting ready for a rocky start to a new school year.
I work for a special education co-op and we are in the process of writing curriculum. I did not say re-writing because we have NEVER had a curriculum before. This has led to all sorts of a-ha moments and headaches. We have faced some difficult challenges but also we have encountered some real successes.
Just recently I have had time to think about starting my own blog. My Mother who has been out of tech for a long time has just made a commitment to jump back in with both feet. I loaned her my Will Richardson book and she is a convert! As soon as I heard about her plan to start 2 blogs, I realized that I better get a move on or she might pass me up.
I can't wait to start sharing all of the cool tools that I have learned about in the last year or so from my feeds, IMs, Twits, and conferences. Please join me on what I am sure will be an exciting journey from here to wherever the wind will take me.
In April I had the workshop that I blogged about previously. This sent me off on the aggregator and SL trail. I then attended NECC and the DEN Academic Excursion which sent me off into the Twitterverse. Once I got back from all of these amazing experiences I had to start getting ready for a rocky start to a new school year.
I work for a special education co-op and we are in the process of writing curriculum. I did not say re-writing because we have NEVER had a curriculum before. This has led to all sorts of a-ha moments and headaches. We have faced some difficult challenges but also we have encountered some real successes.
Just recently I have had time to think about starting my own blog. My Mother who has been out of tech for a long time has just made a commitment to jump back in with both feet. I loaned her my Will Richardson book and she is a convert! As soon as I heard about her plan to start 2 blogs, I realized that I better get a move on or she might pass me up.
I can't wait to start sharing all of the cool tools that I have learned about in the last year or so from my feeds, IMs, Twits, and conferences. Please join me on what I am sure will be an exciting journey from here to wherever the wind will take me.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Fabulous Workshop!
I am sitting here in the most wonderful workshop, "Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts" by Will Richardson. I am so excited to have my thoughts validated by the echoes of his presentation. I truly believe that we need to change the way we teach children. The digital children of this world need to be fully engaged in their own learning. We can engage them through discovery and exploration in a way that traditional schooling can't. I realize that we have a long way to go, but I am so happy to be connecting with other educators who share my views.
There are several tools that I will be adding to my arsenal thanks to this great workshop: PageFlakes is one that I have never used before and can't wait to try. I am becoming more adept at Del.icio.us and tagging and I learned several ways to use an aggregator that I was not already familiar with. This has been a extremely valuable learning experience and yet another step in my journey to stay on the "bleeding edge of technology"
There are several tools that I will be adding to my arsenal thanks to this great workshop: PageFlakes is one that I have never used before and can't wait to try. I am becoming more adept at Del.icio.us and tagging and I learned several ways to use an aggregator that I was not already familiar with. This has been a extremely valuable learning experience and yet another step in my journey to stay on the "bleeding edge of technology"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)