Thing 22

Well I registered for LearnPort today. I had a little difficulty, however. Because I have a 30 hour continuing certificate, I do not have a date of "expiration" or whatever they called it. Kind of makes you feel like old cheesse. It wouldn't let me register without entering a date in the column so I finally recorded the date of issuance of my certificate (1987). It makes it look like my certificate has expired, I suppose, but I didn't know how else to proceed. I think it is likely that I will take advantage of this service, although I am in no need of CEUs. I just like to continue to learn new things. A wise man once said, "You have never become, you are always becoming and if you think you've arrived, I feel sorry for you." I also made a vow to myself that no matter how close I got to retirement, I would never become "stale" or a "lame duck". Staying current helps me feel young(er)....she says as itunes plays Fleetwood Mac sings Silver Springs in the background. Although I did not sign up for any classes today when I signed up on my work computer, I do plan on signing up for something over the weekend....good thing I bookmarked it on Delicious!!!

Video Clip Thing 21

Downriver Community Voices is a group of which I am a member. I can be seen third from the right in the middle row. In simpler terms, in the opening credits I am directly under the number 8 in the date 2008.

Thing 20

Podcasting. Ok I'll admit I'm a little freaked out. When I went to GCast and read the "user agreement" (something my father taught me always to do although I admit, I don't always :-/) I saw that it said "Although we have attempted to outline above the terms on which you may use the Service in straightforward English, please be aware that these terms, if accepted by you, create a binding legal agreement between you and Company. We strongly urge that before accepting these terms you print out a copy and review it with your attorney, manager and other representatives and if you have no such representatives that you seek other independent qualified guidance." What? I need ot have a lawyer look at it? Help!!! I am not sure I should agree to the terms...did anyone else read this? Is anyone qualified to give me some guidance here?

Thing 17

I have thought a long time about the whole wiki...thing. Wiki spaces, wikipedia, etc. On the one hand when it comes to information in this, the information age, most often it would stand to reason that more is better. More people contributing means more information. Then it occurred to me that information is only as good as the integrity of the people posting it. I could add to a wiki space on brain surgery but the information would be far less than reliable. If a wiki were limited to only those you knew had knowledge on a certain topic, then it would be fine. To me that would be more like just collaboration on a topic or web site. True wikis that can be edited by virtually anyone are only as reliable as the people posting the information. I may be a bit skeptical, but in this time of people hacking into computers and creating viruses, worms, and Trojans, what is to keep them from sabotaging a wiki site?

Podcasts/Thing 19

Tonight I listened to the podcast "Earth and Sky" and it told about Saturn and seeing it in the night sky. I think this would be really great for kids because they can follow along (reading) while the male and female voice are saying the words. It is especially helpful for the population that I teach (students with Learning Disabilities). The second podcast I listened to was "Grammar Girl". It talked about using "I was" and "I were" in sentences and when to use each in writing. I am still listening to it as I type as it is an audio only podcast. I did learn something, though. A colleague had made a bulletin board for Principal's week in which students wrote "If I was Principal...." Now I know that it should have been "If I were Principal...." I thought that sounded more correct but had no idea when to use was and when to use were. Now I know. Wow, if I were 8 years old again, I could share that at family dinner. We always had to tell one thing we learned in school that day. It's probably why, to this day, I long for knowledge and am bound and determined to stay current with technology although most days it makes my head swim!

Thing 18

Ok I added the feedjit to this blog but despite several attempts, I couldn't change the Grand Rapids to Newport....it said it was changed and even tried redoing it 3 different times...it really thinks I am in Grand Rapids I guess....