Thing #6

Thing # 6 - Monthy assignment

Just to let you know, I'm finishing this assignment after everyone has left for the snowday/early release at 1pm. Note it is 4 pm and I'm still here! It is the end of the month tomorrow and I still haven't done my "thing" for the month!

Do you think that using Google Docs can improve your productivity? Why or Why not? If yes, how?

Perhaps. I was all excited and was going to use Google Docs after learning about it in August. But when it came time to use it in Jan., I introduced it, and the kids didn't want to use it. Since students here all have user folders, rather than putting their projects on one Google Doc, they just saved it in one person's user folder so we could pull it up. It wasn't a problem when someone was absent because I have access to everyone's folder. I can see the benefits, but we just didn't need to use it this time.
Tell us some ways you have used Google Docs to collaborate with others.

See above. I played with it when we did it in class, but I haven't done anything w/it since.

Have you participated in a wiki? Tell us about it.

Carrie and I created a Wiki for our Dept. to discuss "things that were going on" (changes we weren't happy with). We thought it would be a great forum and possibly more confidential than sending stuff back and forth on e-mail. However, since you access it through the internet, one of my colleagues pointed out it wasn't as confidential as we thought. That killed the Wiki. So did lack of time to get on the Wiki and "bitch" so to speak. It was easier just to talk about it at lunch or keep it to yourself.

Other than that, I have not particpated in a Wiki.

Have you created a wiki for a group to use? Why? How did it go?

See above.

Other comments ...

I thought the article about the Prof. having students submit their writing to Wikipedia was an interesing idea. I totally agree w/improving student performance by having a different audience - that really can help. Having students reflect on the type of writing needed for Wikipedia was also interesting. I still hope, however, that higher ed institutions and ours at CHS will continue to "ban" its use, so to speak. I think it is fine as an initial search for keywords, and to determine if something is "common knowledge" or not, but other than that ...

The real question is how to we get kids to use tools they aren't as familar with, i.e. the CHS Media Center home page w/all our paid subscriptions. I will admit, sometimes it is easier to search on Wikipedia. Why can't "Britanica Online" be just as easy to use, or how can we teach students to use it better?

Weekly Posting

I have something to write about!

Time 2/23/09, had a funny article w/many truths entitled "Facebook is for Old people" by Lev Grossman. Here were the 10 reasons:
1. Facebook (FB) is about finding peole you've lost track of.
2. We're no longer bitter about high school.
3. We never get drunk at parties and get photographed holding beer bottles in suggestive positions. - At least I hope not!
4. Facebook isn't just a social network, it a business network.
5. We're lazy.
6. We're old enough that pictures from grade school or summer camp look nothing like us.
7. We have children.
8. We're too old to remember e-mail addresses.
9. We don't understand Twitter. Literally. It makes no sense to us. - I had to LOL at this one!
10. We're not cool, and we don't' care.

The more funny thing about all this Facebook stuff, is that despite my aversion to technology, I find out, my husband made one! When I asked him where he is getting time to do this, I noticed - while I was picking up the kitchen after dinner and our children were running wild - that he was on his Facebook page!!!!! And it isn't even done well - he has old, not the cutest pictures we have, of our kids and himself on there. Now I probably need to do one to show him how it is done. But I still don't get it. The "what am I doing right now" thing - do I really care that my sister in law is bragging about just getting back from a 9 mi. run? I'm still taking the position that I don't have time for.

RH

A few posts behind

OK - So I'm a little behind. But I have good excuses.

1. I really don't have anything to blog about.
2. The week on Sat. 1/16 - F 1/23 I worked for the Close Up Foundation in Washington, DC, leading kids from across the U.S. (AK, CA, TX, GA and NY to be exact, that was at my hotel anyway), using DC as the classroom and the Inauguration as the backdrop. It was amazing! Yes, I was one out of every 150 Americans to attend. There is an article in the Chaska Herald about it dated 1/22 if you want to read about it.
3. Last week was the start of the new term with new students. Enough said.
4. I don't have my own classroom this year, so I'm in a different room different hours. I'm like a chicken w/my head cut off.
5. I started working full time last week (prior I was .63).
6. I am now Dept. Head for the SS Dept. because I wasn't at a mtg. to say "not it!". I'm finding myself in the middle of a lot of conversations where a lot of major changes are happening in the district. It is a lot of little stuff (e.g. finalizing the Registration Guide like I had to be working on during last class, ordering equal materials for both schools) that is trivial and time consuming.
7. I'm trying to be a good student; I'm sorry I'm not. But I'm trying :)

RH