Jul

8

My Reflections on NECC 2008

July 8, 2008 | | Leave a Comment

I have just finished up four days of NECC, the National Computing Educators Conference. I am really for a really LONG nap. What an incredible conference it was. The sheer numbers (over 12,000 people) and the vast amount of vendors and presentations were a bit overwhelming. What you get from technology conferences are three things: Networking, looking to the future, and incredible people.

In education we have a saying – work horse or show horse. I think in technology we have communication or self-communication. Sounds strange. I present a lot in concerning “Let’s Communicate.” In this day and age there are so many ways to communicate your head can spin. Nothing, no matter what way technology moves, will replace the face-to-face communication. The eyes communicate 80% of our language. What strikes me strange is to see all the “techies” plugged into the own computer. I admit I can get that way as well. During the day I was concerned about my presentation and about me. I really should have been more concerned about others and talking to the vast amount of techies here.

I love presenting, but I should “share,” or networking more. Yes, there are the SIG groups, but it was the informal get-togethers I really enjoyed. I was invited on Sunday to attend the Discovery Education Network “dude ranch.” What was so amazing the person I was sitting next to was a twittered “friend” and yes, you guessed it, we follow each other!! The more we got to talk, the more we realized that we have so much in common.

The evening with the Illinois Computing Educators (ICE) was cool as well. I saw a lot of people I already knew, but branched to talk to others to broaden my techie world.

So, when I am around techies, I will push myself to talk and communicate, not be plugged in to others in the “techie world.” The more we share and learn from each other eye-to-eye the more we can “rock” the world.

Jun

5

Rockin’ in the Music Room

June 5, 2008 | | 1 Comment

The fourth graders performing “High School Musical” interactively in the music classroom using Playstation 2 video game. There were so in to it. There were only two microphones, but the entire class sang. Students love the show and they know all the words. Great way to end the year;)

May

30

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Fine Arts Assembly

May 30, 2008 | | 1 Comment

I LOVE giving awards. To a Fine Arts student, this day is their “Academy” award. Instead on giving out a specific number, I have a checklist of what students have to do in the MIDI Lab (music class) in order to receive an award. Additionally, I give out music technology awards, Vermont MIDI awards (for those who posted on the Vermont MIDI site), Stage Crew plaques, Oscar awards, and pins for everyone involved in the musical HONK! this year. I added an award for parents: “Friends of the Fine Arts.” Mrs. Hawley and Mrs., Neustadt, who are incredible parents and support the Fine Arts in so many ways were the first recipients of the award. The Diva award went to three eighth grade girls (Colleen, Amy, and Julia) and the “Music Man,” award went to an eighth grade boy. (Peter) In order to receive those awards, students not only have to perform, but mentor, and be involved in all aspects of the music department. The final award is the “Renaissance” award for the student(s) that are in band, the musicial, play a sport, and have received an art award at some point at Sunset Ridge. This year it went to Betsy. It was a beautiful day and I LOVED it☺

May

28

What’s inside the Guitar

May 28, 2008 | | 1 Comment

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With the last days of school approaching, I am finished with the curriculum for the year. I try to end early in the year, thus allowing enough time for new activities and time to experiment. I have Guitar Hero II, III, and Rock the ‘80’s, along with Singstar and High School Musical for Playstation 2. Things get broken and unusable, so maintenance is always on the schedule. I had one guitar completely broken, what to do? Well, there are always some students that delight in fixing and seeing what inside any tech toy. I sent three students on a mission: open up the Guitar Hero guitar and figure out how to fix it. If they broke it in the mission, no problem, it didn’t work anyway so they really didn’t break it. They opened up the guitar and were fascinated with the “guts’ of the guitar. So, let your students experiment and discover how things work. “It was so cool,” was the comment of the day.

May

16

Taping for the September 6 Golden Apple Gala

May 16, 2008 | | Leave a Comment

What an incredible day. It started at 11:00, when WTTW arrived for the day to videotape. They first interviewed Mrs. Mary Bortz, the retired art teacher from Sunset Ridge in front of the 75th anniversary mural she helped paint. Then a former student, Cody Fry came and gave his words. I was honored to have a parent come in and talk about me as well. Now it was off to the MIDI Lab classroom for 1½ hours, my main classroom, with all my “toys.”  The sixth grade was at their stations independently working on musical projects, then the fourth graders sang the “Sunset Ridge Fight Song.” One of my current students was interviewed concerning the music class, the shows, and technology. The big event of all 149 students that were part of HONK! came down at 3:00 and with the help of ten mothers, they got in their costumes and makeup for the final songs of the show, that will be included in the video. We sang the songs four times with different angles on the camera. I couldn’t believe it; we were finished by 3:28! I freshened up my makeup and I did the final interview. All of this footage will be condensed to 2 ½ minutes to be shown at the September 6th taping. This was an incredible day☺