Fun Day!

Today I was prepared for the fun of learning how to edit, change, crop, input, transform, resize, create, use www.paint.net, splice, www.photoshop, retask, extend,  etc.  This day was really Intensive!
I was exposed to all of those new words, (as referenced in technology).  I realized why I decided not to major in computer science or technology; it uses too many of my brain cells.

This Intensive has taught me a lot about myself and others.  I have been introduced to great resources that I will definitely use.    Marva Collins is one of my role models and inspires me to become a better person.  Let me share with you a short part of her Creed, "no one can determine what I can, will, or can not do"

Today I will remember where my strength comes from - all day - and realize it is okay to to question.

Thank you God letting me know that you always know!!

Day 5 - it's over!

Wow!  This is it.  All the new faces, ideals, and personailities are now a part of my history.  It is so amazing that we can all be a part of history, even if we don't want too.  The excitement of sharing all the presentations and seeing how we can actually use the technology we learned this short week was awesome.  It was obvious that we did become better at technology, even when we were resistent.
On a positive note; this Intensive was great!  I am so appreciative of having had the knowledge that Dr. Holder shared with us.

My final prayer:  Lord help us to accept the things that were provided to us as help tools.  Encourage us to become better people first and above all better educators.  Protect each one of us as we travel home to our families and our lives.  Continue to give us wisdom and patience!  We ask your help to keep us focused and grounded.  Continue to show us how to strive for your perfect peace.  Aecept my prayer and all that I ask in Jesus name.  Amen.

Day 4

God is faithful!!  It is okay for me to ask questions and have a little doubt. 

I am excited to realize that pixel, photoshop, graphics, resize, visual images, reshape, crop, etc., are tecnology terms that reminds me why I did not become a computer Geek.

This intensive provided a wealth of information and techniques I can definitely use to intergrate technology into curriculum instruction.  When I become somewhat proficient with these techniques, life will become so much easier as a teacher.

Today's words:  Be Creative!

Wednesday is hump day.

I made it through another creative and challenging day.  I Just love the mountains that surround this beautiful city.  I almost feel like I am in Los Angeles.  You always know when you are in Hollywood because the sign appears on the mountain.  Now, I know I am in Lynchburg because there is a "LU" on the Farwell mountain (I am assuming this is the name of it) that reminds me that I am at Liberty University in Virginia..  Pretty neat huh?.  One thing for sure, I will not get lost and forget where I am.
People are such wonderful creatures created by God.  We are all so special and unique!  Just look around at the array of beautiful flowers.  Never thought I would become a lover of gardening until I became a "real" adult.  Sitting and enjoying the beauty of nature and the wonders of God's creation has caused me to reflect on the significance of being one of his beautiful flowers.  The beauty in flowers are that they come in so many varities.  Flowers are also diversified.  So today,  I decided to slow down and enjoy the flowers.  I love colors and the aroma that flowers send into the atmosphere.  What I take away from the activities of today is this:  if we take time to stop, relax, and enjoy the beauty of flowers, our lives could experience peace.  Think about it.  You can choose to accept peace or decide to create your own personal inner wars.  What will you decide?  Or you could even create a WebQuest, complete with instructions, that would help us find some lost flowers.  Just check your text messages for clues.  Enjoy your evening.

Technology. What do I know?

Good evening.  Today I was in the mist of a computer war on internet search resources!  I literally had to serender and give up the fight.  I was introduced to a computer information adult whiz.  This individual had so much information to share about how to find information that I almost forgot the word Google.  Imagine that!  Technology is changing so rapidly, at least for those of us who are not computer savvey.  We are still trying to figure out how to create an icon in the tool bar.  Now we find that we can create notebooks just to store information on computers.  Do you remember the time when notebooks were a binder with paper?  Have I reached a point in my life where my middle school students are smarter than their teacher?  I mean with technology of course.  Yes, I can not lie, I have now admitted it!  Another one of the few things I need to work on this week is letting technology work for me .  My future plans however will be to let my students know that I will actually need their help with interegrating technology into class instruction.  On the bright side, I can begin the new school year with empowering my students.  Isn't this what we want as educators to happen?  My students will be given the opportunity to be the experts on things they know more about than I do.  Don't get me wrong, I will learn most of what there is to know about technology; just not all of it today. 

Stay tuned to what I have learned about myself and the areas that I should improve on tomorrow.  Until then, stay connected.