Jun

19

Join us for Day in a Sentence and Photo Friday

Filed Under Photo fridays, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment


For some time now I’ve been contributing to Kevin’s Day in a Sentence-or poem, or VoiceThread. I like contributing to Day in a Sentence because it makes me stop and reflect on some aspect of the busy week I’ve just had. I look forward to contributing to DIAS. I must confess though, I’m partial to poems. But I’ve got that under control now. I just send my thoughts to Kevin and he publishes them, very creatively I might add, on Sundays.

I like reading the thoughts of other Day-in-a-Sentencers because they remind me how similar we are even though we live in different countries and continents. The more things change, the more they seem the same.

From time to time, Kevin invites others to host the DIAS. This week Bonnie is our host. When I went to Bonnie’s site to post my sentence, I was delighted to learn that she is also the host of Photo Fridays. I really like the idea of Photo Fridays. While DIAS gets me to think in words, Photo Fridays gets me to think in pictures. What could be better than words and pictures!

Although Photo Friday is just a few weeks old, it already has 27 members. Imagine! I love the photos. They’re sweet, they’re awesome; they’re inspiring. The photo that you see at the top of the page is my contribution this week. It’s one of my favourite photos of Katie and me. Katie is my darling three year old grandaughter.

(http://www.flickr.com/groups/photofridays/)

I invite you to join us at Bonnie’s this week for Day in a Sentence and Photo Fridays. See you there.


Jun

14

Great Interactive Websites for math and science

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SlideShare | View | Upload your own

I’d like to thank Karen Brooks for creating this Slideshare with all these wonderful resources. I know that I will be using some of them come next September with my grade nine class and I’ll be sharing this treasure with my colleagues.

Jun

12

Blogging can be a pretty selfish and alienating activity

Filed Under Blogging in and out of the Classroom, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

I’ve suddenly had the thought that blogging can be a pretty selfish and alienating activity. It has a dark side that I hadn’t notice before because I was blinded by the light.

I’ve been blogging for almost two years now (August 2006) and podcasting for over a year (March 2007) and am one of blogging’s biggest boosters. In fact, I’ve become a blogging evangelist trying to bring the word about the joys of blogging to anyone who will listen. I’ve persuaded some colleagues at work to start a blog and helped them through the first confusing steps.

I totally identify with Mathew when he says “I’ve built some blogging friendships that have both contributed to my teaching practice and been personally rewarding.” I’ve met some wonderful people on line that I count among my friends even though we’ve never sat face to face.

I was thinking about Mathew’s comment and sort of feeling that glow I get when I’m thinking about writing a blog, reading other people’s blogs or leaving a comment about what I’ve read. This of course takes lots of time and that’s what made me realize that blogging can be a petty selfish and alienating activity. All that time I’m spending researching for my blog, writing my blog, reading other people’s blogs, talking about blogging and learning about the more technical aspects of blogging takes lots and lots of time, lots of time away from other things like family and friends.

I’m thinking now as I write this that maybe it’s been too much time away from family and friends. I’ve been saying things to my friends like “Gee, we should get together more. I haven’t seen you in ages. I’ve been so busy.” What I don’t tell them is that I’ve been so busy amusing myself in the blogosphere. Almost everyday, I’ve been telling my husband, Kurt, that I”ll just go upstairs to the office for a minute to check my email and then before I know it, hours have passed and Kurt is sitting downstairs by himself. When I mention ever so casually that I might like to start to video blog, despite the fact that Kurt’s one of my biggest supporters, he suggests rather strongly that I don’t take on too much. What he’s not saying is that he thinks it’s already too much.

I’m spending too much time in the blogosphere and that is selfish and alienating, and that’s not what I want to be or to do. So, I’m going to spend less time in the blogosphere and more time with family and friends. :) And, that’s a good thing.

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