The End or the Beginning?

"It is vital that when educating our children's brains...
                    that we do not neglect to educate their hearts." ~~~Dalami Lama

This is one of the most profound messages I take to heart.If we educate the brain, we must educate the heart. That is what I feel is the most important job I have as I teach high-risk, low income families. Most people don't realize the word Head Start became the name of our program due to the fact that we give those children a 'head start' in life for a chance for a better future. This is my heart; This is my calling; This is my purpose in life. I do know there are things I will use and things I will not. The experience has been both exciting and frustrating. Some of the 'things' were easy and some were difficult. At times,I would get tired and ready to give up. I would always remind myself that if I knew how to do this, I wouldn't have needed the class. So, it was always forward bound. When I did learn something new, I would be as excited as a child. That, in itself, is the wonder of learning.......It's been a journey.

Thing 23-Creative Commons

Learning 2.0-23 Things for Teachers was designed by Helene Blowers with support of staff members. The "The 23 Things" itself was based on Stephen Abram's article, "43 Things I (or You) Might Want to do This Year" and the website, 43 Things. This was posted as information at the beginning of this blog assignment. It was modified from another individual's Learning 2.0 program. I think it is wonderful that people are willing to share their hard work and make it available for others to use. Creative Commons is an invaluable resource. It makes available images that are legally available to share.All these networks and sites we have visited and created an account with will allow us to exchange information. I would use it to create games for my classroom.

Thing 19-Beyond Facebook:Social Networks

Visit TeacherPop

I joined Teacher Pop and I will definitely try to use this network site. I like the idea of APSU having a network to communicate on regarding education. I did join "Craftster" as this is a site I would like to enjoy. I do mostly embroidery. I love doing pictures most of all. I started doing kits as a young woman. I now design my own on paper and then use that as a pattern. I have made many through the years and my house is mostly decorated with my work. It is a great stress release. I have sewed several and gave them to family and friends as heirlooms.

Thing 22-LiveBinders

Copy of Search Results for "Preschool" Education Pre–K Resources

I created an account on LiveBinders. I created three folders and added: 1. Information for Binders-Guide to Learning LiveBinders 2. PreSchool-Preschool Games, Songs and Music 3. Homework-Free Printables for Pre-K I did not find this site user-friendly at all. I spent more time than I planned and decided to move on. I know there are many people who will find this useful. As I do not spend a substantial amount of time on a computer, this would not benefit me. I do feel teachers of older children would find many uses for these.

Thing 21-Animoto

Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

This is the most fun I have had so far! I took ten pictures from my Facebook page, clicked them on, picked a song, and text. I opened it up and I was amazed. It was so easy. The frustration came when I tried to post it to my blog. It would not post. It just kept displaying there was an error. I just did this for the thing 20 so I just can't understand what goes wrong.I did post it to my personal Facebook page. I do plan on using this on a long term basis. I plan on paying for a membership and putting family pictures into videos. My grandchildren greatly enjoyed watching their pictures go across the screen and then fall down to the music. How great would it be for them to see themselves, from the time they were born until present? I may try to get permission to do our classroom field trips and special occasions so the children can watch them on the computer. This is a touchy subject due to confidentiality policies we have in place. I do plan to ask permission from my central staff. I'm sure as long as they stay in the classroom and not on the Internet, it should be okay.

Thing 20-YouTube

Ten in the Bed

from Super Simple Songs

I absolutely love YouTube. I use this for entertainment and for work purpose. I know I can always go there and find various videos. I mostly use it for listening to music. I have been able to find oldies songs that I listened to as a teenager. I chose this video because I can play it for my Per-K class. This is a wonderful way to teach children how to count to 10 and also subtract numbers. I use these types of songs on a daily basis. I have used these and will continue to as I teach my young students.

 

Thing 18-Social Networking

Finally, Something I am an expert at! I absolutely can't imagine a world without Facebook! I have no interest at all talking with complete strangers on the Internet. On Facebook all the members on my list are close friends and family. I keep up with a great majority of my family members. Most all of my family lives in other states and I am lucky to see some of them 2-3 times a year. This is a perfect solution for me. I feel the younger members stay in touch on Facebook, but probably would not any other way. I even have people I have known all my life on my list. Some I lost touch and reconnected with thanks to Facebook. This site has been my lifeline to those who I rarely get to see. I use it mostly for fun and entertainment. I do not care for twitter at all. I signed up again due to this assignment. I once was on it and it irritated me so I deleted the account. It doesn't allow you to use enough words to express your thoughts. I do not have time to follow other people either. Since I detest abbreviations, slang and such, it is not for me. Both of these sites could be useful to parents, students and teachers. You could interact in a way that has never been done before. I imagine there are some classrooms and schools that may be able to use the sites, but not mine. Since we cannot break confidentiality with our children and families, it could not be used in my classroom at the present time. Personally, I do not want to use my account for work as it is my way of communicating with those I love and that I am close to.

 https://twitter.com/#!/LindaSeger

http://www.facebook.com/dancingheart4
 (Linda Gayle Scalf)

(I added these on this blog. I was unable to find a place on my profile.)