Claudia's Tech Talk

My Dream of Geographical Independence in my Job

2009-02-15T11:56:00.001-05:00

After ten years in the classroom teaching both French and German at all levels K-12 that is Kindergarten through 12th grade I have come to wonder whether there is something out there I would rather do or whether my knowledge and my expertise would better serve at a higher level of education. I have been fascinated with the integration of technology in education for some time now, especially since I started my Masters degree in Technology in Education and have been exposed to the infinite possibilities technology has to offer to me as a an educator and linguist. I have recognized that there is a feasible possibility of realizing my long standing dream of geographic independence. Now that my children are older and are about to be out of high school and in college, I would love to pursue a career that allows me to be geographically independent. I have missed my family and friends all over the world for a long time. With only two exceptions I have returned to Europe once a year since I settled in this country. Family closeness is important to me and going back to Europe has been crucial to keep up with the language and the culture in order to teach authentic language to my students.

I lost my mother in 2002 and my father is getting older every year. My brother had a baby and she is growing up only knowing her aunt for a few short weeks each summer. My true dream is to earn a doctorate so that I can work for a cutting edge university teaching online education and technology classes to people who don’t have the time to go to a conventional campus such as working teachers and people who work for the armed forces and their children. I believe that that is the way of the future for higher and even secondary education, especially for members of the armed forces. The thought of being part of that virtual world makes me excited to continue my studies and to become a true expert in my field of foreign languages, technology in education and most of all the future of online teaching.
I have been searching for opportunities to fulfill my dream of geographical independence or at least international positions that would take me to Germany so that I can be close to my family for a couple of years.
Overall, it was quite overwhelming to go out there into cyberspace and to look for ways to realize my dream. I had to narrow my search down so I ended up with three broad categories.
1. Online teaching positions for secondary and post-secondary institutions
2. Teaching positions and employment opportunities in Europe, specifically Germany.
3. Online / Virtual jobs that I qualify for but would not act as educator that would allow me geographical freedom.
Academic Careers Online (ACO) sounded promising but ended up being a database for academic jobs in physical locations, no online positions were offered. After more research, I found that most online positions required on campus presence. Only few jobs actually allowed the instructors to be remote.
American Intercontinental University (AIU) is open to hiring candidates with Masters Degrees and they offer a Masters in Education program. I will apply here once my transcripts are available.
I applied for a position with Grand Canyon University and when I go to the application page, I realized that it actually applied to student applications. I filled it out anyway and if they contact me, I will let them know that they need to fix their links.
It was very unclear whether the Extended Campus on Campbell University meant online or else. I sent an e mail requesting clarification before completing the application for a part-time teaching position. Neither responded.
The Open University http://www.open.ac.uk/ in the United Kingdom was recommended on the Online Teaching Blog I joined as one of the top online institutions. It is one of the oldest I was very impressed by the variety of degrees and classes available, but once again teachers are required to be present on campus and cannot be geographically independent. The British government requires work permits and proof of residency for new hires. As a result, even though the jobs and pay looked good, I had to eliminate The Open University completely.
Technology integration is imperative in the classroom if we want to keep our students interested. World language instruction is all about exposure to the language and then at a later stage to produce it. Students need maximum comprehensible input in order to be successful. I used to be opposed to online instruction because I neglected to see all the options available. I ignored the importance of instructional videos in the target language as well as video conferencing between teacher and students. Technology offers many products and venues for students to practice and experiment with language. The Internet itself and in other languages offers a pathway to foreign cultures and opens the students’ eyes to a whole different dimension of the world.
I wanted to make sure that my research included some scholarly articles and not just job sites. I read about the future of online teaching and came across a blog entry that referred to Passively Multiplayer Online Game or PMOG (I am not sure how to pronounce this acronym) as the future of education. I have downloaded PMOG and with it the access to their missions. The news blog boasts that “unlike more conventional games, PMOG uses the entire Internet and the Firefox web browser to allow us to passively play the web.” When I read further I found out that like most applications, overtime Firefox and PMOG can become burdened from numerous upgrades, updates and technology changes and I uninstalled PMOG again. One may wonder why I included this particular site. Here is why: Many sites claim to be the future of education and it is clear that technology will evolve and our teaching strategies will include more and more virtual and online techniques. PMOG is just one example of an overwhelming and growing number of cutting edge network games that seems to draw millions of people.
Second Life is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using voice and text chat with avatars. Second Life has a protected teen and education area that is not free of cost but very much worth joining for a cutting edge pedagogue in both secondary and post-secondary education. There are many prominent educational institutions and organizations such as NYU, Georgia State and Ohio State Universities just to name a couple, exploring the use of virtual worlds for the delivery of a wide range of courses and educational events including Distance and Flexible Education, Presentations and Discussions, Historical Recreations, Multimedia and Games Design and Language Learning practice.
I have been a member of Second Life for some time now and actually had the chance to meet and have an extensive chat with Kathy Schrock in her Second Life domain one Sunday afternoon. Kathy’s ISTE biography says about her that she is the Administrator for Technology for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, MA. A large part of her job is involved with infusing technology throughout the curriculum in all areas and at all grade levels. Previously a library media specialist, she is very interested in search strategies, evaluation of Internet information, copyright issues, handheld computers and gadgets, and the use of technology as a tool to support instruction.” Kathy has a very informative and useful “island”(Second Life term for area) where educators can network and learn about the newest development in education.
I have also inquired about job opportunities while chatting with avatars that belonged to professors from several universities from all over the country. In Second Life, geographic boundaries are totally eliminated. I have visited the German Second Life and learned a lot of my initial navigation skills from German teenagers who hung out in one of the meeting spots called “sandboxes”. Second Life does offer an overwhelming amount of opportunities to network and seminars for educators to learn or educate on the developments in technology and jobs. I find Second Life useful and extremely time-consuming because the learning curve of the whole set-up of that virtual world. If I had unlimited time to spend there, it might open possibilities to me that I have as of now not considered.
We as educators have to acknowledge that the world is changing fast and drastically and with it is the job market. Students who will graduate this year will change careers much more often than our generation. Job descriptions are changing and qualifications employers are looking for are changing constantly. It is our duty as educators to be informed about those changes to be able to prepare our students for their future. We can no longer continue to teach what we are comfortable to teach; we need to teach what will serve our students in their education and what will prepare then for their ever-evolving professional life.
After extended research and contacting several professors and personnel via email, phone and chat at universities that advertised openings, I have come to the conclusion that a chance to land a good teaching position at the university level requires a doctorate. However, there are a few schools that are willing to offer me a position with only a Masters Degree an entry-level position.
I had thought that working for secondary education in the area of foreign language instruction in settings like virtual high schools would be an opportunity to fulfill my dream. Unfortunately, many jobs and that is also the case for post secondary jobs, require the teachers to be on campus or location even though they teach virtual classes. These positions are not of interest to me as they don’t allow for my dream of geographical independence.
I researched large and smaller networking sites from monster.com to about.com for opportunities. I grew fond of LinkedIn.com. I have joined that site because it was international and professional and unlike many others included education. Many networking sites are geared toward the corporate world or online businesses.
Then, I decided to join Linked In (www.linkedin.com ) and was I in for a surprise. I had no idea how large of a networking group I had just signed up for and how many of my good friends were members on the site. I invited may of my friends and contacts to join Linked In and many liked the site, joined and are in my network now. Within hours I received mails from France, Germany and of course the US from people who had known me all my life. The pool of opportunities is infinite for professionals but also for educators through Linked In.

There are many good and informative blogs and interest groups about teaching online. MORE
The Department of Defense (DoD) has many employees who live in remote areas of the world and have no access to physical schools to pursue continued education or post secondary degrees. The DoD collaborates with the University of Phoenix to provide distant learning to those service men. The DoD also provides online classes for the dependent school aged children of those soldiers. I have looked into and started an application with the Department of Defense. I find the idea of continuing to teach secondary students very exciting as well.
Unfortunately, all virtual high school classes are taught by on-campus teachers. In this case like in many others at least at this time, the “virtual” only applies to the students, not the teachers. Once I have my credentials for the M.Ed. in Technology in Education, I can finalize the applications and submit them. It is exciting to actually not only do a research project for a class but to turn it into real life experiences that might result in a major shift in my life.
I have talked to my friends and family about this project and about my dream. They all are amazed at the opportunities but they are also concerned about me leaving a secure job in a good district in these bad economic times. I think that I will slowly ease into this transition by first teaching or even co-teaching an online class.
Due to the current economic crisis, I have decided to stay in my current job. I have been at the same school for four years now and I am a full-time employee. I have children who need to be able to count on me as a provider and on my benefits, especially medical insurance. I have to pay my bills and keep taking care of the household. Any change to my employment situation would mean taking a great risk as I would be newly employed and therefore in case of a budget cut, the first to be let go. I will continue my employment with Cobb county schools in the capacity of world language teacher while I try to pursue an additional initial part-time online career. After two years in the masters program and all the work involved, I don’t foresee any scheduling or time problems with teaching one online class.
I know that information technology is an exponentially growing field and therefore will soon offer more opportunities to aspiring dreamers like me. I feel like I am at the break-through preparing for a huge change maybe two or three years down the line. My application with the department of defense still leaves me with bated breath but even if there is an opportunity, I might decline it right now due to the fact that it would take me to Germany to be closer to my family, but it would not enable me to be geographically independent. It would just move me half way around the world to one of the places I want to spend time. On the other hand, I would have to leave my life here behind and that would defeat the purpose of my plans.
My latest endeavor is to search for an online university that would let me teach part-time while paying at least some of my tuition for my doctorate degree. As the field of virtual post secondary education is growing exponentially, the job opportunities especially in the fields of technology and world languages will multiply.
I started this project with lots of enthusiasm and gung-ho to find me a new and exciting job where I could work from anywhere in the world. My findings, however, suggest that online is really more an option for students than for teachers at this point in time. I expect to see the changes and developments fairly soon as I cannot possibly be the only one with the dream of geographical independence… and all those positive implications on the environment. As far as I am concerned, this project will need very regular updating due to exponential changes in the field of technology.

Introduction to PB WIKI Beating the Challenge of Combo Classes

2008-11-03T15:33:00.007-05:00

Dear World Language Teachers,

I am a German teacher and like many of you I am my own department. One of the challenges we face at the upper levels is that we often have combo classes of two or even more levels in the same class. When I started using my wiki things became easier for me as I can set up lessons, standards and acitivities for my upper level students and they can work independently while I teach the other group of students.
Here is a very interesting and practical way to teach our upper level students:
I discovered PB Wiki through one of my classes in the Masters in Technology in Education program through Lesley University. It takes a little time to set up but is well worth having. I have been using FRAU BELL'S WIKI with my Level 3 / 5 combo class. It is a constant work in progress where I change and post assignements for my students. The beauty of a wiki is that it is interactive and that the students who have your permission can post their work, questions, presentation or comments on this interactive virtual portfolio.

You can GET STARTED HERE and take a look around. The PB wikis are very easy to build and modify and are free.

There are set ups for individuals, businesses and many very creative ideas and templates for teachers. Take a look at the TEACHER WIKIS

SL divorcee jailed after killing online hubby in Tokyo

2008-10-25T12:49:00.001-04:00

Now, this is very interesting and just down the line from what we discussed in class last week. Read more here: Japan.Avatar.Murder ...

the "BIG SIX" - Second Life's Community Standards

2008-10-18T13:34:00.002-04:00

The Community Standards sets out six behaviors, the "Big Six", that will result in suspension or, with repeated violations, expulsion from the Second Life Community. All Second Life Community Standards apply to all areas of Second Life, the Second Life Forums, and the Second Life Website.

Intolerance: Combating intolerance is a cornerstone of Second Life's Community Standards. Actions that marginalize, belittle, or defame individuals or groups inhibit the satisfying exchange of ideas and diminish the Second Life community as whole. The use of derogatory or demeaning language or images in reference to another Resident's race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is never allowed in Second Life.
Harassment: Given the myriad capabilities of Second Life, harassment can take many forms. Communicating or behaving in a manner which is offensively coarse, intimidating or threatening, constitutes unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, or is otherwise likely to cause annoyance or alarm is Harassment.
Assault: Most areas in Second Life are identified as Safe. Assault in Second Life means: shooting, pushing, or shoving another Resident in a Safe Area (see Global Standards below); creating or using scripted objects which singularly or persistently target another Resident in a manner which prevents their enjoyment of Second Life.
Disclosure: Residents are entitled to a reasonable level of privacy with regard to their Second Life experience. Sharing personal information about a fellow Resident --including gender, religion, age, marital status, race, sexual preference, and real-world location beyond what is provided by the Resident in the First Life page of their Resident profile is a violation of that Resident's privacy. Remotely monitoring conversations, posting conversation logs, or sharing conversation logs without consent are all prohibited in Second Life and on the Second Life Forums.
Indecency: Second Life is an adult community, but Mature material is not necessarily appropriate in all areas (see Global Standards below). Content, communication, or behavior which involves intense language or expletives, nudity or sexual content, the depiction of sex or violence, or anything else broadly offensive must be contained within private land in areas rated Mature (M). Names of Residents, objects, places and groups are broadly viewable in Second Life directories and on the Second Life website, and must adhere to PG guidelines.
Disturbing the Peace: Every Resident has a right to live their Second Life. Disrupting scheduled events, repeated transmission of undesired advertising content, the use of repetitive sounds, following or self-spawning items, or other objects that intentionally slow server performance or inhibit another Resident's ability to enjoy Second Life are examples of Disturbing the Peace.

Today is the Day!

2008-10-17T18:58:00.003-04:00

We are back in class and are ready to present our Second Life project to the class. Julie, Nancy and I invite everyone in the class to please leave us some feedback and thoughts on Second Life and its potential impact on education.

Link for the Second Life Passport and This is Second Life Presentation

2008-10-17T08:46:00.003-04:00

THIS IS SECOND LIFE PRESENTATION AND PASSPORT BROCHURE

Go for a visit around ISTE Island

2008-10-15T17:26:00.003-04:00

1. Click on SEARCH, go to places and type in ISTE Island. Click on Teleport
2. Once you arrive, go straight down the path and into the building to your right.
3. Take a look at the “personalize your avatar” posters and click on the cubes on the shelves under the posters to purchase (for free) a Jack or Jill Starter Kit and some ISTE clothes. You can later see them when you look in your inventory.
4. Continue to the back of that room for information about Second Life and the SLED Blog. Click on the info cubes to learn more about what you can do as an educator.
5. Once you have taken a look around the building, go outside and start “flying”. Explore the area; there are many meeting areas where people gather at all different times. Usually, there is a planned meeting on Thursday evenings.
6. There is a schedule posted in front of the building. The days with nothing scheduled are the ones that are white. If you want help, you can also check out the Docent Schedule to see when the mentors are around. That also works for Orientation Island.
7. This is the end of the official orientation. Please click on SEARCH again to find interesting places you might want to explore.

Here is one suggestion: Go shopping at Free Dove

7 Things You Should Know About SL

2008-10-13T20:44:00.005-04:00

Julie found a great source for information online. Here's' a link to 7 Things You Should Know About SL. It is short and to the point.

Experimenting with Second Life

2008-10-13T20:07:00.009-04:00

My latest project for my class with JoAnne Hart at Lesley University has led me to research a world called Second Life. I had never heard about it before, I knew what an Avitar was and thought that Second Life was for all these people who didn't have a Real Life. What I didn't know was that there is a huge network of learning communities that is very useful to teachers of all levels for resources as well as professional development. Last Sunday I had the pleasure to run into Kathy Shrock's Avitar while exploring her Second Life platform LIGHTHOUSE LEARNING ISLAND, a collaborative professional learning community of K-12 educators. My colleague Julie and I had an extensive chat with Kathy about the realm of possibilities for learning and teaching and also simple logistics in Second Life. Click here to get a look at what I am rambling on about. SECOND LIFE

The first thing you have to do is create an Avatar and here is how it goes: You get to pick the gender, the clothing and create your look. Don't worry, you can change all that down to the gender later. Look for more on this soon.

Create your own WIKI

2008-08-23T09:07:00.001-04:00

Find out about what goes on inside your PC

2007-11-11T13:13:00.000-05:00

Click on the link and download System Information for Windows to see how efficient your computer runs. You can check any computer that runs on Windows.

My Online Portfolio

2007-10-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

I have put together an online portfilio for all my work and projects that I have created for my M. Ed. at Lesley University. This portfolio will be updated regularly and new work from upcoming classes will be added. On the left under the links category you can click on the LESLEY PORTFOLIO link to take a look at it.

Wikiversity is amazing

2007-10-06T14:34:00.000-04:00

As I was exploring Technology Integration for my Unit Plan "Berlin 1930s to today" I developed a fascination with Wikibooks and Wikiversity .
So, I decided to do my Presentation on...

WIKIBOOKS and WIKIVERSITY

1) Highlights of interest - what makes this resource interesting?
The Introduction to Wikiboks was very helpful. It explains how one can search the entire site for an interesting Wikibook; browse the subject-oriented bookshelves; look through the list of books; or try the age-themed Wikijunior, Wikistudy, Wikiversity, and Wikiprofessional collections. I found the Guidelines for class projects very helpful in setting up my own concept and in learing about the legal aspects of Wikiversity and Wikibooks. I love the unlimited possibilities to this resource. Over time, my classes can put together a veritable wealth on the history and culture of the German-speaking world.

2) How to purchase or locate: It's available and online

3) Cost: FREE! Ain't it great? : )

4) System requirements: Internet connection and decent size hard drive and RAM

5) Target audience: I think these sites are great for anyone. In my particular case, the audience are high school students in intermediate German classes.

6) Curricular Ideas: The sky is the limit for curricluar ideas. My first unit using Wikiversity is about Berlin from the 1930s to today. As far as other foreign language ideas are concerned, structure, culture, cooking, clothing, student created stories (fiction and non-fiction), projects about famous people or places are great ideas.

Great choice for Videos

2007-09-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

A student of mine just introduced me to a great video site that is not yet blocked at schools. Check it out at http://www.veoh.com/. Create a free account and browse away.

Final Project Reflection

2007-09-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

After careful consideration of the purpose of this final project, I decided to design a website to complete my school blog. In the past, I have been posting all the links for student assignments on the blog and found the idea of adding the website as resource for my students and source of information as well as point of contact to my students’ parents.

I looked at different free online web design and hosting options like http://www.homestead.com/, http://geocities.yahoo.com, http://pages.google.com, and http://www.weebly.com/ and chose http://www.weebly.com/ to host my website. The site is published at http://fraubell.weebly.com/ . It consists of eight pages including a home page, one each for the three levels I teach this year, one for the parents, one for links and the last one is to publish a portfolio of work I am currently creating in my ECOMP 5106 class. Once that course work is completed, I plan to hide that page from view and will use it as an online archive of my work.

Weebly.com was easy to use and after a few hours I had the “system down”. No knowledge of ht ml codes is required to build and publish a website at weebly.com. The design, settings and layout is created with drag and drop features. There are some limitations to what one can insert on the site, but they are minimal. I enjoyed creating my site and have received approval from the school district to attach it to my blog at my high school.

Overall, I recommend weebly.com as web host. The customer service is very helpful and professional when problems arise. My problems all were related to lack of knowledge and my trying to “wing it”. : ) The only drawback of weebly.com is that occasionally the loading and publishing of pages takes a long time. I have no reference to compare to as I did not try out the other web hosts I considered in the beginning. The extended loading times might just be normal when big or numerous files are being published. I had a lot of fun finding interesting plug-ins and pictures to add to the site. My students will enjoy comparing the German and the English world clocks.

Final Project Proposal: Educational Web Site Design

2007-08-26T15:54:00.000-04:00

I have finally come to the conclusion that a web site would be the most useful and meaningful final project for this course. I am designing a site that will be used regularly by my stundents and that will serve as point of contact for my students parents. I will try to get this site linked to my school blog so that my students have all the information they need at their disposal here rather than on my blog. My web site can be found at www.fraubell.weebly.com It is still under construction, but progress is made regularly.

Pretty Flowers, but no PowerPoint : (

2007-08-25T15:51:00.000-04:00

Deutschland WebQuests

2007-08-25T11:22:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to check out all the WebQuests on My FURL

Observations and a couple of thoughts on Gypsy and Rebecca's Web Site Evaluation

2007-08-24T20:32:00.000-04:00

Gypsy and Rebecca chose http://www.brainpop.com/ to evaluate. Gypsy is a science teacher and was partial to evaluate the science part of this site. Schools do have to subscribe to this site to use it. The site links to the national standards for all subjects on the site. We had a lot of fun watching a video about the cloning of "Dolly the Sheep". We learned about DNA and the process of cloning. Dolly had arthritis and died young, poor thing. : (
But the fun continued when we had to take a quiz on "Dolly". We went for "the grade" as a class, because we paid attentions. We scored 10 out of 10! We are amazing!!!!!
It looks like a great site for learning a fun way. Its design is very playful and a great reinforcement of a lesson. Finally, we watched a little cartoon video on the history of the Internet and how it works. Rebecca, a music teacher, found the segment pertaining to music a little "cheesy". Great Job Gypsy and Rebecca!

Web Site Evaluation - Update

2007-08-24T20:05:00.000-04:00

I am sticking with www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german as my web site to evaluate, however, my partner will not participate.
I am always looking for a good site to send my students to for vocabulary and pronunciation practice.

ADDITIONAL READINGS: POSTED ON 7-23-07

2007-07-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

I read A FUTURE FICTION by David Warlick
Warlick, D. (2004) A Future Fiction. Library Media Connection.
Retrieved May 26, 2005 from http://davidwarlick.com/ff_article/

…and here is what I think about his little story:
I actually was quite amazed at the potential accuracy of the author’s predictions for education in the future. I was glad to see that education was taken to a higher level with the help of technology. Teacher and student tools seem to have developed into close to perfect networks of information distribution and processing resources. As far as the administration of the school is concerned, surveillance seems to have reached perfection.
If such a system were to be put in place, there would be no more “gray zone,” seemingly no more room for mistakes or forgiving thereof as every step a person takes is monitored and recorded. I find the complete lack of privacy a little disconcerting and at the same time comforting, if that makes any sense.
All the glitches seem to have been worked out and technology has become user-friendly and reliable. I would be very excited to be part of such a school in only seven years.

I also read the article THE ABCs OF WEBSITE EVALUATION
Schrock, K. (2002) The ABC’s of Web Site Evaluation: Teaching Media Literacy in the Age of the Internet. Classroom Connect.
Retrieved February 22, 2004 from http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/pdf/weval_02.pdf

…and here is what I think about this one:
This article is a list of resources to do the best job possible at evaluating a website It is not an actual article. I find it to be very useful and linked it to my blog as resource for my website evaluation assignment. I will also put it as link on my student blog so that they know what I know and what I expect them to do with their assignments . Setting standards and clear guidelines also will prevent problems with plagiarism.

Required Reading 2: The Student WebQuest

2007-07-18T13:29:00.000-04:00

I read the article by M. Yoder (1999) The Student WebQuest: A productive and thought-provoking use of the Internet. Learning & Leading with Technology, 26(7), 6-9.52-53. Retrieved January 8, 2004 from http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/myoder/webquest.pdf

...and here is what I think about it:
Considering that our final project is to design and pubish a WebQuest for our students, I thought that this article was very useful. At first I felt a little overwhelmed by the project, but now I am confident due to the step by step instruction and the good advice by Yoder. I liked how the author picked particular WebQuests and illustrated the steps with examples.
I really like the concept of WebQuests and believe that my students are going to like to explore subjects like geography, famous German people and culture using a scavenger hunts on the web. I teach a Germanl 3 / German 5 combo class and see this activity as a life saver for me because I can plan the activities well ahead of time and don't have to worry about how to keep one group busy while teaching the other.

A Fair(y) Use Tale

2007-07-16T19:53:00.001-04:00

Required Reading 1: ..about Blogging and RSS

2007-07-16T18:29:00.001-04:00

I read: Blogging and RSS — The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators by Will Richardson, Supervisor of Instructional Technology, Hunterdon Central Regional High School
…and here is what I think about Blogging and RSS
About three years ago a friend on the West coast told me to “check out his blog,” and I was clueless as to what he wanted me to do. Today have a four blogs myself and have become a big fan. I think they are very useful tools for communication and collaboration, especially in the classroom. My students know that they can find links to all their assignments and much more very useful “stuff” on my blog. Sometimes, I require them to post comments on readings or answers to questions on the blog.
And then there is RSS. I am a relative newbie, but very excited about it. Being a teacher and therefore always somewhat overloaded during the school year, RSS seems to be a great way to efficiently bundle information that I am interested in. I have already put a link to my bloglines on my new blog.
Claudia

ECOMP 7007 Web Presentation

2007-07-15T16:17:00.000-04:00

Julie Nowak and I will be working together on this project. We have choCsen a foreign language learning site published by the BBC. It can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/
Claudia

Good video for teachers

2007-07-15T11:19:00.000-04:00

Check out this video on TeacherTube. It is a great tool if you need to convince your school's administration about Student use of blogs.

http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=be6ec9b852b0a542e2f3

Great source for us visual folks

2007-07-15T11:14:00.000-04:00

Here is a link I found out about in my M Ed. class this weekend. It is to an amazing online picture archive. http://www.flickr.com/

This is just the beginning

2007-07-15T11:08:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,
I have put this blog out here so that everyone can see my latest and greatest pictures and thoughts. This picture of the gazeboo was taken on my recent trip to Korea.