Born Digital

I received a new book today from Amazon. It is about the students that have been born since 1980...born digital. I also started teaching my class with another teacher today after school on "On Line Resources. It will run until April of this year. We will be exploring WebQuests and the internet in general. I am anxious to read what the new book will bring to the discussion.
I just finished "Twilight" from the suggestion of my high school students. I guess the movie comes out next week.
Sister leaves for Japan in the next couple days. It will be interesting to hear her stories on her return.

Technology Underwater

Technology is wonderful. I can sit on my computer and pretend I am under the ocean. I am working with a colleague in designing a course for our Area AEA in Online Resources where we will be designing WebQuests. Parent Teacher Student conferences were last week where we used the Artsonia slide show feature to highlight the gallery of artwork done by the students. My students are finishing an advertisement using PhotoShop. another class are making themselves into cartoons. What is in store for the future? I can only guess. Digital education.....

South Dakota Book Festival

I returned from the South Dakota Book Festival a week ago. I took a day off of work of Friday. (It was Homecoming activities in the high school and I am sure they didn't miss me much) and traveled three hours to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to the Holiday Inn for the Annual Book Festival put on by the South Dakota Humanities. The festival alternates locations with Deadwood each year. I ended up getting two books. One is "Buffalo Bill's America...William Cody and the Wild West Show". by Louis S. Warren. Since I was lived in LeClaire, Iowa I have had an interest in William Cody who was born near there. The other book I got was by "Bombay times: a Novel" by Thrity Umrigar. I heard her speak about her books and India. In fact, I road down the elevator with her. Such interesting people. I also attended a workshop on geneology and on demand printing. I had a great time with friends, eating, and enjoying the sites of Grand Rapids.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

My review

View all my reviews.

Planters of 2008

Here is what everyone has been waiting for. Mary's Planter

Beth's Planter

My Planter and Mom's Planter


I think we all did splendid this year and will be ready for another challenge next year for the 2009 season.

Tribute to Stone City

I spent the Labor Day weekend in the Wapsipinicon State Park near Anamosa, Iowa. This is just a few miles away from Stone City, where Grant Wood painted his rolling hills and stone buildings. This is where Grant Wood had his artist colony in 1933.

http://www.mtmercy.edu/stone/resource.htm

The first photo is the spectacular Anamosa State Penitentiary established in 1872. The second photo is a church in Stone City. The final picture is a mock up of the famous American Gothic home without the farmer and his daughter.

Bob Dylan and Multitechnological Distractions

Working on lesson plans for the Minnesota Humanities class, I wrote one on Bob Dylan and Hibbing, MN. The gist of the lesson was a student photo documentary on the sliding scale of alienation and a sense of belonging in a student's local community (school or otherwise).
What happens to me when I work on the web looking for resources is that I am distracted considerably. There must be some label for people like me, who cannot stay focused on the task at had and gets distracted with the multitude of information, video, photographs, web links, and interesting sidelines to the direct goal at hand. Instead of my mind working in a circular format, it goes out into the abyss, scattering to the wind. Some would call it "easily distracted". I guess I would call it "There is sure alot of stuff out there".