Saturday, January 9, 2010
A Short Week
School started back up on Monday, at least the teachers did. Second semester for students started on Tuesday, January 5th. It was a hectic week for me, I had meetings and/or appointments Monday-Thursday evening. But, then the snow came on Thursday, and the Remington Book Club was canceled. School was dismissed 2 hours early Thursday and canceled for Friday because of the snow and wind combination. I have flight confirmations for going to San Diego for Scott's Marine Boot Camp graduation next month. I can't wait until I get to see him and hear his voice again! It seems like it has been forever! I am getting up early tomorrow morning in order to call out the MCRD to see if I can reserve "billeting" for Derek and I for the 1st two nights we are out there. That means we would sleep on base in quarters reserved for officers. It costs a lot less, and I think it would be nice to be on the base the two days we can see Scott. Well, I'd better get to bed so I can be sure to get up and make that phone call. I hope they will have some openings yet when I call.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Celebrating my Dad's birthday
The Sebert family has a relatively long tradition of meeting at a restaurant in Auburn, In. on the first Sunday of every odd month for I'm not sure how many years, but I know it's been awhile. Anyway, today was one of those days, so this morning, Derek, Amanda, and I headed up there to meet everyone at the Auburn House of Pancakes. (great little place to eat, but plan on taking food home with you, because the portions are generous!)
January is always an extra special one, because it is my Father's birthday month, along with his sister, Leah's. We never know how many people to expect, some months only 5 or 6, and other months there might be around 30. It's a great way for the Sebert family to stay in touch Today, there was a nice crowd.
After the meal, my sisters and brother, and parts of all of our families went back to Dad's for birthday cake and ice cream. My sisters had made the cake yesterday, and it was yummy!! Dad will be 91 years old this coming Wednesday, January 6. We had a wonderful time together and I am thankful that I still have my dad around. Love you Dad!
Well, since I am running on only 4 hours of sleep, I think I'll get ready for bed. Good night!
January is always an extra special one, because it is my Father's birthday month, along with his sister, Leah's. We never know how many people to expect, some months only 5 or 6, and other months there might be around 30. It's a great way for the Sebert family to stay in touch Today, there was a nice crowd.
After the meal, my sisters and brother, and parts of all of our families went back to Dad's for birthday cake and ice cream. My sisters had made the cake yesterday, and it was yummy!! Dad will be 91 years old this coming Wednesday, January 6. We had a wonderful time together and I am thankful that I still have my dad around. Love you Dad!
Well, since I am running on only 4 hours of sleep, I think I'll get ready for bed. Good night!
Friday, January 1, 2010
GO BOILERS!!!
As I expected, I did not make it to midnight last night. When you get to be my age, sleep is sometimes more important than watching the ball drop. I needed the sleep, and am feeling a bit better this morning. My friend down the street called and asked if I wanted to go to the Purdue/West Virginia game today, and since I was feeling better, of course, I said YES! Purdue is currently ranked 4th and West Virginia is ranked 6th; both undefeated until today.
We went down early enough today to meet her daughter and son-in-law at Applebee's. Great food as always, and then we all headed to the game. It was a great game, especially since Purdue won!! 77-62
I wonder what this year will hold in store for me? I know I am looking forward to our trip to San Diego in February for Scott's Graduation from Boot Camp. It will be great to see him and hear his voice again!! He left November 17, and our only communication for 13 weeks is by snail mail. No phone calls, e-mails, Skype....nada! I have only gotten 3 letters from him, but his girlfriend is getting more regular letters than that. Imagine That! :) I'm just glad he's writing to someone.
I hope to take better care of myself in 2010. (physically and spiritually) That should be pretty easy to follow through on since I haven't done a good job of that for the last several years! Even if it is just making it through the Yoga class I have signed up for. That will be more than last year. I am looking forward to that challenge. I also plan to create a "quiet" time for me on a regular basis, so I can slow down, and listen to what God might be whispering in my ear, if I would just sit quietly. :)
May 2010 be a year of blessings for all!
We went down early enough today to meet her daughter and son-in-law at Applebee's. Great food as always, and then we all headed to the game. It was a great game, especially since Purdue won!! 77-62
I wonder what this year will hold in store for me? I know I am looking forward to our trip to San Diego in February for Scott's Graduation from Boot Camp. It will be great to see him and hear his voice again!! He left November 17, and our only communication for 13 weeks is by snail mail. No phone calls, e-mails, Skype....nada! I have only gotten 3 letters from him, but his girlfriend is getting more regular letters than that. Imagine That! :) I'm just glad he's writing to someone.
I hope to take better care of myself in 2010. (physically and spiritually) That should be pretty easy to follow through on since I haven't done a good job of that for the last several years! Even if it is just making it through the Yoga class I have signed up for. That will be more than last year. I am looking forward to that challenge. I also plan to create a "quiet" time for me on a regular basis, so I can slow down, and listen to what God might be whispering in my ear, if I would just sit quietly. :)
May 2010 be a year of blessings for all!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
New Year's Eve 2009
Well, here I am, sitting at home waiting for a new decade to begin. I was supposed to be at a friend's house tonight, but I have been fighting "something" all day, so decided it would be smarter to stay home. Hopefully a good night's sleep will help me feel much better in the morning. Not sure if I will still be awake when the new year begins here in Indiana. :)
I have decided to do something different in 2010. I am going to try to post to this blog at least once a week, AND I have started a second blog that will hopefully show people what a wonderful little town Remington, Indiana is. It's going to take some real commitment from me to make this happen. Taking a picture a day for 365 days in a row from something in Remington will be a challenge! I believe I am up to that challenge. At least I hope so!!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I have decided to do something different in 2010. I am going to try to post to this blog at least once a week, AND I have started a second blog that will hopefully show people what a wonderful little town Remington, Indiana is. It's going to take some real commitment from me to make this happen. Taking a picture a day for 365 days in a row from something in Remington will be a challenge! I believe I am up to that challenge. At least I hope so!!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
STOMP!
Well, I just got back from watching "STOMP" at Purdue, and it was unbelievable! The energy the performers had was electric. Not to mention the fact that they had amazing rhythm. They wore me out just watching them. LOL Our READ 180 teacher brought a group of middle school students down to watch tonight. I can't wait to hear what they thought of it. The kind of rhythm they could create with simple, everyday objects was incredible. Lots of fun!
It sure is great to live so close to a major university. We get big time events without having to live in the middle of a big city. Not that there is anything WRONG with a big city, but I like to go visit them, not live in them. :-)
Sunday night I was at Purdue's Elliott Hall of Music also. That one was for the United Concert with Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman. Two Christian singers who have been around for quite a few years, but can still belt out the songs. It was a wonderful night of worship.
Well, its getting late, and I haven't had a lot of sleep the last couple of nights, so that's all for tonight.
It sure is great to live so close to a major university. We get big time events without having to live in the middle of a big city. Not that there is anything WRONG with a big city, but I like to go visit them, not live in them. :-)
Sunday night I was at Purdue's Elliott Hall of Music also. That one was for the United Concert with Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman. Two Christian singers who have been around for quite a few years, but can still belt out the songs. It was a wonderful night of worship.
Well, its getting late, and I haven't had a lot of sleep the last couple of nights, so that's all for tonight.
Friday, March 27, 2009
A Change of Direction
It's been a long time since I did anything with my blog. In fact, it's been almost a year. I have decided to go in a new direction. I am going to make this more personal, and not so much on education and technology. I have enjoyed reading some friends and relative's blogs, and thought I would try my hand at writing about what often seems to be a rather blase life.
This has been our Spring Break week, but since my car's transmission recently needed to be rebuilt, going somewhere was out of the question. Instead, I have hung out in Remington, and basically just relaxed! Not all bad at all. There are a lot of things I have not gotten done that I probably should have, but Oh Well.
I attended my first Tri-County FFA Auction today in hopes of buying an older car for Scott to have so he can get back and forth from work until he leaves for boot camp in November. Mission accomplished on that one. He is now driving a 1989 Buick Park Avenue, which is actually in darn good shape considering it is 20 years old! It's interior is in better shape than my Sebring!! I got a pretty good price for it, but I will be eating mac and cheese till my next paycheck and beyond! It also lived through the great hail storm of 2006 and has the dings to prove it.
This has been our Spring Break week, but since my car's transmission recently needed to be rebuilt, going somewhere was out of the question. Instead, I have hung out in Remington, and basically just relaxed! Not all bad at all. There are a lot of things I have not gotten done that I probably should have, but Oh Well.
I attended my first Tri-County FFA Auction today in hopes of buying an older car for Scott to have so he can get back and forth from work until he leaves for boot camp in November. Mission accomplished on that one. He is now driving a 1989 Buick Park Avenue, which is actually in darn good shape considering it is 20 years old! It's interior is in better shape than my Sebring!! I got a pretty good price for it, but I will be eating mac and cheese till my next paycheck and beyond! It also lived through the great hail storm of 2006 and has the dings to prove it.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Cell Phones; Educational Tools?
Cell phones have been quite a topic at our school for a year or two now. How do we give kids the access they need to get in touch with parents vs. having them on their person during school hours and using them for what educators consider to be non-educational uses? I am sure we are not alone in this problem. I know we are taking a much tougher stance towards having them on their person when the new school year begins.
However, there is another "school of thought" about how cell phones could be used in an educational setting. I was first introduced to this idea at the ICE conference I attended last January in Indianapolis. They were talking about using phones as a way to get students more involved in learning. As one instructor said, "Let's teach them with the tools they are familiar with and most comfortable with." Many of our teachers find the new technology a bit overwhelming, so instead of jumping in and learning with (and from) the students, they tend to not use it at all. I think we have to be willing to learn things that take us out of our comfort zones. While working on my assignments for the class I am taking on Web 2.0 tools, I came across an article by Marc Prensky about using cell (mobile) phones in learning. The article was called "Mobile Phone Imagination--using devices kids love for their education." In this article he lists many different ideas about how phones could be used in an educational way. This article was published in 2005 and many of the "what ifs" are now standard parts of most new phones. He suggests that phones be used to help kids learn science using GPS systems in many of today's mobile phones, and maybe even using their cell phone cameras to take pictures that can then be used in a science or math classroom.
Although I understand and even sympathize with administrators, I have to think that maybe Mr. Prensky is not way off the mark. Kids do not learn the way they did even 10-15 years ago. (maybe less than that) More and more of them are digital and visual learners, and we need to begin to think about new ways to reach those students. That doesn't mean that I think that we should throw out everything we do now, but I do believe that teachers at all levels need to accept the fact that new technology is not going away, and if we don't educate ourselves about how to integrate it into our curriculum, we will find more and more students disengaged from learning. I will probably be blogging about a few more of Marc Prensky's articles because he has struck a cord with me.
However, there is another "school of thought" about how cell phones could be used in an educational setting. I was first introduced to this idea at the ICE conference I attended last January in Indianapolis. They were talking about using phones as a way to get students more involved in learning. As one instructor said, "Let's teach them with the tools they are familiar with and most comfortable with." Many of our teachers find the new technology a bit overwhelming, so instead of jumping in and learning with (and from) the students, they tend to not use it at all. I think we have to be willing to learn things that take us out of our comfort zones. While working on my assignments for the class I am taking on Web 2.0 tools, I came across an article by Marc Prensky about using cell (mobile) phones in learning. The article was called "Mobile Phone Imagination--using devices kids love for their education." In this article he lists many different ideas about how phones could be used in an educational way. This article was published in 2005 and many of the "what ifs" are now standard parts of most new phones. He suggests that phones be used to help kids learn science using GPS systems in many of today's mobile phones, and maybe even using their cell phone cameras to take pictures that can then be used in a science or math classroom.
Although I understand and even sympathize with administrators, I have to think that maybe Mr. Prensky is not way off the mark. Kids do not learn the way they did even 10-15 years ago. (maybe less than that) More and more of them are digital and visual learners, and we need to begin to think about new ways to reach those students. That doesn't mean that I think that we should throw out everything we do now, but I do believe that teachers at all levels need to accept the fact that new technology is not going away, and if we don't educate ourselves about how to integrate it into our curriculum, we will find more and more students disengaged from learning. I will probably be blogging about a few more of Marc Prensky's articles because he has struck a cord with me.
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