Sunday, March 23, 2008

Odyssey of the Mind

Over the past two years I've had the pleasure of helping Westwood Elementary establish student participation in Odyssey of the Mind. Many SBISD schools encourage their students to participate in the fun. Each year the students are given problems to be solved. Teams pick the problem they want to solve and present at competition. Although the the clips I'm sharing are not of local teams, I hope you will enjoy watching teams from around the U.S.

1. Thomas Jefferson Elementary (T-structure)


2. Westwood Elementary, Traverse City, MI (DinoStories)


3. Cole Canyon Elementary (Road Rally)

Just for FUN!

Found this site on another player's blog and tried it out. What fun I had!! My husband thinks I've gone off the deep end...heeee

Meez 3D avatar avatars games

Sunday, March 9, 2008

THING 23

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
I enjoyed all of the activities although my favorite has been learning to make podcast and animoto. These tools have allowed me to liven up the curriculum for my students. They love helping me create the Podcast and seeing their work online.

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
UHCL and SBISD have made it possible for me to begin working on my masters degree by providing a library science co-hort in our district. One of the co-hort classes required students to complete 23 Things to help us become information specialist. We don't have to know everything but we do need to know how to find reliable information patrons might ask us to locate. I am a life long learner at heart and one reason I enjoy working for SBISD. Since coming to SBISD in 2003 I have taken 500+ non-contract hours of district provided or approved learning opportunities and that doesn't even include the hours I've spent on 23 Things!


3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was surprised at the fun I've had exploring the web tools. Beyond that I'm seeing my new found knowledge and skills energizing my teaching and classroom and I LOVE that!

4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Since I am working with other co-hort students on class projects I would really have enjoyed knowing which blogs are made by my classmates. Personal profiles don't always tell. Knowing my classmates' blogs would make it easier to find help, support, and helped me make acquaintance with classmates and given me an immediate reason to keep coming back to the blog and work on 23 Things.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
YES!! There is so much those who have gone before me could share, saving me time. Busy people know that the rule of productivity isn't working harder but smarter.

6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
Fantastic!

Now go and comment on some of the other Players' blogs?
I have been leaving comments while working on 23 Things and that is one more thing that has made it fun. Thank you SBISD Library staff!

THING 22

Nings are useful in learning, communicating, and sharing ideas. When our youngest was still at home I had ventured into My Space so I could keep an eye on her activity and the people she communicated with. Having that experience helps me understand Nings. Now I'm enjoying communicating with people who have similar interest. I've already found a Ning that I hope will help me reach my goal of learning Spanish.


Well, I've gotta get back to Nings because I want to look into more ways teachers and librarians are using them. See ya later....maybe "heeee"

Saturday, March 8, 2008

THING 21

Well, I did it! Using PhotoStory I created this video. I had problems with PhotoStory saving the video in .wp3 which isn't supported by podcast or TeacherTube. After finally getting it saved as a .wmv file I was able to upload to TeacherTube.

My students helped critique the podcast and at their suggestion I added the background music. The podcast was created around a science unit on electricity. Some pictures show the students working with components from our FOSS kit while others show them working on their final project. I'm really proud of their efforts and their projects show understanding of the subject content.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

THING 20

This is one of the most fun activities. I've heard so much about YouTube yet I knew so little about the site. To tell the truth I didn't think there would be anything clean or kind, so I wasn't interested. It wasn't until classmates in the SBISD Co-hort introduced our class to TeacherTube that I even checked that site out in search of material I might use. This assignment took my exploring a step further and I found this clip with Cookie Monster, one of my favorite characters.