SOITA Conference and Sketchup Surprise!

I had the BEST time at the Ohio SOITA Conference! I am very appreciative that Larry invited me to Keynote the first day and my friend Meg followed up on Day Two..just wish we (Meg and I) could have had some time together besides the 30 second Video Skype call!

So, during a break in my presentations, I wandered over to the student area because I wanted to see what they were up to..and these guys with the big smiles, proceeded to share with me their sketchups they have been doing the past week and loving it!

I spoke with their Teacher and it turns out, they were all set to show another project, when one of them found out about Sketchup and asked for it to be put on his computer. The Tech at the school "didn't know how" and this fourth grader figured it out and downloaded it on all the laptops they had brought to the conference. The Teacher "wasn't sure" exactly how or what they were doing, but they would show her they were making models of their school and I have to agree --self taught, a week into using Sketchup...what a surprise, they were rockin!

The real story behind GCT/CUE Dinner Club Webinar series.

Long, long ago, back in the summer of 08 the FOURTH official class of Google Certified Teachers were notified they were heading to Mountain View, California for their training. (Little history here, the previous three classes had been open to the California Teachers twice and the New York State Teachers once.) So, this was going to be the first class of "students" coming from around the world, and they did! Dorothy showed up from New Zealand, Paul came in from Canada...well, you get the point.

Everyone jumped on Twitter and in a matter of minutes a SITE was designed for all of us to plug in our winning videos and information about ourselves. The original 12 that posted decided to get together for dinner prior to the BIG DAY. When I walked in, after spending time on the SITE, I knew every one's name, thanks to the pictures posted and the conversations began. .

After our wonderful day of training, and meeting soooo many interesting educators, we converged on a restaurant and did a podcast retelling our "aha" moments. After the podcast we started to realize we would never have the chance to see each other face to face like this again and maybe we would see each other at a conference down the road....but, we would never have these great google conversations again.

Thus the monthly webinar series was born..The first Wednesday of every month during the school year is devoted to Google Certified Teachers getting together thru Elluminate to listen to other outstanding GCT's to learn, lament, and be challenged, there is EVEN MORE out there to listen and share!

If you would like to "present" at an upcoming webinar...Please let me know, we'd love to hear from you all!

If I had a million dollars...*start singing!

The more classrooms I see, the more money I see spent on "technology"...I'm just gonna throw it out there...

All you need is:

Showerboard on the wall, Document Camera, Laptop and projector..

Sure it would be nice to have more bells and whistles (flip cameras, etc..) but you can successfully educate the students using these tools.

Discover Kansas!

Kansas Professional Development invaded by Discovery Education!

Great time working with the Teachers of Junction City, Kansas at the all day conference!

We learned that there is a great group of teachers and administrators helping to make the lifes of the students enriching, by using Discovery Education streaming!

MIKE!!

My time in West Virginia was filled with innovative teachers, instructional technologists, one great principal and even engaging administrators....but, the main dude that impressed me the most...sigh...MIKE!! Love this guy! Not exactly sure I would like to do his job every day, but I'm happy knowing we both work for DISCOVERY!!

New and Improved and TIME SAVING!

Thanks Veronica, You are so kind! Discovery Education certainly DOES have audio to support your curriculum..

You don't have to stay up till 2:00 in the morning to find that audio clip you are displaying in the picture.

By the way, I'm just in awe.. You STILL have cassette tapes? Really? You found it? (I'd still be looking!!)

Welcome to the 21st century, Veronica! Its a great place to be!

CONVERGE MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHT!

Google Custom Search Refines Research Skills
Posted by Tanya Roscorla
on August 10, 2009 Ed Tech

The GOOGLE CUSTOM search engines do keep students from finding inappropriate sites on the whole Web, said Cindy Lane, an adjunct professor, Google Certified Teacher and instructional technology specialist from St. Louis. One of her students looked up “black holes” in a regular search, and you can just imagine what that child found, she said. She designed and taught a four-week class this summer at Southwest Baptist University for K-12 educators on Google applications, and she focused on searching during one of those weeks. All of the students created custom search engines, but many of them said they had never heard about it before.“You would think teachers would know about all of the applications that make their lives easier in their classrooms, but unless they take classes or they go to technology conferences or they have some really good PD [professional development] already imbedded in their schools, it’s a hit and miss kind of thing,” Lane said, “which is unfortunate.”

Two years? Is that true?

Wow, time does go by fast when you are having fun! Life definitely got a lot more fun these last few months and I just have to pause for a minute today and reflect on my direction, my donation to the educational technology arena and my devotion to technology.

When people ask me why I blog, I tell them I do it for my own self reflection only. Yes, it would be nice to have throngs of people reading my stellar writing, (but think about the pressure too!) I blog so I can look at my old writings, maybe see some growth and definitely smile at all of my shenanigans!

I've had the EXTREME pleasure of working with some great educators across this planet and it's just a gift to hear and see their passion! I was on a plane recently and sat next to a wonderful, personable lady who shared her own love of educational technology and we spent the entire plane ride talking about the MANY benefits of document cameras!

These past two years have been full of wonderful suprises, the BEST becoming a Google Certified Teacher and the worst...hah! There aren't any! I've grown and enjoyed every moment and looking forward....ALWAYS looking forward with my glass (at least) HALF FULL!

My friend Kerm, in Maine, has a great way to show his technology at his school to the whole world...Check out the 30 second video!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKz-x8OZms

Top Tools for Teachers

SEARCHING PEOPLE!!!! Ok, Teachers are scrambling to get their rooms ready and greet their new students. Hopefully, they've gone to some great workshops this summer and have learned some great new tools to add to their toolboxes..
Here are two tips. .
1. Get to know the ADVANCED feature in Google Search, (see jpg)
2. Read about how to use the Custom Search Engine!

Google Custom Search Refines Research Skills http://bit.ly/g4WjK

DE PD Trainers Extraordinaire!

West Coast, East Coast and Midwest Discovery Educator Gurus came together to become Certified trainers. Granted, it doesn't appear we are working hard at the moment, but for THREE days we worked hard and played hard. Running this ship is tough work, but Jannita can handle us! I worked with rock stars and was treated like one!

GOOGLE COMES TO ST. LOUIS!

Missouri's First Google Network for Educators Class was held on July 16th at CSD, hosted by Missouri's only Google Certified Teachers-Bill Bass, Stephanie Madlinger and me! It was attended by 23 stellar educators in the area and we explored some great google educator tools and had some really robust conversations about applying these applications in the classrooms! Lisa Thumann's group, enjoying their second day of their own Google Workshop at Reutger's University attempted to demonstrate the Gmail Video Chat with us with some success! I looove sharing anything Google at ANY time!

Conversations at Character Education . . . .

Today at my Presentation "Blogging Builds Character"...we had some great discussions about the use of blogging for learning and understanding in the K12 classroom. Some of my participants had NOT seen a blog in the classroom, while others shared their experiences. Becky (a brave lady) actually started the blog she has been wanting to start - right in front of our eyes and demonstrated how EASY it is to do!

Thank you for everyone's good thoughts and ideas today. Come September, I'm sure there will be some great Character Educaton blogs beginning to unfold and who knows where that will take them!

STELLAR CUSTOMER SERVICE

This is an example of what I expect everytime I order anything online. My husband shared this with me this morning and after laughing hysterically for approximately five minutes, we realized CD Baby actually cares about us! Yes, we'll order again! Enjoy!

Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CDs and polished them to make sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Saturday, June 27th. I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sigh... --CD Baby

Awesome Administrators!

It was certainly a great collaborative day bringing blogs, wikis and google docs to life with these amazing administrators last week.

Learning was taking place in groups, online and in enlightening conversations shared! I'm just imagining the teachers when they come back from the summer to their Superintendent who is NOW using Google Docs to make their schools easier to manage!

ART

Here is Artist LA with her great masterpiece behind her and the latest in front of her..its not finished yet, but it already looks like another priceless gem. She definitely has the heart and soul of an artist, now to figure out the illusive grad school.

She is fun to watch, fun to be with and definitely on her way to greatness.

Ted Talk Commandments

TED Commandments for Speaking -- If you would like the spreadsheet of all the talks, let me know..you could be in front of your computer for months...and I have to agree with Christine, these commandments apply elsewhere too!



Thou Shalt Not Simply Trot Out thy Usual Shtick.
Thou Shalt Dream a Great Dream, or Show Forth a Wondrous New Thing, Or Share Something Thou Hast Never Shared Before.
Thou Shalt Reveal thy Curiosity and Thy Passion.
Thou Shalt Tell a Story.
Thou Shalt Freely Comment on the Utterances of Other Speakers for the Sake of Blessed Connection and Exquisite Controversy.
Thou Shalt Not Flaunt thine Ego. Be Thou Vulnerable. Speak of thy Failure as well as thy Success.
Thou Shalt Not Sell from the Stage: Neither thy Company, thy Goods, thy Writings, nor thy Desperate need for Funding; Lest Thou be Cast Aside into Outer Darkness.
Thou Shalt Remember all the while: Laughter is Good.
Thou Shalt Not Read thy Speech.
Thou Shalt Not Steal the Time of Them that Follow Thee

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!

It finally happened and in typical "Lane" style! Our daughter graduated with her undergrad degree from Springfield, MO at 10 am on Friday, May 15th..then we drove 3 hours to Columbia, MO, hung out at Trops (yummy adult beverages) and I graduated with my master's from Mizzou at 8 pm.

I couldn't be prouder of our daughter and I couldn't be happier!! It was a very memorable weekend!!

Happiness is......

Why are we so happy? NO MORE COLLEGE TUITION for anyone!

My masters is accomplished, our daughter is done with her undergrad (and looking for that Art Grad School) and well, Life just got easier!!

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

You see two art renderings of Barbie, but you see only ONE LA, why? Ahem, there can be only one..the mold is gone, she is the best, exceptional, skilled, articulate artist I've ever seen. Her Senior Exhibit proves she pushes the boundaries (hmmm, wonder where she got that?) throws back the standard square box and stands before the world to show her thoughts, feelings and talents.

Can't wait to see what her next life will consist of..undergrad is closing soon.. and new doors are opening!

Blogs and Wikis

I'm doing a consulting gig yesterday..(aka too much fun) about using blogs and wikis in the educational arena, and as I'm talking, I realize I have not been consistently blogging and I should. I have been able to look at other educational blogs lately and finding some really good rich material to ponder, utilize and pass on.

So, I'm throwing down-- so to speak -- I will begin my educational/instructional thought processes from here on out..with an occasional relapse to talk about family, friends, and life in general...my life is SOO much more than just my "work"...which is really fun to begin with.

This month has been full of good things and great places and folks...but I've learned alot about ME lately and that's cool too...my mantra these days?

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

I've had that sign posted for EVER...and really, its the ONLY thing we do have control over!

Blog, blog, crazy blog

My life has been FILLED with good moments lately and I have to apologize for my not keeping up with a thought or two down for posterity..BUT...I have a thought!

I am delighted to report that PRESENTATION ZEN has transformed my life/slide presentations and also those of my grad students. They are starting to turn in their final projects and I'm so excited about their LEARNING and now, how many students will

a. stay awake for them

b. understand the message

c. actually retain the knowledge

d. all of the above

D D D D !!! Seriously, jump over to Amazon and buy this easy read, this is NOT a commercial, this is an order...Buy Presentation Zen and transform yourself and your slides!

I made this on Cameroid and if you don't like being an etch-a -sketch, you can be a ninja or Mona Lisa...pretty fun, easy stuff. That smile on my face? That's cause spring is a l m o s t here!! The grass is finally getting green and the sun seems to be shining brighter!!

IF I RULED THE WORLD.....

My new friend and I were lamenting at lunch the other day, if we ruled the world ....

Ok, I'm here to tell you if someone wants to give me a million dollars, I'm waaay cool with that...

But, seriously, if I ruled the earth ..

1. All Teachers would make the same amount.

2. That "amount" would be in high double digits!

3. All Teachers would have the same technology, and to go along with that rule, we also need the same amount of coaching and P.D. (paid of course)

4. All Teachers would have great benefits, respect and time to create great 21st century lessons.

...Hey, its my dream!

But, in the meantime, if you want to get something for your classroom, hurry over to www.donorschoose.org, tax time is fast approaching, and people are just waiting to give you some financial support for your classroom!

Tied to Tools

So, what tools can you NOT live without? I've narrowed it down to two, really! First, and foremost is my Sprint Instinct. Before you accuse me of sounding like a commercial, I want you to hear me out. Yes, I'm a google certified teacher, but the google phone does not make my heart flutter, nor does the iphone...I'm NOT PAYIN anymore, or jumping on any app that someone else adores. My Sprint Instinct works for me, took 0 seconds to figure out and I use every piece of it. Btw, the camera is pretty darn robust!
Now, a close number two is my Flip HD camera. If you are even thinking about getting a new camcorder, this baby is smaller than my phone...and you can grab a picture from any video you take. Yeah, a couple attachments, like a tripod will help any situation...but it is really easy to use --a USB goes right into your computer and that's really all I need..and the phone charger occasionally!

METC and FETC was exhilirating, inspiring and just plain FUN! I absolutely love jumping out of my regular life and conversing with new friends, (finally got to meet Jim Lerman after a year of online conversations!)and most of all challenging me to continuing my own personal learning, sharing and collaborating.

Thank you new friends, old friends for helping me and encouraging me!

Obama IS FINALLY HERE!!

We now officially have a SMART president, I suddenly feel safer, better, and hopeful. I feel confident that Teachers will finally get the money and respect they deserve. I'm not taking these rose colored glasses off. I firmly believe President Obama will take care of our educators, well, I shall remain hopeful....and George, please stay in Texas...I never want to see your dumb mug again...

Second Life Thoughts

By the title of this blog, you've already formulated your opinion...YEAH, SL rocks! or What the heck is she talking about THAT stuff for?

Well, thanks to my PLN of Google Certified Teachers and the first time the highlighted presenter couldn't show up (seriously, Beth, when the ice melts we'll try again!) I learned so much in a short time last night about SL.

Let's back up a bit, I did download the program, I did create a very cool name (sippina latte)...lol...but, that's it.

I heard David Warlick kick it down stating "The coolest thing you can do in Second Life is fly".. Really? That's it? I admire all that David does, but I'm gonna forge onward on my path of learning SL with some great GCTs...Peggy Sheehy, Lisa Thuman, Alice Barr...are you kidding? These ladies rock and I hope they can hold my hand when I step onto the ISTE isle...then MY hands will clap loudly!

Happy New Year!

Is this the coolest set of mailboxes you've ever seen? Now, tell me, when was the LAST time you used one?
Yeah, I mail thank you notes, a couple of bills but...umm, oh yeah, I'll use it again to mail my taxes!