For the last three days I have been spending three to four hours on school work (daily!).  This morning I combined it with watching the equestrian events on the Olympics.  Here are a few of the sites and apps I reviewed.  They could be very useful:

Blogs:

– http://languageartsflip.blogspot.com/

– http://mgleeson.edublogs.org/2012/07/28/transferring-files-to-and-from-ipad-using-filebrowser/

– http://techthoughtstoday.blogspot.com/2012/05/nearpod-teacher-student-by-panarea.html

Wiki’s:

– http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/w/page/17791585/Voicethread

Others:

– http://site.cloudon.com/product/ – brings Microsoft Office to your other devices.

–  http://www.clipartof.com/gallery/clipart/retro.html – a good clip art site

– http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/one-bowl-chocolate-cake-170600091.html – Chocolate Cake recipe. Yum!!!

–  http://www.voki.com – I created an avatar (I’m a queen!) but I can’t figure out how to transfer it.

–  http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/teaching_learning/10_ways_use_avatars_education – An article on using Avatars in education.

– http://ed.voicethread.com/ – See above Wiki

– http://www.donorschoose.org/teachers – A non-profit that connects donors and schools for equipment, money,…

– http://www.thinglink.com/ – Allows you to tag your images.  Could be useful on maps and more.

– http://www.vizaroo.com/ – creates graphic organizers from audience responses.

I also read some disturbing information from a Regents board meeting and a Wall Street Journal article which I have highlighted and pasted below.  This comes from the New York State Council for the Social Studies:

Here are some pictures from my hometown.  It has really changed over the years.  They have taken out the millpond dam and replaced it with a walkway that will eventually connect two large metro-parks.  There will be several miles of paths for walking, biking, and skiing.  I can’t wait!!!

I have also included some pictures of Whole Foods in Ann Arbor, my favorite place to shop!  While shopping one can graze on delicious samples and participate in beer and wine tasting.  It is a great shopping experience.

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There is also a picture here from the cover of Art Showcase.

I just spent the last week in Michigan visiting family.  I did very little school work but there is one site I took from another edmodo teacher:  http://reflectionapp.com/  This is an app that could be very useful in a class where everyone has a computer/phone/ipad devise.  Paperport:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/paperport-notes/id476134017?mt=8  also looks useful for taking notes,…

A highlight of my week in pictures:

I know I’m in Michigan when I can drink:

Pancho Villa, Mexican restaurant in Chelsea.  It was a great meal!  We enjoyed guacamole made at the table, Lance thought the bowls looked like dead armadillos all lined up on the bottom of the cart.  He has a weird sense of humor!

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An excellent meal was enjoyed by my brother’s family, Katie and myself at Miki, in Ann Arbor.  This is a boat full of sushi, crab and lobster tempura (sp?), crab dumplings, and other great Japanese foods.

There are more to come after I find them – camera issues!

Besides these pictures, I also went to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, farmer’s market, found a great fabric store, visited with my 98 (soon to be 99) year old grandmother, woke up at 3:00 in the morning to go to the airport with my sister (isn’t she lucky to have me as a sister?), and watched some good movies, “Becoming Jane” and “Midnight in Paris“.  Anyone that likes art, history, and writers will love the last one.

Thursday:  Amy brought her grandson to ride Charlie in the morning, then it was on to Oneonta for a haircut that I desperately needed.  I ran a few errands, stopped in Treadwell for the addictive donuts from the General Store, then home to make an appetizer to take to the Sluiter’s house.  Dinner was at Perch Lake where a Pony Club sleepover was taking place.  They have a lovely home and we enjoyed a very nice meal.  The girls all get along so well despite the age differences.  This is the Peach and Plum Crostada I made in the morning and took for desert:

Tomorrow, it is on to Michigan to visit my family.

Tuesday:  I rode Cheyenne in the morning.  She went so nice.  We practiced “swappin’ leads” and she did a pretty good job.  Her side passes for the day were also nice.  After our ride, it was a rush home to view a webinar on using Google in education.  I’m sitting there waiting for it to start and nothing is happening.  Did I get the right date?  I check the calendar, yes it’s there.  I check my email and read a little closer, oh no, it is scheduled for 12:00 Pacific Time, not Eastern Time!  Crap!  What to do?  I told Simone I would be to her house at 1:30 to hang out by the pool.  So, I take my computer, I can go to the library after floating in the pool and socializing.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I spent too much time enjoying the pool and company and before I knew, it was 4:00.  Oh well.  As it turns out they sent me the link to a recorded version of the program so I was able to watch it last night.  What a waste of time!  It was basically a commercial for Chromebooks.  They are such self-promoters!

After Simone’s, it was home to grill dinner:  Salmon, pity-pat squash w/ olive oil and garlic, and a green salad (not grilled).  It was good but no pictures.

In the evening I read more of the Singer book, “Teaching Global History”.  This chapter was about teaching from a Chinese perspective.  It was interesting but pretty useless, not going to happen!

Wednesday:  “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go….”  Yes, Work!  I attended an APPR workshop put on by the Teacher Center and BOCES.  It was held in Walton, close to home (there are alternative sites and dates much further afield) and not well attended!

What I learned:

– We have to be evaluated on all the Standards.  Our union needs to negotiate the elements under each standard  that will be used.  This is the way I thought it was suppose to be and it needs to be understood by the APPR committee.

–  Our parent base has really changed.  When they started the reading program, many moons ago at the elementary school, to encourage reading at home, they had a huge turnout!  Now, they get only a few parents!  So sad, and we see the results as these children reach high school and are very poor readers.  Many of them hate to read!

– She went over the 21st Century Skills we need to include in our curriculum.  These include; Creativity and Innovation, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, Communication and Collaboration (the 4C’s).  They also emphasize core subjects, global awareness, financial and economic literacy, civic literacy, health literacy, and information, media, and technology!  Most of us do this anyway, so it isn’t a big deal.  Compare this with what Texas is doing and you will be amazed and disgusted:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/texas-gop-rejects-critical-thinking-skills-really/2012/07/08/gJQAHNpFXW_blog.html?fb_ref=sm_btn_fb&fb_source=home_multiline

Spent the evening, after a dinner of Beer Can Chicken and salad, working on the computer.

Yes!  We finally got the rain we so desperately needed.  Yet, it was still a productive day, but not for Social Studies.  We started the morning at the Franklin Farmer’s Market.  They have a very cute little market next to the school.  The vendors have amazing produce, breads, eggs, jams, wood products, posters, plants,…  It was a great find, plus we did a little campaigning.  Next, for me, it was on to the Moses to finally ride my horse.  Yes, I rode in the rain and boy, did it rain!  I was pretty wet by the time I was finished but I don’t think either one of us really cared.  Cheyenne was such a good girl, she did a nice slow collected canter and a pitty-patter trot.  She needs a little tune-up on her side-pass and 360’s but otherwise was very good.

Monday:  Rode in the morning and then spent the afternoon floating in Maggie’s pool and discussing books (maybe 10 minutes was spent on the books we read).  We chose four books for the coming months so it was pretty productive (for us).  We enjoyed the pool so much that we invited ourselves back for the August meeting.

In the evening, I attended the Margaretville Cemetery Reenactment showing in the Margaretville Historical Societies new digs at the, previous, Isaac Walton League.  I had to miss the original presentation, held at the cemetery, because of the campaign.  Freddy and Nick filmed it and presented the finished product last night.  It was wonderful!  All of the presenters did a great job but Joe Hewitt should be an actor.  What a talent!  He (his character) was a raft rider from Arena and told about building log rafts and floating/riding them down to Trenton, NJ, in the 1800’s.  They were able to get a good price for the logs because of all the building going on in New Jersey and Philadelphia.  Then, they had four days to run/walk home so as to put together another raft of logs and do it all over while the water was high.  Joe told of the hardships, ice and snow storms, falling in freezing cold water, walking one to two miles each night to find meals and sleeping quarters.  His (characters’) last raft trip was completed when he was in his early 80’s.  What a hardy soul!  The log business died out in the late 1800’s after the Catskills had been denuded of trees and turned into farm land.  This was fascinating!

We had a very active day. We started off to Sidney with our trusty photographer, Dan Flanigan. In Sidney we walked along the street/craft fair, introducing people to Gary and shaking a lot of hands. Then it was on to Unadilla to drop off a petition at Deer Run Collectables where I found a star for my porch. It was just the right size, color, and price, it was meant to be! On the return trip we stopped in Treadwell at Barlow’s General Store with its great homemade donuts and scrumptious bake goods. Run by Rachel and Glen, it is worth an out-of-the-way visit.

The antique/craft fair outside of the church in Lake Delaware was the last campaign stop for the day.

Back home, a quick swim in the pond, then it is time to prepare for another “Meet and Greet”. This one was hosted by some wonderful people in Bovina. The location was beautiful and the people welcoming. It was a delightful and successful evening.

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While on the road, I was able to read another chapter in “Teaching Global History”.  Singer proceeded to discuss the Euro heavy curriculum in further detail.

Thursday: Spent a few hours on school work then I finally got some sewing done. I finished the dress! I also made a very cute skirt from fabric I bought on my quilting weekend in Watkins Glen. Mike, Donna, Teagan, and Emmy joined us for dinner. We had grilled pork marinaded in pesto and sided with grilled peaches marinaded in a little balsamic vinegar. I also prepared fresh fettuccine from Annutio’s Market in Oneonta with grilled vegetables added. This was Donna’s first outing after surgery. 🙂

Friday: Spent most of the day doing school work. I found a grading program that looks very promising, GradeCam . I also looked at some wonderful document sites, especially for the French Revolution and found some great iPad apps, just getting ready!
In the evening we went to “Fair on the Square.”