26 Things About Me.

1) I am a White Water Kayaker.

2) I have a yellow Lab. named Achilles. He's probably the best dog known to mankind.

3) I have been to three different countries, not including Mexico and Canada.

4) I didn't really like English in High School but a wonderful teacher opened my eyes in College. I hope someday I can be that teacher to someone else.

5) I love reading... anything. Including labels on Windex bottles and Shampoo.

6) I want to teach creative writing courses in whatever High School I land.

7) I am a Philosophy minor. I love to argue! (in a constructive and positive way, of course)

8) My dream job is working as a writer for Scrubs, House or Law and Order SVU.

9) I want to open my own restaurant some day.

10) I used to have long hair. I donated 18 inches to "Locks of Love" when i cut it.

11) I often make myself laugh at inappropriate times. (like in the middle of the test)

12) I make coffee tables out of tree stumps.

13) Sometimes I am quite reserved and quiet. Other times I could talk enough to sustain you for a week.

14) I listen to music all the time. I have over 15, 000 songs on my computer and growing.

15) Snow makes me happy no matter how I feel. (but I'm ready for spring now)

16) I don't think I am very funny but i love making people laugh.

17) I confuse people a lot.

18) I went to circus camp two summers in a row when I was younger.

19) Poetry is challenging to me and that is why I love it so much.

20) I played Ultimate Frisbee for MSU for four years. www.frizzbears.net

21) I don't get to do it much, but I bet I enjoy playing video games as much as any of you.

22) Students make me smile.

23) I want to be reincarnated as a Shaolin Monk.

24) I am a huge collector of Kung-fu movies. I could watch Kung-fu all day and night.

25) I am always willing to talk with any of you. Anything, anytime.

26) I believe that students and teachers alike are constantly on a journey to gain more understanding of our world. I look forward to taking that journey with all my students and I hope I learn as much from my students as they learn from me.

TGIF: Enjoy the Journey of Blogging!

Dear Bloggers, Yesterday, I am proud to say, we got everyone onboard the blogging scene. You all established google accounts, and most importantly, you helped each other with the technology and the intricacies of the blogging world. Bravo!




Many of you commented about the style of some of the comments. That will be the springboard for today's in-class discussion. It is important to realize the differences between educational blogging, which is who we are, and social networking, which is usually accompanied by a lot of computer jargon, abbreviations, and slang. There is a huge responsibility when writers publish; writers must be honest, accurate, and readable. You may also want to visit the link Mr. Wolff left you about flame wars. We have to remember that we are an extension of the classroom, and also that we will have a wide readership. In other words, audience will include others outside our classroom. Other teachers, classes, families, and who knows, may enjoy reading our blog. That brings responsibility to our audience.




I get a lot of joy out of this project, and that is because it is a partnership. I see myself as your facilitator on this journey. You will connect with each other, the literature you read, and the issues that will emerge. I hope you enjoy the journey, too!

Rules of the Road: Netiquette and Safety

We will share this information in class today when we discuss rules of safety and netiquette. Click on the title The Core Rules of Netiquette to review Virginia Shea's advice in the excerpt from her book.



Rule 1: Remember the Human;
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life;
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace;
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth;
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online;
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge;
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control;
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy;
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power;
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes!



In addition to these seemingly common sense rules, we must also be aware of safety. Although we will be the only members of our blog, and therefore we will be the only bloggers to be able to post or comment, we will still protect our identities by not using any last names, addresses, or phone numbers. We will also refrain from mentioning the name of our high school or city. Those things probably wouldn't need to be mentioned anyway because we all know where we are.



If you decide to take on a pseudonym, only the teacher will know who you are unless you decide to tell others who you are. Pseudonyms, of course, should be classroom appropriate, since after all, we are theoretically still in our classroom! We shouldn't write anything that our grandmothers wouldn't want to read. (I'm one, remember?)

Lastly, below is a link that may be very enlightening for all of us and even our "larger audience" out there. Please click on the link to read a clarification of the difference between educational blogging and social networking. Networking sites like MySpace truly differ in content and language from educational blogging, and reading this link will clear up some of the challenges we will face as new bloggers. I hope to prevent any misunderstandings which could emerge over blogging expectations. The site covers dangers, safety, language, and benefits of a knowledge based site. Read on. We'll discuss this further in class.

http://supportblogging.wikispaces.com/Blogs+vs+Social+Networking

What's in a Name?

As we continue to prepare for our online journey, we'll be looking at online personas and safety rules. The whole experience of deciding how we want to be perceived is very important. In our culture, we really don't have much choice in our given names since we are named at birth. Do you know how you were named? Are you satisfied with your name?
I read somewhere that over 50% of Americans surveyed didn't like their given names. Does that seem a little high?

Today we'll investigate your names. This is your chance to rename yourself if you would like, or you can simply choose to be known on our
blog by your given name or nickname...no last names, please.

If you click on the following site, you'll find a list of the most popular baby names over the years. Give this some thought. We'll be signing up for names and email addresses tomorrow! Another site we'll look at in class is Baby Names for Dummies

Manners, continued: Shadow Blogging

When I lived in Japan, I was fascinated by many of the customs and manners.

• People take their shoes off when they enter a home;
• People bow instead of shaking hands;


• Soft, warm cloths are brought to the dinner table before dining;


• Gifts are given to guests who attend a wedding or funeral;


• People often practice meditation and visualization before partaking in an activity.

The last item was often referred to as shadowing. Once in a department store china department, I saw people "shadow sipping" (pretend sipping) from imaginary tea cups to see if they liked it. I saw others shadow swinging imaginary golf clubs or baseball bats. The practice, it seems, was to imagine in one's mind or visualize the event to experience what it might be like without really doing the activity. In such an overcrowded country (by my standards), it amazed me how many people had the abiltiy to "go within."

This might seem like a stretch, but I imagine the same activity might be worthwhile on our blogging. You've now been reading my posts every day, and you know, regardless of your own personal experience, what a blog post might look like...pictures, links, comments, and so forth. It's time to imagine how you want to be perceived by others, how your posts might look, how it feels to comment and to receive comments.

Today we'll try our hand at "shadow blogging," blogging on paper instead of online. It should be fun. If you are absent, we'll have to get together and work out this activity for you!

Sayonara!

Common Courtesy: How Common Is It?

As we read about the ancient Greeks, we learn about their culture, what they value and what their manners are. We can see, for example, that it is polite to welcome strangers and make them comfortable, even without knowing anything about them. My how times have changed!

Here's a link to a site on universal manners. Did you know, according to this site, it is proper manners for youth to stand behind their chairs until all adults are seated at the dinner table? Or how about this one? It is considered rude to make harsh comments when assessing a team member's work! You'll find manners at this site for all ages and all occasions. There's even a window which allows you to submit your own questions or comments. Interesting reading!

Today we'll be reading about a recent manners survey which appeared in Reader's Digest. It should be good information for discussion. We'll also continue independent reading and tracking progress on the reading logs.