JibJab

JibJab Sendables are lots of fun to make. You get enough credits for a free card when you register (you get 50 and this one was 30). I found this card at jibjab.com and, just for fun, I made it for his (BIG) birthday on May 18th. Amazingly, we went swing dancing last weekend! He won't see this post until his birthday weekend, so ...

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Password Bird

"Watch the birdie" used to mean look at the photographer who was waving at you to get your attention. Creating a new password meant adding 01, 02, etc., to the only one you ever had, or running through your family and pet names. Giggling was my response when the random lottery number generator first appeared.

Combining those thoughts, today's ever evolving Internet and creators Kevin Sheurs and Andrés Galante provide passwordbird, a random password generator so easy to use. Insert a name + a word + a date that are meaningful to you and this cute little avian creates an 8 or 10 digit password significant only to you! Don't like the first choice? "Click here and I'll make a new one!" offers a different configuration. Still not satisfied? "Click here and tell me different information!" brings even more options. It's a simple flight to http://passwordbird.com/ for your newest password.

iShowU and Stomp

I've been Twitter-ing (see previously post) and received a responding 'tweet', as did all of his followers, from the (infamous?) Podpiper of Education suggesting I look into iShowU for taking screen shots and creating videos on my computer.

The ability to take screen shots or create "how-to" videos is especially helpful for those of us creating handouts for professional development in technology. Checking out the demo on iShowU demonstrates that tools such as this one are not limited to educational use as many online gamers place videos on youtube.com demonstrating their prowess in a particular online game.

So, off I went to iShowU and it is easy to use, compatible with both 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard); and $20. While it used to be freeware the price is still GREAT when compared to other products. It works seamlessly with Stomp, another product by shinywhitebox.com. Buy them both and it's a package price of $42 rather than $49.95 purchased separately.

No, I don't get a commission nor do any of the other ed tech bloggers who share their finds - darn it! As teachers we just love to share what works for us and maybe for you, too.

Twitter along with me ...

Talk about multi-tasking! I've been Twitter-ing for almost weeks now. My "tweet" friend, Cathy from LACOE, convinced me I just have to use Twitter, so I created an account as we sat side-by-side at CUE working in Second Life.

I've tried to describe Twitter to my techy and not-so-techy friends. It's not so easy to do, especially as they look at me as if I've 'lost it' completely. I can hear their brains gasping as they process my movements - first WOW, then Second Life, now Twitter?! (They are all very different programs and I have legitimate reasons for being involved with all of them, LOL) But I was sold on the validity of Twitter as a tool for education when I watched, tentatively, as techies I know and respect conversed about topics relevant to their lives - both personal and professional.

Hesitant about adding my own post (I didn't want to look foolish, ya know) I was lurking and I admit it. Then came a post from a fellow DEN member dgrice about teachers wanting him to make screen shots of a training he did. I had something to contribute! I clicked the chat line (in my iPhone version of Twitter) and typed my suggestion for screen shots and, holding my breath, pushed send. My first post appeared in Twitter and I was so proud. Back at my computer a few minutes later came a post from the podpiper saying he liked the software I recommended but had two others he liked better - iShowU and ScreenFlow. I saw it in twhirl and immediately took a look at the programs. They are fantastic and I will post about them later.

Since then, I discovered that education and information now travel at speeds this humble educator never conceived possible. I found assistive technology, edubloggercon, and Second Life gurus; followed leolaporte's trip to Australia, conversed with a soon-to-be-phd hard at work on the virtues and validity of gaming in education, RSS'd the website of an amazing technology teacher, and participated in a collaborative network of educators across the world. Twitter is truly an amazing form of contemporary communication that requires no additional software and can be readily accessed by computer or phone. Wow!

Fortunately, I recently found someone I really respect who was as skeptical as I about the virtues of Twitter, and he really knows how express himself. George Siemens has a news feed to which I subscribe. His March 20, 2008 post entitled Information Growth speaks more eloquently than I.

Try it. Find some friends, follow me (katiewarren), or send a tweet @katiewarren.

update ... my husband no longer alerts me to the fact that my phone is twittering away each morning. I think he's even become used to the techy chirp from the early risers in the East.

Google 4 Doodle - "What If ...?"

Looking at the Google 4 Doodle contest site I came across a short movie about the Google webmaster, Dennis Hwang. As the original "Google doodler" Dennis has achieved his own cult following for the very clever work he creates for the site. Consider entering your students in the Google 4 Doodle contest and watch their creativity soar. There are lesson plans and all you need to motivate yourself and your students ... watch Dennis' movie and you'll see.

School Budget Cuts

Like many teachers across the state of California I received my reassignment letter today, a stark white page with black letters rather than a pink slip. A friend sent me this to cheer me and it did, ruefully. Despite Gov. Schwarzenegger's claims that he could have the budget settled by March 15 - the required date teachers need to receive notifications of change job status for the next school year - that wouldn't solve the morale issue associated with losing your job 4 months before it's officially over and heading back to the classroom anyway. My first 6 years of teaching were like that and, darn it, it hurts!

Anyway, enjoy the article from The Onion and laugh. It couldn't really happen, could it?

Underfunded Schools Forced To Cut Past Tense From Language Programs

WASHINGTON—Teaching students how to conjugate verbs so that they can describe events that have already occurred is a luxury many schools cannot afford.

Students and Blogging

Student blogging is a controversial topic. Looking for diverse opinions, I thought I would offer the student perspective on blogging. Here are second grade students offering their top ten reasons why all teachers and students should blog.