Information Overload...

This weekend was edcamp Philly at University of PA.  I had signed up and was really looking forward to the opportunity to learn from other educators.  Unfortunately I woke up Saturday with one of those awful sinus headaches that preventing me from attending.

  I'm sure I missed a lot, but I had the opportunity to attend an online professional development workshop through 2012 4T Virtual Conference.

    I was able to attend a few workshops that I found quite interesting; especially Making Curriculum POP.
Teaching our curriculum using Pop Culture, integrating film clips, offering cooperative learning experiences that focus students on real world "jobs", such as fashion consultant, sociologist, economist to evaluate the message.  Check out the Ning and see what is offered.  The workshops are running Saturday through Tuesday and this evening I was able to attend a workshop on using Twitter in the classroom.  I'm not sure that Twitter is the right medium for my class, but the ideas could easily be integrated into Edmodo.
So in a few minutes I will begin the next session - Everthing Speaks - using QR codes in education, getting students to interact.  Hope this doesn't put me into Information Meltdown!
   Best part of the weekend, getting to interact with teachers around the country and world!  Already have found some new online collaborators to tweet with...
   Oh don't forget to join Classroom 2.0 - collaborate with other like minded educators who are integrating web 2.0 tools into the classroom.

Web Site - CHECK!

Well I think I did it ... I know for a fact the the site I have created through Word Press is better than what I had.  That wouldn't be hard though...
Mrs. Stinson: Family and Consumer Sciences, Southern Regional takes you to my redesigned class/school website.  I focused on the student needs.  After talking to some of my students, both in class and those in FCCLA, they told me they want links to the assignments, recipes, pictures of the completed work and calendars.  That is what I gave them.  Hopefully they will be "Happy Campers".

Now I will work on creating some more content for the site, some videos and slide shows of student work.

As always, a work in progress as I continue to learn more and more using the tools that are available.

Success!

Tonight I feel so accomplished!  Our new class started the other week, of course the week before spring break, so who felt like working... This class is very hands on, learning about Web design and the creation of a website, through the evaluation of others.  It is certainly making me look closely at what I do, and to think about who my viewers are.  No sense overwhelming them more than needed!

So as I am designing my site, it is important that I follow the "Less is More" philosophy of the minimalist architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.  I want the site to be easy to use, and really stick to the points the students need.  So the idea is to include a CALENDAR - something I desperately need for my students both in class and for the after school activities I run.  WordPress has been fighting me for a week ... but I HAVE WON!

  I embedded a FACS Calendar into my WordPress site.  I am giving my self a pat on the back - but it is truly due to the great video tutorial I found on YouTube - How to embed google calendar into WordPress.  So thank you Keith!  Stay tune for the completed site within the next week!

Spring Break... comes to an end

So today marks the end of spring break.  Unlike many, I did not have the opportunity to travel to remote destinations to taste the culture of previously unexplored locales.  But alas the Philadelphia are offers several great locations to unwind.

Longwood Gardens, Bell Tower

We had the opportunity to visit Longwood Gardens, the DuPont estate where the DuPont fortunes were able to experiment with thousands of horticultural specimens.  I love this place since I truly have a black thumb, I can enjoy the beauty without worrying about killing it!

Tulip Display (or tinsy part of it)
The reason we went - to "Tiptoe through the Tulips"

Longwood Gardens, Italian Water Garden

I have always wanted a water feature in my yard, but this might be a little "over the top"



So no Spring Break would be complete without a visit to the beach - since we are not near the Florida beaches, Ocean City was our beach of choice.

Love the beaches before the crowds!

So now it is back to work... finish up the semester, learning how to make effective, productive websites.  I am looking forward to this as I want to find a way to sell the quilts I make in my spare time. 

 Oh, did I forget to mention I made a quilt this week with some of the scrap fabric in my sewing room.  It's available if you are interested!