Promoting Academia

by Harold Shaw Jr.

Good day to all!

I am going to have my students prepare a PPT presentation on WHO AM I and when discussing it with them last week they asked me to prepare an example of what I wanted. As you can see this going to be part of the presentation. I haven't changed a bit!!!!! yeah right. Does anyone else dare to share their H.S Graduation picture and maybe a comparison picture or at least a link. Something fun to do?

Well I just registered at the University of Phoenix - Online CED 515 Secondary Methods of Teaching Technology to take one of the two courses I need to take by 2010 for teacher recertification yesterday. Yes, I do enjoy taking college classes and despite some of my previous tongue-in-cheekiness - I have a great deal of respect for most of academia. The course itself sounds very interesting.

Course Description: This course focuses on technology teaching methods, the process of integrating technology into curricula, and advocating for technology utilization at the secondary level. Students will learn methods to evaluate and enhance learning. Students will also analyze exemplary lesson plans that incorporate technology, create lesson plans, and units for the secondary grade levels. In addition, an overview of strategies for educational technology leadership will be provided. UOPX Course Catalog

So although I don't start until March 18, I am looking forward to learning more about this technology in teaching in a more shall we say "disciplined" environment.

Then I remembered a blog/promotion from the first of the year from Microsoft about their "Ultimate Steal" program for registered college students. Well it seemed as though I qualified, and registered for their program. I have wanted to upgrade for a while and this gave me the opportunity to get Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for a very, very reasonable price. So far I tend to agree that Office 2007 ribbon is a much better way to navigate (just in a short time it seems more intuitive) and wish they had used it more in Outlook (perhaps they will later).

Otherwise, I have had a real busy weekend correcting papers. I really have to give credit to my students! I gave them an assignment to write a letter to themselves in 20 years. Yeah I got the usual family, career, wife, kids and where they will be living, but I also got predictions on the presidential election, effects of global warming and if they were in careers that would be helping others. I thought it was actually a pretty good assignment and was pleased with level of effort that the students gave.

Personally, I have run two miles, two days in a row and although I know the hip is there, it is a bearable sort of discomfort. So I can get back on that bet with Bill and loose those 15 pounds, but Mary just made a whole batch of Chocolate No-bake cookies. She is soooo mean, but I do love her.

Well I have made a promise to myself as part of my lessons learned to stay close to 500 words unless, I have something very important to say. But it is hard, once I start writing it is like a switch has been turned on the words just seem to flow out of my fingers without a hardly any effort. But then I have to go back and proofread what my fingers did, that is the issue isn't it. The word count says I am done have a great day --

I just noticed that Jim put my name up with some pretty high flyers in the blogging world, and I thank you for the compliment. But putting me on the same page as the rest of that group is not really appropriate, as they are some of the movers and shakers of the online educational community and I certainly am not. I am simply a teacher from a small school in central Maine. I certainly don't belong in that select group. But thank you Jim -- it did kind of make my day.

Harold