While catching up on my reading on the EdTech list, someone posted this rather extensive set of Olympics resources. One of the benefits of the web is the opportunity to benefit from other people's work. I didn't check them all out, but it looks really thourough.

I'm guessing quite a few of our WELS teachers are looking to do Olympics related activities early this school year.

The NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) was taking place in New Orleans the same time we met in Appleton. Blogs received a fair amount of attention. Here are links to blogs with a wealth of resources on blogs in education.

Blogs@School Workshop Blog
NECC BLog

I spent some time yesterday watching Steve Job's keynote at the developers conference.
I think you would enjoy taking a look at the next round of standards in video and how the image part of applications could be developing. Admittedly, this is a pitch for the new OS for
Apple, but despite that, some neat things are presented. Thought you bloggers might want to watch. Try to ignore the fact it is on the Apple website.......Check it out at

http://www.apple.com

Sorry, I couldn't see an option to create a link to the site??????????
How soon they forget!

Who would have thought that while we were showing off our projects on Friday that WebQuest creator, Bernie Dodge would be presenting on blogs and wikis in WebQuests at NECC in New Orleans.

Check out his presentation here:

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/necc2004/blogs-and-wikis.htm

Want to know what's in those movies your students are watching ... Check screenit.com

Thanks to Scott S.

Would there be interest in keeping this blog going after conference? Perhaps as a forum for sharing findings in technology?

Here's a link to a free disscussion tool where you can resopond if you'd like:

Discuss Keep the Blog Going

Students would blog their poetry anthology including reasons for their choices. One important rule would be first come, first served meaning that once a poem is in a blog no one else may use it.

Students must survive each island task of investigating 3 poetry forms. They will visit Cinquain Cove, Limerick Lagoon, and Haiku Island. Upon investigating and writing their poems correctly ... THEY WIN!!!!!

Check this one out.

Your group is competing in a poetry contest. To win you must produce three types of poems, haiku, cinquin, and quatrain. The winner will present their poems to the President. Because they will be read at the White House the topic of the poems must be about patriotism.

People that aren't successcul at writing poetry often put together compilations of poems. Your project is to produce a compilation of 10 poems that you feel are great examples of: haiku, sinquain, quatrain, and whatever other kinds of poetry Gail mentioned.

Produce your final product in the medium of your choice. Some possibilities are: booklet, PowerPoint, web site, video, radio reading ...

How about the task being to publish a new book of poetry. The editors have asked you to develop the criteria for choosing student written entries. Each chapter reflects a different poetry genre so creating the rubric for each chapter would be the single most important task.

Researching haiku, limerick, et.al. would create the understanding needed to develop the rubric.

The Martians need to communicate there emotions to the Venutians from Venus. You have to show them different poems in which they can communicate there love for one another.

Teach the Martians two types of poetry

Reasearch on the Internet and explain in MS Word the Haiku, Cinquain, Limmerick, Sonnett

Use two of those types of poetry to write an example with pictures in MS Publisher

LOVE, Drew and Marty and Bob the Blogman!!!

Forensics is coming up! You are going to help the 3-4th graders find poems for them to consider using in their presentations. They need to find poems that fit together. They can all be about a certain type of animal, a certain season, a certain sport, a certain feeling, a certain author. They need to have 2 minutes of material and they may not like everything you find, so find some extra material.

You may remember some material you have done in the past, you may use books and you may the internet.

You should also be able to tell the rhyme pattern for the poems you find.

List the poems you think would be the best first.

Groups serve as editing teams for a poetry magazine. They will choose examples of each type to be included for publication. Each group will develop a list of qualities of a well-written haiku, etc. They will present their results and explain how their choices met their criteria. As a large group the class can devise a list of qualities for each type of poetry studied. The students will write original examples of each type of poetry and use the class-developed list to peer evaluate peoms written by members of the class.

I teach grades 5-8 and am principal. My wife's name is Ann. We have two children, Emma (age 4) and Elaina (9 months).


This is the picture of Scott's favorite singer/songwriter, Dwight Twilley. Dwight will be playing at the Arkansas State Fair this summer. Grab your boots and come out dancing. YEE-HAA! Interested in carpooling? Give Scott a call! If you would like to see his homepage, visit: http://www.dwighttwilley.com/

I just finished my 15th year as science and technology teacher at California Lutheran High School. Even though it seems (to us) that computer and Internet technologies have been around forever. We're still in the pioneer stage of their use. An exciting time to be a teacher!

Geosense is a cool online resource. It teaches a rather dry, but important geographical concept...the location of places in our world. In the form of a game students get a grasp on where places are in the world. Good for enrichment!

I'm principal and teach 6-8. My wife is Julie (nee Unke) and we have 3 children: Ben 15, Joe 12, Maggie 7.

I'm enjoying the Excel Inn's pool enormously. (I'm sure glad I brought my suit.) The expanded continental breakfast is wonderful! (Did you see the length of those longjohns?)

A cool site for a unit on Poe's "The Raven"

Communications Director is my current FVL title. It sure beats Coordinator of Federation Relations and Services. My call at FVL began in August 1981 -- teaching American Lit, Freshman Comp, and New Testament Church classes. Currently I teach Honors English and love it. The computer technology can really make the subject come alive much more so than when I was in school. My specialty is World Lit, my favorite is American Lit (which I taught for 12 years) and -- of course -- I'm teaching British Lit.

Here is a drawing supplied by one of my dedicated students in the times of Rambo movies - I have it on my personal web

Here is a matrix of WebQuest patterns. Excellent for getting a taste for the different "flavors" of WebQuests.

My name is Martin Plocher I Live in AZ and principal @ Peridot Lutheran ES on the Apache Reservation. I am the Director of Education for all of our Native American Schools. I coordinate our efforts with pur schools to reach the Apache children with the Gospel in the most effective way possible.
you can check out our severky dated webpage here
I have lived on the reservation for the last seven years. My wife Jill and I have three boys Malachi-5,Zachariah-2, Isaiah-8 mo. I speak some apache and enjoy making arts and crafts furniture and whatever catches my fancy.
Yes we do have rattle snakes behind my house. they look like this

Here is a WebQuest on WebQuests. A good overview of what's out there and how they work.

Get a subscription to Presentations magazine here.

Filamentality is a resource for teachers to create and host online WebQuests and Hot Lists. Worth checking out ... and free!

Here is a summary of your ideas for blogs in an instructional setting. Some great ideas! Comment with new ones, and I'll add them.

Education (Instructional)

• Group research




• Weather info from different regions


• Shared research on a common project




• Comments on news stories


• Book reviews


• Peer collaboration and problem solving


• Journaling


• Rough draft and peer editing


• Class discussion for gifted and talented


• Reading circles


• Discussion of content in reading


• Discussion of literary elements/respond to teacher-student questions


• Sharing your faith


• Adults responding to kids’ concerns

Education (Communication)

• Sharing high school life (MLS)


• Online school news


• Tips on colleges


• Sports scores/directions


• Discuss professional ideology


• Encourage fellow teachers in the ministry


• School website


• School/church newsletter


• Posting assignments


• Student teacher journal


• Encourage new students before they come to your school

Other

• Devotional thoughts from spiritual leaders


• Online journals for world/home missionaries

Thanks to Robert Faust for allowing this chance to become famous.
I have been teaching in one-room or two-room schools since 1976. I have four children the oldest married to a sem student, a son at the sem, a daughter at MLC and a daughter just finished with high school at Luther Prep. I enjoy working with computers and built a little LAN in our school with used parts. I have seen what computers can do to motivate or interest students in doing better school work so it is fun to try to share that with other teachers.

A good link would be Zum Kripplein Christi Lutheran Elementary because there you can find out what it means.

Now heading into my...
28th year of marriage
29th year of teaching
30th year of hand-held technology (I was so proud of that first calculator.)
and 1st year of being a grandpa.

I like to listen to talk radio in the car, especially on longer trips. While scanning one morning I stumbled upon a geek talk show with a host that knows his stuff. Peter Greene apparently has been a regular on Wisconsin Public Radio for some years. His website has some great links and information.

I should be used to being the oldest person in the room when I work with teachers and technology. Most of the people I work with are kids of former classmates and/or teachers of mine!
Now, however, I have a certifiable reason to believe I am indeed old. Isaiah Lawrence, my first grandchild (and cutest baby in the world) is now three weeks old!

Last summer on a trip to Victoria, British Columbia, while whale watching, we went near the Race Rocks Lighthouse. I have since discovered their website. Marine biologists chould check out the webcams that are located on the light house and pan out in all directions.

I teach grades 4-8 at New Salem Lutheran School in Sebewaing, MI.
In the past I have been teaching at Pilgrim, in Mesa, AZ, Bethany in Manitowoc, St. Andrew's in St. Paul Park, MN, and Christ the Lord in Houston, TX.

My wife Kim has followed me around for the past 21 years. Samuel, Krista, Remington, and Isaac are also following us. The kids are 16, 14, 12, 10 or close to that.

I currently serve as the Director of Academic Computing at MLC. My primary responsibility is to teach a computer applications course to new students and to assist current faculty members of the college to make better use of technology in their own teaching. I also currently serve as the WELS Director of Distance Education in order to coordinate various distance learning initiatives in the synod. Past teaching experience can be found through my web site.

hey who erased my BLOG man!!!!

My name is John Stark. I live in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I have been married for 29 years and have two children, Rachel 28, and Ben 26. I have one grandchild, Kendra who is 18 months old. I serve as Technology Coordinator at Trinity Lutherna School in Waukesha. I have much work to do to get my staff to integate technology into the curriculum.

During this past year I found a website that the kids have used for educations games. It is

I have finished my 24th year at Peace, Hartford.

Who am I?

My grandparents' farm is an exciting place. Even though it takes two days to get there on long, bumpy roads, it is still worth it. When we get there, we hear the clucking chickens and the barking dog. The large trees in the grove provide shade. Walking into the old red barn, the smell of straw is in the air. After climbing the old, rickety, wooden ladder into the hayloft, I see a cat playing with her cheerful little kittens. After walking out of the barn, the sound of cows mooing echoes in the air. They love to swing their tails while they drink. After exploring, the above-ground pool next to the house looks inviting and feels refreshing. This is a day at my grandparents' farm.

This is me at a Brewer's tailgater...with around 300 students and parents! Oh the life of a PreK-8 Principal. Been at it for 17 years now and had all four of my children in class at one time or another.

Hmmm...an educational website. Check this out very interesting site that allows you to search for biographies of famous (and infamous) people.

I am 38 years old I have been teaching History and Computers at Huron Valley Lutheran High School in Westland, MI for the past eight years. I am also the computer network administrator, the computer builder, the WEB site builder, and do pretty much anything else technology related at HVL.

I can't really think of anything real exciting I have run across in the past year, but one thing I have been working on is finding online databases for our school Library. I have found several really useful things, especially in the areas of History and Geography. You can check out the links at the Library section of the HVL Web site.

I decided I preferred this picture to my own. The class I was advisor to a few years ago decided I was superman.

I am 37 years old, married and have 5 children. I love using technology to teach, and entertain myself. I am also interested in gardening, and am the chairman of our church landscaping committee.

Having taught in Watertown for 15 years, I am sheltered, and use conferences like this to expose myself to new things!!

Have fun guys...and Gail

Free is great. The WELS way. Any ideas for using this collaborative tool, besides doing homework?

DREW

This Blogging is great!!

Sure beats the united streaming...why can't I get into that. But this blogging is cool!!