Well, what jumped out at me from the Romano book was where he talked about the guy saying there were pieces of true revolution for schools everywhere, they just needed to be put together. I can see that in hindsight as a previous teacher. The problem is WHO Is going to do the putting together? Everyone thinks someone else should do it. Or everyone else thinks someone else is going to do it. And the pieces keep laying around. It is a shame that so much money has been thrown into technology for schools and they are where they are with it. And I guess everyone is to blame. The Education System just doesn't want to change.

I loved the idea of fax buddies in the kindergarten classes! Isn't that cute. That is a fantastic idea to teach technology to the children; however, there are schools I have been in who would not allow using the fax machine. So, it's a good idea if you have cooperative administration. I have worked in several schools and I've never worked in one that the parents were interested in coming and seeing how their children were doing or coming and participating. They sent their children to work every day and that was it. Of course I've always worked in low socio-economic areas, too, where the students didn't have computers at home, but the idea of being able to conference over the internet and have other school to family connections with the computer are great ideas. You just have to land where everyone has a computer either at home or one they can access. I love the duck hatching project where the students are in touch with people at San Diego State! The computer can take children anywhere! With a lot of planning on the teacher's part the students can do anything, go anywhere, or see anything right there from their classrooms! Someone needs to put those parts together, huh?

What I'd Do with Publisher

I LOVE Publisher! I would love to use it to make all kinds of things, like cards, flyers and when I get to be a librarian, I would use it for all kinds of things for my students and my school. I can foresee needing a program like that for my job as a librarian. To me Publisher is very easy to learn and use. I've used it before and I usually use it from scratch instead of using the templates. I think it would be of great use to me in my job and to anyone!

I LOVE Microsoft Publisher! I LOVE being creative and using the capabilities Publisher offers you to create all of the different things it has! Cards, flyers, brochures, I've even used it to create business cards before! And calendars! Wow! I'm excited about using it and wish I were in a position to use it on a regular basis. Believe me, any time I need the skills this software offers I will certainly pull it out! Especially cards--they're so expensive! And you can now buy the right sized envelopes for them, so why not? I made something--a flyer--this morning to put in my portfolio and it was so fun! For awhile several years ago, I had my own business and I used it for everything and it was so cool! Even for a brochure describing my services! In the job I have now I might be able to use it every once in a while but when I become a librarian I will be able to use it all the time and I will!

Now using Word in those different ways, some of them I knew and some of them I didn't. I learned how to use the tracking last semester when I was taking my research class. It is really neat and is a great tool when you are working on a paper or book with more than one person or when you have someone proofreading for you. Using Word as a desktop publisher is very difficult. I have tried that and it isn't easy, but I will get something done.

The impact RSS and Del.icio.us had on me were minimal because I didn't understand them enough to use them. Like I've said before. The class is going at warp speed and I'm still at 70 mph. I don't know that I can make any changes to use information through these two things so as a result of these two things I don't really expect much to happen. I hate that, but I don't even hardly remember what we did, let alone how to use either one of them.

Well, I'm supposed to blog something for 2/6, but I'm not sure what to blog because the blog assignments on Dr. Wickersham's blog seem to be the same. Let's just put it this way...I don't know what I'm doing! I can't keep up with this class. Everthing seems to be going at warp speed and I'm only at 70 mph. So I will go to the next blog homework and take a hit on this one, 'cause thats the only thing I know to do.

I don't know about schools these days and I'm talking about colleges! This institution is having so much trouble with discipline it is unbelievable. I work in the library and we have a lot of trouble with discipline and plain rudeness. For every good patron there are 3 bad ones! People think the rules don't apply to them. Where does that come from? I'm really very curious that a person would have it in their mind that the rules apply to everyone else except them! Why them? High schools, middle schools and even some elementary schools have the same problems. How can teachers teach with discipline problems take up most of their time? I've been there so I know how it goes. The answer is: they can't. It's especially hard when administration won't do anything to help the teacher. But a college, of all places, isn't a place where I thought I'd hear the the words discipline problems being applied to the students of the institution. It blows my mind!

My pink background

Here's what I need. I need someone to sit down with me at this computer and show me the stuff I can do with this blog. And another thing. When I was first logging on I had to pick a "background" and stuff and when I go to my blog on the internet there it is but there is a sentence that says that there are no entries or something like that. I have to sign in and come here to write but nothing ever shows up on the pretty pink background. What is with that? I'm sure I did something wrong; I always do. I'm scared to play around in here because I'm afraid I'll do something I can't get back. Now I'm not saying someone else couldn't get it back, I'm just saying I couldn't get it back. I'm terrible with all this new-fangled stuff on the computer. Sometimes I wonder about myself. Here I am getting all worked up about getting the Article 1 commentary done and I find out it isn't due 'till Feb.13. I don't pay attention! I hate that about myself. I need to start working on it in earnest.