Life and AS

I have AS which stands for Ankloysing Spodylitits. It is a disease that attacks your spine and immune system. I have had it for close to 25 years or at least I think I've had that long. Officially I've had it for 2 and 1/2 years. That was when my rhuemy said I had it after doing test. Some part of my body is always hurting, it might be my hips, my back, or even my feet. The biggest part of having AS is the fatigue. I stay tired all the time, and this time of the year the fatigue almost wipes me out. Teaching and being on my feet all week is just killer. I start the year out pretty refreshed, but then time takes its toll. I've only have four weeks off school left and they are the hardest. I barely make it through the week and then try and rest up for the up coming week.

Green Engineering

Well I've started attending another summer workshop this week, it's the green engineering workshop at Texas Tech. This looks like its going to be another fun workshop. Today we played around with our GPS. We took a few readings around the campus and then went to the Canyon Lakes and took a few more. We've played around with Google Earth and its real neat to put our readings in form the GPS and then see them come up on Google Earth. I can't wait for tomorrow and see what else there is to learn. Google Earth is a really cool tool to teach with. It gives you a new perspective in how you view where you live or any other place you might choose to look at. Until tomorrow....

America the Greatest Country in the World

As we approach the 4th of July the day we celebrate our nation's independence, we all need to take time to remember the freedoms that we all enjoy. To remember those who have sacrificed their lives to ensure that freedom. Is our nation perfect? No, but is any. During the workshop I attended last week we watched a video from YouTube call "Shift Happens". In the video it shows how technology is growing by leaps and bounds. The part of the video that blew me away as a teacher is that we are preparing students for jobs or fields that don't even exist yet. I probably should run and hide, but it's a challenge that I take head on. From all of the training, that I've received so far in life. Whether it was from the Army, my dad and granddad, college have all prepared me to tackle it. As school teachers, we all have the pleasure of getting students ready to face this challenge. We've all had students that we know will one day change the world. I hope that one day they will remember the teachers who influenced them just like I do. From elementary to college, I have had teacher who have had more of an impact on me than they might know. Life is short and it's no fun sitting on the sidelines. I would rather be shaping the future of the world than sitting around complaining about how I feel left out. Here is the video I mentioned.

My video from the workshop

Ok Doug, against by better judgement I decided to put the video about the rock cycle on YouTube. I really did enjoy the workshop and everyone that I met there. Just like in the ShiftHappens video we watch our world is changing and it's hard to imagine what this world will look like in 20 years. I remember my senior year of high school in 1983 and the fact that the school had decided to offer a computer class. We had four computers that used five in discs. The iPod is something that can be used in class and not just for music. Thanks again and here is the video from YouTube.

Finished up the workshop

Well we finished up the workshop this afternoon, and I have to say that I've really enjoyed the workshop. I look forward to using all that I've learned in my class. Both Doug and Rob were excellent instructors who were patient in dealing and teaching most of us. I look forward to keeping up with the blogs of the other workshop participants.

New Challenges

Our assignment today is address challenges that we are encountering today that are different from what we encountered on the first day of the workshop. To me the challenges are finding new ways to convert some of the things that we are creating so that they can be used on our iPod, but the good thing is that if you search the Internet they are there to be found. Yesterday, I needed a way to convert a power point over to where it could be loaded on my iPod. After searching with help from one of the instructors I was able to find what was needed. I do feel more comfortable in using the technology and I'm looking forward to using it in the classroom.

Final project

Well it's Wednesday night and I'm working on my final project of the workshop. For our final project, we are to take all that we have learned and make an actual lesson that our students can use. I'm creating a lesson about the rock cycle. In class I created a power point to use in introducing the rock cycle, and now at home I am making a movie show how to use chocolate chips to make the three types of rocks. I'm almost through with it and tomorrow I will edit the movie and finish up my lesson plan. This has been a really fun workshop and I'm really exited about using it in the upcoming school year.