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Taking pictures. From my younger days, I have always loved Photography. I can remember taking a photography class in Community College years ago and I learned how to develop my own film. I’ve since forgotten the entire process, but I do love to take pictures whenever I can. There is such an overwhelming feeling of gratification to see in print a natural element of nature or that unique stolen moment that I was able to capture. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Deb’s Photograph’s
Check out the new edge being used to motivate shoppers!
I just saw this video on one of my favorite sites “The Rachael Ray Show”. It is about a very intelligent 24 month old little girl named Lilly. Please watch….
I cannot specifically state one particular reason for my Wawa addiction. Perhaps, it is the friendly people that wait on you, the fresh coffee brewing, the assortment of cappuccinos, or maybe just the fact that they are at almost every street corner, and happen to be right around the corner from me. Regardless, of the reason, they have my vote hands down. There is nothing more refreshing than a Wawa cup of coffee in the morning. My husband has spoiled me because every Saturday and Sunday morning I am awakened with a steaming hot fresh brewed cup of Wawa Java. Our weekend routine includes each of us taking turns to pick up coffee throughout the morning as we run our errands.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a Mr. Coffee maker, a tea pot, and even a 30 cup coffee maker. My cupboard even stores a package of those nice big 20 or 24 oz. coffee cups with a package of assorted flavored coffee’s which my son left for me after he had his coffee house at school. It’s just NOT wawa! The Best part of the whole Wawa addiction is the fact that it can be hereditary. My Father and my children are also Wawa addicts. I feel especially sorry for my son who goes to college in Pennsylvania, where I might add, there are no Wawa’s. Just Sheetz’s….The first stop he makes when he gets back into Jersey is at Wawa. The best part is that there is no special time for Wawa. You can Wawa in the morning or Wawa after midnight. The first time my son came home from school, we decided to stay up and chat. Of course we both needed some java for that. So here I was in my sweats and I wrapped up in a fuzzy pink robe and my son had on his sweats and wore these big fluffy Tiger slippers and we went to Wawa at about 2:00 a.m. The few people that shared our early morning visit probably thought we were crazy, but we just wanted our steaming hot cups of coffee. We stayed up for hours talking and catching up. It’s one of those memories a mom will never forget! I guess if the truth must be told, I just won’t settle for anything less than Wawa!
I think there is another important issue regarding technology in the classroom that should be addressed. Yesterday, while I was sitting in class listening to our Professor explain important aspects about our Signature project and what she expects, one of my peers reached into her purse and took out her cell phone. She proceeded to carry on a text conversation for the remainder of the period, which was about 15-20 minutes, I might add. Not only do I see this as being extremely disrespectful to the person who is speaking, but it is a distraction to others around her as well.
Public education is mandatory. Every child is entitled to a free public education in our country. If a teacher includes technology in instruction, but cannot get through lessons because students are continually accessing other information, this presents a problem. The teacher is forced to continually stop and reprimand students or send them to the office. Additionally, with each occurrence the teacher’s lesson plans will fall farther and farther behind. Unfortunately, it is in this perspective that I feel we are almost forced to limit technology in the classrooms depending on maturity level. I think there are very few younger students who are willing to utilize technology as a tool for learning instead of entertainment. All of the amazing technological advances have lead to today’s children expecting to be entertained, kept busy and to be the leading consumer for the newest gadget out there. This being said, I feel that administrations and school boards in elementary and secondary institutions are forced to limit their expenditures in technology for the simple fact that it can be a distraction and lead to additional unwanted situations. Additionally, funding can be used to supply other materials that are familiar and are part of the daily routine that students have become accustomed to. I feel this is why technology can be so accessible in college where individuals are now paying for their education and are now at the point where it is their responsibility to learn.
I found it interesting that in “information Ecologies” by Bonnie A. Nardi and Vicki L. O’Day, they stated “Even when tools remained fixed for a time, the craft of using tools with expertise and creativity continues to evolve. The social and technical aspects of an environment coevolve. People’s activities and tools adjust and are adjusted in relation to each other, always attempting and never quite achieving a perfect fit. This is part of the dynamic balance achieved in healthy ecologies-a balance found in motion, not stillness.”(page 53)
We have been discussing the many tools used throughout history to record written information as well as aspects of literacy. Each advance has taken from its predecessor and improved on that method. According to Nardi and O’Day this demonstrates balance in a healthy ecology. It is the idea of motion and not stillness.
However, there are people in our society who do not evolve with the new trend or movement. This can happen because of a person’s lower socioeconomic class, cultural or personal beliefs, or lack of education. We continually hear about culture diversity and the aspect it plays on our education, economics and certainly technology. It has been said that by the year 2100, 90% of the world’s languages will be extinct. These statistics made me think about some of the reason’s why society has been unsuccessful at preserving cultural heritage and diversity. In addition, I wondered why people would not want to technologically evolve and progress.
This passage made me think about my classroom ecology. As an Education major I am concerned with providing my children with the tools and instruction necessary to be successful. It is important to me that even those who may have different cultural backgrounds, educational needs or different socio-economic status have the chance to evolve and progress. Does anyone else share this concern?
The three writing spaces I use most frequently would include writing on paper, the computer, and constructing thoughts in my mind. Some characteristics of writing on paper are that it becomes a permanent record, it can be shared easily with others and you can mark it up, make changes and corrections in different colors, methods, or by highlighting. A unique point would be that you can physically hand a note, paper or book to someone.
Writing on the computer is quick, easy and you can also make changes or highlight. You can copy and paste, add graphics, sound and construct professional documents, spreadsheets, charts, tables, brochures, and so much more. A unique aspect of the computer is the endless possibility’s that a person is able to import and have at their fingertips when creating their work. The ability to use my mind as a writing space is probably what I primarily use. I have a bad habit of trying to remember everything and as absurd as it sounds, I often find myself involved in a mental dialogue about what to type next or how to word a sentence. I continually question the manner in which I am constructing my written work. In our last module with Professor Tweedie, I was amazed to realize after so many years, that because of the discipline I received in Catholic school when writing my papers, that I now place a tremendous amount of forethought into what I do. It is usually well prepared in my head before it even reaches the paper. In catholic school we were not allowed to cross out and make marks on our papers. A unique characteristic of this method is that it forced me to emphasize thinking before I write and to gather my thoughts or additional information I need. When writing on the computer or on paper, I will utilize my mental writing space first.
I think my response to the educational instruction I received is what caused my remediation of the process. When I was taught handwriting it was imperative that we form our letters correctly. Often times we were given short paragraphs to write and you were not allowed to make mistakes. When you did, you had to write a big X on the paper and the correction above it. In order to prevent turning in a paper that was marked up, I would spend time constructing what I was going to write in my mind and would make a sentence work or alter it just to avoid writing that “X”. I feel the computer has become a remediation in the sense that over time literacy in our society has moved from oral to written and now to visual. Computer literacy encompasses all three: oral, written and visual forms of communication.
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