Getting close/ Turkey Day....

Well, we are you know... getting close to turkey day... its actually a few hours away. I can't wait for that, but the getting close I was referring to is the end of the semester. So here I sit, pint in hand, getting ready to post what may be one of my last blogs of the class.

On the lesson plan... do I feel ready? yes and no. To be quite honest, it is close to last on my list. The power point and quiz are done... only thing left is to teach it. What is not done... my 10+ page research paper on cell fractionation and SDS-PAGE. What is not done is my synopsis of transcription factors and heterotrimeric G-protein receptors and how they react to heavy cocaine use. What is not done is my half hour presentation on educational psychology and how it pertains to GT programs in schools. . . what is not done is my christmas shopping.

The Class.. You know I have really enjoyed this class... I think that taking this class showed me that you don't have to feel violated every time you take a test to truly learn something. If all my classes were like this one, I don't think I would drink as much . . . (<----Total BS ) The one thing that sucks about the class is that it is a random sampling... I would say that half of the technologies are not really applicable to most K-12 classrooms. I really believe that only one or two of the technologies is going to be utilized in the k-4 grade levels. .. Instead of trying to get a taste of so many wonderful programs, I think it would be great to spend two weeks or so really looking at one program/technology and really delving into how it can be applied in the class. An example is Publisher. I had no idea what that program was. I have used it to make gift certificates for my sister's birthday, cards, and the brochure we did in class. I have every intention of printing that brochure for my class and actually using to gather parent info. If we did more projects like that, I think that I would enter the workforce with an arsenal of technology that I am familiar with.

Voicethread... voicewhat?

There is the site out there... voicethread.com... and on this site, you can have a conversation around media. Initial impression of this site/program... is its just an expansive facebook, where you can comment via phone, webcam, recording, as well as typing comments. In the demonstration, it shows a family commenting on a photo. It has the perspective of all the members of the family. I think its a really neat idea, but not necessarily a good one. The problem with integrating all this technology is first you have to teach someone how to use all this stuff. Its great for me on anyone born after 1990, but if you were born prior to that... well lets just say it come easier to some than it does to others. I know some baby-boomers that shutter at the thought of using the Internet, yet alone email. Online billpay, forget about it. Facebook... they would rather have a root canal. Point being is technology is only as good as your ability to use it. I can work that program no problems, but I have also grown up with computers in my everyday life. I have also taken classes in computer proficiency since I was in 4th grade. If you are teaching k-5 I see this being of little use. 6-12... I can see this program working as a homework assignment at best. If you are in any form of a distance learning, I can see the majority of you class being in this form. ( I recently learned of a prestigious private high school is run similar to a Montessori in that it is all self paced. At this high school, you attend school 3 days a week, with the rest of your supporting work taking place online, although I'm not sure via what media/method. )

Under the bus...

Everyone has been thrown under the bus... just right now, CK threw me under the bus... Who would want to read this and why would they want to read this, well that is beyond me. CK, I know that you read this because it is your job, but about half my blogs are not assignments... So to know that someone out there reads this 'for fun' well that is just flattering. Thank you. This totally made up for you disrespecting the stache... ;-)

On to a more serious note... the mustache..the tache...the soupstrainer... facial hair, above the upper lip. I read an article last week discussing the rise, boom, and fall of the mustache. The main thoughts from this article (by the Boston Globe) were basically that the mustache survived WWII (Hitler's infamous 'toothbrush' mustache) to boom into the seventies, and then to be defamed by cheesy eighties porno. The likes of Ron Jeremy ruined this unique way for a man to wear his testosterone on his face. My favorite part of this article is when the author went around to barber shops, inquiring about any mustached clientele. When prompted with the question, "why are there no more mustaches?" a Russian barber replies with his heavy accent, "because there are no more real men." Here in North East Texas, you look around and can see a considerable amount of lip whiskers. When compared to that Boston barber shop, 7/200 or so clients had mustaches. On a recent trip to the store, 4/10 men who were able to grow a stache, had one. And I'm talking about a true, bonafide mustache, not goatees, beards, etc... Upon further examination, I noticed that the men were either A) Cowboys... urban or rural, but all drive trucks... B) Mexican (Also in trucks)... What conclusions can we draw from our data? 1) That Texas has a greater percentage of real men then anywhere else in the Nation... 2) Although a pick-up is not necessary for a mustache, it is the vehicle of choice for those with mouth brows...

My prediction... it's coming back... This article is one of two I have read in the past month alone... about the stache... I have seen several A-list actors on the big screen, with mustaches that measure at least 3 feet across...with more to come.. George Clooney's movie is coming out and that salt and pepper mustache looks fantastic! As many of my friends heard via text.. the instant I saw it, There was a new Budweiser commercial.... first played during the world series i believe....with just some guys hanging out... one of which.. has a stache... (Now this commercial may have actually hurt the cause.. because this guy looks like douche... wearing a V-neck sweater with an undershirt... kinda chubby.. looks like Roy from the office... but with an adolescent stache...) Why they didn't get someone with a pair to wear it with pride, i don't know... I'm not in casting.. but either way, it was a nationally televised mustache during the ef-ing world series... Just you watch... me and ray called it, the mustache, whether you like it or not, is making a comeback. I predict that 2010 will be the year of the mustache.