iGoogle

iGoogle is simply the new name for the Google Personalized Homepage. If you have never looked at iGoogle, it is a lot of fun. I just set it as my home page. There are thousands of gadgets to pick from to add to your page. I chose things like sports news, quotes of the day, weather for my town, a clock, etc. Google says there are tens of millions of people who have already created their own personalized home page -- OK so I was a little slow to adopt this.

Try it out and let me know what you think.....

Fun Day with New Toys

I've been having a lot of fun today. I discovered two new educational "toys". You may call them tools but toys sounds like more fun.

I spent some time checking out http://voicethread.com/. (Thanks to Darren Kuropatwa) I created an account and then created my first Voice Thread! It was really easy and a lot of fun. In the matter of a few minutes I had uploaded photos, arranged them in order to show, recorded a narrative to go with each one, and created annotated notes on them. All I needed was an internet connection, an email address to set up the account, and a microphone. Then I set this file up to share with some other teachers at school. I wanted to show them how easy and fun this was. I am definitely going to use this with my students next semester!

The next place I went was http://www.slideshare.net/. This allows you to share any PowerPoint on the Internet. That might not seem so great but it also allows me to browse for other people's slideshow. In a matter of minutes I was able to find and see slideshows uploaded by other teachers. No more recreating the wheel!

I am sure if you looked for it you could find "bad stuff". However, one of my responsibilities as an educator is to teach my students how to sort out the good from the bad.

I'm excited about these new finds. Check them out. You might like what you see ........

Braves Sign Autographs for Cancer Research

OK, I'll admit that I was a little rough on Tom Glavine. So now, I'll give a good report. Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson are scheduled to make an appearance at Providence Christian Academy in Lilburn tomorrow night. They will be signing autographs from 4:00 - 6:00. Autographs cost $10 and all proceeds go to Children's Cancer Research. This is a part of what has become the Annual Carter Martin Classic at Providence. Carter was a second grade student at Providence when he died from cancer. This event is set up to coincide with a home basketball game and all the proceeds from the gate and the concession stand will also go to Children's Cancer Research. There is also a silent sports memorabilia auction on their campus that night.

Although it hasn't been publicized, rumor has it that Lilburn native, Jeff Francoer, may also be present for some autographs.

Directions to Providence Christian Academy can be found at http://www.providencechristian.net/Directions.aspx