Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Reflections- Day Three!

Today started off with a jolt... or lack therof. The starter in the car was malfunctioning. It sounded like grinding metal when the key was turned in the ignition. Apparently there is something wrong with the starter itself or the ignition switch in the console. Enough with the boring car issues! I made it!
I will have to look into Promethian Planet and brush up on the board itself but it will be done!
Once my exciting training day got rolling Gabe, Drew, Marian and I created a story involving George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and an English Cat Burglar. It was a very interesting fictional tale on Thomas Jefferson's (T.J.'s) entrepenurial skills and his obstacles caused by a cat burglar stealing his start-up funds from his ATM. The only clue left behind by this CATastrophic action was a handkerchief of a union jack. T.J. then wrote an op-ed enlisting the help on any who would undertake the task of getting his missing funds (and precious china tea set) back. George Washington, a seasoned private investigator accepted the mission; Washington and his "Tea Party" tamed the cat burglar and lay dormant his thievish ways... but for how long?
- We used PhotoStory to upload photos, add text, record vocals and import songs into "T.J. and the Cat."
It was interesting to juxtapose history and creativity. Even though the story itself was not historically accurate it was a good showcase of historical figures and how children can be excited to learn more about these key peoples.
After returning from a lunch break we were introduced to Stellarium, TuxMath, Sourceforge.net, OpenOffice, and open-source softwares in general. In addition we discussed the proper use of social sites such as Twitter and Facebook. My concern is how am I to introduce a site such as this to a teacher who is used to interacting with students face to face?

check this out! SkyGlobe! Like Stellarium. It's from an Astronomer with a very lage telescope who is usually parked in front of Cafe du Monde!
http://www.sidewalkastronomy.com/skyglobe.html#top

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