Day 2 of the Pre-Conference

I'm sitting here in Day 2. This session is on Podcasting, and I get a free mp3 player. I was pleasantly surprised to walk in and see Juice and Audacity on the laptops. That's what I've found to use so far. I tried to ask a lot of people what they were using for podcatching and recording, but in at least podcasting, Raleigh, NC is behind the times. People look at me blankly when I mention it. Gives me hope, as I can help bring podcasting to Nash-Rocky Mount and the surrounding areas.
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Dinned at BoneFish Grill last night. If you have one nearby--GO! I had mahi that was sooooo fresh and tender!
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Going over to GUilford Courthouse to run after this session. Looking forward to it. The best of both worlds!

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Sitting in the Pre-Conference

Ok. I made it to Greensboro for the NCECT Conference. I'm impressed with the conference center and hotel.

I'm sitting in my first pre-conference on Windows Movie Maker. Yes, I've made a movie already (the four star 'A Day in the Life of Lucy'), but I'm looking for some tips for classroom use, adding video to a webpage, etc. What has shocked me is the wealth of really good material out there for use. Sites like freeplaymusic.com and ibiblio.org (a site with free video clips) can really help students and teachers learn the process. It's nice to see some free resources, instead of hearing about copyright, copyright, copyright. I hope to see more of these sites!

Tomorrow I go to a podcasting workshop, where I'll get a free mp3 player. Thank goodness, mine is fairly limiting. I am actually listing to a podcast on blogging now. What a tech nerd I am.

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Gobble Gobble Goodness

Another Thanksgiving, come and gone. It was our first as a family, staying in Raleigh. I must say, while missing family, it was nice to stay here, relax, and enjoy each other. Put up the tree and lights yesterday, so it's been fun keeping Lucy away from it. Went for a run, took Lucy to the playground, and just caught up on some reading.
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Conference in Greensboro Monday
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Lucy's baptism on Sunday
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Just finished Stephen King's The Regulators. Interesting read. Especially after reading Desperation this summer and seeing the connection. Wonder what the experience is like reading Desperation first. Stephen King is really underrated. Reading mastery. Even if you don't like horror, the creative story lines are amazing. Especially how he connects these two stories. Well, him and Richard Bachman. (-;

Bad Boys Bad Boys...

Whatcha gonna do? I gonna fight it!
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Got a speeding ticket on my way to work this morning. Only about 4 miles from home. I'm actually going to try to fight this one. He wrote down it was raining (it wasn't), so I wouldn't have been able to stop so quickly at the upcoming red light if I was speeding. Also, he wrote I was going both 54 and 59 in a 45 zone. Is this a technicality I can get off with? Hope so! Let me know if any of you have any suggestions!

Canes do it again. Beat Ottawa 2-1. They have done twice what only one other team has done. Then the Ottawa media makes remarks that a 'good' team doesn't lose 9-0. That either makes Ottawa bad, or us good. Canadians.

Taking Lucy to the Raleigh City Christmas Parade Saturday. While there will be no Clay Aiken (haha), we're looking forward to it. I think it'll be cold. It has been warm, it was 74 about 30 minutes ago, then we had about 10 minutes worth of showers, now it's down to 57. Friday's high is 48, so brrrrrr....Winter is back!

Ladies and Gentlemen...Elvis Has Left the Building...

What is up with the Hurricanes? EIGHT game winning streak? Phew! I thought they *may* sneak into the playoffs, but I had no idea they would do what they're doing. Just read an NHL article re: their great start. I definitely agree--it is a good combination of players. Cannot wait to make another game, probably in December.
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Have off tomorrow for Veterans Day. Just in time too! The past two weeks have been insane. It has been non-stop at Williford. We've had people in from DPI, NC State, our IMPACT Visit in Wadesboro. What a stretch. Things will stay busy, but a little less so.
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Lucy B is as cute as always. She took another step on her own today. Then she was pushing her hippo and 'bonked' me on the head. Then she let go of the hippo and clapped, standing on her own. It is such an awesome feeling to see your daughter do that!!

The Truth Comes Out...

See...I'm losing my Yankee heritage! The results are in, I don't speak "Yankee-ese" as well as I used to. Click the link below to see what language you speak!

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Also--two candidates that are in favor of busing won in Wake County elections today. All I have to say is Thank God! I guess that's an ironic phrase, since the conservatives are against busing. It seems they would like to deny the progress the county made (and receives national attention for) and resort back to the good 'ole days of segregation. Makes you wonder if you'll find a white cape and hood in some of their closets. Anywho, that's not a nice thing to say, so I apologize. Scares me though, as I know the ultra-conservatives like Cynthia Watson (?name) of Assignments By Choice will be going full force from now until the next elections.

A Much Quicker Week

I just had to post about a slow week. Well, this one was anything but. I spent Monday at Williford preparing for this roller coaster ride of a week. Tuesday we presented at DPI. Part of the IMPACT Model states that teachers should collaboratively plan with specialists (Media Coordinators, Tech Facilitators-me, etc). So our IMPACT Advisor asked us to present to the area Technology Directors on the benefits of collaborative planning. I prepared a PowerPoint, even including some video of a teacher, and some handouts. The presentation went GREAT! The people were very receptive toward what we were discussing. Yes, we received a grant for 1.35 million to install this model, but we really tried to focus on the collaborative piece and ensure them it could be done without money.

On Wednesday I had QTL in Raleigh. It was interesting, as I was given a possible job offer for another county at the county level. The man actually saw our presentation at DPI the day before and emailed questions to me regarding the program. Not sure if I'll follow up on that or not.

Wednesday night I headed south to Wadesboro, NC for an IMPACT Meeting on Thursday. Went by the Rockingham/North Carolina Speedway and past Pinehurst Golf Club. Wadesboro was this cute little town in the foothills, about 50 miles due east of Charlotte. It was neat to meet all the other schools and hear what they've done with their portion of the grant. I even had met some at QTL and other places, so I'm being to network with others in technology.

Came home Friday to our NCSU evaluators. It was a busy day, as our Awards assembly was that day as well, but it all went smoothly. Now this week we collaboratively plan, have two DPI people coming Wednesday, and a Chamber of Commerce event Thursday. Thank goodness Friday is a holiday!!

Our little monkey is still flying around. She is getting so steady with her walking, usually only using one finger. She loves being out in our backyard. We were out there yesterday, just kicking a ball around, eating hay, the normal!