Wow! I can't believe today is the last day of class. It's kinda like raising kids, Everything seems to be going so slowly and you think the milestones are never coming, then one day, BAM, your kids are grown and gone. And you are sitting at home trying to figure out how to create this darned Powerpoint presentation! But even that has come to an end, now.
I really did enjoy creating this presentation. I wish I had gotten started on in sooner, but I can't change that. Hopefully I will learn from my mistakes and keep on moving, and changing, and growing. That being said, check out What's In Your Toolbox?
http://www.slideshare.net/jodonna1/whats-in-your-toolbox-freeman-design-602
Friday, August 7, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
Keeping Current in the Chrysalis
Wow! My head is spinning thinking about how much I have learned this summer! And thinking about how much more I have to learn! Who knew?
I was pretty excited to see that the AASL has lists of Best Websites and Apps. Because, let's face it, we won't be able to access Blackboard. So glad I have been bookmarking things along the way. I wish I had thought of using Symbaloo earlier! Now I need to go back and save those bookmarks in the class mixes that I created.
In looking around the websites on the 2015 list, I really liked Pear Deck https://www.peardeck.com/
for getting students engaged. I went to a workshop last summer at the Math Science Innovation Center here in Richmond, and the presenter used something similar to Pear Deck. I really like that Pear Deck is easy to set up and easy to use. There are a variety of devices that can be used for students to respond during live sessions: computers, tablets, even smartphones. There are lots of ways students can respond to questions from selecting the correct answer (multiple choice) to open ended (short answer). Then student answers can be shared anonymously for discussion, of course, the teacher is privy to how students answered. It also allows for quick "check for understanding" time, where students can share how they are feeling about their learning. Pear Deck has a free version that doesn't offer everything that the pay version offers, but I think it would be a good place to start. I think this site could be used in any classroom or library for pretty much any subject area, with any grade level. Since the teacher is creating the decks, it will be very specific to that class/grade. This would be a great tool to use in the spring when kids are starting to check out but there is still lots of review to be done before the end of the year.
I loved Bookopolis https://www.bookopolis.com/#/ and plan to use it in the upcoming school year with my second graders. Bookopolis is the GoodReads for kids. It's a great social networking site where kids can keep track of books they have read (reading log) and books they would like to read. They can write book reviews, which is great for recommending books to their friends, and for practicing that opinion or persuasive writing. They also can fill out book report forms, which allow the teacher to check for comprehension. There is a way for teachers to make recommendations to students and to monitor student work/progress. Best of all it is free! I think it would be a great tool for the classroom teacher and the librarian to know what kids are reading and what they are interested in reading. It could help with building classroom libraries or increasing circulation in the library.
What Was There http://www.whatwasthere.com/ is a cool resource that connects old photographs to the actual real places using Google Maps. In first grade, I wanted to show my students old pictures of Richmond to go along with our study of past, present, and future. This site would make that so easy. In addition, if you have old photos, those can be uploaded. For some of the pictures, it will actually show you a Google Map street view of the location now. It was very interesting to look at some places around Richmond that have historical significance and see a primary source document, photo, and see a photo of that same place today. What a great tool for compare and contrast, as well, as for the history aspect. I think students would get a kick out of seeing sites from their community as well as using this for research. It does tell you the source of the photo, if you needed further information.
I have decided to follow Shannon Miller's blog, The Library Voice.
http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/ I really enjoyed looking around on her blog. I loved her post about the new Drew Daywalt book that was just released, The Day the Crayons Came Home. She shared some fun activities that elementary students would like to do to connect with that text. (And it is the sequel to the book that I did my Literature Connections Unit for Children's Lit class this sememster!). Also, of the suggested bloggers, she seemed to be the only elementary person. I know that some of the other bloggers had things that could be used at any grade level and I bookmarked three of them in my Symbaloo Mix for this class. Additionally, I just learned that Shannon Miller will be one of the keynote speakers at this fall's VAASL conference in Williamsburg, so that is exciting.
I was pretty excited to see that the AASL has lists of Best Websites and Apps. Because, let's face it, we won't be able to access Blackboard. So glad I have been bookmarking things along the way. I wish I had thought of using Symbaloo earlier! Now I need to go back and save those bookmarks in the class mixes that I created.
In looking around the websites on the 2015 list, I really liked Pear Deck https://www.peardeck.com/
for getting students engaged. I went to a workshop last summer at the Math Science Innovation Center here in Richmond, and the presenter used something similar to Pear Deck. I really like that Pear Deck is easy to set up and easy to use. There are a variety of devices that can be used for students to respond during live sessions: computers, tablets, even smartphones. There are lots of ways students can respond to questions from selecting the correct answer (multiple choice) to open ended (short answer). Then student answers can be shared anonymously for discussion, of course, the teacher is privy to how students answered. It also allows for quick "check for understanding" time, where students can share how they are feeling about their learning. Pear Deck has a free version that doesn't offer everything that the pay version offers, but I think it would be a good place to start. I think this site could be used in any classroom or library for pretty much any subject area, with any grade level. Since the teacher is creating the decks, it will be very specific to that class/grade. This would be a great tool to use in the spring when kids are starting to check out but there is still lots of review to be done before the end of the year.
I loved Bookopolis https://www.bookopolis.com/#/ and plan to use it in the upcoming school year with my second graders. Bookopolis is the GoodReads for kids. It's a great social networking site where kids can keep track of books they have read (reading log) and books they would like to read. They can write book reviews, which is great for recommending books to their friends, and for practicing that opinion or persuasive writing. They also can fill out book report forms, which allow the teacher to check for comprehension. There is a way for teachers to make recommendations to students and to monitor student work/progress. Best of all it is free! I think it would be a great tool for the classroom teacher and the librarian to know what kids are reading and what they are interested in reading. It could help with building classroom libraries or increasing circulation in the library.
What Was There http://www.whatwasthere.com/ is a cool resource that connects old photographs to the actual real places using Google Maps. In first grade, I wanted to show my students old pictures of Richmond to go along with our study of past, present, and future. This site would make that so easy. In addition, if you have old photos, those can be uploaded. For some of the pictures, it will actually show you a Google Map street view of the location now. It was very interesting to look at some places around Richmond that have historical significance and see a primary source document, photo, and see a photo of that same place today. What a great tool for compare and contrast, as well, as for the history aspect. I think students would get a kick out of seeing sites from their community as well as using this for research. It does tell you the source of the photo, if you needed further information.
I have decided to follow Shannon Miller's blog, The Library Voice.
http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/ I really enjoyed looking around on her blog. I loved her post about the new Drew Daywalt book that was just released, The Day the Crayons Came Home. She shared some fun activities that elementary students would like to do to connect with that text. (And it is the sequel to the book that I did my Literature Connections Unit for Children's Lit class this sememster!). Also, of the suggested bloggers, she seemed to be the only elementary person. I know that some of the other bloggers had things that could be used at any grade level and I bookmarked three of them in my Symbaloo Mix for this class. Additionally, I just learned that Shannon Miller will be one of the keynote speakers at this fall's VAASL conference in Williamsburg, so that is exciting.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Digital Presentations...
Digital Presentations...
Honestly, my experience with digital presentations is so limited. I was introduced to Prezi by a student teacher year before last, yes, I know that's kind of sad. I have never actually used Prezi, but at least I am familiar with it. I do like that they have a free membership for teachers, albeit limited.
I really liked Slidely. I think it looks really cool and easy to use. Easy for me, easy for kids! I also like that there are apps for phones and tablets so students would be able to access from home to create own presentations versus the tired old poster board! Being able to add music makes it very appealing to me as well. I think the video aspect of Slidely could be used in place of the costly Animoto, as both are easy, just drop in photos.
I would like to explore Blendspace with my team this year. I think it would be a useful tool to create units of study and be able to share with each other, as well as with parents. There would be no excuses that they didn't know what to do or what was going on in class!
Given that we have such a visual population that we are teaching, I love Thinglink. I had been previously introduced to this site during social studies training. It was suggested that we use pictures and maps and link content knowledge, vocabulary and even quiz questions to the photos. I like the way the site demos linking YouTube videos. I look forward to more exploration of this site in the near future.
Honestly, my experience with digital presentations is so limited. I was introduced to Prezi by a student teacher year before last, yes, I know that's kind of sad. I have never actually used Prezi, but at least I am familiar with it. I do like that they have a free membership for teachers, albeit limited.
I really liked Slidely. I think it looks really cool and easy to use. Easy for me, easy for kids! I also like that there are apps for phones and tablets so students would be able to access from home to create own presentations versus the tired old poster board! Being able to add music makes it very appealing to me as well. I think the video aspect of Slidely could be used in place of the costly Animoto, as both are easy, just drop in photos.
I would like to explore Blendspace with my team this year. I think it would be a useful tool to create units of study and be able to share with each other, as well as with parents. There would be no excuses that they didn't know what to do or what was going on in class!
Given that we have such a visual population that we are teaching, I love Thinglink. I had been previously introduced to this site during social studies training. It was suggested that we use pictures and maps and link content knowledge, vocabulary and even quiz questions to the photos. I like the way the site demos linking YouTube videos. I look forward to more exploration of this site in the near future.
Monday, July 6, 2015
What are AR and QR, really?
Okay, I'll admit, I was pretty familiar with QR codes. I have used them some in my classroom and have even created a scavenger hunt for our faculty last year using them. But AR, it's not Accelerated Reader anymore!
I was playing around with some of the links in some of the articles in this week's sandbox. I created this little beauty, which will take you to my website.
Here is another handy one that links to your Google or Android Calendar. Would be great to add to newsletters for important dates you don't want parents to forget.
AR is not just Accelerated Reader anymore
So I had a little fun playing around with Aurasma. I created a funny little ninja that popped out of my iced tea glass. I know it's not very librarian of me, but it's been a long day and it made me laugh. I look forward to messing around with it a little more in the morning, after a good night's sleep. Here's hoping there are no ninjas in my dreams.
I was playing around with some of the links in some of the articles in this week's sandbox. I created this little beauty, which will take you to my website.
Here is another handy one that links to your Google or Android Calendar. Would be great to add to newsletters for important dates you don't want parents to forget.
AR is not just Accelerated Reader anymore
So I had a little fun playing around with Aurasma. I created a funny little ninja that popped out of my iced tea glass. I know it's not very librarian of me, but it's been a long day and it made me laugh. I look forward to messing around with it a little more in the morning, after a good night's sleep. Here's hoping there are no ninjas in my dreams.
Grab the Popcorn! It's Movie Time!
I had a great time playing around with the video tools. Knowing how to use these will be a great asset, as kids are much more engaged by video than any other medium.
Powtoon was really cool. I could see students enjoying creating their own videos. I made my own video (just tweaked one of theirs) for an introduction that I may use next school year. I realize it needs more work, but it was fun to play around with.
https://www.powtoon.com/show/fl7OflOFlGE/ms-freemans-introduction/#/
Animoto is a tool that I have used in the past. It's too bad they no longer have a free version for educators. It's so easy to use and students and parents love it. It is a great way to culminate a field trip, unit of study, or end of the year. Here's a little video I made of my kiddoes from last year. Even though school is out, I have sent this link to my parents so they can view and show their students.
https://animoto.com/play/rqXqwGVnYTrrHs3UM2FyKg
Sock Puppets is a great app. Last year I had 4 iPads in my classroom. The kids loved using this app to create their own "puppet shows" using the sock puppets and their voices. We used them to retell stories, explain content vocabulary terms, and to read original writing. The app is very easy to use and kid friendly.
Powtoon was really cool. I could see students enjoying creating their own videos. I made my own video (just tweaked one of theirs) for an introduction that I may use next school year. I realize it needs more work, but it was fun to play around with.
https://www.powtoon.com/show/fl7OflOFlGE/ms-freemans-introduction/#/
Animoto is a tool that I have used in the past. It's too bad they no longer have a free version for educators. It's so easy to use and students and parents love it. It is a great way to culminate a field trip, unit of study, or end of the year. Here's a little video I made of my kiddoes from last year. Even though school is out, I have sent this link to my parents so they can view and show their students.
https://animoto.com/play/rqXqwGVnYTrrHs3UM2FyKg
Sock Puppets is a great app. Last year I had 4 iPads in my classroom. The kids loved using this app to create their own "puppet shows" using the sock puppets and their voices. We used them to retell stories, explain content vocabulary terms, and to read original writing. The app is very easy to use and kid friendly.
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
The Wonderful World of Websites
I am a little late with this post. Between my "Website ADD" - you know, when you start looking at one thing and follow all sorts of links down the rabbit hole, until you realize 45 minutes later what you were supposed to be looking at/for is not actually what you are currently seeing on your screen? Between THAT and trying to get things ready for my son to come home on leave from the Army (it's been 6 months!), I lost track of time.
I did enjoy looking at some great websites. I did check out some for middle and high schools, but felt the pull back to elementary. Here are a few of my favorites:
http://elementarylibrarian.weebly.com/ I really liked how things were organized on this site. There were some great things for kids and parents. The authors' links were a neat idea, yes I bookmarked it. I am not sure what the "Morning Calm Award" really means, but obviously kids are voting on books. I think this would be a good way to get involvement and traffic on your website. If you haven't checked out this website, or if you did but didn't watch the video at the bottom of the homepage, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, I highly recommend. This was my favorite "rabbit hole" of the week!
http://neslibrary.weebly.com/ This website it very attractive and inviting. I thought the links were easy for kids to use and follow. I really like the Shelfari widget and would be interested in using this on my webpage. I especially liked the link for class projects. I think this would be a great buy-in for classroom and resource teachers. Plus, it could really help parents find appropriate materials when helping kids with project or homework.
http://lowelibrary.weebly.com/whats-new.html My favorite of the sites I visited. I liked the homepage a lot. I thought the graphics along with the information were presented in a clear uncluttered way. I like the slideshow of kids and teachers in the library. I wish the librarian had used her own voice on Voki, instead of the robotic voice. All of the links showing ways to find books is very helpful to the students, teachers and parents. I loved lots of ideas from this website. The Dr. Seuss Cafe (borrowing that one in the future), book fair tie-ins with grandparents, Genre Wizard (probably borrowing that one, too), connections for teachers by grade level, and there was even a tab for the librarian. I think this website must be very useful for the community it serves.
Now, on to work on my own...
I did enjoy looking at some great websites. I did check out some for middle and high schools, but felt the pull back to elementary. Here are a few of my favorites:
http://elementarylibrarian.weebly.com/ I really liked how things were organized on this site. There were some great things for kids and parents. The authors' links were a neat idea, yes I bookmarked it. I am not sure what the "Morning Calm Award" really means, but obviously kids are voting on books. I think this would be a good way to get involvement and traffic on your website. If you haven't checked out this website, or if you did but didn't watch the video at the bottom of the homepage, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, I highly recommend. This was my favorite "rabbit hole" of the week!
http://neslibrary.weebly.com/ This website it very attractive and inviting. I thought the links were easy for kids to use and follow. I really like the Shelfari widget and would be interested in using this on my webpage. I especially liked the link for class projects. I think this would be a great buy-in for classroom and resource teachers. Plus, it could really help parents find appropriate materials when helping kids with project or homework.
http://lowelibrary.weebly.com/whats-new.html My favorite of the sites I visited. I liked the homepage a lot. I thought the graphics along with the information were presented in a clear uncluttered way. I like the slideshow of kids and teachers in the library. I wish the librarian had used her own voice on Voki, instead of the robotic voice. All of the links showing ways to find books is very helpful to the students, teachers and parents. I loved lots of ideas from this website. The Dr. Seuss Cafe (borrowing that one in the future), book fair tie-ins with grandparents, Genre Wizard (probably borrowing that one, too), connections for teachers by grade level, and there was even a tab for the librarian. I think this website must be very useful for the community it serves.
Now, on to work on my own...
Monday, June 15, 2015
Podcasts and Vodcasts - a lot to chew on...
I really enjoyed sampling some of the podcasts and vodcasts that were available. One of my favorites was about Giant Pandas on untamedscience.com It's amazing how the panda is so appealing and well-loved by so many people, and yet it is on the verge of extinction. I found this vodcast to be very informative and I think my first graders last year would have liked seeing it, even though some of the information would have been a little over their heads.
http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/giant-panda/
I was also pleased to find on their site that in addition to their blog and podcasts, they have video links to youtube. I found a fun little video about matter and one about the water cycle, which I will be teaching next year, in second grade.
I think using podcasts or vodcasts in the classroom would be a great idea. With the access to the internet at our fingertips with smartphones and tablets, and knowing that our kids are natives to this type of technology, it's kinda dumb not to use these tools! I love the idea of recording and posting some of those "back-to-school" things: supply lists, classroom rules, homework expectations, etc.
It could be something that parents and students have access to 24-7. I really want to try this at the beginning of the next school year.
I bookmarked most of the sites, so that I will remember how to get back there when needed later.
http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/giant-panda/
I was also pleased to find on their site that in addition to their blog and podcasts, they have video links to youtube. I found a fun little video about matter and one about the water cycle, which I will be teaching next year, in second grade.
I think using podcasts or vodcasts in the classroom would be a great idea. With the access to the internet at our fingertips with smartphones and tablets, and knowing that our kids are natives to this type of technology, it's kinda dumb not to use these tools! I love the idea of recording and posting some of those "back-to-school" things: supply lists, classroom rules, homework expectations, etc.
It could be something that parents and students have access to 24-7. I really want to try this at the beginning of the next school year.
I bookmarked most of the sites, so that I will remember how to get back there when needed later.
And on Saturday the caterpillar wanted some coffee...
So Saturday came, and I realized there was no creamer in the house, to go with that coffee. And even though I was not crazy about getting out of my pjs, I knew my desire for coffee was greater than my desire to stay "undressed", as it were. So Boaz, my dog, and I headed out to the 7-11. This dog loves riding in the car and will not give up a chance to go anywhere, even the 7-11. We took a selfie in the car, which I later decided would be fun to "Blabberize".
I have used Blabberize in the classroom with a bald eagle (Patriotic symbols) project last year. The students made bald eagle paper bag puppets, which we photographed, and added their voices to tell a few facts about bald eagles. It was a huge hit!
I messed around with Audio Pal and thought it was very easy to use. It might come in handy when communicating with parents, teachers, or older students. I think the younger kids would prefer Blabberize or Voki.
I had been introduced to Voki during a staff dev session, but had never really tried it. Here's one problem I can see with using it with kids. There are too many choices. It took me 25 minutes to decide on my avatar and background. I can only imagine how long the kids would take!
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11544195&height=267&width=200
I have used Blabberize in the classroom with a bald eagle (Patriotic symbols) project last year. The students made bald eagle paper bag puppets, which we photographed, and added their voices to tell a few facts about bald eagles. It was a huge hit!
I messed around with Audio Pal and thought it was very easy to use. It might come in handy when communicating with parents, teachers, or older students. I think the younger kids would prefer Blabberize or Voki.
I had been introduced to Voki during a staff dev session, but had never really tried it. Here's one problem I can see with using it with kids. There are too many choices. It took me 25 minutes to decide on my avatar and background. I can only imagine how long the kids would take!
http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=11544195&height=267&width=200
Saturday, June 6, 2015
The Very Hungry Kids
This week's assignment, to create an infographic was challenging from the beginning. Butterflies might know all about them, but this caterpillar was lost in the weeds, at first. I had no idea where to even begin. Before I could start, I needed a topic. So while I was procrastinating, I checked my email. I had an email from www.nokidhungry.org and just like that, I had an idea. Hungry kids and the poor quality of school lunches are two things that get me going. There is no reason why kids are hungry in America. There is no good reason we are feeding our kids the crap that we pass off as a "nutritious" school lunch. I work in a school where most of the kids are eligible for free or reduced lunch/breakfast.
I used Canva to create my infographic. Some of the things I found challenging with canva.com were that I had a lot of trouble (spent a lot of time) resizing things. Everything from text boxes to images, to graphics. It just seemed very time consuming, which could be attributed to the fact that it was my first time using the program. Another challenge was that while I wanted to use their graphs, I could not figure out how to adjust them to the percentages that I needed to represent my data. I hope they have a way to do that, I just didn't figure it out. The HELP menu wasn't very HELPful when it came to that problem.
One thing that was super easy was dragging in my own photos from the web/my desktop. I would definitely explain that to kids, because the free graphics or pictures don't always match with what you want to show. Why pay even a dollar when there are tons of free photos to choose from on the web.
I used Canva to create my infographic. Some of the things I found challenging with canva.com were that I had a lot of trouble (spent a lot of time) resizing things. Everything from text boxes to images, to graphics. It just seemed very time consuming, which could be attributed to the fact that it was my first time using the program. Another challenge was that while I wanted to use their graphs, I could not figure out how to adjust them to the percentages that I needed to represent my data. I hope they have a way to do that, I just didn't figure it out. The HELP menu wasn't very HELPful when it came to that problem.
One thing that was super easy was dragging in my own photos from the web/my desktop. I would definitely explain that to kids, because the free graphics or pictures don't always match with what you want to show. Why pay even a dollar when there are tons of free photos to choose from on the web.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Caterpillar in the Sandbox
I have had such fun playing with all of the websites in this week's module! I am already looking forward to next school year (did I just say that!?!).
In addition to using the ideas I shared in my previous blog post, I am really excited about using Picmonkey along with introducing graphic novels to my high readers. I got so excited watching one of the tutorials, that I called our school librarian to tell her all about it! She just won a grant to purchase tons of graphic novels for our school. I could totally see some of the older kids creating their own graphic novels using the Comic Heroes theme and their own photos. They could be the hero of their own book! That would be so awesome!
I really loved the Foldbooks on Foldplay's website. The kids could retell stories and make their own little foldable book. I could be used for fiction, especially my Fairy Tales unit. I could also see them writing their own little non-fiction books about pretty much anything we are doing in science or social studies. In math, they could start off with a story problem, and on each page do one step of the problem until the problem is solved at the end of the book.
In the past, I have had students draw WANTED posters for villainous characters in stories we have read. I was so excited to see Wanted Posters as one of the options on tuxpi.com. I know the kids would love to make these with information about the character and their favorite part is always the reward!
I am sure there will be many other great applications for things in the websites that were listed. I can't wait to do even more exploration!
In addition to using the ideas I shared in my previous blog post, I am really excited about using Picmonkey along with introducing graphic novels to my high readers. I got so excited watching one of the tutorials, that I called our school librarian to tell her all about it! She just won a grant to purchase tons of graphic novels for our school. I could totally see some of the older kids creating their own graphic novels using the Comic Heroes theme and their own photos. They could be the hero of their own book! That would be so awesome!
I really loved the Foldbooks on Foldplay's website. The kids could retell stories and make their own little foldable book. I could be used for fiction, especially my Fairy Tales unit. I could also see them writing their own little non-fiction books about pretty much anything we are doing in science or social studies. In math, they could start off with a story problem, and on each page do one step of the problem until the problem is solved at the end of the book.
In the past, I have had students draw WANTED posters for villainous characters in stories we have read. I was so excited to see Wanted Posters as one of the options on tuxpi.com. I know the kids would love to make these with information about the character and their favorite part is always the reward!
I am sure there will be many other great applications for things in the websites that were listed. I can't wait to do even more exploration!
Inching Along
...through the sandbox this week. Sending me to these sites to "play" is not really good for me. POOF! There goes 2 hours! (and yes, I am bookmarking them ALL so I can go back a play one day when I have even more time to waste!)
Here's one of my creations. I used Big Huge Labs to create a motivational poster of some flowers that my current school librarian (and friend) gave me when she found out that I had joined this cohort. They were so colorful and happy little daisies.
Here's one of my creations. I used Big Huge Labs to create a motivational poster of some flowers that my current school librarian (and friend) gave me when she found out that I had joined this cohort. They were so colorful and happy little daisies.
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| Freeman, D. (2015). Beauty [photo poster]. http://bighugelabs.com/. CC BY-NC |
Finding Larvae
After reading and watching Dr. Kimmel's video, I decided to find a picture of a caterpillar. Since I feel like I just wandered out of my egg (and have little to no idea what I am doing) and I woke up particularly hungry this morning...
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| Hectonichus (2009). Danaus plexippus Caterpillar [photo]. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nymphalidae_-_Danaus_plexippus_Caterpillar.JPG. CC SA |
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| Tael (2009). Une chenille noire [photo]. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caterpillar_black2.jpg. CC SA |
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Text and Fonts, who knew?
Hello, my name is Donna, and I am a "font-aholic". I love fonts. All kinds of fonts. The funkier, the better. On the Mac I had for school, I had downloaded over a hundred of fun and useful fonts. Last summer, our Macs were ripped away and we were handed new Dells. One of my least favorite things about the new Dell, is that we are not allowed to download any fonts. This was heartbreaking to me. My son bought me a new HP laptop for Christmas and I am back in the downloading business! I just can't use them for school, which is a bummer.
Until I read chapter 2, I had no idea that choosing type was such a "science". I usually just choose what I like. I take into consideration what I am trying to convey and who my audience will be, and possibly, how I am feeling at the time.
When creating this blog, prior to reading chapter 2, I chose the background theme because I liked it. It looks whimsical, and it's very seasonal - for the season of the year as well as this season of my life. I chose the complimentary colors of blues, greens, browns and whites because they are easily read in the context of the chosen theme. My type or font choices were purely personal. I tried different ones and stuck with the ones that I liked the most and thought looked the best. I chose Trebuchet for my text and posts. I like the roundness of the letters. I chose the more traditional Georgia for the date. I guess that was the most formal part of my blog at the time. My title is done with Coming Soon. I like the childlike whimsy of it and thought it looked appropriate with the dandelion on the banner.
I knew this class would be challenging for me, but I was pretty sure I would be okay with the chapter about fonts. After all, I am a "font-aholic". Who knew there was so much to know?
Until I read chapter 2, I had no idea that choosing type was such a "science". I usually just choose what I like. I take into consideration what I am trying to convey and who my audience will be, and possibly, how I am feeling at the time.
When creating this blog, prior to reading chapter 2, I chose the background theme because I liked it. It looks whimsical, and it's very seasonal - for the season of the year as well as this season of my life. I chose the complimentary colors of blues, greens, browns and whites because they are easily read in the context of the chosen theme. My type or font choices were purely personal. I tried different ones and stuck with the ones that I liked the most and thought looked the best. I chose Trebuchet for my text and posts. I like the roundness of the letters. I chose the more traditional Georgia for the date. I guess that was the most formal part of my blog at the time. My title is done with Coming Soon. I like the childlike whimsy of it and thought it looked appropriate with the dandelion on the banner.
I knew this class would be challenging for me, but I was pretty sure I would be okay with the chapter about fonts. After all, I am a "font-aholic". Who knew there was so much to know?
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
AnswerGarden: How do you feel when people are mean to you?...
AnswerGarden: How do you feel when people are mean to you?...: AnswerGarden: How do you feel when people are mean to you?...
Monday, May 18, 2015
Playing around with Tagxedo
My kids love to used Tagxedo to create word pictures. We use it when we do animal research. They have a blast creating a shape picture to tell about what they have been learning.
I took text from the first few pages of my favorite book from childhood The Story of Ferdinand to create this shape of a "cork" tree.
The Journey Begins
Today is day one of a year long (a little bit more) journey to transform myself from a classroom teacher of 26 years, into a school librarian.
Just about one year ago, my son informed me that he was joining the Army. Which was an answer to a prayer, just not the answer I had planned. I had been praying that he would have some direction and purpose in life. He was, after all, 20 years old. I was thinking it would be nice for God to answer this prayer with Tim getting a full time job, or to start taking classes at the local community college, or some such convention. Three weeks after I began praying about this, he informed me that he was going to see a recruiter. Helloooo God, THIS was not what I had in mind. Fast forward to the end of the summer of 2014 and I am dropping my one and only son off at the recruiter's office so he can be shipped halfway across the country (no, he has never flown, thank you) to go to Army Basic Training in Oklahoma. So this single mom of one fresh Army recruit drives to school for the first day of teacher week, crying my eyes out.
Now here I am some nine and a half months later starting a library cohort, so that in just over a year, I too can be a school librarian. I felt the pull to make a change, I just wasn't sure what that was. A good friend of mine joined a cohort last spring/summer. Now she is almost finished and has accepted a job as a librarian for the next school year. After talking with her, much prayer and consideration, I find myself here, on the first day of school. Again!
This next year will go by, whether I am in school, or not. Whether I am making a change or not. But I am making a change, and I for one, am excited (and nervous). But excited nonetheless. If you try to reach me this next year and I am slow returning your emails, Facebook messages, texts, or phone calls it will be because I am in my chrysalis. Changing is hard work. Especially for an old caterpillar like me!
Just about one year ago, my son informed me that he was joining the Army. Which was an answer to a prayer, just not the answer I had planned. I had been praying that he would have some direction and purpose in life. He was, after all, 20 years old. I was thinking it would be nice for God to answer this prayer with Tim getting a full time job, or to start taking classes at the local community college, or some such convention. Three weeks after I began praying about this, he informed me that he was going to see a recruiter. Helloooo God, THIS was not what I had in mind. Fast forward to the end of the summer of 2014 and I am dropping my one and only son off at the recruiter's office so he can be shipped halfway across the country (no, he has never flown, thank you) to go to Army Basic Training in Oklahoma. So this single mom of one fresh Army recruit drives to school for the first day of teacher week, crying my eyes out.
Now here I am some nine and a half months later starting a library cohort, so that in just over a year, I too can be a school librarian. I felt the pull to make a change, I just wasn't sure what that was. A good friend of mine joined a cohort last spring/summer. Now she is almost finished and has accepted a job as a librarian for the next school year. After talking with her, much prayer and consideration, I find myself here, on the first day of school. Again!
This next year will go by, whether I am in school, or not. Whether I am making a change or not. But I am making a change, and I for one, am excited (and nervous). But excited nonetheless. If you try to reach me this next year and I am slow returning your emails, Facebook messages, texts, or phone calls it will be because I am in my chrysalis. Changing is hard work. Especially for an old caterpillar like me!
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