Day 21

September 30, 2017

This was our first follow-up day for GAETI 2017.
    We began by reporting how the knowledge we gained in GAETI has impacted our teaching. Sadly, several of us have had a reduction in available the technology / devices available to us and to our students. I am still adapting to the fact that my 8th graders are not required to have iPads. Since my classes have a mixture of grade levels, I can't require iPad activities unless I supply iPads to those who need them. I have brought my own iPad Mini  from home and I allow them to use my teacher iPad when necessary for Edpuzzle or Quizlet.
      When the year started, I was frustrated by lack of technology. My plans to use NearPod didn't work because too many students didn't have devices.  I didn't have a marker board for the first two weeks because the classroom was completely renovated the day before school started. I did manage to connect my teacher laptop to the digital projector. The first week I had to run an extension cord to power up the projector because the electric outlet was disabled during renovation.  I had to bring my own speakers from home so we could hear the learning songs, videos and pronunciation guidance for my Spanish and French classes.
    At the start of the year,  I posted a PicCollage assignment in Canvas. I had to postpone the due date for more than a month because there were too many complications. The activity was VERY simple - create a collage of 8 images (no words) that represent different likes and interests. The plan was to use these for presentations, 'Guess who' games, descriptions, etc. Now, at the end of the first grading period, I still have a student who hasn't completed this 'essential' assignment because of technology-related issues - no device, unable to access Canvas, no Internet, etc.  Of course, the motivated students managed to complete the activity by borrowing a device or asking me to help. The problem is that if I give a student a ZERO for a Canvas assignment - the parents of 8th graders could object by saying school policy doesn't require them to have iPads!  It took a period of 3 weeks to complete an Edpuzzle activity because of iPad problems. Several students had to skip the portion of the weekly test that dealt with the video activity. Needless to say, I depend less and less on assignments which require each individual to have technology. I believe this situation will improve as the year continues and I have more 'work-arounds' available.
    The morning activity was Grant Writing. We received a book about Grant Writing as a guidebook. I would love to write a grant for an interactive projector. There are quite a few requests for projectors and tablets so I know my request will have to be unique and well-marketed. Since I see a real need for this, I really plan to try for a grant!
    In the afternoon had a Coding workshop. I was curious to find out what 'Coding' really means. Now I see that it means to break a process into steps a computer can 'follow.' We also got a CODE curriculum guide. One idea I would like to use is breaking a dance into repeatable steps. I could using this idea with TPR movements in Spanish and French. In our small group activity, we wrote steps on how to play a dice-rolling game. This reminded me that breaking activities into steps is not an easy skill for everyone.
It was wonderful to see Dr. Bracey again. The GAETI institute would never have been possible without her patience, attention to detail and her skill in working with people. She truly sets a fine example for us as teachers!
THANKS!! *repeat 5

Day 20

June 30, 2017
So this is it... the final day of GAETI's summer institute. We can look forward to seeing each other again on September 30 and February  24. Hopefully, I will find and bring (or email) some things I want to share with Ruth. Just like the last GAETI I attended - I have connected with another language teacher. It's so nice to add new, young teachers to my network. Many of my older colleagues have retired or they teach part-time at community colleges. I love sharing ideas with the newer teachers. The sharing goes both ways. I have a wealth of collected resources but they have fresh ideas!

This morning we signed up for CEUs and answered post-test questions about technology. We had breakfast snacks, coffee, juice, tea and cake! We also had a working lunch to look forward to.  About half of the participants shared their presentations before lunch. We have some wonderful teachers here. Of course I was partial to the Spanish 'Family' lesson presented by Ruth. It was well-planned and the resources were excellent. We brainstormed on a family lesson as our mini-lesson plan. Ruth added personal photos, more technology and good, solid language teaching methods. Jason and Anne had some excellent 'Hooks' for their lessons: directions to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a meme and a colored paper activity which grouped the students by 'race' (but they didn't know what was going on).

One shared idea I need to use is Blogger. It can give students a chance to reflect on what they've learned and to ask for help, if needed. I tried to use Kidblog with my students after the last GAETI but our school network blocked any form of blogging at that time. I will put that on my 'technology questions for Heritage' questions (filters).

Once our presentations were finished - Ms. Latham gave us certificates of participation. We had awards from Dr. Bracey based on what was published, awards from Ms. Latham and awards voted on by the class. I was happy to receive 'Most Detailed Blogger' and 'Best Lesson Plan Document' awards. I am compulsive about details, it's true. Unfortunately, I can't ever find a stopping point. Oh ... here it is!

Day 19

June 29, 2017

This morning the ladies from IHL came to sit in on our session. We presented our art while they were here. I want to express my appreciation for including art as part of the technology institute. It was great to choose things that were meaningful to use. It was therapeutic to have time when our hands were busy and our minds could be at leisure. I found myself thinking about the meaning of the map and the sgraffito plate and how I would present it to my students. It also made me realize how working on an art project has a real value in any class. I plan to work in some type of art 'creation' into both Spanish and French. I know students and parents will enjoy seeing art displayed.

We continued working on Weebly and Lesson plans. I will be working late on mine! It will be done, however although right now it's mostly in my head.

One more day... sad and glad at the same time.

Day 18

Wed., June 28
There was a Maroon Alert, bomb threat so we left a few minutes early.

On the 18th day of class - we had a Global visit with Ruth's friend from Brazil. The videoconference was held through 'Zoom'. This program takes slightly less bandwidth than Skype. You can split the screen and show a computer screen along with the speaker's live image. 'Mayor' shared pictures of food (paõ queijo - cheese bread) and great places to go in Brazil. The places were Ilha Grande, near Rio and Margogi in the Northeast.Both places were beach paradises. The water was incredible. I thought she would mention the Amazon, but no. I think I would enjoy visiting Brasil. I might have success reading the Portuguese language. I haven't been successful at listening and comprehending so far.

We had a visit from a counselor, Talya Straughter. We rated our wellness in six areas: Emotional, Social, Financial, Intellectual, Spiritual and Physical. It was very insightful. As a result we realized that we need to take better care of ourselves. Ms. Straughter gave us a calendar of ways we could pamper ourselves daily. She told us to spend one hour on ourselves each day. This is a tall order for a professional female but I'll try to do better. I think we all really enjoyed this speaker because we were feeling the stress of all the GAETI projects we needed to finish!

See you in the next blog.

Day 15

Friday, June 23, 2017

Friday morning we learned some new tools. I was very worried about how I could get everything done on time. I will have to look back at my Agenda to remember everything. I left Friday afternoon with a sincere plan to do my blog at home.

There was a heavy rainstorm at lunch. Sadly, I had no lunch so I had to brave the storm to buy something. When I returned - we had to 'touch up' our sgraffito project by adding black glaze to white areas. Friday afternoon we had to time to work on our web pages and catch up on things. I stayed until 5:30 working on my multi-media project.

That's the main 'take away' from Friday. We were ready for the weekend!

Day 17

Tuesday, June 27, 2017


Infographic with Piktochart was the first item of the day.
We practiced together and then we created an infographic using 3 tables of data from our Canvas Module for today. Here is the first page of mine. I did manage to make two graphs showing that printed newspapers are declining in use and digital newspapers are increasing in use. However, there is still a much greater circulation of printed newspaper than online subscriptions.


Next, we created an introduction with sound in Adobe Spark. To do this - select add 'VIDEO' and begin. I made mine about Google translate, i.e., it's not a reliable option for sharing meaning between languages. I included a sample video from 'Google Translate Sings' in which 'I came in like a wrecking ball' is translated as 'I like the ball in the sink.'   https://youtu.be/zS-Gi5Z5zik .  I suggest that my students open Google Translate and type in a familiar chorus or short poem/ riddle. They should translate the text to another language, then another, then another and back to English. Through this process it is obvious that meaning gets lost in the translation. By the way, this is also evident at Amazon.com when you look at the product descriptions of items made in other countries.

Adobe Spark is my new best friend for creating banners and collages. Ruth created a great banner for our WebQuest. We searched and searched and never found a good image to represent sports in Spanish-speaking countries. This afternoon I created a few banners for my Weebly site (Online Portfolio) in Adobe Spark. It makes me happy to personalize my pages rather than picking whatever is available from Google Images.

We had a presentation about using Prezi. I think it is neat. My issue is that it's hard to print and grade. Usually I have to mark language and grammar errors. It is very difficult in Prezi. Still, students like to use it because the presentations have a great deal of movement.

In the afternoon we worked on Weebly's and tried to catch up on missing assignments. It is nice to have Canvas. I can check to see if all of my assignments are turned in. Also, Dr. Lee has posted various sample Portfolios, including his own so we can check to see if we have everything included. I know that I have to work on my lesson plan tomorrow.

Hasta luego.

Day 16

Monday, June 26, 2017

This is our last week of GAETI 2017. So many loose ends to tie up...!

We started the morning with a lesson on using iPads in Education. Ms. Stephanie Agnew from the library shared some great resources - free apps for iPads. I am happy to have these lists because I will have an iPad and so will all of my students. She also shared the presentation and Dr. Lee posted it in our Canvas account.  I go to my new school for iPad and Canvas training on July 19. I hope to have enough practice with Canvas and iPad apps that I have good questions. That way I can make the most of my training.

We finished Creating a story and started our 'newspaper'.  Since Ruth and I had done our web quest on sports - we decided to use foreign newspapers for top sports stories of the day. Unfortunately, I had to leave early so we didn't finish writing our articles. That is on my to-do list.

I did lay out my multi-media design and asked for help on planning the layers. I will have to come back in at lunch to finish it because we will not have art tomorrow. Here is the lay-out of my project before it has layers.

Day 14

June 22, 2017


   Mixture of rain and sun today.
'Cindy' has made landfall in Louisiana.
I'm really glad we are not heading south today! There is a chance of flash flood and storm surge all along the Gulf coast.


   A former GAETI participant, Ms. Billie Jean Fulton came and shared some technology tips she had started using since her experience at GAETI. We got complete instructions on using YouTube to record lessons in progress. I need to use something like this when we study new concepts or have learning activities that are difficult to explain to absent students. These could also be used for reinforcement and review before tests.  Another tool was Thinglink. I remember seeing this before but never using it. I could see using it for vocabulary practice. For example, students could be asked to find a picture of a house they like. They would then label items in Spanish.  I would investigate the possibility of students recording audio clips of themselves saying the words, too.

   At 10:00 we hurried to the Camtasia lab to work on our videos. Since we were not finished by 11:00, we put off the presentation until after lunch.  After some trouble 'producing' the video (changing it to Mp4 file), we managed to save it correctly. Then.... technical difficulties in the presentation. We had to re-save and present in the QuickTime player, not Windows Media. Ours was 6 minutes long! We were satisfied with how it turned out even though we didn't win. Almost every participant voted for their own group, anyway. Luckily, one person swayed the vote so a winner could be declared. The biggest take-away here was gaining more confidence in my ability to create a video, add callouts, audio, etc. I will try to use a video project this year. I have to find out what Apps the students will be able to use first.

  At 11:30 - we Skyped with someone's friend in England. He noted that the educational system in England was geared toward making students conform to a pattern. I was reminded of Pink Floyd's video "Another Brick in the Wall". The 'pupils' are put through a factory. They lose their individual identities and eventually are ground into 'sausages.' This is pretty far from American ideas in education, I think. We foster more independence and individuality.

   I am still working on my multi-media project (still cutting).
 I did finish carving out the Ouroboros (Serpent eating its tail) on my sgraffito plate.  I hope it turns out as cool as it looks now! It's also a good story ... it represents the cycle of renewal and re-invention of self. I think that represents me now as I'm changing schools after 34 years. I'm looking forward to this opportunity to re-invent my teaching and get away from the 'rut'.

Hasta mañana.

Day 13

Lucky 13!  Considering I had 2 1/2 hours of sleep last night - I think I did fairly well today.  The weather is wet because of Cindy, the tropical depression coming in from the Gulf. Good news, though. A kind soul from McCain found my legal pad and handouts. She notified Dr. Lee. He emailed me. I went over to retrieve it.  It was exactly where I thought I had left it, with papers blowing around. I was very grateful to have my materials.
Today Dr. Lee taught us a great deal about how Canvas works and how it compares with Schoology. I'm sure I will have to 'play' with everything to remember how to insert files, choose correct settings, etc.  It really helps that I have seen well-organized courses from the student view.
We worked more on the Flat Stanley video. Most of our session was about becoming familiar with Camtasia. I used my computer and practiced iMovie. We will record our 'dubbed' audio before we leave today. We have one hour tomorrow morning before we have 'show and tell.'
Art is coming along. I got the glass ready to fuse. I outlined my sgrafitto plate. I have a lot more to do tomorrow.  I hope I don't need to stay up late to get my work done but the relief of completing a task makes it worthwhile.
Hasta mañana.

Day 12

Today started with a lesson in preparing an online presentation. The process was to use PowerPoint and record the audio narration. We created 3 slides introducing our course(s). For each slide we recorded audio using our headphone/microphone combo. Next we saved it as a movie (Mp4) so it could be uploaded with the narration. One option would be to post to Canvas or another LMS. A different choice would be to publish on You Tube and share the link with students. I found out that you can edit movies after they have been published in You Tube. That is so much better than deleting and uploading a new version. With my home internet service - uploading takes a while!

The second session this morning was about planning and filming an on-campus adventure of Flat Stanley. In 2015 Nancy and I made a lengthy trek to film 'Esteban' all over campus. He kept disappearing and I had to find him using GPS tracking. We had to combine history and Spanish. It was a stretch to make a decent plot. Hopefully we can 'fix' everything by adding some narration during the editing process. The most annoying part of the project was misplacing my legal pad. We were filming the Flat Stanley project and for some reason I had the tablet in my hand, not in my backpack. I set it down somewhere and failed to pick it up. I did retrace my steps and check garbage cans but no luck.... Unfortunately I was using it to store many loose papers. I'm not sure which papers were in there, some Agendas and notes, I'm sure! Also, my art projects. Those are saved on my computer so they can be reprinted.

In Art we continued cutting and had the lesson about glass cutting and fusing. I have a good bit to cut still so I opted out of the tile project. It's a shame not to do the tiles because they fit so well with Spanish and Mexican culture.

 I found this example of a tile mural from New Orleans.
This would be great because it ties together the Spanish and French presence in New Orleans. Many students don't realize that both the French and Spanish occupied and influenced parts of Louisiana / Luisiana and Mississippi. The city of Natchez has records in French and in Spanish. It's obvious that the street for this sign is Bourbon Street. Notice the Spanish spelling of 'Bourbon' (a line of royalty). Also, the Spanish word for 'street' can be guessed by context clues! Hopefully I can watch what the others do with their tiles and recreate this idea for my students, possibly on card stock.

Our WebQuest about sports in Spanish-speaking countries is not yet complete. I will try to finish the rubric and figure out how to insert the copy into the 'zunal.com' web quest site. As I have said, I am not quick at finishing projects because I tend to get bogged down in the details. At least I know this and I am willing to put in extra time at home when necessary. I need to work on my Web Quest, Weebly web page, media project and now - the iMovie! It will feel good when I finally have something FINISHED.

Day 11

June 19, 2017
We started the day in the lab where we learned about Canvas. This is invaluable to me because I will be using Canvas this year, rather than Schoology. I am hoping to have time to set up my courses before going back to school this fall. My Canvas has GAETI 2015 and GAETI 2017 plus my Spanish and French courses.
A lady from the library came and talked to us about Copyrights and Fair Use laws. This is something to consider, especially if a teacher uses music, printed materials, or images and publishes them or tries to make money (Teachers Pay Teachers).  It is best to avoid using borrowed material unless it is only used face to face for educational purposes.

In art - we removed our clay projects from the molds and smoothed them. We also applied 3 coats of glaze.
Now we have the option of creating a story in tiles. This sounds really exciting to me. Both Spain and Mexico use tiles extensively in their buildings. This could be a great 'cultural' connection to display in my classroom if I choose good designs.
Back in the lab - we submitted an audio introduction to Canvas. Then, my partner and I began working on our Webquest - Sports in Spanish-speaking countries. We ended the day with work on our Weebly websites.
At this point - I have many things started. I hope to finish them all. Truthfully, I will not be able to finish with my usual attention to detail because that is too time-consuming. If I don't really use my website with my classes - I can transfer the ideas to Canvas. I'm sure I will use Canvas!
Hasta mañana.

Day 10

'Rainbow in the morning , sailors take warning!'
I would have taken a picture but I was talking to my dad about his cattle and his hay-making problems due to rain. There was a lovely rainbow (segment) in the east this morning. I found a picture of a rainbow at sea since I couldn't photograph the one over Starkville.

Despite the bad omen, nothing has gone awry so far today.  We started with ART!  I remembered how long it takes to cut shapes with an Exacto knife. I may need to come in early each day or finish my shapes at home.

We just returned from a tour of the T.K. Martin center. The focus in today's tour was technology. The theme for this summer's children activities was Time travel. The 'bricks' were actually a plastic sheet but the shadows made them look real. I'll keep this in mind for a dance or play background. We also saw how students with speech difficulty,  even very young ones, were trained to use keyboards so they could communicate. I understand that keyboarding will be taught in 2nd grade next year!

The speech boards reminded me of how images can communicate ideas without spoken language. You have to wonder if people will stop studying language one day and allow a picture language and a 'Google translate' reader to be the interpreter when necessary. Also, will the ability to use handwritten messages disappear?  There might be a problem with this in a society without electricity and Internet.  Should we assume these things would be available forever?  It must be 'deep thought' Friday.

Justin Putnam, a former colleague from New Hope, brought us a presentation on formative assessment and gamification. I use most of the things he shared. I need to do MUCH better on NearPod! I use Power Point all the time. I could easily pull my presentations into NearPod. I can see how my students would like using their iPads with NearPod presentations.

In the morning session about board games I learned some Excel features such as how to make a spinner using two columns and a pie chart. In Power Point I learned how to insert a hyperlink to go to another part of my presentation. Before I had only used this for inserting media files and Internet videos or pages.  This will be much better than searching for the slide by dragging through all of them!

Well, it's time for the week-end to begin. OH.... the greatest news today is that Dr. Bracey had her baby boy this morning - right before Art class. We are so excited for her!

Update:  after class I went home right away because a storm was looming in the north. About 30 minutes after I got home Noxubee County was under TWO severe thunderstorm warnings at once. I guess the 'rainbow in the morning' was for real!
Here's a picture of the sky from our house. This photo was actually a different day - but the sky was similar on Friday. Our Friday storm came from the north rather than the south or southwest. We always get a windy spell and big rain when it moves in from the north.  I need to take a class in meteorology so I can identify the clouds. There was definitely lightening and thunder so I know they were 'storm clouds.' I'll remember this the next time I see the rainbow in the morning.

Day 9

June 15, 2017
Today we continued to learn about creating lessons that engage students and promote learning. After a review of Backward design, we started collaborating on a mini-lesson plan. Ruth and I spent a great deal of time finding a common topic for both of us. She teaches an intro course to 8th graders. Her course lasts 1 nine weeks. I wanted to find a unit I could teach in Spanish and French. Hopefully, I can use this unit to review with Spanish II since these students are new to me. We are planning a unit including family vocabulary, the verb 'to be', possessives, simple questions and descriptive adjectives. I would like to plan the lesson as an IPA. This means we must find authentic reading and listening for the students. It shouldn't be difficult to create an authentic performance assessment (letter, poster, presentation).

In art - we glued our shapes to matte board. Tomorrow we can begin cutting. Sadly, there is only 1 hour of art tomorrow because we have a guest speaker during our usual art time.

We discussed some technology tools and 'played' with them in the lab. One was a concept mapping site:  Bubbl.   It seems easy to use. I think I may create my lesson plan outline with that.  It should work well for me because I think in all directions at once!

We looked at a word cloud site that doesn't need Java:  worditout.  I quickly created the following from the first verse of 'Eres tú.' I tried to use Wordle with students after the last GAETI but it requires Java, which we didn't have on Mac.
This word cloud shows the most frequent words. This is a great tool to preview unknown vocabulary before reading a poem or listening to a song.

We also looked at a timeline tool:  timetoast.com
 I looked up the age of Exploration.  My idea would be to recreate these timelines in the classroom and let the class compare these events with major events in the early history of our country. I think students need a clear understanding of how long ago the explorers traveled. The major events of US History come 200 years later. By finding out the countries of origin of the 'explorers' students should comprehend why the US speaks English, why Canada speaks English and French, and why most of the countries south of us speak Spanish.
I am excited about using this tool!

Hasta mañana.

Day 8

June 14, 2017

Today we worked on lesson planning. The main topic was UbD - Understanding by design. We agreed that lessons should be planned with the end result in mind. If I were to explain this to my colleagues - I would say start with the State Framework. These are broad performance objectives such as:  

1. Interpersonal – Communicate on very familiar topics using a variety of words and phrases that have been practiced and memorized.

1. Engage in greetings and introductions.
2. Ask and answer a variety of simple questions.
3. Communicate basic information about myself and people I know.
4. Communicate basic information about everyday life.
5. Exchange information using texts, graphs, or pictures. 
   
   
   
   
   The 'strand' is COMMUNICATION. The first Competency under COMMUNICATION is 'Interpersonal.' Competencies are defined and further subdivided. 
   
   
   It is absolutely essential to know what the students will be expected to DO after the instruction and activities. Teachers will have to base the communication on topics which have been studied. For example, 'd' could deal with describing household chores. Naturally, the students would need to acquire and practice vocabulary related to the house and phrases about chores. What is important is that students will go beyond vocabulary and grammar tests. They will have to demonstrate that they can interact with others (have conversation).
   
   Ideas from today that I plan to use:
   I liked the idea of using the 'MyPlate' activity to talk about foods. There are so many words and regionalisms related to food and drink. If they had to name various foods for the categories - they would probably choose the foods they had learned best and therefore would be more likely to remember. I could see using the 'MyPlate' template (also available in Spanish and French) as a group activity. Individuals could also make a 'Plato de Preferences' in which they list foods/drinks they like and don't like. This could include communicative interactions with classmates where they walk around and 'discuss' their preferences.
   
   In art - we added layers to our watercolor paper:  marker, chalk, fixative spray and acrylics. I have decided to add a compass to mine to establish how the map is oriented. 
   
   Dr. Kun Huang talked about her recent visit to China. She shared pictures and showed the cities, school and transportation. It is evident that EDUCATION is a priority in China. Any students who hope to make it to the 'top' must be well-educated. Sadly, this is not true in American education. Many students here cite success stories of multi-millionaires who were drop-outs.
   
   This morning we Skyped with a friend of Raj's from India. We learned a great deal about education in India from her. We also learned that the most popular sport in India is cricket. They do have sports teams that represent schools. If students are very talented - they can go to 'sports' schools.
   
   Well, that's all for now. Hasta mañana.
   
   
   
   
   

Day 7

June 13, 2017

Today's art class included mixing 'slip' and pouring our molds for the sgraffito project. After one hour in the mold - we poured out the excess and placed the mold inside a plastic trash bad. They will take 48 hours to harden. My design is the 'ouroboros,' snake eating its own tail. It symbolizes infinity, rebirth and 're-invention'. I feel this is appropriate for me because the symbol is Mayan (and Egyptian) AND because I will be 're-inventing' my teaching program at a new school this year AND I'll be teaching Spanish and French.


Meanwhile we found and printed the image for our multi-media project. I'll do a 'flag-colored' map of Spain and France with emblems on top. We prepared watercolor paper. We have to break the chosen design into segments that we can cut. I have to get that part done tomorrow! This design is similar to what I'll do. The mapof France will include the 'fleur-de-lis' symbol even though that's not on the flag.

This morning we made a Geological time line. It was interesting to review the eons and eras of geological time in a lesson from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/geotime/
The extension was creating a time line from a 75-foot cash register tape in the hall. We had an Excel program that converted the years into inches. Not surprisingly, the bulk of the tape was the earliest eon. Man and all recent history came in the last inch.  In the language class - we could use a tape or toilet paper to put historical events in order. We could even do one for USA and one for the Spain or France. I think students need to understand how our history is so much more 'recent' than the European countries.

We had a lesson on Native Americans after art. I was thinking about how we used to play 'Indians' based on the stereotypes we saw in Daniel Boone, F-Troop and other 'westerns.' I never intended to have a negative image of Native Americans. I've always had great respect for them and I lament how they were 'relocated' against their will. This is a good example of how we think differently now. Not so different was how the Spaniards expelled all the Jews and Muslims who didn't convert to Christianity. Such thinking was typical of the time period. This could also relate to events in Africa, atrocities against ethnic groups in the Middle East, etc.  Food for thought...!

Day 6

6-12-17
Our second week begins! We started with a scavenger hunt at the Dunn-Seiler museum in the Geo-sciences building. Interested students can contact the visitors' center to bring students. It would be fun for them if they did the scavenger hunt. Student groups can also go to the fossil dig in the chalk deposit behind Hilbun Hall. The most impressive feature in the collection is probably the Triceratops head!
After the museum activity went to the 3rd floor to learn about broadcast meteorology. We had the opportunity to stand in front of the green screen and attempt to show the weather map, etc. It's pretty tough because you have to watch the monitors to see where you're pointing. Students in this program have 4 courses (semesters) to prepare for broadcasting the weather. Their degree will be Geosciences and they are almost certain of placement!
We returned and listened to a Geoscience major talk about places he had lived, traveled and taught. I think he is very brave. Total changes in diet upset my digestion so if I were to 'relocate' to Tajikistan I would have to pack cereal, peanut butter and crackers! He also lives in Australia.
After lunch we started art projects. We chose our designs.
We looked for games for our subject and had to explain how they could be incorporated into a lesson. I found memrise.com, which can be used for French and Spanish, as well as other subjects. I am going to practice the French this summer to brush up. I think I'll ask my students to join it when school starts. One thing I have to keep in mind is that not all games work on iPads AND computers. I look forward to using 'memrise.'

Day 5

Today we began creating our website with 'weekly.com'.  I was never quite satisfied with my effort in 2015 so I will try to make this a much better website. Last week I told my son how we made free websites in GAETI. I show him Weebly. He proceeded to make a decent website that evening after asking a few questions. Seeing how simple it was for a 19-year old, I was determined to conquer the web design tools myself. I expect to work on the small details of design at home so I can follow the directions as we go in class.
Mrs. Nashandra James came after lunch to share the benefits of a 1:1 program. I realized how well my prvious school district implemented our plan. I also investigated how the 1:1 plan is set up at my new school. Now I have many questions for my new tech person. I'm hoping to use Canvas, the LMS for my school to the same extent I was using Schoology at my old school. I will be contacting my new  tech person to find out if there will be limits in using Canvas. I expect to include content in my  web page so my links and materials will already be collected. They can be used in Canvas or straight from my website.  For example - I require Duolingo time so that students develop listening, speaking, reading and writing as their own pace. There will be a link and explanation for this on the website as well as in Canvas.

Day 4

6-8-17
Today was field trip today! I added a great deal of knowledge to what I learned last time. The mine opened for production in 2002. We were driving on reclaimed land from the original cut. It look undisturbed to me!
We talked about  how the run-off water that was used in mining is held until the water quality is restored to 'natural' levels of Ph, etc.  A flocculant is added to settle the sediment and it pulls many of the dissolved metals out of the water. Sometimes that is enough to 'fix' the water quality. This was of interest to me because we always had to check and adjust water quality in our fish ponds. Also, I've used a flocculant to settle a dirty swimming pool!
The mine has a great positive impact on the area because of tax dollars and employment opportunities. They also leave the land 'as good as' they found it. They will plant pines, hardwoods or grasses according to what the landowner wishes.
I also found out that retirees from other businesses seek employment here. They can start a new retirement, etc. here.


When we returned to the IED computer lab Dr. Sherman Morris asked us to find a resource about mining that we could use. I found a news item from 'mining.com' that reported how liDar (light reflected from a laser) had found Roman gold mines in Spain. That actually cleared up one of my questions at the mine:  how do they determine where 'coal' (in this case - lignite) might be found.  Apparently there were many geographic surveys in the 1970'2 in response to the energy crisis. These geological surveys are used today to reveal what type of land/soil places have. The area in this mine was the shore of a major body of water. Compressed vegetation formed lignite in Cypress swamp areas.
Here is the link to the article about the mine in Spain:
http://www.mining.com/lidar-survey-discovers-roman-gold-mines-in-spain-99350

I would try to find several articles like this in Spanish-speaking places and ask TDQ (Text Dependent Questions) to practice reading skills. Another possibility is the Chilean mine disaster.... The articles would need to be authentic, that is the actual news article. Students need to be challenged beyond their reading levels to improve their abilities to guess meanings of unknown words using context clues and cognates.

Day 3

No rain today and a refreshing breeze!

We started with a cookie mining project. It would be great fun for students in an business class because it deals with cost of mining, equipment, etc. and the revenue. I used a paper clip and a toothpick.

 My cookie stayed mostly intact but I lost money because I wasn't aggressive enough. When I turned the cookie over there were lots of chips at the bottom! We had a brief discussion relating the cookie mining to real mining. Tomorrow we go to the coal mine!

We did a Google Earth / Maps activity in the library. I'm glad Google Earth is an online tool now so we can all have access to it. I will try to work this in to my presentations and I hope to take my students on some 'field trips' with the street view.

We toured the Templeton music collection, which was new to me. They had a Philco radio identical to my grandmother's. Also, the Victrola's reminded me of the family record player. There were lots of neat music players, etc. from back to the late 1800's.  There was even a player organ, one of only about 400 ever made!

We did the kinetic 'seasons' activity when we returned. It was fun but made me dizzy to revolve and rotate while keeping my 'pole' pointed toward 'Polaris' (the building corner).

We did two readings that resulted in found poems. I like this. Perhaps I can use it in a second language....

Hasta mañana.

Day Two

6-6-17
Today started with more rain. Dr. Sherman-Morris taught us the 5 themes of geography. We got inflatable globes (which we also used later). The topics of absolute geographic location is interesting to me, especially how latitude and longitude were established and standardized.  I found out through questioning and further research that longitude was not standardized until the 1600's when an accurate clock was made.  We say how a protractor can be inserted into a sphere (remove a chunk) to show how the degree marks are established for both 'meridians' of longitude and 'parallels' of latitude. I really thought about Columbus and how much was unknown. His estimation of the circumference of the globe was so far off because of wrongly estimating the distance between the meridians. Erastonfanes (spelling is all Greek to me) had a much closer estimate of the size of the earth - within 500 miles.
We went to the library to (re) learn Excel. It was a good refresher. I need to use charts more. I practiced in the after-lunch session:  Class Investigation. We made a hypothesis and collected data from our class. My hypothesis was wrong and the results had no great revelations. "Where were you  born? How many years have you lived in this area?" I should have chosen a topic which might reveal interesting & diverse data with trends.
 I expect to use Excel and its charts to compare various Spanish and French-speaking countries. I can have the students share large numbers (population, land area) aloud in the target language while others take notes. I have done this before and followed it with an open-notes assessment comparing data from the various countries. If I do this in the future, I think I may let groups compare (or even evaluate) their numbers prior to the test so the data is correct. We can also use the inflatable globe to locate these places in the world.
Michael Murphy, PhD. candidate here,  came to share a presentation about Civil Rights and lesser known facts. I took notes because I'm weak in this area of history. I have some trouble connecting this to my subject area but there is a definite connection to the culture of this area. There is an interesting online collection 'Starkvillecivilrights" which includes interviews with African Americans about their experiences in the Civil Rights movement.
We did a quick lesson on editorial cartoon analysis. I think I understand the references in most cartoons well enough to explain how the cartoon comments on topics. However, I didn't select the correct literary cartoon in the activity from the Library of Congress.
Well, more fun tomorrow!

Day One

The first day of GAETI 2017 was everything I was hoping for! The group is very friendly and comfortable with lots of repeat students, none from my year (2015). We made introductions first. There is one other foreign language teacher. She teaches middle school Spanish in West Point. I am looking forward to sharing ideas and finding out how things are in 'her world.'
We took care of housekeeping chores and (re-) met the instructors. Dr. Bracey is not here because she is having a baby, possibly right now. That is certainly an adequate excuse! The rain didn't keep us from going to get parking permits before lunch. However, we postponed the campus tour.
After lunch - we went to the library to (re-) learn about MAGNOLIA. I searched for and found several interesting articles in Spanish and/or about Spanish customs. This is a good reminder to use this research tool.
Next - we went to the lab to learn about three sets of standards: MS Framework, ISTE and CCRS - ELA.  The assignment was to come up with a content-related lesson which incorporated standards from each set. We chose 'Dia de los Muertos' as the topic with the following procedure: Begin with an authentic reading about the customs and beliefs, maybe how one person explains the holiday to an outsider. (MAGNOLIA might help). Incorporate cognates and context clues to guess meanings of new words. Answer questions about the main idea. This hits RL 7.1 and 7.4. From the World Language Framework - FLI 5c (Interpretive Reading) and Culture 1 & 2 (Perspectives and Products). The reading could include beliefs and the products such as the altar and skulls with names of friends.  ISTE standards include 3b and 3c from Research. I feel this is a very 'do-able' lesson. I envision following the reading with an Edpuzzle video and a discussion. After the class discussion - students would find pictures, Snapchat 'stories' and videos from the Internet or social media showing authentic celebrations and/or opinions. These could be shared with Airplay on a smart board OR by sending the links to the teacher.
As an aside - I shared the 'Storyboard That' site with the other teacher. That reminded me to use it as a presentational speaking assignment for students!
After the blog we are going to work with Picktoto-Chart!