Well here it is! My very first podcast! Enjoy! 

I have been following this project from almost the very beginning and it still fascinates me week after week of the secrets being read by now hundreds of thousands of people. These secrets sometimes stay with me for hours, weeks, and years, the pure raw human emotion behind them still intrigues me long after they have been read. Some try to say that they can't possibly be true, but I beg to differ, why can't they? They are unbelievable at times, but then again, what is the definition of a secret?

Secret: not open or public; kept private or not revealed; hidden: designed to elude detection

They are usually things that are never spoken, but kept in the hearts and minds of those who hide them for years, or lifetimes, and have only recently had a place to be exposed.

I think this would be an awesome project to mock in a school environment and give students a chance to share their secrets anonymously and have an outlet to open up to in a world that they maybe don't feel like they belong to. I think it is a huge connection point for students, staff, parents, and the community to be in such a raw and vulnerable state, and it really makes you take a step back and appreciate human life, and how each person deals with their own demons and angels, and that for some every day is a constant struggle or a blessing. I could see a million and one ways that a school could turn this into a negative experience, but then I think about the students it could give a usual non-existent voice a chance to be heard, it would be worth every moment.

Thanks to Bill's suggestion on diigo, I have been messing around with a neat tool called Symbaloo. (symbaloo.com/us)

I am loving all the tools we are using, but at times I feel so bogged down trying to remember which websites to go to and which google.doc was that assignment in, so I thought this web tool is PERFECT. I went ahead and took the liberty of making a "desktop" specifically for our class, which includes all of the links we use and I will monitor and add as we continue on with the course. Feel free to use it, as I have shared it publicly!

http://www.symbaloo.com/us/share/47821da5056d5da5494f96cb80a39849 

On a professional note, I cannot express how great it is to be able to vent and talk to your peers and collaborative teams every once and while, I think at times if not for our personal lives and our relationships with fellow teachers we would all jump out the window, or pull out our graying hair before October even rolls around. The students are getting restless and next Monday will be March 1st (already!) and Spring Break is in the air. Around the corner is PASS Writing, Spring MAP, and S.S. Benchmark. I often wonder if students associate the only use of technology of sitting in a computer lab to complete standardized testing... for some schools it is.. (SCARY!).  I have never felt so overwhelmed with testing and scores and meeting this standard and doing this percentage, I sometimes have to sit back from my stress and take my students into account, if this is so much pressure on me, I can't imagine how the students must feel... is there ever a point of over-testing? If so, have we already reached that point? If not how much longer until we do?

"The Best of Me"

-The Starting Line (one of my favorite songs )

Cloud lyrics courtesy of wordle.net

I found a surprise for me when I got back from New Orleans.....

I love my Thomas! <3. =D

Do you ever feel like you have to plan something so out of the ordinary just to feel normal? My upcoming trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras was a spur of the moment idea between two friends-that ended up becoming a reality. (AKA- I am leaving at 5:30 AM tomorrow) If you know me, you know that I am very meticulous and love to have everything planned out, and to book a trip with no real plan, to me is so unalike me, it has me questioning the girl in the mirror. ( the girl with a newly done tattoo, and dyed red hair...)

I have come to live under the advice that " you only live once, live each day to your fullest as if it could be your last." Those words have never rung so true. I have started to plan things for my life, that I would have never done not even a year ago. Partly to blame for my new free spirit is a reality show on MTV believe it or not. Called "The Buried Life"- a group of 4 friends made a list of everything they wanted to do before they die, and they are trying to accomplish their list, and by doing so helping others cross things off of their own lists.



After 25 years, I am finally learning to cherish the things around me, and to really treasure my relationships with family and friends, and that money isn't everything. I am slowly learning that it doesn't help anyone to stay upset or mad, it only tarnishes the pure moments you could have had in the situation. I need to start living for me, and really pursuing my passions and what I want out of life- and this trip just might be a starting point....

On a lighter note... haha Happy Valentine's Day this Sunday which also happens to be the Chinese New Year- The year of Tiger!

So... I am honestly really excited for this Skype Conference tonight, and was actually a little sad we couldn't have it last week! But it was alright, considering I was sick AGAIN!- Still have to go back to the doctor on Thursday for bloodwork....

I love being able to see technology in action. I have enjoyed Skype for several years now, as a way to chat when I was gaming, and now it has just exploded into our culture and society as second nature. Seeing the shift and seeing people connect through technology is just so awe inspiring and so neat to see!

My parents 77 year old neighbor is on Facebook... that is connecting old and new generations on so many levels it is just crazy to see! :) Also, the fact that the word "de-friend" is making its way into the dictionary....

Haha... as I am typing this post... we still have to step back a moment and realize that technology doesn't always work the way you want it to.... oh Skype you can't handle so many brilliant teacher minds on a Monday at 7:00pm at one time... :)