I know the assignment was already due, and I did submit my project, but unfortunately due to new copyright by YouTube, my original play list for my photo story had to be modified. But I manged to upload it using a similar website called Vimeo.

The other version is fine, but the music in this one just really completes the project to its full glory. Enjoy again :)

My Final Thoughts.... from Amber Duran on Vimeo.

 

Final Pause and Ponder

1)      What has this course meant to you personally? How have your beliefs changed?

I really feel this course impacted me as a digital writer. I have always been an observer of blogs and podcasts and I have always wanted to start a blog, but never had the motivation to, and now seeing my thoughts on a screen and being able to promote what I am about, it so empowering as a writer. It has really brought me out as a writer and cemented what I already knew that I want to pursue a career in writing. My beliefs haven’t really changed, but been reassured that anyone can learn new technology if they truly take the time to experiment and want to learn. Age and technology only have a gap if you fail to build a bridge.

2)      What are some additional areas in this subject that you may want to develop?

I would love to really continue my blog, and possibly make an additional ones as possible outlets for jobs, or to get myself out there as a writer. I am addicted to the blogging world and the feeling it gives me as a writer. I am also going to look into more podcast and possibly start my own alongside my blog. I really loved all the tools we have used and been introduced to in this class. I love photo story, and I have loved it since I used it last year, I will continue to use it, and maybe create some YouTube videos as well. I use Symbaloo and Google docs on a daily basis.

3)      How might you find resources now that you have been introduced to these topics in the profession?

This course has opened an abundance of new outlets for technology and using those tools in the classroom, and converting a normal classroom to the digital class. There are so many sources and resources available for teaching every curriculum and every grade level. The amount of blogs, educational websites, podcast, and wikis are endless. I do enjoy looking to books for educational support, but I find the use of technology within this fields is so much more enlightening and refreshing, because it is updated on a weekly, or daily basis, and the information is current and new. Unfortunately with books, as soon as it goes to print, it is already out of date, especially having to deal with technology.

4)      How motivated are you to seek out more information on topics discussed in this course?

I am very motivated. I knew the resources existed,  but not necessarily knowing the best way to find them, and it has been a lot easier seeing how someone else finds these resources and the tools available to find them. All is right in the technology world, and it is nice to know that there are fellow teachers out there just like me, struggling with the same issues and how to fix them, and new ideas to try. I am very excited to try these sources and tools in my classroom. As well as being a contributor to future and current educators with my own ideas and tools for the classroom. It is a circle of giving and getting that the educational world is very found of.

5)      How have your professional abilities been enhanced at this point in your program?

My skills with technology from a professional standpoint have always been advanced and using this course, it has enhanced all my skills and made me more adept to the internet and sources to use within the realm of teaching. You can always learn something new every day with technology, and you have definitely showed me some neat tools I will use in the future. I will continue to always further my education with technology tools, terminology, and trends and I will always be a life-long learner with technology.

6)      How have you applied what you have learned thus far?

I have been using most of the tools we have used in class both in and outside of my classroom. I used photo story last year for a 6^th grade slideshow, but I experimented with it more this year within the realms of our class. I also used it to compose a remembrance slideshow in honor of Thomas’s Dad. I have used Google Docs & Reader, as well as podcasting, wikis, and various resource blogs. I feel I am taking away a great deal of knowledge and information from this course. I thank you so much for this opportunity, it has really ignited my love of writing again, and I see no end in sight.

http://weather.thefuntimesguide.com/images/blogs/word-pollen-written-in-pollen-dust-by-boxercab.jpg

As this year is coming to a close, you can't help but see calendars being "X"ed off and students starting the countdown in their agendas. It is hard to imagine that this year has gone by so fast, even though some moments I was left wondering if time had suddenly decided to stop. With the year coming to a close, comes the tourists in their golf carts attempting to drive down 17 Business, the huge pollen storms swooping in and taking eyes and noses as their prisoners, and the warm sunny days make you wish you could have enough funding to build outdoor classrooms. 

The Pale Blue Dot- Carl Sagan "The World Would Be Better if Everyone Watched This Video..." 

So many things happen regardless of what is going on in your life, the world keeps turning even if you wish it would just stop, even for a second. Seasons come and go, and everything seems to be ready to repeat from the years before, a never ending cycle that seems to fill the days and nights. Often times through the years, something comes along and changes, and happens and we are left momentarily stunned by the occurence of something new, before it fades into the memories of the past, until something new arises again. It is amazing to see how the world just continues to turn regardless of the what the outcome is. We think we have big problems, and big things happening to us, and around us, but if you zoom out a few hundred billion miles, you will see that we are merely a small light in a huge abyss of darkness. We are so small when compared to the entirity of the universe, and from that point, it seems our problems are minuscule or non-existent. Interesting to take a moment and think about our place in the world.

"A man who dares waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life"  

-Charles Darwin

Source Google Image Search: http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/2/26725/870907-delorean_super.jpg

For those that know me, they will tell you that Back to the Future is my favorite movie of all time. I don't know what my fascination with the movie is, or how it all started. Maybe it is the shiny chrome glisten of the Delorean, the eccentric nature and piercing white hair of Doc Brown, the cuteness of Marty McFly with his bright orange life preserver, or the mere infatuation with time travel and if it is truly possible, with or without the flux capacitor and Mr. Fusion. I seem to gravitate towards books having to deal with time, and possibility of time travel, two of my favorites being Timeline by Michael Crichton and HG Well's The Time Machine.So maybe it is the Time Travel that lures me in...

To have the ability to time travel and have the opportunity to change everything in the past to affect the present, or to alter the future, to know that the decision you make at a certain point of time, wouldn't necessarily have to be definite and un-changeable. To be invincible to all aspects of time. What if we had that power? If we did, would we still live life the way we do, or would we further take it for granted?

"You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."
-Charles Bruxton

Often times, I feel like nothing is definite, and that I will have a chance at some point to either change my decision or to alter it. But as I get older, I am beginning to see that life isn't like some movie script where the impossible is somehow now attainable. You always think you are going to have one more day to apologize, one more day to make it right, one more day to start eating healthy and exercising, one more day to go visit family and friends. I often procrastinate and think I have all the time in the world, and the false sense that I will always be here to make decisions, and be able to achieve and attain all the goals I want out of my life. But I am quickly learning that is not the case, and you have to live each day as if it is going to be your last, a motto, I was beginning to follow, but now truly see how important it is. One day you can be here, the next you are gone, and how quickly things can change in a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, a second....

Life is our gift, and we must use it to the best of our ability, I often feel the day is wasted, because I had a rough day, or I didn't get anything done, and it makes me regret the day altogether, but I now realize, it is a day, although not what I would call a "good" day, but it was a day I was alive, able to breathe air into my lungs, pump blood into my heart, able to feel, taste, touch, smell, hear, having a conscious mind able to think, a heart able to love. 

Nothing in life is for certain, unless you make it so, if you don't like something or if you want to change something, or want to attain a goal or dream you've wanted for years, then do it. Make a change. Use the precious time we have, and reach every goal, and dream you've ever wanted, no matter what it is.Nothing is impossible, unless you believe it is. Change the present, and don't dwell on the past, if you live in the past, you will never be able to see the future. Don't worry about what you could have done, or what you should have done, but what you can do, and what you should do, to make your life everything you want it to be. Live without fear, and without regrets. Tell everyone you have ever cared for that you love them, and never go to bed angry. Live your life to the absolute fullest, and save the Delorean for Hollywood.

"There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second."

-Logan Pearsall Smith

 Source Google Image Search: http://www.odmp.or/patch.php?id=4371&s=150

In Memory of Tommy Kelly Joyner 

Dec. 6, 1947- March 24, 2010. 

He was too cute! I had to post him! Do you think he does email too? :)

photo gif credit: http://www.newzonfire.com/Images/rabbit.html

 


When asked to make a photo story this week, I immediately knew what I was going to make mine about. Yesterday was my anniversary (or as we call it "versary") of 6 years with my boyfriend Thomas . I am still lovestruck even now, and as cheesy as it sounds, it really does just feel like yesterday when he asked me to be his girlfriend.

photo credit: google images- http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/220279254_17c20cbec5.jpg

We have been through so much both good, bad, and ugly times and believe it or not, we have never gone to bed angry with one another, and we have never truly had an argument. The key is laughter and compromise, we are best friends, yet worst enemies and we aren't afraid to give the other a run for their money.

photo credit: google images- http://www.divorceattorneycoquitlam.com/images/Divorce_Attorney_Coquitlam.jpg

The statistics of marriage is frightening for couples these days, even to a relationship as strong as ours, it seems like you have to prove yourself in a society that is hoping for failure.

I can't be for sure what our future holds, maybe a move to Charleston? Distance wedding bells playing Cannon D? Whatever my future has in store, what I do know is that I will be along for the incredible ride, with no end in sight and love in my heart.<3

Ever feel like you are in a constant replay of your daily life and routines? Each day runs together in a blur... you wake up Monday and go to sleep and it's Monday again. Where does the time go? Sometimes, where does it go so SLOWLY??

March is a rough month, the students are ready for a much needed break (we are too!), PASS looms and will soon rear its ugly head, the weather can't make up its mind, every virus known to man is circling in the air ducts, and we are "springing" ahead and losing a precious hour of sleep only to gain a much needed hour in the day.

I found myself in a rut aplenty, not only this month but previous months as well, and I have been trying to dig myself out of some holes that seem to be caving in. I have been clinging to the weekends for dear life and trying to accomplish some sense of normalcy. I find spending time with my family and friends really brings out the "inner" me that I sometimes feel I keep hidden away for whatever reason propositions itself.

I think the Olympics although a joyous time for the world and a great inspiration for our country's youth, I can't help but be a little put off at the great skills and accomplishments of those I now find myself older than. I can't help but imagine if my life had turned out differently where would I be? Would I be standing on a podium with a gold medal (hahaha... not unless the sport is reading or games) or would I be sitting in a NY loft writing for a magazine?

I feel like self reflection is sometimes what you need to take a step back and analyze what you sometimes try to ignore. I think justifying your choices and being content with where you are in life sometimes has to be reminded, when putting your life in perspective you have to take in to consideration both the positive and negative aspects and learn from those "mistakes" and how to better yourself as a person, both on the inside and outside.

I do enjoy looking forward to special days and "out of the ordinary" occasions that make you feel special, they are the days that make you truly appreciate how great life can be. <3

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