Life-long learner. Educator. Thinker.
She was great...very knowledgeable, down to earth, and collegial.
April 30th, 2010
I absolutely love the Learn.Genetics web site from the University of Utah. The activities are amazing, and they have an entire resource section for teachers. I strongly recommend two activities in particular: Lick Your Rats and Mouse Party.
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March 29th, 2010
I am currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University Maryland. This past week, the department (along with Division 36 of the American Psychological Association) hosted the 8th annual Mid Year Conference on Religion and Spirituality. It is a wonderful event, and luminaries from the field attend and present and make themselves available to students who are interested in learning about this area. Students are also given opportunities to showcase their work, mainly via poster sessions.
I had the honor of presenting a content session about Web 2.0 tools and spoke about using them to enhance professional practice. I spent most of my time examining Twitter, although I also touched on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Ning and gave an overview of podcasts, wikis, and blogs. I had registered a hashtag (#myc) for the conference and explained the trend of the backchannel. In addition, I attended several sessions, including the keynotes by Dr. Harold Koenig and Dr. June Tangney.
Dr. Koenig examined the effects of religious coping and health. Empirical research exists that points to a connection between religious involvement and better health, and he made that information understandable. Dr. Tangney spoke about guilt and shame. Educators at all levels need to know about these emotions because they will play out in the classroom. I was so impressed by her presentation that I bought the Kindle version of her book. Both of the invited speakers were incredibly gracious and spent considerable time addressing questions and interacting with the participants.
My final thoughts center around the importance of nurturing graduate students. So many professors brought their students, both graduate and undergraduate, to the conference. They had encouraged them to submit proposals, and the poster sessions spotlighted some very interesting work.
My own professors at Loyola have been incredible, and I want to acknowledge my gratitude for their warmth and for their sincere interest in my professional advancement. I am currently working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Piedmont, who has given me numerous opportunities to hone my research skills. Dr. Cheston, my mentor, has also been wonderful and has gently but firmly helped me develop my clinical skills. Both have helped me with my teaching skills, and both have demonstrated the tremendous power of modeling.
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March 23rd, 2010
I saw a tweet today that mentioned “Jelly Bean Math” and thought about all of the great ideas and resources I find on Twitter. Even though tonight’s #edchat was about parent/teacher communication, it led to all kinds of paths to examine. I am always amazed at the collaboration and cheerful sharing among the participating educators. Student engagement is one of the constant themes. Jelly beans certainly draw me in!
Tags: edchat
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March 17th, 2010
I have been thinking about sleep quite a bit lately. My oldest daughter has two very young children, and she and her husband are in that stage of life where sleep seems to be a luxury. Sleep, however, is a necessity. It is vital for learning and for other aspects of a healthy life.
Last summer, ScienceDaily published some articles which I will link here:
Better Sleep Is Associated with Improved Academic Success
Extended or Shortened Sleep Duration Linked to Weight Gain
PBS has an excellent series on The Secret Life of the Brain, and Episode 3 has information about teens and sleep.
How much sleep is enough? According to WebMD, it varies according to age, but I would hazard a guess and say that many of us are not getting close to what we need.
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March 8th, 2010
Today was the Technology Showcase for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It was hosted at Calvert Hall. What a magnificent school! They have a wonderful array of tech tools plus a very knowledgeable and helpful tech team.
My presentation was on using social media for professional development. I spoke about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Ning. Most of the time was spent on Twitter, and I was able to market the Tuesday evening #edchat a bit. I had also registered the hashtag #aobtech for the showcase and encouraged participants to use it. The concept of a back channel was a bit new for them.
The people in my session seemed very open to using the tools but had some legitimate concerns. Figuring out how to navigate through this new sea without drowning in it is a bit tricky at times.
Tags: edchat
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February 28th, 2010
This weekend, I had no major project looming for grad school and other professional and personal responsibilities were under control. Even my house was straightened. For the first time in a long, long time I had the opportunity to read for pleasure.
I had ordered Anne Tyler’s new novel, Noah’s Compass, from Amazon but figured it would have to wait until summer. What a nice experience to be able to get absorbed into her world of eccentric yet lovable characters.
I am only about a third of the way through but I expect I will finish it in two days; it’s a great read. Tyler has a gentle touch with Baltimore, which I especially appreciate.
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