Last summer, my father-in-law bought a new "car". This car is special because it never has to visit a gas station. This car can plug in to any standard outlet and will get you about 40 miles on a charge. It will travel at about 40 miles an hour, faster if you're on a good hill. This seems really ahead of its time right now because so few people have ever seen an all electric car. People have been told that electric cars have a limited range, take a long time to charge, aren't durable, and will never work.
Last night, I saw a film entitled "Who Killed the Electric Car?" I recommend everyone check out this movie because it introduces the EV-1. This car, released and recalled by GM during the late 1990s could go 80 miles an hour, had amazing pickup, could travel 100 miles on a charge, charged in about 1 hour, and was really sexy to boot!
This film was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. I suppose it made me look forward to the future of plug-in hybrids, but it makes me very angry that no one got the chance to buy these vehicles.
Well, that's enough of a diatribe for now, but you might want to check out this website for more information:
http://www.pluginamerica.org
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Family and Friends
Well, the weekend is at a close and I hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine. I got to spend some quality time with family and friends during a concert downtown, two birthday dinners, and some good old fashioned Frisbee tossing in my buddy's back yard.
After all that fun, I am ready to return to a little bit of thinking and reflecting on what my room will be like next year at North Middle School. Actually, it's not really my room in the building I'm thinking about, it's more the virtual "classroom" I would like to create where students, parents, and I can interact to effect student learning, behavior, and relationships. I think having a blog like this is a good first step. Maybe I will create a second blog so that I can more fully separate my personal and professional life, but for the summer, I think one is enough.
After all that fun, I am ready to return to a little bit of thinking and reflecting on what my room will be like next year at North Middle School. Actually, it's not really my room in the building I'm thinking about, it's more the virtual "classroom" I would like to create where students, parents, and I can interact to effect student learning, behavior, and relationships. I think having a blog like this is a good first step. Maybe I will create a second blog so that I can more fully separate my personal and professional life, but for the summer, I think one is enough.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Being Connected
Monday and Tuesday of this last week I went to a conference in Storm Lake, IA entitled "Teaching with Technology". The conference obviously dealt with how we can use technology to better effect in the teaching profession. There were a few things there that really got me thinking, and it is definitely one of the reasons I am starting this blog. I'm going to just list a few things I thought were really great from the conference along with some brief reflection on the experience.
Favorite quote:
"No one ever bought a 3/4 inch drill bit because they wanted a 3/4 inch drill bit. They bought it because they wanted a 3/4 inch hole." - Doug Johnson's dad.
This quote explains how technology SHOULD be used in our lives. These are tools, they should make things we already do easier, and make possible some things we could not do on our own. I have been guilty many times of looking at new gadgets and wanting them just for the sake of having them. I am hopeful that I can get beyond that and see the possibilities for what I do have and understand how new tools can help me to be a better teacher, friend, husband, son, and person in general.
Favorite Session:
Dr. Z's presentation of technology tools and gadgets.
This presentation was given by one of my professors at the University of Northern Iowa and basically detailed a large number of awesome tools for teachers, techies, and everyone else. Check out his blog @ drzreflects.blogspot.com.
This was the session that got me looking at tech tools in a fun way and got me excited to go home and start blogging, keeping up my facebook page, and thinking about how to use these tools and ideas in the classroom and in my own life.
Anyway, this was a pretty awesome conference and I am hoping it happens again next year so I can go again.
Favorite quote:
"No one ever bought a 3/4 inch drill bit because they wanted a 3/4 inch drill bit. They bought it because they wanted a 3/4 inch hole." - Doug Johnson's dad.
This quote explains how technology SHOULD be used in our lives. These are tools, they should make things we already do easier, and make possible some things we could not do on our own. I have been guilty many times of looking at new gadgets and wanting them just for the sake of having them. I am hopeful that I can get beyond that and see the possibilities for what I do have and understand how new tools can help me to be a better teacher, friend, husband, son, and person in general.
Favorite Session:
Dr. Z's presentation of technology tools and gadgets.
This presentation was given by one of my professors at the University of Northern Iowa and basically detailed a large number of awesome tools for teachers, techies, and everyone else. Check out his blog @ drzreflects.blogspot.com.
This was the session that got me looking at tech tools in a fun way and got me excited to go home and start blogging, keeping up my facebook page, and thinking about how to use these tools and ideas in the classroom and in my own life.
Anyway, this was a pretty awesome conference and I am hoping it happens again next year so I can go again.
Welcome!
This is not technically my first blog post, but it is my first one at this location. I hope that this journal will be a place where I can reflect on my work, my hobbies, and my life in a way that will be constructive for myself and others.
If you want to know more about me, look me up on Facebook.
I'll be back soon to talk about some of my summer experiences.
If you want to know more about me, look me up on Facebook.
I'll be back soon to talk about some of my summer experiences.
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