this blog has been phoned in

I just love reading what the Bloggess has to say. She's a mom, a wife, a writer, and an inspiration to many, many people. I mostly read her blog at http://thebloggess.com/. Her perspective on life is usually funny and often off the wall. (Be careful where you click, she also posts a satirical sex column.)

This came across my screen today, and I have to admit that I lol'd.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/toddler/130228/lesson_27_terrible_pets_for

Happy Friday! :D

the Flipped Classroom

I was able to watch a TED talk (a conference where really smart people talk about their creativity and innovations) by Salman Khan, who developed the Khan Academy. This website is a collection of videos (more than 2,600 at the time of this post) that teach concepts: everything from Art History to chemistry and calculus.

I really enjoyed Mr. Khan's idea of the "Flipped Classroom." I think that current technology (and emerging technologies) is allowing us to create, innovate, and accommodate new ideas in teaching and learning. Basically, the flipped classroom means that students view videos or lectures as their homework. Then, when they get to the class, they are able to practice in a "safe" environment. As they have questions, the teacher can help them. Or, partners and groups of students can get together for collaborative learning. Peers can teach each other. Khan mentioned that he wants to "...use technology to humanize the classroom." This sounds counter-intuitive, but it makes sense. By using technology to allow students to work at their own pace, the interaction between student and teacher (or between students) becomes much more valuable. So, instead of looking at the ratio of student to teacher, we can now observe the ratio of student to valuable teacher time.

I don't think this is a brand new topic. Several of my former employers were already building software to help make this happen. Larson Texts, Inc. used a supplemental software to go along with a traditional math textbook. Carnegie Learning, Inc. uses Cognitive Tutor software to allow students to work at their own pace and receive immediate feedback. The software is partnered with a textbook that has both guided examples and additional practice problems.

My next challenge is taking this idea of the flipped classroom to other topics. Sometimes it's easy to see how this approach works with math or science. But, could this same approach work with "soft skills"? Could learners use a flipped classroom to improve communication skills, leadership skills, or even team building? The Khan Academy does have a few less tangible topics, such as currency, finance, and venture capitalist topics, but it's mostly geared toward math, science, or history. So, how does the instruction change when we start talking about interpersonal skills, communication skills, or leadership skills? I expect that I'll spend the next several months trying to answer that very question. More and more, learners (especially those in the workplace) want their learning to happen (1) on their terms, (2) in the moment, and (3) in short snippets.

(1) Learners want to be able to learn in their own environment and in a way that's best for them. (Can you blame them?!) This could mean online learning, self-reflection, independent reading, or discussion forums.

(2) Learns want to be able to learn in the moment, or just-in-time. If I'm developing a video using Adobe Captivate, I want to be able to learn how to add audio to a slide deck in the moment that I need to add that audio.

(3) I don't need the whole course on Adobe Captivate, I  just need the 5 minutes that will show me how to insert the audio.

Any suggestions as I tackle this challenge?!? I'm all ears.

a record of patience and insipiration

It can be tough being a parent. In the last two years, I've learned to recognize my level of patience and try to alert PoppaGeek when the levels are shockingly low. (You can check with him...I'm not always successful with these alerts!) I've also learned the tried and true methods: count to 10, step back, etc.

I found a post today with the "Top 10 Inspiring, Lovely Quotes about Parenthood." I wanted to try and capture them, so that I can reference them frequently, :-) thereby refilling my patience reserves.

Here's the link to the article I found.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/129133/top_10_inspiring_lovely_quotes

Here are the quotes themselves.

The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born. Your life, as you know it ... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk ... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life. — Bob, Lost in Translation

Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands. — Anne Frank

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain, and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. — Erma Bombeck

Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them. — P. J. O'Rourke

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around—and why his parents will always wave back. — William D. Tammeus

I don't remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child. ― Anne Lamott, Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year

I thought, how can it be that two strangers are exchanging such intimate things? Well, most women are full to the brim, that’s all. That’s what I think. I think we are most of us ready to explode, especially when our children are small and we are so weary with the demands for love and attention and the kind of service that makes you feel you should be wearing a uniform with “Mommy” embroidered over the left breast, over the heart. I (used to sit) half watching Ruthie and half dreaming—trying, I think, to recall my former self. If a stranger had come up to me and said, “Do you want to talk about it? I have time to listen,” I think I might have burst into tears at the relief of it. It wasn’t that I was really unhappy. It was the constancy of my load and the awesome importance of it; and it was my isolation. — Elizabeth Berg, The Pull of the Moon

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. — Joyce Maynard

There is nothing that can bring you closer to fearlessness about everything else in the world than being a parent—because everyday fears, like not being approved of, pale by comparison to the fears you have about your children. — Arianna Huffington

You are the closest I will ever come to magic. ― Suzanne Finnamore, The Zygote Chronicles

State College has holiday happenings!

One of the things I love about State College, PA is the wealth of family-friendly activities! The holiday season is filled with Tree lightings, readings of the Polar Express, music, dancing, and more!

Check out this page for more detail:
http://www.statecollege.com/holidays/

The Polar Express weekends at the library fill up fast. I'm hoping to take Geeklet on Saturday, December 17 or Sunday, December 18. Also, we'll have to take a trip to the mall to see Santa!

Christmas last year was pretty fun. I think Christmas this year is going to be crazy fun! Watching Geeklet learn about Santa, presents, and cookies will be a blast!

Changing Times and Changing Technologies

So, PoppaGeek and I finally cut the cord. sort of. We called the cable company to cancel our moderate cable TV package. We also have internet through the company, and we didn’t want to cancel that. The cost-analysis resulted in us keeping our current cable internet package and keeping limited basic cable (which is pretty much just the local stations, but at least I’ll get most of the Steelers games!). We’re going to maintain our Netflix (which is now Netflix *and* Qwikster which is now just Netflix) DVD and streaming account. We also picked up Hulu Plus, which gives us a few more television shows and movies.

After we made this change, I started thinking about another big modern technology change we made about 6 years ago: We gave up our home phone in 2005. We each had a cell phone and neither of us talk on the phone very much. Since then, we’ve both picked up smartphones and probably couldn’t live without them now. (Ok, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.) I’m curious to see some statistics about the changing face of technology in homes today--how many other homes have cancelled their land phone line? how many other homes are switching from traditional cable to streaming services?

The latest development: we went and ordered our new smartphones--We’re each getting an iPhone 4S! I (finally) watched a demo of the Siri voice activation features. Dang! That’s unbelievable. I’m curious to see how it works in real life. I don’t have much experience with voice activation, but if it works they way they say it will work...well, I think I just walked into a science fiction story.

Sometimes, I sit back and think about the different technologies that are coming and going so quickly nowadays. When PoppaGeek and I were first married, we had one computer (a moderately-priced Dell desktop machine), one cell phone, and one gaming console. <grin> We used to take turns playing Diablo and watching each other work through the levels. Now, before you blame me for exaggerating (and I holler something about getting off my lawn), my point is really to think about how technologies, such as laptops, cell phones, and the like, have rapidly improved, become less expensive and more accessible to everyone. I think it’s a good thing, because most of these technologies make our lives easier. The trick is to maintain a balance. I’m not saying that I’ve been successful at finding the balance, but I constantly try to look for it. Part of it is setting some boundaries (for instance, work gets done at work, and when we come home, it’s time to be a family and play with the toddler). I’m excited to keep watching as the technologies keep changing.

Unanswerable Questions

As we go through life, we learn that there are unanswerable questions. Why do some couples have trouble with fertility? Why do people sometimes die so young? The one I’m struggling with today is why do some children die without getting a chance to live?

Friends of friends of ours have lost four-month-old Baby J today. While we don’t know Baby J or the parents, my heart is breaking for them. I pray for the parents, the grandparents, the friends. I can only hug my baby a little more closely tonight and hope that our friends know that we would be more than happy to help in any way we can.

Perspective on fuzzy monsters

If there's one thing I've learned after becoming a Mom, it's perspective. I definitely look at the world in a different way now. Geeklet always comes first, and she's awesome, so I don't mind doing that. :-) I could write much, much more on perspective, but this post is reserved for Elmo.


I have to admit--I'm not quite in the right age group for Elmo. He showed up and I wasn't very impressed. I couldn't believe all of the people going crazy over the "Tickle Me" Elmo (including some of my teenage peers!). Now <mumble, mumble> years later, I get it. Geeklet has a small-ish vocabulary (and learning new words almost every day!), but "Elmo" took no time at all to pick up. As a matter of fact, most fuzzy monsters are called Elmo. I suspect that she'll get an Elmo doll this holiday season. (Oh heavens! I hope Elmo is easier to find this year!) We don't even watch much Sesame Street, but she certainly knows who Elmo is.


So, when this trailer for Being Elmo came across my computer screen, I was very excited. It's a movie about the man who created Elmo. The movie looks awesome, and I hope I get to see it some day. (Let me know if you need a tissue...I have a box right here.)

Here's the website for the movie: http://beingelmo.com/index.html. Looks like it's getting a limited release in October 2011. I'm hoping that it will come to DVD quickly, for those of us nowhere near the cities where the movie will be shown.

It's fall, so that means it's time for Apple Dip!

So far, everyone who tries this apple dip loves it. Here's hoping that you like it, too!

• 1 jar Mrs. Richardson’s butterscotch caramel ice cream topping (the jar is around 17 ounces. We’ve tried it with other caramel toppings and it just isn’t as good.)
• 1 8-ounce bar of cream cheese (we’ve tried the reduced fat and generic brands, which all seem to work well)
• 1 package of Heath Bars (we usually get the mini bars, which are easier to find around Halloween. You can also get a pack of the full-size Heath bars.)
• Apples (pick your favorite variety!)

Crush the heath bars into small bits (excellent for stress relief!). Be sure not to form a powder, though. You want small pieces that will give a good crunch, but fit on a slice of apple. Mix the caramel and cream cheese. I usually warm the caramel by putting it in the microwave for 20 seconds and let the cream cheese come to room temperature, for easier mixing. (Or, I make hubby do the mixing!) Don’t let the caramel get too warm, though, because it will melt the chocolate on the Heath bars with less-than tasty results. Add the Heath Bar bits and mix together.

Slice apples to desired size and dip! We've found that the dip also works with animal crackers, pretzels, and pita chips.

Enjoy!

On being a female geek (or does gender matter in the geek world?)

I’m a geek.* Everyone knows it and I’m not shy about it. However, I came to that realization later in life when compared to many of my geek peers (I was around age 22), but I think I’ve always been a geek. Also, this post brought to you by this interview with Kari Byron (Myth Busters!) and Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory).**

My husband helped me find my geek colors. As we started to get to know each other in 2000 and got married in 2001, he introduced me to so many of his favorite geeky things. We started playing boardgames (Talisman!), card games (Magic the Gathering!), roleplaying games (DnD, Deadlands, and *so* many more!), and videogames (World of Warcraft!) together. He also introduced me to all of his friends, who shared common interests. We started getting together for gaming sessions, and ended up forming long-lasting friendships.

But, this post isn’t about my geek colors, specifically. It’s more about my experiences as a *female* geek. It’s an interesting perspective. My experience has been very confidence building. I quickly found that I was a minority to the male geek population. This made me special! Did I mention that I like feeling special? :-) I was also somewhat of a point of confusion for my male counterparts.

Male Geek: “Wait...you’re a girl. and you like Magic?! and DnD?!?”
Me: “Yes. you are very observant! I don’t play tournament Magic, because I don’t want to deal with banned cards. I prefer to play friendly games with my friends. I also prefer DnD 3rd edition, but 4rth is growing on me.”

After a few years, I found confidence in the fact that I knew my way around so many types of games. While each game has its own rules, if you’ve played one or two before, it’s easier to pick up and play a new game. So, when I can talk intelligently about (and even teach) my favorite games with other geeks, it makes me feel good! I also gain confidence that I can intelligently talk about the differing game mechanics between DnD and Deadlands, including the benefits to both and which type of gamer would prefer the differences (Deadlands tends to be much more about the role-playing; DnD tends to be more about combat and mechanics; but I digress.). I don’t know any RPGs in an in-depth way. I know just enough rules to be a player character. I let the Game Master (GM) tell me and guide me through the rest. Not knowing all of the rules also allows me to lean more on my creative role-playing skills. I tend to think, “could a half-elf *really* carry a two-handed axe? probably not. So, I’ll just grab this short bow and some arrows.” Generally, if you use common sense in your role-playing, the rules will follow suit.

Maybe my situation is unique: for a time, our gaming group was small and mostly male. They were so happy to have a girl that it’s almost like I was put on a pedestal. They treat me *very* well and take care of me. If we’re at a convention (our favorite annual trip is GenCon Indianapolis), all I have to do is say “gee, I’m kinda thirsty” and one of my friends will find me a drink. Don’t get me wrong, I get my fair share of harassment, but I like to think it’s because they like me. I also like to think that we’ve developed a mutual sense of respect. I consider all of my gaming groups (which are now geographically dispersed) to be very good friends.

So, “being a geek” seems to be becoming more popular and mainstream, especially as shows such as Big Bang Theory, Eureka, and more become increasingly popular. I am so very happy that being a geek is becoming more acceptable in our society. I hope that continues and that our daughter feels comfortable to like what she likes and not worry about what other people think. I also think that you don’t have to be into Sci-Fi, games, or comics to be a geek. You could be a geek about tractors, landscaping, or even golf. I think everyone has an inner geek and I encourage everyone to embrace that inner geek and ENJOY!!

*Yes, I prefer the term geek. I won’t correct you if you call me a nerd, but, to me, the term geek is more applicable.

**I love that partway through the interview, Bryon asks Bialik a question, taking over the reporter’s job. It also tells me that the encounter was very much a conversation and not just an interview.

what will they think of next? XBox Kinect version

In searching around the interwebs today, I found a link to a new XBox Kinect feature. (Here's the link for everyone!) It's called Avatar Kinect. I think it's a pretty nifty idea. You sit down in front of your XBox Kinect, invite your friends to join you, and you can have a conversation with those friends with the backdrop of your choice. Backdrops include football tailgating, talk show, news desk, and more. This new item is part of the Kinect Fun Labs Gadget.

I suppose that my biggest disappointment is that we know very few people with a Kinect, much less an XBox. I'm also slightly creeped-out by the whole thing. (and yes, you should get off my lawn, you dang kids!) I mean, it's pretty cool technology, but it's also kinda weird to see yourself, as a cartoon avatar, talking to other cartoon avatars. If the reports are correct, the Kinect is able to pick up all of your body language, from swinging arms to raised eyebrows.

I guess we'll just have to test it out to see how it really works. I'm not sure of the practical applications, but it would be pretty sweet to have a virtual football tailgate with my parents, who live across the state. I will also have to look into how the gadget deals with multiple people in the same room. I would prefer to have a different avatar for me, my husband, and the little one. The video seemed to imply this was possible, but I wonder if there is a cap on the number of people in the same room?

Here we are, Living In the Future

One of my favorite bloggers, Wil Wheaton, often uses the phrase "Living in the Future." I can relate. I enjoy all of the things that our current society has to offer. I have an iPhone, several home computers (yes, I said several), most of the current gaming consoles, and more.

I hope to you this blog as a place of reflection. I expect to talk about many, many different topics. I hope you'll enjoy my reflections on life.

feel free to comment here, or contact me via kjferchalk [at] gmail [dot] com.