http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/neighbours/story.html?id=34750188-85ea-4034-992b-196ce874139e
Jennifer McDougall, For NeighboursPublished: Thursday, January 24, 2008
When Phil and Heather St. Louis were matched with an Australian couple through the Alberta Education teacher exchange program, the whole family was excited. Yet, Heather's mom Kay Hudson would miss watching her grandchildren grow and develop.
"A whole year seemed so long for them to be away . . . we thought we'd only be able to imagine their surroundings and day-to-day activities."
Keen to have folks back home join in the Aussie adventure, Heather launched a blog to entertain them with details and breathtaking photography of their temporary home and the many side trips to places such as Great Barrier Reef.
Hudson became an avid reader, checking every morning for new posts. "We didn't know what to expect . . . we thought the blog would be more or less another version of e-mail. We were amazed at how everything came alive."
The blog also chronicled daily rituals -- driving, shopping, birthday parties, local foods and words, a broken leg, and some loose teeth. Heather's daughters shared their thoughts on things only kids understand, like the first day of school.
"On the way to class we saw a bunch of Preppies (kindergarteners), you can tell them apart from the rest of the school by their gold hats," Julia wrote last January. "Everyone else has blue. Well, it turns out we couldn't find our class and had to go to the office for help. When I walked into class my teacher introduced me and everyone was like, 'Do you have the accent? I love your accent!
'Say something!' It was strange. LOTE (Languages Other Than English) was confusing, though, because all of a sudden everyone started speaking Japanese."
Ten-year-old Rebecca told of a new sport she discovered in a piece titled Netball and her brothers watched while Mom loaded photos of new friends.
Phil says blogging meant their experiences wouldn't be forced upon others. "Reading the blog was something people could elect to do; this was very appealing to us."
Former classmates and teachers visited the blog. Kelsey Wagner, a Calgary pal of Julia's, says the descriptions helped her learn about Australia, noting the Ayers Rock post as a favourite.
Heather remained connected with her friends this way as well. Kelsey's mom Paulette Wagner says, "We tried using Skype (software that allows for free calls over the Internet), but the time change made chatting difficult."
Regular blogging and commenting back was the answer. "I marvelled at how they would arrive home from a (side) trip and in no time have the post up."
Cindra Kennedy felt she explored Australia vicariously through her travelling friend's stories. "I felt like I was there with them because each post was so real. There was no artifice, no glossing over, no stretching the truth."
Heather strived to write positively. "I made a vow to never write anything negative . . . of course we had some low points, but the blog wasn't a place to talk about them."
The St. Louis' Brisbane neighbours were also reading.
"They enjoyed the take on their country by us Canadians. They laughed at some of the things I commented on, such as the wonky shopping carts which won't go straight, and said that they had never thought about it but it was so true."
This kind of feedback encouraged Heather and the comments her posts generated kept her motivated.
"I think 11,100 views," she says of the year-long traffic, "is amazing for our little piece of the web! I'm thrilled by it. But even if it was just a way to journal, and no one else read a word of what I wrote, it would all be worth it."
Besides having been most effective for keeping in touch, Australia 2007: One Year Down Under is now a lovely record of one family's incredible year. Heather plans to print the entire blog then bind a book for each of her children.
"I am proud that we have this reminder of all we did and saw and the incredible people we met . . . we will read those entries and look at those photos for the rest of our lives."
This article is about a teacher who moves to Australia with her family for a year to teach, but her parents’ fear they will miss their grandchildren growing up. So Heather creates a blog so her parents are able to learn what is going on in their family’s life and are still able to keep in contact and know what and how their grand children are doing while they are away. Blogging is amazing technology that can help keep family and friends in contact.
I like many other college students has a facebook, and not only is it to keep in contact with my friends here and back home, I also keep in contact with my mum and dad (who both have facebooks) as well as my cousins, aunt and uncles who live in England and Ireland. It is a great way to stay in contact. Blogging can be use to inform others as well as so many other things. I think blogging is a new and more “high-tec” way to keep your family updated with what is going on with your life, especially with being away at college.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Grant brings technology into classrooms
By JASA SANTOSStar-Tribune staff writer
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 2:05 AM MST
The kindergarteners in Cristy McBee's classroom are learning to make graphs by keeping track of Wyoming weather patterns, and they're checking daily temperatures and weather conditions using their hand-held computers.Each student has a Hewlett-Packard iPAQ, similar in size and style to a BlackBerry, thanks to a $5,000 grant from Qwest and the Wyoming Department of Education."Word's gotten out," McBee, a teacher at Desert View Elementary in Rock Springs, said. "'You're doing what with 5-year-olds?' It's been fun."The Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program accepts applications from Wyoming schools working to find innovative ways to bring technology to students and teachers.Grants in the amounts of $12,000, $8,000 and $5,000 will be awarded to three different schools this year. Applications are due Feb. 1 and can be found on the department of education's Web site."This supports students and teachers at the same time," said Michael Ceballos, Wyoming president for Qwest. "We anticipate additional applications this year."
McBee's school, along with Jeffrey City Elementary, won grants last year. Learning to use the iPAQs was hard at first, McBee said, but now students use the devices every day for lessons."It really motivates them to continue learning," McBee said.Qwest's grant allowed Jeffrey City Elementary students to become part of the Wyoming Equality Network, a distance education program in Wyoming.The elementary is a one-room schoolhouse 56 miles southeast of Lander. Students there don't have the chance to take part in extracurricular activities or special classes like art, said Andrea Schurg, a technology instructor at the school."They miss out on a lot of opportunities," Schurg said. "We were thankful to have won the grant."Using the network, students at the school take part in televised classes that are taught at North Elementary in Lander. Jeffrey City fifth-graders have band practice right along with North students. One boy is learning to play clarinet, Shurg said, and is eager for North's first concert in spring.Schurg said students have responded well to having televised classes, as have teachers."They really love it," Schurg said. "They're so excited."
Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com
This article tells about the Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program in Wyoming and how it is helping students in that area. The kindergarten students in Cristy McBee's class are learning how to make graphs on their IPAQs by keeping track of Wyoming weather patterns, as well as check the daily temperatures and weather conditions. With this technology grant students are also able to learn curriculum not offered at their own school, via computers. Schools like Jeffrey City Elementary now have the ability to allow their students to become part of the Wyoming Equality Network, giving students to take extra circular activities they would normally not be able to learn.
The early use of technology is preparing the next generation for the future, some people may thing that kindergarten is too young to start using IPAQs, when I reality it is the perfect age to begin. We can’t have a technology gap, and allowing children to start at a younger age will help their knowledge in technology.
I think the early use of technology is a great thing, children already know more than their parents do when it comes to technology, and I believe the earlier the student starts using the technology, the more experienced they will be, and their resources will soon be unlimited. Technology is a very important part of our future, and we must make sure we keep up as well as educate the future generations.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 2:05 AM MST
The kindergarteners in Cristy McBee's classroom are learning to make graphs by keeping track of Wyoming weather patterns, and they're checking daily temperatures and weather conditions using their hand-held computers.Each student has a Hewlett-Packard iPAQ, similar in size and style to a BlackBerry, thanks to a $5,000 grant from Qwest and the Wyoming Department of Education."Word's gotten out," McBee, a teacher at Desert View Elementary in Rock Springs, said. "'You're doing what with 5-year-olds?' It's been fun."The Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program accepts applications from Wyoming schools working to find innovative ways to bring technology to students and teachers.Grants in the amounts of $12,000, $8,000 and $5,000 will be awarded to three different schools this year. Applications are due Feb. 1 and can be found on the department of education's Web site."This supports students and teachers at the same time," said Michael Ceballos, Wyoming president for Qwest. "We anticipate additional applications this year."
McBee's school, along with Jeffrey City Elementary, won grants last year. Learning to use the iPAQs was hard at first, McBee said, but now students use the devices every day for lessons."It really motivates them to continue learning," McBee said.Qwest's grant allowed Jeffrey City Elementary students to become part of the Wyoming Equality Network, a distance education program in Wyoming.The elementary is a one-room schoolhouse 56 miles southeast of Lander. Students there don't have the chance to take part in extracurricular activities or special classes like art, said Andrea Schurg, a technology instructor at the school."They miss out on a lot of opportunities," Schurg said. "We were thankful to have won the grant."Using the network, students at the school take part in televised classes that are taught at North Elementary in Lander. Jeffrey City fifth-graders have band practice right along with North students. One boy is learning to play clarinet, Shurg said, and is eager for North's first concert in spring.Schurg said students have responded well to having televised classes, as have teachers."They really love it," Schurg said. "They're so excited."
Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com
This article tells about the Qwest Teachers and Technology grant program in Wyoming and how it is helping students in that area. The kindergarten students in Cristy McBee's class are learning how to make graphs on their IPAQs by keeping track of Wyoming weather patterns, as well as check the daily temperatures and weather conditions. With this technology grant students are also able to learn curriculum not offered at their own school, via computers. Schools like Jeffrey City Elementary now have the ability to allow their students to become part of the Wyoming Equality Network, giving students to take extra circular activities they would normally not be able to learn.
The early use of technology is preparing the next generation for the future, some people may thing that kindergarten is too young to start using IPAQs, when I reality it is the perfect age to begin. We can’t have a technology gap, and allowing children to start at a younger age will help their knowledge in technology.
I think the early use of technology is a great thing, children already know more than their parents do when it comes to technology, and I believe the earlier the student starts using the technology, the more experienced they will be, and their resources will soon be unlimited. Technology is a very important part of our future, and we must make sure we keep up as well as educate the future generations.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)