Winter Solstice and Lunar Eclipse

Here are some photos I took the morning of Dec. 21st.

A $40 Smartboard.

Johnny Lee demonstrates how to use a Wii remote and projector to create an interactive whiteboard. He also demonstrates how you can turn your existing Wii into a 3D system.

Happy Holidays from the ladies at edcentre.ca click on the video link below

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/WvFUX0Ac1Ofa6jmu

Merry Christmas from the guys at edcentre.ca click the video link below

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/3ONpba4bTxtFEDh7

PNLS

I am having a great time presenting to the PNLS board today.

What's Wrong With Our Food System?

11-year-old Birke Baehr presents his take on a major source of our food -- far-away and less-than-picturesque industrial farms. Keeping farms out of sight promotes a rosy, unreal picture of big-box agriculture, he argues, as he outlines the case to green and localize food production.

Getting Organized with Google Calendar

Go Riders!

There is a lot of Rider Pride in Saskatchewan as the Grey Cup will be played on Sunday. If you go to youtube you will find a number of Rider Songs. My favorite is still "Green is the Color", but here is a new one. You can also read an article about one of my favorite Riders, Mike McCullough. It shows that you can be a winner on and off the field. Go Riders!

Bibliotherapy (Book Therapy)

How to Set and Keep Personal Boundaries

Everyone can benefit from reading books especially books that help you to become a more self-confident, balanced, healthy person. The books below are great to read if you have trouble keeping the "bad" out of your life. Often people will just try to avoid others or build "walls" to protect themselves. This works for awhile but eventually we suffer because these walls also keep the "good" out. We want to be able to let as much "good" into our lives as possible. The answer: Learn how to set personal boundaries and let others know what they are clearly, respectfully, and assertively. Also healthy boundaries have clear consequences that must be enforced if others overstep them. The examples given in the books show how people who were manipulated, controlled, and abused at a young age have trouble setting and keeping boundaries as adults. The books also look at the different types of boundaries such as boundaries with parents, children, internet, food, drugs/alcohol, marriage, etc. It is helpful to read conversations in the books that show one person trying to keep focused on the boundary while the other person tries to manipulate, abuse, or control. I hope you read these smart straightforward common sense books or others like them. They will definitely help you to take "good" care of yourself.

Edcentre visits Saskatoon Public Online Centre

I recently had a chance to visit another online learning provider in Saskatoon, SK. The Saskatoon Public School Division's Online Learning Centre is located in Room 6 of the Evan Hardy Collegiate on Saskatoon's east side. They provide online learning opportunities to staff and students from K-12. Donna Veale leads the project and a staff of approximately 12 full and part-time teachers and developers.

 It was interesting to observe the various similarities and differences between the OLC and edcentre.ca. We are similar in the way we provide alternative learning opportunities for students; online delivery of courses and the ability to work at a pace chosen by the learner rather than the teacher. The use, and the limits, of technology are shared. Like edcentre.ca, the OLC  tries to reduce the amount of paper used during the learning process, especially in the math courses. In these instances students fax their completed assignments to the instructor, and with upwards of 30 students per class, the amount of paper used can be substantial.

The differences between the two online learning providers were varied. Saskatoon Public's Online Learning Centre uses the Blackboard learning management system, whereas, edcentre.ca uses an open-source web program called Moodle. They are essentially both learning management systems but have different capabilities, advantages, and disadvantages. Another difference to note is the enrollment of students; edcentre.ca continually enrolls new students in courses throughout the year, however; the OLC has registration deadlines and population limits. These are the two predominant differences and the others vary in scope.

Professional development is key to stay relevant in an increasingly changing education environment and the opportunity to collaborate with fellow distance ed. teachers was a great learning experience. I have made some new contacts and look forward to incorporating new ideas and perspectives into my practice.

Live Talk Session a Success

On Nov. 17th edcentre.ca hosted its monthly Live Talk session (assembly). It was well attended by an energetic group of students from across Saskatchewan. The theme was Your Digital Footprint. You can view the recording if you like by clicking here. A video from the session is shared below. Thanks again to all who attended!

Edcentre goes South...end

On November 3, 2010 five Edcentre staff went on a site visit to Southend.

Picture (left to right):
Rita Lowenburg (Literacy)

Elizabeth Hill (Plato)

Jason Murfin (Math 20)
Kona Byson (Native Studies 20)

Behind the camera:
Nadia Persaud (GED)




We took a pit stop at the Churchill River. Some of us even braved walking on the bridge. As you could see, I didn't even make it off the shore...

And what is road trip without any car troubles. Here Kona and Jason answered the aged old question: How many instructors does it take to lock in a car seat?


Once at Southend, we were greeted with a handful of community members eager to learn about the Edcentre and all it has to offer. The afternoon was packed with presentations, prizes, and even a mini writing lesson was squeezed in for one of the lucky students.

We spent the rest of the afternoon meeting the community and setting up their learning centre with PLATO and other online tools.

As we left Southend, we were pleased that we were able to connect with some of our students (and for Kona, even sneak in a lesson or two). Our visit allowed students to finally put a face to the talking screen they hear in their lessons. But most importantly, by seeing all the educational courses and tools Edcentre has to offer, we hope our visit allowed them to realize that location is no longer a factor when wanting to purse ones education.

The Memory Project

This nationwide bilingual project will create a record of Canada’s participation in the Second World War as seen through the eyes of thousands of veterans. The Memory Project will provide every living Second World War veteran with the opportunity to share their memories through oral interviews and digitized artifacts and memorabilia. These stories and artifacts will be available on this site for teachers, students and the general public.

Shimon Steinberg: Natural pest control ... using bugs!

Kelly @ Sciematics

I went to a great session this morning by Stephanie Pipke-Painchaud on Differentiated Instruction. She is a teacher in Tisdale and her presentation is shared on her website.

Teaching Machines

Teacher is a robot

“It’s a typical classroom scene: Students working at their desks as the teacher calls out instructions,” CNN.com reports. “But, unlike your average teacher, this one is made of plastic and computer circuits. This isn’t a sci-fi movie; it’s an English-language class taught by Engkey, a robot teacher, in the coastal city of Masan in South Korea. Part of a pilot program launched by the South Korean government, students in two elementary schools in the city are being taught English by robot teachers. In high-tech South Korea, robots serve a variety of educational purposes and the government is pressing ahead with plans to expand its robot learning, or ‘R-learning,’ program.”

Read More

Navigating Through WorldWideWeb Waters is Tricky

Just came across a little study (1) (2) conducted by an academic at the U of Connecticut that demonstrated the lack of skills youth have online, especially in deciphering between valid websites and fakes. I have a lesson early on in my science class that replicates this and the majority of my students believe the "pacific tree octopus" is real just from looking at the website(the website states their natural predator is the Sasquatch!)

Check out the websites and see for yourself.
Pacific Tree Octopus
Dog Island

I have introduced them to a tool that helps them tell if a website is legit or a hoax. http://www.easywhois.com/

It was a neat eye-opener to see how the internet can be very "saavy".

Times are a Changin'

In case you haven't heard, math in Saskatchewan is currently being revamped and renovated. In our province we are moving toward a two streamed approach; Trades Math and Foundations Math. Just like the name implies, the Trades Math deals with math concepts that are applied in the trades employment fields and day to day consumer math. Foundations Math is the precursor to Calculus and is more of an abstract course.

I have the unique opportunity to develop courses that have never been taught before. I am like the Mike Holmes of math development and like his motto "Makin' It Right" implies, I too am wanting to make it right. Therefore, I extend my hand out to you. If you are experienced in a trade or other math related profession and would like to lend your expertise or suggestions, I would very much appreciate it; or maybe you know of a person currently working in the field and can pass on the invitation. Any feedback would greatly enhance the course for the edcentre.ca students who are currently enrolled or who plan to enroll in the future.

Thanks in advance.

Jason Murfin

13 Stunning Photos From 10-Year Sea Census

13 Stunning Photos From 10-Year Sea Census

Archived live event

Change is inevitable......
We all are part of the magic of changes in the world and in our own lives.
If you would like to view the session here is the link
Be sure to have your sound turned on.

Dr. Anthony Muhammad

Northern Lights School Division staff was treated to a follow up day from Dr. Anthony Muhammad. The theme of Professional Learning Communities was continued from last years Convention. If you have the opportunity to hear Dr. Muhammad speak, it will be well worth your time. You can also read one of his published articles online.

edcentre staff visit Batoche

Jason and Kelly took at trip to Batoche during the Northern Lights School Division Convention on October 12th. The church and rectory have been well maintained and our guide Rose Marie educated us with stories from the late 1800's. It has been 125 years since the Battle of Batoche.

Batoche displays the remains of the village of Batoche on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. It was the last battlefield in the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Louis Riel selected Batoche as the headquarters of his "Provisional Government of Saskatchewan". Several buildings have been restored within the site. The site depicts the lifestyles of the Métis of Batoche between 1860 and 1900 - the trails they walked, their homes, their church, and the Battle of Batoche, May 9-12, 1885. (from Parks Canada's website)

Mars on Earth: Eco disaster in Hungary after red aluminum toxic sludge

Stefano Mancuso: The roots of plant intelligence

Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence.

NASA discovers hundreds of new Earth-like planets

Fire Tornado Filmed in Hawaii

How web video powers global innovation

TED's Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation -- a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. But to tap into its power, organizations will need to embrace radical openness. And for TED, it means the dawn of a whole new chapter ...

Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education

Education scientist Sugata Mitra tackles one of the greatest problems of education -- the best teachers and schools don't exist where they're needed most. In a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and saw results that could revolutionize how we think about teaching.

Visitors @ edcentre.ca

Sonny and Lucy came for a visit today while Sonny's mom (Rachel) was working on her Biology 30 class.

Stop by for a visit if you are in the area. The coffee is always on!

What Is Your Water Footprint?

What Is Your Water Footprint?

Take a water tour with us through your home, garden, diet, energy use, and your stuff! Then, pledge to cut your water footprint by 20%.

Click on the Picture of the Duck for a link to the web site

Cobra vs. Mongoose

Lee Hotz: Inside an Antarctic time machine

Saskatchewan Canoe Quest

Martina Carriere, one of the edcentre.ca students is busy maintaining a web site for the Saskatchewan Canoe Quest, a 12 stage race along the old fur trade waterway from La Loche to Cranberry portage in Manitoba. The teams and canoes were in La Ronge yesterday and raced from Missinippi to Stanley Mission today. Martina is posting results as they become available and is providing an opportunity to track the progress of the event and the teams.
There is nothing like the sight of a flotilla of voyaguer class canoes on the water and I can say from experience that there is nothing like paddling in one of these canoes as a participant. We wish all of the adventurer/competitors all the best.
Thanks to Martina for sending the link!   Saskatchewan Canoe Quest

2010 Grad and Awards Ceremony

A Celebration Of Learning

Today we are gathering outside by the Montreal River to celebrate personal achievements of learners who participated with the edcentre.ca learning community this school year. We will  honoring high school graduates and award recipients. Drop in to the live web conference room from 2:00-3:30 pm. (June 23)  Live web conference to see and hear the proceedings. We will be broadcasting using a wireless data link from the river.
Stay tuned for pictures and award recipient information. The event will be archived and a link provided for anyone who would like to view the proceedings at a later time.

Giant Python on the Loose

Reptile Expert Brady Barr approaches seven of the world’s most dangerous and venomous snakes to determine which snake is the deadliest. He will scientifically investigate each species of snake by grading them on five basic criteria: size, volume and toxicity of venom, personality, and number of human deaths.

Megafishes Photos, Megafish Wallpapers, Download, Photos -- National Geographic

Megafishes Photos, Megafish Wallpapers, Download, Photos -- National Geographic

FINISHING WHAT YOU STARTED

It is such a good feeling to finish what you started. To look back and be amazed at all those thousands of little tasks is a reward in itself. Only you will ever know how much work it was to accomplish. Only you will know all the ups and downs and sacrifices. So it is only right that only you will know the greatest feeling in the world... that of personal achievement, accomplishment and success. You can't buy this feeling or take short cuts and definitely no one can "gift" it to you. To all of you that have achieved your goals with us at edcentre.ca this year I would like to congratulate you. I would also like to thank you for being an inspiration to others including myself. Keep setting those goals, facing those fears, and achieving success.

Frogs Shake Booties Before Fights

Very Strange Behaviour "Indeed"...

Happy World Oceans Day

To help promote our world ocean, Tuesday June 8th was declared World Oceans Dayevents worldwide to help you celebrate. and there are many

Nature

I am very grateful for nature's beauty.  Yesterday I witnessed a 10% rainbow that was magnificent.  I wondered what people in the past might have thought they were perhaps a vision, spirit, or sign.  I know that I think of it today as a sign that I am very blessed.  I also saw a two year old bear that just woke up, a coyote that isn't scared of vehicles, and a silver fox.  It is such a treat to see these animals out in the free environment.  Even the two deer that I saw on the side of the highway were fascinating (although I was scared that they would jump out on the road).  It is a treat to be living in a Provincial park.

Brian Skerry reveals ocean's glory -- and horror

Photographer Brian Skerry shoots life above and below the waves -- as he puts it, both the horror and the magic of the ocean. Sharing amazing, intimate shots of undersea creatures, he shows how powerful images can help make change.

HorizonTreaty Education Video

Where's Waldo

I am not sure where Waldo is right now but he put together a cool google map to highlight the hometowns of these Saskatchewan born NHL players. He then shared the map with CBC radio's The Morning Edition.

Waldo Berg has been an instructor for Northlands College for many years as well as a contributor to CBC radio.

Have you thought about the environment lately?

As oil is spilling into the Gulf from the latest offshore drilling accident, BP (British Petroleum) executives were busy meeting with Canadian politicians concerning future off shore drilling in Northern Canada. They are asking that certain safety/environmental regulations be dropped to save costs. One of the regulations they want dropped is the requirement to drill relief wells at the same time as the construction of the rig. Had there been a relief well constructed on the Horizon rig, the huge environmental disaster caused by the rig's demise may not have occured. It seems oil companies may know how to drill anywhere, but they sure don't know what to do when something goes wrong - guess it costs too much to figure that out!!

Furthermore, the BP rep (Drinkwater) offered no answers on the safety of drilling in the Arctic and declined to answer any technical questions. (I say sorry BP, the regulations stand.) Unfortunately, I wonder if the government can be trusted to make the right decision. In general oil companies and government do not have a good track record when it comes to environmental concerns. So what can we do - its time to make some NOISE!!!!

Reports on BP meets Canada's Government

Canada Grills BP on Arctic Plans Video Report: by Global Report

Interesting Stats on Effect of Oil Spill on Land --WOW!!

by the way in case you don't know...........Canada is still soliciting bids for exploration licenses in the Beaufort Sea and the Mackenzie River delta in the Northwest Territories. The locations up for grabs include a parcel of land roughly 200 kilometres offshore, to the west of existing leases owned by BP and Imperial Oil. (full article)

Something to think about - our consumption of oil and gas.



And......let's not forget about the environmental disaster created at the Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta (same oil companies and government acceptance of "relaxed" regulations)

Google yourself

When is the last time you googled yourself? If you have posted information on the internet over the years, google and other search engines can find it. A few weeks ago I was involved with some job interviews and used google to find more background information about applicants.
Whatever information you have shared on the web will influence potential employers. It makes sense to reconsider posting something that may be a poor reflection of your character at some point in the future. You many not be aware of this but you probably already have an online portfolio of sorts that can be gathered together through search engines by anyone out there.
We know that the web has an archival history even though some sites or information may have been removed. (Way Back Machine can find web pages that are no longer active.) As digital citizens we need to recognize that we have a web presence the moment we share something. When you post to a public network it is open for the world to see.
Just as an experiment, try googling yourself to see what sort of web presence you have. What does your digital footprint look like? Will Richardson suggested at the May IT Summit conference in Saskatoon that we need to teach young people about their digital footprints and what it means to have a web presence. The future for our children and grandchildren involves realities we haven't imagined. Part of the reality will be what our children and grandchildren create. What their footprint will look like is hard to say, but one thing for certain is that it will be different from the network and connections we currently have access to.

Craig Venter unveils "synthetic life"

Craig Venter and team make a historic announcement: they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He explains how they did it and why the achievement marks the beginning of a new era for science.

The BIGGEST LOSER!

Yes, I am the biggest LOSER! However that means I won the $200 cash prize for losing the biggest percentage of body fat. I owe it all to quitting three bad habits. I managed to knock down two out of three bad habits over the past 51 days. These bad habits lowered my initiative and drive to eat healthy and be active. I can definitely see the results and the one bad habit I partially resumed is going to be avoided again because I find that it is not "paying off." Also logically I can see the solid results of dropping these bad habits and this makes it easier to not start them again. Now I am going to work on developing three good habits. I don't know why but I feel hopeful that all good things come in 3's so we will see what happens. I will be looking at the idea of CHANGE in our online assembly and see how humans can effectively change their habits and thinking to make positive changes in their lives....stay tuned.

New Hubble pictures suggest Milky Way fell together

New infrared images of the Milky Way globular cluster 47 Tucanae (this one recorded at a wavelength of 1.6 micrometers), reveal that both the cluster and the Milky Way's central bulge are 11 billion to 12 billion years old and may have formed simultaneously with the Milky Way’s halo.H. Richer, NASA, ESA

Who do you read?

There are many blogs that you can follow on a daily basis.

• Gardening: Northern Exposure Gardening (La Ronge)
• Sports: NHL.com
• Education: Top 100 Education Blogs

You can find a blog on anything that you're interested in. Expose yourself to passionate bloggers who may be experts in their field.

Google Wave is coming.....

Something of interest came up on my tweetdeck this morning. I followed up on the links and found that it is not available to everyone yet, but the beta-testing is going on as we speak.
I think Google Wave will really be worth a look. There are so many interesting ways it might be used to connect people. We have been using Google Docs to collaborate on documents and archive them in a common space. Google Wave takes this into another dimension. I am asking myself how it will be different from many of the social networking tools. Google Wave might be really useful for learning networks.

27 DAYS!

I don't know if anyone has heard this before but.....apparently it takes 27 days to break a bad habit and/or form a good habit.  I  personally dropped three bad habits in the last 27 days.  Although I was tempted many times and at times it was tough due to social pressure....I DID IT!  Having the goal of 27 days helped quite a bit. #1 It was a short enough time frame "to see the light at the end of the tunnel" and #2. It was a long enough time frame "to break the physical habit".  I did a little research on it and found that some sites say it is 21 days and others scientific studies say it is 66 days. I have decided to try and continue losing my bad habits for a total of 66 days. I have also set some new "good" habit goals in the next 27 days.  I will let you know how it goes.
Kona

Why we need to go back to Mars

Moodle FN was my idea!

It Won't Be A Secret Anymore

We can only keep a secret for so long.

At 2:00PM on Wednesday April 28, come to the school assembly to find out what the secret is.
I can guarantee that it will be worth your time, especially if you are thinking about getting your courses completed before the June deadline.

To participate in the school assembly, make sure your earphones, speakers or headset is on and go to: http://breeze.edcentre.ca/assembly1
Type your name and enter as a guest.

Remember.....2:00 PM Wednesday, April 28.

web jargon

Today I met our newest staff member. (Welcome Rick!)
He met a lot of web tools that we use regularly.

Small world

Cory, one of our online students returned from a trip to France over the Easter break. We hope to have some images from his travel experience posted here. In the meantime, stay tuned to the blogs inside the school class areas.
Travel throughout the world has been impacted by the volcanic eruption in Iceland over last week and now over Newfoundland this week. We are connected in more ways than are apparent on the surface. The eruption at Mt. St. Helen over a decade ago had far reaching impact across North America due to the volcanic ash. Events that take place far beyond borders are like ripples and waves on water. What sort of tsunami like impacts might we expect as a result of events both positive and negative in other regions of the planet?

Carlin's latest guitar video

Carlin is taking an online class through the edcentre. He regularly posts new video.
If you have an interest in guitar, you are encouraged to subscribe and perhaps share some of your own work.

Where do the Science Fair Winners get to go?

Check out last year's Science Fair Nationals - http://www.cwsf2009.ca/en/about/

Are YOU a procrastinator?

....It's been a while. There are so many different sites and tools out there that we check out and then move on to other solutions. I was looking around for old accounts I may have created on YouTube and I bumped into something that still seems relevant! A few years ago I was experimenting with a 30 second video commercial for the edcentre, and here it is. I think it's time to challenge the CPT students to put something together. I have been PROCRASTINATING on this a little too long. Anyone is invited to pick up the challenge. - Post a 30 second video announcement for the edcentre. We'll find a big, big prize to give away if we get more than 5 submissions.

Biology 30 Creighton Students

Keira and Karma from Creighton High School discuss their online experience.

Earth Hour 2010

David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times S

Weekly Journals

This is a sample from a math student's journal.

Hi there Kelly, thank you for the set up for question eight. I have been able to follow along and have the basic understanding for elimination. I will have my question faxed to you some time this week. If I do get stuck again, I will surely contact you for help. The video you sent was very helpful, because I am learning online without an instructor in front of me going through it step by step, I find the video very beneficial as a learning tool. I learn better when my teacher walks through the steps with me, it helps me better understand what I need to do for the lesson I am trying to learn. Thanks again Kelly, Sincerely yours, *****.

I appreciate this students reflection. As an Online Teacher I don't get to see the faces of my students very often. I miss the "I got it" look that a student will give when they finally understand a concept that was giving them trouble.

Thank you ***** for letting me know that you had that look.

Logo Compeition

The Saskatchewan Aboriginal Literacy Network is having a Logo competition. There is a $500.00 prize for the best Logo. Please click on the following web link for more information.

SALN

Staff Meeting Fun!

Don't you wish that you worked here!

What Physical Activity did you do today???
Are you as physically activity as you should be???

Are you concerned about the amount of physical activity that young people are involved in!!!!

Attention Saskatchewan Youth .... win prizes!!

S.Y.N.C with GenerationAction.ca

From March 6 - 15th trivia questions will be posted on the following social media outlets:

Twitter - @Kenji22
Facebook Group - Generation Action
Blog - www.generationaction.ca
or Text 550-9646

discoveryeducation.com

I found an interesting website today (discoveryeducation.com). You can listen to my review by clicking here.

Proud to be Canadian

As the Olympics come to a close this weekend, one wonders whether the exuberant display of patriotism will live on. I don't think I can remember an event where we have such as display our Canada flag. All Olympic competition areas have been a sea of red. (maybe Canadians caught the colors bug from the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

As CTV were out interviewing people on the street many foreigners commented that they didn't think we were very patriotic - humm... so why would they think that!! It isn't the type of constant in your face patriotism displayed by the USA - but rather a patriotism of the calmer kind.

The other thing that I noticed about this world class event is the exposure that our Aboriginal peoples have had - wonderful!!

I hope that the Olympics has helped us to remind us of what a great country we live in. We have more Canadian heroes - let's celebrate!!! (Wish I had one pair of the 3million mittens that were sold- I'd frame them)

DID YOU KNOW?

Choices, choices, choices............



There are two ways to get to your online course.

1. Go to http://edcentre.ca and click on the log-in link. (less direct)

2. Go to http://video.edcentre.ca (this will work when the other link doesn't)

Show Us Your North!

The Show Us Your North website has a lot of potential to showcase Northern Saskatchewan traditional and contemporary arts. This will coincide with the 2010 Northern Saskatchewan Games and Cultural Festival.

You can participate to make help this website a vibrant showcase of the wonderful creative people in our Northern communities.

You might interview artists, tell or write stories, take photographs or video, write and perform songs, look into the history of an art form in your community, look into the history of a building in your community that has hosted arts and cultural events over the years….the list of possibilities is endless.

If you know of an artist, craftsperson, carver, basket maker, sled maker, snowshoe builder, film maker, musician, painter, dancer or storyteller in your community, please let us know. We'll try to set up a web conference.

If you have digital images of Northern Art work you would like to share, please contact us the online school. We would love to post images on this blog to share with others.

Olympic Medal Standings

edcentre.ca distance learning service collage

Try wordle to make your own word cloud. This could be a lot of fun !

brrrrrrr - how cold it was

This plow ended up in the ditch just outside Moose Jaw during the January 26th winter storm.

The Moose of Moose Jaw

Three moose in a field between Moose Jaw and Regina near Grand Coulee

Congratulations to Joseph Custer, winner of the semester one course completion draw!

A draw took place on Tuesday, February 9 to give away a brand new LG netbook. Names in the draw included all students who had completed courses within the first semester of this year.

Thank you to everyone who showed up for the draw session.

Door Prize Winners:
Wendy Saam, Racheal Madsen, Cheyanne Charles

This June another draw will take place and a similar prize will be given away.

Every online student who competes a course is automatically entered in the completion draw. If you are an online student taking a course through the edcentre, make sure your name ends up in the completion draw.

Hints For Success:

• Organize yourself.
• Set up a location where you can work without interruption.
• Establish a schedule and stick to it.
• Set reasonable targets for yourself.
• Communicate with your instructor and ask questions.
• Communicate with your fellow online students.
• Be ruthless with yourself. If you miss time you have scheduled for your class, make up the time....you owe it to yourself.
• Be persistent
• Never give up!!!

Thousands participate in snowball fight

What would you do if we received 2 feet of snow? You could read a book or watch a movie. Maybe you could organize a snowball fight.

At least 2,000 people converged on Dupont Circle, in downtown Washington DC, on Saturday afternoon, for a snowball fight of epic proportions -- responding to messages posted on Facebook and Twitter and spread through word of mouth.

We know the power of social networking. How do we harness that power for use in our classrooms? Feel free to leave a comment or to invite me to your snowball fight!

Goal Setting

Check out this set of short videos on Goal Setting and Conflicting Goals.
Learning Edge 8 - Goal Setting

Drugs and Kids

Do you know if your child is taking drugs? For many parents they feel lost when it comes to being able to deal with the world of drugs. For many they are unfamiliar with many of the warning signs that may exist. They are unsure of what drugs are a potential problem and for many even the thought of discussing drugs with their children is entering into a world they know little about.

There is a wealth of information relating to drugs on the internet which we can all gain knowledge from. As a starter I would suggest a visit to Canada Health website.

They also provide parents with a guide to help you talk with your kids. Start learning today and take a peek at this valuable resource. Talking With Your Teen About Drugs.

So maybe the next time we are on the internet reading our Facebook gossip, it would be a good idea to investigate a little about drugs, and educate ourselves to something that is a growing problem in all communities.

Saskatchewan artist wins gold in Italy

Patricia Leguen wins gold with this ice sculpture, "Schuss" at the international festival in Cortina d'Ampezzo. How's this for goal setting?

Northern Craft: The Robertson Trading Collection

Craft people in Northern Saskatchewan lost a friend and patron this week with the passing of Alex Robertson. [Click here for obituary].

When Alex and his wife Phyllis opened the Robertson’s Trading Post in La Ronge in 1967, he came with a love of First Nations Craft that had been acquired during 25 years of travel throughout northern Canada as a fur buyer for the Hudson Bay Company. He soon became a supporter of Craft Artists, then a collector, then a patron in the truest sense of the word.

Click here to see some of the Craft Collection on display at the Saskatchewan Craft Council.

La Ronge Good Good-Morning Toastmasters Celebrates 15th Anniversary

Good Good-Morning Toastmasters is celebrating their 15th Anniversary on Wednesday February 3, 2010 from 7-9 p.m. at the La Ronge Hotel & Suites. Everyone is invited to attend and coffee and finger foods will be provided. A fun-filled evening is planned with present members, past members,executive members and honored guests.
The first meeting of the Good Good -Morning Toastmasters Club No. 9842 was held Monday, March 25th 1994. The charter club had a membership of 22. Meetings were held in the Mistasinihk Building Boardroom at 6 a.m. Audrey Mark reminisces, “I still cannot believe that I would get up and meet at six bloody clock in the morning.” Today the club meets at noon hour but still retains the original name.

The action packed programme includes 5 recognition awards, appreciation awards and gifts as well as door prizes. The Good Good-Morning Toastmasters Club looks forward to another great 15 years of achieving goals, helping others improve their leadership and communication skills, and having FUN!

Science Leadership Academy

Imagine a school where all of the teachers have similar ideas about how to approach learning.

Imagine a school where learning is based on asking questions, (inquiry) collaborating and engaging in projects in order to learn and discover. Imagine a school where technology is just part of what people do, like using a telephone, or buying groceries with a debit card.

Imagine a school where using technology is not viewed as innovative or something new, it is simply part of everyday learning.

I browsed through links on the moodle site for the Science Leadership Academy this morning after reading a blog post from Dean Shareski who was attending a conference hosted by the school. I followed some of the links to published writing and project descriptions posted by students via video, wikis and other web 2.0 tools. I was encouraged by what I found and heartened to know that there are model schools out there that have been able to create school environments that are engaging and exciting places to learn and explore.

This is the 21st century....we have had better tools for learning for quite some time now. It's time to stop talking about them as if they were something innovative.

Technology should be part of the day to day work that we all do.

Maybe we shouldn't be just imagining......maybe we should be imagining and DOING.

What's the Right Thing to Do?

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_what_s_the_right_thing_to_do.html

Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation

Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

Medieval helpdesk

Use VoiceThread in your online classes it is easy to embed into Moodle

Check out this website to make interactive personal timelines!

http://www.ourstory.com/
This site would be great for students to make their own life time line and predictions of their future based on their goals.

Am I at risk

Group warns 'perfect storm' of heart disease looms

I heard on the radio Monday that at the age of 38 I am at risk for high blood pressure. Young Canadians (20 - 39) are not as healthy now as they were just a few years ago. Read and listen to the story here. Then go for a walk!