Game Research

I have found that the most tedious task in Globaloria, according to my students, is finding research to support game ideas. This task is listed under Choosing Your Topic in the side menu. Once students decide upon their game ideas, they are excited to get started creating games. Many students do not want to research information to enhance their games.

My questions is, how do I emphasize the importance of research? I understand why research is important, although I will admit that the tasks required in Globaloria do seem a bit tedious.

Any suggestions?

Snow Day!

Today we had our first snow day of the year! I got so much accomplished, but not until after I slept in an extra hour and a half ... nice! My first task was to shovel snow. I shoveled all of the walks and the entire driveway, whew!

Next, I cleaned my house (floors and all) and decorated Christmas style. I also visited my mother who has Alzheimer's. Those visits are never fun, but I was encouraged to hear her say the sentence, "I love you," even though she can't remember who I am.


On my way home I picked up some wood for the fireplace and a couple of movies. Tonight's going to be one of those "tuck in and get cozy" kind of nights!

Finally!

I have not been able to log on to create a new blog in the past week. I kept getting a "server is unavailable" type message. Did anyone else experience those problems?

Anywho, I'm back!!!!

My Christmas tree is semi-decorated (lights, but nothing else) a few decorations have been planted here and there, and a bunch of plastic storage boxes which hold Christmas decorations are scattered about the house.

No worries! We still have two weeks until Christmas, right?

Thanksgiving

I am very happy! Both of my kids, their cousins, and some friends are coming to my house for Thanksgiving. I bought a 20 lb turkey (I hope it's big enough) which I will stuff with dressing. I am also making a cranberry-orange compote, sweet potato casserole, and fresh bread. My husband is making corn, gravy, greenbean casserole and mashed potatoes. What a feast!

Mini Game Project

At the end of the Mini Game Project, we are asked the following questions:

Was it hard to make your mini game? What was the best part of this topic? The worst part?

I had a difficult time with my mini game, especially in the beginning. Learning my way around Flash was confusing at times. That was the worst part of completing the mini game project.

Eventually, I started to understand what I was doing. That was the best part, when I realized I was actually learning and retaining the information.

Why Blog?

Some students ask me, "What is blogging, and why do I have to blog?" Both are good questions!
According to Wikipedia, "a blog (a blend of the term web log)^[1] is a type of website or part of a website."

I'm not going on any trips or doing anything fantastical, so why should I keep a log period, much less on a website where everyone can read what I write?

I guess the best way to answer this question is to give it a try. No one could convince me that blogging would be fun until I tried it for myself. I'm guessing the same will be true for students who ask the same question.

My favorite thing about blogging is being able to express myself freely using words, pictures, videos and hyperlinks. Blogging is better than keeping a paper log, because I get the opportunity to be artistic. This past summer, I created some pretty cool blogs; click on the hyperlink to check them out!

10 years from now ...

I am hoping to be retired by then. I would like to stop teaching high school in nine years; I will continue to teach online classes as long as I can. 

I am also hoping that by then, my husband's band will be enjoying success, and that money will not be an issue ...

The Guitar

This weekend I played the guitar in the church band. It's one of my favorite things to do. My husband is the worship leader and he plays electric guitar and sings. We usually have a couple of back-up singers, a keyboardist, someone playing the bass guitar, and of course, a drummer.

Playing with a band has helped me to improve in leaps and bounds! Playing with a bass and drums has helped me learn new stums and  improve my rhythm. Additionally, I have the advantage of being able to ask my husband to show me how he wants a particular song played at times; at other times, he may show me an easier way to play a song. Playing acoustic guitar in a band is one of my favorite things to do.

Bummed!

This weekend, my husband and I spent the afternoon at Oglebayfest. It was a beautiful day, and we were enjoying ourselves thoroughly. I stopped by one stall to look at earrings, and the next thing I knew, my husband surprised me with a small wrapped package - it was the earrings I had been admiring!

The next day we went to the Wellsburg Applefest where my husband's band, the Adrian Niles Band was performing. It was a cold and rainy day, so I decided to wear my new earrings to brighten things up.

On our way home, as I struggled to get warm, I just happen to reach up and touch my left ear. Oh no! I was missing an earring! I touched my right ear. That earring was still there. I searched all over my clothing, but I could not find the missing earring. I searched all over the van but no luck.

My only deduction is that the lost earring went to that special place where lost socks, shoes, gloves, and earrings go ... lost one-of-a-pair heaven.

Fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the crispness of the air as the temperatures begin to drop. I especially love the changing colors of the leaves on the trees.

My other favorite thing about Fall is the fests. Locally, we have the Oglebay Octoberfest and the Wellsburg Octoberfest. This weeekend I will spend my spare time (and any spare change I can find) at the local fests!

The Adrian Niles Band



Gregg Molnar, Matt Penhos, Clint Landis, and Adrian Niles

 My husband, Gregg, plays the guitar in the Adrian Niles Band. They are the champion Blues Band in Central Pennsylvania; they won first place at a Blues competition this past weekend. As a result of that victory, they will be competing in the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, Tennessee in February 2011!

Quarterly Reports

Today I have been working diligently on creating my Quarterly Progress Report. I sure hope I did it correctly!

My Experiences with Globaloria Thus Far

I have learned much about HTML as well as how to create hyperlinks and how to embed  photos while learning about Globaloria.

Star Trek, the Final Frontier

These are the voyages of the starship enterprise on its five year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.