Back Again!

Well, here we are starting a new school year. So far we only have one student taking Globaloria, but he is doing an excellent job. We are working on adding videos to our blogs, and to tell you the truth, I have forgotten exactly how to do it, so I have to relearn with my student.

I am attaching a video about Globaloria below:

Graduation

Students are graduating left and right, but one student stands out (in my mind) more than any of the rest. That student is my daughter who just graduated from NYU.

She has worked very hard over the last four years to get to this point. To me, it seems like only yesterday that she graduated from Wheeling Park High School, and now she is an NYU graduate!

The graduation ceremony was held at Yankee Stadium in New York City, and the keynote speaker was President Clinton. It was very cool and exciting! I was very impressed with President Clinton's speaking abilities as well as the content of his speech. My daughter was moved and impressed also.

Next year, my daughter will begin graduate school. Her plan is to move to England and study at Oxford (if she gets accepted) or Cambridge. I am very proud of my daughter!

End of School Year is Approaching!

I am excited about the upcoming summer vacation. I am leaving for Texas on June 7th, and I will be staying with my father, stepmother, and daughter for nine days! My son and husband will join us for part of that time. Can't wait!

Paper Prototypes

A few of our students have started creating paper protypes, and I am very impressed with their work. One student is using his paper prototype to create scenes. Soon, we will be ready to start animation. To tell the truth, I did not believe we would make it this far ... This is exciting and encouraging.

Creating Games

Many students are finished with their mini-games and are ready to begin creating their own games. Today they are going to begin working on Paper Prototypes. I am excited to see their ideas on paper ...

Moving along ...

Many students are moving along quite well with Globaloria. A couple of students have finished the mini-game, while others are formulating their own games. Alll of the students have been keeping up with blogging and their Learning Logs. I'm a little nervous about starting our own games ... This will be something I need to focus on this summer, so that I am more comfortable with the whole concept.

Looking Forward To The Weekend

I Love Playing The Guitar!



Other than playing my guitar in church, I have no plans for the weekend ... Nice!

I have a million and one things that need to be done around my house, and I'm looking forward to having the time to get caught up on at least half of those things!

Then, I get to play my guitar for the church band, one of my most favorite things in the world to do!



This is one of the songs we will be playing this Sunday at church:

Where Have I Been?

I have been super swamped with grading papers during these last couple of weeks of the third quarter. I have also had an influx of new students who have been creating profiles and blogs for Globaloria. Today, I decided to take a quick moment to create a new blog (this is it) just to let the world know I am still alive and well.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This semester has kept me quite busy with an influx of new students. I have added eight students to our Globaloria list for this semester, and we will be getting four new students in the next couple of weeks. Additionally, I currently have four students who have not yet returned Globaloria permission slips.

The eight students I had on my roster last semester have transferred out of my class.

I admit that sometimes I feel like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to figure out who is doing what ...

Disappointment!

I was quite disappointed when I learned that I would not be able to continue working on the game I had created at the last Globaloria workshop.

I was using the trial version of Adobe Flash CS5 to make the game, but our school only has CS4 version, which I downloaded on my MacBook.I was rather excited about finishing what I had started ... now, I will have to start all over again. But that might not be a bad thing. I can begin working on my game at school while the boys are doing Globaloria, and maybe we can all learn together.

Starting All Over Again

With the arrival of new students, I am going back to the start of the course. So far, all is well, but there are definitely some things that I have forgotten how to do. I am going to have to review the directions for each new item.

This is good, though, as hopefully this will become ingrained in my memory for future classes.

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.