Well this has been quite a technological weekend for me. It is difficult for me to get to the computer during the week. My time is consumed with teaching, lesson plans, professional development workshops at my school and classes. For that reason I spent almost all day saturday and today online working on my webquest and my wiki's and now my blogs. As much as I disliked it, I know that I learned alot with my assignment. My partner is ver computer savy and I needed to do a lot of work just to keep up. But again she has been of great comfort. In a little way it demonstrates the importance of seeking out other teachers for advice and ideas and also to help one keep on track. I'm very excited at my school, Austin East because they are having extended classes on how ot use and operate smart boards. They have promissed me one for next year. It will give me access to the internet for my classroom. Now if only I could get AE to hire my red head mentor then I'd be set!

macifying!

In spite of my resistance I'm beginning to become a little more familiar with the Mac and therefore the "fear" factor is less and less. Moving and arranging files is becoming a little clearer as well. Sometimes I actually know how to do things before I get there!!!! (Thank God for my red-headed friend to my left. There are times I would be so lost without her help. Well, they tell us over and over the importance of collaboration. I had done a wiki and a blog in my Teaching Foreign language class but it was on a PC, it just made things seem familiar somehow. It's opening, copying and moving the picture around that is alien to me. But again it's becoming more familiar. I have been looking forward in the syllabus and there are some areas coming up that I look forward to understanding. I know the instructor is frustrated but with a background in theatre, we usually tried to stay as far away from computers as possible. I've been assured that next year I'll have a smart board and can incorporate some of these strategies in my classroom. My students will benefit. Things continue to be stressful in the class for me, I find that if my computer responds slowly or if I focus on the wrong thing for a second then the directions in the class have passed me by and I'm several steps behind. Also it is hard to see the cursor on the computer screen in the front of the class so sometimes I don't know where I should have clicked. Again thanks to the redhead. She says she sits at a computer all night at her night job and explores and that she has a mac and that is why she does so well. I'm convinced however that somehow it's because I'm 54!!!!! and she is 24ish!!!!

This week was a hectic one for me in class. I can't decide whether my issues are just technology issues or mac issues. I've never even been on a Mac before this class. I keep having knetic issues with how you enter things etc. It's that sort of hand thought communication that you don't even think about when you know your way around a computer. So I guess you could call it progress that I'm beginning to navigate my way around the Mac. Then when I get intensely focused on what I'm doing I miss some of the directions for what we are supposed to do next. !!!! Lucikly everyone around me helps a lot. I have big plans for my French class and technology. They keep promising me a smart board. Right now I don't even have any computer access for my class. My students don't move well to other locations and the computer lab is always busy with the core classes anyway. But if I can get the smart board then I can do things like power points. Yes it sounds like the dark ages, but I don't even have the ability to do powerpoints in my classroom. This means I have to do way to much direct instruction. But if I continue to gain the skills then when I do get the equipment then I'll know what to do.

Une petite histoire

I have had at least three careers in my life...thus far. After my first BA from UT in theatre I worked for the Birmingham Children's theatre and The Birmingham City Schools. I moved to Atlanta and worked for seven years as a professional Actor at the Academy Theatre. I moved back to Tennessee and was an adjunct professor at UT in the dept of theatre. I was also a professional company member with the Clarence Brown Theatre. I moved to France and lived for a year with my two sons after the death of my wife. This began my interests in French. I put the acting career aside to pursue my French...another lucrative career choice! After my second BA in French I took a position at Austin-East High School teaching French and Theatre Arts. I hope to combine my interests by going to the University of Edinburgh and getting a higher degree in European (French) Theatre. What I really want to be when I frow up is a professional student!