Sunday Morning Thoughts

I have two directions I can take this weeks post based on what’s going on in my mind and the world swirling around me.  I can’t get this upcoming election off my mind considering how important it is as far as the direction this great country of ours will be taken. I’ve never been a big McCain supporter, however I firmly believe he is the better more experienced man for the most important job in America. I hope and pray the American people see this as we enter the final week of the election. I’m going to leave it at that because I could easily star a rant about Obama’s socialistic views and desire to redistribute the wealth in this country. If he is elected we will be heading down a slippery slope towards socialism and that I believe is BAD for America.

OK…enough said on that subject for now. I’m sure I will revisit it next week as the election gets closer.  My daughter Andei has a photographic exhibit coming up at the college library next week and I am extremely proud of her and her dedication to photography.

Old Fishing Boat – Sicily Series

She has some really strong photographs she took in Sicily and I have been helping her print, mat and frame them for her upcoming show.  We plan on having the reception Thursday, November 6 initially in the college library starting at 5:00pm to view her work and let people meet Andei and then I am planning a reception for her here at the house from 6-8 with refreshments.  It should be fun and a great learning experience for Andei as she continues to grow and develop as a photographer / artist. It’s exciting for me to see how passionate and enthusiastic she is about her photography and I really am enjoying teaching her new techniques like developing and printing traditional film in the darkroom.

Click here for her Photography Blog to view a cross section of her work. Come out and see her show and/or come to the reception!

Take 10 Minutes to Watch this Video! May Change How U Vote

I don’t normally use my Blog for political purposes, however this coming election is just too important to sit back and not make a stand. I’m a veteran. I love this country and must admit I’m worried about the direction it has been going in. Watch this video! Information our mainstream media DON’T want to share with the American people because it’s blatantly evident who they are in the tank for – so watch for yourself and make your own decision. Luckily we still have free speech in this country, BUT who knows for how long. This current crisis goes way back before Bush. Yea Really! Don’t expect to get any unbiased reporting from the mainstream media. This information has to get circulated.

Distance Learning Workshop at WCC

I’m presenting a workshop on the various uses of Blogging, Youtube and Itunes in online instruction. I will be blogging this presentation as I go this afternoon. I’ll  also take a few photos and post them as the workshop progresses. This is first in a series of workshops I’ll be giving on this topic in the coming months thanks to a Tech Center grant from the state and Wayne Community College.

I have a very motivated and creative group of educators in my workshop today. They are all creating  Blogs and  posting their initial welcomes, in addition to adding pictures and videos from the web. The main point I like to get across in my workshops is that it’s NOT only about learning HOW to harness and incorporate these powerful tools (rich media) into our online classe – that’s is the easy part. Online instructors just have to sit and spend some time learning WordPress or copy and pasting YouTube embedding codes into their blogs and/or online classes. The real challenge for educators is making rich media content i.e. podcasts, enhanced podcasts and video  viable supplements and enhancements in their online classes. Sure its cool to put some videos in our online classes, but is learning truly occurring because of it? Is rich media a catalyst for engaging our students and connecting with multiple learning styles we have to address and meet.  We also need to be thinking of new and innovative ways to assess the impact rich media content has on the online learning experience. So hopefully I planted some seeds and sparked some interest in getting WCC faculty to explore and investigate Blogging, YouTube and Itunes as a viable compliment and enhancement to  their online courses.

Randall and Michelle blogging up a storm

Workshop Participants Create Blogs and Embed Videos into their online classes