Thing #9 Finding Feeds

Of the three tools that Carol suggested for finding feeds, I like the "atmosphere" of Syndic8.com the best. However, it did not prove to be very helpful in finding feeds for Science articles, especially Biology. Topix.net has a little bit of a "tabloid" feel that doesn't appeal to me, but I appreciate the fact that it has a "Science and Technology" bar that I can click on to find articles. Since I'm not a huge fan of blogs, I probably won't make much use of technorati.com.

To choose RSS feeds for my Google Reader, I found several of them right on the Reader when I set up my account. I then added several from National Public Radio (npr.org) since I am a long-time listener and fan. Finally, now that I understand the meaning of the RSS feed icon, I am checking for it on any website that I find helpful.

Now that all this info is readily available on my Google Reader account, I just need to remember to check in, check out the latest info, and check out before I allow it to eat up too much of my time!

Feeling Full: Thing #8

I just made a first pass at setting up my Google Reader account with 7 feeds, ranging from items genuinely useful to my professional development (e.g. Scientific American) to pure fluff (e.g. Cute Overload). It was fun to browse the "pre-packaged bundles" that Google had put together, then pick and choose the feeds I thought would be useful or entertaining. I like the idea of having all that "latest and greatest" info in one place.

Since I've been "all over the place" as a sub the past 10 years (I sub K-12, all subjects), my knowledge of Science has both atrophied and lagged behind. If I can focus on the Science articles that come across my reader, and not get too distracted by the entertaining-but-not-particularly-useful items, I think this will help to refresh my database.

As far as a Science classroom goes, this is a great way to make my subject "relevant". What better way to engage the students while I take attendance than to put a current story, image or video up on the screen for their perusal? The reader will also keep me up-to-date on current topics that might come up in or class discussions. And sometimes, it's just a nice stress-reliever to put up something entertaining for the kids to enjoy. Last year I subbed a couple of days after April Fool's Day, and was able to show this excellent spoof video on penguins made by the BBC:

Winter Blossoms

The "23 Things" class has motivated me to learn how to upload photos from my camera onto the computer; now that my son has given me a tutorial, I need to write the steps into a Word document before I forget!

Gardening is therapy for me, so I'm a little unbalanced in the wintertime. :) My houseplants help, and I'm even starting to see a few hopeful signs of life in the yard. Top to bottom: a "Christmas" cactus, which usually blooms about 4 times a year; a really huge (each blossom is over 8" in diameter) amaryllis that my husband has dubbed "Audrey II"; a few dainty crocuses that just poked up outside this week. Now, if we could just import some of that snow from the East Coast...

#7 Thankful

Regarding technology: all I can say is "thank heavens my kids got their Dad's "technophile" genes, and that they (and their Dad) are willing to help me out with this class!" I'm pulling my hair out enough, even with their help... my son just sat and laughed at me today (in between giving helpful hints), because I was making so many "frustrated" sound effects while doing my homework.

#6 More Flikr Fun

Mad Dash Through Europe

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

Here's a map of the countries we visited on a two-week trip this summer, to celebrate our daughter's H.S. graduation. Exhausting, but fun!

18 Pages Later... Thing #5

Following Carol's suggestion to do a search for our city's name on Flikr, I ended up spending the better part of an hour gazing at photos of places that I love, but which I could never capture with the skill and artistry of these photographers. I was completely captivated. It was late on a school night, and I kept telling myself "just one more page"... then kept looking at more.

For my "favorite", I chose "Curving South into Fort Collins", at this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortphoto/3301020193/

I love this shot because it captures a view of the South end of the city, taken right next to Spring Creek Dam. Since I ride my bike up here often it's a familiar road and a familiar view, but I rarely see it after dark. The curve that is lit up in this photo represents "the home stretch" of my rides, when I'm screaming down the hill to my neighborhood nearby. By that time in my workout all the hills are behind me, I'm enjoying speed without effort, refreshed by the exertion and fresh air, looking forward to going home.