MEOW - Meeting Leopard

Friday night my copy of OS X Leopard arrived! The back up and installation took about 3 hrs. The only negative thing I noticed was that my documents need to be organized. For some reason all of my movies and documents are smooshed together. That's minor.

iChat has some minor glitches. A friend shared his screen and then we couldn't get the cameras back on. I had to restart.

I really like the organizational features! The dock houses the applications, documents, and downloads, but the new part is that, with one click, you can see your apps. in a stack or grid format. Documents show in a cover flow, and downloads are either a stack or grid. I really wanted to try out time machine but my external hard drive is not large enough.

The new photo booth background have kept my son pretty busy. Ok, I like it too! I am anxious to try Time Machine, the back-up feature new to Leopard. Unfortunately, my external hard drive is not large enough.

I have to say, this is one nice kitty!

Reflection

As I have been reading feeds and checking out blogs lately I have noticed that many of them have a common thread. Many of my new pals are feeling overwhelmed. I have to admit that I am feeling the same way. I have spent some time thinking about all of this...

When I stop to think where I was less than five months ago... I was a third grade teacher very excited about integrating Palm Pilots, Inspiration, Appleworks, and Knowledge Box into her classroom instruction. I had never heard of wikis, twitter, skype, and the like. Along came July 2007 and the Keystone Technology Integrators Summit. Little did I know that my life was about to change drastically. Every minute of every day I was being exposed to new technology and tools, new people and ideas, new ways to keep in touch! Mike B. was so right on at the Summit, Day one, when he said something like, "you are going to learn new things but, for me, it was more about the people and the connections I made."

There are times that I do feel overwhelmed by all of the tools and technologies that are created and evolving almost daily. Then I stop. I take a second to think about all of the wonderful people I met, the ones who have become my network. I am not in this alone. There are others who share my passion. If I get stuck, if I need to vent, if I can lend an ear or some advice, my network is a click away.

So, as I reflect back, I realize how lucky I am to have had the experiences that I have had, to learn more about how our digital natives learn, to experience some pretty awesome tools to enhance learning and teaching, to connect with others who are just as excited about this stuff as I am, and to be able to have some really incredible brain food! The learning curve is steep right now, but I am truly enjoying the ride! P.S. Kristin H. this is all your fault ;)

Virtual Bookclub

Would you like to join a book club where the meetings happen virtually? You read a book and then join others in a virtual environment to discuss the book. A group of us are doing just that! The book that we have chosen is Wikinomics, How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Our group meeting will be set up here. Feel free to join!

K12 Online Conference

Just when I thought life couldn't possible get more exciting, along came the K12 Online Conference. This is a conference that spans the course of a few weeks and meets no where and everywhere! Presenters upload their content or arrive virtually. There are some sessions where participants can go and chat about what they've seen, heard, and experienced. Can you imagine? A conference that comes to you, when you are ready for it! As David Warlick, the first keynote speaker and respected blogger, said, we are redefining the boundaries!

A link to the entire schedule is here.