Great Example of a Newsletter

Newsletter project

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Beautiful, not Barren!

Every time I head to New Mexico I am amazed at the landscape. I live in south Georgia where it is hot, humid, lush, green, mosquito-filled, and slow moving. New Mexico is where the rest of my family lives.  As I fly into the Albuquerque Airport I always marvel at how brown the landscape appears. However, in spite of its seemingly drab appearance, the desert is anything but boring or barren. It is dotted with some of the most amazing structures nature has ever produced.

The days are hot and dry, but at the end of the day, the sun sparkles off the desert sands and produces some of the most breath-taking sunsets I have ever seen. That sunset is sort of your reward for suffering through the heat of the day.

I love New Mexico because my family is there, but also because God's paintbrush swept across it in a most wonderful way.

Enjoy the slideshow.

Desert Delights!

Personalize a free photo slideshow

Week 3 Elluminate Live! Discussion

Once again, I enjoyed our lively and interesting discussion.  Thank you for all of your contributions to our discussion!  In order to help with your follow up, I have posted the PowerPoint presentation on the blog and I have also uploaded a Podcast to help you with the newsletter.  You will also find the link for the free download of Cute PDF.  I also created a link at the top that will take you to the new Common Core Curriculum standards if you are interested in them.  They will take effect in 2015.


This is a picture of the amazing rock formations in New Mexico.  This one is in the Painted Desert.  I will be doing a PhotoStory with plenty more!


Here are the content areas everyone selected:


Reading = Shirley
Language Arts = Kathy
Math = Jennifer
Science = Carmen
Soc. St. = Jodi and Mechele
Art = Jessie
Music = MaryAnn
Health/PE = Anne

As always, let me know if you need any assistance.  Have a wonderful Fourth filled with great family, friends, food and fun!  Be safe!  I can't wait to share New Mexico's gorgeous desert with you.  See you in Elluminate next week. 

Week 3: PDF Files

This week (Week 3) we will be creating a newsletter and saving it as a PDF (portable document format) file.  In order to do this, please visit http://www.cutepdf.com

In the second section down on the website (see picture above) you will see the place where you can do your free download.  Go ahead and do that now so that you will be ready to begin saving documents in this secure format.  As always, let me know if you run into any problems.  

I will "see" you in our Elluminate Live! session on Wednesday. We will be discussing Chapter 3, selecting your content area for upcoming assignments, and learning how to construct a newsletter.  It will be another fun class session.  Can't wait! 

New Postings

Hello, EDU309 students!

I have added a few new pages to our blog.  I have added a page with "examples of projects".  One of these is a Header/Footer document, which is your assignment for this week.  It is the one with the graphic organizer on it as well.

I have also added a page for some short PodCasts.  The first podcast is a quick set of directions on how to insert and create your header and footer.  I know I modeled it in class this week, but this will be a good reminder if you are having difficulty.

As always, you may contact me via email or phone if you need more specific, one-on-one assistance.  Hope you are enjoying a week filled with learning, laughter, and love. Sunday is Father's Day, don't miss the opportunity to call home!

Fondly, Dr. Walts

PowerPoint Presentations

I have added a page to the blog called, "Weekly PowerPoint Presentations".  At the top of the page, right beneath the header you will now see a link called "Home", and right next to it you will see this new link.  When you click on the link, you will find that I have uploaded my slide presentations from our class.  The presentations may help you tap into your thoughts about our class session while working on your weekly reflections.  

Week 2

I thoroughly enjoyed our class this evening.  I especially liked our discussion about the "future of technology" videos.


This week:


Tonight: post your reaction paper to Chapter 2.
Friday: respond to at least 3 of your classmates about their papers.
Saturday: post your document with a header/footer and your graphic organizer.
Sunday: email me your weekly reflection.


Looking ahead:


Powerpoint presentation assignments (due Tuesday of Week 4):


Accountability and the standards movement = Jodi
Funding for educational technology = Jessie
The digital divide = Mary
Racial and gender equity = Jennifer
The role of distance education = Anne
Privacy and safety = Carmen
Anti-technology sentiments = Shirley
Information Literacy = Kathy
Online plagarism = Mechele


We WILL meet in Elluminate next Wednesday (June 22nd).  See you then!

Week 1 Reflection

Here is a reflection from one of your classmates that I thought you would enjoy reading.  We are off to an exciting start!      

      At first I was very nervous about taking summer classes. I usually do not because I do have three small children, work and take a full load of classes in spring and fall. The summer time is the time I take to recover from the rest of the year. However, by taking two classes this summer I will be able to student teaching in the spring and be done. After our first week I have the feeling that I am really going to benefit from this class.

            It is always nice to meet new people. I know a couple in this class but not many. They all seem like great ladies. After reading the “Who am I” stories I realized that many of us are in the same situations. We try to juggle work, school and family while maintaining our sanity. It is nice to know that I am not alone on this journey. When I attended SGC I felt like I was alone. Many of the student there were traditional students. I had already started my family. When I came to BPC I realized that most the women in my classes were just like me. They have all been an inspiration to me and have helped me get through this. I tell myself “if they can do it then so can I!” Great classmates and a great instructor always make for a great learning experience.

            I am going to learn to be friends with technology this semester. Technology is great and powerful. It will become a tool in my box and not an enemy at my door. Children love technology. They see it everywhere all day long. There are many way it can be put to good in a classroom. The teacher can use it to the class as a whole or allow individuals to learn at their own pace. The more I know about computers and other gadgets the more I can teach my students about them. The world has come a long way over the past few decades. It was very interesting to look at the timeline in our textbook and see it mapped out. It made me think of a story my grandmother tells. She can remember getting electricity in her house for the first time. She laughs about it now but after the man told them that it was hooked up and on her father rushed to put a light bulb in. He said that he didn’t want the electricity to run out the open socket. He assumed that it was like water and would be wasted if not plugged up. Now she has internet, cellphones and cable. She talks about how far the world has come since her first day of electricity.

            I am ready to learn how to navigate my way around technology. I am ready to learn about how to use technology in my classroom. I am ready to learn about educational technology as well as fun technology. I am ready to learn! Great first week.

Blog Features

I am testing a new feature of Blogger.  Hopefully you have received an email letting you know that I have updated our EDU309 blog.  You will be learning about Blogs in our class and actually creating your own. How many of you already blog?  If you do not, check out some teacher blogs at
http://taylorscreek.blogspot.com

Email me a reply to let me know if you have received an email; that way I will know that I have set up the function correctly.  Can't wait for our class session this week!

Milo Video

What did you think of Milo?  How can you imagine using a program like this with children?  What are the advantages that you can see?  Are there disadvantages that concern you?  Come to class prepared to share your thoughts.

Week 1

I have enjoyed reading all of your "Who Am I" stories.  It is wonderful that each of us has a unique story to bring to our class.  I see that you have already gotten off to a good start posting your assignments and replying to one another.  I will look forward to reading your reflections for the week.

I can't wait for our class session to discuss the 2 videos.  I am anxious to hear your reactions to the future of technology!

Summer 2011: EDU309

Welcome to EDU309!  This course allows us to explore all the ways to incorporate today's technology into the daily instruction of all subject areas.  Technology gives us the WOW! factor that gets students engaged in what they are learning.  When students are engaged, the research tells us that they are much more likely to make personal connections and retain new information.


I can't wait to share all these exciting new technologies with you this semester!