Is this what "the blues" might look like?
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Discovering Screencast-o-matic. This nifty little site lets one easily create screencasts and export in a range of formats. I've used it to make screen casts for my students showing them how to use the logic functions in excel.
Its interesting but probably a bit "too much" for most.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Chicken sushi for lunch. More accurately, I ate said sushi at morning tea (was very hungry) and it was a wonderful treat. Even better is the fact that I did not have to pay for the sushi :)
Sometimes things made of string sound good, other times they look good.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Participating in my first ever Video Conference. It was a fun, interesting experience and the information that was shared was really useful. VC is not as good as face to face but it's often easier and more convenient.
A chance variation led to this one. I like it.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Finding some fun new apps to use on "my" ipad. I especially like the version of Soduku that was free to download. Having said that, I'm hoping to find similar (better) apps for the Android. It turns out that Geogebra (one of my favourite pieces of Mathematics software) does not work on an iPad but it apparently works on an Android.
Hopefully this is a new way of thinking about a festival which is pretty old. In this case, it pays to read the fine print. This blog will be on an extra long break as this year, Shavuot falls on Sunday / Monday meaning that the next time I'll update will be after sunset Monday.
The huge version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Getting to take a bit of a break from blogging - it will be good to take some time off (even though it won't be for long).
This one is "different". I like the intricate border on the club but the overall image falls firmly in the "weird" category.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Learning how to use Windows 7's docking feature to have two windows open side by side so that both take up exactly half the screen. This has made life just that little bit easier for both me and my students.
This is what happens when you cross a sun and a clock.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Free hot chocolate (and other goodies). Went to the Interace Expo today and it was quite good. Learned a fair bit about upcoming trends regarding ICT in schools which was great. Would have been even better if the keynote speakers had not all gone overtime. Long story short - instead of a generous hour and 15 minutes for lunch, we had closer to 30 minutes (not cool). Dodgy time keeping was somewhat balanced by the free lime green USB that I picked up from the Microsoft stall holders. All in all a good (but exhausting) day.
Named for the snail shell skeleton in the background. Don't see it? Look just above the dancer's heads.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Typing up this blog entry on my new iPad. It's on loan from school and I've been asked to trial it and compare it with my Android. So far I'm finding it pretty cool. The only big issue is that the iPad does not "do" Flash which means that some awesome content is off-limits. Have noticed that the keyboard is easier to use than an Android one.
If you throw a wheel in some water, this is what could happen (but only if you live in my world).
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Being appreciated :) My principal paid me a visit today and told me that they would be paying me a bit extra because of some of the work I've been doing. Said work has to do with e-learning and I thought it was part of my job (seeing as I now teach IT). Needless to say, this news was a fantastic surprise. The extra money is great - but being noticed / appreciated and acknowledged is what really matters.
The texture of this one is oddly compelling.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: A surprisingly relaxing Sunday. Was expecting to be really busy laying out a 12 page newsletter but that did not happen as the editor is new and has not drawn out the layouts yet. The only downside is that it looks like next Sunday will be rather hectic.
As in this one has been zoomed in. A lot!
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Finally getting round to joining Drop Box. It's just a really convenient way to store material on-line / keep an off-site backup. It's cool because you can share files with others without needing to do the email attachment thing. It also syncs between multiple devices and that can be very, very useful. Free space is limited but it "works" for me.
Reminded me of something that could be used in target practice - only this is made of gold and precious stones.
In real life there a number of problems with a target of this description but in my world, anything is possible.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Being able to easily prove that some of my students cheated. Obviously I'm really, really annoyed that they did not do the work themselves but at least in computing it is very easy to prove cheating when it happens. I have all the evidence on my computer and come next week there are going to be a number of very upset students (and parents) at school.
As is often the case, revisiting old styles can lead to very pleasing results.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That tomorrow probably won't be as busy as today. Not that today was bad - it was actually rather good. Having said that, I'm really exhausted and am looking forward to the weekend.
Another trip down memory lane - at least as far as revisiting what was done before.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Being able to send sms messages via the Internet. Not only is this free to do but it's a lot quicker than trying to text using my phone. I still prefer email but not everyone has email (and not everyone checks it regularly).
If you use your imagination, this one could be the close-up of an owl's eye (sort of).
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: A tiny class in which much learning was done. It has been posited that class size does not affect educational outcomes to any great degree - let's just say that my experience shows otherwise.
This one reminded me of feathers dusted with gold.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That google docs makes it easy for my students to share work with me - especially if they don't have working copies of Microsoft Office.
Sometimes a whole series of fractals appears with great ease. Those times are good :)
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That mini-chocolate muffins (home made) on Mother's day = a very happy mum.
Weirdly, this one looked best on a white background
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: A perfect day of rest and relaxation which involved nothing more strenuous than walking, eating, napping and some light reading. Let's just say that Saturdays are a decadent necessity.
The quote was overheard at a get together of Computing / Digital Technologies teachers (basically geeks who teach). Hence the name of the fractal.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: I'm pretty sure that today has been my best day ever over at Shutterstock. Had a whopping 45 downloads which has made me very happy.
The braid on the side is probably more impressive than the main flower.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Intense rainbows and the fact that said rainbows don't photograph well. Knowing they don't photograph well means being able to simply stand and enjoy without feeling the need to capture the moment in a more permanent way.
Sometimes it is possible to get something appears to be both fragile and delicate.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That my woven bread was a 'hit' at dance class. I literally cut the dough into strips, wove them into a rectangle and then carefully applied white sesame seeds to the weft and black sesame to the warp. Said bread looked and tasted really good. I probably should have taken a photo of it but didn't (never mind).
This one looks like a star made out of feathers. The deep colours worked well with the black background - that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That one of my students who was really struggling to get the hang of macros managed to experience some success today. It was the first time I've seen her stick with a problem and not give up and I'm really proud of her.
I revisited an old pattern and came up with a light that could be used to guide the lost - hence the title.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: A drizzly morning. Mainly because if it was not drizzling, then I'd have to put up with pretty horrendous sun-strike whilst driving to school(ie: can barely see the road). Its a temporary problem and in a couple of weeks it won't be an issue because I'll be driving to school in the dark - although I'm not sure that's much of an improvement.
The dancer featured in this wallpaper requested the quotation and the colour. Hopefully this piece meets with her approval.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: That I don't live in America. Seeing a news item about Obama on the campaign trail depressed me. It seems as if the American people don't really have that much of a choice for their upcoming elections. It looks a bit like trying to choose between "bad" and "worse".
Both clip-art and background worked out well on this one. It's no surprise that both took a while to create.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Thermals, gloves, a scarf and extra blankets. Winter has arrived and it's wonderful to be warm and cozy.
Where they sleep on odd looking furniture and only awake when they feel the rays of the pink / purple sun.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Finally becoming a fully registered teacher (very long story - happy ending)! The process has been arduous at times and I'm incredibly relieved that it is over.
This one bears closer scrutiny.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: The miniature cupcakes that I made for morning tea tomorrow worked really well.
Its not quite a four leaf clover, but it's close enough for our purposes.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Figuring out how to embed video in Moodle (or content management system at school). It's pretty easy which is good and it's nice to finally have a way of making youtube videos accessible to students, even though youtube is blocked for them. Basically I can download the videos and then upload them to Moodle. It's not quick but it works well and also means that videos are easily available for next year and I don't need to worry about them moving or disappearing.
This one is pretty enough. Might be a bit too pink for my taste.
The wallpaper version is available at the preceding link.
Today's Gratitude Item: Street parking (and choosing to use it). I had a moderation meeting this afternoon and when I got to my colleague's school, I parked outside and walked to his classroom. This was a great decision as it turned out that they are doing some pretty major building works and there were basically no available parking spaces inside the school.
