Extinct Volcano

The pic in the last post was this volcano.

3 States and 430 miles

What a day. We started in Texas, quickly drove thru a corner of New Mexico and ended in Colorado. The scenery and weather were amazing. The temps went from 101 to 72 then into the 80's. We had hot winds, thunderstorms with lightning and downpours and even a rainbow. At a rest stop we looked at a dead volcano and a recently killed rattlesnake that an attendant had just killed with a shovel. We got the last room in a Super 8 and paid twice what we've been paying. Like I said - Quite a day !

Texas seen-s

The landscape changes from the flattest straw colored horizontal to hills with scrub bushes in shades of "southwest decor" to rocky outcrops with designer boulders jutting out in colors of rust and mustard and now some oil derricks that have always looked like giant tethered ant heads bobbing in place. Where giant watering rigs cross a field, sugar cane is growing, otherwise black cattle are clustered under occasional shade trees. There was a brief rain shower and the temp fell to 72 - now back to 100.
Bert thinks the green fields are sorghum. We'll check it out. 2 days one state- Texas is big.

Good listening from Minuteman

So, Bert, of course brought the Minuteman library along for the trip and we are listening with the help of Overdrive to Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose. Story of a young NY artist who marries an engineer and goes West in 1876 to San Francisco. She took the transcontinental railroad 7 years after it was built and one month after Custer's last stand. Fabulous writing. Crazy idea. :-)

'member Trains?

I bet the daily batch of iPads are loaded in those containers that had Chinese names on the sides. Texas panhandle mighty dry - no rain since October.

Texas breakfast

Quality Inn this morning is serving up a Texas waffle - it's all about the size and shape here. Wichita Falls is the hottest spot too. We're heading to Colorado and cooler roads. We've earned our 3rd free night @ Quality Inn, too, after staying 2 nights - they actually serve up a pretty good complimentary breakfast.

Oh my - it's getting hotter!

We're almost to Wichita Falls Texas. We'll give the poor Subaru a rest soon.

HOT outside Dallas

Poor car. No shade. It got a new tire yesterday but today our covered wagon could use a relief shower. Big state big map and long drive.

New Orleans and Biscayne Bay

rain puddle in the French Quarter

Morning coffee at Cafe Du Mode - New Orleans

Buzz on his boat in Biscayne Bay checking the clouds

oops - time stamp is 6 hours early

I just noticed that the time stamp on the posts was 6 hours earlier than where I actually am.
So add 6 hours to all the posts before this one.
I think I was somewhere in the middle of the Pacific..... NOT!

Trouble on Ten

Just blew out our passenger rear tire in Baton Rouge on hwy 10. Waiting for AAA. Thank God we were right at an exit. AAA JUST PULLED IN. WOW!

Coco Kidnaps Us

So,.... we were wandering along off Prytania Street on Coliseum Street in the Garden District when we ran into Coco Edgerington who had just passed us while walking her dog. She was now on the porch of her adorable "shot-gun" house and We greeted each other- I asked her, "you get to live here?" and she invited us in to see exactly how she lived here! OMG! We walked thru the long front to back hallway and passed by over-the-top decor - a U-R-In-It House Beautiful. Hospitality to die for! Thank you Coco for sharing your piece of the "seven sisters" of New Orleans.

Charles Street Trolley to Garden District

Light rain and cooler temps this morning and we waited on St. Charles for the 1930's trolley that goes forwards and backwards on its route to the Garden District. The houses are magnificent along with the trees lining the walks - Live oak and Crepe Murtle and Magnolias. We paused at the Archy Manning mansion home to Peyton and Eli Manning.

Bourbon St Ladders Necklaces

A walk down Bourbon street @ night is the "party". Open bars with music pouring into the street while liquor beats off the worries people come here to forget and happy faces chuck necklaces from lacy balconies to lasso the passersby into the festivities. And in the middle of the street is a muscle tight man balancing on the rungs of a wooden ladder with a beam of wood on his shoulder - the ladder held up by the magic of the moment.

Bill cuts his pecan pie

And Sue can't resist a late afternoon sample. It was pretty tasty and the texture was perfect BUT it wasn't quite the Ben/Sue Pecan Pie. Yea us Ben!

Makin the Beignet

@ Cafe Du Monde. New Orleans is so cool. Everybody is on the verge of a party. Did 2 tours so far today and I've seen graveyards where they push the old bones to the back with a ten foot pole to make room for the .... And high water lines on houses still standing and silver caps in the sidewalks to check for termites and whole shopping malls gone and oil tankers on the Mississippi higher than the Jackson Sq and a 4 star hotel that charges for wireless and I haven't even been here a day.
Cant wait for the music tonight.

Seaside it's a Truman Story place

Adorable cute doll houses along an alabaster colored beach dotted with lollipop umbrellas. No sign of the BP disaster here. It's as artificial as the movie filmed there. DGMW - I like cute, but this is sort of "over the top" kinda cute.
Almost to Alabama and tonight we are in a 4-Star in New Orleans, thanx to good negotiating on Priceline.
We r finally heading West.

Clocked an hour

The Garmin and the iPhones just gave us an hour @ mile 2395 in Ponce de Leon FL. We r about to call it a day in 10 more miles in De Funiak FL. - 370 miles today.

Hours of Hot Highway

Tampa is behind us and Tallahassee is tonight's goal. Ate breakfast at A very healthy chain called First Watch. Actually had my breakfast of choice- fruit granola and yogurt- but they didn't have Greek yogurt. It's 95 but dry. The highway is very MT and we're getting real good with the cruise control. Lots of pine trees and trucks with the cut lumber go by. We love how Yelp guides us to good/unique places to eat which is a relief from the "anywhere USA" chain food choices.

Pancakes packing and parting

Our lovely extended weekend visit with sister Sally and Captain Buzz, 7 cats (Ramses, Eclipse, Sis, GreyFox, Frank, Sweetie,and Molly) and Parrot Jake plus numerous roaming peacocks, peahens and chicks, an elusive Iguana and a fat Buffa frog came to a close this noon as we finished putting all the bags back into the covered wagon, ate our plantains and nut filled pancakes and sipped our leisurely coffee on the enclosed veranda. It's their very loved spot and I'm eager to find our new spot. I love how all the pink houses look so right there.
Thanx Sal and Buzz

Rainbow Over Miami

Our last evening in Miami brought a shower and a rainbow hung in a Royal Palm Tree. A peacock also jumped into the Live Oak Tree just outside the dining room window. Colorful place - Miami.

Keys to good snorkeling

We caught the 12 noon snorkel boat out of John Pennekamp State park this morning. Water calm sky clear blue water like the bath. PERFECT day. We went to Grecian rocks and saw brilliant lavender sea fans lots of Parrot Fish other reef fish and conch on the bottom. Extremely clear water. A small Baricuda and TG no sharks. It's been a perfect Florida visit. We head up and out of Flotida tomorrow. Next destination - New Orleans.

Pickin Carambolas

Better know as star fruit. Sally and Louise are picking from an abundant growth on Louise's backyard tree in Pinecrest, a town south of South Miami. We'll be sailing on Biscayne Bay tomorrow.

Palms at the Deering Estate

Charles Deering Estate

Just south of Miami is the castle-like building Deering made for his art collection which is now in the Chicago Art Institute. He along with McCormack started the International Harvester Co in Chicago. Beautiful waterfront with palms.

Happy Hour in Miami

It's cool and breezy and the drinks are fine here.

Sally and Buzz and the Lady

Bert is enjoying a cool beer next to Sally's pond. Lisa's Lady has retired in So Miami and is enjoying life next to this lovely backyard pond instead of up to her ears in winter snow. We have done nothing all day except relax- no car- no miles. I did the wash and talked cameras with Buzz. Vay nose.

Classy driving

I am able to read the classes' posts on my iPhone which picks up the 3G network as I type responses on my MacBook Pro. I got all my work done on our way to Sally and Buzz in Miami. I'll upload it to the Moodle class when we get there in about 20 minutes.

St Augustine Florida

Late lunch in a very old city and we can't find that fountain of youth. Got a late start this morning as I hAd some repair work on the wiki for my online class. We are into Session 4. Hope to make Miami tonight.

Almost to Florida

We spent the morning in Charleston and took in a tour of the Nathaniel Russell house which was built in 1803 in the Federal style. N Russell became a wealthy shipping merchant and made his money shipping rice, indigo and slaves.
We cruised quickly thru Savannah, GA in the late afternoon in 101 degree weather. By 7:00 it had cooled off to 99 when we stopped in Brunswick GA for the night.

Morning stroll in Charleston

Bert found the Dixie Kitchen. We had grits eggs and a biscuit, and passed on the tomato pie which sounded wonderful. We walked thru the French Quarter and waved at the tour bus driver from yesterday as he came thru on his first tour of the morning. OBTW I figured how to post directly from the iPhone to my blog- Googled it and followed the lengthy directions. Yea me.... And Google:-)

Charleston, South Carolina

We took a late afternoon tour of this Nantucket-like town in an AC'd bus- thank God, as the temp was in the mid 90's. We are staying at the Mills Hotel right in the heart of cute downtown on Meeting St. Bert did a deal on Priceline and we lucked out. Had she crab soup, biscuits, scallops, fried chicken and green fried tomatoes at Poogans Porch. Mighty tasty.

On the way to Beidler Forest

We walked in Frank's Audubon Forest today

We stopped just about an hour outside Charleston, South Carolina, and visited the Francis Beidler Forest. Bert's college roomie and long time friend is the grandson of Francis Beidler II who donated the forest/swamp to the Audubon. It is 17,000 acres of virgin Cypress trees and Tupelo Gum trees. There was a 1000 years old Cypress tree. It is a swamp- a forest in water. It was pretty dry today as there has been a drought. While the temps have been in the high 90's for the past few days, it was only 82 in the forest. A really beautiful place. Thank you Frank.
That's our "covered wagon" at the entrance. 

The Deed is Done!

21 years @ 24 Thoreau. Two awesome kids, many baseball games, concerts, plays, ski trips and house swaps! A dream come true. And on July 5th the moving van came and took all our "stuff" and put it in storage in Watertown. And on July 7th we passed the papers and the keys to Frank and Renee Wang who will be the new neighbors of Sandra and James Wong, our neighbors for many years. Our good and longest known friends, Tom and Diane let us sleep in their guest room for several nights as we tied up the ends of our Lexington lives. And my longest known Massachusetts friend, Tricia, housed us our last night. I gave Tricia my lovely Night Blooming Cereus plant which strangely had produced two buds in the last weeks we were in the house. It never blooms this time of year, usually saving its exotic plate sized flowers for September - yet on July 7th from 8-12 pm two lovely blossoms opened in Hamilton, MA, their new home.
Friday, July 8th, mid-morning we headed to New York City and the first birthday celebration of our grand nephew, Ellison Philips-Chheda. Saturday we saw Jerusalem on Broadway with Jenny, Ellison's Mom and my niece. It was as awesome as the reviews and the Tony award winning lead, Mark Rylance, was amazing. We left New York City after the cupcakes were eaten and the presents were opened - about 3 pm. We are now in Fredericksburg, VA on our way south to Miami and a visit with my sister, Sally and her partner, Buzz. We are traveling South, then West, in my Subaru wagon with a Thule clam shell carrier - a 21st century version of the "covered wagon".
OBTW - as we travel, I am facilitating a 6 week online class for teachers learning about Web 2.0 and personal learning networks. It is an amazing group of motivated teachers. I'll let them in on my location status when the class is over. GTGT bed now.

Thank You all for coming to witness my going

Moments before going to the much anticipated retirement party yesterday, a friend(?) asked if I was nervous and added that I had nothing to worry about, as she was sure my speech was all set to go. SPEECH! What speech ???
So here's the speech that might have been:

June 15th, 2011 - Retirement Party @ Bedford High School
Thank You all for coming to witness my going:

What I have accomplished, lived through and lived despite of over these 8 years is vast and diverse. These are a few of my memories of change in Bedford:

PowerPoint was the Power Users first choice – Google Docs is now the collaborative choice of teachers and students, alike

Floppy disks were coveted - now replaced by space somewhere in a cloud

A laptop was issued only to MEET members – now many carts of them are available to whole classes of kids

There were no phones for teachers – kids and teachers can’t live without their personal cells these days

An online class was something only the Virtual High School in Concord could do – any teacher may write and offer an online class easily

A SMARTBoard was mistakenly referring to a woman with a good mind – these days it's something you tap, touch, project ideas on and engage your students with

I shared my office in the evenings with tiny furry visitors who enjoyed cleaning out my candy dish – I still share my candy dish with nightly visitors, but they now leave notes to thank me for the chocolate

A video was something you rented on the weekends – Videos are now made on a regular basis by many students for projects in their classes and to win awards in Washington

Data was a dude in Star Trek – now it’s what measures our successes and is studied using spreadsheets and charts by students and teachers alike

Renovation was a threat that became a 3 year reality only to be replaced by NEASC which has left us knowing that we A-R-E BHS.

So here’s a huge thank you and vote of appreciation to all my colleagues in this awesome high school who have embraced change along with me and graciously accepted that technology would forever challenge and reward them and do it at an ever accelerating pace. Keep the faith and remember – when you don’t know how to do something – ask a kid for help.

Sue

PS- the food, the flowers, and the especially the lace tablecloths were real and beautiful and all so lovingly done. It couldn't have been nicer. Thank you to those who honored the occasion with their care.

50 Sites in 60 Seconds

Education blogger David Kapuler has created a free slideshow of 50 great sites for education, creativity, organization and more. Each slide includes basic information about the site, a link to the site, and a link to Kapuler's review of the site.

50sites ver2

View more presentations from David Kapuler

Smart Phones with built-in projectors!

 Slashdot announces smartphones with new chips that allow for built in projection.

Immersive Education - Interactive White Board

 Look at what Media Grid is doing in a virtual reality space for education.

Streaming Augmented Reality

iPhone + Book

It’s the hybrid book which combined iPhone and an ordinary book.
You can enjoy interactive actions there,
by touching the screen or tipping the book as you read it.

2009 Top 100 Tools for Learning

Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009

View more documents from Jane Hart.

Google in our Cloudy Future - Chrome OS

Google has big plans and wants to move all our "stuff" to the web.
Read the blog post for more background.

Wallwisher - No log in necessary

This is an online notice board. You create a background then add stickies and move them around to gather and organize your ideas. You are issued a URL even before you start, so you can embed the "wall" in another online doc, app, blog, wiki, etc.... Great ice breaker.

Publish it online - Just upload the .pdf

If you can type it - you can publish it online to issuu. Have your students turn their work in here, and be available for all to read. Re-think the tired Powerpoint or any other documents you want to make available. Publish to issuu - link to your own website. Even deliver your school newspaper through issuu.com.

Book Glutton - A Social Reading Event for your classroom

Read with a group, have a conversation about a paragraph, upload your own works, or read from their library. This site has a wealth of possibilities for Language Arts teachers, and many others. This site believes "books are conversations".

drop.io

Create your own shared space, then use a cell phone to add recorded information to this shared space. Add/upload images, files, too. Email directly to your space and also subscribe to receive all other updates from collaborators. Easy.
Simple real-time sharing, collaboration, and presentation.
Use drop.io to privately share your files and collaborate in real time by web, email, phone, mobile, and more. Create each drop in two clicks and share what you want, how you want, with whom you want.

Gapminder puts statistics into dynamic graphical images

Watch as the statistics gathered for hundreds of categories of information from countries around the world change before your eyes. A truly global tool for today's students.

Gapminder is a non-profit venture promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.

We are a modern “museum” that helps making the world understandable, using the Internet.

Gapminder was founded in Stockholm by Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Hans Rosling on February 25, 2005.

Wiffiti is back! Post to the web from your Cell

Send a text message to 87884.
Start the message with @loca2730 and it will post a message to this screen.
Create many screens, each will have a different @loca address. Post from the web or from a cell phone. In the classroom??? Why not?

What Kind of Smart RU?

Take a quick test to see the different intelligences you use and where your strengths lie. Which are the strongest, and which do you use less? Try it with your students and let them discover there's more than one way to learn.

No Future Left Behind

When kids at the Suffern Middle School Tech Club were asked to talk about education and their future, they gave Peggy Sheehy, the SMS media specialist, an earful. Other students heard about the project and joined in. They brainstormed the script and started filming. Listen and learn the bits of wisdom that can be gleaned from the students, if we only dare to ask them.

wiffiti - What if cell phones could write

If you text me - 25622 - and start the message @02420sue, it will post your message on my wiffiti screen which is viewable when I login and view my site. I could project the active site to a screen in a classroom and receive text ideas from students, teachers, etc. Messages are screened by the site. Wiffiti is a start up located in Somerville, MA. Real cool.

Today I noticed my Cluster Map from last year finally had a hit from Africa and South America. 454 hits total for last year. Nice feeling to be so connected, if only this little bit.

jing - a ling

I love jing! I first downloaded it and installed it on my iMac and my Dell laptop because I needed to make training videos for my staff. It was so easy... but I'm using it all the time now as a screen capture for images while using my Dell. Mac has always had an easy screen capture built in, but not so PC. Jing does it and even includes a marquee tool to get just the piece I'm looking for. jing - a ling! I also like how the jing sun is always up in the corner of my screen, too.

Your virtual SMARTBoard

Just heard about this tool on twitter. If have an overhead projector connected to your classroom computer, and a whiteboard as your "chalkboard" you'd be all set for active board activities.
Simple and easy online multi user whiteboard, start skrbl, give out your URL & start working together. Sketch, text, share files, upload pictures all in one common shared space. There are no new tools to learn, nothing to download, nothing to install. Brainstorm on our simple whiteboard to start thinking together, everyone sees the same screen, everybody gets on the same page. More about skrbl here

Did You Know?

The latest version of Carl Fisch's video originally shown August 2006 to the teachers in his Colorado school.

Wordle - Images with Tags

Wordle will create a design using your del.icio.us tag cloud. It will also create a design with any collection of words. This is my cloud. I love how it really tells about the focus of my interests now. Do you see Tim's name in there, too? I'm working on a digital storytelling class now, and will start my VTClass in July and finished up the Virtual Projects class last March. Moodle should be bigger, but then again, I just use it, I don't read about it. All on Web2.0. Nihce.

23 Things - Web 2.0 at its best

The librarians of Macom County have created a fun list of activities that will instantly get educators involved with the best Web 2.0 tools and concepts. They have picked the best; flickr, rss, blogs and wikis. Along the way you record your experiences and challenges and if you complete the 23 tasks in a given amount of time, you get a prize! Yippee. And if you get stuck they suggest you consult the other staff members in your school for help. A wonderful concept. Planning to try it in my school next fall. I might even plan it out as an iGoogle adventure through their list of Web2.0 wonders.

Adobe PhotoShop Express

Adobe is now making it possible to do a quick fix to a photo and also save it online, right in the fix-it shop. Crop, adjust color and lighten images. Also apply simple effects and wipe out red eye. Nice gallery feature, too and direct access to other sharing sites. Wish you could get to flickr... but maybe in time.