Connecting Voices Communicating

I love dancing, but I have not been listening to music for a long time. This morning when my grandson called on Alexa to share a song with me, I got re-energized with the songs we listened to and danced together. 1. What was the power of these songs to enter not only my body but also my soul? 2. Why do I feel like the lethargic stage I entered in the last month came to an end after listening to these songs and dancing with my grandchild? 3. What questions will continue to develop as I move with creative movement in my relationship with my grandchildren? 1. Hammer Time  was the first song I suggested first.  Loved to see his dad and him dancing as we were communicating during our almost daily FaceTime minutes.  FaceTime requested by my grandchild as part of his breakfast routine which enables him to wake us up and be with us as when we are with him at his home.  We might want to sleep a little bit more some days as there is an hour difference, but seeing their lovely ...

  Resources for Spanish language teacher    2:19 Welcome to  the education office of the embassy of Spain . With over 18 offices in the US and Canada, we are committed to the promotion of the Spanish language and culture by means of varied educational outreach initiatives. 4:46 Introduction:  David Preston 8:43 Related to  Open-Source Learning :  open source software ,  open systems  (system theory), and  Open Educational Resources 9:10 Our awareness of being observed changes the process and content of our learning (this intuitive understanding has a counterpart in physics; see  the observer effect ) 11:35  Kintsugi , the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery 13:41 “Academic rigor” & “accountability” are often used as buzzwords that marginalize students of color – accountability is a personal quality, not something we do to each other. Effective teaching is based on a positive view of human nature. 15:29  Einstein’s...

As a service-learning facilitator for a community service requirement for graduation at a private school in Oklahoma City, I have been involved with MLK Day Presidential Service Day for years.  MLK Day National Day of Service 2021 was different as I was keeping safe at home.  I have been retired for almost three years, and I did not have a group of young people to connect their spark to make a difference to a real community need in person.  For the first time, I was away from my grandchildren, I was not frantically learning how to use my sewing machine and making masks for family, friends, and workers in my neighborhood.  I was on my own.  The virus had a new variation that helped spread Covid-19 more rapidly. The vaccine distribution in my state was not optimal.  The political landscape was toxic.  We had domestic terrorism inside the US Congress.  I was at home learning how to play the guitar and how to teach online.   I felt, I needed...

Before the Pandemic The Science of Happiness   by Berkeley University - My first-free course online experience.  I did not complete it because work took my time.  I am retaking the course soon. https://www.veggiesbycandlelight.com/go-harvard-learn-cooking-science-top-chefs/ The Science of Cooking  by Harvard University - Took the first lessons, but there was so much math and chemistry I needed to review, I dropped the course.  I hope to re-take it with my husband when he has more time.  He is a good cook and loves math and science.   During the Lockdown First Coursera Online Course: Free Contact Tracer Coursera Course from John Hopkins University: Got a certificate, courtesy of Mr. Bloomberg, and learned about the virus and contact tracing.  My conclusions: a. Information was being provided as health experts were themselves learning about the virus. b. The most effective way to do contact tracing was going to be by electronic means, but the...

  Professional Development Connections As an active educator, I sought professional development on education, service learning, and teaching Spanish in person and online. In the last 20 years of my career, two pieces of training were of note.  The first training of note was when I attended two Harvard Project Zero , Teaching for Understanding Summer Institutes.  At the first institute in 1996, I learned how to connect teaching languages to the arts, Multiple Intelligences, rubrics, and reflection at the heart of learning.  In the second institute in 2000, I created the Service-Learning Program I implemented at Casady School during my 18-year tenure at that institution.  The second training of note, came on a yearly basis from 2000 to 2018  when a selected number of students and I attended NYLC Annual Service-Learning Conferences and Bi-Annual Global Service Learning Research Conferences   At those conferences, my students participated and presented pr...

Emails - Blogger - Facetime/Facebook - Texts - What's Up - Tweeter - Zoom Connections The World Wide Cloud From phone calls to emails to text to FaceTime:   Before 2020, my contact with family was sporadic phone calls, annual visits, and family reunions in person.  I had given up my negativity towards texting, "I might distract people while driving.  Nothing is so important that I cannot send via email."  During 2020, I began to text Bitmojis, musical and how-to videos, pictures, Facebook posts. Then, when one of my sisters faced health challenges, the other one united us in supporting each other with weekly FaceTime check-ins.  As the pandemic continued, one of my sisters enjoyed FaceTime connections so much that we began a daily FaceTime call, which we continue to this day.  In the initial days of the lockdown, my son and his wife needed a way for my toddler grandchildren to communicate with "Grandma and Viejo" to provide some sort of normality to the pas...

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, communication with the world has been through media, social media, zoom, text, What's Up, and FaceTime connections.  What connections were made and why?  When did those connections start?  How did they evolve during the Covid-19 Pandemic?  What are the effects of those connections?  I will answer those questions through reflective posts in this blog. iPhone and iPad:  These two devices opened a world of possibilities I did not realize I had at my fingertips.  I was lucky to receive both devices as gifts.  The world of apps such as FlipGrip, Padlets, TunaTuner, Vimeo, YouTube, Google Meets, Google Docs, Google Classroom, Zoom empowered me to virtually participate in life without leaving my home.   I am still more comfortable in my Samsung home computer, but the iPhone and the iPad are beginning to be my best online enablers. When I return to substitute work, I will have to decide what type of laptop to get, a...