Entry 23: Read The Words

I have recently come across a free program that allows any text you type to be read out loud (even in Spanish and French). The coolest thing is that you can even import any word or PDF document and have it read out loud. Check out the link below.

Read The Words

METC Presentation

Right now I am getting ready to do my presentation at METC entitled "Web 2.0 For The Special Education Digital Native". Unfortunately my computer is acting up and not allowing me to place my powerpoint notes on this blog. However if you would like to see the notes click on the link below and you will go to me blackboard site. From there just click on the bottom button that says METC powerpoint and you can see them.

METC Powerpoint Notes

Entry 20: Missouri Techknowledge Day

Yesterday I took four of my broadcasting students to Jefferson City, Missouri floor the Show-Me Techknowledge Day. This is the second year I have taken a group with me and it is amazing. You get to spend the entire day in the state capital at the rotunda and show legislators and senators how we are using technology in our school. This year the students were also able to meet our representative Tim Flook who was nice enough to have us recognized on the floor. The highlight was probably when the students had the chance to meet our senator Luann Ridgeway and she gave us a personal tour of the senate floor, the house floor, and many other parts of the capital. All in all it was a great day and I will update this blog with some of the amazing things I saw. Below you will see pictures of the students with Tim Flook, Luann Ridgeway, and presenting their project.

Entry 19: A Busy Man

Greetings from the frozen tundra of Missouri. I know I have said this before, but I have been quite busy lately. My schedule is only going to get more hectic in the future, so I figured I could let everyone in on what I will be doing in the near future.

* Next Tuesday (January 29th) I will be in Jefferson City with 4 of my broadcasting students for the Missouri Techknowledge Day. This is a great event where we get to spend the day in the state capital rotunda showing the Missouri representatives and senators how we are using technology in our school. We were invited to this event last year, and it was a great experience that they will never forget (how many people can say that they were recognized on the house floor?).

* The week after that (February 4th and 5th) I will be in St. Charles, Missouri at the METC conference. I am really looking forward to this event because they have some great speakers. I am really looking forward to hearing David Warlick speak and I also want to hear Steve Dembo speak also. Both of these men are dynamic speakers that make me excited about being a teacher every time I hear them.

* Then the week after that (February 15th)I will be presenting twice at my school district's annual conference called Empowering Excellence. I will be presenting from 7-8 in the morning on how to get the most out of Outlook (beyond just emailing). I will also be presenting a session for special educators on the technology we have and how we could be using that in our classrooms.

As you can see I will be pretty busy, so be expecting a lot more posts in the near future. I have also started another blogging project for my upcoming wedding. It is all about the wedding plans and how we are getting ready. Click here to check it out.

Entry 18: METC

As many of you know I will be presenting at the METC conference on February 5-6 in St. Charles, Missouri. I found out today that I will be presenting on Wednesday, February 6th at 1:00. So for those of you who are interested you can catch me and my presentation entitled Web 2.0 For The Special Education Digital Native then. For those of you who can't attend, don't worry because a copy of the presentation will be posted on this blog. Hope to see you at METC.

First Ice Storm

Greetings from my nice and toasty house. Today is the second day in a row that we have been out due to ice. It has been a nice break, but I do have to admit that I am going a little bit stir crazy. As you can see from the picture at the bottom I haven't been able to get out very much due to my vehicle being pretty well damaged beyond belief. I actually slid into another car because of icy roads and the result is seen below. At least no one was hurt.

Busy Month

It has been forever since I have last updated this blog, but things have completely changed in my life. Over Thanksgiving break I proposed to my girlfriend and we have been busy planning for our wedding on June 21st. It has been quite hectic, but a good kind of hectic. Well let me explain some things that have also been happening to me and some exciting blogs/websites I have been playing with:

- Let me start off by congratulating my good friend Eric Langhorst who was recently named Missouri Teacher Of The Year. What a great honor for a person who truly deserves it. Eric does amazing things with technology in his classroom and has been my mentor since we first met 6 years ago. If you have never had a chance check out his Speaking Of History blog and he has started a blog about what his experiences are like as the Missouri Teacher Of The Year.

- I will be presenting at two conferences in the near future. One of them is our district's annual conference called Empowering Excellence and the other is in St. Charles, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) at the Midwest Educational Technology Conference. The topic for both will deal with how technology can be used in the classroom to help special education students.

- My broadcasting class will be going to Jefferson City, Missouri at the end of January to show some of the Missouri state legislators and senators how we are using technology in our school. We did this last year and it is a great day where the students spend the day in the state capital and also get the chance to be recognized on the house floor. I am excited about this opportunity again.

Well I am hoping to keep this blog updated more now, so keep checking back and I'll fill you in on some more exciting things that are happening.

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