End of the year

I finished another quarter towards my Masters Degree in Education a few weeks ago. The class invigorated my heart and mind as I realized the huge goliath of social injustices that plague our soceity, even our schools. I think my Dad would call me a mush-head. I know I am thinking critically and want to continue living in a conscious state of mind, not ruled by habit or comfortability. It's the struggle.
I made a goal to connect emotionally with a man of interest because I want to marry an amazing man with integrity, heart, style, personality, height, and faith. I am becoming a butterfly, waiting to take flight in freedom to live my life now. No living on the sidelines or watching other people live their life on reality t.v. I have a lot to do while I'm here.

I have so many wonderful parts to my life - family, friends, nature, my doggy, my car, a job, reasonable health, great roommates. Even still, my heart aches for my life partner....the man I can share a sunset with or make funny noises with. I think I am weary, not of waiting or anything like that...just in general. Running a business stretches me like I was silly-puddy. I am working harder than I ever thought possible. I recently learned that the person I fear committing to the most is me. God has presented me with many wonderful opportunities for growth in life, in thought, in love, in understanding. I get to be around children that love me - which always blows me away and fills my heart at the same time. I get to run a company when I studied to teach. I have been trusted with much. I have a mom that adores me and supports me and we have a working relationship today. I have a brother who gives me a hard time, but also loves me. He's actually really cool. I have roommates, one of which I am adopting because she is the little sister I don't have - but I do now! I live in an amazing apartment with wonderful landlords. I have friendships that go deeper than what is visible to the naked eye. I have so much support and love around me - nothing I deserve. So I am thankful. Thank you everyone for loving and supporting me and believing in me and helping me be the best me today. Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year!

Revitalization

The Word of the Lord is called Food, Water, always something related to physical sustenance. God knows us....like for me I am constantly looking for something to make a connection to or with. I relate to needing water; being so thirsty my mouth gets dry - I think this is called parched. So now relate that to your spiritual thirst, the thing your soul longs for but hasn't been quenched - like drinking something salty when you are "parched" - your still thirsty. What's more incredible! Jesus, God's own Son, tells us that this water doesn't satisfy, but the water He provides quenches all thirst - you will never be thirsty again! (look at the gospels - the woman at the well) God allowed the singles in my church to congregate in Scotsdale Arizona this past weekend. It's our SouthWest Singles Conference for the churches in the southwest - from Nevada, Colorado, Mid-Cali (go middle earth!), to Southern Cali, to New Mexico and Arizona. It was a sweet taste of heaven. My heart is so full with the love that God has for me. He considers me special. He says I am worth finding. He makes me great. Come and see that the LORD is good. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The one true God. Unlike any other.

Summer-time random thoughts

It's the middle of summer.....the temperature rose to extreme levels, gas prices are high, rent is high, tuition is high - can I get a witness?

I don't know what to think of the people running the State of California. Is it like this in other states? Who is Antonio Villaraigosa? What are his credentials? How is his ex-wife holding up? Is he still seeing his friend from Univision?

I'd like to make a bumper sticker that reads....."Money does not make up for lack of character."

Do children or adults know what adds up to character today?

On-line collaboration

Recently, Dr. J asked us to consider our experiences with this eLearning/Distance Education course. I thought about it.....this quarter has been more strenuous than almost any other quarter and I am only taking one course. I find it appropriate that I feel what I feel and note that my experience is my experinece. It goes with the eLearning/Distance Ed. dynamic. Some of my classmates have more flexibility in their schedule to focus directly on school work; some of my classmates have time to access the computer abroad multiple times per day; some of my classmates were well on their way to becoming eLearning experts before taking this course. I do not see myself in any of those categories. I have access to computers at home or at my office. However, my work schedule comes first...it has to. I have employees and a demanding case load that requires 14hours on some days. I have not even mentioned my emotional and mental well-being here. I am re-learning to acknowledge my feeling and deal with them, I am adjusting to life without my Dad, who was also my boss, I am adjusting to being the boss (not the employee - whoa), I like someone and I have a life outside of work and school. Sometimes not meeting face-to-face has benefited me because I could take another assignment or take time to walk with my employee through a difficult task, or I could gel with my roommates (whom I hardly get to see). I also liked the freedom to work on assignments at my own pace, but that is only with solo-assignments. The collaborative assignments are a different creature all together in Distance Ed. I have been so frustrated with it. I hate it. It is hard enough in a face-to-face classroom to collaborate with people on a project, but try meeting with people in cyberspace! Of course, there are always schedule conflicts whether in person or on-line, and that has to be considered and I have to accept it as fact. On the other hand, I have felt alone because the contact is minimal and the meeting point is inconsistent. Where are we meeting? Is that in a chat room, webct, the wiki? I don't know what I could do differently or what I need to do to make it work for me and for a group. I know I would like direct contact and admittedly....I like email. I know someone is talking to me. hp

podcasts

I recently learned how to use audacity, an e-learning authoring tool. I had the privilege of interviewing two (2) e-learning experts, Stephen Downes and Pamela Berman. Both are brilliant individuals, technologically saavy, sincere-hearted educators. While preparing for my interviews, I researched both individuals to understand their backgrounds and their expertise. Additionally, I also listened to other podcasts that are conducted regularly and professionally. (For example: Kevin Nash on KJLH radio). I learned that I am not proficient in podcasting, that I have more to learn and need a lot more practice. I also learned that I am already one step closer to that goal because I did it and I will do it again and again until I am better and use the tool with ease. I often find myself listening to this little voice, a lying voice, that tells me my worth is based in my performance. I am seeing the truth clearly that the opposite is true.....my worth is not based in my performance, it just is. I did not walk as soon as I exited my mother's womb, nor will I attain "perfection" in mastering e-learning authoring tools on day 1. I can enjoy the process, which includes falling down or making a podcast that is not "all that" in regards to audibility. Oh well....it was fun! :)

1st Reflection for EDIT565

April 21, 2008 - heather parker

My understanding of E-Learning was limited to commercials advertising on-line universities such as University of Phoenix and what I learned in EDIT 430 regarding blogs. I didn’t consider the depth or controversy surrounding E-Learning and its progression in education. Prior to EDIT 430, I knew little about blogs and how they could be useful in education. I heard of them, in fact an acquaintance suggested I create a blog because I like to share what I am learning and sometimes I have a lot to say about it. I learned that blogs can be used in elementary classrooms for writing and expression, not to mention they are simple to create. Privacy issues can be dealt with separately…….a teacher has to pay for the protection using a secure blog site, instead of the widely used free sites. Blogs alone open doors for students to share work instantaneously with their parents and teachers still have the ability to oversee the projects and protect their students. Students also get the opportunity to use tools on-line…hence e-learning. Additionally, I was not aware there is a difference between Distance Education and E-Learning. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the differences and the similarities, which is difficult because they are not polar opposites.

E-Learning can be made effective for students with different learning modalities and styles, such as our pilot lesson for the University in Africa, by educators, professionals, officials and communities alike lending a hand or sharing the wealth. I think Doctor Javeri provides an example worth imitating. She went to this place; saw their “computer lab” that the people had not used because they didn’t know how to turn it on and so she turned them on and then showed them skills (like setting up an email account) we might have learned in junior high or high school or college. Since starting this class, I envision myself taking these e-learning authoring tools and sharing them with my other family in San Jose, Costa Rica. My friends’ fifteen year-old brother cannot attend school because he has a learning disability that the schools cannot support. Not to mention that his family cannot afford to send him anywhere else. So he stays at home. Can you imagine how frustrating that is? I would like to take something we have here in the U.S. to share with him. Although the instructor may not be present with the student, the student has one-on-one time with the instructor that he/she might not have in a regular classroom because time is allotted for that time alone. E-Learning allows time to expand in that the instructor and the student do not have to be in the same allotted time to make learning viable.

Something that struck me in Chapter 2 of our textbook is that e-Learning supports trusted teaching methods. I inferred my claim from Clark and Mayer’s discussion on “methods for retrieval and transfer”. They state that “e-lessons must incorporate the context of the job in the examples and practice exercises so the new knowledge stored in long-term memory contains good retrieval hooks” (p.41) It reminded me of how children make connections with the real world and what they learn in a book. The child will learn more from a book when he/she can make a connection to what he/she already knows. Similarly, students in e-Learning courses must be able to do the same. One of our classmates mentioned something similar when we discussed planning our lesson for the students in Africa. Our lessons must speak to their world. We must seek to understand them and know where they are in order to get them to the next location. I believe e-Learning will become an integrated part of educational history. We will have similar battles as we do now, because money is still a god to a lot of people and those same people do not like to share, but every step we take matters. ~ END ~

"...you....you...you got it." Eric B & Rakim

I heard a tune I haven't heard in a long time.....about soul. :) I got it. Okay...my friend Mateos helped me with my allergies today. He promised the allegra wouldn't make me drowsy...I disagree! Now that has absolutely nothing to do with the tune I heard on the radio today. Eric B. & Rakim knocked it out with their beats, their clever use of and play on words, and their humor. I think it's funny. I love it...."....you...you...you got it.". Meaning, you got soul. I am sitting in my Edit565 class listening to an intelligent woman from NRC in Canada. We are on an on-line conference. (Cool right). She mentioned something about social interactions (but in different words), that I totally agree with. Gabriel also shared the problems we are facing with e-learning. I do not want to ever be 100% on-line in my learning. I like people (most of the time), I like being with people and looking in their eyes. I can tell a lot about someone by their eyes. I cannot really know someone virtually, nor do I want to. So I prefer that e-learning modules include a blended program of on-line learning and face-to-face learning. What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

the processes of learning e-learning

e-learning poses serious questions, which if I were teaching in a classroom today might not concern me....we will blame it on the fear of the unknown....like sitting on the beach after sunset looking out into the ocean that normally soothes my soul in daylight, frightens my core in darkness. How do I protect my children from delirious predators when the walls on a computer never end and don't necessarily protect......like that film Hellraiser. I realize that is quite a tangent, so alleve my fears. Assure me....how do you protect your students? How do you empower them to use the internet wisely and make them aware of the dangers that lurk behind our protection? I cannot, we cannot, make their choices for them and that pains me. Maybe this is retribution for the pain I caused my parents! Maybe its not, its a natural progression and evidence that I care.

my questions - will I be able to keep up with the technological advances before me? Is it my fate to walk into the realm of the Jetsons? Is resistance pertinent or benificial? Actually, I am in the frustration phase of learning, which means I am growing. The designers and officials of pbwiki are supportive and encouraging. They offer webinars to people like me so that I can learn how to protect my children, how to use a wiki efficiently and for purposes that benefit students or whomever. I am learning how to use e-learning authoring tools and although my mental muscles ache from the strenuous workouts Dr. J organized, I hold to the hope that i will be better and more fluent in e-learning by the end of this quarter...and I will make it.

Wiki-wiki-wiki

I am so tired and I am only taking one (1) class. Graduate school is soooo much different than undergraduate work. Today we learned how to create a wiki....the first thing that comesto mind is a d.j. mixin some music -wiki,wiki,wiki. :) A wiki (root word for wikipedia). is like a central chat room where you can coordinate school assignments, business meetings, and a number of other things. I linked my blog to my wiki page, my first assignment for my EDIT 565 class. It is exciting. One day I want to teach a class to non-localized people. Big dreams people, big dreams. God is moving my heart... He's given me sooo much. If you don't know me...I was on academic probation before God rescued me. I hardly ever went to class and I surely didn't apply myself. How sad, huh? My heart ached for something that I didnt' find in any relationships, in partying, or anything else. God rescued me from disease, from death, from destruction. I didn't think I'd ever leave community college, but look at me today...I am in a Master's program at a local University. It shows me that had my heart been free to live and love, I could have applied myself and done what I'm doing now or not somewhere else. So I am grateful for the education I've received thus far AND I want to share what I've learned with others. So many people long for education but cannot afford to go to school, both here in the United States as well as abroad. Part of my heart is in Central America. Les extrano mucho mis hermanos y hermanas en Costa Rica. Pero no se cuando regresar. Anyway........wiki will allow people to learn and share. I am excited about learning how to use it for good.

Disclaimer -I borrowed DJ Yoda from google images

Distance Education

Soooo I'm in the thralls of distance education - what does it all mean? I'm not 100% sure, but my huntch is that this class will help me share education across the miles. It is in my heart to teach abroad, but what if I don't actually have to leave my country? What if I can teach students in various nations, neighborhoods, etc. from my living room? That would be sooo cool. I estimate there are kinks to this process, but it is exciting nonetheless. I am surrounded by brilliant people, not limited to my professor. I anticipate challenges and growth.

New Horizons....the possibilities are endless

It's spring, which delights my heart. Flowers bloom in vibrant colors, grass glimmers in the sunlight, the morning fog rolls away as the world wakes up and as hundreds of thousands of people drive to work, or school, or wherever. I am starting new things this year - a Master's program which will challenge me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, & physically. I am restarting things this year - loving God with all my heart, mind, soul and strenght and worshipping Him alone (which is harder than it sounds). I am searching for that "Easter Faith" as the pastor called it last Sunday at the Easter service. It hit home for me when he talked about addictions because they imprison or entomb, as death does....but the Easter Faith in a God that raised Jesus from the dead shouts that death has NO victory and God is greater. The pastor paralleled this faith with Abraham who was credited righteousness because of what....his faith. (Hebrews 11) Abraham believed God. I want that. I am also grieving my father and the other losses attached to his death. I am learning how to run a business and train employees. I am learning a lot about management. I desire to travel - the Netherlands. I want to learn about the Dutch that hid Jews from the Germans. I want to see the hiding places (Please read "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom). I want to return to Costa Rica to see my adopted family. I want to learn and practice social transformation (as I heard it on 100.3 fm in LA,CA today). I want to grow in selflessness. I want my own room and a garden. Maybe I won't ever have it....so let me learn to be content and to be godly. Enough said for a school night. Thanks. :)