I was concerned that I may need to unfriend my Facebook and Twitter friends with profile pictures that don’t smile, but apparently I just have to make sure I have an exponentionally higher number of happy people to bring my own joy meter up.  Anyways, it’s time to spread some cheer.  So, are you smiling in your profile picture?

At a time when the amount of work has increased for me, it was refreshing for me to say that work was “so easy, even a caveman can do it!”  And so a “thank you” also goes out to  Geico Insurance for providing the inspiring words.  Check this out if you have time to waste: http://www.cavemanscrib.com

Some “pros” of using this are that (1) everyone can contribute freely to the slide show without having to track down a designated person, (2) images can be viewed in the presentation immediately after they are sent as attachments from e-mail, and (3) a cellular phone becomes an acceptable device for contributing. I was hearing about some “cons” today from several sources, though: (1) pictures uploaded cannot be downloaded as individual image files, (2) media is not automatically arranged in chronological order but is instead listed in order of Cellblock receiving the e-mail attachments, and (3) music is not integrated into the slide show.

We will see what happens on Friday, but right now we are settling for having the slide show play as participants walk into the culminating meeting with music created in GarageBand playing in the background (just as is without trying to make it a large production).

What do you think? Would you just let it play as is, or would you create that montage using a video-editor such as iMovie or a photo-show such as Photo Story 3?

This is just a pre-recorded clip of the live stream. To see the actual stream, go to my live Ustream channel: Learning Side by Side. In her class, they have been making comparisons of the life cycle of a silkworm moth to the life cycle of a butterfly. Third grade students have come in to help with the learning. More of the kindergarten students’ learning is documented in my wife’s classroom blog: What’s Happening in Mrs. Rivera’s Classroom? But such learning is not unique as other teachers are sharing their classroom investigations about the life cycle.

The second grade students in this class have documented the growth of their live specimens so far, and I’m sure they will documenting the transformation of the chrysalis into adult butterfly in the near future.

Yes, I only get to experience snapshots of the experience students have with such activities. Even in the summer when I work with 4th grade teachers on podcast projects to document their life science investigations, I only get to experience changes within the week I have with them at Teach the Teachers Collaborative as we look at plant and animal environments. It is in reflection of my dilemma that I understand the need to experience the whole process of learning. As i think about my work for the next school year, I charge myself with making sure I learn with the students in the various schools I support rather than to drop in for a moment in time with the hope that I understand the “life cycle” of learning.