What's up with WORDLE??

As I visited Wordle.net, one of my favorite Web 2.0 sites the other day, I was shocked to see this message appear.

I am seeking pro bono legal representation, to evaluate a trademark claim against my use of the word "Wordle" for this web site. If you're an intellectual property lawyer, with expertise in trademark law, and you wish to help bring back this free service, please contact me.

The word "wordle"? Really? Not knowing what would become of this (awesome) site in the future... I gathered my list of a few other comparable sites that could be used. Feel free to check them out!

• WordItOut
• WordSift
• ABCya
• Tagul
• ImageChef
  

While these are all equally great sites for creating word clouds... I am happy to say that Wordle.net is up and running again! Phew!

2010 already? Time flies!

Wow... another year beginning. Time sure does pass by quickly. I'm challenging myself this year by doing the 365pics/day blog . I'm actually hoping to get at least one pic a week... that seems to be my goal right now :)
January and February are already looking like busy months! Discovery Education is hosting it's first Science virtual conference SCIcon on January 9th, so I'll be visiting Propel Schools in Pittsburgh to help with the live event, headed by Joe Oliphant. I'll also be presenting a workshop at Keystone Oaks' in-service this month, will be traveling to Educon in Philly, and then Pete&C in Hershey will be just around the corner in February. I can't wait to catch up with everyone!
B-7 was quite busy the first semester and I'm looking forward to the next few months. The students really begin to "blossom" at this point of the year. CivilWarSallie will be visiting us in February so we'll be learning about Abraham Lincoln. We'll also be learning about caterpillars and frogs... two of my favorite units! Be sure to check out our classroom website to see all of the cool stuff we've been doing!

* 2009 Edublog Awards *

As I was checking my Twitter feed today, I came across the link to vote for the 2009 Edublog Awards. As I was making my choices, I came to the category "Best Educational Wiki" and was honored and humbled to see my own wiki, ktitraci.wikispaces.com there! What an awesome surprise! Thank you so much to those who nominated me. I love being able to help other educators through my created video and step-by-step tutorials, as well as student examples. It brings a smile to my face knowing that my site has impacted so many educators and classrooms.To vote for ktitraci, visit here. Be sure to check out all of the other educator bloggers here too! I'm sure you will find many great resources and pages to add to your bookmarks!

NYC

I spent an amazing weekend in NYC with three friends, Tracey (Jersey), Kristin (Philly) and Liz (Chicago). We saw soooo much in 30 hours! From Madison Square Garden to Serendipity to Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Little Italy, SoHo and Ground Zero... it was quite the adventure! Here is a video to recap an awesome weekend!

Gettin SMART in B-7

We are a month into the school year, and are LOVING our Smartboard! We've used it across the curriculum... and love the hands-on learning that it provides. Check out our video below..

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My Classroom... Welcome to B-7

Powerful Practices

Today I attended and presented at Propel's Powerful Practices Technology Conference at the Propel Montour school in Pittsburgh. Discovery Star and fellow Leadership Council Blog team member Joe Oliphant organized this event... and I must say, he did a remarkable job! The turnout was fabulous, with many eager teachers ready to pounce on new resources and tools for the upcoming school year. I presented two sessions, one on Glogster, and the other on Web2.0 tools in the classroom. It's always refreshing to see educators who are anxious to enhance their students learning using technology!
We were very fortunate to have Geekybird (Matt Monjan) from Discovery Education leave his nest and share not one... but two awesome Discovery Education presentations with us! Visit the Bird House to view his presentations!

SMART Technologies was also on hand to show us many of their awesome tools and products. I just love the hands-on interaction these products provide. In my classroom, I have the SMART Airliner. The Airliner is a wireless slate that allows the student to interact with lessons that I have projected on the whiteboard. It's a great tool to build fine-motor skills and also enables me to move about the room during instruction.
However... I've been wanting a Smartboard in my classroom... and thanks to SMART Technologies... I will have one this year! I'm super excited to use it with my students. It will be a great way to further enhance my instruction!