Recently a friend came to me looking for camera advice. He was looking for a point and shoot digital camera. Having always had good luck with Canon’s Powershot line, I pointed him in this direction and advised he check out some of the new cameras in this line. Yesterday he unveiled his new purchase, a Canon SD 880.
I have been salivating over the brochures of the Canon 5d Mark II and if the performance of this point and shoot is any indication of what’s in store for the new DSLR’s they can only be mind blowing. The features and the overall performance of the fit in your pocket SD 880 is impressive for a sub $300 camera.
It turns on in just over a second and is ready to shoot. The photos were sharp with rich detail and color. The face detection is very accurate with multiple people in the shot, and the performance in low light is amazing. My friend took photos in our school gymnasium, a challenging place for light and color, and the results were fantastic. Shots of friends at the bar during happy hour were also well balanced and surprisingly taken without flash. The LCD screen is large with great resolution, and I’ve heard that the battery life is good as well.
It seems you can’t go wrong with this camera, and will provide novice photographers with great photos.
A couple of weeks ago I was preparing for a district workshop that I would teach and decided to consult a colleague that makes good use of technology in his classroom. “What would you include in the workshop?” I asked. I had listed a rough agenda for him to peruse. Included in the agenda was an item referencing Twitter. His response, “I’ve stopped using Twitter a while ago and exclusively use Plurk now.” There was a small bit of surprise and a lot of wonder in my reaction to this news. I had spent the last six months developing my Twitter presence, looking for people to follow and slowly developing followers. It seemed strange to cast it all aside for something new.
I decided to give Plurk a try. I had read about Plurk in July, took a quick look at it, and returned to Twitter because I knew no one on Plurk. I signed on and created an account. My first Plurk was “Experiecing Plurk for the first time.” I was greeted with seven welcome messages and after finding my colleague, Paul Bogush, I was indoctrinated in a true personal learning network. “Say goodbye to Twitter”, Paul responded. It was the truth. I have to thank Paul Bogush for ’sponsoring’ me during my first Plurk experience. With one Plurk,
“Friend a colleague, who’s just starting Plurk” I had a host of new contacts. The best part is that I learn something each time I log on to Plurk.
On Twitter people post links and info but very little responses occur. On Plurk I can ask a question and most of the time instantly have an answer from a variety of Plurk friends. I’m amazed at how much easier it has been to establish myself on Plurk and how much more I already use the service. Plurk has Karma. The more you Plurk and respond to other your Plurk Karma increases. It’s an interesting motivator, because when you log on and see that your Karma had dropped because you missed a day it simply makes you want to Plurk some… “Say goodbye to Twitter” was so right
When I first began my blog I had visions of typing away on my computer, writing on a variety of topics related to technology, with the hope of providing a source of information and ideas. I found that the idea was easier than the practice. Most often I found it difficult to separate my opinions from my daily experiences as an educator and technology resource teacher. In reaction, I didn’t post some of the things I had been writing and updates to my blog ceased.
Today, it is with renewed interest and inspiration from my involvement in the graduate Educational Technology program at Central Connecticut State University that I write and post again.
Creativity and the ability to express myself creatively are essential elements of my personality. Over time technology has become an essential part of my creative expression and fuels my personal interest in digital photography and video.
Developments in technology in recent years have promoted the use of technology to communicate and to collaborate. Technology developments are exciting and the future of technology lies in people being online, connected, communicating, and collaborating.
This is the primary motivation for my return to the Ed. Tech program at CCSU. I hope to learn the tools that will help me better connect and communicate in a growing tech driven society. I’m most excited to learn Flash and web development tools.
So to my classmates who are now finding their way here to my blog- welcome. I look forward to working with you.
I am a firm believer in the statement, “Everything happens for a reason;” however, I am still often surprised when everything comes together like a well-executed plan.
Last year a co-worker’s retirement opened the opportunity for me to change jobs. For eleven years I was a high school English teacher. Having always had an interest in technology, and feeling tired of correcting essays, the new position of Information Technology Resource Teacher seemed inviting.
As exciting as this all was, I had concerns. The official job description for my position states that I am to help teachers implement technology in their classrooms and serve as the first step in the repair process. With the number of desktops, laptops, and printers in our school, repair is a major part of the job. Repair takes most of my time as well– and although one cannot not implement technology if the technology does not work, I was more attracted to working with teachers and students than being what I call the ‘electronic janitor’.
During the first two months of school my time was filled with constant repairs. There was little time to work on implementing technology in classroom and work with teachers. In what free time I had I read journals and tech blogs looking for ideas and projects. One such blog was Victoria Davis’ blog at coolcatteacher.blogspot.com . As I sat in office in walked a colleague, Brian Wall asking “What do you know about wikis and RSS feeds?” I pointed to the articles I had been reading and the conversation continued into what is now our wiki/blog project.
The timing of every thing couldn’t have been better. A moment of perfect timing has lead to this burgundy productions blog(my first blog) and wiki, and a project that hopes bring all the good in being the Information Technology Resource teacher.
