Passwords… WOW! … A long time away …

It has been quite a while since I last posted on this blog. I apologize to all my readers. Life got busy and here we are. Life is still busy, but I wanted to get back into the swing of blogging.

First comment:  Passwords…. how can you remember them all AND what should you do to make them secure AND what happens if you forgot or lost them?

Lots of important questions there!

That’s another reason I was so long in getting back into this blog.

I know you are NOT supposed to write down your passwords ANYWHERE.

I know that you are to change them OFTEN.

I know that they must NOT be real WORDS.

So what can you do?

Somewhere since I last wrote on this blog… I read something or heard someone speak about PASSWORDS.

This is what I remember and what I took away for my personal use.

These examples are not my real information, so don’t try to get into my accounts!

Start with a basic phrase or sentence that has some meaning to you. I always use the example “Mary had a little lamb, little  lamb, little lamb.” That sentence/phrase is a little bit too redundant for this purpose, but we will use it anyway because no one would use it, so it’s safe to use as an example.

Take the first letter of each word (or if you are really smart try the last letter of each word!)

So we would have

“Mary had a little lamb,little lamb, little lamb.”

MHALLLL

As we all know (now!) we must use at least 6 characters; some websites require 8-10 characters.

We must also use more than just letters. We need numbers and upper and lower case letters, and symbols or numbers. This makes it harder to crack.

Now we add in numbers, but not special birthdates, etc. and not in a row. We can look at some of the letters and use numbers or symbols that remind us of certain letters. 1=L, 3=E, 8=S and so forth.

Put your capital letter (at least one) in someplace and be sure to also have at least one lower case letter; maybe both types in several places throughout including at the beginning and the middle.

We started with

“Mary had a little lamb,little lamb, little lamb.”

It turned into 

MHALLLL

Which we could call in our minds m hall ll 

(Note 4 L’s at the end.)

OR you could have added extra numbers in addition to the

MHALLLL

MHALLLL391

(I didn’t do these extra numbers at the end)

for a longer password (harder to crack!)

So now we can have something like this:

m4A1!7L

m 4 A 1 ! 7 L

note the numbers, letters (cap and small) and the symbol

If you are still “with” me, you could add 2-3 characters at the end to remind you at what website or computer this password needs to be used.

This makes every password for every site DIFFERENT!

… for aol.com this would work

m4A1!7LaOl

… for gmail.com this would work

m4A!7LgM

… for facebook.com this would work

m4A1!l7LfB

… for yourbank.com this would work (TD Bank)

m4A1!l7LtD

Hopefully, you have the idea. This procedure saves you having to write down all your passwords for each site.

You know the basic phrase you started with.

In our case it kind of spells a word; if you were Mary Hall, often your user name might be mhall.

You know the website you are using it on.

You know the capitals, lower case, numbers, and symbols you are substituting.

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You

This could be another example of a phrase!

Please comment on what you think of this idea and

what phrases/sentences

would make a good password.

PHOTO PEACH

A fun site to use - Photo Peach (for educators - free).
I found it by following another teacher blog
that had a great slide show
to help students learn
the differences between circles and spheres.

I signed up quickly, downloaded a few pictures
and immediately made a slideshow.
I would like to spend more time with it.

How would you use this site?

A REPLY to ANONYMOUS.. my reader

The power of the internet is amazing. 
How far reaching it is!

I need to explore all the aspects of this blog.

I do not know how to respond to a reader's comment.

Of course this reader posted the comment as anonymous,
so that makes it impossible, I guess.

This comment was regarding a long ago post
regarding my family reunion held in late July 2010.
This reader, knew someone in the family who had passed away.
A childhood friend.

I really wanted to answer that person making a comment,
but as anonymous, I could not.

It sounds like everything he/she mentioned
points to my husband's cousin being the person they knew.

I do have information on the family.
At this point, both the parents have passed away
and there is a brother alive and an adopted younger sister
that I can get into contact with if the viewer wants more information.

We don't want to lose that power!
Be sure to fight for the internet to stay "free."
See my most recent post if you missed it.

POWER OF THE INTERNET...

The power of the internet is amazing. 
How far reaching it is!


We don't want to lose that power!

I have recently been listening to comments from several persons
who know much more than I do about the internet.

They are fighting and asking us all to fight for the
DEFEAT of the  PIPA/SOPA  acts 
that Congress is trying to push through 
on behalf of the broadcast media.

Please view the following TED talks for more information.




I just love listening to TED talks.


The power of the internet.... 
it's amazing!
Do your part.

Cartoonize a Photo

Cartoonize

This one is FUN,
and VERY EASY!

Just take any photo
that you already have
and press a button..
BINGO!
Your photo is cartoonized!


I started with a photo
of my two daughters with me
at the older daughter's wedding
on 11-11-11 @11 PM!



Then just for fun,
I did another one of the Bride.

Notice this bride photo didn't change as much.

How would you use this 

with your students 

for educational purposes?

Create a COMIC Strip

Write Comics

This one is a little bit harder
to get going.
As you can see from my sample,
if you look closely
on the left of the 2nd screen
I did NOT get the old man
moved over to the right
before I saved it.
So spend some time with this.

Once again...
Fun for the students, but...
How would you use this
in your classroom for education?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Baby Girl!

 

Just couldn't let today go by 

without a SHOUT OUT 

to my baby girl.

It's her BD today 

and I am so proud of her.

So far on this blog I haven't
mentioned my children before.
I guess if I start blogging more
frequently, I will need
to include the others as well.

Changed Header Picture

Did my new header make it to this post?
I thought it was going to change the previous post.

OH... you've got to save those changes
before they make it to the page!
Right!

Playing with Animation Programs

This is a fun animation Program.
ODD CAST.com

This is the photo I started with:

First take any photo you already have.
Then you can adjust the area that you want to show
 - mostly your face.
There are lots of options to change.
It's free and the students will love it.
I can't wait to show it to them.

How would you use this program 
for education purposes?

This is the animation I ended up with:

Passwords are like underwear…

From Taste of Tech by John Schinker blog post called What’s the Password…

When talking about passwords, I’m reminded of the adage that passwords are like underwear:

• change them often
• don’t share them with friends
• the longer, the better
• don’t leave them out where people can see them.

…here are a few tips for improving your password:

• Don’t use your name, or the names of your spouse, children, or pets. Those are just too easy to guess.
• Stay away from words that can be found in the dictionary. It’s pretty easy to do a “dictionary attack,” where hackers try all of the words and word combinations to try to get your password.
• Mix upper- and lower-case. For the average password, changing some letters to upper-case will make the password 200 times harder to crack.
• Use all of the characters. There are 102 keys on your keyboard, but only 26 letters. It’s okay to use punctuation, numbers, and even spaces in passwords. Throwing in some of these characters will make your password another 100 times harder to guess.
• Use different passwords for different things. Our student records system uses different usernames and passwords from our network and email systems. In this case, that was very good. Whoever got access to these teachers’ accounts couldn’t access grades or attendance information.
• Protect your email. Your email password is probably the most important one. Why? What happens when you go to an online site and you click the “I forgot my password” link? They email you a link that you can click on to reset your password. If someone has your email password, they can reset your passwords for many of the online services you use. So your Facebook / Twitter / Youtube / Flickr accounts might be in jeopardy if your email password is compromised.
• Change your passwords. Certainly not every day. Probably not even every month. But once in a while, change your password. This is especially true if you school IT person just strongly suggested that you do so (hint, hint).

This is excellent advice for everyone.  We do all have many different user names and passwords. It gets very complicated to have so many and to change them all the time, but it is a necessary evil.

What advice do you have about passwords?

Do you have a Horror Story about passwords and hacking into user accounts?

How did you solve it?

Technorati Tags: passwords,email,hackers,education,John Schinker

Where Do You Live?

Do you live in the real world? the world of your students? in the World of Technology?

I just read the blog post of Shelley Terrell at Teacher Boot Camp where she posts this quote:

“For teachers who spend time there, blog-tweet world is like King Solomon’s Mines, full of riches and constantly replenished with new ideas and links. But most teachers don’t live there. This is sad perhaps, but it’s the truth.” by Ken Wilson

From Shelly’s blog post, she states …

No, I do not believe teachers who do not use technology are bad teachers, but this is what I believe….

• If we are knowledge sharers, shouldn’t we continue to fill ourselves with knowledge?
• If we want to inspire students to continue learning throughout their lives, then shouldn’t we continue to learn throughout our lives?
• If we want motivated students who see learning as a journey, then shouldn’t we continue our journey?
• If we want to motivate students to be the best in their fields, then shouldn’t we be the best in our fields?
• If we want other educators to listen to our ideas, then shouldn’t we read about their ideas?
• If we want support from our colleagues, then shouldn’t we support their workshops and projects?
• If we want students to use digital media responsibly, then shouldn’t we give them access and show them how?
• If we want students to not let technology overtake their lives, then shouldn’t we teach them how to balance themselves?
• How can we teach balance, if we don’t have any social media in our diet?

Do you live anywhere near the world your students live in?  (digitally?)

Are you willing to move closer to their world or at least visit their world to get a glimpse of it?

Tell me where you live and where you are willing to live?

Technorati Tags: Shelley Terrell,Teacher Boot Camp,digital world,education

Information Overload

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google summed up our new world perfectly  last week:

We create as much information in two days now as we did from the dawn of man through 2003.

I, too, like everyone in this day and age, am overloaded with information. It is the start of a new school year with a new job description… an exciting prospect, but nevertheless, lots of new information for me and from me needs to be out there.

How do you cope with all the information that is out there, that you must learn or know about, and that you must disseminate to others?

Let me know.

Image from  http://www.pamil-visions.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/information-overload-cartoon.jpg

Technorati Tags: information,overload,education,school

Family reunion 2010 – The Everlys … the greatest

I know this post is not really education related as most of my posts are, but we just had a family reunion and it was the greatest!

I’ve heard that either you LOVE your family or you HATE your family. Usually there is not a lot of in-between.

I am so lucky.

I LOVE my family.

I have many families despite being an orphan of sorts.

This family reunion started on my husband’s mother’s side of the family, so I am not a biological member of the family, but they make everyone feel like a true family member.

The first Everly Family Reunion I was involved in was back in 1979. Everyone traveled to French Lick, Indiana to the major resort/hotel there. Most family members lived close by in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana.

At that time the matriarch of the family Georgiana Cullen Everly was the eldest family member. Her husband Cecil Everly had passed away in 1959 – twenty years earlier.

The next family reunion was in 1985 in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Recently while on vacation in Nantucket, MA, my family had a spelling contest on how to spell MA [the long full way!]. Without looking, see if you can spell it correctly the first time!

At the Cape Cod Reunion Grandma Georgiana was not present. She had passed away not long after the reunion at French Lick, IN. It was quite a feat to get the whole family to go so far from home for a reunion.  We also were very lucky to have a cousin (of my husband’s) with us at that reunion as shortly thereafter he passed away.  Stowers Everly – The big C took him from us at a young age.

Then, after the death of the first of the children of Georgiana and Cecil Everly passed away in 1993 (Celeste Everly Valbert).  One of Celeste’s daughters, Annie, decided it was VERY important that we continue these reunions and continue them often enough that we could still remember each other. She started a tradition of every other year planning a reunion. This. the first in a long line, was at Annie’s house in Illinois south of Chicago in the metropolis of Irwin (population 100 when the reunion was not in session!) just southeast of Kankakee, IL. Most of the activity at that reunion was centered around the swimming pool and lots of family talking and games.

1995 was in Kentucky Lake, KY. 1997 was at the Pocono Mountains in PA. 1999 was in Maggie Valley, NC. In 2001 we went back to French Lick, IN. 2003 we  missed/postponed a year due to a spring wedding in St. Augustine, FL. 2004 we caught back up in the swing of things back in Kentucky – Barren State Park, I think. Then 2006 was in the Wisconsin Dells, WI before the big dam broke and thoroughly flooded that beautiful area soon thereafter. Then in 2008 we went back to Kentucky Lake, KY.

I guess you can see a theme here with Kentucky since that was the original home most of the lives of Georgiana & Cecil Everly and their 5 children: Celeste, Bill, Ruth, Garnet, and Wayne.

This year we went close to a previous reunion in Maggie Valley, NC to Western North Carolina in Brevard and Mills River, NC. Brevard is in Transylvania County and the land of the waterfalls. Mills River is the home of The V’Berts who were planning the event.

At times there were 28 Everlys attending this reunion, but not every Everly in the family was able to attend.  We enjoyed those who made it, but missed those who were absent.

We had lots of fun and shared lots of history and reminiscing, catching up with events since the last reunion or the last time we saw these particular relatives. We participated in visits to the Biltmore Estate in nearby Asheville, NC, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway in the RV and saw lots of scenic spots including a hot brakes stop in the RV on the Blue Ridge Parkway coming down from the high elevations a little too fast, Picnicking on the Parkway, tubing, and sliding down Sliding Rock on their bums, looking at waterfalls, and visiting the Cradle of Forestry. We had dinner in downtown Asheville at the Mellow Mushroom with a party of 28 that got seated without a reservation in about 20 minutes even though the restaurant was packed. We had to break into smaller groups, but that made conversation a little more intimate. We had an elegant dinner at the Pisgah Inn at the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway (dinner at 5000 feet they say) with a scenic drive that was covered in dense fog on the way back down! One of the family groups took an extra 27 mile detour away and 27 miles back to the Pisgah Inn and got to see even more of the Parkway that they had intended! They certainly were hungry when they arrived! (And we were glad they made it safely there!)

Other times were spent playing Family Trivia and True Colors as a huge family group. We had so many Family Trivia questions submitted we didn’t have time to answer them all! We’ll save some for next time. There was a Family Time Line to fill in births, weddings, and deaths of family members. It made me realize how many of us there are/were and how close in age and birth dates some were.

The theme for the Reunion was Camp Club Valbert Everly Family Reunion 2010 so “campers” were encouraged with a blow of the whistle to listen up for the directions to the next event and had a checklist of activities to complete.  These activities had to be verified by a different family member – no cheating! Unfortunately we all did not complete all activities, so we’ll have to have a repeat Camp Club Valbert Everly Reunion another year down the road.

We were honored to have Aunt Garnet and Aunt Ruth as the leading generation represented while Ethan and Everly Squires were the counterbalance as the latest following generation. Everly could truly say she was THE EVERLY at the Everly Reunion!

There’s lots more events, fun, and conversations that could be reported. Like the story about the canine representative Malie Love, the drive through the campgrounds by Jason and Lacey looking for Cherie & Jon’s camper, the lost camera in the Davidson River tubing expedition, the rained-out too-busy horseback riding expedition, the very local waterfalls, the deer sightings, the lack of golf outings and tennis games, and many more items. Write your stories and submit them to be added to the Everly Family Reunion Guide. I’m sure there are many more events I missed reporting. 

I must end with a heartfelt thanks from Paul and I. We are so glad you all took the time, effort, and expense to be here. We understand those who couldn’t make it, but want you to know you were missed and we hope we see you next time. Remember to start making up those Everly Family Trivia Questions… RIGHT NOW!

We love you all!

Send your comments via Facebook, e-mail or comments here!

Technorati Tags: Everly,Family,Reunion,2010,Trvia,Love,Club Valbert

The Miracle is You…

You really need to watch this excellent video…

I found this video on Ashley Tan’s blog.

It is amazing what can be done these days.  As Ashley says…

What do you get when you combine biology with music, art and digital story telling?

This video…

Students will learn more and remember more when they get to put facts into their own generation’s style.

How do you allow your students to show their own learning styles along with their knowledge and understanding of the facts? Leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: Ashley Tan,Another dot in the blogospherer,learning styles,videos,education

Meryl Streep, Barnard Commencement Address

This is 28 minutes long, so watch it when you have time. Meryl Streep really is quite entertaining. She makes you feel like you are her best friend and she is just talking to you personally.  She is charming, witty, entertaining, funny, and serious, too.

I know that her talk is not really the type of thing I normally post about here on the site, but I still think it is education related. She explains how her life has developed and how one learns about life, living, and happiness. Those are all things that we all want and need. Those are all reasons that we continue in the field of education and the field of life.

Enjoy your 28 minutes… Share Meryl’s thoughts with those you love and care about. And remember, make your parents proud… And Parents, be proud of your children.

This, too, was presented to me via my blogger friend, Pat H.from Successful Teaching. She really has a good eye for finding the important things in life. Thanks.

Take time to enjoy your life, appreciate your life, and appreciate those around you, those special people.

Technorati Tags: commencement,Barnard,Meryl Streep,Pat H.,Successful Teaching,life

What motivates people?

Thanks again to blogger friend Pat H. from Successful Teaching who has alerted me to …

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Daniel Pink’s talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.  In the talk Pink explains why larger financial rewards don’t always, in fact rarely, equal better performances on tasks. Pink’s idea that innovation should be rewarded more than performance on a standard task.

What motivates us at home and in the workplace? from Creating a Path for Learning in the 21st Century by bgaskins

So, how would you like to be compensated for your work? What work would you like to do so much that you would do it for free if you already had enough money to live? Leave a comment.

[As always, in my author quotes, the underlines, color changes, and bold type is mine, not the author’s!]

Technorati Tags: performance,compensation,Daniel Pink,Pat H.,Successful Teaching. digital footprint,bgaskins,RSA,motivation,rewards

Please, I don’t want to hear that.. I’m so glad it’s summer today!

Thanks again to blogger friend Pat H. from Successful Teaching who has hit upon another favorite blog post she relayed to me! 

(I have to admit, I had been WAY behind in reading my blogs and my recommended postings from fellow bloggers, but … WOW, Pat, you sure are hitting the nail on the head with me this month!)

Please mosey on over to Top 9 phrases teachers hate to hear. from The Chronicles of a Veteran Kindergarten Teacher by Cheeseboy, to read the details. Most of you can imagine the descriptions from just these sub titles.

I present to you, in full Cheeseboy regalia, the top 9 announcements teacher hate to hear:
9. "The PTA will be putting on a fund-raising assembly today."

8. "Today will be an inside recess day."

7. "It's Grandparents Day today!"

6. "The 6th (or any other grade) is using the gym today."

5. "The choices for lunch today are trout treasures or chili."

4. "It won't stop bleeding."

3. "I kicked my shoe over the fence at recess."

2. "Tomorrow is crazy hair day."

1. "I couldn't make it to the bathroom."

ENJOY!

What do you do to have fun rather than tear your hair out at the end of a BAD HAIR DAY at school? Leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: fun,education,K,Pat H.,Successful Teaching. digital footprint,Cheeseboy,The Chronicles of a Veteran Kindergarten Teacher

Digital Footprints… What do you know?

Parents, students, teachers, EVERYONE should watch this video and discuss it!

Video compliments of …

Educational leaders in Hoover, Alabama, have created a superb "teaser" video for upcoming parent education classes on digital citizenship which will begin this fall. The 3 minute, 35 second video includes well-planned scenes depicting the choices as well as consequences involved with cell phone sexting.

Students of today need to understand their digital footprint and know what and how it impacts them, their lives, their future.

Thanks again to blogger friend Pat H. from Successful Teaching. who alerted me to this blog post Digital Citizenship video resources from Hoover, Alabama Schools and Common Sense Media from Moving @ Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer, one of my PLN bloggers that I read.

How are you teaching and guiding the students/children you are responsible for regarding their digital footprint? Leave a comment.

[As always, in my author quotes, the underlines, color changes, and bold type is mine, not the author’s!]

Technorati Tags: Wesley Fryer,Pat H.,Successful Teaching. digital footprint,sexting,education,cell phones,digital citizenship

Learning should come from within…

I read a blog post suggested to me by fellow blogger friend Pat H. from Successful Teaching.The blog post, Reversing the Curriculum, was from the blog entitled Special Ed Changes.

The blogger got my interest immediately and I desperately wanted to share the first 2 videos with my readers.

I know I should keep on with my narrative here and make my point, but I don’t want to make you wait longer in your reading to see these two entertaining videos. When you finish them, we will continue with our narrative. (I’m just like a 5 year old!)

Here are those 2 videos.

and the 2nd video …

Watching these 2 engaging videos made me realize that it would be great if children could learn what they wanted, when they were ready, when they wanted, and in the order they wanted, much like the Montessori Method.

View this Montessori video as well. I know it is longer than the other videos, but try to finish it all the way to the end.

The discussion in this blog post centered on ...

When kids come to school at five (if kids should come to school at five in the first place) they have certain fascinations - hearing and telling stories, understanding signs, the physics which make their world work, hot and cold, animal behaviour. And great teachers do embrace much of this, but our school curriculum never does.
Instead of running with this natural learning curve, instead of meeting our students where they are, we focus all of our attention through the age of eight on a certain set of formalized learning systems which disinterest most kids, and are essentially impossible for many. We spend all of our time on complex symbolic codes (the alphabet, the numeral system) and on the operation of those code systems (phonics, spelling, arithmetic).
And, within three years, we have taken kids thrilled to start school and turned them into kids who'd rather be anywhere else.

In this age of technology and ever present information everywhere we are, why can we not let children learn as they are ready?

Why can’t children teach other children, teachers teach children, and children teach teachers?

I know, the tests… the accountability… I STILL think it can work.

See a very early blog post I made concerning my niece and nephew and their early PS-8 Montessori education.

What are you doing in your classroom that encourages creativity and allows children some say in their learning? Leave a comment.

[As always, in my author quotes, the underlines, color changes, and bold type is mine, not the author’s!]

Technorati Tags: learning,Montessori,Successful Teaching,Pat H,curriculum,education

Oxygen on the playground... a cute video

While reading the blog The Whiteboard Blog, I found this charming little video that explains some of the reactions of Oxygen with other elements. I know for me it will solidify some of those concepts.

Kids will love it!

Students remember facts and concepts more easily when related to a story or some more memorable event.

Below is another video I found online about Oxygen.

This also makes me think about how in today’s school environment, facts are not the major component of education. 

Or, I should say, in my opinion they are not.

Students, with the wealth of all information at their fingertips, do not need to memorize tons of facts to spout back to the teacher on a test.

Students need to know why the facts are important, why they are relevant to their lives, now and in the future.

How are you “testing” your students knowledge… by what they can do with a fact or by the fact alone?

Let us know your lessons, assessments, and ideas? Leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: oxygen,science,chemicals,facts,concepts,education,The Whiteboard Blog