I have been back to school shopping like crazy. It's right around the corner and my kids and I needs supplies, new clothes, backpacks and all that good stuff. There are some amazing deals out there....but make sure you are getting the deal! Over the past few days, I've visited and purchased from at least 8 different stores. Of those 8, 6 of them overcharged me! Total it was probably 60$. No joke!! Some of the problems I've run into.- Discounts not being applied
- Coupons not applied correctly
- Price don't reflect the advertised price.
- Items being charged twice
I normally don't watch the prices being added nor do I check my receipts. But since I have a lot of shopping to do, I'm trying to budget myself. I was blown away at how much I was being overcharged. I caught all of them because I was at register watching all of the prices. On a lot of my purchases, prices were listed as sale prices with signs but the register didn't match the discount. One sales associate said that all of the stores are trying to do big pushes with bts sales that sometimes the registers aren't getting updated properly with the correct prices. My advice watch your prices. Make mental notes of what the sale price should be. If you see something not being calculated correctly, speak up. Even if it's only 1$ (you can buy a lot for a dollar)! Also double check your receipts. At one store they charged me for an item twice. Everyone makes mistakes, but 6 out of the 8 stores is CRAZY!! What scares me is how many times I've been overcharged and didn't even notice it!!
What is your favorite childhood memory of back to school? Mine was picking out my school supplies! I didn't really care about the new clothes or shoes, but I had to have the coolest pens, the awesome folders, and all of the other fun supplies they come out with. I absolutely love the smell of a fresh box of crayons. One sniff sends me back in time! To this day, I still get excited over Hello Kitty and Lisa Frank - how can you not, they are so much fun!!!So as the season is upon us, as stressful as times may seem, don't forget to take in the excitement of back to school. The new clothes, new class, new teacher and a fresh box of crayons!!! Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful school year ~ and don't forget to take time to smell the crayons :)
Whew!! I did it. I completed the Library2Play Learn 23 Things challenge. It was set up to be completed in 9 weeks, but I busted my buns and finished in less than a week (I found out about it late) It was such a wonderful adventure. I learned so many new things that I will take to my future classroom. I encourage any teachers to also take the challenge!!!What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?- All of the great tools I can use in my classroom. I really excited to bring all of this technology into my future classroom!
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?- I was planning to go for my masters in education technology, this challenged reaffirmed my love for technology and my excitement to bring it into the classroom.
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?- As silly as it sounds, I am so impressed with myself for creating a podcast. I did so many cool things!! If I'm this excited, imagine how excited my kids will be.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?- I wish I had known about it sooner. I had to really hustle to get through it all. I thought everything else was great though! What a fun challenge!
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?- Of course - sign me up!!!
How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?- Amazing, Incredible, Rewarding, Fantastic!!
Do you know what a ning is? Neither did I, but I bet you do and you just don't know it. Nings are social networking sites, similar to myspace or facebook. They allow users of similar interest to get together discuss, share ideas, and mingle. It's funny Teacher Lingo is a ning. I love teacher lingo. I actually found out about the library2play challenge from someone's post on TL, yet the last part of the challenge brings me back to TL. Funny how that works!! I think social networks are great!! Why wouldn't you want to group yourself with others who have common interests. I love talking to teachers and getting tips and ideas for my future classroom. I think it's great!! We can all learn from each other. We can also support each other - who better to understand what you are going through than another teacher. I really don't see downsides to them. Nings ROCK!!
I made a podcast!! I can't believe I made a podcast. It's cheezy yes, but I wanted to try it out and see how they work. I am so excited to be able to use this in my blog and possibly in my classroom. I will admit, it was a little bit of a challenge to figure out. First things first, you have to have a microphone of some sort. Luckily I had one from my Spanish class I took online. I downloaded a great program (for free) where I created my podcast. You basically just hit the record button. The name of the program is audacity. From there, I exported what I recorded and put it on an online site called, switchpod. This allowed me to provide a link for you to hear my podcast. I will play around more with podcasts - I just hate hearing my voice back. :) But there are so many cool things you can do with podcasts - I can't wait!!
Here are some other cool web 2.0 tools that I have found from the web 2.0 awards
fixya - is a great tool that can help you fix and troubleshoot things. There is tech support and manuals at your fingertips. I'm not sure if it would really come in handy for your classroom, other than to fix things around the room without having to call tech support :) But it is a super cool tool!
lulu - is a cool tool that allows you to upload your documents and publish them. This could be a cool idea to write a book as a class and have it published. It does cost and I found it a bit confusing to know what the exact cost to write a book would be. However I did find quite a lot of great teacher resources available for purchase, and you have the option to download or purchase a hard copy.
live mocha - is a wonderful language tool. Teachers can brush up on their 2nd language or they can prepare for their extra certifications! The best part it's free!! You can enroll in free classes, chat with others, and so much more. They even have flash cards to help with your language journey. I know I will be adding this site to my del.icio.us bookmarks! What a great tool. Teachers can also use this to aid students in learning a new language.
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