Well Helllllllo there!

So this is my first OFFICIAL personal post... ya know, the first that isn't REQUIRED. :-) So right now I am watching the UNI basketball game on TV.  They are in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament this weekend, and as of right now they are winning.  I don't want to jinx it. So I thought this would be a perfect time to write! So far this semester has really flown by.  I've had a great semester in and our of the classroom so far, so I hope that keeps up. Many of my classes are full of work, and I have one class that is really difficult and requires a lot of my attention.  That class is Phonology, which is all about the sounds of the English language.  Yeah, fun right? Everytime Lee and I do homework together, which is nearly 3-4 times a week, I am always making noises, as I am trying to hear the individual sounds that our wonderful language makes.  It drives Lee nuts.  So sometimes I do it just because. ;-)

I am definitely going to ITALIA this summer.  I need to buy my airline tickets this week and give Study Abroad lots of my information, and some more of my money. Oh well, I'm really excited to be abroad for an extended period of time.  I think I will grow a lot from the experience and I will gladly enjoy every single moment of it.  Oh and I will take tons and tons of photos so you all can see what fun things I did and saw.   

Another update in my life... some of my know this, some of you don't- but in the middle of the semester in the Fall, I was hired as an RA (Resident Assistant) in one of the halls on campus.  It was just one of the many wonderful things that happened in October last year.  I was really nervous when I accepted the job, since the staff I was entering seemed very close with each other.  However, when I started, I realized that I fit in perfectly with them. It has been wonderful.  I have met so many great people, many of them who will be life-long friends, I'm sure.  The staff that I'm on is like my family away from home.  I also have an awesome floor, which makes my job even better! They are all so nice and kind.  

Well, it's halftime now, so I really should try to get some sort of homework done before the second half begins.  Hope all of your lives are going well.  Please keep me up-to-date because I miss you all! 

Love, 

Emily

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Google in the Classroom

A Montana news station reported that School District 2 in Billings, MT is going to incorporate Google into their district.  This Google program is called Google Enterprise and included in the program is e-mail, calendar, documents, presentations, shared contacts and video chat.  Google Enterprise will replace Microsoft in the district, and will give each student an e-mail address that will allow them to stay in contact with their teachers and other students in their school.  

I think this is amazing.  I believe Google to be very user friendly, and a great resource for students.  I think that with both students and teachers using the same system, it would make instruction and problem solving so much easier.  I also think that introducing students to technology in this manner will be very helpful because teachers will be able to help students learn appropriate ways of using technology and ways to find things on-line.  Also, the amount of money that will be saved using Google Enterprise is amazing! Because all the students will have access to an e-mail address, it's very possible that teachers will need to spend less money on making copies and printing materials for the class.  Especially in these economic times when school districts are having to cut their budgets by millions of dollars, saving money on this is much better than having to cut teacher's jobs and increase class sizes. 

Here is a blog I found about a school district in New York that uses Google Enterprise.  Enjoy!

Enjoy your day and Thanks for stopping!

Emily

Image courtesy of Google Enterprise and used here in accordance with the Fair Use guidelines as it pertains to the critical comment.

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.  ~Mohammed Ali