Spring Break at Caddo Lake

One of my very favorite places is just about 2 1/2 hours from here. Caddo Lake is a beautiful and mysterious place to get away from it all. We just spent a few days up there in a little place called Uncertain, Texas. It's a great place to do...nothing. We read, canoed and shopped in a small town near here called Jefferson. I also had possibly the best fish and "hush puppies" ever at a place called the Big Pines Lodge. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the middle of Nowhere East Texas.

Hot Dog Book Reviews

Every other week we have class checkout. During those weeks I select a "Hot Dog" from each class to help check out. They also get an extra book checkout and they review that book for our Glog. I video tape their review and then have them draw a picture to represent them. I animate the picture and they get to see the review online. Here is an example of one recently finished. I have many more on my Glog page.

A Big Week!

Tuesday night in Austin I was awarded the Texas Computer Education Association's Librarian of the year for Texas. It was a great event and I am honored to win this award for myself, my wife and for Melissa ISD.


Before I left for Austin I got a telephone call from Demco telling me my video in the "Express Yourself" contest won the Grand Prize! I got a new camera and a deluxe bookcart for which my library aide wil be forever grateful. Here is the winning video:

Using old technology in a new way

One of my favorite lessons is one I do for Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Years ago I made a video of me reading the story in character and basically making a bit of a mess out of it. I then played myself telling the story and talking back and forth to the television. It was for an education class I was taking at the time. The tape went forgotten for about 20 years until I re-discovered it and digitized it. Now I play it on one of my old Predictas which I call my "Long ago and Far Away" machine and pretend to be doing a "teleconference." The kids are amazed to watch me talk to a younger version of myself while I tell the story. Trouble is, I can only do it once!

TCEA Honor

I just found out this week that I was selected as a finalist for the Texas Computer Education Association Library Media Specialist of the year! I will be going to Austin the first week in February to find out if I won. My wife and I are also presenting at this conference. If you would like to find out more about this conference go to:

TCEA

Dallas Morning News Article

The Dallas Morning news recently interviewed me for an article they were doing on Teachertube. I thought it was really good and got the word out about using online videos. You can read it here:

Doctor Loopy in DMN

My Predicta Televisions

Among some of the strangest things I am interested in might be my Predicta televisions. These were built by Philco in the late 1950's. I have three of them, two are restored. I think they are beautiful pieces of art that are also functional. I wish that such thought went in to our electronic design today. I use one of them at school as a "teleconference" machine to communicate with characters from "long ago and far away." The kids are fascinated by the look. Here is a shot of my Siesta model. This one has a built in clock:

My favorite is the Pedestal model. This model has a beautiful wooden case and a 21 inch screen. The screens on all models turn. The necks and the brackets around the picture tube are brass. These televisions are difficult to restore because they had a lot of problems and run very hot, but I was fortunate enough to have a couple of real pros restore my electronics. I bought my Pedestal late one night on ebay for about $300. It needed a little cosmetic restoration and the electronics doen but it was a bargain. I repainted the yellow portion, re-did the decals, polished it up and had the brass restored. It really looks great now and works!

If you would like to find out more, try this site:

http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http://www.mztv.com/predicta.html

Vacation

My wife and I took a few days off and journeyed to one of our favorite places: The Hill country of Texas. We stayed in a cottage outside of Gruene that was once a stagecoach stop:

We went shopping in Gruene which had some very nice decorations up for the season. We ate at the Gristmill, a favorite place in the area.

Murphy, our dog, approved of the antique bathroom furniture we found in our cottage.

We found a wonderful little holiday light display in a village called Wimberly. We couldn't resist a few pictures:

The Hill Country is a wonderful quiet place to spend a few days. We also shopped at the Christmas art bazaars in Austin and paid a trip to Bourne. Although the weather was a bit cold it only added to our holiday experience.

Christmas Holiday Program

Everyone had a great time at the Holiday program. Each grade level was represented. I played the Grinch in the 3rd and 4th grade part of the program. Have a Grinchy holiday! See you in 2009.

Holiday Show

Don't forget the Holiday show Thursday night. The 4th grade will serve food and everyone is performing. We hear the Grinch is due to make an appearance. The show starts at 5:30.