Homebase Crew:

Here is a link to our CWW photos. Enjoy them, and find an appropriate one to include with your CWW blog post.

https://picasaweb.google.com/107577768696250033145/CWW#

Personal Essay: Sweating Away in Singapore

Sweating Away in Singapore

There are a lot of things to love about living in Singapore. You often hear people who live here cite the city-state’s cleanliness, its safe feel, its modern skyline, countless tourist attractions, such as its incredible zoo and night safari, its rich cultural diversity, and, some would argue, its weather.

It’s true that there is value in the almost constant sunny, warm days, not to mention never worrying about a “polar vortex” striking. However, I have lived on this balmy, tropical isle for 12 years now, and if I were to speak truthfully, I’d say that Singapore’s weather really frustrates me.

When I get to complaining about the weather here, the number one target for my ire is the oppressive humidity. I don’t need any encouragement to get me sweating. I can drip with the best of them. Often I joke that I even sweat in the mighty Singaporean air conditioning.

That’s probably a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. Truly, as I plan for each outing around town, I have to carefully consider the “Steve Z Sweat Mark Factor” when choosing clothes. I don’t sweat just a little, like my wife - and I never actually see any sweat marks on her - no, I do it right. The mere action of walking a few meters, say to the nearest subway (known as MRT) station a couple hundred meters away causes my shirt to become vacuum sealed to my body.

And it’s actually worse when I stop. That’s when my personal Niagara Falls really starts to gush. Even after all of these years, I allow myself to be tricked into the idea that I have arrived at a walking destination sweat free. I hustle to where I want to go, nervously focused on the fact that I haven’t begun to sweat. I feel a sense of accomplishment that after a two minute walk outside I won’t look like I’ve just finished running a marathon.

And then I stop moving, and for the next ten minutes I’m mopping myself off with the sweat rag I have to carry wherever I go.

Recently my daughter started to attend the early childhood center at the school where I teach. This has been an exciting new stage in life for her and for me. I get a little extra time with her in the morning on our way to school. It also provided an unexpected opportunity for me to start my day a sweaty mess.

After arriving at school, I would bring her first to my classroom to finish eating her breakfast. Then we’d race down to her room for drop-off only for me to turn around and make the outdoor journey back to my classroom at a gallop as to avoid a late start. I was beginning each day huddled under the air con in my room, unmoving, with all of my students giggling at their gross, and drenched, teacher.

And it's not just the crazy humidity and sweat that gets me riled up. The weather here actually restricts my enjoyment of the great outdoors. If I don’t wake up at the crack of dawn and get started with a hike or an outdoor activity, I usually give up on the idea altogether. There have been countless times that I want to take my kids out to the playground or the pool only to have my (Singaporean!) wife say that it is too hot and sunny to be outside. So, begrudgingly we make alternate plans. Usually these involve a mall. (Oh, joy!) At least I won’t worry about sweating while we’re there. They are always kept at sub-Arctic temperatures.

And it gets worse. I can never relax and enjoy being outside in Singapore. I actually have to consider my wardrobe when the plan is to be outside for any period of time. To avoid unwanted attention due to huge sweat stains, I can wear exactly two colors: black and white.

As if the heat and humidity wasn’t enough, Singapore's complete lack of seasons puts me right over the edge! I’m a person who grew up in the American Midwest, so I need to see the leaves turn color in the fall.

I need to feel the cool, crisp air of October.

I long for a couple good “packing snow” dumps, so I can get my fill of making snowmen, having snowball fights and going sledding.

I yearn for the first few days of spring when the sun finally warms the skin and I can peel away the winter clothes.

Here in Singapore I get none of that. I get a whole lot of… well, you’ve already heard what I get a whole lot of.

People always say that if I stay here in Singapore long enough, I’ll “acclimate.” These are usually the same people who don’t sweat a drop when they play sports in the middle of the day over here, so while I want to believe them, I have my doubts. And until the day I do acclimate, you can find me inside. 

In the air con.

Myth 2.0 Project

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Mythology 2.0

Let's face it, Greek Mythology is full of memorable characters.  From Prometheus to Pandora, we learn their flaws, follow their actions, and feel their pain.  I wonder what it would be like if these characters lived in today's world and had access to all the 21st century tools that we have.  How would they communicate their stories?  With whom would they share them?

I couldn't resist with trying it out with one of my favorite characters, Prometheus.  First, check out Prometheus's Fakebook page where he posts updates on him playing with fire.  Then follow him on Twitter.  You can also read the plan he wrote on Google Story Builder.  Finally, see the text he sent his mom from his iPhone.

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Fakebook Sample:

View Fullscreen | Create your own

What is Twitter?

Twitter Sample:

Google Story:

Mr. Riley's sample

iPhone Chat Sample:

A Minute Saved is a Minute Earned

As a teacher, there is really very little down time in my day. It seems that there is always something to do: planning, grading, writing lessons, and of course teaching! Throw in a few meetings and time to meet with kids, and that makes for a pretty full day. So it’s no wonder that I’m always looking for ways to work “smarter” and more efficiently. And the other day I discovered a great way to do that.

My RLA students just finished their personal narratives. Suddenly I’m faced with a pile of 40+ papers to read and grade. Not only that, but I want to provide feedback for each student so that they know how to develop their writing skills moving forward. Phew! Something had to give, or I’ll never get done. The thing that gave was my “old” tedious ways of writing out feedback to students. Instead I tried recording my commenting via an online voice recording service called Vocaroo.

I found the Vocaroo interface simple to use. In the end, I was able to record more feedback comments in less time than it used to take me to type up my thoughts. So, it was a true “win-win” situation. And with the time I saved, I was able to do something I truly love to spend time on: sleep.

Image from:

edweb.sdsu.edu

Posted!

So, this blogging thing is pretty simple, right? Share a bunch of opinions, crack a few jokes, slap on a photo and you’re done. And, no worries if you don’t like what you initially post. You can always just remove the post and try again. Not so! Or at least that’s what I’m learning as I go through our school’s laptop one to one “Bootcamp.” One message has been loud and clear: Think BEFORE you post.

Image from:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/

One big reason to think before you post is that once something is posted, it becomes very difficult to remove completely from the Internet. Someone might have read your comment and linked it to other sites or blogs, so even if you “remove” a post from your end, it could still exist out there in webworld.

What’s the big deal, you say? Well, let’s imagine that you posted something you thought was “silly” that you did, and you included a photo of the action just for good measure. Then, sometime later, you realize that the thing you wrote (and the photo) makes you look foolish or even hurts someone else’s feelings. You start feeling that deep-down sinking feeling in your stomach, and you know that you want to take the post off your blog. So, you do. But then you learn that someone else had taken your blog post and shared it with others. Suddenly your “silly” little mistake is seemingly all over the Internet, and you can’t get it to go away. You start getting sarcastic comments from friends and classmates at school, and a teacher even talks to you about how disappointed she is that you would have written something such as this, and she questions your character. Suddenly you’ve got a credibility crises.

You’ve been posted!

Fortunately for us this little scenario can easily be avoided because our school has created a “filter” to use as we are drafting anything that we might post online. It’s a checklist that makes us as writers consider our purpose, the online features of our posts, the skill we’ve shown in the writing, and whether or not it meets the personal and school values we hold as well as protecting my own identity and copyright laws.

Source: SAS MS Checklist for a Meaningful Blog Posts

So, if there is one thing that came out of my “boot camp” experience this week, it’s a raised awareness that I really need to be careful as I get involved in sharing information on the Internet. I need to think before I post.

If I don’t, I run the risk of getting posted.

Tis’ the Season for Tradition

Unless you have been locked up inside your room for the past few weeks you’ve undoubtedly noticed that the Christmas season is upon us. One trip down Orchard Road is all it takes. There are lights and ornaments and decorated trees everywhere. This yearly tradition of decorating for the holidays is one important way to celebrate the holidays.

This weekend I was reminded of the importance of celebrations and these decorating rituals in my own life. My family went to a Christmas Tree Trimming Party at some close friends’ house. We go every year - well most, anyway. Last year we missed it, and I remember feeling a sense of something missing from our holiday celebration. This party has become an important “road marker”  of the year.

What happens at this party is that we decorate the family’s tree together as we munch on delicious homemade holiday snacks and catch up with friends; some of whom we seem to only see at this party.

The cool thing is that when we arrive, the only things on the tree are the lights. We string together strands of popcorn to begin the decorating. I love this part! It’s really “old-fashioned”, and it feels homemade. And somehow that reminds me of times when I was a kid doing the same kind of thing with my family, except we tended to thread cranberries.

Once the popcorn strands are up, there are boxes of ornaments to add. Everyone takes part, from the youngest to the oldest. It’s a real family affair.

And that, to me, is really what the holidays are all about. Family and friends being together, doing the things we do once a year at a particular time. Celebrations like this become anticipated events on the calendar. And now that I have kids, I’m excited to see that they are eager to join in the fun!

How does your family “mark” the season?  What role to traditions like this play in your life?

Blogging Basics

Believe it or not, we're living during an amazing moment in history.  Sure, there have been inventions like the printing press and the telephone that have revolutionized the way we communicate, but in the last few years, the exchange of ideas has exploded at an alarming rate.  New genres are being formed as we speak, and they are already making an impact on how we learn and communicate.  What's causing this big explosion?  Technology.

Enter the blog.  When I was your age, the word "blog" wasn't even invented yet, let alone Facebook, Twitter, and the internet itself.  Like those other innovations of the 21st century, the blog empowers us as we express our opinions and communicate with each other.  Maybe you're like I was until recently though, and you don't really get how a blog works.  Check out this video:

With blogs, we can share ideas and grow our community beyond the walls of our classroom.  We can include images and videos to enhance our ideas in ways that words alone cannot.  We can connect with others in the world and hopefully make an impact on them.  And finally, we'll be able to track and link our own thinking as we do it.

Of course many of you already know this.  I was amazed at your responses to the blog survey you completed.  Over half of you (24 to be exact) have written for a blog already, so maybe I'm already preaching to the choir.

You're not the only students trying this genre out in hopes of seeing results.  Recently, a teacher from ISB told me all about his students' blogging experience.  One of his students, Brian Leong, wrote a post about his experience with Operation Smile, a charity organization that provides free surgeries for children with facial deformities.

Along with his post, he created a video to show what he experienced.  Well, his video went viral.  It even got back to the folks at Operation Smile.  They loved it, and not only did they contact Brian to tell him how much it meant to them, they also asked him to be a keynote speaker at their conference.

So you never know where the ideas on your blog may lead you.  One thing's for sure, they'll connect you with people and places like never before.  So what do you say?  How about we give it a try and see where it takes us?