Have a blast this weekend

Looking for things to do over the long holiday weekend?

Hope you come to the Staff Picnic on Sunday at 1 p.m.

I also recommend a trip to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It's a short drive from Orlando toward the east coast of Florida. KSC is a fun interactive day for all ages. Check out the new Shuttle Launch Experience or have Lunch with an astronaut. Maybe you are looking for a summer camp for your children or an exciting day of Astronaut Training Experience for group of friends, click on the Youth / Education Programs button at the bottom of the KSC homepage.

There is so much to see there. It is amazing to think that we live so close to where rockets and manned shuttles are launched into space! Visit the Kennedy Space Center's website http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/index.asp for information about exhibits, directions and for tickets. Don't forget to try the freeze dried ice cream from the gift shop...well, can you imagine eating a double scoop of chocolate ice cream in zero gravity? Have a blast!

Week 4 Web 2.0 - Share

The collaboration concepts emerging from Web 2.0 are awesome. So far, my favorite applications in Web 2.0 are the video sharing of YouTube and the videoblogging of the Video Ninja. Because I like to laugh and am easily entertained, I have found what you have shared from YouTube and the Video Ninja very amusing. I have already shared the "Free Hugs" with my family; and I definitely plan to share the Video Ninja with them - it is so funny! At the same time, some other video clips available on YouTube make me cringe; that's when we close out YouTube for the day!


I knew we had the Teen and Game MySpace pages; however, I had not yet seen the "Super Teens Programs for Summer" video http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2029404663 - very impressive. We have awesome Children's/Club Central staff working with our community's children and teens! I am pleasantly surprised to see OCLS on YouTube. It's exciting that we are getting our name, and in this case our faces, out there.


I liked the Web 2.0 video. Very nice presentation of what Web 2.0 is and what it does. I defintely understand more about Web 2.0 since this week's course work.

No Place Like Home

Monday, I flew in from visiting family. As the plane left their home state, I marvelled at the beautiful hills covered with thick green trees, fields cleared for crops and animals, and lush areas surrounding the streams that meandered from the river. That feeling could not compare to what I felt when out the window I saw the Florida coastline! My heart actually skipped a beat. I love living in Florida - it is my home. And, we all know - there's no place like home.

Week 3 - Share

When I searched Grokker for National Historic Landmarks in Florida I unselected Wikipedia in the Search Options box. This surprisingly increased the total results, and led me to websites that I consider more reputable than wikipedia. Not to be an information snob, I feel a little more comfortable relying on sites that end in .gov and .org. Initially, I preferred the Outline View because my learning style preference is Auditory; therefore the Map View seemed overwhelming and cluttered.

Then I discovered in Map View how pointing to the various icons I could view details about the link and add links to a Working List that I e-mailed to myself! I found the Grokker’s grouping of search results was helpful. I found several great sites that will become topics of future blog postings! More than that, I found a search tool more versatile than Google. Thank you.

Is Learn 2.0 working with or against my learning preference? Reading (visual learning) Learn 2.0 Course work requires a little extra attention on my part; however, including the auditory components - podcasts, videos and tutorials (voice narrated) - in the Learn 2.0 program has stimulated my interest.

Changes

I subscribe to RSS feeds from Library Garden. Sunday's feed was titled Change is inevitable. Growth is optional. http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/05/change-is-inevitable-growth-is-optional.html
From here I came across an interesting video called Shift Happens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q

Next post will be on a lighter subject...

Beach Memories

Summer is almost here; so, the question to answer is "Which Florida beach to visit first?" Check out the AAA article to make your list and discover why seven of Florida's beaches made it on the Travel Channel's list of the best beaches. http://www.aaasouth.com/current_issue/feat_florida2_mj07.asp

When I was a child my family camped in Jetty Park at Cape Canaveral. It was an incredible experience to see moonlight sparkling on the receding tide, to be the first person on the beach in the morning to greet the gulls and sand pipers, and to catch flounder and pig fish with my grandmother, mother and sister. I hope you will make some great beach memories this summer - just remember your sunscreen.