Performance Support Project: Climb Strong

After a failed attempt on Yahoo Pipes to create a page to host my Performance Support Project, I turned to WikiSpaces and have been loving it! Unfortunately, like most other things this summer, the bulk of the project has been delayed until the last second...and I mean last second. I would like to blame a majority of this on my frustration with Yahoo Pipes, the desolation I felt after my original idea fell through, and the period of procrastination that I took to find a new platform.

Through Wiki Spaces and Twitter I hope to support the continual pursuit of stronger and healthier rock climbing. I encourage you to follow me on twitter @CassieMNewman via #ClimbStrong and on my Wikispace.

I have signed up as a teacher through Wikispaces; so below I have included a link to the wiki and the join code to the class wiki. Again, please feel free to join even if you don't know a thing about climbing! I hope to share all that I can to both new and more advanced climbers.

Wikispace: ClimbStrong
Join Code: MXPXK7X

Tillandsia Madness

Let me share with you my latest obsession, Tillandsia, or more commonly known as Air Plants!
Most everyone has seen them before, tromped on them, used them as fire kindling, claimed that "red bugs" or chiggers live in them; the list goes on. The most common, and in my opinion the most romantic, air plant in the south is Tillandsia usneoides or Spanish Moss. What are growing in popularity as housing decor are exotic Tillandsia that offer a more visible bloom (because believe it or not, Spanish moss has microscopic flowers that bloom each year). I own about 10 different varieties of Tillandsia, some of which are featured here.

Read on to discover how easy taking care of your own air plants can be!

So versatile, you can stick it everywhere...

Care

Florida has great natural humidity to sustain air plant life, which is great for people with brown thumbs (like myself). But they do require just a little more attention than a pet rock, so don't get too excited.

Air plants need water, like all other plants. Most of this water (and other nutrients) is absorbed from the air through their leafs, but while hosting these plants in your home you should try to water them at least once a week. Some Tillandsia instructions suggest misting every couple days while others suggest either running water over the plants 2 to 4 times a week or a once a week soak for an hour. I myself prefer running my plants under water a couple times a week and giving them a good shake afterwards. What all of these methods have in common is the need to be sure your Tillandsia doesn't have sitting water in between the leaves. Be sure to let them sit on a paper towel or shake 'em out after watering, this will prevent plant rot. 

Brachycaulos in shot glasses

Light
Bright light or filtered sun is best. Just be sure to keep the plants from direct sunlight; remember these plants originate from under the gentle shade of the jungles.

Ventilation
Air plants like air and great air flow...duh. So please don't try to plant your air plant in a pot with soil...

Hidden Tillandsia Atroviridipetala

Reproduction

This is my favorite part; air plants reproduce each year by having 1 to 12 pups. They'll tend to sprout off the side of the parent plant. Once these pups reach at least half the size of the parent, you can carefully remove the pup or if you enjoy keeping the family together you may leave them clustered.

Nothing like Vernicosa and Arhiza to liven up bathroom space!

I hope these pictures inspire you to incorporate live Tillandsia into your home and the ease of care seal the deal!

Happy air planting!

Social Media Blocking

According to Mother Jones there are several countries that block Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Each do so for their own reasons and I encourage you to delve further into the subject.

I find myself divided as for whether or not I think this should be allowed. Knowledge should be shared and made available to all people and it should be their right to know. But what if some information harms the greater good of the community or country? Wouldn't sharing that information be a disservice?

What are your thoughts? Should there be social media blocking or general web site blocking?

Tallahassee Rock Gym

If you ever stumble upon this place ---------------->
I would suggest that you venture in!

 When you drive around the square, there are many great places to check out. The Buddhist community is friendly and open to visitors, Proof Brewery newly opened, The Other Side and Wonceuponatime thrift shoppes offer great finds, Yogi-G offers his free daily yoga, and then in the center of it all is this place
<------------------------------

You might also find this guy behind the counter. Watch out for these guys, they'll ask you to do copious amounts of paperwork.

If the guys behind the counter don't scare you off with their paperwork, then explore further to climb on some of these awesome walls and maybe meet some of these awesome ladies (and some pretty cool dudes)!

Photo credit above goes to TheMorningFresh.

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL to Germany!

If you weren't holed up in an overcrowded bar or restaurant, drinking a glass of wine with friends on the couch, or in the Brasil stadium watching the FIFA World Cup, you missed out! What a victory that Germany won. The game was filled with close calls, lots of action, and two well matched teams.

Mario Goteze was the skilled gentleman who scored the only and the winning goal. Fun fact: Goteze is the only sub in World Cup history to score a goal! Congrats Goteze!

Messi and Hummels after the ball

Although, I have a confession to make. I fell asleep during the second half of the additional 30 minutes. Yes, that is right, I slept through the winning goal to wake up promptly afterwards. I blame it on an action packed day beforehand, a glass of wine afterwards, and the cozy couch from which we watched the game.

Regardless, I hoped everyone enjoyed this year's world cup and is ready for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to take place in Russia...

Wikipedia as a Research Source?

I've watched the progression of the use of Wikipedia in the classroom over my own lifetime. After a few years of cultivation, when Wikipedia first emerged as a resources for a wide variety of topics, I can recall teachers slandering the validity of information posted on Wikipedia and forbidding the use of Wikipedia as a source in research projects.

Then Wikipedia became a source of free entertainment between my friends and myself, set the tumbler on random and read about whatever nonsensical topic popped up. Better yet, we would find a random page and see who could get to Hitler or Jesus in the fewest "clicks" or links.

Further on in my education, in my later high school and collegiate years, professors began to include Wikipedia as a research source. No longer was there a great ban on Wikipedia, but an informal acceptance of the validity of Wikipedia's content.

What changed? Did school teachers and professors alike attend a Wikipedia conference which deemed the source as valid? Or did something in the content of Wikipedia change that teachers favored enough to permit it as a source? Do you agree with this change? I know I do!

No Internet in Technologically Advancing Nation

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/09/nyregion/for-those-in-the-digital-dark-enlightenment-is-borrowed-from-the-library-.html?ref=education&_r=0

Here we are, discovering, learning, making, curating, using all of these wonderful online tools and communities meanwhile there are hundreds of thousands (I would venture to say millions) of people without internet. Are there other ways that you can think of getting easy and cost effective internet to these households?

Instructional Design Project EME6414

This blog is an example of an online classroom assignment that would be anchored to a class blog maintained by the instructor:

 Assignment: Sustainable Housing on a Budget

Each student has been assigned a geographic location in the United States that will host a sustainable house.
- Research the type of house that would be best suited for the geographic location and each student design the house that they would like to build.
- Students will have $50,000 to budget for the resources needed to build a house for a family of 4. Take into consideration the resources that are local to the geographic area. What will have the smallest environmental footprint? Are there local resources that will withstand the harsh seasons experienced in each location?
- After the students have designed a house and found the resources that will be necessary to build it, research the costs of purchasing these resources, transportation and the total cost of building this house. Who will be hired? Will there be volunteer help (note, the entire house can not be built entirely with volunteer labor. Electrical and plumbing are a minimum.)

Researching Resources
Students will be using Scoop.it and Pinterest.com to create boards to curate ideas on the type of sustainable house the student would like to build. I have gone ahead and created a Topic on Scoop.it and a Board on Pinterest with some general ideas that students may feel free to work off of. Be sure to include visuals, youtube videos, papers, spreadsheets and many more resources to demonstrate an in depth knowledge and study of the house that students would like to construct. Please be aware of Map Engine by Google and use the resources available there. There are a variety of other resources available online including wikis, blogs and other social media tools, please feel free to use these to further enrich your project search. Students may even go so far as to link these pages to Scoop.it or Pinterest.

Final Presentation
The final presentation of this project will be done via Voicethread.com. Each student will be asked to put together a slide show accompanied by audio guidance that walks their classmates and instructor through the details of the sustainable home they are building. Each presentation needs to include but is not limited to:
1. Brief summary of the geographic location assigned;

• location, weather, resources

2. Type of house being built,

• why was the design chosen
• what resources are being used and why 

3. How is the house being built

• what time is being volunteered if any?

4. Budget

• write out a budget for the house; materials, labor, etc
• is the house within budget?
• what sacrifices had to be made to keep the house within budget?

5. Other things to consider

• how easily can this house be built for underprivileged families?
• how easily are the resources bought and transported
• are the resources used local?

Grading
Final projects will be graded on a point scale according to the standards and questions addressed above and will account for 70% of the final grade.
The remaining 30% of the final grade will be based on the student's use of their Scoop.it and Pinterest accounts.
Extra points may be awarded to students who choose to use other tools to assist in their researching efforts (a personal account must be made and obvious effort put forth, extra points are at the discretion of the instructor).

FERPA, what the heck?

This week in Web 2.0 we are exploring Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in relation to web based classes. I was unaware of the rights that I had to my grades and scholastic privacy. Although I am pleased that my grades are sheltered by FERPA I am unsettled by the matter of the freedom to hand out personal information. FERPA hinders the sharing of personal grades but allows that "Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance." Unlike the concerns that the legislature has, I believe that my personal information should be more securely guarded than my grades. Maybe I'm paranoid but to think a stranger could call up to a school and request for an address, phone number, birthdate, etc of a youth, that gives enough information to stalk a youth. Protecting grades does not seem nearly as important as giving out a child or teenager's info.

Happy Fourth of July!

I had the privilege to travel down to Clearwater to spend the best known holiday with my family, Independence Day! We had a great time at the beach surrounded by masses of multicultural families all basking in the freedoms granted via living in and being citizens of America!

My younger sister and her best friend.

They're flying a kite...somewhere...

Impeding storms accompanied by water spouts ushered us off the beach before we could participate in the fireworks display but overall it was a wonderful day!

A gorgeous and very American sunset

After too much sun, lots of family, many meals consisting of pizza and maybe too little sleep we all get a little crazy. Or maybe it runs in the family. Needless to say it's always fun with this bunch of hooligans :)

Things get a little wild when you lock too many of us up together...

The End of the Camp Season

My reign as Camp Director has ended for the season and work returns to "normalcy!" I am both excited and sad that camp has finished. Long days, short nights, little personal time, few hours for homework, parent drama, youth drama, paperwork nightmares, learning how to be a leader and teacher, improving communication skills, making new friends and business connections, driving a headlight-less golf cart around at night. My old-black-back-country camp cook told me that if I carried too many heavy things I would loose my woman-hood, no longer be able to bear children and my boyfriend would no longer want me because I would be useless. We had a youth poop in a bag and hide it in the camp sulfur sock.  I learned how to drive a boat via my program director Brice, jumping out of the speeding boat. Needless to say I am delighted for and fearing next year.

Keeping in touch and up to date with my online class was a nightmare. I might reconsider taking summer classes, or at least summer A and B classes, to avoid an educational failure. It was difficult finishing each week of camp to fill my 12 hr "break" with missed classwork, projects, blogs, etc. tell myself to buck up maybe there will be more time next week.

What I can say in regards to my class is expect a whole heap more from me and as a camp director watch out 'cause it's going to be wild camp next year!