History and My Story » Miscellaneous

Let it Snow?

buell — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:09:17 +0000

Those crazy kids at Edublogs have a plugin to add during the holidays that lets it “snow” on your blog. I installed it, but I wasn’t sure if I liked the effect…didn’t really show up against my white background. Sooooo, I decided to give the whole blog a makeover. Since I started blogging back in February 2008 I have kept the same theme, header and avatar. What do you think of the changes?

I always liked the old header picture of the windows in room 217…even though that hadn’t been my classroom since 2006 before Aggie was born! Might have to change that one back…but I’ll give you all a chance to weigh in first.

Random Good Idea

buell — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:50:59 +0000

From time to time I use this blog to talk about the power of Facebook. You’ve heard me discuss many times the blessings and curses of the old FB. You’ll also notice in my tag cloud that Facebook is one of the most repeated topics here. Normally I am alerting you to a current world leader’s FB page or how Facebook can motivate students to action or help in times of disaster (like the earthquake that hit China in May 2008). This caught my attention, however, for no good reason–and I just had to share. Clearly, I want you to learn history this year, but I also hope to inspire you to be adaptable and creative and to seek innovating thoughts and ideas.

There was a video that explained what IKEA–or specifically the manager of the new store in Malmo, Sweden under the guidance of ad agency Forsman and Bodenfors (who requested the YouTube video be taken down). In the blogosphere, you snooze, you lose. So, for those of you who did not view this post in a timely manner check out this post from On The Web With Kim Vallee to find out how they used FB to advertise furniture.

Another Case Against Cell Phones

buell — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:33:25 +0000

I have noticed several students sneaking a little cell phone use during class. While there may at some point be an appropriate use for cell phone use during class–ask my Culture and Conflict students about our polls–in general texting in class cannot be tolerated. We have already discussed several reasons…here are a few more.

Happy September

buell — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:41:11 +0000

Today is a professional day for teachers–tomorrow we meet our new students. The following is an SNL skit from the mid-1990s (when you, my students, were all just being born). Until I meet you all officially and get to know you—this is recurring nightmare I have:

Let’s hope our year is nothing like this!

British Education Proposals

buell — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:32:47 +0000

What do you think of this? A new British education plan is calling for topics like Queen Victoria and World War II to be dropped from the curriculum in favor of teaching students how to Twitter and blog? Don’t they know students can do both, lol?

Inauguration Pictures

buell — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:03:42 +0000

The date of the inauguration and oath of office are in the constitution but the rest of the day is based on traditions carried down from the past. The events of January 20th every 4 years are coreographed to show Americans and the world how peaceful transition of power is in a democracy where the people decide who their leader is and the government abides by that decision.

After the prayer service the outgoing president welcomes the incoming president to the White House for coffee. They ride together to the Capitol to the new president’s inauguration.

The swearing-in ceremony takes place outside (unless the weather is horrid) on the steps of the Capitol with other present and former leaders of the government present with a public audience.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court gives the oath to the President

The new President escorts the former President to an Air Force helicopter.

The new President parades down Pennsylvania Avenue to his new home The White House.