PA FCS Teachers are Sharing Their Excitement

I has been such a pleasure to work with many (113) of Pennsylvania's Family & Consumer Sciences teachers over the past 10 days. They are receptive to thoughts of integrating more technology into their classrooms, and they are taking time to learn new technology skills. The teachers are experimenting on how to use wikis, blogs and podcasts in ways that engage their students in meaningful activities. They have all participated in wikis designed for sharing educational resources. Although there is a always a learning curve, they continue to contribute with links, information, and ideas that can be used in FCS classrooms with students of all grade levels. Let's keep the momentum going and learn/grow/stretch together! I admire your committment to FCS!

You Never Forget Your First...YouTube video!

Well, I finally did it....posted a video on YouTube! These things usually spend a long time in our minds as an idea, thinking it through and visualizing the results. This project has been on my mind for almost a year, and it is now a reality. My hope was to create a video that demonstrates just how technologically literate we 'digital immigrants' really are. Technology rules the day and gets us through as we continually reach-out to the community, communicate with family & friends, and celebrate life.

Over the next 2 weeks I will be teaching several hands-on technology sessions for educators, so I will be using the video as an example. Can you help me share this video?
RL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5-HIJAj_8E

Title:Digital Immigrant: A Day in the Life

You Never Forget Your First...Journal Publication!

I have heard people in Extension say this, and I suppose I will say it one day too. My first article was recently published in a peer reviewed journal!

The Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, Spring Issue 2009, Volume 101, Number 2. The article is titled The FCS Message via Blogs, page 67.

Online Surveys

Several weeks ago I started creating online follow-up surveys using Survey Monkey. The program has been very useful in reaching program participants and gathering follow-up data! It seems to me that session participants have an easy time clicking on the survey link I provided in an email message asking for follow-up information. I am amazed at the number of responses I am getting on several surveys. This tool has made data collection easy from people who have email addresses! Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in our healthy lifestyle educational sessions used email and could respond to surveys so easily??? I give Survey Monkey two thumbs up for being such a user-friendly program.

Sometimes a Techno-Blunder!

When working with technology the golden rule is: always have a Plan B ready, just in case Plan A does not work. This is forever true when working with students in a classroom, or presenting to the community. I always have my presentations on my laptop, saved in cyber-space via email to my administrative assistant just in case, have a printed hard-copy in my hands, saved on 'at least' one travel drive, and usually saved on one of my many wikis. Do you think that is over-kill? It isn't. Once in a while we run into a situation where technology fails us.
This week has been one of those times for me. A TV spot, recorded a few months ago, has aired during a variety of programs on NBC40 ten times between July 3 and July 10. During the same week the Health Update can be seen online at www.nbc40.net. Of course, this week the video link on the Health Update page is not working, so I have yet to see the spot message. I know the message is being aired since I have had two requests for programs as a result. I know the kind folks at NBC40 are aware of the problem and have been trying to correct the situation. It's just another one of those techno-blunder things....happens once in a while. At least the video clip will be seen in the Health Update Archives for along time to come! Long live technology!

So much technology, so little time!

Today's technology makes life much easier in so many ways: it saves time, it saves energy, and it keeps us in constant communication with everyone. Lately I am experimenting with using Facebook to make announcements about activities and educational programs. I see the value of using it for professional purposes to let people know of upcoming events, etc. Twitter is also a new adventure for me. When Twitter first appeared on the Internet I could not understand its purpose, aside from kids using it to contact their friends with endless thoughts & activities. I'm starting to see this tool differently now, through the eyes of professionals and business. Today I saw a Twitter message from my cousin who sells real estate. What a terrific idea to spread the word of new listings! This week I posted my first announcement about a Workplace Wellness program I am conducting at Trump Casinos in Atlantic City on Twitter. A large step for me into the world of tweets! Watch out world....this digital immigrant is onto techno-gadgets!

My Favorite Web Resource Links!

I suppose I can't say enough about web sites that provide research-based information that is consumer ready. There are several links that I find myself gravitating to on a regular basis. My Pyramid.gov is a must see because of the many features it offers. You can input your diet for a day or several and see how your choices stack up nutritionally. The tool is so easy to use and gives you an instant response. The site includes games and activities for kids too!

When it comes to recipes searches I find CDC.gov useful, especially when suggesting recipes to consumers for general use, or for locating recipes for fact sheets and other hand-outs. The recipes I have tried from that site have been accurate and reliable, and the nutrient analysis easy to follow.

When preparing materials for recent Eat Well Spend Less presentations, I have found excellent recipes from Nebraska's Extension Service found at lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/. I like the easy to use format and access to money saving recipes for families. The Cook It Quick section makes recipe searching fun.

Of course, our Rutgers Get Moving Get Healthy New Jersey website is excellent! The Walk New Jersey Point to Point features is popular among young and adults because of its ability to map your route and learn something about NJ along the way. Now you can ccess the early posts of our Family & Community Health Sciences department podcasts by going to itunes.rutgers.edu. Look for the Get Moving Get Healthy New Jersey logo and click to see the podcasts available. Stay tuned for additional podcasts int he very near future!