The Blog We Share in MM199

This photo was taken during the COVID-19 teach from home. I think I  just pressed the button on my computer to grab this photo of me.  If I had to have a theme for my work life so far this semester, "Regina works late" would certainly be a contender.  In a way, it's a necessity because I'm teaching an extra class this semester, and I realized late last night that I have helped process 89 students through Student Media since July 1.   I started the semester with almost 50 students in MM199 between my two sections and 16 others between MM236 and MM403. That is a lot of new faces, names to remember and pronounce correctly (ish). While I do love people generally, there is a weariness that comes when you have been talking all day.  In another way, I use work as an escape. When I'm in the middle of solving some kind of problem or grading, I don't have to think as much about some current hardships in my own personal world. Enough about me, here are some tips some of

You're Sinking Hannah.  Never have I dealt with anything more difficult than my own soul. The word "thoughts''. Is quite terrifying, really. This simple word controls every aspect in your life if you think about it. Everything that matters anyway. Sometimes I lay there with hot tears rolling down my cheeks thinking about the hatred I have developed towards my own thoughts. They swallow my brain whole most nights. One after another pouring in, tearing away at any confidence I have tirelessly attempted to build in myself. I feel a sliver of pride in an accomplishment or obstacle I have overcome, immediately following that is a simple "thought". You're sinking Hannah...you're not going to rise above enough for just a gasp of air. Sure, you've done this right but it's only a matter of time before your whole world comes crashing down. again. It's almost as if no matter what I do, those thoughts are lingering in the background. Hannah...you are

                                                                                                                                                      It's Recess, do you know what your children are doing?  Hel lo, ya' all, and welcome to my weekly, 'It Ain't Mine, Podcast Show,' for you parents out there who want to know what your kids are being taught in school, and about all the most recent advances in education.  In this episode, we'll explore a concept called, 'Free Play.'   It's where kids get to pick what they want to do during recess and then figure the rest out on their own.  For our more educated listeners, i t's the everyday process of making discoveries, and then decisions based on what they've learned from those discoveries.  It's the testing and development  of ones own identity: Learning Through Play Podcast

                                                                                                                                 PPT-ME 6405 Student Lecture Transistor PowerPoint                                                                                       The invention of the transistor in 1956 marks the beginning of the digital age. An innovation in micro-processing leads to a single chip microprocessor in 1971.  Advancements in the mobile internet, enable touchscreen technologies to eliminate reliance on the mouse and keyboard as input devices, and provides ready access to technological devices at any time or place.  Rapid increases in the number of children using technologies lead to the introduction of a new concept into early childhood education and care, known as digital play.  Researchers consider the use of said technologies by young children as "domesticated".  A designation that facilitates children's interactions with digital technolog

 Photograph by Tim Lloyd https://pathways.org/why-is-play-important/                                                                                                                                                   Hi There!  My name's Tim Lloyd and I'm 11 yrs old.  I live in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, in an area   surrounded by mountains, abandoned mines, quarries, and lakes.   My alarm goes off at 7: 30 a.m. on a Saturday.  Mom's a great cook, and Dad had to leave around  5:00 a.m. for work.  When I walk into the kitchen, my sister, as usual, is already seated at  the table and my brother has just pushed his way passed me to get the chair that allows him to  look across the table and out onto the mountains just east of our home.  As we get seated, my  mom  announces that we're having scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast.  I pour  myself a glass of  orange juice. I hurriedly put on my hiking boots, grab my camera, kiss my mom goodbye, she tells me to be s

A Parchment Paper Tree   by  Gerd Altmann                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             https://www.wonderschool.com/p/parent-resources/what-is-play-based-learning/                                                                                  Play is the work of a child, unfettered by time, expectations, or adult rules.  It's the recreation,  amusement, or fun vital to the development of their behavioral, cognitive, social, physical, and  emotional well-being.  If you watch a child at play, it's their predisposed actions that cause them to  explore spatial relationships, hone motor capabilities, practice social skills and language, creatively  think, problem-solve, observe, and gather information through their senses.