Valerie

I just came back from the state FBLA competition in Charleston, WV. Valerie who is in Game Design II created a game for competition. I an really proud of her because she was the only one in the competition so she won first. Now I know that sounds weird but she had to score a certain level to qualify for nationals which she did. Because of Globaloria and the skills she has learned she was able to do this competition when no one else could. Also because of her skills she was able to score so she could attend nationals. Valerie wants to major in game design and this opportunity will look great in her portfolio.

Just an additional note Valerie borrowed my laptop from school so she could work on the game and came in during snow days to finish it. She did almost all of it on her own time. Great job Valerie. Check it out at
http://myglife.org/usa/wv/rtcwiki/index.php/Team:Exploding_Egg

Goals for Quarter 4

In Dionne's Quarter 3 report she listed 4 goals she would like to achieve this quarter. I am going to set 3 goals that I want to accomplish.

1. Improve my students' civic blog posts. I have been having my students do the post but not encouraging real thought into the process.

2. Help manage time. I would like to be able to work with my students to manage their time and production to get a good game sample completed.

3. Work on my own game. I started a game and I would like to get more of that game finished because as I work on it my Flash skills improve. This enables me to better help my students.

I have asked all my mentorees to set goals for this quarter. We have had snow days and holidays. Since it is progress report time now is a time to regroup and rethink where we are going and what we want to achieve. I encourage you to set goals for yourself also.

Getting excited

I can't help it but once students start the Drawing in Flash unit I get excited. That is where their work starts/begins to look like a game.
Elkins Dudes
is an example of a beginning. These two students have drawn their scenes and will draw more scenes. They will add navigation so that it is not just a flash of craziness. I can see and so can they the progress as their develop their game. Isn't is wonderful that at my age and years of teaching experience that I have things I still get excited about. How about you?

Hats Off To You

I have the privilege to be a mentor to several schools. This is a fun and rewarding experience for me as I check out wikis, blogs, games, etc of the different schools. Being a mentor has helped me be a better teacher.

I just wanted to take a few minutes/words to express how proud I am of Donna, Shelia, and Melinda. They are the instructors at three schools that just started Globaloria.
Braxton County High School
Oak Glen High School
Woodrow Wilson High School

Picture in your mind starting Globaloria then having a snow day, then a few two hour delays, some more snow days. It was stressful to me as an experienced Globaloria teacher so I cannot image what it was like being a "newbie".

Their progress is visible on each of their wikis and it amazes me what they have completed. My hat is off to you three and anyone else who just started for being calm during the storm.