tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67564442011-04-21T23:21:24.750-05:00about teaching, reflects about blogging, and wonders into virtuality.Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1141100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1176588648320637712007-04-14T17:11:00.000-05:002007-04-14T17:16:50.760-05:00

today I found that it is called:Personal Learning EnvironmentsAt first take it is catchy-- although I rather have a concept to exude interaction, some type of interpersonal, expansive, creative, evolutionary experience...Choices of words are interesting. As in the review of information for informal learning which I would call just--- thinking! And making a distinction between information and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1175264643569118512007-03-30T10:24:00.000-05:002007-03-30T10:30:07.440-05:00

I registered for this one-day IT conference that UMASS is sponsoring at the statewide level. The agenda looks swift and definitely representing the state of the art in teaching. These workshops were a lot of fun years ago when they started in Amherst. The conference is on a face to face format and I look forward to discussion about shifting to a virtual mode.Take a look at the agenda!

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1172198290979977822007-02-22T21:29:00.000-05:002007-02-22T21:38:10.980-05:00

other than this thing on blogging is really an interesting process. What has been reflection, has become grand standing, censorship, silence and now, back to the same. At times I have been amused by those who say that they will stop blogging, to then come back to voice themselves.And here I am thinking that here I can say what is important to say, with regards to who is reading and with the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1171062211066460082007-02-09T18:01:00.000-05:002007-02-09T18:03:31.400-05:00

Click to join tertuliaenwfcr I am involved in a struggle with the local public radio station which eliminated a Latino/Puerto Rican program of 25+ years.  The story includes their previous attempts to do that and how the community activism a quarter of a century later is much different. We are now mobilizing a campaign by e-mail! In a community radio station, we are using the the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1170466705381988202007-02-02T20:37:00.000-05:002007-02-03T22:12:33.973-05:00

ROSA IBARRApaintings/obra: http://www.rosaibarra.com/I visited Rosa last night for a quick tea. Had never been to this home before... I was impressed by her paintings, her images on that personal space... those definite treasures silently present in that cheerful space! Must have been the adornments in the trees, the lights, and candles. I had seen her paintings exhibited in the museum... but

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1169948338322068182007-01-27T20:37:00.000-05:002007-02-03T21:52:22.820-05:00

Its been about 27 years since our local radio show was re-instated after the community took over the University's administration building in protest for it being taken off the air. Twenty seven years have passed and again the administration eliminated the program about two weeks ago.This time we met in the administration building with the university's and radio station management and requested

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1167877557403734162007-01-03T21:25:00.000-05:002007-01-03T21:34:42.676-05:00

The Gender GenieI was initially psyched about finding an application that would analyze a particular corpus to determine the gender of the author.After cutting and pasting the whole "blogging out" article, the results were wrong! I wonder if the technical nature of the content had anything to do with it.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1167756247825705792007-01-02T11:44:00.000-05:002007-01-27T20:47:43.633-05:00

EVO 2007 Call for Participation - For six weeks , participants can enga...IT'S AGAIN THAT TIME OF THE YEAR ! Time to register for EVO 2007 ---my fourth year joining discussion about language teaching and uses of technology for it. Take a look at this year's options.... no, I won't tell how many I registered for.... (I would register in each and everyone of them... but its too much!)See you

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1166656422793951162006-12-20T18:08:00.000-05:002006-12-20T18:13:42.810-05:00

ROSA IBARRA paintings/obra: www.rosaibarra.com

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1162923800261965972006-11-07T13:23:00.000-05:002006-11-07T15:13:58.580-05:00

Nice collection of articles about blogging at Educational Technology & Society. Some of our thoughts are there... a lot said in just 1000 words! García, K. and Suzuki, R. (October, 2006). Blogs as Teaching Ethnographies: Blogging Out. The Learning Technology, 6 (4), Available at http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues.html

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1161914861816863222006-10-26T21:07:00.000-05:002007-01-27T20:48:15.510-05:00

FOXNews.com - Bush Signs U.S.- Mexico Border Fence Bill - Politics | Republican Party | Democratic Party | Political SpectrumI don't get it. Here we are a nation of migrants. A leadership which demanded the Berlin wall to come down, and now we are into fencing the border to keep neighbors away.that fences make good neighborhs you might say.... I don't know.... it seems to me that the virtue of

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1161548550393281292006-10-22T15:13:00.000-05:002006-10-22T15:25:19.403-05:00

they are scattered... and the idea is how to gather them into a coherent whole... not that I could not tolerate chaos... there is something creative about that... but the post about the designing of educational/presentation materials in a neutral fashion is still working in my brain. You see... an attempt to lessen a charge in a communication renders it incomplete... it seems to me more

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1161394113729746802006-10-20T20:28:00.000-05:002006-10-20T20:28:33.826-05:00

Google For EducatorsThis looks interesting!!!! Google is offering a package of tools for educators to use in some organized fashion as in developing educational projects. There are a couple of webcasts hapenning and a list of the tools owned by Google which are available for free.... earth, maps, Blogger, Calendar, Picasa.....I know, I know... you tube is not in the list yet.... and yes, Skype

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1161020022175285232006-10-16T12:33:00.000-05:002006-10-22T15:11:09.253-05:00

Here is an "interactive" chart with a model which offers interesting possibilities. It is not just the content that is covered, but the fact that it represents a lot of ideas succinctly. Gotta find out how to make one of my own....!Neat stuff.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1160959151986748642006-10-15T19:39:00.000-05:002006-10-15T19:47:25.210-05:00

I just realized that this woman who was there at Hampshire hearing Pandora's founder sitting behind me is someone I've been wanting to meet.... and did'nt-- formally. Hey, I'll link here hoping I will meet her in the future.... Interesting!

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1160872795487465192006-10-14T19:31:00.000-05:002006-10-14T19:45:15.713-05:00

this time, I added a script in the templet to track statistics about page views linked to a blogging community I subscribed a while back. One I had completely forgotten about. MyBlogLogMemorable!With the overwhelming amount of online options that are available, the overload makes my senses numbed. time to hit refresh!time to stir the energy somewhere.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1160504817515254672006-10-10T13:26:00.000-05:002006-10-10T13:26:57.550-05:00

Culturally Generic Writing Among the many email lists I receive, this one sparked my attention… enough to search for its web version and activate the “blog this” option that is now always available on my task bar.The issue of a “culturally generic” language is interesting to me because it actually entails a negation of its instrumentality to create culture. It’s a paradoxical premise that a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1159847471873679332006-10-02T22:24:00.000-05:002006-10-02T23:07:22.893-05:00

and he spoke at length about the Music Genome Project.Notice there is a link on the right bar leading to the one effort that has caught my attention as deserving support. As soon as I get my finances in order and become rich, I will send them a contribution.He spoke about the history of the company and about the intent of supporting musicians by giving them exposure to the huge population

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1158591633377188342006-09-18T10:00:00.000-05:002006-09-18T10:00:33.480-05:00

Half an Hour: How to Write Articles and Essays Quickly and ExpertlyI have to blog this.... although, it seems too long for such a short time of writing.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1156553593209430622006-08-25T19:52:00.000-05:002006-08-25T19:53:13.230-05:00

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1153529876756643862006-07-21T19:48:00.000-05:002006-07-21T19:59:51.600-05:00

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1153017844163604982006-07-15T21:38:00.000-05:002006-07-15T21:44:04.186-05:00

This is the first day, in the few years I've been hooked to YM that it is empty!

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1150132507917490512006-06-12T12:05:00.000-05:002006-06-12T12:15:07.916-05:00

"I have the greatest faith that you will surmount all of the obstacles that the mediocre among us put in your path. Sometimes, it takes the rantings of a petty few to allow to know ourselves profoundly. It may be easy 'chalk it up to experience' more so when the experience itself is new and unpleasant. Yet that is often the way the divine and universal powers force us to look deeply into

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1149014650372314172006-05-30T13:32:00.000-05:002006-05-30T13:49:00.686-05:00

"i have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. that the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect … and of course i am afraid, because the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger … we

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1148080220923797972006-05-19T17:58:00.000-05:002006-05-19T18:10:20.940-05:00

Sonia Nieto retires. It came as a surprise... how can she leave UMASS? What will follow her trail in support of multiculturalism?Seeing Sonia moving on shakes the predictable image of my educational foundation. It was in the 80's when in graduate school she would be presenting a challenging concept of multiculturalism in a forum in which Bilingual education was nurtured. Luis Fuentes was there

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1147487069095826762006-05-12T20:57:00.000-05:002006-05-12T21:30:41.393-05:00

an ongoing review that of reality and meaning. It must be due to my search for work in the physical world, the one that for the time being steers me back into the metaphysical... but that quest for enlightenment is not what I had in mind to start with in this post. No. I had in mind a "mundane" comment that schooling for the privileged is, as stated by Chomsky an issue of access to "high

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1147199766866972162006-05-09T13:09:00.000-05:002006-05-09T13:36:07.416-05:00

I got the following e-mail a while ago:The Men’s Resource Center for Change (MRC) will be holding its Tenth Annual Challenge & Change Celebration on Sunday, May 7th. The dinner provides an opportunity for Pioneer Valley community members to come together to recognize a man, woman and young man who are making significant contributions to strengthen the social fabric of our community and society.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1146441343500322282006-04-27T18:34:00.000-05:002006-05-02T18:51:26.603-05:00

Jonathan Kozol spoke at Amherst College today."Invitation to Resistance --Strategies for the Defense and Transformation of Our Public Schools"I was glad to have met him. His talk was interesting because of the fact that he was urging priviledged young people to take risks, resist, become insuburdinate...and here I am, many years older wondering what is the fundamental change required for making a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1142359805212006032006-03-14T12:38:00.000-05:002006-03-14T13:25:35.843-05:00

For the last months I’ve been following rss feeds, list serves, articles, bounced ideas about how the ideology of open access leads to a practice of quality, equality and relevance. Of course, that is political and viewed from the vantage of virtuality, quite illuminating. There is currently interesting interchange in a forum on open educational resources/open content lead by the International

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1141569570062771962006-03-05T09:39:00.000-05:002006-03-05T21:20:26.563-05:00

Unfolding Leadership: A Few Images of Puerto Rico a nice post about Dan's journey to Old San Juan worth looking.I am always impressed by the sensitivity and receptiveness of those who allow themselves to witness a new place, culture and experience. Not only it is fortunate to have had the opportunity to share with Dan his journey to San Juan, albeit virtually.... but the pictures he took are

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1141327315280171122006-03-02T14:06:00.000-05:002006-03-02T14:28:07.256-05:00

I was just told that this work will soon be available to the public. I am excited and honored to witness Dr. Virginia Sanchez Korrol's achievement. A historian and veteran of the Puerto Rican community adds her contribution to academia and to our heritage. This publication deserves distribution in the knowledge depositories of the world. Here is the text from the email I just got:Dear friends and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1140734387581743692006-02-23T17:21:00.000-05:002006-02-23T17:39:47.633-05:00

Witnessing the stories of elders who in their youth were sexually abused was tender, cathartic and consequential. It confirms my belief that one must denounce violence… and that is the most significant act of liberation. It is difficult to have the strength and the balance to revisit pain, but these women did, these wise elders…Yesterday I listened to a program at Westfield State College, and I

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1140359556983874222006-02-19T09:08:00.000-05:002006-02-19T09:32:38.626-05:00

I found this old book, that brought up many memories. Back then, procastination and writers block would get in the way of getting the dissertation done. And an acquaintance, those you meet in workshops whose company you swear will last forever recommended my reading a book about a woman's diary.... "Ella Price's Journal". Being into theory and not really fiction I hesitantly jotted the title

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1140043603771331562006-02-15T17:15:00.000-05:002006-02-15T17:57:06.756-05:00

We winged it!And nothing like pictures to deepen a description.Social Presence in New Places indeed. What a trio... Garcia, Suzuki, and Molero an amazing combination. yes, daring!We joined a handful of people in Israel early in the morning for me (3 am to start with) for a second presentation at 6 am. By then we were wild with having been booted out of the platform, and needing to find a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1139888553061802112006-02-13T22:33:00.000-05:002006-02-14T17:55:20.676-05:00

Click here for the diagram's source.While getting ready to present with Renata Suzuki Threads of Reflection: Teacher Blogs in Action at the Mofet Institute's virtual conference:"Opening Gates in Teacher Education, 2006Meeting the Challenges in Education and Teaching"Feb. 13-15, 2006I've been thinking about this blog as a place for disclosure and feedback. And I immediately gravitate back to my

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1139187561254306932006-02-05T19:59:00.000-05:002006-02-05T19:59:21.303-05:00

I am reviewing the learning experience that we had last year for 13 weeks at the Learning Times virtual classroom. Some webheads joined a group of teachers in Venezuela who under Doris’ tutelage explored the technology of the Illuminate software and the curriculum of “The Learning Classroom”.Not only is the concept of presence and interaction crucial for the style of online teaching that we are

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1139080676605761812006-02-04T13:41:00.000-05:002006-02-04T14:20:34.886-05:00

the schedule is getting close to final and hopefully we will be there at the correct time. It keeps being a challenge to figure out the time around the world. And even though it is clear that using GMT for time as the common referrent is a must, it gets confusing to figure out details once we look at new directions in the world and at new environments.It is exciting to experience the limitations

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1139005120146642902006-02-03T17:18:00.000-05:002006-02-03T17:18:40.206-05:00

I just left a comment at Marco Polo's blog and since the "blog this" option is open decided to advance the reflection which the entry instigated. I am mostly focusing on the inpact that "communication technologies" have in the discovery, creation and advancement of knowledge. Not only is the online environment evolving in its infinity, but patterns are being formed in the sophistication of its

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138845053656300932006-02-01T20:36:00.000-05:002006-02-01T21:11:16.943-05:00

realizing that the gradation in levels of privacy online may have an impact on the strength of relationships formed. Notice the use of the word "strength" and how figurative it is in virtuality.... can that be non-physical? And essentially the openness of this medium (this blog) for anyone's access has an impact on my choice of words. Then of course the means of communication (text or voice)

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138748437755070582006-01-31T17:48:00.000-05:002006-01-31T18:00:37.790-05:00

I've been making reference to issues raised in a webcast at Learning Times where James Farmer was a guest speaker as part of Evonline's blog06 · COLLABORATIVE BLOGGING IN ESL/EFL workshop.There we met for an hour trying to decipher Farmer's voice-- literally. Don't ask me how problems with audio happen, but they happen... and also having people from the whole world meeting in a virtual room

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138597261369471132006-01-29T23:43:00.000-05:002006-01-30T00:06:42.736-05:00

My mother called it jack of all trades and master of none.... and she also believed in the survival of the fittest. I call it being multidisciplinarian, being a generalist... constantly brainstorming and a multitasker par excellance! About the survival issue, I think there is the luck of the draw too.But no, these are the add's and hiperactive, non-commital beings who are very creative and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138502626378563252006-01-28T21:32:00.000-05:002006-01-29T23:37:57.556-05:00

hankso I finally inserted a bloglines blogroll here. For the readers benefit because I have set my bloglines feed as my homepage. It remains to be seen how long that lasts. But for now it is interesting to see the patterns in the feeds pertaining to the activity levels of the sources as well as the number of subscribers that the sources have. At that point you can see the links that those in turn

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138417490510833142006-01-27T22:04:00.000-05:002006-01-27T22:16:30.243-05:00

I've been tempted before to spend energy and resources doing just that. But have been convinced that with the attack from unwanted media, robots, viruses, hackers and the like it is best to have experts do the job. I am torn. The scope of the projects that I want to develop require the ability to install the software and nurture humanity for interaction and collaboration. The nurturing requires

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138252254331670192006-01-25T23:55:00.000-05:002006-01-26T00:17:12.870-05:00

although conversation would be nice. Every now and then I get surprised by a comment here and there, thanks to those daring visitors. I've thought about how to make this place more of a conversation, and remain puzzled by that thought.Not that I think it impossible, on the contrary... desirable and wanted. But lately I've been hesitant to burst into communicating, mostly because of needing to

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1138154368649546052006-01-24T20:20:00.000-05:002006-01-24T21:15:11.463-05:00

Seems contradictory, and it is. But hey, what else is new.Here I am on my third year participating in the Evonline seminars which so dutifully the virtual colleagues put together online for the L2 instructors of the world. It is nice to witness my own comfort with the technology both of online teaching as well as about the teaching of English. Not that I am a language instructor, cause I am not,

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1137716732516888882006-01-19T19:24:00.000-05:002006-01-19T19:53:39.403-05:00

cause, yes I've wanted to blog all these days....I noticed again a short film in the Sundance Channel. It is a collage of media, animation, still pictures and film "About Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".I managed to jot down their web page address: lifeliberty.net which lead to The Filmconnection.org. From that site people in the USA can borrow films to show in groups. I like the fact

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1136587322237611232006-01-06T17:41:00.000-05:002006-01-06T17:42:02.246-05:00

FELIZ DIA DE REYES

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1136329198804115012006-01-03T17:33:00.000-05:002006-01-03T18:03:20.743-05:00

I have purposely stayed away from mainstream media here in good old USA but every now and then I come into contact with information that offers me the opportunity to take care of my remorse from the inertia, the doing nothing about the war that this country is waging against terrorism.A friend sent me an article written by the local historian Howard Zinn called: “After This War” published today

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1135895063955526612005-12-29T17:00:00.000-05:002005-12-29T17:24:23.996-05:00

not much happening here in this rural place. Friends are gone back home and the vastness of the town is nice... the silence too and the impact of a good book and a good film, superb!The book, is one written by Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation". Reminding me to breathe, be present, and mindful by “nourishing the object of

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1135362820760916672005-12-23T13:11:00.000-05:002005-12-23T13:40:35.476-05:00

and try not to be rigid, dogmatic and gravitate towards the mixing and matching of ideas. That, even to the point of seeing the virtues of supporting "faith based" human services with public funds ... BUT don't push it!When silencing others and forcing ideas around I go for the separation of religion and state. And that seems to be a trend that was "corrected" this week by Philadelphia's

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1135198583437951422005-12-21T15:46:00.000-05:002005-12-21T16:29:30.216-05:00

In the Northeast USA. And to keep the light shinning, I'll pass along a card I got by email... included here to share hope and cheer during this holiday season.(double click on the image to see a larger version)

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1134754485304707082005-12-16T12:14:00.002-05:002005-12-16T13:00:27.196-05:00

he really cracked it... althought he was wrong on heredity... lacking the distinctiveness of Mendel"just finished watching Charlie Rose interview two amazing scientist from Harvard... James T. Watson (molecular biology)and Edward O. Wilson (biology too). What a treat! to hear mature voices talk with certainty and authority about science while remaining awed by history. They talked about how

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1133634720586854012005-12-03T13:21:00.000-05:002005-12-03T13:56:39.870-05:00

"The leader teaches more through being than through doing. The quality of one's silence conveys more than long speeches.Be still. Follow your inner wisdom." (p.45)Heider, J. (1985) The Tao of Leadership: Leadership Strategies for a New Age. Bantam:NY.More here

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1133552718534433362005-12-02T14:39:00.000-05:002005-12-02T14:52:00.580-05:00

that posts of interest to me have a general pattern deserving distinct examination. And that indeed, while sharing a common theme, editing and posting demands quite a bit of skill. So I decided to break into two posts what I had here as posted in 11/30/2005 and now showing as more current. My templet does not allow for tweaking the date.Thinking about blogging and the portrayal achieved here in

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1133550706809669632005-12-02T13:43:00.000-05:002005-12-02T14:30:47.423-05:00

The halls of academia were packed listening to Sonia Alvarez. A delightful talk. Interesting approach to information sharing. She had a slide show that had nothing to do with her presentation, and passed along documents gathered in various National/International women's gatherings. I was most interested in looking at a book in which she had published a chapter to see how she highlighted and made

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1133378039431313342005-11-30T13:56:00.000-05:002005-12-02T14:47:17.423-05:00

Surfing I also find of great interest the effort documented at Who's afraid of the big, bad blog? to encourage blogging and establishing criteria for success. In this article a list of "blogging principles" sets the tone for IBM's encouragement to its employees to blog.We need to do the same, we need to set the tone towards the use of blogs as tools for credible information in which information

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1133132445285665942005-11-27T17:46:00.000-05:002005-11-27T18:09:00.513-05:00

Nominations are being accepted until the 4th of December for The Edublog Awards 2005. Only current edubloggers (those who have a blog with posts about education) can nominate blogs to be part of the vote.I quickly nominated Renata's "Getting There" blog (http://grankageva.blogspot.com/) for two categories:1. Best teachers blog and 2. Best example/case study of use of weblogs within teaching and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1132951799909726122005-11-25T15:37:00.000-05:002005-11-25T15:49:59.920-05:00

Harmonics Online –The Blended Learning ClassroomGarcía, K.; Suzuki, R. and Molero, D. (2005). “Harmonics Online: The Blended Learning Classroom”. International Council for Open and Distance Education Conference (ICDE)- Puerto Rico 2005. Retrieved from Web site: http://www.econ.uba.ar/www/icde/publicaciones/trabajos_region/trabajos_pr2005.htm

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1132596864380813202005-11-21T12:53:00.000-05:002005-12-01T15:12:35.340-05:00

Feeling satisfied and appreciative of those who came to Learning Times last Friday and Saturday (my time) to hear two presentations that Renata and I prepared for the ocassion.We first spoke about "blogging out", going beyond reflection in the use of blogs for teacher development. There is so much there to contemplate.... Renata's seminal work keeps evolving as we move into issues of

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1132095720589208172005-11-15T17:51:00.000-05:002005-11-15T18:04:24.450-05:00

Nicky was visiting the region just north of me a few miles. So I contacted her andwas soooo fortunate to meet right here in Amherst with her daughter justbefore they returned to Spain. And we recorded the occasion! So the moral of thestory is..... get your message across when you post cause people do listen. Whata treat!

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1131748292902317852005-11-11T17:13:00.000-05:002005-11-11T17:31:32.913-05:00

had an interesting conversation today.... nothing new... the good old conversation about decision making processes and the illusion of consensus...I am always amazed to experience how people in power shield themselves in belief that their influence is consensus.... like really, if it was consensus, the process would have involved me! so consensus without my participation is what? yes, I am a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1131802911575996052005-11-10T23:29:00.000-05:002005-11-12T15:27:48.113-05:00

Nothing new, abuse as a prevalent feature in society. What was revolutionary was to understand it as being part of culture.A great document, nicely done! Lisa is really making a significant contribution to the human services with this book.Fontes, L. (2005). Child Abuse and Culture: Working with Diverse Families. New York: Guilford Press.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1131466348429332322005-11-08T10:26:00.000-05:002005-11-08T11:23:49.006-05:00

and noticing how this act of reflection and voice is quite controversial. Expected of course since the idea of a voice without control is a fundamental challenge to hegemonic social order. So while my expression of thought, doubt, senses, ideas and "passions" is liberating, its impact on the audience abstract and unknown. Imaginable but fiction. That is, devoid of feedback and/or comments here

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1130866063908339812005-11-01T12:19:00.000-05:002005-11-05T00:23:09.853-05:00

Considering a post as faculty at the Psychology Department. An interesting proposition to change all schemes and inmerse myself in teaching at an undergraduate program. I am giving it serious thought.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1129777865554178682005-10-19T21:37:00.000-05:002005-10-19T22:11:05.603-05:00

Voices of a People's History of the United States(A dramatic reading narrated by Howard Zinn) Chapin Auditorium at Mt. Holyoke College was full last night. We were asked to hold our applause to the end, but at times we could not contain the excitement and some was heard. But by the end, the full impact of the evening was heavy... all people on the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1129655097729488272005-10-18T11:36:00.000-05:002005-11-01T11:50:18.763-05:00

I got a message at the beginning of the month with the following:Subject: Su propuesta para el Congreso Virtual HispanoEstimada xxx: Su propuesta para el Primer Congreso Virtual Hispano fue considerada y evaluada de acuerdo a los criterios del congreso. Sin embargo, lamentamos comunicarle que la misma no fue recomendada para ser parte de las presentaciones. Gracias por su interés y le invitamos a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1129323417933950402005-10-14T15:50:00.000-05:002005-10-14T16:04:05.233-05:00

to (hot water) ji (healing) ba (place) and the 21 day rule of healingDuncan Ryuken Williams speaks on “Hot Water Buddhism—Japanese Buddhism and the Culture of Bathing, Purification and Healing”Interesting talk about the subject of hot springs and the healing of suffering/ailments in Japanese Buddhist tradition. Heard about “esoteric Buddhism” (pre-Buddhism) and deities in nature… streams,

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1129154306968937312005-10-12T16:50:00.000-05:002005-11-25T17:39:37.870-05:00

Walked out of the auditorium, totally absorbed and headed to town. At my side among pedestrians was a tall young man walking along. I asked him, were you at Chomsky? Where else he said! with a grin. Good, perhaps you can help me understand what he said about culture… how it is incoherent to his understanding….that everything is genetic. (For me culture is in juxtaposition to the genetic

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1128274202710262272005-10-02T12:26:00.000-05:002005-10-02T12:30:02.716-05:00

First of all, some Robot seems to have taken over blogspot for the author of some book. A message is sent by e-mail with a nice greeting leading to a webpage selling a motivational book. Clever! An automatized means to hack blogs.The other thing is that a lot of thought is brewing about this thing we call blogging and "free speech". So I will be reporting about that soon. In the meantime, I

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1126635106438571402005-09-13T13:09:00.000-05:002005-09-13T13:51:29.483-05:00

I am delighted to find "la guru speaks" (this blog) included in a directory of Puertorrican Blogs. I was there at UPR when students introduced "el wikeo" to participants at the educational technology conference earlier this year. Their initiative deserves support. Stop by and leave a greeting!About their pilot project they say:Directorio de Blogs puertorriqueñosCon el fin de fomentar el uso de

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1123331132029660802005-08-06T07:17:00.000-05:002005-08-06T07:25:32.033-05:00

Success. Our panel on Gaining a Voice was well received. I like Renata’s description of it:"This is a structured presentation talking about the four aspects of the Blended Classroom, discussing Online Tools, Participants, Social Presence and Interaction, with a focus on suggesting how to invest the new (and possibly faddish technology) with a human element (interaction/social presence) and a

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1123185757522479742005-08-04T14:48:00.000-05:002005-08-04T15:02:37.530-05:00

Yes, it is happening.... a gathering in San Juan Puerto Rico of Distace Learning Educators from LatinAmerica. No, we cannot take for granted access to the internet so I\ve spent the morning moving the presentation to a laboratory where the internet access is more reliable. Installed Illuminate in about 18 computers... delighted to leave that capacity in the lab.... but of course, missed the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1122734192995725902005-07-30T09:35:00.000-05:002005-07-30T18:00:50.990-05:00

Last winter (2004) a study group was formed in which following Doris Moleros’ initiative, teachers in Venezuela meeting face to face and a group of webheads completed a unique blended learning experience. The course “The Learning Classroom: Theory into Practice” (published by Annenberg/CPB) was reviewed during 13 online sessions in which the content of the course and the skills in the use of the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1122672663725144932005-07-29T16:28:00.000-05:002005-07-29T16:31:03.733-05:00

Reviewing my thoughts and concerns I realize that my silence is easier than examining and reviewing each word I project verbally and or in writing. I’ve been doing that lately, being silent here while reviewing how projecting my ideas has an impact.We’ve submitted papers for publication dealing with a culture of silence, with gaining a voice and about actually harmonizing that voice. so the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1120867706534105772005-07-08T18:55:00.000-05:002005-07-08T19:08:26.540-05:00

Is on-line multiculturalism a myth?Since the early nineties I've been concerned about learning and helping others to use the internet for educational activities. Yes, educational institutions are equipped with the tools, and some teachers find them useful. Culturally however, there are voids in the use, comfort and skills of teachers. And that void is most critical if we are committed to the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1120589116976328172005-07-05T13:39:00.000-05:002005-07-05T14:08:12.106-05:00

I found an article (Kerney, 2005) that attracted my attention after spending two weeks last month being a reader myself for a federal competition. The Department of Education in the USA has a system in which a panel of 3 readers reads 10 proposals and gives a score according to the guidelines offered in the request for proposals (rfp). What I found imperative was to have a working knowledge of

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1120420905378540452005-07-03T14:30:00.000-05:002005-07-08T10:51:20.893-05:00

a paper presented byKaren Garcia, Renata Suzuki and Doris Molero “Harmonics Online –The Blended Learning Classroom”June 30, 2005for discussion at theInternational Conference of Distance Education(CIED 2005)* The purpose of this document is to complement the information offered at the panel: "Gaining a Voice: Re-Viewing a Blended Global Online Teacher Training Program". This document highlights

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1120145335152678062005-06-30T10:08:00.000-05:002005-06-30T11:31:20.656-05:00

This is big news because not only it acknowledges the work of women from Puerto Rico working for peace, but also people whose work have left an imprint locally in the Pioneer Valley (Western MA., USA… from where I am writing at the moment)."Nilda Medina, co-founder of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques, Maria Reinat-Pumarejo, co-founder of the Institute for Latino Empowerment

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119964801675732882005-06-28T08:11:00.000-05:002005-06-28T08:29:53.473-05:00

The following comment was left on the post below and I am including it here deserving front page attention. A link is offered with many translations to the Tao Te Ching. I wonder which would be the best to start with? (This one is nice...)Thanks for your comment!"The Tao Te Ching was written in China roughly 2,500 years ago at about the same time when Buddha expounded the Dharma in India and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119889784910125932005-06-27T11:04:00.000-05:002005-06-27T14:57:19.276-05:00

So while multitasking, I find this fascinating site through someone’s goggling of “correlation”…. :Correlations: Taoist Thought ToolsCorrelations, a psychological technique, disassembles your mind's dialectic process allowing your mind to reassemble itself with 'mysterious sameness' as its foundation. It gradually neutralizes bias - all bias - which makes it an arduous process; deep down we want

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119566188228247442005-06-23T17:31:00.000-05:002005-07-06T10:14:07.376-05:00

It does not cease to amaze me! (a direct translation… of course!)Just finished from facilitating a virtual session with Doris’ gang in Maracaibo, Venezuela over at the webheads office in Learning Times. Two seniors where there… Daf (and Sus appeared at the end...late in Denmark) whose presence always feels good… and the two of us roockies… a.k.a las “embelequeras”. Ay bendito… them folks in

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119493797997800172005-06-22T21:16:00.000-05:002005-06-30T11:20:49.313-05:00

and delighted to witness how much I've learned in a year! It's been about that long since the virtual classroom in Learning Times has been a resource for coordination and development of learning experiences. I will be paying attention to how the motivational framework offered by Doernyei (2001) could be applicable there. I look forward to seeing how the colleagues in Venezuela fare with their

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119281165644545132005-06-20T10:20:00.000-05:002005-06-20T10:26:05.650-05:00

I am still at it, researching about “cultures” in the internet. And to the extent that culture is accepted as text, then I will submit to the idea of “culture … presented as text, which the ethnographer is to read”(Beaulieu, 2004, p.155). … an idea explored by Schaap, (2002), attributed to Geertz in: Beaulieu, A. (2004) Mediating Ethnography: Objectivity and the Making of Ethnographies of the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1119052902625242752005-06-17T18:57:00.000-05:002005-06-17T19:21:05.690-05:00

And I am still vibrating with the classroom experience that just passed, wondering if there was enough time for constructivism to unfold. I am convinced about participatory methods being crucial for learning. And in that last experience wondering what resources could have been added to prevent the strain, stress—“entropy” that detoured our hurried gain. Reflection acknowledged a comprehensive

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1118801941784182802005-06-14T21:06:00.000-05:002005-06-14T21:20:39.393-05:00

Creating the Basic Motivational Conditions1 Demonstrate and talk about your own enthusiasm for the course material and how it affects you personally.2 Take the students learning very seriously.3 Develop a personal relationship with your students.4 Develop a collaborative relationship with the students' parents.5 Create a pleasant and supportive atmosphere in the classroom.6 Promote the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1118463448298078942005-06-10T23:02:00.000-05:002005-06-11T07:44:23.193-05:00

(*Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press 2001):Creating the Basic Motivational Conditions1 Demonstrate and talk about your own enthusiasm for the course material and how it affects you personally.2 Take the students learning very seriously.3 Develop a personal relationship with your students.4 Develop a collaborative relationship with the students' parents.5

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1118320285767877322005-06-09T07:18:00.000-05:002005-06-30T11:11:05.810-05:00

Where is the dictionary???? Actually, the Thesaurus.marvelous- causing wonder or astonishmentamazing, astonishing, astounding, awesome, fabulous, miraculous, portentous, prodigious, staggering, stunning, stupendous, sublime, surprising, wonderful, wondrousextraordinary, phenomenal, sensational, spectacular; singular, unique, outstanding, remarkable; impressive, striking; exciting, galvanizing,

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1118149014290507052005-06-07T07:56:00.000-05:002005-06-21T09:01:02.163-05:00

An important quote.There are many issues to think about and I’ve been reading. About the choice of words used to convey a thought and a message. About how to best give and receive feedback. About learning and about growing... Constructivism... endless ideas.There is though and action. Critical thinking... more. I’ve been reflecting about the feedback given to me and about how best to act.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1116903124604790282005-05-23T21:34:00.000-05:002005-05-27T06:32:06.933-05:00

The class according to Doernyei, (Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press 2001):Creating the Basic Motivational Conditions1 Demonstrate and talk about your own enthusiasm for the course material and how it affects you personally.2 Take the students learning very seriously.3 Develop a personal relationship with your students.4 Develop a collaborative

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1116471532459072962005-05-13T21:57:00.000-05:002005-05-28T11:25:56.973-05:00

I’ve been thinking about a comment brought up by a student at the end of class last time. That cramming increases anxiety and panic, which does not lead to learning. I was alarmed! Here we are cramming in this course… NO WONDER! (Yes, I notice my message is incomplete…. My wonder is perennial) Sometimes it feels that my whole life is a cramming… And I realize that learning, timing and tempo

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1115786189817918932005-05-10T23:05:00.000-05:002005-05-28T11:52:17.143-05:00

Walked into the basement and was greeted by a young adult dressed with a beautiful pink coat and bonnet. She asks me if I am a mother. Not, I answered… and when I asked her, she replied she was. I congratulated her. Tomorrow is mother’s day and she certainly was walking tall. Was glad to share in the celebration… and glad (– relieved) of the simplicity in my life by not having dependents. (

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1115443307643147642005-05-07T00:14:00.000-05:002005-05-28T11:58:57.010-05:00

Third class (of a total of 6). How can we process so much theory in such a short time? I hope that these concepts will ring true in everyone's experience in the future. For me, I need to learn by repetition so I always make notes of what I read and then write them to digest them. So I don't know yet how to skip this step. The one where I copy word for word from the source. So here it goes,

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1115136929628015142005-05-03T11:14:00.000-05:002005-05-28T12:08:43.110-05:00

Reviewing the second class. What a day!Entered the classroom to arrange tables and chairs into a more collaborative work environment. Students started to filter in… oh good, I said “help with the tables”. And one of the students helped move the heavy tables. As others entered there was surprise about the change of the circle turning into smaller ones around the group and immediately

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114837432447140572005-04-29T23:51:00.000-05:002005-04-30T00:03:52.463-05:00

THIS ARE ALL (MOSTLY) DIRECT QUOTES FROM:MYERS 2004 Exploring Social Psychology 3rdEd. McGraw:NY.with a few summaries and comments made by me.Module 6 The Fundamental Attribution Error..how much are we affected by our social environment... depends on the situation (as well as on what we bring to the situation).When explaining someone’s behavior, we underestimate the impact of the situation and

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114836068987052312005-04-29T23:40:00.001-05:002005-04-29T23:50:48.156-05:00

ok, and as a guide says about multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary:what, interdisciplanary and multi? -i think it's the same thing... one is reaching across to other disciplines-you think?... No!-ok, so what is the difference - then why do you need a different word for it?- multi means many...inter means between- or even disciplines for that matter - so one is thinking of the numbers, the

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114386017188258362005-04-24T18:08:00.000-05:002005-04-24T21:15:47.350-05:00

that this is not a language class.... we had enough challenge with words.Like "what exactly" is the difference between interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary? (Reminds me of my searching for understanding of what the difference is between a dilemma and a predicament.)What a class! I am excited with meeting such a nice group of women who are invested in their lives with the understanding that

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114264894638953692005-04-23T09:00:00.000-05:002005-04-23T09:06:56.446-05:00

a webpage with exampleshttp://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/crow/examples.htmOk, ready...

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114228114220131162005-04-22T22:36:00.000-05:002005-04-22T22:51:02.993-05:00

A lecture, whose idea is this of a lecture--- monologue, transmission of information or is it a show about who knows and who does not. Not to even mention the deal about multiple choice tests… what is this? Whose classroom am I entering. I used to think there was academic freedom…. And of course, I enter into the realm of educational politics big time…. “yes Sir!” Of course, anything you say.

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1114113180372676202005-04-21T13:58:00.000-05:002005-04-21T14:56:33.746-05:00

I am "urged" by Renata the great class blogger... to blog my experience of teaching a class. And since it has been a while since I go to a classroom in person... I will see how doing that will enhance the teaching experience.For you the reader, I hope you leave your comments... yes, yes,.... I know it is hard to press a button and leave your words all over the place. But, it gets easier with

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756444.post-1112502768802318322005-04-02T23:25:00.000-05:002005-04-02T23:37:19.720-05:00

----- Original Message ----- To: Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 9:26 AMSubject: Saving the dugongs (JEM list) GREENPEACE: HELP US SAVE DUGONGS (From: TERAO Terumi ) 　　　　　　　 It is 8:30am and I, along with 30 activists, have been sitting on drilling platform #4 for an hour and a half. We can see workers gathering at the US Marine Corp base at Henoko, Okinawa. They are about to come out and try to

Karen... la gurúnoreply@blogger.com0