Sunday, May 10, 2009

Thoughts - Bennet Island and Mi Vida Loca

Bennet Island - Landsat Image N-54-75_2000 - A Partial View (1-44260)

Bennet Island - Landsat Image N-54-75_2000 - A Partial View (1:44,260)


Bennet Island - EVS Precision Map - A Partial View (1-44260)

Bennet Island - EVS Precision Map - A Partial View (1:44,260)

It has been one very busy school year. As most of your know, I am a middle school teacher. Unless you are a teacher, you probably don't know how wild and crazy that life can be depending on the students, parents and staff. Well, this has been one of those crazy years. Not crazy bad, just crazy busy.

Computers in the Classroom

I am in the process of installing 30 Dell computers in my classroom. The goal is to have a computer with appropriate and consistent software for each student. The software the students will ultimately master consists of Open Office Writer and Impress. They will frequently use MS Paint, ImageForge, Inkscape, Google Earth, Marplot and QGIS or a similar mapping package. Each computer has a high-speed Internet connection, allowing the students opportunities to research projects using on-line resources. Using the suite of software I've installed, the students are able to accomplish almost all classroom tasks, submit completed assignments and receive graded assignments all without resorting to paper copy. My ultimate aim is to ensure each student masters word-processing and presentation software. I want them to prepare high school and college assignments and submit them with confidence derived from extensive experience.

Back to Bennet Island

I like what I've done with this ice covered island so far. At first I traced a shoreline that was an educated guess. The more I've mapped this island, the more I've decided that an ice covered island with rock outcroppings is best mapped as shown above. Map the land that is visible and leave the ice as ice. My busy life, mi vida loca, makes the completion of this map a distant dream. But, finish it I will. Yes, just as soon as I finish teaching my students, installing a room full of computers, cleaning my weed chocked backyard, paying my bills, etcetera, etcetera, etceteera...

Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment