Peeps: You'll be LTS, LOL, LMAO, ROTF, ROFL, ROTFLMAO

This is actually part of the syllabus for one of my courses. I love it!

Dear student in my course,

I am your instructor. I am not your BFF. I do not WTGP? with you. I'm sorry if that makes you :-( IRL, when you write emails using poor grammar, sentence structure, and include only minimal amounts of information, it makes me >:-||

IMHO (and this is JMO), I have NP using this type of slang in a chat room, like a virtual classroom. It's a quick and easy way to communicate in a fast paced environment, and sometimes typing a whole phrase is much slower than slang. LOL, I get it.

But OMG, if I receive another email from peeps that shows what a noob you are in the professional world, where you don't clearly tell me who you are, what class section you are in, that has a vague or non-existent subject line, and no background information -- that makes me write back to you just to find out WT? you are talking about, I'm going to scream.

Writing to your PPL on FB is different that writing a letter to your instructor. PLZ take the time to get used to constructing professional emails for folks in RL. It will help avoid a SNAFU in the future, I promise. TC, TTYL, and TIA.

TNT, L8r -- Your Instructor.

NOTE: Click here if you need an Internet slang glossary to understand this letter. (I did)

Happy Birthday, Troy!

The last of the January family birthday salutes honors a fantastic son-in-law. He was a cute kid, wasn't he? Now he is some kind of martial arts champion dude, along with a great husband and father. In addition, he is just a plain old good guy.

That counts for a lot.

Hope you enjoy your day, Troy!

Happy Birthday, Sheila!

I hope you enjoy your day! Wish I could be there!

My Classes This Semester

Instructional Design Systematic design of products for education and training. Use of cognitive task analysis to determine instructional content. Development of instructional goals and product specifications. Rapid prototyping of instructional products.

Technology for Course Delivery Use of technology to support planning, presenting and managing instructor-led courses.

Dear Congress,

Please support President Elect Obama's stated intention to provide substantial funding for education technology as part of the forthcoming economic recovery package. In a recent speech, he declared: "To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that's never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We'll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future." I urge you to work with President Elect Obama to implement these goals.

We have an opportunity to modernize classrooms, create jobs, foster a more college and workforce ready student population, and provide economic growth in a technology sector that will be better able to serve the growing global education market. We need to transform classrooms into technology-rich environments, provide appropriate professional development and IT support to educators, and prepare our students for the 21st Century job market.

Let's have both an economic stimulus as well as a true investment in the education of our students.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden...

...but thanks to Suze I now have one! I know, it doesn't really make sense, but lots of things don't make sense nowadays. I just like those song titles. Anyway, thanks to Jeff's loading services and Suze's transport services, four giant rose bushes showed up in my carport. They are now happily planted in a hidden corner of my garden, revealed when the old shed was removed and the new shed was placed further into the carport. We got dirty and scratched but somehow all of them made it into the ground, the hard rocky ground, enriched with special rose soil and bark chips. We watered them and went off to celebrate over lunch.

I look forward to my first rose blossom to cut and put in a vase! THANK YOU SUZE AND JEFF!

Happy Birthday, Mikela!

Enjoy your day! Miss you! Love, Mom

A California budget -- or else!

How's this for a ballot initiative: If we don't get one by June 15, we show our elected officials the door. Now that's one I would go for.

"In the midst of the nation's worst economic crisis in nearly seven decades, with the state's unemployment rate nuzzling 10% and with bond money waiting to be spent on major transportation, water and housing projects, California has halted public construction and idled thousands of workers because our government can't adopt a budget. In three weeks, Sacramento will begin sending out IOUs instead of paychecks. And no, those IOUs can't be spent at the grocery store or the hardware store or any other business that is trying to keep its doors open. Teachers will be laid off. Health clinics will close. Stimulus money spewing out of Washington will bypass us on its way to states that have their acts together."

Read the entire LA Times editorial here.

Happy Birthday, Leah!

After months of telling anyone who would listen, "Today's my birthday!" it's finally here and Leah is 3 years old.

Miss you, sweetness. Enjoy your day. Love, Grandma

This is an incredible book.

From the website: In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time , Greg Mortenson, and journalist David Oliver Relin, recount the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he stumbled into an impoverished Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school. From that rash, heartfelt promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time.

Braldu Bridge, completed in 1995

Korphe School, completed in 1996

In an early effort to raise money he wrote letters to 580 celebrities, businessmen, and other prominent Americans. His only reply was a $100 check from NBC’s Tom Brokaw. Selling everything he owned, he still only raised $2,400. But his efforts changed when a group of elementary school children in River Falls, Wisconsin, donated $623.40 in pennies, who inspired adults to begin to take action. Since then, he’s established 78 schools. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived an armed kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. Yet his success speaks for itself.

I got rhythm...

...I got music,

I got my man -- (oh well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad)

Who could ask for anything more?

Going to the Geffen Playhouse tomorrow to see this show. Can't wait!

Before the Rose Parade Starts, There's Lots of Fun to be Had!

New Year's Eve on Colorado Blvd.