Summarizing

I have learned so much in this Ed 420 class. This was a practical, hands-on class. The tools I used and learned to use will service me in a classroom as well as my personal and business life. I consider the Inspiration program a very valuable tool to know for teaching in middle school. As teachers in the 21st century the computer and internet are apart of cutting technology and keeping up with our students as well as the world. The internet for one is totally changing the way curriculum's are being taught and done. The internet is now used as a resource instead of books and newspapers. This class has given me the opportunity to become familiar with new programs and technology. I have enjoyed this class and appreciate Skip's knowledge and support. I loved the intensive class and the connections we made as a class through it. I hope to see you all again in future intensive classes. Til then, Heather

My Panraven Story

Click here to see my story.

Windy in Delta

Well, I tried numerous times this past week to upload my sense of place video to my blog, but I am still striking out. Hopfully with the suggestions some of you gave me and Skip, I will be able to upload my video this week. The wind has been just howling here. I think winter really hit. When I woke up Sunday morning it was 23 below zero. This was the first time it has been this cold so far this winter. It is currently 2 below with a wind chill of minus 40 because of the wind. The cold just cuts through you. I have learned so much in this class and have expanded by horizons with my new technology tools. Exams are in the next two weeks. So everyone hang on for the ride and good luck. Til next week

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, and food. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our church and then another one with our family and friends. My brother Micah also announced that they will be having another baby in June. This was just wonderful. The weather here has been very warm and windy. It even reach the warm temperature of 36 above in Delta. Amazing! Anyhow, I can't resist showing you all the favorite part of Thanksgiving for me. It is the dessert table. Til next week.

Delta's Beauty

Delta is a town surrounded by ever changing beauty. I am continually amazed how the same landmarks can take on a totally different face as winter turns to spring and summer to fall. Nauture is something that refreshes and cleanses and makes us feel renewed.


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Prayer

Well, this has been an emotionally strained week for me. The special needs little girl I have taken care of on and off for the past two years went into kidney failure this week. She was only born with one kidney. So it is strained already. Her blood work indicated that her kidney was in failure. So she has been on dialasis for ten days now in Anchorage. We are doing fund raisers and various other things to raise money for a new kidney for her. She is two years old and a sweetie. So if you all think of her pray for her and her family. The doctors hope to find a match for her and be able to get her another kidney withing three months. Hopefully, this will happen soon. Here is a picture of her. I hope everyone is well. Take care!

Windy

It has been very windy here in Delta this week. One reason we are named Delta Junction is because the Valdez road, the Richardson, and the Alaskan Highway all collide here. Also the Tanana and Delta River come together here. From Delta you can see the Alaskan Range with it featuring Mt. Hayes. Needless to say, this provide an interesting crossection of people and weather. We have alot of agriculture in our community with barley, oats, wheat and other crops, as well as dairy cows, beef & buffalo being grown. We also have a large Russian population. This is just some of the highlight of Delta Junction.

November is here!

Well, I can hardly

believe that November is here. Last week my sister-in-law and I did flowers for a wedding. Here is one of the bouquets. It was a fall wedding and the bride choose very different flowers and colors, but it was fun. I moved today. It was very exciting and all my friends came to help. So it only took about an hour. It was so good to hear you all on Friday. You all did awesome on your presentations. Keep up the good work!

Til next week, Heather

It's the end of October

How time has flown since we were altogether in Fairbanks. It is hard to believe that we are going to be going into November and approaching daylight savings time. I am going to be moving to a new place in Delta this coming weekend. I am very excited about this especially since I will have a reliable internet connection. My internet connection at the place I stay comes and goes at will. This is why this weekly blog is late. It will also be nice to hear everyone on audioconference this Friday. Hope all is well with everyone.
Talk to you later,
Heather Stossmeister

At last!

I have tried on and off all day to log onto the internet. I finally have made it on at 7:40 in the evening. Hooray! This week has been a lot of slipping and sliding around on the roads here in Delta. It has been snowing that wet snow. The weather has been going back and forth between freezing and warming up, making the road tricky to navigate. I had to drop a friend off at the Fairbanks airport on Thursday evening. Between the roads and the snow falling, the trip back to Delta took awhile and was exhausting. I hope everyone is doing well. It seems like our Ed 330 class is looming over us. Yikes! Hope the math classes went well for everyone who took them in Fairbanks. Talk to you next week. Heather

One of our neighbors grew giant pumpkins this year. He invited us over to help harvest them. Some of his largest pumpkins were over 100 lbs. Pretty impressive for Alaska. Things are going well here in Delta getting ready for the long winter. Did anyone else plant gardens this year? Hope all is well with everyone. Take care! Heather

Thoughts!

Hello everyone,
I can't say I have a whole lot to say which involves the school district or what is going on in the schools in Delta. I truly have very little involvment with our school besides the school board meeting I attended. The rest of my life is work and school. I am sorry to say I have not gotten an opportunity to see any of your Panraven stories or Fliker slide showes because they take an enormous amount of time to load when you have dial up. Technology is great when you have internet connections to match. I hope everyone is well and Betty you remain safe. Take care, Heather.

The blog continues!

The swans and cranes are flying over their call reminds me that a new season is about to begin. The beauty that fall brings is indescribable. The subsistence for moose is now over in Delta and my friends have redirected their attentions to spruce hen hunting. My brother did not get a moose this year, but he did say that he saw many sheep at the base of Mt. Hayes.
My nephews are doing well in school. The youngest is learning how to play guitar in kindergarten. He enjoys this so much. My nephews are growing fast reminding me of how fast life, technology, and the things we surround ourselves with change. Hope all is well with you all. Take care, Heather

Fall

Hello Everyone,
This week has gone by in a mad rush for me. Yet it ended on a nice note. As I was driving home from work last night, the sun was setting and the beautiful colors played across the sky. A flock of around one hundred swans flew in front of the sunset. Needless to say, the sight was spectacular. It was one of those moments where everything falls away and you forget your business and what you have to do, and just enjoy the present.
Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees in Delta and the wind is picking up reminding me winter is around the corner. Burr!
Hope all is well. Trying to get my homework done for Ed 330 has been difficult and challenging. Anyone else feel that way? Talk to you next week.
Heather

Thoughts on Panraven

I have been taking pictures for my project on Panraven. My only problem is that because I only have dial up it makes it very laboreous and painful to do anything with this program. I love technology yet I find that unless you have everything up to date it can be a pain. Our internet has been down and out a fiber optic cable was cut making any sort of communication difficult. I can see the benefit of technology, yet for the school in Delta I think it is still a distant hope. It has been raining steadily here in Delta lately gradually growing colder and colder. The ominous sign that winter is around the corner. A very sad thought. Betty, it is so good to hear you voice on the teleconference, even though we can't talk directly. Take care of yourself up in Kavilena sp? So long for now, Heather

Hello Everyone,
This is a picture of the view from my brother's place in Montana. This lake is the largest fresh water lake in the US.
School started full force for me this week. I went to my first school borad meeting. I found it relatively uneventful and boring. I think my arrival was the most interesting event of the night, seeing as I was one of three that came to the meeting. It was nice to meet the school board and the principles of the school I hope to eventually work in. Hope all is well with everyone. It was so nice to hear Betty's voice in English 200X. Later, Heather

I'm Back!

Well, I have arrived back from Montana. I am now back into the realm of technology. I have to admit it is nice to be cut off from the constant ringing of cell phones, text messaging, TV, and emails. It cuts alot out of your life. I had a wonderful time with my family, and my youngest brother is officially married. I sang at his reception, and it was a hit. School starts back up for me on Tuesday, and work is hectically busy. I hope all is well with everyone as summer comes to an end and fall saunters in. I so enjoyed our classes together, and I look forward to connecting with everyone via blog. Take care!
Heather

Well, I am heading for Montana tomorrow. I will be without internet for ten days. What a shock that will be to my system. Noel, I went to your message board on the McGrath website. Go Noel Go! People who are informed and are knowledgeable are a hugh asset to change and reform. School starts here in Delta very soon. We have also had our first frost. So my flowers were not to happy. We are also picking blueberries here. Well, hello to all. Til later, Heather

I am so sorry this has taken me awhile to post. Delta has been out of internet since Thursday when it went down. I enjoyed this technology class very much. Erica, I was so sad I did not get to tell you good-bye. I enjoyed our time together. This class opened up a whole new world for me in the area of technology. I loved the movie project. I showed the movie I had made in class at church,and they loved it. Skip you made the class enjoyable,and it was very refreshing. I will definitely use Inspiration, Power point, and the other programs. I didn't even know there were those programs on my computer. Thanks for the great time every one and especially all the laughs from Betty.

Here are some photos of my airplane flight across the Tanana River in Delta Junction.
It was a breathtaking flight.


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