How many of you are Harry Potter fans? Well, if you are then you are one of many who is waiting for the title of the seventh book in the series to be released.  On the 21st of December, Scholastic, which is J.K. Rowling’s publisher, released the title of the book.

Now I could easily just tell you the title. But, I like the way Rowling thinks. She came up with a creative way for kids and adults to discover the title all on their own.

This came from CNN.com on December 21st. J.K.Rowling has released the title of the final copy of the Harry Potter series. This is an interesting way to discover the title. Just follow the directions below and have a little fun! Enjoy!

If you go to her home page, click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room — you’ll see a window, a door and a mirror.

In the mirror, you’ll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. Then click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a wreath appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you’ll see a garland.

Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman.

OK I know I am late on this posting but here’s my excuse: Teaching full-time, working on my Master’s (in Educational Technology), 6 kids, 2 chocolate labs, one aging mother, one husband out of the country, and a fat squirrel in a crabapple tree, (or was that a partridge in a pear tree?) Anyhow: KUDOS! to those listed! I took part in the K12 Online conference and this was definitely a great learning opportunity. Also, there are several winners that I read daily, so my hats off to all winners. Keep up the good work! I am learning so much from all of you.

2006 Edublogs Award Winners

Best Audio and/or Visual Blog:
absolutely intercultural!
Anne Fox (Denmark), Laurent Borgmann (Germany)

Best Group Blog:
Polar Science 2006
YES I Can! Science team, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Diane Hammond, Susan Stiff, and Dr. Tom Stiff (Canada)

Best Individual Blog:
Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog
Christopher D. Sessums (USA)

Most Influential Post, Resource or Presentation:
K12 Online Conference 2006
Darren Kuropatwa (Canada), Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach (USA), Wes Fryer (USA)

Best Research Paper:
Nancy White: Blogs and Community
Nancy White (USA)

Best Teacher Blog:
Have Fun with English! 2
Teresa Almeida d’Eça (Portugal)

Best Library/ Librarian Blog:
Hey Jude
Judy O’Connell (Australia)

Best Newcomer: (joint winners)
Ed Tech Journeys
Pete Reilly (USA)
tilt!
Paz Peña (Chile)

Best Wiki
Flat Classroom Project
The Flat Classroom project is a genuine assessment project between Julie Lindsay’sgrade 11 ITGS class at International School Dhaka(ISD) in Bangladesh and Vicki Davis’ 10th grade Computer Science class at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia

Best Undergraduate Blog:
CILASS Student Blog
University of Sheffield Student Ambassadors of the Centre for Inquiry-based Learning In the Arts and Social Sciences (England)

Edublog Star Award (Convenors choice):
Duck Diaries
Barbara Cohen (USA)

I came across this post from Kathy Schrock, http://kathyschrock.net/blog/index.htm. Blink has now become a new Web 2.0 verb!

blink

noun
1. a Web link to a blog entry

verb
1. to include a Web link to a blog entry on an Web page or in a print source; “The local high school blog was blinked in the local newspaper and on the state Department of Education Web site.”

Well, my students are definitely keeping me on my toes. I have actually 3 groups/projects that are keeping me busy.

First, my sixth graders are finishing up their digital stories. I have to say the majority of them are so excited that they’ve been practicing on Movie Maker 2 at home and then trying out and teaching their fellow classmates the new things they’ve learned. We will be premiering their stories by the end of the week. I’m thinking of doing it up and having a red carpet and popcorn.

Secondly, my students dance mat vending business has had two weeks of success ~ they’ve sold their alotted tickets for both weeks and they are learning that they must ‘talk up’ their business. They have become very protective over the Playstation 2 consoles, games, and dance mats. They will not tolerate any horse play. It’s nice to see a hard-working group taking this seriously. As one student said, “If we mess this up, we may never get another chance to play video games in school again!”  I wonder if any of them realize that this is more than just playing video games? It’s about the physical activity and exercise and the reading and math skills that are being develop from tracking the arrows and following the pattern of the arrows. Well, I’m sure that will come soon enough.

Lastly, I am going crazy preparing my group of broadcasters to present at out state capitol building in Lansing, Michigan. On November 14th, our broadcast group, (seven students) will be presenting at the AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase. They begun broadcasting a weekly news show and streaming it into the classrooms. They write the scripts, film and edit the video, and then create the final project. What an amazing group. I am excited but nervous.

On a final note, I have made a connection with a fantastic group that has just begun podcasting. YouthRadio