The Start of a New School Year

I love the feeling of starting a new school year. The student's faces are bright, their clothes and shoes are new, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils fills the classrooms.

Everyone,whether formally or not, sets goals for themselves. It would seem that those who put their goals in writing are more likely to see them completed.

My personal goal within Globaloria for this school year, is to teach students how to use reflective writing to further expand their own learning. I hope to use the talks pages and discussion pages within the platform, as well as the blogs they have established.

Do you have a personal Globaloria goal for your classroom?

How Globaloria is Influencing My Leadership Skills

As I am working on my capstone project for my master's program, I have really taken time to reflect on Globaloria and how it has influenced my idea of a successful school leader. Getting involved in this program has really brought the concepts of 21st century learning skills to the forefront of my mind.
I can say, that without a doubt, I now know what it truly means to be using and teaching 21st century skills in today's classroom. I know that I still have many things to learn and improve upon, but the progress that I know I have made over the past year is awesome!
As a potential administrator, I firmly believe that I will be able to lead a school, particularly the professional staff, in the right direction of incorporating the skills I have learned and been exposed to in this program.
A special "Thank you!" to my friend, and professional partner in crime, Bill Dorsey. You determined that I could do this, and you have been such a great supporter. Thanks for dragging me into Globaloria. This has made a defining moment in my career!

My Powerful Learning Experience from the Past

When I was in high school, was a member of the student body newspaper staff. I was given the opportunity to attend a public meeting concerning a potential landfill being placed in our county. I remember feeling very important. I even had a supporter of the landfill who spoke during the meeting, question my reporting of statements he made. I learned then and there, I have an opinion, my opinion matters, and I must stand up for what I know to be the right thing to do.

The teacher allowed us to truly assume the role of a journalist. We wrote our articles, shared and discussed and proofread together. At that time we still used light tables to lineup text and get our paper “to bed” to be printed. We owned our learning, and we owned our work. I look back on the experience with smile. It was a great educational experience and I did not realize until much later, how much that teacher, Nancy Wayne, inspired me to go after what I want in life!

Blog Links I Find Interesting

Kids Games Blog is the first Blog Link I have made to my Blog.
I decided to link this Blog for two different reasons. There are some game links that can be opened, but most importantly, the Blog posts discuss the purpose, and reasinong behind the game design. Many of the Postings tell why they are educational, and how it will works and compares to real world "time management" games. Check the link out and post your review comments here as well.

Testing Changes in Blog Settings

I have discovered that Title is "How I want my name to Appear." I have changed my Title to Mrs. Cruikshank. Let's see if it changes....

Beginning a New Blog Site

Hello and Welcome to my new Blog. I am looking forward to learning the advantages of Blogging. I plan to continue to work on my Blog page to enhance my own learning and that of others who may read my Blog.

Stay Tuned.........