Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

I know a lot of professionals get paid to create logos and such for just about everything, and that probably includes the Discus logo too. Have you seen the new logo? It’s really cool and pretty. It needed an update, and I like it too. Now I need to find my brochures and pages that contain that home access login and password and update their looks too–and include the new logo. My hope is that at first glance of the logo students will know and understand there is a place of solid information that can help them get their school work done.

Recently at EdTech Talk, the program Teachers Teaching Teachers had a one-hour show three weeks in a row about how to improve student research strategies using database subscriptions. A lot of what was discussed centered around the complexity of searching with the tools, and why students want to first use Google. I think when I make my brochure and handouts, I will include a Discus logo like I’ve never seen before. Of course I’ll use the one the state is using too, but I think in order for kids to make the connection that this can be their first choice for information, it needs to have that look if not feel of Google. So I google-ized a log0 (wonder if I’ll get in trouble?) and I’m thinking about using it on my material too. When I get my own webspace–I’m waiting on the district who is transitioning out of what they use now to something new–I may use the googlized logo too. What better way to help kids make that connection?

Just in case you weren’t aware, Discus now has a community log in too. There is a discussion board, and a place to network (so very web 2.0 of them) and I am not 100% sure, but it may be open to students too. Go check it out!

My family has been with me for this entire weekend here at the beach. It has been strange to think that we actually have a residence here. We have frequently been to the beach for family vacations and for conferences too (like SC’s EdTech and SCASA’s SLI). I can’t tell you how many times we were out this weekend and said “When we get back to the hotel…” and then laughed when we realized we have a “home” away from home here, even though it’s an apartment.

But it being a holiday weekend, and traditionally the last weekend a lot of people in our area make their weekly trek to the beach, we treated it very much like a holiday.

We shopped at Tanger Outlet and Broadway at the Beach, even eating dinner on an outside deck at Landry’s there in B@theB. My husband and I went each morning to the same restaurant on Ocean Blvd (The Sea Captain’s House) to eat their Eggs Benedict, and I was even brave once and had the Crabcake Benedict–DIVINE. We walked on the beach with the dog, and we even went to Nascar Cafe for my 17 yo. I went thinking I could suffer through one meal for him, since most everything else was what I had wanted to do. But it was wonderful too.

Since being here I haven’t really eaten out, but I have made one discovery during my “vacation” at home away from home. If don’t feel like cooking, I can order out and get an appetizer for b/w $6 and $10, and have PLENTY to eat, and maybe some to save for lunch the next day. So it was a good thing that we treated this like a vacation.

They are on their way home now, and now being considered a local, I told them a back way to get from here to the other side of Aynor, SC, helping them avoid a lot of the bottle-necked holiday traffic heading out today. They got that far in about 25 minutes, but called to tell me the traffic is still bad where they got back on the main road to go home to Rock Hill. They were about 35 milesr fom I-95, and they were estimating w/ traffic it would take them an hour to get there. Once on I-95, they will be a mere hour and 45 minutes from home in Rock Hill.

So now I can refocus on school and professional things. Outside of school, I have an SC Edtech presentation coming up that I need to work on too. My session is called “Feed the Mind with RSS.” Guess I better get busy since it’s right around the corner–Oct. 24-26.