Happy Summer 2008!!

Enjoy your summer.
Here's the link to my website with all those links that you enjoyed during your freetime.

Please leave me a comment and say hi. Or just to share your favorite links this summer.

The Best Commercial: For DigiMedia

Students should put there videos in the shared folder and then comment on which ones you liked the most. What did you like?

In the shared folder create a folder titled "Finished Commercials". Put your finished commercials.

Which commercial was the best? Only comment using your first name and last initial.

The Smallest Dragonboy

What did YOU think of Anne McCaffrey's story The Smallest Dragonboy?

Post your thoughts by clicking on the word "comments" at the bottom of this blog post.
Please only use your first name and a last initial when posting.

Posts must use complete sentences and have proper punctuation.

He Liked To Drink Out Of The Bathtub

Our cat Stuart loved drinking out of the bathtub. He also drank out of the toilet.

Besides these obvious cat character flaws, he was the fluffiest, kindest, most gentle cat we've ever owned.

He passed away this weekend. My son Silas and I drew this picture of him and wrote things we remembered about him on the picture.

Rest in peace, Stuart.

Stuart Guiles 2003-2007

Best Read of the Summer?

I couldn't not read the last Harry Potter book, so I'd cast my vote for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was a great book that provided a wonderful ending to the series. It was dark AND hopeful. Reading interviews with J.K. Rowling (rhymes with "bowling") reveal that much of the inspiration for the themes in her book come from her family and her struggle to deal with the death of her mother. I found reading more about the author really enhanced my reading of the books themselves.

So, what did you read this summer and what did you think of it?

So, Who Uses Computers Out There?

I'm assuming that if you're reading this right now, you're on a computer of some sort. What kind of computer do you use and what do you primarily use it for?

I find that I use my computer for email, music, and random surfing. During the school year I use the computer to do my grades, take attendance, correspond with parents and students, and to communicate with my fellow teachers.

I find that I use Microsoft Word a lot, but I also have found that Google is my friend.

At home I have a digital recording studio and I record almost all of my music using a program called ProTools.

I recently discovered iGoogle.com. It's a new tool that Google offers: a customizable homepage that you can easily move and change content. You've got to try it. It's lots of fun.

Ok. That's some of what I do with a computer. How about YOU?
(When posting please don't post using your full name--first names only so as to keep your identity safe). That's all for now.

See you next week!

Mr. Guiles

The Songs That Make The Whole World Sing

I am a sucker for stupid songs. As a musician, and general goofy person, I like writing song that make my own kids laugh. Impressing a 2 and 5 year old isn't really that hard. Any song with monkeys or chickens in it works wonders.

So, this year two of the songs that I wrote at school have become classics. (At least in my mind...).

Here are links to the songs. I think it will ask you if you want to save or download it. Say yes. Then you can play it on whatever mp3 player you have.

Enjoy!

The Unicorn Song mp3
The Chicken Song mp3

Here's a DigiCom student's video for "The Chicken Song". It's pretty funny.
(My brother made a video for the Unicorn Song and posted it on YouTube.
Here's the link. It's definitely weird. But, it's a weird song to begin with...so it's really not so odd.

Please be careful, though YouTube is wonderful, it is just like any widely-used webspot: there's good and there's bad. I've found another great site called TeacherTube. No weird advertising. You should check it out sometime.

Surf safely!

I Like Planes!

Hey look, I'm a photographer!

Newest Harry Potter Cover Revealed!!

Did you know there are multiple versions of the Harry Potter book covers? My source of the most up-to-date reliable facts concerning all things HP can be found at MuggleNet.com. These are true fans of the series. J.K. Rowlings personal website is the next best thing, and will always be THE MOST FACTUAL as far as information is concerning rumors regarding the HP series.

Here's a picture of the US version of the new cover.

Other Random Generators That I Couldn't Resist

Generators generate things. In this case, you can generate THESE things:

The Horrible Sounds Generator
(Make sure you turn down your speakers to a normal or quiet level before trying this. They really ARE horrible sounds.)

Polaroid Picture Maker
Make any picture you have on your computer (or online) look like one of those old-timey Polaroid pictures. This is great way to snazz up your slide shows.

The Modern Art Generator
Really. If you could get this printed out on a canvas you could be a gazillionaire!

Concert Ticket Generator
Wow. The things you can do with computers are amazing. And stupid. But amazing too.

Do a google search for "Generators Blog" to find a whole bunch more if you feel so inclined. If you have important things to do, I would NOT do the search, as you will probably spend hours messing around when you should be washing the dishes or feeding your pets or something like that.

:)