RJ Stangherlin

Keystone Technology Integrator and STAR Discovery Educator

This site is for Mrs. Stangherlin's classes at Salisbury High School.

Ethan Vokes: Versatile Winner of Young Artists’ Exhibit

Cross-posted on Changing Connections

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Ethan Volkes is a young man of many talents.  He led his IP team to a very successful stage presentation as team leader, and with another team member, Matt Croft, built a rotating combination desk and bar for their stage presentation, “What If the Constitution Had Not Been Ratified?  How Much Can One Document Change the Future?  Any graduate of the IP process will tell you that IP becomes your life, so Ethan’s accomplishment at the Banana Factory, happening at the same time that IP kicks into high gear, makes his accomplishment even greater.

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Ethan captured Honorable Mention for one of his two art works competing at the Third Annual Banana Factory Young Artists’ Annual Exhibit. The opening of the exhibit, which runs through August, was a “First Friday” in June, and it was a really exciting evening with an impressive attendance.  Strategically positioned in direct line with the entrance, the exhibit literally draws you into the Banana Factory.

Ethan’s prize-winning art was a two-dimensional metal work, and the photos simply do not maximize the intricacy of his work.  I asked Ethan how his work came to be exhibited at a juried show, and he said that his art teacher, Mr. Scott Atiyeh, who has a studio at the Banana Factory, selected his work.  Ethan discusses the creative process in depth in his podcast, so you might want to check it out.  That his work was exhibited and one piece received Honorable Mention, Ethan was nonetheless disappointed that his metal work did not fare better in the judging.  If you know Ethan, then you understand his work ethic--he has one--and he never settles for less than his best.  He strives for perfection, and is understandably always hoping for that first place prize.  Nonetheless, he is pleased with his accomplishment and credits his talent to his home environment, growing up with art, and assuming responsibility for continuing to work in a variety of artistic media.

His second entry serves to demonstrate his versatility.  His painting has a dimensional effect, seeming to reach outside the canvas with a life of its own.  From the nuts and bolts of set design and construction to the refinement of studio art, Ethan does it all, and very well.  After viewing the exhibit, we went outside in search of a quiet space to create a podcast to mark the event.

Firefox 3.0

Cross-posted on Changing Connections

First real day off from school (department meeting/curriculum writing yesterday) and I’m sitting on my back porch, looking at a wide-angle vista of the farm, mentally designing the new barn for my llamas, the fencing, all the steps that need to be taken before my girls come home. My laptop sits on the table next to morning coffee and I find something that actually can distract me from thinking about my future venture: Firefox 3.0, unveiled yesterday. For the last half hour, I’ve been busy browsing and downloading the best of the extensions and plug-ins, and believe me, there are so many useful ones, so I took quite a few of them.  Call it a sense of entitlement or a learning curve (or both), but I am already having fun and simplifying my online life with the newest Firefox offerings. The downside: no Blinklist integrated extension, so someone out there who understands code, please create one.

Why do I life Firefox (over Safari or IE in any version)? Because it is simply the best browser out there, compatible with all the different blog formats that I use (Safari is not), and it comes with the extensions necessary for ease of online survival. If you haven’t tried it, now would be a great time to upgrade to the 3.0 version, an international brower that speaks your language.

Vimeo + Video Hosting + Sharing = IP Videos Coming Soon

Cross-posted on Changing Connections

Whenever I really need to find something tech-based fast, I go to my students.  Thank you, ALEX HORN, for suggesting Vimeo.  I tried the video hosting/sharing site, and I love it.  Of its many features, the one that will help me most is its ability to host a long video in unbroken segments (unlike YouTube, StudentTube, TeacherTube, or Curriki which will host a long video but not provide embeddable code).  SO, the VERY GOOD NEWS is that I will be posting all the IP presentations--stage presentations, film productions, and the two nontraditional presentations on Vimeo.  The VERY BAD NEWS: it will take some time since my travel schedule takes me into the third week in July.  But, I will post the videos as I finish them.  Keep checking this website to find your video.  And have a happy, healthy, safe summer.

Technorati Tags: vimeo, video hosting, video sharing, video streaming, video sites

CFF Senate Communications and Technology Committee and Senate Education Committee Hearings 2007

Cross-posted on Changing Connections and Pennsylvania Discovery Educator Network

Ever try uploading a 45 minute video to a Web 2.0 site? I spent days trying to find a host that would upload a film intact. When exasperation set in, I took it to my students and one of them suggested Vimeo. That was before exams and senior week activities, so I finally tried it--and I love it. I wanted embeddable code (Curriki worked, sans code), a fast upload and conversion, and enough space in an account that one upload would not send me in a searching frenzy for another broadcast channel.

The good news: a finished product of the CFF Senate Hearings when Lance Rougeux, Jennifer Dorman, and I testified before the joint Education and Technology & Communications Committees on December 4, 2007. Thanks to Jennifer Dorman and her connections, we were able to get the hearings converted from analog (I know I should have TiVo) to digital, and then finally to a blog format. Here it is, at last.

Classrooms for the Future Senate Communications and Technology Committee and the Senate Education Committee Hearings 2007 from RJ Stangherlin on Vimeo.

While I’m on a commercial roll, let me count the ways I love Vimeo:

1. Can be added to Facebook, Myspace…
2. Badge additions (you can add channels and albums to any Badge you create)
3. Posts to Flickr
4. Avatar feature (clicking any “avatar” aka user image will take you to that user)
5. Spam filters
6. Fast even in high use time (they apologize for a 20 minute wait)
7. Converting time during transcoding: displays time and percent remaining--no high anxiety here.
8. Lots of messages to let you know where you are in the process--great for a first-time user.
9. 500 MBs per week (though not forever, I think)
10. More family oriented.

A special thank you to the DEN team--Scott, Lance, and Matt-- for affording Jen and me the opportunity to represent STAR Discovery Educators and what they bring to education every day in their classrooms.

Remembering Amy Reinert

To say we will miss her would be a serious understatement.  She is an extraordinary teacher, humanitarian, and eco-activist who lives what she believes.  And she is our friend.  California bound, Amy is remembered in the video of the New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii trip last summer.  I still do not understand rainbows, but that certainly isn’t because Amy didn’t try to explain them (many times). 

Caching Up: FBLA WINS!

Cross-posted on Changing Connections

The next few blogs constitute a series of “catching up,” getting back to really important postings that just slipped away from me during the crush of a very busy school year. Here’s the first, and it is both good news and bad news, bittersweet.

FBLA, under the guidance of the inimitable Frank Lane, posted their best-ever record. The bad news: Mr. Lane is relinquishing his post as coach of the FBLA team, going out on his students’ best-ever season. We will miss him at the helm of FBLA and we will miss him at SHS.  I learned today that Mr. Lane has accepted a position at Parkland.  We are happy for him but he filled a space that is truly hard to fill, both in the classroom and in our hearts.  We will miss you, Mr. Lane.

Here’s what the students accomplished:

Shannon Safi and Megan Walsh: Digital Video Production--6th Place

Nick Fisher: Introduction to Technology Concepts--5th Place

Willian Kennington and Dennis Peterson: Desktop Publishing--did not place in the top ten.

John Soler , John Gardus, AJ Safi: Global Business--2nd Place and qualified for National Competition

Megan Cassel, Courtney Loomis, Matt Cialkowski: Management and Decision Making--3rd Place and qualified for National Competition.

Two teams qualified for Nationals, and that is a major accomplishment for our students, their teacher, Mr. Lane, and our school. We are so proud of you.