Saturday Night Ritmo Latino

Tune in tonight for a very special Ritmo Latino on KMXT.  I'll be playing all new songs in the Spanish speaking worlds. It's going to be a mix between rock, alternative, reggaton, salsa, you name it. At 9 we switch to rock and roll. A nice playlist in the works for that.

I'll also be running a Google Hangout tonight! Stay tuned for more!

Thursday Night Variety Show

Figured I might as well use the blog as a holding place for my playlists. That way you can hear it afterwards, or search for the music you liked the most. Yey!

Tonight's flavor holds a bit of electronica, trip hop, downtempo, tango. An eclectic mix of awesome!

Greetings from Kodiak

Hello world! It has been a while since I've posted on this blog. I figured I would continue to develop this blog instead of creating yet another one. I must have at least three blogs out there, and it gets difficult to update them all.

Mill Bay Beach

The purpose of this post is two-fold: one, to document my adventures and learning experiences in Kodiak, Alaska, and two, to share those experiences with friends and family. I promised that I would maintain a blog that showcased life here in Alaska, so here it is! Take a gander at what I get to view every day. 

Yum!

Above is the view from across the street from my apartment. Yes, I said across the street. I am very fortunate to be living right across the street from Mill Bay beach, a small but incredibly gorgeous beach that hosts all sorts of sights and sounds. Might I add that swimming along these shores are catches like the picture to the right? That, my friends, is a silver salmon, 22 inches in length. Apparently tis the season, as these delectable are jumping like mad up and down the coastline. Not every beach though. I have been to a few others, and there is no sign of them anywhere. I am incredibly fortunate to be living across the street from a beach rich in food supplies. Hopefully I can get a better fishing pole soon, catch more, smoke the meat and then send it off. Soon enough the care packages will be sent.

School has officially started here in Kodiak. The high school (Go Bears!) is pretty big and they're fixing to begin on renovation and addition to the high school. The middle school is attached, and offices are strewn about both buildings, making an office visit a journey all in itself. All faculty and staff are very kind and supportive here, which is no different than past experiences. All day yesterday we offered technical support and training for the new Moodle 2.0 system that was installed. During that time I had ample opportunity to meet many of the teachers here. What amazes me the most is the amount of technology integration in this district. Each student, teacher and administrator receives a MacBook Pro and iPad! Wow! This is even more essential for students who live in the rural villages and need access to lessons from teachers who live in the city proper. We also have a very advanced Video-Teleconferencing System that connects students all around the island. Students in remote areas of the island can interact in real time with teachers in Kodiak. 

My job is to assist those virtual teachers in technical support and ensure that all services are running correctly. I am also charged with helping teachers find and implement new technologies for their lessons and units. Technology integration is the name, and nerding out on computers is my game. This position is right down my alley and I am SO incredibly happy to be helping students move closer towards much needed 21st century skills.

With that being said, I will close this post. Keep an eye out on this blog for more posts on my adventures in Kodiak!

It's a good day to be a Bear!

Stuffed Kodiak bear at the high school

Texture, Line and Pattern

Some of the most basic elements of art captured in photography. I used these pictures as quick, edited examples in a class project that was meant to capture those three elements. One could very well argue that these photos contain more than one element. This was case, as critical thinking is an essential to higher learning. What the kids created is absolutely fantastic.

Pattern

Pattern

Lines

Texture

Macro Photography with Androids

I recently taught a short unit on macro (or micro) photography, asking students to get up close and personal to their subject and capture an amazing shot. What has been interesting is the fact that each student has a different type of camera. Some using their phones, others simple point-and-shoot cameras, and others with more advanced DSLR cameras. Regardless the type, each student was able to capture a close-up shot that included some shallow depth of field.

Now, most of the time when I'm on walking field trips with students, I never get the chance to take photos myself. I usually spend my time assisting students, reviewing photos, and giving praise. This time, however, I was able to catch a few shots with my Motorola Atrix phone. I never realized this phone could take such good pictures!

Amazingly enough, phone cameras these days are capable of capturing shallow depth of field.  Mark, an awesome photographer at Adorama TV, best describes in his video on depth of field, how you can capture shallow depth of field, even if you don't have a super fancy camera.

1. Aperture
1. It's hard to change the aperture setting on a standard point-and-shoot, let alone a phone camera.
2. Focal Length
1. Zooming is definitely possible on a phone.  I would suggest not zooming in too much, as the image will decrease due to pixelation.
3. Distance from Subject
1. You can always move closer to your subject and focus your shot without even having to adjust aperture and focal length.