Today, we started the class by reading our ethnographies.  Maribel Ruiz read her ethnography for June 5, and June 6.  Then, Prof. Colon explained to the class various features of the Edublogs platform.  We worked on the writing prompt for today which pertained the different kinds of approaches. During the afternoon, the prof. explained the theoretical framework  and the methodology for writing instructional modules. We finished the class by answering the question the professor posted on the Exit Slip which asked us to summarize our understanding of the process of how to create an instructional module.

Today, we had no class at the university.  I got up late.  Woke up the kids, dropped Gaby at school for her Algebra class, and took Antonio to the Caparra Country Club for camp.  He was all excited because his group was going to the Balneario de Dorado on an excursion.  Then, I went to San Patricio.  I planned to go to K-mart to buy some exercise clothes and ended up spending way more than I should because I found some polo-shirts on sale at $6.00 they were cute and I couldn’t pass the offer ended up buying three plus the exercise pants,  a sports bra, and a sports t-shirt.  I’m planning on using them for the first time in the Zumba class I’m taking on Thursdays!  Then, I came back home to find a message in my cell phone which I had left at home telling me I needed to pay an overdue cell phone bill.  I had to grab my handbag and return right back to San Patricio.  Then, I ate lunch.  I had a Subway turkey sandwich and a diet coke.  I then, went to Rosa-Bell to make copies of the students’ papers I’m going to be evaluating for the thesis.  There were many papers so I wasn’t able to finish the work.  At 1:00 p.m I went home collected some papers and went to my regular appointment with a phsychologist at the Carlos Albizu Campos University in Old San Juan.  I left San Juan at 3:30 nand rushed home to pick up the kids on the way I stopped by Taco Maker to buy some Deluxe Nachos.  It was already four o çlock I was late to pick up Antonio and lunch seemed a long time ago.  I was stärving and I knew the kids would be too.  I collected Gaby at my Grandma’s house then rushed to CCC to pick-up Tony.  I got home took a very brief nap and changed into my exercise clothes.  At 6:00, I was in the park walking until 7:00.  I went home showered and told the kids to warm-up some chicken for dinner.  Janet came to pick me up at 8:30 we went to San Pa to watch Pirates of the Caribbean.   I mothered my kids through the phone while at the movies (Thank God for technology!) I finally went to sleep at  12:30 a.m. Whew!!! It was a long, long day.

Today, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 we came to class to find out we had no air conditioning.  We realized we would roast all day in the windowless classroom.  Already dripping sweat at only 9:00 am I started the day  by reading the Ethnography report for Monday, June 4.  Then the professor directed the students to complete the Writing Prompt for the day and assigned a reading response for Friday.  Later students completed the creation of the class blogs at Edublogs and those who had not finished their Ethnography for the previous day completed them.  At lunch time we  all shared ham and cheese sandwiches, quesitos, and orange juice.  Unfortunately, the class almost had a monumental mishap when Rosita inadvertently let the full coke bottle fall to the floor.  A huge explosion followed by a massive spill of coke was the result.  Luckily, all the liquid spilled onto the flooor and no sensitive technology was damaged.  Everyone scrambled to get paper from the bathrooms and the spill was cleaned up in no time.  During the afternoon prof. Colon explained what a Weblog is and how it could be used within the classroom.

Today june 4, 2007 we started the Borinquen Writing Project Advanced Summer Institute. Mari, Carmen , Rosita, and I are the only fools from La Vieja Guardia of BWP who are here together with a lot of teachers from all over the island who participated in the Summer Institute during the past couple of years.  We are taking two  courses: Edu 600 and Edu 613.  Prof. Luis Colon our facilitator introduced himself and asked each one of us to introduce ourselves and explain the reasons why we are here this summer.  Everyone is very  committed and enthusiastic about BWP that is good!  Carmen, Mari, and I reiterated our commitment to the original vision of the NWP  and Mark’s vision of developing writing teachers through writing.  We come to write.  Yeah!  it is good for the soul! 

Then,  Prof. Colon led the class into the Advance institute website and showed us the month’s agenda, the classes’s syllabus, and the Evaluation Criteria that would be used for the courses.  Later we created new e-mail accounts at gmail for class use and answered a prompt found in the class blog. 

We took a a mini-lesson on the use of the Forms feature in the Microsoft Word program.  Then, wrote a short practice test using this feature.  Next, we were required to create our own blog as part of an e-portfolio at edublogs.org and uploaded our test to that webpage.  Finally, the class ended with each of us writing our ethnography reports summarizing the day’s event inside our  personal blogs. It was a day full of new experiences.

Hi! My name is Heidi and I am an English teacher from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.  I teach American and English Lit to 11th and 12th graders.  I love reading murder mysteries (my fav writer right now is Martha Grimes  and her Richard Jury’s mystery series), romantic novels (so sue me! I a romantic sap at heart!), and fantasy series such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Anne McAffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. I like riding horses and dearly wish I owned one (I’d call it K’van).  My favorite program used to be Charmed that is when Cole and Phoebe were an item ages ago (see, I told you I was a romantic fool.  Nothing more romantic than a guy who’d  move heaven and hell for me! Still looking for such a man.) Now, that Cole is supposedly dead (No Way!)  I console myself watching History Channel documentaries.   I love dancing salsa, merengue, rock, and reggaeton.  Sometimes, I like to write particularly poetry and personal memoirs. Right now, I have created this blog as part of an Advanced Summer Institute for the Borinquen Writing Project the Puerto Rico site for the National Writing Project.  I have been a Teacher Consultant for Borinquen Writing Project since my first summer institute in 2002 five years ago.  Since then I participated in a professional writing workshop held in Rhode Island in 2003 and attended the NWP convention in 2005 while occasionally co-hosting poetry workshops with fellow BWP TC’s.  Spurred by new knowledge acquired through the BWP Summer Institute I pursued a Master in Educational Technology and I am currently working on a thesis on the subject of  using Writing Worshops within ESL classrooms in Puerto Rico.