Got an email from The New Republic which linked to a reviewer and her book review I thought you might appreciate. Been reading your posts with much appreciation for your perspective on the creativity/originality of your students that you find vital to grasping new learnings.

Are you kidding--1000 downloads already?!!!! Wow!
"Celebrate, celebrate...dance to the music!" Ok, I'm coming over for a taste of the Belgian beer.

Congratulations! You are amazing. What determination! What productivity! I'm so proud to know you. Whew--celebrate. Have a couple of dark local beers on me!

Hi Laura,

Thank you for your kind concern. Chucky was in the hospital for 3 weeks, but we have weathered the worst of the storm.

Oh, it was so painful!! The kind of pain (maybe fear) that leaves you scared to feel it again. It was the same problem as last year, but more so... I don't know if I talked about the details last summer?

If not, I'll write to you privately later. But it was so sweet to read your genuine feeling for him/me. I appreciate it.

Ellen

I thought you might enjoy this - as it relates to your posts about Alice :)
I drew this out for residents at my college when the new movie was coming out and it was near midterms - so everyone was stressed about time management!

Thanks, Laura. I'm happy to share what I've learned.

It's pretty exciting with the ebook version of Quarter Share breaking into the top 500 books in the Kindle store, and the top 100 science fiction titles. I'm hoping the momentum continues until Half Share comes out in October :)

Hi Laura,
On Tom' Rogers "What Do You Stand For?" forum, the print color is off, making the page way too difficult to read. Is there a fix we can provide for that, or does Tom have to do it? I want to post that forum on Facebook, but the print has to be easier to read.
Thanks a million, a jillion for all you do to figure everything out and keep us functioning!

Betty Dabney is a new FB friend who commented on a posting I made on my wall about Yale's open video courses and materials:

Betty Dabney: Am trying to change the paradigm at the University of Maryland to accepting the inevitable: that higher education will not depend on bricks and mortar. Am developing a high-enrollment on-line course that will not sacrifice human interaction. Wish me luck.

I responded: Betty, I do wish you luck. However, I'll go one better. Here's a link to the profile page of Laura Gibbs at Fireside Learning (a ning community of educators): http://firesidelearning.ning.com/profile/LauraGibbs. I need say no more about Laura; read what she says for herself about a dedication to online learning at the University of Oklahoma.

Just wanted to let you know who she is, in case she contacts you.
Skip

I visited your website briefly and found the on-line biblical Greek resources to be useful as well as the Figures de la Bible. Thanks!

I'm certainly glad I found it! I have neither the time or the money to go back to school. I have found answers to many questions!
You may be grimacing at my current 'grammar', but I am working on it!!!
I may still be contacting you soon with a few 'technical' things I haven't yet figured out...

Your 'onlinecourselady' is SUPER! I recommend it to anyone who is still learning as they go. The more I learn, the more I realize how 'unlearned' I was!
(or am...) Is that proper grammar?

And in the context of your second note...I mostly appear to be using other's sites. And while I would like to someday have a site, it's doubtful I will have one for a while, as I would have to be the soul supporter of me. But times and situations change, so maybe some day!

You're on! Send me the link. I teach at a behavioral health facility where students do not access the internet for obvious reasons. My experience and access to like minded professionals has been by way of signing on to a "ning" through a graduate program I am enrolled in. I work in a science department with 3 other people on a budget of $600/year, so adding any expenses to the already low spending, will be out of one's own pocket, not a department. So simply put, your thoughts and input are appreciated and encouraged.

You're back! Wait, let me lay out a path of rose petals for you (my version of the red carpet)!

If this is a duplicate comment, I apologize. My original comment advised you that I was NOT a techie. (This one obviously confirms that...) I visited your site @ MythFolklore & the link to onlinecourselady. Wow! What a treasure trove! Can't wait to revisit & learn more! Please feel free to visit me at damericanhorse.blogspot.com Brand new site, nothing fancy, but who I am...

Hi Laura,

My gosh, you are one busy lady! I am so impressed with what's going on for you. (I keep up a bit on Twitter.) When you get a chance, give us a quick summary, ok? You're an inspiring techno-learning-leader of our times!

Hi Laura,
Yes, I saw that article and saved it in hard copy form (the real print edition of the newspaper, which a parent recycles by sending me her old NYTimes at week's end). Haven't read it yet, but now I will--thanks so much for bringing it up.
Is the role of written language really diminishing? I'll have to give that some thought.
I do know that when I use Twitter for more than a half hour a day, my mind starts thinking in smaller thought-bites. Is that good, or bad, or neither?
In some ways it seems like the importance of written language is increasing, with all the networking going on. But that may just be my world.
By the way, if you know of some good exercises in punctuation--in a book, on a site--let me know. I use Painless Grammar for some of them; there are some pretty interesting exercises in that book.

I love the Aesop example you sent. It'll be Very Fun to have the students look at that!

Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for the note about punctuation, talking how rules for capitals vary so much. I'm definitely talking with my class about this.
Winnee-the-Pooh comes to mind in the midst of it all, of course! For instance, "...he trotted off home as quickly as he could, very glad to be Out of All Danger again."