I wanted to start this post by saying thank you to anyone I haven’t personally thanked. Either because you were just a friend or family member of someone I directly contacted about voting, or if you were someone we don’t know at all that just came across my post and took the time to go and vote. Also, thank you to those I already personally thanked!

My wife did indeed come in 10th place in the voting for the education microgrant which means she was one of the winners.

The prize was $200 cash, and a Flip Video Camcorder. We now know the camera itself has a retail value of about $99. Below are some stock photos of the camera included.

We haven’t used it extensively yet to test it out, but it really is a cool little camera.

It has 1GB of internal memory which allows it to record up to 30 minutes of digital video. I do wish it was possible to put in one of those memory cards to increase the amount of time it can record. It is however supposed to be extremely easy to copy any video from the camera to the computer.

I am thinking the camera gets its name from the feature you see in this image. With the shift of one button a USB port flips up out of the camera. you can then just slide it into the USB port on your computer and copy the video files over.

Just below that is a cable input that connects to a set of audio visual cables. This allows you to plug the camera directly into your TV.

All in all it seems like a really great little camera. With easy to use controls on the back of the camera as seen in the next picture. It runs on two AA batteries, which were also included.

Now the plan for the $200 was to purchase as many digital cameras as possible.

My mother-in-law managed to get us three digital cameras. Woohoo!

Those cameras were Vivicam 5022 5.1megapixels cameras with flash. They retail at Wal*Mart and similar retailers for $39.99.

We weren’t sure just what type of camera we were going to choose, but after seeing these we kind of made the decision.

They come in 3 colors, are lightweight, and have the flash we wanted them all to have. The controls are also easy to understand, even for 4th grade students.

So, we now had a jumpstart of three free cameras.

We went out and got four more of these cameras, for a total of seven. I was hoping to come out with a bit more than that, but it is definitely a good start. for now students will just have to use them in shifts, 7 at a time.

The setback of these cameras are; a)they all need memory cards to take more than one picture at a time, b)they all use 3 AAA batteries.

However, the one place my mother-in-law can order stuff from has 2GB memory cards for just $5 a piece! We are being given 24 – 2GB memory cards for the cameras. (Yes our goal over time is to have enough cameras to have one for each student in the class to use.)

This left about $30-35 of the grant money unused. We needed batteries though. We decided that buying regular batteries again and again would basically make it impossible to do to many projects using the cameras. So we went with a rechargable battery system.

We got a Duracell charger for about $12 at Target. It came with 4 AA Pre-Charged Rechargable NiMh batteries. Yes I said above the cameras use AAA, but the Flip Cam needs the AAs, so it works out. We also lucked out and happened to be at Target while they had an incredible deal going on the AAA Pre-Charged Rechargable Duracell batteries. These things are anywhere between $12 and $17 for a 4-pack. For some reason Target apparently marks them down to just $6.45 from time to time. (We talked to the one girl about this.) So, we gravved up six packages of them. That took up the remainder of the money, and a little extra we had to put in.

The charger we got takes 8 hours to charge, and can do four batteries at a time. You can see how this will be a pain at times, and especially when we eventually get 20+ cameras rolling. So we have our eyes on a better Duracell charger. It runs $39.99, but can charge four batteries at a time in just 15 minutes!

That will simplify the charging process a bunch. I could charge all the batteries in one night for her to take back with her the next day.

These batteries are supposed to last more than twice as long as regular batteries, and are specifically made for high draining devices like MP3 Players and digital cameras.

They also say that they can be charged about 1,000 times. so if you do the math that is about the equivalent of more than 2,000 sets of batteries! What a huge money saver, while also being an extremely green choice for the environment!

We are extrmely fortunate to have such generous people, and the WeAreTeachers.com people to have helped us get all this great stuff that will benefit my wife’s classroom for many years to come. As well as having people we do and don’t know willing to take the time to go and vote to help her win the grant. We really do appreciate all the help!

Now while we do appreciate all the help thus far, we also know that it is going to take quite a bit of time to come anywhere near 24 cameras, with batteries to match. Because of this fact I am about to ask for some more help.

If you would like to donate money to purchase more cameras and batteries, or donate the actual cameras and/or batteries, or just an old camera that you no longer use it would be greatly appreciated.

I mean I am sure there are some peope out there reading this that perhaps upgraded their own digital camera recently. Some of which now have their old cameras that still work fine just sitting around collecting dust. Why donate these cameras to a good cause?

As for purchasing any of the items listed above, that would be fine too. It is my understanding that you can recharge any brand of battery in any charger, but I am not 100% certain of that. We chose Duracell because it has been our experience that they last longer than everything else, even the pink bunny! Also, at $6.45 a four pack it was a hard deal to beat. (Of course that price sticker said it expires on September 21st.)

I do not want to put our address/shipping info here in the post for obvious reasons. If you would like to ship us any items on the list, or your old working digital cameras please contact me (Gene) at blogamerica123@aol.com and I can send you the shipping info.

for those that just want to donate some money to pool it together and get the stuff on the list you can use the PayPal Donate button below. It is easy, safe, and secure. Please remember even a dollar or two would help. We don’t want you to send $40 for a whole camera. . . unless you really want to, but every bit helps.

I will update things as we go along.

We are going to have her class record a thank you message of some sort. We are just checking to make sure we can share the video, I mean they are just 4th grade kids. Luckily the school does have all parents sign a media release that says their child’s likeness might be recorded for one reason or another. The reason they do this is because from time to time a news crew might do a story at the school, and one year they even had one family involved in that show Wife Swap which they recorded at the school a bit.

I am also hoping to share the video she has to make showing her first project that the grant money is used for. That project, unless she has changed it without my knowing, is going to be each child making a 3-5 minute autobiography presentation.

OK, so the PayPal donation button’s code isn’t compatible with this posting method. Annoying! Anyway, to send cash donations simply send them through PayPal to

sistrlynn706@aol.com

Or email me at blogamerica123@aol.com to send it through the mail.

[ Report Post ]

Click here to vote now.

For those that do not know, my wife is a 4th grade teacher here in Oklahoma. She recently took a two day professional development workshop on “Digital Storytelling.”

Digital storytelling is basically just what it sounds like. You take digital images, either pictures you have taken or have found online and create your own little story. You then overlay some background music if you’d like, and then finally add your own story narration. It is a great way for teachers to get students more engaged in learning, as well as a fun project for the students to do.

Along with this workshop was the chance to apply for a microgrant sponsored by Dell and WeAreTeachers.com. People had to write a brief description of what they would do with the $200 microgrant money to help encorporate digital learning in the classroom. Along with the $200 the winners will also receive a digital flip video camera. The camera will be used to document the projects created by teacher and students.

It is all based on a voting system. The top 10 vote getters will win the microgrant and flip video camera. As I type this my wife (Traci) has just moved into 10th position in the voting. That happened just from sending out some emails to friends and family, and then those friends and family emailing others they know. We are hoping to assure her spot in the top 10 and need as many votes as we can possibly get.

It doesn’t matter where you live, all you need is an email address. Apparently they record IP addresses though, so you can only vote once per IP address and email address. If it is possible for you to vote multiple times please do. Voting is open until August 10th, so please make sure you vote soon.

Click here to vote now.

Below I am including the info she had to provide in submitting the microgrant. It details why she wants it, who will benefit from it, and what she will use the $200 for, followed by some brief details on what her first project for her new 4th graders will be.

Project Title
Storytelling in the Digital Age

Description
Students will create a digital story that educates as it entertains. Using digital photography, photo and audio editing software, and a digital storytelling editor, students will work in different genres – both fiction and nonfiction – to boost their writing, fluency, summarizing, and technology skills. Each digital story is told in first person, allowing the teller to gain personal meaning, understanding, and insight into the subject. Viewers become equally personally engaged in learning.

How will I use the money:
Funds will be utilized to purchase multiple digital cameras so that students may work individually or in small groups to create digital stories.

Who will benefit:
Initially, this will benefit my class of twenty to twenty-five students. Many other students, however, will reap the benefits in years to come. Teachers will benefit from seeing the projects created by students and learning how to use the idea with their students. The school and district will benefit from increased test scores due to students’ internalization and increased understanding of technology and language arts standards, including summarizing and narrative writing.

Where:
Tulsa, Oklahoma

When will my project take place:
8/24/2009 – 9/11/2009 (first project); other projects ongoing

She has decided that her first project for her 4th graders will be to create a digital autobiography. They will create projects less than 5 minutes long and tell their life story. Fitting their 9 or 10 years into 5 minutes should work for most of them.

I just checked again, and woohoo in the short time I was typing this post she is now tied for 9th place!

Click here to vote now

[ Report Post ]

Not so surprisingly another of my favorite posts involved beautiful women. More precisely some of the most artistic photos of beautiful women ever compiled. Timothy White is the artistic genius behind they amazing photos.

The women ranged in age from 22-year-olds Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen all the way through to 62-year-old Susan Sarandon It is amazing how different some of these women look in these images as compared to how we normally see them.

Check out the pictures and leave your own thoughts in the comments section below.

A word of warning before you scroll any further – There is some “nudity” in the following images.

———————————-

HOT! New Book – Hollywood Pinups by Timothy White

Let me start this post with the “About the Author” section direct from Amazon.com

“Timothy White is one of the most prolific and sought-after celebrity photographers in the country. For twenty years, he has captured the intimate, playful sides of legendary actors and actresses as well as the innocence of up and comers. He has photographed and continues to shoot some of the most recognizable movie posters of our time, the covers of countless high-profile publications, and imagery for an extraordinary roster of musicians. He lives in New York City.”

Now you know a little about Timothy White. His images are amazing, as you will see in just a minute. He has taken some extremely beautiful women and made them even more enticingly beautiful, hot and sexy. All while keeping the images extremely classy and tasteful, which is probably the only reason some of these stunning women agreed to be a part of this book.

The name of the book is “Hollywood Pinups.” In the book Timothy White takes some stars of recent times and captures them in the old ’40s style pinup gal poster. The book contains 80 pages, and i am including Amazon.com links below for those that might want to purchase it to see the rest of the wonderful images.

Enough of my rambling, onto the pictures. Please share what you think of them below in the comments section.

Please note that I have only included their ages to point out how unimportant age is when it comes to beauty, and sexiness. Forty-something is most definitely the new Thirty-something!

I have never really liked Kate Hudson (movies or her in general) This photograph however captures her in a whole new sexy and beautiful light.

Unfortunately this one of Molly Sims I could not find in one piece. I always considered her the least hottest of the hot on Las Vegas. This picture shows she should definitely rank up there with Vanessa Marcil and Nikki Cox.

This one might be the most stunningly beautiful sexy of them all. The back is often overlooked as far as being a sexy body part. You might think differently after seeing Angie Harmon’s back in this one.

This is so totally different than her mom persona on Desperate Housewives, or anything else I have seen her in. William H. Macy is a lucky man.

These next two are too dark for my tastes, but their beautiful faces stand out quite a bit that way.

This is probably my least favorite of the images. I just think it is the least flattering of them all.

WOW! That’s it, just WOW! So very sexy without revealing a thing. (Below)

White has even taken the Olsen Twins which everyone pictures frail, skinny, and anorexic and made them look very sexy.

I have also never thought of Susan Sarandon as a sort of sex symbol, from her days in Rocky Horror, Bull Durham, or Thelma and Louise. This image at 62 years old has made me think I may have missed something along the way. Yes, that is right, she is 62 years old!

<A HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fprospowra-20%2F8003%2F845a6b47-b21c-4394-9cb5-fdfbee7b2459&Operation=NoScript” mce_HREF=”http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fprospowra-20%2F8003%2F845a6b47-b21c-4394-9cb5-fdfbee7b2459&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>

[ Report Post ]