My Niece and Me
Graduation Day
Week 1 - Getting to Duke
May 17 to 25, 2009
Well I am finished the last chapters in my text books, final projects are in, final exams are done and even more exciting... I have (unofficially) graduated. Between all of this I have kept up with the miscellaneous requirements in prep for my research experience at Duke.
I must admit I am not much of a blogger but it is part of this experience so here it goes. Hopefully it won't be too boring for those of you who are interested in knowing what will happen over the summer. I will try my best to include interesting stories and give you a taste of what it might be like to be me.
Click here to read more about the adventures of how I got to North Carolina...
Week 2 - Learning Alice
May 26 to 31 2009
My first week at Duke is going smoothly. I have started to learn the ALICE program, and I am setting up my web page. The weekend was full of fun, sand, water and sun.
My Birthday Pie
Week 3 - Tutorials in Alice
June 1 to 7 2009
This is birthday week for me. I am missing several birthdays back home but to look on the bright side I will have more cake to eat! (Happy Birthday Mom... Happy Birthday Owen...)
On a more work related note, I have been starting to create and review Alice tutorials.
Week 4 - Routine and Unique
June 8 to 14 2009
This was a regular week for work but I had some interesting experiences that made this week memorable. Former president Bill Clinton spoke at Duke Chapel. I ate at Chick-Fil-A for the first time. (Is it considered a cross cultural experience if there are no Chick-Fil-A's in Canada?).
Week 5 - Alice and the Bulls
June 15 to 21 2009
This week is the first teacher seminars. It was a hot event as temperatures were reaching into the upper 90s by the end of the week. I was helping out with the workshops and attended a day of interesting seminars. You can also check out a couple pictures of the Durham Bulls baseball game.
Green Heron
Sarah Duke Gardens
Week 6 - Introducing Alice
June 22 to 27 2009
Alice workshops start this week. Now we are into the string of workshops hosted and run by Professor Rodger. I am anticipating a week of squeezing between chairs and desks, kneeling beside computers with Alice problems to be solved and witnessing how excited teachers can get over a new idea and learning tool... I was not disappointed.
Okay, so the picture on the left is a little random. I had designed this website before I added the content, and this was the week to put in a photo. At first I was going to put in an Alice workshop photo, but I was too busy helping. So I added this one that I took on Friday as I walked home from work. Although it looks more red and gray bird to me, wikipedia says it is a Green Heron . I added some additional bird pictures at the end of this weeks blog page.
Week 7 - Teachers as Students
June 28 to July 5 2009
This week is starting on Sunday so that we can have a long weekend for the 4th of July. I am looking forward to another week of teachers as Alice students and I am looking forward to spending the long weekend in Washington DC.
Week 8 - The Last Workshop
July 6 to 12 2009
The last workshop is this week and I am starting to think about finishing up some of the Alice projects that I have started. I expect that this weeks blog will eventually contain some examples of what I have been working in between helping with the workshop.
Alice
The duck
Week 9 The End in Sight
July 13 to 19, 2009
Is this another seemingly random bird picture? You might think so, unless you happen to know that I used to have pet ducks. One of the longest members of our duck family was Alice. I think she was at least 10 years old. And she looked almost exactly like the duck I saw in the Duke Garden pond! Well, I thought it was an interesting coincidence with the name Alice and all... perhaps not, but at least I know my sister will understand. This one is for you sis.
This week was fairly straight forward. I'm starting to finish up what I have started and I am working on my final report.
Week 10 - Last Week
July 20 to 24, 2009
The last week has come and gone. It has been a great experience, and I must say this was the best mistake I have ever made. If this statement doesn't make sense to you read about how I ended up here on my About Me page. Ten weeks seems to be the right amount of time for this experience. I feel like I have just started... I'm not so overwhelmed any more... I don't really want it to end...
This week I finished writing my final report, cleaned up all the work I have been doing, making sure everything is documented and putting the final touches on this website.
