BLOG HOPPIN' AFTER AN AWESOME MEET-UP

At the end of March, fifty-four teachers and bloggers attended the Spring Teacher Blogger Meet-Up at the French Lick Resort & Casino that was organized by the fabulous, Holly Ehle.  It was AMAZING!  I had such a fantastic time being surrounded by educators from all over the country who are passionate about teaching.  They were truly an inspiration.  When's the next meet-up?!

To share a bit about our experience, and to give YOU the chance to win some of the awesome give-aways we received that weekend, we are having a BLOG HOP!! Be sure to hop all the way to the end in order to find your chance to enter the MASSIVE PRIZE GIVE-AWAY!!  Check it out, you can win ALL of these great prizes...  

  

While at the meet-up, we had the opportunity to participate in a "Teacher Tool Swap."  Everyone brought a a little something that they cannot live without in their classroom.  After a fun, little game that tested my knowledge of left and right, I had a fancy new pair of scissors, post-its, AND these fabulous pens!!  Thanks, Amanda Pauley!! ...my spring break grading was much more enjoyable with these fun, colorful pens by PaperMate.


As if the Vera Bradly bag, Erin Condren gift card, and Scentos weren't enough, I also won a $50.00 gift card to Schoolgirl Style!!  Melanie provided all of the decorations for the Blogger Meet-Up.  They were PERFECT and I can't wait to order some fun decorations for my classroom!  I mean, look!!

   

...I even learned a few things at this Spring Teacher Blogger Meet-Up!  During the Tips & Tricks session, Jenny taught everyone about the pros of using Windows Live Writer for posting to your blog.  How did I not already know about this??  If you have Windows, you have Windows Live Writer.  I love how simple it makes inserting pictures and making them the perfect size!!  

Sitting next to Amanda Pauley was definitely a wise decision.  Just one peak at the desktop of her computer changed my life!! Check out my post on desktop makeovers to learn more...

Yeah, free is fantastic, and the Tips & Tricks were great, but the best part of the weekend was the contagious enthusiasm of the teachers and bloggers that had traveled on their own time and at their own expense to be a part of the weekend.  I LOVE teaching; being around other teachers who LOVE what they do was exactly what I needed to rejuvenate me for the rest of this school year!!  



Don't forget to keep hopping!  Check out Amanda @ The Primary Gal and you will be one step closer to the ultimate prize give-away!!

DESKTOP MAKEOVER

Maybe you can relate.  …as the school year progresses, my desktop becomes more and more explosive with files, downloads, programs, and clutter.  AND, I hate going through the same “click series” over, and over again, to find that one file that I always seem to need.

This past weekend, thanks to the fabulous, Amanda @ Mrs. Pauley’s Kindergarten, I discovered the solution; a desktop makeover.  While sitting next to her at the Indiana Spring Teacher Blogger Meet-Up, I couldn’t help but notice her awesome desktop complete with a colorful background and frames for organizing all of her icons.  …I had to have one of my own!

DISCLAIMER:  I am NOT a tech expert.  I tend to click around until I either have a complete disaster, or something useable.  My first attempt was chaos.  I created an image that was the same size as a PowerPoint slide, only to find that when I set it as my desktop background, it was too stretched and extremely fuzzy.  Attempt #2 was much more successful.

I started by inserting a rectangle in PowerPoint.  Then I adjusted the size of the rectangle so that it was the same size as my computer screen.  I literally grabbed a ruler to measure the size of my screen.  (Of course, a normal ruler was no where to be found.  My 6th graders gave me slightly outrageous looks as I used a yard stick to measure my laptop screen.  Good thing they are used to my crazy!!)

  

Then, I changed the fill of that rectangle, added frames for maximum organization, and inserted titles.  …this took me forever.  I just have so many fun backgrounds, frames, and fonts…decisions, decisions. 

When you save your final creation, it is important to save it two ways.  First, save the PowerPoint so that you can easily edit your desktop in the future.  Next, select all the items and save them as a picture.  To do this, use the shortcut CTRL+A to select those items.  Then, hover over one of the outlines of an item, right click, and save it as a picture. 



SUCCESS!  Set the image as your desktop background and enjoy a whole new, organized look.  I love the Sticky Notes that you can add to your desktop; an inspirational quote that can be easily changed each week was the perfect finishing touch.  “Rise up and attack each day with enthusiasm!”

Be sure to check out Amanda’s blog for more of her brilliant ideas!!  Thanks Amanda!