More Snow Play on Valentine’s Day

Busy, busy, busy…

November 2008 has been a busy time for me, and my sparse blog entries show it!  I have been involved in rolling out a systematic approach for building level technology plans, organizing a continuing education day district workshop conference, training, working with various HAL students at the middle and elementary levels, assisting teachers in embedding technology in their classrooms, and performing all the odds and ends that come with my job (meetings too!!!).

Of course my family keeps me busy too with 5 children ranging in ages from 5-16.  There always seems to be some activity, event, concert, game, and place to go and be with Hannah, Charlie, Ronan, Nicholas, and Heather.  My church duties along with a new boy scouting assignment have needed constant attention too; so, I seem to generally stay out of trouble!  ;-)

I purchased an Asus Eee PC with my birthday money, and I am enjoying this new piece of technology.  It is the 904 model with the 6 cell battery and 160 GB hard drive.  We have been trying various brands and models of netbooks out in our tech department, and I personally like the Asus brand overall.  It is a nice unit!

I am now on Thanksgiving break and it is good to be spending some time with my family.  I am very thankful for the blessings I have in my life (especially for my dear wife Dianna), and I hope that all is well in your parts of the world.  Thank you for visiting my part of the web from time to time, and I hope that you all have time to enjoy the company of family and friends this holiday season.  Peace!

Ronan 10

My son Ronan turned 10 on June 2nd! One decade behind him and a whole lot more ahead! Ronan is a very humorous and funny guy. He makes me laugh, and I really like that about Ronan. He cares about other people and how they feel. He is sensitive to other’s needs, and can be very compassionate when he knows it is needed. He had a wonderful fourth grade year with an awesome teacher that made a huge difference in his life!  Thanks Ms. Brinkmeyer!!!!  Ronan is another of my great teachers, and I look forward to continue learning from him for many years to come.

Charlie turns 12!!!

My oldest son Charlie turns twelve today. He is finishing his 6th grade year in school and is excited about the opportunity to do sports next school year. Charlie is a very intelligent, funny, amazing, polite, and wonderful young man. I know he gets frustrated at times when he sees injustice in life, but I know that he works to see that what he can control is fair and honest. I admire that trait in Charlie. Charlie has reached an important age in our family’s beliefs and will receive a great honor this coming Sunday. Charlie is a great servant of his maker and will bless many people throughout his lifetime. Thanks for being such a wonderful soul Charlie. You are a great example to me. Peace!

Happy Birthday Hannah: Sweet 16

Sixteen years ago I became a dad for the first time. I was scared to my wits about the whole thing and I suppose I still am! Hannah helped me learn to be a dad. She taught me how to play Barbies, have fun with water, to “do it again daddy,” to worry more than I ever have, to be prouder than I ever have, and to have a broken heart more than I ever could have known.

My joy is great because of Hannah, and I can’t believe how fast 16 years can go by. This little baby that arrived near high noon on April 30, 1992 stared into my eyes and won my heart forever. I can still see her and that moment in my mind as if it were yesterday. It was a great day, and life has improved each day. If I had to list one of my greatest teachers it would be Hannah. Because of what she didn’t or doesn’t know, I learn. That is so cool! I love you Hannah!!!

Digital Storytelling at My House…

My son Charlie created a claymation video yesterday. You can visit his blog to leave a comment about his project. I think it’s pretty good for a first time go at claymation; so, let him know what you think.

Charlie’s Blog: http://chokanson.wordpress.com

Who I Am Makes A Difference

A good friend and colleague, Larry LaShell, shared the following video with me today:

Web Link

I needed this today. Thanks Larry, you made a difference by passing this on!

Heather’s Birthday

Tomorrow my Heather turns 5!!!

My youngest of our 5, our little Heather, has a birthday tomorrow. That was a fast 5 years, but I can remember the morning she arrived like it was yesterday. In celebration of Heather’s courageous attitude I present the following short film: Daredevil Heather!!! Enjoy!

Heather’s Podcast Page (Sadly, Heather fell asleep this evening and we were unable to make her last podcast while she was still four!) 

NPHS Musical “South Pacific”

North Platte High School students’ hard work and practice is paying off as they perform their musical “South Pacific.” The amazing cast has been working since December to share a wonderful performance of the Rogers and Hammerstein classic. One of the great cast members is my own Hannah Hokanson!!!

The musical is directed by Leah Purdy and performances are March 7th and 8th at 7:30 p.m. and March 9th at 2:00 p.m. in the North Platte High School Performing Arts Center. Read the following newspaper article for more information: “High School prepares South Pacific“

Tales

I’m off to Kansas City for an Infinite Campus “meeting” (I have to travel on Super Bowl Sunday & will miss it!!!) and am placing a couple of podcasts here for my Heather to listen to while I am away! Heather’s brother Nicholas and I began a tradition a few years ago of making up and telling dragon tales for our bedtime stories. In recent years Heather has added pony tales to the mix. We have begun to record our tales as they need to be saved for posterity and for the listening enjoyment of others! We are simply using a Video iPod and a Griffin iTalk to record our tales. I load the .wav files into iTunes and convert them to mp3; so, nothing fancy here as of yet. Enjoy!

Heather’s Tale

Daddio’s Tale

Hulu

I finally got my Hulu private beta invitation today. Like Joost, Hulu offers “television” programming, but the offerings are different and I had a better experience with Hulu. I must say that I am totally impressed. I just finished the first episode of WKRP in Cincinnati and was pleased with the loading and presentation of the media. There are quick ads during the program, and they were short and to the point. When the ads come on you cannot gain access to the controls (I was just curious how that would work), but I had no problem with the brief ads. The picture quality is great, and I am hooked here at the beginning. What the future holds for this business remains to be seen. Will they charge for the content, subscription model, can ads keep it going? These are questions that come to mind, but I know that more and more my family gets their entertainment media from online sources. Could this be the end of the satellite dish? Will the computer soon be hooked up to the LCD TV? It may not be too much longer before it happens with offerings like Hulu.

“Web Playgrounds of the Very Young” NY Times

I read this article last week and I see this world with my own young ones. An interesting read: “Web Playgrounds of the Very Young.”  NeoPets is the site of choice right now at our home.

Pumpkin Patch

This evening we ventured out into a local pumpkin patch to fetch some pumpkins for carving. The corn is tall and dry, the pumpkins orange, and the leaves are quickly changing in this part of the world. A cool breeze brings the chills of fall and winter is just a few weeks away. This is a wonderful time of year, and I look forward to the holiday season in our new home. We have met many new friends, and we have been welcomed with open arms in our new community. We hope we are making a difference for the good with those we mingle with each day, and we know we are better for coming here. It has not always been an easy transition, and our hearts are often tugged by those we left behind, but we are happy to be here. There are times in our lives, as Yogi Berra once stated, when you come to a fork in the road, take it! Taking the road less traveled is not the point as Frost would share. Sometimes you just choose a fork and take it, and a whole new world opens up that you never dreamed may have happened if we hadn’t taken the chance and been willing to grow. We took a fork, and what an adventure it has been. We look forward to many more wonderful days here on the prairie. Peace!

“Digital Kids”

 

Teachers and Parents read the following CNET articles:

Savvy teachers use the Net to engage students (Reuters Article)

The ABCs of learning online

Summer’s here, the Web surfing’s fine

When digital kids rule the classroom

Developing safe and smart Internet citizens

Digital Citizenship and Safety sites:

Be Web Aware

Media Awareness Network

Kids’ Rules for Online Safety

SafeKids.com

The Skinny on a Good Media Diet for Your Kids

WiredSafety

Sites for Kids:

ALA Great Web Sites for Kids

KidsClick

Yahoo Kids

Ask for Kids