Let's Construct Our Own Knowledge

For the Module 4 reflection many of you have noted your concerns over what students divulge online and what teachers are prepared to throw out there as well.  I think this is probably a good time to invite you all to contribute to our 1:1 Wiki.  It's kind of like Wikipedia, but will be used by ISB teachers to co-construct a knowledge base for laptop integration across our campuses.  Click here to join our wiki and start contributing as you see fit.  Don't worry about making any mistakes, they can be undone pretty easily.  Feel free to contribute links, ideas, applications you've found, teaching strategies....

I've embedded Shannon's most recent post about digital reputation and safety - it's a great read.  Please leave comments on her blog.

big brother is watching....

Question:

"Some people have strong feelings about being in the public domain (meaning their pictures, thoughts, interests... can be potentially accessed by people they don't know). Explain your feelings? How do we address these concerns as teachers and role models? How do we teach this?"

Answer:

when i was in my last year of high school, internet was a strange new thing i became aware of and started using slowly - literally dial-up was no fun! not everyone had access to the internet and it seemed rather expensive to get it. i really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. i was much more excited to get a cell phone the size of an encyclopedia.

i also remember reading george orwell's novel 1984 without realizing then the significant impact the internet would have on our private/public lives. similar, in some ways, to the pervasive government surveillance throughout the protagonist winston smith's world. i think people who fear the internet often liken it to this idea of "big brother."

as the internet became more advanced and more public, so have i. and yes, i have had pictures, posts, and emails that i wish had never been uploaded or sent... luckily, i quickly learned my lessons and eventually survived the embarrassment.

throughout this learning process, i never really had anyone guide me. my college and university professors were barely internet literate themselves and it seemed that no one had a chance to keep up with the light speed pace and growing capabilities that the internet allowed.

Now, teachers are facing the challenge of how to teach responsible internet use while guiding students to create public profiles that they will carry with them the rest of their lives. a pretty daunting challenge!

as a teacher, i think it is important to teach kids to be safe and responsible in all situations whether online or not. we should provide students with the tools and skills they will need to be successful in all aspects of their lives. they will make mistakes but hopefully they will be minor and provide opportunities for growth.

how do we this... specifically? as a humanities teacher, i love to sneak learning in when the kids don't notice. so, as we are working on a project, we also learn about a new online application. this then gives me the chance to discuss with my students the various issues surrounding their experiences online. for example, the issues surrounding choosing a username and password, signing-up for e-newsletters, sharing online documents with friends, etc. teaching them useful skills through an authentic learning experience.

there's no point running from the fact that we all have public profiles. the idea is to be smart about what you put out there. big brother is indeed always watching...

1 comments:

 

Paul McKenzie said...

I like how you said, "sneak learning in when kids don't notice," with reference to new online applications. This is how it should be. These tools are just tools. They augment learning and are in fact well-supported by learning theory - from cognitivism and contructivism to social constructionism and connectivism. Hey, at least they all start with a "C". When students can learn to use these tools without taking their focus off the ultimate goal of constructing and reconstructing knowledge, then we have REAL technology integration. Thanks for sharing.

April 8, 2010 10:37 AM

Anne and A Brave New World

Anne Jovovic - our thought leader for the week. Please read her post below and then go to her blog to give your feedback. Her post is a response in part to the video A Brave New World by David Truss which is required viewing for Week 4's blog reflection.

tech 1:1 week 4

First I'd like to speak to this week's videoes. Brave New World in its delightfully unusual presentation made a statement that I will tape on top of my computer, "See opportunties rather than obstacles" to help me when the frustration level rises when I can't make some tech skill work the way I want it to. Then the video went on to show the place of technology in the 21st century. I was afraid that the author would place technology in the center of the educational wheel. But it placed it as one of the spokes in the wheel. This too made a positive impression on me.

Now, in my head, I just need to try to understand what in education is no longer important -- handwriting, reading hardcopy books, grammar -- because I am seeing them all fade in importance.

Second: public domain vs privacy and the role of the teachers. I would ask first and foremost that parents be added to that topic. Schools must take on parent education in technology before anything that we do in schools has any lasting effect.

What would/should be published in newspapers/magazines or shown on TV might be good beginning guidelines to help students understand public domain.

We need students to know that:

• what they put into cyberspace never disappears and that it could come back and interfer with their lives at a later date.
• what they can't say to a person face to face has no place being sent out via technology
• what personal data/images that are posted can be accessed by people who will use it for dangerous purposes....financial, moral, physical
• what we take from cyber space nees to be credited just as one acknowledges sources from books
• what is in cyberspace is often not edited for authenticity, accuracy
• they will be drown with information from wonderfully exciting sources
• that it is easy to feel swamped
• that it will be tempting to just grab some information and stick it in a report without being critical consumers

The first step is that we as teachers see these trouble spots and now we must step back and teach more HOW and even less WHAT

1 comments:

Paul McKenzie said...

Wonderful post, Anne. You bring up crucial points we all need to consider and discuss on this journey into a new learning landscape. In this post you embody the imperative that everyone involved in educational decision making gain a literacy in the tools of communication and collaboration in the 21C. You have also shown how important it is we develop local communities of learning and support. I'm going to feature this on the course blog - everyone needs to read it.

What's up Docs?

The following blog posts are from Milena and Milica. They bring up very good points about Google Docs use in schools. I've said this before, but it's worth repeating - it is in the comments sections of blogs where real meaning is often constructed. Some of you are very new to blog ownership and even blog reading, but if you want to gain greater insight into the worlds of your fellow practitioner's here and overseas, blogs and their feedback are your best windows.

Google Docs - by Milena

I think Google Docs will save a lot of my nerves in the future. Up till now I saved all my work on a memory stick because I usually do my prep partly at school and partly at home so I use two different computers. In the process I often had to do some extra work such as converting .docx files to .doc and vice versa because of 2 different versions of Microsoft Office. Also I try to make worksheets fun and colorful so I use different fonts only to find out that I don't have the fonts I used on my home computer installed on the school laptop. Docs should change all this for me.

As a language teacher the most obvious way I can use Docs is for writing assignments. I can comment on student's work from the very first draft they make and help them structure their work better. After the assignment is finished we can go back to the mistakes they made and see how did they correct them. This walking trough steps they took can help them memorize the dos and don'ts much better then simply looking at the final version of their work in notebooks.

Working on end of the unit projects sometimes requires my students to go back to what we learned by rereading. Instead of going trough different books it would be much easier for them to create a Google doc and write down information that they find important and when time comes just go trough what they wrote.

One more thing I can use Docs for is collaboration with other language teachers. During team meetings we often take notes so we all come up with different versions of the same texts. This way we can put all of our notes at the same place and make it available to all of us right away.

1 comments:

 

Paul McKenzie said...

Google Docs does save a lot of time. You also mentioned how it enables you to collaborate conveniently with colleagues. These are important, but for me the most valuable asset is that it allows students to collaborate. Web2.0, or Social Media as it's starting to be called now, is all about networking, sharing, collaboration, and presentation. Docs embodies most of these assets and therefore lends itself seamlessly to the social learning theories of connectivism and social constructivism. It's all very IB :) Thanks for the post, I'm going to feature it on 2FeetUp.

Google Docs Reflection - by Milica R

I really like google docs. They're easy to use and I already have a bunch of ideas about how I'll be using them next year with my students and with other teachers.

What I like about Module 3 of this course is the fact that learning to use google docs, and using other google apps in general, has immediately made my life easier. From realizing how our LS Language B team meetings can be more productive just by creating one google doc instead of working on 3 separate excel spreadsheets, to getting quick help from Rada through google chat when I was unsuccessfully trying to change the language on my blog and google docs account from Serbian to English, my week has been made easier. I guess I like the collaborative aspect of it all more than anything else. :)

As I was watching the last video on google apps being used in that school, and having previously uploaded a presentation just to see how it all works, I did realize that the whole thing is not perfect. My presentation didn't quite work how it was supposed to and I found the idea that thanks to google apps we could be available to parents any place any time a bit scary. However, the benefits of it all are much greater and I look forward to putting it all into action next year.

2 comments:

Lena said...

By reading your blog I'm starting to get a picture of what kind of student you were.. :)

Paul McKenzie said...

It makes my job a lot easier too. As you may know, I am using a combination of Google Reader and Google Docs and doc folders to peruse participant progress in this preparation program (who loves alliteration? Anyone, anyone...). If I have time, I'll put together a screencast video of the process - many parts of it could be considered for 1:1 laptop standards next year with our students.         And here's a great one from Jennie - take her advice - watch the video below and think "school" when you hear "business."

The GOOGLE DOCtor is in!

Image via Wikipedia For whatever ails you...there is a cure! This week's focus on our 1:1 laptop Teacher Training program (we need a better brand name) is Google Docs. Once you have a gmail account, you can upload any file from you computer (or create a new one on gdocs) and place it in the cloud (see video). Having access to my work "wherever and whenever" is very liberating. Working in the isolation of a word/excel/powerpoint Microsoft document feels like an barren wasteland now. Collaboration on one "live" space creates a community of thought. The type of docs I currently use are for planning sessions, a shared continuum doc, accreditation docs, students progress charts, book lists with global librarians, conference notes shared with attendees, school mission statement, developing policy docs, "how to" powerpoints, and hundreds more. Substitute "business" with "school" as you watch this video:   

So, what's with Gmail?

In week two's assignment, we were to create a post describing our take on Gmail. The following questions were posed.

1. What are the main differences between Gmail and any email you've used before?
2. What would you like to be able to do with Gmail? Responses here might inform future learning opportunities in this course.
3. How could one of the tools in Gmail be used to positively impact student or teacher performance at ISB?

Shannon's shesonatrip blog is a good example of a practitioner's approach to using Gmail in the classroom. The following are her thoughts

Gmail is my preferred email provider because it is more than just email: chat, talk, calendar, shared docs, task lists, sites, RSS reader, etc.... It allows me to instantly connect with my students, colleagues, family and friends. I love it! I have been a dedicated Gmail user for about two years now and I would still like to know how to use more tools, more effectively!

Out of the long list of tools Gmail offers, I believe that the two best tools are Google Calendar and GoogleSites. Both of these tools help students become more organized and more independent. I post due dates, assignments and homework, rubrics, and resources. It's handy, it's all in one place, and extremely easy to use!

You must check out Rochelle's post, Google 101 for even more great ideas.
Here's another insightful post from Milica R.

The Grade 3 Field Trip to Southern France

Image by Pierre Marcel via Flickr

On Wednesday, Arsen and I took his grade three class to Arles, France for a peek at some of the paintings Vincent van Gogh created while living there over 120 years ago. When Arsen stopped his kids at the door after recess and explained we were going on a field trip, the class was quite concerned they didn't have their permission forms. Luckily, none were required, nor visas or plane tickets either - this was to be their first virtual field trip.

We started off with a concept map - a very useful cognitive tool - to help the class place the activity in its right context by classifying information within their "Looking Into the Mirror" unit of inquiry.  Using concept maps in an activity introduction triggers long term memory, or what we commonly refer to as "background knowledge" (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). I'd used Bubblus many times, but not for a while. This can be risky when it comes to web-based applications as they can, and usually are, augmented on a regular basis. So I guess when I hunkered down over Bubblus the day before the activity, I was both relieved and disappointed that there had been no improvements over the previous six months.  We can only hope their business model is healthy - this would be a big loss to the education world.

After we cleared our heads as to where we were and where we were headed, we showed the class an abbreviated A&E video of van Gogh's life. We stopped regularly to help the kids digest difficult words and concepts, as well as giving them a chance to share their own background knowledge with their peers.

Then it was off to Arles, 1889.  I think it is fair to say the kids were blown away by the whole experience, but at the same time, an avatar in a virtual world was easily comprehensible for them. The auditory and visual nature of an experience creates what cognitive scientists refer to as episodic memory. Wikipedia defines episodic memory as, "the memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual knowledge)  that can be explicitly stated." After visiting a painting of van Gogh's bedroom "in" his bedroom, we went back to the concept map with plenty of ammunition from the video, student and teacher discussion, and the first part of their trip. With thoughtful discussion, the students added to the Bubblus and then it was time to head back to France.

I'll let the video below explain the rest, but after the Flip Mino ran out of memory, we again visited the concept map to have the students add new knowledge. In this process the learners analyze information so that it can be categorized and connected to what they understand. This can of course lead to new understanding. Both Arsen and I were very pleased to see how much the students had absorbed during the experience - and it was an experience - this was an exercise in how virtual field trips can be as much an episodic memory for our learners as a regular field trip. However, if the school wants to send us to Southern France next time, you won't hear any complaints from me.

77 Surprising Health Benefits of Blogging

Image via Wikipedia

By Meredith Walker

Over the past several years, blogging has experienced an upsurge in popularity in the western world among medical professionals and celebrities alike. While many associate blogging with new age mysticism or the latest fad at the gym, blogging is actually an ancient practice that connects the mind, body, and spirit through body poses, controlled breathing, and meditation. The practice of blogging has many health benefits associated with it, so read below to discover 77 benefits of incorporating blogging in to your or your patient’s fitness program.

Health Benefits Within


From lowering blood pressure to increasing pain tolerance, the following health benefits can all be discovered within the body.

1. Blood pressure. A consistent blogging practice decreases blood pressure through better circulation and oxygenation of the body. These two exercises can help lower blood pressure.
2. Pulse rate. A slower pulse rate indicates that your heart is strong enough to pump more blood with fewer beats. Regularly practicing blogging provides a lower pulse rate.
3. Circulation. blogging improves blood circulation. By transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout your body, blogging practice provides healthier organs, skin, and brain.
4. Respiratory. Like the circulatory system, a lower respiratory rate indicates that the lungs are working more efficiently. blogging decreases the respiratory rate through a combination of controlled breathing exercises and better fitness.
5. Cardiovascular endurance. A combination of lower heart rate and improved oxygenation to the body (both benefits of blogging) results in higher cardiovascular endurance.
6. Organs. blogging practice massages internal organs, thus improving the ability of the body to prevent disease. Additionally, an experienced blogging practitioner becomes better attuned to her body to know at first sign if something isn’t functioning properly, thereby allowing for quicker response to head off disease.
7. Gastrointestinal. Gastrointestinal functions have been shown to improve in both men and women who practice blogging.
8. Immunity. blogging practice has frequently been correlated with a stronger immune system. Read this article for more on the immune system and blogging, including some poses that specifically work on areas of immunity.
9. Pain. Pain tolerance is much higher among those who practice blogging regularly. In addition to pain tolerance, some instances of chronic pain, such as back pain, are lessened or eliminated through blogging (see below for more on back pain).
10. Metabolism. Having a balanced metabolism results in maintaining a healthy weight and controlling hunger. Consistent blogging practice helps find the balance and creates a more efficient metabolism.

Health Benefits Without


Just as many health benefits occur within the body, there are many benefits that can actually be experienced from without the body. From better sleep to more energy and strength, this list provides several benefits found on the outside of the body.

11. Aging. blogging stimulates the detoxification process within the body. Detoxification has been shown to delay aging, among many other health benefits.
12. Posture. The very nature of blogging teaches the practitioner how to hold and control one’s body in a more healthful position. Through consistent practice, your posture will improve so that you look more confident and healthy.
13. Strength. One of the premises of blogging is that you are using the weight of your own body for overall strength. Find out more about how blogging works as an excellent method of strength training in this article.
14. Energy. Regular blogging practice provides consistent energy. In fact, most yogis state that when you perform your blogging correctly, you will feel energized after your blogging session rather than tired.
15. Weight. The benefits of a better metabolism along with the exercise of blogging work to keep your weight in check. Additionally, the stretching of muscles longwise helps to reduce the amount of cellulite that can build around muscles.
16. Sleep. Because of the many benefits to both body and mind that a blogging routine can provide, many find that their sleep is much better. Read here for more on sleep and blogging, as well as some positions for helping induce sleep.
17. Balance. An integral part of the blogging practice is balance and control over your body. With a consistent practice, you will find that your overall balance will improve outside the blogging class.
18. Integrated function of the body. blogging is derived from Sanskrit and means "to join together and direct one’s attention." This is exactly what happens to your body after you start practicing blogging. Yogis find that their body works together much better, resulting in more graceful and efficient body movements.
19. Body Awareness: Doing blogging will give you an increased awareness of your own body. You are often called upon to make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment. Over time, this will increase your level of comfort in your own body. This can lead to improved posture and greater self-confidence.
20. Core strength. With a strong body core, you receive better posture and overall body strength. A strong core helps heal and reduce injuries. This is why a lot of athletes do blogging as cross training (boxers, MMA fighters, etc). Read how this swimmer uses blogging to strengthen her core and improve her swimming.
21. Sexuality. blogging can improve your sexuality through better control, more relaxation, and more self-confidence. Read more about the blogging and sexuality connection here.

Emotional Health Benefits


Due to the strong mind-body connection of blogging, there are many emotional benefits to be gained from a consistent blogging practice. Find out how blogging can help improve emotional health with this list.

22. Mood. Overall well-being improves with blogging practice. The combination of creating a strong mind-body connection, creating a healthy body, and focusing inward can all lead to improvement in your mood.
23. Stress Reduction. The concentration required during blogging practice tends to focus your attention on the matter at hand, thereby reducing the emphasis you may have been putting on the stress in your life. Read more about blogging and stress management here.
24. Anxiety. One benefit to the controlled breathing used in blogging is a reduction in anxiety. Learn more about how you can use blogging breathing to reduce your anxiety.
25. Depression. Some believe the negative feelings that you may be repressing are brought to the surface during some types of blogging exercise. When this happens, the negative energy is no longer stuck within you, but released through exercise. Regularly releasing this negativity leads to a reduction of depression in many people.
26. Self-acceptance. Focusing inward and realizing through your blogging practice that perfection is not the goal, self-acceptance begins to take over. This post describes how success is not measured by perfectionism in blogging.
27. Self-control. The controlled movements of blogging teach you how to translate that self-control to all aspects of your life.
28. Mind-body connection. Few other exercises offer the same mind-body connection that blogging does. As you match your controlled breathing with the movements of your body, you retrain your mind to find that place of calm and peace that long-time yogis know.
29. Positive outlook on life. Continued practice of blogging results in a balance of many hormones and nervous system, which brings about a more stable, positive approach to life.
30. Hostility. Most yogis report a huge reduction in the amount of hostility they feel as well as a sense of control when anger flares. This calm effect is likely from the relaxation and meditation that is incorporated in their blogging practice that leads to an overall calming of the nervous system. Less hostility means lower blood pressure and stress and a healthier approach to life.
31. Concentration. Researchers have shown that as little as eight weeks of blogging practice can result in better concentration and more motivation.
32. Memory. Improved blood circulation to the brain as well as the reduction in stress and improved focus results in a better memory.
33. Attention. The attention required in blogging to maintain the structured breathing in conjunction with blogging poses sharpens the ability to keep a sharp focus on tasks.
34. Social skills. In blogging, you learn the interconnectedness of all of life. Your blogging practice soon evolves from a personal journey to one connecting to to the community at large where your social skills improve along with your blogging practice.
35. Calmness. Concentrating so intently on what your body is doing has the effect of bringing calmness. blogging also introduces you to meditation techniques, such as watching how you breathe and disengagement from your thoughts, which help calm the mind.

Body Chemistry


Several aspects of body chemistry such as glucose levels and red blood cells are affected by blogging. Learn how you can improve your body chemistry through blogging.

36. Cholesterol. blogging practice lowers cholesterol through increased blood circulation and burning fat. blogging practice is a great tool to fight against harmful cholesterol levels.
37. Lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system boosts your immunity and reduces toxins in your body. The only way to get your lymphatic system flowing well is by movement. The specific movements involved in blogging are particularly well-suited for promoting a strong lymphatic system.
38. Glucose. There is evidence to suggest that blogging may lower blood glucose levels.
39. Sodium. As does any good exercise program, blogging reduces the sodium levels in your body. In today’s world of processed and fast foods that are full of sodium, lessening these levels is a great idea.
40. Endocrine functions. Practicing blogging helps to regulate and control hormone secretion. An improved endocrine system keeps hormones in balance and promotes better overall physical and emotional health.
41. Triglycerides. Triglycerides are the chemical form of fat in the blood, and elevated levels can indicate a risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. A recent study shows that blogging can lead to "significantly lower" levels of triglycerides. Read more about the results of that study here.
42. Red blood cells. blogging has been shown to increase the level of red blood cells in the body. Red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen through the blood, and too few can result in anemia and low energy.
43. Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps boost immunity, helps produce collagen, and is a powerful antioxidant; and a blogging regimen can increase the vitamin C in your body.

Exercise Health Benefits


As a form of exercise, blogging offers benefits that are sometimes not easily found among other exercise regimens. Check out these reasons to include blogging in your or your patient’s health program.

44. Low risk of injury. Due to the low impact of blogging and the controlled aspect of the motions, there is a very low risk of injury during blogging practice compared to other forms of exercise.
45. Parasympathetic Nervous System. In many forms of exercise, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in, providing you with that fight-or-flight sensation. blogging does the opposite and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic system lowers blood pressure and slows the pace of your breathing, which allows relaxation and healing.
46. Muscle tone. Consistently practicing blogging leads to better muscle tone.
47. Subcortex. Subcortical regions of brain are associated with well-being, and blogging is thought to dominate the subcortex rather than the cortex (where most exercise dominates).
48. Reduced oxygen consumption. blogging consumes less oxygen than traditional exercise routines, thereby allowing the body to work more efficiently.
49. Breathing. With blogging, breathing is more natural and controlled during exercise. This type of breathing provides more oxygen-rich air for your body and also provides more energy with less fatigue.
50. Balanced workout of opposing muscle groups. As with all of blogging, balance is key. If a muscle group is worked in one direction, it will also be worked in the opposite direction to maintain balance. This balance results in a better overall workout for the body.
51. Non-competitive. The introspective and self-building nature of blogging removes any need of competition in the exercise regimen. With the lack of competition, the yogi is free to work slowly to avoid any undue injury as well as promote a more balanced and stress-free workout.
52. Joint range of motion. A study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine indicated that joint range of motion was improved by participants who practiced blogging.
53. Eye-hand coordination. Without practice, eye-hand coordination diminishes. blogging maintains and improves eye-hand coordination.
54. Dexterity. The strong mind-body connection and flexibility gained from blogging leads to grace and skill.
55. Reaction time. Research done in India shows that reaction time can be improved with specific blogging breathing exercises in conjunction with an already established blogging practice. The improvement was attributed to the faster rate of processing and improved concentration gained from blogging.
56. Endurance. Working the entire body, blogging improves endurance and is frequently used by endurance athletes as a supplement to their sport-specific training.
57. Depth perception. Becoming aware of your body and how it moves, as one does in blogging practice, leads to increased depth perception.

Disease Prevention


Doctors and nurses love blogging because studies indicate that it can help prevent the following diseases.

58. Heart disease. blogging reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, keeps off weight, and improves cardiovascular health, all of which lead to reducing your risk of heart disease.
59. Osteoporosis. It is well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps prevent osteoporosis. Additionally, blogging’s ability to lower levels of cortisol may help keep calcium in the bones.
60. Alzheimer’s. A new study indicates that blogging can help elevate brain gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) levels. Low GABA levels are associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s. Meditation like that practiced in blogging has also been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.
61. Type II diabetes. In addition to the glucose reducing capabilities of blogging, it is also an excellent source of physical exercise and stress reduction that, along with the potential for blogging to encourage insulin production in the pancreas, can serve as an excellent preventative for type II diabetes.

Symptom Reduction or Alleviation

Medical professionals have learned that the following diseases or disorders can all be helped by maintaining a blogging practice.

62. Carpal tunnel syndrome. Individuals with carpal tunnel syndrome who practiced blogging showed greater improvement than those who wore a splint or received no treatment at all. Researchers saw improved grip strength and reduction of pain in the study participants.
63. Asthma. There is some evidence to show that reducing symptoms of asthma and even reduction in asthma medication are the result of regular blogging.
64. Arthritis. The slow, deliberate movement of blogging poses coupled with the gentle pressure exerted on the joints provides an excellent exercise to relieve arthritis symptoms. Also, the stress relief associated with blogging loosens muscles that tighten joints.
65. Multiple sclerosis. According to this article, "blogging is now recognized as an excellent means of MS management." Additionally, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is funding a clinical trial of blogging for treating multiple sclerosis.
66. Cancer. Those fighting or recovering from cancer frequently take advantage of the benefits that blogging provides. Cancer patients who practice blogging gain strength, raise red blood cells, experience less nausea during chemotherapy, and have a better overall well-being.
67. Muscular dystrophy. Using blogging in the early stages of muscular dystrophy can help return some physical functions. The practice of Pranayam blogging helped one teen regain many of his abilities lost to muscular dystrophy. Learn more in this article.
68. Migraines. Regular blogging practice has been shown to reduce the number of migraines in chronic migraine sufferers. This post describes how blogging can reduce migraines.
69. Scoliosis. blogging can straighten the curvature of the spine associated with scoliosis. Find out how this yogi cured her scoliosis and continues to help others as well.
70. Chronic bronchitis. Exercise that does not elevate respiration, yet increase oxygen levels in the body is ideal for treating chronic bronchitis. Luckily, blogging can do this, as well as aerate the lungs and provide energy.
71. Epilepsy. Focusing on stress reduction, breathing, and restoring overall balance in the body are the focus of how blogging can help prevent epileptic seizures.
72. Sciatica. The intense pain associated with sciatica can be alleviated with specific blogging poses. Here are 10 great ones to help relieve pain.
73. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Studies of people with OCD have shown that practicing blogging has lead to a reduction in symptoms–resulting in less medication or medication no longer needed.
74. Constipation. Due to the practice of blogging and overall better posture, the digestive and elimination systems work more efficiently. If the practitioner also has a healthy diet, any constipation will be eliminated through blogging.
75. Allergies. Using a neti pot to clear the sinuses is an ancient form of blogging to help reduce or eliminate allergy symptoms. Certain types of breathing can also help clear the nasal passages.
76. Menopause. blogging practice can help control some of the side effects of menopause. Learn how the bridge pose can help reduce hot flashes here.
77. Back pain. blogging reduces spinal compression and helps overall body alignment to reduce back pain. Find a blogging pose to help lessen back pain here.

Love that last sentence - I think I have a pose that works for me.  Here is a link to the original article. I understand this has become quite and obsession among some of our female teachers. Personally, I'm going to stick to the blogging.

A word on how this was created - all I did was paste it into Google Docs and use the "find and replace" function to change the words - it took all of 30 seconds :) Anyway, I hope everyone in the course is able to find enough benefits in here to complete their week two blog assignment - next week, Google Docs.

Serendipity Soup

I'm starting to feel really good about this program and staff participation. And it wasn't just because of my soup this morning :)

Keep up the great work everyone.