A VoiceThread digital story about shopping downtown

Here is our VoiceThread digital story about shopping in downtown Lawrence:

Watch and make comments to build a meaningful discussion on retail marketing. After you have read everyone's remarks, choose one shop to present in class. Make a comment on the final slide to explain which shop you chose, and please add your closing comments about this activity.

Hitler's opinion on genetic engineering

First, practice 5 words from this video:  http://quizlet.com/_e4p3z

Check your vocabulary with a quick quiz: Hitler's 5 words

Although Adolf Hitler is not speaking English, he clearly becomes angry in this half-minute clip from the movie Downfall (2004). You can find many humorous interpretations of this scene on YouTube.  Here, this parody claims that Officer Fegelien is a prime example of genetic engineering gone wrong.

Wikipedia notes: "SS-Gruppenführer Hans Georg Otto Hermann Fegelein (30 October 1906 ... Fegelein was shot for desertion on 28 April 1945, two days before Hitler's suicide."

Link to my VoiceThreads

To access my VoiceThreads for PP109 group members, please click here:

Let me introduce myself...

I teach ESL full-time at the Applied English Center of the University of Kansas. I have mostly upper level students who are nearly ready for university courses, so they keep me on my toes! As part of a team, I am looking for activities which can supplement our curriculum and integrate seamlessly with our Blackboard course management system.  This blog is designed as the test site for interactive activities in the TESOL PP109 online course.

Not many people know that my Kansas roots go back several generations. I graduated from Manhattan High School and got my start in teaching right here at KU. I came back in 2010, after working in state government and teaching for many years in the United Arab Emirates and China.  Although I miss the challenges of working overseas, there's no place like home.

I enjoy playing with new ideas and technologies. During this course I'd like to experiment with ideas for new student orientation activities, especially to develop samples of question types for the listening, reading and writing proficiency exams that students take upon admittance to our program. I'd also like to look at ways to flip a traditional classroom activity into something more interactive and learner-centered.

My passion? Trying new things.  If I have time, I'd like to learn French, as my only child, my 24-year-old daughter, has just accepted a job managing the social media for MyMarseille.com. I am rapidly developing a keen interest in all things pertaining to the south of France. Ooh la la!