Welcome Jacqui Murray’s Virtual Tour

August 26, 2010

Lets welcome Jacqui Murray to my blog,

Tell us about yourself Jacqui:

I was born in Berkley California to Irish-German parents. After receiving a BA in Economics, another in Russian and an MBA, I spent twenty years in a variety of industries while raising two children and teaching evening classes at community colleges. Now, I live with my husband, adult son and two beautiful Labradors and I write. I write how-books, five blogs on everything from the USNA to tech for homeschoolers to science, and a column for the Examiner on tech tips. I’m also working on a sequel to my techno-thriller, To Hunt a Sub

What book are you focusing on during your Virtual Book Tour? The two-volume 55 Technology Projects for the Digital Classroom (copyright: 2008; ISBN: 978-0-9787800-9-8; Genre: non-fiction, technology) is part of my eight-volume comprehensive tech ed series geared for both the classroom teacher and the homeschooler. They include one hundred and ten simple-to-follow projects that integrate technology into language arts, geography, history, science as well as life skills such as problem solving, research and critical thinking, using student-centered lessons that meet NETS-S national guidelines and many state standards. Each project includes software required, time involved, suggested experience level, subject area supported, tech jargon, step-by-step lessons, extensions to dig deeper, troubleshooting tips, reproducibles, grading rubrics and many samples. Tech programs used include Microsoft Office, Google Earth, keyboarding, email, Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, internet start pages, social bookmarking and photo storage), Photoshop and Celestia. Also included is an Appendix of over 200 age-appropriate child-friendly websites. Skills taught include collaboration, communication, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, creativity, digital citizenship, information fluency, presentation, and technology concepts. In short, these two volumes include everything you need to integrate technology into the twenty-first century classroom. See the publisher’s website at structuredlearning.net for free downloads, access to their virtual classroom, help from their own staff tech teacher (via her blog) and more details.

They sound like a must have for teachers. What are you going to share with us today?

I found this chart through my Linked In groups. It is a blast of noise that threatens the line between information and gibberish. Spend enough time with it, you’ll find it is one of the most thorough charts I’ve ever seen. You know how we usually use pictures to simplify statistics? Not this one. It provides a ton of information in a little bit of room, kind of like a Monet painting:

Here are my conclusions:

women like MySpace best; men like Reddit (I barely know what that one is)
the favorite among the wealthiest is Linked In
the favorite among those in the lowest income is Reddit (Reddit users are fairly evenly distributed among income levels)
those with ‘some college’ are the heaviest users among all social media
the oldest among us are fairly evenly distributed in what they use
the largest user group of teens is MySpace (if you write for that group, you better advertise there)
the 35-44 group use everything, except MySpace. Don’t try to reach them there.
to reach baby boomers, your best bet is Linked In, maybe Digg
to reach those with grad degrees, your best bet is Linked In
Twitter is most likely to reach working women of moderate income with some college
Digg will reach that same group, but men
StumbleUpon reaches that same group, but both sexes

What do you see? Does it help your marketing?

That was really interesting. I am going to have to think about the information and then do something with it.

Where can my readers find your other books?

How to find me and my books: Anyone interested in my books, here is where you can find them:

My six technology workbooks are available on Amazon.com and the publisher’s website. The ebooks are available on Scribd.com.
My two computer lab toolkits are available on Amazon.com and the publisher’s website. The ebooks are available on Scribd.com.
Building a Midshipman is available on Amazon.com and the publisher’s website. The ebooks are available on Scribd.com.
If you’re interested in To Hunt a Cruiser, leave a comment on my WordDreams blog and I’ll let you know when it’s out.
My Building a Midshipman site is USNA or Bust.
My Computer Lab Toolkit and Technology Workbooks site is Ask a Tech Teacher
My writing tips blog is WordDreams
I also write a column for Examiner.com. I invite everyone to read that, add comments, follow me!