Just Another Cog In The Mind Machine

To 365 or Not to 365

2010-12-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

As the year 2010 draws to a close there are many educators and non-educators alike that are either completing and/or considering doing a Project 365 photo a day assignment. This is the end of my 2nd year in a row, although I have missed some days, doing a Project 365. Doing a Project 365 has most certainly been an eye opener in so many ways more than simply holding a camera and pressing the shutter release. In fact my list of goals and accomplishments are as follows:

My image library has reached just over 18,000 images
I am able to make use of my images for delivery of instruction or presentations, thus eliminating a need to navigate the myriad of Creative Commons and Copyright licensing regulations
My photographic skill set has significantly increased far beyond my own expectations, due in large part to using either my camera or iPhone literally every day
My knowledge base of Aperture, Lightroom, and Photoshop has more than quadrupled
And most importantly my use of Photography as a form of creative expression has been such a welcomed addition to my personal life

I have seen on twitter and facebook a number of friends, colleagues, and contacts either considering or committing to doing a Project 365. It led me to writing this post and thinking more carefully if I want to continue for a third year. At times the Project 365 can seem monotonous, arduous, and quite frankly a nuisance. This year alone I even did a Project 52 weekly photo, although my goal with that was to make at least 75% of those images be HDR images in order to expand my photographic repertoire. I probably will not make my decision until after 12am December 31st, but if you are considering doing it I would emphatically say GO FOR IT!! There is no need to feel pressured or obligated to post photos daily, but just like going to the gym, once you get into a groove it can be quite easy. Perhaps you will be able to accomplish your own set of goals and share in the documentation of your daily life as well as your creative expression with others, like myself. I would like to include a few resources that can help you get started and help you along the way.

My favorite website to refer to for a "daily assignment" is the Dailyshoot website. This site is a great resource for not only assignments, but also forcing you to really open your eyes to the images you make.

While there are many flickr groups devoted to a Project 365, one group I have found to be very worthwhile that is not geographically limited is the 365 Community. This is not your typical dump and run group in which images are posted and there is no "community" interaction. All members are encouraged/required to at least interact with others by posting comments and/or feedback where appropriate. This group also provides a suggested theme to help you with your creative expression.

I will soon be creating a Google Site to aggregate all of the Project 365 and Project 52 resources I know of and/or use regularly. So I hope you will consider taking on this commitment and if you really feel daily photos would be too much, try weekly for the first few months and see how that goes. Feel free to post a link to your blog, flickr feed, posterous, tumblr, or any other method you use for posting your images so that I can follow along with you on your Project.

Note: The mosaic at the top is a collection of some of my Project 365 photos for 2010

ISTE 2010- Developing Designing Delivering: The Case For Powerful And Productive Presentations

2010-07-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

During the International Society for Technology in Education "ISTE" annual conference I had the privilege of delivering a presentation on Presentation Design with my good friend Robert Craven. I was very pleased when the original schedule was released that we would be able to do this first thing in the morning on the first full day of the conference. I love having the opportunity to really set the tone for conferences or workshops. The session was very well attended with lots of friends and interested educators. Since then I have received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on our session. The most recurring thing, and that which makes me very excited, is many participants are now out with their cameras and capturing their own images to use for their own presentations. In this session about 90% of the images used are my own. This helps serve several purposes:

1. I am able to get out with my camera or smartphone and capture lots of interesting and purposeful images.

2. By doing a project like a 365 daily or 52 weekly I have expanded not only my photo library (which is over 15,000 images) but, it has opened my eyes to so much more.

3. I do not have to worry about finding high resolution images or worrying about copyright, since I own the images myself.

My intent of the session was to provide attendees with valuable information on presentation design that can be applied to anything from presentations to lessons. I recognize that many were not able to attend and those in attendance wanted to be able to refer back to the presentation, so without further delay I have included it below. Feel free to post comments or questions and seek my assistance in designing your own presentations.

Developing, Designing, Delivering: Powe...

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A Statement of Purpose NOT Willing to be Heard

2009-09-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Recently there has been a major uproar over President Obama's upcoming speech to America's youth. At first I thought this was just a faction of those that are against his policies and his political affiliation. As things, statements, and positions have come to the forefront we have seen that it is not just those against his policies, but also those against Education. Why do I say this? Well here are my thoughts sprinkled with some opinions.

The purpose of the speech is to encourage America's youth to perform well in school this year and to discourage, those who are considering it or that would do it, not to drop out. In fact, on the Education Department website is says specifically, "During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation's children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school." What is the harm in that?!? In fact, based upon my years of teaching and research, a message from the President will carry a significant amount of validity to many of the youth that will hear it. Oh wait, there is a significant percentage of our youth that will not hear it.

The unfortunate, no sad, NO pathetic reason many of our youth will not hear it, is because many parents and school districts are refusing to air the speech. They have folded (feel free to insert cut and run here) under the pressure of a bunch of pundits and political persona's. Therefore, arguably the rights of the students and their teachers are being violated since they are being told what they can and cannot hear. Again, what is the harm in the President encouraging children to make a conscious effort to persist and succeed in school?

Many times in Educational circles you will hear the words "teachable moment" and this is not only one of those, but districts and parents are completely clueless to it. Instead of censorship, why not promote discussions? Instead of keeping your children out of school for the day, why not discuss the speech at the dinner table with your children (Of course this assumes many are even assuming their parental responsibilities)? Instead of blocking the speech in the district why not create a district wide assignment in which the students utilize multi-media (this assumes districts have a clue about the use of technology which will be addressed another time) or any other means of creative expression on how they would commit to themselves and stay in school as well as perform to the greatest of their capabilities?

Sadly these things are NOT happening. This whole issue has turned into partisian positioning and just another way to condemn the Presidents actions regardless of the good intentions. I recently read a statement that if the President were to give a speech on oxygen those in protest would suffocate themselves rather than take a deep breath. I also read the uproar over the lesson plans provided. I have perused them myself and while I am not that fond of a few items on them for pedagogical reasons I see no problem with them. The Prek-6th grade lesson plan can be found here and the 7th-12th grade plan here. The thing here is the those that are vehemently against these lesson plans have yet to propose a viable alternative. They are the classic complainers that are not willing or perhaps even capable of developing an alternative.

The bigger picture here is that our youth are far more influenced by their parents or guardians. The statement that Obama is going to "indoctrinate and brainwash" our youth with this speech is about as preposterous as thinking he has the ability to use a Jedi mind trick on the kids. Therefore, what message are they sending to their children about authority, the President, Education, Free Speech, Differing Opinions, Public Trust, and worse the things they feel are most important for their kids. This is a golden opportunity to get the students to evaluate, analyze, and apply the message about the importance of Education and School. Having meaningful discussions in which students can freely express their opinions in whatever method the teacher feels suitable is the call of order here. In fact this would really get students what I am constantly stressing and even have a huge poster on a wall in classroom of, the word THINK. I was inspired to write this blog posting after reading postings by Will Richardson and Heather Wolport-Gawron who both wrote very poignant and brilliant pieces on this. I kindly thank you for your attention and welcome your comments, yes even if they differ from my position on this matter. After all productive discourse is how we learn, respect, and appreciate others positions. Is it not?

NECC Redux

2009-07-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

It has been almost one month since the ISTE 2009 (formerly National Education Computing Conference) and I am still abuzz about many things from it. I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion on Professional Learning Networks, which is something that I have very strong feelings about. While I did not have a full standing room only crowd, after all I was competing against the likes of Steve Hargadon and Hall Davidson, I did have the perfect audience. Those who chose to attend my session provided valuable insights into their professional learning networks, actively participated in the discussion, and were a key component to a rich discussion along with the panel. I want to thank Kristin Hokanson for live blogging and participating in the discussion (she was multi-tasking brilliantly). I want to thank Alice Mercer who had to hustle to another session, but was gracious enough to set up the live stream of the session. And finally, I want to thank Paula White, Meg Griffin, Teryl Magee, Lisa Parisi, Adina Sullivan, and Dennis Grice for being the best panel one could ask for. The presentation slides that helped drive the conversation are here

PLN Panel Discussion Questions

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I did receive a number of complements on a few things, of which I am extremely appreciative. The most important comment I received was that my panel was the most diverse and well represented panels some have ever seen. I think this says a lot about the Educational Technology landscape and something that was expressed by a number of people at the conference. There has to be a move towards being inclusive of everybody, rather than the same people doing the same things year after year. It has been mentioned within my PLN circle that perhaps new presenters work with an experienced presenter as a mentor and a co-presenter. This will foster a higher level of involvement and create a culture of inclusion, rather than exclusion. I would love to see ISTE and its' state affiliates develop a database whereby those submitting for the first time can request an experienced co-presenter or mentor to assist them in preparing for and delivering their presentation session or workshop. This would encourage many more to submit for presentations and increase involvement by those that want to be more involved, but just need some assistance. Feel free to post comments and suggestions on how we as an Ed Tech community can facilitate this change.

CLMS Annual Conference

2009-04-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last month the California League of Middle Schools had their annual conference in San Diego, CA. The goal of this conference is generally to provide Middle School teachers, administrators, etc. with a rich opportunity for meaningful and relevant professional development. Unfortunately, leading up to the conference, there were a number of underlying challenges, as attendance was down (budget constraints), and the number of attendees signing up for the paid sessions was also severely affected. As a result many of the presenters that were due to receive a stipend were told they would not receive it (lodging would still be covered) and were given the opportunity to decline conducting their scheduled presentation. The educational troops rallied and as far as I know, not one person declined to conduct their presentation. This is yet another one of the wonderful things about educators. Even when the circumstances change the greater good and message is not lost in the minutia of the moment.

I had to privilege and pleasure of presenting two sessions at CLMS. One session was titled, "How to turn PowerPoint into an Interactive Multimedia Instructional Tool" and the other was a three hour hands-on workshop titled, "Build it Better: Project Based Learning from the Ground Up with Google Sketchup. The PowerPoint session was very well attended and I only wish I had more than an hour to really share and demonstrate how to develop, plan, design, and implement a PowerPoint in that manner. Perhaps at next year's conference I will submit for a three hour session and really get into the nuts and bolts of instructional design as well as utilizing PowerPoint in way beyond a linear presentation tool. Given the numerous requests for that PowerPoint I am posting the session here and encourage any readers of this posting to contact me for any help you may need in creating a PowerPoint like this.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by chocxtc

In addition, the schedule and format for the sketchup session can be found here

I am very pleased with all my fellow educators that took the time to present at this conference and to borrow from my good friend Kyle we certainly, "brought water to the desert."

I also would like to thank my good friend Dr. Mark Wagner for his support and efforts to spread the ed tech word.

CUE Sessions/Reflections

2009-04-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the month of March I had the fortunate opportunity to conduct two different hands on session at the Computer Using Educators Annual Conference. One of the sessions I co-hosted was the Google Workshop for Educators (Google Learning Institute). My co-host was another Google Certified Teacher, Lainie McGann. This session was the first to fill up and sell out and was very well attended. Lots of google apps and google tools were covered during this session. One of the things that I shared on how to make and use, which also happens to be my favorite is a custom search engine. I am of the perspective that rather than rely on school/district filters, educators can provide a more streamlined method for their students to conduct research on the internet utilizing a custom search engine. By building a custom search engine you can control which sites your students access, which sites to specifically exclude from the search results, and you can remove the ads from the search results. I build a custom search engine for images. The purpose of this search engine was for students to find images that are in the public domain and/or have a creative commons license. By searching only these sites I also ensure that all of the results are K-12 appropriate images for assignments such as digital storytelling, powerpoint presentations, etc. Feel free to link to my site or contact me if you would like the embed code to add to your site or blog. My custom image search can be found here.

The other session I had the privilege to conduct at CUE was an iPhone/iPod Touch in education supersession. I have already shared and posted a cell phone in education presentation I conducted last year, so there is no need to state my position on that subject. What I will add is that these tools and various other smartphone technologies are transforming and will continue to transform education as we know it. These tools can most certainly help classes and schools work towards increasing access to the curriculum in a much more meaningful and engaging manner. My session covered many of the applications that are available for each piece of hardware in a variety of subject areas. I would like to add that most of the applications are currently free to download onto your iPhone or iPod Touch. The session keynote presentation is below:

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A Lack Of Clarity In A Connected School

2009-01-20T23:08:00.000-08:00

With the events of today happening right before many of our eyes and in some cases our ears I could not help but ponder the following: What is the deal with a lack of adequate bandwidth in schools? Why aren't all schools connected to either cable television or satellite television? Why is so much money spent on more and more equipment, but not on the infrastructure to support the use of that equipment?

I reached a dizzying level of frustration at school today. During my planning for the day's events and seizing the many teachable moments that were destined to occur I was met with a complete disaster. Despite my many attempts to stream the Inauguration into my classroom, first with many computers and then ultimately through one computer, my students and I were left with a simple audio feed of the Inauguration. I wondered how can a school and district continually discuss the need for more technology, more computers, an increased use of these tools, and greater use of Web 2.0 applications yet we could not even adequately stream one of the most important events in recent time.

Not to become too distraught I immediately reached for the television and figured perhaps I can get a signal so that we can simply view the day's events on a small television. After all something was better than nothing. As soon as I pushed the power button our anticipation, excitement, and fervor was met with, static. I even feebly attempted to maneuver the antenna delicately making micro adjustments in the hopes I would get that one slight signal. Some signal, any signal, just let me get an image on the screen so we can see the excitement of all attendance in Washington DC. We wanted to get the classic picture of the President taking the oath of office and then delivering their Inauguration address. My hopes were crushed and we were left with a periodic audio feed.

Thus, leading me to this blog posting and the aforementioned questions. With all the talk about tech in schools, it is imperative that talk includes infrastructure. No matter how technologically advanced a school is or has a vision to become, it will only be as good as the network infrastructure it most likely already has in place. Bandwidth pipes are only able to handle so many connections and unless you have a situation where the network can be expanded along with the increased technological load schools are actually doing their teachers and students a disservice.

In addition the television troubles had me thinking, in the event of an emergency how would I get my information? Yes I have a cell phone as do most of my students. But when a major catastrophe occurs, are most looking to their cell phones for information or the television. No matter how effective twitter, SMS, and email can be, but to not have a reliable television connection is not appropriate. Of course I can see it now, if we set up cable or satellite in all the rooms the teachers will just show television rather than teach, hmmm are the teachers adults that need to be babysat or are they highly educated trained adults that are fully capable of managing things for them and their students without a need for ridiculous innuendo and interventions?

Seems to me safety, connectivity, accessiblitily, and reliability are more than just key technology vocabulary words. They need to be applied to all facets of the school infrastructure with a plan for scalability as well as proper implementation.

Presentation on Developing E-Learning Courseware/E-Modules for a Medical, Dentistry, and Pharmacy University in Africa

2008-11-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

Social Networking as Augmentation To In Class Discussion

2008-11-19T15:08:00.001-08:00

Teaching A Course Authoring Package Online: Lessons Learned

2008-11-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

Professional Development=Professional Progress

2008-10-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

"Quick hurry get your submissions in" that was the theme of many twitter and plurk postings earlier this week. Why? The National Education Computing Conference "NECC" was accepting submissions for the conference in 2009 in Washington DC. Many of my friends, colleagues, and professional learning network "PLN" friends were scrambling to get their last minute submissions in. Most are simply hoping to get at least one accepted while others, myself included, have multiple sessions we would like to have accepted. I also want to add that my friend Dr. Mark Wagner has very insightful take on the submission process and his experiences with it.

During the time in which I was completing my submission I could not help but reflect on many things associated with it. The first and perhaps most important was that I initiated a proposal to conduct a session in which I would moderate a panel on the value of having a PLN. I posted an query on both twitter and plurk asking if anybody in my PLN would be interested in participating on the panel. The response was beyond amazing. I had many who said yes, some even felt honored to share the stage with me, and those that did not want to be on the stage offered support by doing things like moderating a backchannel chat, or operating a camera to live stream the session.

Unfortunately, the format only permits me to have 6 additional participants on stage, but if my submission is accepted I think demonstrating the real value of having a good PLN will be easy to show. Audience members will be able to see the level of support one gets when they not only have a good PLN, but are actively participating with their network. As it stands I may have fellow educators connected from as far away as Europe. I am hopeful to have several continents represented to further emphasize the value of the network. I can only humbly think that without technology and tools such as twitter and plurk, I would not be the educator I am today. I am certain I would have less than 10% of the resources and support I get from my PLN. This is my preferred type of professional development. It also emphasizes the need for teachers to be involved and to attend conferences in order to establish and build a PLN

I have posted links to all three sessions I have submitted and hope to not only see many or all of you at NECC, I hope you will either be able to attend one of my sessions or contribute to the session on having a good PLN. Feel free to post comments and share your thoughts and opinions on this. If possible I will include them in my presentation at the CLMS/CLHS/CUE Technology Conference in Monterey, CA this December.

Build It Better: Project Based Learning From The Ground Up With Google Sketchup [Formal Session : BYOL] (43610829)

Teacher, Teach Thyself-Make Your Own PD PLaN [Formal Session : Panel] (43720659)

We Are Rolling: Film Production And Its' Pedagogical Application In Education. [Workshop : Hands-on] (43610897)

The Start of School and Hopefully Something BIGGER

2008-09-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Since by now most everybody has started school I felt compelled to publish this blog posting. Yes I will let you know now it is a bit of a rant, but not the kind you may be used to. This is my rant against teachers, of which I am one, but I am most certainly not guilty of what I suggest here.

How many of you spend a dime of your own money or even more time than your contracted day doing work for school? Yes that is what I thought. In an informal survey I have found that roughly 90% of the those I asked that question answered in the affirmative. Most actually did both!! Ok people, I respect you, I appreciate your energy to the profession, and most importantly I appreciate your commitment to your students. However, this has got to stop and I mean stop NOW.

I recently had a class within my Masters degree curriculum titled Human Performance Technology, "HPT." This was a fascinating class and such an eye-opening experience that I truly felt invigorated to be a student in the class. During one particular class session we had the privilege and luxury to have a skype session with Dr. Saul Carliner, who is currently an associate professor at Concordia University and at one time was the Chapter President for the International Society for Performance Improvement, "ISPI." During this skype session one of my classmates told the story of how he single handedly put together a computer lab at his school. He worked after hours and on weekends setting up the computers, network, printers, and projectors. Of course he thought he was doing a good deed for his school since he was not paid for his time. However, when it came time for maintenance, and we all know many schools purchase equipment without factoring in the cost of ownership, the school expected him to handle all tech related troubles. So he respectfully asked the school if he could be compensated for his time in helping other teachers and providing this maintenance. Of course the school's response was, "Oh, well, we do not have the money for that. Couldn't you just do it anyway."

Dr. Carliner immediately interjected and asked the question, what did you expect them to say? This student seemed dumbfounded since he expected the school to show its' gratitude by compensating him for what he felt was a reasonable request. Dr. Carliner then proceeded to break it all down. He stated that this is a common thing that teachers do not realize they are doing more damage to themselves than they think. The very moment this individual took on the task of working for free, it became expected he would work for free, and worse it severely diminished his value.

While I have always felt that teachers do too much for their schools and students without being appropriately and fairly compensated it was quite refreshing to hear this from an expert in HPT and hear him state clearly why. Another analogy was that when important speakers get paid lots of money to speak, the value of their time is measured in the amount of compensation. Do you really think anybody would listen if they spoke for free? Sure some would, but the fact they are in demand and command a fee, in some cases sizable, means they have enough value to justify their fee.

So that leads me to this, if ALL teachers decided enough was enough (in this economy that should be even more prevalent) and stopped spending their own money and working on their time what would happen. Yes their might be some backlash and yes many including district personnel would say that it is hurting the students, but I say NOT POSSIBLE. If school districts and the general public really felt that way, then they would ensure teacher's have the right budgets, tools, and support to get the things they need to do their job as effectively and efficiently as possible. It is not fair nor appropriate to expect a teacher to use their hard earned money from their grossly underpaid check on your child. It is not fair that schools expect teachers to grade papers at home (especially if they have a family) when they waste hours and hours of our time on inappropriate useless professional development, among many other things. When a lawyer works after hours or on the weekends don't they bill for their time? When a doctor is "on call" aren't they still on the clock? Why is it that so many other professionals get compensated for their time away from their desks, yet teachers are expected to do the same and not be compensated?

Perhaps the foundation of this, will answer the burning question many have, "Are teachers professionals?" In my humble opinion, when you have to take credential classes, continuing education, i.e. professional development, you can be board certified, and many possess Masters or PhDs, I say with a loud and resounding voice YES. But, teachers need to start modeling their professional counterparts in order to be treated like a professional. Stop working for free! Stop spending your hard earned money! If your class lacks supplies or resources tell the parents to call the principal. Call the school board. Demand that you be treated like any other professional! And please, please, please, do not let them pull at your heart strings by saying you are hurting your students (unions can be guilty of this as well). No you absolutely are not!! They are, and they are slowly, systematically, diminishing YOUR value!!!

I recently shared this view with a good friend and wonderful educator Teryl Magee. She worked long hours and devoted much of her time to school. Once she recognized the value of her own time and her desires to do more with her loved ones she realized that her students will be just fine and she stopped working longer hours than what is contracted. She is happier, her students get a happier teacher everyday, and her family gets more of her time. I only hope more of you will consider doing the same.

Cell Phones In Education

2008-08-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure of giving a presentation on the use of cell phones in education. The presentation covered many tools that are available to those of us that own a cell phone, as well as, practical ways in which they can be applied to education. I am sure there are many naysayers and there is much opposition to cell phones being used in schools, but I am of the perspective that if you teach appropriate use you stand a greater chance of diminishing inappropriate use. In fact I find it quite comical and offensive that so many decision makers ban the use of things like phones or ___(insert your favorite Web 2.0 site here) without any justifiable reason. In addition, by doing this without any real reason it is a slap in the face of educators. The message being sent is, "we do not think you are capable of managing your class, even though you have the training and schooling, so we will do it for you. But, you better get those test scores up and we will only provide you with the minimal support needed." This attitude reminds me of a quote from Bill Parcells former NFL head coach and Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Miami Dolphins, "if you want me to cook the dinner the least you could do is let me shop for the groceries."

But, the beauty of having a wonderful Personal Learning Network "PLN" is that there are many educators who share my vision and my desire for education to take drastic leaps to the present and future. In fact, my PLN is one of my most valuable sources of information and learning. During the presentation several educators whom I highly respect and value were able to provide backchannel chat support and provide valuable contributions during the live broadcast of this presentation. It is important that I thank all of them: Dennis Grice, Alice Mercer, Aaron Smith, Andy Losik, Adina Sullivan, and Dr. Lisa Rodriguez. I have posted the presentation with a new application called sliderocket. Hopefully, it will run smoothly with the audio and the flash videos will play. Feel free to provide comments and contribute to either or both of the polleverywhere polls I have open.

Presentation Description

This presentation will cover all the latest research on cell phone usage and capabilities. We will take a look at the many tools that are available on our phones as well as how those tools can be used to produce educationally appropriate content. We will also look at a plethora of applications available online that enhances the capabilities of your phone. If you have a phone this is not a session you want to miss.

Presentation Abstract

A recurring theme I tend to hear is that cell phones do not belong in schools. Yet the latest research does not support such a drastic and unreasonable stance. Cell phones are an intricate and important part of the lives of everybody, including our students. Students nowadays are adept at many things associated with cell phones: SMS text messaging, capturing video, creating original audio content, taking photographs, surfing the internet, and in many cases conducting research.
During the course of this presentation we will examine some of the latest research on cell phone usage, global penetration, domestic penetration, as well as many other pertinent statistics. We will look at ways cell phones have transformed the lives of many including in third world countries.
The presentation will continue with an overview of the applications available on the Internet that enhance the capabilities of a cell phone. Among the features of these applications include, voice to text, how to send emails or SMS messages with your voice, recording to do lists, creating and publishing podcasts, micro-blogging, posting photos directly to an online photo album, streaming video from your phone, conducting polls, interfacing with google apps. and much more.
Concluding the presentation will be brief discussion of questions and comments posted in the backchannel chat. We will explore ways in which we can incorporate the use of cell phones within our curriculum, while remaining compliant with school/district rules. Presenter will also share actual instances in which his students have made use of some of the tools discussed and how the use of cell phones guaranteed access to the curriculum for all his students.

Social Networking For The Socially Relevant, My Take On The SN World

2008-07-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

While social networking seems to be a common Web 2.0 catchphrase it has long existed prior to the advent of the Internet. Long before we were tied to our cell phones, our cars, and our busy schedules social networks primarily consisted of social groups called families. Synonymous with families at one time or another were tribes, clans, units, and in many cases organizations. Social networks are comprised of nodes, which are represented by individuals or groups and when these nodes are combined they make up a network. There has been a constant debate on whether social networking has an appropriate place in education for quite some time and this conversation will continue so long as there are social networking sites garnering unfavorable press like myspace and facebook. However, when properly established, appropriately used, and carefully monitored social networking has a place in everything from education to business to family.

One of the social networking tools I find quite useful and use extensively is Ning. This social networking tool is quite robust and like any effectively Web 2.0 tool, customizable. Ning was started in 2004 with the premise that individuals could create their own social network based upon their own interest or need and in turn could customize the layout of their network. They could then either invite members and maintain a level of privacy or leave it open to whomever had an interest in joining. Today Ning is the largest “build it yourself” social network on the Internet and continues to grow.

Another social networking tool I use extensively that is not generally considered among the social networking applications is called Twitter. Twitter is essentially a microblogging application that lets the user follow designated people as well as other follow them. Each time you post or tweet something all of your followers will be able to read it. Individuals are able to follow as many people and they'd like and respond either to specific individual with personal messages or post anything to their general message thread. There are many third party applications that allows things such as posting to your twitter feed directly from your web browser, you can post hyperlinks that are listed with a tinyurl, you can post pictures using twitpic, among many other options.

At this point I think as long as there continues to be dialogue about social networks there will be some positive fallout. For example, as long as parents and educators are exposed to the social discourse on social networks they will be more likely to at minimum monitor their students/childrens use of them and ideally utilize them to teach appropriate conduct and safety in a Social Networking environment.

Interview with David Warlick and Will Richardson (immediately follows first podcast)

2008-07-09T21:25:00.001-07:00

Me with Will Richardson

Me with David Warlick

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4th Of July Reflections

2008-07-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

Over this past weekend and since I used to teach US History I could not help but wonder what this country has turned into over the past 15 years. Regardless of ones political affiliation it is vital, no wait, it should be mandatory that ALL Americans at least be familiar with the Constitution and the Declaration Of Independence. There are so many important lessons to learn, things to ponder, and items that people just flat out don't know about these two documents. Why is it required of immigrants that want to become citizens to know the basic foundations of our government, yet year after year high school seniors cannot even rattle of the Bill Of Rights. In my humble opinion important foundational elements of our Constitution and the Declaration Of Independence should be on every single high school exit exam. And if one really wanted to be "revolutionary" all students would be required to take a separate exam on the aforementioned and passing would not be an option. This would at least create a generation of voters that are more informed about the government in which they will or already pay taxes and will be influencing by way of their vote, HOPEFULLY!! Therefore, in honor of the "D of I," I have added the following with a little firework badge for patriotic emphasis.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to
assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to
which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ˜ That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, ˜ That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying
its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form,
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to
reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security. ˜ Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and
such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former
Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is
a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct
object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To
prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for
the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be
obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to
them.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that
purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to
pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to
Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their
offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of
Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the
Civil Power.

For protecting them (British Troops), by a mock Trial from punishment for
any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection
and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and
destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to
compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with
circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most
barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the
most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by
repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in
General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of
the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That
these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent
States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,
and that all political connection between them and the State of Great
Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and
Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace,
contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and
Things which Independent States may of right do. ˜ And for the support of
this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine
Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and
our sacred Honor.

˜ John Hancock

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison,
Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George
Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean (1777)

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham
Clark

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

P.S. There was NO 4th of July Party after signing the D. of I.
All the above Signers were British "Traitors" with huge prices on their
heads, Dead or Alive. British Troops raced to arrest Signers at their
homes, but instead arrested Wives and families. They were bound off to
London for mock Trials and long imprisonments by King George III.

Coming To A Tech Conference Hopefully Near You

2008-07-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

I will be giving a seminar on E-Learning in a secondary curriculum. Since the use of Web 2.0 is becoming more prevalent and more schools are not able to service the needs of all their students I believe this is the next wave in Secondary Education. The demand for greater access to more diverse student populations and more curricular areas is only going to increase. Schools and school districts will not be able to fully meet that demand by hiring more and more teachers, assuming they find teachers fully qualified, or by adding more buildings to accommodate the classes. Therefore, the only viable, economically and geographically possible solutions are to incorporate more and more E-learning environments. Many school's and districts are already implementing more of an online curriculum for their students, but the current rate of implementation is NOT going to keep up with the demand. Let's face it, many of todays students want more than their school's currently provide and this a way to fulfill that need and then some.

My seminar will incorporate some of the theories behind distance and e-learning, such as Transactional Theory and
Equivalency Theory ,

as well as how many of the Web 2.0 tools augment as well as provide a richer learning environment. More and more school districts are beginning to adopt an e-learning curriculum, but lack the appropriate trained teachers and professional development to ensure proper and appropriate learning of the students. My additional findings and hopefully a Coverit live broadcast of the lecture will be posted here.

During my research I had the unique opportunity to interview a certified expert in distance learning. The interview was conducted with Dr. Lisa Rodriguez who is the Director and Assistant Professor of the Center For Teaching and Learning at the University of La Verne.

Book Review

2008-07-02T20:07:00.001-07:00

Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools For Classrooms
by Will Richardson

Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools For Classrooms is a book written by Will Richardson that focuses on several key areas for teachers. The areas are the use of tools to increase student engagement, student motivation, student literacy, and the most important in my opinion is the transition to a 21st Century style of learning. The tools Will identifies as conduits for this are predominantly wikis, blogs, and podcasts. These tools, often referred to as Web 2.0 tools, are each unique in their application, but accomplish similar goals in that they provide students with a plethora of opportunities to increase their involvement in their learning.

Throughout the book Will gives various examples of how teachers are implementing the tools and the steps taken to ensure student safety, security, and conduct with respect to the tools. This is most prevalent in the first chapter in which he outlines a teachers steps taken prior to having her class posting to a blog. Will also makes it a point to emphasize that a teacher cannot simply assign students to a blog or any of the other tools unless and until they have in fact done these things themselves.
Another strategy that Will makes a point to emphasize in this book is that the use of the technology should not be an arduous task to implement, but rather it should augment their curriculum. Far too many teacher frown upon these tools thinking they do not have the time to learn and implement them. Will outlines strategies that teachers can relatively seamlessly implement them and encourages teachers to step beyond the norm and challenges themselves in conjunction with their students.

I would highly recommend this book for all it has to offer and the format in which the information is presented. This book should be treated as a reference book. It should be used regularly and often. Will’s book is not one that you simply read and shelve. It is one that teachers who are either currently using or desire to use the tools can use as a guide and for ideas on how they can use the tools in their curricular areas. I have used the tools mentioned in the book for at least two years to date and will continue to do so. I agree with virtually all of his findings and fully concur with the impact it has on student learning and motivation.

Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogosphere
by David Warlick

Another great book for teachers to have is titled Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogosphere written by David Warlick. This book is brilliantly written so the it can be understood and a useful guide for all levels of teaching and all levels of technology integration. David does a masterful job of explaining the impact blogging can have within the curriculum to both the teachers and the students. Another subtitle to this book could have been Blogging 101, build you blog from the ground up. And most certainly any teacher building that blog would have a masterpiece by the end of the book if the followed David's guidelines.

It is clear in this book that David's goal is to build literacy, not build bloggers. He uses the concept that blogs are reading and writing and reading and writing = literacy, therefore blogging = literacy. In order to revolutionize our students and build literate 21st century students teachers will need to look at the way they teach and should incorporate tools such as blogging into their curriculum.

Again this is another book that I not only highly recommend teachers read, but also treat as a reference book. The book should be looked at often for inspiration, ideas, and validation that if you are incorporating blogs into your curriculum you are doing the best for your students and yourself.

I had the privilege to meet both David and Will at the NECC 2008 and at the Edubloggercon prior to the actual conference. I find both men fascinating and inspirational on so many levels. Luckily, for me I had the chance to interview them. Therefore, coming very soon a brief podcast of my talk with David Warlick and Will Richardson. I also encourage you to check out their blogs David's blog is 2c Worth and Will's blog is Weblogg-ed

Use Your Noodle- Learn Moodle

2008-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

Open Source & Open Technologies, NECC 2008

2008-07-01T13:27:00.001-07:00

Edubloggercon 2008

2008-06-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Edubloggercon. WOW!! What a day!! My mind is operating in overdrive with all the ideas, discussions, thoughts, opinions, and ultimately thinking of fellow educators. These are the types of conferences or rather unconferences that I think would be more and more beneficial to the Educational field. Thus far I have learned and discovered the following things:

There is a vast number of educators that are part of the Digital Revolution in education
The unconference should be encouraged, implemented, demanded. It provides access to more educators without worrying about the financial constraints of a school/district
Social Networking has a vital, viable, and useful application in education
Since tech is ever changing and expanding it is imperative that educators have opportunities to collaborate and direct their professional development.

To all those that participated in person and virtually I personally thank you and humbly appreciate your commitment to the Digital Revolution in Education.

La Prima

2008-06-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

We don't need no education!!!

This is often the attitude I witness from teachers that choose not to incorporate technology into their curriculum. This is not only unfortunate, but also a travesty to the students that are subjected to this narrow minded linear way of thinking. The OLD agrarian one room school mentality that lends itself to this is not only passe, but one of the reasons education is lacking so much now. It is my sincere belief that all people, particularly those within the educational field should view themselves as life long learners and share this mentality and passion with their students. It should also come through in their teaching so that each year constitutes fresh ideas, innovative strategies, and more appropriate contemporary learning. Long gone should be the days of the talking heads that stand at the front of the room and speak with an authoritative voice that I know everything and the best way for you to learn is to sit down, shut up, and listen. Here's to hoping that we will all be another cog in the machine and break down those walls is mediocrity and apathy.