Am I in danger?

Hey, something's burning.

(2 weeks late) NECC - Wed 7/2, part 2

Yes, it's two weeks since I returned from San Antonio. It's been crazy busy here and I felt a little guilty taking time to blog. However, today is the day I make my triumphant return. That was completely anti-climactic. But seriously, the reason I wanted to be sure to finish up about NECC was that I needed to reflect on my favorite session ...

A Disruption in Absolutely Coming: Computers Disguised as Cellphones
Elliot Soloway and Cathleen Norris

Summary of Problem:
1 to 1 laptop programs are proving ineffective for 3 primary reasons:

1. Education software - not utilized, not available on student machines
2. Professional Development - programs not developed well, teachers don't know what to do
3. Sustainability - initial purchase is great but when they're obsolete, who will buy more?

Solution:
Use smart phone technologies as the classroom computers

1. Education software - being developed by U of Mich (hey that's Elliot the presenter's school), uses push technologies to burst applications and files of assignments to the student units. Can also differentiate instruction easily for various learners and styles.
2. Professional Development - we need to apply educational research to professional development. TREAT THE TEACHERS AS STUDENTS in those sessions. Scaffold content and skills to maximize understanding.
3. Sustainability - teacher recently polled classes and found 91% of student already had a phone. They're becoming ubiqitous to the point that we CAN require them for school.

I loved this session. It represented a shift in thinking about the current classroom. We are arriving at a point in education (that doesn't mean we're there yet) when we can require cell phones as a part of "school supplies." Almost every kid already has one. But can they do the work? Let's see... every phone, even the most basic, currently has:

• communication tool - audio, text, images (some even video)
• calculator
• camera - still and some video
• data storage
  

We want students to collaborate, they can text. We want them to record information - do you want audio, images or video? The price point is also much more feasible - even the high end smart phones are going for less than $200. The cheapest laptop you can find is around $400 for something like the solid-state (Flash-based) HP, Classmate, or Acer.

We are hampered currently by school policies. The most lax, at best, allows you to have it in your pocket but not out in class. These, say the presenters are going to be the new tool for school and if we can require pencil and paper today, we can require cell phones soon.

The technology that they are developing is pretty fascinating - especially the push tech. That's key to the teacher. They need a way to get teh info between users not just from teacher to student but also back to the teacher and between students. We've know for a long time that collaborative, project-based learning works.

Fun workshop, great to go to on the last day when I was already exhausted.



The last session, I was too pooped to really care that much. I left early to try to win projectors from Epson and inFocus and a students response system from Turning Technologies. What I did get:

The ISTE Classroom Observation Tool

Check it out here. Useful tool for anyone who need to observe or evaluate tech use in the classroom.

Thanks for reading (if there are any of you out there...)!

NECC - Wed 7/2, part 1

The Real World of Math: Delivering Authentic, Integrated Math Instruction
Scott Loomis

I went to this lecture because we are putting on content seminars at TIES and I am in charge of the one for math. If you've been a loyal reader (I still don't think I have any of those)you will remember that I was a social studies guy in my previous life in Massiveurban Publicschool System, so math instruction is not my forte but I'll be doing so that day.

Moving on. I think Scott Loomis has some terrific ideas for instruction. He employed true integration - the use of technology where the focus is on the lesson, not the technology.

• I had never known about using Text Box Objects but I like that for creating an interactive classroom worksheet if you don't have an interactive whiteboard. Only problem - not available on the Macintosh version (not even 2008).
• I like the idea of using PowerPoint for virtual manipulatives - very creative.
• Create worksheet activities (drill & practice) in Excel that employ the "If" function to aid in self-checking.
• Using the charting feature to have students analyze data sets. They learn graphing in Kindergarten so why to we still make them create their own charts on paper when tha's not the lesson. The lesson is to analyze data, let the technology do the tedious pwrk so you can get the the more advanced thinking. This is exactly to what I was referring in the last post with my "hand axe" example. We can take the learning further because we have access to technology that speeds up learning and enhances what we do.

This was a practical session with good ideas that can go directly into the classroom. THUMBS UP!


Using Real World Problems to Scaffold Decision-Making Skills
AKA – Kids as Deciders

Ahhh Bernie Dodge. King of the WebQuest, master of QuestGarden, ed tech guru from San Diego State U. If my co-worker wasn't married, she'd probably try to have an affair with him. Maybe that was sharing too much.

Let me summarize first: The process of investigating and then deciding holds an ocean of higher-order thinking. We typically do not develop this well in students. We need to teach to tests and regiment our classrooms to manage discipline which, in turn, strips decision-making from the students. He lays out some very tangible steps for what to teach. TWO SNAPS OF APPROVAL (you may notice I have roving rating systems)

I don't want to say that information is plagiarized because it's not. It reorganized. you may remember my rant about why I hate educational theory - it reorganizes old ideas with new jargon. Bernie doesn't quite do this - I don't think of him as ripping anyone off because he is creating a new perspective from previous research. Maybe I'm rationalizing because I think he is a terrific educator and theoran and feel bad criticizing him. I met him and like him, too.

The similarities noted between his presentation and other theories I've absorbed over the years:

• Problem-based learning (PBL) and Wiggins/McTighe's Understanding by Design (UBD) - His decision-making process focuses on the end product - the decision made to solve a problem. This is PBL - start with a problem and find a solution. The quest to the solution is the learning process. UBD reverse-engineers classroom lessons based on a pre-determined final product.
• Fred Newmann's Authentic Assessment - real world connection between the students and their own environments. This is also the same in PBL. Students are taught to look at an issue that they are familiar with, it generates interest and ownership because they see the problem and consequences in their own lives. This isn't a fault of Dr. Dodge's presentation, it's just good teaching practice.
• He also referenced an idea by Richard DeCharms called Pawns vs. Origins. The main idea is that students see themselves as pawns with the world happening to and around them rather than themselves as interacting with and influencing the world, or originators of ideas. This reminded me of he workshop Tuesday about Seven Habits and Seven Deadly Sins. One of Covey's chapters is "Be Proactive". Essentially, "don't let the world happen to you, plan for it and make changes happen."

As I write, I find this to be less of a criticism of Bernie Dodge and more of a diatribe of my irritation with educational theory. He is doing exactly what all researchers do - taking previous research and building upon it to find another understanding. I'm just glad that isn't a part of my chosen path. I like the application of the theories, that's the fun of education. Keep up the good work, theorans, and thank the maker for people like you so it doesn't have to be me.

NECC - Tuesday 7/1

Seven Highly Effective Habits of Technology Administrators and The Seven Deadly Sins

Let's keep this quick and dirty.
What I liked: He gave me my simple guidelines that I do so appreciate. He translated Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People into tech director speak. He applied how to make mistakes and how to avoid them. Great experience - the staff to machine ratio in his department is 1750:1. He knows how to manage scarce resources.

He encouraged preparation for the unknown, automation of problem "tickets," communicating - holy cow what a concept. I'm not really being sarcastic toward him, I find it encouraging that we are still making certain that we all TALK between departments. It helps your image and, as we all know, image is everything. Truthfully, it's not, but if you have a crappy image in your district, see what happens when you come begging for more funds.

I also liked that he encourages his people to exercise creativity on Friday afternoons (Free Fridays). He lets the staff work on whatever pet projects they want. It's like a super0dork pressure valve and what gets let off is sweet techno-rific productivity.


Report from the Front: What’s in Store for Ed Tech in 2008

This session was a forecast for educational technology in the coming years. Underscore this point - GET INVOLVED. It was presented by the same people who ran the advocacy training on Sunday. I like them. One point that I, of course, remember because of my former life as a social studies teacher but bears repeating. 435 members of the House Representative and 35 memeber od the Senate are up for re-election this year (not to mention president, which, I guess I did just mention. Why do we say that?). That means influence if we can get to them. There were over 2,200 letters sent to Congress from NECC at the time of that workshop and it was still growing. I need to sharpen my advocacy tools and get to work.


Strategic Thinking About Technology in Education

You might see a pattern in my sessions... lots about where educational technology is going. I'm outwardly trying to increase my understanding of the subject on a national scale. This was really a discussion that we witnessed as the gallery from tech ed heavy hitters from ISTE, corporate world (Apple, Microsoft), higher ed, primary/secondary ed and others.

The first question thrown out was something like, "if you get a legislator cornered in the elevator, what will you say is the role of technology in education?" I have to consider my answer.... (elevator music...Jeopardy music... a little Social Distortion... ahhhhhhhh) As I see it, the role of technology in education is to elevate student understanding beyond where it was possible before. We have a massive opportunity to revolutionize education to reach more students, to engage more students and to develop higher thinking.

If we look at education from early times, a major achievement was the development of the hand axe. We don't teach students how to make a hand axe anymore because we have advanced beyond that. We teach the importance of the hand axe in developmental history of the world. We are at another significant point in the development of collaborative technologies that can impact more students a greater amount of time and transform teaching 3-dimensionally.

Problem is, we need help to do it and the government is the one to help at every level. If you're listening, don't make us beg.

NECC - Monday 6/30, part 4

Game and Simulation Developers K-12 and the Future of Learning

I forgot to mention the gaming Birds-of-a-Feather session I attended Monday afternoon. These are sessions that are supposed to be more of a discussion than lecture. They're moderated by an expert and people just bring up topics in a discussion format. I was in a different situation than others, many of them were teaching gaming in their own courses or extra-curriculars. I am teaching Scratch with game design as a minor subset of programming. I found some interesting ideas for programs and systems for game design, a few resources from other teachers.

Two things annoyed me about it.

1. The fact that they put it in the main hallway of the conference center as everyone, their mothers and second cousins walked by. Kinda tough to ask the crowd of three hundred to keep it down.
2. The smug jackass from the University of North Texas. I found him condescending, always referring to inside jokes between he and the moderator that others wouldn't have known. His response to a question of mine was more belittling than helpful. Fantastic pedagogy, that's why you're in higher ed, not K-12.
   

NECC - Monday 6/30, part 3

Today has seen a little networking for this dork, saw a few peeps from Twin Town. Seriously I'm not cool enough to pull off that lingo. May have found a presenter group for the conference, that made me feel professional. Landed some Epson swag, luggage tag, gotta try to win an Epson projector later - White Trash Drive-In (movies on the deck at home) can't live on borrowed hardware forever and I'm too cheap to buy my own. hoping a former colleague will hook me up as a winner but unfortunately I don't think she operates like that.

Other sessions:
Poster Sessions
I like this addition to NECC. This is where I found some folks from New Glarus, WI. If you're not familiar, they have a delightful beer called Spotted Cow. Beside the beer, they've successfully implemented a technology grant from HP and registered measurable results. great job to New Glarus Elementary!

There were a few others, but I liked them and they gave out Cow Pie candies.

Where in the World? An Interactive GPS Lesson
Good idea, boring lesson to watch. I'll go to the web ste and get the info here. I wish I'd have arrived sooner to be one of the participants instead of member of the gallery.

Implementing and Managing a Successful Online Professional Development Program
This woman was straightforward, I like that. Question though, dork...was it useful? In the end for me, yes. It's a very simple planning process for developing and implementing almost any new system or process. I like that, I like step-by-step instructions for things I haven't done before. I just wasn't that impressed with the level of new information.

What I was hoping to get out of this:

1. Ideas for what I submitted to the EM conference in October - Google stuff so you can meet without meeting.
2. Ideas for setting up a professional development system in your district that utilizes online collaboration rather than physical meetings.
3. Ideas for professional development in our Second Life space.

I'll try to apply her ideas here. 'til tomorrow, off to win a projector!

NECC - Monday 6/30, part 2

Immersive Collaborative Simulations and Next Generation Assessments
Chris Dede

I like this guy. He was at TIES' December conference last year as a keynote and I missed his presentation. I didn't at the time realize what I had missed. Let me preface with this statement - I HATE EDUCATIONAL THEORY. Now, please let me explain.

I still consider myself a teacher even though I'm teaching adults instead of middle school students. In my seven years in Massiveurban Publicschool System I learned that it takes several years of consistent practice in a school or district to see real change in and the average life of a principal at a site seemed to be about 1-3 years (I was at 2 sites in my last 5 years and had a different admin team EVERY YEAR). Soooooo every principal that wanted to keep their job had a new theory presented every August for how to make the students perform, succeed, accomplish or whatever catch phrase that theory used.
(Breathe)
It was exhausting to try to keep up with every new idea that seemed only to rehash what some other researcher said, just with their own new glossary.

Chris Dede is a middle-aged guy who's thinking like our students. I'm much closer in age to digital natives than him and he's a better picture of their minds than I do. He's applying previous educational theory - Formative/summative assessments, scientific method and applying current technology to improve data gathered.

As I interpret, simulations are great but difficult to assess, if you can't assess, NCLB encourages decision makers to keep it out of the curriculum. Not in writing but by default. Built-in technologies in River City track every access, click , visit that a participant makes. Those activity logs allow teachers to assess what is being done and how. A simple example is seeing the pattern in how boys and girls learn with the game. Boys gathered data more by reading, seeking experts and using tools. Girls gathered more by interacting with characters and other avatars.

I also agree with his statement: If formative assessments are done correctly throughout the learning process (or unit) summative assessments are not necessary. Now, my agreeing with this mantra amounts to as much as can ft into the change pocket of circa 1990 Girbaud jeans, however I want it known that I think he's right despite the summative assessment climate sustained by NCLB.

If you're not using River City, which is probably most of the three of you that are reading, pay attention to what systems you have available. Collaborative tools like GoogleDocs and wikis let you revet to previous versions of a document and also track who has contributed what information. No longer do students have the anti-group argument that "I'll do all the work and they'll get the same grade," because you have a record of activity. Moodle tracks every mouse click. If you talk to your administrator (or get admin level access yourself like some dorks I know) you can see what students have done or not done.

Off to another session...

NECC - Monday 6/30, part 1

Orientation:
I left early, I liked the part about the maps and the guy there was funny for 7:15 AM. I think they hired an actor/comedian and gave him a script or else he has a side job at corporate parties.

Professional Learning Networks in Second Life:

You may recall my wicked kung fu from January. TIES' Second Life space is growing, we have a more permanent building but we just don't know how to develop the community we are looking for. This session is from a group of educators that created DEN, the Discovery Educator Network. It's exactly what it sounds like, a network of teachers in SL collaborating.

What I like: people doing what we are hoping to accomplish in SL. There are people behind me that are a part of Lighthouse Learing Island (Kathy Schrock's area). I want to talk more with them.

What I didn't: Not much on the how. I want to know more about how they are doing professional development. I agree with what they said, you need a little time to play, to learn how to operate in SL, but what I wanted was to know more about a formal structure of how they are meeting in SL. Meeting times, locations, how to set up a classroom or meeting space?

NECC - Sunday 6/29

Bags packed, kids with my in-laws, alarm set for (SWEET MARTHA!) 4:00 AM. Of course our bedroom clock is 9 minutes fast so we were in the kitchen at 3:54, I’m not sure why we went to the kitchen, neither of us are must-have coffee drinkers in the AM. I think we just wanted to know it wasn’t a joke. We hit the airport at 5:00 after a very pleasant cab ride with a wonderfully polite driver, met another chipper TSA security officer who checked our ID’s and hobbled to the gate.

MSP airport was smooth sailing, my compliments to American Airlines and MSP.

Dallas/Fort Worth was another story. Except for the Dunkin Donuts coffee (it really is good, especially for a first-timer) they almost screwed us over. Gate change one came over the intercom, two doors down, no biggie. Gate change two came without announcement and we had to catch the tram to a different section – slightly more harrowing.

I met Andrew Trotter from Education Week at the gate – it was he who checked with the gate and realized that it had changed – thanks to him. Also thanks for my first networking opportunity.

We had an hour of down time before I went to the ABC’s of Advocacy. Overwhelming on day 1 but everything made sense. We’re going to slowly create a community of action. We from MN were realizing that there is not a strong state level presence to influence policy, so we’re going to create one. HOW? I will not reveal my secrets. I always wanted to be a magician – now I’ll just keep the secrets like one.

Scratch - MPS Tech Academy

E-Learning Summit - Michael Wesch

Most people in educational technology have seen the video, A Vision of Students Today, put together by Michael Wesch and his students at Kansas State University. If you haven't, GO HERE. I saw this video last year, but had forgotten about it. I'm not exactly sure but when I first saw it I never got past the "that's really insightful" phase of recognition. Do you like how I just created the "phase of recognition" out of nowhere? I should have become a psychologist. But let me return from my digression.

My immediate response - "Holy smokes we are doing an incredible disservice to students."
My secondary response - "Holy smokes we need to fix this."
My tertiary response - "Slow down smokey."

I operate my life on the theory that nobody will change their behavior unless they are forced to by a change in situation. It's the reason that spouses think they can change their partners and fail. The other person won't change unless they are threatened with losing something valuable. When I was in the classroom I taught as I remembered good teachers teaching, that is, the teachers that I liked best because I learned from them. I was patient, creative, funny (at least I thought so). I found interesting readings, made real world connections, performed simulations but I still missed the mark on many students. I was still the authority in the class not letting the network of learning relationships develop.

The reason was that I always fell back on my experiences in education as a student - the classes I liked and believed were taught well. I emulated those teachers and classes. I wasn't taking what was in front of me - the change in students' ability to network and understanding that we needed a paradigm shift.

To follow my earlier logic, I wasn't forced to change because I didn't see the same students as others in, shall we say, more fortunate locales. Some stats about the last group of students I worked with:

• 94% free/reduced price lunch (high poverty)
  
• 15% ELL
  
• 25% of my students had internet access at home
• 45% had access within walking distance
• behavior - I ratcheted down rules and structure to keep behavior problems at a minimum
  

They weren't like Wesch's students, at least that's my excuse. Does anyone believe it?

What I want to take from his session:

• Understand that ubiquitous networks are almost here - everyone will be connected and multi-tasking. We need to harness that idea and work it into class structure not try to prevent it.
  
• Platform for Participation
• Use the Web 2.0 and 3.0 tools available - collaborative, constructive.
• Ensure students are using the media for communication and collaboration.
  
• Facilitate - set the stage, direct and let the students learn.
• Despite not wanting to (the tendency is to use an authoritarian system), you need to manage the network of relationships in the class [n(n-1)/2].

To close, I'm a fan of Wesch. As an anthropologist he has a solid understanding of cultural trends including technology in education. I will be happy to continue following his research in the field. More to come.

Epiphany analyzed. End rant.

Scratch it up

MIT, the technical wizards of the United States, developed a programming language called Scratch. It's not for super dorks writing code all day long so they can feel smarter than anyone else. It was designed with education in mind. I am in favor of teaching computer programming as a skill in school but not so they can program a computer for the rest of their lives. Believe it or not, knowing a computer language isn't that important - it's understanding the process of program development that is. Anyone can learn syntax, but the great programmers know how to manipulate commands to do what they want . They are the mad scientists of the computer world.

Relying on rote language and syntax restricts some students from learning well. I previously taught in a large urban district with a high ELL population (that's English Language Learners). I had bright, hard working kids whose grades didn't always reflect that because they didn't have a commanding grasp of English.

Enter Scratch. Students learn problem solving, developmental process, cause/effect, game theory, artistic themes, animation... all without relying on language because of how Scratch is applied.

It's also versatile. You can create animated scenes, slide shows, games - my favorite because of it's nostalgia is a perfect recreation of Nintendo's Duck Hunt, click the screen to go there.



Awesome. As big a Nintendo geek as I was, this is impressive. But it's not just recreating my childhood, Scratch opens the door for students and teachers to use it to teach concepts and skills in a constructive, interactive and authentic way.

I'll leave you with a project I created for the purpose of explaining RSS feeds. Let me know what you think.


Learn more about this project

Cheap, Easy and Classroom Applicable = Perfect for Education

How can I not love this? This dude developed uses for a Wii remote outside of intra-office boxing matches and nerd festivals. This, my friends, is true integration and application. The usefulness in the classroom has been proven through research (I know I should have a citable reference, but trust me) and one theme that always reappears in this blog - CHEAP.

I was a classroom teacher in an urban district for seven years. I know the pain of having good ideas for my teaching and students only to have them squished like a candy bar in the grocery store checkout. (I used to do that as a young'un, grab candy bars and squash them as my mother and I walked through the checkout. I think it was an anger response to the fact that I never could have one.) Where was I... squishing sound pedagogical innovation because of a lack of funds, time or resources.

What I'm excited for is to actually create what he has suggested. It may take a little finagling with the higher-ups but if I can prove classroom application for cheap - I'm golden. I'll keep you informed as to my progress ... by "you" I mean the three people that actually read the stuff I write. VIVA LA GEEK!

Ma & Pa Kettle Math

Here's a compliment to the previous math posting. From Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951).

Social Web Class

Here's a video of the lattice method for multiplication. Good example of embedding a video.

Please respond with your new blog URL's.

Did they have Peeps at the Last Supper?

I must do justice to a fellow tech geek. My co-worker
entered and ... unfortunately did not win the Pioneer Press annual Peeps Diorama contest. A valiant effort recorded, "Belinda Peepson and Sven" were not destined to take home the crown.

I was quite taken with the artist's accurate depiction of Sven's stature and hair style. Mike Pomeranz's trademark smile is apparant as is Belinda's stylish coat.

I would have reversed Newsroom/Backyard placement, however. Belinda is always exiting to the right of the screen into the Backyard. Perhaps that was intentional as he does not want to infringe on copyright as can be noted by the Care 11" studio sign.

All in all, a fine bit of pop art and a tip o' the keyboard to a fellow geek.

Fun with Photoshop... er, image editors

I'm a tech dork. That means I appreciate the melding of geek and humor. Cracked magazine posted some brilliant examples of dorky uses of Photoshop. This is not an endorsement of Adobe products, seriously, they could have used any number of image editors. OK - REDACTED, let me correct, dorky uses of various image editing programs that may or may not be licensed by Adobe, Corel, or your mom.

But I digress. I present - from the Cracked web site: Movies that should NEVER me made...

... but if the Hollywood ooze continues leaking from the dirty diaper called California, they might be on my Netflix queue soon.

From an educator's perspective, this is a terrific class project. From a student's perspective, a wickedly fun and creative opportunity. Have at it.

Today, where are your sites?

Hey folks, what is the address of your new blogs?

Click "Comment" to reply.

In Today's Class...

... we played with free collaborative web-based tools that educators can use. This is one of my favorite classes because the people are relatively tech inclined, very willing to try new things in the classroom, and CHEAP! We love the fact that all of these tools are free. Those that regularly use the web may not be impressed, those that are not tech-savvy may also not be impressed. That is not my point. With limited readership to my blog I thought that I would just share what we do over here.

Web 2.0 - This is an overused term for collaborative web sites. The tools we are using are considered Web 2.0.

Wiki - a web site where the content is created by the people who visit the site. To use this in the classroom, a teacher must be willing to release control over the course content. This constitutes a paradigm shift for many teachers - especially those like I was that had behavior ratcheted so far down the students could hardly breathe. Ideas for educational use:

• Online "Reference Book" of course material
• Student notes repository
• Book analysis - interconnect titles by subject and themes
• Character analysis in a story
• Student intro pages - Icebreaker activity

These are the ones I use:

GoogleDocs - Sweet merciful lord, how can you not love GOOGLE? They are putting together fantastic apps free of charge. Here's the skinny - free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software ... wait for it ... wait for it ... FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH MS OFFICE (v. 2003-4)!

OK, I understand that some of you do not share my joy. Ask this: how many students in a class do not have Office at home or have an outdated version of MS Works? More than most of you outside of education would care to consider. Also, the documents can be shared with unlimited people for editing and even have 10 people editing at once. Students could work at home on a group project without physically proximity. Teachers could collaborate on meeting agendas or various other crap from a distance. Imagine it ... committee meetings in the comfort of your own underwear in your living room.

Del.icio.us - Online bookmarks. Fabulous resource. Don't save bookmarks on the browser on your computer, save them online so you can access them anytime, anywhere and share with anyone. Any questions?

You bookmarks are sorted by tags - little keywords specific to del.icio.us, each bookmark can have multiple tags. So when you want to get someone to just your bookmarks about a certain topic, like, ummm, web 2.0 tools and resources ... (click here), you go to del.icio.us/(account name)/(tag).

I can keep some links private - like I wouldn't want students going to my link for Sarah Silverman's confession to Jimmy Kimmel or a recipe for my Grandmother's cannoli.

Like I said, I love this course. I love free stuff. I love making the lives of teachers easier. Most of all, I love being a gigantic geek.

Tip O' The Eyepatch

The Pirate of Selby Ave put forth a challenge to his readers to create the Awesomest Album Covers ever. It was a brilliant technique, using random article and image generators. I must say that my album turned out as cryptic as some of the awesomest ever. I only wish that I could have actually written a song like this. That said, I give you my new band: Huairao District, Children To Speak It.

Feb 5 Web 2.0 Class

Where are your new blogs?

A Dork in Second Life

TIES is getting a presence in Second Life. We have purchased a plot of land through ISTE on ISTE Island 2. Here I am hovering over it.

That's me, TC Kungfu, you can see the meditation treehouse on the left and behind the tree on the right is a bench swing that, for some reason, puts two people on top of each other when they both try to sit there. Kinda inappropriate, especially for an educational venue but those aren't actually on our property, just next to it.

So Dork, you might ask, what are you going to do with the space. Awesome stuff only, I say. We expect awesome meeting places, presentations, demonstrations, musical performances, dazzling technological displays, light shows, fireworks, hookers, fire trucks ... well maybe not all that. We'll probably keep it educationally oriented.

We expect to begin construction sometime in the near future. Til then, enjoy watching my awesome Kung Fu skills. Did I overuse the awesome word "awesome"?

Aren't we grown-ups?

Today I was helping set up classrooms for some contract teachers we are using while some of my colleagues are not available. In our 3 month-old iMac lab there was a mouse missing.

Seriously? Someone stole a @#$%^& mouse!?

I taught middle school for five years, high school for two, and I knew that when we went to the computer lab you need to make sure that all the mouse balls (before IR mice) were in the mice before leaving. When using the portable laptop lab, twice (at two different schools) students tried to steal a laptop - luckily I found them both times. The general assumption in the classroom was that, to quote the CC's previous neighbor, "if it ain't tied down, them @#$%^&s will take it." This was in reference to any items left on their porch.

After today, insert grown-up educational professionals in the aforementioned "them @#$%^&s" part of that quote.

Do we really need to remind adults not to steal things when they go to another place of business? I am grasping for a handle on my emotional state. I shouldn't need to count equipment when I'm done teaching. I shouldn't need to keep that extra lookout for people trying to take things from our labs. I realize I'm back teaching middle school. Let's please grow up a bit.

images:
Watterson, Bill. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes. Andrews. 1992.