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Watching my students blog
Sunday, April 30, 2006

I welcome my students into my room during break and lunch or after school to help them set up their own personal blogs. I also ask them to tell me so I can subscribe to their blog via bloglines (and let their parents know so they can monitor it.)

I am very pleasantly pleased with the vacation blog of a ninth grader of mine named Casey. Casey has had the rare opportunity to travel to many places that even I have not. She has wonderful, down to earth parents and I love her dearly.

Her most recent post about New York is very good, I think, and I was hoping some of you who have been there recently (its been about 10 years a go for me) might post a comment.
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Wikis in Education: Stewart Mader from Brown University
Saturday, April 29, 2006

On Friday, I had an enlightening discussion with Stewart Mader, an instructional technologist in math and sciences at Brown University, about the use of wikis in education. He will be posting a series from our discussions. (Read the transcript of our chat.)

Stewart and I came in contact when the Westwood Wikispace was profiled by east wikkers as their #13 wiki and his Spectroscopy Wiki was profiled as the #14 wiki. He used campfire for the chat and I loved it. It has a great transcription feature and is easy to set up. I plan on using it in some of my classes next week.

I hope you'll read the whole transcript, I have just pulled out a few highlights. Thank you, Stewart for such an enlightening discussion.

On adding the mashup to the front of the Westwood wiki:

Stewart M. What inspired the mashup on the front page of the wiki?
Vicki D. To make things relevant to the students, I like to show it in action. We’ve been talking about mashups and some got it and some didn’t. We’ve also talked about RSS with the same result. When I did this, they all 100% got it becuase I did it in a way that is meaningful to them. They see the various sources and see how it is aggregated. There is nothing like a live example that is relevant to teach.
Vicki D. I am encouraging them to mashup on their semester project using the RSS feed option added to Wikispaces recently. They can also look at my code and see how I did it to do it themselves.

On the differences between today's teachers and their students:

Stewart M. Yes - aggregating information vs. sharing answers is something I’m explaining quite often too - I think teachers need to be shown that aggregating information eliminates the useless repetition of basic facts that leaves them unengaged and the teachers with 20 identical papers to read.
Vicki D. It is so mind blowing for teachers and the first response to anything new is — “We never needed that before so why should we use it now.”
Vicki D. The only thing permanent in these kids lives is change. If we want them to be effective participators in this global community we must MODEL that behavior and change from CHANGE FIGHTERS to CHANGE MAKERS.
Stewart M. I think that reaction is the clear indication of something revolutionary - they understand just enough to see it as completely different, but then they don’t know what to make of it.
Vicki D. Absolutely revolutionary. It scared me to death. I had a humble little quiet project started with just the curriculum director involved and it literally erupted over the whole high school.
Stewart M. This generation already is less resistant to change, in my opinion, and tools like the wiki enable them to do it in a tangible way.

On moving away from the textbook model

Vicki D. This generation is a generation of intuitive learners. The generation teaching them is a generation of TEXTBOOK learners. It has created friction.
Vicki D. It has also created a missed opportunity for learning.
Stewart M. That’s exactly the impetus behind my work - building tools that shift away from the traditional textbook model and allow both intuitive and participative learning.
Vicki D. Intuitive learning combined with the power of Google and a wiki make for great socratic teaching without Socrates having to ask the questions - the students learn to ask their own questions.
Vicki D. I think that your tools are desperately needed. I like the powerpoints and test banks that come with my textbooks but I want MORE. I want integrated tools such as wikis to record my best practices and learn from others.
Vicki D. We’ve got to move from static material to dynamic material and I think most textbooks have made a poor attempt at this juncture.

How fear is holding back the classroom
Stewart M. At times, teachers are so afraid they don’t allow students to contribute their own knowledge as they learn. I’m issuing a very provocative call in my next two speaking engagements in May to have students directly contribute to the spectroscopy wiki, and to do it in a manner that simulates peer-reviewed publishing in journals.
Stewart M. There’s no reason not to have students learn in exactly the same environment and context that they will work professionally in.
Vicki D. I think the traditional view of teachers is being challenged by these tools. After all, they think, the teacher is supposed to be the expert — in this rapidly changing world, the students can access new, relevant information that was once only accessible to the experts.
Vicki D. They, therefore, should be included in the conversations that emerge.






Why wikis have a place in the classroom.
Stewart M. You’re right - and students WANT to do this. They’re already asking for it, and are willing and capable contributors.
Vicki D. This is not about proving how much we know and feeding our own egos because society has marginalized teaching as a profession. This is about using methods that really TEACH. I think that is where the fear comes in. If teachers no longer “teach” are they needed. It is a redefinition of good teaching.
Vicki D. Wikis ARE teaching! Wikis DO work! Students want to use social interaction as part of the learning process. They are more capable than we give them credit for.




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End of Semester Assessments
Friday, April 28, 2006

I've had some questions come lately about how I do assessments. I've integrated blogging and wikis into almost all of these. It is important to have "genuine" assessments which accurately reflect the knowledge of students. It is always a struggle to make sure we assess fairly but responsibly. Here is what four of my classes are doing this semester.

If you have any questions, post them.

Remember, as teachers we must be willing to do what is best for our students, not necessarily what we are used to. It was difficult to switch from "formal exams" but now that I have, I'm very happy and feel better the knowledge my students have.
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How to keep positive during May!

May is a tough month for any educator I've ever known. As I was in the mountains last weekend, I contemplated my upcoming May and penned this little poem.

Living in May

Lord, let me live through May
as underclassmen stress and seniors play
Help me stay positive
no matter how they act
Let my emotions be calm
and my attitude intact.
Lord, please let me live through May.

Lord, help them live through May
as they tend to act up all day
When temperatures rise
and tempers flare
As younglings try wings
and rebels dare.
Lord, please help them live through May.

Lord, let me teach through May
not just biding time all day!
Each day is a gift
as is each precious one.
This may be my last chance
to reach someone!
Lord, please let me teach through May!

Lord, let me live in May
sharing knowledge all the way
Enjoying the ride and laughing a lot
Cause in this school year
May's all I've got!

I do not want to waste a day
even the waning days of May
I do not want to miss a chance
to make their cerebellum dance!

I really want to leave my mark
to fan the flame and kindle a spark!
For as I use each second of time
I make a deposit in their mind.

It is now, when I unselfishly give

that now, in May,

I truly live!
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The use of "disruptive technologies" in a productive way.
Thursday, April 27, 2006

Mike Muir (hat tip to Doug Belshaw) has an incredible post entitled Fear and Disruptive Technologies in which he criticizes the knee jerk reactions of many educators to ban some potentially useful technologies such as: iPods, cell phones, etc.

In this post, he recounts an interview with an 0bviously progressive IT Director at another school system, Gary Brown, here is part of the interview:

At his [Gary's] schools, about 95% of the students had cell phones. Did they ban their use? No. They purchased a system to push school announcements out to the phones. Some of the teachers use them for quizzes (kind of like the "clicker" student response systems). Now 100% of their students have cell phones. Their cell phone abuse rate? According to Gary, 0%.

We were paying $3000 fifteen years a go to have the computing power of a cell phone in our classroom and now we ban cell phones?

We're missing the boat. I don't think the applications are out there yet. We've started using meebo for reviews as they text each other questions and answers. We're using iPods to download podcasts and audiobooks from Librivox. I want to find a way to use cell phones to do virtual quizzes.

This is not even the tip of the iceburg. We're spending time fighting students when we should be working with them.

Swim with the current
As a child, my Dad took me to swim in a very big river, the Flint river. It has a very strong current. Yes, it has snakes and alligators and the like, but you're usually safe at this certain bridge at "the Sandbar."

When I was around 16, he took my sister and I there and I had to keep up the family tradition by swimming across it. (We're all good swimmers.)

Here is the trick he taught me -- He said, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME swimming against the current, it will wear you out! Let it take you a little and just try to swim towards the opposite bank. Eventually, you'll break out of the current and get there.

That is also the rule at the beach if you're caught in the rip tide -- let it take you and swim parallel to shore until you break free.
Why are we fighting this current?

I feel like we're fighting a current here.

There is a current of relevant, salient technology to these students that is not going away. I fear some administrators are going to go under fighting this one!

Why not swim with the current and use these technologies to teach the subjects we hold dear? A lot of the "coolness" of the technology rubs off on the subject we're teaching!

And I wonder why Gary Brown isn't blogging?

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Go wiggle your toes in the dirt!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Jeff Utecht has a great post - Turn off the screen and go play!:
" This week we have been celebrating TV Turn Off week at our school, and when your wife is the counselor leading the charge, you set a good example. So for the past couple of nights we have not watched any TV, turned on a computer or participated in any “Screen” activities....
After some meaningful ponderings, Jeff says something that resonates with me:

We can’t ignore that technology exist for this generation; what we need to do and learn is to balance the use of technology with good old fashion play. Maybe preschool students don’t need to watch a movie every day, or a 2nd grader doesn’t need a Gameboy. How do these activities help foster growth in students? Sure a Gameboy is great when you are traveling. It will keep a kid occupied for hours, but do they need to play it for hours when they get home from school?
I agree totally! I live in the country for a reason. Although I did very well academically throughout my life, it is creativity that has always served me well and prospered me in most every career.

I do not attribute the creativity of myself and my siblings, one of which is a graphic designer at Disney, to our brilliance -- for indeed we are NOT brilliant. (Though the Apprentice fellow is a MENSA member, none of us are.)

Any succees we have, is rather partly attributable to what I call the "Wiggle your toes in the dirt" factor.

I believe it is important to get out of the house and "do stuff." My favorite "stuff" is family time, fishing, running, frisbee, playing with the dogs, reading, talking, telling jokes, riding the Mule (a golf cart like contraption) through the farm, working on the farm, cooking, ping pong, taking pictures, pulling a weed or two and just "doing nothing" outside. Sometimes I just lay on the slide and look at the clouds or swing a little.

These are the intangiable things that I believe are ESSENTIAL to the growth of my own children as well as my own happiness.

Do you know what puts me in a good mood at this moment? The smell of jasmine that covers my entire yard. If I need a lift, I go outside and inhale that dreamy perfume.

I've enjoyed looking at the clouds lately. They have been beautiful and white and fluffy.

The other day it was pouring down rain and I let my two well children go play in it (My daughter just had a tonsilectomy) and jump in mud puddles until they were as brown as the bird dog!

Life is so full of wonder and beauty. It is also full of amazing gadgets and toys. But it is in the diversity of things that I become ME and kids become above average.

For me, it is when I wiggle my toes in the dirt that the cobwebs in my brain disengage on the breeze.

Jeff goes on to quote The TV Turn Off Network which has created a Facts and Figures about TV habits:

Average number of hours per week that American one year-old children watch television: 6
Number of hours recommended by the American Pediatric Association for children two and under: 0

Average time per week that the American child ages 2-17 spends watching television: 19 hours, 40 minutes
Hours of TV watching per week shown to negatively affect academic achievement: 10 or more

Hours per year the average American youth spends in school: 900
Hours per year the average American youth watches television: 1,023

So, get away from the TV, the laptop, the gadget and spend some time like Jeff does and many other greats outside doing "nothing." Perhaps why some of the blogging greats like Jeff and Kathy Sierra are so great is that they push their rolling chair away from the keyboard and get a little "non-screen time."

Can you?

Even more so, can you do that for the children in your sphere of influence?
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How to keep up with all of this blogging stuff using bloglines.

This is a rehash of a post I did in December on another one of my blogs. I get a lot of questions from bloggers on how to keep up with everything, this is how I do it. (Brittany May, this is for you.)

This article is about the number one most useful thing a person can have today -- a news aggregator.

News Aggregator or News Aggravator?

It will be a news aggravator if you don't do it right. There is something relatively new on the web called RSS - (really simple syndication). It can be very confusing, however.

I've tried several services and methods -- here is the easiest and best that I teach my students to use. I have found the best use of RSS is to sign up for an account like bloglines and subscribe to the information that interests you.

Setting up a bloglines account - here are the steps:


1) Go to bloglines.com
The only required is an e-mail and password

2) Set up your free account

Remember, use another password other than your e-mail password -- some folks think that is what they are asking for-- it is not!

3) Pay attention to the choices when you are signing up --

They will help you pick the most popular choices in the categories you are interested in. However Do not select everything! You will become buried in information and not know what to do. (If you want to see my blogroll-- just go to http://www.bloglines.com/blog/coolcatteacher and look at what I read.)

4) Go into your account!

You will be tempted to start reading everything, but everything is marked to be read! It is just not realistic that you will sit down and read 200 articles unless you really have some time on your hands -- I strongly suggest clicking "Mark all as read." (I also do this when I've hit the highlights and won't read again until tomorrow - it prevents info overload.)

5) Wait a little while -- surf -- or wait until tomorrow. Then you can go back into your account

Learn to add feeds easily
The true power of bloglines though is in adding feeds. You can subscribe to this feed, for example. Here is the easiest way!

Blogs to Read
I prefer to use the "Sub with Bloglines" button that I've conveniently placed on the toolbar of my web browser. Then, when I find a blog (like mine) that I want to subscribe to -- I can just click that button and it takes me through the process of adding the subscription.

How do I add the Sub with Bloglines button?
The easiest way to do add this button is:

1) Scroll down on the startup page

(After you've logged into your account -- you'll see your feed list on the left and on the right a page that says Home > My Feeds)

You will scroll down until you see the words Subscribe to It -- then a link that says "Subscribe with one click from your browser toolbar."

2) Click on the link and follow the instructions! (Two steps)

Then you can go to my blog, or any other blog or page with RSS and add it to your bloglines account -- just click on the button on the toolbar.

Try it out:
If you've just set up your account, and you are on my blog, just click Sub with Bloglines and it will give you a choice of feeds (I have five) -- unless you want the podcast chose any of them EXCEPT the Talkr one and voila -- cool cat in the bloglines account.

If you want to find more blogs, look on the left side of my blog and find an educator blog that suits your fancy. Mine are sorted by recency so those who've posted lately are at the top of the list.

Use folders
After clicking "Sub with Bloglines" it will then ask you what folder to add it to and other information.

I highly recommend making folders to organize your info. When you do that -- just click on the folder on the left that you have created and bloglines puts EVERYTHING in that folder together -- your news from the New York Times will be put in with the news from the WSJ and your Google news -- easy as Mrs. Smith's apple pie!

Check daily

Bloglines will notify you when there is new information -- just click and read.

Integrate with Google News


I particularly like the feature in google where you can make a search-- you can then subscribe to that search through Bloglines -- when new search information arises, you're there! I've done this with Google News -- I find it to be much more comprehensive than the New York Times and it links to all of the articles on that topic.

Keep up with people who link to your blog

This is very useful! I like to keep up with folks who link to me so I can comment and participate in the extended conversation. I think this is important! (Look at my past Ten habits of bloggers that win to learn about pinging.)

To keep up to date on who is linking to you:

1) Go to www.technorati.com

2) Claim your blog and set up an account. (When you claim it it will have you set up the account. Just look for the button on the home page that says to "Claim your blog now." It is often part of a picture.)

3) After claiming your blog, make sure you've logged into Technorati.

(You can tell that you are because a gray bar is at the top and it says "Signed in as...")

4) On the home page in the box that says "Search the blogosphere" type your URL (without the http.) and click Search.

5) The results of those who link to you will come up on the screen. In the top right corner is a button that says "Add to watchlist" Click it.

6) Once you've added your blog to your watchlist, Technorati will take you to a screen that shows the three most recent links to your URL.

There is a little blue button that says RSS and beside it the words "view in RSS." Click that button.

7) A lot of computer "stuff" will appear but don't worry. Now, click the "Sub with Bloglines" button that you put on your browser. Put this subscription in a folder named "links to my blog" or something like that.

Now, when you have links to your blog on technorati, they will appear automatically in bloglines in that folder. Go to the people who talk about you and comment and participate! Cool!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Try it and enjoy it! It is easy and it doesn't need to take a lot of time! There are lots of other RSS readers out there that will do these same things as well.

Just comment with questions on this one and I'll answer! Let me know if you need help -- after all I'm a teacher at heart!
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Learn from Lifehacker: Connectivity and Blogging
Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Marshall K posted an interview with the editor of super-blog Lifehacker over at Net Squared. It's titled "On the care and feeding of a techno-garden: an interview with Lifehacker's Gina Trapani."

Here are some great quotes I think everyone need to glean from this interview. For a transcript of the whole thing, visit NetSquared. Marshall K is a must-read!

Gina on constant connectivity
  • The other lesson that many for-profits haven't learned yet is to avoid drowning your employees in gadgets and tech - like Blackberries, laptops, and weekend email sessions - because constant connectivity and an interrupt-driven existence can really degrade people's morale and productivity levels.
Amen! Sometimes it is great to get away. No telephone. No TV. No E-mail. Bloggers who go for years without missing a post any day are missing life! I believe in taking a break!

Gina on building an audience

  • On the editorial side, to build an audience, you need to post often. .. definitely update every day, if not twice a day. Your posts don't have to be long and thoughtful - though some should be - just summarize and point to a news item of the moment that's related to your nonprofit's area of interest. You want to establish a constant conversation about particular themes, and show that you're an authority on those themes, able to discuss them intelligently on an ongoing basis.
Gina on freebies

Technically, take advantage of every single free resource out there on the web to reduce costs and technical issues. Use Creative Commons licensed or public domain images (we like http://everystockphoto.com). Host video at YouTube or the Internet Archive to avoid bandwidth costs. Odeo is perfect for podcasts. Use an open source CMS (like WordPress, or ask a hosting company like TypePad or WordPress.com to host your site for free in exchange for an ad.
Marshall K, you've done the blogosphere a favor with this incredible interview! You've simply got to go read the whole thing!


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The fight for attitude preservation!

Today, I am reminded of life's fleeting beauty for three reasons:
  • One former student on a ventilator tonight after a terrible automobile accident
  • Another student that I taught up until January is undergoing a CT scan in a terrible hit and run accident...he was riding his bicycle home from school
  • It is my birthday.
It makes me think.

As I think of this, I am reminded of my calling as a teacher.

Educators may disagree on methods, practices, and such but the purpose is clear: the education of the future of the human race.

As I cry and pray for these precious boys, it strikes a chord of nagging fear that I haven't done enough. Did I give enough attention? Did I show enough kindness? Did I kindle a spark of excitement that gave them something to look forward to in their day? Did I matter in their lives?

I am pulled back to a quote from the late James Ramsey Ullman

"For it is the ultimate wisdom of the mountains that man is never so much a man as when he is striving for what is beyond his grasp, and that there is no battle worth winning save that against his own ignorance and fear."
The fight for attitude preservation

It is times like these that I struggle with my own attitude. I have been reminding myself of one of my favorite stories that John Maxwell tells in his incredible book Attitude 101. It goes something like this:

There was a frog and he fell in a hole in the middle of the road. He hopped and hopped and gave everything he had to get out of the hole. He wanted to go home and he was getting hungry. His friends came along, the turtle and the rabbit and tried to help. They put a stick in and tried to pull him out, they stuck the rabbit's fluffy tail over the edge for him to grab and pull himself out. But they just couldn't get him out of the hole.

'Don't worry our friend, you will not starve this winter. Since you can't get out of this hole, we'll go get you some food and water from the woods so you can last the winter until you figure out how to get out.'

So they hopped and plodded off.

Moments later they look up and the frog was hopping merrily along beside them.

'What happened? How did you get out of the hole, friend frog?'

'It's like this,' said the frog, 'A truck came along.'
So, the frog struggled and remained in the hole until necessity required that he get out of the hole or cease to exist.

We've got to hop out of the hole

As teachers sometimes we get in a "hole." We get tired and run down and frustrated. We are tired of grading. We are tired of kids! We are even tired of ourselves! We're just plain tired!

However, as a teacher, there is a necessity for one of the vital ingredients of a good teacher: a good attitude.

Enthusiasm is contagious.

So is bad attitude. It is proven by research.

Kathy Sierra discusses new research about mirror neutrons and its effect on us. These mirror neutrons cause us to have empathy but also have other effects including that of unconsciously acquiring the negative attitudes of those we are around. But here is the bottom line:
The potential problem, though, is that these neurons go happily about their business of imitating others without our conscious intention.
She also quotes Steven Stosny, an expert on road rage:

"Anger and resentment are the most contagious of emotions," according to Stonsy. "If you are near a resentful or angry person, you are more prone to become resentful or angry yourself. .."

The avalanche caused by a pebble of bad attitude

I KNOW that the same anger and resentment that cause road rage can also cause a snowball effect in my classroom.

You've seen it happen. A student comes in first period and is "ready to rumble." Suddenly you go from whistling "zip a de doo dah" to "zip your lip bud."

People who think teaching is easy are not around teenagers very much!

But my attitude affects that of every other person who comes into my room for the rest of the day. So, I cannot afford to let my attitude go south!
Attitude and the effect on failing schools

Why are so many failing schools unable to turn it around? Well, attitudes can snowball and create an avalanche downhill!

We are all inspired by the attitudes of those who motivate and stir the inner excitement in others. Legendary movies are made about such fictional or real teacher/ coach motivators - Mr. Holland's Opus, Remember the Titans, October Sky... but as teachers watch, we are often skeptical that such people are not real.
Surely we cannot expect to be purveyors of hope amidst the most difficult of circumstances. As educators, aren't we supposed to be realists?

The importance of hope


My husband bought the pilot of the new Battlestar Gallactica.

At a pivotal moment at the end of the pilot, the 50,000 people remaining in the human race are standing at the funeral of many of their fallen comrades. They are despondent. They are lost. The billions of humans inhabiting 12 colonies (planets) are dead and they are all that is left. No place to resupply. Adrift.

Their captain senses their feeling and in a moment of fanfare says that there is another colony that their enemy has not found and only he knows the way to get there.

As you watch the faces of his crew, you see an enlightenment and excitement building. After he speaks and the funeral completes the crew erupts in applause and congratulatory hugs. Their hope is restored.

They have something to work towards. They are part of something! The salvation of the human race!
Hope is not Sci Fi

Although this pilot is science fiction, the concept of hope is not. As humans, we must know that there is hope. We must know that there is a point. We must know that struggle is for a reason and that it will not last forever. We must know there is a light in order to work towards the light.

I would venture to say that every winning team I've ever seen won the battle of the mind before they ever stepped foot on the field. They may be unsure and know there was a struggle, but they had hope!

I think of the rat in the cage experiment I learned about in one of my college Psychology classes. When rats have hope of avoiding shocks, they respond in basically Pavolovian ways to avoid the pain. But tie them down and shock them repeatedly without reason and they do not move. They hopelessly sit there and suffer. Even, when they are untied and all they have to do is move off of the shock sensor, they do not attempt to move. For in the process, they lost hope! Great administrators and leaders are vision casters who inspire real, believable hope. Sometimes they may doubt the possibility themselves, but never in front of their troops.

I protect my hope. I protect my attitude. I cast the vision and let my students know there is hope. There is celebration after struggle. There is a reason for hard work!

I am jumping out of the hole!

So tonight, I remind myself of all of the good things I have. I remind myself of the progress that I've made with my kids.

I remind myself of the private conversations I had with each of the two boys who now fight for their lives in hospital beds, too young to know that life is short.

I remind myself that the other kids that will be in my classroom tomorrow need me more than ever. I will not put on a fake front or unreal sunny disposition. I will spend time praying to see what I should say to the kids tomorrow. They need adults to cry with them and encourage them. Not sugar coat it. But be real.

They also need adults who know that there is a light and a believable hope in life. That at the darkest moments of life there is a Teacher who far surpasses me or any other in His ability to Teach them about such things.

I am a teacher.

Life. Teaching. I traded a six figure income for a pittance of a salary.

I traded a life making money for a life making true riches.

I traded a life of self serving for a life of service to mankind.

I am a teacher.

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Ethics Case Study: Best-selling teenage author admits lifting parts of novel - The Herald
Monday, April 24, 2006

This is an excellent case study for those of us who teach ethics in our classes. I will be using it in my blog this week.

Best-selling teenage author admits lifting parts of novel - The Herald: "
CTV.caBest-selling teenage author admits lifting parts of novel
The Herald - 1 hour ago
A teenage writer educated in Scotland last night admitted that passages in her best-selling debut novel had been borrowed from another book.


Here is my question, what should be the consequences? If there are none, it will reinforce to our children that the ends justifies the means.
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The mistaken identity of blogging: why educators are missing out!

I heard a great story about a honeymoon gone awry:

The groom and bride arrived exhausted at about 1 a.m. at the bridal suite at a posh hotel. They were exhausted from greeting friends and a long weekend of celebrations.

Upon scanning the room, they saw the couch, a refrigerator, a table and chairs, the bathroom, and a closet. Too tired to think, they kept looking for the bed. They finally figured out that the couch had a pull out bed in it. All night they slept fitfully (among other things) on a lumpy, uncomfortable sofabed.

In the morning, the bridegroom went down to the front desk to give them a piece of his mind about the terrible accommodations in their room. Quite confused, the manager took them to their room and went to the closet door.

He opened what the couple thought was a closet door into the most lush, comfortable, intimate king sized bed along with now-lukewarm champagne, chocolates, and specially engraved glasses all set out for the couple.

The couple missed out. All because of mistaken identity.

Mistaken Identity and the blogosphere

Many educators are turning to the blogosphere as the salvation of writing. They are having students hand in their papers on blogs and do regular writing assignments on a blog!

And then they groan because kids hate them! The teachers who jumped whole hog into blogging draw back dissillusioned! The newbie blogging teacher is frustrated with grading and wonders what the deal is!

(Research reference added) Some preliminary research done by Nicole Ellison on her Emperical Testing of Blogging in the Classroom shows no significant measurable difference in engagement and effectiveness of blogging used in her classroom. Check out her research whose purpose is to:

... report findings from one of the first empirical studies exploring whether online writing offers a true pedagogical advantage over traditional writing projects submitted on paper. In Spring, 2005 a pilot study testing the effectiveness of blogs as compared to traditional papers in the classroom was conducted by the two authors.
I tend to think that it was because these assignments were just mirror images of paper assignments and not necessarily tailored to the nature of the blogosphere that the results were not more different. (I'll post more on this research later.)

I do believe well-meaning teachers are trying to make the square peg of paper writing fit into the round hole of blogging. Yes, they both hinge upon writing, however, in my opinion, the mediums are decidedly different.

Many people are not getting the point of blogs and Web 2.0. They don't understand what it is! Additionally, they do not understand what blogs are NOT! (See Kathy Sierra and trying to move up the wisdom heirarchy.)

What blogs are not:
  • NOT A place to just turn in papers -

    Papers are best turned in on... well, paper. You can mark up errors on paper and correct things. You don't do that as well on blogs. There are some occasions where I have students turn in both a paper and post the paper on the weblog. This doesn't mean that I never turn papers in on the weblog, however, when the papers are done on weblogs, I have them add hyperlinks.

  • NOT A replacement for message boards. Message boards have their place. While you can comment and do such on blogs. Sometimes, I don't think blogs are going to cause the obsolescence of message boards. They have a purpose too.

  • NOT Something that will just sit there and run itself without teacher involvement. Not having to grade isn't here. In fact, I would say that something that runs without teacher involvement and monitoring points to only one thing -- a poor teacher. Teachers are integrated into every aspect of their classroom. It is not an easy profession, but a noble one for sure.

  • NOT Benign, boring, documents without hyperlink or reference.
    Hyperlink, folks. That is the point! Naked posts are abandoned islands in a sea of knowledge. If you don't want hyperlinks, perhaps a traditional paper is what you're looking for.

  • NOT A place to write in third person (unless you're producing research documents)

  • NOT be a place that reflects the sordid scum and dark side of society with profanity and unkindness.
    These types of blogs though they be from a PhD are from people who are, in my opinion, unprofessional and uneducated. Surely the flavorings of a varied vocabulary are the product of education. Profanity reeks of the first grader stomping their foot and calling someone "stupid' because they cannot win an argument. Profanity precludes a massive audience from reading your work!

What blogs are:
  • ARE A place to share your reflections about your passion - Renee Callahan says:
    For knowledge creation, blogging fuels that "love of the game."
  • ARE A Part of a Conversation - If a person only posts on a topic and never comments on another blog, they have missed half of the experience. Be a part of the conversation about your passion and topic!

    Besides, over half of my traffic is driven by comments. Don't be afraid you're giving away "secrets!" If your comment is that good, copy and post it back on your blog and trackback to the original article. That is conversation!

    The recent PEW study that everyone is quoting says:

    The internet and email aid users in maintaining their social networks and provide pathways to help when people face big decisions


  • ARE A tool to Extend Class conversation outside the classroom - The power of blogs is in assigning common topics and contributing to and guiding the conversation that emerges. Participate in the conversation by commenting on student blogs yourself and posting blog entries that synthesize and summarize what students say.

  • ARE the production of rich hypertext documents for sharing and conversing about information.

    A blog post without a hyperlink is a dead document. Hyperlinking is an essential skill, and I believe students should know how to do it manually in HTML. It is that important!

  • ARE A place to state your opinion and make it count. (See yesterday's post about Those Who Blog Care)

  • ARE A place where decision makers and influencers are looking to spot trends and opinions at first ripple.

  • ARE A place to promote yourself and your opinions (See Guy Kawasaki - 120 days wonder: how to evangelize a blog)

  • ARE a method to keep their minds sharp (and prevent Alzheimers according to Marshall K)

  • ARE A potential source of income for students. Dave Warlick blogs on this today. He says:

    The moral statement is that, while we continue to do a good job at teaching our students how to consume content (read), we must also be teaching them how to produce valuable information products (write, draw, compose, make movies, etc.). It is a viable and accessible revenue opportunity for all of us.

Blogs aren't what you think

I think teachers who take exactly what they are doing with paper and transpose that to a blog will be sadly dissapointed.


If you want a place to turn in papers, use turnitin.com. If you want a place to stimulate conversation, blog (and wiki.)

If you want to pull assignments out of kids almost against their will, assign papers. If you want students to enjoy posting and conversing about meaningful topics, blog and wiki.

Blogs are not the same thing as a paper. They weren't intended to be. They never will be. There is a place for both.

However, teachers have got the potential to create exciting, innovative conversations online have got to look into blogs and and wikis to use them in the best way possible. Blogs and wikis are meaningful, salient modes of communication to students. Shouldn't we use it to talk about History, English, Science, Math, and Computer Science?

Do we know what the best practices are in blogging yet?


No! I have my opinions, but the fact is that more research must be done to determine best practices. I agree with Nicole Ellison when she says:

However, while there is much discussion about the potential benefits of these tools, more work is needed to assess their impacts and identify best teaching practices.


How do I start?

I don't want to be redundant, so here are some of the most popular cool cat teacher blogs on these two topics.

Blogging:

Wikis:

Books to help you!

If you want to get started and love books (like me), I suggest reading David Warlick's book, Blogging in the Classroom, that is how I got started!

I also see that Will Richardson’s book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms is getting great reviews from educators, but I haven't read it yet. He's such a great blogger, that I'm sure its a good one and it is on my next to order and read list.

Blogging and wikis are a communication METHOD not a threat!

Those who fear technology and think it is disconnecting students with the real world (See The Overdominance of Computers in Educational Leadership) are missing the point that these channels of communication ARE our student's link to the real world! I agree with Jerram Froese on his Left Lane Ends post when he says:

What should we be doing? Teaching our kids through the use of POV. (Point of View) Getting our kids involved in the local, national and international community through the power of technology. Developing school systems that support and develop effective teachers. It is true, technology is their life - so let’s embrace that fact and find ways to help OUR kids think more effectively within that environment.
Bottom line on blogging in the classroom.

We should be using blogs in the correct way to enhance teaching. They do not necessarily replace papers, but add a whole new aspect to teaching!

If you do not see blogs for the opportunity that they really are, you will wake up in the morning, like the honeymooning couple and realize that you missed out because you did not recognize the true identity of the door that leads to the blogosphere. Even worse, your students will have missed out!

A note on research

Finally, I have been taken to task for my lack of research. I, however, am a classroom teacher. My research is in the eyes of my students. I observe, I watch, and I experiment. The intent of my blog is to share with you what I have observed and found to be true in a real classroom that is using blogs, wikis, podcasts, and most any Web 2.0 technology we can get our clickers upon.

Do not let me discourage you from trying something you think may work in your classroom, I look forward to seeing what you think and observe in your classroom until those who are doing the research can effectively measure and understand this new medium we are all grappling to get our arms around!

Keep the faith!

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People who care blog! The facts to prove it!
Sunday, April 23, 2006


Dave Sifry has posted his quarterly State of the Blogosphere on Technorati. It is fascinating!

Here are a couple of things that I have learned:
  • The blogosphere tends to double every 6 months.
  • The blogosphere is 60 times bigger than 3 years a go.
  • Fifty five per cent (55%) of bloggers are still blogging after 3 months.
  • A new web log is created every second.
  • Eleven per cent (11%) of blogs update weekly or more.
  • Sixty per cent (60%) of pings are from spam blogs and their cousin spings (ping spam -- or spam on trackbacks!)
  • The most amazing thing is the chart that is shown above which is the spike in blog postings as are correlated with world events. I think that the offline increase in conversations and how they are reflected in online life is fascinating. (If this interests you, you may want to see the Center for History and the New Media they are doing some cool analysis and research about this information.)
News Media watches the blogosphere for Grassroots News

In the historical article entitled Blogosphere: the emerging Media ecosystem the author, John Hiler, a mainstream journalist says:

By adding to the diversity of original content, weblogs have added a whole new layer to the Media Food chain. That puts weblogs at the base of the food chain, generating the sort of grassroots journalism that the new Media Ecosystem has grown increasingly dependent upon.

Because bloggers are closer to a story, they'll often pick up the sort of things that traditional Journalists miss. This is expecially true for Eyewitness blogs: blogs written by someone involved in a story...

In a world where over half the media outlets are controlled by six corporations, that sort of diversity of perspective is becoming increasingly important.

John Hiler goes on to discuss the "New Media Foodchain" where individual blogs have their conversations correlated by blog indices including daypop, blogdex, and technorati. This creates sort of a computer-filtered analysis of conversation. (John's article was written in 2002 but is excellent and such articles have influenced the news media over the last few years!)

John also talks about community blogs -- I would include my favorites: digg, and slashdot. These community blogs create good information because people submit articles and then rank them, thus it is a human-filtration type of index.

Why Blog?

Taking the information from Dave Sifry and the incredibly insightful article from John, here are several conclusions I have for you as a blogger.
  1. Consistent bloggers (that 11% who updates at least once a week) have an inordinate amount of influence compared to the average person in America.

    Everyone has opinions. Bloggers log those opinions. Those opinions act like "votes" and are counted!

  2. Bloggers who are smart have even more influence: they ping, they attach keywords to their post, and they submit articles and participate in community blogs such as dig.

    These habits of successful bloggers make sure that your opinion is found and considered by others.
People who care, blog!

It is one thing to have opinion, it is another thing to make it count.

So, if you CARE, if you WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, if you are passionate, there is an outlet for you besides unconstructive temper tantrums: YOU BLOG!

So, teacher, let's take this one step further. If you want your student's opinion to count, how can you best help them have this influence and effectiveness?
TEACH THEM TO BLOG EFFECTIVELY! Makes sense.

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Employing cognitive seductu-cation in the classroom (Typology of Cognitive Pleasures in the Classroom)
Thursday, April 20, 2006

No, I'm not talking about seducing your students! I'm talking about Kathy's Sierra's newest mind blowing post entitled, Cognitive Seduction (a Typology of User Experience Pleasures) in which Kathy profiles several books including the book Rules of Play, by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman.

In this book, game designer Marc LeBlanc defines 8 categories of experiences in a "typology of pleasure". Kathy summarizes them for those who design experiences for users in the corporate world. I'd like to take this Typology of User Experience Pleasures and put them in the context of the classroom.

These are the things about games that make them so addictive to students. We must use them to addict them to lifelong learning. Kathy Sierra is unbelievable!

Typology of Cognitive Pleasures in the Classroom

1. Discovery

This is why Socratic teaching is so very powerful, in my opinion. When you teach by asking questions, the STUDENT gets the light bulb experience. Even if the question is leading, they have the cognizance that THEY discovered it. THEY brought it to light. THEY then take it places I never could if I was just lecturing.

Educational Techniques that harness this: exploratory projects using wikis, Socratic teaching using Google, experiments (online and offline)

2. Challenge

Kathy defines this as:

User experience as obstacles to overcome, goals lying just beyond current skill and knowledge levels

You must get past the "helpless handraising" that you enable when you tell students everything.

If you only teach students to follow instructions in a book, then guess what? You've taught them to read instructions in a book. Again, producing mindless robots fit for a production line but not for the new thinking skills required to keep America competitive!

Push them to intuitive learning. Force them to use "hot tips" in Microsoft Office and use the help features and go online to find answers. Challenge them and push them a little past what they know how to do. Give them just enough information and push them past it.

Don't just tell them all the answers, guide them.

And remember the golden rule of Challenge:

Under no circumstances are you to ever touch, move, or enter any input into the mouse or keyboard of your student. Never allow them to do it for one another. It is theirs.

If I show them by doing it, I undo and then save. This makes it so they cannot just redo. They must learn by doing!

3. Narrative
Character identification.

4. Self-expression
User experience as self-discovery and creativity

I am grouping #3 and #4 together because I believe that blogging as something that is read but also something that is written follow so very well into these.

For example, blogging your experiences and your journey through a new technology chronicles your opinions, your progression, and reminds you that if you journeyed through ignorance to knowledge once that you can do it again.

Blogging about literature and commenting on others who are doing the same creates online conversation.

5. Social framework
User experience as an opportunity for interaction/fellowship with others (See my social theory of learning and software.)

Wikis and blogs key in on this beautifully! Whether it is worldwide collaboration on projects such as wikiville or class collaboration and projects, the social aspect of wikis and blogs is evident and powerful. It is also being unused by most classrooms!

6. Cognitive Arousal

I think this is what we're missing. We have kids' bodies in the chairs but their minds are somewhere else. Hasn't that always been the problem?

This is why energetic, passionate, emotional teachers are the most underrated, most powerful tool available to the classroom today. (See overlooked lethal weapon of teaching.)

More powerful than a computer, stronger than a textbook, more able than a curriculum to excite and ignite the spark of passion for learning and advancement in a child: a good teacher!

Gadgets cognitively arouse

You can also cognitively arouse by engaging not only all of the senses used by a child but also all of the gadgets used by a child. I believe that the future of education is in the palm of our hands: our cell phones, our iPods, our leapsters, our cameras, our PDA's, our laptops.

We've spent all our time telling kids they shouldn't bring these things to school when we should tell them -- "Bring it on and let me show you how to use them to learn." I show auditory learners how to download books from librivox.

I'd like to have a website that would work will cell phone text messaging. Then, when I'm doing presentations, the kids could use their cell phones to text the answer to the number. The website would then update and show their responses on my board. This would save money on expensive clickers. There could be extra "devices" to be used for those who don't have the phones.

Don't fight them, use them! I'm a renegade and I admit it. I use cell phones, iPods, microphones, PDA's, and all of those things in classroom instruction. We e-mail photos taken by cell phones for use in portfolios. We podcast and download reviews into iPods.

Goodness folks, we have the world at our fingertips and we won't let them bring it to class because we don't know how to use them! We're letting the ignorance of education prevent the learning of our students! There is more computing power in a cell phone than we had in computers 15 years a go!

7. Thrill
Kathy says... User experience as risk-taking with a safety net

This is what we get when we explore the web in search of information on a topic. This is what I did when I said,

Students, we're going to talk about Web 2.0 but I want you to tell me what it is. I've taken five web 2.0 terms and posted them on the wiki. Here are your groups, explore. You will make a wiki about what you find. You will use the technology and you will demonstration to the class in two days. GO!

That is why my kids are fired up about what is happening on the Internet. The THRILL that they discovered it themselves. That is what you don't get with lecture!

8. Sensation

Involve all of the senses: touch, sight, hearing, and yes, even taste and smell.

Do you know how I teach the students to participate in Socratic discussions. (Some of you will hate this and criticize me greatly!) I use food.

I have the Mrs. Vicki candy bucket at the front of the room and I almost go broke keeping it stocked. At certain times and heavily at the beginning of the year (partial reinforcement works best), I pull out the bucket. When we discuss and they give a meaningful answer, I throw the candy to them and let them eat it right there!

They laugh because it is funny seeing me and my noodle arm throw the candy, but they love it! Each student gets one piece only and they don't get any next time if I find a wrapper on the desk. As I go along, I ask who hasn't gotten their candy yet and they are only too eager to participate.

Many of our best class discussions are on the days we have candy. It's not a big piece, sometimes Starbursts, sometimes chocolate. (I have something different for kids who can't have chocolate.)

Make fun of me all you want, but the best teachers I know all use food as a motivator. I also have my big "parties" once or twice a year for each class. We eat and cogitate about lessons learned or celebrate big accomplishments. (Like our portfolio party coming up the day after portfolios are due.) This works well in adult classes too!

This means I have to get approval from administration and move to another location on campus, but we do it!

Taste and smell motivate as do the other sensory organs. Involve them!

9. Triumph

I did it and I was awesome!

Honest, sincere praise is the most amazing and free motivator known to man. My senior Graphic Design students just finished their ad campaigns. I promptly got a table and displayed their work in the hall. They are so proud because their work is unbelievable!

This is also where celebrations -- BIG ONES make a difference. This is like the "steak out" I do for my eighth grade when they've finished the keyboard. This is like the SAT party we have after we take the test!

The greatest pleasure of a sporting event is after you've won, lying exhausted on the field, knowing you gave it all, and it was enough! You've won!

We've got to give kids that exhiliaration on a weekly, continuing, ongoing basis. Grading papers tells them what they've MISSED.

Try this experiment. Check all of the answers they get right and mark nothing on those they get wrong. Still give them the same grade they would have made otherwise. See what they do!

I do this every so often and the kids love it!

My kids have a sense of triumph because they are doing something with Web 2.0 that their friends at other schools know nothing about. College kids are calling my ninth and tenth graders asking for help with wikis and blogs. They are part of something that transcends them. We call finding Web 2.0 our "happy accident of the year."

Give your kids a sense of triumph. That is what graphing the GWAM of my 8th graders did. I give high fives, candy, etc. That is what pies in the face, and cutting off ties, and shaving heads of administrators and teachers do. Triumph! A ha! I did something great!

Get creative and figure it out!

10. Flow
Kathy says: User experience as opportunity for complete concentration, extreme focus, lack of self-awareness

In the greatest experiences of class, my students will say when the bell rings, "Is that the bell, is class over?"

Yesterday, we were talking about Web 2.0 and evaluating the teen vogue website for our class ranking project (using the awesome Intel thinking tools), the bell rang and NONE of us noticed. We talked for about 2 minutes until the kids from the next class knocked. We were in a flow, engaged, and excited.

(By the way, they think teen vogue is missing they boat. They think they should let teen's blog about the fashions show the blog entries in comments after each fashion. They think they should mashup with Google map and let them clip the fashions they want and then printout a shopping list and where they can get the fashions. They think Teen Vogue is too focused on the magazine and doesn't see where the Internet is taking them. I think they should be hired tomorrow by Teen Vogue!)
Dr. Eugene Griessman, one of my favorite college professors, often talked of the flow state as an attribute of high achievers!


The last three are!

11. Accomplishment
User experience as opportunity for productivity and success

12. Fantasy
User experience as alternate reality

13. Learning
User experience as opportunity for growth and improvement


We need to harness these aspects of cognitive seduction and use them to make Cognitive SEDUCT-ucation. We're fighting the technologies that can open the minds of these kids! Wake up educators and thank you, Kathy, you're not only creating passionate users, you are creating a passionate teacher!
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Add RSS feeds to your wikispace
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

You can add RSS to your wikispace. This is so very useful and I used it today to make the Westwood Wikispace much more useful for my students.

Here is what I did:
1) I made it so that the most recent 5 entries in class blogmeister are automatically on my wiki homepage.

This is useful because the kids were having to check the blog and the wiki. This way they can just check one place. This is useful.

2) The most recent 5 headlines from the school news.

3) Today's school schedule and events.

Here is why I did it:

  • Obvious reasons,
      • To keep the students informed, to keep it simple. One place for everything in class!

  • Unobvious reasons, to tell the story. (See yesterday's post.)

    When students see real ways that RSS benefits them, they begin to understand the WHY behind RSS. When they see the WHY, they will care more about the HOW!
Here is how I did it:

1) Go to the page you want to get the feed from and look for the little XML or RSS "chicklet on the page"
2) Right click and select "Copy Link Location" or "Copy Shortcut"
3) Look at the instructions and when you type the code in your wikispace, paste in the URL that you just copied.
4) Remember if you want to just have the titles, then set description=false

I'm excited!
This is so very useful and helpful! My students are going to love it! I assign questions of the week on blogmeister and they just forget to check it. Now, that is not going to be a problem because the wikispace is the hub of all we do!

I think it is important to have a one stop shop to prevent confusion. Using RSS lets you do that!

My students are using the wikispace for this semester's project and I'm offering bonus if they use an RSS feed on their wikispace to track information about the Web 2.0 website they select for their project. I want them to see, become interested, do, and understand!

We're having so many "light bulb moments" lately. It is very exciting!

Time for a break
I'm taking a hiatus for a few days. I will come back a renewed and excited blogger, a better teacher, and a better mother.

This is a tough time of year. Remember that:

"You can't pour water out of an empty bucket."
Quote: me!

Refill your bucket by taking time for yourself. Smelling the flowers. Enjoying the scenery. Reading a book. Taking a run! Doing something non work related. This is about living life not just about how many things you cross off your list!

You won't remember if you missed a few days posting your blog. Your child will remember if you never have time to watch their game. Or if every time you showed up, you spent it talking on your cell or texting. Take time to actually BE with your family. Mind, body, attention, focus. Family and friends are important!

Keep the faith. Keep the fire burning by adding fuel. Tell the story!

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Tell the story, simply!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006

All of us David Warlick fans have been innundated with David's "Tell the new story" challenge. Well, he's come out with a meaningful, and relevant post that I think every edublogger in our new movement needs to read, entitled "Types of New Stories," David classifies stories into three categories:
  • Community Stories
  • Reformer Stories
  • Implementation Stories

I'm definitely an implementation story as I implement and try new Web 2.0 techniques as they fit with effective educational practices. What kind of storyteller are you?

Web 2.0 needs to be explained simply
As we contemplate on the stories we have to tell, I think that a great bit of Web 2.0 history is found on the Technosight blog where bloggers were challenged to begin telling the story to everyday folks in terms they can understand. (Hat tip to Marshall K.)

Acronyms are problems
Acronyms are sometimes the technological person's own worst enemy. Whereas for a techie, they make communication more efficient and specific, for the nontechie they create obstacles.

Why tell the story?

This isn't about becoming rich or famous or well known. This is about becoming efficient, effective, and relevant to modern day kids who can personalize their iPods and cellphones but have to wear matching shirts to school.

In order to use the power of Web 2.0 to educate our children we need to use the power of our minds and collective discussions to simplify Web 2.0 to be understandable and relevant to decisionmakers and "powers that be."

Why do we need stories? Won't facts do?

I love metaphors because they make things understandable even to a child. Even better than metaphors are true stories that are going on in my classroom and the classroom of the many educators that inspire me and others to reach further, do more, and be more. Not to settle.

Stories are things that anyone can understand. That is why they must be told.

Will you be a storyteller too?


I'm going to tell my story and to work on following the KIST principle (Keep it Simple, Techie!)

What do you think?

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Let's Celebrate Computer Science Education at our Schools

Computer Science Education Day?

In his post: Let's Celebrate Computer Science Education at our Schools:, Alfred says:
"Brian Scarbeau came up with what I think is a completely wonderful idea (read his proposal here). The short version is that while most subject departments at most schools have annual 'days' or 'weeks' that they celebrate there is no one special day or week to celebrate computer science education. There is Latin week, French week, school library week, and the list goes on and on. Why not a Computer Science Education day?"
Grace Hopper's Birthday?

The article goes on to quote Brian from the Computer Science Teachers Association who suggests putting this day on December 9th which is Grace Hopper's birthday. Grace Hopper was regarded as a computer "futurist" of her generation, beginning her work with the Navy on the Mark I and moving to the Mark II by the end of the war. She' s my kind of woman. On her first day on the job, here is what she was told:

She was the third person to join the research team of Professor (and Naval Reserve lieutenant) Howard H. Aiken, who had requested her months earlier and greeted her with the words, "Where the hell have you been?"

Then he pointed to the Mark I electromechanical computing machine: "There's the machine. Compute the coefficients of the arc tangent series by next Thursday."
She worked on compilers and programs that led to the development of COBOL and upon her death in 1992 was still consulting for Digital.

People who knew her

Alfred of the Computer Science teacher blog, says:
I was privileged to meet Grace Hopper on a couple of occasions. She really inspired me to study computer science. But more than that she was an inspiration in life. She was a scientist, a naval officer (something she was very proud of) but in a real sense she was also a teacher. Several generations of military people learned about computers directly from her lectures.
I am all for a day of celebrating computer science!

How important is the date?

I am sure that there will be many discussions and dissertations concerning the DAY that should be selected. In reality, when we select a day we are celebrating the contributions of every person from Augusta Ada Byron to Vinton Cerf who has participating in this completely new field. I'm not going to get caught up in that discussion of the date, although others will, I'm sure.

Computer Science must be recognized as a field of study!

When science began it was as a discipline of philosophy. It actually took time for it to be recognized as its own field of study! I believe that computer science has rapidly become its own branch of study. Of course it is interrelated with math, science, and language skills just as those disciplines are related with one another, however it is a discipline that deserves to be recognized.

Yes, the computer itself must be integrated with all aspects of teaching just like paper and pen. And yet, there is a whole field of study of how it works, how to make it work, the history of technology, and beyond. Many think that it only belongs at the college level. I disagree.

The Certification Debaucle!

As I have worked with standards and becoming certified in "computer Science" I have three routes to go:

1) The vocational education route - I can go take classes with the "welders" and others as this subject is relegated to vocational teaching in most schools, (welding is important, but not related to computer science!)

2) The business education route - Closely related and synonymous with Option #1 at many locations this would include many unrelated topics to computer science and not necessarily computer science itself.

3) I can become certified as a middle school math teacher, take a break from one of my computer courses and teach middle school math to receive my certification. Then I can take the test to transfer the certification to Business education. (This was actually the best option and I considered it. It did leave me scratching my head!)

These options are from a counselor at a local college. Perhaps I have oversimplified. However, none of these would give me a true certification in what I am teaching: Computer Science! I'm not to good to go learn welding if it will make me a better computer science teacher. I have one life to live, however, and three kids, and I'm not going to waste it running down pointless bunny trails. Distractions!

Computer Science is a discipline!

Computer Science is a discipline unto itself. It is vital. It is important. Every student needs a good amount of literacy in this new electronic playing field, board room, and communications method. We must be unafraid and able to interact.

But to begin to educate on a wide scale we must be moved out of the vocational track, onto the college prep track ALSO, and be treated as a discipline worth covering at the high school level and below.

My good luck!

I am fortunate to be at a school that recognizes the importance of Computer Science. Under our accreditation my 150+ hours of college computer science and related courses qualify me to be teaching in field. I continue to be dissappointed in the system that seems to be slow to react to the facts of life as I seek to advance my knowledge and be a better teacher!

While our world moves at the speed of Exa-bytes, the field of education seems to be lagging behind a mega - bit!

Join in the Chorus for a Computer Science education day.


Let's not get distracted by the date we select!

I applaud the efforts of the CTSA and encourage you to join if you are a computer science educator!
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Podcasting: What will it take for the 1% to grow?
Sunday, April 16, 2006

There are few things that we need to help podcasting grow:

1) Podlinks


In an incredible post by Mr. Kuropatwa in his A Difference Blog, he says:

For example, Ewan shared, in our most recent skypecast (58 min 9 sec. Start listening at 17 min. 10 sec.), an observation about a news reporter younger than he...
This is a great article. Mr. K cites something I really want to hear. It is four or five clicks away (if I'm a non-techie I wouldn't bother!)

I would love it if Mr. K, myself, and others who are increasingly citing podcasts didn't have to go through this cumbersome method of citing sources. There should be an easy way to hyperlink to the actual clip -- podlinks for lack of a better term.

We could actually fill our posts with both written and spoken word. This would be very useful. (See a picture of somebody and hear them talk or even better watch a video clip.)

2) Easier editing of podcasts.

Odeo has started doing a great job creating an easy way to RECORD podcasts but editing is not there yet. (See how my students are using it.)

The alternative is to record in audacity, edit it, use the CC commons program to upload to archive.com and fill in all the information. (A pain, in my opinion.)

I predict that when podcasting becomes as easy as blogging that we will have more podcasters. Same for vodcasting.

Leo LaPort was talking about podzinger on a recent podcast and he commented on the fact that he was the most listened to podcast on podzinger. He said that would change quickly as more everyday folks started listening to podcasts.

This makes sense. Early adopters use the technology first. Techies are the only one's who'll struggle with this stuff. Odeo is great and will have some initial usage. Until there is an easy way to do this, however, it won't take off.

Look at the blogging.
Blogging has been around for three to four years. It really entered the mainstream in the last several years. I knew that I'd arrived when one of my teachers told me the other day,

"I thought you were crazy but there was a blogger on CSI the other night."


I guess I'm legit now that CSI did a spot, huh?

Podcasts have a great future!

Only around 1% of US households are listening to podcasts according to a new Forrester research study. I, however, am listening while I am grading to learn new things. I am listening as I drive for motivation. I am listening as I wash dishes to prevent having a pity party!

Learn to podcast and find your favorites.

This is all part of the personalization of our society. Good, easy to use personalization will make and break the company of the future.

I have a question for you:

Are we willing to personalize education?
Do we want to personalize our society and yet we try to mass produce our children?

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Help kids remember HTML with funky chickens

Teaching HTML

Teaching HTML is a little tricky sometimes. Having just finished a module on HTML, I wish I had found this site then.

Funky-chickens.com is a neat user-friendly website that gives the basic HTML tags. (Hat tip to Bud the Teacher and his blogging portfolio toolbox.)

I like to teach the concept of HTML like a bird's nest. The Tags are the sides of the nest and the precious eggs are the words in the middle. You have to have both sides of the nest or the eggs aren't safe.

Oversimplified but it works.
Build traffic to your blog by creating HTML comments

You can use HTML to your advantage. If you are posting on someone's blog and commenting about a post you've written, you should always hyperlink to your post. (If HTML is allowed.)

Why comment?

I get around 50% of my traffic from comments.
Comments mean that you are contributing in a meaningful way to the emerging global conversation.

Face it folks, blogging is not all about you or me or any ONE person. It is about finding trends and learning. It is about creating virtual hubs of knowledge as we share thoughts and emerge with renewed opinion and passion. It is about being educated.

If you're so hung up on your stats that you can't walk away and play with your kids one day, rethink. If you're so hung up on having your knowledge on your blog that you don' t have time to read and comment on someone else's blog, you're missing the point of blogging!

Blogging means that I join you so we can be better than you or I could be alone.

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Collaboration in creating a Georgia Photo blog by educators
Saturday, April 15, 2006

I think edubloggers can model the type of behavior that needs to happen in all walks of life, collaborative blogging.

Stephen, Lisa, Jeff, and I have created a Georgia photo blog called www.gaphotos.com. Stephen is really the instigator and starter of it all. We are really enjoying it.

I'd like to quote something from my profile:

Blogging is amazing in that it has brought together some educators from around the state who probably never would have met.

As we blog we learn that we have more in common than we realize.

As we share our photographs, we become even more alike. I love the state of Georgia and hope to share my corner with you. I respect my fellow contributors and am humbled that they would consider me worthy of inclusion.
Although we do not all necessarily agree on everything, we all have a common enjoyment of photography and love of our state.

Such endeavors build bridges of friendship. Over such bridges we may walk to our future.

There are several benefits to collaborative blogging:
  • It takes the "pressure off" to feel like you have to post everyday.
  • It is easier to see conversations emerging.
  • You have several sources of information and thus in some ways, more credibility.
  • It is fun!

If I were to create a Georgia photo blog, it is just me in south Georgia and I would obviously lack credibility. It would take a lot of effort to travel throughout the state for one of us! By having four educators located in various places in the state, we truly get more sides of an issue.

Likewise with collaborative blogs on any topic. (It can also be done with SuprGlu!)

Are you considering collaborative blogging?

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How to be better at everything you do!
Friday, April 14, 2006

After reading Kathy Sierra's blog: Animals love exercise...why don't we? I feel that I've been remiss in not sharing a very important part of my life over the past year with you.

Kathy says:
Want to be a little smarter? Have a better memory? Stay mentally sharp? Improve higher brain function? Run. Those who exercise have a mental advantage over those who don't.
She's right.

The lifestyle change that changed everything

There are many reasons for my renewed invigoration and energy this past year. Perhaps the primary one was a major lifestyle change that my husband and I undertook spring break last year.

Kip and I had been talking about doing "something" for a while. We were both 50 and 40 pounds overweight, respectively, and I was having terrible back trouble. I didn't feel good. I had no energy. We just couldn't keep up with our three kids. We looked at Body for Life and thought it would work for us but figured we'd have to get up at 5 a.m. to run or lift weights. That seemed awfully early for folks who didn't have energy.

And then he left

One morning I woke up at 5:15 a.m. and he was gone. Not gone for good but he came back around 5:45 drenched and smiling. He had gotten up.

"This is it. I am taking back my life. I am no longer going to feel like my best days are behind me. I am drawing the line in the sand and taking back my health starting today. I will no longer be a victim of my own bad habits. It is going to stop and it is going to stop now!"
The next day

The next day, I worked out with him. The Body for Life program has worked for us. We're both very technical and I can honestly say I've always hated running until about 10 weeks into it. I now LOVE to run and can run a mile in less than 10 minutes which is good considering when I started I couldn't finish in 20 minutes. I love lifting weights and haven't "bulked up at all!"

We've been going for almost a year. Kip has lost 40 lbs and I've lost 30. We look and feel like new people. We've undertaken new things.

Kip has been promoted twice since he lost the weight. The folks at work respect his desire and discipline and it has flowed over into his work. I've started blogging and writing again..something I've missed greatly over the last few years. I feel like I am a new person!

A legacy to live by


Even better, we are modeling behavior for our children. They see us making healthy decisions and living healthy lives. We run and play with them. They like their new parents.

Interestingly, I have gained increased attention and interest from my students. (And I look 10 years younger and shop in the juniors department sometimes!) Some of them have seen my drive to get up at 5 a.m. each morning and do it too. In fact, the football team meets at school at 6:30 a.m. and lifts weights each morning, not because of me but because of our football coach. It has now become the cool thing at our school to get up early and exercise. I can't take credit for it all, but maybe I had a little part.

Put First things First

Stephen Covey talks about putting "First things First."

For me, it is getting up, reading my Bible, praying, and exercising. Before anyone else gets up.

Thank you, Kathy for reminding me to share my transformation.

Lessons from the Journey of Transformation

It doesn't matter what you do, just do something. Here is what I've found in my journey:

1- There is no such thing as losing weight without sweat.

2 - There is no such thing as getting healthy without sacrifice.


3 - You don't have to give up everything you love to get healthy.
(You can eat your favorites just not the WHOLE CAKE!)

4 - My problem was emotional eating, not hunger.
I had to learn to recognize the signs and stop it.

5 - I had to have a "free day."

The hinge of the Body for Life program is having one day a week to "blow it." I could eat anything I wanted, as much as I wanted. That was chocolate chip cookie day. Most people couldn't believe that I lost 30+ pounds eating 10 chocolate chip cookies a week. They'd see me on my "free day" and be shocked at how I was eating.

I could make it through the week knowing that at the end I could have anything I wanted. ANYTHING!

6 - Find what works for you --
My sister jumps rope and has a Blizzard once a week. I run and lift weights and eat cookies on Sunday. I have friends who go to Curves and has a huge Starbucks frappucino on Saturdays. It has to fit you and your personality. But it always involves work, planning, and sacrifice.

7- Accept imperfection
My problem was that I was trying to do "diets" perfectly. This wasn't a diet but a lifestyle change. Bill Phillips stresses

"It is not what you do all the time that determines your health, but what you do most of the time."
You're not going to look like Cindy Crawford because Cindy Crawford says she doesn't look like Cindy Crawford! We are imperfect humans. Enjoy the journey. Seeing yourself improve is fun!

Enjoy the results!

I can honestly say everything in my life is better. After the first 10 pounds my back problems went away. I am four sizes smaller. I am a whole lot happier.

The Magic Pill

If someone told you that there was a magic pill you could take that would prolong your life, prevent cancer, prevent diabetes, prevent stroke and heart attack, prevent depression, and prevent osteoperosis you would take it. The side effects are profuse sweat about 30 minutes a day and infrequent growling of the stomach. You would rush out to buy the pill!


Well folks, it isn't a pill. I've just described exercise and healthy eating.

Why don't you join in?
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33 Days of Wikis and the Comments of my students
Thursday, April 13, 2006

I've enjoyed the 33 days of wikis. (Hat tip to Marshall K for his article.) It has been a great piece.

Thanks to Adam at wikispaces for nominating my school's wiki. As a result, the folks at eastwikkers named our wikispace #13. I was quite excited!

As an assignment, my students are posting comments on there and stating what they think about the wiki process. I will be interesting to see what they post and how they do out from under my firm eagle-eye. (I'm a little nervous.)

They'll be posting while I'm out tomorrow with my daughter's tonsilectomy. Here are the first two comments:

Wikis are becoming more and more popular in our school. Although we may complain about posting/blogging I think it will be able to help us later on in our school career. Actually most of us do not realize how much it is helping us out right now. It gets us involved with other people and their activities so we are not just confined in our small community. Mrs. Vicki has given us the opportunity to share and experience other people and their points of view from all over the world. Wikis and blogging will become more and more popular and will help us all. Kristy

Wikis are good because they enable people everywhere to communicate in an efficient, well-developed method. It allows classrooms to expand their horizons and communicate and compare their methods of teaching with other teachers and classes. In addition to teachers, students can harness the power of wikis through study. Study guides can be made on wikipages. Here at are page we have a "study hall" wiki where we post the day's homework. Andrew S.


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Observations of a New Blogger: Guy Kawasaki Style


Guy's new blog entry entitled The First 100 Days: Observations of a Nouveau Blogger are a must read. Guy made it to the Technorati Top 100 in his first 100 days!

There are a several points which I love and I will quote from Guy.

Three Kinds of Bloggers: Human Newsbots, Ranters, Essayists

Point #3
There are three kinds of bloggers: human newsbots (is this an oxymoron?), ranters, and essayists. Each kind is an art form. The third category, the essayists, might be the most difficult kind of blogging, and unfortunately, the category I aspire to.
Me too, Guy. I aspire to be an essayist. An inspiration. A motivation.

A connection with other teachers of all kinds, ages, and walks to tell them that amidst their days of exhaustion and frustration they are producing a beautiful thing.

Like Michealangelo working on the Sistine Chapel -- sometimes we are too close to see the beauty of the art that is being created in the lives of our students!

Good Bloggers Read, Reflect, Relate, and Relay

People who just regurgitate their bloglines readings aren't adding anything to the conversation but an echo. (Human newsbots)

Ranters are the bellyachers. I've got enough of that! I work with teenagers! They live the rant!

However, essayist is the true contributor. The excellent blogger.

It is when a blogger can read, reflect, relate, and relay that they join the conversation and become useful.

  • Read - Good bloggers read others in their field.
    • They learn who the experts are and watch for new guys who are going to make a difference.
    • They read outside their field.
    • They know about history and show a Rennaissance love for many disciplines!
    • They read books too!
    • They are, in short, educated.
  • Reflect - Good bloggers do not usually post every other second, they reflect.
    • They think.
    • They contemplate what they have read and how it relates to their current knowledge base.
    • Sometimes they take a break! You can not pour water out of an empty pitcher.
  • Relate - Good bloggers relate what they know with the new information.
    • They relate their blog posts to the other blogs by hyperlinking to and by commenting on the original posts.
    • They join the conversation and don't just self promote.
    • They relate to the other members of the blogosphere with humility.
    • They view other bloggers as partners in the quest for knowledge, not as competition.
  • Relay - Good bloggers relay their knowlege.
    • They aren't stingy with their information.
    • They know that when they create something of use that people will return.
    • Although there are pirates out there, they won't be afraid to sail by posting valuable information that helps others live better lives.
    • They relay the baton to others and allow the conversation to proliferate without being haughty or proprietary.
Blogging is easy

I wish everyone would read his #6 post:

6. Blogging technology is a piece of cake
It is easy. It is useful. It is important. This medium is changing the world.

Blog to change the world!


I also like his #10 post:

10. It's hard to make money blogging. The advertising revenues don't add up to much, but there are other significant rewards like helping people change the world..
Amen, brother Guy, preach it!

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Creating Passionate Teachers, blooker awards

Blooker awards named.
As a follow up to my post, bloggers should look at blooking, LuLu has named their Blooker award winners for 2006.

Julie & Julia
The winner was my favorite: Julie and Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen. This is a blook of the authors blog of cooking every recipe in the Julia Child's cookbook. It is NOT a cookbook. It is more about her life, so read the reviews on Amazon to make sure it is what you want to buy. I don't like some of the language.

It's not what she wrote but HOW!
The only reason I'm really interested in this book is in the dynamics of HOW it happened.

The implications of blooking
The ability to blook or even self publish through companies such as LuLu has just begun to transform the publishing/ writing business.

When I heard President Carter speak he talked about how hard it was for HIM to get a poetry book published. He said that there is sort of an "old poet" network and many obstacles to a new person breaking in. He said if he wasn't a former President, he wouldn't have been able to make it happen!

Goodbye old boys, hello young upstarts!

I predict that the blooking business is going to turn the old boy network onto its proverbial ear. I think it will give a new rise for talent (and unfortunately smut in some cases.)

The winners of Web 1.0 were upstart website companies. The winners of the Web 2.0 phenomenon are going to be writers and content producers many of whom are now nameless but soon will be household names (as well as a few companies.)

Smart publishing houses are going to start perusing the Net and seeking out talent!

Reach out and touch someone

What it means that a teacher in an obscure classroom can reach out and touch people around the world, not only through the electronic means of the Internet but through paper medium as well.

Passionate People hurdle obstacles

There were some fires in 2003 that scorched San Diego, California that jumped 10 lane interstates! This is synonymous to passion. Passion of all kinds.

In this case, I'm talking about passionate beliefs. I'm passionate about technology and its ability to transform the traditional classroom into an engaging, effective place by which critical thinkers emerge ready to change the world.

I'm passionate about pushing my students to think differently, be unafraid of new technology, and know how to 'figure stuff out."

Students will not be quiet in my classroom. I will teach them and have them answer questions as I engage them in Socratic teaching. They will know what they think and why they think as they do. (See Ranking Learning Project I did yesterday.) They will also be willing to change their minds as necessary.

If a wildfire can jump a 10 lane interstate, I believe those with passion are people who do not let obstacles stand in their way. Passionate teachers don't let resources, politics, people, or their own tiredness stand in the way of excellence in their classroom.
Passionate teachers don't settle. Passionate teachers engage and excite students.

Passionate teachers fan the flame in themselves and their students that will light the wildfires of tomorrow's innovation.

Passionate teachers spread their passion through edublogs where they share what they are doing, what works, and what doesn't.

I'm a passionate teacher. Are you?

In Conclusion

Web 2.0, blooking, so many new things. I don't know where it will end, but as I reflect I call to mind a quote from the second UN Secretary-General, a Swede, Dag Hammarskjold:

"I am being driven forward
Into an unknown land.
The pass grows steeper,
The air colder and sharper.
Wind from my unknown goal Stirs the strings Of expectation.
Still the question:
Shall I ever get there?
There where life resounds,
A clear pure note
In the silence."

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Revolutionary online thinking tools for kids from 3rd grade to adults! (Free too!)
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

This morning as I lifted weights I listended to another podcast that I found on Podzinger. (See yesterday's post.) On the Tech Teacher Podcast, this episode from 4/11 covers three incredible tools from the Intel teach to the future program.

Some of you may have been trained through this program, but I've never heard of it. I suggest that you listen to the program and also go the Intel Teaching tools site (http://www.intel.com/education/tools/) as you listen. You will be trained as you listen to some very knowledgeable educators of elementary aged students and older.

Here is what I learned.

The three tools are:

Technical Requirements


Cool features:
  • Great for smartboard use - The teacher can view summary information for the class and discuss on the board.
  • The Seeing Reason and Showing Evidence tool allow you to drag graphics in from Inspiration and Kidspiration.
  • Students are able to save their projects at several points so the teacher can follow their train of thought.
  • There are a lot of places they can enter notes and when you put your mouse over the markers you can view their reasoning. (Double click to put a comment.)
  • They can compare their information with the class average or other teams. This helps them justify and rethink. It coaches them to form an opinion and be prepared to justify what they think! Critical thinking!
Get set up to use the tools.

1. Go to the Teacher Setup Page
2. Enter your e-mail, name, and basic information and sign up. (Write down your teacher ID, the students will need it to log in, I set mine to be coolcatteacher@gmail.com).
3. Login
4. Set up your teams -- I did this first. You can assign them to whichever projects you like. Once you set the team usernames and passwords as well as who is on the team, just print out the page and copy it.
5. Select the type of project you'd like to set up. (Start with Ranking, its easy). If you aren't sure click the Try the Tool button for demos.
6. Set up the project by typing in the information. For ranking enter the items you want them to rank (one on each line, up to 86 characters.)
7. After you enter the information and click update, then the program takes you to the screen to assign the teams. Just check the teams and assign them.
8. I gave the copied sheet to the teams with username and passwords. If you are concerned about them knowing each other's passwords you can do it on Index cards, etc.

Here's what's funny -- it is easy enough for adults to use! Having taught over 1,000 adults in my days in college teaching I know they are more difficult to please.

One person on the podcast even reported using the ranking tools to let the teachers have input into the budget cuts they were having to make. The five or six items they were considering cutting were listed. The teachers were given login information and several days to fill it out! I'm going to use it on our technology plan also!

My first project: the Ranking Tool

In Computer Science we are learning effective web design. We have six principles that I've taught them about effective design. I have three websites for the teams to evaluate.

The program is very easy. They:
  • Log in,
  • Click on the project (I numbered them),
  • Read the instructions,
  • Discuss
  • Drag the rank order, and then
  • Insert comments.
  • After this, they saved. Then they compared to other teams and added comments. Sometimes they reranked at this point.

I do require that each student double click on each rank after they have dragged it to the place they want and put their comments in. (Otherwise some may just randomly drag things around and say they are done.)

The program will allow them to compare their team's rankings with that of other teams. I've told them that when they see discrepancies I expect them to explain WHY They think that. I also told them to make sure they don't ALL have the same answers.

This has created incredible discussions and I've really enjoyed how it brought the principles into the classroom.

See how it works:

If you want to go into my project, I've created a DEMO team for you to log into and see the setup of the project.
1) Go to http://tinyurl.com/rzlj7
2) Teacher ID: coolcatteacher@gmail.com
3) Student ID: Demo
4) Password: Demo

The front page of Intel Teaching Tools:

Better learning will not come from finding better ways for the teacher to instruct but from giving the learner better opportunities to construct.

-Seymour Papert, Professor Emeritus, MIT Media Lab
Visual Ranking Seeing Reason Showing Evidence Tool

In Conclusion
Remember, always be willing to try something new. If you want your students to be willing to change, you must model that behavior yourself.

If you want students to be thinkers, you must employ tools that make them think.

I'm not too sure that much thinking is involved in rote memorization and regurgitation. That was fine for the industrial age but now that we are in the electronic age, we need critical thinkers.

I love the Intel Tools! They have done a great job!

One interesting sidenote. When the Intel rep was asked when some new tools are coming out, she said that they will be spending at least the next two years on cross platform compatibility and in taking the use of these tools to impoverished countries. It sounds like the Apple / Intel relationship as well as the $100 laptop per child scenario have Intel refocusing a little.
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Student created wikis changing college final exams.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Wikis used to study for finals at University of California

There is a fascinating article on Wikis (4/3/06) in the University of California student newspaper. Students in a class created a study wiki for a professor's final without his knowing it...they did it on Wikipedia.

As they began studying, some classmates received a mysterious e-mail directing them to a Web site on Wikipedia, the well-known user-edited online encyclopedia.

“Let[’]s compile our answers,” the site began. “The ultimate goal is to add to each other[’s] answers — cram with as much detail as possible.”
Wisely, the professor didn't fight it. He says:
“There’s no secret knowledge in my class, and anything that puts more information out there for students is a good thing,” said Kousser, who was not aware of the site his students created until an interview with the Guardian last week. Students in other classes also reported using similar wiki study guides.
Wikis aid in doctoral thesis writing

There are several other ways that Wikis are being used at the U of Cal. Doctoral students are using wikis to "split up their research and then collaborate on the final product." This is because of the ease of using wikis without knowing HTML.

Few Ethical Problems Experienced

Although many people have been cautious about wikis, the professors here report having few ethic problems.

“We have not had any incidences of malicious or adversarial competition,” he (Bossewitch) said. “Quite the opposite: People are producing much better work, in light of the fact that other people are going to be looking at it.”

Bottom Feeders are the Demotivation

The drawbacks that seem to make some students hesitant is when they give more to the wiki than they perceive that they are getting as well as the occurence of "bottomfeeders" who leech and contribute nothing but glean information.

Aren't they always? Like the people who snag whole paragraphs out of a blog and don't see fit to even acknowledge their source.

But Wiki's weren't the Holy Grail of Finals


The wiki didn't solely help a person ace the exam because the professor said that someone who studied the wiki would only have 66% of the questions for his test. (Wonder why he knew the percentage?)

I wonder if he went the the wiki and did that on purpose when he made out the test -- perused the wiki to make sure he had some other information. This would weed out the students who didn't study or read on their own. Like I said, smart guy!

Thailand educators want to use a wiki to circumvent their Ministry of Education


Another interesting article I came across was educator's efforts in Thailand (4/10/06) to circumvent their ministry of education's resistance to the translating of their textbooks. Here is their solution at Thailand's first EduBlog Con:

"I have a problem with teaching US geography and Tudor kings to Thai children in international schools," she said and noted that in light of the Ministry of Education's unwillingness to allow Thai textbooks to be translated, she said a decentralised Wiki, free from the control of the MoE, to let these children learn about what it is to be Thai will be the best way to preserve Thai culture among the next generation.
Podcasts to Deliver Education to Impoverished Countries?

Finally, a podcast I'm listening too now is Tom Rafferty's Podleaders interview with Ken Carroll of ChinesePod and his interest in using podcasting to deliver high quality education to impoverished countries via podcast. (I think vodcast would apply there.)

Good teachers will become "hot commodities!"
I always heard of a day when the best teachers would be seen around the world. Hone your skills, people, the time is approaching rapidly.

Of course as I always say, nothing replaces the face, voice, and body language of a good teacher. I also have to wonder about the whole censorship thing!

In Conclusion

Wikis will change the world. If educators don't use them, students will. If educators will wake up, they will find that the wiki is an especially useful tool in a computerized world where everyone isn't quite yet comfortable with computers.


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The new way to Search Podcasts and Publicize your Blog
Monday, April 10, 2006

It is great that I can now convert my blog to a podcast automatically using Talkr. (See my How-to article.) Talkr is not perfect but I just do not have the hours it takes to blog AND podcast. But how can I be found?

Searching for Podcasts has been tough in the past

There are so many issues with the indexing and finding of podcasts. The only searchable information in the past has been show notes or information which has been entered in by the author.

Past searching has not been helpful for me because I have to listen to a whole podcast to make sure there is no profanity. It has been a bother to find useful podcasts! I don't have the time!

In comes Podzinger!

This morning during my workout I was listening to my weekly dose of Twit and I took the time to listen to Leo LaPort and Amber Frey interviewing Alex Laats, President of BBN about his new service Podzinger. (Interesting Statistic from the show– only 1% of US households listen to a podcast on a weekly basis.)

Who is BBN?

BBN is a longtime internet player and actually had the contract to set up the first several nodes of the Net for UUnet.

They have now changed the podcasting/vodcasting world overnight with their automated search of audio and video resources.

What does Podzinger do?

Podzinger has a speech to text recognition that takes the podcast and converts it to text. You can then search on the actual text of a podcast or vodcast. The results of queries are all free podcasts and video-casts (vodcasts) that have CONTENT that matches your interests.

They stress that this is not intended to be a transcription service and that the speech to text algorithms aren’t perfect. They look pretty good to me!

How does it work?

My first query on education didn’t produce many results. However, I queried “Education wiki” I came up with the Weblogs & Wikis & Feeds, O My! Podcast by Paul Allison of the New York City Writing Project.

While the first four minutes of the podcast are meaningless nothing, when you get into the meat of the discussion there is some very useful information about how these teachers are using podcasts. It is as real world as you get and very useful for higher level consultants, etc. to listen in on teachers who are actually using these tools.

How do I listen?

Podzinger lets you subscribe via iTunes or just download the one show. You can also listen from podzinger by clicking the play button.

I use a Palm with a built in Mp3 player and haven’t perfected iTunes with it so I prefer to download podcasts manually. To track and keep up with podcasts, I have created an edupodcast folder in bloglines. This way I can listen or download as I see fit.

How do I put podcasts into bloglines?

So, I wanted to keep up with the podcasts in bloglines. This is how I do it now.

1) Go to the podcast you are interested in by searching podzinger

2) Right click on the RSS XML button and select Copy Link Location

3) Go to Bloglines and Click Add

4) Paste in the box that appears on the right by right clicking and selecting Paste

5) Click the subscribe button

6) I suggest creating an edupodcast folder (it will simplify exporting things later via the geeky OPML that some of us love!)

7) Listening Options

a. In bloglines, when you see a podcast you want to listen to, just click Enclosure and you can listen from your computer.

b. You can also right click enclosure and save the podcast to the directory to synch with your MP3

c. If you have an ipod – just use ITunes.

How do you put your podcast into podzinger?

I think podzinger is going to change things. I haven't really liked any other search system for audio or video. This is incredible!

If you have a podcast you simply must add it to podzinger! Here's how:

1 – You have to have a podcast. Two options I’ve taught you:

A- Set up a Radio Station on Odeo and record them yourself

B – Use Talkr

C- David Warlick taught me to podcast and you can follow his presentation slides on how to create a more professional podcast using Audacity and Archive.org.

2 – Once you have a podcast and have a channel (URL) you should right click on the Talkr chicklet or get the Odeo channel information and copy it. (Geek version: You just need the XML RSS feed URL).

3 – Go to podzinger.com

4 – Click Register Podcast at the bottom of the page

5 – Right click and paste the “channel” information from step 2 into the box that says RSS XML.

6 – Type your e-mail address in the e-mail box.

7 – Check for them to notify you when your first show is available

8 – Click Zing it!

It says that will take about a week! However, I did it this morning and my last 5 posts are already on there.

Free Stuff Only!

Podzinger is only for free content NOT subscription services. They do have some for-fee services for subscription services but have an advertising model that they use. Amber Frey commented that it seems that the index does a lot of newer shows but takes a while to pull in older show information.

Other potential podzinger uses for Educators

Profanity Finder - In addition to a wealth of free resources, I like this because I could potentially screen through for profanity very quickly.

Rating System - What if it could look at profanity and rate it G, PG, etc. for me!

Grading Potential - I also hope that I can use it with my students. It sure would make grading podcasts easier if I could have the words typed out for me. I know podzinger is not for official transcripts but because we read much faster than a person talks it could take some of the headache out of podcast grading!

RSS Feeds for Searches - You can create an RSS feed for your search of podzinger and put it in bloglines or your RSS reader.

Is there an iVod in the future?

In class discussions today, my students and I also had some questions as we discussed podcasting and vodcasting.

We think Apple should rename the iPod the iVod at some point in the future. We think they learned something from Google…by making the word “google” a verb this company has integrated advertising into everyday language.

By creating the word “podcasting” Apple has built the iPod and its name recognition and emerged with the #1 hottest Christmas gift last year.

Apple certainly had a hand in the term vodcast. It looks like the term iVod is being used by Vaja as the name for one of their cases. I’ve got to wonder if Apple is not coveting that name! The students said they would love to have an iVod! It's not even a real thing yet!

Several of my students are now surfing the Net on their cell phones. It has added an interesting element to our discussion of effective web design.

Now these kids are thinking! (Yes, I teach high school students!)

In Conclusion

The world of searching has just taken a new turn. I see the day arriving when video, text messages, e-mails, Skype phone calls, podcasts, and websites will be searched easily and seamlessly.

Although 1% of households are using podcasts (mostly news) on a weekly basis and even less are using vodcasts, this is an emerging technology.

When our students graduate from college, they will have to communicate with meaning in blog, podcast, vodcast, e-mail, and many electronic forms that we cannot image yet. As a result, face, voice, and body language will remain important even in a world that is becoming more computerized!

Communication is even more important than ever. There are people being promoted today in companies for one simple reason, they are good bloggers. They are also good thinkers.

What are we teaching?

Are we teaching critical thinkers? Are we teaching kids to be as comfortable with technology as with paper and pen?

We’re not making widgets any more, America!

Which will your students be better at producing? Widgets or bytes?

Keep the faith edubloggers!

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Research Findings on Web 2.0 teaching strategies: Dissect the frog and you kill the frog.
Saturday, April 08, 2006

HigherEdBlogCon 2006Jean-Claude Bradley has done an excellent job with the teaching week at HigherEd Blog Con. If you are interested in research and information concerning blogs, wikis, and podcasts you simply must participate by viewing some of the presentations. (Next week is on libraries.)

Still too early to tell!
As I've observed I am struck by just how much of the research is preliminary, however. (I've been thinking about research a lot lately.)

I think the research that is done points to the need for more large scale statistically valid research.


Where research will always fall short

As I was perusing Jean-Claude's blog, I came across an entry entitled The Value of Anecdotal Information in Education which was in response to a post by Mark Wagner.

Please read the whole thing, it is great! Here are some highlights and how I responded:

Highlights from Jean-Claude:
In chemistry you are trying make a compound and you want a reproducible result for the minimum cost and effort. But you can'’t do that with education because human beings are not molecules...

Reducing the value of an educational approach to an average number (like improved test scores) is very counter-productive because it will encourage teachers to hype the results of their experiments to satisfy the gatekeepers (employers, editors, grant managers) and then lose credibility...

Certainly, the testable basics in any class must be taught well but, beyond that, it becomes increasingly difficult to quantify the richest unique teaching and learning experiences.
When you dissect a frog he ceases being a frog

I think it is akin to the frog dissection example.

If you dissect a frog, you learn a lot about the insides but he's no longer a frog, he's a dead frog.

It is so important to quantify and measure things but in the process you lose a little bit of what you are trying to examine.

The true teaching experience is a living, breathing organism that can be observed but not dissected very well.

What cannot be measured

There are some things that are very difficult to measure:

Research or Anecdote?

Sir Martin Conway said about mountain climbing:
"Each fresh peak teaches something."
William Wordsworth said:
"Come forth into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher."
There is much to be learned from individual experience.

Socrates said:
"The unexamined life is not worth living."
Satayana said:
"Those who can't remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
There is much to be learned from research.

In Conclusion

Research is important and vital. It must be unbiased and thorough. We must know why we do what we do and be willing to self-implement sometimes painful paradigm shifts. We must never be closed minded and learn to disagree as professionals.

But we must understand that research must be coupled with commonsense classroom basics. We must not let the research steer us away from truly teachable moments.

We must not insanely sanitize and "methodologize" teaching and forget the spark that kindles the flame of excitement in a student must originate from the flint of our own psyche.

I measure my success by the kids that come back and tell me what a difference I have made in their lives.

To leave an imprint on their minds gives me a lasting legacy and adrenaline rush that is like no other
.

Some things can't be measured. Well said...Jean-Claude.
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Research Integrity? New Study Linking Cell Phones and Cancer
Thursday, April 06, 2006

A new Swedish study reports an increased risk of brain cancer in people who use cell phones for extended periods of time.

My take
Having spent much of my career in cellular I always felt there was a little too much truth in a lawsuit in the early 1990's from a woman who had brain cancer the size of her cellphone.

The business I was in was a little too adamant, but who wouldn't be if it would kill your business. In this case, a rush to defend themselves against the lawsuit could be self preservation more than anything. I remained unsure.

I kept a mobile mounted phone until last year
I for one always used a bag and a mobile mounted phone for the reason of keeping the RF (radio frequencies) away from my head. I didn't get a portable until last year. I still don't talk excessively on it.

The Study
Here's what the Swedish study said:

Number of people involved:
2,200 cancer patients, 2,200 healthy patients
What they found:

Those who heavily used wireless phones had a 240 percent increased risk of a cancerous tumor on the side of the head where they used their phone, they reported.

What was heavy use of wireless phones?

2,000 or more hours, or about one hour per day for 10 years.
The need for better research

The effect of preconceived notions on researchers is a proven fact.
That is why double blind studies and independent verification are so vital to accurate research.

The lack of such studies has always bothered me. If a company funds a researchers work and the researcher makes the company look bad...research dollars go elsewhere.
There are few who are willing to bit the proverbial hand that feeds them, although there are some.

Researcher bias

But there is also this thing of researcher bias.
Take the same group of rats. One set of researchers THINKS the rats are dumb and the other group THINKS they are smart. The "smart" group makes it through mazes faster even though there is no genetic difference in the rats. (I'll have to pull out my old psychology book to find the study.) Why?

Teacher bias

Since I relate everything to teaching, what about teacher bias? We've all seen it happen. A teacher who mistakenly thinkgs that a class is "bright" and gets so much more out of the class than anyone dreams and likewise.

Why does this happen?

The power of the preconceived notion

We all have our preconceptions. I am always careful to build up my classes. To find the good. To repeat the good. I've seen far too many kids get mislabeled.

Unfortunately, a mislabel is as powerful as a label and kids often live up to it.

My own sister was "mislabeled" as dumb in fifth grade and it took us until 10th grade to find out about her learning disability. She just graduated with highest honors from Savannah College of Art and Design with her masters in Graphic Design. All A's in College. Mostly C's in Middle School. Hmmm.

She thought she was "dumb" and so did the teachers!

I hate labels!
Hate is a "bad word" but here it is appropriate. We label things to organize categorize things for our minds so that we can simplify and make sense of them. "Jock." "Geek." "Dumb." "LD." "ADHD."

Some descriptions of a child or their condition are necessary. But beware, lest the child BECOMES their condition or their behavior. Children are children, not diseases!

The power of one child!

Children are beautiful wonderful things. They are unique and lovely. They are like my roses. Each one is different and has a different part of the bush (or my table) to adorn.

Take care not to label them and put them in a box that they cannot grow out of! Take care not to label classes or they will become what you say.

Preconception Questions Remain
Sometimes when I'm talking about a class in the teacher's loungue and I say:
"They are wonderful and bright. I love teaching them. Their averages are so high. They are very bright."
Other teachers will ask me which class and be surprised at my description. I'll hear a response like,
"I had always heard they were lazy and have found it to be true. They don't do well for me."
Watch your thoughts and words for they are often prophetic

I guard my attitudes and thoughts about classes.

When they exhibit a behavior I try to remember that it is a BEHAVIOR and not THE CLASS. I work on changing the behavior to get at the brilliance and innate excitement that I believe is in each child!

Are all my children brilliant? No, not in terms of IQ, perhaps. But these children aren't their IQ scores. They aren't their grades. They are people who desperately need to be educated.

My Conclusions on Cell Phones and Research

I wouldn't throw your cell phone in the trash quite yet. As always, I will continue to temper my cell phone usage and use my landline phone for lengthy phone calls. I've never thought that wattage and RF was very good for you.

A little question of RF
Of course, now the US is covered in RF -- wi fi, cellular, broadcast TV. It would be interesting to see unbiased studies on the effect of RF in the atmosphere and cancer rates.

Just a question: As we wi-fi our schools are there any studies of increased RF on growing children?
Research and Socio-Political Influences

I will continue to look at research for what it is... a decision making tool. I rarely change habits based on ONE study but when you see multiple studies emerge you can usually see a pattern.

I am saddened by the recent trend of socio-politico influence on research results. If a researcher goes in with an open mind and finds answers contrary to political thought, they are ostracized. (If you follow global warming, you'll see this to be true with how Bjorn Lomborg was treated after he published his book The Skeptical Environmentalist. I have an uncle with PhD in Evironmental Engineering who has opened my eyes to this!)

The same thing happened with eugenics prior to World War 2 -- people who disagreed with eugenecists were ostracized. The center of eugenics research was none other than Germany who set out to kill the "feeble minded." Where were the dissenters? What atrocities and shame? Research supported eugenics. How?

You see this happening in everything from Intelligent Design/ Evolution, to Global Warming/ Global Freezing. Scientists have lost their ability to be objective and disagree in constructive, meaningful ways. Some sites that debate these subjects resort to non-scientific profanity and downright rudeness. As a teacher and educator, it disgusts me that adults do not know how to disagree and still be friends.

The integrity of research, the integrity of politicians, the integrity of information is meeting with increasing skepticism from both me and my students.

The future of research integrity.

I certainly hope that there is a way to institute more research integrity in the future. I'd like to see industry and government pool resources in an account that funds research. The researchers should not know the source of the funds and are commissioned to find "the real" answers. Multiple researchers conduct the work using double blind studies and outside statistical analysis.

If we REALLY care about knowing truthful answers to the cell phone cancer question, the use of social tools in the classroom, or any questions that haunt modern society, we will scrutinize how we conduct research!

This should apply to even Web 2.0. Although I see how well it works and am an advocate, what if all research is funded by Web 2.0 startups. I'm sure how the research will turn out!

What if all of the research was funded by a typewriter company? a copier company? a particular software vendor? an anti-technology group?

In Conclusion
So, as I've given you my Spring Break thoughts on a topic which I've been pondering for a while. I hope you take away these thoughts:

  • Scrutinize research and try it, but go with your gut. Research can be flawed, your gut is USUALLY your best guide.
  • Beware of having preconceived notions about children or classes.
  • Never label a child or a class.
  • In your sphere of influence, speak out for the integrity of research.
  • Model an effective ability to disagree with those who see differently from you and show it to your students. (Leave caveman tactics in prehistory.)
  • Be open minded but skeptical. Be a truth seeker even if others are not!

I'm getting ready for Monday and what lies ahead with my students! I'm getting excited!

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As parents flock to myspace it becomes uncool?
Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Myspace and Xanga not cool?

Jeff has a great post on his Thinking stick blog: myspace and xanga not so cool:
"Had a chat with some middle school students last week and a tech savvy teacher who talks to her students about the latest and greatest technologies that the students are using. Word on the street is myspace and xanga are no longer cool."
For all the conversations, read Jeff's article. Amidst his observations, he makes a vital point that I believe is important to everyone blogging.

Blog with a purpose

Jeff says:
All this leaves me quit fascinated. In order for blogging to work you have to have a purpose to blog. Without a purpose, without having something meaningful to say and add to the conversation blogs become pointless rants, and why waste your time ranting to millions when you can do it through MSN messenger to all your friends.

The couple blogs that are being used in the classrooms at my school are receiving great feedback from the students, yet there is a purpose to the blogs, a reason to write and respond, a reason to be apart of the conversation. It i’s not blogging that is uncool, it i’s the content.
He goes on to say that now parents are monitoring myspace, it has become "uncool." I've always told parents that I love myspace and xanga because of the amount of monitoring parents CAN do! It is much easier than looking at chat log files! (See How to soothe myspace fever.) Jeff thinks now students are going to use private chat rooms.

How to give your students a purpose

My students love blogging but they especially like it when I give them a "question of the week." They like to look at items, formulate an opinion, and express an opinion. Even more so, they like to be read.

Question of the Week Examples

Here are some questions I've used over the past few weeks on our class blog:

Is this professor right? 03/27

A nameless professor has asked his students to hack in a computer security class.

The college has said that it will not discipline the professor but if the students attempt to hack the college computers that they will be disciplined according to the school disciplinary code.

What do you think? Should the professor be disciplined? He is teaching them to do illegal activity, is this OK?


Question of the Week 03/19

We've discussed it and we knew it was going to happen but now its here. A fellow blogger has posted about a new cellphone malware that texts to your cell phone and looks for credit card and identity information.

Here is my question.

After reading the article, what should the United States government do to crack down on identity theft and virus writers in a way that will include all new technologies that may not have been invented yet?


What's going to be cool next?


I predict that meebo and similar apps are about to be a totally "in" thing. I used it last week to talk with my ninth graders a little more about Web 2.0, web apps, ajax, and mashups. It integrates all of these and they can use it and see how it works.

This website lets kids chat with all chatters on most platforms, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, Jabber, GTalk, and MSN. They don't have to have a chat client installed and can do it from any computer with web access!
Their friends can use their chat program and don't have to be using meebo. It is a great use of all of the new innovations with Web 2.0 and is a great alternative to installing memory hogging, leaking chat programs.

(I also think Odeo has potential and some of my students are using it as sort of a private voice mail service.)

A victim of my own teaching
I subsequently had to block it because now they can chat without a chat client installed.

...but not for long

I plan to unblock it and do some group reviews over meebo where they quiz and answer each other. I'm then going to have them copy the text of their chat and submit it as a review grade.

In Conclusion

Once you get used the world, it changes. So the only thing we need to get used to is the fact that we must be constantly learning.

Things will change, so don't be surprised. Enjoy it. Learn to thrive in a dynamic environment. Accept that change is part of life.
Change creates victims and victors. Any time there is change you have an opportunity to benefit from it or be hurt by it.

Be the victor!

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Year 11 and 12 practice learning and metacognition
Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Reflective Teacher isn't on spring break! I love her two thoughts:

1) Drama --

I use drama in my computer classes!

It works so very well. I use it to complete my teaching of time management/ planning information. I have the students create a skit showing the ineffective use of the techniques I taught them and then a parallel skit showing the effective use of them. It is an excellent tool and I use it 2-3 times a year on the stage in the auditorium. (Plan ahead and they will bring props and costumes.)

Reflective teacher used it to teach Macbeth. (She also had some cool props.)

Year 11 and 12 practice learning and metacognition: "I had such a good teaching day yesterday. One of the elements that made it great was putting into practice an idea I got from Germana, a friend/colleague ....students get into groups and plan how they would stage the murder of King Duncan. In the play this occurs off stage, but asking students to think about how Macbeth would hold the dagger, with what demeanour he enters the room, his body language during the event and what he does just afterwards requires students to interpret Macbeth’s character and complex motivations and emotions during this critical time in the narrative.
2) Introducing blogging to another class.

She also introduced blogging to her 12th year students and it went very well.

I set up a class blog on Learner Blogs and each of the students set up their own blogs for exploring and reflecting on their learning. It was so easy...The interesting thing is the metacognition that goes into choosing a name for their blog which shows why they think they’re doing blogging in the first place... Each time I introduce it to a new class it gets easier for me and I reflect here on my own learning.

It seems so natural now that the students have a space where they can write informally on the subject matter and thinking that they are engaged in during the day, and when the excitement and social aspect of learning moves into the more reflective place of thinking about their learning that they should have a place to do it that is connected to their classmates asynchronously. In this way the conversation can continue but perhaps at a deeper level than is available in the ‘hurly burly’ of the classroom.
>

Wow! She is great! Check out reflective teacher! I agree with her 100% on this post!
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HigherEd BlogCon

I've been out of town on safari at Disney Orlando's Animal Kingdom lodge and boy did I come up with many stories and epiphanies to share with my students and with you in the coming weeks.

Until I get my thoughts together, I hope all edubloggers are spending time at the Higher Ed Blog Con.

I will spend some time reviewing presentations tomorrow, but until then would like to quote the Abject Learning Blog on their take of the conference so far:

HigherEd BlogCon: "

April may the cruelest month but it promises to be chock-a-block full of rich-media chocolatey edu-blogger goodness thanks to HigherEd BlogCon, 'a conversation on the use of blogs, wikis, RSS, audio and video podcasts, social networks, and other digital tools in a range of areas in academe.'...
Nifty model for a conference -- no fees, no sign-ups, and lots of reusable, Creative Commons-licensed materials..."
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