Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech

First we “googled”things, now we “youtube” videos. Youtube is now a recognized verb. From the urban dictionary:

Will has been advocating that blog be considered a verb for a while. (the hyperlink is over 3 years old). Recently I’ve learned to twitter. I’ve “youtubed” for a while. Many others have been youtubing as well. All these verbs make me feel more active than I really am (as I “blog” this from my couch). I wonder what new verb I’ll learn next?

Image: Youtube vs. Cicarelli
http://flickr.com/photos/pigatto/350600021/

[tags]youtube,verb,language,twitter[/tags]

I’ve been watching with great interest the efforts of Dan Meyer and Christian Long in pursuing the idea of the Chicago Graduate School of Business’ recent demands on their applicants. To see the idea begin somewhere very auspiciously and end up generating some great ideas and stories is very cool and a testament to the power of networks and creativity mixing.

While I love the idea, I didn’t enter the contest mostly because life here is a bit nuts and also because my creativity as small as it might be, needs some starting point and I didn’t quite get it until I saw the entries. All very good stuff.

I’m teaching a workshop on digital storytelling tomorrow and along with completely stealing Alan Levine’s great resources, I’m going to require my participants to give this concept a shot. I figured I needed to walk the talk so I created this. You’ll likely recognize elements in other entries but hopefully I’ve mixed some original design elements. I also used the tell a story in six words idea for each slide.  The idea of restraints and conciseness is continuing to mull around my brain as a key ingredient to effective communication.

Thanks to Dan and Christian and Scott for kickin’ it up a notch!

[tags]4slides,danmeyer,christianlong,scottmcleod,alanlevine,digitalstories,presentation,shareski[/tags]

The previous post not only generated the most comments on any post I’ve written but also some interesting outcomes.  I came across as a bit arrogant and pushy but was simply trying to express a personal preference and tendency and yes maybe push some thinking.

Dr. Tim Tyson contacted me and without sharing the details, challenged me to consider why blogging isn’t always the best means of communication among other things. He pushed my thinking and I thank him for that.

Jennifer Maddrell tells us that Marc Prensky’s blog is now back with comments!  I’m sure he wasn’t influenced by this post but it’s nice to see him back.

So now I’m thinking so we go on a campaign to get those we’d like to see blogging to start?  Nah, I’ll leave it to Dembo to take over the world.

[tags]timtyson,marcprensky,teach42[/tags]

This image tells the story of my online/face2face class. My students requested the chance to meet face to face. I obliged. So I slated our regular Tuesday meeting to be held at a local pub in downtown Moose Jaw. Our province has now created the largest wireless network in Canada and I thought it would be nice to take advantage of this ala Ewan Mcintosh’s Teach/Meet concept.

Nice idea right? Well as the image above suggests, it was not quite the smooth evening I’d hoped for. After struggling to find a suitable place, we ended up at my superintendent’s home who is auditing my class. Those who were only online kept things going by having a nice discussion. Anne Davis so graciously chatted with students as we got set up.

Once set up, we struggled with some technical issues around sharing IP addresses and sound issues. Anne Davis shared her thoughts about the invisible web and then David Jakes and Alan Levine talked about Del.icio.us and Twitter. As expected, they added great flavour and value to the concept of social networking and these tools in particular. If you’re interested, here’s the recording.

Here’s what I learned:

• Everyone loves when the teacher/geek/computer guy has technical issues. I do this more than I’d like but it’s always a big thrill for others.
• Face to face is important. As I learned from experience at BLC, meeting face to face adds a deeper connection with those I already known. Somehow, they’ve moved from online peers to friends. Meeting my students now adds added value to my class. I’m suggesting a class party in Regina later next week….those unable to attend might be able to drop in via Skype.
• Online learning can be more social than face to face. As one of them told me last night, they have more of a connection with their classmates in this class than most face to face classes. In face to face settings, rarely do they know what each other is learning. The connections are superficial. Here, there is an accountability factor. If you’re not doing your work, others know. We contribute to each other’s learning. We’re responsible to prop each other up.
• I have a great network. Having the likes of Anne Davis, Alan Levine and David Jakes, not to mention prior visits from Wes Fryer, Jeff Utecht and Alec Couros, I not teaching alone. We’re teaching each other. These people model the generosity and genuine love of teaching and learning that my students hope to be as they enter the teaching field. (Next week, I have the Dream Team)

So despite the screw-ups and poor organization on my behalf, it worked. Mostly because those attending understand as Brian Crosby says….Learning is Messy.

[tags]annedavis,djakes,cogdog,wesfryer,jutecht,courosa,briancrosby,onlinelearing,socialnetwork,elluminate,moosejaw,shareski[/tags]

For me there is no single device that has transformed my learning more than my laptop. The mobility, connectivity of this tool enables learning to be ubiquitous.

Are there any of you out there who prefers a desktop computer?  I can’t imagine but if so, do tell.

I’ve been pushing for our school division to move towards laptops. I’d love teachers to have a choice in their classroom to have a laptop as opposed to a desktop. Budget constraints and technical support are two stumbling blocks but we are finding ways to make this happen.

I’m looking for testimonials/data/ammo to continue to support my belief that a laptop computer is fundamental in allowing teachers to experience the power of connected learning.  Believe me, I understand it’s more than about giving a teacher a laptop but I’m simply arguing that laptops are exponentially more powerful than desktops in the advancement of learning.

Leave a response, link or a challenge to my thinking.

Wes tagged me so here goes.

First, the Rules:

1. Post these rules before you give your facts
2. List 8 random facts about yourself
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them
4. Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged

1. I’ve never broken a bone in my body.
2. I wrote a university final exam 6 hours after my oldest daughter was born.
3. I can use Seinfeld or King of Queens quotes for almost any situation.
4. I love banana flavoured popsicles.
5. I would nap everyday….if my wife would let me.
6. I play the trombone.
7. I’ve been playing golf since I was 10…I’ve never bought a golf ball in my life.
8. One of favourite movies is My Life with Michael Keaton.

I’ll now tag the following:

• Alec C.
• Christian L.
• Chris L.
• Ewan M.
• Clarence F.
• Joyce V.
• Graham W.
• Robert Scoble…why not give it shot?

*I actually won’t leave a comment as the 4th rule states. I know some consider memes as a waste of time and not appropriate for their blog. I’m okay with that view. So I’ll let them decide if they choose to play. Also I love to see how many use Technorati or others to see what others are saying about them.

Remember the first comment you ever got on your blog? Pretty cool to think that someone read your stuff.

I consider myself a lower-middle class  blogger. I’m sure there’s another term out there that describes this better. Maybe it’s A-List, C-list or whatever but what I’m driving at is that I’ve reached a stage when it comes to commenting. No longer am I thrilled to death when someone comments. Not because I’m not interested but with readership comes comments. I stil read them all but it’s not like it was when I first started to blog.

I recently left a comment for a new blogger.  She wrote a post the next day called Comment Goodness, which rightly promotes the value of the comment. Having asked my students to create blogs, I obviously want to be sure they know the power of the comment.

So it made me think that since they don’t get as many comments or at least haven’t been blogging long, for those, it’s like the feeling of getting a little bit of money when you have very little. I remember getting taken out for dinner by friends when I was in university and thinking how amazing it was. I was so appreciative.

Now on the other hand I read the Freakonmonics blog and they regularly get over 100 comments per post. Do they read them all? Do they care what people write?

When do you become so big that comments are more for the readers than the writers? This is the price you pay for popularity and good writing.

Just thinking out loud….no need to comment