My two favorite networks, The Golf Channel and NFL Network have been using “Top Ten” format of late to capture almost any topic within their respective sports. Obscure ones like, top ten left handed quarterbacks, Phil Mickelson’s top ten daring choices, etc. So while most of you think that’s pretty lame, I watch in fascination comparing my memories and choices with the producers.

It’s a lofty title but I wanted to look back at my personal journey into educational technology and share a few instances of “aha moments” that I think many can relate to. Not a list, (sorry Lee) in any order of significance but a chronological recollection of memories and events that have been influential in my learning with technology.  

Here we go:

The Digital Camera:
I remember our school got a digital camera in about 1996 or 97. For whatever reason, my principal let me take it home. I don’t recall the brand, I believe it’s no longer around but remember the miracle of being able to plug it into your computer and see your images. I believe it was 640 x 480 resolution. It was the next year the Sony Mavica’s with floppy disks emerged as a great way for teachers to share the camera and print pictures. The beginning of cheap failure.

FTP:
My neighbour, who was not an educator showed me the wonders of File Transfer Protocol when he used it to send files from his house to mine. I’m thinking this was 1998 or ‘99. He installed this software on my computer and magically began to take files he had stored on something called a server and downloaded them to my machine. Size was no longer an issue when it came to sharing.

RSS
During my Masters studies, Rob Wall introduced me to RSS in late 2002. I had heard about it but couldn’t really wrap my head around it. It felt too geeky for me. Once he showed me Bloglines, I went nuts. I was able to “subscribe to people”. I still do.

The Blog:
I started my blog in 2005 with no idea what it could mean. But after years of Netscape Composer, Frontpage and Dreamweaver it was a pleasure to bypass the focus on design and just write and share. 7 years later, my blog remains one of my primary learning spaces. I’m only saddened more people don’t blog and yet I get it’s not for everyone.

Wiki
The creation wasn’t particularly interesting but the collaboration was. I stated on my blog in the summer of 2006 that I was going to be offering a digital storytelling workshop. A weak cry for help led Alan Levine and David Jakes, both of whom I pretty much learned everything about digital storytelling from, to turn my pathetic wiki into something extremely useful. In many ways, it was the start of my laziness. You can blame Alan and David for that.

Skype chat/Back Channel
It was during the 2007 NECC conference in Atlanta that was able to participate virtually via Skype. Jeff Utecht  was attending and fired up Skype during one of the session and allowed a few of us to listen and chat. It was my first back channel experience.

Podcasting with Alec Couros, Ewan Mcintosh and Rob Wall

Coffee with David Warlick
I had attended a few conferences but it was my boldness that led me to email David Warlick and ask if I could meet with him in 2006 at FETC.  The realization that I could have conversations with people I admired and was learning from almost daily was pretty significant. THat same conversation I got to meet Will Richardson, Wes Fryer, Tim Wilson and my current work colleague, Steve Dembo.
These people remain my teachers and I also call them friends. Much more than a PLN.

Live Streaming
Ustream was a relatively new technology in 2007. Steve Dembo, Will Richardson and David Jakes live streamed from a bar in Chicago. The live streaming part was interesting but so was the fact that they were talking about baseball and not education specifically. It made me begin to think more deeply about silliness.

There’s certainly many more moments I could share and it’s not like nothing has happened in the past 5 years but sometimes it’s good to consider and mark those events that stirred you in some way. For me, it’s interesting to see a clear pattern of connectivism amongst most of these events. I suppose if I was in a different frame of mind, things like my first laptop might come to mind.  I’d encourage you to create your own list or add your ideas here.

I did ask a few folks on twitter about their great moment in edtech history.

Pretty much every class over the past 9-10 times I've taught these courses I bring in someone I know doing interesting work or with a compelling idea. I have only two requirements for my guests. You have to be smart and you have to be able to stay connected and interact with my students for as long as they need. 

This term my lineup has included:

Karl Fisch

Gary Stager

Bud Hunt

Rodd Lucier

Michael Wacker

Liz Kolb 

John Spencer

If I do nothing but connect my students with these people in a meaningful way, I'll be satisfied. (BTW, you can listen to all these people's presentations here. You'll want to skip to the halfway point of each session to hear them speak.)

Yesterday I invited Ben Grey and Scott Meech to discuss the way in which they've implemented both netbooks and Ipads into their respective districts. Both have been very vocal about their decisions and I actually egged them on to make it more of a debate. While the first half was very civil and diplomatic, they did engage in some friendly banter at the end. That was just for my entertainment. At any rate, they offer great insights and since many asked about a recording, I took the time to encode it to video for you to watch. 

We are now in our 8th year of podcasting. I could be totally wrong but I'm going to declare us as the longest running educational group podcast on the planet. If I'm wrong leave a comment and I'll retract.

We had a relatively quick conversation with Rob as Alec and I were in the same room planning for our workshop the following day. 

Here's some of the show notes:

• The NBCHS Grade 9 photo gallery
• The Point-Counterpoint article about Bring Your Own Technology, featuring Jen LaMaster and Gary Stager (from Learning and Leading with Technology)

Also, you'll want to listen and earn a coveted Posse Mug. Hey, I've now done three consecutive posts as podcasts which is a new record. I'm kinda diggin' the audio again and am actually planning to develop a workshop on audio design. Anyway enjoy the show.

Really has it been almost 6 months since we last recorded? That's bad. 

But it's great to chat again with the posse. As an added bonus we took over #ds106radio and recorded it live. Alec, Heather, Rob and I are joined by my daughter Meredith as she talks about her new book. Alec shares a bit about his recent trip to Australia and Heather and I talk chat a bit about my new gigs. 

If you like silliness and seriousness all mixed together, you might enjoy this. 

Oh, by the way, if you're wondering about image I used, you'll have to listen, at least to the first 5 minutes. 

Cross Posted at Tech & Learning

ISTE 2011 has just completed and once again it people leave with a variety of experiences. I don't know the official number but over the past few years it remains one of the largest educational conferences in the world. A conference, that like many others has evolved over the years and organizers seek each year to improve and increase value for all.

The intent is to offer enough variety and content that everyone can have a great learning event customized just for them. There are sessions, workshops, student showcases, social gatherings, exhibit halls, and more than enough choice for people to find meet their needs and interests. It is very unlikely than any 2 people would leave the event having seen the same things.

The only real unifying events are the keynotes. These represent a singular experience for attendees that insure at least a common conversation and viewpoint that everyone can explore, debate and ponder. The conference has three keynotes. One on Sunday evening, another Tuesday morning and a third to close the conference Wednesday afternoon.

Given the "T" in ISTE, stands for Technology, it would seem to me that the keynotes should, in some way address technology. They didn't. That's not to say they didn't offer value. Given that only one of them was a K-12 educator, I'd have to say the choices seemed odd. I've read John Medina's book and it's a great read with some important ideas for educators. But it's not about technology. I'm guessing 95% of ISTE attendees know more about technology than Stephen Covey.  The conference closed with Chris Lehmann, principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. Let me first say that my good friend did have an important message and as a school that is a 1 to 1 school, they do use technology in some powerful ways. I thought Chris and his students were inspirational and was grateful for the way they ended the conference. But Chris would even admit, because I talked to him about it afterwards, that his talk wasn't really about technology. As a collection of keynotes the focus on technology was weak.

Certainly many believe we ought to be shifting to ideas that learning is learning and it's not always about technology. I agree. But at the same time this is an organization who's mission is to help schools effectively use technology for learning. Shouldn't we at least be trying to focus on learning and technology? How did Stephen Covey and John Medina support this goal?

Finding keynotes that everyone will enjoy is near impossible. Keynoting is hard work.  But we should be able to find someone out there who is doing interesting, challenging, controversial things with technology. Could we actually hear from technologists? ISTE should be the ones to advocate the use of technology and the keynotes are the one time all attendees can rally around a single experience.

Here is a list of a few people I think would be great keynotes that are actually doing or working directly with technology:

Sugata Mitra (a thought provoking experiment and idea)
danah boyd (knows more about teens and social networks than almost anyone)
Biz Stone (the story of twitter)
Ze Frank" (understands the Internet in ways most don't see)
Conrad Wolfram (a true mathematician)

That's a quick list that comes to mind.  There are dozens of others who fall into the caliber of speakers that are using technology or can offer research directly to our use of technology in schools. I say, find people who are technology users. I don't see how Medina or Covey belong at ISTE. I think ISTE needs to live up to their name and find keynotes that will support their mission. Who would you like to hear keynote?

We talk about Rick's book, my appearance on John Gormley, the Saskatchewan Teacher's contract negotiations and civil disobedience. 

With some heavy, late night editing, Rob was able to get our last night's podcast posted. Nice job Rob.

Show notes:

School reform: The “Waiting for Superman” media circus

• The Death and Life of the Great American Schools by Diane Ravitch
• A Parent 2.0′s Back to School Dilemma by Will Richardson
• Saskatchewan Reform, Superman and the Media by Dean Shareski

Technology issues for post-secondary faculty (informal research for Alec’s discussion with University of Regina faculty)

• Aboriginal children to get laptops (CBC news story)
• Cloud computing caveats – Lakehead University Faculty Association issues with Google Apps
• Michael Geist’s commentary to above: Arbitrator Rules Lakehead University Can Switch Email System to Gmail

We can haz prizes?

Thanks to edublogs (especially Sue Waters) for sponsoring the prize for the show. Listen to the show for details on how you can win.

Creative commons music

Opening theme:  nervoso con las guitarras by norelpref is licensed under a Attribution Noncommercial

Closing theme: (©urve) Music LatinSaint Style by LatinSaint is licensed under a Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)

Enjoy the show: 

Rob and I have an ISTE proconference chat. We also discussed Dean’s iPad, packet shaping and what makes the perfect storm for educational technology leadership.

Links/Notes/Errata

• Enterprise video hosting using OSTube Video CMS – 
•  
• Recommendations:
  • Rob – Drive by Dan Pink.
  • Dean – Joe Bower’s blog for the love of learning

Ideas for upcoming shows

What do you think we should be talking about? Send  your ideas in the official EdTech Posse Podcast topic suggestion form http://bit.ly/dmaPLf (and you can see suggestions made so far at http://bit.ly/arxg1O)

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/info_grrl/4765919952/

We’re back with our first podcast of 2010
EdTech Posse Podcast 6.1 – No tech after 5 p.m.

Mike Wesch presented at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina earlier this week. We discussed his presentations and reflected on some of the changes that might result from educators becoming aware of his work/message.

Some notes:

• Rick’s conversation/video podcast with Mike Wesch
• Mike Wesch’s presentation at the University of Regina: The (Digital) Writing on the Walls (and why the walls don’t matter anymore (Ustream recording)
• Digital Ethnography research group site
• Mike Wesch on twitter
• 2010 Haiti Earthquake (If you are in Canada and interested in donating, the CBC has compiled a list of organizations that are providing relief. The federal government will match donations made by individuals between now and Feb. 12, 2010)
• The Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock iPhone app – as endorsed by Dean

Prognostications for 2010:

• Rick – reinvestment of classroom video capture (we’re not in favour of this due to it’s reinforcement of traditional classroom models)
• Dean – advocacy/adoption of interactive whiteboards in classrooms (we have some of the same concerns about this as above)
• Rob – mobile technology (netbooks, the mythological Apple Tablet)

Promote/plug (things we think you might be interested in):

• Coyote Chalk blog written by Cori Saas, a former student of Dean’s
• The College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Rick says that great things are happening there.
• “Shop Class as Soul Craft” by Matthew Crawford is next on Rob’s reading list for books to read on his iPod touch using the Kobobooks app (terrific ebook seller). Matthew was recently heard on episode 97 of the CBC Radio program Spark.

Finally, Rob wants to thank Paul Wood for saying hi to his kids via Skype, and Alan Levine for being The Boy™’s first twitter buddy.

Thanks to Rob for recording, editing and supplying the show notes:

Anywho, as usual we had a great time talking, laughing, being silly and of course, as sure as I'll spill food on my clothes, Rob brings out the microphone and begins recording.

No theme, no purpose, just friends yacking. After Sir Ken, Rob and I hit a local coffee shop for the debrief.

Just because I felt like it, I've added some show notes. I haven't done that for a while. Enjoy.

• Alec's crying photo
• Alec's student's post
• The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment
• Out of Our Minds
• A radical alternative: Real teaching
• Howlett Academy
• Summerhill
• Reading is Not a Skill
• Ken DeRosa and Facts
• Kristin Cummings

Rick, Alec and Rob and I spent an hour last night learning from and with Howard. The ambient sounds you here of dogs barking and a parade are from my end. That’s just a bonus. Enjoy.

People

Without trying to list the names of everyone, it’s apparent for most users of social media that face to face gathering times have changed in the past few years. I used to go to conferences and mingle with local colleagues and a few others I’d met a various functions and committees but there wasn’t much of a community. Now we meet people we’ve never seen and can enter in to meaningful discussion since all the banter and small talk takes place  in other spaces.

This conference brings together not only educators and administrators but also IT. I certainly commend our own IT team for focusing on students but not all do. This is a great way to have them understand that their clients are students and it’s a highly complex task to provide safe, secure environments that also enable them to have the access needed to use the tools that help them learn.

Keynotes

I’ve heard David Warlick live a couple of times but I must say this was worth seeing. David is a gifted storyteller but certainly connects to many outside of educational technology.  Carlene captured the essence of it well. It lead to many meaningful conversations and insights for many including my superintendent who said, “I know you’ve been talking about this for years but it’s finally starting to click”. What’s the phrase about being a prophet in your own town?

Being able to provide a keynote with Clarence, Kathy and Darren was truly a treat. Once I get the audio from Rob, I’ll post it but it was a privilege to facilitate these three tell their stories.

Sessions

So many of the sessions dealt with what’s best for students and how does any of this help our students learn more. The phrase “How does the technology support the practices that lead to student achievement” rang through my mind many times. I heard more praise from various sessions than I have at many conferences.

Critcisms

Nothing is perfect and there were a few things that I’d like to see change. Wireless continues to suck. Why? Last year the wireless at another venue was much better. The hotel did not have wireless so someone had to install a temporary system. It was lousy. This has got to be resolved. I would also like to see more built in opportunity to network. Not a big deal for me personally since I have many connections and can steer informal conversations to meet my needs but for many, they need a time and space to ask questions and contribute ideas.  I mentioned the idea of a “linkable” keynote. A killer opening that had many components that could be explored deeper in follow up sessions or simply building an open space style based on the ideas in the keynote and interests of the participants. Then culminating the conference with a sharing time of what was learned and what plans were made.

Mixed in with some laughter, and our usual ramblings is some good stuff largely on the part of our guests. If you’re already subscribed in itunes, just search for EdTech Posse and you’ll find us there.

Have a listen:

The People:

Of course the danger here in singling out people is the fear of leaving someone out so I’ll just begin but apologizing right off. These are just a few thoughts about people that I managed to spend a varying amount of time with. Some quite and others just a brief conversation.

Bud Hunt. I spent quite a bit of time with Bud. He’s one of my longest online connections and there’s a reason for that. He makes me think. Bud has a way of framing ideas and throwing curveballs that have just enough spin on them that you better pay attention. There’s only one complaint I have. He needs to publish more.

Scott Floyd and the Texans. While I was vaguely familiar with Scott, I didn’t really know all that much about his work and thinking. He’s smart and extremely politically savvy. He helped me understand much more deeply about the issues facing US schools and in particular why we need to be watching companies like Pearson like a hawk. I consider Scott one of my great discoveries from NECC. In addition to Scott, Paul Wood, Mike Gras, John Maklary and Brian Grenier put on an amazing BBQ and made me and others feel incredibly at home. So much so I almost was going to stay here for 11 more months. Paul went out of his way to pick me and and drive me to their hotel where I was whisked into a live netcast and stayed to have some great talks. Texas hospitality is alive and well.

Ewan Mcintosh. Ewan’s international perspective (I actually was considered international…but don’t have a buttery Scottish accent so I barely count) and fresh look at education always provides me with enough fodder for about a year. I just barely have gotten over talks from a year ago. This time I only have 6 weeks.

Jeff Utecht. He is batman. He’s everywhere. Even on the plane ride home I grab a magazine and who’s face is staring back at me? I actually had to crop him out of the Texas boys photos. He’s unstoppable. His energy and passion are electric. He just does stuff. I’m sure he’ll be in Bangkok before the technicians can return all his hacks and tweaks back to normal. Although if my idea takes root, he may still get away with more.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach. She couldn’t be any nicer. I know she’s also brilliant and a tremendous facilitator but she’s all about people and helping others connect. What a treat to have a meeting on the river walk with Wes Fryer and Darren Kuropatwa. That was truly a highlight.

Konrad Glogowski. I’ve been reading Konrad for a while and although he lives 2,500km away from me, I can’t help by feeling pride that he is also Canadian and really exemplifies so much of what good teaching is all about. We had a great chat Saturday night about his upcoming travels and work in Africa with Sharon Peters. I’m sure it will lead to more highly reflective and challenging writing.

Craig Nansen. Craig lives about 4 hours from me in North Dakota. He was kind enough to invite me out with some other Distinguished Apple Educators for a lively discussion. Nice to know he and Chris Webb are just down the road.

Old friends. Will Richardson, David Jakes and Chris Lehmann continue to provide me with a solid pedagogical leadership. I rely on these gentlemen more often than most. It just so happens we have a lot of fun together too.

The blogger cafe was an ongoing series of “Hi-how-are-you-good-to-see-yous” and time was often the enemy of moving beyond that. I wanted to especially thank Lisa, Maria, Brian,Vicki and Julie who contributed in mentoring students and teachers. These folks do a great deal for me.

More acknowledgments and thoughts as my twittified brain goes into full gear about the week that was. Here we go.

Mark Wagner kick started my brain with a frank question…Laura Deisley will be a new and trusted friend…Brian Smith is older than he looks apparently…Wendy Smith is married to Brian Smith…Lisa Thumann sometimes shuts down like me….Did you Know Karl Fisch is very quiet but did throw out a great one liner (see what did there?)…Gary Stager never stops and is highly entertaining…Everybody loves Clarence….Having NECC in your hometown has its disadvantages…Doug Johnson is a funny guy….I think I’m stealing this paragraph style from Scott McLeod…Kyle Stevens isn’t sure if Chris is Christ…..Diane McCordell is short….Kurt Paccio is not…Lee Kolbert likes Plurk…Marcie Hull wants people to be afraid of her, but I’m not…Mark Pennington needs to post more photos….I saw the Tech Chicks but didn’t see them together…Was Al Upton sick or is his voice that raspy?….Stephanie Sandifer lied to me…I owe Jennifer Kraft $4….I’ll never remember everyone I met….Wes Fryer is also batman….I’ll never mention boiled ribs again…Barbara Barreda will stop at nothing to help kids….the riverwalk is awesome……John Pederson, Darren Kuropatwa and Christian Long shouldn’t be allowed to stay home…I wonder if I overuse the dot,dot,dot?…Ken Pruitt leads a nice session….Christian wins as best blogger not be be present at NECC….you can’t use a loonie to buy coffee in the States….flying first class isn’t that great…I used the phrase, “throw under the bus’ too often…I bet the Aussies would have been fun to hang with…Wagner broke more iphones than my dog chews electronics….I saw Jeff Boulton, who I work with once randomly Friday night and never saw him at the conference…Do you have any idea how long it takes to link to all these people?…Chris Lehmann started say y’all quite a bit…David Jakes likes Bill Lamineer….Will Dan Meyer attend NECC or any conference that has the word technology in it?….Joyce Valenza was surprised when I told her I read her blog. I didn’t know why…Wireless at conventions suck unless you have your own or know Mark Wagner or Scott Floyd…I saw Will Richardson demo Geopedia 17 times…. people are nicer than I imagined.

The Ideas

Now that the NECC love fest is over. (I know I was guilty of the discussing the edublogoshpere’s favourite subject, themselves) here’s where I go from here. These are four ideas, that while not new, I think I understand better now and hopefully can articulate. There were certainly seeds of other ideas that will grow but these ones I just feel better about.

1. Online communities exist for people to be together face to face. Being online is about being face to face. Shirky talks about the the ideas expressed in Bowling Alone. The idea of a society that has lost much of what it means to develop community and opportunity to be together. As many argue against the value of online communities and question there importance, it usually points us to being together. Having fun, working, building, playing, you name it.

We gather together because we like to, and because it is useful.[pp.195]…Meetup groups for virtual contacts shows that even online communication that emulates face-to-face interaction still leaves people wanting real human contact. [pp.199]

Even as we discussed the book and tried to see the connections to learning, it was evident that we wanted to be in the same room. The energy, the passion, the body language all make for a much richer experience. I would dare say many of the folks in my community have used the most current technologies that facilitate online discussion and I can’t imagine any of those tools coming close to the face to face experience. It’ll never happen.

2.Vendors are way off. I have to preface this since I never went into the giant exhibit hall even once but from what I heard and witnessed, these guy for the most part are out to lunch. Mike Gras told me of a vendor who was selling a product that could tie all your web 2.0 apps into active directory. While I barely know what that means, it demonstrates how so many are driven to control based products. Check out this ad from the NECC daily magazine. Basically we can shut everything down as tight than a monkey fist . Now grant it, they are just responding to what schools are asking for but you have to wonder if they don’t see the writing on the wall. How long will it be before raise the white flag of surrender and simply try and work and learn in real world, DIY environments? I know, I’m too naive. I’m not discounting the commercial component of schools and technology just the context of the presentation and marketing. Don’t even get me started on clickers.

3. I need to talk about student learning way more. In the fervor of all that is edtech and wonderful, the odd dissenting voice appeared. “Where is the student learning?” That question bothered some but it’s a good one and ones that need to be asked. As I made the most of my extra night, Christine, Mike, Paul and Scott I wrote down a quite piece of logic that helps me particularly as we consider the value of social networks, online communities and more specially K12 online. Let’s start from the students.

• We all want to help students learn more.
• Teaching and learning is hard.
• Professional learning is essential.
• Schools devote way too little time and money and much of it is not applicable or specific to each teacher in their quest for improved student learning.
• Enter online professional learning. which provides time shifted and customizable learning. Not only that but it’s about content combined with access to real teachers doing real work. This all can lead to your very own research team.

If helping a doctor become better is about improving patient care then professional development is about student learning. I’m going to be gentle but ruthless is selling that idea.

4. We have no idea how small we are. My guess is about 300 of the 17,000 attendees have any sense of what powerful online communities are all about. That would represent about 2% of an edtech community. These would be the teachers that you’d like have the best shot at building a network. Reading some of the teacher reflections in the last NECC daily made me shudder somewhat. The focus on buying stuff, teaching tools is missing the boat big time. It’s easy to understand why an average teacher would have no idea of how and why. While it’s been written about lots, when you see it in this context it’s quite amazing. If you believe in point #1 and #3 you see why I think this is important. So while I have my network who support me and challenge me not to mention the possibility of those outside my network who occasionally challenge me most of our teachers have nothing. Again, not a new realization but I got to see it first hand.

There, I feel better. (My first every blog post largely constructed from 30,000 feet. I might turn into Wes Fryer or Ewan Mcintosh if I became a frequent flyer.)

Konrad Glogowski photo by Will Richardson
Breakfast with Craig Nansen and Chris Webb photo by Kevin Jarrett

Reference:
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. New York: The Penguin Press.

If you’ve ever heard the first statement in a staffroom, the rest of the logic would follow.  Learning is what makes us human and to use this logic would suggest that schools can be inhumane institutions.

This is some of the thinking of Dr. Michael Wesch.  In the first 20 minutes or so of this presentation from his talk at the University of Manitoba, he makes such a clear case for the shift in learning due to a changing media. I love the fact that there are so many great conversations and folks dedicated to solid pedagogy which is not new. What’s new is the way new media is influences this. Wesch is the maker of The Machine is Using Us which demonstrates this shift.  The way we experience information and content is new and I’ve yet to hear a good argument to suggest it’s no big deal, let’s do school as usual.

I really want to get good and keeping both solid pedagogy and how it fits with new media in balance. What’s interesting is that the new media is leading people to push the edge of the envelope of innovation and get criticized because they appear to be tool focused. That’s why I love how Will setup the discussion today about streaming video. He prefaced it by admitting, we don’t have the pedagogy all worked out. But it’s still worth exploring and the conversations usually include a good dose of “yeah but does it help kids learn?” mixed with “wouldn’t it be interesting if we tried…?”  At times we need to play, explore and waste time.  Cheap failures allow us to see what works and what doesn’t.  Other times, let’s call it fluff when we see it and move on.

Part 2

So why when I fly 2600 miles to the world’s largest edtech conference would I sit in my hotel room, watch an online video when there is a convention center filled with people, stuff and conversations?  This helps explain part of it.  But also learning comes in many forms. Duh. People have asked me if I’m learning. I hate having to quantify my learning experience.  I like demonstrating understanding.

I love sitting quietly by myself listening, watching, reading and reflecting. I love being with a group of loud friends laughing, listening and arguing. I’m not sure I came to NECC to learn anymore than I could have had I stayed home.  By far the majority of people here need to be here to learn. That might sound arrogant but I can learn from anyone, anytime and anywhere. “Even from here” to quote my good friend Clarence. I would be great if more people could develop this type of learning network and they are. The growth of edubloggercon and the blogger’s cafe would indicate this is happening.  It’s not going to deter from conference attendance because these types of meetups are precious. Spending as much time online with these folks as I do, builds relationships. Not everyone is my “friend” but they are part of my virtual classroom and I like hanging out. I don’t need to be here to learn.

So I’m not here to learn anymore than I would normally. I”m here to be together. That’s good enough.

Show notes

Not for me. I’ve touched on this before and am currently working with our IT manager on a presentation at Tlt in a few weeks that deals with how we work together.

Today I was trying to access the chat portion in ustream. I had mentioned it casually with our IT staff and they said since it uses port 666 which is generally used for IRC, it could be potentially a threat. Makes sense. That’s their job, to protect and insure our network is stable and safe. But I persist. Since we all use Gtalk, it’s a quick IM conversation and here it is:

me: how hard is it to open port 666? Is it like a click of a button or some weirdly involved coding? temporarily I mean
stinndler: i have to log into the firewall console
find the right access-list then add the exception to it
all so you can use IRC
me: It’s part of Ustream…lots of online presenters use it.
stinndler: how many is lots?
me: I could join one everyday
stinndler: ustream.tv?
me: yep
I’m watching this right now http://www.ustream.tv/channel/weblogg-ed-tv
It’s basically over but just curious to see if we can do it.
stinndler: so it allows you to ask questions of the presenter?
me: that and chat with participants
stinndler: checking my firewall logs it looks like it’s always going to the same server
i could potentially open up port 6667 to just that server
that would remove the risk
me: that would be cool
you rock….you knew that right?
stinndler is typing…

That’s all it took. Conversation, relationships and common sense. Unfortunately, there are not that many school districts that operate this way. We need more stories and examples of effective relationships. I’ll be sure to post our presentation and materials on May 15th.

I asked David back in November to join the Posse for a podcast. He agreed, received his honorary mug and the recording found its home on Rob Wall‘s hard drive lo these many days. Apparently Rob has a life outside his computer and wasn’t able to edit and upload….until today. Not that this podcast is all about David but it’s just fun to lead him towards another bus.

So without further ado……just listen.
[display_podcast]
And here are the show notes:

Dean:

• Flip Video Camera (leads me to think about the changing nature of hardware. With the advent of youtube, small digital cameras and devices are taking over from larger more traditional video cameras….good or bad?)
• Selfish teachers Reminds me of something Rick said about a year ago in one of our podcasts about taking a class (can’t remember what it was…something obscure) that had no relevance to his classes at the time but he really enjoyed the experience

Dave:

• 15 minutes: I’m tired and bored with the time excuse, why not devote 15 minutes every day to personal professional development? What would that look like? What activities would you participate in? Would it be beneficial? See Carolyn Foote’s post about the idea.
  • Konrad Glogowski
  • Clarence Fisher
  • Darren Kuropatwa
• Relentless Schools: a phrase that absolutely caught my attention when reading the U.S. News and World Report article on America’s Best High Schools. What are the characteristics of a “relentless” school?

Heather:

• SIAST has just bought into using Turnitin. I heard Alec speaking about this once and this topic deserves some more discussion time. (Heather: we’ve used Turnitin in my school district for 5 years, so I have a good deal of experience with it. Dave)
• As for my wish list, I’m with David Warlick in that I’d like a tech free holiday.
• I mentioned LibriVox for free audio books (classics that are out of copyright protection) and ThinkingRock (free, cross-platform, open source, GTD software).

Rob:

• I might have picked the Flip Camera as well. Another thing on my mind is a Nintendo Wii, but I’m not sure that qualifies as a gadget. I think I’ll go with an iPod Touch (or an iPhone, if ever available in Canada and the data plan rates are realistic). Aside from the obvious uber-geeky joy, I think that the Apple has set a standard for a portable online interface. This is how the upcoming learners will want to get their info and how they be connecting.
• Ed Reform? Hmmm – I’m not sure if this is a large scale reform, but I think it is a local one. My school is offering online courses next semester and I’m hoping that it goes well for students and we (teaching team) learn a lot from the experience. Also hoping for a successful first run-through for ECI 831 with Alec. It will be very open, connected and social.
• Discussion topic – based on a chat Dean and I were just having. Is OLPC missing the boat. Will laptops be the next generation digital learning platform, or is it condemned to become old school as cell phones, iPhone-like devices, digital cameras etc. gain more computer-like functionality with (arguably) a better user interface?

Rick:

• Pay it forward gifts. We’re starting a new tradition in my family this year by giving our kids sheep, pigs and goats for families somewhere else on the planet through PLAN International (http://www.plan-international.org/ ). There are also books, teaching kits, etc. available for this kind of gifting, and we may move to those in the future (the educational reform part), but we thought we’d start with four-legged technology first. Our kids will do the same, and the idea is to find a miniature/toy animal figurine of whatever you’re giving and send it to the person you’re sending it for. Over time, our family will see how big our herds have grown. When it comes to educational reform, it could be that it has to start in the belly. (our family, Dean that is, is doing this as well…a few grumbles were heard but pretty well received)
• Water Buffalo Movie
• And despite my growing irritation with consumption and consumerism, I would love to get/give an iTouch, just like Alec’s!

Alec:

• Gadgets: I have ordered an XO, want the April 2008 version of the Asus Eee and would like one of the LiveScribe Pens (although not sure it will work with my Mac). I am really interesting in seeing the potential for adoption of tools like this (or even the iTouch) where the goal is 1:1. Would love to get a chance to sponsor, collaborate or research this learning environment.
• XO article by John Dvorak why he doesn’t like the project>
• I’m hoping the proposed Canadian DMCA act does not go through, it’s touted as being even worse than the American DMCA. I’d love to see our laws go toward more openness and copyleft than to supporting corporate greed. When talking about kids and creativity,
• Lessig hit the nail on the head when he said: “We can’t kill the instinct that technology produces, you can only criminalize it. We can’t stop kids from using it, we can only drive it underground. We can’t make our kids passive again, we can only make them “pirates”. And is that good? We live in this weird time, an age of prohibitions, where in many areas of our life, we live life constantly against the law. Ordinary people live life against the law. And that’s what we are doing to our kids. They live life knowing they live it against the law. That realization is extraordinarily corrosive, extraordinarily corrupting, and in a democracy, we ought to be able to do better, do better at least for them.”

Discussion – TurnItIn

http://myskitch.com/courosa/dock-20071211-193640/ (from Alec)

Book Recommends
Getting Things Done
MicroTrends
The Dip
Blink
Dark Age Ahead

[tags]edtechposse,robwall,davidjakes,richardschwier,aleccouros,heatherross[/tags]

By chance I happened to be Winnipeg at another conference and was able to invade the MB BloggerCon. The event was casually put together and turned out to be a blast. About 60 people showed up and Andy Mckneil the president of their provincial technology group, organized and paid for the event. (The gave us full use of the bar, free wireless, snacks) Andy also did a great job filming and recording the entire event.  There were 5 unpresentations. I had to stick my big nose into the mix and show off my network. Alec, Jeff and Brian were able to skype in and talk very quickly but clearly, how the network works for them.

I would have liked to connect more with the others but as a guest, I felt the need to lay low. Very cool to meet for the first time Clarence, John and Chris. Nice to see Darren again. It felt like meeting old friends…oh yeah they are.

At any rate, it was great experience and pure fun. Paul Hamilton has remarked a few times about the fun I have with my job. Brian says learning is messy. I say it’s fun.

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[tags]design,richardschwier,edtechposse,k12online07[/tags]

Show notes:

• PodPress
• Wes Fryer’s issues
• Steve Dembo’s take on why podcast when you have a blog
• Bud the Teacher
• Kevin Honeycutt
• Original Presentation by Jukes

I’d didn’t say but would also include Ewan’s comment on my blog that address the digital native issue.

[tags]ianjukes,wesfryer,stevedembo,budhunt,kevinhoneycutt,ewanmcintosh,digitalnatives,digitalimmigrants,podpress[/tags]

There’s more detail over at the posse site, or you can just listen here.

[tags]twitter,moodle, uofregina, digitalinterns, couros, mctoonish, robwall, shareski, backchannelling[/tags]