​So Steve and I have talked about doing stuff with Discovery and we both share the philosophy of "just do it". So here's how this podcast was born:

​As you'll tell from the podcast, this was not rehearsed and it was pretty much uncensored. I hope it can be something where I learn more about the awesomeness of Discovery and you can too. Can you tell I've been drinking the kool-aid? If you want a prize, leave a comment on the DEN blog. 

Zac Chase and I talk about learning. I don't know if that sounds boring to you but Zac makes me think and challenges me about my learning project and some of the things rummaging around his brain.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robwall/2802347892

Yesterday  I mused on twitter about how people made their first connection online. 

Reminiscing about how I first made connections with certain people forces me to think about how and why we find people a part of our lives. I'm not talking about loose ties here but more about people that you consider an integral part of your learning community. Friends perhaps, but certainly your teachers. When I do this it's amazing how many of these folks first came to me because I heard their voice. Not voice in the literary sense but their actual vocal chords producing their unique sound. 

Podcasting as  subscribeable audio content has only been around since about 2004. It was the early educational podcasts that really helped me connect with certain individuals. 

Steve Dembo aka Teach42. Steve began podcasting out of his car back in 2005 when I first came across his work. I wish I knew how I found him but my guess is I was searching for education and podcast and found his stuff. This is the first one I think I ever listened to. The fact he was in his car and recording audio to post online later was in itself intriguing in 2005. Steve's relaxed style made you feel like you were riding shot gun. Immediately I was interested and engaged. 

Bud Hunt aka budtheteacher. Bud, like Steve did his podcasts in his car. He still does occasionally but not nearly enough. I remember him as a high school English teacher talking his students to the local bookstore to buy books. (Sorry Bud, I searched your blog for the podcast link but couldn't find it. Would you be so kind as to put it in the comments? I won't update this so folks are forced to read the comments. Sneaky, but hopefully effective)

Bud, like Steve made me feel welcome to join them. It wasn't really a dialoge but an opportunity to have a conversation. I know I left comments on their blogs and their responses let me know I was welcome to learn with them. We've been learning together for almost 7 years now. 

One of my favorite podcasts of which I think there were only 2 episodes was EdTEch Coast to Coast. Actually it appears there are up to 17 but I think only two with the likes of Tim Lauer, Will Richardson, Tim Wilson and Steve Burt. 4 guys sitting around talking about something I was passionate about and learning about was gold for me. Since that time they've become some of my greatest teachers and indeed friends. It started with me hearing their voices. 

I also remember the first time I heard of Chris Lehmann. It was in a podcast by David Warlick who really did a great job in the middle part of the previous decade in interviewing and exposing many to  a wide variety of folks. At the time Chris was an assistant principal in a school in New York City, shortly before his move to SLA. 

There were others too that I felt a connection with because I heard their voice. Video was a bit of a challenge at the time because of bandwidth and encoding challenges. This was pre Youtube. Andy Carvin was exploring the viog but audio was much more doable. 

There was something about the raw, unedited way in which these voices came to me. Full of "umms" and a little fumbling, I felt they were real people. Post production was minimal. I was attracted to blogs because I felt like I was reading people like me. Not professional broadcasters or writers but people with real things to say and offered an authenticity I only could find in face to face encounters. Recently Grant Potter and I discussed why ds106radio is so popular. It's for many reasons but one is that we hear people as they are. Pretenses are put aside and magically it's just people talking. Connections are made, friendships are possible.

I've been podcasting myself since 2005. (In this episode you'll hear me talk about podcasting in general and also the voices of Chris, Bud,Steve and David) Originally it was largely about proof of concept. Could I record audio and put it on the web for people to subscribe? Seems silly now but back then it was a little involved. Shortly after that I began podcasting with some Saskatchewan folks as we called ourselves the EdTech Posse. We might be the longest running educational group podcast on the planet. Whatever that means. 

So this is partly reminiscing, partly reflection, partly lamenting but possibly encouraging people to re-discover or discover for the first time the power of your voice. I remember first learning about digital storytelling and one of the ideas that was shared many times was the power of your voice. Speaking remains our most basic and earliest form of communication. It's been around a lot longer than writing and offers something unique that the written word cannot convey. My itunes account is sorely lacking with educators just talking about learning. Maybe you can add to that playlist. I'd love to hear your voice. Keep writing if that's what you do, writing is great but your voice is really special. For me it creates another level of connection. Try it and let me know how it goes. 

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. 

I ranted a little today about a word that's bothered me for a while.

Even if you scramble around for a definition that's not so offensive the best you get is: "thorough and exactness." 

Even those words easily can be translated to inflexible or "my way or the highway".  I don't get the fascination with some people and this word. This document doesn't even define the term and this one says:

There are many definitions of the noun rigor, most of them related to some form of physical or mental rigidity or severity. Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary definition of logical rigor—“strict precision or exactness”—seems at least relevant to the educational context. The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English defines the related adjective rigorous as “extremely thorough. ” Yet neither of these definitions satisfactorily conveys the intent behind the word. To me, rigor implies the reaching for a higher level of quality in both effort and outcome.

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

It got me thinking. So while driving to Saskatoon I turned on the iphone recorder and spewed out some ideas.

More related posts:

Meet My Friends in my Aggregator

What Stupid Will Get You

Listen or Download

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/

This blathering is based on a controversial issue that arose in our school district and the way in which people lack both critical thinking skills and the patient problem solving mindset that Dan Meyer talks about. It’s 18 minutes, features car noises and a little rambling.

Also, if anyone can figure out how to fix my itunes feed, I’d be grateful.

Podcasting from the bathroom

A conversation with all 5 members, we haven’t done that for a while.  Rob, Heather, Rick, Alec and I talked about PLP, 1 to 1 computing, and PD.

Some other links:

• Isabel Allende’s TED talk
• Powerful Learning Practice
• IT summit
• TLt 2010
• Educon: Field Guide for Change Agents (blog post from Rodd Lucier)

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:

So in the spirit of play and exploration here is episode 1.

As always, comments, suggestions, tips and critiques are welcome.

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

Schools are text snobs. Most people reading this are text snobs. Our institutions are built around the written word. That in itself is not bad and we owe much of our culture, knowledge and understanding to the written word. It’s not our fault, we’ve been living in a world that up until a few years ago, only offered us to easily produce content via the written word. But like the revolution of the printing press, we are in the midst of a revolution of a digital nature that’s allowing us to easily create and consume context in many different forms, specifically audio, video and imagery.

So what are our schools doing to address this? I’d say for the most part very little. I must say I’m please to note that many curricula, are beginning to address this gap. In fact my own Saskatchewan Curriculum identifies these six strands as the cornerstone of the English Language Arts Curriculum: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening and Viewing and Representing. All are considered equal but take a wild guess as to which ones receive the bulk of the attention? No doubt that many standardized tests and assessments focus solely on reading and writing and thus perpetuate the lack of attention on the other four. But even those who are building vast digital footprints and experience the power of publishing and connecting are doing so mostly via text. Believe me, I don’t want to discount its importance and value. Writing and the written word will always hold a prominent place in our understanding and experience of life but I’m concerned over the limited use of video, audio and even imagery among teachers and leaders in our schools and in particular those who have created and are developing an online presence.

(This post continues with the following video)

(And now some audio)

In general, schools have placed writing ahead of other forms of expression. Writing is what is measured and what is valued. As we consider the changing of the guard of modern communication.  The recent marketing ploy by the Australian government to find someone to be the caretaker of an island illustrates the shifting of communication skills. Instead of simply asking applicants to write an essay, they were to submit a video to sell themselves. Consider this quote by Stephen Downes.

OK, these are videos for that contest to live on an Australian island (the contest was probably the public relations coup of the year). They are, of course, creative and imaginative and effective. Now for the kicker: ten years ago, not one student in a hundred, nay, one in a thousand, could have produced videos like this. It’s a whole new skill, a vital and important skill, and one utterly necessary not simply from the perspective of creating but also of comprehending video communication today. Some people out there

Marco Torres get a great deal of credit and is seen as an extraordinary educator. Not that he isn’t but part of the reason Torres gets the attention is the fact that very few teachers/schools allow students to create and express themselves with video. I’d love for this to change. We need more Marco Torres’. The challenge is that most teachers who have developed their online presence is largely because of their ability to write. This continues the bias towards text over other mediums. We need kids that can write, tell a story, engage in a coherent, interesting conversation and tell stories with still and moving images. Shouldn’t we be modeling this? Who’s going to teach them?

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.

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.

Is  “off task” behaviour relating to technology an issue with your students? If yes, how do you deal with it, if no, what have and your students done to alleviate the problem?’

The following represents a request I made to several teachers in our school division. You’ll see a few different viewpoints which is what I wanted.

I see it as an issue of off-task behaviour.  Every teacher deals with it differently, but for the most part, they are instructed to get off of Facebook immediately and risk losing Computer/Internet.  In my Information Processing class, I allow for them to check e-mail/Facebook in the first few minutes of class.  I usually need a few minutes to get myself logged in and get the projector up and running.   They will also get to class early so that they can do this.  It helps.  We do not worry about its use during the noon hour, except that they are asked no to use the videos because they consume band width.  With special needs students, I have used  it to help them develop social skills.  They struggle with writing but they want to communicate with their peers (many of whom have graduated already) and I use Facebook to help with this.  I use Word to convert speech into text and they pastes it into Facebook.  With regards to content on Facebook, they are instructed that they are responsible for what they see and do on any site, including Facebook.  I have instructed them that I cannot possibly list every inappropriate piece of content which they might encounter, but they will know it when they see it and are to immediately move away from that content.   Dwelling or calling over buddies changes everything and it is dealt with as a discipline issue..

I hope they do not use a single blocking mechanism.  I can only see it going to a very locked down place.  Communities would be forced to accept the values of other communities, be it too much or too little content from the internet.   Are we going to see an internet blocked based on needs of Kindergarten students?  Will high schools be different?  What about K-12 schools?

Given that the internet is a moving target, we need to educate.  We need to educate our students, teachers, parents and administrators.  Do they realize that within a couple of hours of blocking Facebook, they will need to get IT to block a proxy server?  I have been so impressed with how well the filtering has worked and how helpful David has been.  I hope that it does not change and that people can be educated.  Easy solutions are not always good solutions.           Ed Fahl, High School teacher, Avonlea, SK

Is the Pope Catholic?  Believe it or not we even have off task behaviour in the classroom!  I know let’s use shock collars!

Is off task behaviour an issue?  Only if you let it run rabid.  How do we deal with it?  Supervision, education, learning, protocol, expectations (kids can come up with and agree on expectations – our cell project proved it – I did the same with facebook, no problems yet), respect, responsibility, and the odd consequence.  It’s no different than classroom management.  Same startegies work in the classroom as in the lab.  We need to move into the new millenium here.  Planning, preparation, and management.  Oh yeah, learning, engagement, and expecations.

Other solutions?  Let’s start teaching and learning about technology and respectful/responsible use.  We can’t put our kids in a bubble, but we can teach them how to be respectful/responsible people.  This is where we are missing the boat.  We aren’t going to be there to censor their activities when they are 19, so we better teach them right from wrong when we do have the chance.

I don’t know if this helps or not Dean, it’s pretty broad.  All I can say, is since we have adopted the philosophy of teaching/learning respect/responsibility for technology and the net, our off task behaviour has decreased because kids can make good decisions about their learning/lives, too.                        Gord Taylor, Principal Craik, SK

I am struggling with this issue in my classes and in general.  Usually the logical consequence for an off-task behaviour is, after a warning, removal of the stimulus.  In this case it is not possible to remove the stimulus.  Facebook, or any social networking tool, twitter, etc. is extremely addictive as it seems as if you are “out of the loop” you are truly missing out on something that seems impossible to catch up on at a later time.  I have to admit, I have checked my facebook during work hours myself.  The temptation is great.  I struggle with what consequence to enforce…denial of internet access?  Seems extreme when most of their classes require them to use the internet.  In-school suspension?  Meeting with a parent and having them promise not to do it again? How could this be enforced in any way but scanning their use logs everyday to ensure that anyone accessing off-task sites were given the same consequence.    My belief is that the temptation is great as our students are multi-taskers who are used to typing an essay, creating a spreadsheet while surfing you-tube for music and IMing on facebook.  They do not see this as a distraction at all.  They believe (may be true) that they can scan their facebook while doing other things and it isn’t a problem for their focus.

We have had an instance of bullying that was documented on facebook during school hours.  The student who made the comment on the wall of another student did so during school hours from a study period that is “supervised” by the library technician.  The issue was dealt with as a bullying issue, not a technology issue.  I supported, promoted, and stand by this.

We do not have adequate staffing to supervise all students on all computers at all times in our building. We have students completing on-line courses that are, unfortunately, not always supervised.  In my own classroom students are accessing off-task sites on the sly.  I have 27 students and one me.  They know that if I am helping students in the far corner that I can not see what they are doing on their computers in the other side of the room.  These are good, reasonable kids.

In the end, when all is said and done, what I am doing in my classroom?  I did my educational piece on internet, bullying, proper use of work time, what businesses expect (i.e. fireable offence to waste company time on off-task behaviour), etc.  This does not seem to curb the use of facebook…I teach PAA classes and so I am allowed to assign a mark for business-like attitude and behaviours.  I dock this mark for off-task time.   Does this curb the behaviour?  No.

The reason that I am harping on facebook is that of all the off-task sites, it is by far the most addictive as the very social networking nature of it makes it so tempting.  Games, youtube videos, etc…do not seem to be a problem.  The main problem is facebook in our school.  The main problem with dealing with facebook is the seemingly lack of logical consequence to enforce.            Lona Froshaug, High School teacher, Assiniboia, SK

Finally, this conversation is with Patricia Yeske, High School teacher at Riverview Collegiate in Moose Jaw,SK.

It was a great conversation with Alec, Rick and Rob. One of my favourites. To think it’s year five. Wow. I’m particularly satisfied with the dicussion around Alec’s flickr issue. I think Alec in particular provides a nice response to the issue.

Shownotes

The Posse felt he would make a great guest so Alec and Rick and I spent the better part of an hour with Michael. Thanks to Rob Wall who edited the audio, but unfortunately could not join us in the conversation. Heather Ross, our other Posse member, was also unable to attend.

Image: Michael Geist – Why Copyright? – 4 by D’Arcy Norman
http://flickr.com/photos/dnorman/2383910972/

The complexities of these topics imply more problematiztion rather than definite answers.  The desire for educators to have clear cut responses and answers to a shifting society is becoming more and more moot.  Technology continues to raises at least as many questions as it does answers.

Original Photo: danah boyd at HHL08 by Ewan Mcintosh
http://flickr.com/photos/edublogger/2941900634/

Show notes:

Dan’s 10 videos
Ze Frank
David SimonThe WireGraphing Stories
Summer Camp Video

*My feed in itunes is not functioning. The feed validates but itunes says it’s wrong. Any help would be appreciated.