Ideas and Thoughts» ustream http://ideasandthoughts.org Learning stuff since 1964 Wed, 23 May 2012 04:13:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Podcast 43 The Open Classroom http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/12/23/podcast-43-the-open-classroom/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/12/23/podcast-43-the-open-classroom/#comments Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:40:00 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/?p=749 William Chamberlain is doing something rather unique. He offers a live stream of his elementary school classroom 24/7.  I heard about this about 6 months ago and finally had a chance to talk with Bill about how the idea started and what the impact has been. Image: 100_2343 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmchamberlain/3098018149/]]> William Chamberlain is doing something rather unique. He offers a live stream of his elementary school classroom 24/7.  I heard about this about 6 months ago and finally had a chance to talk with Bill about how the idea started and what the impact has been.

]]> http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/12/23/podcast-43-the-open-classroom/feed/ 5 Alan Levine does 50 Ways to Tell a Story http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/11/20/alan-levine-does-50-ways-to-tell-a-story/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/11/20/alan-levine-does-50-ways-to-tell-a-story/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:46:36 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/11/20/alan-levine-does-50-ways-to-tell-a-story/ If you don’t know about Alan Levine’s 50 Ways to Tell a Story, I can update you on a few other things: Obama is President, and they’ve landed people on the moon. But I’d never seen Alan present and give his perspectives and insights into this impressive piece of work. I invited him to speak [...]]]> If you don’t know about Alan Levine’s 50 Ways to Tell a Story, I can update you on a few other things: Obama is President, and they’ve landed people on the moon.

But I’d never seen Alan present and give his perspectives and insights into this impressive piece of work. I invited him to speak to some of our teachers who I’ve been working with on digital storytelling. So from the comforts of his house sitting gig from Iceland, he came in and did his schtick. For 90 minutes, he kept us engaged and fascinated with the potential of web based storytelling tools. What a treat. Too good not to share.

]]> http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/11/20/alan-levine-does-50-ways-to-tell-a-story/feed/ 3 The WOW factor still matters http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/10/26/the-wow-factor-still-matters/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/10/26/the-wow-factor-still-matters/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:06:06 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/10/26/the-wow-factor-still-matters/ I’m not sure if this says more about my social life or my connected life but whatever. You can judge for yourself. So it’s Friday night, my wife is out watching my girls perform in Annie. (I’m really a good parent, I watched them on Saturday I just don’t need to see it three times). [...]]]> I’m not sure if this says more about my social life or my connected life but whatever. You can judge for yourself.

So it’s Friday night, my wife is out watching my girls perform in Annie. (I’m really a good parent, I watched them on Saturday I just don’t need to see it three times). So I find myself watching Jeff Utecht in Bangkok on his computer, streaming his former colleagues in Shanghai gathering together on a Saturday watching presentations from K12 online.  You may have to read that sentence twice to get it.

Jeff held a similar event a couple of years ago.  2 years ago, streaming video was not readily available but Jeff did record some of that event for viewing after the fact.  Today, streaming video is as easy as email. But Jeff had to do some fancy configurations to stream his Skype call from Shanghai back to Bangkok out to the world. I was concerned that the internet might break at any moment. Jeff has a reputation.

As much as I live this stuff everyday, there is still a WOW factor here. The WOW of an almost seamless discussion with people who care deeply about the things I do. I think WOW is good. I think WOW should be leveraged not as an end but a means to really important stuff.  I agree that WOW isn’t enough anymore but to think that I could have a rich conversation with folks who offer a completely different perspective from the other side of the world would seem significant.  I think having rich conversations locally is important and that’s exactly what the teachers in Shanghai were doing.  There’s no reason why we would have to choose.

]]> http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/10/26/the-wow-factor-still-matters/feed/ 5 Student Cellphone Presentation http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/06/19/student-cellphone-presentation/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/06/19/student-cellphone-presentation/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:24:39 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/?p=656 Tuesday, students from Craik were able to present their learning with cellphones to Liz Kolb and about 20 ustream guests. The stream was a bit wonky but I did manage to record the hour in 3 segments. The last recording is likely the most interesting as it features more of a conversation with students, Liz [...]]]> Student PresentationsTuesday, students from Craik were able to present their learning with cellphones to Liz Kolb and about 20 ustream guests. The stream was a bit wonky but I did manage to record the hour in 3 segments. The last recording is likely the most interesting as it features more of a conversation with students, Liz and Ustream questions.

Here they are in case you’re interested:

]]> http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/06/19/student-cellphone-presentation/feed/ 2 My IT staff is better than yours http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/04/30/my-it-staff-is-better-than-yours/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2008/04/30/my-it-staff-is-better-than-yours/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:00:23 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/?p=636 The general consensus among educators using technology is that IT are the enemies. Obviously this is a generalization but when you listen to teachers, read weblogs, this is a clear message. 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 [...]]]> The general consensus among educators using technology is that IT are the enemies. Obviously this is a generalization but when you listen to teachers, read weblogs, this is a clear message.

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.

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