Give Me Ludicrous Speed

Is Social Media worth the effort?

2011-11-22T16:55:00.004-05:00

What is the ROI on using Social Media for your school?

While this is a tough question to answer, without metrics in the form of page views, an increase in your application pool, increased enrollment, or an increase in giving by the alumni, sometimes the effort pays off in ways one could never imagine. At St. Christopher's School, we have multiple twitter accounts(@stcva, @stcvafootball @stcvatrack), a facebook fan page, a youtube channel, and now a Google+ page. Yes all of these avenues require TLC, time, and a dedicated team that ensures that the content is current, because our constituents expect it.

So has the effort paid off?

It's not easy maintaining multiple social media outlets but the payoff in this particular instance was incredible.

Check this video out and see for yourself. ESPNHS Video picked up our playoff game which is on our YouTube Channel.

Special Thanks to Stephen Lewis, Asst. Director of Electronic Communications & Sports Information for taking our social media footprint to a whole new level and Cappy Gilchrist, Director of Electronic Communications, and Susan Mistr, Director of Marketing and Communications for investing the time to promote our school using Social Media.

7 Myths About BYOD Debunked

2011-11-22T10:27:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month, Lisa Nielsen tweeted for assistance on an article she was writing about myths associated with BYOD. Having just deployed a BYOD program(laptop form factor) in our upper school, I could not resist the opportunity to share my thoughts on this topic. The result was an article posted in THE Journal.

The Myths:

BYOD deepens the digital divide
BYOD will result in lessons geared toward the weakest device
BYOD will cause students to be distracted
Teachers need to become expert in all the technology students own
BYOD will result in students engaging in dangerous activities
Cell phones are not that powerful, so we should not waste our time with them
BYOD will necessitate the standardization of apps and software across all devices

To view and read the reasons behind each myth, please go directly to THE Journal Article here.

A special thanks to Lisa Nielson for giving me the opportunity to contribute to her article. To read more of her posts, please check out her blog The Innovative Educator and follow her on twitter @InnovativeEdu

Our School-Wide Migration to Dropbox

2011-11-22T09:50:00.002-05:00

As our school's technology access model continues to evolve(1:1 school) so must our infrastructure and strategy for backing up faculty and student work. Prior to our 1:1 initiative, all faculty and student computers(labs/carts) were synchronized on our file server. With the introduction of an additional 240+ computers to our campus, some changes to the file server were made to accommodate the increase in users and load but it came at a cost-synchronization was failing. There was a work around but it required us to touch every single computer on the domain. Needless to say, our tech department aka the tech squad was not happy with that option and a few faculty members were not pleased when some files were lost during the migration. So the tech squad examined the options and we decided to recommend to the administration that we move to Dropbox.

Why Dropbox?

Recognizing that change is difficult, we focused on what the value adds were by going to Dropbox. The table below summarizes the differences between our file server and Dropbox and it is pretty clear what the value adds are. See table below

Next Steps:

The tech squad provided instructions on how to install Dropbox and migrate files from the file server to their dropbox folder.

Referral strategies were encouraged/created so each teacher received a bit more than the allotted 2 GB.

Reaction:

The faculty loves Dropbox and all of the value adds it has over our local file server. It also provided many of our faculty and staff with additional access now that smart phones are becoming more prevalent on campus.

Summary of File Server versus Dropbox

When you hire someone you hire their network!

2011-10-25T17:09:00.000-04:00

As schools prepare their budgets for the new fiscal year, the time comes when either new positions or vacancies must be filled. In most instances, the hiring process can be quite labor intensive. Assistant heads, division heads, teachers, and students are often involved in the process but in an effort to reduce load, I simply propose that your school consider this, when you hire someone you hire their network. While the concept of networking is not a novel one, I would emphasize that my definition of network is better suited to the personal learning network. If your school is serious about developing 21st century skills, developing relationships with other schools, and making better global citizens, then it is essential that those doing the hiring recognize the importance of the network potential employees can bring to their school.

After reviewing resumes, like many organizations, I head to the web to see what kind of digital footprint the potential candidate has. Essentially, does the candidate Google Well. If things go well for the candidates, they are present in some of the following digital arenas:

they have a blog or they post comments regularly

preferably about their educational philosophy or activities that convey that philosophy

they have an active twitter account with useful tweets
they actively participate in educational nings
they have their own website

an ePortfolio of activities

their Facebook page does not contain questionable material

Will one miss a jewel in the rough? Possibly, but one can certainly glean a great deal more from a candidate who participates regularly online. While this method works when looking for instructional technologists, tech directors, and tech coordinators, it is time for schools to be more selective and expect candidates to Google Well because it is no longer good enough to simply know the material.

Infographic: How Employers Use Social Media to Hire and Fire

from the Atlantic Monthly

Professional Development: When 1 size doesn't fit all

2011-10-19T16:21:00.002-04:00

From BCDFLaw.com

Like many schools around the country, our doors were closed for school on Columbus Day. Our faculty and staff on the otherhand were required to come in and participate in a professional day. The day was broken up into a couple of parts but for the puposes of this post, the focus will be on the edtech related PD.

Before the faculty and staff were sent off to their discussion groups, we asked them to fill out a google form so they could select the classes they would like to take during in each of session.

Things we remembered to do before they filled out the form:

provide netbooks for the faculty/staff that only work on desktops so they can participate in the workshops

we have COWS(computers on wheels) which made this possible

send/post the link to the Google Form via email and post on the website

provide multiple ways of accessing links

Regroup:

When the faculty and staff returned from their breakout sessions, the sessions were tallied, room locations were set, and we emailed the information to the faculty

Send them on their way:

We were off and running with our tech sessions but the really valuable information would be realized a couple of days later.

What worked and what didn't. Some comments from the faculty and staff:

thank you for giving us the opportunity to sign up for sessions we are interested in exploring

choice is important!

sessions should be longer so there is time to tinker and play with someone to guide

learning through doing!

add a 3rd block-I wanted to learn more

maintain and foster passion!

track the sessions so there is a novice and advanced track

I am well beyond how do I reply in gmail? I wanted to learn how to apply filters and labels
provide differentiated instruction

provide enrichment and remediation opportunities

Lastly, we certainly didn't hit a homeroom, but it does seem like we managed to hit at least a double. The constructive criticism was great feedback and if the end result is that our faculty and staff in effect wants more and more levels of PD, then our students are the real winners!

Announcement: Backup up your work

2011-10-14T17:21:00.000-04:00

The following announcement was posted on our 1:1 Blog for our families.

6 weeks have past since the start of school. Have you backed up your files yet?

If you haven't, here are some recommended strategies:

Start using Google Docs to produce and store your files regularly
Use one of the following web based services:

One can also back up files to a thumb drive or external drive.

Just be sure to store it in a safe place.

Be smart and be proactive with your data.

Much To-Do About Laptops

2011-10-14T09:28:00.003-04:00

One of my former 8th grade students, Nicholas Horsley, is now the junior contributor for our school's newspaper, The Pine Needle. This past summer we had an opportunity for some Q and A about our new 1:1 laptop program and the following article is the result.

*On a side note, there is nothing better than seeing a former student develop their skills and pursue their passions.

LAPTOPS!! They're all the buzz this school year since St. Chris has decided to move to a 1:1 computer model. I caught up with Mr. Cuevas, who is one of the faculty spearheading this transistion, and asked him a few questions:

Many people are asking a lot of the same questions and while the laptop blog is helpful (http://blogs.stchristophers.com/1to1/) it can be confusing and not quite clear. Over the summer, many of the faculty went to Memphis for a conference that was centered around laptop programs. Mr. Cuevas was kind enough to chat with me about the new program:

In which grade does the 1:1 computer model start?

A: St. Christopher’s is using 2 different approaches. In the MS, we are using a standardized model. In this model all students have the same computer and the computer is purchased and serviced through the school. It is the most common 1:1 strategy deployed in schools. The 7^th grade will be part of this model. The Upper School on the other hand is using an open model or a Bring Your Own Device strategy(BYOD). This strategy is gaining in popularity and the Tech Department felt it also provided the greatest flexibility for our families in the Upper School.

Q: Will the school adopt its own basic laptop option as an option for the program?

A: Essentially we have for the standardized model. There are no options and we also purchased the same computers for the faculty who were due to have their computers refreshed. In the Upper School, we’ve made recommendations and we’ve also made arrangements with MacPro Solutions and HP to provide families with options and some discounts. Families in the Upper School were also given the option to use a laptop that they may already own so long as it satisfied our minimum requirements. See the blog for the minimum specs.

Q: What will happen to the computer labs and carts of netbooks if everyone from 7th grade and above is getting laptops?

A: In the Middle School, we moved away from computer labs last year and replaced them with netbook carts. There are four carts that will be used by the 6^th and 8^th grades. In the Upper School, Dr. Smith has a laptop cart in his room to accommodate the juniors and seniors who were not required to participate in the laptop program. The following year, the netbook carts will be reallocated to other areas on campus and some of the netbooks themselves will be used as spares because grades 6-12 will be part of the 1:1 program.

Q: What did the faculty learn from the Memphis conference?

A: We had a great cross section of teachers and administrators in attendance at the Laptop Institute in Memphis, TN. While we all came away with different pearls of wisdom that could be used in our respective areas, I think it is safe to say that the conference validated many of the steps St. Christopher’s has taken to prepare for this initiative. From a pedagogical perspective it was clear that taking small steps to design and integrate technology in effective and constructive ways into the curriculum is the best approach. Also, ongoing professional development is a must! Attendees: Mrs. Mayer, Mr. Tune, Mr. Szymendera, Miss Pohanka, Mr. Spears, Mr. Zollinhofer, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Boykin, and Mr. Cuevas.

Q: How will you cope with the Mac vs. PC compatibility issues (especially with St. Catherine's)?

A: In theory, this is the beauty of the Open Model in the Upper School as compatibility becomes more of a nonissue. As part of our technology coordination with St. Catherine’s, both schools are now Google Apps for Education Schools. This essentially provides communication and collaboration tools in the cloud so it becomes platform independent. In addition to Google Apps, we are encouraging teachers to continually seek web based apps rather than clients that need to be loaded onto each computer.

Q: Will there be any file sharing options between laptops and the network computers?

A: Student laptops(Middle School) that are part of our domain will have access to our file server to backup some of their work. Students in the open model will not have file server access but are encouraged to backup their work. Examples are listed in our blog and more info will be shared during the opening weeks of school. Becoming a Google Apps school essentially eliminates the need for a student file server because all of their work can be saved to the cloud providing them not only with a superior redundancy and security but also access from any computer so long as it has an internet connection. As for printing, students will have access to our print server and further instructions will be provided during the opening weeks of school.

Q: I noticed the publications office received new iMacs. Is the student center going to have iMacs as well?

A: Yes, we are including iMacs for the digital arts classroom in the Luck Leadership Center.

Q: What has the school done to prepare?

A: We have done incredible amounts of preparation for the 1:1 program. We’ve increased our wireless footprint, increased our band width, increased the electrical load in our buildings, installed new lockers in the Middle School, become a Google Apps for Education School, and conducted an extensive professional development workshop this past summer. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the many conversations that took place last year in the Middle School and Upper School.

Q: Will the network be able to handle the extra few hundred computers?

A: We’ve been pretty aggressive about upgrading our network infrastructure… Let’s just say from a wireless perspective, our campus is glowing. The school’s backbone is set to 1 Gb/s, we have 3 internet pipes to handle traffic. … Moreover, the construction of the Luck Leadership Center has required that the tech department be proactive with regards to the day to day needs of the curriculum and its impacts on the network. This fall will be a great test of the steps we have taken to prepare for this increased load and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the needs as the Luck Leadership Center comes online.

Q: Plans for use/ changes to necessary school supplies?

A: If anything, students won’t need to purchase thumb drives or CDs for their work because of their access to Google Apps. As we move forward with the program, I am confident that we will start to see more eBooks. Moving to eBooks will in some cases reduce the cost of books, decrease the weight of the backpacks, and it’s green.

Q: Will students have to use it over pen and paper?

A: I would say it is up to the individual instructor. However, if an activity requires the use of technology then it is safe to say that a student will most likely have to use their computer.

Bring Your Own Device Interview

2011-10-12T20:11:00.001-04:00

As I was catching up on some posts on Google+, I encountered a thread by Miguel Guhlin (@mguhlin) inquiring if there was anyone who might be interested in doing a hangout on BYOD. Having just deployed this type of program in grades 9 and 10 at our school, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share our experiences while being able to explore a hangout with a fellow GTAdmin. Our conversation lasted over 30 minutes and I felt as if we could keep on discussing this model for another hour as it provided me with the opportunity to do some reflecting on the successes and challenges we have encountered.

Miguel posted the interview on his website Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org but I've included a direct link to the interview below. I encourage readers to visit Miguel's site as he has a real gift for bringing educators together to engage in conversations on pedagogy, academic technology, and learning to name a few. In addition to his website, be sure to check out the Texas4TEE or Texas for Technology Enhanced Education on Facebook.

To listen to our conversation regarding BYOD, please click the following link:

#Texas4TEE Podcast - BYOD with Hiram Cuevas @cuevash

Thank you Miguel!

Google+ in Schools...Some early thoughts-a repost

2011-10-12T19:36:00.000-04:00

While this is a repost from William Stites, "Blogger in Chief" at EdSocialmedia, I was excited to have my opinion included along with this list of fine educators.

We asked the edSocialMedia contributors to respond to the following question based on the article “Behind The Numbers Of Google+’s Monumental Rise To 25 Million Visitors” by Greg Finn at Search Engine Land.

“Google+ surpassed 25 million unique visitors faster than Facebook or Twitter. How do you see Google+ fitting in with your school social media and educational strategy?”

The following are the responses from our contributors. Their thoughts span all aspects of school life and while Google+ is in it’s infancy it is surely something that will remain on everyones radar for the time being to see if it going to be around for the long haul or just stirring the social media pot.
Alex Ragone – Director of Technology – The Collegiate School – @alexragone
I’m finding it’s growth amazing, but at the same time, for the basic user, I’m still hearing that there aren’t enough people to get it to work well. For the EdTech connector’s out there, it’s working well and fixes many of the limitations of Facebook and the all-out openness of twitter. I love the hang outs and the photo galleries are amazing. We’ll see how it grows, but my sense is that it’s going to be serious competition for Facebook and Twitter. For me, it’s a matter of being sure of the use of each network and I’m still most comfortable with Twitter. That may change soon, though.

Basil Kolani – Director of Information Services – The Dwight School – @bkolani
Google+ has to fit into a school’s social media and educational strategy the same way that Google, in general, does. This isn’t a separate product, something like Google Social or Google It’s-Better-Than-Orkut-Was — it’s Google PLUS, a better Google, the way we’re all going to be interacting with Google’s services moving forward.
Whether your school is using them for email, document collaboration and sharing, or just searching, Google is a large part of how we do business on the web. It would be a mistake to not get on board with Google+, though our schools will have to wait until Google allows organizations to have their own pages. The fact that Google wants organizations to have a different kind of presence on Google+ already differentiates it from the one-size-fits-all approach that Facebook and other outlets are taking, and the fact that the steady growth that both Facebook and Twitter have been seeing is now slowing down means that Google’s entry into social media can’t be taken lightly.
Peter Baron – Founder – edSocialMedia & CEO – AdmissionsQuest- @peterdbaron
Since I’m not at a school on a day-to-day basis, I think it makes more sense from me to consider this from the perspective of search.
It’s a bit too early to determine how it’ll impact their search returns, but it’s hard to imagine that Google Plus won’t play some sort of a supporting role. Start with the ease in which Google has made it possible to embed their button on your site (encourage clicks) and then look at how they’re weaving Google Plus into their search page (it’s literally next to each return). I don’t think it’s unreasonable to conclude that it will play a role in their ranking algorithm.
Like I said, it’s early, but I’m willing to bet that content actively shared on G+ will enjoy an advantage. It’s definitely worth watching.
Richard Kassissieh – Director of Information Technology – Catlin Gabel School – @kassissieh
Has Google+ taken off so quickly because it’s so great, or because a lot of people now know what a social network is and how to use it? Or has the pesky integration with Search and Picasa Web Albums also contributed?
At the moment, we are waiting to see what other smart institutions do with Google+ before giving it significant time. We still have a lot of potential to realize in other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to take a serious look at this new platform. Our use of Google+ might be limited to communications to alumni, parents, and prospective families, or it might find a niche in the instructional program, depending on how well it integrates with Google Apps for Education and whether students show interest.
Drew Millikin – Director of Recent Graduate Relations – Groton School – @drewmillikin
Quite frankly, I don’t think it will last. I really like the interface, the functionality, the intuitiveness, and the lack of ads/marketers in Google+. I don’t, however, see the daily traffic like I do on Twitter or Facebook. I wonder how many of the 25 million are one-and-done users? How many of them are actively returning +out with those of us looking for an alternative to Facebook? My guess is that most are on, checking it out, and then finding there’s not a lot of traffic and forgetting about it. I’m willing to ride the Wave on this one, but I’m not optimistic about its longevity.
Steve Ritchie – Founder – edSocialMedia & Chairman – The Proof Group – @steveritchie
I haven’t spent enough time with Google+ to feel confident in any assessment. That said, in my brief exposure, two things seem safe enough to say: first, it will be a long time before Google+ touches Facebook as a vehicle for external communications. I have trouble finding an argument for a communications, development or admission office investing deeply in it at this point – 25 million early adopters is great, but a huge percentage of a school’s target audience is already part of the 750 million on Facebook, and I have trouble imagining that balance changing any time soon.
Second, the circles concept and easy to manage and target content sharing seems like a very natural fit for internal groups (classes, departments, parents, etc.). I can imagine a school that uses Google services for email (and Docs, and…) making great use of Google+ within the community. Google will have to make the service available to organizations using Google Apps before that makes sense, though.

Brendan Schneider – Director of Admission & Financial Aid – Sewickly Academy – @schneiderb

While I might have been a little premature, and harsh, with my initial assessment of Google+ in my blog post, “10 Reasons I Hate Google Plus,” my frustration stems more from people’s reaction to this new social media channel and not necessarily from the tool itself.

There are many potential applications of Google Plus but I tend to focus on using social media as part of an inbound marketing strategy for schools. With that in mind, Google Plus is not currently ready for the marketing primetime for the following reasons:

I don’t believe there are enough of the correct eyeballs yet on Google Plus. Yes – 25 million people is a lot but compared to Facebook and Twitter it is a much smaller pool of potential parents.
With regard to my correct eyeballs comment, I would argue that the majority of people who have Circled me are early-adopter, social media types. The second most common group are my old students.
Google Plus currently only allows individuals to have G+ accounts and until Google launches business/organization accounts G+ will be left on the social media sidelines. I believe that Google’s implementation of organization accounts will make or break Google +’s mainstream adoption.
While I’m a big fan of Google and their products, I also remember Google Wave, Google Buzz, and Orkut. Enough said…

Only time will tell where Google Plus ends up or ends. In the meantime I’ll enjoy playing with G+ and hope to find you in my Circles soon.

Marisa Peacock – Freelance Writer – @marisacp51
Different parts of my life are lived out across social media platforms. While I like to think I am the same person no matter where I go, the types of people I interact with on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are quite different. There is some overlap, but mostly Facebook is a place where close friends and family gather; Twitter is for sharing among my industry specialities and interests; and LinkedIn is for colleagues (past and present) and business contacts. Google+ however is a weird combination of all of them. Some people I don’t know very well, and some I am related to. I have remained somewhat quiet, not intentionally posting, but instead clicking the +1 button on a few articles here and there.
Recently I came across an article which sought to highlight the ways that Google+ may impact education. A few are obvious — no real privacy issues or age limitations; a few made a lot of sense and got me excited to experiment. The article, Why Google+ Is an Education Game Changer by Liz Dwyer says that circles will give teachers the ability to segment information easier, while creating Hangouts will help students and teachers collaborate easier. Of course, the biggest hurdle for educators is that it’s another tool that can help. Those who are proactive technologists will likely experiment, and as usual those who are not as technological savvy are likely to shy away, overwhelmed and skeptical. Change is hard for any industry, but particular for education. Even for independent schools, where it’s perceived that innovative technologies are more accepted, social collaboration is a hard sell.
Regardless of how Google+ is adapted by educators, it’s more important to keep it flexible. Google+ will is not the first, nor will it be the last tool touted as the “best new thing” to revolutionize teaching.
William Stites - Director of Technology – The Montclair Kimberley Academy & Blogger-in-Chief – edSocialMedia – @wstites
When I got my Google+ account I was excite to play around and explore, curious as to what it would offer and how the site would differ from Facebook or Twitter. The big question would be who would I would be connecting with as my circle began to grow.
Google+’s growth has been both explosive and impressive, but when I look closely at the people that are in my circles along with the demographics referenced in the article I see a lot of people that look like me. I don’t yet see a lot of our students, our parents, our school’s constituents.
Given the internal resources of many school I would be hard pressed to recommend that a school invest any serious time in Google+… yet. I still need to see the number for Google+ plus grow and grow in the right direction for our school. However, this is not to say that you shouldn’t start exploring, experimenting and playing as this is Google and you never know what will happen in the future (remember Google Wave?).
Andrew Shelffo – Director of Communications – Williston Northampton – @shelffan
I’ve been on it for a few weeks now, and I have to say that every time I go in there, I have this feeling of loneliness because no one else seems to be there. I realize that I’m probably guilty of trying to replicate Facebook in Google+ when they’re definitely not interchangeable, but it makes me wonder if that’s how other people see it. It’s experiencing phenomenal growth, but I don’t know how many of our constituents tend to be among the early adopters of any technology like this. And as I look around at what others are saying about Google+, I see a lot of information trying to explain exactly what it is. Meanwhile, we have enough trouble keeping up with Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, social media that is more clearly defined.
So, long story short, we’re taking a wait-and-see approach, as Google adds new features and people become more familiar with it. I’m sure at some point we’ll jump on board with our school, but we’re not chomping at the bit to do so now.

Steve Valentine - Assistant Head of Campus:Upper School – The Montclair Kimberley Academy – @sjvalentine
In all honesty, I sometimes buck at the notion of asking how a “hot, new” anything fits into our school lives. The question seems premature to me, even with the numbers that Google+ has posted. I guess I like to see if an app or technology will actually last — and I like to give it some time to settle into my own habits and practices — before I start to advocate for its use in schools. (And, yes, I feel like asking the question is a form of advocating.) I also like to see how kids use it, and take some of my cues from them. I guess I’ll know better around November or December — if the phenomenon truly takes root and if my students seem drawn to it in some way.
Madeline Senkosky – Community Manager – edSocialMedia – @madelinesen
I’m still on the fence as to where I will integrate Google+ into my social media streams, but I can see great value in its potential. However, I think it will take several years before we can consider using Google+ to market our schools or businesses.
According to a study done by comScore (source: http://www.thechromesource.com/a-closer-look-at-gs-demographic/), “The American user base of Google+ is predominantly male, with men making up 63% of unique profiles on Google’s new platform. Consequently, visitors aged 18-34 make up 58% of Google+ in the States.” On top of that, the United States and India make up more 10 million of the 25 million users.
To me, Facebook is the winner if we are comparing two social platforms. Facebook has finally penetrated the middle-aged (slightly older) demographic, which allows schools to reach the parents and perspective parents of our schools. My mother doesn’t know what Google+ is, and it will take her several more years before she even considers joining. I’m sure she’s not the only one.
I can see, however, how Google+ could become the home dashboard for our communicative strategies. It might continue to progress to create a valuable starting point for communicators each morning, centralizing all their social platforms and messages. However, that being said, I don’t think it will kill off any of the other social platforms we are currently using.
I’m going to continue to experiment and utilize the platform to see if I can find greater use in the tool, and it might turn out to be the saving grace for some schools. As we all know, what works for one school might not work for another, and Google+ certainly might fit into that category. Who knows — time will truly tell!

Mandy Wynn – Director of Annual Giving – Rodeph Sholom School – @mrs_wynn
Personally, I think google+ can be an asset for internal communications. With a small target base – the English department, Senior Administration, etc you can set up systems that in a way force people to use new technology. But from a Development perspective we wont begin to think about Google+ as a platform for communication until most of our constituents adopt it on their own. We go where the donors are, and talk and listen to them where they are. Time will tell.
Hiram Cuevas – Director of Academic Technology - St. Christopher’s School - Guest blogger – @cuevash
I have been fascinated by the growth Google+ has been experiencing and I believe its growth speaks volumes about its potential. Personally, I have found myself using Facebook and to an extent Twitter less. For me, Facebook seems a bit stale, cluttered, and is having a bit of an identity crisis as it hits adolescence. Twitter on the other hand is still a fabulous tool but what I’m finding is that its brevity is sometimes its greatest weakness. This is where I find Google+ to be truly unique. Google seems to have made great strides to leverage its user base and resources to provide a robust experience. From circles, huddles, and hangouts, Google+ is positioned quite well to provide educators, particularly those schools that are Google Apps for Education Schools, with incredible resources. I envision circles that can be designated for individual classes, advisory, and student organizations. Huddles for mobile messaging, and hangouts to collaborate and communicate not only with students within the class but from other schools. And all of that can be accomplished without a 140 character limit or the privacy issues plaguing Facebook.
Prediction: A revamping of social media policies for K-12 schools if Google+ becomes available to Google Apps for Ed Schools

Should you feel the desire to post a comment, please do so on Bill's post.

QR codes in EDU

2011-07-13T00:03:00.005-04:00

During the Laptop Institute, I had the opportunity to hear Jeff Utech present on the relevance of QR codes in society and he has predicted that 2011 will be the year of the QR code. Now I must admit that I've been puzzled by these 2 dimensional barcodes, but it wasn't until Jeff asked the audience to discuss how we could use QR codes that I started to see the light. Fortunately, I was sitting near @sarahhanawald and @mmhoward discussing the potential and experimenting with these little buggers. We came up with some neat ideas but it wasn't until much later in the day when I had my Eureka moment. I've been giving it lots of thought ever since and have come up with a few ideas which I would like to share. But more importantly, I would like all of us to share potential uses of QR codes in edu via twitter. @sarahhanawald suggested we use the hashtag #QRinEDU and I think it is a fantastic idea.

#QRinEdu examples:

A link to your homepage on admissions materials.

A teaser in an announcement to introduce the School's new mobile site.

Image credit: http://vampirelabs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/green-question-mark.jpg

Or how about using QR codes on signs at athletic events so spectators can download rosters & go to team pages. It's green and it can provide considerably more content than spectators can imagine.

So, how will you use them?

Use hashtag #QRinEdu

Create, Reflect, Revise

2011-07-02T12:01:00.002-04:00

This is a big summer for St. Christopher's School. We have a 1:1 program launching in the fall, our school will be celebrating its centennial, and we will be opening the Luck Leadership Center in January 2012. So in the midst of all of the excitement, I find it is critical that as we create new and engaging activities for our boys, we must also be mindful to reflect and revise as needed.

A true master teacher/learner will reflect on the outcomes of their lesson or activity and will take the time to revise the approach to maximize learning. At a recent PD activity on Google docs for the faculty, I opted to share my notes with the attendees rather than give them hard copies. In so doing, I was able to augment the notes with their ideas and suggestions after the class. It was quite easy to amend the notes and best of all, I didn't have to resend an updated version because the document was shared. Having done this 2x and with several more PD sessions remaining throughout the summer, my latest reflection has prompted me to give the participants editing capabilities so we can truly benefit from our collective efforts.

We've been using this approach in our tech dept meetings to collect minutes and document action items so why not extend it to the classroom. It's like a wiki on steroids with the benefits of concurrent users.

While most of us are in the business of creating, let's not forget to take the time to reflect and revise.

Assessments that end up being Lost Learning Opportunities

2011-06-23T10:40:00.000-04:00

Exams, finals, standardized tests, and final papers are common assessment tools used at the end of the school year but they often short change the learning process. While many of my peers in edtech would say it is the tools themselves that shortchange student learning, my issue is not with the tool but with what happens after the assessment is given. Too often, assessments are given, graded, and reported without an opportunity for student reflection or checking for understanding. As a result, students regrettably look for the grade rather than consider the review as an opportunity. Assessments are an opportunity to explore misunderstandings or engage in discussions about questions that were specifically designed to push students to demonstrate critical thinking and creative problem solving.

So maybe it's time we discuss this issue with our respective schools because in the end, a final assessment does not have to mean the end of learning.

LargeDocument.com: a great web based solution for sharing large files

2011-05-27T08:57:00.001-04:00

If you are looking for an easy way to email large files, look no more. LargeDocument.com is a fabulous web based application that allows users to send huge files via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or email.

In a nutshell, largedocument.com stores your file temporarily and sends a link to your file to the recipient. For me, the best feature is that it requires no login or userid in order to use this service.

Does this sound to good to be true? Check out some of its features.

From LargeDocument.com

Largedocument.com features:

Up to 2 Gigabytes can be uploaded on a 32-bit machine.
Up to 8 Gigabytes can be uploaded using a 64-bit machine.
Largedocument creates the upload URL before the file has uploaded which allows you to send the download link without having to wait for the upload to complete.
If someone attempts to download the file before the upload is complete the user will see a message telling them that the file is still being uploaded and to check back later.
Supports all browsers and platforms.

So how can you use this?

Send info to parents who constantly send images or video files to your email and fill up your quota
Students can send large projects to teachers or other students

Chatting has value? It's much more than iChat or Google Talk.

2011-05-12T09:07:00.000-04:00

When discussing chatting with parents and teachers, the reaction is almost always negative. I get comments like, that's a waste of time, it's a distraction, or I don't have time for it. So rather than dispute their claim, I've taken the approach of sharing the types of conversations I experience using twitter. When I describe the deep conversations surrounding professional development, curriculum, the role of libraries, and digital citizenship to name a few, the response is almost always one of surprise. Followed by comments such as "I had no idea twitter could be used beyond what an actor was having for breakfast let alone professional development." With that misconception temporarily on hold, I offer the following primer on how to participate in the conversations.

So how does one get involved? First, join twitter, follow a few tweeple in your field and look for a hashtag that matches your interest. A hashtag for example, is a category within a twitter that can be followed or searched. The hashtag #isedchat is a conversation among independent school educators. Some tweets are bits of information but the real value is on Thursday nights at 9pm. This is when many educators participate in a topic that was voted on earlier in the week. But don't worry, if you miss a chat session, @lcarroll94 archives the stream.

How do I find people to follow on Twitter? Start by looking at who other educators follow. Read their posts and lurk for awhile, ask questions, and reply. As one finds tweets of value, your list of who to follow will start to grow. Most importantly, be patient it takes time to develop any relationship.

Are there other chats specific to my discipline or division? Absolutely. If you don't follow @cybraryman1 on twitter, you should. He is a wealth of information and his website is full of resources. Be sure to check out his webpage on educational chats and the schedule of twitter chats.

How do I filter out tweets into chats? There are a few ways to accomplish this task but I tend to use tweetchat. Tweetchat allows one to insert a hashtag #isedchat so tweets containing the tag of interest appears in a single channel. One can also adjust the refresh rate if the conversation is steady and has lots of participants.

So as we wind down the school year, at least in this hemisphere, and you are looking to do some exploring, research, or reflection on issues surrounding education, why not dip your toe into a twitter stream and connect with others who are passionate about bringing out the best in our students.

St. Christopher’s is now a Google Apps for Education School

2011-04-17T22:01:00.003-04:00

In December 2010, St. Christopher's became a Google Apps for Education School. This program provides educational institutions with a suite of tools that will provide our students and teachers with greater opportunities for communication and collaboration internally and also with students and teachers from around the world.

Why move to Google Apps? With the pending 1:1 laptop program in the MS and US, the tech department believed this would provide our students and teachers with tools that supports the list of Essential Skills for the 21st Century developed by the thinking task force. In addition to supporting those skills, Google Apps is a web based product that doesn't require the installation of software or a specific operating system(OS) to run. And best of all, using Google Apps for education comes at no cost to the school.

Beta Testing Google Apps: We currently have over 200 students and teachers using Google Docs in each of the 3 divisions. Google Docs is 1 of 6 applications available through Google Apps. Essentially, Google Docs is an office suite that provides word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and drawings. File storage is done in the cloud(on Google's servers) and students and teachers can share files easily. NO MORE THUMBDRIVES and hopefully less paper.

Will STC be abandoning Microsoft Office in 2011? No. We plan on phasing out Microsoft Office for students and teachers but the tech department needs to evaluate if Google Docs will satisfy all curricular requirements.

Will STC start using Gmail? Possibly. Email is a very complex server application and we have intentionally steered clear of interrupting service during the school year because of the complexity. Serious consideration however is being given to providing students with Gmail perhaps as early as the Fall of 2011 but additional research needs to be done.

Please revisit this blog to see what other tools we are using to support our boys.

How tutoring strengthened my belief that content is not king!

2010-12-17T09:49:00.004-05:00

http://onwardstate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/end-of-semester-student-studying-finals-week-grading-essays.jpg

I've been teaching for 20 years this year and I am a firm believer that there is too much emphasis on content. I see students and my own children often wondering, fighting, and resisting that the information that they are required to learn is unimportant or does not apply to them. Which then leads to parents and educators struggling to defend the status quo when students ask the following: Why is this important? How does this impact me? Or how is this helpful?

These questions prompted me to reflect upon a blog post on memorization back in December of 2008: Education 2.0: Never Memorize Again? If you haven't read this blog and you are interested in stirring up the pot in the faculty room, leave a couple of copies by the coffee maker or stack of holiday treats.

So what is prompting this post? A couple of things come to mind. A recent question from a student on how to calculate the angle between the hands of an analog clock and my latest experiences tutoring chemistry.

The geometry question is a classic anachronism. The student who was struggling with the concept asked how many analog clocks do you think I see in day? Now I'm not saying that the concept itself is not valid but the question does appear to be out of sync with the student experience.

With respects to tutoring HS chemistry, it's been a wonderful opportunity to take a step back and look at the vast quantities of info students are required to learn just in this course. I couldn't help but empathize with my student's musings about why is she learning this. What I found most disconcerting were the follow up questions. What do I need to know? Is there a pattern, a mnemonic, some quick fix to assist her learn the material?

Now I couldn't help but feel sorry for her because so many students are in her shoes. I love science. I actually would rather watch the Discovery Channel than most sporting events but it seems like she's already ruled out chemistry as anything but interesting and more of an obstacle.

This is far from a unique observation but if I had a magic curricular wand, I would probably cut close to 50% of the curriculum in chemistry and approach the learning through integration with Environmental Science, Biology, and Physics and include experimental design/project based learning and hands on activities that are more topical. I would stop asking students to memorize the periodic table but ask them to use the info that it stores. Learn by doing, constructing, and making connections.

I'm not saying that memorization should not be utilized or is not valuable. I am however hoping more teachers will stop using memorization as a crutch in order to crank through content. It's time to develop new activities, simulations, and opportunities that use the concepts students need to know without forcing them to memorize on a regular basis. Leverage Tech to assist with learning and with the right balance, the content objectives will be mastered because the affective objectives were emphasized a bit more.

Readability: It's Quietube for Print

2010-12-14T11:11:00.001-05:00

Websites are just chock full of advertisements, distractions, and at times unsavory content. To clean up articles, blogposts, or websites, try using the Bookmarklet Readability. When one goes to the Readability website, one will have an opportunity to select the format for the article, website, or post.
There is a preview option which takes the guess work out.

Here is the setting interface:

The settings selected in the image above are set for newspaper, medium, and wide. Making these selections alters the javascript in the bookmarklet to the desired format.

After selecting the settings, drag the bookmarklet into your bookmark toolbar. To activate, click on the bookmarklet when it's time to clean up an article.

To see it in action, I've included images of an article before and after applying readability.

Article taken from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/science/14angier.html?ref=science

Before

After

As one can see, applying Readability cleans up the article substantially and although not visible in the image above, it provides the option to email and print out this version.

Curious about how to clean up youtube clips? Then check out my post on Quietube: Video without Distractions.

Blogging about Tweets: Open-Source Texts

2010-12-11T08:17:00.004-05:00

I continue to be amazed by the conversations that I have on twitter. I talk it up regularly but I can't seem to get the majority of my teachers or administrators to dive into this incredibly valuable application. So instead, I use twitter to feed my faculty and staff with little pearls that are shared by peeps from around the world. I must admit that when asked where did you find this information or resource, I'm proud to say that it came from my PLN on twitter.

All right I'll get off my soapbox and back to the gist of this post.

In early December, @fredbartels posted a tweet regarding online texts. Below is a transcript of our conversation.

fredbartels: How do we get the Chemistry teachers together for a day to brainstorm replacements for textbooks?5:33am, Dec 03 from Twitter for iPhone

cuevash: @fredbartels How about organizing a series of unconference events to bring folks together? thoughts?5:48am, Dec 03 from Web

fredbartels: @cuevash Unconference events to bring folks together is a brilliant idea! Who do we get to organize and fund them?6:02am, Dec 03 from Web

cuevash: @fredbartels it may be possible for individual school's to sponsor a certain discipline and have an opportunity to connect w all on the web6:26am, Dec 03 from Echofon

fredbartels: @cuevash Seems like a viable approach. What would be the incentive for a subject area specialist to attend one of these?

At this point I fell off the conversation because family life took over. A few days later we picked up right where we left off.

cuevash 6:43am via HootSuite

@fredbartels Realized I nvr responded to ur last tweet re: unconference and incentive 4 subj area specialists.

cuevash 6:44am via HootSuite

@fredbartels Hope to gather life long learners who would want to participate in a collaborative effort to develop a superior resource

cuevash: @fredbartels for students that is inexpensive and or free, accessible from the web, self managed and updated for accuracy and relevance.6:46am, Dec 11 from HootSuite

cuevash 6:49am via HootSuite

@fredbartels it would be great if discipline leaders would emerge to facilitate the process and perhaps dev a standardized format.

@fredbartels @cuevash Brilliant! A compellling rationale for helping with open source 'texts'. Love how Twitter can help distill ideas down to essences.

So where does this leave us? Well the conversation is certainly far from over but perhaps with sufficient interest, we can overcome inertia and get something started.

Are you interested? Know someone who might be interested? Then join the conversation but at minimum let others know.

Thanks Fred for the inspiration!

Modeling Classroom Management

2010-10-11T21:36:00.003-04:00

Today was a professional day at our school. However, as with most meetings at school I am often stunned by the number of colleagues who are engrossed in other things. Laptop screens were up and cell phones were being used to send text messages. That said, I can only imagine how those individuals would react if their students behaved in a similar manner while they were giving a presentation.

Am I guilty of this behavior? Absolutely. But before I could start tapping away at the keyboard today, our MS Head, Phil Spears, did something that caught not only my attention but the attention of the entire division. Prior to his presentation, he asked the faculty for some tech free time and he requested that we lower the lids of our laptops.

That was it! Phil modeled effective classroom management albeit with his teachers. He had our attention and we were all better for it.

So is it the technology's fault? Hardly, it is an exercise in self control, restraint, and ultimately respect.

Ok class, lids down!

Leveraging your Student Information System

2010-09-05T10:33:00.001-04:00

Four years ago, St. Christopher's School had over 10 databases that held every imaginable piece of information. To make matters worse, none of the DBs spoke to each other and in some instances the flat nature of the DB allowed only one user to view or edit information at a time.

In an effort to reduce the number of DBs and also allow for various members of the community to share information, we moved our data onto WhippleHill's combined website and student information solution. The move to their system could not have been a better move for us. And as a heavy user, having access to so much information has made it easier for our school to leverage other systems.

So what exactly am I doing with the information stored at WhippleHill? We're using the userid which I'm pretty sure is serving as a primary key of sorts at WhippleHill as our student's ID for a variety of other applications. For example, student ID's are now standardized for ERBs, the Library Check Out System, and DyKnow. But as an AlertNow and PickaTime subscriber, I fairly confident that those IDs are being used through their respective APIs as well. As I look to the future, my hope is that we will start to use this number for Point of Sales transactions for our dining hall and bookstore..

Is this anything new? Hardly! But there are still plenty of schools that miss out on how to leverage one of the most powerful DBs at their school.

Getting Back in the Saddle

2010-09-05T09:56:00.003-04:00

My blog has been neglected for too many months. It's not due to a lack of things to write about but more a time issue. Fortunately, my PLN but more specifically @raventech wrote a piece on For Startes; Neglect is not an Option which for all intensive purposes has gotten me back in the saddle.

I have lots to share in the coming posts and I look forward to everyone's feedback and constructive criticisms.

Let's hear it for the 2010-2011 school year to prompt a fresh start.

Celebrating Our Faculty's Accomplishments

2010-03-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, our tech department launched a new technology blog-St. Christopher's Tech Central Got Tech?! Now a blog itself is not a new concept but rather than having posts written by the techies, we've been soliciting teachers to share their successes. In addition to those posts, we post information about training opportunities, tech tips, and controversial articles.

As a result, we have teachers from our lower, middle, and upper schools sharing and commenting on the blog posts. The asynchronous discussions are taking place and our teachers have been expressing their opinions and applauding their colleagues' efforts. But perhaps the best part about the blog is that it is written by the faculty and causing what I like to call positive peer pressure.

So if you have a few moments, please stop by and write a comment and show our faculty that they have an audience considerably larger than our school community.

Reflecting on the Google Teacher Academy for Administrators

2010-03-07T12:54:00.003-05:00

Having had some time to take in all the information from the GTAdmin, I still find my mind swimming with the multitude of ideas and possibilities this forum has provided. I was surrounded by fabulous educators from "venti sized" school districts to small public and private schools and every possible combination in between. But the most impressive aspect of this group of educators was their passion and desire to enhance the learning process. An enhancement that is not limited to students but one that is shared with all constituents connected to their respective schools.

That said, the amount of information we received was incredible. There were practical solutions for mundane problems, creative solutions for assessing student performance, solutions for enhancing communication, solutions for giving student and teachers control over their learning environment and the list goes on and on. Mark Wagner reminded us that we most likely felt as if we were drinking out of a fire hose but our group handled the volumes of information with grace.

Image Credit: http://www.funnysalescartoons.com/photo/funny-sales-cartoon-on-sales-4

Our collective and individual epiphanies at #gtadmin were emotional, inspiring, and perhaps can only be matched by a child's excitement having arrived at Disney World for the first time.

Yes, this was a Google sponsored event and yes it focused on Google Apps, but the real take away from the academy is that it wasn't so much about the technology but it was about learning and building relationships. The lead learners, by the way I love that description for the presenters, were as Sir Ken Robinson puts it, "In [their] Element". They love what they do, they love what Google Apps provides for their school family, and they are transforming their schools.

What am I looking forward to? I am anticipating the ongoing conversations with this group of educators. To me, it seemed like the dialog was just getting started when it ended. We need to keep this momentum going. We will need each other when things get difficult, we need to celebrate our schools' successes, and share our failures. We need to discuss authentic assessment, differentiated instruction, the college process, and a multitude of other issues as the face of education continues to evolve.

Finally, a word of thanks to Google, WestEd, Cue, and all of the lead learners for sharing.

The World is Our Classroom, a flickr group

2010-02-15T19:41:00.001-05:00

This year I decided to participate in a daily photo journal along with quite a large number of educators from around the world. As one can imagine the diversity and variety of photos is just spectacular, but recently, 2 photos caught my eye- Jo Fothergill's The Classroom and @Allanahk's Old School Room. After seeing these photos, I decided to create a flickr group called: The World is Our Classroom.

So what am I after?

About The World is Our Classroom

The goal of this flickr group is to collect images of classrooms and or school buildings from around the world. By providing a global perspective we will be able to view the similarities and differences in the learning environments we provide our students.

Now I have yet to add a photo of my school, but I will do so soon. Please join us as we look at the classrooms and schools from around the world.

image credit: http://www.subtletea.com/schoolhouse.JPG

A student's creative solution

2010-02-10T20:45:00.005-05:00

Recently, our instructional technologist, Brian Zollinhofer, aka @zollinhofer, shared an email he received from a student. He posted the email as a blog post on our school's tech blog, but I felt it needed to be shared here as well. Enjoy!

Last night, I got the following email from a student at home:

I need help with recording a photo story at home.

At the time, I wasn’t really sure what Billy meant, or how I could help. I eventually figured that he needed a way to record his voice into his Photostory project. Perhaps the program was having problems. Perhaps he didn’t have a microphone to record his voice. It just wasn’t clear from the email.

About an hour later, I received another email:

Never mind My Rock band mic [for the Xbox 360] works

I actually chuckled at Billy’s problem solving. Instead of giving up, he thought of other ways he used his voice with technology. The game Rockband came to mind and he realized that he was able to plug his microphone into his computer. Good job thinking outside the box! There’s proof that video games aren’t entirely bad.

Image credit:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x68/CRAZYTONTA/creativity.gif

Google Teacher Academy for Administrators

2010-02-06T21:38:00.003-05:00

It happened. I was accepted to participate in the Google Teacher Academy for Administrators. So what exactly does this mean? It means that in March I will be traveling to San Antonio, TX along with 49 other administrators from around the country to participate in an intensive workshop that is "designed to create a strong professional learning community of administrators who support each other over the course of a year, so if you are not local, you must be willing to be resourceful with all technologies to facilitate communication and collaboration with your fellow Google Certified Teachers."

I am very excited about this opportunity and I am already amazed by how quickly this group of admins has started to network using Twitter. By comparison, I am coming from a very small school, a JK-12 private school, but I suspect most of our issues, concerns, gripes, and observations are similar with respects to teaching, learning, personnel, and the role of curriculum.

With that, let the sharing and learning begin!

Quote taken from: http://www.google.com/educators/gtaforadmins.html

Getting too comfortable with your PLN or Social Network: Colorful Acronyms

2010-01-18T14:46:00.002-05:00

Is it possible for one to get too comfortable with their PLN or Social Network? If the past few weeks are any indication, I would have to say yes. So what exactly am I suggesting here? Well it's just an observation, but I am often surprised by tweets and or Facebook status updates that contain colorful acronyms or a missing letter from certain 4 letter words from professional colleagues, friends, and others. Now I am not guilty of using colorful language but I am particularly careful where, when, and with whom. As role models for our children, students, and young faculty we must be vigilant and remind ourselves that our digital footprint extends much further than our PLN, friends, or followers.

So, is it necessary to use these acronyms or replace a letter so the profane word is not "obvious"? I hope it is not because it reminds me of the message I convey regularly to my students and my own children. If you get comfortable using language a certain way, it becomes more difficult to control when it should or should not be used and I believe the same is true with tweets and status updates.

The Bugs Bunny cartoons figured this out a long time ago. There was no need to use an acronym or "misspell" the term, they kept the meaning hidden but it was still an exclamation. Now, I really respect my PLN and friends on FB but I can't help but wonder why it persists. Our audience is much larger than we can ever imagine which means we must avoid this pitfall and not get too comfortable with our PLN or social network. Young people struggle enough with the concept of knowing your audience, so let's avoid giving them mixed messages because the acronyms and misspellings are not fooling anyone.

Virtual Spanish Immersion

2010-01-14T14:32:00.006-05:00

In a couple of weeks, our 8th grade Spanish students at St. Christopher's School will be participating in a new curriculum that provides a form of immersion that does not require visiting a Spanish speaking country. According to Fran Turner, Director of International Studies and 8th grade Spanish teacher, it is an opportunity for our students to be paired up virtually with another school in Colombia in an effort to offer our students structured interaction with native speakers on a regular basis. Please take a moment to watch the interview with Fran as she describes this wonderful opportunity, which was made possible by a grant from the Bowles Endowment for Innovation and Creativity in Education at St. Christopher's School.

Quietube: Video without the distractions

2010-01-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

Today I learned about a new script that removes the sometimes unsavory and or distracting content that can surround a Youtube video. Quietube is a website that has a script in the form of a button that can be dragged to your toolbar similar to Diigolet. To activate quietube, simply go to the video you wish to view and click on the quietube button on your toolbar.

To illustrate my point, students at our school created a wonderful parody of Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA video. It became quite viral on campus but soon inappropriate comments started to appear and some unrelated and potentially problematic videos also appeared. The comment section has since been tidied up in the before image but one can see a video about a violent protest. The after image as one can see, has none of the distractive material that surrounds the before image. And if things couldn't get better, the script also provides a shortened url which can be posted or forwarded without fear of what might appear when one goes directly to Youtube.

Before quietube:

After quietube:

According to quietube, it also works with the BBC iPlayer, Viddler, and Vimeo.

Enjoy!

123, ABC, TCP/IP, and now PLN-the power of your personal learning network

2010-01-03T17:07:00.002-05:00

Our school is seriously considering replacing our desktops for a more mobile approach. We've tossed around the idea of netbooks throughout the fall and I've been the guinea pig with my Acer Aspire One. (See my post/review of this netbook here.) I've run this netbook through some pretty rigorous use and our tech department seems satisfied that these devices can handle just about any classroom app we can throw at it. The only exception however seems to be in the area of video production but I have yet to try anything beyond a standard Youtube length.

With our concerns about the netbook's firepower behind us, we needed to look into the sturdiness, network connectivity, and mobility of these devices. We looked at the Acer, HP, Asus, and Dell netbooks and we found that the Dell seemed to fit our needs the best. Our next step was to contact another school that uses the Dell Latitude 2100 with the cart to validate what we thought was going to be a good match for us.

Now as an avid twitterer, I've been tweeting away about our thoughts to Dell Latitude 2100 and sure enough, @bkolani aka Basil Kolani from the Dwight School in NYC replied via twitter that his school deployed 5 netbook carts in the fall of 2009. So we set up a Skype session where several members of our tech department were able to ask specific questions about their experience not only with the netbooks but the cart itself.

If interested, one may listen to our Skype conversation here. It is unedited so be patient in the opening seconds.

After the Skype session our tech department was relieved that many of their ideas regarding the new direction had been validated.

There is nothing better than having a member of your PLN validate the potential direction and financial investment our school will be considering and for that I am truly grateful.

http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLE+Diagrams

Dave Warlick's Picture of his Personal Learning Network

A Step in the Right Direction-Kindle for PC

2009-11-15T22:17:00.000-05:00

Now I've always wanted a Kindle but I couldn't justify the expense for another gadget that has limited capabilities. So after discussing netbooks, eBooks, and online texts at our last tech dept meeting, I decided to load the Kindle for PC software on my netbook.

Earlier this fall, I purchased the Acer Aspire One netbook and so far, this form factor has exceeded all of my expectations. The portability, weight, battery life, and performance of the netbook is why I consider it my main computer while I am on the go. With the addition of Kindle for PC software, I have now added a dimension to my computing environment that has been lacking; the ability to read books, magazines,and newspapers on my computer.

My first selection was Clay Shirky's book "Here Comes Everybody", and so far the experience has been quite good. I have the ability to bookmark pages but I am unable to search, highlight or take notes. However, it appears that the hide notes and marks features will be coming soon as they are listed in the drop down.

There also seems to be a bug on computers that synchronize My documents to a network folder. The bug has caused me to deregister and register the netbook to gain access to my purchase. An annoyance but the real bummer was when I lost my bookmarks.

When Amazon, implements those features and expands their offerings to include textbooks, schools will definitely be able to take advantage of lower cost texts and computers for their students.

Now what will make my world complete is when Amazon makes the Kindle software for the Blackberry so I can have access to my eBooks anywhere and anytime. And one other thing, let's be sure to synchronize my notes and bookmarks between the 2 devices.

But for now, the Kindle for PC is a step in the right direction.

Your Digital Footprint is like a diamond, it's forever

2009-10-27T16:09:00.015-04:00

As I continue to expand my personal learning network(PLN), I often find a wealth of wisdom and fabulous recommendations. And although the words below are not mine, I offer them as one of life's lessons. After reading Darren Kuropatwa's post on how
Google Never Forgets, I decided to mimic Darren's approach by copying and pasting Seth Godin's post in full. It is priceless, a keeper, and worth sharing over and over again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Personal branding in the age of Google by Seth Godin

A friend advertised on Craigslist for a housekeeper.
Three interesting resumes came to the top. She googled each person's name.

The first search turned up a MySpace page. There was a picture of the applicant, drinking beer from a funnel. Under hobbies, the first entry was, "binge drinking."
The second search turned up a personal blog (a good one, actually). The most recent entry said something like, "I am applying for some menial jobs that are below me, and I'm annoyed by it. I'll certainly quit the minute I sell a few paintings."
And the third? There were only six matches, and the sixth was from the local police department, indicating that the applicant had been arrested for shoplifting two years earlier.
Three for three.
Google never forgets
Of course, you don't have to be a drunk, a thief or a bitter failure for this to backfire. Everything you do now ends up in your permanent record.

The best plan is to overload Google with a long tail of good stuff and to always act as if you're on Candid Camera, because you are.

An access model problem and my new netbook: The Acer Aspire One

2009-10-14T09:32:00.000-04:00

As our school continues to explore new web 2.0 technologies, we've been experiencing greater pressures on our access model. Currently, St. Christopher's maintains a lab based access model. This model has served its purpose for a number of years but now the pressure is on. Despite our best efforts, scheduling time in the lab continues to be a problem. The 2 biggest obstacles are finding an open slot and then making sure that the lab has sufficient machines to handle the class size. Unfortunately, one lab only has 16 machines which causes teachers to shy away if they have to send some students to the library or the other lab.

So what does that mean? It means our teachers are integrating technology with greater frequency and they want to use more of it with their classes. But there is a caveat, they would like more access but without the headaches of juggling/jockeying for lab space or wondering if there will be sufficient computers to accommodate the class size.

The good news is that the MS is up for a replacement of its computers which has prompted our tech department to do some exploring and creative thinking. Soon thereafter, I came upon a tweet mentioning the Acer Education K-12 Seed Program. I took a look and determined it was a great opportunity to beta test a netbook in a school environment.

So here is how it worked. Essentially, Acer would give you a netbook to try out and after a given time period, one could either return it and just pay shipping or one could purchase the Acer Aspire One for $199.00 at the end of the trial period. That deal was simply too good to pass up so I signed up.

Upon receiving the netbook, I was immediately stunned by how light weight it was. I've been a laptop/tablet user for quite some time and they just seemed like boat anchors by comparison. The next thing that caught my eye was the screen. It is super crisp and it supports a max resolution of 1024x600. The keyboard is considerably more comfortable than the 2goPC tablet's but I wish the space bar were a bit more responsive towards the ends of the key.

The OS + upgrades
The netbook shipped with XP home sp3 which did surprisingly well but made it difficult to connect to network resources at our school because one cannot connect to the domain. After using the netbook for about 2 weeks, I decided to switch to Win7 and I increased the memory to 2 GB(it ships w/ one). Let's just say I will never look back. Win 7 runs great on a netbook and the RAM upgrade just made the overall experience that much better.

Putting the netbook through its paces
I've been using the netbook daily for several weeks now and I am impressed. I've run multiple programs concurrently while teaching and it has yet to hiccup. On several occassions, I've run Excel, Chrome, Synchroneyes, and Outlook without a noticeable decline in performance. I've also projected wirelessly with this netbook but in this case video refresh did decline. I have to test this again because I was still running Aero. I have not tested video editing and rendering but I suspect it will handle short clips(2-3 min) without a problem.

Is this a viable device for students?
I would say yes. The size, weight, performance, and battery life make netbooks a nice alternative to a full fledged laptop. The price point is particularly budget friendly for schools and parents and it is a nice alternative to the desktop/lab model. It can provide the ubiquitous learning environment that models how our students will engage with technology in their daily lives.

I'll keep you posted on what we decide but wish us luck, because I know where I would like to go.

Digital Citizenship and Character Development

2009-09-27T21:09:00.005-04:00

Earlier this summer, discussions surrounding granting email to our MS boys proved to be fruitful. There was sufficient interest and a desire by the faculty that the new incoming MS Head, Phil Spears, decided it was time to provide our boys with this tool. We spoke about this a number of times before the start of school, but we couldn't find the right time or place to introduce the boys to this form of communication within their academic experience. We didn't want to throw up a bunch of rules but we did want to connect this new responsibility to character development. So we looked at the calendar and found just the right spot-right after a series of presentations involving Honor.

Honor at St. Christopher's School: A brief digression
At St.Christopher's School, we have an Honor Code that is deeply rooted into the fiber of our school's persona. So much so, that when asked, alums always mention the importance of Honor at St. Christopher's and later in life.

After a chapel session on the topic of Honor and nominations and voting of our student representatives to the honor council, our school had a ceremony in which all of the students and faculty signed the Honor Pledge. So the stage was set for our middle school boys to learn about digital citizenship as it relates to having access to email.

Digital Citizenship

View more presentations from cuevash.

To summarize, I started by introducing the value of a signature-"your signature" because your signature is as important as your word. Our boys sign an Acceptable Use Policy over the summer but this venue reminded them how they should behave as it relates to technology while connecting it to the signing the honor pledge.

Because our teachers requested email for their students, a request becomes an opportunity.

A brief presentation surrounding one's digital footprint follows with questions about do you Google well, because your footprints don't wash away as easily as they do on the beach.

The last question posed to the boys was What kind of footprint do you have? Are you the same person online as you are offline? And, How does your footprint make you feel?

At this point, Phil Spears, the MS Head, adapts a presentation that will be given later in chapel regarding First, Second, and Third class citizens by our MS Asst Head, Ken Miller.

Here are Phil's words:

Email is a wonderful avenue for communication when used well.

Primary means for teachers here.

What kind of cyber-citizen are you and will you show in your use of email?

3 classes.

3rd class cyber-citizen, as he chats, facebook/my-spaces/tweet/texts AND emails…

·Is mean
·Gossips/rumors
·Hides behind cloak of anonymity
·Acts like a different person
·Writes things he wouldn’t say in person or on the phone
·Goes hunting for things on-line he knows in his heart he’s not ready for and/or aren’t healthy for him

2nd class…

·Most people here – adults and kids
·Follows rules
·Communicates clearly and in a friendly way
·Doesn’t mistreat others
·Does pass along or participate in 3rd class activity
·Does lie on-line or about what he’s done there

1st class…

·Does what a 2nd class citizen does, but also
·Actively seeks to make cyberspace a safe, fun place for all
·Challenges a 3rd class citizen to cut out poor behaviors
·Considers HONOR a code of conduct applicable to the digital world

So what kind of citizen are you?

Don't waste a crisis-the Obama Speech

2009-09-05T10:01:00.009-04:00

With the start of the school year upon us, I have spent the bulk of my time getting things ready for my teachers and students. The mundane duties of resetting passwords, getting our new students and teachers up to speed on how to use the network and SIS have prevented me from keeping up to date on day to day issues in the news.

Now I've heard inklings about Obama's speech here and there but I have been amazed as to how heated discussions have become. That said, the extended labor day weekend has given me the opportunity to play catch up. So while reviewing my tweets, I came across Will Richardson's latest blog post The Obama Speech. He states, "It would seem to me that there should be no better place for my children to watch that speech (or any other, for that matter) than in a place where ideas are encouraged, where critical thinking about those ideas is a natural part of the conversation, and where appropriate response and debate can flourish."

Well that passage from his latest blog post tugged at me while making pancakes this morning and it prompted me to head to my netbook and start writing. I agree with Will 100%. What better place to scrutinize, discuss, and debate than in schools.

But I would like to take it to the next level. I want teachers to act on it, to reach out beyond their classrooms and expose their students to a variety of perspectives. Utilize your personal learning network(PLN) to discuss and debate with students from across the states or abroad. Expose your students to regional perceptions from across the the USA but don't stop there. The global community is clearly interested in what President Obama has to say, so why not ask interntational members of your PLN to contribute too.

Clearly, there is much more to gain from President Obama's speech than lose. Take advantage of the teachable moment. Start an etherpad doc, a voicethread, write a blog post, do a podcast or video editorial just do something but don't waste a good "crisis".

Fostering a love of learning

2009-07-27T10:34:00.001-04:00

How many times have you found yourself being sucked into reading hours of information about a topic just because you stumbled upon it? Or maybe you intentionally sought out information that had little or nothing to do with what you teach but you needed it solely for personal reasons.

Well, it is the second example which is the impetus for this post. Within the past few months, I've acquired information on how to repair my mountain bike through bicycletutor.com, determined the location of the cabin filter on the family van through wikianswers.com, watched a video on how to install a 3 way dimmer switch at easy2diy.com, and most recently, I was able to correctly insulate the pipe leaving the central air unit using yahoo answers. Can you tell I am a new home owner?

In each of those instances, I was hoping to be an informed consumer and save a few bucks but ultimately it was my passion knowing for how stuff works(great site) and a love of learning that drives me.

So how can we foster a love of learning? With respects to the curriculum, often times, too much emphasis is placed on content objectives when it is the affective component of the curriculum that is deficient. Please note, that I am not advocating abandoning content because having a foundation is indeed important in creating interest and passion.

What I am advocating, however,is balance on a sliding scale. Provide the foundation, check for understanding, and then allow your students to discover, apply, and create. And as the content becomes more complex, allow that scale to slide some, perhaps in favor of content, so the affective component can grab hold.

This is hardly a new concept, but imagine the time and energy our students would spend given the opportunity to engage in meaningful learning. For some teachers, this is a radical shift in pedagogy but our teachers need models too. If we model this approach within our professional development days or classes, we can take advantage of the innate curiosity within educators. Spread the seeds of curiosity(change) and watch the learning take hold.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spursfan_ace/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

The Streaming Dilemma-a good problem to have

2009-06-01T11:14:00.007-04:00

With the explosion of online media, many schools and institutions have started to stream events from their venues using web apps like uStream and fliqz.

This is certainly a convenient format for parents and friends that are unable to come to the event but it is also a wonderful opportunity to share your institution's story.

This past academic year, St. Christopher's School streamed the homecoming football game, the Virginia State Indoor Track and Field Championships, a Basketball and Lacrosse game with our rival school, and Lower and Middle School graduation(Upper School will occur in 2010).

The new online presence was received very well but then the questions and requests started to pour in.

Here are a few of the questions:
-Can we stream all athletic events?
-How about the arts?
-Can we stream chapel talks?
-Will athletic events be limited to varsity sports?
-Which varsity sports will be streamed?

Those are only a few questions but it did prompt us to consider developing some sort of protocol or at least a consistent response to streaming requests.

Ultimately however, it comes down to few basic issues.

Manpower: Does your school have the manpower to stream some/all of the requests? Will your school use student help? Who will supervise students?
Access: Is internet access readily available at the location of the event? This is particularly problematic for away games, off campus events, or even outdoor events if your institutions wireless access is spotty.
Equipment: We have yet to stream more than one event at a time, but I can already anticipate the requests. Whose camera will be used? How about spare laptops? Spare cables? High capacity batteries? Can I stream with cellular broadband card? How much does a cellular broadband card cost?

Streaming media can and will enhance your school's online presence but be ready for the requests. I would encourage you to be proactive and develop a protocol or consider how you will respond to certain questions.

But ultimately, it is a good problem to have.

Powerful Learning Practice Reflections

2009-05-04T21:11:00.006-04:00

On May 1, the St. Christopher's team traveled up to Fredericksburg Academy to participate in the concluding face 2 face session for the PLP's international cohort. It was a meeting full of energy, creativity, a sense of purpose, and belonging.

Personal reflections:

A wise man once told me that when working in groups it's all about the people. If you have the wrong people, the best intentions will fall by the wayside. I have a great team and I'm eternally grateful for all of their hard work and willingness to take risks, share, and offer constructive criticism. I am looking forward to working with them as we start to develop our wiki full of tech tips.

Presentation tennis is a wonderful way to learn how others perceive a certain concept, theme, or idea.

Teachers learn and adopt strategies at different rates. Our team certainly illustrated this and we are all moving forward and sharing.

It's not about the technology it's about the learning.

Leverage technology to cater to various learning styles and provide differentiated instruction.

It's ok to lurk but don't make a habit of doing so or there will be missed opportunities.

Develop a strong PLN. It will be one of your greatest resources.

Lead and model by example.

Take advantage of teachable moments in the classroom and in meetings.

Some of your best meetings can occur virtually while you're at home in your pjs.

Special Thanks:

Thank you to Susan Carter Morgan, Will Richardson, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, and the members of the international cohort for providing our team and school with such a wonderful opportunity to participate in this journey.

Cell Phones in Education?!

2009-04-09T14:58:00.010-04:00

I came across a tweet from @lkolb(Liz Kolb) regarding Poll Everywhere so I decided to do a little exploring. Essentially, one can collect data with a live audience and display the results on the spot. So on a whim, I emailed a few people, tweeted about it, and asked my students to participate in my beta test of poll everywhere.

Results:
The directions were tough to follow for nontexters but after I talked them through it, it made sense.
American Idol fans don't seem to have a problem. :-)
Students w/o phones can respond via a pc for open ended questions.
I was impressed by how fast the information appeared on the website.
My students were excited because I allowed them to use their cell phones in class.
One can export the results in a .csv file

See clip of results:

Potential:
This technology certainly has a great deal of potential. I may introduce it during student elections or perhaps for an alumni function but for the time being it will be for nonacademic purposes until I have additional time to explore its capabilities.
Also, as a recent Blackberry adopter, it has become clear to me that the smartphone will continue to grow in market share which will only increase and improve the capabilities of these devices.

Good Timing:
This article came out today from the Daily Press: Cell Phones get top marks in education

And yes, I read it on my phone.

Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

2009-04-01T15:50:00.011-04:00

A few months ago Darren Kuropatwa suggested an activity as part of the Powerful Learning Practice. In his words, the activity was going to be "something along the lines of" Presentation Tennis.

Specifically, here is what Darren asked us to do.

We will collaboratively create a 20 slide presentation (not counting the title slide) called "Teaching Well". 20 slides in 10 pairs of contrasts: "Teaching well is more like < slide 1 > than it is like < slide 2 >." or however else you want to create contrast.

Each day one slide is added to the deck that builds on those that came before. The final 4-6 slides must bring the presentation to some sort of close.

The collaboration continues after the deck is done. The completed slide deck will be uploaded to SlideShare.net as a "Master Deck". To view our final project, click here

Time to Model

I was so impressed by the results of that activity that I decided to adopt the strategy and use it in my 8th grade computer class. The goal of the activity was to have each student develop a slide(a few made 2)that depicts what it means to be a creative problem solver. They were required to have an image and a quote that would assist them in depicting what constitutes creative thinking and problem solving. To view the slideshow, please click here.

I hope you enjoy my students' perceptions on this topic.

Ninging it

2009-03-28T20:24:00.005-04:00

With the popularity of Nings increasing, I've been giving some thought on how we can leverage them within our courses at our respective schools. I belong to several Nings that are extensions of my PLN and they have proven to be valuable resources time and again. But what makes them so valuable as a resource is the broader network of individuals that participate in the various nings.

The ISENET ning for example, was developed by @demetri has become a tremendous resource for educators around the world. Although I tend to stay in groups related to technology, there is a group for just about any facet in education. This ning is 1800+ members strong.

So how do we leverage the collective wisdom of educators around the world? I believe teachers need to open up their nings to other teachers and resident experts in the fields being explored within their ning. The ning is a powerful tool but if used solely for the class of students being taught, then the classroom walls have moved only slightly. A concept I have learned over and over again in the International Cohort for PLP Ning.

A few weeks ago, Debra Garcia at Fredericksburg Academy asked if I wouldn't mind joining FAT BIO(Topics in Biology at Fredericksburg Academy). I accepted the offer and was thrilled at the opportunity to read and participate in topics related to Biology.

You see, before I moved into the world of educational technology I was a MS science teacher but my degree is in Biology from the College of William and Mary. Although I have a new found passion for educational technology, I will always be a science guy first-look out Bill Nye.

The ning is indeed a wonderful opportunity to share but I say let's move beyond our classrooms a little more and ask a colleague from another school, university, or profession to share their experiences with your students.

I hope school's of education consider this model because there are lots of grad students who could certainly benefit from this type of experience.

Care to fall off the flat world with us?

2009-03-23T10:42:00.009-04:00

Below is an annotated version of the video skype session St. Christopher's School had with Toorak College regarding the Australian Bush Fires. The video is just under 20 minutes but one can certainly sense the energy, compassion, and the desire to work together to make a difference.

How are we helping? Toorak College suggested that we support Chum Creek Primary School. This is a small school that suffered tremendous damage and it is our desire to assist Chum Creek acquire a new playground and to send drawings developed by our lower school students to support their students.

Interested in helping the students of Chum Creek?
Please send notes of support or checks made out to:

Australia
Chum Creek Primary School
care of Michael Corr(principal)
705 Chum Creek Road
Healesville 3777

Mastering Old Tech-the PPT Dilemma

2009-03-18T16:30:00.004-04:00

My class recently completed what most instructors would say as the dreaded PowerPoint Assignment. However, despite the groans I have heard from colleagues, I continue to use and exploit this tool so my students can learn about the flexibility of this program. Let me start by saying that I teach a computer applications class to a group of 8th graders but despite the very 20th century title for the course, I make every effort to allow my students to explore their imaginations, engage in creative problem solving, while appealing to the affective aspects of their learning. I have the benefit of not having a formal curriculum which allows it to change dynamically from trimester to trimester or from assignment to assignment.

Back to this dreaded PPT assignment. The first thing we covered were issues that can make a PPT presentation ineffective. We brainstormed different concepts using Inspiration and then launched into the assignment entitled the "Lousy PowerPoint". The assignment itself is nothing new. Many teachers have asked their students to create Lousy PPTs, but my goal was to also incorporate many of the "wiz bang" options available to users.

After developing presentations that exaggerated and highlighted poor presentation skills my students were then asked to redo their PPTs so they could be delivered effectively in front of an audience.

As my students were developing their new and improved PPTs, I was struck by how much they picked up from designing and critiquing each others lousy PPTs. So, is the oral presentation dead? I hope not because public speaking is a valuable skill that should be groomed and practiced regularly. Presentation software has unfortunately been misused by so many users that many teachers blame the product rather than the instruction. Guidelines and rubrics are all fine and good but the true essence of creating an excellent presentation is having good public speaking skills. So let's be sure to include those items in our guidelines and rubrics too. After that, it is all a transition away.

Helpful tools for presenters:
-rehearsal time
-wireless mouse
-wireless keyboard
-speakers
-internet connection
-practice space that mimics where the presentation will be given

I Almost Fell off the Flat World

2009-02-25T11:09:00.008-05:00

On Feb 24, 2009, I believe I almost fell off an increasingly flat world.

It started late in the afternoon when students in our missionary society at St. Christopher's School, were engaged in a video skype session with Toorak College in Australia about the bushfires in Victoria. However, before the session started, @jennyluca and I struggled to get our skype connection up and running. As we continued to try and get skype to function, we utilized Twitter to post our status to each other should the connection fail. Well, someone was looking out for us because right before our planned start time, skype started working.

So how did it go?

Words cannot describe what a wonderful opportunity it was for our boys to hear firsthand from our Aussie friends. All of the speakers from Toorak did such a fabulous job in conveying the situation in Victoria that I believe our boys were able to take in the true essence of the magnitude of the catastrophe.

On a purely educational slant, there were many cross curricular items that our boys were able to glean.

Word choice and spelling-English spelling versus American English taken from Australian Newpapers
Time zone differences-Toorak was a day ahead and we spoke to them at 8am to our 4pm
Use of the metric system: celsius for temp, km for distance, mm for rainfall. I used to teach science
Geography
Biomes
Wildlife: gotta love the question about comparing deer to kangaroos
Flora

Now what?

Our missionary society is now brainstorming all sorts of ideas on how they can best be a part of the global effort to help those in need. When their work is complete, I will follow up.

It really is a holy time of year in the christian calendar.

It was Ash Wednesday when we spoke to Toorak yesterday and today it is Ash Wednesday for us.

Peace

Join us to work together 2 make a difference for fire ravaged Victoria: Title taken from Jenny Luca's Blog

2009-02-23T12:17:00.007-05:00

After reading Jenny Luca's post about the bush fires in Victoria, I felt the need to pull together our boys and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for our boys to hear first hand from our Aussie friends and see if there was anything we could do as a school. My call to action started by discussing the possibilities of holding a video Skype session with the missionary society officers from our lower, middle, and upper schools at St. Christopher's School and with the students of Toorak College.

But in the true spirit of PLP , why should our effort be limited by just using skype for our 2 schools! Join us this Tuesday, February 24 @ 4pm Eastern Standard Time and 8.00am Pacific Eastern Standard time. Watch via ustream.tv as the students from both of our schools discuss the needs of the area and speak with a member of the Toorak community who lost a home.

Search for stchris_tv once in ustream.

Please read more here on Jenny Luca's blog: http://tinyurl.com/akja8h or visit Jenny's Ning @ http://workingtogether2makeadifference.ning.com/

Yours truly,

Jenny Luca and Hiram Cuevas

7 Things

2009-01-22T14:14:00.006-05:00

@capohanka and @taniasheko tagged me to participate in a meme. A meme is a venue for one to share seven things that your readers might not know about you. I'm several weeks late with this post but better late then never.

Both of my parents are from Puerto Rico but met in the states-The Empire State.
I am very fond of anything to do with the fire department. My dad was a New York City Fireman for 21 years and I have wonderful memories of rides on fire trucks, nights spent in the fire house, and the smell of smoke on his clothes.
I will listen to just about any music except opera.
I'm a big fan of Star Trek, TNG, BSG and super heroes. I prefer DC over Marvel.
I qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 1500m in 1988-nope I didn't make the team.
I considered going to med school but found I enjoyed teaching more. You're never too old to go to med school right?
My bride and I went camping for 2 weeks on our honeymoon and we're still together.

Ok, so I'm supposed to tag 7 hmmm...

@cdavidson

@DavidPohlmeier

@brasst

@raventech

@clifmims

@spower

@bigdaddyscott

The Personal Learning Network(PLN) is the New Reference Librarian

2009-01-18T16:38:00.009-05:00

In the fall of 2008, our school joined PLP-Powerful Learning Practice. At our opening meeting, we were encouraged by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Will Richardson to develop our PLN or Personal Learning Network. As a node within an expanding network, the PLN improves the probability that one will come in contact with those individuals who can assist us with in my case, technological aspirations, endeavors, and questions. However, it is the unique 2 way nature of the PLN that strengthens, validates, and ensures the reliability of the information within the network.

Well back to the title of this post. Having done a number of research papers during my tenure as a student and a teacher in training, I cannot emphasize the importance of reference librarians. Their acuity for detail and the vast quantities of information that they seem to absorb daily is astounding. However, the availablity of this resource is often limited to face 2 face meetings and email. As Web 2.0 technologies often do, an opportunity for a new paradigm in this arena has taken form and the tool is Twitter.

Now I have not written a research paper in a few years, so my reliance on reference librarians has been minimal but for several months now, I have relied heavily on my PLN via Twitter to gather information both actively and passively. Everyday my PLN provides me with some pearl of wisdom or a response to a query and I can only hope that I am able to do the same for those who have included me in their PLN.

Nevertheless, because I am Still Learning, I am grateful to have my very own PLN/Web 2.0 reference librarian.

Leading from Behind

2009-01-07T21:56:00.009-05:00

Over the past several weeks, I have participated in a number of online meetings, school committee meetings, elluminate sessions, skype calls, ning threads, and tweets. The amount I have learned from my Personal Learning Network during this time has been incredible. The amount and willingness to share is unmatched by any other forum where I have been a participant.

So here is my struggle.

How do we incorporate this new idea in schools without coming across as having consumed too much kool-aid?

As of late, I have opted to do this utilizing the strategy-leading from behind. Although this is not a strategy I prefer, I have found that when working in a traditional school culture, change is slow in coming. However, if one arms teachers and administrators with tools that can enhance their personal and professional endeavors there is often a willingness to explore.

With that, my latest effort has been to use a Ning as a means to provide ongoing dialog for the curriculum committee. In so doing, the Ning will provide a venue for ongoing dialog and sharing to occur and it will provide many teachers and administrators with an opportunity to model and participate in a web 2.0 application that is in nonthreatening environment.

If this format is successful, I hope other committees and or classes will start to utilize this effective tool.

Wish us luck!

Inspired by Digital Field Trips-methodology and recap

2008-11-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

I want to thank Darren again for his inspiration in the area of digital field trips. As many of you know, I opted to document a bike trip from Richmond, VA to Williamsburg, VA. The ride is a modest 63 miles for the avid cyclists in the group but this was by far the furthest ride we had ever tried-I rode with our Head of School.

Ok, so here is how it worked out. Before our departure, I asked the Head's son who is a senior to friend me on facebook so he and his mom could keep track of our progress. This was particularly important for both families because the temperature was in the mid 20s when we left home. Brrrr.

So how was I going to communicate our journey? What was the communication plan? Using a Blackberry Curve-great tool for this btw, I created a distribution list in my contacts that sent info to 2 specific locations: 1) the international PLP Ning(photos) 2) TwitPic. Creating the distribution list I found saved a few steps whenever I wanted to document the trip. Using twitpic however, had a dual purpose. Twitpic sent updates to my twitter account which also updated my status on Facebook.

By taken advantage of open api's, I managed to distribute quite a bit of information across a number of different groups. But the best technology related part of the journey however, had to do with the comments and responses from colleagues, friends, and family. We had folks from all over and a couple of surprises. A colleague was on her way home from a conference in Orlando, FL and started following us in the airport. Our respective families kept tabs on us, fellow PLPers cheered us on, and for those who didn't know we were doing this, the updates to our status on Facebook proved to be entertaining.

If I could do it over, what would I change. Plan a trip during warmer weather. We never took a layer off. Funny how it is always windy when one rides a bicycle. However, with warmer weather, it would certainly be easier to document the ride. I did want to incorporate video and perhaps even use gabcast, but it was too labor intensive to remove gloves, take out the Blackberry from a zipped pocket, and replace everything while riding.

So what did I learn? The world can be your classroom and your "students" will come from all over and it can all be done with a smartphone. The applications of this format are extensive. A digital field trip can empower students, teachers, and coaches to provide detailed accounts and or create visual journal entries of their experiences for others to view and learn.

Technology as a Utility

2008-09-21T20:39:00.011-04:00

The start of school is always a busy time of year. But it seems that every year that goes by, there is a greater emphasis on the reliability of systems and associated service the tech staff can provide. It is the quintessential double edge sword technologists face when moving from the sporadic uses of technology 15 years ago to the daily dependence on systems and associated service technology departments must provide. Access to email, online web applications, clients, codecs, and VoIP to name a few, have added significant strains to technology departments where information is expected to be available 24/7.

This expectation has led me to describe technology more as a utility similar to water and power. Technology, like water and power is supposed to work. It's supposed to work well and any downtime can seriously interrupt the day to day activities of teachers and non teachers alike.

So what is a school to do? First and foremost, have a plan that takes into account connectivity and service expectations users on your campus deem pivotal to day to day functions. As schools continue to migrate through the Technology Continuum, it will be important for school officials to recognize that teachers want and need just in time service when they integrate tech into the curriculum. The days of waiting a few hours or days for assistance are not acceptable as every minute lost becomes a lost educational opportunity.

As I see it, there are at least 3 strands that need to be considered. The first strand is the network and infrastructure. I'm not one of these guys but they are worth their weight in gold. They make sure the network experiences little or no down time. They work directly with the academic/instructional technologists to determine whether or not the infrastructure can handle curricular enhancements and any changes to systems that impact campus operations. And depending on the size of the institution, may also serve as the school's help desk. The second strand, represents the academic/instructional technologists. They interface with teachers and students as needed and provide professional development opportunities and training. These positions may also be responsible for budgeting along with the network strand and can handle a range of issues in the area of tech support . The third strand is the help desk. This is an area where I find most schools to be deficient. Often, the first two strands serve the school in this capacity too. However, all to often, serving in this capacity steals valuable time and energy that needs to be directed towards the planning and execution of initiatives. It is the help desk strand that provides the just in time service that maintains the confidence of the faculty that is willing to explore new instructional strategies.

If technology is indeed supposed to be reliable and ready to go 24/7, schools must have a human network in place that will ensure that teachers have a positive experience when integrating technology into the curriculum. With reliability, the mindset can move from will it work to how can I engage my students.

Ok, it's time to turn that spigot off.

Wordle and the Technology Continuum

2008-09-16T20:29:00.014-04:00

The week before students arrive is always a busy time. However, the week before students arrive is also the week when teachers arrive on campus enmasse. They are full of energy, they are busy getting there rooms ready, lesson plans are being crafted for the open day of school, and summer task lists are being whittled away. But the week before students arrive is also an opportunity to set the tone for the school year.

One of the headmaster's presentations dealt with how our school will adapt to an ever changing world while maintaining the core values that makes St. Christopher's a special place for so many families. On a side note, we were asked to read Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind -do I sense a theme? Moreover, it was no surprise that he made a connection between the curriculum and technology and he encouraged the faculty to make greater efforts to include technology within the curriculum.

So in an attempt to illustrate where we started as school and where we are heading with respects to academic technology, our tech team generated a series of slides using Wordle that represent the technology continuum at St. Christopher's. Although we could have added much more to the individual Wordles, we opted for simplicity because the desired outcome was to foster a sense of confidence and desire to explore new methods.

What is Wordle?

Wordle is a toy for generating "word clouds" from text you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. ---Taken from the website.

I can feel my right brain churning!

The Tech Continuum

10+ years ago

Circa 1998

Circa 2006

Where we are today!

Dabbling with blogs

2008-09-14T21:53:00.005-04:00

I've been dabbling with the idea of developing a blog for quite some time now, but I guess I've been waiting for the right impetus.

So what could possibly get me going? Well, last week, myself and a group of 5 teachers from St. Christopher's School drove up to Fredericksburg's Academy to participate in the Powerful Learning Practice(PLP). We are but one of many schools participating in this project from around the globe and it has brought me in contact with several academic technologists who I respect greatly. The collective experience and insight is outstanding but it is the amount sharing that is most impressive.

After our kick off meeting, I decided to delve into the blogosphere and attempt to provide my view of the changes and shifts our schools must acknowledge in this technologically driven and "Flattening World".

Well, there you have it. Short and sweet and more to come.

Thanks PLP for being the impetus!

And May the Schwartz Be with You