March 29, 2007 at 8:30 am · Filed under Diigo Links
This edition of Diigo Links relates to a project I will be working on with my wife who, as I have mentioned in previous posts, will be participating in a travel study to the Galapagos Islands this June. During her trip Michelle will be creating her own experiential journal, taking pictures and collecting geotag data via GPS on the locations they visit. This will be combined with a number of podcasts and other resources which will, hopefully, be the basis for an educational travelog highlighting the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin, evolution, geology and bio-diversity.
Enjoy and if you have any feedback or other useful links, please leave a comment below!
My colleague Cliff Pearson got me thinking about geotagging. My comment about his posts: “Cliff, loving the travelog! Keep the posts coming. Vasken told me about
the G-map plug-in that you are using, can you send that my way? My wife
will be going to the Galapagos Islands in June and I’m setting up a
site for her which will include a Google map of the journey using GPS
waypoints and geo-tagged images to recount the trip for her 7th grade
class. This will be a huge help!”
“tag” your Flickr photos with the latitude and longitude where the photo was taken, and the photo will be displayed as a push pin on a Flickr/Google Maps combo.
No I don’t mean porn, I mean the dark recesses of the web inhabited by those whose sense of what is right and decent has been abandoned and replaced with God knows what. It is this part of the web that makes educators cringe and lawmakers pass legislation that hurts everyone but their intended audience.
Kathy Sierra is one of my favorite reads. I’ve been inspired by and have learned so much from her blog and although I do not know her personally, her writing and passion have painted an image of her in my mind. Apparently, her writing has painted other images in the warped and twisted minds of a number of individuals who cower behind their anonymity as they post the most appalling things to a number of sites whose sole intent is to bully others. My own personal sense of decency has led me to choose not to repost the links to those sites here. It is one thing to disagree with someone, but it is something else entirely when your disagreement devolves into death threats and terrorism, as was so sadly demonstrated in Kathy’s case.
I admire Kathy for having the strength to write about her experience. I’m outraged that there are individuals who feel that it is o.k. to terrorize others. What Kathy is living through goes far beyond the pale, to the point that law enforcement is involved and legal action quite likely. To the point where she feels that her life is truly endangered. What sort of example does that set for our youth? It sure doesn’t help our efforts as educators as we attempt to break through the barriers which bar our students from active participation in the community of the web. I’d even like to treat this as a teachable moment if it weren’t for the fact that I wouldn’t willingly expose any student of mind to the viciousness and criminality of this series of events.
My thoughts are with you Kathy. You are stronger than they are. The best I can offer is the fervent belief that the best thing for us to do is to shine a great bright light on the dark side of the web and expose it for what it really is.
A glimmer of hope on the horizon? Legislation presented in both the Senate (S.893) and House (HR1539) intends to free states from the testing and curricular restrictions imposed by No Child Left Behind. - post by edventures
It took me a year to hit 100 posts and just four months to hit 200.
My thanks to the edublogosphere for the wealth of ideas to chew on and to Diigo for the annotated link posts. Diigo has been a wonderful tool. I really like the way it helps me organize my ideas, it has changed my approach. It still has it’s rough edges but I have to say that Maggie Tsai and crew have been really responsive to community feedback.
The Washington Post had an article about Republicans turning against President Bush’s “signature domestic achievement” No Child Left Behind. So why haven’t we heard more about this?
Why the sea change? Apparently some legislators have been paying attention to the carnage left in the wake of this ill-conceived plan.
Once-innovative public schools have increasingly become captive to federal testing mandates, jettisoning education programs not covered by those tests, siphoning funds from programs for the talented and gifted, and discouraging creativity, critics say.
Hmm, ya think?
Apparently the frustration experienced by those in education has risen to the level of attention as two bills, one in the Senate and the other in the House, are being proposed which would allow states to opt out of the mandated testing and curriculum standards. Is there a glimmer of hope on the horizon?
If you are interested, check out House Resolution 1539, Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act of 2007 (A-PLUS), and Senator Jim DeMint’s Senate version of A-PLUS, S.893, for more information.
Thanks to Jennifer Maddrell for pointing out this great video which discusses the process of learning and the applicability of learning theory as viewed through the context of learning a new skill, in this case, golf. What is unique about this video is it’s explicit identification of the significant milestone events along the learning continuum. This video is a great companion to any learning theory course.
March 21, 2007 at 11:33 am · Filed under Creativity
Came across this Wired article today in my feeds entitled Masterpieces of Disaster. The American Red Cross in the San Francisco Bay Area is taking a proactive approach to emergency preparedness with their Prepare Bay Area project. Hiring Publicis & Hal Riney, the Bay Area ARC has developed a diversified high-impact communication portfolio including mobile billboards which are designed to integrate into real settings, water bottles with the message “Try living on this for three days” and fake earthquake early warning simulators (an old-school bell that would ring when the earthquake shook hard enough), among others. You really need to look at the photos accompanying the article for the full impact!
The Red Cross message:
“What do we have to do to get your attention?”
Now this is an in-your-face approach to communication and only time will tell how well it is received but it made me stop and think about how I get my message out to my own intended recipients whether they are faculty, students or the general public.
I was listening to an Educause podcast from the Educause Learning Initiative or ELI2007 conference which was a recording of Carl Berger’s, The Millennial Instructor presentation. In it he used a phrase that hits the nail on the head when it comes to providing tech support or edtech training in today’s world.
WINWINI or What I Need, When I Need It
I like the Win-Win fit and the extra “I” at the end points out the personal touch.
I’ve always had a problem with the term “Just In Time” training because it always seemed to give the impression that no prior thought had gone into the process beforehand. WINWINI on the other hand speaks to the growing trend of on-demand service. On-demand training, on-demand learning, on-demand entertainment - where the focus is on the individual. It is not to say that it is a selfish perspective rather one that acknowledges that in today’s fast paced and multi-channeled society, expectations on us are evolving and our support needs and personal expectations are following suit. The ability to get what you need when you need it - by knowing where to turn or who to turn to will become an increasingly valuable skill.
Are passion based teaching and learning incompatible with NCLB and standards based assessments? Or do we just need to take some time to create a bridge between the two? - post by edventures
learning today can be “passion-based and deeply personalized.”
I can empathize with Doug. How do we challenge this dominating paradigm in our school culture? - post by edventures
I’m growing increasingly frustrated in the teaching profession. I can’t teach the way that I want to, and I find it extraordinarily difficult to teach in the ‘traditional’ manner which is assumed and seemingly expected by all around me.
@mtnlaurel: Great-now I feel like I'm channeling SNL's The Church Lady "Well doesn't that make our naughty parts tingle!" Sorry bout the Dew 5 days ago
@elle6503: Yeah, @chrislehmann is introducing his kidz to the finer points of the 80's. Couldn't resist! 5 days ago
@sharongs: I assume the lock-down wasn't part of the presentation? Talk about a big finish! 5 days ago
