Drape's Takes

There are a lot of great things going on out there. Here are my kudos, as of late. If you’ve made the list, you've not only convinced me that you're paying attention, you’ve also earned the right to display (if desired) the coveted “Kudos from Drape” badge on your site. The "Kudos from Drape" badges are available in large, medium, small, and too small to see. Furthermore, they are non-transferable, non-refundable, and have no added MSG.

• Kudos to Darren Kuropatwa, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Wesley Fryer, Lani Ritter Hall, and the rest of the people that have made the K12 Online Conference what it is today. While my name is on the list of those that have contributed, let me go on record apologizing for my lack of participation. Yes, I know, I did a few things for the Live Events committee, but honestly most of the credit for the successful live events belongs to Vinnie Vrotny and Mark Ahlness.
  
  Challenge: How will you make next year's conference even better?
  Remember: Sometimes less is more.
  
  
• Kudos to Dean Shareski and Liz Kolb for their excellent K12 Online presentations (Design Matters and Cell Phones as Classroom Learning Tools, respectively). I’m positive there are others to award here, but I haven’t had time to see very many of the presentations yet. Nevertheless, therein lies the beauty and genius of the K12 Online Conference: Professional Development at your convenience.
  
  Challenge: Follow up with some of the people to whom you have presented.
  Remember: Training without follow-up is usually no training at all.
  
  
• Kudos to Steve Dembo for creating the EdTV wiki, and to those educators that are open enough to share what they are doing through video stream.
  
  Challenge: Help ISTE to understand how important it will be for us to have serious access to some huge pipes for the streams that will take place at NECC 2008.
  Remember: Streams do no good if nobody's watching.
  
  
• Kudos once again to Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay for setting the standard with their Flat Classroom Project.
  
  Challenge: Get other teachers to replicate your efforts.
  Remember: Duplication is the ultimate form of flattery.
  
  
• Kudos to Karl Fisch for nailing the purpose of allowing students wireless access in schools. Says Karl: "Why wireless? Because their century demands it."
  
  Challenge: Now Karl, let them speak.
  Remember: Access to tools without an avenue for using them is futile. I'm ready when you are.
  
  
• Kudos to Michael Wesch for telling the story the way it should be told. Your message is timely, poignant, and your methods were perfect.
  
  Challenge: I think it's time for you to address how tomorrow's teacher would best reach today's student.
  Remember: As teachers, we need to look into the future because our students are already there.
  
  
• Kudos to Carolyn Foote for helping others to pay attention. Her work with Bob Witowski has made my month. Kudos to Bob as well for stepping up to the task.
  
  Challenge (to Carolyn): Find your next victim.
  Remember: We change the world best one person at a time.
  
  
• Kudos to Bonnie Muir for her efforts to join in on the scary ride of online collaboration. Blogging, Twitter, and Ning can be a lot to swallow - certainly not for that faint of heart.
  
  Challenge: Maintain.
  Remember: Your blog is not your life.
  
  
• Kudos also go to Kelly Dumont for opening up the JSD Elementary Film Festival to participants outside of the Jordan School District. Translation: lots more work for Kelly, lots more work from kids.
  
  Challenge: Sustain the attitude that quality counts throughout the festival.
  Remember: These are only kids.
  
  
• Kudos to Miguel Guhlin for cranking out so much quality content.
  
  Challenge: Don't let your readers dictate what you write about.
  Remember: Blogging is like teaching. Only fools do it for the money.
  
  
• Kudos to iJohnPederson for making me laugh with the funniest blog post I've ever read. For that matter, he's really been on a roll lately.
  
  Challenge: It's time for you to really think outside the box.
  Remember: You define the box.
  
  
• Finally, additional Kudos go to Ryan Bretag for writing one of the best posts I've ever read detailing the transformative process we call blogging. If my brain were as large as Ryan's I would have written this post myself and called it my 9th reason why every teacher should blog.
  
  Challenge: Find your next niche.
  Remember: If anybody can do it, Ryan, you can.