Drape's Takes

Dave Cormier explains perfectly the reason why I still blog:


Not for awards, not for fame, and (don't hate me for saying) sometimes not even for the "conversation," the main reason I continue to blog is because I love having a place to catalog my thoughts. To that end, I can't tell you the number of times I've googled my own blog in search of something I've written before - usually to share with others.

That you, as a reader, still feel welcome to straighten me out from time to time by commenting on what I've written - is icing on the cake.

Original image source: Flickr user mybloodyself.
Quotation source: Dave Cormier.

The folks at TTIX (Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange) inform me that the video from this year's conference has been posted here. I had the honor and privilege of giving the keynote address in June, a first for me. In reflecting further on the experience, I am reminded that I had intended to say many more things than I had actually managed to say. I'm sure many teachers have also experienced this in their classrooms.

Reason #8 - Blogging allows you to finish what you had originally intended to say.

Let me say up front that I had originally wanted to go a lot faster than I actually went. Nevertheless, the flow was smooth and I still felt that I had the audience from the beginning. It really was a refreshing experience.

But I missed the sale, the close, the final touches. I got to slide 307 (or so) of 405 (I had to take out the poem above in order to upload the presentation to SlideShare). Yep, only 3/4 through. If I had to do it over again, I'd make sure to mention:

• The results of my informal assessment of cellphone use throughout Utah - roughly 85% of all urban and rural high school students in Utah have access to a cellphone.
• Ithaca College and their Cellflix Film Festival - what an amazing way to use cellphones to teach.
• Ms. Bradfield and her class's travel bugs - one has traveled nearly 19,000 miles. Imagine the conversations.
• Matthew Horne and the amazing things he's done with his ESL students - I'm sure that blogging and postcasting are just the beginning.
• Kevin Honeycutt and one of my favorite quotes regarding teachers and our relationship to our students: "We've got to be willing to play where they play... even if we don't feel comfortable."
• Darren Kuropatwa and the great way he uses Flickr with his math students.
• One of the most powerful comments I have heard about the Pay Attention video. This was given by a student:

“This is a great video. As a tenth grader, almost everything in the video applies to me – I have a phone (which really doubles as a GPS), I have an MP3 player, I have a computer. The lack of application of technology in many schools is appaling.”

--michaelper22

• Finally, I would have told the audience about my cheesy poem - created specifically to close the presentation:
  

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d use YouTube, del.icio.us, and Flickr, too.
To teach my students about somethidng new.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d use Google Tools – indeed the whole slew.
Google Earth, Docs, and Trends to name just a few.
Yep, teach kids to learn, even when the day’s through.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d make my kids podcast, ‘til their faces were blue.
And then we would post them to the new iTunes U.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d share with the world, yep honest and true.
Yeah, I’d be much more open and creative and common.
And when I was done, I would eat some Top Ramen.

If I were you, what would I do?
I’d pay more attention to what the kids do.
I’d learn how they learn in order to teach
Them things they should know without haffin’ to preach.

Anyway, that's what I would have said if I would have had the time. And that's why I'm glad that I blog.

Technorati Tags: ttix07 payattention whyblog education technology

Graham has done it again. He's gone off, spreading his pie-in-the-sky ideas about how there is actually life outside of the United States. He's even got the nerve to suggest that his thoughts (as well as the thoughts of countless others out there) are valid and should be valued. Then, to top it all off, he's decided that we Americans shouldn't alone decide how edubloggers around the world should tag.

The nerve.

Doesn't he know that we had things under control during our Edubloggercon meeting-of-the-minds? Noooo. He's published his theory explaining why many Americans have a tendency to ignore the Non-American. And you know what?

Graham's right! Again.

His theory, while a little wordy, is dead on. Americans (or those hailing from the United States) have rarely acknowledged the greatness of international participants in Olympics past because, frankly, they were never exposed to them. As anyone that has viewed Olympic competitions from an American television set knows, the United States media does little to expose us to anything but the American athletes. Wait a minute - weren't we talking about education and technology? Yep. From Graham Wegner:

Unless you live in a smaller country, you can’t see that many of the issues pushed as being important around the edublogosphere are actually focussed towards the biggest participating nation and its education system. This is not a criticism. Don’t get me wrong. But it is something to be aware of if you are a Stateside blogger - your view is not necessarily the world view. Just like the American public watching the Sydney Olympics. There are others involved, maybe in lesser numbers, but just as passionate at leveraging new technologies for learning. And some US edubloggers (people I read and respect) are influenced by my Olympics Effect Theory.

So what are we going to do now? I'll tell you what might help:

Reason #7 - Blogging can actually give teachers an international perspective.

I mean think about it. When teachers sit, isolated in their classrooms, they are stuck with their limited, four-walled perspective. If teachers were to at least participate in the blogging process (reading, commenting, hopefully writing), the entire world could be in on their thoughts, needs, and desires - opening doors, encouraging creative thought, giving perspective. I know that I have gained a much needed (far-more-international-than-before) perspective as a result of my participation in/with the blogosphere.

And what about EduBloggerCon and our dire need for an international meeting of the minds? For those of you that were fortunate enough to attend the first EduBloggerCon (last week in Atlanta, Georgia - also home of the 1996 Olympic Games), you realize (or realise) the tremendous value it was to have Julie Lindsay, Mario Asselin, Anja C. Wagner, Vincent Jansen, and Diane Hammond join the ranks - each providing a refreshing international perspective to our discussions. I hope that upcoming EduBloggerCons can be increasingly global in approach.

Furthermore, I propose that it's time to begin planning an international EduBloggerCon that's truly international. In the spirit of upcoming regional EduBloggerCons, it's time to organize an event that any and every blogger can attend. Indeed, Second Life should do the trick (possible site for the 2020 Olympic Games). Here are a few of my initial thoughts (also started here). If this is really going to work, we will need to:

1. Decide on a date. Personally, I think that any of these days would work: August 27, September 21, October 17.
2. Decide on a time. I like 08:00 SL-Time (15:00 GMT). Once we decide on a time, I suggest that we continue to use SL-Time to avoid confusion with Daylight Savings.
3. Decide on a location. Ryan Bretag's Blogger's Cafe would work nicely for small groups, but can it handle a large one?
4. Decide on sessions, the format, etc.
   

I personally think that Ryan would be the best person to set this thing up (he did an excellent job with the Second Life International Conference back in May). David and Will should also be involved - if this is ever going to gain any traction. Heck, I'd even throw a few Lindon$ in Hargadon's general direction if he were to take up the organizational reins.

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Technorati Tags: whyblog necc07 necc2007 edubloggercon07 education technology blogosphere

Edubloggercon has definitely been the highlight of my NECC experience. In the morning I, along with dozens of others) was able to meet the faces that accompany the names and the tweets. It was truly an honor for me to meet (and associate with) the entire Edubloggercon community.

Reason #6: Edubloggercon - need I say more.

The second session at Edubloggercon will leave a lasting impression on my mind as to the power of the blogosphere, collaborative software, and the spontaneity of ad hoc conferences. David Warlick led an incredible discussion about the future of schools, students, and teachers. My brain excluded, the collective brain power of that group could have powered all the lights in the Georgia World Congress Center for an entire weekend. While the audio is sub-par, you can listen to the session here. You can also view David's summary here, view a Flickr slideshow of the un-conference here.




This video (sorry so shaky - I guess it's best if you play/pause, play/pause, play/pause...) gives a quick glance at those participating in the second session.

Thanks for the memory, guys. Let's do it again soon.

Technorati Tags: edubloggercon07, ec07blogs, ebc07fs, NECC2007

Whether he realizes it or not, Doug Baird is one of the teachers that has influenced me most. We car-pooled to Brighton High School together for several years, learning together what it means to be an effective teacher. Doug now teaches part-time at Brighton as he works toward his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Utah.

It always struck me as funny when Doug, an intellectually talented man, would often say that "his brain was too small".

Teachers are amazing, and any teacher that can make it through thirty years of teaching deserves a round of applause. And a purple heart. Because teaching requires us to hit the trenches, day after day. As a teacher, with nine years under my belt, I like to think that I've learned a thing or two. I know I've learned that you should never make fun of a teacher with more experience than you. They've survived the game longer that you have and deserve your respect - even if they do spend most of their time yelling at the kids and pressing play on the VCR. I've also learned the two fundamental truths of teaching:

• No matter how good it went today, the kids will always be back tomorrow.
  
• No matter how bad it went today, the kids will always be back tomorrow.

Which brings me to reason number four (of "Why Every Teacher Should Blog").

Reason #4: They say you can't teach a dog new tricks - but since we expect new tricks out of our students every day, we'd might as well learn a few ourselves.

Which is why I'm so proud of Russ Lauber. Russ is a veteran - honestly one of the best of the best. He's been teaching in the public school system for more than 30 years (I feel honored to say that I've known him for the last eight). He coached girls' swimming for somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 years and won the state championship every year he coached. Every single year. For 25 years!

But Russ has never blogged. Until now!

I am so please to announce that Russ, never afraid to "learn new tricks", has decided to try his hand at blogging. His new blog can be found at http://laubsblog.blogspot.com/. Veterans, please take a look, welcome him aboard.

And for Russ (and any other newbie out there - myself included), I would recommend three things:

• Take Vicki Davis' tips to heart. She's been doing this for several years now and can also be considered as one of the best of the best.
  
• Know that the blogosphere is a great place to "be", full of a world of wonderful people, ever willing to help.
• Don't let your blog run your life. As far as I can tell, a blog is nothing more nor less than what you make it. I've made mine a place to reflect, a place to connect, and a place to bounce my ideas off of other people.
  

So hold on, Russ. Have fun. And continue to amaze us all.

Technorati Tags: blogosphere blogs why_blog education technology

Since I have begun my adventures in blogging, I have been amazed at how well teachers stick together. I've met (virtually) a lot of different people from all over the world and can honestly say that it's been an extremely rewarding experience. Specifically (in the last two months alone), I have spoken, emailed, or chatted with teachers from Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Romania, Greece, Bangladesh, Canada, Brazil, and from dozens of states across the United States.

Reason #3 - Blogging allows you to communicate with other teachers which, in turn, allows you to learn from each other.

Which is why I'm excited to attend the upcoming Edubloggercon. It will be fun to learn more about how blogging can be a highly educational medium.

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Technorati Tags: blogosphere education technology why_blog

I just finished teaching a class for National University: EDT 612 - Teaching with Technology. The class is for teachers that are attempting to earn both a Master's Degree and National Board Certification.
To begin the class, I had the teachers create a Gmail account and then I gave them a quick tour of Google. In discussing Google and its many tools, we also spoke about using technology in the classroom with their students. Several mentioned how easy it is for students to use technology, and how intimidating this fact can be.

I continued the discussion by showing them Pay Attention. As they were watching the video, I added the teachers as guest authors in our class blog. Following the video, I asked them to write a post reflecting on what they just saw.

Their posts were very eye-opening.

Not once in the discussion did the difficulty of implementing technology ever arise. Not once did the teachers mention the problems with acquiring money for purchasing technology or the hassles of controlling the misuse of technology by their students. These issues weren't made known to me until the writing (on the blog) had taken place. Or rather, the writing had allowed them to express their fears, as well as their excitement regarding technology and its uses in teaching. The ten minutes it took me to create our class blog was a small price to pay for the insight I received from the teachers' posts.

Reason #2: It can be easier to write that which is difficult to say.

Without our class blog, the difficult issues that needed to be discussed would probably never have been talked about. In writing, difficult things can sometimes be easily said.

Technorati Tags: why_blog national_university education technology professional_development

Vicki Davis recently wrote an excellent post detailing how to be an effective Blogger. I thought I would add to her conversation by listing reasons (one at a time) why I think that teachers should blog.

Reason #1: Writing is thinking.

A teacher told me the other day that writing was thinking. She was absolutely correct. Teachers should blog because in blogging, they will be able to write what they think - and the last thing that our students need is a teacher that doesn't think.

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Technorati Tags: blogosphere education technology why_blog