Drape's Takes

I'm kissing the Google Reader "Shared with Note" button goodbye.

No more convenience. No more quick click. No more easy share.


Having been less than prolific lately in this space, I've come to re-realize that one thing I really value in blogging (and other online interactions) is the conversation - and conversation is what Google Reader shared items lacks (yes, even "Comment view").

Close, but no cigar. (What good's a social network that's not social?)

Thus, if I have something to share - found grazing the feeds - I'll do it here, thank you. Publicly search-able, archived, and with conversations intact.

Peace.

Image source: Indexed.

It's been too long since I've shared any of my selections of binary poetry. Better than Fibonacci, let me tell you.

01010111 01101000 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01101100 01101111 01101111 01101011 00100000 01100010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100000 00101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110010 01110100 01111001 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110011 00100000 01100110 01110010 01101111 01101101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 00101101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01110101 01110011 00100000 01110001 01110101 01100001 01101001 01101110 01110100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100010 01110101 01110011 01101001 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100100 01101001 01110011 01110100 01110010 01101001 01100010 01110101 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100010 01101001 01110100 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101001 01101110 01100110 01101111 01110010 01101101 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01110100 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110110 01101001 01110010 01110100 01110101 01100001 01101100 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 01110011 00101100 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110011 01110000 01100101 01110010 01100001 01110100 01100101 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110101 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110101 01101100 00111111 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101101 01100101 01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 01110011 00100000 01001001 00100000 01001111 01001110 01000101 00101101 01100100 01100101 01110010 00101110 00100000 01001110 01000001 01010101 01000111 01001000 01010100 00101110

No good?

Lest I'm accused of a mindset only focused on the staffing needs of the Canyons School District, I thought I'd share a comment that I left last night on Karl Fisch's blog. The post, simply entitled Disconnect(Ed), shows a picture of a collection of cell phones, obviously swiped from students while they struggle their way through the current round of standardized tests. All told, I've collected paper box lids of cell phones like that myself, because I had to, and even at times because I wanted to.

Before I left my response, the only comment on the post was written by Andrew Neely. In it, he gives the type of reasoning that is typical of forward-thinking educators and, at least in my opinion, seems to echo the sentiments of the glaring majority of writers that frequent our online conversations.

In that, Andrew's my kind of guy.

Nonetheless, I feel somewhat unsettled - not so much by the matter-of-fact tone in Andrew's comment - but by how easy so many seem to think that the kinds of change we're begging for will take to honestly become a reality. Thus my response (with spelling corrected and emphasis added):

The implication you're making here is huge, Andrew.

You seem to be saying that our current systems of traditional learning are broken - that not only are our assessments flawed, but that the very foundations upon which we have built our schools (societies?) are no longer supportive of the kinds of learning that we (society) now need our students to do.

In other words, not only do we need to change the way we test, but the way we teach - and all this because of the ways that our students can now learn. Is it so wrong now to want our students to prove what they know and can do all by themselves? Apparently so - after all, we now live in a networked world.

No wonder it's taking so long for shift to happen in our schools.

We're talking about colossal shifts here: In schools, in teachers, in assessments, and in attitudes. All because we can (?), and ultimately because we should.


One teacher, one class, one school, one district, one nation, and one world at a time.

Original image source: Karl Fisch. Amazingly edited with Aviary.

[I've posted this, removed it, re-posted, re-removed it, and now I'm re-posting it again. Last night my wife mentioned how she really liked this post. "It's one of my favorites," she confessed. I figure if my wife doesn't think I'm a total crack-pot after reading this thing, then what do I care what others think? :) ]

I'm not so sure about this one.


Addicted? Yes, probably.

Well, maybe addicted, I guess.

I mean, maybe not though, really, 'cause I can STOP, you know.

Addicted... to:

• Checking my email.
• The iPod, Blackberry, that buzz that says "New messages waiting."
• Wiis, Webkinz, and "When's it gonna be my turn?"
• Solitaire, duh, and maybe even Morocco.
• Blogging, Twitter, Facebook.
• Skype, chat, and "Wouldn't it be waaaaay easier if we could just type the paper?"
• Free. iPhone. Apps. Why? Because I can.
• Photos and videos and wow, that Jib Jab's funny.
  

But I'm not really addicted to my computer, now am I?

Well am I?

While I want to think that I'm addicted to my "friends" - all 1,429 of them - to be perfectly blunt:

• I think it's the input,
• The information,
• The new ideas and c h a i n s of information

That I crave most.

Or is it the power? That might just be it:

• The power of computing,
• The power of expression,
• And the power of the network.

After all:

• My computer does exactly. what. I. tell. it.

And people sometimes don't.

[Blue screen of death]. Doh!

Some addictions are more painful than others.

Questions:

• Are you addicted?
• Am I?
• I mean really. And if so, to what?
• I mean it's not like I get the Joneses if I don't get my Twitter fix. Or do you?
  

- - - - -

Image Source: Flickr user and powerful thinker shareski.

Amid all the economic turmoil that's plagued our world, we're actually hiring in the Canyons School District. Right now, because we're building a district from the ground up, my department has posted team lead positions in a variety of flavors:

• Advanced Network Engineer - Team Lead
• Advanced Systems Engineer - Team Lead (Microsoft)
  
• Advanced Systems Engineer - Team Lead (non-Microsoft)
• Educational Technology Team Leader
• Technical Support - Elementary Team Leader
  
• Technical Support - Secondary Team Leader
  
• Technology Services Help Desk - Team Leader

Many of these positions will be closing soon, so you'd better move fast if you think you might be interested. Click here for application and other information.


Join me in the Canyons. I think you'll really like it over here. :)

Original image source: Flickr user dougwoods.

So I brought home a demo MacBook Pro from work today so I could check out all the new features. I opened it up, nearly caressing it (of course), and my six-year-old daughter looks up, perfectly on cue, and innocently asks:

But where's Firefox, dad?

Man, I love digital natives (especially my own)!


Personally, I think it's important to have the "open source" talk with your kids waaaay before those boring "maturation programs" they put on in the fifth grade.

Image source: OSU Linux Users Group in Oregon (post link here).

It's been nearly two weeks now since I began my adventures with the Canyons School District. Here's my take on the whole deal:

• The enthusiasm and energy and excitement for the positive and potential changes that can and have taken place is absolutely electric. Palpable. Contagious. Amazing.
• Dr. Doty, the Canyons District Superintendent, is very sharp. I don't say that to suck up, but absolutely believe that he is the perfect person for the job. I continue to be impressed by his vision and attitude toward education and the people that make it all happen.
• I couldn't be happier with my current position and the team with whom I am privileged to work. I am truly humbled by the trust that I've been given and absolutely amazed at the knowledge possessed by those with whom I'm able to rub shoulders every day.
  
• Hiring people is an extremely daunting task. As I've sat in on several job interviews now, I'm touched by the enormity of the task. As people apply for these positions, they enter the interview uncertain of their future, nervous, and vulnerable. Trust me, I know, because I was just in their shoes. And while my heart goes out to every applicant, I'm often saddened by the fact that we must sometimes limit our selection to only one. Incredibly difficult, to say the least.
• Scooters are fun to ride, even when wearing a tie. (They've become the preferred mode of transportation throughout our old-school-converted-into-a-district-office-that-definitely-doesn't-feel-like-a-district-office-and-that's-definitely-a-very-good-thing.)
• I'm excited to continue the welcoming process. In our department last week, we have had the privilege of welcoming aboard two excellent part-time techs and the very capable Director of Technology Deployment. In the very near future, we will continue to advertise additional positions. To give you an idea of what we're in for, the skeleton of our technology department is pictured below. My team is on the right, with Technical Support personnel under me largely being housed in the schools, and the Help Desk and Educational Technology teams working district-wide. Many, if not all of the Team Lead positions pictured here will most likely be opening next week (check here often if you're interested in applying, as positions are typically open for only five days).

• Eventually coming down the pike will be a number of other positions, whose fate will largely be determined by the hit we will be forced to take due to impending state-wide budget cuts. Among the positions that I hope to eventually hire are Educational Technology Specialists (Teaching & Learning Resource Specialists?), Media Technology Specialists, Help Desk personnel, Technical Support personnel, and maybe even a Social Media Specialist.
  

When all is said and done, I'm extremely happy with the decision I have made to continue my career in the Canyons District and look forward bright and exciting future.

First and foremost, thank you – all of you – for your endorsement and kind words of encouragement in light of the professional changes I am currently experiencing. Tomorrow will be my first day with the Canyons District and I am both humbled and buoyed by the support I have been given.

Second, I had the opportunity to read another must-read book over the weekend. Roland S. Barth’s Lessons Learned (2003) is outstanding. While it may sound cliché, I feel like this book has been written for me because the timing of the reading and the topic and advice given make it feel like the stars have aligned in such a way that I’m left to exclaim, “Wow!” I devoured the book in two settings and have greatly appreciated Barth’s outlook on life and his amazing ability to apply his experiences in sailing with the workplace (and educational) environment.

In my initial thumbing through of the book, a paragraph caught my eye and has since stuck with me profoundly. Barth credits Edna St. Vincent Millay with this quote:

A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book, nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book, nothing can help him. (p. 107)

Having participated in various social media arenas throughout the last several years (blogging, social networking, and the like), I’m convinced that this quote applies to online publishing as well as print. With that in mind, I’m even further assured at how vital it is for us, as educators, to teach our students today to properly utilize the technologies they so innocently (at least initially) take for granted.

Reference:

• Barth, R. (2003). Lessons Learned. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.
  

I turned this letter in to my supervisor today.

February 4, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

In my ten years with the Jordan School District, I have learned a tremendous amount from the wonderful people with whom I’ve been able to associate. It has truly been an honor and a pleasure.

Therefore, it is with humility and thankfulness for all of the opportunities and trust that I’ve been thus far given that I must now announce my intent to resign from the Jordan School District in order to pursue employment with the Canyons School District as their Director of Technology Services. To say that my emotions about this transition are mixed would be an understatement but as we move forward in the coming months, I sincerely hope that ours will continue to be a working relationship – dedicated to improving the learning experience of the students we serve.

Sincerely,

Darren Draper

Huge opportunity for me and my family. Huge opportunity for me to promote positive change. And a huge opportunity for us as leaders of this newly forming district to create an organization that can best address the needs of our students today.

I guess this means I'll have to update my blog's sidebar. :)

Building on and in response to Steve Hargadon's CNN-Facebook Mashup: We Should Be Able to Do the Same Thing:

1. There is definite value in being able to take your network with you. Why else do you think our kids cling so desperately to their cellphones?
2. The power of embedding is absolutely amazing.

In order to create a publicly accessible/shared page that can be used to discuss any streamed content or event, I've used Pageflakes' Pagecast feature and two Anything Flakes. In one flake goes the streamed content. In the other goes an iframe with the web-based Twitter client of your choice. For my example, I've used Twitter's mobile client. I like it because it's very clean but wish that it included avatars with each tweet.


Check out the Pagecast here (http://www.pageflakes.com/darren.draper/) and let me know what you think. Or more importantly:

• How do you think a page like this could change the way we experience conferences?