Drape's Takes

More and more, I find myself using a different computer at different times of the day. In connection with my job I now have a desktop computer (an iMac), a PowerBook laptop running OS X, and an HP laptop running Ubuntu and Windows Vista. At home, the jumble continues as I find myself occasionally using our family eMac (OS X) and my wife's newly acquired laptop (also running Vista - thank you very much, TeacherTube).

Hence, I've discovered a desperate need to become portable. These are the steps I've taken to find portable serenity.

Email - Digging through Gmail's settings, I found two key features that have sealed the deal. The first is the ability to add another email account in Gmail and the other is IMAP.

Because I wanted to simplify everything (and because Gmail will now allow me to add a second email address), I decided to forward my work email to my Gmail account. This will make it so I only have to check and send email in one location.

I've since learned that IMAP is really cool. Following these instructions, I configured my local mail clients to access my Gmail using IMAP. Now when I delete a message on my local machine (using my local mail client - Apple Mail or Outlook), regardless of which machine it is, it is automatically deleted on the Gmail servers as well. Furthermore, if I delete a message using Gmail's web-based client, it is also deleted on my local machines. Very cool.

Calendar - Having used Apple's iCal to maintain my calendar for the last year or so (and severely disliking Leopard's rendition of iCal), I decided to move my calendars over to Google Calendar. Needless to say, I'm very pleased. I'm particularly impressed with Google Calendar's ability to share calendars, as well as import shared calendars into iCal. Thus, I now maintain the calendar using Google Calendar's online portal, but can view them offline. Very cool, part 2.

Documents - Now this is an area where I'm still not completely comfortable. Without using .Mac, I know of no easy way to distribute my documents/photos/etc. to multiple computers (and across platforms). For now, I'm willing to create/upload portable documents using Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations (or transfer them via Thumb-drive). Oddly, I've found that I rarely need the same document on different computers. Cool, but could be cooler.

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Christopher Sessums has asked an excellent question using the "My Questions" Facebook application. Asks Christopher:

If you were asked to describe the role of a teacher, what images would you use and why? I recently heard teachers described as flight attendants serving on airplanes that never land. What images come to your mind?

Karen Romeis gave an interesting perspective in this photo.

And here was my response.

It's not that I feel negative toward teaching nor the job we must do, but more that it feels like we're forced to "sell" many of the things that we do on a daily basis.

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Yes, I know how to spell 'kinesthetic'. I was just testing you (and the other three people that have seen Pay Attention). As a result, I decided to finally update it to include the correct spelling. Yes, this is my Final Final Version.

As for progress and whether or not the video is effectuating actual change in educational policy and practice? You tell me.

• Has Pay Attention (or any other video for that matter) actually caused you to change the way you teach?
• Is it actually possible for a short video to have that kind of impact on a person or an institution?
• How can we measure the impact (and ultimately the effectiveness) of such a video?

These are all questions I am struggling with as I prepare to write a dissertation. To be completely transparent, I'm toying with the topic of viral video and its ability to effectuate change. I'm wondering if this kind of topic would even be feasible for the kind of research and writing required for a dissertation.

What do you think? Am I completely off my rocker? I'd love to hear your take.

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They gave me a brand spankin' new iMac today at work. Or at least "new to me". As a result, I've had the pleasure of installing Leopard from scratch. Following protocol, I thought I'd document the apps that I chose to install.

1. Firefox - My preferred web browser.
   
2. Foxmarks - Bookmarks synchronizer for Firefox.
3. TinyURLCreator - Firefox extension.
   
4. SoundSource - Lets me select my audio line in straight from the menu bar.
5. Toast 7 - CD/DVD burning software.
6. Quicksilver B53 - Must have, although I really only use it to open folders and apps.
7. Skype - VOIP.
8. CallRecorder 2.2 - Record calls (video and audio) in Skype.
9. MenuCalendarClock for iCal - I don't know, but there's something about glancing at the menu bar and feeling that need to see the date.
10. Twitterific - Need. To. Be. Connected.
11. Skitch - Once you use it you wonder how you ever lived without it. Thanks to Alec Couros for the invite.
    
12. Adium - iChat just doesn't cut it sometimes. Most of the time, actually.
13. Del.icio.us Firefox extension - Make it a little easier to save my links.
14. Conan The Librarian - I like to turn it on just before I leave the office. :)
    
15. Microsoft Office 2004 - Well, you know...
16. iWork - Sometimes.
    
17. Apple Remote Desktop 3 - A real life-saver if you're in a Macintosh environment.
18. Final Cut Express HD - For those hard core edits and a few head-aches along the way.
19. CamTwist - Way too cool.

I know I've forgotten a program or two here that will need to be installed in the near future, but this is a good enough start for now.

By the way, what are your must have applications?

Image Source - 1

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Quick: What do the NBA and propaganda for effective teaching have in common? That's right: Carly Commando. While flipping through channels the other night, I had to do a double-take when I heard Pay Attention on the TV.

Congrats, Carly. You've stirred more than educational minds with your music.

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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.

The following award recipients are listed in no particular order:

• 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.
  

I know I've missed many that deserve a kudo or three. Drop me a line with your nomination, duh.

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[Full Disclosure: On November 8, citizens of Utah will vote on what is known as Referendum 1. This issue, while currently only limited to residents of Utah, has the potential to bring vouchers to states across the nation. In my opinion, the issue of vouchers is a simple one: Do we, as a nation, believe that a quality education should be given to every child or not? As I think that an education is one of those unalienable rights to which every citizen should benefit (regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status), I will be supporting public education in voting against Referendum 1.]

Honorable Governor Huntsman:

I appreciate the attention you have given in supporting education in recent legislative sessions. Your support (or at least your approval) has led to many great things, including additional funding for technology in public schools. I suppose these and similar past efforts are what puzzle me so much in relation to your current efforts involving the public funding of private schools.


In response to this video, I have several questions for you:

• How does funding private schools with public funds actually help the public school system? It seems to me that as private schools gain more students (and publicly funded revenue), they also gain political power. Do we really want that?
• What about church and state? In granting private schools increased political power, we would also be distributing much of that power to various churches upon which many private schools in Utah are founded. How is a vote for vouchers not a vote to mix church and state?
  
• Why has no one (evidently) explained to you that as students are removed from public schools then a proportional number of teachers are also removed? In consequence of this fact, supporting an initiative to promote private schooling does nothing to reduce class sizes in public schools.
• How does financially assisting proponents of private schools ensure that every child in Utah (regardless of race, religion, or socioeconomic status) receive a quality education?
• Given that the average cost to attend private schools in Utah is roughly $6,000 and the proposed voucher system will only reimburse $3,000 to private school students, how do you suggest that financially challenged students pay for the remaining funds (so that they too can benefit from a quality private education)? Surely you realize that there are students in Utah that don’t have an extra $3,000 just lying around.

I suppose my final question is of a more personal nature:

• What are your true motives for promoting the voucher system in Utah? In other words, are you really concerned with helping every student in Utah or are you more concerned with enhancing your political resume?

I appreciate your attention in addressing my questions, either online or off, and sincerely hope that in future discussions I can continue to refer to you as “honorable”.

Sincerely,

Darren Draper

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On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I spent time in a district-training that was originally developed by the Institute for Sustainable Leadership To Impact Student Success. In connection with the training, we've been studying Jane Vella's Taking Learning to Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults. All in all, the book (and the training) have been quite good.

During the training one of the Executive Directors for the Jordan School District (the boss of my boss's boss's boss) stated quite clearly that he felt that "any work contributed by the group would be of higher quality than work submitted by an individual". I thought that this was an interesting statement in light of all of the controversy that Wikipedia has had - especially in educational circles. Furthermore, to have one of my supervisors endorse collaborative creation, I feel, is a step in the right direction.

On a side note, look what I found in Apple's new Leopard operating system:


Yep. Apple has realized the value of Wikipedia too. Yet another great step in the right direction.

Image Source - 1

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OK, I'm in. Jared Covili, a well-skilled member of UEN's Web Academy and personal friend, has talked me in to participating in NaBloPoMo. From Jared:

For those of you who don't know NaBloPoMo is National Blog Posting Month. The challenge is to write a blog post every day for the month of November.

As you may have learned by now, I'm one that often likes to play by my own rules - especially when it comes my own blog. : ) Hence, here are the rules I will be following:

1. I'll write at least one post per day during the month of November. However, at some times I might pre-date and/or post-date my posts as needed in order to maintain my sanity.
2. Because it's November (and the month of Thanksgiving), I'd like to create a list of some of the things for which I am thankful. I will be maintaining this list in a single post, but will change the post date as I update the list.

You have been warned.

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