Point A to Point B

  • What’s the Beef?

    Blogs! Wikis! Podcasts! Aggregators! Web 2.0!

    In a salute to the great Wendy’s slogan of the 80’s, the “beef” of current trends in technology are NOT those things listed above. Those items (except for Web 2.0 which is a general label for all of the latest technology trends on the web) are awesome products of the real beef:

    RSS and tagging

    or more simply put,

    subscriptions and keywords.

    Those 2 items alone are the core of the current fury in technology. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) allows one to electronically subscribe to anyhing that they want to read, hear, or watch (provided whomever creates the work offers an RSS feed). Tagging, or assigning keywords, allows one to search or create content (text, audio, video) by topic.

    These 2 pieces form the foundation of how blogs, podcasts, aggregators and the like become powerful tools. By subscribing and keyword searching, you can create an extremely personalized and extraordinary web of information and learning.

    Thanks go to recent posts by David Warlick and Will Richardson to help push my thinking on this.

  • Open Source Sweetness

    So in the land of pesonal learning, I have been working with open source software to learn how this type of software can be beneficial. What is open souce software? For the most part it is FREE software that does all the things pay-for software does. People write code for this software in the interest of making good things, and are not looking for money.

    I have a computer that I built and have installed Linux OS on (instead of Windows or Mac OS). The particular version of Linux (called a distribution) is Suse version 10.1. Along with the OS comes the web browser, tons of utilites, and more so you can do all the things necessary without the price tag.

    Doing open source is not for the faint-of-heart, but it is well worth it. Since it is FREE, the possibilities are ENDLESS. Many corporations, and now schools, are switching to open

    opensuse

    source solutions to control costs. Open source may be in your future!

  • Cyberbullying: Theory to Action

    I just finished Nancy Willard’s book titled Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats, and Distress. It is full of good information on this important topic. I think the strength of the book is in the final chapters that talk about legal considerations for individuals, families and schools. There are 2 very good flow charts in the appendix about reviewing cyberbullying or cyberthreats, and school actions and options.

    Nancy has done an excellent job at bringing together what little research exists in this arena. The web is still an uncharted arena in terms of how it affects children and adults alike. Check out her website, cyberbully.org, for information on the book and other activities of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use.

  • Whew!

    This is a test post to make sure the transfer of my WordPress data made it into the new domain. It appears that the new home, www.pointatopointb.org, is happy & healthy!

    Onto the more important work of building the site…

  • Super-Learners

    PC Magazine’s August 8, 2006 issue features articles on the future of technology. A comment that jumped out at me is in Mark Anderson’s predictions (p.75). In talking about how one-to-one computing is the key goal in education, one of the things he points out is that it will create “super-learners.” I love the term – it implies a voracious appetite for learning, and the technology provides the endless food to nourish.

    I think we have always had super-learners. What we have not had, though, is accross-the-board access to information so that anyone really can become a super-learner. What technology brings to the table is the ability to provide ANYONE with access. One-to-one initiatives strive to make that happen.

    Mark Anderson is founder of the Strategic News Service, CEO of the Future in Review Conference, and Chairman of the Board of Project Inkwell. A busy man with his thoughts in neat places. Check out some of his stuff – I plan to!

  • Revisiting an Old Friend

    A number of years ago I saw a quote on the cover of an educational periodical. It jumped out at me and resonated with what I have always felt. To this day I have that cover, albeit a bit beat up, taped to my desk. It is a quote from T.H. White in The Once and Future King:

    “The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then— to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”

    To this day the quote is my favorite – I always find strengh in learning. Technology is doing things to learning like never before, but it is STILL the learning that is the key. Technology is an awesome vehicle, but not the destination.

    Everyone loves to learn something. What we need to do is connect the desire for learning with the content for learning.

  • Learning is Everywhere

    I love going to workshops. I don’t necessarily find huge new ideas, but there are always great little tips and tricks to hear, and you can observe different ways to teach particular concepts. It is very refreshing to not be in the driver’s seat, and soak up how someone else presents. It is invaluable in the learning cycle to participate in it from all vantage points.

  • Homerun

    I just finished the last presentation of the year – woo-hoo! I convinced my very talented colleague Pam Lombardo to present with me about our first year of having SMART Boards full-time in classrooms. We had a full house in the session, and I think the message of what can be done with interactive whiteboards came across well.

    This brings to a close a great 2005-2006 year. We had quite a few building-wide initiatives, and all were fully realized. I have the priveledge of working in an environment that encourages and supports great learning with technology. I am looking forward to what next year will bring – I love my job!!!

  • DON’T (!) Use the Computer

    When you are researching something, don’t always go to the computer first. Ask yourself who/what/where might the best place be to find what you need? There are still TONS of great resources of information that don’t involve the Internet. BOOKS still have information, and can get you what you need very quickly. PEOPLE have information, and can get you what you need very quickly. The Internet is an awesome place to find out stuff, but you have to be careful that what you find is trustworthy. ASK for help if you need it, and happy learning.

    Kind of a funny thing for the computer teacher to say, huh? Any thoughts?

  • Technology Be Gone!

    One of my focuses now moves to talking about what makes learning better – not the technology tool, but rather the situation/experience for the learning to happen. Sure technology can take it to a new level, but the focus has to remain on the learning.

    I just finished an introductory workshop on Marzano’s What Works in Classrom Instruction. The focus was on technology tools to support the 9 strategies, but the key is the 9 strategies:

    • Identifying similarities and differences
      Summarizing and note taking
      Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
      Homework and practice
      Nonlinguistic representations
      Cooperative learning
      Setting goals and providing feedback
      Generating and testing hypotheses
      Activating prior knowledge

    I’m not sure yet how, but I’m thinking the focus of some posting here is going to focus on these, as they are about the learning, and not the technology.