Three Cheers For Eccentricity!

Today I'm having a bit of a bout of randomness.  In that spirit I offer a site that itself offers more than a few dollops of randomness:   Eccentric America.

If you have a few random moments, click here to take a look!

NCCE 2012 -- Day 4 -- Seattle

Soup to Nuts:  Teaching with Cloud Resources
Presenters:  Cindy Etherton

Although we haven't made any specific moves in the direction of moving our students to the "cloud" in a systematic way, the day for "cloud computing" for school-aged kids seems pretty much upon us.  Cindy offered a number of ideas that I will continue to explore and experiment with.  It goes without saying but say it I will.......nothing in educational technology is so certain as rapid change!  Never a dull moment!

NCCE 2012 -- Day 3 -- Seattle

Google Apps:  The Whole Kit and Caboodle

Presenters:  Marc Elliott, Director of Information Services; Tanya Narramore, Instructional Technology TOSA; Mike Sheldon, Manager of Information Systems; all from Bethel Public Schools

The story of this workshop was the story of Bethel's migration from a FirstClass system of tools to Google Apps.  By the end of the session, one could be pretty much sold on the superiority of what Google offers and the wisdom of leaving commercial services behind.

Opening Keynote -- Taylor Mali -- Poet

I'd have to confess to expending hardly a moment taking a look at who Taylor Mali was before it was time for his keynote.  I did take note of the name but little else.  Then when he was being introduced and he was described as a "poet" I did a mental double-take.  A what?  Wait a minute, am I at NCCE?  Is there some regional poetry slam going on at the WSCC right now and I wandered in the wrong keynote session?

Nope.  It turns it that 1) Taylor Mali *is* a poet and, 2) he was the keynote speaker at NCCE 2012.  It took a little while as he read some poems and did his opening shtick but it wasn't really that long before it became clear that Mr. Mali was not a very conventional poet and, furthermore, many of his poems were very entertaining and more than a few were quite thought-provoking.  He is a very effective performer, too.

In addition to his focus on poetry, he is also a dedicated advocate for learning and teaching.  He currently has a project to inspire 1000 people to make a commitment to become a teacher.  He is very close to reaching his goal and, actually, seems to have scheduled the fulfillment of this goal this coming April 7 (at which point he will cut off 11" of his hair [aka ponytail] and donate it to someone.....I forget who).

Like I say, many of his poems are very appealing.  Below you'll find a video version of his poem "What Teachers Make" from YouTube.

Best Web 2.0 for Online Learning

Presenter:  Katie Kotynski

A fairly straight-forward presentation that showcased a number of online resources that are useful in the classroom.  Katie anchored her presentation around her website called BestWebForEd Wiki site.

Integrate Computational Thinking Skills Using Scratch

Presenter:  Phil Big

The focus of this sessions was Scratch and Computational Thinking, just as the title suggests.  The main point was the set of four problem-solving skills/techniques that, it can be argued, our students need to be 21st century literate.  These skills include:  1) decomposition; 2) pattern recognition; 3) pattern generalization & abstraction; and 4) algorithm design.

Phil's contention is -- and it seems quite plausible -- that Scratch is a great vehicle to give students practice in developing, using, and refining those four skills.

NCCE 2012 -- Day 2 -- Seattle

Google Sketchup in the Classroom -- Part 1

Presenter -- Regina Cain

Google Sketchup in the Classroom -- Part 2

Presenter -- Regina Cain

These were long-form workshops (3 hours each; lasted all day with lunch break) taking a look at Google Sketchup.  Using a tutorial document from Google, Regina took us through step-by-step the various tools that Sketchup offers.

The non-pro version of Sketchup is free to all; the $400+ Pro version is available to teachers who go through an approval process in which they establish their bona fides as classroom teachers.

As a 3D design tool, Sketchup is indeed amazing.  Even I was able to create a couple structures -- including a fairly decent-looking schoolhouse with row upon row of windows, trees circling, and a bit of picket fence, too.  My doghouse was fairly decorative as doghouses go but I wasn't as proud of it as the schoolhouse I worked on in the latter stages of the workshop.

NCCE 2012 -- Day 1 -- Seattle

Kodu: Learn How to Excite Middle School Girls to Game Programming

Presenter:  Brad Gibson/Senior Program Manager
Microsoft Research FUSE Labs
This evening workshop was a great way to start my 2012 NCCE experience.  Kodu is a programming option I had never heard of.  The presenters, which included a panel of middle-school aged young women from two schools, made a fairly convincing case that Kodu is a must-consider option when one is weighing various options for teaching programming and the principles of computer science.
As valid as Scratch and LOGO are as options for giving students, especially middle-school aged kids, experience in this realm of computer science, the 3D and narrative possibilities offered by Kodu are difficult to resist.

Not to worry....I'm still around!

Guess what?  I'm still here!  Yes, I know that my most recent post is from eons ago but -- what can I say? -- I've been busy.

What's on my mind, you ask?  Well, I'm intrigued with a new (to me) service/site called Eyejot.  I haven't used it yet to communicate with my students but it sure makes it simple to post a quick webcam video and almost instantly send it out via e-mail to whomever on a subject of interest or import.  No dedicate client or app necessary on the recipient's end.  Video is housed by Eyejot and the vid is viewed in the browser.  Seems both cool & something with potential in the vidworld we live in.

NCCE 2010 - Seattle -- Day 4

First session was called "Beyond Cool.....Does It Work????". Presenter was Dan Matthews who is Instructional Technology Coordinator in Yakima. There was also a video feed by Dr. Janet Spybrook, a professor at Central Washington University. This was an instance of a workshop title giving an impression (to me) not borne out by the content. I looked at this title and thought, "One of the challenges in adopting technology, especially as we explore new tools and make decisions about curricular integration, is to not be seduced by the 'Wow! Factor' that is often near-irresistible when new things come along, especially if they're accompanied by hype. I know I'm as prone to fall for the hype as anyone. This session looked like it would offer some guidance on gaining a kind of healthy skepticism about the ingredients to look for in the "new" or hyped stuff so you waste less time falling for the now-it's-here-now-it's-gone.

Although there was an element of this incorporated by Mr. Matthews & Dr. Spybrook, the upshot of their presentation was really quite a bit more focused on mathematical analysis of databases measuring how various tools (like interactive white boards, for instance) are used. Not really useless information but quite a bit more narrowly focused and database-analysis-heavy for what I was looking for.

The next session boded well. I've attended previous presentations by Patrick Crispen at other conferences and he didn't disappoint then. He didn't disappoint today either. He presented on the subject: "A Random Walk through Cyberspace: Patrick Crispen’s Completely Updated Collection of Truly Useful–and Not So Useful—Websites and Web 2.0 Tools" In this hour he took us through a variety of helpful (and also fun & entertaining) sites ranging from a site that will give you your upload/download speeds of your Internet connection you're using to Instant Chan (try it, if you dare!!!!). It was well worth the 60 minutes we spent with Mr. Crispen. Now it was time to grab a quick lunch.

Partly because of how effective this session was, I decided to go ahead and return to another session of Mr. C's, this one called: "The State of the Craft: What’s New—and What’s Next—in Ed Tech, Consumer Electronics, and More". From his standpoint, the following are things "out there" that have the potential to be game-changers: solid state drives, electronic ink, liquid crystal displays, the iPad (or the Microsoft Courier, an upcoming eReader/tablet hardware combo), 4G networks, portable devices that are always on with very fast connections, voice control of devices, "hardware agnostic" clickers (polleverywhere.com), augmented reality (e.g. GE's "Plug Into the SmartGrid"), and personal learning networks (PLNs), among others. His main point was that the way in which we interact with computers will fundamentally change....perhaps sooner than we think. And, to my frustration, he did not give us a rock-solid answer to this question....which I would LOVE TO KNOW!!! That question is: How do you keep up with it all?????

The final part of my Friday I spent jotting down some notes from the previous three days and then taking my first look through the vendor exhibits. I took a fairly leisurely stroll through the many booths there although I can't say any particular product jumped out at me and said, "I'm the next cool [and useful!] thing! Buy me!!"

While I would have to admit having come away from NCCE 2010 with few things I could characterize as "seismic", attending these four days of NCCE 2010 a most worthwhile four days of exploration, finding new things, and looking ahead. Without wanting to sound immodest, I got some satisfaction noting the number of tools I've incorporated into my teaching that are still being touted as having true value in the world of 21st century teaching and learning. Just to rattle off a few of those things mentioned in these past few days: Ning, Wordle, SchoolTube, Photoshop.com, Glogster, Scrapblog, Google Docs, Audacity, TED....... A little affirmation is good, too. :-)

I appreciate the support from the school that made my attendance at NCCE 2010 possible.

NCCE 2010 -- Seattle -- Day 3

Session I -- Your Personal Magic Shop: 50 Ways to Use Discovery Education Streaming
The scheduled presenter was Hall Davidson but he apparently had to leave on a red-eye last night and Lindsay Hopkins, another Discovery Education Educator was there in his place.
She did the best she could to pinch hit for Hall. Discovery Education does indeed appear to be filled with a great deal of content with a big chunk of it coming (no surprise here) from the Discovery Channel and Network. Video, songs (450 "educational songs", .mp3 format, fully editable), sound effects (a ton), and images (over 20,000).
She also went on to talk about some non-Discovery sites such as Wordle and Blabberize among others.

Next came the keynote talk by Philippe Cousteau. Once again, a connection here is with Discovery Education. Philippe Cousteau. I believe his actual "position" with Discovery is: Animal Planet Chief Ocean Correspondent. It may go without saying that Mr. Cousteau is very charismatic and an extremely effective speaker. With his oceanic "calling card" it will also come as no surprise that his talk had an environmental focus with a great emphasis on how everything is so inter-connected. He clearly looked at all of us in the room and said that it's our responsibility to bring a strong awareness of the environment and the global responsibility to shepherd our Earth's future wisely. Another point he drove home is how everything we do is a choice, whether asking for "paper or plastic" at the supermarket or taking public transit instead of the car. I am not doing his talk justice here but I'll just reiterate that Mr. Cousteau was a terrific speaker and his talk was very well received.

(By the way, remembering that the theme of this year's NCCE was "Capture the Magic of Teaching and Learning", the warm-up act prior to Mr. Cousteau's keynote was an appearance by an honest-to-goodness magician. Unfortunately I've forgotten his name but he was very good!)

After lunch, I had my second three-hour workshop. The presenter was Jeff Miller. His topic was "Right-clicks, Tips & Tricks for Office 2007". I would have to admit being somewhat skeptical -- going into it -- that there could possibly be that many clicks/tricks/tips to occupy that much time. But, although there were a few "dry" spots, the number of things he showed us was 1) quite numerous, 2) appeared to offer many advantages of greater speed & efficiency, and 3) some were kinda amazing, as in "you can do *that* with a keyboard combo or right-click?" Jeff also provided a level of documentation that was both thorough and easy to understand and navigate. Plus he provided both a printed and electronic versions of all materials. He made it clear that these materials could freely be shared (with attribution, of course). Way too many tips/tricks to list here, but it was definitely worth the time.

NCCE 2010 -- Seattle -- Day 2

The main activity today was a gathering of IT and Administrators. The featured speaker was Hall Davidson. I've seen/heard Mr. Davidson once before and looked forward to this session. I was not disappointed. He remains the dynamic speaker I remember and he shared with us much information that was food for thought.

One aspect of his work more emphasized this time around than before is his connection with Discovery Education. He is one of the Discovery Educators on the Discovery Education Team. Given that Hall has this connection with Discovery Education and the biases that may go along with that connection, a number of the resources he showed us were, indeed, quite impressive. One outgrowth, therefore, of hearing his talk is my intention to delve more deeply into what Discovery Education may be able to offer my students and colleagues.

In no particular order, some of the other tools or ideas he touched on included:

1)iTunes University -- a resource used by a growing number of schools & university to post/offer coursework for students around the globe
2) The 3M Young Scientists Challenge
3) Polleverywhere.com -- giving and taking polls using your cellphone/smartphone to text answers......giving those in the "clicker" business something to have nightmares about!
4) Google Translate -- this service is getting better and better -- it's still free -- and the selection of languages keep growing, too.
5) Google Voice -- another free Google service changing the way we manage our phones and phone numbers
6) UStream.tv -- judging from the response from others in the room, I need to look into this one!
7) Discovery Education -- their home page......also something to delve into in the near future
8) Edmodo -- for teachers interested in a tool like Twitter but want a tool with more educational focus
9) .....and others

One of his pronouncements that he (I think) intentionally wanted to voice and see our reaction was regarding cellphones. He briefly recounted how most schools ban or tightly control their use at school. His advice: Let Them In! Have kids take polls using them. Have kids watch videos using them. Have kids surf the Web using them.

And -- no surprise here -- Hall invited us all to........follow him on Twitter!!! :-)

Following the presentation, we were able to roam around the room and hear mini-presenations about open source resources, check out the Amazon Kindle eReader, creating your own personal learning network, and a table with some netbooks and iTouch to try out (I brought my own iTouch).