I just shared this in Facebook, but realizing some folks don't like that Big Social Brother platform, I want to repost here:
I was really sharing the whole page at http://www.iste.org/connect/special-interest-groups.aspx and my status update went something like, "I don't care if you have to hold a bakesale for the annual membership dues. If you're an educator and you're not an ISTE member you're missing out on the richest connections the profession has to offer. Watch the brief video at this page to see and hear why. You'll likely see some very familiar faces!!!"
Coleen Kimball rocks with:
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Podcamp Nashville 2012 was a BLAST!
Well it was a hoot. Woot. I was so glad that my dear colleague Mike Terry made the jump into geekland with me and attended this annual free "unconference" down at Tequila Cowboy, a Lower Broadway Nashville bar that was formerly called Cadillac Ranch.
This seems a perfect venue for the event, and I'm putting Podcamp 2013 on my to-do list for next year. It was very very very very much the learning experience. I'm going to jot down a few observations here, but a quick scan of the sessions descriptions should whet your own appetite for next year. I would estimate the venue could handle roughly double the numbers attending yesterday and next year, your presence should count toward that total!
I was there right after the doors opened at 8am and quickly moved through the sidewalk registration table, strolled inside, picked up my lanyard and name tag and my little obligatory conference canvas bag (how many canvases had to die to create those, I wonder?). Inside were a program, a mini-Frisbee from magazines.com, a highlighter from metalmarketer.com, and a single flyer from ampadvocate marketing & printing. Yes, the main theme of this social media conference was, and will be forevermore, Marketing. The "M" word dominated most conversations, and I even twisted my own social media "wikiprezi" (I'll explain in a bit) to speak to that interest, though it was to become clear that the overriding theme behind both of my presentations was not-so-subtly the "E" word: Education.
Which brings me to a thought: maybe this fabulous event could be bolstered by the addition of Strands next year, eh? Education/Training being one of them, Marketing another, Social-social media another, Entrepreneurship another, and on and on to a total of 5 or 6. Fill in the blanks. Broadening the scope a bit might cross-pollinate both the audience and the presentation schedule toward enlarging the event? Just a thought.
I was gonna get all review-y in this post but I'm sensing it's long enough for today. Still, here are a few of my personal highlights.
I hit the session I registered for, Dave Delaney's SNIRL "Social Networking In Real Life." Since I was very late to the only 35 minute session, I have no idea what SNIRL means, but I'll note that his Tequila Lounge (I think the largest venue room) presentation was being finished in comfortable, bullet-point-backed style to a packed room, maybe a hundred or so? Dave's the author of http://www.davemadethat.com and I had met him at last year's Podcamp and all I've got to say is what a nice, genuine, real guy. His session served as a sort of a plea for folks to get out of their shells (a valid and valuable bit of advice to this crowd--all of us probably overcompensating for natively introvert personalities with all this social media fol-de-rol.) and talk to strangers at the unconference. Dave's the guy. I was honored and flatttered that he attended not only my scheduled session but the impromptu one Mike and I put up during the "Impromptu Sessions" 10:30 block.
I flitted from Memphisean (?) Dave Barger's enticingly entitled "NeuroMarketing: Consciously Grabbing your Subconscious" to Ross Jones's" predictably packed "How I Got Google to Pay Me $150,000" and enjoyed what I caught of both of those. I was anticipating the next session, though, so my focus was on that.
The third block of presentations had been left unscheduled and a cork board with 4x5 cards in the main bar set up for "Impromptu Sessions" with the understanding that anyone with a passion for something could sign up and present. I was, true to form, the first signup. Mike hadn't arrived but I had called him for buy-in before scrawling on the note: "MNPS Virtual School: High School? Online? Really?" When he arrived he added the by-line "Yes. This DOES exist!" and we were scheduled.
We'd had a very successful open house (which we offer monthly) at our school this past Thursday, and I suggested we just run from there. I'd scoped out the room earlier and reported a problem--the projector, out in the little room (capacity maybe 60) off the stage (drums set still on there, lol) had a VGA cable of about 3 feet in length. That meant that the presenter could not be onstage where 4 microphones on stands were mounted on tables and still run his/her presentation. That hadn't gotten fixed by the time we were on, so Mike set up his laptop and stood by the projector while I stood on stage. We displayed the http://vlearn.mnps.org website, talked about our passion for the project we dedicate all our waking hours to, shared how the course actually works, discussed challenges and successes, and all in all had a wonderful discussion with the 25 or so folks in attendance. This was a first step in what I know will be a long process, and it was well-taken, I opine. I tweeted at some point that Mike is our secret weapon and I mean it. He openly admits that "I will talk about this topic anytime," and that attitude will be absolutely valuable as we strive to overcome a fog of misinformation and flat-out obliviousness about the building of online learning options that work for our nearly 80,000 students here in Middle Tennessee. We're actually doing it. Stay tuned.
I chilled for the next block, adding some things to my wikiprezi and frantically attempting to will Second Life's Vivox voice issues (documented online that morning) to rectify themselves. I texted all 6 inworld panelists to work up notecards they could pop into text chat in case we had to fall back on that.
Lunch was a smallish chicken salad croissant, a bag of chips, a dollop of yogurt with a tablespoon of fruit, and a quarter coin sized cake-ish. Sustenance. I ate it thankfully, knowing my 15 dollars would help support the conference and also get me two drinks later.
I spent some minutes in a session called "The Singularity: Why the Future is Closer Than You Think" but it was kinda like three guys talking about change and I never really got the point, excepting change is faster today and good things are coming but might be brought about by very bad things. I would've loved to hear more about the concept's primary advocate, Ray Kurzweil. He's a wild genius, likely delusional but inarguably fascinating.
At the end of that session, I went back out and hit a recharge station to check on voice in SL and preload my wiki pages for fast display. I'm not sure where this concept came from, but weeks ago when I began looking for content for my session, I had decided to grab a few concepts in virtual worlds that might appeal to the marketing nature of the conference and I populate a wiki with them. Just a couple days ago I felt I had the content, but I intuited that me leafing through wiki pages was going to be a yawner for the audience. So I hit on the idea of a Prezi to use for driving the experience. It really really worked. I had logged into SL, checked voice and found it working, and discovered that two (and only two) of my six scheduled Panelists had arrived at ISTE SIGVE and were ready to go. That was really fine, actually, since we never would have had time for any in-depth share from all six, and I know that the ones who didn't show either 1) screwed up the time--a consistent problem when you're working across time zones; 2) had intervening family/IRL (In Real Life) issues; or 3) just plain forgot. I still love them all and as I shared with my audience, the attendees can learn about all of them from checking out the wiki in depth on their own time ticket. I made sure to populate that with all kinds of resources. 35 minutes? Are you kidding? All good.
The two avatar/friends who did show up for the Panel each did beautiful, brief, and effective descriptions of their own work in Virtual Worlds. Spiff Whitfield/Andy Wheelock, my best bud in ISTE SIGVE, shared his fun and engaging Virtual Pioneers and his impressive work with the ReactionGrid Opesimulator build of Anne Frank's house for students and more at Islands of Enlightenment, as well as a couple new projects that have his attention, and Pecos Kidd; came in to sub for Gentle Heron, describing their invaluable contribution in the creation and ongoing service that Virtual Ability, Inc. brings to those of disability, enabling hundreds of community members to speak, dance, and even fly no matter what physical conditions life has dealt them. Nice, nice, nice work.
I'm done here, since after my "Virtual Worlds: What's in Them for YOU?" session I caught just about half of the packed (again, predicably) "Are You Pinsane? Pinning for Purpose & Profit on Pinterest" (who knew that the demographic shows only 13% male pinners?) panel, led by the enjoyably personable Janet Wallace and hurried home to be with my own family IRL. I want to thank the sponsors and the facilitators and the attendees of Podcamp Nashville 2012 and leave you with my fairly cool new concept, the "wikiprezi!" Peace.
This seems a perfect venue for the event, and I'm putting Podcamp 2013 on my to-do list for next year. It was very very very very much the learning experience. I'm going to jot down a few observations here, but a quick scan of the sessions descriptions should whet your own appetite for next year. I would estimate the venue could handle roughly double the numbers attending yesterday and next year, your presence should count toward that total!
I was there right after the doors opened at 8am and quickly moved through the sidewalk registration table, strolled inside, picked up my lanyard and name tag and my little obligatory conference canvas bag (how many canvases had to die to create those, I wonder?). Inside were a program, a mini-Frisbee from magazines.com, a highlighter from metalmarketer.com, and a single flyer from ampadvocate marketing & printing. Yes, the main theme of this social media conference was, and will be forevermore, Marketing. The "M" word dominated most conversations, and I even twisted my own social media "wikiprezi" (I'll explain in a bit) to speak to that interest, though it was to become clear that the overriding theme behind both of my presentations was not-so-subtly the "E" word: Education.
Which brings me to a thought: maybe this fabulous event could be bolstered by the addition of Strands next year, eh? Education/Training being one of them, Marketing another, Social-social media another, Entrepreneurship another, and on and on to a total of 5 or 6. Fill in the blanks. Broadening the scope a bit might cross-pollinate both the audience and the presentation schedule toward enlarging the event? Just a thought.
I was gonna get all review-y in this post but I'm sensing it's long enough for today. Still, here are a few of my personal highlights.
I hit the session I registered for, Dave Delaney's SNIRL "Social Networking In Real Life." Since I was very late to the only 35 minute session, I have no idea what SNIRL means, but I'll note that his Tequila Lounge (I think the largest venue room) presentation was being finished in comfortable, bullet-point-backed style to a packed room, maybe a hundred or so? Dave's the author of http://www.davemadethat.com and I had met him at last year's Podcamp and all I've got to say is what a nice, genuine, real guy. His session served as a sort of a plea for folks to get out of their shells (a valid and valuable bit of advice to this crowd--all of us probably overcompensating for natively introvert personalities with all this social media fol-de-rol.) and talk to strangers at the unconference. Dave's the guy. I was honored and flatttered that he attended not only my scheduled session but the impromptu one Mike and I put up during the "Impromptu Sessions" 10:30 block.
I flitted from Memphisean (?) Dave Barger's enticingly entitled "NeuroMarketing: Consciously Grabbing your Subconscious" to Ross Jones's" predictably packed "How I Got Google to Pay Me $150,000" and enjoyed what I caught of both of those. I was anticipating the next session, though, so my focus was on that.
The third block of presentations had been left unscheduled and a cork board with 4x5 cards in the main bar set up for "Impromptu Sessions" with the understanding that anyone with a passion for something could sign up and present. I was, true to form, the first signup. Mike hadn't arrived but I had called him for buy-in before scrawling on the note: "MNPS Virtual School: High School? Online? Really?" When he arrived he added the by-line "Yes. This DOES exist!" and we were scheduled.
We'd had a very successful open house (which we offer monthly) at our school this past Thursday, and I suggested we just run from there. I'd scoped out the room earlier and reported a problem--the projector, out in the little room (capacity maybe 60) off the stage (drums set still on there, lol) had a VGA cable of about 3 feet in length. That meant that the presenter could not be onstage where 4 microphones on stands were mounted on tables and still run his/her presentation. That hadn't gotten fixed by the time we were on, so Mike set up his laptop and stood by the projector while I stood on stage. We displayed the http://vlearn.mnps.org website, talked about our passion for the project we dedicate all our waking hours to, shared how the course actually works, discussed challenges and successes, and all in all had a wonderful discussion with the 25 or so folks in attendance. This was a first step in what I know will be a long process, and it was well-taken, I opine. I tweeted at some point that Mike is our secret weapon and I mean it. He openly admits that "I will talk about this topic anytime," and that attitude will be absolutely valuable as we strive to overcome a fog of misinformation and flat-out obliviousness about the building of online learning options that work for our nearly 80,000 students here in Middle Tennessee. We're actually doing it. Stay tuned.
I chilled for the next block, adding some things to my wikiprezi and frantically attempting to will Second Life's Vivox voice issues (documented online that morning) to rectify themselves. I texted all 6 inworld panelists to work up notecards they could pop into text chat in case we had to fall back on that.
Lunch was a smallish chicken salad croissant, a bag of chips, a dollop of yogurt with a tablespoon of fruit, and a quarter coin sized cake-ish. Sustenance. I ate it thankfully, knowing my 15 dollars would help support the conference and also get me two drinks later.
I spent some minutes in a session called "The Singularity: Why the Future is Closer Than You Think" but it was kinda like three guys talking about change and I never really got the point, excepting change is faster today and good things are coming but might be brought about by very bad things. I would've loved to hear more about the concept's primary advocate, Ray Kurzweil. He's a wild genius, likely delusional but inarguably fascinating.
At the end of that session, I went back out and hit a recharge station to check on voice in SL and preload my wiki pages for fast display. I'm not sure where this concept came from, but weeks ago when I began looking for content for my session, I had decided to grab a few concepts in virtual worlds that might appeal to the marketing nature of the conference and I populate a wiki with them. Just a couple days ago I felt I had the content, but I intuited that me leafing through wiki pages was going to be a yawner for the audience. So I hit on the idea of a Prezi to use for driving the experience. It really really worked. I had logged into SL, checked voice and found it working, and discovered that two (and only two) of my six scheduled Panelists had arrived at ISTE SIGVE and were ready to go. That was really fine, actually, since we never would have had time for any in-depth share from all six, and I know that the ones who didn't show either 1) screwed up the time--a consistent problem when you're working across time zones; 2) had intervening family/IRL (In Real Life) issues; or 3) just plain forgot. I still love them all and as I shared with my audience, the attendees can learn about all of them from checking out the wiki in depth on their own time ticket. I made sure to populate that with all kinds of resources. 35 minutes? Are you kidding? All good.
The two avatar/friends who did show up for the Panel each did beautiful, brief, and effective descriptions of their own work in Virtual Worlds. Spiff Whitfield/Andy Wheelock, my best bud in ISTE SIGVE, shared his fun and engaging Virtual Pioneers and his impressive work with the ReactionGrid Opesimulator build of Anne Frank's house for students and more at Islands of Enlightenment, as well as a couple new projects that have his attention, and Pecos Kidd; came in to sub for Gentle Heron, describing their invaluable contribution in the creation and ongoing service that Virtual Ability, Inc. brings to those of disability, enabling hundreds of community members to speak, dance, and even fly no matter what physical conditions life has dealt them. Nice, nice, nice work.
I'm done here, since after my "Virtual Worlds: What's in Them for YOU?" session I caught just about half of the packed (again, predicably) "Are You Pinsane? Pinning for Purpose & Profit on Pinterest" (who knew that the demographic shows only 13% male pinners?) panel, led by the enjoyably personable Janet Wallace and hurried home to be with my own family IRL. I want to thank the sponsors and the facilitators and the attendees of Podcamp Nashville 2012 and leave you with my fairly cool new concept, the "wikiprezi!" Peace.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
SocialLearningSummit 2012--Free Learning!
Very cool:
As if Podcamp Nashville 2012 on April 14 won't fill you up, the very next Saturday, April 21, online in the Blackboard Collaborate platform, you can learn all you care to learn about Social Media in the service of learning and teaching.
There will be 41 different sessions during the course of the day, and I won't share the whole listing, but you can get a good notion of how it's going to go with just the first few session descriptions:
As if Podcamp Nashville 2012 on April 14 won't fill you up, the very next Saturday, April 21, online in the Blackboard Collaborate platform, you can learn all you care to learn about Social Media in the service of learning and teaching.
There will be 41 different sessions during the course of the day, and I won't share the whole listing, but you can get a good notion of how it's going to go with just the first few session descriptions:
Social Networking for Teacher Education
Leigh A. Hall; Associate Professor of Literacy Studies School, Library, or Organization Name: University of North Caro…
Using VoiceThreads to Teach College Literature Courses
Vicki Phillips School, Library, or Organization Name: Rasmussen College Co-Presenter Name(s):
The New Newsletter
Brad Wilson, 4th Grade Teacher School, Library, or Organization Name: Lakeshore Public Schools
Leveraging the Power of Social Media in the Classroom
Elaine Plybon School, Library, or Organization Name: Jack E. Singley Academy and MacArthur High School, Irving ISD
Read more about the Social Learning Summit!
Read more about the Social Learning Summit!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
MNPS Virtual School's New Principal!
Metro Nashville Public Schools announced yesterday that it had selected a new Principal for our MNPS Virtual School who will begin working with us April 9! The tiny but capable, earnest, tight-knit team here, who have been working together daily for a year and a half to bring online learning options to the students of Metro Nashville and Davidson County, find ourselves completely elated to welcome Dr. James Witty to our team.
Dr. Witty brings extensive policy making and programs oversight experience to our school and his experience with nontraditional schools at the State level will lend significant added value to our endeavors. We met with him in person at the School last week and he was most appreciative of the progress we have made, while clearly set on making strides that will result in a new model of virtual learning that will be a national one. First impressions are stellar ones, and we couldn't be more pleased with Dr. Register's selection of him as our new leader.
Meanwhile, we are supporting our students and teachers in every way we can, moving into the final 8 weeks of our first year as a school, toward graduating our first class of seniors on May 21st (though as a program we did send 7 seniors from our Virtual Learning Program out into the collegiate world last year).
Look for amazing things in 2012-13!
From the media release: “I am extremely excited to be a part of the innovative work of the Virtual School,” says Witty. “I have dedicated my career to working on behalf of nontraditional learners. As MNPS continues to expand the number of pathways for students to earn a high school diploma, I am humbled to be a part of this innovative and important work. I look forward to leading the dynamic team at the Virtual School and making the school a national model.”
Dr. Witty brings extensive policy making and programs oversight experience to our school and his experience with nontraditional schools at the State level will lend significant added value to our endeavors. We met with him in person at the School last week and he was most appreciative of the progress we have made, while clearly set on making strides that will result in a new model of virtual learning that will be a national one. First impressions are stellar ones, and we couldn't be more pleased with Dr. Register's selection of him as our new leader.
Meanwhile, we are supporting our students and teachers in every way we can, moving into the final 8 weeks of our first year as a school, toward graduating our first class of seniors on May 21st (though as a program we did send 7 seniors from our Virtual Learning Program out into the collegiate world last year).
Look for amazing things in 2012-13!
From the media release: “I am extremely excited to be a part of the innovative work of the Virtual School,” says Witty. “I have dedicated my career to working on behalf of nontraditional learners. As MNPS continues to expand the number of pathways for students to earn a high school diploma, I am humbled to be a part of this innovative and important work. I look forward to leading the dynamic team at the Virtual School and making the school a national model.”
Friday, March 23, 2012
Podcamp Nashville 2012!
Hey, y'all,
I am sooooo looking forward to sharing some of my insights (yes, I do have a few) from what I would say is my mixed bag of avocational and professional experiences in virtual three dimensional worlds at Podcamp Nashville 2012. You could help me out by visiting my session description and signing up to attend--I'd be beholden.
So would my avatar(s).
The schedule is not set in stone yet, either onsite or virtually, so you're not so much committing as you are indicating that, "Hey, this looks like something I could learn from!"
Did you know that there is a fully online distance learning high school where students attend as avatars and are assessed based on their creations within the 3D world? Did you have any inkling that the "biggest" virtual world reports over 250 million users? Or that that the recognized research authority lists the top 15 virtual world platforms and that the one most often referenced as the keystone, Linden Lab's Second Life, is not anywhere on that list? Do you know anyone who has met their life partner in a virtual world? Anyone who has ruined a relationship "in real life" by pursuing one "inworld?" I do.
Do you know that virtual economies often are linked to real ones for major real income?" What about this arena's incredible potential for training and professional development? How about those 6000+ educators who have joined the Second Life Group for the International Society for Technology in Education?
What about its potential to enhance the lives of physically challenged people? Those who cannot walk--can fly.
We'll cover as much of this as we can during "Virtual Worlds: What's in them for You?" at Podcamp Nashville 2012, with a panel of real people who are driving avatars in real time. The time has come for you to begin enhancing your work with play.
Can't make it down to Cadillac Ranch on Saturday, April 14? Come into Second Life to ISTE SIGVE, the new home of the ISTE Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments. Either way, do take a minute to Sign Up at the Sessions site! While you're there, look over all the sessions! I'll be doing some live-blogging whilst not in my own session. Make a request for me to live-blog a session for you by commenting on this post!
So would my avatar(s).
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| ISTE Field Trip to Reaction Grid, 2010 |
The schedule is not set in stone yet, either onsite or virtually, so you're not so much committing as you are indicating that, "Hey, this looks like something I could learn from!"
Did you know that there is a fully online distance learning high school where students attend as avatars and are assessed based on their creations within the 3D world? Did you have any inkling that the "biggest" virtual world reports over 250 million users? Or that that the recognized research authority lists the top 15 virtual world platforms and that the one most often referenced as the keystone, Linden Lab's Second Life, is not anywhere on that list? Do you know anyone who has met their life partner in a virtual world? Anyone who has ruined a relationship "in real life" by pursuing one "inworld?" I do.
Do you know that virtual economies often are linked to real ones for major real income?" What about this arena's incredible potential for training and professional development? How about those 6000+ educators who have joined the Second Life Group for the International Society for Technology in Education?
What about its potential to enhance the lives of physically challenged people? Those who cannot walk--can fly.
We'll cover as much of this as we can during "Virtual Worlds: What's in them for You?" at Podcamp Nashville 2012, with a panel of real people who are driving avatars in real time. The time has come for you to begin enhancing your work with play.
Can't make it down to Cadillac Ranch on Saturday, April 14? Come into Second Life to ISTE SIGVE, the new home of the ISTE Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments. Either way, do take a minute to Sign Up at the Sessions site! While you're there, look over all the sessions! I'll be doing some live-blogging whilst not in my own session. Make a request for me to live-blog a session for you by commenting on this post!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
ISTE Senior Director of Education Leadership -- call to apply
ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, is on the hunt for a top-tier educational thought leader who is primed to lead, inspire, and impact the lives of educators worldwide in the years to come. This new Senior Director of Education Leadership will help forge the future of ISTE's education services, products, and resources and become an essential part of the ISTE Leadership Team. Preference will be given to strategic thinkers and skilled implementers, who understand key concepts behind transformative leadership at the systems level, including practical application throughout the K–12 education enterprise.
Consideration will be given to applicants with an active and current national (preferably global) network of leading educators. Specific knowledge about the delivery and measurement of effective professional learning experiences, demonstrated credibility in the field of education, and a passion for remaining current with digital age learning and teaching skills are a must. ISTE seeks applicants with outstanding internal and external communications skills and a strong track record of turning strategic ideas into positive results. ISTE's Senior Director of Education Leadership will be responsible for leveraging ISTE services, products, and resources to achieve consistent and predictable revenue targets to fuel the organization and increase the reach of its mission globally. Identifying and driving new opportunities and alliances for content creation, curation, and dissemination will serve as the cornerstone of this visible position. For more information on this position, which is located in Eugene, Oregon, please visit http://www.iste.org/hr.
Consideration will be given to applicants with an active and current national (preferably global) network of leading educators. Specific knowledge about the delivery and measurement of effective professional learning experiences, demonstrated credibility in the field of education, and a passion for remaining current with digital age learning and teaching skills are a must. ISTE seeks applicants with outstanding internal and external communications skills and a strong track record of turning strategic ideas into positive results. ISTE's Senior Director of Education Leadership will be responsible for leveraging ISTE services, products, and resources to achieve consistent and predictable revenue targets to fuel the organization and increase the reach of its mission globally. Identifying and driving new opportunities and alliances for content creation, curation, and dissemination will serve as the cornerstone of this visible position. For more information on this position, which is located in Eugene, Oregon, please visit http://www.iste.org/hr.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
ISTE SIG Leadership Positions Election Now Open!
For those of you who are members of ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, I want to share the ballot for Special Interest Groups positions in the ongoing election, which closes April 12. Here's the announcement from ISTE, along with a list of the candidates for SIG positions (links disabled, but enabled at the ISTE voting site).
I am pleased with the opportunity to serve SIGOL, the Special Interest Group for Online Learning, and especially to be in the company of such a big ticket of talented educators. I won't be doing a lot of campaigning for this position, choosing rather to let nature take its course with the confidence that any one of these ISTE members, many of whom are friends, will do a bang-up job as Professional Development Chair for SIGOL.
April 08, 2010
Calling all ISTE members! If you haven't yet chosen your preferred candidates in the ISTE board elections, please review the voter's guide and cast your ballot by 5 pm pacific/8 pm eastern on April 12. Make your voice heard!
2010 ISTE Board Elections
 | The 2010 ISTE Board Elections are open March 11-April 12, 2010, at 5 P.M. (Pacific Time). Election results will be announced at the end of April on ISTE's Web site. ISTE thanks every member who took time to vote in this year's election. Voting is for ISTE Members only. Vote now through April 12
Voting is open to ISTE members only, so join now to make your voice heard! Read more about the candidates for each open position in the voter's guide (members only, login required).
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Administrators
(SIGAdmin) Communications Officer
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Dodie Ainslie
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Gerald Aungst
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Jaime Lassman
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Administrators (SIGAdmin) Vice Chair
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Raluca Diana
Bidulescu
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Stacy Hawthorne
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Vicky Creasy
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Innovative Learning Technologies (SIGILT) Professional Development Chair
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Jon Knolle
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Kimberly Ingram
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Innovative Learning Technologies (SIGILT) Member at Large
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Bill Bass
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Stacy Hawthorne
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Vicky Creasy
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Innovative Learning Technologies (SIGILT) Chair Elect
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Gayle Berthiaume
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Yasemin Allsop
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Online Learning (SIGOL) Professional Development Chair
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David Deeds
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Elaine Plybon
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John Ross
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Jon Knolle
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Kimberly Ingram
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Rebecca Kelly
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Robert Cole
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Scott Merrick
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Tara Park
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Techer Educators (SIGTE) Membership Involvement Coordinator
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Kimberly LaPrairie
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Laurie Fowler
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Susan Williams
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Teacher Educators (SIGTE) Communications Officer
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Blanche O'Bannon
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Mia Williams
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Randy Hansen
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Friday, March 09, 2012
Changes at Virtual School
Today is the last day for our Coordinator/Acting Principal's tenure at MNPS Virtual School. Our staff is now comprised of a full-time Specialist (moi), a full-time Senior Secretary, a 10-month Registrar, and a 10-month Counselor. A Principal's position has been posted to replace our lost colleague, whom we will all miss. Until then, it's "just us chilrens here" (sic).
We're serving 49 Full-Time students this semester. We serve 152 "Hybrid" students, those taking one or more online classes with us and our Adjunct Faculty of 18 teachers while attending their bricks-and-mortar schools for a school day. These numbers represent exponential service growth by a factor of 3 over the Fall semester and we believe will continue to grow exponentially as we look to the future in school year 2012-13. Most of them are High-Schoolers, but we have pockets of Middle Schoolers taking Algebra I at their schools with our teacher and our curriculum and one Full-Time "beta" Middle Schooler. There's a lot of juggling going on.
Yesterday, we held an "Open House" for interested parties and several folks showed up, surprisingly none who did so because they were investigating the options for their own children. They were each from professional fields who came because they just wanted to see what it was all about. I found myself starting from the basics of our work and explaining in detail how things worked, to the point of actually demonstrating the courseware on the LED projector. This got me thinking.
We need some marketing. Despite some prominent--and more or less accurate--news coverage a while back (see the News page at our school's website), the overwhelmingly prevalent response when we mention what we do is a perplexed expression accompanied by something on the order of "Wait. You're a real school?" It doesn't matter what the demographic of the audience is: No one really knows what we do but us. Well, us and the students, parents, and in-school representatives, mostly Counselors, whom we serve.
This has to change. I'm wondering what other virtual schools are doing to help bridge the gap between the traditional understanding of what school is and the understanding of the revisions our work brings to the definition of "school." I'm planning to reach out in several ways to my Professional Learning Communities/Networks over the next week or so with that question. We could use your help. If you have some knowledge of ways this "understanding gap" is being bridged, please share; or if you think you know someone who knows something about this set of issues, please pass this post along. Thanks, and have a great weekend!!!
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| MNPS Virtual School on the 3rd floor of Cohn Adult Learning Center |
We're serving 49 Full-Time students this semester. We serve 152 "Hybrid" students, those taking one or more online classes with us and our Adjunct Faculty of 18 teachers while attending their bricks-and-mortar schools for a school day. These numbers represent exponential service growth by a factor of 3 over the Fall semester and we believe will continue to grow exponentially as we look to the future in school year 2012-13. Most of them are High-Schoolers, but we have pockets of Middle Schoolers taking Algebra I at their schools with our teacher and our curriculum and one Full-Time "beta" Middle Schooler. There's a lot of juggling going on.
Yesterday, we held an "Open House" for interested parties and several folks showed up, surprisingly none who did so because they were investigating the options for their own children. They were each from professional fields who came because they just wanted to see what it was all about. I found myself starting from the basics of our work and explaining in detail how things worked, to the point of actually demonstrating the courseware on the LED projector. This got me thinking.
We need some marketing. Despite some prominent--and more or less accurate--news coverage a while back (see the News page at our school's website), the overwhelmingly prevalent response when we mention what we do is a perplexed expression accompanied by something on the order of "Wait. You're a real school?" It doesn't matter what the demographic of the audience is: No one really knows what we do but us. Well, us and the students, parents, and in-school representatives, mostly Counselors, whom we serve.
This has to change. I'm wondering what other virtual schools are doing to help bridge the gap between the traditional understanding of what school is and the understanding of the revisions our work brings to the definition of "school." I'm planning to reach out in several ways to my Professional Learning Communities/Networks over the next week or so with that question. We could use your help. If you have some knowledge of ways this "understanding gap" is being bridged, please share; or if you think you know someone who knows something about this set of issues, please pass this post along. Thanks, and have a great weekend!!!
Monday, March 05, 2012
Social Exclusion
My pal Kevin Jarrett recently asked me for a copy of an image I snapped on the way to NSA with my son Colin last week. BTW, Kevin has an excellent educational blog and Colin will be releasing a 4 original song EP in the next month or so. Both those individuals bear following wherever you may find them.
I sent him the picture and he turned it into a stunning statement about bullying. I republish here toward sharing with as broad an audience as possible. Feel free to pass it around...
I sent him the picture and he turned it into a stunning statement about bullying. I republish here toward sharing with as broad an audience as possible. Feel free to pass it around...
Friday, February 17, 2012
 
Pick up LIVES as a downloadable .pdf or Market Paperback printed and delivered to your door!
| NEWS FLASH! For the duration of the Merry Month of February, you can purchase Lives at a substantial discount! Purchase Lives or any other title with 30% off with coupon code FEBRUARYCART305USD. Lulu incurs the cost of this discount, so it does not impact the proceeds to the author.
Also available:
Ebook:
$1.25 |
Saturday, February 11, 2012
My Mantra
I have been thinking recently that I should share this and so here it is: my mantra.
What's a mantra, you may ask?
Well I'm not going the wikipedia route here, though you certainly may, if you wish, to check my definition. Here's the story. I was first introduced to the concept in 1970 when the University of Tennessee campus was visited by a representative from the Maharishi Mahish Yogi. I was with my first wife then, having been hitched up at the age of 19, and after purifying our bodies of alcohol, drugs, and other contaminants for two weeks, we met this person at a hotel in downtown Knoxville, presented a handkerchief and a fruit offering according to instructions, and spent, individually, an hour or so being introduced to the practice of Transcendental Meditation. I practiced this for a year or so until I left it off in the pursuit of other enlightenments. I think, actually, that it was becoming socially difficult for me to remain pure in that way, and perhaps that I was afraid of becoming just as "realized" as I felt I was becoming. It scared me.
Anyway, during that initiation, I was given my very first mantra, an utterable sound that I was told was mine and mine alone. I was cautioned that I should never share it with anyone and led in a very very practiced way to take it from audibly perceivable to internally mine. Here it is: "aieng." I can still see that wizened, long gray bearded, dark-skinned guru as he spoke it, and I repeated it, and he repeated me repeating it, and so on, as he guided it with repetition of diminishing volume and emphasis until I was repeating it silently within my mind. At some point he gently guided me out of my silent self-immersion and back into the world. My mantra had been planted. My wife was next, and I sat peacefully in the front room of the small hotel suite knowing she was receiving her own mantra from this learned, wise, and graceful guru in the back room, just as I had.
Years later, after she had left me for a bank vice president and I revisited the house that we had bought in Knoxville, Tennessee for what remained of my possessions, we mentioned that time and spoke aloud our mantras. Hers was, in retrospect not surprisingly, identical to mine.
That her mantra was also mine did not contaminate my mantra for me. It has come in handy many times, and when I could not sleep or felt unsettled in the world, I have oftened returned to meditation and to that mantra. I have also done some reading about different forms of meditation, and understanding that mantras could be real, actual words led me to create a new mantra. It is this one that I want to share with you today.
These days, when I find myself distracted by grief over lost ones, or worried about young ones, or somehow I feel I just need to find my lost center, I repeat, inside, never aloud, my new mantra. It's simple:
What's a mantra, you may ask?
Well I'm not going the wikipedia route here, though you certainly may, if you wish, to check my definition. Here's the story. I was first introduced to the concept in 1970 when the University of Tennessee campus was visited by a representative from the Maharishi Mahish Yogi. I was with my first wife then, having been hitched up at the age of 19, and after purifying our bodies of alcohol, drugs, and other contaminants for two weeks, we met this person at a hotel in downtown Knoxville, presented a handkerchief and a fruit offering according to instructions, and spent, individually, an hour or so being introduced to the practice of Transcendental Meditation. I practiced this for a year or so until I left it off in the pursuit of other enlightenments. I think, actually, that it was becoming socially difficult for me to remain pure in that way, and perhaps that I was afraid of becoming just as "realized" as I felt I was becoming. It scared me.
Anyway, during that initiation, I was given my very first mantra, an utterable sound that I was told was mine and mine alone. I was cautioned that I should never share it with anyone and led in a very very practiced way to take it from audibly perceivable to internally mine. Here it is: "aieng." I can still see that wizened, long gray bearded, dark-skinned guru as he spoke it, and I repeated it, and he repeated me repeating it, and so on, as he guided it with repetition of diminishing volume and emphasis until I was repeating it silently within my mind. At some point he gently guided me out of my silent self-immersion and back into the world. My mantra had been planted. My wife was next, and I sat peacefully in the front room of the small hotel suite knowing she was receiving her own mantra from this learned, wise, and graceful guru in the back room, just as I had.
Years later, after she had left me for a bank vice president and I revisited the house that we had bought in Knoxville, Tennessee for what remained of my possessions, we mentioned that time and spoke aloud our mantras. Hers was, in retrospect not surprisingly, identical to mine.
That her mantra was also mine did not contaminate my mantra for me. It has come in handy many times, and when I could not sleep or felt unsettled in the world, I have oftened returned to meditation and to that mantra. I have also done some reading about different forms of meditation, and understanding that mantras could be real, actual words led me to create a new mantra. It is this one that I want to share with you today.
These days, when I find myself distracted by grief over lost ones, or worried about young ones, or somehow I feel I just need to find my lost center, I repeat, inside, never aloud, my new mantra. It's simple:
I am good I am well I am happy I am healthy I am whole
over and over again until I find myself--well, feeling more good, well, happy, healthy, and whole.
It works for me. Maybe it will for you. I share it for that reason. You can read more about Transcendental Meditation at tm.org. And that wikipedia article I promised not to cite is really a pretty good read. I lied. Namaste.
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