ISTE 2013 -- Post3: SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground Overview and Schedule

Let's talk about the Playground.

First, it's important to remember that the ISTE SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground has been a feature of the huge annual conference hosted by the Mother Ship, the International Society for Technology in Education, since 2007, when it was called the "Second Life Lounge." How many years will it have been held once we convene our annual meeting at 5:15 pm on Tuesday, June 25 in the San Antonio Convention Center? Seven, by my count.

I'm not going to outline the history of this event here, because that's been done (albeit in pieces--maybe we do need to pull all that together, hmmmm) elsewhere. Suffice it to say that it's appeared in many configurations, from a three-day series in which we hosted 35 back to back presentations with no transition time on two "stages" to a single day event (see http://sigve.iste.wikispaces.net/Virtual+Environments+Playground+2012+Schedule for last year's events schedule), to this year's half day event. We've always tried to keep it exciting and dynamic because its topic, how educators are using virtual worlds for learning and teaching) is so.

This year, we have 3 and a half hours to work our magic. Will this limited "supply" and the unknown quantity of "demand" for information about virtual worlds in education serve to bring us a new batch of interested educators or will it thrust us into the shadows amidst the hundreds of concurrent events at a conference which can draw tens of thousands of education-field attendees? Who knows.

What we do know is that we are shaking it up this year. The format has morphed into one that will certainly be a challenge to maintain and present, but will as certainly provide a show.

This year, we are hosting six Learning Stations, and they will each be ongoing the entire span of the 3 1/2 hour ISTE SIGVE Virtual Environments Playground. Each will also be "personed" by a recognized thought leader in the use of each of the themed topics. Each will be featured at a more or less certain time slot at our main presentation area, via an ongoing Google Hangout onscreen, hosted and facilitated by Lowly High Grand Poobah (Chair) Elect, Kae Novak. These stations and their facilitators (the first name in each list is the primary facilitator and the estimated Hangout feature time is in parentheses) are:

1. Second Life! Scott Merrick, Andy Wheelock, with others (tentatively 1:30 ti 1:55)
2. Quest Atlantis/Active Worlds! Bronwyn Stuckey, with others (tentatively 2:00-2:25)
2. WoW/Games! Peggy Sheehy, with others (tentatively 2:30-2:55)
4. Madly Miscellaneous! Cynthia Colongne, Gord Holden (remotely from Canada), with others (tentatively 3:00-3:25)
5. OpenSimulator! Andy Wheelock, Kitely's Ilan Tochner remotely from Israel), with others (tentatively 3:30-3:55)
6. MInecraft! Marianne Malmstrom, with others (tentatively 4:00-4:25)
Following the Playground we will hold our Annual Meeting in the same space, from 5:15 to 6:45.

The event along with others during the ISTE Conference, will be streamed into Second Life at our ISTE SIGVE HQ at http://tinyurl.com/sigvehome and live on YouTube via the Google Hangout. In Second Life, our stalwart Gridjumper, Beth Ghostraven, and Bluebarker Lowtide, will be holding down the fort. This global share of ISTE is something we've done for years now, so if you can't be there, or even if you are at another session at the Conference and want to see what we're up to, join us at HQ. See you there, one way or another!

ISTE 2013 -- Post2: Exercise Ramblings

I apparently lied to you when I said I'd blog daily. It just got very busy at work and frankly, I forgot that in the last post I promised to do so. So here is random blog post in preparation for ISTE 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. We'll be flying in on Saturday.

Let's talk about exercise.

I begin most mornings on my trusty Body Power Recumbent Bike, purchased at around half price from Woot.com a year ago April, and I began documenting my "workouts" (I put that in quotes because I've rigged a laptop stand across the handlebars and sometimes the event is less active than others, though most times I do work up a sweat) with a Google Form I created. I set up six cells with formulas to keep a running total of the following:

Time in minutes    Miles        Calories
11617:51:48          2695.78    93725.26

And yes, those are actual totals,, logged since March 8, 2012. When I hit 4030 miles I plan to celebrate, because I will have biked the equivalent of the distance from my home in Nashville, Tennessee to Anchorage, Alaska.

A month or two ago I got a little smarter and added some 1 pound hand weights and I do reps of curls and presses with two of them together with each arm, hoping to rebuild or at least maintain some muscle as I get older (with any luck). I do my age plus one each set of reps, so it's, yes, 64 of each, sometimes as many sets as three each arm (when I'm feeling I need the extra challenge). I've been logging those in a comments section, but as I write this I realize I should set up extra fields and record those like the other data, as an added incentive to do them regularly.

When I travel, I maintain my habit of rising early and either running or hitting the hotel exercise room. I even used the gym on our anniversary cruise back in March. When I do run, I don't run like I used to: When I lived in Los Gatos decades ago I would run around 40 miles a week and punctuate every run with sprints. My old knees don't like that anymore, so I run a little-old-man jog, but I feel that's better than not running at all. I'll be little-old-man jogging by the Alamo next week in the mornings, and through the suburbs of Lake Conroe the following weekend, so if you see that sad spectacle, say hi. It's only me.

ISTE 2013 -- Post1: Anticipation (Free Hugs)

Yes, I am hearing Carly Simon's classic foreplay song in my head. You can listen to it as you read by clicking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibSelIFBR8s .

I've not been blogging so much of late. I hereby play the Work card. We've been so busy all my writing has been in emails of support, help tickets, and communication with our small but mighty team at MNPS Virtual School, related to our Summer Success 2013 program, in which over 200 public school students are earning half credits (or more, if they are dedicated, and many are!) toward catching up or accelerating their education and earning their high school diplomas.

Our Team of 5: Sherry Hill, Scott Merrick, Adrienne McNew, Dr. James Witty, and Michael Terry

 That's the team, above. Sherry's holding down the fort and the rest of us are staying connected via the magic of the internetz, but will be in San Antonio. If you see any of us at any time, say hi!

I'm also working behind the scenes to help make ISTE 2013 the very best ever.

All that said, I hereby pledge to blog every day from now until I finish my fishing expedition to Lake Conroe, and hopefully doing so will get me back into the habit (including the fishing days will give me time to reflect and also to write about things not ISTE). Let's see [opens calendar], they say if you do a task correctly 26 times in a row you can unlearn the wrong habits. Well. That will be only 15 blog posts, but maybe that will suffice in collusion with my immensely good intentions.

To start, I want to share my schedule in San Antonio with you. Many of these scheduled events, done so at http://isteconference.org using the facile "Conference Planner" are in conflict, time-wise, but it's my strategy to get everything I hope to attend in hand on my iPhone, and then to pick and choose in the moment. I'm still working on it and I will update here as I do my revisions. Meanwhile:

 ISTE's Annual Conference & Exposition, June 23-26, 2013 Planner

for Scott Merrick
Note: Free Hugs, come and get 'em (not speaking for my team, but I'm in)!

Saturday, June 22
----------------------------------------------------------------
6:30pm-8:30pm
Core Volunter Social--by invitation
Ballroom Bowie, Grand Hyatt (next to the convention center)
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Sunday, June 23
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9:00am-12:00pm
Epic Leadership: Beyond the Hype of Gamification
Grand Hyatt Texas Ballroom A
NOTES: Registration Received, co-facilitate
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:00pm-1:00pm
Making IT Happen Reception
Adjacent to EPIC event
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:00pm-6:00pm
Presenter's World Hours
Registration West
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:00pm-5:00pm
Global Education Summit
SACC 103A
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3:00pm-5:00pm
SIG Open House -- both SIGOL and SIGVE
SACC Tower View Lobby
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5:45pm-7:00pm
Learning is an Epic Win
SACC Hall A
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7:00pm-8:00pm
Opening Social
SACC Tower View Lobby
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:30pm-10:30pm
President's Reception--by invitation
Grand Hyatt Texas Ballroom Foyer

----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, June 24
----------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am-6:00pm
Presenter's World Hours
Registration West
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:00am-9:30am
SIGOL Forum: Connect, Collaborate, and Create with a MOOC!
SACC 103A
NOTES: Speaking Engagement, co-facilitate
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:00am-12:00pm
SIGOL (Online Learning) Annual Meeting
SACC 102
NOTES: Speaking Engagement, accept VP position
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:30am-1:30pm
Volunteer Leadership Lunch--by invitation
San Antonio Conference Center, Lonesome Dove Room
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:30pm-4:00pm
Innovation in Teacher Education Playground

co-facilitate, wrangle three SIGOL presentations
SACC Park View Lobby
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5:30pm-6:45pm
SIGVE Machinima Fest -- bring popcorn for first 30 attendees, livestream
SACC Lila Cockrell Theater
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
7:30pm-8:30pm
FlipSwitch Dinner
Barriba Cantina with 1 guest

----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 25
----------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am-6:00pm
Presenter's World Hours
Registration West
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9:00am-12:30pm
Mobile Learning Playground
SACC Park View Lobby
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
10:30am-11:30am
Minecraft: Learning Blocks!
SACC 217A
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:15pm-1:15pm
Playing It SAFE: Modeling and Practicing Citizenship through Play
SACC 212
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1:30pm-5:00pm
Virtual Environments Playground-- Facilitator with a great deal of tribal collaboration
SACC Park View Lobby
NOTES: Speaking Engagement
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5:00pm-6:15pm
SIGVE (Virtual Environments) Gathering
SACC Park View Lobby
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6:30pm-11:30pm
SIG Reception
tba

----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 26
----------------------------------------------------------------
8:00am-3:00pm
Online Learning Instituted -- co-host Roundtable, session 3, with Dr. James Witty
Grand Hyatt Texas Ballroom A
NOTES: Pre-Registration & Fee Required
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:00am-2:00pm
Presenter's World Hours
Registration West
     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5:00pm-10:00pm
Pick Up Rental Car and Drive to Lake Conroe
Airport Budget Car Rental

----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 27
----------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am-6:00pm
Fish
Lake Conroe, Texas

----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, June 28
----------------------------------------------------------------
6:00am-6:00pm
Fish---continues through June 30, then fly home to loving family rested and relaxed
Lake Conroe, Texas

Our two friendly enemies of a Saturday morning...

We Don't Have to Remain in Death Valley--Sir Ken Robinson Shares Why

Take the time to watch this. Why? Because it will make you feel better about your teaching and your learning, and it will make you feel hopeful about our collective future in America. Really!

Bandwidth: the Bottom Line

Dear friends,

I have often said that every conversation about technology in schools boils down to one about bandwidth. It doesn't matter how many netbooks, iPads, or other hardware a school can manage to purchase, if a child has to wait 15 seconds, or longer, for the results of every click on a website or online resource for its results, the gains won't happen. Now that I'm striving to improve the quality of education in the Public Schools sector I understand the need to level the playing ground; and not only level it, but to raise it higher for all of our children, not just those in pricey private schools.

http://blog.edtechteam.com/2012/02/updated-ipad-for-educators-workshop.html

You don't need to know what a SIG is, or what ISTE is, or what any of the other plethora of acronyms we educators can come up with at the drop of a flying feather, this is important and deserves your attention and action. I received this email yesterday. Please take the 30 seconds it will take to jump through the very simple hoops needed to verify your digital signature on this petition. Help assure all children have the access they need to avail themselves of the opportunities that are afforded by developing online technologies:

Here's the letter:

Dear SIG Leadership Council,

Last week, ISTE submitted a petition to the White House regarding broadband access for students. We were able to get the 150 signatures needed for the petition to go up on the White House website, but there is still a long way to go to reach the 100,000 signatures needed by the end of April so that it goes in front of committees. It's an audacious goal, but one we're eyeing. Please share the link with your SIG listserves, professional networks, friends, families and colleagues and invite them to sign. Together, our voices will carry.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to support this critical advocacy initiative. April is Advocacy Month, and we're determined to make the most of it!

Here's the link: http://wh.gov/LVL7. 

Warmest regards,

Lauren Suveges

Volunteer Leadership Manager

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

180 W. 8th Avenue, Suite 300

Eugene, OR 97401

Now use your clicks!

MNPS Virtual School Dedication--Check!!!

I'm very proud of the teamwork and dedication to excellence that helped make this day possible, as Dr. Jesse Register said "a very special day...because I am so proud of the work that is going on at the MNPS Virtual School." You at least owe it to yourself to hear his opening remarks, but what follows is also very very informative. Enjoy...

"Colin Merrick" is worth your listen...

...and purchase! I'm so proud of this studio project and I listen to it at least daily. Several themes have arisen in listeners' comments to me, chief amongst which is that most young songwriter/singers' efforts seem to be trying to copy some star or other and that Colin's work is fresh and original in a way no one seems to be able really to quantify. See if you don't agree, then...

or

You'll enjoy it, I can promise!

The Wait is OVER! Get "Colin Merrick" Today!

Hey all,

Colin Merrick

Just to share with you, the fantastic music that I've heard grow from acoustic guitar and vocal, to added rich harmonies, to additional electronic and percussive instrumentation, over the course of the last year and become something I listen to at least five times a week, well, it's HERE, the eponymous debut CD from my boy, my son, my Colin.You can listen to it now too! Finally, he's YOUR Colin, too!

If  you give it a listen you'll love it, and all 5 songs just get better with repeated playings. Fantastic production by David Spencer Music (with Colin's help) and beautiful lyrical writing by Colin (with David's help) throughout. The ballad "This Town" features Colin's beautiful sister, Miranda, with spot-on sensitive harmony and a hauntingly lovely cello line by Cara Fox. There are musical treats in every song, certainly enhanced by the final masters by famed Brad Blackwood for Euphonic Masters. Blackwood won a Grammy in 2012 for his engineering work on a chart-blaster Alison Kraus and Union Station single.

I have no favorite song: Each one is my favorite! Give it a listen and a download. We thank you in advance and we say "you're welcome" as well! If you're local and want your own copy, it'll be at Grimey's tomorrow or the next day and I have some on me at the more than fair price of $6 or $10 for 2. If you're not and want a CD, CDBaby has them for $7 and their download is $5. Fb me and we'll work out a time to pick up...

Happy Presidents' Day and a bit of news re MNPS Virtual School

Things move apace here at MNPS Virtual School. Though it's a holiday for students and a Professional Day for teachers, our whole team (5 dynamic individuals) are each and every one of us in to work today, working working working. We are providing a valuable service to district students over this upcoming Spring "Intersession" the first week of the district's first two-week long Spring Break and Spring Break itself), providing "Bridge Math Intensive," our first real foray into the world of Blended Learning. Students, for a nominal registration fee, will complete in two weeks a course normally running a full 18 week semester. It will be online, but every morning of the 9 days the students attend our physical School, they will work mornings with two stellar online (and classroom) math teachers, then after lunch they will attend intense Math Lab and continue working in small groups with yet another wonderful teacher.

Bridge Math Intensive--and the intensive effort it will require on the part of teachers, administration, and students--will be of particular help to Seniors who may only lack that 5th math in order to graduate on time.

This is what continually amazes me about the teachers with whom we work. Sure, it's an opportunity for them to pick up a little extra money over their Break, but believe me, they are not doing it for the money. They care. They care deeply. In addition to customized registration procedures for BMI (no, not the songwriter's licensing agency--Bridge Math Intensive), we're working this week to open registration for our Summer Success Program, an 8 week fee-based (and no, funding does not happen for summer school locally or, to my knowledge, anywhere in the state) during which students will complete a half-credit course (often one semester of a year long class) for credit. This will require its own set of procedures and mechanisms for registration and delivery. Finally, we're working on new mechanisms and procedures for registration for school year 2013-14. I posted on Facebook last week a status that may have sounded a bit smug or facetious, but I meant every word of it. To quote:

Scott Merrick -- February 13 in Nashville

I'm so glad to be in a workplace where all team members are recognized for their contributions and talents and where continuous improvement is more than a buzz phrase--it's an ever-present challenge and imperative. Thanks MNPS Virtual School and Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Be sure to tune in to Newschannel5+ (Comcast channel 250 locally) Wednesday night at 7PM until 8 to watch our esteemed Principal, Dr. James Witty, and our similarly esteemed District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jesse Register answer community questions about Virtual School and the way we're doing it here in Nashville Public Schools: We believe we're constantly improving the right way to do it.

 Back to work, y'all. No rest for the innovative. Happy Presidents' Day!

The Equity Gap Infographic

From Tess Pajaron in Aussieland, this fascinating look at how economic status relates to academic performance (as measured by testing) across the globe. I was particularly surprised to see the math performance in the U.S. See what you think:

An Infographic by Open Colleges