WebedtecH

Wes Fryer over at MSC ran into a problem presenting at COSN:

Apologies for Ustream non-event today » Moving at the Speed of Creativity

My apologies that my scheduled session broadcasts over Ustream did not happen today at COSN. The sessions were held in the basement of the Hyatt hotel, where unfortunately there was not any cell phone data network coverage or service. Wired Internet connections were provided at sessions, but apparently the network at the hotel is configured to block ports used by Ustream for broadcasts. We never could get a computer to actually “connect” to a Ustream channel room for a broadcast.

We did, however, record both sessions with audio, and Steve Hargadon recorded my session on copyright with video as well. It was great to finally meet Steve in person My session on Cell Phones for Learning was well attended but fast: Just a 15 minute demo session. That was probably the fastest conference presentation I’ve shared to date

My son helped me with some audio recording, and he recorded the session “Unleashing the Transformational Power of One-to-One Computing in K-12? with permission from the panelists to share it later as a podcast.

While I do feel bad that Wes ran into this problem (and for those of us who present frequently it is always a lurking danger) there is a silver lining to the happening.

Wes’ son got an “authentic experience” in troubleshooting an unpredictable situation, adapting, and coming up with a solution.  This is the part we seldom proclaim as the victory in educational technology.  Normally it would be touted that he was able to practice audio recording.  While nice, that’s just the smallest thing of value in the instance.  Bring the young man to me in several years for an interview being able to demonstrate the problem solving skills he showed then and I’ll show you someone who will be employed…regardless of the state of technology.

Marc Fisher – In Cyberspace, Everyone Can Hear You Scream – washingtonpost.com

“It used to be you could have an inappropriate or rude conversation with someone, and it would stay private,” says Ron McClain, director of the Parkmont School in the District and the parent of teenagers in the Montgomery County schools. “There’s a much fuzzier line between public and private now. This is a case where the technology has outpaced our ability to cope with its effects. As parents, we’re way behind.”

In what possible way was the fact of being able to have an ill-tempered, rude, abusive conversation in private a good thing?  Personally I find no fault with the student in this and all with the spouse.  You cannot respond to a student in that way…ever.  It’s not acceptable, it’s irresponsible, and in this case with it being left on a home answering machine, stupid.  What kind of an example is being set by this?  Perhaps the glaring light of the internet will focus now on the correct behaviors and make people think twice before roaring off on their own emotional tirades when students are involved.

Skellie over at skelliewag has a great posting about using Flickr and Creative Commons images to enhance your blog postings. I’d say take it even further. Every teacher using technology should be familiar with Creative Commons and leverage these image libraries to get their point across. Nothing is a greater turn-off for students or an audience than page after page of text with no visual stimuli. Jump out there, get some pictures, and make your content interesting for crying out loud!

The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies published their list TOP 100 TOOLS FOR LEARNING 2007.  What do you think of the list?  Anything you use now that you have found exceptionally useful?  Anything that should be on the list but isn’t?

Right off the bat I see that Freemind is missing.  This has to be my favorite free mind mapping tool since it runs in Java, from a thumb drive, and works very well for most tasks.

This chart rewards careful study. Inspect one timeline of the universe
from the Big Bang to yesterday. It skips through this vast scale in 16
jumps, each period nested inside the preceding epic. Combined here is
cosmic history, geological history, biological history and cultural
history into one unified, universal snapshot of the Great Story.

Cool Tool: Universal Heritage