WebedtecH

I decided to go back and try the Flock web browser again for it’s blogging capabilities. Since it’s now out in version 1.1 I thought my odds were good this would be a proper solution to streamlining my writing efforts. Here’ s the key to my situation:

I have tried to get into the habit of writing posts in advance and queuing them up each day. If I can get about two or three days ahead in my writing I don’t feel quite so bad when the real world creeps in and interrupts my precious schedule. The dilemma arises from the fact I haven’t found a good editor outside of the default one in Wordpress which allows me to change the timestamp when publishing. If I can set the timestamp in the future, I’m all set. (If you know of something PLEASE let me know.)

My alternative is to post blogs to my site without publising them and then going back to set the schedules all at one time. While this isn’t optimal it certainly is liveable. I was hoping the Flock browser would provide that functionality, but alas it does not. For all the features of the new browser version, without that it really doesn’t offer me more than what I have built out in Firefox with a vast array of extensions. I’m now trying a desktop blogging client called w.bloggar which seems to have the post but not publish option as part of it’s suite. Well see as soon as press the button on this post…

UPDATE – Sweet…looks like this puppy is going to do the job quite well. As soon as I configured my settings to use Wordpress rather than custom I gained access to the Advanced Post settings which include the time/date stamp! Let the blogging commence!

(Even better…this thing runs from a USB Drive! Now if I could only find mine…)

UPDATE 2 – Hmmm…time. Seems that if I schedule something for a specific time the system adjusts it to Pacific Time even though I have the Wordpress Time Zone set correctly. I’ll just need to keep that in mind for the future posts.

Will Richardson has done it again…he’s got me thinking and headed for my soapbox.

…how in god’s name can we talk seriously about 21st Century skills for kids if we’re not talking 21st Century skills for educators first? The more I listened, the less I heard in terms of how we make the teaching profession as a whole even capable of teaching these “skills” to kids. Sure, there were mentions of upgrading teacher preparation programs and giving teachers additional time in the school day to collaborate, etc. But the URGENCY was all around the kids. Shouldn’t the URGENCY be all about the teachers right now?

Why does it take going to a conference of over 6,000 educators to get us to come up with this?  Is this a big friggin’ tree blocking the forest?  There is no question in my mind the only way we will see any true shift is at the teacher level.  No matter how much educational technologists (us) push administration and superintendents (them) without support and desire at the teaching level the exercise is purely academic (pun intended.)  If we are to get teachers to recognize the importance of them learning these tools and then sharing with their students, they need to recognize we know what we’re talking about and we’re giving them good guidance.

Finally, I was struck by how difficult it felt to accept much of what I was hearing because, and this is something that is really concerning me (seriously), few if any of these folks had the network creds to be “trusted.” Now I know this is an admission that is going to get me in trouble, and it likely should. But it is also a consequence of being rooted so deeply in this network. It’s not that I distrust their “traditional” creds out of hand, but it’s almost like for me, these days, if you’re not doing at least a little bit of social, networked learning and publishing that I can tap into and track and engage with, I’m just not as inclined to buy in when you’re talking about reforming education with or without technology.

The credentialing of traditional academia has been the downfall of interactions with the technical community for years.  If you corner a tech and ask them about “professional certifications” they will usually (if they’re worth their salt) sneer slightly and comment about “book learning versus the real world.”  It’s too easy to study a guide, take a test, and be “certified.”  I know…I was…a lot.  I let them expire because I recognized the only thing they provided me was a measurement against a minimum standard.  There’s no establishment of skill and capability tied to it.  How many professors do you know with multiple degrees that deep down you think they don’t have a clue how things work in the “real world.”  Now don’t get me wrong…there’s a place and a time for credentialing.  I agree with Will in the respect of if you truly want to be recognized and taken seriously start putting yourself out on a limb and sharing your thoughts and experiences with the world.

Let’s face it folks.  When it comes to technology the bulk of the population has no idea what it takes to be good at understanding and applying tech on a day to day basis.  They have no appreciation for the number of hours put in learning about new and changing topics and concepts daily with the complete understanding that the skills and applications you learn today will most likely not be around tomorrow.  Try explaining to a math teacher or a history teacher they will have to all but relearn their topic area every couple of years.  No one has to deal with version 2.0.5.7b of the Gettysburg Address.  Service Pack 6 for geometric proofs isn’t available for install.  It’s a different world in the tech space and if you want to get people to listen you have to prove you know what you’re talking about.  No piece of paper is going to do that for you.

A wonderful writer and Newbury award winner has passed.  She will be missed.

I’m usually pretty forgiving when I see someone venting their frustrations about a topic because Lord knows I’ve done it enough times. Sometimes though these vents warrant a rebuttal. This is one of them.

James Farmer over at incsub got his knickers in a knot over the posting by Will Richardson regarding the Future of Teaching. I’m not sure if it’s a disagreement with the content or a defensive reaction to the positions but in either case he’s gotten me fired up now as well. (all due and sincere respect to James and Will. I wouldn’t spend time responding if I didnt’ think you were worth hearing. Which leads me to…)

“Interestingly enough I’ve belonged to three broad professions so far, teaching, journalism and web-design/dev… all of which no end of the unqualified and unexperienced won’t hesitate to have an opinion on. Just because you’ve been taught, doesn’t mean you can teach… because you read newspapers doesn’t mean you can pick up a pen (or a blog!) and become a journalist and because you spend every day on the web, that you can design successful environments and experiences. I’ve learned the hard way.”

…

“And how many teachers at the chalkface heard how their qualifications and experience as teachers was pretty useless really, how many people stood up and said ‘this is nonsense’ (apparently consensus was only lacking around the real pressure points???) and how many of the attendees work day in day out with FT teaching loads in government schools… or have done?”

“I am sick and tired of people who really know very little about education and teaching mouthing off about it”

I’ve used these same arguments myself in many of the professions I’ve held over the years and seeing them in writing makes me realize how truly self-centered and arrogant they are. For all intents, the statement is “unless you’ve done it, you don’t have anything worth contributing.” Stings that way, doesn’t it?

Let’s start with the basics. If you’ve been taught you know how to recognize when you’ve been taught poorly. You can communicate what was wrong with the experience and what was right for you. At a minimum you expect to be heard and acknowledged for your input and feedback. When dismissed out of hand you view the “authority” figures as arrogant, elitist, egotistical, uncaring, and uninterested. Not every idea is a great one but I’d challenge you to tell me the ideas that aren’t worth hearing at all because of their source. Based on this approach it stands to reason that the feedback from our students, who haven’t written, taught, or designed web sites has little or no value. Complete nonsense to be sure.

As an EdTech it’s easy to say, “it’s technical, let me worry about it.” It’s a great way to stifle insight and maintain the status quo. Peel away the titles, certifications, certificates, degrees, Universities, and other associated separatist “we know more than you do” badges of education and what you have is people with varieties of experiences all with an equal ability to contribute and shape the future if we’re only willing to listen. Ask a graduating senior about the best teacher they had in school and why. If you get then answer “because they had a Masters from University of Big Ideas” I’ll buy the coffee. (Haven’t had to buy it yet for your information.)

As a web guy by passion and profession (one stop along a long and varied history of experiences) understanding your users, listening to them, and then meeting and exceeding their needs is one of the hallmarks of success in this field (but you already knew that didn’t you). Ask any web designer what they dread the most and I’d wager they’ll answer “the user who THINKS they know how to design a site”. I’ve said it myself but in the same breath I’ll admit that some of the best designs and ideas I’ve encountered and participated in were spurred by that same kind of input. Not every idea goes into place, not every recommendation is implemented, but if it makes us think just a little differently it is a good thing.

We are teaching people of all ages and backgrounds. If we fail to listen to and learn from our peers and students we’re not qualified to wear the mantle “teacher”.

Jess has captured the essence of the question “why blog?” with an exceptional amount of eloquence an insight.

Why would I wan’t to publish my personal life on the Internet so that just anyone could read them? It’s a privacy issue for me.

However, I believe that a blog created for the purposes of academic learning and reflection is effective, interesting and perhaps not so revealing of my personal life The ability to disseminate not just information or knowledge but also thoughts, debates and commentaries on them excites me. I can see a world of possibility for interaction and growth between individual learners.

…

Blogging includes, but is not the sum of the reflections on one’s experiences or learning. Blogging is an instrument of communication, growth and learning. Even reading a social blog, you learn about the blogger’s experiences, reflecting on your learning and growing as a result. The act of reading the blog in the first place is an act of communication, furthered when you post your findings to your blog for others to read.

We in the EdTech space struggle everyday with getting teachers, parents, and administration to understand why technologies such as blogging are useful and beneficial not only in the classroom but beyond. Next time you get into this discussion, send them a link to Jess’s blog. Jess gets it.