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I Tried Not To...Really I Did!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dnorman/ / CC BY 2.0

This is your one and only warning:
If you're not in the mood for a rant, then please 'Ctrl-T' elsewhere.

Can't really say whose blog I saw it on first. I remember, going, 'Hmmmmmm, that's an interesting use of a blog post.' I saw the phenomena catching on quickly. Then I saw it becoming like an infectious disease -- spreading by sheer contact, multiplying rapidly, growing out of control, with no 'cure' in sight. 'What is it that she's talking about?' you may be asking yourself? What?!? You haven't noticed? Blog posts that are nothing but 'link dumps'. Everything and anything the blogger has saved to their del.icio.us/diigo/[you fill in the blank] social bookmarking website for the day. I understand that there is the word 'social' in social bookmarking. Truly, I do. However, I don't think dumping links into a blog was what was originally intended.

Posts with a hyperlinked url and a quick review are nice, but I want examples of educational uses. Is it really too much to ask?

What are your thoughts?

Ingesting & Digesting NECC 09 Part 2

Let us continue with our NECC09 dinner, shall we...

Main Course:
In a nutshell, it was like a $5.99 'All You Can Eat' four-day buffet. You know the type. The one where you find yourself initially balancing three plates because you just have to sample all of the enticing dishes (come on, I know you've 'been there, done that'! LOL). The one where you finally realize that you can just keep going back and back and back to the buffet to either try new dishes or get a second (and sometimes third) helping of those dishes that were particularly tasty.

Well, that's what NECC09 was like. My planner was filled with those little yellow triangle with red exclamation point icons (the ones that said, 'You've overbooked yourself for this time'). My conference book's map pages were covered with red, green, and purple lines indicating the best (read 'quickest') paths to the next sessions. You get the point.

I spent time in Keynotes, and though for the most part pleased, I could have done without the advertising/sponsorship plug in Erin Gruwell's keynote. I attended some 'Birds of a Feather' sessions and even contributed to the one on Using iTouch and iPhones for Teaching and Learning. I attended ticketed BYOL sessions where I learned how to create a video in 10 minutes and how to navigate around Comic Life. I attended sessions on using iTouches, and being an avid Tony Vincent fan, I made sure to attend that one -- and thanks to Tony, the American economy got a serious boost from me! LOL Many of these presenters have their materials available online, so if you missed a session you really wanted to attend, I would the presenters resources my first stop.

Dessert:
Normally I don't eat desserts (I'd rather splurge on a variety of appetizers), but for NECC09 I made an exception. And boy, am I glad I did, as it was truly the 'icing on the cake'. I made a concerted effort to introduce myself and strike up conversations with total strangers (well, they weren't all that strange!). I wanted to find out what they were doing at NECC09, what treasures they discovered and were willing to share, what they were doing in their schools and classrooms, and I wanted to mutually grow our PLN. In the past, when I've been asked or surveyed as to 'who's who' in educational technology, I've always responded, 'The person next to you'. To all of you who didn't run off screaming when a strange (a few times with a purple wig on!) struck up a conversation with you, I say, 'thank you'....and I'm glad to now be able to include you in my 'who's who'!

Remind me never to skip dessert again!

[*burb*]
(Sorry, I just had to put that in! LOL)

Ingesting & Digesting NECC 09 Part 1

Yes, I'm fully aware that it's been close to two weeks since NECC 09. But look (re-read if you must) my post title -- it includes the word 'digesting'; that and the fact that the blogosphere has been inundated with post-NECC09 posts I figured I would wait until the 'feeding frenzy' had passed.

Let us begin our 'culinary journey' through NECC 09:

Appetizer:
Since NECC 09 was held in Washington, DC I had three options of transportation (selections from the menu if you will), by plane, by car, by train. Plane was quickly ruled out as the time spent traveling to and from and waiting around airports seemed like time that could be better spent elsewhere. Driving quickly followed flying as I found the $30/day parking better spent elsewhere (like, let's say, shoes! LOL). Which left me with taking a train. Growing up in Europe this was my favorite means of transportation so I was looking forward to it. I have to say, I was not disappointed. With the $$$ I saved on parking, I upgraded my tickets to Business Class (larger seats, they reclined, but most importantly -- power outlets!).

Intermezzo:
I choose from the Twitter selection for this course. My sampling of the Twitter Intermezzo has no rhyme nor reason nor order, I simply am sharing those nibblings that stood out.
It began with @fsinfo - we had an enjoyable couple of hours on Sunday morning to leisurely stroll through most of the Mall and the front of the White House. I'm so glad we took the time to do this since once NECC (the Main Course) began we could barely get up from the table!

Well....if truth be told, it actually began on Friday. Arriving at Union Station, I get a map from the Information Booth (lovely people there by the way) and see that the hotel is only 5 blocks away. Piece of cake, especially since at the time I only had a rolling carry-on with me. Well, two blocks later, teetering on high heels (WHAT was I thinking?) I'm cursing the creator of the map and wondering where the heck the map key/legend was so I could see for myself that 1 block = 10 hot, humid, sweaty minutes! I arrive (drenched) at the hotel, check in and check my tweets. Look at that! I've got a Tweet from @lthumann she's asking me if I was wearing blue jeans and a green top (I was). Seems she passed me in her AIR CONDITIONED cab! Now don't ya think she could have slowed down????? LOL

But my troubles were soon forgotten as I hooked up with @clarelane and ended up having drinks at an outdoor terrace in Chinatown.

At some point I met up with @lizaSt and her husband which was wonderful since I had last seen them when they were kind enough to take me out to dinner at NYSCATE in November to a wonderful Korean restaurant.

I had the pleasure of meeting @k_shelton and @dgrice and @rushtonh for the first time face to face. FYI, I'd keep an eye on @k_shelton -- he's funny, approachable, warm, engaging, knowledgeable (and not only about food! LOL), and bound for many wonderful things. I spent some 'non-tech' time with @dgrice at the Gaggle reception (thank you Gaggle!) discussing his upcoming trip up, up, up, up North. As for @rushtonh? I had registered for one of his BYOL on creating a video in 10 minutes. OMG!!! If you ever see his name on a program, attend the session! Not only does he have the information, he's a showman extraordinaire! I must have laughed during at least 60% of his session. Think about it, laughter = more oxygen to the brain = more knowledge actually getting into the brain!

And how's this for 'Twitter Tag': @spedteacher and I had been trying to connect F2F at NECC. It just didn't seem like it was going to happen. Final tweets on Tuesday indicated that we would both be at the SL Playground in the early morning. OK, maybe it WAS going to happen. I arrive early (around 7 a.m. as I have some graduate course grading to do and the internet at the hotel was 'wonky'), arrive at the SL Playground, and WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!! There's someone sitting in MY lime colored chair that I had (in my head) thought of as my 'office away from home'. OK, that's cool, the couch is still available. I go to sit at the other end of the Playground on the white couch. @RiptideF arrives so we can go over our upcoming session, PLN in SLN. He looks confused (and rightly so) since he expected to see me on MY green chair. I explain that it was already occupied when I arrived. The 'MY green chair' man responded by offering me back MY spot. I graciously (at least I hope I was gracious about it) declined and life went on. On the train ride back as I'm tweeting on my new BlackBerry (which I LOVE -- can't have iPhone, no AT&T coverage where I live) @spedteacher & I come to find out that it was the two of us!!!!! HE was on MY green chair and we didn't even make the connection! LOL

And although I took lots of pics at NECC I have to say that @kjarrett is the unofficial 'official' photographer at NECC (IMHO). The amount of pics taken by him is mind boggling (AND I truly believe that he was the cause of all the internet issues at the hotel -- I mean, REALLY, uploading 23,634,174 pictures to Flickr.com in the evening??????!!!!!!)

And in the spirit of the Intermezzo, I shared two enjoyable meals with @RiptideF one at BusBoys and Poets where I ate so much at lunch, but simply couldn't stop the food was that good and the other at a tapas bar on 7th, Jaleo - the dates wrapped in bacon and fried were simply scrumptious! (And I DON'T normally eat dates).

OK....starting to get full and I haven't even gotten to the Main Course!

Packing for NECC 09!

It finally hit me! 4 days of school left (I'm taking a Personal Day on Friday) and I'm on my way to DC & NECC '09! I CANNOT wait to meet up with friends (some I've only known online, others I haven't seen for a year) and I'm starting to gather my things together to start packing.

Last year was my first NECC and I voraciously read all the posts related about what to pack for NECC. This year I decided to 'pay it forward' and share what I learned last year and what I'll be packing for this year's NECC.

First off, I decided not to fly (too much time traveling & waiting around airports), driving was an option, but with a $30/day parking at the hotel I soon ruled that out (I mean, come on, do you know how many new purple hair styles I could purchase in Second Life at that rate?), so I finally decided on taking the train (a first for me in this country). Train travel was a preferred mode of transportation growing up and living in Europe so I'm truly looking forward to this journey (not to mention the fact that with the $$$ I was saving on the parking I decided to upgrade my seat).

Now on to my packing list:

1. Laptop - This one was tough. Do I bring my Asus laptop? Do I bring my MacBook? Do I bring my Acer Aspire One netbook? Scratch the MacBook -- I'm still much of a newbie to feel comfortable trying to navigate the Mac platform and absorb the information during sessions. The Asus? As much as I love my Asus the thought of shlepping it around the conference (and looking like a hunchback by noon was not at all appealing to me. The only downside to taking my netbook? I won't be able to go into Second Life (netbooks just don't have the power to efficiently run the Second Life client).

2. Camera - another game of 'eeny, meeny, miney, mo'. Going with my Kodak M753. Small, light (top priorty), and easy to use.

3. Flip Mino - I brought it last year and it got a lot of use (especially at the ranch at the DEN pre-conference! Hmmm, wonder if they have any 'ropers' in DC?). And since the Mino is both PC & Mac compatible I'll be able to share it with friends of all persuasions! And if you have a Flip, I hope you've checked out the new FlipShare software which was recently updated.

4. Blackberry Curve 8330 - yup, hubby came through on our anniversary and bought one for me (of course, it helped that my Twitter peeps told him how much I really, really, REALLY wanted one). Would love to be able to bring an iPhone, but where I live AT&T doesn't provide coverage. One of the features that I know I'll be using on the Blackberry is the voice memo recorder. I normally carry (pre-Blackberry) a digital voice recorder for all those BRILLANT ideas I get on the run. Now I've programmed one of the side buttons on the BB to do just that.

5. Labels - yes folks! LABELS! Trust me on this one. As you wander the Exhibit Hall and fill out the endless forms from the vendors you'll thank me if you have some lablels you can simply peel off and put on their raffle forms (though, thinking about it, you might not want to bother as I plan to WIN lots of cool stuff).

6. Business cards - stuff them in your pockets, your purse, your laptop bag, etc. You might want to consider two different sets. One for people you want to have ALL your contact info and another set for those you want to have only limited contact info. Things to put on your business cards: name (including your Second Life name if you have one), Twitter id, Skype id, Facebook id, phone number, e-mail(s), and mailing address.

7. Small ziploc bag - that's to store all your plugs and cables in one location.

8. Large ziploc bag(s) - to store all the small schwag and flyers, business cards, etc. that you'll be collecting at the conference (and trust me, you'll be collecting A LOT!)

9. Flashdrive - ya never know! This makes for easy swapping of data between friends. I'm taking a 2GB flashdrive which I'm sure will be sufficient.

10. iTouch - [remember, I don't have the iPhone!] I've got my music on it and my favorite games (Bookworm, Wurdle, etc.) plus I plan on being at Vicki Davis' session, 'Birds of a Feather, Using iTouch and iPhones for Teaching and Learning' manning the 'Fun' table (please consider stopping by and seeing what I've got on mine -- but only if you'll show me what you've got on yours!).

11. Sony e-reader - I love to read and rarely have the opportunity to 'read for pleasure' during the school year, so I've uploaded a number of books. It's light and slim and I wouldn't dream of going anywhere without it.

12. Small notebook and pens - yup, I know, it's a tech conference, but there will be times when you either won't be able to use your laptop (dead battery, no outlets nearby, etc.) where you'll want to jot somethings down.

13. Water bottle - you know, one of those metal ones that you can refill. I've found that food and drink at these conferences can add up quickly and you really need to keep yourself hydrated. They're light and you can fill them with your favorite beverage -- can you say, 'Mojito'? LOL

14. Pashima wrap - OK guys, you might want to skip this one! Looking at the weather for DC, it looks like it's going to be muggy (ugh), but you can almost be guaranteed that the Conference Center will be cool (and maybe even downright cold). I don't want to be bogged down with a jacket or sweater. I can throw this wrap in my bag (or wrap it around my waist) and I'll be able to keep warm if need be.

15. Tote & bag - FORGET the wheeling laptop bags (they're TOTALLY unmanageable in the Exhibit Hall)! I'm going with a matching (of course!) coral colored leather tote (large enough for my netbook, my tech gear, water, and still have room for whatever I collect in the Exhibit Hall) with a matching small bag to carry my personal items. I'll be fashionable enough to go from conference, to dinner, to evening gatherings, to bar hopping without having the need to return to my hotel.

16. COMFORTABLE SHOES!!! - Take it from this Imelda (that's my hubby's name for me -- granted I do have 146 pairs of shoes), I'm leaving those 'come hither' pumps at home and I'm only packing shoe that I know can withstand 15 hours of pavement pounding. Side Note: You might want to pack a product called 'Band-Aid' (it's in the foot care department of your local drugstore and looks like a deodarant stick the size of a floss container). You rub it on spots that might rub on your shoes and VOILA! NO blisters!

OK.....Did I miss anything? And for you NECC Vets out there, is there anything else that should be added to the 'gear list'?

Oh yeah, one final item....my purple wig! I mean, how can I be part of the group presenting 'Personal Learning Networks in Second Life Networks' on July 1st at 10:30 (BEW11) without my purple wig! LOL

Like I Need Another Application

Here’s a piece of advice:  Never, EVER come home late after a wonderful evening of entertainment with friends pick up the latest computer magazine on the counter, flip through it, and decide you just HAD to try and download a new application!  Before you know it, one thing leads to another, the download works, then you’re intrigued by the various plug-ins so of course you have to try those as well, and before you know it, well, it’s the NEXT day! LOL

Bare with me as I try out Windows Live Writer (yeah, that’s hyperlinked, not only to check out the hyperlinking feature, but so you can get ‘sucked’ in as well – misery loves company!) which is a *FREE* download from Microsoft. 

So looking at my options along the left:

Hyperlink…..CHECK

Picture…..coming up

For those who don’t recognize me, that’s my ‘Summer Do’ for Twitter.

Picture….CHECK

Photo album…..hmmmmmm

View Full Album

Photo album….oh YEAH…waaaaay cOOl and CHECK

Table…CHECK

Eeny	Meeny
Miny	Mo

Map…CHECK

(Note:  This is where I would love to travel to next.  Hmmm…just noticed that this map is ‘powered’ b Bing, interesing…)

Tags…those of you who know me know that tagging is my greatest weakness.  Wish there were a plug-in that would automatically tag my posts.  And CHECK

Technorati Tags: rant,app

Video…sorry, I’ll have to pass on inserting this for now.  I just ran across an article (from the same computer magazine that was on the kitchen counter that shows how to create an interactive YouTube video – yeah, cool, huh?)

Add a plug-in….oh, oh…I can serious damage being caused here!  There are currently 123 plug-ins I can choose from!

Anyways….’Live’ from ‘Windows Live Writer’.  Wishing all of you a ‘lost in a new app’ day!

To Keyboard or Not to Keyboard -- Should That REALLY Be a Question?

This post idea came from a DM (direct message) from Leigh E. Zeitz, Ph.D. on Twitter. He linked me to his blog and my readings resulted in the following post:

I teach in a K-4 building with some teachers who clamor for keyboarding lessons during Computer Lab time. I'm sorry, but I think that my time (and the students' time) is better spent on activities a little higher up on Bloom's taxonomy. I've appeased the teachers by providing a page of keyboarding links that they can use as Computer Center time in their own classrooms. Granted I buried the link at the very bottom of my home page, but it's there. :)

I'm not convinced that keyboarding should be taught at the elementary level. First, let's look at the physical aspect. Most computer set-ups use an adult sized keyboard and younger children simply do not have the handspan range to effectively reach the keys in the traditional keyboard teaching model.

"They should be provided with the basics of keyboarding and then learn to type faster than they can write (typically 11 wpm). This will allow them to have an efficient way to enter their thoughts and writings into a dynamic electronic format." (retrieved 4-22-09 from http://keyboarding.wordpress.com/dr-zs-opinion)

If you step into most elementary classrooms today, you will see that it is not a one-to-one set-up and most students still write using paper and pencil. As I reflect back upon my own electronic writing process I remember well the time I used to first write down my thoughts on paper and only then transfer it into electronic format to basically edit my writing. It is only recently that I can sit down at a keyboard and allow my thoughts to progress from my brain to my fingers, then via the keyboard onto the screen.

And let's not forget the advent of texting on cellphones. We're looking at rapid thumb moves rather than QWERTY hand positioned moves. I wonder what would happen if we removed keyboards from computer labs in middle and high schools and replaced them with cellphone style keypads. Would our students be able to 'type' faster? I believe they would. (Note to self: Hmmmm, this might make for an interesting action-research procject.)

And finally, the earliest my students will be entering college will be nine years from now. Who knows what technologies will be available to them by then. Will word processing be obsolete? (I don't believe so, but who knows?) Will the QWERTY keyboard be replaced by an input device that is much more intuitive? (I know my husband hopes so!) So as long as I remain in the Computer Lab, keyboarding will remain a link off my homepage.

So, do you believe keyboarding should be taught at the elementary level? Let your voice be heard int he 'Comments' section below. (And if you need to write out your thoughts on paper first, that's fine! LOL)

Image source: Flickr.com john_a_ward