Just In Time Tech

Real Simple Magazine -- #FAIL!

2012-01-16T17:03:00.000-05:00

As my husband can attest to, I have a thing for magazines. I LOVE to purchase them, tear out things, pass them along, etc. I think that if we purchased one of those log makers we'd have enough fuel to get us through the winter (OK, OK, I know that the winter in the East has been mild, but still).

So I was on one of my frenzied shopping sprees this past weekend and picked up an issue of Real Simple. I didn't pay any attention, just realized I didn't have that cover in my possession and assumed it was a new issue. Two shopping stops later I ran across another Real Simple whose cover image I also did not recall -- in to my shopping cart it went.

Imagine my ire when upon arriving home I noticed that BOTH Real Simple issues had the SAME date (February 2012) AND that the content was the same.

I've posted an image above for you to see what I am talking about.

Would you say that this is 'false advertising'?

The Holiday Season May Be Over, But the Giving Continues...

2012-01-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

Image Source: Flickr.com astrogrl

Innovative Educator Consulting: Christmas Blend- What Makes You Perk?

OK, so under 'normal' circumstances I would embed a link within my post, but this post is too tempting to wait for a mid-post link AND I wanted the link 'front and center'.

I've been catching up on my blog reading (I know, I know waiting until the day before I go back to school probably wasn't one of my wisest time-management strategies, but it was a strategy) and I ran across Naomi Harm's post in my feed.

Head on over, read her post, and leave her a comment, because on January 15th she's going to draw one lucky winner to get (drumroll please....) NOT only Adobe Elements, BUT ALSO (another drumroll would be apropos right about now) Adobe Premiere, AND ALSO (phew! at this rate I need the entire band! Drumroll please.......thank you!) Adobe Acrobat X. How awesome is that!

Uh....why are you still reading this post? I told you to head on over to Naomi's post. You can thank me after you win!

And when you're done there, head on over to the Adobe Education Exchange (sign up is *FREE*) to get some great ideas and tutorials for Adobe products.

The Perfect 365 Project

2011-12-30T15:42:00.002-05:00

Image Source: Flickr.com erg0

Let's face it, my track records for 365 Projects haven't been great. In fact, they've been downright dismal (even when I was the 'Administrator' of a 365 project). Well, I've come upon the PERFECT 365 Project, one I KNOW I will follow through on.

It's the 'One Thing a Day' 365 Project. That's right, I have to do ONE thing a day. Now that's something I think I can follow through on. Of course, there's a catch (there always has to be a catch -- I can't quite seem to leave well enough alone). I will be recording (medium to be determined) that ONE thing. If it is a drawing, I'll take a picture of it; if it's a musical score (that's a hoot! Have you ever heard me even try to whistle a tune?) I'll audio record it; if it's a new dance move I'll video tape it (uh, on second thought that might not be such a great idea), it it's a new dish, I'll photograph the 'plat du jour', add the recipe and upload it to, well, somewhere.

I'm toying with using Tumblr as the repository since it's short & sweet, and can easily accommodate images, text, audio, and video. And I can do a quick post via my smartphone as well.

So are any of you toying with a 365 project for 2012?

When Is Enough Enough?

2011-12-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

Let's face it, we have a limited resource -- 24 hours in a day and we need to decide how we want to allocate our time to meet our needs and wants. I've noticed that on a 'good day' I'm taking over 3-4 hours of my time to check all my e-mail accounts, look at Twitter, catch up on my Google Reader, check into Facebook and see what new and interesting links might have been shared in my Diigo account. It is becoming more and more like 'work' and I'm NOT liking it.....

I'm also experiencing 'information' overload in terms of all these new, free, 'gotta have/gotta use' apps. I tend to grab the url and throw it into my Diigo account (with a tag of 'CIO', which stands for 'check it out') and just for good measure I also mark it in my 'Read It Later' application with the intention of weeding through it over the weekend.

The French had a saying, 'Les mals du 20eme siecle' which roughly translates to the ills imposed on individuals due to the times and circumstances (and supposed 'time saving' devices from the 20th century). I'm convinced that we are facing the same in this digital age. We have too much coming at us too fast and are, quite frankly, not able to keep up in a way that contributes positively to our health and well-being. I see a new profession resulting from this -- Digital Psychologist.

My goal is to REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE in terms of my digital experiences.

I mean really, how many online photo-editing websites MUST I use? How many screen capture programs can I have? How thin must I stretch myself over all the social networks I belong to? And yes, I can already hear all the arguments about the wealth of knowledge that we are acquiring, but let's face it guys....it almost feels like we're running from fast food chain to fast food chain, gobbling everything down. Frankly, I'd rather have dinner in front of the fire, with friends I can reach out and touch, and savor every last morsel, and swirl every last drop of wine, leisurely contemplating the wonders of the the grass just turning green as deer wander down towards the lake. Ahhhhhh.

And next time you're offered up a tantilizing new app, try saying 'I'll pass', then get up, go take a walk outside and let Mother Nature touch your soul......

And now I'm wondering if our students are feeling the same way......

Off-Color, Off-Topic

2011-12-28T19:06:00.001-05:00

Ha! Gotcha! And here you thought this was going to be an R-rated post....NOT! As I dive deeper into creative outlets (one of my 2012, first week of January resolutions) I happened upon Pantone's homepage where they have announced Tangerine Tango as "THE" 2012 color. Please excuse me while I dig through my boxes of handbags to see if I have anything in that hue. If not, guess it's as good an excuse as any to do a little 'retail therapy'.

I wonder if this would qualify as 'Tangerine Tango'?

My Ideal Tech Job

2011-12-23T11:59:00.000-05:00

Image Source: Flickr.com AveLardo

Funny how you have something mulling over in your mind and then, a few days later, you discover that someone has blogged about it.

I've been thinking about what I would like as my next 'career'. Yes, it's one of those 'what do I want to be when I grow up' moments in my life right now. Might have something to do with the fact that I feel like I'm constantly trudging through muck and mire to get anything accomplished in my current professional life.

And I've decided that I would like to be a 'digital miner'. That's right....no, no, no...not the one with the hard hat and headlight! LOL But rather someone who is able to cull through all the digitial information out there and extract EXACTLY what the client wants.

The ComputerMajors blog did a post about the 10 hottest computer jobs and surprisingly mine wasn't on the list! Wonder why?

What are your thoughts on what a computer job in the near future might be? What would be your ideal job (unless you already have it!), what would it be called, and what would it entail?

Storage Problem Solved

2011-12-05T10:57:00.001-05:00

This might seem trivial in the overall scheme of things, like who will be the keynote at the next major conference or whether #pencilchat really is a game-changer in education, however in my classroom this does make a difference.I'm a big proponent on using games to reinforce math concepts, preferably games that use items that are readily (and cheaply) available. My favorite item is a deck of cards, which can be purchased as a two-for-a-buck deal at a dollar store. My students enjoy the various games played with cards, however, storing has become an issue. You see, the 'two-for-a-buck' cards don't come with a box (yeah, right...I was confused at first as well). I tried the plastic soap boxes, but frankly they have become outrageously expensive AND they don't hold an entire deck (go figure).

I purchased a bunch of those plastic ziploc sleeves from a big-box office supply store, but those 'zippers', well let's just say I'm glad they aren't being used on garments or we would have another 'wardrobe mishap'.

Then BINGO!, standing in line at a craft store, contents spilling from my arms on to the floor I spied a possible solution. A gift card tin! Yup! IT WORKED!!! Not only does it easily hold a deck of cards, but my students are no longer losing cards due to faulty zippers.Don't you just love it when things come together?

Sharing Highlights and Notes on the Kindle

2011-11-30T19:24:00.000-05:00

As I'm preparing for the #1stchat book club of 'No More I'm Done' I decided to share out how we might share our highlights and notes.

For dates for this Twitter Book Club click here.

Sharing Notes and Highlights via the Amazon Kindle

Thank You PhotoPeach!

2011-10-07T21:16:00.001-04:00

I love slideshow apps! I can quickly upload images from my class and embed them into my class blog sharing the happenings in my class with both my students and their parents.

I also know that I've already spent a small fortune on 'stuff' for my classroom so I'm paying close attention to apps that were once free and have now adopted a 'paid for' model. I understand the reasoning, I'm just having to take a long and hard look at these apps to see if I'm willing to fork over any more of my money.

Last month, PhotoPeach announced a pricing structure for educators. I was psyched when I received the email. That elation quickly dissipated when I saw the proposed cost: a Premium Educator account was going to set me back $30 -- A MONTH!!! WHOA! That was just not going to happen for me. So I quickly located the contact information and wrote the folks at PhotoPeach an email letting them know that at that price point, I wasn't buying the package.

Well, today I received an email back.

This is PhotoPeach Support Team.

Thank you for your inquiry on PhotoPeach last month.

Upon your feedback, we have considered the pricing for the Class Premium Account, and today we decided to apply lower pricing for different class sizes.

New, Lower Pricing:
$ 9 per month for up to 50 students
$25 per month for up to 150 students
Contact us for bulk discounts beyond 150 students.

For comparison, Class Premium accounts originally cost $30 per month for up to 100 students and there weren’t any other options. We realize that educators have tight budgets and we wanted to give you a pricing system that is not only more affordable, but also more flexible to suit your needs.

Now for any price level of Class Premium you get the first month of your subscription free!

Take this opportunity to go and check out Class Premium now:
http://photopeach.com/education/premium

Thank you again for your feedback.

Sincerely,
Hiroyo Kato / hiroyo@photopeach.com
The PhotoPeach Support Team

Now that' a pricing structure I can live with!

Thanks, PhotoPeach for listening to educators.

Link to My ISTE11 Poster Session

2011-07-01T23:30:00.000-04:00

Just a short post for those of you looking for the link to my resources shared during the ISTE11 Poster Session on Tuesday, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at Table 14, 'Engage Learners and Enhance Learning with *FREE* Applications'.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK.

Thanks to all who stopped by, I hoped you came away with at least one or two items you were not aware of before stopping by the table. I thoroughly enjoy doing these Poster Sessions as I feel I can 'differentiate' my presentation to meet the specific needs of every educator that stops by.

Again, thanks for making my Poster Session so fulfilling for me -- I couldn't have done it without you!

We Are No Longer Leaving Behind Footprints

2011-05-06T11:00:00.000-04:00

Image Source: Flickr.com VinothChandar

For a few years now I have been presenting on the concept of 'digital footprints'. At the very beginning it was about the tracks we left behind as we ventured through cyberspace. Then, as social media became more pervasive in our lives the presentations morphed into awareness sessions for teachers, parents, and students alike. Now, as every day there appears another media story about the damage caused by behavior online those presentations have evolved into specific strategies on how to mold an online presence.

I have come to realize that we are no longer leaving behind footprints in the sand, instead I am convinced that we have become so immersed in technologies (particularly our students) that we are now dealing with one's 'digital DNA'. On a whim, I headed over to Wikipedia to see what they had to say about DNA. The information I read was spot-on; "genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms" and "long-term storage of information" and "contains the instructions needed to construct other components"

I guess my presentations on this topic will continue to evolve and my slides of footprints in the sand will have to be retired while I search for DNA images in my favorite stock photo websites.

Do you think we are still leaving footprints behind?

My Digital DNA (screenshot) from the WEB2DNA Art Project.

Diigo Dumping

2011-04-10T17:28:00.000-04:00

OK, before you read any further I want you to go into your Diigo (or whatever social bookmarking application you use) and tell me the number of items you have bookmarked. Go ahead, I'll wait...

Now let me ask you this? How often do you actually go back and use those websites? Now I'm not talking about the ones that you use on a regular basis (in fact, you probably have those urls memorized -- as do I), no, I'm talking about those posts, articles, etc. that you bookmarked that will help you do x, y, and z should the a, b, or c situation arise and Mr., Mrs. or Ms. is not available to answer your question. Yeah, THOSE bookmarks!

If you're like me, when the aforementioned occurrences happen, I tend to either use Google to find my answer or I reach out to my PLN on Twitter. So what exactly will happen to all of those bookmarked pages? They'll collect 'digital dust'. And then the day arrives when I'm feeling particularly ambitious and decide to just dive into Diigo and hit 'delete'. What about you?

iPad Screenshots - Screen #3

2011-04-10T11:47:00.003-04:00

(DUH! TOTALLY forgot to hyperlink the apps the last time around! It's like sending off an email saying, 'please look at the attached....' only to realize after you've sent it that you've forgotten the attachment!) Updated 4 hours later.

Since visual literacy is a passion of mine, it would only be natural that my image apps would be on a screen near the beginning. What you see is what I currently have, I'm trying to figure out a way to organize my ever growing apps into meaningful and manageable folders. Perhaps you can offer a suggestion or two in the Comments area. Thanks.

Rather than go into too much detail of each app and provide my images, I think I'll just give the overview as I have in the prior two iPad screenshot posts and devote a separate post to each of the apps.

Strip Design - Think of it as a 'type' of Comic Life, or an iOS app that would like to be like Comic Life. I can choose between seven different themes and within each of the themes I can choose a variety of layouts which will accommodate up to four photos. I can change the color of the backgrounds and the borders. Let's just say, Comic Life it ain't.

Comic Strip - Right off the bat, I'm annoyed that I can only create in landscape view. That said, this is another Comic Life wanna-be. You are limited to seven layouts, you can add some captions (either in the form of speech/thought bubbles or some 'POW!' and 'ZOOM' type stickers. (And I have yet to figure out how to make my speech bubbles larger so if anyone knows, please let me know in the Comments area below. Thanks.) Once you've created your masterpiece you can share out to Twitter, Facebook, or save to your Library.

TouchFX - Select a photo from your Library, apply an effect (choice of 16), select your brush size draw on your image and save/share. That's it. Here's the thing. Once you click on an effect you'll notice that NOTHING happens to your image. That's because you have to 'draw' on the image to apply the effect (I imagine that's the reason the name of the app is called 'Touch'.) So you could conceivably choose each of the 16 effects and apply them to your image -- though from an aesthetic point you might NOT want to share out one of those images. Just saying..... Oh, but here's a cool thing. Your effects are actually individual layers. So you can 'draw' an area to make it black and white, then choose the 'sharpen' effect and apply it OVER the black and white area. The combinations are endless. (I'm actually looking forward to writing up a more detailed post on this app.)

Photo FX Ultra - Warning: Before opening this app please make certain that you have three or four hours free. Trust me on this one...I started this paragraph two hours ago, I opened up the app........and well.........and that was just for an 'overview'! Lots of editing features and some great effects (if I had to guess, there must be about 3,516 effects -- just kidding, but it sure feels like it!). You can even 'straighten' an image by drawing a line along an edge. How cool is that? Especially for those times when you were leaning out the car window trying to get the shot of the deer and turkey in the field all the while driving down a highway? (Don't ask.....)

PhotoPad - Basic editing tools, some adjustments, and eight filters (think 'effect'). Nothing special EXCEPT! You can crate a ZAGGskin from your creation. Here's my thought -- create in a more powerful image editing program, save to your Library, open this app, make minor adjustments (if needed) then create your ZAGGskin from there.

OutColor - I need to spend more time with this one. I'm not sure I quite grasped its purpose. I am able to create a frame around a portion of my image, change the dimensions of that frame, the color, etc. but at the end of the day, I'm still not quite sure what I have accomplished. Perhaps you have had better luck and if so, I'd love for you to leave me a Comment. Thanks.

Artists Touch - Take one of you images and apply any number of 'artist's' touches to it. Change the background and color of your paper 'canvas'. Then choose any number of brushes, pens, pastels, etc. as well as colors. Under the wrench settings there is a tutorial which I should probably read before I continue exploring! LOL

ComboArt - It's basically an 'apply a color filter to your image' app. And there's nothing wrong with an app that just does that. And since it provides you with the filter colors (no tweaking of settings on your own) you're a little limited with the results. I do like however how there is an in-app tutorial that goes along with it. I wish more apps would have that built in. I really don't like to have to go on the web to locate the tutorials, it's really a basic Marketing 101 strategy - once you have the client, DON'T let them leave. Keep tutorials in-app or I'm liable to go elsewhere. Now where was I?

Masque - Oh dear....I should have run in the opposite direction when I read this app's title. I don't know about you, but I break out into a cold sweat whenever I have to deal with layers. I mean, I understand the concept and all, but I still have an aversion to them. And Masque, well, it's a layers type of app. Unfortunately, their tutorial is a little confusing (at least to me) and I have yet to explore the full potential of this app. I do notice that you can apply effects to only parts of the image and then add another layer and repeat the process albeit with another color or effect. Whatever....

PixelMagic - Nice basic editing app. What I like about this app is that there is a built-in frame creator so once I've done my 'magic' I can frame my work and besides the typical sharing locations, I can also upload to Flickr.com (WOOHOO!!!)

ColorSplash - This app was built for me! Upon opening it for the first time you are faced with a video tutorial which claims to have you 'up and running in no time'. These are developers who obviously heard about me and decided to take matters into their own hands. This is one of the many apps out there that converts your image to black and white and allows you to 'draw' the color back into various elements of your composition. Simple and well done.

Photogene - Here's another app that you can spend hours with. Aside from the basic editing features, there is the ability to add reflections (an effect I enjoy using) and again an app with a built-in frame feature -- nice! I particularly like the fact that there are a number of exporting features including not only Flickr, but also Dropbox.

Retouch - Limited choices of edits, HOWEVER it does include a 'cloning' feature which I not yet found in another photo app.

Diptic - Think different layouts for two photos with barely basic effects. Yup, that's it.

PhotoPal - ARGH!!! Another 'landscape only' app. The buttons within the app have a very 'cartoon-like' or 'pop art' look to them which gives me the impression that I'm working within an app meant for the under 10 crowd. There are a fair number of editing abilities. One thing I would like to see is the ability to layer the various effects. Again, an app with a built-in framer (and you know how much I LOVE built-in framers!).

PhotoForge - Just lost another couple of hours with this app! Before you jump in an play, I would strongly encourage you to check out the in-app (WOOHOO!!!) tutorial. It's short, sweet and to the point, but more importantly it will let you know what each of the icons mean (and since we have yet to develop a universal language of icons in image editing, this is a VERY helpful thing!). I loved the ability to zoom in on a part of my image and then apply some of the effects, such as sharpening, to see at what point it becomes too pixelated.

Moxier Collage - TOO FUN! Think of this app as a corkboard and you 'pin' a number of your images to it. You can add text, change the background of the 'cork', and share it out via the typical means (Twitter, Facebook, email).

Flickr Studio - This is my 'go to' Flickr app. You sign into your account and you have access to your stream, sets, collections, groups (alphabetized! WOOHOO!!!), tags, favorites, and search. In the 'settings' you can set this app to 'read-only' or 'read/write' access to your Flickr account. I tend to set things to 'read-only', if I need to make changes, I switch to 'read/write', make my changes, then switch back to 'read only'.

FlickStackr - This was my first Flickr type app and it is very basic in terms of the UI. I need to take a closer look at the similarities and differences between this app and Flickr Studio to see if I REALLY need both. If you have any input about this, please share out in the Comments section. Thanks.

PhotoFactory - Another one I can't quite figure out what it's purpose is. There is the ability to 'transform' and 'frame' and within each you can click the '+' or '-' to increase or decrease its effect. Another one I'm going to need to spend a little more time exploring.

And that's it for Screen #3!

Think about joining the Flickr group: iDevice Screenshots in Education at http://www.flickr.com/groups/idevice-screenshots/

iPad Screenshots - Screen #2

2011-04-03T17:37:00.001-04:00

My eReader folder - contains my iBook, Kindle (love the syncing to my Kindle), and the Nook (actually I don't think I've downloaded any books to that app yet, I just want to make sure that if I find a book I want I have all my eReaders ready to go). Did you know that even though the Kindle device displays contents in shades of gray, the app on the iPad displays the books in color (isn't that awesome!).

My Zen Break folder - Osmos HD, Koi Pond, Flowpaper, and Kaleidoscope. These are my go-to apps when I need a mental break. Osmos HD is like a stellar lava lamp type of app. Koi Pond is relaxing as I drag my finger across the screen scattering the fish. If I leave my finger stationary the koi eventually return and 'nibble' my finger. The soothing background music and the ability to change the flora and fish is just a bonus to this very soothing app. Flowpaper lets me leisurely drag my finger around the screen and instead of a single line, there are multiple multiple-colored lines following my finger's path. I can upload my creations to my camera roll or email it out. Kaleidoscope reminds me of the hours I spent peering through the wood carved kaleidoscopes of my (not so distant) youth. Upload an image from your camera roll or choose a preset pattern. The only thing missing is some New Age music playing in the background.

Instapaper - One of my original purchases. I wish I had waited as I have found other apps that I prefer over this one. I just find it a little slow to initially upload my content each time I open it.

Diigo - I have this on every device I own, so it's only natural that I have it on my iPad. I have not used it as frequently as I thought I might have. I tend to use the Diigo bookmarklet in Safari much more.

Feedler Pro - by far the BESTEST (uh, yes! 'bestest' IS a word in MY vocabulary) RSS app! The beauty of Feedler is that I can quickly scan the subject line of the feed. A quick click will add the item to my 'Starred' section which I use as an adhoc 'read it later'. I can also quickly share out via email link, Twitter, etc. the possibilities are endless. Oh, and why go 'Pro' if there is a free version? If I try something out and I like it I strongly believe in supporting the developers (and you should think about it too).

Read It Later - Have it on my computer and love it on my iPad. No brainer!

Flipboard - Now THIS is an app the iPad was built for! At the very beginning there was only a limited amount of content to be downloaded. Now I can choose from a number of sections from different areas - News, Design, Travel, Food to name but a few. Although Twitter is available and I haven't added it to my Content as I have found reading Tweets in magazine, inline format was too distracting. I have discovered new content such as Smitten (food) and Yay!Everday.

Popplet - OK here's another one that's going to find it's way to my last screen soon. It was one of those things discussed on Twitter for 24 hours (or less) and I had a need to be an 'early adopter' when I should have been a 'let's wait and see'. Live and learn.

IMDb - Confession: I'm horrible at remembering names (of anything or anyone). While trying to remember names of movies or actors if I get the amount of words in a title correct or the first letters of the words matched up I consider myself on target! iMDb to the rescue! And it's great at Trivial Pursuit!

Corkulous - My first 'corkboard/post-it' app and I love it. Simple. Includes an ingenious file cabinet drawer with a variety of 'elements' from check offs to to-do lists to pics. And I can create any number of corkboards for the different projects I'm working on.

GoodReader - contains most of my manuals for all the tech toys I carry around with me. Has proven to be a life saver when trying to figure out some settings on one of my digital cameras. This is one you should consider getting.

Google - heh! Who put that there? Moving to a back screen.

Office2 HD - I've used this to help some friends transfer their MS Word documents over. It's proven quite handy if you still have one foot in the PC world.

BlogPress - Have a Blogger account? Then this is the app for you. In fact, I'm using it right now as I pen this post. The one limit I have found for me is that my post won't contain my 'Digital Diva' signature. (So I had to quickly go over to my laptop version.) Guess that's a small price to pay. (But if you know a workaround would you please be kind enough to let me know in the comments section below? Thanks.)

Pencasts - If you own a Livescribe pen (of course I do! Being the Geek Girl that I am) then this app is invaluable.

Duet Browser - If one browser is good then two browsers on one screen should be better, right? My verdict is still out on that one.

Dropbox - You need to ask? I need to explain? Uh.....don't think so.

Evernote - Ditto.

Dragon Dictation - It was free. I was told to check it out. Not sure how it landed a spot on page 2. I might yet change my mind.

AllRecipes - I need to create a cooking folder. I can search by Course, Ingredient, Method, and Time. Especially love the search by ingredient ability. If I go pro I'll be able to store recipes I like in a recipe box and even print out shopping lists. I might be tempted to go pro IF they had an Android app to go with the shopping lists.

And that's my 'Page 2'. What's on your page?

Think about joining the Flickr group: iDevice Screenshots in Education at http://www.flickr.com/groups/idevice-screenshots/

"How to Steal..."

2011-03-31T16:13:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I thought that might get your attention. Actually the whole title is, 'How to Steal Like an Artist (And 9 Other Things Nobody Told Me)". I ran across it in my Reader at 3 a.m. (the 3 a.m. part is a whole other story) and although I've been reading Austin Kleon's work for a couple of months now, I've never had the opportunity to read a post of his that was not blacked out. The post was part of his talk at Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York.

As I read through his points I kept thinking that my colleagues and students might actually benefit from some of the 'wisdom' Austin shares. So let's take a look at some of these (you should probably read his post before you read my commentary. Go ahead....I'll wait.)

"All advice is autobiographical." - Smack me in my forehead! Of course it is! (For some reason a light bulb goes off.) When you give advice, it comes from (at least I hope) your own personal experience. Which means that if I get advice from others, it's based on their own experiences. So if we continue seeking out those who are in our 'comfort zone' (which I assume most members of our PLNs are), then we are really just hearing the same ole, same ole. And if we are looking to make changes in the educational climate, how can we best provide new experiences?

"Steal like an artist." - Why reinvent the wheel? I'm sure if we look hard enough and ask enough people, we will see that our 'new & improved' is really not. It's been done before. BUT!!! That's OK! Take what works from that and move on to the next thing and take what's best from that and keep on moving on.

"Nothing is original." - Every 'new' idea is really a mashup of something old. But you know what? There's NOTHING wrong with that! As long as you have improved upon the original idea.

"The artist is a collector." - And so are educators. We tend to collect ideas and movements (and what word am I looking for here?). You know, all those workshops/seminars/PD days you attended on a variety of topics, such as Cooperative Learning, Differentiated Instruction, Reponsive Classroom, PBIS, Hunter, Bloom, and on, and on, and on.

"Garbage In, Garbage Out" - I'm still digesting this one, but feel free to expand upon it in the comment section. I'm basically looking at it as program changes which administration demands of teachers that we feel (and some of us actually have research to back up our feelings) is just not the right thing to do. So we implement the changes (garbage in) and we see the results in our students (garbage out). I'd like to sit here and type that as educators we need to be more vocal, but the thing is, I think we already are. So why is noone listening? Is it because we are preaching to the choir? If that's the case, how can we affect change? I don't know about you, but quite frankly, I'm tired of sitting on committees whose outcomes have already been determined before I even entered the room.

"Don't wait until you know who you are to start making things." - How many of us have thought that there were things we could not undertake because we had not yet been trained, or we didn't have just the right equipment, etc. I believe I read somewhere about , 'go forth and ye shall receive'. Maybe we need to stop making excuses for not taking action and just do it (I believe those last words come from Nike.) Can our students afford to have us wait until everything is in place? Do what you can with what you have.

"Write the book you want to read." and "Write what you like." - WOW! I know, I know. We all have some sort of accountability built into our teaching, but do you see the power that I see in these two phrases if we were to share these with our students? I'm DEFINITELY writing these across my blackboard in school on Monday (yeah, that's another story too).

"Use your hands." and "Side projects and hobbies are important." - I think the Google 80/20 model has it right. A percentage of your time is spent pursuing things that you are interested in. I think that we need to take a serious look at this and see if we can build it into our school day. (Don't fall into the "I have to wait until I can" trap. -- see 2 paragraphs above.) Start small. For most of us I'm sure we can find 15 minutes to spare. And if you don't know where to begin, let your students lead the way.

"Do good work and put it where people can see." - It's all about the PR folks! I know, I know. You're probably saying that you post your students' work on the blog, or the website, yada, yada, yada. It's all about being global. Yes, that's true. HOWEVER! let's look to bring some of that back home. If you're a foodie, remember how it used to be about getting ingredients that were as exotic as could be? Now it's all about locally grown/harvested products? I think we can think the same about what we share out. Let's start letting our community know what is going on in our classrooms. Check out the corner gas station, they could probably use some new window displays. You have a fast food joint down the street, I'm sure they'd be happy to show support. GET IT OUT THERE!!!

The other side of this is to share what you have created, so that others might make it there own and make it better and in turn share with others (and perhaps even you!). Remember, what you've created probably isn't original anyway.

"Geography is no longer our master." - Chewing on this one as well. I believe in reaching out (as far as I can) to tap into the wisdom of the crowd. But I also feel strongly about forming bonds with those nearby.

"Be nice." - That should go without saying. And in this cyberage we try to teach our students that there is no such thing as a delete button online. There are times that I wish we would heed our own advice. Remember, if you don't have anything nice to say you should probably keep it to yourself. If you do share it digitally it will (eventually) come back to bite you.

iPad Screenshots - Home Screen

2011-03-27T19:07:00.000-04:00

One of the first things I do when friends purchase a new iPad is to share all of my screens with them. I think it's helpful to have a visual as to how others set up their apps and it's always interesting to see what others have downloaded. I emailed my current screenshots to @imcguy who has diligently pursued acquiring his first iPad (you can read about his adventure here). As I was uploading the last of my screenshots it occurred to me that others might be interested in sharing out, so I headed over to Flickr.com and created a new group - iDevice Screenshots in Education. I hope you'll consider adding your screens to the group. If you do join the group, please tag your image with #ipadscreen. Thanks.

Above you'll see the image of my home screen. I'll give a brief blurb as to why I own this app, if you want more in-depth reviews I would suggest you check out I Education App Reviews (I mean, that's where I get LOTS of ideas!) Here's my rationale for what I have on this screen:
*Notes - Not sure why it's on my home screen since I rarely (actually, never) use it as I have an entire page devoted to Notebook style apps. I think that when I'm crunched for real estate I'll be moving this app to my last page.
*Settings and App Store - The App Store I used CONSTANTLY!!! So that's a no-brainer on my home screen. My wish list for the App Store? The ability to be able to easily mark apps that I would 'like/want' to own. (Hence the reason for the 'AppShopper' app at the bottom of the screen.) And Settings? Again, not sure, I don't really access this on a regular basis -- this is another one that will be moved to the last screen when I need the real estate.
*Weather Folder - Has my three weather apps - Accuweather, WeatherBug, and TWC Max+. I need these apps at the ready in the winter. I'm the 'go to' person at school regarding the possibilities of any Snow Days. In fact, I've called the Snow Days even before the District has. I'm hoping to be able to move this folder to the last screen within the next month. (As it is, we've lost four of our days of our Spring Vacation.)
*Early Edition, ABC News, NPR, CBS News, USA Today, CNN, NYTimes, Int Herald Trib - these are all my news apps. The one I use in my classroom is the USA Today app (check out the 'News Snapshots' -- it's a GREAT inspiration if you have your students respond to graphs on a regular basis. Not only do I have my students respond to the question of the day, but then we compare our class results with the results posted online. And since one of my new loves is Infographics, this is a wonderful way to introduce it to elementary students.)
*PBS and The Onion - if I have time I'll look through these in the evening.
*The Guardian's Eyewitness - Each day a powerful image is posted. Some I've used in my classroom as a writing prompt (you can Favorite an image to use at a later time). Besides a brief blurb about what you are looking at, there is also a 'Pro Tip' in which the photographer shares how they captured the image (in the form of settings and/or what they had to do to get the shot).
*Gpanion - My Google apps at my fingertip (literally!)
*The Funnies (for some bizarre reason it appears as though this app has been pulled from the App Store) - After a long day, I like to enjoy a chuckle or two. The Funnies allows me to do that. You choose the comics you want in your library and which will open upon tapping the app. You can also share out via email, Twitter, Facebook, and save to your Photo Gallery.) If you're interested, I have the following comics in my Library: Cathy, Graphjam, Joy of Tech, Real Life Adventures, Reality Check, That's Life, Doonesbury (for my DH), Dilbert (also for my DH), 9 to 5, Reynolds Unwrapped, Gene's Journal, Freshly Squeezed, and Compu-Toon.
*Macworld - not sure I'll be keeping this one since I subscribe to its feed in my Google Reader (I don't need redundancy)
*EduTecher - I discover new educational websites with this app. If you're an educator, I would definitely check this out. (pssst....it's *FREE*)
*AppShopper - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Since the App Store doesn't yet have the ability to add apps to a 'wish list', I use AppShopper which does Not only do I list all the apps I own (iTouch and iPad), but I also add apps that I want. Anytime there is an update or change in price for any of the apps (owned or wanted), I receive an email. So if a 'wanted' app suddenly drops to $0.99 or better yet, FREE, I'll be sure to download it that evening. I couldn't live without my AppShopper app.

The Dock:
*Safari - default browser and since I've set it up with a number of bookmarklets I'll continue to use Safari
*Atomic Web - one of the first non-Safari browsers available for the iPad and one of the first that had the tab feature
*Side by Side - suh-weet! This app splits you screen in two with a browser on each side. Invaluable when writing blogposts.
*Photos - remember, Visual Literacy is one of my passions so I need quick access to my Photo Gallery regardless of the screen I'm on
*iPod - I don't have any music on my iPad (gasp!!!), but I do have lots of podcasts. I love using my iPad for viewing video podcasts.
*Twittelator - I've tried them (most of them) and frankly this is my favorite Twitter app. I have it loaded on my iTouch as well.

So what's on your home screen? And I hope you'll consider uploading an image to the Flickr group.

What Happens When You Forget to Activate Your Email Account on Your iTouch

2011-03-27T17:51:00.000-04:00

I've owned an iTouch since they first came out. In fact, I owned a 1st Gen iTouch up until December. Amazing, right? Considering that I'm such a Gadget Geek. I set up my 4th Gen iTouch, transferred over all my apps and I 'thought' I was good to go. Ah, happy oblivion....

Three months later, a Sunday afternoon, this Sunday afternoon actually, I remembered that I hadn't seen some feeds I had emailed to myself from my Feedler account (my FAVORITE Google Reader app, it just works for me). It ONLY just registered, because I tend to 'mail' these links to myself in the middle of the night when I'm still in a fog (I really should stop trying to do anything beyond playing Drop7.) With a little sleuthing I discovered that although I had set up my email account on my iTouch I had forgotten to type in the password. OK, that was easy to fix. I vaguely wondered how many links I had lost as a result, but figured if I just now thought about it the links couldn't have been that important.

I glance up at my screen and -- WHOA!!!!!!!!!!! My gmail has just registered 61 new emails!!!! What??? I sheepishly click over to the tab and sure enough. All those emailed links which I thought were lost forever, guess they were just in cyber-limbo.

So when you get your iDevice, don't forget to COMPLETELY set up your email! Or be prepared to confront a deluge of emails when you finally (like me) do figure it out!

ShutterCal - Customer Service par Excellence & So Much More!

2011-01-16T15:13:00.003-05:00

I don't often laud an application. But when the designer and co-founder (Scott Harris) of a company responds via email to a concern that was posted on Twitter (all within an hour and on a Saturday night to boot!) then I'm liable to sit up and take notice.

ShutterCal came into existence back at the end of December 2007. What is ShutterCal you might ask? Broken down into its simplest form, it's a calendar, a photo calendar, a calendar for your daily photo if you are doing a 365 project. The concept is quite brilliant. Take a picture and upload it to ShutterCal. That's it. But wait! There's so, so much more going on.

I'll just touch upon some of the features:
1. You do need to register (*FREE*). There are two other membership tiers currently available (+365 and Print+365, with the latter you get a shoebox at the end of the year with a photobook for each month!).
2. Click on a date (no, you cannot post into the future!) and upload your image. You can even add some text (no, no hyperlinking or tagging -- yet). That's it!!!
3. But wait there's more... just head on over to ShutterCal to check out the features for yourself. Oh, and if you get some of those '404' error pages, that's because there is currently some upgrading of code as ShutterCal does a little 'house cleanig'.

Now why did I take the time to share out a post about ShutterCal? Well, Eddie mentioned something on Twitter, which sent my brain into creative overdrive, which led to a Tweet from ShutterCal which lead to a question which lead to the email that started this whole post.

Here's some of what I learned in the email from Scott:

"We are in the first stages of putting together a beta group of teachers and educators to supply feedback as we develop "ShutterCal Classrooms", an extension of SC designed specifically for teachers and their students.

Picture the ShutterCal calendar structure - within a safe teacher controlled environment where teachers can:
Set up and control a digital classroom, student roster, and student accounts
List assignments on a "chalkboard" forum
Link to other classrooms, and collaborative projects
Communicate, compair strategies, and share resources with other teachers."

WOW! Would you like to be part of that Beta Group? Then send an e-mail to feedback@shuttercal.com with the subject "classroom beta" and you will automatically be placed on the list.

I hope you'll take a moment to head over to ShutterCal and check out the features and consider joining. Oh, and did I mention, there's an iPhone/iTouch app as well? (Oh yeahhhhh......)

Get Out Your Skates!

2010-12-25T20:16:00.004-05:00

Nope, not discussing the impeding forecast of snow in the upper echelons of New York, I'm talking about Transmedia's Glide 4.0. Word on the street (or would that be the 'web') has it that it outperforms Google! You got to register to see it and believe it!
From the website:

Glide OS 4.0 is a comprehensive Ad-Free cloud computing solution. Escape from the daily barrage of online floating, pop up, banner and streaming ads and email spam. In addition to providing you with an ad-free alternative, you get more storage, more features and more control over how you share your private information and personal files.

Glide is a free suite of rights-based productivity and collaboration applications with 30GBs of storage. Setup and administer up to six family member accounts including child accounts from your Glide settings panel. Users who want additional storage or would like to add additional users can upgrade to Glide Premium now with 250 GBs for $50.00 a year or 20 cents per GB per year. With a Glide Premium account you can setup and administer up to 25 users. The Glide OS provides automatic file and application compatibility across devices and operating systems. With Glide OS you also get the Glide Sync App which helps you to synchronize your home and work files.

I can't wait to check out the mobile version and upload to my iTouch and now there's even an iPad and mobile phone app! WOOHOO!

If you're already using Glide, please consider leaving a comment. Tell us what you think, how you use it, and what educational application/connection you see.

Validation of my (NOT) New Year's Resolution

2010-12-25T20:06:00.002-05:00

Back in 2008 I read a wonderful post on Christine Kane's blog that continues to validate my (NOT) New Year's resolution (hmmm....does a resolution need 'validating'? Does it make it a stronger resolution if it is 'validated'?). Her blog post discusses that you should reduce your resolution to one word and her post provides a list of words in case you're 'stuck in the proverbial rut'. The best part? You're to ONLY choose ONE word. If you're able to master the word, then go for a 2nd one in June. Now that's a GREAT idea for resolutions!!! Make ONE, and then halfway through the year make a 2nd resolution. Now I think that concept is one that I can follow!

So I'm following Christine's advice. I'm going to begin with 'reduce' (and at last glance at my Diigo bookmarks I'll need AT LEAST until June to master that resolution!). And from there I'll move on to 'reuse'. I am going to 'cheat' a bit as well as I really, really, REALLY want to add a thread of 'create' during 2011.

Yup, 2011 is already looking promising!

So, what word is going to be your 2011 Resolution?

Disclosure

2009-10-06T20:16:00.001-04:00

This policy is valid from 06 October 2009

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog does not accept any form of advertising, sponsorship, or paid insertions. We write for our own purposes. However, we may be influenced by our background, occupation, religion, political affiliation or experience.

The owner(s) of this blog will never receive compensation in any way from this blog.

The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

I Tried Not To...Really I Did!

2009-08-07T12:12:00.005-04:00

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

2009-07-10T12:53:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-09T05:37:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-06-21T13:05:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-14T08:35:00.001-04:00

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?

2009-04-22T10:14:00.002-04:00

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

A Conversation with Johanna Riddle

2009-02-26T18:09:00.002-05:00

My passion is Visual Literacy. Well, one of my 'many' passions! LOL So when Melanie Holtsman told me about an opportunity which arose involving the author of 'Engaging the Eye Generation' I knew I would do whatever I could to support her.

"Our friends at Stenhouse Publishers have invited the readers of Once Upon a Teacher to participate in a conversation with author, Johanna Riddle about her new book. What an opportunity! Being able to ask Johanna something about her book or just about teaching visual literacy strategies."

So I encourage all of you to not only view the book online -- not as your 'ho-hum' .pdf file format, but in a format that replicates electronically the actual book (complete with page turning!), put to also leave your questions for Johanna on Melanie's blog. Time is of the essence here folks! Melanie's conversation with Johanna will be published on March 13th.

Weather You Want It or Not! -- Google Calendar

2009-01-19T18:12:00.002-05:00

I just discovered this awesome setting on my Google Calendar and since I didn't know about it, I figured there must be some of you out there who didn't know about it either.

Did you know that you can get a four-day forecast on Google Calendar? I didn't either!!!

Go to your G-mail account. Click on 'Calendar' (duh! LOL).

Click on 'Settings' (top right).

In the 'Location' field type in the zip code of the forecast you would like to have displayed.

In the 'Show weather baed on my location', click on the radial button for either Celcius or Fahrenheit.

AND DON'T FORGET TO CLICK 'Save'!!!

That's it! Now whenever you check your calendar, you'll have a little icon next to the date showing the forecast!

Geez! That's a puny screenshot! Sorry......

Just Another Widget

2009-01-13T12:31:00.001-05:00

The Hyplet website allows you to create your very own online signature block in the form of blog-link images or video links or even I.D. cards with the listing of all your usernames so people can contact you (you could add your SL avatar's name!). You can create a variety of Hyplet I.D.s -- Basic IDs, mini IDs, Biz Cards, Blogge's Box, Network IDs, Fun IDs, and Hyplet Flyers -- Blog Flyers (that's what you see at the top and bottom of this post), Comment Flyers, Video Flyers, Music Flyers, Photo Flyers, and more! There's NOTHING to download and registration is free. Try it out and see what you think.

Is the Web a Soap Opera?

2009-01-13T00:16:00.002-05:00

I've had this post in my 'Draft' section for a few weeks. I happened to be reading some blogs today and ran across Will Richardson's post on 'De-Echoing my Reading Practice...Help Wanted' and thought this might be a good time to actually 'publish' this post.

Is the web, with its dramas, tangent plots, marketing hype (by both consumers and content creators), 'easy-come, easy-go', laissez-faire attitude all that different from a daytime soap opera?

I remember being away from daytime soaps for a period of 3 months (that was back in the day when I used to watch daytime soap operas; today, I can barely keep up with the few shows that I DVR), turning on the TV and within two shows I would be back in the midst of things, feeling as though I had lost nothing (nor gained anything) by being away for those three months.

Has the web become like that? A daytime drama (with different sponsors/promoters)? Is it possible to walk away from our networks, only to return to find that the same drama, promotion, and hype is still there? Are we creatures of habit and seek the familiar? Are we content with the status-quo? Are YOU? Am I?

Do our 'digital closets' require a spring cleaning? How do you decide what to get rid of? What to keep, but might discard with the next sweep? What to add to round out your core content?

Image Source: Flickr's jam343

What's in Your Tech 'Bag' Meme

2009-01-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

So the '7 Things' meme has been making the rounds and we've learned some interesting things about our PLN.

I want to know even more! What tech tools do you carry with you on a daily basis? Notice that I put the word 'bag' in quotes. Didn't think my male colleagues would necessarily carry a bag, so you guys can replace 'bag' with whatever it is you carry your tech gadgets around with.

Take a picture of your gear, upload it to Flickr.com and add notes to tell us a little more about your tools. Post the url to your image in the comments section below.

Here's the link to 'Ed Tech Diva's Bag'.

The ME ME Meme

2009-01-10T14:58:00.003-05:00

Never was one for chain mail, or those pesky 'forwarded' e-mails that list EVERYONE's e-mail addresses until you finally scroll down to the three lines of actual content. BUT, since I've been 'tagged' by fellow DENer and SLer, I'll make an exception (lucky you! LOL)

I’ve been tagged by Unklar (aka Mark Dunk) to contribute to this meme. The idea is that you share 7 things about yourself that would be unknown to your readers. Here are the rules:

Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
Share seven facts about yourself in the post - some random, some weird.
Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter and/or Plurk.

1. I grew up an Army brat (and proud of it!) and attended excellent DoD (Department of Defense) Schools in Germany. I was part of the Letter Girls (think cheerleaders, but doing half-time shows) and traveled to every football game around Germany. On one trip to Stuttgart I decided to call my parents on a whim, ran out of money half-way through the call and thought nothing of it. That is until the military police stopped the football game in the first half and announced that they were looking for me over the loudspeakers! Yes, all ended well and I did not develop a police record!

2. I have a fear of driving over bridges (I unclip my seatbelt just in case we go over and I have to make a speedy escape out of the car). I swear that in a prior life I must have drowned.

3. In 8th grade I broke a large glass container of Kool-Aid in the kitchen (military quarters). My parents weren't home and I figured if I cleaned it up they would be none the wiser. So I got out the vacuum cleaner and was thrilled at how well it just sucked all that Kool-Aid up -- until it started spewing out the rear and all over the walls! I wiped down the walls and put the vacuum away figuring I had cleverly covered up my mishap. Uhhh...at least until my mother pulled out the vacuum the next day to do some cleaning herself. There went my babysitting money! LOL

4. I have an addiction -- buying tech toys. No seriously! My husband knows to buy me a tech toy instead of a bouquet of flowers. One year he purchased an external hard drive for my birthday which I wore as a necklace for a day! LOL And if I had to choose between a pair of shoes (mind you, my current shoe count is over 100) and a tech toy, the tech toy wins hands down!

5. Although now an accomplished chef, in my 20s the ONLY thing I could cook for company was cold cumcumber soup and tacoes. If you came for dinner more than once, well............ LOL

6. My favorite breakfast (besides a Turkish breakfast) is a salami and provolone sandwich slathered with mayo on white bread so fresh and soft it sticks to the roof of your mouth.

7. I'm really a cat person, although we own two great German shepherds.

That wasn't too bad...... Now, I challenge the following people to repeat this process. Be sure to include the initial instructions, your 7 Things, and a list of 7 more people including links to their blogs or websites.

1. Christina Tynan-Wood

3. Nancy White

and finally.....

7. Twitter

New Year's Resolutions? NOT!!!

2009-01-02T17:50:00.001-05:00

I can't even begin to tell you how relaxed and stress-free my first few days of 2009 have been. Was it because I was relaxing on a white sand beach, gazing out over crystal blue waters, while a cool breeze....OK...enough with the fantasizing! Next thing you know, I'll be commenting on the cabana boy and the drinks! LOL

Actually, 2009 is proving to be relaxed and stress-free because I have decided NOT to make any resolutions this year. That's right....you heard me correctly -- NO RESOLUTIONS! That means there are no expectations, no guilt, no devious excuses...

Instead, I'm taking the opposite approach -- rather than a laundry list of 'todo' items I've decided to create a list of 'DONE' items for 2009. Rather than watching a list get smaller as items are checked off, I'll be watching my list grow. And come December, I won't be glumly staring at a list of 'failures', but rather at a list of achievements.

I think this might become a new trend, don't you?

The Long Reach of the Law -- How Far Will It Go?

2009-01-02T17:16:00.002-05:00

Driving home from an afternoon at the movies ('Doubt' -- yes, go see it!), my husband and I were listening to WCBS 880 out of New York City when we heard a report of a teen arrested after a video allegedly showing him doing 120 mph on I-84 was posted on YouTube and subsquently posted on Facebook. (Read full story here.)

We have all read about inappropriate content being posted on Facebook and resulting consequences. I have been reading more and more about prospective employers and colleges using Facebook as part of a background check. But now we've got law enforcement using multimedia posted on Facebook to issue arrests!

No, by no means am I condoning the alleged actions of the driver. But I have to wonder how our legal system will be dealing with similar issues in the future (or rather, now) as the (at times, not so) well-meaning vigilantes of the world record our every movement and action and post it for the world to see (with and/or without our knowledge).

Were I teaching Middle or High School, I would definitely use this incident to reinforce the fact that in this digital world, once something is posted on the internet it is posted forever -- and for every action there are consequences.

I believe that as educators, we need to provide every student with the knowledge and means to be a responsible digital citizen. Not doing so would be doing them a great disservice. These lessons need to begin at the elementary level and continue as the student goes through middle and high school.

It's That Time of Year...

2008-12-01T00:08:00.000-05:00

(Disclaimer: If you're not interested in rants and raves, then I strongly suggest you stop reading this post right now. If not, then proceed at your own risk.)

And no, I'm not referring to the holidays, although those are upon us as well. I'm referring to 'List Time'. You know the ones, the 'Top 10 Must Have Tech Toys', the '39 Web 2.0 Tools You Can't Live Without', the '4,321 Blogs You Must Read'. Hmmmm, did I miss any? Oh, right....the 'Top Tech People You Need to [fill-in-the-blank] (follow/meet/greet/smell their feet....oops, getting off-track here)'. It seems everyone is getting in on the act, whether it's via a blog post, via Twitter, via Plurk, via memes (and what the heck is that word anyway???), or via a workshop presentation.

I'm sitting here wondering if other professions have this kind of frenzy as well. Do my dentists generate lists of top cavity fillers? Do my car mechanics put out lists of top ten tailpipe welders?

I used to read these various lists and quickly add the apps, purchase the latest, follow the hordes. Then I began to feel like I was following the Pied Piper and I started to feel like the rats and feared I would end up in the river (that is where they ended up, isn't it?).

Now I take the road less traveled, I've created another online identity for my Twitter and Plurk, I've cleaned out my blog reader (it feels great to look at it and see it register '0', though for how long I can't tell! LOL) and I'm creating a network of colleagues who have not yet made the interstate, but are taking the side roads as they explore the landscape of technology, education, students, and teaching. These are the travelers which I believe I will learn the most from, those that don't have the answers, yet are willing to discover solutions collaboratively.

Will I give up all of my network? Absolutely not! I will continue to follow those who have helped me become a better facilitator/teacher/learner; those who have made me question my beliefs and as a result, strengthened my convictions; and those who have engaged me.

And in case you're wondering...no, I will not be posting a 'list'! LOL

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirak/331916210/

Tag You're It

2008-11-19T19:14:00.006-05:00

Actually, I titled this post, 'The Dilemas of Tagging', but thought it was too dry a title for a post. You see, I've yet to take the 'tag plunge'. I dabble a bit here and there, but frankly, I'm at a loss as to how to do it in a manner that will be meaningful.

Wikipedia.org defines 'tag' as:
"A tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an internet bookmark, digital image, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. Tags are chosen informally and personally by the item's creator or by its viewer, depending on the system. On a website in which many users tag many items, this collection of tags becomes a folksonomy."

It's sooooooo complicated. There's no one set of rules. Take for example conferences. I've got a conference coming up, and I'm wondering should I tag items 'NYSCATE', 'NYSCATE08', 'NYSCATE2008', or all three. Then there's the tag that I should add if I'm posting about a session, so I might need to add something like 'SATPM14' (that's a legit tag, since it's the tag that has been assigned to my Visual Literacy workshop -- Saturday, in the afternoon, and I'm not sure what the '14' stands for). Then I might need to add a tag for visual literacy. Should it be 'visual literacy', 'visual lit', 'vis lit', maybe hyphenated?

Everyone I know has their own set of tags developed. For example, I like the tag 'CIO', which in my book means 'check it out' -- something I need to look at because I might want to use. Then there's 'read', which means I'd like to spend time reading this when I have a moment. Then there's 'www', which in my book means I'd like to add this to my school's website. And how about *, which means LOOK AT THIS NOW IT'S VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!!!

And now it's not just photographs that need tagging, but social bookmarking websites, and now posts on blogs! When will it ever end??????

If you have a resource that can help me make heads or tails out of this tagging business, please leave a comment below. And Steve, if you can, could you make one of the challenges on '30 Days To Be a Better Blogger' about tagging? And DON'T EVEN get me started on which items I should hyperlink in a blog post! LOL

Image Source: 'Folksonomy' www.flickr.com/photos/45581782@N00/5128681

It's Not About the Tech

2008-11-19T18:45:00.005-05:00

Last year I attended a conference where the underlying premise of the majority of the workshops I sat in on (unstated, but at times also stated) was that if you weren't using technology then you were a boring teacher and your class were unimaginative and your students weren't engaged. As I looked around me, I saw heads nodding in agreement, while I sat there with an incredulous look on my face. I began to wonder if indeed technology users had developed into some kind of new elite group and someone had failed to inform me. Instead of coming out of the conference refreshed, I came away dismayed.

On my drive home I began to reflect on this and it occured to me that perhaps one of the reasons that colleagues are loathe to attempt to integrate technology is that they don't feel part of the 'in crowd' (a misconception IMHO, but something believed by many). After conferences I tend to run around my school sharing tools and applications and ideas with anyone that has accidentally left their classroom doors open (meaning, everyone!LOL). I decided not to do that this time. Instead, I wandered from classroom to classroom, observing the wonderful things that teachers do day in and day out with the benefit of technology.

I realized I needed to step back a bit. Now 'Can I...', 'May I...', and 'Do you think we could...' are phrases I'm employing more and more in my interactions with colleagues. By 'knocking', I've enabled teachers to 'open the door' and enter of their own accord. In this new classroom, I've enabled more teachers to take the plunge and discover that sometimes technology can enhance what their students are doing and that they can become part of that transformation.

Little by little, I'm hoping to narrow the digital divide that occurs among teaching professionals.

I'll be attending another conference this weekend and I'm hoping that I won't be hearing any disparaging remarks about non-technology users. And if I do? This time I won't sit quitely by.....stay tune, News at 11!

Image Source: 'AC: Elite Modeling Chicago 25th Anniversary' www.flickr.com/photos/44787216@N00/968940068

No Post, Just Visuals

2008-11-16T21:07:00.003-05:00

Since I'm doing a workshop on Visual Literacy at the NYSCATE conference this coming weekend, I thought I'd 'test drive' one of the websites I'll be sharing, Slide . Nope, no review, just a share. Enjoy!

Computers Decrease (My) Productivity

2008-11-16T11:04:00.004-05:00

The major thing on my To-Do list today is to write a draft for a Visual Literacy course. Of course, this was also on my To-Do list yesterday as well.

I've got the house to myself (thanks to the opening of deer season), my dining room table is cleared off, my resources are spread out all around me, my dogs are laying at my feet, and by all accounts I should be motivated and raring to go. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Why? I turned on my computer!

First, I had to check all my e-mails, then I checked in to the two online courses I'm teaching. Then I justified a 'break' and logged into Twitter to see what my network was up to. Which lead me to click on a few links, which led me to another great resource to add to my list of free photo websites that I just 'had' to add to my wiki for the Visual Literacy workshop I'm presenting at NYSCATE on Saturday, which led me to check out the latest images on the fires in California, well, you get the idea. And if that wasn't enough of a detour, I had to check my Bloglines account to see if there's anything there I might be able to use, which led me to peruse through CogDog's images of his time in Iceland, which led me to play we some online photo editors, and there went another hour of my time. All that led me to sign-up for a couple of applications posted in Teach42's '30 Days To Be a Better Blogger' challenge, then of course I had to go back to my e-mail to 'verify' my registration. And since I signed up for the applications, I had to come into my Blogger account to add them to my blog. Phew...

I'm about ready to power down, and resort to my legal pad and various purple and green pens to get some serious work done on this course draft.

So I'm just curious...how do you get the work that needs to get done accomplished with so many distractions tempting you on the web?

Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulworthington/

Are FREE Online Apps Worth the Price?

2008-11-15T14:59:00.002-05:00

Let's face it, we ALL love *FREE* online applications. I'll be the first to admit that when I hear/read/see the tags, 'free' and 'online app' I start to hyperventilate. No seriously! LOL I click on that link so fast that my index finger can now lift the front end of a VW Bug without a problem. I immediately bookmark the website to my Diigo list even before the page has fully loaded. I invest time, resources, and blood, sweat, and tears into a FREE online app.

And then, inevitably, it happens. My internet is down, perhaps due to 'someone' hitting a deer which then runs into an electrical pole (no, I'm not saying who, but let's put it this way -- my body shop guy should give me a free pass, just like a Dunkin' Donuts card, 'buy 6, get the 7th free' -- not that I'm counting and not that I'm saying that I'm at the 7th one, and not that I'm saying who hit the deer!LOL). Maybe my internet is not down, but I'm at a friend's house up the road who still only has dial-up (yes, YOU know who I'm talking about!) and therefore the thought of even venturing forth on the cyber-highway sends shivers down my spine (and not in a good way). Or maybe....GASP!...the application website itself is down! And the latter is the one that I'm seeing happening more and more frequently.

I'm going to start investing my time in *FREE* online applications which provide an 'offline' option. If you've got an online application that has an offline component to it, please leave a comment below.

30D2BBB - A Heartfelt Thanks

2008-11-03T20:04:00.003-05:00

To me this was a no-brainer. Steve wrote, "The first few months of blogging is always the most difficult because it largely feels like your talking to yourself." I expected this to be the case, since I had only written three posts in three months. A 'monoblogue' (aka 'a monologue blog') is what I figured I had penned. Imagine my shock (yes, there's a Flickr photo of me staring at my monitor with my jaw hanging down! LOL) when I received notification that someone had actually commented on my (mono)blog(ue)! Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach left a comment on my blog, a short & to-the-point comment that combined with Steve's '30 Days to Be a Better Blogger' challenge has inspired me to put fingers to keyboard again.

So Sheryl, this one's for you...

Image Source: 'Weekend Love' www.flickr.com/photos/10565597@N00/2871346522

30D2BBB - Day 2 - Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street

2008-11-02T13:47:00.003-05:00

Day 2 and we're already talking about traffic? Steve is challenging us to include a way to gather data from our blog in Day 2 of the Challenge. I trust Steve so I decided to take the plunge (although in all honesty when he started talking about inserting code I started getting cold feet!). I decided to go with Google Analytics (after all as a GCTer & since I host my blog on Blogger it did make the most sense -- at the time). I registered and then got to the page with the code and then some sort of cryptic directions about going to your template page and locating the 'body' (oops, tried to put in those side arrows and forward slashes and I just go a red 'ERROR - Your HTML cannot be accepted' notice across the top of my screen!) tag and that's when I almost decided that this Challenge might be a little out of my league. But I clicked on some help for those with a Blogspot domain, printed out the 9 steps and was on my way. Phew!

Now...my only question is...SO NOW WHAT? Do I get an e-mail? Do I have to go somewhere to get my data? Anybody have a simple 'how to' for accessing & reading the Google Analytics?

And if this is only Day 2 of the Challenge, WHAT will Steve have us do for Day 3?

Image Source: Flickr bigjay13579

30D2BBB - Day 1 - All About Me

2008-11-01T14:41:00.004-04:00

Day 1 of the Challenge:

I actually removed the 'All About' widget in the sidebar when I first created this blog. Didn't feel like I wanted anyone to really know who was writing this blog. But Steve made a great argument for the reasons why there not only should be an 'About Me' section, but why it should hold a prominent position on your blog. Makes sense, but I'm still hesitant. Not quite sure why, but then again I can 'change', 'add' and even 'delete' it if I want so I guess I'll leave it up there for now.

Since I'm a fan of the Happy Bunny line, I thought I'd change the title to 'It IS All About Me!'.

Oops, just went back and reread today's challenge and realized I needed to say something about what this blog is about. Oh, oh...I could easily get carried away with this one. OK, Ed Tech Diva...focus, focus, focus...think 'Twitter'! 140 characters or less.

Challenge for Me...Challenge for You

2008-10-23T17:21:00.003-04:00

This is just the push I need to work on this blog. Steve Dembo of Discovery Educator Network has created a challenge for himself and has decided to offer it out to his PPLN -- 'Be a Better Blogger in Just 30 Days' for the month of November. I figure I have a zillion post-its and audio files on my digital voice recorder filled with ideas that I would like to post about. The problem is not the amount of content, the problem is being challenged to find the time, to refine the 'look and feel' of my blog and to, hopefully by November's end, have made blogging part of my daily (OK, OK...weekly LOL) existence.

I hope you'll consider joining us in this challenge!

THE Best Teeny, Tiny Gadget

2008-09-28T17:18:00.002-04:00

I spnd a lot of time driving back and forth to work. I have a 2 hour daily commute. Since I'm pretty much on auto-pilot (early a.m., country highways, NO traffic) I listen to NPR and let my mind wander. I find that in the a.m. hour my mind overflows with 'oh my god, I forgot to call...' or 'I better remember to do....' or, more importantly, 'this is the idea that will...' In any event, I hate pulling over to jot down my thoughts, I have yet to figure out how to drive and write, 2 minutes after I've had my 'brainstorm' I promptly forget it (what? you too?). To solve my problem and save my sanity, I purchased a digital voice recorder. The BEST $30 spent! I flip the switch, press 'REC' and my pearls of wisdom are permanently stored waiting to be retrieved at a more convenient time. I purchased my Olympus VN-120 [meaning I've got 120 minutes of recording time] at a nearby 'superstore'. It's only about 2 inches long and weighs less than my lipstick. This thing goes with me everywhere -- I even managed to place it in those ungodly teeny, tiny handbags women reserve for attending weddings and other festive occasions (and for good reason too!). In fact, I like it soooo much that I went and purchased the Olympus WS-100 (I mean if one is good, then two has to be better, right? At least that's the logic I use with my husband when purchased shoes...handbags...tech toys LOL) which I leave at school.

Now if I could ONLY remember to retrieve those messages I'd have it made, purchased the winning lotto ticket, designed my new entertainment console, written a staff development book, and discovered the next American Idol. Well, you get the idea!

The KEY Ingredient for a PPLN

2008-08-04T02:34:00.004-04:00

'PPLN'? For me, there is no distinction between a personal learning network and a professional learning network since there is so much overlap, hence the PPLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network). I've read many posts on the subject, some describing how to create one, others on how to nuture one, and yet others on the characteristics. What I have yet to run across is the KEY ingredient that keeps one invested in their own PPLN.

This 'aha' moment came to me at 1:30 a.m. as I awoke from a sleep induced by literally crashing into bed at 4:30 p.m. yesterday. As I lay tossing and turning, wondering how long the batteries on my hand-held Solitaire game would last, my mind began to think of all the things I needed to accomplish this week. I then toyed with the idea of going into the office/loft and check out the latest on Twitter...and then it 'hit' me -- my PPLN doesn't only provide me with answers when I encounter problems, it doesn't only provide me a technical support system (much needed in rural New England), it isn't only about the informal relationships, what it's REALLY about -- what keeps me invested in my PPLN -- is that it makes me 'reach', it makes me try things and do things I might not otherwise try/do, it 'forces the envelope' so to speak.

I've joined a number of PPLNs over the past year and I was thinking about what made me stay in some and leave others. Those in which I stayed all had the same KEY ingredient -- they kept me engaged, they made me look at situations from different perspectives. I was not just a passive, receptive learner in these PPLNs, but rather I took the knowledge shared, the suggestions, the URLs, and with the support I knew I could rely on, I ventured forth.

What keeps YOU invested in a PPLN?

I've Fallen Off the Bandwagon

2008-04-11T01:15:00.000-04:00

No, not THAT 'bandwagon'! LOL The bandwagon I normally jump on as soon as a new tool, application, website, toy, [you fill in the blank] crosses one of my networks. Be it within the 140 characters of a Tweet or embedded in a much longer post.

Recently http://www.mystudiyo.com/ (and what is it with the spelling of websites these days? First, we've got the ones who are dropping the last vowel - Flickr, Tumblr, etc. And now I'm seeing websites adding a letter to the end. Yeesh!) crossed my browser. Intrigued (as I'm ALWAYS known to be) I clicked, took an amusing, mindless quiz (all the while assuring myself it was for the purpose of evaluating the application's usefullness in an educational setting -- and no, honey, those aren't new shoes...these ol' things? I've had them forever! Yeah, right! LOL). Then more posts and tweets popped up (much like pimples on one's face the day of the Senior prom) regarding that very app. I religiously bookmarked the site into my bulging 'Tools' folder. Guaranteed, within two weeks the discussion of this app will have disappeared from the cybersphere (did I just coin something here?).

We complain that our students don't demonstrate 'stick-to-it-iveness'. I ask myself, 'Do we?'.

P.S. From now on I will take the same approach I take when catalogue shopping. Tear it out (in this case, bookmark it), file it away, revisit it in three months and if I still feel like I can't live without it -- go out and buy it...No regrets.

In the meantime, I'm creating a new folder in my bookmarking application (notice I didn't mention which one -- wouldn't want to add to your 'I MUST CHECK THIS OUT NOW' obsession!) called 'Check It Out --- LATER'.

Excuses for Not Posting

2008-04-06T12:12:00.002-04:00

This post has been brewing in my mind for a while. Imagine my surprise when I ran across this article in the New York Times about the demise of some bloggers and the stressful 'working' conditions of others.

I've always been one that is only interested in the core content of the post (whatever that content may be). I'm NOT interested in WHY you haven't posted in a while, and quite frankly, I couldn't care less. I think we all realize that things happen in your real life that prevent you from posting, or that perhaps you didn't have anything to say and that when you do have something to say, you will indeed post again.

Don't worry, I won't delete you from my Bloglines account just because I haven't heard from you in a while. However, I WILL delete you from my Bloglines account if you share the myriad of reasons why you haven't post!

Review of Literature....I Mean, Blogs

2008-03-01T18:04:00.003-05:00

If you've ever had to write a thesis you know there is a step called 'Review of Literature'. It's basically searching high and low for anything and everything that has ever been written on your topic. That's basically what I've been doing for the last month -- reviewing the literature...I mean, blogs. I wanted to see what was out there, how blog authors approached their topic, what topics were discussed, what their 'voice' was, how often they blogged, etc. I know that there have been posts written about the various types of blogs. I've even come across an informative SlideShare entitled 'The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging...'.

Here's what I've come to find:

On the minus side of my 'Review of Literature...I mean, blogs':

1. The blogger who has become extremely cynical of education and technology, showing little (if any) tolerance towards those who do not follow his/her beliefs. I believe these bloggers suffer from the 'Web Messiah Syndrome'.

2. The blogger who writes extensively (some might say 'ad nauseum') throughout the day. Makes me wonder if taxpayers know what these employees are up to. Guess their mantra is, 'Delegate, delegate, delegate'. I find that three-quarters of what is posted in their blogs is beyond my level of comprehension (though I hold two Masters and one Advanced Degree). Maybe it's just that my mind wanders after the first 3 sentences. Purpose of these blogs? Extolling the virtues of their self-worth while insulting the intelligence of the masses.

3. The blogger who regurgitates (read: copy/paste) information from other sites and passes them along. I call these bloggers the 'Wanna-Be RSS Feeders'.

4. The blogger who fills the blog with 1001 widgets. Don't they realize that it's human nature for the eye to wander everywhere EXCEPT where it's supposed to go. On these blogs my eyes drift to the 'live traffic feed' -- why does anyone need to know where the visitors are coming from and when other than the blogger who can get that data from an analytic website. Then there's the 'calendar'...what the reader doesn't have a hard copy calendar or a calendar on their computer? Totaly waste of space. Don't forget the 'Twitter Feeds' -- if a reader wants twits they should sign up for an account. Let's meander over to the 'Recenter Readers'...why would I care? Please explain that one to me. Oh, and my favorite, 'Subscribe by e-mail'? HUH?!? Haven't heard of RSS and Google Reader or Bloglines? Sheesh... By then I'm so exhausted looking at everything that I'm too pooped to read the post. There's 'Death by PowerPoint'...now there's 'Death by Widgets'.

5. The last one might actually be a fault of my feed aggregator, but why do I get, besides the posts which I want to read, the bloggers Del.icio.us links and Flickr photos? Although I must admit that I do cull some valuable information from the del.icio.us links, do I really need to see 50 pictures of a bird in a tree?

On the positive side of my 'Review of Literature...I mean, blogs':

1. The blogger who shares a website or application, but then goes beyond the 'call of duty' and actually tries out the website/application and offers insight as to how this website/application might be used to further our PPLN (Personal/Professional Learning Network) or enhance learning in our classrooms.

2. The blogger who challenges my 'comfort zone' and makes me re-think what I am doing or what I believe. I might not always agree, but I've reached some amazing discoveries as a result of these posts.

My goal? I want to review websites/applications that will directly impact students, give a lay person's/educator's (my) take on it, ponder it's uses in my PPLN/classroom, suggest possible uses and hopefully receive feedback from you, my readers (in the form of comments) on additional ways to use the website/application, thereby making this blog more collaborative. (Yes, I realize that this was a run-on sentence!) I will also occasionally post observations of what I'm seeing happening around me in education, technology, and ed-tech. Will I sometimes take you out of your comfort zone? I certainly hope so.

And remember, we are all in 'Perpetual Beta'.

BEST Accessory -- EVER!!!

2008-02-27T17:40:00.002-05:00

If you're like me you throw all your cables, usb wires, power cords, etc. into a box so that it looks something like this: (yup, that's my melange!)

If you're a little more like me, then you might actually label each of these cords with a folder label so you can discern which cord goes with which of your 'techy-toys'. If you get ambitious (which I occasionally do), you might even go so far as to throw all the documentation, CDs, and cables/accesories for a particular 'techy-toy' into its own ziploc bag. After wasting precious minutes trying to not only find the right cable/usb wire/powercord/etc. and then trying to untangle the mess I decided ENOUGH!!!

As I was browsing one of the craft stores in the area I meandered down the knitting and needlepoint aisle (not a clue why I did this) and I ran across a 'Crafter's Tote' manufactured by Allary.

The image does not do the item justice. It's basically 12" x 15", has one outside velcro closure pocket on one side and a full zippered pocket on the other side, the main compartment has see-thru zippered compartments - one full sized on one side, four medium sized on the other side, then it has two additional 'pages' that are velcroed (and therefore removable) -- one 'page' has a total of twelve compartments (ideal for my iTouch syncing cable), the other 'page' has a total of 6 horizontal compartments. And all of this for UNDER $20!!!

So what are you waiting for? Get in your car and head down to your local craft shop.

Welcome to Just in Time Tech

2008-01-11T14:48:00.000-05:00

Just in Time Tech is a blog that will offer snippets and tidbits related to Ed Tech. Websites and apps, especially the FREE Web 2.0 kind will be shared and connections to education will be made. On occasion there will be rantings and ravings intended to inspire my readers (this means YOU!) to respond.