9.26.2007
Other blog
For anyone who read this blog during NECC, I just wanted to let everyone know that my normal blog is located at http://misterlamb.edublogs.org/. I created "Views From the Lamb's Herd" while at NECC since there was a problem with edublogs' server. I don't update this one as much since this is blocked in my district. Just want to let people know.
6.28.2007
5 minute later update
Well, they're giving us a different plane, and it should be ready to be in the air by 9:30. I'll believe it if it happens. That, and I doubt I'll get on. Maybe I'll just rent a car tomorrow...
Stuck in Charlotte
I got to the Atlanta airport this morning, only to be told that they did not have my seat on my flight. Yippee!! From there, things just got better.
First, they were able to get on me a flight out of Atlanta at 1:35. I was originally supposed to arrive in Harrisburg at 12:51. As you can see, it was a great start to a day. Anyway, they got me on the 1:35 flight, but they were not able to get me on a flight out of Charlotte. They just told me to arrive at the gate and get on the standby list, so I did that. Well, first, they tell me that the 5:20 flight (the one I was going to be on standby for) has been postponed until 7:20. Ok. So I go get some dinner and meet a few other people waiting for a Harrisburg flight as well. I find out that the 5:20 flight basically wiped out the 7:20 flight. How does that make sense?
So think about this. They take a full flight, cancel it, and then move a full flight into its spot. Does this make sense? Anyway, they board the flight and get to standby. I am the second-to-last person called for standby. Awesome! I'm going home! I call my parents to let them know. I get on the plane...and they're out of room. There are three of us that get shuttled back off the plane. Yay. I am so happy. Call the parents back and tell them I didn't get on the plane. I get back off. The ladies at the gate tell me I need to go to gate B2 (I was at gate E26, which was moved from E16, which was moved from E19). They didn't say anything about having to get back on the standby list. I thought I already was! Anyway, as I am walking toward B2, the one family I was talking with said I should check that I am on the list, so I did. Whattaya know? I had to be re-added to the list!
Then I get to gate B2. First, the guys at the gate know that there is a huge list to get on the flight, and I feel bad for them to have to take the brunt of the attack. But the one dude makes the following announcement: "We know you have questions about the flight to Harrisburg. It is currently overbooked by 30 guests. We are also waiting for the plane to come in from Houston. It was originally expected to arrive here in Charlotte at 9:48. It has yet to leave Houston."
I don't think I will be getting home today.
We have also been told that there are no openings on flights tomorrow at all, so we will have to wait until SATURDAY until they can get us a flight. I didn't know this was going to be a week-long trip.
First, they were able to get on me a flight out of Atlanta at 1:35. I was originally supposed to arrive in Harrisburg at 12:51. As you can see, it was a great start to a day. Anyway, they got me on the 1:35 flight, but they were not able to get me on a flight out of Charlotte. They just told me to arrive at the gate and get on the standby list, so I did that. Well, first, they tell me that the 5:20 flight (the one I was going to be on standby for) has been postponed until 7:20. Ok. So I go get some dinner and meet a few other people waiting for a Harrisburg flight as well. I find out that the 5:20 flight basically wiped out the 7:20 flight. How does that make sense?
So think about this. They take a full flight, cancel it, and then move a full flight into its spot. Does this make sense? Anyway, they board the flight and get to standby. I am the second-to-last person called for standby. Awesome! I'm going home! I call my parents to let them know. I get on the plane...and they're out of room. There are three of us that get shuttled back off the plane. Yay. I am so happy. Call the parents back and tell them I didn't get on the plane. I get back off. The ladies at the gate tell me I need to go to gate B2 (I was at gate E26, which was moved from E16, which was moved from E19). They didn't say anything about having to get back on the standby list. I thought I already was! Anyway, as I am walking toward B2, the one family I was talking with said I should check that I am on the list, so I did. Whattaya know? I had to be re-added to the list!
Then I get to gate B2. First, the guys at the gate know that there is a huge list to get on the flight, and I feel bad for them to have to take the brunt of the attack. But the one dude makes the following announcement: "We know you have questions about the flight to Harrisburg. It is currently overbooked by 30 guests. We are also waiting for the plane to come in from Houston. It was originally expected to arrive here in Charlotte at 9:48. It has yet to leave Houston."
I don't think I will be getting home today.
We have also been told that there are no openings on flights tomorrow at all, so we will have to wait until SATURDAY until they can get us a flight. I didn't know this was going to be a week-long trip.
6.27.2007
And it's all done
I find it so hard to believe that my first NECC is over. It was such an amazing experience. I was so glad to have had contacts down here, as they helped me get through this tremendously. First off, Jeff Rothenberger, thanks for EVERYTHING you did in helping me get the most out of NECC. From getting us into special sessions to getting contact information for me, you have been spectacular. To the Pennsylvania CFF contingent, it is amazing to see how much people from other states know about what we are doing. You are all doing a great job of making connections and furthering our cause.
I feel like I should wrap up my whole experience. My experience started on Saturday, when I got down here so I could get my bearings and figure out what I wanted to do ahead of time. There was a CFF meeting on Sunday that a good number of people were not able to attend since their plane hadn't landed yet. The opening session with Andrew Zolli was interesting. It set up the week well, and got a lot of people fired up for the week.
The conference really started up in Monday. I began by going into the exhibit hall. It took up the same area as five football fields! CRAZY! I hit only a few booths, and began to realize that most of what I was getting would not all fit in my computer bag. As time went on, I ended up going to the Best Buy booth to get one of their gargantuan bags. It was definitely an attention getter. I got to sit through a few sessions, and I blogged them all. I have a lot of new t-shirts. I won a Planet Earth DVD set. I can't wait to watch it to see what's on it. Unfortunately, I didn't win any of the iPods or computers, but at least I won some stuff. Today, at the one booth, Jeff and I ran into Jim Gates. Jim mentioned he hadn't won anything yet. About a minute after that, the presenter asked a question, which I answered. I got a prize for the answer. I told Jim he just missed his chance. All I had to do was say the name of the company!
However, I feel that the best presentation was the very last one, with closing keynote speaker Dr. Tim Tyson. I had emailed Tim a few months about to find out more about what they were doing in his school. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone check out what they are doing at their school by checking out MabryOnline.org. Dr. Tyson was stressing that the idea in education is that it must be authentic. It must be something the kids care about and that matters to them now. We shouldn't be preparing them for "next year." I mean, if we're always preparing for next year, what's the point? We'll never be where we need to be.
I'm heading out to the Braves game tonight to round out my stay here in Atlanta. It has been an amazing stay in this city. There are so many friendly people here, and I'm still trying to figure out where all the traffic is. I hope to be able to do this again next year when NECC is in San Antonio.
Also, I am so glad that I will still be able to get more info out of NECC 2007, as I can read all of the other blogs and watch the archived sessions. I will be going back to NECC 2007's site a lot throughout the next year. That was probably one of the best things they could have done for NECC this year. It is allowing me to "see" sessions I couldn't get in, and allowing those who could not make it to NECC to experience it, and maybe it will inspire them to make it next year.
I feel like I should wrap up my whole experience. My experience started on Saturday, when I got down here so I could get my bearings and figure out what I wanted to do ahead of time. There was a CFF meeting on Sunday that a good number of people were not able to attend since their plane hadn't landed yet. The opening session with Andrew Zolli was interesting. It set up the week well, and got a lot of people fired up for the week.
The conference really started up in Monday. I began by going into the exhibit hall. It took up the same area as five football fields! CRAZY! I hit only a few booths, and began to realize that most of what I was getting would not all fit in my computer bag. As time went on, I ended up going to the Best Buy booth to get one of their gargantuan bags. It was definitely an attention getter. I got to sit through a few sessions, and I blogged them all. I have a lot of new t-shirts. I won a Planet Earth DVD set. I can't wait to watch it to see what's on it. Unfortunately, I didn't win any of the iPods or computers, but at least I won some stuff. Today, at the one booth, Jeff and I ran into Jim Gates. Jim mentioned he hadn't won anything yet. About a minute after that, the presenter asked a question, which I answered. I got a prize for the answer. I told Jim he just missed his chance. All I had to do was say the name of the company!
However, I feel that the best presentation was the very last one, with closing keynote speaker Dr. Tim Tyson. I had emailed Tim a few months about to find out more about what they were doing in his school. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone check out what they are doing at their school by checking out MabryOnline.org. Dr. Tyson was stressing that the idea in education is that it must be authentic. It must be something the kids care about and that matters to them now. We shouldn't be preparing them for "next year." I mean, if we're always preparing for next year, what's the point? We'll never be where we need to be.
I'm heading out to the Braves game tonight to round out my stay here in Atlanta. It has been an amazing stay in this city. There are so many friendly people here, and I'm still trying to figure out where all the traffic is. I hope to be able to do this again next year when NECC is in San Antonio.
Also, I am so glad that I will still be able to get more info out of NECC 2007, as I can read all of the other blogs and watch the archived sessions. I will be going back to NECC 2007's site a lot throughout the next year. That was probably one of the best things they could have done for NECC this year. It is allowing me to "see" sessions I couldn't get in, and allowing those who could not make it to NECC to experience it, and maybe it will inspire them to make it next year.
Creating to Learn: Integrating Technology Into Your Classroom, Grades 5-12
This is a presentation by Jacqueline Keane. The session begins with a recap of where she has come from and how she began to incorporate technology into her classroom. She found that when she assigned students to create PowerPoint slides, there would be too much emphasis on the bells and whistles of PowerPoint instead of on the content that was being delivered. To try and learn more, she began visiting other teachers, schools, and attending conferences. She found that there were many schools that were doing the same thing she was. One problem that was prevalent was that there was no curriculum plan for the computers! The schools would brag about having the equipment, but there was no plan to incorporate them correctly!
There was a book and folder that was distributed, but there weren't enough for everyone. The handouts in the folder were shown on the overhead. This session is feeling a lot like it is going over the main ideas behind properly incorporating technology into the classroom. Don't focus on the technology, focus on what it is being used for.
CIDE Process:
Begin with a Concept. The kids will need to continuously refocus on this to remember what their goal is.
Investigation. The students need to do this themselves. If you want them to use data, have them collect it as well. Of course, all sources need to be verified.
Jacqueline says she often has her students reject one of the sources they find and give a reason as to why they are discarding it. It could be a personal webpage or is not verified as a reliable source.
Design. Students will lay out their project, including synthesizing the data and choosing how to put it together.
Execution. This is the phase where the students create their final project.
As an educator, when you are choosing a concept, you need to focus on the core concepts of your curriculum. The first day, you need to introduce the concept. Students will create graphic organizers and reflect on the goal. Students should vary their sources for an investigation. As a student designs their project, it should be something that showcases their talents and vision, not someone else's. Help them to embrace their strengths. The execution phase should be divided into separate tasks to keep the student on task. They should do this themselves.
In her book, there is a rubric on CIDE to help guide the use of the process. This process requires students to demonstrate refined research, critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. I am having trouble keeping up with a lot of the info that is on the PowerPoint slides. There is some good info on it, and she's not just reading off the slides, but it is difficult to try and get all the info I want off of them. I hope I can get some more of this info from the Creating to Learn website. The session has ended by 12:30. Maybe she could have slowed down a little more to better allow more of the info to sink in.
There was a book and folder that was distributed, but there weren't enough for everyone. The handouts in the folder were shown on the overhead. This session is feeling a lot like it is going over the main ideas behind properly incorporating technology into the classroom. Don't focus on the technology, focus on what it is being used for.
CIDE Process:
Begin with a Concept. The kids will need to continuously refocus on this to remember what their goal is.
Investigation. The students need to do this themselves. If you want them to use data, have them collect it as well. Of course, all sources need to be verified.
Jacqueline says she often has her students reject one of the sources they find and give a reason as to why they are discarding it. It could be a personal webpage or is not verified as a reliable source.
Design. Students will lay out their project, including synthesizing the data and choosing how to put it together.
Execution. This is the phase where the students create their final project.
As an educator, when you are choosing a concept, you need to focus on the core concepts of your curriculum. The first day, you need to introduce the concept. Students will create graphic organizers and reflect on the goal. Students should vary their sources for an investigation. As a student designs their project, it should be something that showcases their talents and vision, not someone else's. Help them to embrace their strengths. The execution phase should be divided into separate tasks to keep the student on task. They should do this themselves.
In her book, there is a rubric on CIDE to help guide the use of the process. This process requires students to demonstrate refined research, critical thinking, communication, and analytical skills. I am having trouble keeping up with a lot of the info that is on the PowerPoint slides. There is some good info on it, and she's not just reading off the slides, but it is difficult to try and get all the info I want off of them. I hope I can get some more of this info from the Creating to Learn website. The session has ended by 12:30. Maybe she could have slowed down a little more to better allow more of the info to sink in.
Even farmers need love
We all know that farmers use technology in farming, but did you know that they're using it to meet other farmers now?
See it on Yahoo!
Farmers only!
They have a commercial, too!
See it on Yahoo!
Farmers only!
They have a commercial, too!
Drupal: Content Management for the Web 2.0 World
I arrived a bit late as there was a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge line waiting for the shuttle and I decided to hoof it instead. It was the first time I went out to the shuttle and there wasn't at least one already there. I am really excited about this session, as Jim Gates told me a bit about Drupal, so I wanted to learn more so I could (hopefully) get it at our school.
We begin by logging in to a sample class that Brett Hinton of Gilbert Public Schools (Arizona) has set up. We created usernames and passwords, and the first thing we did was take a poll on what our experiences with Drupal and CMS's are. Most of us have used a CMS before, but not Drupal.
This session is designed as a hands-on session, where we are encouraged to click around and check out the site. It's a great way to learn. However, with a large group, it is difficult to get questions, so he has set up a link where we can submit a question within the Drupal page. Neat function to be able to do that!
Next, Brett talks of the history of Drupal. Also, the 'handouts' for the session are online. Drupal was originated by Dries Buytart in 2000 to keep in touch with college buddies, ans has expanded to over 150,000 users.
The requirements are you need a web server (Brett recommends Apache), a database server (MySQL & PgSQL are most common), and php.
Brett then also gave us two links for Drupal providers:
Next, we look at the blog functionality of Drupal. We see how it gives the ability to name your blog, put a description with it, etc. Wiki pages are also part of the package. I will have to get a little more info on how they work in Drupal.
We also look at the podcasting function in Drupal. Brett plays a song that one of his colleagues created called "The Drupal Song." Very catchy. How do we add a podcast? Let's watch Brett show us! He explains how it is possible for both the teacher and students to create and post the podcasts. Hmm, you can only submit a podcast with the following formats: mps, wav, ogg, and mp4. That's something to keep in mind.
As I click through some of the examples, I noticed that one of the pages (CoreWEB) is using Drupal and moodle together. It's nice to see that there is a mixture of usage of the different tools out there. That is something that will need to be stressed with the non-tech teachers. I know there are a few in my district that would look at this as the only thing to use, when they should choose the tool that best fits what it is they want to do.
Brett shows us the calendar function on one of the sample pages. There is some functionality to it, but it doesn't do quite everything you would hope for from a calendar. There were a few questions that people were asking, and Brett did a great job of answering them. It doesn't quite check for conflicts, but there are other calendars that can do that. Brett talks about using the calendar to reserve a computer lab. I know we use AirSet in our district to reserve computer carts, though I don't worry about it too much as I have my own carts.
An observer mentions Bill Fizgerald and DrupalEd. It is a site designed to help people start up their own Drupal page. Brett then takes us into the Drupal admin demo pages. He talks about creating the page. You need to create a username and password, and it creates you as an admin. You can have more than one admin for a page. We are able to see how the admin functions appear. There is also talk of being able to test out the different open source CMS packages. It is unfortunate that there is only an hour allowable for this session. This has been an excellent session, and I would love to learn more. I hope I can talk our district into getting Drupal.
We begin by logging in to a sample class that Brett Hinton of Gilbert Public Schools (Arizona) has set up. We created usernames and passwords, and the first thing we did was take a poll on what our experiences with Drupal and CMS's are. Most of us have used a CMS before, but not Drupal.
This session is designed as a hands-on session, where we are encouraged to click around and check out the site. It's a great way to learn. However, with a large group, it is difficult to get questions, so he has set up a link where we can submit a question within the Drupal page. Neat function to be able to do that!
Next, Brett talks of the history of Drupal. Also, the 'handouts' for the session are online. Drupal was originated by Dries Buytart in 2000 to keep in touch with college buddies, ans has expanded to over 150,000 users.
The requirements are you need a web server (Brett recommends Apache), a database server (MySQL & PgSQL are most common), and php.
Brett then also gave us two links for Drupal providers:
Next, we look at the blog functionality of Drupal. We see how it gives the ability to name your blog, put a description with it, etc. Wiki pages are also part of the package. I will have to get a little more info on how they work in Drupal.
We also look at the podcasting function in Drupal. Brett plays a song that one of his colleagues created called "The Drupal Song." Very catchy. How do we add a podcast? Let's watch Brett show us! He explains how it is possible for both the teacher and students to create and post the podcasts. Hmm, you can only submit a podcast with the following formats: mps, wav, ogg, and mp4. That's something to keep in mind.
As I click through some of the examples, I noticed that one of the pages (CoreWEB) is using Drupal and moodle together. It's nice to see that there is a mixture of usage of the different tools out there. That is something that will need to be stressed with the non-tech teachers. I know there are a few in my district that would look at this as the only thing to use, when they should choose the tool that best fits what it is they want to do.
Brett shows us the calendar function on one of the sample pages. There is some functionality to it, but it doesn't do quite everything you would hope for from a calendar. There were a few questions that people were asking, and Brett did a great job of answering them. It doesn't quite check for conflicts, but there are other calendars that can do that. Brett talks about using the calendar to reserve a computer lab. I know we use AirSet in our district to reserve computer carts, though I don't worry about it too much as I have my own carts.
An observer mentions Bill Fizgerald and DrupalEd. It is a site designed to help people start up their own Drupal page. Brett then takes us into the Drupal admin demo pages. He talks about creating the page. You need to create a username and password, and it creates you as an admin. You can have more than one admin for a page. We are able to see how the admin functions appear. There is also talk of being able to test out the different open source CMS packages. It is unfortunate that there is only an hour allowable for this session. This has been an excellent session, and I would love to learn more. I hope I can talk our district into getting Drupal.
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