It seems like the beginning of a university term is a time to post a blog entry; at least this term and last term.  My life at this point is on the fence in so many different ways: which class will I teach this term, ready to retire and eager to teach, planning to travel and to relax at home.  One at a time; I should know by later today if you will see me in Creating Websites class or responding to me online for the Internet for Educators class.  The first is my dream class, the second a desirable and wonderful opportunity to learn more.

The iPhone5 is the craze this week and the mini iPad is rumored to be here soon.  I have a dumb phone for which I buy minutes every other month.  Even with a para-Luddite attitude with regard to cell phones, I am swept up in the current of society following these fads and trends.  It's everywhere. The iPhone's been on the market through pre-orders for only two days and already all two-million designated for that purpose are sold, and people are forming lines for the first iPhones when the stores start to sell them in a couple more days.  If this isn't craziness, it certainly borders on very fast moving trends and fashions.

Meanwhile we will plod along in our classes with the knowledge we now have, reaching for that next level of income, social status or just plain knowledge.  Have a great term.

What a week!

That was last week when I refer to "What a Week!" It included the first week of classes for a new term, Holy Week activities and a funeral and memorial service for Professor Hank Bersani. The over the weekend was Easter with a great and longed for visit from the grandkids and family. This week is also "What a Week!" as we try to make up for what we missed last week.

A modification to my classes this term is more use of the SmartBoard. Some claim that the public schools are filled with them and the teachers don't know how to use them. Yet, many students in class have never heard of them or seen them. I agree that more schools have them now than in the past but the point of saturation has not been reached. Using SmartBoards in class means more students doing more work on the SmartBoard including setting it up and that takes time from other also important skills and discussions.

In timely opportunity one of the post-graduate students is doing in-depth research into the use of the SmartBoard and DualWrite Board by eInstruction to help all of us become more proficient at this use. Meanwhile this is an advanced challenge for me and several other instructors trying to bring this technology into the classroom.

A Digital Day

This weekend I facilitated a workshop for nine teachers in a couple small private K-8 schools near Banks. I was more anxious about this session than most because these were teachers of children, something I've never done, I didn't know them and I really wasn't certain what they expected.

As I waited for the arrival of the students, the teachers, I noticed a coffee table type book on display on the upper shelf. It was called One Digital Day, How the Microchip is Changing our World. It wasn't fill with iPads and cell phones and robots. It was filled with pictures that appeared very routine, pigs on a farms, old women in a line in southern Africa, children in playgrounds. The pigs were being examined with computer equipment, the women were identifying themselves with fingerprints for their monthly government checks and the children were supervised by video cameras. Hundreds of pages of pictures showing how microchips affect our lives every day everywhere.

There is a balance in everything we do, such as microchips versus trees, flowers, pets and family; such as family versus work and class. Someone will someday look back and notice the thousands of hours on computers but I hope they don't ignore the calluses on my hands, the mud on my boots, and the sand dust in my lungs. But most importantly I hope they don't ignore my children, my wife, my friends, my trips to China and Africa to help with whatever I could. I hope also that someday you will be remembered for the people you know and not the day you missed class or didn't post a blog entry.

Cool Down

Years ago, actually many years ago, almost 30, a couple of mutual had a serious discussion about their futures. Their criteria included "something they would enjoy", "benefit society", and "earn enough more to survive." Their criteria wasn't far from mine and I have been very successful in most of those aspects, but it's sometimes results in a rather over relaxed attitude. That is one of my faults.

The class has included most of every aspects that one might expect in a class. Some have overachieved with quantity, others have been creative beyond my expectations, while others have followed the expectations better than I would have done myself. On the other side some have been very tardy to the point of no involvement. In three weeks I have tried to guide the class in a direction which would result in hands-on experience, understanding the use of blogs and what technology is involved. In three weeks most of the class have done that and my job as guide was complete. So this week I have been listening and not talking. The race has been run and I'm just cooling down.

Oh, by the way, I'm not a very good blogger for I have not continued to blog and claim your attention. I will visit you about one more time next week. Congratulations to all of you who have met your objectives.

Have you been following the proposed laws governing the Internet? Check out this TED talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/defend_our_freedom_to_share_or_why_sopa_is_a_bad_idea.html

Correlating blogging with age

Oriental medicine has its place in the world. Blended with with Western Medicine it seems to make great sense but when there's a conflict between the two, my background suggests that Western medicine is better. One thing that I have observed about Oriental medicine is that if an action causes an affect, or seems to cause an affect, it is deemed as a fact and should be used forthwith. Here is one place where my thinking departs from the thinking in Oriental medicine; I lie controlled experiments before I draw conclusions.

The same is true when observing behavior between individuals and technology. The seems to be a relationship between age and how technology is used. For example, most of us are at an age where assignments should be clearly defined and delineated. This class isn't doing that exactly. I build my expectations, my thoughts about what makes this a useful experiment into my blogs. Generally speaking all students of this level of class should be self-motivated and self-directed seeking some collaborative guidance to define issues and solutions more quickly.

So here's a summary of a reasonable set of expectations. First hands on is going to be the best teacher so reading about creating blogs and how they work is only step one. Mainly we need to involving and doing.

To be involved we need to setup a blog. You have done that. Well, most of you have. You need to read blogs to see how other use them, and then you need to comment. That's critical in blogging.

We have done some research, in blogs and professional journals, and then we shared our reviews and reactions in a blog. And then we commented on them. What did we learn about how blogs are being used in general and more importantly what is professional research saying about the use of blogs in education.

Then I'm suggesting that we explore the gadgets and features of a blogs by setting up RSS's, lists of blogs we're interested in reading routinely, lists of websites we find interesting and think others may also appreciate. And lists of books and journals.

Next step is to add some media such as images and videos. Maybe find some code from another website and include that code in the blog. Include links within the blog itself. Use more than words.

Lastly we need to dive into marketing our blog. I know that just writing the blog, like writing a diary, can be satisfactory in itself, but having some read it is even many times better. How to start? Tell your friends and family and colleagues about your blog. Read other blogs and write comments including a link to your blog in your comment. Is there a portal online that lists blogs? Can you find that?

In summary for this class:

Read and comment

Setup blog

Write relevantly

Research

Add features and gadgets

Add media and links

I suspect a posting every of day is a good schedule.

Market your blog

How weather affects blogging

One would think that blogging would be independent of weather, much like newspaper and mail delivery. However, when weather closes airports and floods roads and basements, blogging suffers, probably because bloggers are sandbagging or debating options for the next flight home. I hope all of you and your favorite people are safe and dry. We are but there have been distractions.

I received an email with a blog blog that I am forwarding not so much for you to read in detail but so that you can see another use of blogging.

http://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/forging-the-future-how-much-affordability-can-higher-education-afford/

More from me after this morning's class.