InfoTeacher

Check out Spreeder — “free online speed reading application.”

I’m not sure what it is, but there must be a way to use it (probably not with your Dylexia students; but then again maybe because they see only 1 word rather than lines and lines of words . . . . who knows?). Anyway, what a cool, creative site.  (Maybe in a staff training?).

Myna – a web based audio creation site. See the Myna Demo. It looks cool. It shows what can be done and how easy something that used to take specialty equipment can now be done.

Ill admit, I haven’t tried Myna. It was just something I noticed while perusing a new 2.0 Webside called Electric Chalk (now in my Blogroll)  I’m into Audacity and find bandwidth a challenge at times, and I spent too many years working where web link was unreliable.  Same reason I don’t link to You Tubes, but instead download them so that I “have” them whether the web is working or not.

Anyway, cool site, cool tool.

Here is the text of President Obama’s speech to school children (provided by MSNBC).  Here is their story about his speech and conservative response (you want other links from a more centrist source?  Go find it yourself; it just ain’t that hard!).

I have to admit that I only skimmed the speech, but from my quick read it sounds a lot like an exhortation toward hard work and personal responsibility.  Not exactly the Socialist agenda that the Extreme Right swore he was going to indoctrinate into the nation’s children.  But the paranoia and partisan positioning are running hip deep, so no one should really expect a rational response or a thoughtful opposing viewpoint.  Now maybe the speech evolved into its current form as the Right reacted — or maybe it was a simple motivation speech the whole time.  Still, the entertainment value is high (though the sadness for our nation is extreme).  To my friends on the Religious Right — I commend you to read this essay (Christians: What Are You Saying about the President? — by Michael Spencer, the IMonk).

Tomorrow, as the “tech guy” in my school I will record and re-show the speech to all the kids that show up (OK — as the tech guy, I have to admit that our district will have a link to the video available after the live show, and it will also run repeatedly on our district’s cable channel, but it’s easier and safer to record it myself off of cable and download the streaming video as a backup).  The truth is lots of kids may not show up. We sent home parent permission slips telling all that we were showing the speech to all students. Our permission slips contained a parent “opt out” option; they also invited parents to come and watch with students if desired.  All schools in our district were left to decide how to handle this, but it was required that parent notification and parent opt out options were in place.

I want to continue to watch this story unfold, but I am quite saddened that we are so polarized as a nation that the extremes of both parties have undue influence. The balanced and thoughtful middle needs to regain influence in both parties.   (I am also saddened that the Christian Right has abdicated their position of political thinking influenced by the Gospel rather than their “Gospel” [read Culture War] influenced by secular politics).

Now that I’ve ranted about the Right, how about a little from the other side. Do I think this speech will actually do anything to motivate kids?  No, not very much.  I essentially agree with Doug Johnson. The speech will be really well received by many of the kids who are already motivated.  The kids who are more difficult to motivate will need a teacher who builds a relationship over time.  That’s the way it has always been — and those relationships are more important than ever.

One of the big complications in today’s digital world, is passwords. As an educator, I hear it all the time how “teachers have to keep a password for everything.” It’s also true in any job you work.  Add multiple email accounts, blogs, online accounts, online banking, etc., and you have a lot of passwords to manage.  And by the way, this isn’t going to change.

I’ve used Key Pass for some time now.  I’m pretty sure I downloaded it from CNET. They are a good source of reviews, and they guarantee their downloads have been checked for spyware, etc.    Key Pass runs off my flash drive so it doesn’t have to be installed, I can take it with me from computer to computer, and it stores all of my passwords securely. The security is quite elaborate (DOD grade: basically I’m confident that if anyone got a hold of my flash drive, I could change all of my passwords before they could break the Key Pass encryption), and yet very simple and easy to use.  I keep one master password (very long and secure ) — and Key Pass keeps all of my various passwords for me.  I could make my own passwords at each site, or I can have Key Pass autogenerate one for me (which is best, because then Key Pass will create for you very secure, long and complicated passwords.   Too hard to type them in?  No. I don’t have to enter them into any field — with a couple of clicks they can be autotyped in for me (you could copy and paste, too, but the autotype feature is easier and more secure).

I was driving to the store and had the radio on. On comes Kim Komando (the most widely syndicated computer/digital talk radio show). What is she talking about? Passwords and security. Don’t keep your passwords in IE or in Firefox (anyone with any tech sense can find and know them if they can spend a little time on your computer).  What does she recommend?  Key Pass for one. You can get a free download of it from her show’s page.

Now if you move around to as many computers as I do, the hard part is keeping Key Pass updated (never quite sure that I remember to update Key Pass when I update the password to that one account I just had to change).   You’ll also want a copy of it on one computer just in cast you lose that flash drive (even though it’s secure, you’ll want to change your passwords). That one copy will have all your most recent passwords, so you can go to each account and change the passwords (it’s always good to have a “just in case” plan).

I have a laptop with a fingerprint reader and software to store secure passwords for all sites that require a log in. I swipe my finger and the laptop’s software reads and enters my securely kept passwords instead. Bottom line: I use Key Pass instead because it’s easier to use. I think some day that fingerprint thing may become a standard. But as of now, it’s unreliable, bulky and awkward, Key Pass is pretty simple and easy to use.

From Beloit College’s Mindset List for the Class of 2013

Ok, I still claim to be one of the “young” teachers, but this list starts making me look older.  I don’t like it.  Sometime we assume everyone thinks like we do. Maybe that’s why those can’t hear or understand what we’re saying.

Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991.

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.
6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
7. Earvin “Magic” Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.
9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.
10. Rap music has always been main stream.
11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.
13. The KGB has never officially existed.
14. Text has always been hyper.
15. They never saw the “Scud Stud” (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)
16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
17. They have never had to “shake down” an oral thermometer.
18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.
20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.
21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.
22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.
23. The European Union has always existed.
24. McDonald’s has always been serving Happy Meals in China.
25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.
26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.
27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.
28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.
29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.
30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.
31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.
32. The nation’s key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.
34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.
36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.
38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.
39. It’s always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.
40. Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented.
41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.
42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.
43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.
44. There have always been flat screen televisions.
45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.
46. Disney’s Fantasia has always been available on video, and It’s a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.
47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.
48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.
49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.
51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
52. They have never been Saved by the Bell
53. Someone has always been asking: “Was Iraq worth a war?”
54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.
55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.
57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.
58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.
59. For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.
60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.
61. “Womyn” and “waitperson” have always been in the dictionary.
62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.
63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.
65. Avon has always been “calling” in a catalog.
66. NATO has always been looking for a role.
67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.
68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.
69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.
70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.
71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.
72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.
73. Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.
75. There has always been blue Jell-O.

I created a little flier to promote my role as a teacher.  Download and use it if you’re a technology teacher.

The  New York Times writes more on digital textbooks.  They are coming; they are going to change what we do (probably more than we expect them to), and they are going to change other aspects of teaching and learning.  One open source philiosophy textbook already online for high school math is MathOpenRef[dot]com. I have had links to certain parts of this site for years on my school’s resource page. My impression: it’s terribly under utilized (It’s not necessarily under utilized by my school’s teachers. I teach at an elementary school, and Math Open Ref is a high school curriculum. My school makes use of it’s visuals occasionally; and I do wish more teachers would use it. But I believe it’s very under utilized by high schools who could supplement their texts DAILY.  I think that by doing so, they would better  engage kids. Qualifer: I don’t know what really goes on in high schools. Perhaps they do make use of this, and other digiatal sources on a DAILY basis. I hope so).  I’ve also made use of John Page’s (Math Open Ref’s author) article, “Ten Reason’s Why Technology is Vital to Education”

My school just purchased a new reading series and a new math series. We spent tons of money and these series will last us a number of years (not including consumables).  These new paper books do come with great online supplementation, e books, online assessments and the like — it’s way different than the last new series we bought (only about 8 years ago). 

But, I was just wondering. When we replace this series in a few years, will there be a paper book at all?  Will the entire replacement be digital? Will it use digital readers, e books, online assessments, online projects and online assignments?   Will the reading materials be put on something equivalent to a Kindle instead of old-fashioned paper?  Will the audio reads be Itunes subscriptions instead of CDs that it comes with now? (Text for another post:  Itunes University).

These things are interesting to ponder.  The future will definitely be different than what we do now. How many of us are ready? How many of us are preparing kids now so that when the future gets here they will be ready?  I think we are making progress, but I think we are behind and playing catch-up.

Several universities — Case Western, Reed, Princeton, University of VA, Pace, and Arizona State — are going to issue Kindle’s instead of textbooks.  Wall Street Journal article.

Backpacks would get immediately lighter, and the used text book market would immediately die if (when) this goes widespread.  I’m sure there are lots of other 21st century implications, as well. Soon — sooner than many think — books are going electronic.  This will catch us all by surprise even though we should be preparing for it right now (how to prepare? I’m not sure).

21st Century Library minus the Technology

Equals

15th Century Library minus all the monks

This formula didn’t come from me, see the link to its source, below.

In the movie, I Robot, Will Smith’s character resists the role robots (and all integrated technologies) have come to play in society. Another character accuses him of backward thinking. One quote (approximate), “I guess you would have resisted the closing of the libraries in the early 21st century when all information became available on the Internet.”

I work as a librarian. I actually don’t like the term. Really what I am is an Information Teacher (see the title of my blog).  In a profession that ought to focus people on future thinking, way too many of us are still using antiquated thinking and we use an antiquated term for what we do. It makes you think of old, quiet rooms and grumpy old ladies (sorry, that was my stereotype, but I think many of your male K-12 students are with me on this).  I have a logo at my school’s library that says, “not your grandma’s library.”  I keep it kinda low key, but really want to post it everywhere (link).

http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/2009/05/media-technology-specialists.html

I’m seriously considering migrating this whole blog over to Google Blogger with an @Blotgspot address. I’ve tried embedding media in a way that was EASY over there, and just can’t seem to get it. I opened this when my district had all Blogger sites blocked — not true anymore. I use Google docs, Google calendar, Google Reader, Picasa by Google (why doesn’t that one follow the same naming pattern [i.e Google Picasa]) . . .

Why am I still here struggling with this inferior host?

Sure I would lose comments, but it’s not like I have a whole lot of commentators anyway.