Thinking in a new way

The one thing about spending time with David Warlick is that within a few minutes you will be thinking in new ways. David did a terrific job of working with our district folk yesterday. I saw the faces of people go through many emotions yesterday, but the common one was the deep thinking look. As David taught and challenged our district I could see a lot nodding heads as well. This will get our new round of technology planning off to flying start.

A Great Dinner

I had the opportunity to dine with David Warlick this evening. He is working with our district tomorrow. It is so refreshing to hear a progressive voice. Whenever I listen to David the thought keeps running through my mind, What is it going to take to really make changes in public education? What is it that will really prepare my children for the flat world? Can it be done within the confines of the current system. I am afraid I know the answer. I think I can help my children through the system by adding to what they are getting in the system, but what about all of the rest of the kids. Who is going to do it for them, if not their teachers?
I am really interested to see the reaction to the message David will share tomorrow.

The Educational Mac Podcast #28-Feb 4, 2006

Show Notes
One Year of the Educational Mac
It's been over a month! Where has the time gone?
The blog is active again at theeducationalmac.com
Where is the time going?
Rehash of Apple's Macworld announcements
Apple moves into #1 spot in education in Western Europe
iLife '06 Reviews Rollout
Learn to Podcast series
Educational Technology Conferences-UCET
My new best desktop friend–StickyWindows
FreeMacBlog and FreeMacWare
Preview of next show
See You in a Few!

Here We Go Again

I have been waiting for the Fantastico installer to update to Wordpress 2.0 and here it is. I am going to start posting here again on a regular basis. I even remember why I was waiting. One click import from the Blogger version. All new postings will be continue to be cross posted here and at http://theeducationalmac.com. I am still working on a new podcast. Hopefully by this weekend.
See You in a Few!

New Show on Thursday

I was going to do a show tonight, but decided to wait until I get my copy of iLife '06 tomorrow! I should have it tomorrow afternoon. I will review my predictions(I told you I sucked at predictions) and also what else happened at the Keynote and the 1st days of Macworld as I see them pertaining to K-12 education.
See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #27–December 28, 2005

End of Year Show!
Top 5 Educational Mac Stories
#5–eMac returns to education sales only
#4–Cobb County Debacle
#3–Henrico contract moves to Dell, a riot ensues
#2–Apple embraces podcasting
#1–Mac line to move to Intel processors beginning 2006
What next for Apple in education? My guesses for the coming year
#1–New machine for education?
#2–Podcasting/Blogging really takes off in education.
#3–New iWork suite with spreadsheet software.
#4–Apple retires AppleWorks officially.
#5–Some big new application that will have a large impact on education.

Happy Holidays to everyone. See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #26 November 20, 2005

This show is mainly comprised of comments from teachers that are participating in a professional development class I am teaching. It has been a great experience for me. I wanted them to get a little flavor of podcasting so we recorded their comments and here they are.
Earlier in the evening we video chatted with Brian Mull. They were excited about the possibilities of using this technology in the classroom.

Apple Store-The Gateway Opening for iPod with Video

Here is a recompressed version of the video specifically for the iPod with video.

Honey, I Blew Up The Blog

Well, in the midst of everything today, I managed to totally hose my WordPress installation at theeducationalmac.com. So, I am redirecting it here until I can rebuild, make it faster, stronger, better.
I was wondering why I was keeping this blog up. Redundancy is everything!

The Educational Mac Vcast #1

This is my first attempt at a Videocast. This is my experience at the Apple Store grand opening at The Gateway in Salt Lake City. Having now had about 24 hours to think about it, I am glad that I went. It really was all about the experience. I really didn't spend that much time in the store, I wanted to give others the chance to get in, but I am looking forward to going back in a week or so and really spend some time. I am happy that Apple finally brought a store to Utah and I hope it is only the first of several.
I'll see you in a few!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

A fun time about to be had-Apple Store @ The Gateway

I am going to chronicle my adventure at the grand opening of the Apple Store here in Salt Lake City. I arrived at about 12:30 am and made a short trip into The Gateway to check out the store. The plywood barriers were all down. Plastic covers the windows, and three gentlemen have formed the line. They tell me how to park close and invite me to share the power they have run. Between the power and the Apple Store's Wireless, I am pretty much set for the night.
3:30 am and we were joined by a young couple about 2:00 am. 6 in line and counting. It is quiet except for the occasional train passing behind The Gateway.
Actually managed to sleep for a couple of hours. Woke a few minutes before 6:00 to other voices and see about another 15 in line. Lots of personal Mac histories being shared.
7:40 am and the crowd is starting to grow. There are about 75-80 in line now. The interesting thing is that about 1/4 of them have their Powerbooks or iBooks out. Hmmm... I wonder what their doing. The general contractor is onsite and waiting for the managers to get in. There are now 3 security guards waiting as well and the window washer is working on the outside glass. When the managerss get here they will peel the plastic of off the inside class and clean it.
9:00 am - 1 hour to go. I would estimate the crowd to be between 300-400 at this point but I can't tell for sure any more. The employees are coming out about every five minutes to excite the crowd. The mall management is starting to look a little worried.
9:20 am-The first guy in line is interviewed by a local newstation, then the first three are interviewed by a newspaper reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune. He even gets to me, so I guess I will be in the paper tomorrow.
10:00 am- They allow the first 70 or so people in. Store employees cheering, music blaring, it was awesome. As anyone leaves the store they allow another in. The queue is still huge. As I left I would imaging there were still 500-600 people in line. I talked to an employee who has worked at two other openings and she said this rivaled either one of those. Photos here Podcast and Vidcast to follow by tomorrow.

Here's to the Crazy Ones

The Apple Store in Salt Lake will be opening in a little under 20 hours from now. I will be heading downtown about midnight to check on the line. I don't have to be first, but I do want to be early. I will have picture, a podcast, and even my first vcast from the event posted sometime Saturday or Sunday. If you are from the are and will be at the grand opening look for me. I'll have a bunch of gear with me and shouldn't be too hard to find.

Salt Lake City Apple Store To Open This Weekend

The first Apple Store in Utah will open at 10:00 am this Saturday, November 19th. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I will be there bright and early.

I can't wait to get to the car

Steve Dembo at Teach 42 is back with a podcast and it looks like he is back in the saddle again. I can't wait to get to the car an listen to his new show.

My Grand Experiment

I began a new professional development class in my district tonight. The title of the course is Using Social Software to Teach the Core Curriculum. I have 8 brave women taking the class. As a group they had very little knowledge about social software. We started with blogs tonight. I gave them a couple of current articles on blogging to read. We set up accounts for each of them at Bloglines and Blogger. We set about 5 feeds I want them to look at over the next week. We also set up a blog on Blogger for the class. They will be commenting on my posts and hopefully creating some posts of their own.
I have the commenting locked down to members of the blog, but if you are interested in follow the progress of these teachers and would like to comment, drop me a line and I will invite you in.
In the coming weeks we will be tackling Wiki's, del.icio.us, and Flickr. I am set for a wild ride. See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #25-October 27, 2005

A conversation with Brian Mull about life for 1 technology specialist in New Orleans after Katrina. It is a unique perspective.
We talked about Brian's experiences, his school, some software, and about how his blog evolved. I think this is the most fascinating view of how blogs can be used and how quickly their roll can change. Go to the blog and view it from the start to see how it changed.
We mentioned the Room 208 blog and the newsletter that Bob Sprankle produces using Pages.
Enjoy the Podcast!
See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #24-October 20, 2005

Show Notes eMac gone for all but education institutional purchase, how long will it last and what's next.
Apple's education shipments on the rise.
A great inservice day! (Tooting my teams horn)
Should some people not use Macs?
Next Show-Special Guest Host: Brian Mull, Technology Director, Trinity Episcopal School in New Orleans
See You in a Few!

One More Thing

The biggest potential One More Thing from Apple's announcement yesterday as far as education goes is the status of the eMac. It has been dropped from every Apple store listing except for educational institution purchasing.
Macworld was finally able to get a response from Apple about the eMac. It apparently is gone for everyone except schools. I have two questions then, 1) How long will the eMac last even for school purchases? and 2) What does Apple have up their sleeve for educational machines for the future?
My guess is that the answers will not be forthcoming until the Intel based Macs start showing up. Apple needs machines in the price niche that the eMacs hit for education. For next year's buying season though I think that makes Apple's position a little shaky. I hope Apple's roadmap for machines for education gets laid out a little more clearly in the next couple of months. Podcast coming! See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #23-September 28, 2005

Show Notes
A conversation (actually sounds more like an interview than we had hoped) with Tony Vincent. Tony is doing great things in his school. He is also a huge Palm® Handheld supporter. He has a great site called Learning in Hand that is devoted to helping teachers use handhelds in the classroom. He is also doing a podcast on handhelds with Mike Curtis called Soft Reset. Tony is also producing podcasts at his school Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. The podcast is called Radio WillowWeb and the kids do a great job.
We actually recorded this two weeks ago, but it has taken me that long to get around to cleaning it up. It still doesn't sound that great and that is my fault not Tony's. We will give it another shot, if I can convince Tony to come back. Anyway, my apologies to Tony and you the listeners for the lack of quality. I will get it right next time.
See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #22-August 24, 2005

Show Notes for August 24, 2005 New Blog location Henrico Disaster–Which One! Cobb County Disaster–Is the witch hunt over? At least some school systems get it right! Vail Arizona Chatham County, NC iMovie vs. Windows Movie Maker Windows Version of iLife?
Blog and Podcast Pick of the Show
Why do we have to put up with this Windows crap?
Seeking out fellow Mac Using Educators who would like to participate in the podcast as a guest co-host.
See You in a Few!