Leslie Fisher–Gadget Queeen

Leslie Fisher–Gadgets, Gadgets, Gadgets

Utility Software

SnapzPro Adium (www.adiumx.com)

Fonts–Fontreserve.com

If you have more than 215 fonts the system will only give you access to Times Roman Italics

Clip Art

Art Explosion 750,000

ClipArt. com

www.istockphoto.com

www.dreamstime.com

High end photos

www.jupiterimages.com

www.gettyimages.com

Digital Cameras

Canon Powershot TX1

7.1 MP

Image Stabilization

HD Movies

ISO 1600 for low light

$499

Sony DSC T100

8.1 MP, 5x Optical Zoom

11 Scene Modes

3 in. Monitor

$399.00

Camera Slow?

It could be the card

Memory cards have speed rating

Cheaper the card slower the picture taking

Buy professional level cards–about $10 extra per card

Use a card reader to save on camera battery life

Use www.smugmug.com for uploading pictures

Free-$99.00 per year

When something goes wrong with your card

Image Rescue from Lexar

Television and Music

Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick

USB to Cable or RCA $129.00

Mac and PC

www.pinnaclesys.com

Speakers

Soundsticks II–$199

www.harmanmultimedia.com

TivoTivo to Go is basically a web server $299-$899

Slingbox

Hooks up to TV and Internet

Login anywhere via internet and watch your shows

Also allows you to watch live TV

$199

Home Theatre Nuts

Logitech Harmony 890 Remote

Universal Remote

Web Interface to set up remote

iPod

Mecca for iPod people

www.everythingipod.com

www.belkin.com

Old School Music

iTTUSB–USB Turntable $134.00

http://ion-audio.com

Phone Tidbits

iPhone–Is there anything else right now

Virtual Laser Keyboard–http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com

Verizon and Spring Aircard

Keyspan Presenter Remote $59.00 www.keyspan.com

Solar device charger–www.solio.com $99.00

Computer bags

Messenger Bag $125.00 www.timbuk2.com

Sling Bags www.sfbags.com

LoPro Double bag, computer bag/camera bag.

Motivational–www.despair.com

GPS–Magellan Maestro

n07s135

necc07, neccprep, necc2007

The Educational Mac Podcast #41-June 24, 2007

Day 2 for NECC–Get the Podcast Here Workshop-Finding Successful Solutions for Technology Staff Development Many great ideas for making SD more productive and more fun. Brief interview with Janet Corder of j2Training NECC Keynote–Andrew Zolli, founder of PopTech conference. Things we as educators need to work towards in the near future. It seems like this particular audience is getting a little tired of constantly looking into the future. The Atlanta Drum Line was fantastic! Opening Reception at Georgia Aquarium–Crowded as usual, food not scarce but hard to get to. What I am doing tomorrow. Leslie Fisher Arnie Abrams and more. See You in a Few! necc07, neccprep, necc2007

The Educational Mac Podcast #40-June 23, 2007

Get the Podcast Here
From Atlanta EduBloggerCon 07 What a great start to NECC! See You in a Few! necc07, neccprep, necc2007

Not even conference time yet and great news

Well we made it to the ATL and managed dinner at the Hard of Hearing (err, Rock) Cafe.≤br> Before the conference or even the EduBloggerCon starts I have seen the best news in a long time. Mackiev has purchased the rights to HyperStudio and will be producing the long awaited version 5. The best news though is that Roger Wagner himself is going to be working with Mackiev on the update. I hope they can make it relevant in today's Ed-Tech environment, but if anyone can I think this combo can. I can't wait to get to Mackiev's booth(#316) next week.
Well tomorrow starts off with EduBloggerCon and then a group of us are off to see the Braves and the Tigers. I will try to capture some audio from the Con tomorrow and share it in a podcast.
See You in a Few! necc07, neccprep, necc2007

Off to NECC

Well the countdown is nearly over. I will be leaving with our district group in the morning for Atlanta. Yeah, I still haven't gotten a podcast out in over 2 months. It seems I went straight from kids housing problems, to new grandson, to baseball and softball and more baseball and softball. I am looking forward to a few days off from it actually.

I will be blogging and podcasting from NECC again this year with a new set of tools that will hopefully make it easier for me and better for you. So I really mean it this time when I say...

See You in a Few!

necc07, neccprep, necc2007

An interesting lesson...

This post and comments on David Warlick's blog don't quite make my head hurt, but come close. I do believe the nature of information is changing, but more obviously the delivery of that information has changed as well.
I was teaching a Jr. Achievement lesson in my son's class today. It was basically about information and how delivery has changed. For part of the lesson the students were to copy the text of a paragraph much like a scribe previous to the invention of a press would. They were to copy it exactly as it appeared in their books and the passage was done in a pretty crazy font. I had them work on it for about 10 minutes and most only got the 1st line done and their hands were pretty cramped.
I want then to show how today we could make contact and get information directly and nearly instantaneously. I had fired up iChat earlier hoping someone in my buddy list from outside of Utah might be available for a video chat. There wasn't so next I Twittered a request and got a couple of responses, but no one was available at the time I needed or had the necessary equipment available. I was resigned to using someone in the district. However, as I fired up iChat while the students were scribing, David Warlick himself appeared as available and I imposed upon his time. I really appreciate the 10 minutes David spent with us.
It was pretty cool for the kids to go from feeling what a scribe might have went through to get one single copy of information ready to being able video chat. Keeping in mind that this was a video chat from Riverton, UT to a distinguish North Carolinian who happened to be in Toronto, Canada today. The funnest part for the kids was that they found out their teacher was also from North Carolina. So we had to North Carolinians talking to each other, one in Utah the other in Toronto.
David made a point during our chat that left an immpresson on the kids. He talked about how when he was their age, his world was his town basically. He knew few people outside of his world. They didn't even make long distance phone calls because of the cost. Yet today these kids talked to that same person via video conference without (directly) paying anything.
Thanks again David, it made for very interesting lesson!
See You in a Few!
david warlick

NECC Schedule...subject to slight modification!

Two posts in one day, don't anyone faint.

Beyond the planner information I am excited about the Edublogger Con on Saturday the 23rd.

Conference Planner for Kelly Dumont

Sunday, June 24
8:30-11:30am

SUA204 Finding Successful Solutions for Technology Staff Development [Workshop]
Location: GWCC B211

Monday, June 25
8:30-9:30am

Almost All New Return of the Gadgets! [Session]
Location: GWCC Murphy 1

8:30-9:30am

Personal Computing: New Solutions for the Classroom @ Web 2.0 [Session]
Location: GWCC B211

11:00am-12:00pm
AFI Screen Education Center: Digital Filmmaking in the Core Curriculum [Session]
Location: GWCC Murphy 4

12:30-1:30pm

Cool Tools: Incorporating Web 2.0 Tools in the Classroom [Session]
Location: GWCC B302

12:30-1:30pm

Making the Laptop Disappear: Moving to Seamless Integration [Session]
Location: GWCC B212

2:00-3:00pm
Digital Photography and Video Projects for Improving Learning [Session]
Location: GWCC B217

3:30-4:30pm
Innovating the 21st-Century Learning Environment [Session]
Location: GWCC Murphy 1

Tuesday, June 26
8:30-11:30am

TA414 Empowering Practice: Leveraging the Read/Write Web for Professional Growth [Workshop]
Location: OMNI International C

11:00am-12:00pm

iChat, iSight, therefore iFix: Integrating Sound, Video, Jabber for Support [Session]
Location: GWCC B208

12:30-1:30pm
New Tools, New Schools: Starting the Conversation about Web 2.0 [Session]
Location: GWCC B207

2:00-3:00pm
Podcasting for Professional Development: Innovative Strategies for Syndicated Success [Session]
Location: GWCC B208

3:30-4:30pm

Starting From Scratch: Building School 2.0 [Session]
Location: GWCC B201

3:30-4:30pm

Constructivist Teaching with Technology: Learning with Laptops [Session]
Location: GWCC B208

3:30-4:30pm

The REAL Work of 21st-Century Skills [Session]
Location: GWCC B217

Wednesday, June 27
10:30-11:30am
I Didn’t Know You Could Do That with an iPod! [Session]
Location: GWCC B208

1:30-2:30pm
Expanding Boundaries of Learning: Designing Rigorous and Globally Connected Assignments [Session]
Location: GWCC Murphy 1

2:45-4:00pm
Closing Keynote [Session]
Location: GWCC Murphy Ballroom

necc07, neccprep, necc2007

Darren Draper–TTIX Keynote

Teaching in the Digital AgeIntroducing self, T4 Site, Podcasts, National University, Blog http://drapestakes.blogspot.com, family

Talks about the fact that he is preaching to the choir.

70 Million blogs- some of them have to be good - david sifri, Technorati

Tags ttix07, presenters name (firstlast)

Todays topic is change, not money, school change, student change, teacher change

40% of teachers in Utah are older than 50

Teachers are stuck in a rut

In helping teachers, we help students

Technology for teachers
PowerPoint?
Other things are out there.

Times have changed, we're not in the 90's

"We live in a world where the only thing constant is change!" Ian Jukes

Just 2 years ago life was different

2 years ago... There were nine planets Brad and Jen now Brad and Angelina Tsunami New Orleans pre Katrina Virginia Tech just another school
Technology
No Windows Vista No XBOX 360, PS3, Wii Just beginning video podcasts AJAX just beginning No YouTube, TeacherTube No Twitter

Back to Jukes quote.
The only question is how do we keep up.

Karl Fisch-We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't been invented in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet. These are amazing times Students have changed...

Two year-old daughter on computer clicking mouse–Who taught her?
The kids pick it up.

Photo of daughter showing grandpa how to use his iPod-Who is teaching whom?

Children today are growing up immersed in media.

83% Children 0-6 use a screen media in a typical day
65% Live in a home where the TV is on at least 1/2 the time

Kids are active consumers.

77% turn on the TV by themselves
67% ask for particular shows
62% use remote to change channels

4-6 year olds

70% have used a computer
27% use a computer in a typical day
56% without parents

Kids want to Create

They've created a new language
IM Speak

Abbreviations all parents should know http://www.netlingo.com

Books now being written in IM
Lauren myracle

Dying Language

IM Speak vs Latin

Kids don't care that the language is dying

No one can stop them from doing it. Not even teachers.

"These teens were born into a digital world where the expect to be able to create, consume, remix, and share Lee Raimi-PEW

65,000 uploads per day to YouTube, 2700 uploads per hour, 45 per minute

57% of online teens create content for the internet

Sharing-Creative Commons

Showing videos from YouTube

Guitar Canon–20.9 million views
Hey Clip–14.7 milion views
Fast Food Freestyle–6.6 million views
Toto Africa Machinima–14,000 views

Lot's of creativity–Can't we harness that in our schools

Remixes
Mashups
Sunday Bloody Sunday–President Bush

Is it goofy?
Is it Useful?

Generation D
Millenials
Digital Natives
iGeneration
Button-Pushing Generation

One Key Question

Are we Engaging Them?

More times than not we are not.

Our schools are changing (slowly)

One way we can adapt is to use the technology that our kids already love.

Keynote handout will be available at http://www.ttix.org

ttix07, darrendraper

A Long Time Ago in A Galaxy Far Away... (or not)!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I missed an April podcast altogether and will miss May if I don't get going. Spring seems to be the busiest time for me overall. Work tends to start slowing down (except for one project that I will talk about in a moment). However, the rest of my life seems to kick into high gear.
I am coaching my twelve year-old son's baseball team (7-1 so far). I am trying to keep up with my 15 year-old daughter's softball team (8-2 or so heading into tournament season). I have received a new church assignment which is keeping me busy. Trying to spend time with grandkids. Moving Daughter, Son-in-Law, and Grandsons out and back into their home (a long story I need to tell here someday). Moving 20 year-old son back into our house after 8 months away. Painting (them not me), re-carpeting (which for me mainly means moving a lot of heavy stuff). After 5 months of a house in chaos, I would sure like to be able to get it back together and keep it that way for more than a day. Okay, enough whining.
As I mentioned, this time of year tends to slow down a bit at work. The exception to that being the Elementary Film Festival that I have organized for the past 4 years. This is a project that takes a lot of my time for about a month. Part of it is my fault, I haven't included my co-workers much in it and probably should more. It is just that this feels like my baby and you know how that is. Wow how un-Web (School) 2.0 that sounds. Anyway the festival was held last Thursday and we screened 26 films and honored 7 of them with our humble awards. You can view the winners here.
Tonight most of the winners joined me at The Apple Store, The Gateway for School Night at The Apple Store. The only problem was that the store wasn't expecting us. I had signed up for the event over two months ago. I never had a response though. So I talked to an assistant manager 3 weeks ago and she emailed me and told me that we were on the schedule and I should receive some information shortly. I never receive the information and had planned to visit the store yesterday or earlier today to make sure we were still on. Today I received the invitations that Apple sends out to give to parents, etc. Nice timing! Anyway, I assumed that since they did at least make up the invitations that we were planned on. Well, you know what happens when you assume. And sure enough when I arrived at the store they were in a panic. One of the kids arrived before I did and showed the managers the invitation I had made up for our award winners (since I had not received the official ones yet). So when I arrived they were scrambling madly. They were very apologetic and managed to pull it off for us in a nice way. The biggest problem was that they didn't have enough t-shirts for the kids. So they took names and will ship shirts to me for those who didn't get one tonight. For all of the panic it still ended up being a great event for the kids. I have to thank the crew at The Gateway for pulling it together for us. Here is a picture of the kids during the presentation of their films.

There are a lot of things I still have not mentioned that are going on or upcoming, but I will save those for the podcast.
See You in a Few!

Lots are "Paying Attention"

My co-worker Darren Draper wanted to create a motivational presentation for us to use in our district. A "Did You Know" type of presentation. He did a great job and it is called Pay Attention. It has been amazing to see the response to this presentation, not necessarily in our district but from the world. I am seeing the views on TeacherTube go up about 100 every hour now.

See You in a Few!

Please Welcome to The Educational Mac Family...

This blog and podcast are a little over 2 years old. One of the first posts to the blog was about the birth of my 3rd grandchild, Kaden. Well, today I am announcing the birth of Kaden's little brother, Cole. Cole was born on Tuesday, March 20th at 12:39 pm. Mom, Baby, Dad and adoring big brother are all doing well. See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #39–March 19, 2007

Get the Podcast Here
ShowNotes
UCET WrapUp Decompression Never test new equipment on site or Kelly Sucks Time spent with David Warlick It was so great spending time with David. I even got to teach him something.
The same week, I get to hear Ian Jukes live for the first time. I cut a Take Five from one of his sessions.
My new best friend who doesn't even know who I am–Podcast Review of the month Dan Schmit Kidcast Podcast–iTunes Link Dan's Books Kidcast GarageBand Mechanics
App of the Cast Google SketchUp–Full day of training. The training was amazing. It is so nice to know what all of the controls can do. At least now I can create a house that actually looks like a house. Instructor Alex Oliver http://www.go-2-school.com SketchUp training is what they do. They have 2 training DVDs, but they also have a video podcast called The Sketchup Show. It is available directly at the site or via iTunes.
$60 million in new tech funding statewide in Utah, whatever will we do with it? Will we do the right things? What are the right things?
Why is life always so crazy?(or why can't Kelly get a podcast out on time.)
See You in a Few!

Seeing is Believing

Over the past couple of years I have probably read over 100 blog entries stating in one form or another that learning is conversation. This concept has never hit me as hard as it did today as I did some observation in a kindergarten classroom. I watched a teacher do a marvelous job of explaining to the cute little ones what there task was to be. The kids went back to their desks and started working on their task. However, they didn't seem into it.

Then the interesting stuff happened. The volume in the room began to grow, but it wasn't idle conversation. The kids were talking about what they were doing and as they talked they got more excited about the task. The volume never got overwhelming, but the energy that developed was really impressive.

UCET Conference Coming on Fast

The 2007 UCET (Utah Coalition for Educational Technology) Conference is coming up in 2 days. Even though preparations have been ongoing for months it has really snuck up on me. I will be presenting two full sessions on Friday, Podcasting in the Elementary Classroom and Blogging in the Elementary Classroom. I am planning to record them both and get them up on the feed sometime in the next week. I am also doing 3 Over the Shoulder sessions on Saturday, Google Docs/Spreadsheets,Creating a Podcast, Delicious & Furl. For anyone attending and blogging from the conference you can tag your posts with UCET07 or UCET2007.

Technorati Tags: UCET07 UCET2007

The Educational Mac Podcast #38–Feb. 20, 2007

Get Show Here
iPods in Education–Article from Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Word 2007 online conversion tool .docx is the default file format in the latest version of Microsoft Word in Office 2007. All docs in the new office family is based upon an open, standardized specification called Office Open XML. .docx-files are not backwards-compatible with previous versions of Word.This simple web-based conversion tool is the solution for you!. In a simple 1-2-3 process you can upload your document, choose target format and seconds later download the document in a readable format.
Great Technology as Tool ads from El Paso ISD Refresh page to see different ads.
Apps of the Episode
Block Posters LetterPop–Newsletter Making Take Five with Matthew Cone of Macinstruct.
Check out the Tutorama tutorial contest. Steve Jobs "attack" on Teacher Unions Houston Chronicle Report Response from the Mac Blogosphere Ars Technica MacDailyNews
Wired
From the edublogosphere there has not been much reaction. Here are the first I've seen. Assorted Stuff

See You in a Few!

One Show This Month on the 20th

Due to some work, health, and family related issues I need to skip the podcast scheduled for the 5th. I will be back on the 20th with a full show. Thanks for your indulgence.
See You in a Few!

TheEducationalMac Podcast #37

Click Here to Download

Review of Macworld, impact on education
iPhone
Apple TV
Airport Extreme
iLife and iWork (lack thereof)

Take Five with Richard Miller

Application of the Podcast - PagePacker

See You in a Few!

Podcast #37 up in a couple of days

I am just a little behind due to some family emergencies. Podcast #37 will be up by Tuesday.
See You in a Few!

The Educational Mac Podcast #36-January 5, 2007

Download the Podcast Here
Show Notes
Macs in Education News
Florence, S.C. school district gets iMacs, iPods–Macsimum News
Illinois district to rid itself of computers that have nothing to do with "The Real World"–Macsimum News

Software Beat
http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif A reminder about FreeMacWare.com

Macworld Hopes (not predictions)

Macworld Conference Education Track

Cell Phone Ban in New York, New Proposal, Takes from the edublogosphere
Will Richardson
Danah Boyd
Tom Hoffman

Next show, Macworld roundup, The Educational Mac perspective.

See You in a Few!

New Podcast

The new work podcast I talked about in Sunday's show is out. It is called T4 Tips and it is fun working as a group on the podcasts. If you want to check it out, click on the link. You can subscribe via iTunes. Search for Jordan T4.

The Educational Mac Podcast #35-December 31, 2006

Get the Show Here

End of the year 2006. It has been a year that has flown past for me, personally and professionally. The Future of The Educational Mac New work related podcasts coming Okay, enough about the future. It is time to look at the past, as in the past year. As I mentioned at the top of the show, this year has flown by for me. So it is good for me to stop and reflect a little bit. I am going to go into year-end list mode. Now everyone does 5 item or 10 item lists, but in honor of the year 2006 I am going to present my top six lists in 5 categories. I was too lazy to do six.
Category One–My top podcast listens (non-educational) One that is gone that I really miss it The Wizards of Technology. The passing of Digital Bill was a shock and leaves a big hole in the tech podcasting community.
6. Your Mac Life–Shawn King irritates the he** out of me, but he does a pretty good job with guests and I am jealous as all get out that he and Lisa are working with and for David Pogue.
5. iLife Zone–I really like this Mac-centric podcast, especially when they actually focus on the iLife tools. I have learned quite a few new tricks and tips from this one.
4. Mac OS Ken –I used to really like Inside Mac Radio, but when Ken and Laura Burstein left/were kicked out, a lot of the life went out of the show. I was glad that Ken started his own show. It is nice to have a daily dose of Mac news in a podcast format.
3. Daily Giz Whiz–If you don't listen to this daily show from Leo Leporte and Dick DeBartolo, you are missing 15 minutes of fun a day. I really like it when Dick talks about Mad Magazine or his work on The Match Game.
2. ESPN's Pardon the Interruption–I use to be a complete sports nut. I got a little tired of sports talk radio though. I do love this show from ESPN though and since I don't have cable or a dish it is great to be able to get this show as a podcast.
1. TWIT–Okay, I know it is not Mac specific. I also know that I should probably despise John C. Dvorak, but he and the TWIT show are a guilty pleasure each week. When Leo threatened to quit the show a few months ago, I really panicked.

Category Two–Top Educational Podcast listens. This list has changed. It seems that many of the early shows that I listened to have gone away. I miss One Big Head, Teach42 (I'll give Steve a pass because of the baby), Paradigm Shift, and Room 208.
6. Teaching for the Future with Dave LaMorte–This is a fairly new one that I am still getting a handle on, but as an up and coming teacher, he has a lot of good things to say.
5. The Savvy Technologist–This one may have to go into the gone away pile soon. Tim Wilson is a great podcaster. His new job has apparently bitten into his podcasting time. I hope he can get it back going again.
4. Moving at the Speed of Creativity–Wes Fryer is one who has kept up and I really like his deep thinking on topics. I do sometimes have trouble with the length of some of the shows though.
3. Geek!Ed!–The band of merry educational technologists from Michigan put out an entertaining show each week. I usually learn something too. Can you say WII.
2. Connect Learning–David Warlick continues to produce, particularly when presenting at a conference. I really enjoy those shows and he lets the audience participate and we get to hear what others are thinking and questioning. His keynote for the K12 Online Conference was outstanding.
1. Infinite Thinking Machine–This again is a fairly new show. It is a vidcast, but professionally done by Chris Walsh and others. They have also enlisted Vint Cerf to do segments which are great. With the few shows they have done, they have quickly become my favorite.

Category 3–Blogs My blog subscription list is overly long and I spend too much time daily perusing new posts. However, here are 6 educational blogs I would never prune.
6. 21st Century Collaborative–Sheryl's blog is a must stop for me. She is really on top of what is going on in EdTech. Her leadership on the K12 online conference was spectacular as well.
5. The Fischbowl–Karl Fisch gives a great accounting of what goes on in his school with Web 2.0 and other tools. His trilogy of videos are also great tools.
4. Dangerously Irrelevant–Scott McLeod does a great job of presenting the case that our administrators are ill-prepared for the task of integrating technology in our schools. If I were to enter an administrative program I would want it to be Scott's.
3. Moving at the Speed of Creativity–Wes Fryer is one of the most prolific edubloggers out there. I can't say I fully read all of his posts but there is always at least one a day that makes my head hurt.
2. 2 Cents Worth–David's blog is another one that makes my head hurt on a consistent basis. But what I really like is the conversations he sparks in the edublogosphere.
1. Weblogg-ed–I am not sure I got Will Richardson until I heard him speak at NECC this year. Now I do and I am glad that many others listen. Will is one that I believe will help change education in this country.

Category 4–Educational Events 6. Work–Lots of changes, not many for the better. Overload on things that I don't feel are that important but that others do. On the plus side we are beginning to see the roll out of social software tools in the district as well as a couple of other projects that could prove interesting.
5. UCET Conference–This one because I was responsible for it. It is amazing what a small group of dedicated individuals can do.
4. K12 Online Conference–I was not involved except as a participant, but see #5 above.
3. EduBlogger Meetup at NECC–Putting faces with voices and written words was terrific. It makes the online life much more compelling for me.
2. NECC–This is usually the highlight of the year for me. It was a great conference. But what made it great was all of the conversations going on around and throughout the conference, but not at the conference.
1. David Warlick's visit to JSD. David spelled out things for our district that maybe we weren't quite ready to hear. But his message did get through and is making an impact now almost a year later. We will get to hear David again this year as he keynotes the UCET 2007 conference.

Category 5–Favorite Toys/Gadgets/Software of the Year (Ones that I have personally experienced) 6. Bluetooth Headset for Cell Phone–This one was really a necessity because the speaker on my phone is useless. I look like a reject from Star Trek TNG, but I can answer phone calls and didn't have to give up the phone I really like.
5. Logitech USB Headset–This has made the podcast easier to produce and I hope easier on your ears.
4. HP LaserJet 3050 All-in-One. This one I got for Christmas and I love it. My Stylus C86 has been crapping out for the past few months and I was getting tired of replacing ink every month. The 3050 is an older model, but it is perfect for my needs. I love having a laser printer again. The other capabilities are cake.
3. Magnavox 15" HDTV Monitor–We bought this as a replacement TV for our custom van. However, I have used it more as a 2nd monitor for my laptop at home. It makes a big difference to have the extra screen real estate available to work in.
2. Comic Life–Although this has been out almost 2 years, I finally wised up to it this year. It is so versatile, yet easy to use. I have had teachers who wouldn't do anything with their students in a lab before spend weeks on different projects. I love this software.
1. Video iPod–I really believe this device can revolutionize what teachers do in the classroom. To be able to download video and show it on a TV or projector easily could really be a boon. This device in conjunction with our statewide media download service should really be a useful tool in our teachers arsenal.

Well those are my lists and year end wrap up so to speak. I hope all of you and yours have had a marvelous winter season. It's now time to get back to work. I hope that 2007 brings you enjoyment and enrichment.
See you in a few!

Happy Holidays from the Educational Mac

Whatever you may be celebrating this time of year. Best Wishes to all.
Kelly @ The Educational Mac

Wow, What a Concept!

As I continue through the day, something has struck me. I can clearly remember when my youngest child was born 11 years ago. There was some pretty amazing technology in the room. Today as I look around my mom's room, what strikes me is that there is even more technology and it has been completely integrated into the hospital routine and experience. My mom's nurse is older than I am (and that's all I am saying about that), but she uses the computer in the room to input Mom's vitals every half-hour. I wonder if she had to go to hours and hours of professional development .

There are doctors, nurses, aides all using computers at various stations in the hallways. (I would have paid $100 for a digital camera to take a picture of the doctor using a Dell computer, looking at iMacs on the Apple website. I need a new cell phone with decent picture taking abilities.) While I am sure that they have all received training, there is no debate over whether they will use it or not. They just do. What to they use it for? To share information and data (can you say collaborate) to help do their jobs to the best of their ability.

Hmmm!

Makes the Waiting Much Better

So I am at the hospital waiting for my mother to come out of surgery (scheduled not emergency). I brought my laptop for the 2+ hour wait, to work on a presentation. I open up the PowerBook and the Airport signal indicator shows a full strength signal. Could it possibly be? Yes, the hospital has free public wi-fi available. Now I'll never get the presentation done.

A Worthy Cause

Great action plan from Tom Hofman-

Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.

The Not a Podcast Vidcast

Get the vodcast here Between business and vacationing a podcast has been impossible this month. I did however put together a little gadget review for a meeting that I had to bail on tomorrow. So I am posting that and hope I that you will forgive my laziness this month.

Have a Good Rest Digital Bill!

A report from MacMerc has informed us of the passing of "Digital Bill", Bill Douthett of the Wizards of Technology Podcast and website. The WOT was one of the first technology podcasts and the second podcast I subscribed to in Dec. of '04. Bill gave us advice on starting TEM and I will always be grateful. I will miss Bill and the podcast. To his friends and family, The Educational Mac expresses our condolences
See You in a Few, Bill!

The Educational Mac Podcast #34-September 23, 2006

Show notes for TEM #34
Thanks for Listening
Apple introduces new iMacs, new iPods, an iTV, and oh yeah, movies.
An interview with one of the founders of PB Wiki, Ramit Sethi.
My new videocast venture, a purely indulgent work called Rewind. The feed is feed://feeds.feedburner.com/wordpress/sWbj.
See You in a Few!

The New iMacs

The new iMacs yesterday are very impressive. A lot has been made in the Mac press about the $999 iMac. If you check the specs, this is the iMac for education offered to everyone. Apparently though the restriction on the educational iMac for $899 for institutional puchase only has been lifted. If you log into the education store for individual purchase you can now select the $899 iMac. See You in a Few!

A New Venture

No, I am not giving up The Educational Mac. But I am starting a new adventure in blogging/podcasting/vidcasting. The project was born out of my passion and belief in the power of storytelling, in particular, Digital Storytelling. Having organized a film festival for our elementary schools for the past 3 years, I see the need for examples for the students. I also want to be able to show the power of the tools we have available today. So I am embarking on a personal project to be one of those examples.
Through my life I have not been very good at keeping a journal. As I get older I am feeling a void because of the lack of a personal voice. Therefore this project is going to be my life story told in reverse from where I am now. The project is called Rewind. I realize it is in some ways a vanity project, but it is something I want to leave behind for my posterity.
However, I also see it as a way of putting my actions where my mouth is. If you would like to visit my personal time machine on occasion feel free to visit Rewind. The first entry will be available on Monday, Sept. 4th.
As I began, The Educational Mac is not going away, I will be back within a week with a new podcast, so...
See You in a Few!

p.s. I am going to try a few things with Rewind including submitting to You Tube, Google Video and maybe a few others. The Feedburner feed for the project is feed://feeds.feedburner.com/wordpress/sWbj.

The Educational Mac Podcast #33-August 9, 2006

Show Notes Interview with Zane about his Apple Camp experience
NECC Final Thoughts
Comic Life Review
Comic Life Tutorial
The Savvy Technologist podcast with Comic Life creators
A couple of thoughts about everything swirling around the Read/Write Web or Web 2.0 or whatever you choose to call it.
See You in a Few!

Live at Apple Camp

I am at the movie making Apple Camp with my son, Zane. I have found out a couple of things. 1) My son is much more shy around strangers than I realized. 2) He gets really quiet when he gets shy. I don't know if he is bored or just looking bored.
The Apple Store staff is doing a great job of working with the kids. The group my son is in is having a hard time coming up with ideas. But the camp counselor is working through it with them. It will be fun to see what they come up with.
I think this concept is a great idea from Apple and I hope they continue it in the future.
Zane and I are going to record a podcast later about the experience from his point of view.

TEM Podcast 32 -NECC2006 Special #2

A great day at NECC.
One Laptop Per Child - Nicholas Negroponte Blog Entry
Your school media channel-Chris Walsh Blog Entry
Award Winning Digital Photography - Arnie Abrams
The Mega VCR -Hall Davidson
A Web of Connections - Will Richardson (I lost my blog entry, but here and here are a couple of good summations of the session).
The Savvy Technologist Edublogger Meetup
Roger Wagner
theeducationalmac necc2006 necc

Digital Photography-The Good, the Bad, The Ugly - Leslie Fisher

Leslie knows digital photography. I have seen her present before. Top problems with Digital Photography
Not Close Enough
Not in Focus-Press the shutter button halfway down to set the focus.
Camera Shake - What causes it? Lack of lighting. What can you do about it? Tripod or table, set a time, change the settings, use a flash.
Boring Composition-Use Law of thirds. Look for lines, Sapce makes you think, Shoot High/Shoot Low, If I see another...
Ignoring the background
Missing the Moment - Why does it happen? Camera trying to expose for everything. Use Sports mode. Warning, the faster the shot, the less light brought into the camera. Watch for underexposed shots.
Too Much Flash
Too little Flash
Why not Vertical? Digital Zoom - Crap
Wrong Settings - Pixels, Pixel = Pixel Info. The dots that make up the overall picture, Megapixel = 1 million pixels, 1280 x 1024,is 1.3 Megapixels, The more megapixels in your camera, the bigger the picture! The better the print, Pixel dimensions will vary by brand. Take Pictures as largest quality possible.
Camera Settings
Resolution
Camera Raw - Camera does not touch the image whatsoever.
Shutter priority
Aperture Priority
Exposure Compensation
White Balance Adjustment
Lighting - Friend and Foe, look for natural light sources, Hand Test Leslie is not allowed to reproduce the handout for this session due to a contract with a business, but check her site for her other handouts which are just terrific. necc2006 theeducationalmac necc

The MegaVCR: Media and More in Your Pocket - Hall Davidson

For me Hall Davidson is another can't miss. I have attended conferences where Hall has presented for about 10 years now. He has such a great presentation personna and knows his stuff. The things he has done with the California Multimedia Festival was the inspiration for what we have done with our district elementary film festival.
This session is about the video iPod. United Streaming license's now allow for download ing of their content. Showed a mix he did using Premiere Elements of US content with him overlayed. It is pretty amazing. Hall makes a pretty good case for teachers having video iPods. Showing other content from US on the iPod. Showed a few other videos. Now he is actually going to show the process of getting the video from download to iPod.
The thing about Hall is that no matter what he is presenting, he is entertaining and hilarious. It's too bad they didn't advertise the session better, the crowd was smaller but it was still fun and very informative. necc2006 theeducationalmac necc

Award Winning Digital Photography Projects - Arnie Abrams

He is referring to the DeWitt Jones Keynote yesterday and mentions the creativity aspect. He will focus more on bringing this to the classroom. Handout available at Arnie's website.
Why bother
Visual Literacy
Visual Learners
Visual subjects
NETS Standards
Better, cheaper, easier cameras
New, fun, motivating
Instant results
Have your own darkroom
E-publishing
Cross-curricular projects
The Week That Was
Safety Do's and Dont's Poster
Research Project rather than paper
Getting Started with Digital Photography
Start with a specific assignment in mind
Portrait, motion, documentation
Going on assignment
Which is the Fake?
Make a commercial

Language Arts
Photo sequences or Every Picture Tells a Story . Story starters
Book Reports that come to life
Phoetry
Bilingual Photo Dictionary
Human Letters
Photo Flash Cards
Mystery Objects
Parts of Speech
Science

Special effects Photography - Time-lapse, Stop Motion, Panorama, Spin Object
Extreme Close Ups
Adopt a Tree

Social Studies
Virtual Postcards
Politics and Pictures
Two Sides to a Story
History Figure Cube
Our Town-Past, Present & Future

Math Projects
Pictures of Math
Counting Items
Patterns
Human Bar Chart
Fraction Photos

Social Skills
Illustrating Emotions

Teacher Tools
Visual Seating Chart
Student ID Cards
Enhance Field Trips

Camera Management Tips
Inexpensive cameras for student use
Standardize equipment
No "hand-offs"
Keep a camera handy
Keep spare batteries charged
Lots of memory cards

Digital Workflow
1. Capture - Shoot the picture, or scan, or have film transferred to digital, get a picture from the internet.
2. Transfer - Upload the pictures to a computer via the camera or a card reader
3. Edit - crop, correct or enhance.
4. Share - Print or share the photos electronically, back up to a CD or DVD

Useful web links at www.arnieabrams.net/dp_day.htm

Project Management Tips
Training Session
Student Licenses
Copy the Manual
Organize images into folders
Store file on external drives or CD/DVD
De-emphasize printing
Share photos on the web-Web photo albums
This session was as full at the DP session I attended yesterday. But I think this crowd got more out of it. The presentation was better and filled out the session time much better. Both presenters obviously enjoy digital photography, but Arnie showed more of a passion for it.
theeducationalmac necc2006 necc

Building Your Own Media Empire - Chris Walsh

Subtitle: Podcasting to Improve Communication & Training in Education Communities (handouts at www.epochlearning.com) Looking at community driven content.
Agenda
1 - Understand Podcasting
2 - See/hear in action
3 - Create a simple podcast
RSS makes it all possible.
Your digital news wire.
It's democratic distribution of content
"The Long Tail" - Something for everyone
Blogs - Text entries, published periodically
Podcasts - audio/video episodes, published periodically (interesting comment on the content being personal)
Why Now? - ease of distribution, more bandwidth, better mobile devices
Time Shifting - listen or watch anytime
Place Shifting - listen or watch "anywhere"
Enables learning everywhere & all of the time
Instruction
Student Voices
Professional Development
Community Outreach
Home Communication
Plays examples of podcasts - they are listed on the handout. Doing an example podcast using the Odeo Studio
This was a very well planned out and executed session.
theeducationalmac
necc2006
necc

One Laptop Per Child-Nicholas Negroponte

The big keynote for the conference this year is Nicholas Negroponte and the "$100" laptop. He begins by talking about the project as a journey. Mentions Seymour Papert and his view on students programming and the benefits thereof. Negroponte spends much of his time in underdeveloped countries. Technology isn't about teaching, it's about learning. Introduces the concept of the $100 laptop.
Three basic principles - 1-Use technology to learn learning, not to learn something.
2-Teaching is one but not the only way to achieve learning.
3-Leverage children themselves.
History of his involvement in bringing technology to underdeveloped nations. Started with a few computers in a few locations, then moved to telecommunication(wifi, wimax, etc.) Communication is not a problem today. Project in Cambodia. At the same time Papert worked with the state of Maine on their laptop project. In Maine, they have discovered that teaching and learning is different. What is One Laptop Per Child? 1 - A non-profit entity of $30M funding for non-recurring engineering costs.
2 - About Scale, Scale, scale being global is curcial. Launch 5-10 million in 2007, 50-150 million 2008 > 5 large diverse countries.
3 - To provide to children: to own, to take home, to use seamlessly.
Partners Google, eBay, AMD, News Corp, Brightstar, Marvell, Nortel, Red Hat, 3M, Chi Mei, Quanta, Satellite - TBA, UN, IADB
A lot of laptops. How to get to $100.
•No sales, marketing distribution
•First Purchase Order 5-10M units
•Linux
•Reduce display cost leveraging backlight innovation
500 Mhz AMD x86 processor
128M dRAM
512M Flash
>2 W nominal, can be human powered
3 USB ports
Stereo sound, with 2 audio out
WIFI mesh network
Rugged
Dual mode Display - Spatial Color, Backlit, Transmissive, OLPC LCD Display, Sunlight Readable, Reflective
Camera under consideration
Working model should be on floor shortly Open Source
Skinny Linux
Instant on
Will be faster than your laptop
Parallel Commercial Channels
Whitebox and brands
Private labels
Maintenance by the kids
Design - not cheap, not toy
Color coding of machine for revision purposes. A pivot screen. Crank moved to power supply to reduce wear on the laptop. Part of the Package
$1000 server with 300GB
Inter-school wireless connections Satellite back haul, where needed Mesh
About Launch, global, simultaneous, in quantities of one million each.
Launch countries - Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand, Argentina Central American plan with IADB, In discussion with : China, India, Egypt, Mexico, Bangladesh, Arab League
Why not in the USA?
Buy the $400 Intel Laptop
We do not treat malaria here
Too many school districts
Reverse chain: OLPC's problems are different
Time Line
Nov. 17 Announced WSIS
Dec. 12 Quanta agreed to build
May '06 final country commitments
Q4 '06 developer rollout
Laptop price commitment $100 target price end of 2008, price will float based on : currency, memory, nickel, cobalt. $138 anticipated in 2007 constantly lowering, $50 target price in 2010. Gray market issues - Economics
Initial and launch: Central government funded.
Single order
Susequent
Philanthropic Organizations
Child-to-child funding
Commercial subsidy
One country paying for another
Etc.
Side Effects
Linux on the desktop
No caps lock key
Power conciousness, more human power
No bloated software
stop featuritis
Viral telecommunications
Peer to peer everything
Learning by doing
Contribute ideas to wiki.laptop.org If personally intertested or want a developer board, send e-mails to: iste@laptop.org theeducationalmac necc necc2006

Telling the New Story

If I had to choose only one session to attend here at NECC, this is the one that I would choose. David Warlick presents the case for Telling the New Story so well that I don't tire of hearing it. Part of the fun of David's sessions is listening to the music he has created, or music that his son plays. The only way education will change is if we can Tell a New Story about education. We have been in the industrial age education system for so long David is not optimistic that it can change. However he has seen pockets. Examples of what can happen when teachers and student are given technology that they can use to bridge gaps. The handouts for the session can be found at David's Site. David's civics teacher predicted in 1967 that everyone would have a computer by the year 2000. Leadership - 3 types - There is the leader that is the master. There is the leader that is the creator, inventor. The leader that can tell a compelling new story. The current education system was designed to prepare people to work in straight rows, working on repetitive tasks, for their entire career. Uses The World is Flat to talk about what we need to prepare our students for today. Also talks about Richard Florida's work. Picture of David's son in "cockpit." We see technology, he experiences information. The kids today are super human. They have invisible tentacles that reach through walls and around the world. They take them to where they need to go. Then they come into the classroom and we cut off the tentacles, and they don't like it. A story from a Techie Children believe that "...everything is clickable, even their parents." -Vinod Khosla "There is no longer a need to teach kids the facts..." In the classroom today we need to create learners who are specialized and/or adaptable.
The Long Tail effect.
When we have new questions, where do the new answers come from? One of the answers will be something that somebody said yesterday on a blog or wiki.
Technorati Tags theeducationalmac necc2006 necc

The Educational Mac Podcast #31-NECC 2006 Special Edition 1

Sessions attended today-BTW, I have to hand it to ISTE and the NECC crew this year. The wireless access throughout the conference center is terrific. There were a few slowdowns, but the access seemed very robust. Once again, I applaud conference organizers. They really stepped up after the lack of access last year.
San Diego is a great place for conferences. I have attended many here and just love it. I think if I could afford to live anyplace I wanted, San Diego would be in the top 3 of my choices. Speaking of affordability. I can't believe there are still hotels that charge you so much for a night's stay and still won't provide free internet access. When Best is Free: An Educator's Guide to Open Source
Blog Entry
Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner
Blog Entry
Telling the New Story: Promoting Visions for 21st Century Classrooms
Blog Entry
Say Cheese! Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom
Blog Entry
Apple introduces a lower cost iMac for education.
See You in a Few! (hours that is)
Technorati Tags theeducationalmac necc necc2006

Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner

Dr. Larry Anderson has organized the session and has gathered several great podcasters. Ted Lai - co-authored iLife in the Classroom '06 with Jim Heid, David Warlick, Lucy Gray, Tim Wilson. There is a wiki set up at David's site that will contain notes taken by participants in the session. Ted and Tim are introducing the basics, talking about RSS. Defining Podcasts and Podcasting. The big thing about podcasting is the timeshifting aspect. Facts Doesn't require an iPod, Timeshifting, Not platform specific, Democratization.
Timeline - Podcasting officially began in Summer of 2004, Curry and Winer, Term coined in Sept. 2004, Thousands of podcasters online now. Fastest growing technology use in history.
Vocabulary - RSS, XML, enclosure, aggregator, blog, syndication.
David describes the relationship between blogging and podcasting, unfortunately the bandwidth suck is going big time and he can't get anywhere fast online.
Lucy is now going over podcatching in iTunes and my battery is about dead, so I am going to shorten this one and hope I can find an open outlet somewhere. theeducationalmac necc2006 necc

David Thornberg on Open Source-When the Best is Free

In the Sails Pavillion. I kind of like this setting for a session, it is very open and there will be a lot of noise, but it is sunny and airy, not at all like the usual stuffy conference room. Dr. Thornburg begins by talking about the platform agnostic nature of open source. Has written a book called When the Best is Free. A benefit of open source is that it tends to get updated a lot. The cost benefit can be impressive. Edubuntu is the only operating system that was designed for schools. Now playing a game. Contestant picks a card, the card reads Audacity. Talks about what Audacity can replace (Sound Forge). BTW-The session is packed with people standing around the edges. I have a feeling open source is going to be a huge topic at the conference.
Now the program he is demonstrating is Inkscape. Line art drawing tool comparable to Illustrator.
(I just realized I left my extra battery at the hotel, doh!)
Next up is NVU, it is a wysiwyg web editor. Now in the game is NetLogo. It is a free Logo software, but not open source yet. The next software is Blender. It is a 3-D modeling tool that can also do 3-D animation. He will not demonstrate Blender but is showing a film that was created using Blender. Blender has been used in feature films, notably Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Dia is a diagramming software comparable to Visio. The SRO crowd has stayed pretty much intact. I am a little surprised as the session has moved a little slowly, at least for my taste.
Final software is Tuxpaint. It is a paint program for kids, comparable to KidPix. This has been an informative session, but again could have moved a little faster. necc necc2006 theeducationalmac

NECC 2006 Schedule

I have to admit that I have had a hard time getting very excited about NECC for a variety of reasons. However as the time is close at hand, I can feel the anticipation building as I look forward to seeing distant friends and meeting new ones. Here is my tentative schedule for NECC. I will update as I settle on a few more sessions. Remember, Be the first to introduce yourself to me each day (5,6, & 7) and I will have a shiny iTunes gift card for you.
Kelly Dumont NECC 2006 Tentative Schedule ---------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, July 5
10:00-11:00am Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:45am-1:00pm Extraordinary Visions
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:00-3:00pm Telling the New Story: Promoting Visions for 21st Century Classrooms NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:00-3:00pm Introducing the Read/Write Web: Challenges, Opportunities, and Implications NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3:30-4:30pm Say Cheese! Using Digital Cameras in the Classroom
----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 6
7:15-8:15am Tom Snyder Breakfast
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:30-9:45am One Laptop Per Child
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:00am-12:00pm A One Hour Tour: Navigating Primary Sources on the Internet
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:00-1:00pm Sandisk Lunch NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12:30-1:30pm Award-Winning Digital Photography Projects for the Classroom NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:00-3:00pm The MegaVCR: Media and More in Your Pocket NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:00-3:00pm Using Technology to Support 21st-Century Literacy Skills NOTES: Time Conflict
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3:30-4:30pm A Web of Connections: Why the Read/Write Web Changes Everything
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5:00-6:00pm Savvy Technologist Podcast
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8:00-10:00pm EduBlogger Meetup
----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 7
8:30-9:30am The Good, Bad, and Ugly: Taking Digital Pictures Effectively
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
11:30am-12:30pm iLearn, Therefore iPod
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2:30-3:30pm Open Technologies: What They Mean for You and Your Students
See You in a Few! (For some, quite literally)
necc necc2006 theeducationalmac

Blogging and Podcasting NECC

The list of those who have publicly volunteered to blog and podcast NECC '06 has been put up here.
Technorati Tags: necc necc2006 theeducationalmac

Find Me at NECC!

Okay, in case you missed it in the podcast. I am bringing 3-$15.00 iTunes gift cards with me to NECC. I will give one away on the 5th, one on the 6th and one on the 7th. The first listener each day who comes up to me and says, "Hi Kelly, I listen to The Educational Mac," will receive the gift card for that day. As I mentioned on the podcast, I am going to limit this to listeners that I do not know or that I have not met in person before. Beginning on the 4th I will give clues as to where I will be at the conference the next day. I will also give information as to what I am wearing or other ways to identify me that day. I am looking forward to meeting listeners in San Diego.
See You in a Few! necc2006 necc

TEM Podcast 30b-The Real #30

Whoops, I skipped a number there. So Podcast 30 is really 29 and 30b here is the real 30. My Bad!
Show Notes
eMac replacement in the works?
Apple Camp for kids this summer
Apple sells PowerSchool to Pearson Assessment, then Pearson turns around and purchases Chancery Software. Nothing like cornering the market on everything.
Dell opening two stores, but you can't walk out with anything you purchase. What is not to get here?
MacBook hands on
iWeb Review. Addtional iWeb templates available from iLife Stuff, and Lamiavia. Problem uploading with 1.1 update. The website I am maintaining using iWeb, Black Ice.
One Minute Book Review of Naked Conversations
NECC 2006-San Diego, CA July 5-7
Apps I Use-StickyBrain
Interview with Richard Miller of FreeMacWare
Cousin Calculator
See You in a Few!
Technorati Tags necc necc2006 theeducationalmac
My Odeo Channel (odeo/6a8d2c04e42129c2)

MacBooks=Sweet

I am posting this entry from a black MacBook at The Apple Store-Gateway in Salt Lake City. I love this machine. I am still undecided on the screen (the glare does bother me a bit). I actually love the keyboard (although I wouldn’t want to have to replace it). The Macbook is very responsive in opening applications. I really like this machine.

Rising from the Grave, so to speak

It has been over 4 months since I recorded the last podcast. I have talked several times about life getting in the way of this labor of love. Well it happened again. Well, that and general laziness. Much has happened over the general Macintosh landscape in 4 months. I am not sure that much has happened over the Macs in education landscape though. It has really been pretty quiet.
I am not sure there is a lot in this podcast either. But I do mention the new MacBooks, iLife '06, my daughter's softball team website that I am creating with iWeb, and our 3rd annual elementary film festival.
See You in a Few!

Can We All Just Pack Up and Go Home Now?

Well, just as it seems some are getting it, here comes the other end of the cow. I was fortunate to be in the company of our state Ed-Tech Director this morning touring some model technology classrooms. He actually got a call from one of the highest rated radio stations in the state. They actually alerted him to the article and asked for his opinion. What he did is get them to come out to the school and talk to a teacher from one of these model classrooms. The report will air in the morning, but at least we go a chance to talk about what technology in the classroom is really about.

AppZapper for Free

MacZot is trying a new tack in moving software. For the new release of AppZapper, which is a great uninstaller, they are looking to get 259 blog links. If that happens then everybody who registers will receive AppZapper for free. Go to MacZot for more information.

Wow, sombody may actually get it!

My cousin posted this quote to his blog today. It seems like at least one person outside of education may get it. I used to think Mark Cuban was a lucky, rich doofus (no offense, Mr. Cuban). But more and more I see him saying some pretty intelligent things. This is one of the best I have seen... In the past, you had to memorize knowledge because there was a cost to finding it. Now, what can't you find in 30 seconds or less? We live an open-book-test life that requires a completely different skill set. Thru ZD Net from Time Magazine

Social PD

Well, my conference duties are over and still no podcast. It really is from lack of effort. I have been rather lazy about a lot of things since the conference, but I am starting to get caught up. A long day on Friday and then I should be in the clear for a week or so. One thing has struck me this past week though and strangely enough I have heard others talk about it or write about it this week. That thing is the concept of podcasts and blog entries as professional development. I follow about 30 educational blogs at this time and subscribe to about 8 "educational" podcasts. I subscribe to a variety of other podcasts as well. I check my reader several times a day. I check for new podcasts to download every hour or so. What I am getting from this is my own personal professional development. I have several instructors like, Wesley , David , Bob , Will , Miguel , Tim , Steve , and several others. What I learn about is diverse. Sometimes I am learning about new tools, sometimes about new ideas or pedagogies. Sometimes I really agree with what is being said and sometimes I don't. If I disagree with one of the instructors long enough, I drop him from my reader or podcast subscriptions and find another. The biggest thing to me is that I am choosing what I am learning. I control the pacing of the instruction, the time of the intstruction, and the place where I receive the instruction. Isn't this what professional development should be for all (I know, don't generalize, or overstate) teachers. I wonder what would happen if we could supply teachers with media players and teach them how to find the content in various media forms. Would they find their own ground and use the tools to continue their learning. Teachers have so little time, but most are driving, walking, riding for a various amount of time each day. I do a lot of driving in my current position, and instead of listening to the same sports story over and over I now spend the time learning really cool things. When I have a few minutes spend on the computer I don't have to go looking for new information about my interests, the information is there waiting for me. The tools are there I feel a more urgent need every day to share them with educators I come in contact with. Why shouldn't they have the opportunity to find their own professional development.

A Most Useful Site

I mentioned this site in the last podcast, but I feel the need to bring it up again. it is FreeMacWare.com. Everyday they list a new freeware application for Macs. Not everything is for everyone, but the last two days have been terrific finds.

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!

Call for Co-hosts

I hope to have a new show out in the next 24 hours. In the meantime, I have been tossing around an idea in my head for the past couple of weeks and I think I am ready to share it with anybody interested. I would like to try having some co-hosts on the podcast. I am not sure if I am I looking for permanent co-hosts or temporary. I would like to try it out and see though. So if you would be interested in co-hosting an episode of The Educational Mac Podcast drop me a note at kdumont@mac.com or theeducationalmac@gmail.com. See You in a Few!

Maybe this wasn't the best idea Henrico has had

What would you do for a $50 iBook? I would hope not bash people with chairs, trample a child's stroller, or apparantly completely obliterate a flip-flop. Come on people let's have a little civility!"

Too Many To Fix?

Steve writes about a challenge given to the staff at his new school to fix three of their own broken windows. It started me thinking about which of my broken windows I would and should choose to work on.

One of my initial thoughts was that I have too many broken windows to begin fixing any of them. Then I realized that was probably the first that I should work on. I have a tendency to get down on myself for not accomplishing all that I should in a given day. I need to continually remind myself that there is only so much time in a day and I need to plan accordingly.

This leads to window the second for me. That is to not let me stretch myself too thin. I find myself more and more taking on things I shouldn't. My plate is pretty full and adding things only complicates when I should really be simplifying. I need to learn to say no gracefully and tactfully.

My third broken window which these other two impact deals with my family. I spend more time at the keyboard when I am at home than I should. I need to work out a more efficient schedule so that when I am home with the family, I am with the family.

I know this would help my relationship with my more than patient wife.
teach42

The Educational Mac Podcast #21-August 7, 2005

In this show-
Moving files to Ourmedia.org
New Mac Hardware-iBooks (boring), Mac Mini's (intriguing $699 model), Mighty Mouse (I think I want one bad!)
Apple in Education News Broward County (Good) Henrico County (Bad) Cobb County (Ugly)
Laptop installation at new school
Educational Blogs and Podcasts That I Follow Blogs-Teach 42, Exactly 2 Cents Worth, One Big Head
Podcasts-Teach 42, Connect Learning, Bit by Bit
General Podcast Opinions
iTunes Podcast Support 6 Weeks Later
Contact Information
See You in a Few!