Category Archives: Uncategorized

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School Supplies List: Pencils, Crayons, Paper, … Bulletproof Backpack …

For obvious reasons this caught my eye …
From the article: Back-to-school goes ballistic  by Barbra Green

Just in time for the new academic year, Massachusetts-based MJ Safety Solutions has unveiled My Child’s Pack, described on the company’s website as the first “full size, lightweight ballistic protection backpack that is affordable and practical.”

The response has been overwhelming.

“We were pretty sure that parents would take to this,” said co-founder, Mike Pelonzi, but the incredible demand for the product has caught everyone there off guard. Orders for the $175 US bags have been pouring in online and the one store in Pelonzi’s hometown of Danvers, Mass. carrying the packs has been sold out since day one.

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8 Random Things Meme

OK, so many people have tagged me to do this I guess I’d better.

1. I love the mountains which is why we live in Reno, Nevada. Lake Tahoe and many hiking trails are close by, but we don’t deal with the snow too much where we live because its a desert. Photo below was taken today. It takes 25 minutes to get to this spot from our house.

2. I like weather. I like to go out in a thunderstorm (away from lightening) when its raining so hard it almost hurts when it hits you. I like the cold, some of my favorite hikes have been winter hikes (or cross country ski trips) up mountains when it is snowin’ and blowin’. Took this photo of a lenticular cloud from our front door yesterday.

3. I wish I played a musical instrument.
4. I don’t tear up easily, but when I see students doing any kind of performance, that often gets me.
5. I like history, my degree is in political science because I didn’t have the time to do biology and still get an elementary teaching license.
6. I was going to be a professional photographer until a friend had me come to his outdoor ed camp to take publicity photos. Rock climbing, night hiking, botany, survival training, geology and more with 6 to 16 year olds changed my mind.
7. I believe in “at risk” elementary schools students should take at least one field trip a month to build schema and love of learning.
8. My dream trip would be to go to Antarctica, including being at the South Pole for at least a month working with scientists.

OK – I did it!

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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I’m Melancholy Already

We have just had too much fun and learning and networking. Twitter has been all the rage here (if you hadn’t already figured that out) – has been a great tool for sharing what’s going on and connecting up. I’m sitting in the Blogger’s Café AGAIN and it is almost 8:30pm – very little going on … except that many here have been asked by the WOW2 ladies to be part of a NECC WOW2 – and that starts in 30 minutes not far from here.

The downside of all this networking is definitely going to be the withdrawl after it ends. I’m fairly tech savvy, but many of the other bloggers here are never disconnected. If there’s no wireless they have the phones and know how to make connections all the time. Has lead to some very funny stories about being just too connected. But when all this ends its going to be tough. All the more reason to do it again next year! Gotta go – WOW2 is about to start.

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Blogger’s Café – The Conversation Place

The Blogger’s Café, which I believe is new this year, actually has become a touchbase for the edubloggers here. One reason is its location – near bathrooms, coffee and a view of the dreaded exhibit floor. Its 8:45am and right now David Warlick, David Jakes, John Pederson, Cheryl Oakes, Jennifer Wagner, Brian Grenier and a few others that my muddled morning mind can’t conjure their names have staked out a spot near a plug strip. David W and John were showing others Twitter as people share where they are going etc.

At one point yesterday all those named above along with Wes Fryer, Will Richardson, Mark Wagner, Sharon Peters, Vicki Davis and 10 or more others were all here talking, laughing, sharing – breaking into informal discussion groups that were fluid and would trade members. Chris Lehman sat with Sharon Peters as she asked him questions about SLA and recorded the answers for a podcast – those around chimed in with questions and comments too. Someone brought over their laptop so they could Video-Skype a friend from across the country that is interested in progressive education so she could listen in and Chris was totally accommodating. This is how to conference. The face to face is awesome and needed.

Learning is messy!

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Anywhere, Anytime: Using Mobile Phones for Learning

This was too cool. Lots of possibilities. Pocketcaster software – free download – allows your cell phone to stream live video to their website where it is archived. Then you can put your clips together later to make a video project. The example they showed had high school students visit a science museum where they had been directed to make video projects on specific topics. They perused the museum and shot clips of displays, docents and experts answering questions about their topic. Then they returned to school, pulled up their archived video which they reordered and edited into presentations.

Pocketcaster also has the ability to stream your video to the site where it shows it in side by side with a GPS screen shot that follows you around – they showed video shot out the window of a car traveling down the highway and you could see its progress on the GPS map in the window next to it.

Pocketcaster software: http://www.comvu.com/
Supported phones: http://www.comvu.com/comvu/Support.htm
Project Site: http://www.rcetj.org/?type=art&id=79575& 

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“School” Is In Session


Mississippi Catfish

Originally uploaded by BCrosby

blogclass.jpg

I’m sitting here waiting for Will Richardson to start an 8:30 session on blogging – yeah, I know … I have a blog. But I’ve never seen him “live” and wanted to make sure I saw him at least once this weekend. Mississippi catfish are shown in the photo thanks to a reception last night at the Georgia aquarium.

The presentation is scheduled for 8:30, but was full by 8:00 – will is amazed. Many in this room will be using old “harddriveless” laptops using a thin client thanks to Steve Hargedon. Well, I better post this and get ready to listen.

Conferencing is messy

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Morning Sessions

Morning sessions are over, lunch has broken out all over. So what has been discussed so far?

In the breakout discussions I’ve been part of the main topic has really been “How should school look AND how are we going to get to do it that way? Much of the crowded discussion has revolved around mostly the usual: Get the word out … how?: involve media and parents and interested others more to spread the positive message (because there has been too much of the negative). This was discussed at length but time ran out before we really came to grips with some substantive ways to go about inciting media to cover the edtech, web 2.0, project based message. Hopefully we will revisit this after lunch because it seems to be a major part of the disconnect right now in making change.

Then the topic became OK, but what should that topic … what should the message that we want to promote be? Students becoming literate was popular – literate in language, math, science … but also literate in the tools they will need to excel and continue their learning. Make the message urgent was discussed.

It seems to me that we have re-clarified the issues – if we don’t take the time to discuss a plan of action all is for naught. It is too easy to get excited and create great talking points with the choir all around … let’s hope we do the dirty work of deciding what exactly to do while this group is together and focused so later we aren’t saying we need to have a plan … as great as blogs and web 2.0 is it won’t do the job as well as a group of people focused on solving an issue face to face when there are fewer everyday distractions. Well back to the grind. : )

Solving issues is messy!

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Sunrise Day 1




sunriseday1

Originally uploaded by BCrosby

OK here we go! Some breakfast first and then off to pick up registration stuff and then to EduBloggerCon. This shot is a bit blurry – taken out my window – that’s CNN on the right, the morning sky reflected on the building on left. Hope the day goes as well as it has started!!!!

Learning is messy!