KASL

Doug Johnson's Steps to Keeping Your Tech Sanity

If you are a classroom teacher who wants to take advantage of powerful technologies in both your classroom and for other professional tasks but still have time to talk to your own family, read a book or even get some sleep, consider the following strategies...

1. Start with the problem, not the tool. Rather than scan the flood of "new and recommended" programs, apps and websites for programs that look useful, start with two or three challenges you have in your work life. Do you have a unit that doesn't engage your students? Are you having a problem getting a project done with your curriculum team? Is it frustrating keeping files current among the multiple devices you use? What might help meet the objectives of your PLC? Scan for tools that help solve real problems.
2. Be selective about where you get your recommendations. Let's face it, there are folks who get excited about anything that is new, shiny and beeps. For those who want to make trying out new technology resources their avocation and forgo any attempt at normalcy, that's great. But I would select two or three trusted sources of new programs. These sources might be a websites or blogs, your librarian or tech integration specialist, or a fellow teacher. But let somebody else do a pre-screening of the new stuff.
3. Try just one new tool at a time. Trying to learn too many programs can be as destructive to your professional life as ignoring technology completely. Pick one interesting resource and use it for a month. Then try another one. Nobody has to be the master of every technology available.
4. One in, one out. When I buy a new pair of shoes, I throw an old pair away. (This drives the LWW nuts.) When I start to read a new blog, I unsubscribe from an old blog. If you create an online webpage for your parents, stop doing the printed one. Figuring out what to stop doing is probably the hardest, but most important thing you need to do to stay sane.
5. Don't try to fix that which is not broken. If you are happy with your webbrowser, your online bookmarking site, your cloud photo storage space, your blogging software, your e-mail system, stay with them. Change for the sake of change is unproductive.
6. Weigh the time/benefit ratio. Evaluate the new resource as objectively as possible. Will taking two hours to learn this program well either save me more than two hours in time in the immediate future or will it help me reach students who could not be reached before? Let's face it, some programs are too complex, too time-intensive to learn to ever offer a decent payback. Evaluate.
7. Give back and become part of a community of learners. Be your school's guru on one helpful tool. Join a group of other technology learning educators either F2F or online. Make learning new technologies social and make friends. After all, misery does love company.

I also encourage you to read Jeff Utecht's Stages of PLN (Personal Learning Network) Adoption. Reach for the Balance end of the curve.

Your insanity may be temporary.

 

Taken from Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

Connecting

Teen Tech Week 2010

Registration opens for YALSA’s Teen Tech Week
YALSA launched its Teen Tech Week 2010 website, opening registration and offering resources, including activity ideas, presentations, and publicity tools, for the annual celebration of nonprint resources. Teen Tech Week is March 7–13, with a theme of Learn Create Share @ your library, encouraging teens to take advantage of the many technologies available to them, free of charge, at their libraries....

Kindle 2

As the proud owner of a Kindle 2, it is tempting to love it unreservedly just because I spent almost $400 on it. Truth is, Kindle 2 ownership is a mixed bag.

Why I love it:

-Immediacy. The Kindle 2 has access to a large and growing library of Amazon.com books. If I want it, it’s mine, usually for less than half what I would pay for the book if I bought a print copy. Crime and Punishment is 99 cents. Most currently released hardcover books are around $10; paperbacks are usually around $7-8. (Yes, I know, it’s still going to take me a while to make up that $400, but if you are a voracious reader who wants your books right here, right now . . . . OK, I just like gadgets. So, sue me.)

On the other hand:

-Even with Amazon’s huge selection, you will not find everything.  Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory* is not there, for one thing, and though four of Anne Tyler’s books are available, her entire canon is not.  However, I was surprised to discover that Michael Horton’s newly released Christless Christianity was available, though I thought it might be obscure and difficult to find. Still, I will be relying on bookstores and libraries to fill in the gaps, probably for years to come. (*Note: The Power and the Glory is available, free, from Google Books, thus opening up an entirely different can of worms that I will not tackle right here, right now.)

Why I like it:

-The Look and Feel. The Kindle 2 just feels good in my hand. As I get older, it’s harder to handle a huge hardbound book, and turning a page on the Kindle is a breeze. The screen is easy on the eyes and as I grow more and more blind, I can increase the text size. Plus, Amazon has just come out with an app for the iPod Touch so I can read my books on the iPod if I want to. And I do. I really, REALLY do.

On the other hand:

-Navigation takes a little getting used to. Though it is not difficult, moving around the Kindle is different from moving around the average computer. I keep wanting to touch the screen as I would do with an iPod Touch, and though flipping back a page or two to check some detail is easy enough, it’s harder to flip back several dozen pages and find what I need to know. Turns out I do this WAY more than I thought I did and only noticed because flipping around is more inconvenient on the Kindle.

Why I still like it:

-The first book I read on the Kindle 2 was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and it is a wonderful book, full of wit, heartbreak, and likable characters. Now it is mine forever, stored on Amazon’s server so if I buy an upgraded Kindle, that book is there always. Great content is great no matter the platform of access.

On the other hand:

-Most readers push their books on to other people after they are done reading. My books either go in the library at school, or I hand them to the family member or friend I believe will enjoy it most. I have a network of people who know that if I read something I think they might like, sooner or later I’ll be giving the book to them. Normally, they in turn will hand it off to somebody else. With the Kindle, that book is tied to my Amazon account. I can’t hand it to my mother. I just e-mailed her and told her it was good, and she’ll check it out from the Hays Public Library when it is available.

Why I tolerate it:

-The Kindle 2 is a happy traveler. It is more lightweight than a stack of books, and it holds a charge for several days. It relies on the same wireless network as a cell phone so anywhere you can talk on your cell, you can download a book.

On the other hand;

-Over spring break, I forgot my charger and the Kindle dried up and left me bookless for a week. Or it would have, if I hadn’t had two library books with me. As my sister told me, “I have a solution for you. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called a B-O-O-K.”

 

 

Teen Tech Week 2009

Teen Tech Week begins tomorrow.  Don't forget to celebrate!

e-books

I just finished reading a fascinating article by John Siracusa called "The Once and Future E-book:  On Reading in the Digital Age."  Following this paragraph is a snippet from the article that I thought was particularly thought provoking, but I recommend reading the whole article because Siracusa discusses everything from Digital Rights Management to Apple Computer's failure to jump on the e-book bandwagon because of Steve Job's observation that, "It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore.  Forty percent of the people in the U. S. read one book or less last year."  That made me think that perhaps even Siracusa doesn't go far enough.  Maybe the future is in audio content--or video--or something else entirely.  I know. I don't like that idea either. But I'll be dead soon.  -mh

"The inevitable e-book

The straightforward application of logic and reasoning to the actions of large groups of people is a futile exercise. All of the previous arguments about screen quality and medium/content separation crumble to dust in the face of these inconvenient truths: broadly speaking, people aren't buying e-books; people don't want e-books; people do not want to read book-length texts off of a screen. Or, to paraphrase a long-forgotten but nevertheless surprisingly applicable movie from the 90s, people love their books.

But the truth is, these things always turn out the same way. And I have some bad news for the bibliophiles. The beloved, less technically sophisticated information conveyance with the pedigreed history doesn't win.

Time and again this happens, and it can happen without changing a single person's mind. To put it bluntly, people die. Indeed, death is arguably the single most important driver for all human progress. Even in a community as reason-based as science, it's often necessary to wait for one generation of scientists to die off before a new theory gains mainstream acceptance. It's a bit much to hold consumers' text-based media preferences to a higher standard.

So, death and the passage of time—hardly romantic. It doesn't have to be that way, of course. Plenty of new technologies gain widespread adoption without the aid of a generational turnover. But so far, books have held their ground. The message here is simply that, on the long graph, the result will be the same.

The next generation, though influenced by the prejudices of their parents, are nevertheless more likely to judge new technologies on their merits, and so on for each new generation. And in the case of e-books, the merits are there, as plain as day. In fact, they're some of the same merits that have driven other successful media transitions.

Convenience: One thousand songs in your pocket? One million books in your pocket. Carry your entire reading list with you at all times. No loose bookmarks. No dog-eared pages. No rips, tears, or smudges. No shelf space required. No trip to the store. Purchase and start reading in seconds. Read anywhere, any time, using only one hand. Stop reading at a moment's notice without fear of losing your place.

Power: Search the text instantly. Look up the definition of any word with a single tap or click. Add and remove highlighting an infinite number of times without degrading the text. Annotate without being constrained by the size of the margins. Create multiple bookmarks and links from one part of the text to another.

Potential: Consume, share, and remix all of the above with anyone, an unlimited number of times."

Web Applications

Top 10 consumer web apps of 2008
Sometimes it’s important to take a step back and realize that the apps to which we’ve grown incredibly accustomed are just barely beginning to register with the general public. This was a year in which two major events had worldwide impact on the Web. These events focused the world’s attention, had more consumers creating more online content, and had more people searching online for information than ever before: the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. Presidential elections. Many of these apps have those events to thank for their exposure and adoption....
ReadWriteWeb, Dec. 9

Digital Cameras

How to buy a cheap digital camera
Corinne Iozzio writes: “Point-and-shoot digital cameras are easy to tote, simple to use, and most important, they have the features to satisfy the majority of casual photographers. At first glance, these cameras often appear very similar, and you might get the impression that it would be safe to pick one at random, but a closer look tells a very different story. The one thing these 15 models do have in common is affordability; each one of them rings up at $250 or less online. Here’s what you need to look for when shopping for a new point-and-shoot camera.”...
PC Magazine, Dec. 5

Digital Imaging Best Practices, Version 2.0

AURORA, CO, June 25, 2008 - BCR's CDP has released the updated Digital Imaging Best Practices, Version 2.0, featuring new sections on digital cameras, digital preservation and more. The revised Digital Imaging Best Practices document is based on the Western States Digital Imaging Best Practices Guide published in 2003, developed by experts and practitioners in the field.

Brenda Bailey-Hainer, BCR president and CEO, says, "one of the biggest joys of working in a collaborative environment is seeing the great achievements - like this document - that collective efforts bring about. The biggest reward for this particular endeavor will be the rich digital content that will result from the many librarians, archivists and museum professionals who will use BCR's CDP Digital Imaging Best Practices as a guide to their work."

The Digital Imaging Best Practices Working Group took leadership for the revision, spending time researching new and updated standards, examining new technologies and evaluating new workflow options. The working group drew on the expertise of its members and digitization colleagues to address the many changes informing image digitization during the last five years.

Sarah Goodwin Thiel, digital services librarian, University of Kansas, served as the working group chair. She notes, "While continuing to address the needs of a particular audience, beginning practitioners and those from institutions with limited resources and/or expertise, Version 2.0 is developed to assist practitioners from the cultural heritage section to navigate the quickly evolving world of image digitization and to efficiently increase and improve access to digital scholarship."

Technology Webquest

I put this material together for a district professional development presentation I am doing on Monday.  I used a Web 2.0 handout that some KASL member put together for Tri-Conference last spring as a place to start, so if you recognize yourself in this at all, let me know, and I will give you credit.

The purpose of this webquest is to introduce our teachers to some of the "new" technology freely available for them to use with kids in the classroom.  If you can use this at all, feel free. -mh