"Predicting the future is easy. It's trying to figure out what's going on now that's hard" (Dressler, 2005)
Yesterday was the final day of Blackboard World 2009. It was an enjoyable conference. I met some interesting colleagues who are all grappling with best ways to teach online. It was great seeing old friends from Georgia Virtual Technical College. Twitter as a backchannel was going strong, and I added quite a few new contacts… Read more Final Day of BbWorld09
I thoroughly enjoyed this second day at Blackboard World 2009. Bud Deihl and I presented this morning on weaving the social web into learning while still using the Blackboard learning management system for the things for which it was good. We used the class that Jon Becker and I taught last spring as an example. … Read more BbWorld09 Day Two
Just completed the first day at BbWorld 2009 in Washington DC. The setting has been wonderful – the new Gaylord Resort in National Harbor. Bud Deihl and I are attending together and it has been fun hearing his perspective on the various sessions. There has been an active Twitter backchannel linked here, so check that… Read more Unicorns in a Balloon Factory
In the past three posts, I have covered the first 39 “rules” from Alan Webber’s Rules of Thumb.: 52 Truths For Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self (2009). I found this book to be relevant not only for entrepreneurs in business, but for those changing the paradigm of teaching by moving online. This post… Read more The Fourth and Last Set of Rules
Earlier this week, I posted the first two posts reviewing Alan Webber’s Rules of Thumb.: 52 Truths For Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self (2009). I got a nice note from Alan at his website: “I just read your blog on Rules and I can’t thank you enough! Taking Rules and applying it to… Read more Still More Rules of Thumb
Yesterday I started an examination of Alan Webber’s Rules of Thumb.: 52 Truths For Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self (2009). As Webber noted, these amazing times require one to rethink, reimagine, and recalibrate what is possible. In other words, it is time to rewrite the rules. I looked at the first thirteen rules… Read more More Rules of Thumb
We wrap up our Center for Teaching Excellence annual Teaching and Learning with Technology Institute tomorrow, and it has been a wonderful week of discovery for ourselves and our 18 participants. It is always fun to immerse yourself with colleagues in explorations of teaching practices built around the web and networked learning. From delicious to… Read more A Nice Touch
Bud Deihl and I traveled north a few miles to attend the University of Mary Washington’s Faculty Academy 2009 in Fredericksburg, VA. It was a chance to reconnect face-to-face with some of my Twitter friends like Martha Burtis (see her reflections on this day here), George Brett and Laura Blankenship. One of the highlights for… Read more Is the CMS Dead? (…and other UMW FA 2009 Fun)
End of the semester, and a good time for reflection. For their final assignment, we asked our graduate class that Jon Becker and I taught on Educational Technology and School Leadership to reflect on their 15-week journey. Their reflections are captured in the Wordle above. We had twenty-five K-12 teachers who immersed themselves in the… Read more Personal Reflections
I heard on the mainstream media news tonight that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Sunday declared a “public health emergency” for the current swine flu outbreak, which while mild so far in the United States, has taken 86 lives in Mexico. Secretary Napolitano liked the current emergency call to preps for a pending hurricane.… Read more Are We Ready for Swine Flu?