Clif’s Notes

Creed

Of his many awesome works this is my favorite Rich Mullins song.

Happy 08/08/08

I encourage teachers to spend a bit of time today discussing the uniqueness of today’s date. Questions to help you start the discussion:

Preparing for the Olympics

I LOVE the Olympics!!! The Games typically bring life around our home to a standstill for the fortnight. With the opening ceremonies less than 24 hours away I decided to take a crash-course in all-things Beijing 2008. Here are a few of my favorite finds.

Lost Boy to Carry U.S. Flag in Opening Ceremony - Read this…you’ll thank me.

Top U.S. Athletes to Watch at Beijing Games - Eric Adelson states that “these Olympics will be remembered for what Phelps does — no matter what he does.” I think it is likely that we’ll find this to be a true statement and I think it’s a cleverly penned phrase.

Hold on to Your Medals - Pat Forde’s column is informative and funny with a surprise ending.

More Good Words

I’ve noted additional words that I enjoy since my recent post. Review these and let me know what you think.

• stealth
• accoutrements
• blade
• superfluous
• basin
• debacle
• vat
• Route 44 Dr. Pepper

Here are some words that you left in the comments section of the original post that I especially enjoyed. Thanks for reminding me of these good words.

• oxymoron - CoreyR
• spelunker - Elaine Plybon
• cattywampus - Elaine Plybon
• obsequious - Joe Brennan

Be an Extraordinary Teacher

It’s the time of year when we teachers begin preparing for the start of a new school year. I though it would be a good time to share this resource about extraordinary teachers. Reflect on this simple activity as a mini-professional development opportunity.

Thanks for teaching. You make a difference.

The Extraordinary Teacher Quiz
By Diana Loomans

There are 12 important qualities that separate good teachers from extraordinary teachers. How do you rate yourself? Are you the kind of teacher that inspires your students to achieve the extraordinary in their lives? Take this simple test to find out.

–from Diana Loomans.com

Good Words

Despite Emily’s characterization of me as math, science, technology person (Ha ha ha!) I actually grew up preferring courses related to language arts. I tend to live in my head (for better and for worse) and I like imagination and self-expression. Like Emily, I really like words. I even have a habit of interrupting friends by declaring “Ooh, good word!” when they use a term that tickles my ears. It might be the use of a word I haven’t heard in a long while, a term that expresses an idea more perfectly than the term I was expecting to hear, or a word that actually conveys meaning through the way it actually sounds. Other times it’s simply the use of word in combination with the person that is saying it.

Here are a few words that I enjoy hearing.

What are some of your favorite words?

NECC This Afternoon

Here are the presentations/discussions that I attended/ participated in during the first half of this afternoon.

A Plan for Wiki Adoption by Ken Pruitt
Ken’s presentation was an adaptation of Stewart Mader’s Wikipatterns. Ken shared suggested strategies for implementing the use of wikis at all levels.

Educational Technology and the Law facilitated by Jon Becker and Scott McLeod
While preparing for the Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 seminar I’ve realized how important it is that I become more knowledgeable about copyright, intellectual property, plagiarism, and related topics. I especially liked how they were able to pose existing IRL analogies for the virtual situations under discussion.

I’m off to the the much anticipated (at least by me) poster presentation of the ISTE Classroom Observation Tool. I plan to share what I learn soon.

NECC This Morning

I’ve spent most of today participating in the following sessions and meeting online friends in the Bloggers’ Cafe. I’m looking forward to the presentation of the ISTE Classroom Observation Instrument (ICOT) later today. I’m curious to see how it stacks up against similar instruments like LoTi. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to post my thoughts about it. For now, here’s what I’ve attended to day.

Diigo: A Swiss Army Knife for Your Browser by Maggie Tsai, Diigo Co-Founder
Maggie gave a crash course in the basic features and use of Diigo. After her presentation she asked to interview me on camera and I reluctantly agreed. I shared some of the most common ways that Diigo is being used by my students, teachers with whom I mentor in professional development, and by me. She also asked me to share ways that I thought their technology could be improved and I reiterated ideas that I’d previously shared on Miguel’s discussions (here and here) related to this topic. I was pleased with her responses to my technical and design suggestions (She even contacted the engineers about one of the issues while we were talking.) and she provided Diigo’s rationale for why the ads, for now, will continue to exist throughout the tool. She assured me that they are indeed considering

Creating a Ning Network from Scratch by Steve Hargadon
If you want to learn about setting up your own Ning you might as well learn from the master. I’m comfortable using this “tool” but Steve provided useful insight regarding design and implementation which I found valuable.

Using Understanding by Design (UbD) to Create Technology Rich, Deep Learning Unit Plans by Chris Lehmann and Marcie Hull
There are oodles of similar models out there but I found this one to be practical but thorough. I’m going to take another look at Understanding by Design when I return home.

Must See TV

Five children with life-threatening medical conditions, whose unique sports-related wishes were granted by ESPN and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, will be chronicled in the “SportsCenter” “My Wish” series. Their experiences will be the subject of “SportsCenter” feature segments airing June 29 through July 3. — from ESPN.com

These life-affirming stories always provide me with a better perspective on life. I encourage you to try catching them during Sports Center this week or by watching the stories online. Trust me, you’ll be glad that you did!!!

P.S. — Please let me know if you find a way to embed these videos and I’ll post them here. They are just that good.

This Morning at EBC

I’ll be updating this post throughout the day to alert you of things happening here at EBC San Antonio. The full list of sessions is here. I’ll be sharing information form the sessions that I’m attending. The session titles are in bold.

Social Networking for Professional Development

Scott Merrick is sitting next to me and streaming this discussion live.

1. Should it be organized or self-forming?
• Should the tool(s) be dictated?
2. An atmosphere promoting risk-taking is imperative.
3. Teachers know what they want to learn. Professional development should be tailored around them rather requiring them to attend PD in which they had no say.

Social Networking in the Classroom

Vicki Davis is sitting by me and is streaming this seession here.

1. Teachers in the room are using Ning, Elgg, and several private online communities.
2. Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis updated us about the Flat Classroom and the Horizon Project.
3. How important are digital citizenship and pedagogy in these decisions?
4. If someone says a curse word in the classroom do we close the school? If there’s a fight at recess do we quit having recess? Why do we over react to these problems in online spaces?

Thanks Kannapolis, It Was a Blast!

I’ve enjoyed my time here in Kannapolis. They have put together a quality technology integration camp for teachers and I’m leaving feeling like I received more than I was able to give. Everyone was warm and friendly. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the new technologies and, more importantly, an interest in discovering how these technologies can enhance learning and empower students.

I’m looking forward to working with you again in July. It was a blast!!!

Notes from Clif

I’ve made some additions to the blog. Take a look and let me know what you think, please.

• You can view the newly added photo album by clicking on the corresponding link in the Blog Navigation menu.
• I’m currently developing my consulting and contact pages (HELP!).
• Several new resources are available under the Clif’s Resources menu including: a free subscription to my educational technology email newsletter, access to my Google Reader Shared Items, and my Pageflakes and Twine profiles which are likely to become quite active during EduBloggerCon, NECC, and Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0.
• A lot is happening at Clif’s Wiki, too.
• Of course, the blog’s entire theme has been under development for about 3 weeks, now.

Wimbledon starts on Monday. I’ll post my predictions before it begins.

Suggested Reading

Diigo’s Psychotic No. 1 Fan - Miguel Ghulin

The Last Professors - Inside Higher Ed

Gravatar Spices up Your ID

Several of you have inquired about using an icon/avatar with your comments on this blog. Clif’s Notes uses globally recognized avatars through Gravatar. All you need is an email address and your Gravatar will be be available at this and many other blogs on the Web. Setup takes about 60 seconds and is completely free. Get started here.

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Resources

Gravatars, Identicons, and You - Stack Overflow

Gravatar’s on AnotherGuy’s Weblog - AnotherGuy’s Weblog

Leave Audio and Video Comments

I meant to mention a few weeks back that Riffly.com is up and running again. That means that you may once again easily leave video and audio comments on Clif’s Notes. This is a free service and I welcome you to take advantage of this technology. Simply click on the corresponding links in the Comments section and follow the on-screen directions to leave your audio and video responses.

Here are examples of Riffly in action.