Kevin's Blog – May 2007 Archive (16)

I made this "Farm Kids"movie with my Jr. HIgh actors the last year I was in the classroom. It was the third full length film I'd made with kids and community members. I wrote the script and kids helped with everything from technical work, to the soundtrack. The story is a little autobiographical as I lives in an abandoned house for a while as a child. At the time we were making this movie, we had just gotten VE-2… Continue

I had an ah ha moment this morning while reading an article about "mirror neurons". For some time scientists have studied these fascinating cells in the brain. Mirror neurons don't seem to descriminate between actually doing something and seeing someone else do it. They were first discovered quite by accident in a lab with monkeys. Scientists were observing the firing of specific neurons related to… Continue

It was my honor yesterday to have a discussion with kids from Turning Point Learning Center for my podcast. The 5-8th grade kids and I talked about the things they thought schools should be focusing on as well as their opinions about what they needed for future success. They are sharp and were quite willing to share their real thoughts and I was amazed by their passion. Some of these kids are leaving the charter school this year and heading to public school and have real concerns about the… Continue

I run certain ideas and problems in my brains' RAM while working on other things, listening to books and working with teachers and kids. One of those problems is; "What would schools look like if they were completing the mission of preparing kids to be life-long learners who will succeed at the things they want to succeed at in the future." That mouthful of prescription for academic success is necessarily convoluted due to my recent discussions with Dr.… Continue

I got the chance to interview Wesley Fryer this morning. Wesley's Speed of Creativity blog/podcast is in my opinion one of the best resources on the web. He shares about his journey and some of his ideas about how we might help bring new communities to the web. He discusses feedburner, feedblitz, del.icio.us and other… Continue

I was talking to my friend Steve Wyckoff this morning and he asked me this question. I want to hear how other would answer this and see what that conversation looks like. Any takers?

I just got Doug Johnson's book: Machines Are The Easy Part; People Are The Hard Part and...

It is chicken soup for the tech/librarian/educator/presenters soul. I am going to suggest that it be a study group book for the tech team at ESSDACK. There is logic and humor in it and the book is not only a refreshing diversion but it leaves phrases and mantras echoing in your head that you… Continue

Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Hargadon and the conversation became a three part podcast that is packed (thanks to Steve) with useful information for educators and network administrators, as well as administrators in general. The podcast is available on this page and should be up on iTunes soon. Steve is very generous with not only his time but his ideas and I recommend listening in. I welcome other people (of any experience level) to drop me an email or message right… Continue

I was driving down highway 14 from Zenda Kansas, (I think) and when I came to a "T"in the road and had to turn right toward Hutchinson. I had spent the morning setting up teleconferencing equipment at a school there. Across the street from my intersection was an absolute treasure. It was am old gas station/grocery store, right out of an "Edward Hopper" painting. I was in a hurry but I crossed the intersection and pulled into what used to be the place to fill your tank. I got out of my truck and… Continue

I’m sitting at Pleasantview Academy, a project-based learning charter school, watching a presentation of learning by students here. The kids are showing multimedia projects, websites and . The kids have archived their learning in these presentations and are sharing them with parents and teachers and it is fun to watch them nervously showing them to the audience. There was the history of the Hutchinson salt mines, The history of the railroad, math and statistics form the recent trip this class… Continue

I've lived in Kansas for over 17 years. As a child, my family was mobile and I saw much of the country. I attended schools too numerous to list from Texas to Pennsylvania and I have some idea that people may think differently in places other than the wheat state. One morning I got out of bed and went to an estate sale. A friend had asked me to go and some part of me must have been curious, nostalgic or something. Whatever the feeling was, it was sufficient to get me dressed and driving to the… Continue

I drive a lot, many people at ESSDACK do. As we log the miles there is much time for thought. Outside of the numerous cell phone conversations managing the events that will necessitate the next long drive, the time in the seat is largely wasted. I listen to audio books on a range of topics to try to use the parts of my mind not engaged by the challenges of driving. The world of the highway and these audio books, fuse for me as my mind seeks to integrate new understandings. When my synapses are… Continue

Tim Holt spoke with me yesterday on skype for my podcast and was great fun to speak with. He has been the tech admin for El Paso schools for 22 years and has a lot of insight about changing schools. His Blog "Byte Speed" has a lot of resources and thinking to share.



I spoke with Terry Eis Yesterday. Terry is taking the helm of a new charter school in Haysville Kansas and has much experience in the vinyard of doing whatever it takes to prepare kids for success. That conversation is… Continue

I had the pleasure of speaking with author, blogger and thinker Doug Johnson this morning, it should be on the blog by tomorrow. He is a funny and sharp guy and we discussed online behavior and the changes that have come to educators and network administrators among other things. I recommend taking a look at his Blue Skunk blog: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/ to find out more about Doug. If you have a point of view that you would like to share on Driving Questions, shoot me an email:… Continue

For some time the battle cry in education has been "We need to use technology in schools!” This is to me a laudable argument because it seems only common sense that kids will need to master the use of emerging hardware and software to be successful in ever-changing future. The problem arises when we think that just having new tools within close proximity to learners will somehow prepare them through some kind of educational osmosis. The other approach we have used is to teach the tool, i.e.… Continue

Doug Johnson will join me next Thursday of Friday. He has been the Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato Public Schools since 1991 and has served as an adjunct faculty member of Minnesota State University, Mankato since 1990. His teaching experience has included work in grades K-12 in schools both here and in Saudi Arabia. He is the author of four books: The Indispensable Librarian, The Indispensable Teacher's Guide to Computer Skills, Teaching Right from Wrong in the Digital Age and… Continue