Practicing over the Summer (Facebook uses)

School's out for us at Northern. (*sings the Alice Cooper song*)
Most teachers have gotten into the habit of assigning summer reading, juniors are starting senior projects, seniors are working their butts off to save up as much "spending money" as possible before heading off to college. This is all well and good, but how do music students stay fresh without a private instructor, weekly lessons, and daily orchestra rehearsals?
This is only a trial, but I created a closed Facebook group and invited all the string players I'm already "friended" with. I announced the group in class, as well as my hopes and expectations of it. So here, goes:

• Discussions: I'll be checking in at least once a week (if not much more) and posing questions to think about, including music selection for next year, community performance opportunities, auditions (Districts!), artist reviews, etc.
  
• Videos, Links, Photos: Find something relevant on YouTube, Flickr, or a blog? Post it! (I got one started; great video of Turtle Island String Quartet playing "On Green Dolphin Street".)
  
• Network: Want to get together and play duets, trios, quartets? Practice District audition pieces together? Still excited about improvisation? Use the network to find a good time/place to meet and play together.
  
• Challenges: This is all me. :-) I'll be posting weekly "challenges" which could be anything from "playing Happy Birthday in 3 keys" to "Compose an 8 measure groove and record it."
  

Of course, this entire Facebook thing is optional...for now. If it works to keep my musicians on their toes, I'll require it. My hopes, are that the students will enjoy it enough to want to be involved. If a shout-out on Facebook is the motivation necessary to get your instrument out of the closet, then it and I...have done our jobs.

Hulu! Go Watch TV!

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my lack of time/need to watch TV using the standard, "flip-through-a-hundred-channels-hoping-to-find-something-I-want-to watch-only-to-realize-I-missed-half-of-it-already" system. I also blogged about YouTube, Joost, and Hulu.
Hulu, hands down, is my favorite. YouTube is great for quick videos, humor, and viral videos while Joost is good if you want to network with others watching the same shows as you. Hulu is prime time, offering all of the most popular shows both on and off the air. Some of my favorites include House,Family Guy, and Numb3rs. I even discovered a few that I wouldn't have watched otherwise, like Lipstick Jungle, and New Amsterdam.
Hulu has not only changed the way I watch TV, but it's changed the way I spend the time I have when multitasking isn't an option. For example, while I'm eating a big messy Philly Cheesesteak, I don't want to be fumbling for the mouse and keyboard (or remote for that matter), so watching a show is perfect!
Hulu does do one thing that I wish EVERYONE did (including mainstream TV/cable/satellite): IT SHOWS YOU WHERE THE COMMERCIALS ARE!!! I mean, below every video, there is a scrubber-bar (the progress bar that almost every online video site has, you see it in iTunes, and even on most DVRs). BUT, in Hulu's you'll also see little white dots...those little unobtrusive dots, are the commercials. Granted, you can't fast forward through them, but, since I'm viewing on a computer, I shrink the window back to the regular browser (instead of fullscreen), check out my other Firefox tabs, and when the commercials are over, BAM! Back to fullscreen for the show!

Hulu is open to the public now, and it's completely free. It's worth your time to give it a shot. I'd especially recommend it to travellers and busy-folk like me. Lemme know what you think in the comments!

On Their Level (Seussical '08)

The past few weeks have meant spending my entire day at the high school for musical rehearsals, eating fast food, having a spare change of clothes in my trunk, repairing instruments, oh yeah...all while continuing to teach my middle and elementary school string players.

Yes, it is an extreme amount of work/time when you commit to play in a musical.

But...it's worth it! This year, Northern York County School District decided to put on Seussical the Musical at the high school. Some of the best students are in the cast, playing in the pit orchestra, running lights/sound, stage crew, etc. Friday night was our opening night, and it went extremely well. Tonight's performance was equally amazing, with our only snag being the air-conditioning in the theater not working (add spot and stage lights, and almost 1200 people, and it gets into the 90's without a/c).
The most fun, though, is because I'm a young teacher, I still relate to the kids very well. Sometimes too well, to the point where I have to remind myself that I'm still required to be "mostly" professional around them. That said, last night at Al's (amazing subs!) I was one of the last to leave, but we had a great time joking, telling stories of past musicals, band trips, rehearsals, etc. After tonight's show, was the "official" cast party at one of the student's houses. While all but one director showed up, I ended staying until a little after midnight. My junior cellist, bribed me to play DDR against the party's hostess (my cellist is an amazing cook/baker, so she bribed me with cupcakes). The bass player and lead crew-man both talked about their after-party plans to "LAN-it-up" playing World of WarCraft and StarCraft, and invited me to check out their LAN-party setup. I am officially on a few of their Facebook friends lists, and I'm sure more will be coming (especially when the photos are uploading from all the cameras!).
I try to ask myself, "Is this acceptable?" but I remember that most teachers didn't have this technology and these skills even 5 years ago. When my string quartet students are using the WikiSpaces discussions to ask me questions outside of the school day, students are emailing me when they've practiced, and videos links are shared with me through YouTube, I can't help but think this is the way of the future...

No TV for Lent (sort of)

I initially didn't give anything up for lent. I honestly couldn't come up with anything I have either a. not already sacrificed, or b. could stand not having for 40 days.
That is, until last night. You see, I got my friendly neighborhood Comcast Cable bill, and realized, "Gee! I'm paying too much for something I don't really use or need."
I haven't cancelled my digital cable service yet, but I haven't turned on the TV since Thursday night. This is my, "Can I really pull this off?" test. Lately, I've been involved in long rehearsals, working my second job, or reading, so the TV's been off anyway. This morning, I turned the TV on, but only to play some Wii-bowling.
Now, some of you may be asking, "Well, what about his American Idol fix? How's he going to watch Numb3rs, Monk, etc?" I've thought about that, and actually, my answer is the purpose of this post. I'll be keeping my broadband service through Comcast, so I testing out a few online video sites. I'm not an expert web2.0 reviewer or anything, so I'll list each of the three, include a little blurb, and my pros/cons of each. And...we're off!

YouTube
Do I really need to explain this one? I think everyone has visited YouTube at least once. This site is great for exploring. It's not like sitting infront of the TV for an hour, mindlessly watching show. It still requires "work" (searching, clicking, etc).
Pros: Simple interface, social-networking as an option, submit your own videos, short "snack-sized" clips
Cons: Not regularly broadcasted shows, mostly user-generated content, short clips require "non-loafing" (i.e. work).

Joost
I was selected to mess with this when it was still early in Beta, and thought it was promising, but not quite ready yet. Joost requires an app download (that always tries to stay always-on for you), and it's definitely a band-width hog. That said, they have some great content, and a very cool layout. Most of the shows are geared towards a younger crowd (MTV shows, stuff from Comedy Central/Adult Swim, etc).
Pros: Sharp interface, channels make it possible to sit back, relax, and "watch TV"
Cons: Required app download, bandwidth/hardware requirements make multitasking almost impossible

Hulu
Currently my new favorite, Hulu has an amazing selection of content including Monk, Lipstick Jungle (very new still!), Numb3rs, Heroes, and more. It also requires no downloads, still has a playlist feature, and has many options for viewing. As long as they continue to offer great content, Hulu will be my "drug of choice" while giving up my regular television viewing.
Pros: Content!, many options for viewing (full-screen, pop-out window, embedded, etc), no downloads and relatively normal broadband requirements.
Cons: Still in beta (closed invite, still)

So, try them out, lemme know what you think. And please, support me through this time of sacrifice. :P

Building your Network (understanding Twitter)

I've always thought about what I would say or do to show someone a site like Twitter, Blogger, YouTube, etc. I think it's even more difficult to show a fellow teacher or colleague and try to "sell it" as an educational tool. Back in March of '07, I created my first Twitter post just because it was the next big thing. Since then, I've learned some great tips. Things I could easily suggest to an educator (or anyone skeptical of Web2.0).

1. Reel 'em in
This is the hard part for most of the services out there. Social-networking sites are only as useful as the network you're in. For Twitter, you sign up for free, but you have ZERO people in your network!
Try this: Send the message "track [keyword]" with [keyword] being something you'd like to receive Twitter posts on (teaching, for example). You'll receive IMs or SMS messages that include that keyword, which will instantly give you some people to start following.

2. Nudging
I can count on one hand, the number of times I've needed to "nudge" someone. I've been "auto-nudged" (a Twitter feature available via settings) a few times though. So, you sign up your favorite team-teacher, and they fall off the wagon. Nudge 'em, especially if you know they're doing something spectacular (or even mildly interesting).

3. Share your Friends
If you're trying to recruit a friend of yours, there's a good chance you have similar interests. Maybe some of the people you're following would also be a good fit for your friend? You could showcase a few of your favorites in a blog post, by simply sharing the bookmarks to their Twitter feeds, or even sharing their screen-names over lunch.

There are my few tips to sharing the Kool-Aid that is Twitter. It's been almost a year for me, and now I look back (on page 49 of my archive and almost a 1000 updates), and realize how much I've learned from it. I also wonder where it'll take us, professionally and/or personally.
Please share in comments, any other tips you have for recruiting your friends/family/colleagues.

Tumblr

Everyone knows I'm a Twitter addict. It's ease of use, complete mobility, and constant stream of information, humor, insight, and thought makes it one of the best Web 2.0 tools I've seen since the bubble began.
What you may not realize, is that in addition to Twitter, I also have accounts with Pownce, Jaiku, and now my second favorite, Tumblr.
Tumblr's great claim to fame: sorting by post type. You can post "Text", "photo", "quote", "link", "chat", "audio", and "video" categorized posts in your Tumblr tumblog, and sort all the posts using those categories. Me being a musician, but always coming up with new ideas, recording scratch tracks, and never recording final mixes, my Tumblr is great for sharing some of those audio clips. Now, since most people don't care about all my fed Twitter posts, I give them this link: http://www.tumblr.com/show/audio/by/me.
A few more nice things about Tumblr:

• Complete customization of your template (with a premium account)


• Channels (share certain items with a select group of people)


• Following (works similarly to Twitter)

Lemme know if you check Tumblr out, and please share your thoughts with me. If you're brave enough to listen to some of my audio clips (you can only post one per day, presumably to avoid music piracy), feel free to tear me apart in comments here as well.

edit: I just realized that the link I posted for sorting will *NOT* work for non-logged-in viewers. It looks like it will only sort on your dashboard, and for people you are following...Gonna try to suggest an actual sorting feature though.

Mobility.

For those of you not in Second Life or on Twitter, you may not have known that I was in Philly all last week for the holiday break. I did have my laptop and wireless router with me, but I used that as a "backup". Interestingly, this was a test of my reliance of cloudware apps in lieu of downloaded software.
90% of my time online, I am logged into iGoogle (which includes my GMail, Google Reader, Remember the Milk, and Jott plugins among others), Twitter, and Pidgin (for IM). When I'm away from my laptop, I can easily replace Pidgin with Meebo for all my instant messaging needs.
Work-wise, the only things I'd really be without would be audio and image-editing apps. I have lived without Microsoft Office for over 6 years now, when I made the switch to Open Office. while I'm away, I go one step further and rely solely on Google Docs, which limits me only in page formatting options.
I'm trying to learn from people like Dave Warlick and Steve Dembo about mobility, so lets hear in the comments: "What other cloudware apps do you rely on?"

p.s. This is the start of a small personal project so I can avoid lugging my personal laptop with me to Disney in March. I'd rather not bring it if I have the choice, but ignoring email, RSS, and more for that week would just drain me, I think.

Twitter Phone Chain...would it work?

I'm typing this just after a wacky Thursday morning that all started with a 2hr delay.

I wake up, check my wifi-connected iPod (to skip the step of rolling out of bed) for the latest school delays and closings, and "nada." They haven't said anything about my district yet. I stumble out of bed, and begin my morning routine at 4:30am. I don't think to re-check the announcements until after I'm dressed in my traditional shirt & tie, so I do my best to relax for the extra 2 hours.
It gets to be about that time, so I decide to grab some McD's for breakfast, a rarity for me anymore. As I'm pulling into the school's parking lot, I get the call from my department chair telling me that school's gone from "2hr Delay" to "No School".
Thus, I grumble a few words, and turn around to come home.

With my earlier post's statistics about teachers with cellphones, here's an idea: Set up a Twitter Phone Chain
Basically, Department Heads would be required to create a Twitter Account and befriend the Principals/Superintendant (or anyone else that gets to make the calls on weather emergencies). Staff would have the option of creating their accounts (or *coughs* using their existing one) and would only have to follow their dept. chair.
Even better, I'm sure some fancy scripting would enable messages to be bounced down the chain once it's said, making it almost painless.

I just laughed this morning, because for some of my Twitterers I follow, I knew about their school closings before knowing about my own! This idea isn't going away, but I'm sure I can think up some improvements before plugging it to the faculty. Any suggestions?

How much is TOO much?

Do this: Make yourself a list of EVERYTHING you have a username/password for on the internet. Now, cross out the things that are required by your job (school district or college email account for example). Do the same for credit, cellphone, bank accounts that you can access online.
Okay, what's that leave you with?
Probably your social-networking sites, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc. as well as any blogs, games, or cloudware sites you use. Take a look at how many of your social-networking sites overlap. It's the same problem I faced with instant messaging. I was an avid ICQ user until college, when most of my new friends were already hooked into AIM. Then came Second Life where all my friends were Yahoo users. Pidgin came around and let me combine them all into a single app, thankfully.
I don't know if it would work for social-networking sites, though. Twitter happens to be my favorite
site right now for it's ease of use, and constant connectivity. There's of course, Jaiku, Pownce, and many others that all provide similar products (and I have accounts with them all...).

So the question is, "How much is too much?" Do the web2.0 pioneers just keep gathering accounts, or do we draw the line somewhere asking ourselves if we really need something new? I don't know if I'd stop "collecting" accounts, but I've definitely limited myself to using the ones that truly do my a service of making life easier. Leave thoughts!

Better Current Events Assignments?

You all remember "current events" assignments, right? Dig through your dad's day-old paper, find an article that sounds interesting, read it, and write a summary on it. We've all done 'em, and most of us complained about them every time. We may have asked, "What's the point? We all know how to read the newspaper." We may have wondered if the process of searching was of any importance to the assignment.
Today, after reading Ionut Alex Chitu's Google Operating System blog, I found some new ways to use the Google News.
My favorite is the NewsMap visualization.
Or the Google News Cloud.
Imagine pointing students to the NewsMap with some specific topics (health, for example), and have them find an article, print it (or better yet, link to it and cite it correctly in their summary), and write up the current event either on paper, (or better yet, in Google Docs or a Blog post).
I'd love to keep NewsMap up all day, just to see what shows up in the feed. I need to find a way to incorporate more of these cool things into my orchestra program, maybe something like this article, perhaps?

But it's Not the School's Network

The Teach42 Blog (add it to your RSS now) is one of my favorites. The last podcast I listened to (usually not in chrono order) brought up an interesting scenario and sparked some new thoughts of my own.
First, his point: "School's usually refrain from posting images of students and/or where an individual will be at a given time during the day (i.e. Johnny from the soccer team has a home game on the North field). But, what happens when Johnny Twitters from his cellphone about his home soccer game?
Now for my question: Schools prohibit cellphones from being used during the school day, but many students are still finding ways to fire off a text message, or hop on mobile internet (of even Wifi in some of the newer tech gadgets) without a teacher ever finding out! Aside from the obvious discipline (confiscating the phone or device), how do we handle the "Who cares about the internet filters? I can access email from my phone." types of issues that I'm predicting will become a huge issue within the next year or so?

Leave your thoughts!

Podcast #1 - "Twittering As Me"

http://rorowe.googlepages.com/1-TwitteringAsMe.mp3
Notes:
Sharing my Twitter account (http://twitter.com/ipendakeynes) and discussing the idea of a "presence stream" or "life feed".
Debates the idea of being able to share life information on the web without fear.
edit: subscribe to the feed: "http://feeds.feedburner.com/cellowireless"

Life Feed or Presence Stream?

Okay, pick one? Or use both interchangeably? First, maybe we'll define them since they're relatively new buzzwords (memes?)

Presence Stream - used by the social-networking/microblogging site Jaiku, where you can not only post short posts, but also supply RSS feeds which will be added into your list of posts, thus creating your presence stream.

Life Feed - I first heard this from Steve Dembo on Teach42's Podcast as a feed which includes ALL OTHER feeds that you own (Twitter, blog, Flickr, Facebook, and so on).

I haven't gotten to the point of wanting to combine all my social-networking/Web2.0 sites, but I'm definitely interested in sharing my Twitter feeds and such. I've posted about identity online, and separating professional vs. personal identities...but here's my Twitter account: http://twitter.com/ipendakeynes.
You noticed: it's not my real name. It's actually my Second Life avatar's name. As I begin to use Second Life more for educational/research purposes, I feel more comfortable sharing my Second Life with my real life contacts. Most importantly, I'm not afraid to do so anymore.

Pre, School-Day Business

I wake up around 4am every morning (yes, even weekends). That is mainly thanks to my loving puffball of a cat, "Naji" who loves knocking things off the coffee table, meowing loudly, and pounding against walls. I use my 2 hours to get a lot accomplished online. What I wonder, though, is how much of it could be better-accomplished during the school day instead of trying to get it all done before I even leave for work?
I check my school district email - Okay, so this is one of the tasks that I am able to do from school, if I don't lose my prep or lunch periods to makeup lessons, but by cleaning up my inbox of "reply-to-all" messages, I have a much better grasp on what needs to be taken care of today.
I check all the information on my iGoogle page - This is where the dilemma lies. No access to web-based email, 60% of my RSS feeds (mostly tech/edu blogs), YouTube, and Second Life "business". Now, I understand that if it's not work-related, I shouldn't be worrying about it during the day...but can I use that same logic to tell teachers with children not to worry about scheduling doctors appointments, calling their child's teachers during prep/lunch, or finding out if they're staying after school or not?
I check my Twitter/Jaiku feeds - Definitely something I can't get done online at school, so I try to grab as much knowledge from my presence streams as I can, and survive with the sms/text notifications throughout the day.
Take care of any Instant Messenger conversations - Here's a biggie, for I feel that IM is more conducive than email for 90% of the conversations I have via email at work. At home, my friends and family know that IM is golden because it's quick, easy, and almost instant. They realize that email may not be answered for up to 24 hours. My school district, and most of my colleagues expect email replies within 1-2 hours! That would imply that I check it at least that often, which any teacher would tell you, is not humanly possible.

Am I asking for change to the filtering laws and systems that are in place? Not necessarily. What I would like to see, is a system where these tools are used to their full advantage in business and educational settings. Relying on my cellphone to do things I usually do online, is not the answer.

There's nothing new under the sun.

My music history professor, Dr. Wunderlich, used to say that all the time when referring to a 20th century composer who quoted or referenced an older composer. Many times it was a way to pay homage to the composers before them. Other times, it was just because the style or technique was on their mind.

Anyway, I've decided to bring back my old blog title, changing only the fact that it's being hosted at blogspot with a blogspot domain. So...(waits for fanfare, followed by drumroll...),

"Welcome back, cello wireless"

Looking back, and listening to archived podcasts, I realize that I was doing the same thing back then, as I'm doing now. The biggest difference has nothing to do with my posting style, where it's hosted, or the content of the blog. Instead, it merely has to do with the technology I'm writing about, and it's uses in education, (with a slight focus on music education). Cloud-computing, and "web-as-a-service" sites are slowly becoming commonplace. I'll plug this link, even though I haven't been able to download the .iso yet, only because I'm anxious to see this type of thing happen: gOS. gOS is an operating system, based on Linux, that is being designed to be optimized for web-browsing, and specifically, Google's collection of online apps (Google docs, YouTube, Blogger, and the list goes on). Instead of boasting high-energy, heat-producing videocards, huge amounts of harddrive space, and gobs of RAM (memory), gOS is planning on releasing a $100 computer package at WalMart later this year which would be perfect for running the most popular social-networking and cloud-computing sites on the net.

Once I get it downloaded, it's going on my old Pentium 2 machine, as it's purpose is the reason I switched to Linux in the first place!

Google Docs in school?

Here's a good one:
This year, I wanted to hold elections for orchestra officers at the middle school. The idea, was that 8th graders would take a leadership role and set a good example for the 7th and 6th graders. So, I asked for nominations, got a few (a lot less than I expected, but oh well), and we voted. Now I have a president, vice president, and secretary/librarian. (Next year, we will need a 4th position to handle orchestra activity funds).

My officers have been working very hard on projects ranging from creating folders for each student (grades 3-12, not just middle school) and putting the music in them, to planning the concert program, a post-concert reception, and even community performance opportunities. They've taken a leadership role in helping the fresh, 6th graders understand a very confusing schedule (it's the best we can do, so they're making it work!), and have asked about "internships" when they get to the high school.

While I'm absolutely impressed with all they've done, I can't help but think that creating some of these documents like sign-up sheets, letters to area businesses, the concert programs, etc would be better suited for online collaboration like Google Docs because they would all be able to contribute, from anywhere, and I would be able to have edit rights before printing a copy (saves trees!). If they had Google accounts, I could also allow access to my "Northern Strings" Google Calendar which helps me keep track of the 6-day cycle schedules, and concert/meeting/performance/fundraising events.

Really, the possibilities are endless. But, with all that said, here's my question (finally!):

What kind of approvals and "c.y.a." am I going to need to be able to put this type of collaboration into effect? Does this continue to be covered by AUP, online safety, etc? Leave thoughts in the comments.

Could Twitter have helped?

Follow this scenario, and then I'll explain. A friend of mine, whom I met in Second Life has been unable to connect via her gaming computer, so her only means of contact with friends from SL is through her parents' laptop using standard instant messaging clients (Yahoo, AIM, GTalk, MSN, etc). She managed to IM me, and asked that I do her a favor. She asked that I relay a message to some of her friends from Second Life. I did, and traded some screennames between her SL friends and her, and all was well.

This got me thinking. Remember Hurricane Katrina? Remember how hard it was to locate people when phonelines, internet connections, TV, Radio stations were all severed in the gulf? I remember learning one interesting fact that sticks with me to this day. SMS or "text messages" were more likely to be received than regular cell-phone calls. That's because SMS, short for "short messaging service" works in a queue system, so they could be stored on the network until there was available bandwidth to send them. So, all of this makes me wonder:

If Twitter was around during Hurricane Katrina, and families and friends were already connected, how much of an impact would it have had?

Think about it! Families would have been connected. A wife would have known what her husband was doing. Sons and daughters could check up on parents or grandparents. Distant relatives could have heard the news of the hurricane and quickly set up a "track Katrina" message. And the list of possibilities goes on!

After thinking about it, I made sure my brothers, Mom, grandparents, and any other emergency contact I have, all had my Twitter address saved as a bookmark. Some of them don't carry cell phones yet, or don't regularly use text messages, so it wasn't sensible for them to make an account (yet), but it's definitely a start.

So I ask...could Twitter and apps like it, have helped (and will they help in the future)?

Indentity Crisis!

I'll share my dilemma, and hopefully someone will have a perfect solution for it (doubtful).
I have an avatar in Second Life, the online multiverse of over a million residents. I also have a blog, a separate Gmail account, and Twitter account in that avatar's name.
When I stopped blogging under my real name it was because I couldn't find the happy medium between professional and personal use of online tools. I am an all or nothing type of guy. If I use Twitter, I want to post about work, but in the same account, I want to be able to follow my friends and post about everyday life too. I can understand having a separate blog, and even email address, but when it comes to online collaboration and social-networking, I'm now forced to split myself into "professional identity" and "personal identity". The problem then arises when I choose to take advantage of mobility options (like SMS messages...which account do I set up?).
I have never shared my Second Life avatar or Web2.0 info with anyone as an educator, but as I look into ways of using the internet to better myself teaching skills and students' learning skills...I find myself in an identity crisis.

Simply put...can my career dictate my social contacts?

Open vs. Closed Networks in Education

Something hit me today. Would I share my Twitter account, or Facebook account, etc with my boss of school principals? At the present time, honestly, I couldn't feel comfortable doing that. I whittled my issue down to one thing: closed vs. open networks. Let me explain.
closed: "friends" are limited to business related contacts.
open: "friends" can be contacts that are business related, personal friends, or people you only know online.

So, my question is this: If my use of Twitter was limited to school-related contacts (possibly including parents and students), it would be safe from outside contact, but would be less useful to me as a productive tool (weeding out things like Remember the Milk, MyMileMarker, GCal, and more). On the other hand, if Twitter was open (as it is now), professional contacts would have an uncomfortable view of my social life, yet, I could take advantage of it not only as an educational/organizational tool, but a way to keep in contact with friends, online acquaintances, and Web2.0 apps from other companies.

Which is best?

Very first post!

Welcome. Some how, you stumbled upon my new blog. So here's the gist:
I've been blogging and Twittering and everything else under a false identity (my avatar in Second Life) for over a year and a half, when I decided to leave "real world" blogging for personal and career related reasons. That said, I'm beginning to look at Web 2.0 and how it influences how I work, how I teach, and how I could teach given access to these tools.
My goal, is to begin to create lesson plans, action plans, and scenarios for use of everything from Google Apps (Google Docs, Google Reader, GMail, Google Maps, and more) to Twitter. I plan on finding opportunities to present some of these ideas to my school district in the future, which will also involve finding a safe way to use them with students (currently most of these Web 2.0 sites are filtered by our district).

More soon!