Last week on the Ohio Tech Coordinators’ listserv, tech guy John Case tore the lid off the web filtering debate. He pointed out these facts: Most schools block social networking sites, because objectionable content can easily be posted by visitors to these sites. Most schools have filtering systems that can be circumvented by knowledgeable and/or ambitious students. Many technology in education luminaries (including Alan November … Continue reading "Protecting" Our Students

By request, here’s the current version of my WordPress Getting Started Guide. It’s specifically aimed at staff members in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights schools, but others may find it useful as well. This document covers WordPress 2.1, sidebar widgets, and all of the plugins we have installed. It was last revised March 1, 2007. WordPress Getting Started Guide Continue reading WordPress: Getting Started

There’s not much to see here. Really. This blog is just here so I can play around with a WordPress.com blog, try things out, and answer questions for others. I can’t believe you’re still here reading this. Move along…. Continue reading Hello world!

The New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative have released the 2007 Horizon Report. Each year, this report describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within higher education. The report has been issued annually since 2004. Within the next year, the report predicts that we will see a number of technologies gain widespread use in higher … Continue reading On the Horizon

This is just a test to make sure I can podcast and have it show up in the feed. I hope Andy doesn’t mind that I’m using his song. Just Can’t see Continue reading Maybe It's Me

BBHCSD-WordPress Getting Started Guide Last updated 1 March 2007 Introduction WordPress is a blog package that makes it easy for teachers to communicate online with parents, students, colleagues, and community members. It allows them to have a presence on the web without learning a lot about creating and managing web sites. Teachers who want to have a professional-looking site on the web that is easy … Continue reading How Many Tests?

Last week, I mentioned that the world produced an estimated 1.5 exabytes of information last year. This statistic came from Karl Fisch’s Did You Know? presentation. He got this number from an Ian Jukes presentation, and Ian’s source is a Berkeley study from 2003. As it turns out, the Berkeley study later revised its numbers to 5 exabytes of new information, and these numbers were … Continue reading Information Overload

In 1984, Richard Saul Wurman collected some of the brightest stars in Technology, Entertainment, and Design for a conference in Monterey, California. The Macintosh computer was introduced at that conference. So was Sony’s new method for storing and distributing audio: the compact disc. Benoit Mandebrot explained how he uses fractal geometry to map coastlines. Six years later, the TED conference became a regular event. The … Continue reading Spend Some Time with TED

Nothing to see here. Move along…. Daddy Loves Ohio Continue reading Playing with Audio

Your hard drive just crashed. This is the last text you’re going to see on your computer. Right now. Are you okay with that? I know. This is a bad time. You have a lot going on today, and you have to have your computer. That project you’ve been working on for the last few weeks is just about finished. All you need to do … Continue reading Do You Have a Backup?

Alvin Trusty recently pointed out the inefficiencies of synchronous chat rooms in online courses. The social protocol of the chat room does not always lend itself well to serious discussions. In a chat, people are constantly entering and leaving. Some people try to monopolize the conversation by responding to every comment made. Others take the discussion off-topic by following tangents. The result can be a … Continue reading Inefficient Technology

Last year, I started listening to The Word Nerds podcast. This show examines a particular aspect of our language and culture in each episode. If you know the difference between a mondegreen and a portmanteau, this is the kind of thing you would like. I found it interesting for a while, but after a few months, my interest waned. Recently, the show has shown signs … Continue reading Grammar Girl