James Gates :: Blog
March 17, 2010http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/03/safe-mode-on-youtube-this-is-ex Maybe this is the first step towards getting a version of Youtube available in the schools. First we have to figure out how to set it as a default for all users. Then.. oh boy... this could be a GIANT step for making the videos available. Of course, it'll still take years to get some folks to allow it, but still. This is a wonderful bit of news, as far as I'm concerned. Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) March 16, 2010http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/01/post-weekly-weekly_16.html
 Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/01/stop-now-watch-this.html First of all, I was directed to this video by Ann Johnston, Program Specialist in Instructional Technology at the Lincoln Intermediate unit (IU12), and author of the Whirlwind of a Week blog. She had posted this link to her Diigo account and shared it with a group that we both belong to. I mention that for those who are blocked from using Diigo so you don't give up your fight to get access to it at school.This video was written by a 7th grader and produced with the help of her teacher. Maybe because I'm very tired right now from cutting firewood all day today, but I got emotional watching this video. Why? Several reasons. First, this is just SO well done that I almost immediately forgot that I was listening to a 7th grader. The production is outstanding. Even the sound is perfect. Second, I want you to take notice of all the different tools this girl uses. She bookmarks sites in her social bookmarking site (Delicious, in this case, but she could just as easily have been using Diigo). BLOCKED in many schools. Her science teacher posts assignments, etc on a blog. BLOCKED in many schools. She blogs about what she's learning (her "reflections", she calls them) in her Blogger blog. BLOCKED in many schools. She uses Symbaloo to organize her sites. BLOCKED in many schools. She contacted a scientist to ask for some feedback about her report. She created a report on her Google Docs account and she made it public so she could share it. BLOCKED in many schools. She appears to be a master user of Evernote for collecting her resources, too. BLOCKED in many schools. She embeds YouTube videos into her presentations. BLOCKED in many schools - even for TEACHERS! She created a Glogster poster for her project. BLOCKED in many schools. She emailed a scientist in Australia, and another in the United States to ask them to review her report (because her teacher told her it was important to have your work peer reviewed). EMAIL? BLOCKED in many schools. (However, I don't know for certain that she used a school-provided email account) They use Skype to talk with scientists. BLOCKED in many schools. "Because there is so much freedom you have the inclination to be responsible." HER quote. The third reason why this video got such a response from me is that, while this girl is DOING all those amazing things - and they ARE INDEED amazing - many of you will have to wait to get home from your public school in order to watch it. She DOES it; some of you can't even LEARN about it in school. As I mentioned the other day, some of you can't even see wikisppaces or even receive email attachments, for crying out loud! She is a walking definition of a "21st Century Learner", yet your school (probably) prohibits you from a) learning about it, and b) DOING it. Watch this. Are you shaking your head in amazement? Can you hear me screaming? ---  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) March 15, 2010http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/03/flatclassroom-conference-headin Last year I wrote about how the Flatclassroom Project was going to have its summit in Mumbai, India, and how others, including teachers, can't even read about it in our schools. Well, Vicki and Julie just announced that the Flat Classroom Summit for 2011 will be in Beijing, China. They are moving ever forward. I just wish that I could report that our teachers can now at least READ about it. Sadly, I cannot. Oh, it may be true that a school here or there has opened up their filter to allow their teachers and maybe their students to see it, but there are still huge numbers that continue to block it.So, first I encourage you to check out the Flat Classroom Conference link above. You've got time, now, to rally the troops to maybe even take your students there. What an experience for all concerned, yes? Second, I encourage you to again make the push to get your filters opened up to allow your teachers to at least be able to read about what other teachers are doing. If your children are in a school that has such a restrictive filter, get involved! There is WAY TOO MUCH AT STAKE!  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/03/post-weekly-weekly_13.html
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/02/post-weekly-weekly_13.html
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/01/im-deeply-honored-to-be-on-this When something like this happens I'm always blown away by it. It's wonderful to be recognized for my efforts on my blog. And, if you're a blogger you know that you don't maintain your blog for any other reason other than you enjoy it. It's a selfish pleasure.So, when I heard that my blog was mentioned on this list (http://toponlineuniversityreviews.com/2010/top-50-blogs-for-e-learning-tools-and-tips/) I was deeply honored. Did you ever smile so hard that your cheeks hurt? Well, I can tell you that it happened to me when I read that post. My blog is on the list with some WONDERFUL people and excellent blogs. I'm just blown away. To all those of you who read my blog and have found something of value in it from time to time, thank you SO very much. This is a true honor. I'm a very lucky man.  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/01/explaining-scream-you-just-hear You may have read this post (oops - forgot the link in original post) in which I mentioned a website that showed that if you're a person with a Master's Degree in PA you're among the top 10% best educated adults in PA. Keep that in mind as you read on.I just heard heard tell of a district that not only still blocks Wikispaces (Honestly, I thought we were WAY past that), but they also block all email coming from gmail.com. So, since that's the email that I use, I cannot communicate with any of their teachers. (That was the first scream you heard.) But the REALLY loud scream that you heard was when I heard of another district that blocks ALL attachments in ALL emails. Their entire Administrative team and all their teachers have to email the sender back and ask for a fax copy. (Pause while YOU scream.) How does a Superintendent allow that nonsense to persist? How can they function? The folks in the Admin wing, some with Doctoral degrees, I'm certain, are told that they cannot receive attachments in email? ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! This is twenty ten, and those folks are being treated like - no, WORSE THAN - children! How many of us could teach in a district like that? It's COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! Whoever it was who made that decision should be fired immediately, IMHO. Again I'll say, the United States CANNOT AFFORD this kind of UTTER NONSENSE. We MUST be aggressive in how we create educational environments. Not THIS kind of idiocy. Blocking attachments? Disabling right-click and cdrom drives? ARRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) March 13, 2010http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/02/moral-imperative.html I just read this quote from Scott Mcleod's blog:"One of the things I think we have to ask ourselves as school leaders is ‘What’s our moral imperative to prepare kids for a digital, global age?’ Right now we’re sort of ignoring that requirement. . . . I think you would take a look at much of what we do in our current schooling system and just toss it and essentially start over. So the question for school leaders and for policymakers is ‘How brave are you and how visionary are you going to be?’ And you don’t even have to be that visionary. Just look around right now and see the trends that already are happening and just project those out and see that it’s going to be a very different world." ‘What’s our moral imperative to prepare kids for a digital, global age?’ - I LOVE that question. Then, "Just look around right now and see the trends that already are happening and just project those out and see that it’s going to be a very different world." Can I hear an Amen? In my talks that I do with teachers, I say that, "The context of school has changed." Not earth-shattering, nor even a stroke on clever insight, At least, it's not to anyone who is aware of all the changes that have gone on in the online world, and who have read, "The World is Flat" or who have seen the "Did You Know?" video. (If you just said, "Who hasn't?" then you're not talking to the same folks I've been talking to. MANY still haven't!) So, if the context has changed, and the world has changed, then truly, "What is our moral imperative to prepare kids for a digital, global age?" I LOVE it!  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) March 12, 2010http://tipline.blogspot.com/2010/03/aup-panel-discussion.html I was fortunate enough today to have been part of a panel discussion at the PASBO conference in Hershey, PA. The topic dealt with AUP's and how to have them work for everyone. On the panel were an attorney, a well-respected local tech director, and myself.A couple items of note from that discussion. First, it was pointed out by the attorney that the CIPA laws have only to do with money. Failure to meet CIPA requirements means only that your Federal funds are in jeopardy. There are no punitive consequences associated with it. He also said that the CIPA laws are very clear about their intentions (although I wouldn't necessarily agree with them being clear) in that they deal specifically with material that would be deemed pornographic. So, those folks who cite CIPA as a reason for blocking wikis and blogs and Google docs are, at best, mistaken. The attorney also reminded those in attendance that some of the issues that they voiced concern about fell under the category of disciplinary issues and NOT legal issues. (Did you hear me cheering?) OH, how I wish several school administrators and tech directors I know could have been there to hear that. It was very clear to me, at least, that he was saying that many of their fears were unfounded. We had a good discussion about students bringing in their own equipment to school and using their data phones in school, etc. One person even wondered if that would, in fact, further worsen the digital divide between the have's and have not's. I suggested that a district could furnish laptops to those who didn't have one at home to make it a one-to-one district and do it for a LOT less than what they're currently spending to put enough computers in the schools. And, the fact that they weren't replaced more than every 5 or 6 years wasn't an issue, since they're not typically doing heavy processor work. Web browsing, word processing, etc. I'm certainly not the first to suggest that, but I do agree with it. My final comment was (something like) this: "What we're doing in our schools is of monumental importance. I believe that our very global status as a nation is at stake. We ALL want our students to be able to compete in a global marketplace and to be digitally literate. Our own children are in these schools. There is a difference between the mindsets that would use CIPA as an excuse NOT to do something, and working aggressively - and that's the key word, AGGRESSIVELY, WITH the CIPA laws to provide the network, the tools, and the environment in which we can create digitally literate citizens. Our students and our nation deserve nothing less." Well, at least that's what I had written down to say. How it came out may have been a little different. You know how that goes when you hold a mic to your face. :-)  Posted by James Gates | 0 comment(s) |
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