Learning Side by Side

Found some time to fool around with this year’s ElfYourself while waiting for some video project to render.  No, I haven’t come to some epiphany with this post, but I just wanted to try embedding another app into a post.  Yes, I have grown fond of the “embed” activity that is more common place.  Well, enjoy a little disco number from my family.

I knew there was something to this social network thing I participate in.  Elizabeth Landau of CNN wrote an article called Happiness is contagious in social networks.  It essentially states that someone who is happy in a social network makes others happy.  And a happy face in a Facebook profile picture attracts other smiling friends to that person.  According to the following video, your health is also affected positively by the gift of happiness.

I was concerned that I may need to unfriend my Facebook and Twitter friends with profile pictures that don’t smile, but apparently I just have to make sure I have an exponentionally higher number of happy people to bring my own joy meter up.  Anyways, it’s time to spread some cheer.  So, are you smiling in your profile picture?

I’ve been trying hard to see the future as bright, but certainly we are going through many issues that deter me from that outlook.  For example, I have usually buy extended warranties with purchases of large item electronics because I feel I am investing in peace of mind.  Such was the case in purchases of a Roomba and a Robosapien V2 more than a year ago from Sharper Image.   Now I am in a quandry because I don’t have an opportunity to take my items to a retail store when the items I set out to protect fail.  It has caused me to question the wisdom of my decisions.

This is happening in other areas.  Yes, I have been the victim of viral e-mail warning me not to purchase gift cards.  But such a warning feeds upon our fragile minds when we once thought our decisions were made on solid ground.

Should we “rethink” perceptions about the products that tantalize me?  It seems that way, as illustrated by Bart Simpson explained in a Mapple video.

I have had times when I almost upgraded my mobile phone again because it could do so much more.  I was tempted just this week to buy the latest holiday lights because my current set does not seem as bright as the new ones I see my neighbors displaying.

But I have been more determined not to covet (grounded in my own beliefs) and instead appreciate where I am as well as those around me.  Furthermore, I see that giving my time has been more valuable, whether I teach Sunday School at Church of the Open Door, volunteer for Computer-Using Educators of Los Angeles, or spend time with my family at home.  And much pleasure do I feel when contributing to my PLN through Twitter, Facebook, and other networks (hmmm, Yoda speak).

So what are other ways to change the way I see things?  This is my 2 minute brainstorm:

• Contibute to the Free Hugs Campaign
• Find Ways to Recognize Others (e.g. CUE Awards, Edublog Awards, mention them in my PLN)
• Poke Others in Facebook
• Thank Everyone for Being a Part of My Life
• Map My Life and My Connections using Google Maps or Google Earth
• …times up…

I’m sure I’ll think of more.  In light of our current conditions, what do you think you might do to see things differently?

You know your too busy when you stop taking time to reflect.  So as I finally enter another blog entry after a long hiatus, I found today’s holiday a time to pretend I am someone else.  Pre-kindergarten students from Jardin de Ninos Early Education Center came by my district office to show off their costumes and clamor for some tasty (but healthy) treats.  I interacted with several princesses, super heroes, storybook characters, and other dressed-up children.  This was my opportunity to bring an old costume out of my closet that was last worn back in the 1990’s when I worked at both Coutin School and later Annandale Elementary School.  So here is a snapshot of me taken by a colleague today using her iPhone.  Thanks, Kirsten!

At a time when the amount of work has increased for me, it was refreshing for me to say that work was “so easy, even a caveman can do it!”  And so a “thank you” also goes out to  Geico Insurance for providing the inspiring words.  Check this out if you have time to waste: http://www.cavemanscrib.com

Today in our LAUSD Local District 5 Principals Meeting, we showed video footage of Dalton Sherman’s address to the Dallas Independent School District.  Of course, this 5th grade student from Charles Rice Learning Center spoke in front of Dallas administrators, teachers, and other faculty and staff back on August 25, 2008.  But since then, his words have made the YouTube circulation and has been blogged about by a number of educators (funny, I guess I’m contributing to this fervor).

TeacherTube Video: Do You Believe In Me? - Dalton Sherman Addresses DISD

The reaction by administrators and Local District 5 faculty was still of unanimous inspiration.  It is amazing how this young orator is able to connect with not just those in the 17,000+ audience at American Airlines Center, but also to so many via the videosharing circuit (YouTube, TeacherTube, etc.).  So many principals came up to me during the break to find out how they could get a copy.  My response was to search for it in TeacherTube.  I stated, “Just search/type: Do You Believe in Me?”

Another professional development opportunity. Another time to gain knowledge. But this has not been just another week. At Teach the Teachers Collaborative from July 20-25, Los Angeles Unified School District teachers spent time synthesizing delivery of science content through the use of podcast episode development.

It all began with a keynote presentation by Dan Schmit of Intelligenic. You can view his presentation here, which was captured through Ustream.tv (thank you Youssef Elias for setting up the recording).

Ustream.tv Video: TTTC08 - Science in Action (1 hour, 41 minutes)

Throughout the week, participants also found themselves published throughout the web. Here are some links to those areas.

• CaMSP Thacher 2008 (Cellblock photosharing/videosharing site organized by Janice Stearns)
• 2008 TTTC Interviews (YouTube video posted by Dan Schmit)
• Ojaipod (YouTube video posted by Dan Schmit)
• 2008 TTTC Podcasts (link to a sampling of participant podcast recordings)

In conclusion, the week served as an example of what can be achieved when educators not only learn the content but share the content among their colleagues and the rest of the world.

We are approaching mid-point in our Teach the Teachers Collaborative program for Los Angeles Unified School District science teachers. So far, banter has been going back and forth regarding the end-of-the-week video montage we should present. Currently, we are having participants contribute to a special web-driven slide show on Cellblock.

Some “pros” of using this are that (1) everyone can contribute freely to the slide show without having to track down a designated person, (2) images can be viewed in the presentation immediately after they are sent as attachments from e-mail, and (3) a cellular phone becomes an acceptable device for contributing. I was hearing about some “cons” today from several sources, though: (1) pictures uploaded cannot be downloaded as individual image files, (2) media is not automatically arranged in chronological order but is instead listed in order of Cellblock receiving the e-mail attachments, and (3) music is not integrated into the slide show.

We will see what happens on Friday, but right now we are settling for having the slide show play as participants walk into the culminating meeting with music created in GarageBand playing in the background (just as is without trying to make it a large production).

What do you think? Would you just let it play as is, or would you create that montage using a video-editor such as iMovie or a photo-show such as Photo Story 3?

So here I am working with colleagues to set up a Cover It Live session linked to a Ustream.TV feed. We will be covering Dan Schmit at Teach the Teachers Collaborative tonight, who will be speaking on podcasting in education. Let’s see if it works. {I guess it does!!!}

Added on July 22, 2008: So here is the catch. We thought we recorded the Ustream.TV feed, but it is not showing up. And it was such a great presentation. This shall be tried again.

Today was the start of several weeks at Thacher School in Ojai, California for a residential professional development program for teachers called Teach the Teachers Collaborative. As an instructor for many iterations of this program since before 2000, I have seen my share of compilation montages of each week, and have been the sole editor of a few myself. If you have been tasked with creating such a end-of-the-program presentation, then you know how much time and effort goes into developing a quality product that provides great impact and leaves participants feeling nostalgic about their learning journey.

With great relief that I wouldn’t have to create another of these presentations, I find comfort knowing that a colleague (John Lenhardt) this week introduced everyone, including the participants, toward being contributors to an alternative media capture of the week. We are all using Cellblock to contribute collaboratively to the media collection

Cellblock: LAUSD/TTTC Thacher 2008

This particular set of images is a continual process, allowing everyone to take control of the content to be included. Yes, there are other photosharing sites, including social networks such as CUE Community where every person can upload photos for all to look at.

Ning Photoshare: CUE Community

Find more photos like this on The CUE Community

But what makes Cellblock different is that participants can contribute images and video by cell phone Of course, this can also be done by e-mail via a computer. With a 20MB limit per e-mail submission, the program won’t take in GB-sized videos, but videos from a digital still camera are pefect to e-mail.

Check back here again to see what shows up throughout the week. I myself cannot wait for the final product to materialize.

It has become a weekend ritual this past month. I walk to the coffee table, and I see little larvae begging me for fresh food. So I go to my refrigerator and look to see what I can prepare them. Of course, on my way to the kitchen, my son asks me to get him something for him, too. I choose to take care of my little visitors first. These silkworms are with us because my wife is continuing her passion to make learning real for her kindergartners. She is having her students document the changes occurring in these critters. But I get the pleasure of seeing them Friday evening until Monday morning. I just plopped a mulberry leaf on top of them and let them do their thing. I decided to stream video of them live this weekend using Ustream.

This is just a pre-recorded clip of the live stream. To see the actual stream, go to my live Ustream channel: Learning Side by Side. In her class, they have been making comparisons of the life cycle of a silkworm moth to the life cycle of a butterfly. Third grade students have come in to help with the learning. More of the kindergarten students’ learning is documented in my wife’s classroom blog: What’s Happening in Mrs. Rivera’s Classroom? But such learning is not unique as other teachers are sharing their classroom investigations about the life cycle.

The second grade students in this class have documented the growth of their live specimens so far, and I’m sure they will documenting the transformation of the chrysalis into adult butterfly in the near future.

Yes, I only get to experience snapshots of the experience students have with such activities. Even in the summer when I work with 4th grade teachers on podcast projects to document their life science investigations, I only get to experience changes within the week I have with them at Teach the Teachers Collaborative as we look at plant and animal environments. It is in reflection of my dilemma that I understand the need to experience the whole process of learning. As i think about my work for the next school year, I charge myself with making sure I learn with the students in the various schools I support rather than to drop in for a moment in time with the hope that I understand the “life cycle” of learning.