Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

Thanks for your help in allowing me to stay connected despite the blocking software at school. I now can follow my gmail and twitter from school. There is a method to the madness and so far I haven’t made anyone question me. Of course I only have time to twitter at lunch and the email is slow during the day when we are all working. But it is nice to know I am but a few keystrokes away (and sometimes more than a few as I work to get around the blocked sites) to be in touch with my network. Now I don’t feel so angry or deprived as I did before. Great suggestions from many.

I have three presentations in the next ten days. I am scheduled to present at the SC EdTech conference this Thursday, October 25th. My session is titled “Feed the Mind with RSS,” and I plan to talk about
how reading blogs, having a social network, and participating in live streamed events can really help folks streamline their own professional development learning. Then Monday, October 29 I will present two sessions at our district’s Teacher Technology Fair. The first one is titled “From Paper & Pencil to Digital Storytelling.” The other is “Web 2.0: It’s a Whole New World.” I was pushed to submit a title for these district presentations, and now am not really happy with their titles. BUT c’est la vie.

I am happy with the content that will be coming out of all of them, and must thank my network (YOU) for the content, hyperlinks, ideas, titles suggestions (cuz I really like the dgital storytelling idea offered by twitterverse!), and more. Specifically, I can thank David Jakes, who pointed me to his own Delicious account for some of his links related to Digital Storytelling and personal professional development. I can thank Will Richardson, who is going to let me use his wiki for the web 2.0 session–I see no reason to reinvent that wheel. the K12Online Conference also deserves some credit. Fabulous content coming from there. And I will thank the twitterverse in advance b/c on that Oct 29 day, I will ask for shout outs saying hi to my groups. I want them to see first hand the power you as a network give me.

Last week I was so totally unmotivated in working on my presentation material, as I have become increasingly disenchanted with talking heads, be it in the classroom, in a conference session, or on tv (Ustream or network programming.) I myself am less satisfied if I have to sit and listen, so I am trying to tweak my presos to ensure I have some kind of engaging activity, and am trying to model after Will Richardson, and just by-golly tell a story with images, and not bullet points. Aye-aye-aye to think that in these next ten days the number of sessions I’ll sit through all will ask me to do that!

But, that’s okay b/c I have YOU, network, to keep me awake, make me laugh, help me gain deeper understanding of points made in sessions, and enjoy my professional development opportunities that are coming my way. Who knows, maybe I’ll Ustream some presos out to you who may be interested. After all, I am but a learner in a wide field of experts in my network, specifically YOU.

Now that I have consumed the opening keynote for the K12Online Conference, I look forward to the evenings first LIVE event! Tonight at 7PM you can join David Warlick and many other educators from ALL OVER THE WORLD (I kid you not) in what is hailed as a “fireside chat,” aptly named b/c of the casting glow of the computer screen that warms your face. The chat is from 7-9PM, and is hosted by Elluminate. Visit the K12 Online Conference site for your portal into a virtual experience of a life time. I remember it well from last year, and to say it is surreal is an understatement. (Notice the glow on my face from the computer screen!)

No, folks, I won’t be fooling with it at all today. I do have a day job at Conway Middle School. I hope to be playing with video some today with a few kids, as well as promoting the SC Book Award Nominees. But tonight, instead of watching prime-time tv (that I can catch later in the reruns which will be here all to soon!) I’ll be online and with this group at the Fireside Chat.

Immediately following the fireside chat, I’ll virtually leave the “fire” to attend a live webcast of the weekly show “Women of Web 2.0” who are hosting none other than master digital storytelling guru David Jakes from Chicago and Edinburg, Scotalnd’s blogger guru Ewan McIntosh, who BOTH absolutely amazed me this summer at Alan November’s Building Learning Communities conference this summer.

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Recently a live webcast I frequently tune in to (called Teachers Teaching Teachers Wednesdays at 9:00) focused on databases used in the schools, and their primary focus was state funded databases. [UPDATE August 11, 2007:  Podcast NOW available here.] Our state funded database is called DISCUS, and I really do not know what I would do for database subscriptions if we did not have it. The focus of the conversations, both in the chat and in the skype calls focused on how our students and yes, even us, often first turn to Google for our information need, and the concern that this source is not necessarily a good source at all. The potential is so great for misinformation! If you are from South Carolina and you haven’t been in a while, you probably should check it the redesigned DISCUS site. It has a whole new look and feel. DISCUS is one of the only ways public schools in South Carolina can provide database subscriptions to their students and teachers. Generally a subscription to one of these databases would cost upwards of $1000, and many schools don’t even net that amount for one school year to buy books, let alone subscribe to databases. Be sure the next time you have an opportunity, thank our legislators who continue to support funding so that it is a free resource in our schools.
The discussion on TTT centered on why teacher-librarians and educators in general can’t seem to win students over on using these databses as a first choice in their research. Some of the reasons stated (Joyce Valenza for one) named the complexity of the interface as one reason. Another issue is the complexity in login/password. Google doesn’t require a password, does it? What are your thoughts??

Join the next two Wednesdays at 9:00 to listen live, and perhaps join in the discussion, either through the chat or skype. You never know who is going to be there! Already booked an appointment or have a conflict? No problem, visit the TTT site to listen later straight from the web, or subscribe as a podcast. There is some powerful learning there for you.