As vexing as it is to define what it means to be "disabled," many of the problems with the assignment of students to gifted education programs have to do with a lack of agreement and an overall subjectivity around defining giftedness. Thus, the discrimination here is more evident and explicit.
I hate it when Airlines use statistics to tell bald-faced lies and make themselves sound more successful they they deserve to sound. I hate it at a purest marketing level and also because it helps perpetuate consumer mistrust of travel companies.I don't think the "teaching naked" idea is completely devoid of merit. It's extreme, yes, but it starts to get at a fundamental transformation of school, even though it's coming from a different place than most tech advocates would prefer.
Since technology now lets us relocate some of what happens in classrooms in space and time, I continue to be fascinated by the idea that everything that happens in a meatspace classroom should be something that can only happen there (or as close to it as we can come). The availability of f2f social interaction is the defining attribute of the meatspace classroom, and only a true ideologue would deny that ubiquitous technology can and does interfere with that at times.
Anyone who is seeking to increase the engagement level for f2f interactions should be supported, even if some of their notions about technology are misguided. We should be working with people like Bowen to show how using technology to shape, share, and take that critical f2f social interaction to someplace new and different that changes the game in compelling ways.
If we can't make that case for him, or we really can't acknowledge the primacy and value of f2f interactions in classrooms, then we should leave the guy alone.
FOOD, INC. REVIEW by Davelle Morrison
As a wise computer nerd once said to me if my computer had broken down, think GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. This week I’ll use this in the context of what we put in our bodies. The reality is that I have friends that mock my fondness for eating healthy, however, they seem to catch colds far easier than I do.
The more that we use good quality ingredients in your meals and avoid fast food, the better off we all are. This weekend, I went to see the film Food Inc.
To a foodie like myself, this was the equivalent of seeing a horror film. To see how meat is processed in U.S. factories is truly horrifying to a carnivore such as myself. My only saving grace is that I only purchase organic meat when I cook at home. This movie gave me every encouragement that I need to continue doing so.
The truly sad part in this movie was watching a low-income family visit their local fast food restaurant where they would feed the family for less than $20.
They simply couldn’t justify spending $2.00 on a couple of pears at the grocery store because they could buy a burger for $1.00 at a fast food restaurant. Unfortunately the short term choices that we make can affect us in the long term.
The patriarch of this family now suffers from Type 2 Diabetes forcing the family to spend an additional $230 per month for diabetes medication with the added possibility that he may go blind and be rendered unable to work.
Had they spent the money earlier on better food and cooked more and home, they would not be facing these grim circumstances.
I can’t stress enough that if you want to stay healthy, avoid illness & lose weight spend the additional dollars now and buy organic meat, cheese, milk & eggs.
Don’t wait until you or a loved one have a serious healthy issue before you start to believe in GIGO. Treat your body more like a temple instead of an amusement park.
Davelle Morrison is the owner of Karmic Fitness and has been an avid fitness enthusiast and has completed the Niagara Falls & New York City Marathons.
College leaders usually brag about their tech-filled "smart" classrooms, but a dean at Southern Methodist University is proudly removing computers from lecture halls. José A. Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, has challenged his colleagues to "teach naked"—by which he means, sans machines.
More than any thing else, Mr. Bowen wants to discourage professors from using PowerPoint, because they often lean on the slide-display program as a crutch rather using it as a creative tool.
His philosophy is that the information delivery common in today's classroom lectures should be recorded and delivered to students as podcasts or online videos before class sessions.
PowerPoint is hardly state of the art 'technology'.
PowerPoint presentations are precisely the sort of things so many of us in ed tech are trying to steer folks away from.
So I guess, in that sense, me and the dean are in agreement. Power Point often leads to a passive audience watching a lecture.
Where we disagree is in the 'naked' classroom concept. And this has to do with the fact that if the dean thinks PowerPoint is what we're talking about when we're talking about technology, then he's only demonstrating that he has no idea about what technology is.
We're talking social media, cloud computing, mobile applications.
Tech that actively integrates into learning.
Sounds like Bowen needs to catch up with what's actually happening in ed tech. He's a bit behind the times.
Madame BOOT's sister lost a day and hundreds of Euros this week with the collapse of Italian low cost carrier MYair as her flight from Paris to Venice ceased to be. Two things came out of this. First - it is one thing to have travel insurance (which my sister-in-law has), but it is another to find in the fine print that the policy excludes costs from airline bankruptcy. This is definitely something all consumers should be checking before buying travel insurance. Second- it turned me to thinking about the top five signs that your airline or flight is in trouble. Here they are
In preparation for our upcoming book, Charles Heflin and I were asked the following question by the other co-author, Richard Dennis:
“Charles and Tom, what is it about content syndication that blows your mind?”
Since I’m older and cuter I went first…
OK, I know, having your “mind blown” is a rather dated colloquialism, but it still manages to get the job done, and just about everyone knows what Richard was after by his question. So here is my answer. Actually, to be honest, it’s a SUMMARY of my answer. You must read the book to get the complete picture (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?).
What blows my mind about content syndication is that it is the ultimate END GAME for all current and future successful online marketing; yet only a minuscule number of people understand its immediate and long term effects and implications. Even fewer know how to execute a successful content syndication campaign. Now stop for a second… and read this sentence again. I’ll wait…
If this statement is ANYWHERE NEAR true then you have every reason to dissect, explore, test and literally devour what I’m about to share.
Content syndication currently exists in a kind of “FUTURE SHOCK” state, to borrow Alvin Toffler’s description. He defined Future Shock as the “The premature arrival of the future.” This is exactly how I view the current state of content syndication.
It’s “premature” only in the sense that the online world is not ready for nor do they expect the outcomes and massive success that content syndication will generate, especially when it’s executed properly, as we have demonstrated and continue to perfect at SocialMediaScience.com.
It’s the “future” in that content syndication is where ALL future online marketing is heading, regardless of whether people like it or not. In the very near future EVERYONE will be forced to abide by what will seem to be a very stringent code. But it’s not stringent to those of us who have practiced these syndication protocols for years and LOVE THEM because of the results we get, time and time again.
Even the words, “Content Syndication”, both alone and together are packed with stellar meaning. Quality, relevant “Content” describes the number one motive and goal for every person engaging in an online SEARCH. The primary goal of ALL search engines therefore is to deliver this quality, relevant and easily digestible CONTENT to all its users. The search engines KNOW that this is the ultimate end GOAL.
What is mysterious and baffling here is that most online marketers also know about the role of quality content. Around the world millions engage in various kinds of SEO strategies as a costly and often unpredictable solution. They understand the “trees” but for many reasons they have yet to see the “forest.” Believe me, once you see the FOREST and you understand what this vantage point offers, you will kick yourself for not seeing it sooner. It’s as if Fort Knox has stacked its gold bullion onto the center of Times Square and day by day people walk by and see only shiny metallic images, with less than 1% of 1% ever stuffing one of those valuable gold bricks into their backpack. The FOREST and the GOLD BULLION is CONTENT SYNDICATION.
In the next few years the search engines will finally perfect their search architecture to such a degree that they can superimpose their MASSIVE CONTENT SIEVE onto every combination of words and phrases that people so glibly submit as CONTENT. Expect the Net as we know it today to undergo the most massive and complete CONTENT HOUSE CLEANING since its inception. We have already seen smaller versions of this grand WORD PURGE; but you ain’t seen nothing yet! Expect this grand daddy of them all to be on the horizon soon.
Online marketers are fond of calling this “The Google Slap.” Well, call me a seasoned sadist, because I LOVE it whenever Google slaps me (and rest of the net). “It hurts soooo good!” Why? Because when they do this I see yet ANOTHER reason why content syndication blows my mind and another reason why it SHOULD blow yours. It’s like cleaning up the streets of New York City so that the hard working, honest and law abiding citizens can walk freely and enjoy the fruits of their labors; which for us content syndication advocates means more READERS and more SALES. Whenever the net get’s SLAPPED I win, because I know how to leverage my content by syndicating it on the new and cleanly swept syndication sidewalks that Google cleared off just for me and for everyone else who VALUES true content. And just think; now we get to do this without all the hindrances and trash that used to line the content roadways of cyberspace. Do you get the picture?
Lastly, what blows my mind is the word “SYNDICATION” itself, and the various meanings it conveys. Have you ever done a study on this word? Do you know what it means to “syndicate” something? For example when applied to online content I discovered that to syndicate means all of the following:
1. To BROADCAST through multiple channels.
2. To CONTINUE to broadcast through multiple channels on a REGULAR basis.
3. To syndicate so often and so well that you DOMINATE your content niche, topic or keyword. For example, when we say things like, “Las Vegas is still run by the Syndicate,” we are implying that a “Syndicate” is a group of people who have established themselves as a powerful multichannel force, one that will not be EASILY MOVED.
4. Isn’t this EXACTLY what we want our content to accomplish…to dominate our chosen niche so that NO ONE can move us aside…ever?
Now consider this. When most people think of content they automatically think of something written, like an article, blog post, press release, etc. But as my friend, Russell Wright, reminded me recently, content means any “item” that is capable of embodying meaning and can be distributed through typical online channels. When you consider the implications of this you have to get excited. As the average online business owner begins to explore and understand the value and the mechanics of content syndication expect to see a tidal wave of new approaches to online marketing.
OK, if you have followed me this far you have either concluded that this guy is on to something historic and monumental or that he is a complete idiot mind freak toying with my lack of knowledge and worse yet, my emotions. Obviously, you must be the final judge, and I welcome that. I’m not trying to be cute or flamboyant about all this…(OK, so maybe I am a little). The point is that you owe it to yourself to find out if these predictions and forecasts are based in truth. If you discover they are then I suggest you begin now to learn how to live and succeed in the state of CONTENT SYNDICATION FUTURE SHOCK…because it has already arrived and it’s here to stay.
Now for a word from my partner Charles Heflin on this “Future Shock”…
The facet of content syndication that blows my mind is its leveraging power.
There is no other single thing in Internet marketing that you can do that holds more leverage than content syndication.
Why?
In a SINGLE move you can (single being the KEY word)…
There is simply NO other more efficient action you can take in Internet marketing today that has more leverage, none. You can effectively narrow your marketing tasks down to simply writing educational, enlightening and entertaining content for your target audience, syndicate that content and watch as your target audience begins to arrive at your website in perpetually growing numbers.
No other form of Internet marketing is this easy and none is more powerful in terms of time spent to reward gained.
Of course to use this leverage you have to go through a paradigm shift in what you “thought” Internet marketing was all about. To use this leverage you must forget marketing and start being educational, enlightening and entertaining to the audience you wish to attract. Then this audience will seek out your wares, no selling required… Sales just happen.
It is a shift away from the “pitch” and into quality of information which leads to sales. Internet consumers are VERY wise these days. They base their judgment of what to buy based on trust and social mention. Consumers are savvy now; they know how to research to find the answers they seek… Are you going to be one that answers those questions in an educational, enlightening or entertaining way or are you just looking for a sale?
To harness the leverage of content syndication you MUST shift your thinking and forget about marketing. As you forget about marketing and focus on delivering quality content, marketing will happen for you automatically. How is this for counter intuitive?
Are you ready for some FUTURE SHOCK? … If not I suggest you get ready. It’s already here and Thomas and I (and our partners and staff) have spent over 4 years researching, testing and visiting Times Square, daily claiming our gold, which nobody else seems to notice…Honest, you should see OUR backpacks!
Thomas Rozof & Charles Heflin, http://www.SocialMediaScience.com
July 24, 2009 marked the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 astronauts' return from the first successful Moon landing, and also marked the third anniversary of Virtual Alabama – the state’s implementation of Google Earth Enterprise technology to provide government agencies with a statewide common operating picture.
It’s hard to believe that in the three short years since Virtual Alabama went "live," our user base has expanded to beyond 5,000 users. More interestingly is that number represents users in more than 1,450 agencies at every level of government.
As we celebrate one of America’s greatest scientific achievements, I am reminded of a quote from Dr. Wernher von Braun (chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle which carried man to the Moon) when asked by a reporter, “What was the most difficult thing about going to the Moon?...” His reply? “The willingness to do so."I have to say that the same has been true about Virtual Alabama.
One of the most gratifying aspects of working on Virtual Alabama is the diversity of our audience. Virtual Alabama has leveled the playing field for users across all 67 counties in our state. But more interesting, it is the assortment of agencies that the program serves – literally everyone from high-level law enforcement to the local animal control specialist and everyone in between. This diversity is key to providing such a rich and robust data set. I am often amused when federal agency representatives tell me they have seen Virtual Alabama demonstrated by their counterparts at a state or local agency and they say, “I thought Virtual Alabama was a product of that agency." You see, every agency feels that Virtual Alabama is THEIR program and was created specifically with them in mind.
But the beauty is that collaboration on such a massive scale allows Virtual Alabama to serve us all equally – regardless of size, resources, technical background or geography.
Every day, agencies in every locality diligently collect, correct, and analyze data turning it into the most accurate, up to date and useful information on the planet.
We have learned from them that the best data resides at the local level. Without their willingness to collaborate, Virtual Alabama would not exist. These efforts continue to make a tremendous difference in the lives of our fire fighters, law enforcement, and first responders and their ability to protect the citizens of Alabama. Those efforts are also making a difference in our ability to manage our cities and communities more effectively.
Our federal counterparts are taking notice and today over 100 federal agencies use the Virtual Alabama system. Alabama led the way as the first state to have a statewide common operating picture. Our neighbors are now following that lead and establishing Virtual States. Virtual states include Virtual Louisiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Hawaii and Texas which all have similar programs to provide their respective government agencies with information to protect their citizens. Currently, we are working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in a collaborative partnership with 8 other states to develop the Concept of Operations for Virtual USA.
Take a look at Virtual Alabama here:
It's exciting to think about what we might accomplish with Virtual Alabama as we celebrate future anniversaries. We're sure that progress will continue, as all on the Virtual Alabama team are "willing to do so."
There was an ed techie tending the school's computer lab who would continually go up to the faculty lounge and shout: 'Hey! We've got fantastic educational technology that we can use here at school to make the learning experience so much more engaging!"
The teachers would all come running down to the computer lab only to find lame educational games and Byzantine proprietary productivity applications.
Then one day there really was a revolutionary shift in educational technology as social media entered the scene. But when the ed techie shouted, none of the teachers believed him and no one bothered to try out the new apps.
And so, they (and their students) all missed out.
