We Feel Fine

Anyone who knows me at all knows my obsession over TED and the TEDTalks. Some of the most brilliant, creative, and insightful people in the world coming together to share themselves? Caught on video and posted on the web? Available as iTunes movies (or audio)? And free?

Yes, I'll have some more, please!

I was looking through the Talks in the Storytelling Theme this morning (for a class on Interactive Listening), and came across something so profound, it took me aback. I still haven't fully absorbed it yet.

Imagine for one second how amazing it would be to have access to a web application that captures the emotions of the Internet.

Then, imagine the amazement of realizing it already exists.

I won't say any more, but if this makes you gape in awe as if you've seen the northern lights for the first time, go right now to Jonathan Harris' TEDTalk, and then to We Feel Fine to actually use his application.

Let me know what you think, if you ever stop using it...

Never Board

I was doing a bit of introductory WebBoard posting for an online course I'm participating in this morning, and had a second look at a reply I wrote. I kind of liked the sound of it, and thought I'd repeat it here. Let's toss this one under "blog-board" mashup:

The Original Post:

You may find that sharing your own ideas and opinions on WebBoard encourages others to do the same.

What to post

Take a few moments to share some of your own experiences learning or teaching with technology. Practice being short and succinct. Write as if you’re talking to people in your living room.

If you’ve never learned or taught with technology, that’s ok. That’s what this course is about.

My Reply:

Let me just throw "short and succinct" out the window right now, because I'm not "short and succinct" in real life...

I'm always looking for and trying to use the "bleeding edge" when it comes to technology and learning, primarily from my own interest, but also because I'm looking for that "perfect" technology that will allow me to achieve my goal of making online learning a seamless experience...one that carries the same passion and engagement that one can find in face-to-face settings.

I use my online presence (Facebook, two blogs, four wikis, two webboards, three instant messaging clients, Twitter, NetVibes/RSS feeds, video logs, and five e-mail accounts) to stay connected with everyone and everything in my world...and I have all of these pushed to my Blackberry. I like to think that I live in the electronic ocean I've put myself in.

My learners never have to look far to know what's going on with me (professionally or personally), ask me a question, or learn with me. I know a lot of faculty and staff who have an issue with being this connected, but it's my opinion that being a teacher isn't a job...it's a lifestyle, and not one that ends when I "leave" the Campus. The brick-and-mortar boundaries of the building are not walls for me...they are just a location, among many, that I might occupy.

Mobility Convergence

Aside from being a test of Mail-to-Blogger, this also happens to be my first post from my new Blackberry Curve.

I've been playing around with the idea of mobile convergence for a while, particularly when it comes to education. I've got visions of faculty-made e-textbooks, vblogs of lectures, and assignments completed via SMS text messages.

I can perceive of smart devices like the Blackberry, the iPhone, and the Android becoming the sole educational technology for learners, replacing books, paper assignments, and even newer classroom devices like 'clickers'.



I'm beginning a personal exploration into how all this untethered technology might bring our brains a bit closer together, and now that I'm this much closer to my blog (and Twitter, and Facebook, and...), I can put mine online even faster.

To All the Politically Correct Out There: Merry Christmas!

One of my learners recently sent me a message via Facebook, wishing me well over the upcoming holidays...a lovely sentiment I deeply appreciate. One thing he wrote bothered me, though: "Happy Holidays...I'd wish you a Merry Christmas, but I'm not sure if that's the case". Once again, our societal need to walk on "politically correct" eggshells around each other mars one person's ability to express caring towards another.

I've had enough.

Don't get me wrong...as an educator, it's nearly my job requirement to be sensitive to others' behavioral, cultural and spiritual traditions. I understand this from the point of being an open-minded mentor whose entire existence revolves around enabling the success of others...of finding the best in them, no matter where they come from, or how...and showing them that they can attain the positive change they're striving for. Every once in a while, I even drag someone, 'kicking and screaming' toward their own success, all because I care about them.

Political Correctness can only go so far, though, before I start losing my own identity.

I celebrate Christmas with my family and friends, steeped in our traditions from years gone by...a mixture of my Danish heritage, a large dose of the Nova Scotian upbringing of my wife, a sprinkle of secular observance, and more than a pinch of commercialism. And when the time comes, I say 'Merry Christmas'.

If I say this to you, I'm not implying that I want you to practice what I practice, and follow my traditions. If you are Jewish, I'm not being disrespectful of your Hanukkah celebrations, any more than I am of those celebrating Kwanzaa, or even those who choose not to celebrate the season at all.

What I am saying is: "I wish you a Merry Christmas, because that's what I'm celebrating...I hope you enjoy this time of year in whatever way makes you happy", and I hope you return the sentiment in whatever way is special to you..."Happy Hanukkah", "Happy Kwanzaa", "God Bless", and "Happy Holidays" will all do, thank you very much.

If I say this to you, it's because I care about you. Isn't showing that to others the whole point of being human?

Mac Attack

The notion that computer systems have emotions (at least for now) is the realm of science-fiction. No matter how much we want to believe that they possess a sentience whose sole purpose it is to entertain, inform, and infuriate us, they are simply a very complex group of systems, designed and manufactured by humans for humans.

That being the case, someone programmed my faithful, four-year old Dell laptop to commit virtual seppuku when it heard the words: "Your new laptops are going to be Macs". More accurately, it's 120 GB hard drive decided to fail. It's passing was heralded by a nearly inaudible:

whzzzzzz......clunk......whzzzzzz.....clunk......

I was fortunate enough (after a bit of work) to recover nearly all the data off the drive. Perhaps I could have rescued the drive itself...ran SpinRite or another utility on it, but my faith is shaken, and I'm too much of an "old hardware guy" to believe that it will ever be the same again.

So, I move on, without so much as a look back. It's not even getting my forwarding address.

I've been using an iBook G4 for several months now, loaded to the brim with Mac OS X 10.4, iLife, iWork, Office '08 for Mac, several browsers (try before you buy, as they say), and any other tidbits I've come across. I have to say I'm impressed. Apple's design standards are legendary, and after throwing a few of my old habits out the Window, I found myself getting very comfortable with a machine (or brand) that I once dismissed as a fascination of the "granola-eating artsy sect", never something to be used in a serious business environment.

Well, for those of you I've scorned (and you know who you are): I was wrong...or rather, have become wrong in the last few years.

So now I wait for my new laptop: a brand-new, top-of-the-line 17" Intel MacBook Pro, with 4 GB of RAM and 250 GB Hard Drive. I'm going to be running a dual-boot Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Windows Vista configuration, loaded for bear with every application we can muster. I'll no doubt be having the time of my life, being both creative and productive.

I might even pick myself up a bag of granola.

Hurry Up and Weight

The fact that I'm a large man should come as no surprise to any of my family, friends, colleagues, students, or the fine folks working in the International Space Station, who can spot me from orbit on a clear day. At last weighing, I'm 389 pounds.

Read that figure again and let it sink in...I did.

What might surprise people is that until very recently, I've had absolutely no problem with my weight. I know a lot of people say that, to hide their insecurities, but in my case, it simply wasn't an important enough part of my life to make any difference. Those folks who know me know about my positive attitude, outgoing personality, and sense of humor, and I can say right now that at no time did I lock myself away and cry quietly into a tub of Häagen-Dazs.

So why the change, and why now? The answer, simply enough: I'm tired of it. I weary of the extra pounds I'm carrying arround, and as I grow older, I'm realizing that my body isn't going to support it for much longer. Oh, there's all the other (very good) reasons as well: wanting to be around long enough to see my girls grow up, the obvious impact it's having on my heart, the rising cost of food, etc. But ultimately, I've decided I've had enough, and it's time for a change...and that, any more than quitting smoking, is a decision I believe needs to come from within one's self.

So, the journey begins in earnest. Like so many others in my life, I need to tackle this one well-informed, taking what time I need to in order to make it right for me. Many times, I've tried to go on diets, make a change in my lifestyle, and failed, and that's not a road I want to (or can) keep travelling.

I'll keep posting my progress here, as a self-regulating mechanism to prompt me into moving forward with my goal.

Please alert the Nova Scotia fast food industry: the free ride just ended.

Dusting Off My Blog

Three months.

I'd like to say I have dozens of reasons why it's taken this long to get back to my 'blog, but I only have one: life got in the way (as it often does). Today, I was taking a peek through the blog of a good friend and colleague of mine, and must admit I began suffering from blog-envy. So, after a quick post there, I decided to come back and get things rolling again.

I've got lots to blog about: my new commitment to losing weight (what better way to guilt yourself into action than to publicly display your shortcomings?), my upcoming professional development (sit down first; OK...I'm going to actually put an investment into learning Programming - and for a die hard Systems guy, that's a bit of a jump!), my project to uncover new personal learning environments, and many others. Oh, and I have a Mac now (you were still sitting down, right?).

So, fresh changes are on the horizon...stay tuned...