As a presenter, I’m a happy guy.  New keynote that I’ve worked my butt off on, successfully shares some new ideas, inspires people a bit, revs them up for a day of learning… mission accomplished, right?

Mostly.  I’m still struggling with one thing.  What the heck are 22nd Century Skills?  Personally, I think that 21st Century Skills are kind of a joke.  It’s a broad term that represents a shift that we’re struggling to qualify.  Sort of like Web 2.0.  And if we have that much trouble defining those skills, how the heck are we going to define what kids will need in the 22nd century?

We can’t.  Which is why one of the points we close with in the presentation is that 22nd Century Skills are just as arbitrary as 21st Century Skills and what we need to focus in on are Every Century Skills.  Has the skill set kids need to learn to be truly successful really changed all that much in the last 50 years?  I don’t actually think so.  Yes, there are more positions open for community managers and knowledge workers.  There are also more positions open at WalMart and McDonalds.  Moot point.

Image via Wikipedia

I think what’s really changed is the level of visibility.  People are seeing exceptional teaching shared more frequently through blogs and videos and presentations.  The great stories are being broadcast and an incredible rate.  And that creates a skewed vision that any classroom that isn’t working in a BYOD environment and participating in a dozen global collaborative projects is failing their students…

I don’t believe that’s true.  I honestly believe that most classrooms are doing a pretty darn good job.  I honestly believe that  most teachers genuinely want to do the best job they can, but they may not know what the options really are.  IT departments are often run by IT people.  Instructional technologists are spread so thin that they often focus their energies on the most eager teachers, the ones who ‘see the light’.  With that in mind, I believe that the single most important thing every member of the EdTech community can do… is recruit.  To take colleagues by the hand and not just show them the magic, but how to get started learning a few basic tricks so they can create their own magic show.

In your building, on your floor, in your own hallway…  what percentage of teachers don’t want to be embracing new technologies?  And what can you do to help them take the leap?

Image by jasoneppink via Flickr

I feel like I’m slacking.  Because I find myself snacking when my fingers should be clacking the keyboard.  But I find myself lacking, whether it be motivation or inspiration, and every post I read just sounds like quacking in my head.  Instead of cracking the whip, I’m backing away from the blog.  I think need to start hacking my habits, packing up my insecurities and attacking the very thing that got me to where I am…  this blog.

First of all, I apologize for those last few lines.  But once I got rhyming, I couldn’t seem to stop.  Probably ought to delete it, but I’m proud of it in the same way I’m proud of the awful poetry I wrote when I was in 7th grade.  And yes, I still have it all.

I haven’t posted anything since that pre-ISTE post.  Know why?  Because I felt like I should put up an ISTE roundup.  Which I never did.  And now I feel like it’s too late.  Which it isn’t.  But it isn’t fresh anymore so it really is.

And that’s what’s causing me no end of issues.  It’s not reality, it’s my perceptions of reality.  That blogging is a big deal, and I need to make it significant.  Instead I avoid the blog, which means I avoid writing, which means I avoid delving into my own thoughts and exploring them.  And that’s not a good thing for me.  I miss it.

Want to hear how fragile my ego is and how much my own lack of effort in this area affects me?  I have been avoiding reading blogs lately because when I read them, I get riled up, and then I want to write about them, and if I don’t, I feel guilty about not doing so.  And to avoid feeling guilty about not responding at length to someone else’s post, I avoid reading those posts at all.

Strange eh?  Also makes me wonder just how many posts on Teach42 I’ve put up ‘apologizing’ for not posting more.  Too many I would think, but I’m not going to look.

The reason for this post (about time I got to it, eh?) actually has nothing to do with any of that though.  It’s because I wanted to mention how much I enjoyed this video from WGN.

I ‘liked’ it, which shared it out via The Facebook and Twitter, but then I thought I ought to put it up on the blog.  But the last blog post was that ISTE post, and do I really ant to follow it up with a TiltShift video?  And that’s when I realized just how self-destructive I was being.  And a little hypocritical to say the least.

So no apologies, no promises.  Just some insight into what makes Teach42 tick.  Hope you get a laugh out of it and say, “Well, at least I’m not that schizzy!”

I’m going to give you a little advice. There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball. ~ Ty Webb, Caddyshack

Image by jochenWolters via Flickr

Creepy or cool?

A new class of smartphone app has emerged that uses the microphone built into your phone as a covert listening device — a “bug,” in common parlance.

But according to app makers, it’s not a bug. It’s a feature!

The apps use ambient sounds to figure out what you’re paying attention to. It’s the next best thing to reading your mind.

Before you start getting weirded out, it’s worth reading the rest of the article. It focuses in on apps that use the noise in the room around you to make connections with others.

For example, the iPhone/Android app named Color. Ever go to a party/event/conference and see dozens of people all taking photos of the same thing at the same time? I’m sure it has occurred to you at least once that there really ought to be some way to gather all those images from everybody together into a single repository. So instead of being the 101st person to take a photo of the person up on stage, you can just snag a photo taken by someone else.

Color uses the microphone to take an auditory snapshot of what’s going on in the room. It compares that to other active Color users at the time, and if the sound patterns line up, it concludes that you’re both attending the same event at that moment. Once it makes that connection, it gives you the chance to see how the other people in the room are documenting things and to share what you’ve captured with them. Instant collaboration/sharing.

There are other ways to accomplish this. For example, if you’re all on the same Wifi network… but many phones will be using cell based networks. GPS could be a good way to go, but it’s too inaccurate, particularly when indoors. It couldn’t tell if you’re in one room or the room next door. So using the soundscape is a pretty creative way to do it.

While I love the idea, the firs thing that comes to mind for me is that I want to see it combined with a whiteboard/collaborative word processor type utility. Think about the potential for note taking, or for back channels. For apps to instantly know who else is in that room at that time, and for you to be able to connect up with them if you like.

Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s coming! Now if we could just scrape the ‘creepy’ feeling off of it.

Related articles

• New Color App for iPhone is Kind of Creepy (lockergnome.com)
• Snooping: It’s not a crime, it’s a feature – Computerworld (dccrowley.posterous.com)
• Snooping: It’s not a crime, it’s a feature (computerworld.com)

I’m giving one Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z through the Fit42 Challenge, but if you want some other ways, you have a whole bunch of chances to do so.  Each of the people below are doing giveaways on their own site, just click through on the dates listed to see how you can be entered to win one for yourself.

However, that’s not the only way to win.  They’re also giving away several packs of 5 computers to non-profits that fit the following conditions:

• Organization is located in US or Canada
• Medical, education or similar community focus
• Preference given to non-profits or orgs dedicated to social good
• Must have concrete application for 5 touch-enabled M90z’s

If you’d like to be entered for one of these 5-packs, just leave a comment here with the name of your organization (school/district) or non-profit group, and I’ll forward your names on to Lenovo!

Sound simple?  It is.  Leave your comments here and you’ll have a couple of chances to win!  And don’t forget, go visit the other blogs listed about to try to win one for yourself.

Good luck!

I’m fat. There I said it. I’m not thrilled about it, and I’ve made some strides, but I’m definitely a yo-yo dieter. Lost 33 pounds, gained back almost 10. Feh.

So what should I do about it? Some might just recommit. Some might seek out the support of friends. Me? I create a fitness challenge to convince dozens of others to suffer alongside me

Introducing… the Fit42 Health and Fitness Challenge! It will begin on 1/1/11, and run through the end of February. 60ish days. You set your goals, you decide your plan of attack. At the end a team of judges will pick five finalists based on how well you met your goals AND how much you supported your fellow challengers. The primary goal of this is to get healthy in 2011. The secondary goal is to win the grand prize for the challenge… which just happens to be a brand new Lenovo M90z ThinkCentre.

Yeah, that’s right. Grand prize is a new desktop computer. I have one just like it. It rocks big time. Huge all in one multitouch screen. You know how everybody says the iPad is fantastic, but it’s no computer? Well, this has the multitouch screen like an iPad, but it IS a computer, and a powerful beast at that.

So how do you win?  Simple.  Go to Fit42.net and register.  The edit your profile, click on the Challenge page and fill in your history, goals and plan.  That gets you entered into the contest.  Then once 1/1/11 comes around, document your progress on the site and support your fellow challengers.  Update frequently and often, and you just may be picked by our judges to be one of the finalists.  They’ll narrow it down to five, and then the community will vote to see who wins the grand prize.

Some have asked what kinds of goals are eligible…  That’s entirely up to you.  Here are just a few ideas:

• Lose weight.  It could be 10 pounds, it could be 3 pounds.  Everyone has different needs.
• Get in better shape.  You might want to try to run a 5K, or maybe just get out and walk 3 times a week.
• Quit smoking.  There’s no time like the present to cut down on the habit or kick it entirely.
• Cut out caffeine
• Count calories
• Keep track of steps per day and get more active
• Anything else that will get you healthy and fit for the new year!

So that’s the 411.  I hope you’ll join me and challenge yourself to be just a little healthier and more fit in 2011.  And let’s do what we can to support each other in those endeavors!