Embracing Innovation – FOSS in Schools @neisd

Thanks to Ken Task’s email for pointing out the following about Josh Beck in NorthEast ISD schools:

At iMAK we presently have 2 computer labs outfitted with dual boot systems running Ubuntu/Gutsy – Windows XP.  We believe the system we’ve developed is unique and may serve as a model for educators interested in offering students a diverse, in-depth educational experience in their technology classes. We wish to share our ideas with teachers and IT professionals who are interested in offering open-source alternatives without sacrificing the comfort zone many feel is offered by Microsoft’s Windows XP.

Our goal is to offer students an experience that will allow them to advance in high-school and succeed globally. We are constantly striving to stay on top of current technology trends and find creative ways to teach these trends to 12, 13, and 14-year-old students.  

Read more online

You can watch video of Mr. Beck’s class online. Students are using Blender to create a catapult….

Students are using a dual-boot machine with UbuntuLinux and Windows XP. I love this account of how he got the change going at a Technology magnet school…note the focus is on bringing innovative experiences to students rather than making it easier for District Technology Department staff to do their job, which unfortunately, is what keeps GNU/Linux out of many school districts:

A few weeks after dropping that first vanilla install into my classroom, I got the notion to go ahead and see if I couldn’t integrate 10 or so into the classroom on a permanent basis. Of course, in a district as big as mine this was dangerous territory. These computers essentially belonged to the district and I was deleting thousands of dollars in propietary software in favor of free alternatives. I informed my immediate supervisor before taking any action, and we both agreed that this kind of innovation would be good for our program. After all, we were a chartered technology magnet program. It was in our mandate to do things differently. 

Students are event creating Android apps:

http://linuxclassroom.com/androidpic/article.jpg

Pretty amazing! Keep up the great work, Josh!

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Post Apocalypse

Watching The Book of Eli, I was struck by the use of an old iPod powered by a portable battery. It seemed so out of place, which is why it appeared there. As I consider the eReaders, netbooks available to many today, the demise of print is a foregone conclusion.

Since I began reading my Nook a few months ago, I haven’t read ANY books–except for maybe the crucial conversations/confrontations books–in print. I find myself accumulating books and articles in digital format and wonder how I read before, stumbling from one island of paper to another. It all seems so inefficient now.

Yet, today, as I drove my kids to Half-Price Books, I allowed myself to be seduced by the magic of print. I held a few books in my hands, hoping the love of a well-told tale would grab me…I must confess that I felt nothing for awhile. Like a lion sated on a fresh kill, I had no desire for a book. Yet, finally, after waiting for an hour as my children visited with old friends in the stacks, a book found its way into my hands…$1.00, a bargain during 20% off sale.

I may read it…in the meantime, I find myself wanting to adapt this quote:

“A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.”

–Emily Dickinson

Note: Poster created with WigFlip’s AutoMotivator

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Paycheck Leadership

“Remember that piece of paper that comes in the mail at the end of the month?” remarked one big boss to his underlings about their paychecks. “If you don’t like what’s happening, before you complain, remember that.”

Defining “Paycheck leadership” – Although others define it differently, as I see it, this is “paycheck leadership.” It’s the kind of leadership that people in positions of authority engage in when they have 1) Have their own private agenda and care not a whit for involving stakeholders in decision-making; 2) Fail to communicate their expectations, agenda; 3) Don’t even pretend to care about their stakeholders’, the job they are about so long as their agenda gets met; 4) Use the paycheck as a whip to crack when performance lags.

Those words, the tone they were delivered in, sent chills down the backs of the people present who later related the story to me. I couldn’t help but feel their pain. Somehow, we find ourselves in jobs where a monthly paycheck keeps us showing up in body, but not in spirit. I like how Kathy Larson describes this kind of false leadership, this “paycheck power:”

As an employer, you inherit “paycheck power”– the power to write paychecks, to hire and fire, to make the rules, and to enforce them. Paycheck power says, “I pay people, so they should do what I want. I should be successful, and they should work hard.”

How do you recapture the enthusiasm for your job when the only motivator that counts, according to the boss, is the one you get in the mail or the payment you get via direct deposit? That kind of attitude is demoralizing and tears at one’s spirit.

‎”No corporation ever achieved greatness by demoralizing its employees. No corporation ever successfully sustained organizational change without the buy-in from those on the front lines expected to implement that change!” (Source: Rita Solnet, Huffington Post)

Now that education faces massive cuts, after the illusion of surviving a bad economy, what motivation will the big boss in the scenario above appeal to get the most out of the people who need to bring about change, implement innovative approaches to get the job done with less cost?

Who cares? If I were inclined to curse, I’d use stronger words to say “Screw ’em.” That kind of “leader” doesn’t get anything done, and, in fact, isn’t worth one’s time…they have temporal authority but no influence.

Here’s what I see the leader’s responsibility is:

1. Identify the needs of the organization and the people it serves.
2. Work with stakeholders to articulate those into strategic goals and objectives.
3. Provide financial support, freedom, and encouragement for them to come up with their own solutions and get the work done.
4. Help clarify expectations and hold people accountable for what they said they would do.
5. Care for the people you are responsible for.

Larson describes it as “the power of service and success.” Yes, that’s it exactly. 

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@EdCampPlano – Texas unConference #edcamp #edcampplano

http://edcampplano.wikispaces.com/

Edcamp Plano is completely free, with all refreshments and other amenities provide solely through sponsorship and donation. With the possibility of hundreds of attendees, the organizers are looking for local businesses who may be interested in being featured in the conference literature. Those interested in being a sponsor can make donations and/or contact the organizers on the website http://edcampplano.wikispaces.com/.


Site:Sockwell Center for Professional Development6301 Chapel Hill Blvd

Plano, Texas 75093

Date:
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Registration Opens – Friday, April 1, 2011

You can help us spread the word!
If you are on Twitter, please use hashtag #edcamp and #edcampplano to share the message!
Find us on Twitter @edcampplano
Become a fan of our Facebook Page and share it with friends by posting the link to your wall.


About the unConference

Come enjoy a day with colleagues from North Texas and beyond. Arrive with an idea for a session that you would like to lead or with the anticipation of a full day of learning. A session might explore a technology tool, a discussion about best practices, or a collaborative presentation with multiple facilitators.  


During the first hour, you will have time to meet other educators over coffee. There will be an empty session board where you and all attendees can post session titles. Over the course of the day, you will have the opportunity to attend up to four sessions. The rule of the unconference is to “vote with your feet”. If a session doesn’t meet your needs, simply get up and move to another room.  


You will learn something new, maybe make a new friend, and receive information that you can 
immediately apply in your classroom and professional life! We will not be providing certificates 
for the professional development hours you receive.  

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Transition to #Moodle 2.0 @moodlerific

Image source:

http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=152299

A colleague recently wrote to ask the following:

Did you upgrade from 1.9 or did you just install 2.0 (or both)?

The answer? I’ve done both. The only way to move a 1.9 site to 2.0–or so I’ve found–is to upgrade the Moodle instance from 1.9 to 2.0, upgrading all the courses in that Moodle instance. That is, upgrade the PHP/MySQL to meet Moodle 2.0 requirements, convert MySQL databases to INNODB and then do the standard upgrade process.

Melissa at Moodlerific.org asks some great questions worth considering, and which I’ll reflect on at the end of this blog entry:

1. When to upgrade?
2. How much training will users need?
3. How do I go about telling users about the change that is coming?
4. How do I make the “change” be a good thing to our users and not another hurdle and “another thing to learn”?
5. All themes are new – should I remove all old ones?
6. Make a pilot group for Moodle 2.0?
7. What about modules users currently use that aren’t in Moodle 2.0?
8. I’m not familiar with the real use of the Gradebook and Quiz – are there big differences?
9. Where to go for help?

Stepping through it, I backed up my Moodle 1.9 instances, then transitioned the server to a new version of PHP/MySQL, made adjustments, then used phpMyAdmin to import the Moodle 1.9 instances as databases.

Once that was done, I converted all the Moodle 1.9 databases from MyISAM to INNODB, as described in the tip listed here.

Then, I wiped out the contents of the Moodle folder with all the php files that connect to the database, leaving the config.php file intact. I copied in Moodle 2.0 replacement files into the Moodle folder.

Once that was done, I accessed the Moodle admin page at http://servername/moodle/admin and began the upgrade for the Moodle instance. The upgrade converts all the courses.

That pretty much was the process.

In regards to Melissa’s questions, wow, where to start? I don’t have easy answers for these…I suspect that upgrading Moodle will be much easier than switching folks who have grown comfortable with Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2.0. So, for now, allow me to share my response…I will certainly discuss these answers with my team of awesome professionals, as well as solicit feedback from the Moodle-ing teachers in my situation:

When to upgrade?
This question isn’t hard to figure out the answer to in a K-12 school setting. When would upgrading be easiest, assuming complete disaster were to occur during the attempt such as a server failure and restoring from backup on a fresh machine, and least inconvenience users? The answer is Summer, 2011 during the month of June. This has already been decided upon in my setting after reflection and we’ve begun letting everyone know that Moodle will be inaccessible. We’re also inviting folks to try out Moodle 2.0 in a sandbox with the understanding that the sandbox can’t handle LARGE classes of students all at once.

How much training will users need?
Starting in July, 2011 we’ll offer training on Moodle as we always do, and upgrade our professional learning materials. Fortunately, Mary Cooch’s book on Moodle 2.0 – Teaching 7-14 Year olds will be out to replace the Moodle 1.9 version of that book (at least, that’s what we’re counting on!). For those who have to make the transition from Moodle 1.9 to 2.0, we’ve all reviewed 2.0 and don’t think the changes are THAT drastic. But we’ll offer a few classes to bridge the gap between the two Moodle versions.

How do I go about telling users about the change that is coming?
Again, I would offer any NEW classes on teaching online using Moodle 2.0 and not look back. For those that would like to see the differences between the two Moodles, offer them scaffolded sandbox professional learning opportunities so they can play. Also, make announcements reassuring folks that their Moodle 1.9 courses will be upgraded to the new version…and that no data will be lost during the upgrade, although the “look-n-feel” will change. I expect that theme development for 2.0 will be easier, so we won’t lose our distinctive look.

How do I make the “change” be a good thing to our users and not another hurdle and “another thing to learn”?
Attitudes towards change and lifelong learning are something we all have control over individually. I would focus on the benefits Moodle 2.0 brings and share those via monthly Moodle webinars or video walkthroughs. We haven’t done that yet, and I’m hoping that a new communication plan will get folks focused on what they can do.

All themes are new – should I remove all old ones?
If by this one means that we should throw out all the Moodle 1.9 themes, well, probably but I’d focus on maintaining a consistent look to minimize the appearance of change.

Make a pilot group for Moodle 2.0?
What a great idea! Have a small number of regular Moodlers embrace Moodle 2.0 and then have them create the short video walkthroughs or tutorials for moodle. Of course, you can’t do this unless you have a sandbox running with Moodle 2.0 and that may not be possible for you until you upgrade.

What about modules users currently use that aren’t in Moodle 2.0?
There’s no reason that you can’t run Moodle 1.9 and 2.0 concurrently on the same server provided you have upgraded your MySQL/PHP installation. However, I’d be clear about Moodle 2.0 and the timeline for upgrades to non-standard modules/blocks in use. For example, my list of favorite Moodle blocks/modules IS the standard in my Moodle installation. I’m hoping these items will have been upgraded to work with Moodle 2.0 by June, 2011 when the transition is made.

As to other questions, it wouldn’t do to try and answer all of them today, now, would it?
;->

For now, join MoodleMayhem.org and participate online at MoodleMayhem @ Facebook

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21 Points of Lights

A conversation starter….

and while many agreed with Shelly Blake-Plock’s points about 21 Things That Will Become Obsolete, I found the list a bit long. I felt like a potential jurist waiting for the opposing lawyer to object to a jurist because of his beliefs, his words, or whatever inspires objections.

One of the responses to Shelly’s points included this one, which I’ve anonymized:

Interesting, not sure our districts will have the funding to support some of these initiatives. Plus I would hate to see us cut back on the number of teachers we have in the classroom. For years, as a board member, I fought for lower class sizes at the Secondary level and now our legislators are going to raise the size of the Elementary classes. What are they thinking? Plus they are going to be making much larger cuts in budgets than anticipated??? Part of training for them to be a legislator should be at least two weeks in a classroom (with no help), let them do the modifications, teach the curriculum and deal with over 22 kids in a class. Maybe then they would understand what our teachers and administrators do. To all the Administrators, Teachers and All the other Much Needed Staff thank you for what you do and have a very Happy New Year!!!

This is a traditional response to anyone who criticizes teachers, isn’t it? It’s the “Walk a mile in my shoes before you complain about how I’m doing my job.” In truth, it’s not a bad approach and often sends the message home. I still recall when one technology administrator that I had the good fortune to know, who rabidly criticized teachers for their lack of innovation, decided to teach for a day in high-heeled shoes. Perhaps, she missed the key point of exchanging shoes with the teacher who taught their…SAS comfortable shoes.

The experience transformed her attitude…so much so, I wondered if she’d been brainwashed. Benjamin Disraeli’s words lend a bit of wisdom and insight in these situations….

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

Having taught in K-12 schools, as well as provided support, I understand the many must-attend-to-NOW distractions teachers face. To expect them to transform the “system,” the ecology of indoctrination that characterize our schools, alone is foolish. While the criticism is apparent for legislators, it is also there for technology administrators who fail them. What we are looking for isn’t the illusion of safety, but the opportunity to make mistakes with a support network. I want the risks that give learning its distinctive edge, that engage me…not the placid pool of patient parley that delay my use of Read/Write Web tools and other emerging technologies lauded by my Professional Learning Network (PLN).

Thanks for sharing. If I may respond….

Many teachers lack the time and comfort level to innovate successfully with technology. Their failure to employ technology reflects on administrators who have 1) blocked emerging technologies in their districts; 2) failed to engage the community in reciprocal dialogue about technology usage; and 3) not bothered to use the technology themselves. 

These 3 actions prevent teachers’ development of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs), the exploration of rich content on YouTube (Khan Academy is but one example), and employing social media tools to tell the story of teaching, learning and leading in K-12 schools. We sacrifice learning daily upon the altar of political correctness…teaching digital citizenship/cybersafety often means referring to resources inaccessible in schools, like the boogeyman that haunts the ignorant in the dark.

As to lack of funding, here’s a quick summary of what Texas is facing:

http://www.mguhlin.org/2010/12/summarizing-tx-education-finance-news.html

Isn’t it time we abandoned buying a server for every app and moved into cloud computing, used free open source software solutions to strategically replace recurring licenses for Microsoft and other products that are used at but a mere 70% of their capabilities? (yes, I made that number up)

As to your points about lower class sizes, Clayton Christiansen’s points out in “Disrupting Class” online learning has great potential. Many Texas districts are using free open source course management system (e.g. Moodle, Sakai) to make online learning a reality. Others are burying their heads in the sand and hoping Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN) has no accountability for implementation (it IS law). When will teachers in today’s schools have the support–in-house using free, open source tools now available–to transform teaching and learning through blended instruction? Blended learning–a hybrid of face to face and online learning–has already been shown in the research to be better than either F2F or online. More on virtual schooling in Texas:

http://www.mguhlin.org/2009/06/txcto09-virtual-schooling-in-texas.html

And, citing research, consider the lack of adoption of problem-based learning. Ill-structured problems enable learners to develop solutions that are complicated. And, yet, in spite of that, PBL is seldom used in schools as we rush through curriculum, dancing from one tip of the iceberg to the other. Read Zakaria’s article on “How to Restore the American Dream” and you realize how unappetizing cookie-cutter curriculum efforts are for building a globally competitive, or more importantly, collaborative, workforce:

http://www.mguhlin.org/2010/12/mynotes-how-to-restore-american-dream.html

Thanks for reading and sharing. Only through dialogue can we better achieve understanding among all stakeholders.

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Software GiveAway – Picture Collage Maker Pro

Image Attribution at bottom of blog post

Thanks to Pearl Mountain Software‘s Shelley for making 20 copies of Picture Collage Maker Pro ($39.90 per copy) available for free! You can read my review (and full disclosure) of Picture Collage Maker Pro (for Windows) online here, and either enter the drawing for the license giveaway by clicking this link or filling out the form embedded in this blog entry.

Here’s what will happen:

1. You fill out the form between now and December 31st.
2. On January 1, 2011, twenty entries will be drawn at random from those submitted prior to midnight 12/31/2010…
3. …then the list of winners will be shared in a blog entry here at Around the Corner. Winners will also receive an email with the license code and download link.
4. If you want to get started early, Picture Collage Maker Pro has a 15-day trial you can download.

Best of luck, and, yes, please do share this with friends and family. Although you can only win once, wouldn’t it be neat if someone in your family or circle of friends (or PLN) had the opportunity to win, too?

Image Attribution
Original image: ‘Falcon flying‘ 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54587723@N00/244104021
by: Alexander Kuchar

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Product Review – Picture Collage Maker

More at http://www.picturecollagesoftware.com/

Update: Participate in the Software GiveAway of Picture Collage Maker Pro ($39.90) prior to January 1, 2011! 20 license codes will be given away for free!

Right before the holiday break, a colleague asked me, “Do you know of a photo collage maker? I want to gift someone with a program like that.” At the time, I really had nothing in mind…I don’t often make photo collages…and, if I thought I needed to make a collage, my first instinct would be to find something online for free, maybe at BigHugeLabs. Fortunately, one software company sent me a free copy of Picture Collage Maker for Windows and offered to do a give-away.

THE NO-COST COMPETITION

Before reviewing Picture Collage Maker, I thought I might take a quick look at what you can do for free on the Web with photo collage tools. If you are aware of one that I don’t mention here, please share it in the comments!

One of the first photo collage makers available for free via the Web that I ran across–aside from BigHugeLabs.com–was PhotoVisi. Here’s what I created in about two seconds:

I didn’t like this background above, more suited to a wedding or something a bit more “girly” than History Day, which is where the images above came from. There are some other options you can try for free (or purchase), such as Shape Collage (free with limited options, or $25 for a multi-platform tool (e.g. Mac, Win, GNU/Linux). Shape Collage worked quite well, producing this output:

Of course, these two examples enabled me to create a simple photo collage…and both came with watermarks. I also read about a way to use the no-cost Google’s Picasa to create photo collages. There are tons of approaches for creating photo collages and working with images these days, some of which interface with Yahoo’s Flickr (dump them) and Facebook (which is more useful these days). 

So, while some solutions are free, what would paying for one of these solutions mean to my photo collage? Alas, I don’t know. Only one vendor sent me a free license code, which means, I’d probably be using the free stuff anyways!

;->

NOTE: You can find my complete list of photo collage makers and related links here, or subscribe to the RSS feed to keep up to date with future additions.

PICTURE COLLAGE MAKER

Via email, I received a free license code to evaluate Picture Collage Maker, which comes for Windows. In the interests of full disclosure, here is the invitation I received:

This is Shelley from Pearl Mountain Software, we have been focusing on your website which is really very useful and helpful to all the people.

We developed Picture Collage Maker Pro. It is an easy-to-use program that can turn ordinary photos and pictures into stunning photo collage, scrapbook and cards to share with family and friends, whether you are a green hand or high talented computer user.

I’m pleased to invite you to try our software and present you with a personal license worth $ 39.90, you can test it first.

If you are satisfied with our product, we hope you could recommend our Picture Collage Maker Pro 2.4.6 on your website and help us to do some giveaway, we prepared some giveaway license code for users or visitors of your website. Please contact us to get the license codes. We’re sure that your web visitors would like it and it could help your readers.

Of course, I had to test the software and see if it was worthwhile. Of course, it was…lots of additional options not even covered in some of the other tools I looked at, even when you paid for them.


Some of the features this software for Windows had include the following:

• you can create collages, scrapbooks, posters, invitations, calendars, and greeting cards.
• Picture Collage Maker comes with a library of professionally-drawn templates that offer you a wide variety of photo layouts and backgrounds for your collage. You have complete control over paper size and orientation.
• Simply drag and drop pictures onto your background. It’s simple to resize each picture, move it to exactly where you want it, and tilt it a little or a lot, for added impact. You can choose from a large selection of special effects to fine-tune each individual picture, from adjusting hue and brightness, to applying artistic effects.
• Picture Collage Maker comes with a large collection of beautiful picture frames that you can add to any of your photos. In addition to traditional frames, the program also has masks that you can apply to each individual picture, allowing you to change the shape of each image.
• It’s easy to add text, in any color or size, anywhere on your collage. You can further personalize your creation by adding clipart, from team mascots and company logos, to holiday images.
• With Picture Collage Maker, you can build a greeting card in seconds or spend more time

Some of the neat features I noticed right off upon installation included a link to tutorials, tips and tricks for using the software. This was helpful to me because I hadn’t used this kind of tool before…

Starting out, you can see a few screenshots….

Not having played with the program much, I chose to take advantage of the Template Collage Wizard, which presented some fascinating options:

Creating the collage was easy after that…there were tons of choices…here are a few:

Lots of other customization options available in Picture Collage Maker:

What else would I have liked to see?


As nice a product as Picture Collage Maker Pro is, the price is pretty high. I’m not sure I’d want to pay $40 for a product, even one that had so many neat features. Of course, if I made photo collages every day or had a special need to make one, I wouldn’t see this as a big expenditure.

Some neat features that appear in Shape Collage but weren’t in Picture Collage Maker Pro is the ability to easily export images and place them in online storage sites, such as PicasaWeb, Flickr, as well as share via social media tools like Facebook, Plurk and Twitter. I would definitely have liked to see these capabilities within the program. Of course, creating collages is also possible using other tools like Glogster, which allow for multimedia collages. The question is, does Picture Collage Maker Pro remain a viable product in the face of online competitors? Yes, if your focus is on designing print-outs and digital images to share via the Web. Quick sharing via social media tools would make Picture Collage Maker Pro really versatile and enduring.

Aside from that, Picture Collage Maker Pro came across as an easy to use program to create photo collages and generally do quite a bit with your photos. It’s ease of use reminded me of my time with Print Shop type programs where you didn’t have to be an expert to create ornate arrangements and you could easily “Wow!” folks with your print-outs. Fortunately, digital images are finding expression online and Picture Collage Maker Pro is a nice digital image development tool.

Stay tuned for future give-aways of Picture Collage Maker Pro for Windows!

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Russian Government Embraces Freedom

Image Source: http://bp0.blogger.com/_mzEMPgOqey4/RdejQ7hcjjI/AAAAAAAAAk0/ -O6TkZf9DTo/s400/20050130-opensource-communism.jpg

There are days of frenetic activity, days of realization when one awakens and the truth is as plain as the sun in the sky…free open source is the way to save money for government and education. 

Image Source: Free Software Adoption worldwide, http://olex.openlogic.com/wazi/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/activity_map_open_source.png

Then, you read announcements like this one and the truth is driven home. What truth that is, you tell me.

If Google translate is to be trusted, a Russian publication has claimed that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has signed an order to transition the technological “power structures and the federal budget to free software” starting in the second quarter of 2012.

The 17-page document, “Transition Plan of the Federal Authorities and Federal Budgetary Institutions to Free Software,” covers the period from 2011 to 2015.

According to Deputy Head of the Ministry of Communications Ilya Massuh, the document describes a complete transition of the federal government and state employees to GNU/Linux.

Read more at Techi.com 

Russians embrace freedom…funny, huh? 

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MyNotes – Revenue Level Dip

From: A new era of innovation for the states?

A new era of innovation for the states? By Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 25, 2010; 9:28 PM

During 2009-10, states saw their revenues decline for five quarters, once by 16.8 percent. “You basically had revenues fall off a cliff,” he said. “The financial meltdown and the great recession …

history shows that for the states, the worst times come in years one, two and three after the recession ends. Scheppach said states would probably not return to revenue levels they enjoyed in 2008 …

no alternative to major cuts in education funding by the states. Higher education has already felt the pinch, but that is likely to extend to elementary and secondary funding, as well.

‘We are in a different growth path. How do we redesign the programs, from prisons to elementary and secondary to pensions?’ . . . In that way it’s a watershed.”

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Free Open Source ScreenCapture Tool

As much as I like Skitch on Mac, I just haven’t found an equivalent replacement on Windows (and completely given up on GNU/Linux, except to use GIMP…although I’m now trying out Shutter).

Update:  Shutter on UbuntuLinux–or other distros–is a great screenshot tool! it allows annotation, etc. Check it out if you haven’t already!

That’s why I read about the free, open source Greenshot with some enthusiasm:

Greenshot is a light-weight screenshot software tool for Windows with the following key features:

Create complete or partial screenshots quickly.Easily annotate, highlight or obfuscate parts of the screenshot.Send the screenshot to a file, the clipboard, a printer or as e-mail attachment.

Since I’m running UbuntuLinux at the moment, I haven’t taken the time to load this up on Windows yet and give it a thorough test. Anyone done that?

getgreenshot.org

Update: Great tool, loved it. Greenshot made it easy to capture screenshots and was a no-brainer on Windows.

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Merry Xmas!

Source: http://www.smashingapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/merry-xmas-santa.jpg

Thanks to all of you for the gifts you share with me everyday, as well as being such wonderful recipients of what little learning I have to share via Around the Corner.

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Tsunami Transformations

Image Source:

http://www.local-security-guard.com/local-security-guard-blog.html

“If the economy is about to crash in education–you know, larger class sizes, laid off teachers, state technology allotment is gone or severely reduced, financial exigency for over 50% of Texas school districts, etc.–and technology is needed to make education more efficient (also resulting in job loss), what should I be doing now to get ready for the future?“

Some follow up questions to that include:

• Will children’s education be out-sourced as a result of online learning opportunities?
• Should we as individual educators be learning social media tools, blogs, wikis and all the Read/Write Web tools? 
• As educators, how should you supplement your current salary? If the economy is going down, education gets “transformed,” how could you make extra money to keep your family afloat? 

The answer to those questions is up for debate. I’m convinced that school district personnel must become incredibly nimble in facilitating online learning opportunities, as well as strategic in what offerings they spend their time in. For example, I’m not sure I want to spend time developing “How to Blog Effectively in Your Classroom” online course. Instead, the need for content-area deep learning a la problem-based learning in an online environment sounds like something a bit more long lasting.

The West Virginia Board of Education plans to ask lawmakers for $271 million to help schools statewide move from traditional textbooks to online content. The school board wants to provide more than 300,000 laptops or other mobile devices to every student and teacher in the state. (Source: The Associated Press via Education Week)

Where do you invest limited time, effort, and funding now to ensure you are marketable in the future?

Technology has changed the game in jobs. We had technology bumping around for years in the 80s and 90s and we were trying to make it work. And now it it’s working…You couple the habits of efficiency from a deep recession with an exponential increase in technology, and you are not going to see jobs in a long, long time. (Source: Jack Welch, former CEO of GE)

Yes, online learning will be one of the habits of efficiency with an exponential increase in technology.

Obviously, elearning or online/mobile learning is big and can only get bigger. Some have argued that elearning is what is going to transform schools. Yet, schools aren’t going to be doing this transformation to themselves…the smart leaders are going to build up the infrastructure in their school districts, begin moving in that direction as aggressively as possible…but as a friend and I considered, perhaps incorrectly, the tsunami transformations that are coming will wash them out as well

Yesterday, I asked myself, “How do you get started as a security guard?” Answering that question started in Plurk, continued in Facebook, but didn’t really get answered. So, the search for an answer continued a little further with Google. You can see what I found out here, which was also a detour to another destination.

That question arose from discussions about how to prepare for the wave of unemployment that we anticipate, must prepare for since we work in education. It may be that only the best will happen, but we want to be as prepared as possible. As we were shopping at the grocery store, I pulled up this point by Allan Blinder:

The crucial distinction for the future, he argues, might be not between highly educated and less educated workers but between those jobs that can be done abroad and those — such as nurse or pilot — that cannot.

Another point is enhanced by this quote:

…service occupations, those that involve “helping, caring for or assisting others,” such as security guard, cook and waiter. Most of these workers have no college education and get hourly wages that are on the low end of the scale. Jobs in this segment too have been growing robustly.

Notice that “teacher” wasn’t in that list. Teacher as babysitter is still needed apparently, but increasingly, it may be possible to “outsource” learning opportunities for children…online learning will play a part in that. Teachers in that scenario CAN be housed anywhere in the world.

What happens to those teachers–those who don’t read this blog or any other blog–who haven’t a clue how to teach, much less learn, online?

People who work in knowledge-based fields like information technology, accounting, graphic design or legal research are probably well aware that their jobs are susceptible to being outsourced to a low wage country. (Source: Martin Ford’s Outsourcing Jobs…that can’t be outsourced)

So, back to the conversation with my wife. Apparently, it got her thinking. With groceries in hand, she walked up to a security guard in the parking lot and asked, “How did you get to be a security guard? How well does the job pay?” It resulted in a short, conversation about how unarmed security guards, or security officers, make about $17.50 per hour, while those who carry a weapon can get up to $25 per hour working on a military base. Compare that to many entry teacher jobs that earn $18.50 to $25 per hour.

The entry point for security guards is pretty low…you just need your GED, and if you have your college degree, you might be considered for supervisory track. Am I considering being a security guard? Not really…although it would be an area rife for blogging about.

What I’m really curious about is how online learning and becoming a security guard could go together. Problem is, such a course could easily be designed and pushed outsourced. . .unless a security guard company gets the jump now. Oops, too late. Here are a few.

This idea of adapting training for jobs that have to be done locally–rather than abroad. A colleague worked to “Moodle-ize” her husband’s air-conditioning course and make it available online. Given the expertise of a online course designer and a subject matter expert, I wouldn’t be surprised their course is already online and available for folks to sign up.

Some tips for surviving a tsunami transformation (adapted from WikiHow (smile)):

1. Learn about the potential dangers in advance and plan for them. If teaching/education is going to be out-sourced, have a backup trade that can’t be shipped abroad. Being a nurse, cook, security officer are some examples provided. What are others? Probably hair-dresser. Here’s a interesting list.
2. Mobilize others and build coalitions that perhaps can survive together. Would micro-loans concept work between families and small business entrepreneurs thrown suddenly into the job market?
3. Combine your trade job with an interest. Always wanted to fix your own faucets and do your own electrical wiring? Why not combine that desire with a new career in that area? As some have pointed out, plumbers and electricians often make more than classroom teachers.

Of course, crowdsourcing video surveillance may present some problems for security officers’ future. Maybe, wars will be fought through deployment of non-lethal high-altitude EMPs (HEMP) to address this issue. Imagine a coalition of unemployed workers–whose jobs were outsourced–deploying a HEMP to knock their less-paid global competition offline. Wait! Isn’t there a book about this out already? Hmm….

;->

In the words of Louis L’Amour’s character from The Walking Drum, Yol bolsun!

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MyNotes – Critical Social Media Skills

As I’ve pointed out before, it’s critical school districts get going on this. It can be frustrating to watch school districts mis-manage their online presence, especially in regards to social media. The greatest challenge for the organization is relinquishing control to their own people…trust and transparency are the bywords of social media usage in organizations.

Baer and Naslund hit on some excellent points, but for me, the first quote that jumped out of their article–worth reading in its entirety–is the one highlighted below…except, as school districts, we need to adjust it to read:

“Everybody–students, teachers, parents, custodians–are telling their/your story through social media, whether they want to be or not.”

The question is, are they going to be out to get you or getting the word out for you?

From: The 5 Critical Social Media Skills You Need to Disperse | Social Media Book | Social Media Consulting – Convince & Convert

The 5 Critical Social Media Skills You Need to Disperse December 23rd, 2010 | Written By: Jay Baer and Amber Naslund

Everybody in your company is in marketing, whether they want to be or not.

Let the ubiquity and speed of communication empower your staff to act and be helpful, no matter where they are on the organizational chart.

social media needs to become a skill, not a job.

give everyone some guidelines but also the freedom to articulate and represent your company in their own authentic way.

the best programs are those that share those metrics with all employees.

Sharing that information can help people feel connected, feel invested in the outcome, and understand how their work is making a difference.

You…must be able to communicate stories seamlessly whenever opportunities arise.

Build great internal communication, and give people the tools to share ideas, experiences, and expertise.

Build education and training programs for those who want to get involved, and help them be part of the effort.

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Scuttle-d Thinking – Community Bookmarking

Note: As you can see, I can import bookmarks from Delicious.com using my own hosted server solution in combination with free open source bookmark tool, Scuttle.

Given the problems with Delicious.com, the general non-interest in Diigo at this point despite its awesomeness (I like Diigo because of the highlighting feature, but I have found Awesome Highlighter to be a competent alternative without all the “other” stuff I don’t need). Hmm…maybe a list of what I use a bookmark tool for would be helpful, such as tags, RSS feed generated for tag(s), notes feature…

What am I looking for in terms of tools to interact with the web?

• Highlight content on web pages out there that I want to write about and feature in the “MyNotes” section of my blog. A tool that I’ve used on all platforms (e.g. Mac, UbuntuLinux, Windows) on multiple browsers (e.g. Firefox, Chrome) is Awesome Highlighter. It works great!
• Bookmarking Site for Sharing with Others – To accomplish this, I like Delicious.com because it’s simple and low overhead, no advertising in the toolbar. That said, Delicious.com problems earlier made me lose confidence in the longevity of the product…and, so, I’ve decided to just set up Scuttle as an alternative after importing my Delicious.com bookmarks into it.

At the risk of crossing over into severe techie-ness, I had a lot of fun (frustration is part of fun) setting up Scuttle bookmarking tool on a Siteground.com host server. This post by @dlnorman caught my eye (thanks to @robwall for sharing it) so I had to try it. It was a pretty straightforward process, although I did run into the problem of how to assign an admin user with all privileges in MySQL to the database I created.

This tutorial helped me understand that I was using the wrong tool to get the job done…I was trying to do it all via phpMyAdmin when it needed to be done with MySQL Databases tool on CPANEL.

In general, here are the steps I followed…nothing impossibly hard, just the steps I followed.

1. Exported all my Delicious.com bookmarks ; I later had to break up my 1.4 meg file into two parts, but that was pretty easy…I simply kept the first and last line and removed roughly half the content. I separated the two halves–keeping first and last line of the original in both halves–and saved them as Delicious1.xml and Delicious2.xml.
2. Downloaded Scuttle and extracted the files.
3. Modified the config file to reflect database and user information.  Here are what screenshots might look like…creating the database and assigning a user.
4. Imported the tables.sql file using phpMyAdmin into my new database for Scuttle.
5. Access the site via the web and created my user (mguhlin).
6. When ready to import, I followed the instructions as shown above and I also skimmed Norman’s notes.
7. Registered a domain name – http://mglinks.org – so i could get back to it easy enough.

At the end of the day, here’s what it looks like…still need some more customization, though:

View Online

I haven’t played around with SemanticsScuttle yet, so…that’s for another day and time. For now, I’m pretty happy with a way to save bookmarks on Scuttle.

REGISTER LINK?
One of the questions going around in my head was, “How do I stop other people from getting an account on the Scuttle bookmark site I set up?” Norman’s approach, I think, was to remove/rename the “register.php” file, effectively stopping anyone from registering.

Update: I had to change the name of the register template file in the template folder as well to make this rename work.

WHY NOT BUILD COMMUNITY?
For now, I’m going to do the same. However, I’m open to the idea of a “community” of users dropping all their bookmarks into it. Rather than rename/remove the filename, I’ve decided to setup the following form for folks who want to join in and share their education relevant links.

I had to laugh at my disclaimer…do I need a full blown terms of service?

http://mglinks.org

Anyways, for fun (view link):

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MyNotes – How to Restore the American Dream

A fellow tech director in a smaller school district in Texas and I were chatting, and he started sharing how technology must be used to re-construct how we approach schooling. Of course, he cited Good to Great as well as Disrupting Class. He started pointing out the following from Jack Welch, cited in Fareed Zakaria’s article in TIME magazine, which is pretty sobering….

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, states:

1. Technology has produced massive efficiencies over the past decade.

2. Technology has changed the game in jobs. We had technology bumping around for years in the 80s and 90s and we were trying to make it work. And now it it’s working…You couple the habits of efficiency from a deep recession with an exponential increase in technology, and you are not going to see jobs in a long, long time.

3. Private equity firm in 2007 generated $12 billion in revenue with 26,000 employees. It will return to those numbers by 2013 but with only 14,000 employees.

4. Companies have learned to do more with less.

The most telling point is #3…simply the jobs won’t be there because the technology has made them unnecessary. My friend drew comparisons between schools and businesses, and how the former must change.

Fareed’s points below are hard-hitting. I encourage you to read the full article on How to Restore the American Dream.

From: Fareed Zakaria on How to Restore the American Dream — TIME

How to Restore the American Dream By Fareed Zakaria

the U.S. looked like a shining city on a hill.

The modern American Dream, for me, was this general prosperity and well-being for the average person.

Americans had a sunny attitude toward life that was utterly refreshing.

in the U.S., the mood is sour. Americans are glum, dispirited and angry. The middle class, in particular, feels under assault. In a Newsweek poll in September, 63% of Americans said they did not th…

Americans

fear that we are in the midst of not a cyclical downturn but a structural shift

Jack Welch explained the process succinctly on CNBC last September. “Technology has changed the game in jobs,” he said. “We had technology bumping around for years in the ’80s and ’90s, and [we wer…

Technology and globalization are working together at warp speed, creating a powerful new reality. Many more goods and services can now be produced anywhere on the globe. China and India have added …

In a now famous essay in Foreign Affairs, he argues that while we recognize the pressures placed on manufacturing jobs by international competition, technology ensures that service jobs are now sim…

. People who get paid a decent wage for skilled but routine work in manufacturing or services are getting squeezed by a pincer movement of technology and globalization.

job growth divides neatly into three categories. On one side are managerial, professional and technical occupations, held by highly educated workers who are comfortable in the global economy. Jobs …

In between are the skilled manual workers and those in white collar operations like sales and office management. These jobs represent the beating heart of the middle class. Those in them make a dec…

technology, followed by global competition, has played the largest role in making less valuable the routine tasks that once epitomized middle-class work.

You cannot shut down this new world.

Local, state and federal governments obliged, taking on massive debts. A generation’s worth of economic growth has been generated by an unsustainable expansion of borrowing.

People everywhere — from California to New Jersey — wanted less taxes but more government.

Ultimately American jobs are created from the bottom up by companies, not from the top down by government fiat. But there are measures we can take that will encourage the process.

This means large investments in research, technology and development.

The only good jobs that will stay in the U.S. are jobs related to knowledge and innovation.

Shift from consumption to investment.

Training and education. “Most jobs that will have good prospects in the future will be complicated,” says Louis Gerstner, the former CEO of American Express and IBM. “They will involve being able t…

Fiscal sanity.

We need a radical rebalancing of American government so it can free up resources to fund future growth.

Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark. There is now global competition for growth, which means the U.S. has to constantly ask itself what other countries are doing well and how it might adapt

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Backing Up Around the Corner

If you learn anything from the problems arising from using Web 2.0 tools, you learn that you can’t rely on just one solution. As beguiling as “one ring to rule them all” concept is, you have to find various approaches.

For example, it was a no-brainer to realize I needed a backup of this blog. So, while I did have a few backups of partial content hosted here at Around the Corner, I’m now adding a few more…and updating the ones I did have. WordPress blog platform (read this nifty tutorial) is the easiest to work with, so I’ve setup a few of those.

1. Self-hosted WordPress –  hosted at www.edsupport.cc/mgblog – This is a WordPress install I manage and maintain. If I’d kept this up to date, I wouldn’t have complained that much when Google disconnected Around the Corner on Blogger.
2. WordPress.com – hosted at gtips.wordpress.com – This is a WordPress site I setup years ago when my son expressed an interest in authoring “game tips” for games he was playing. Although he never wrote more than one blog entry, I did successfully use WordPress.com to mirror ALL blog entries on ATC here at mguhlin.blogspot.com. Unfortunately, WordPress.com has a few issues (advertisements, content embedding restrictions) that I find objectionable. However, those are easy to overlook in a backup site. I used WordPress.com to completely backup the blogger version of ATC, then exported the content from WordPress.
3. Posterous.com – mguhlin.posterous.com – My final backup attempt included Posterous.com, what everyone says is an easy to use blog on the go tool. I found it easy until I tried to import my Blog into it…the import failed about 5 times before I decided it wasn’t going to go anywhere. So, I decided to export from WordPress and then import into Posterous…and with a 20 meg file, the operation timed out. So, I’m not entirely sure that this will be a worthwhile backup, it’s evident that Posterous IS trying to get the job done…you can see a few entries have successfully been imported in.

Just thought I’d share what I’m doing, especially since Richard spent some time exploring this in detail on his blog. As he points out, recent issues do get us to think about data portability.

and

Goodbye Yahoo

The message is simple, Yahoo. Kill my favorite services, I’ll vote with my wallet by deleting my $24.95 Flickr account and reinvest it somewhere else…PicasaWeb does a nice job and I have virtually unlimited storage.

Hasta la vista!

Image Source: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WsQuaNoyT47gEM:http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/8233/dessinshwaug0.jpg&t=1

Update: Download your images from Flickr using one of the tools listed here.

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Using Facebook to Share Your Blog

This past weekend, I noticed that Vicki Davis (CoolCatTeacher) was using something called “NetworkedBlogs” on Facebook to autopost content to Twitter…intriguing! So, for fun, I set it up.

So…check out Around the Corner via Facebook!

P.S. My apologies for double-posting to Twitter. While experimenting with different services that auto-post to Twitter and Plurk–such as TwitterFeed.com, Friendfeed.com, Ping.fm–I may have double-posts showing up. All of these are great, but my favorite ones are the first two for auto-posting. Ping.fm still has some fine-tuning to do to allow for multiple RSS feeds to publish, although you can use an RSS grouping/aggregator tool to get more than one RSS feed to publish.

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Real Teachers Need Not Apply

Source: http://www.panix.com/~pro-ed/cartoon.gif

Stephen Downes, making an observation that appeared in my Facebook stream, points outs an eerie trend in Texas education:

Texas must be the only place in existence where the ad for teachers requires applicants NOT have a teaching certificatehttp://bit.ly/euVJof

You can’t help but wonder at the veracity of the facts, the judgement that draws a conclusion based on the facts. So, like many other Texans, I clicked the link to find:

The Texas Teaching Fellows program is seeking a select group of achievement-oriented individuals to use their knowledge to teach students in Fort Worth. As a Texas Education Agency approved alternative certification program, we are committed to finding and training outstanding individuals to become teachers in the fall of 2011. No previous experience or coursework in education is necessary. Those with math, science, or bilingual experience are especially encouraged to apply.

But the real kicker here is the juxtaposition of “Texas Education Agency approved alternative certification program” with the words from the minimum requirement:

Must not hold a standard teaching certificate from any state

Read this article on Professional Development Schools

Of course, there are many possible conclusions…here’s a list in no particular order, except how they “flopped out:”

• They really meant to say “any state except Texas”
• We are facing a severe teacher shortage, so we’ll suspend requirements like teaching certification for now realizing that we’ll never meet the demands of highly-qualified teachers under NCLB in Texas.
• Teachers with certificates aren’t getting the job done, so let’s go ahead and throw the gates open and see if “private charter” organizations can prepare teachers better than teaching preparation centers such as universities and alternative certification education center’s (regional) that help folks with degrees get certified to teach.
• Good way to boost the economy…hire anyone with a degree off the street and throw them into education, paying them less than regular teachers…saves money for everyone. Combine that with the encouragement by Bill  Gates and his ilk to dismiss master’s degree bonus. 

What is your interpretation of these acts by Texas Teaching Fellows out of Ft. Worth, Texas? What is the state leadership thinking about this?

Disclosure: I am the product of a TEA approved alternative certification program. Thought that it might be fun to argue this from the other side…what exactly were those crusty progressives/liberals saying when I got certified through alternative means?

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Join the Texas CTO Group in Austin!

An announcement from Steve Young….

Please consider joining the Texas State Chapter of CoSN, the Texas K-12 CTO Council, on Tuesday, Feb 8, from 8 am to 4 pm, at the Austin downtown Hilton Room 400, for our Winter 2011 Meeting.  We are extending this invitation to members AND non-members alike.  There is no cost.  We just would like you to attend to learn more about the group and hopefully take away some beneficial knowledge and networking. 

The tentative agenda for the meeting is as follows:

·         Tom Greaves to present findings from Project Red.    http://k12blueprint.com/k12/blueprint/story_project_red_closer_look.php 

·         Greg Veal will present inexpensive video server/setup. 

·         Katy ISD will present on district hand-held initiatives

·        Jennifer Bergland to present on the Legislative session

· To attend this meeting (which is right at the head end of TCEA), all we ask is that you register at the following site:  http://www.texask-12ctocouncil.org/texask12ctocouncil/Forms/TakeSurvey.asp?PageNumber=1&SurveyID=9KI853L12nl51

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Job Posting – Texas NonProfits List of Jobs in Texas

Thanks to Texas NonProfits for sharing this list….

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Texas Teaching Fellows – Fort Worth – Become a Teacher in Fort Worth.
Fort Worth, TX – 12/16/2010

Texas Wildlife Association – Membership and Office Administrator
San Antonio, TX – 12/16/2010

San Antonio Children’s Museum – Development Director
San Antonio, TX – 12/16/2010

Houston Arts Alliance – Director of Development
Houston, TX – 12/15/2010

Youth Orchestras of San Antonio – Development Associate
San Antonio, TX – 12/15/2010

Ballet Conservatory of South Texas – Director of Development
San Antonio, TX – 12/14/2010

The Women’s Center – Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Fort Worth, TX – 12/13/2010

KLRN – RECEPTIONIST/EDUCATION ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR
San Antonio, TX – 12/10/2010

The Community Foundation of North Texas – Database and Grants Administrator
Fort Worth, TX – 12/10/2010

Wayland Baptist University – San Antonio Campus – Institutional Advancement Secretary – San Antonio
San Antonio, TX – 12/8/2010

Santa Fe Youth Services – Coordinator of Community Counseling Programs
Fort Worth, TX – 12/7/2010

AIDS Arms, Inc. – Development Associate
Dallas, TX – 12/6/2010

Family to Family Network – Development Director
Houston, TX – 12/6/2010

Houston Tomorrow – Director of Development and Operations
Houston, TX – 12/6/2010

Guide Dogs of Texas – Volunteer Coordinator
San Antonio, TX – 12/2/2010

Southwest Key Programs – Director of Development
Austin, TX – 12/2/2010

Camp Fire USA First Texas Council – Director
Fort Worth, TX – 11/30/2010

PeopleFund – Development Coordinator
Austin, TX – 11/30/2010

PeopleFund – Customer Service Representative (CSR)
Austin, TX – 11/30/2010

PeopleFund – Education & Outreach Coordinator
Austin, TX – 11/30/2010

Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services – Child and Family Specialist – Houston, Texas
Houston, TX – 11/29/2010

Marbridge Foundation – Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON), RN
Manchaca, TX – 11/22/2010

The New Teacher Project – Partner – Texas Teaching Fellows
Austin, TX – 11/22/2010

The New Teacher Project – Training and Instruction Manager
Fort Worth, TX – 11/22/2010

Valley AIDS Council – Medical Director
Harlingen, TX – 11/20/2010

Methodist Healthcare Ministries – Collaborative Grants Specialist
San Antonio, TX – 11/19/2010

Federation of State Medical Board – FSMB Foundation Program Manager
Euless, TX – 11/19/2010

Hope Hospice – Executive Director
New Braunfels, TX – 11/12/2010

Southwest Key Programs – Financial Accountant
Austin, TX – 11/10/2010

TEAMability, Inc. – Development Director
San Antonio, TX – 11/10/2010

San Antonio Botanical Garden Society – Controller
San Antonio, TX – 11/8/2010

Blue Star Contemporary Art Center – Development Director
San Antonio, TX – 11/4/2010

Special Olympics South Texas – Development Director-Grants
Austin, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics – Development Director-Events-Area 10-Dallas
Dallas, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics South Texas – Vice President of Finance
Austin, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics – Development Director- Area 19- El Paso
El Paso, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics – Development Director – Events – Area 04 – Houston
Houston, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics – Administrative Assistant- Area 10- Dallas
Dallas, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics South Texas – Director of Games Management- Chapter- Austin
Austin, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics – Development Director-Events – Area 04 – Houston
Houston, TX – 10/28/2010

Special Olympics South Texas – Various Internships
Austin, TX – 10/28/2010

Presbyterian Childrens Home & Services – Tutor (Itasca)
Itasca, TX – 10/28/2010

Presbyterian Childrens Home & Services – Group Home Supervisor (Waxahachie)
Waxahachie, TX – 10/28/2010

Texas Discovery Gardens – Program and Volunteer Manager
Dallas, TX – 10/28/2010

The Brookwood Community – Fundraising Administrative Assistant
Brookshire, TX – 10/28/2010

The Brookwood Community – Retail Sales
Brookshire, TX – 10/28/2010

The Brookwood Community – Saute Cook
Brookshire, TX – 10/28/2010

Texas State Aquarium – Manager of Retail Operations/Buyer
Corpus Christi, TX – 10/28/2010

Texas State Aquarium – Restaurant Manager
Corpus Christi, TX – 10/28/2010

Texas State Aquarium – Senior Accounting Clerk
Corpus Christi, TX – 10/28/2010

Texas State Aquarium – Veterinarian
Corpus Christi, TX – 10/28/2010

Family Service Association – Early Care and Education Specialist
San Antonio, TX – 10/28/2010

The American Heart Assicoation – Corporate Development Director – Heart Ball
Dallas, TX – 10/28/2010

The American Heart Association – Corporate Development Director – Walk
Dallas, TX – 10/28/2010

Sheltering Arms – Bilingual Activity Assistant – Adult Day Center
Houston, TX – 10/28/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Membership Specialist – Southern Sector Service Cn
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Program Specialist – JoAnn Fogg Service Center
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Part Time Accountant/Sr. Accountant
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Accounting/Finance Dept. Intern (Part- Time)
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Membership Specialist for our Collin Area Service
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Part time Retail Shop Sales Associate -Joann Fogg
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

San Antonio Sports – Various Internships
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Communicare Health Centers – WIC Eligibility Clerk
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Communicare Health Centers – Breastfeeding Peer Counselor
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Communicare Health Centers – Billing Specialist
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Communicare Health Centers – PC/LAN Technician
Kyle, TX – 10/27/2010

Communities In Schools – SA – Case Manager
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

CommunitiesInSchools-SA – Full-TimePreCollegeAdvisor
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

The New Teacher Project – Program Operations Manager
Fort Worth, TX – 10/27/2010

Methodist Healthcare Ministries – Parenting Programs Coordinator (Parents Helping Pa
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Methodist Healthcare Ministries – Get FIT Program Manager
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

The New Teacher Project – Recruitment and Staffing Managers
Dallas, TX – 10/27/2010

The Women’s Center – Therapist Position
Fort Worth, TX – 10/27/2010

Brighter Tomorrows – RESIDENTIAL SUPERVISOR
Grand Prairie, TX – 10/27/2010

San Antonio Children’s Museum – Staff Accountant
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

San Antonio Children’s Museum – Marketing Internship
San Antonio, TX – 10/27/2010

Children At Risk – 2011 Development Fellowship
Houston, TX – 10/27/2010

CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County – Executive Director
Conroe, TX – 10/25/2010

Campfire USA – Child Care Specialist/Professional Dev. Educator
Fort Worth, TX – 10/21/2010

United Way of Central Texas – Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Temple, TX – 10/12/2010

ChildSafe – Director of Development
San Antonio, TX – 10/7/2010

KLRN TV – Education Associate
San Antonio, TX – 9/22/2010

KLRN TV – Institutional Advancement Associate
San Antonio, TX – 9/22/2010

University of North Texas – Director of Development – Journalism
Denton, TX – 9/14/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Director of Major Gifts
Dallas, TX – 9/6/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Program STEM Intern (Science, Tech, Engin, Math
Dallas, TX – 9/6/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Relationship / Program Manager
Dallas, TX – 9/6/2010

Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas – Full Time Adult Education Manager
Dallas, TX – 9/6/2010

San Antonio Sports Foundation – Various Internships
San Antonio, TX – 9/6/2010

University of North Texas – Senior Director II – Major Gifts
Denton, TX – 8/26/2010

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Job Posting – Network Administrator (Greenville ISD)

Greenville ISD is looking to hire a Network Administrator. If you, or someone you know is interested, please apply online at www.greenvilleisd.com.

“Greenville is a great place to work! Come join the GISD Tech Dept. it’s a great job.”

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Job Posting –

Two technology positions open in Illinois, working with the great Henry Thiele!

Network Manager and Computer Technician http://bit.ly/dNHJAX

Maine Township High School District 207 in Park Ridge, IL has 2 openings due to resignations. General descriptions are below and full job descriptions can be found here:

Network Manager – District Office

General Description:

Maintains network systems including server hardware, operating systems, software, and service and is responsible for the district’s directory services and integration with all systems that can leverage directory services.

Primary Recommended Skills:

1. Knowledge and experience with company supported network platforms such as Novell, SUSE

Linux and Windows Server, server virtualization, and directory services.

2. Certification in MCSE, MCTS, or MCITP and experience managing an Active Directory

environment.

3. Ability to design and maintain various data networks including those based on internal and

cloud-based infrastructure.

4. Ability to deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot computer network hardware, software, and

peripherals.

Primary Position Responsibilities:

1. Maintains network systems including server hardware, operating systems, software, and

services.

2. Supervise and evaluate the district network and data teams

3. Is responsible for the district’s directory services and integration with all systems that can

leverage directory services.

4. Implements network security, recognizes necessary network improvements, and works with

the district technology managers to implement improvements.

5. Maintains the content filter, firewalls, and servers.

6. Manages the Google Apps for Education control panel, users, rights, permissions, and

integration with other services.

Projected Salary 80-95K per year

Building Computer Technician – Maine South High School

The Building Computer Technician serves as a technical expert for all hardware, software, and operating systems used in the school and ensure that the building’s hardware, software, and operating systems are functioning correctly.

Recommended Skills:

1. Skilled in the use, maintenance, and deployment of software and hardware

2. In-depth knowledge of operating systems in use including Windows XP, Linux, and MacOS

3. Skilled in the repair of computers and related equipment

4. A+ certification or evidence of training in computer and/or peripheral repair

5. Experience in troubleshooting hardware and software issues

6. MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) certification desired

7. Experience with computers in a networked environment and directory services

8. Be able to lift 50 pounds

Projected Salary 35-40K per year

Interested applicants should forward along a Support Staff Application, Letter of Interest, and Resume to Henry Thiele, Chief Technology Officer at hthiele@maine207.org by 1/5/2011.

“As a matter of policy, the sex, sexual orientation, color, physical handicap, race nationality, residence, age, religion, or religious affiliations of any applicant shall not be considered either a qualification or disqualification.”

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Fight Hunger – Use Your Social Media Superpower

When I started blogging so long ago, I recall one blogger writing, “What use is blogging? It doesn’t change anything.” Then, I watched the 4 Generation water buffalo in China story (watch it) and realized the power of blogging.

Use your social media superpower to fight hunger! It’s never been so easy to help a needy community like San Antonio!

Please click the link to LIKE this page on Facebook!

The community with the most support will receive $1 million to fight hunger from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. The next five most supported communities will each receive $100,000.

Social media tools–like Facebook–help us stay in contact with others and build relationships. They allow us to share the struggles in our lives, as well as the benefits. I love Kahlil Gibran “On Friendship” from his master work, The Prophet. This part rings true for me and the use of social media to deepen relationships:

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

…

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

Please click the link to LIKE this page on Facebook!

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Check Blogging Ethic – How to Handle an Equipment Review Request

(Kim Possible…one of my daughter’s favorite cartoons)

My mouth about hit the floor when I saw this hardware review offer come in (anonymized for now):

My name is [removed], and I am an associate with [removed], an award-winning social media consultancy, and one of our strongest client relationships is with [removed], the PC manufacturer.  Our goal is help promote[removed]’s new [removed] all-in-one desktop PC while also assisting participating bloggers in creating original content that is useful to their readers.  This approach is fundamental to how [removed] operates and has been the root of our success – in other words, we do not craft marketing programs for our clientele that do not also support the aims of our influential blogger partners.

Having reviewed your site, your voice is clearly an influential one in the education space; as it happens, the product is targeted at the medical, finance and education markets, being that it’s touch-enabled with a 23’’ screen, full HD capability and Intel I-series processor.  Consequently, we think that the [removed] may be of interest to your audience – you can find further details to verify this in the attached spec sheet.  For convenience, we’ve secured separate evaluation and promotional giveaway units, so you’d have a PC for long-term (read:  indefinite) review and a separate, clean unit to give away to readers via a customized promotion.

We will be beginning this program after the new year, and would love to have your participation!  

Thanks for considering our offer and feel free to reply or call with specific questions.   I look forward to hearing back from you!

Wow, pretty awesome, huh? A unit for indefinite review AND, more importantly, a unit to give-away. Here is my response, and I would love your critique. What would you have said? What else should I have said? This is my first rodeo with reviewing hardware that is valued at $1000+ as a blogger.

My response:

Thanks for your email! I’d love to review the product as you propose… As an independent blogger, I have to adhere to a few self-imposed rules:

• Transparency – I’d share the offer below with my readers and fully disclose the benefits of reviewing the product.

• Honesty – While I would do my best to review the product, sharing my experience with it over an indefinite period of time with links, I would want you to understand that I would write an honest review–positive or negative or a blend as appropriate.

Those points aside, I’d love to participate and make the offer available to readers! 

Some suggestions:

• Please provide a link that tracks visitors from my blog, plurk/twitter/facebook sites. That’s about 4400 folks.

• I would also share your information and my reviews with my education colleagues (e.g. technology directors), so any information you have that would be of benefit to them would be welcomed!

• Please share deadlines and word limits (if any), rights to photograph and share my experience, and anything else you think would be helpful.

What are our next steps? Oh, and I didn’t see the spec sheet attachment. Would you try sending it again?

Thoughts? Am I violating the blogger code in some way? One point I also have to make…my review would not influence any purchasing decisions for my job. In fact, I’d probably recuse myself if it came up.

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Press Release – Trainee Teachers Are Now Highly Qualified

Press Release…what do you think of this issue? Should our teachers be certified highly qualified under NCLB (whatever that means) or is the description too vague and therefore worthless?

See Press Release text below. For a formatted PDF version of the release, see http://bit.ly/gTiyjP 

PUBLIC ADVOCATES INC. | Making Rights Real

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2010

Contact Wynn Hausser, 415-431-7430, x304, 650-619-1032 (m)

Parents & Students Blast Senate Deal To Call Trainee Teachers Highly Qualified 

Omnibus bill would overturn recent court decision, harm poor, minority students 

SAN FRANCISCO— In a strongly worded letter to Congressional leaders today, a coalition of over half a million parents and students from across the country expressed outrage over new language hidden away in the 2,000 page omnibus appropriations bill rushing through the Senate. The provision—added Tuesday—would lower the standard of teacher owed every child in the nation under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by permitting teachers still training in preparation programs (known as interns in some states) to be identified as “highly qualified” teachers under NCLB. That designation relieves districts of having to tell parents of the teachers’ sub-par preparation and allows their continued concentration in poor and minority schools.

“Why would the Senate agree to allow low-income students and students of color to continue to be disproportionately taught by the least experienced teachers?” said Jeremy Lahoud, Executive Director of the grassroots group Californians for Justice. “Our communities want equal access to the same fully-prepared highly qualified teachers more affluent communities have.”    

The attempt to insert the controversial language comes just weeks after a panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Renee v. Duncan agreed with low-income students and community organizations that teachers still in training are not “highly qualified” under NCLB. The case was brought by a coalition of community groups, parents, and students, represented by Public Advocates and pro bono attorneys from Goodwin Procter LLP.

The bill language seeks to overturn the court’s decision and put into statute a Department of Education regulation allowing intern teachers who have not completed a teacher preparation program to be deemed fully credentialed and “highly qualified” from the moment they enroll in a part-time teacher program and start teaching students. 

Parents, students and community groups charge that allowing interns to be labeled highly qualified subverts NCLB’s requirements that states and districts disclose to parents which teachers are under-prepared and work to ensure that low-income and minority students have equal access to “highly qualified” and experienced teachers.

More than 8,000 intern teachers in California and tens of thousands nationwide have been mislabeled annually as “highly qualified” under the Department of Education’s regulation that the court rejected. Evidence in the Renee case shows that nearly a quarter of California’s interns are teaching in schools with 98-100% students of color compared to less than 2% in schools with the lowest population of students of color.

“By any measure of teacher quality, low-income students and students of color always get the short end of the stick,” said Oona Chatterjee, Lead Coordinator for the Alliance for Educational Justice, a national coalition of youth groups working on federal education policy, and Co-Director of Make The Road New York. “These students already face multiple barriers to opportunities to learn and succeed. It is unconscionable to hide the fact that a high proportion of them are being taught by less-experienced intern teachers who are not yet fully-certified teach.”

“The Department lost its case in court. Now—against the wishes of the low-income communities of color whose achievement it claims to care most about—it is trying to slip through Congress a policy that disproportionately delivers under-prepared teachers to those communities and hides that fact from the public,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney with Public Advocates Inc. and a plaintiff attorney in Renee. “We call on Congress to reject that ploy and to deal with these issues when NCLB is re-authorized.”

Press Kit

·         Grassroots Organizations’ Objection Letter to the “Highly Qualified Teacher” Amendment  <http: www.publicadvocates.org/PKGrassrootsObjectiontoHighlyQualifiedTeacherAmendment_12_16_10.pdf> 

·         Amicus Brief Filed by Grassroots Organizations in Support of the Plaintiffs in Renee v. Duncan (discussing research on effectiveness of intern teachers vs. fully-prepared teachers) <http: www.publicadvocates.org/PKGrassrootsOrgsAmicusBrief_11_24_10.pdf> 

·         Ninth Circuit Decision in Renee v. Duncan (September 27, 2010) <http: www.publicadvocates.org/PK_Reneev.DuncanOpinion_9_27_10.pdf> 

·         Department of Education’s Brief Requesting Rehearing En Banc <http: www.publicadvocates.org/PK_EDs_Req_for_Rehearing_10_12_10.pdf> 

·         Plaintiff Parents, Students, and Grassroots Organizations Brief Opposing Rehearing En Banc <http: www.publicadvocates.org/PK_Plaintiffs_Opposition_toPetitionforRehearing_11_15_10.pdf> 

 

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Drop Your Tools!

Drop the Tools!

Doug Johnson (Blue Skunk Blog) recently introduced me to a new blog–Bill Storm on EdTech. There, the blogger shares the following story from a book he’s reading:

Transforming School Culture: How to Overcome Staff Division, by Anthony Muhammad, is a book brought to our attention courtesy of our district superintendent, and I suspect it will be the topic of future posts as life here goes on and its insights illuminate our experiences as educational leaders.  Dr. Muhammad recounts an event from August 5, 1949, in which 14 young smokejumpers were killed by a wild fire in western Montana because they failed to obey these orders: “Drop your tools and run!” This was counter-intuitive to these firefighters, their tools considered to be their key to survival, and they were trained to fight fire, not run from it.  

To use the terms outlined in the book–as shared at the web site linked above–this blog entry is probably for the believers:

The Believers are those who are committed to the learning of each student and who operate under the assumption that their efforts can make an enormous difference in that learning.

Why? Only those committed are going to say to technology director of a school district, “Drop your tools and go to the cloud!” Yet, that is exactly what many leaders ARE doing and not just in schools. Yet, dropping your tools and moving quickly to cloud computing doesn’t mean you have to do so uninformed.

Some new resources worth investigating include the following:

• GoogleApps for Education Webinars
• Education Area for GoogleApps
• Google Teacher Academy Resources
• Google Apps for EDU Workshop Materials

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Moodle Tip – Repairing Your MySQL Database

Image Source: http://media.smashingmagazine.com/cdn_smash/images/404-error-pages/simp.gif

Problem: 

Earlier today, one of our Moodle instances was unavailable to users–several thousand–because the MySQL database upon which Moodle is based has grown corrupt. What apparently was corrupted was the mdl_user table and who knows how many others.  When one tried to access the database using phpMyAdmin, it would shown an error stating that the database needed to be repaired.

Solution:
Having encountered this previously, I found that phpMyAdmin, as wonderful a tool as it is for optimizing MySQL tables, lacked the tools I thought I needed to have to fix the problem. To get around the issue, I decided to take advantage of the REPAIR tools in Navicat Lite for Mac, a free, non-commercial MySQL tool.

Using Navicat Lite for MySQL (available for Windows as well), I was able to quickly repair the Moodle database affected.

Here are the steps taken:

1) Connect to the Server and choose the affected Moodle Database (e.g. “sandbox” in this example) and then SELECT ALL the tables that appear.

2) After selecting all the tables–they will appear highlighted–go to FILE and choose Maintain Table, then Repair Table–>Extended. This action, if all goes well, should fix your affected MySQL database.

3) When Navicat Lite for MySQL is done repairing your database, a window similar to the one below should appear with the message “Finished.” Note that if you adjust the width of the QUERY column, you’ll potentially see the total number of tables fixed.

One of the questions folks ask is, “What caused the corruption in the first place?” My opinion is that corruption can be caused by a variety of factors, including failure to regularly optimize the database tables that have overhead. So, for that reason, I encourage folks to optimize their tables regularly so as to prevent problems.

Of course, another possibility is that the server was restarted, or something happened, to interfere with how the data was being stored in the database tables, resulting in corruption. Some would also point out that this tends to occur with MyISAM type databases in MySQL as opposed to INNODB, which is why Moodle 2.x is switching to INNODB.

Whatever the reason, it’s nice to know how to repair the database using a GUI interface. Note that there are other MySQL GUI tools–aside from Navicat Lite for MySQL–you can use, such as SQLYog for Windows and/or Sequel Pro for Mac…both of those are free, open source and no-cost as well.

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Software Giveaway from Digiarty – WinX #iPhone #iPod #iPad Ripper (Expires 12/31/2010)

Visit online at http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway

Another great giveaway from Digiarty Software, Inc. which specializes in multimedia software based on Windows, Mac OS and iOS4. Here’s their announcement:

Christmas is around the corner, everyone is pondering about what gifts to get for themselves or friends. To let you and your readers spend a special Christmas, our company is giving away WinX iPhone Software Pack (regular $89.85) as gifts. And I hope you could benefit from our activity. Here I am wondering if you could share this news with your friends and readers or review these programs.

What WinX iPhone Software Pack could do for you and your readers?

Wrapped with iPhone Ripper, iPhone Converter and iPhone Ringtone Maker, this pack could help you convert all the hottest Christmas DVD movies and videos to Apple iPhone, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, iPad, iPod and Apple TV for sharing with family members or friends. Moreover, own create personalized ringtone for your iPhone.

Details of this giveaway:

Giveaway page: http://www.winxdvd.com/giveaway/

Duration: from now to Dec 31, 2010

Code for iPhone Ripper: AB-TYUWYZGO-RPRIUS

Code for iPhone Converter: AI-TTUDYUXV-GHFQFD

Code for Ringtone Maker: LG0E8-EECEE-A5A27

Full Disclosure: In the interests of full disclosure, no, I’m not getting anything out of this except the joy of sharing a give-away with Around the Corner readers!

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Plugging Your USB External Drive into Your Car – Listening to MP3s

Portable USB Hard Drive that looks like a car!

Question:

How can I use an external hard drive (USB) loaded with MP3s on my car via the USB port there?

Possible response:

While you can use any portable USB hard drive (you’re not limited to just the pretty ones like the one shown at the top of this blog post), you need to get it read to go.

Image Source: http://aboutgadgets.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/seagate-freeagent-flexgo-1-5tb-hard-drive-0.jpg

Step 1 – Format your USB external hard drive to FAT32 file system. You can do this using Windows computer (right-click and choose format) or your Mac with Disk Utility. While you can use a high capacity external drive, a “USB stick” or “pendrive” will also work.

Step 2 – Once the USB external hard drive is formatted, place MP3 formatted songs on it. 

Step 3 – Buy an Inverter for your Car to power the USB Drive. For the car, you will need two things–1) For power, a 100 watt DC/AC inverter (ranges from $16 to about $30) in your car to plug your USB drive into and 2) For MP3 playing, a car USB port you can plug your hard drive into.

Step 4 – Plug your hard drive into your car’s USB port and enjoy. Note that you will probably want to keep your USB external drive warm during the winter, cool during the summer…or the hard drive probably won’t work until the temperature is “right.”

Good luck!

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Project-Based Learning Video from Common Craft

Video from The Buck Institute for Education on Project-based Learning…

YouTube Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8

via Meg Ormiston on Twitter

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San Antonio – Name the Workshop

The Institute of Texan Cultures, the San Antonio Missions and The Alamo are partnering to host an annual workshop, and we want you to help us come up with a name and logo!

This is similar to the workshop called Tres Museos, hosted by the San Antonio Museum of Art, The McNay and The Witte museums. The content of each workshop will change, but the winning name and logo will be the permanent brand. 

Submit your ideas and win a free registration to the workshop and a gift basket with memberships, reference books and more!

RULES:

One entry per educator. The name and logo should have long lasting appeal. 

Deadline: Friday, January 7, 2011 12 p.m. Winner will be notified by Friday, January 14, 2011

Submit the contest entry form to Carey Eagan, Educational Specialist, Institute of Texan Cultures, carey.eagan@utsa.edu.

Contest Entry Form Workshop Registration Form

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O’Reilly Blogger Invite

I love to get “free” books, and found the O’Reilly Blogger invitation to hard to pass up:

Hi Miguel,

We recently launched the O’Reilly Blogger Review Program at oreilly.com/bloggers, where you can get access to great books and videos, learn more about leading-edge software, technology and social media trends, and have your expert opinions heard as a reviewer. Since you write a tech blog, I thought you might be interested.

How does it work?

– Sign up for a free account:

http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z23hu43urka0iam19cf2oll5i62c09lfg5m5s238

– Choose an ebook or video from our available products and we’ll place it in your account:

http://post.oreilly.com/rd/9z1z68konkkfpm3n1kia59uqa1deuq75mc9stdu35p8

– Post a review of 200 words or more on your blog and a consumer website.

– Login, provide a link to your review, then request another ebook or video.

I hope you’ll sign up and give it a try. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

Pretty exciting, huh? Not only was the account easy to setup, but I found the sample review–the form and function of a review–to be pretty straightforward. 200 words! How can you beat that? My application was submitted and I immediately received the following:

Thanks for your interest in the O’Reilly Blogger Review Program. Your application has been approved. To get started browse our list of currently available products (http://oreillynet.com/oreilly/bloggers/available.csp) and choose one to review.

Be sure to read the program guidelines (http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/bloggers/guidelines.csp) and check out the list of blogger resources (http://www.oreillynet.com/oreilly/bloggers/resources.csp), including a badge you can post on your blog.

One of the neat aspects is that O’Reilly books are free from digital rights management (DRM). This means that, unlike those books I buy from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, I won’t have to worry about juggling DRM licenses, etc….I can just through the ePub book on my eReader such as my Nook and I’m ready to go!

You get lifetime access to ebooks you purchase through oreilly.com. Whenever possible we provide them to you in five DRM-free file formats — PDF, ePub, Kindle-compatible .mobi, DAISY, and Android .apk — that you can use on the devices of your choice. Our ebooks are enhanced with color images, even when the print version is black and white.

That will make it easy to carry the book around and put it on my Nook! I’ve already downloaded it and will be reading it soon.


The review guidelines are pretty easy to follow:

Title

For the title of your post please include the title of the book and the author (e.g. Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun)

Summary (25-100 words)

Please make sure your summary is in the first few sentences of the review.

Your Reactions (100-150 words)

If you liked something particular about the ebook or video, be sure to mention what it is and why you liked it. Likewise, if you didn’t like something in the book, say what it is and why you didn’t like it. Be as specific as you can—this information is important to other readers.

Posting Your Review

After you’ve posted the review on your blog, post your review on at least one consumer site such asAmazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Borders.com, or oreilly.com. Please include a link back to the catalog page at oreilly.com at the end of your review. This link can be found on the product page.

If you haven’t considered trying this out, I encourage you to do so! In the meantime, I’m off to do my review…oh, and I love this disclaimer from another reviewer about one of my favorite books, The SQL Pocket Guide (I keep one on my desk at work, home, and on the shelf in case I lose the other two!):

In the interest of full disclosure, this blog was provided a free electronic (PDF) copy of the book through O’Reilly media’s Blogger Review Program.  This review was not otherwise solicited or compensated from O’Reilly, and the opinions of the review are the opinion of its author.

I’ll be adapting that disclosure for my own use. Nicely done.

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Amazon.com Providing Guidebooks for Pedophiles?

Find out more about Guidebook on Red-Eared Slider Turtles

Apparently, the answer is Yes, that’s exactly what Amazon.com is doing. Lots of issues elaborated on in this Anderson-Cooper YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKmyHvdKsY4) so be sure to check out the video. This came to my attention via Plurk.

While Amazon.com has clearly crossed the line in terms of providing pedophile related content, a few questions come up:

1. Should Amazon.com be policing it’s own inventory  (e.g. Apple App store for iPod/iPad type involvement) or serving as a passthrough for content (e.g. club membership that anyone can access content)?
2. Should Amazon.com be held liable for inappropriate or illegal content? If so, which country decides what’s appropriate and/or legal? What’s illegal in one country might be perfectly OK elsewhere.
3. Where does the First Amendment (U.S. Constitution) factor in?

What do I think? It’s simple–pedophile stuff should be kicked off the site and Amazon.com should pay a fine for not only providing the content online for sale–and presumably making money off of it–but also for building a community around this Amazon-hosted content.

And, shouldn’t this be a digital citizenship issue for corporations like Amazon?

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Job Posting – TxDLA Announcement

An emailed announcement from the Texas Distance Learning Association (TxDLA) about open positions….

TxDLA Classifieds … Now Hiring

Openings in the distance learning community

For more information about these opportunities, log onto the TxDLA

member site (http://www.txdla.org).

– Educational Technologist (Grant Funded Position), Brazosport College -Advanced Applications and Distance Learning (DL) Specialist – Region XIII

-LEAD Instructional Designer/Development Specialist (Posting #0601016) – Texas A&M Kingsville

-Faculty Trainer – Northwest Vista College

-Course Developer – Tarleton State University

-Director of Extended Education – Bush School of Government and Public Service – Texas A&M University

-Faculty Support Specialist – Stephen F. Austin State University

-Instructional Designer – Stephen F. Austin State University

-Coordinator – Distance Education – Stephen F. Austin State University

-eLearning Systems Manager, Gainesville Campus – North Central Texas College

-Director of E-Learning – Del Mar College

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

Password Breach

This morning, I received the following email:

This weekend we discovered that Gawker Media’s servers were compromised,

resulting in a security breach at Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Gawker, Jezebel,

io9, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Deadspin, and Fleshbot. As a result, the user name

and password associated with your comment account were released on the

internet. If you’re a commenter on any of our sites, you probably have

several questions.

We understand how important trust is on the internet, and we’re deeply

sorry for and embarrassed about this breach of security. Right now we

are working around the clock to improve security moving forward. We’re

also committed to communicating openly and frequently with you to make

sure you understand what has happened, how it may or may not affect you,

and what we’re doing to fix things.

This is what you should do immediately: Try to change your password in

the Gawker Media Commenting System. If you used your Gawker Media

password on any other web site, you should change the password on those

sites as well, particularly if you used the same username or email with

that site. To be safe, however, you should change the password on those

accounts whether or not you were using the same username.

We’re continually updating an FAQ (http://lifehac.kr/eUBjVf) with more

information and will continue to do so in the coming days and weeks.

So…make sure you change your password! You might want to reach LibrarianbyDay’s advice on creating a password. She cites the following from LifeHacker’s How I’d Hack Your Weak Passwords (one of the compromised listed above):

It would take a hacker 5.15 minutes to hack your 6 character all lower case password.  Add in numbers, symbols and capital letters and it goes up to 8.51 days

Ironic, huh? I know I’m changing all my passwords!

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Come Forth!

Image Source: http://www.biblebios.com/master/lazarus/lazarus.jpg

Like Lazarus out of the grave, the words of some Google Education staff pulled Around the Corner, Moodle Mayhem, and my ePortfolio back from the grave this evening. Thanks to everyone for their support during this time–losing access to an ePortfolio you hadn’t backed up, countless blog entries (2,387), and, worse, MoodleMayhem, had me in a deep vegetative state.

What do I intend to do now? Well, several things:

1. Make backups of my Google Sites, especially my ePortfolio at www.mguhlin.net
2. Try to make backups of my blog, although it’s more difficult because there are so many blog entries to back up (I’ve tried a local WordPress install and Edublogs.org but both only go so far)…and Atom.xml export only works on so many blog entries.
3. Review my last 20-30 blog entries and ask myself, What terms might I have violated? Since no specific answer has been forthcoming as of yet–although I do hope for correction–I think it’s fair to say that I would be happy to address the issue(s) promptly.

All that aside, ain’t it grand?

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MoodleTip – Updating User accounts

A colleague recently wrote me with the following situation:

How do I mass assign roles in Moodle? I have about 200 Science teachers that will need to contribute to a Science Professional Learning Community moodle. They will need at least the role of a Teacher in order to add content…their accounts have already been created. I have already imported the spreadsheet with the users. I just need them as teachers in that one course. That moodle has other department PLC’s as well.

My response included the following:

This situation offered some great learning opportunities because it meant modifying existing Moodle users en masse with an upload. Although I’d read about it, I hadn’t actually had the opportunity to try it out. Although in the scenario above, the users were originally created via upload, the solution I tried included modifying existing LDAP authenticated users. This means that the solution works not only for users created via a previous upload, but also, for modifying users who were created as a result of LDAP authenticated login!

Restating the Problem:

To quickly restate the problem, the Moodle admin in scenario wanted to quickly ascribe editing teacher rights to users created through a previous upload. And, the Moodle admin wanted to make it possible to easily locate users who belonged a specific Professional Learning Community (e.g. Science as opposed to Math). This is necessary because when doing bulk user modifications to assign permissions, the only search term allowed is a search of name and/or email.

Step 1 – Adding the Name of the Professional Learning Community, Course Enrollment, and Assigning Teacher Role
To accomplish this, you will need to re-upload your CSV file–be sure to select the option to update existing records–with all the accounts.

a) Create a CSV (comma-delimited) file that includes some new pieces of information, namely the title of the professional learning community (PLC) to the last name, as well as the course (course1) and role (type1).

The CSV file should look like the one below:

firstname,lastname,username,course1,type1

Abigail,Artosia (Science),aartosia,science,2

What this will do is update Abigail’s record to add “(SCIENCE)” to her last name, assigns her to the SCIENCE course and gives her the role of editing teacher (“2”). You may want to let users know NOT to modify their last name, or you could adjust the settings to not allow them to modify their last name.

To Ms. Artosia’s name, I’ve added (Science), as shown below:

When you do the search again to assign teacher rights (Admin->User->Permissions), you’ll be able to pick them out of the large group of users. If you add the course (the short name,or breadcrumb name) title and the type of role, you can enroll people in one fell swoop.

b) Upload process that involves updating existing users only. Here’s what the upload users preview looks like…be sure to change your upload settings to match:

Here’s what the preview upload looks like:

To accomplish the mass edits, I’d recommend exporting your user list, editing it in Excel and concatenate last name and “(Science)” to get Artosia+(Science) so as to yield “Artosia (Science)” and register them in the appropriate course.

What would you have done?

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MyNotes – Google Docs goes full-size on Apple iPad

How does GoDocs compare to the full support on iPad?

Find out more

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/godocs-for-ipad-iphone-google/id348792440?mt=8

Quotes:

AppleInsider | Google Docs goes full-size on Apple iPad, Foxconn tops 1M employees

• Google Docs goes full-size on Apple iPad
• By Sam Oliver
• Google this week launched a full-size version of its cloud-based productivity suite, Google Docs, for iPad.
• Google Docs now has full desktop support on the iPad, allowing more options for style edits like changing a font, or center aligning a paragraph. Previously, iPad users were forced to use the mobile version of Google Docs, which has more limited functionality. The full desktop version also allows users to insert formulas into a spreadsheet, which grants them access to the editable formula bar.