Come back often!

« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »

February 27, 2008

Obsolete Skills

Rotary Dial Originally uploaded by taurusaficionado

I came across this site that lists all the skills that have become obsolete. And there is another site just like it but with more pictures.

One thing that jumps out right away is that so many of the skills that are now obsolete are skills that most of the people I know never even learned.

Interesting to think about!

Photo credit: Originally uploaded to Flickr by taurusaficionado

Posted by Pat on 7:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 24, 2008

Generation Gap

For the past several days I've been sick in bed, which gave me plenty of time to catch up on my Netflix queue! I watched Easy Rider and a documentary called Berkeley in the Sixties. This brought back all of the turmoil of those late 60's/early 70's. What I especially remember is slogans like "Don't trust anyone over 30" and the real animosity and distrust between the generations.

What I witness everyday on the university campus and in K-12 classrooms is a stark contrast to all of this. I routinely hear kids leave their classrooms saying "Hi, Mom" into their cell phones. Indeed, there's even a term now -- helicopter parents. (I think we need a term for the kids, too.) It's actually kind of neat to see that kind of bond in action!

What this got me thinking about was the Digital Native/Digital Immigrant terminology that is the lead slide on so many professional development sessions. Are we creating a new generation gap? Kids can ignore the "immigrants" who simply can't communicate with them. On the other hand, the immigrants can use this as an ongoing excuse for not learning the language. I plan on ripping this slide out of my new presentations and emphasizing the opportunities rather than the gaps. As lifelong learners, we should be modeling this great opportunity to learn from the experts among us rather than harping on the differences.

Of course, I'm not the first to think this and there is an interesting conversation going on among the immigrants over at Classroom 2.0

Posted by Pat on 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 21, 2008

The Twitter Question Continues

Continuing on my quest to learn more about Twitter, I've been checking regularly. Yesterday, I was home sick so I had my laptop close by all day and checked in between naps. At one point, I saw a tweet from Steve Dembo announcing an online evening session from Discovery Educator featuring Vicki Davis. I signed up and attended last night -- yes, all from my laptop and my sickbed! And all because of twitter.

Also, yesterday I checked back on my first blog post about twitter and what should turn up but a comment from David Warlick. He claims not to be a big twitterer, but I think our viewpoint differs a bit. David posts his whereabouts on a regular basis while I'm happy with one or two a day so far.

Right now, I think I'm in the harvesting stage. As I see someone who appears interesting I follow their name to their twitter page and "follow." Often, I'll get a message saying they have now elected to "follow" me back. Guess that's how the network grows! My most recent additions were Peggy George, a retired principal from Arizona, and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, with a lenghthy ed tech resume.

I'll keep playing with this!

Posted by Pat on 10:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 19, 2008

Twitter???

Over the course of the past year, I had been trying out del.icio.us in an attempt to see just what it was that everyone thought was so wonderful. Happily, I too now see the value and use del.icio.us all the time to manage my bookmarks. In fact, I am finding new uses all the time and am much better prepared to share it with the teachers I work with.

This year, I'm setting out to find out the same thing about twitter. Last week, I attended PETE&C and heard everyone talking about the value of tweeting on Twitter. (Yup, that's the jargon!) I have had a Twitter account for quite some time but I just don't get it yet. I've spent the past few days finding some interesting people to follow. So far I've added David Warlick, Vicki Davis, and Steve Dembo. I've seen a number of interesting things, but mostly I've been distracted from doing "real work." I also get the feeling I'm not in with the "in crowd" here.

Hopefully this post will attract some comments that will help me understand this better. I'll be back!

Posted by Pat on 4:08 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack