Learn - News

TETC 2007 Presentations

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:54:42 -0500

I have 3 presentations at this year's Tennessee Educational Technology Conference. Click the "read more" link to find out more about them.

Another $100 Laptop

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:03:37 -0400

The Washington Post has a story about Asustek Jumping on to the $100 Laptop bandwagon with their own Low-Price laptop. This one is $200 or up to $300 for more stuff. Like MIT's offering this one will run Linux. It's great that so many people are working to equip kids in 3rd world countries with laptops since all the kids in the U.S. already have ubiquitous access to computers.

Microsoft's $500 laptop

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:11:07 -0400

Microsoft goes low-cost in India, or so the headline reads. They're going to start selling PC's in India for $500! That's really impressive. Or is it?

Online a friendlier place than Real Life

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:47:25 -0400

So C|Net says that One in three teens bullied online. I guess this is supposed to sound pretty horrible. Better not let kids online. Oh, wait, the kids say that they're more likely to be bullied face-to-face. It seems like when people are online they act a lot like, well, people.

In which we learn that handwriting isn't what it used to be

Wed, 09 May 2007 12:40:47 -0400

In a shocking article in the Boston Globe we learn that handwriting is becoming more of an "art form" and that because NCLB and computers we are short-changing students from this important skill.

15 minutes of fame. For my dog.

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:31:56 -0500

Well, I don't normally post personal stuff here, but this is pretty funny. I sent these pictures of my dog Thor and his cat, Modi, to a friend of mine who works at a TV station. Yes. My dog has his own web site. Now he's a TV star.

Foundations for Open Source

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:12:06 -0500

Couros linked to Forty Foundations for the future of Open Source.

$100 Laptop Gets Closer

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 15:51:49 -0500

The International Herald Tribune has a story about MIT's so-called $100 Laptop initiative. It's looking pretty cool, and I believe that there's not much that kids (or most adults, really) need to do that such a machine won't be able to do.

Web-based software changing academic computing

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:01:52 -0400

eSchool News has an article called A paradigm shift for school software?I told you so.

Something about Multitasking

Thu, 07 Sep 2006 15:20:06 -0400

This article from the Washington Post (may require registration) says something about multitasking being harmful. I guess. I don't really know. I was listening to Steve Earle at the time, so I really couldn't concentrate on it.

Linux in Indian Schools

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:51:20 -0400

This Yahoo News story talks about India's communist-run Kerala state and how the education minister said "ideologically I support Linux and Free and Open Operating Systems for IT enabled-education in schools." I know I'm a zealot and all, but I don't understand how someone wouldn't ideologically support Open Source Software (OSS). If you could have software that was as good or better than its competitors, wouldn't that be better than subsidizing any company, especially one that has repeatedly been found guilty of using non-competitive practices? Isn't it better ideologically to use software that promotes learning (by allowing its source code to be studied) and is available to all students, regardless of their ability to pay for it?

The education minister didn't say that he would support banning Microsoft's products as a zealot might, just that he'd support the idea of people using Linux too. So I don't quite get what the big deal is.

The other thing about this story that I find bizarre is that the author somehow sees a link between this story, which boils down to "Indian Commie says schools can use OSS if they want to," to a story two weeks before when the same commies banned sales of Coke and Pepsi because some (ostensibly whacko) environmental group found high levels of pesticide in locally bottled Coke and Pepsi products. I think then, that the headline might read: "Foreign Investors Beware: Communist Indian State refuses to force its people to drink poison and use Microsoft products."

It is just a random Yahoo! News story, but it does strike me as odd.

On using reference managers

Wed, 07 Jun 2006 16:53:26 -0400

Tech-savvy Profgrrl opines that the Chronicle of Higher Education is running a story called Toss Out the Index Cards that describes these magic programs that you can use to keep up with --- and even format --- your citations. To her, it seems silly to have such an article when she's known about EndNote for a decade.

Use Your Gmail Account for File Storage

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 20:44:28 -0500

We were taking the other night about a way to use our Gmail accounts for backing up files. Here's one way I've found that you can do it. Its a fast and easy. You just use a browse button to navigate to the folder and file you want to upload and then press send. It works alot like your Volspace account. Just one drawback; like Volspace you are limited to uploading just ten (10) files at a time, but other than that its a nice tool.

Xmail Hard Drive

TETC 2005 Presentations

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 15:54:31 -0500

I'm presenting at TETC this year. I'll be doing workshops on Drupal, Moodle, K12LTSP and a couple sessions on Open Source Software.

Laughing Stock of the World

Wed, 09 Nov 2005 08:44:45 -0500

"We're not in Kansas anymore" is taking on a whole new meaning.

We're becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that.
Board member Janet Waugh

Here's coverage on Kansas's new "science" standards from the NY Times, MSNBC and Slashdot.

The quotation marks around "science" are to indicate that Kansas is now using their own definition of science.

How does this happen?