Abbott and Costello 2.0

Okay, if you don't know who Abbott and Costello are, stop RIGHT NOW and look them up here.

Now that you are all cultured, read on. This was an email forward that was sent to me. If I knew who to credit, I would.

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOTT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOTT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOTT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?
ABBOTT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOTT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals, track expenses and run my business. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOTT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOTT: Recommended something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOTT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOTT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?
ABBOTT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOTT: Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.
ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?
ABBOTT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?
ABBOTT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn' t it illegal to copy money?
ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!
COSTELLO: Okay, so how do I turn my computer off?
ABBOTT: Click on "START"...
COSTELLO: Oh, I quit.
ABBOTT: You want to quit the program?
COSTELLO: I said I quit, didn't I?
ABBOTT: Okay, but that's a command for Mac.
COSTELLO: ARG!

Technorati Tags:
Abbott and Costello, Technology, Random

Ready...get set....SCHOOL!

We are less than two weeks from when teachers must report back to the classroom - and three from when students will grace our presence. So - the question that apparently EVERYONE I KNOW wants me to answer is:

Are you ready to go back?

My answer - for a number of reasons - is no. Don't get me wrong - I love, love, LOVE my job, and think that it's crazy to get paid to do what I love - how cool is that? But there are a few things:

1.) I'll admit it: I'm a bit lazy. It's beautiful outside and the thought of going inside - well - not appealing to me, frankly. I'll get over that, I swear. Someday.

2.) I have a new class to teach this year, and I want to integrate technology more than ever. The book is lame at best. I have too many ideas, and haven't figured out yet which ones I need to implement. Some of my (many) ideas:
- classroom wiki
- online textbook (I found a great one here)
- blogging
- podcasting/vodcasting projects

3.) I have been to some great conferences this year and this summer, and have read some great blogs. Bottom line? I have WAY too many ideas, and not enough time to implement them well. I really want to try out SL with my juniors and seniors in psyc, but I know that I won't have enough time to create projects with it this semester. And I really want to do a French class wiki that students could access in lieu of dragging home their textbook.

I guess that's really what this is about. I need more time. With all of the progress we have made with technology and such, I am left with the age-old teacher problem of not enough hours in a day.

Some things never change. :)

Technorati Tags:
Random, Education, Back to School

MAHETC2007

To those who regularly read this blog: forgive me. I know that I hate it when someone blogs about all the conferences that they attend. It's like, wow, look at me and all the conferences I go to/present at - I'm amazing. I assure you, this isn't one of those posts, and I apologize in advance. :)

To Linda and those who went to my Beyond Podcasting session yesterday (and anyone else who is interested):
I think the Why Bother powerpoint (listed here) is finally up and working. If this doesn't work, I'll try to figure something else out. Please comment and let me know if you can access it.

As far as "source materials", I have listed some helpful links to the left of this page, and also on the conference wiki . The links that I showed (and many more) are on the delicious page (the direct link is here).

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you would like any further information. Thank you!

We now bring you back to your regularly scheduled blog-reading...

Technorati Tags:
MAHETC2007, Beyond Podcasting

iSing?

Griffin, a company who is known to create products that are generally good for the iPod has announced the release of iKaraoke. No, I am not making this up. Apparently, it is a free-ware file that you download to your Mac or PC, and then it allows you to sing along with any song that you own.

I'm not sure of the educational ramifications - if you can think of any, please let me know. I guess for French, you could teach an "educational" song that describes the forms of a conjugated verb and then have students sing along. I'm not sure how well this would work 7-12 - I can hardly get my kids to sing "Happy Birthday". :) (They do, however, yell it quite well.)

So, have fun at your next family reunion with this new freeware. Oh yeah, and check out their site, too. They are giving away $800 of Griffin schwag (sp?). Nice.

Technorati Tags:
iPods, iTunes, Random, iKaraoke

Are we there yet?

Today was the big travel day. I had to travel from Michigan to Maryland, for the MAHETC 2007 conference. My flights went pretty well, with the exception of a 30-minute wait on the tarmac in D-town, but other than that, they were fine. I got my bags without a hitch, even found my way to the rental car terminal (which, incidentally, is NOT at the airport terminal in Baltimore). Then, it was up to the people at AAA, who had printed me a trip-tick (sp?) earlier in the week.

And that would be when the problems started.

First, AAA thought that I was leaving from the airport. Then, the names of the streets were different than what they really were. Finally, it told me to turn left onto Troopers Way from MD 13 South. Um, Troopers Way doesn't intersect MD 13 - you have to take two side roads to hit TW. Nice. That one took me all the way down 13 to the University to figure out.

Why am I writing this, you ask? Well, dear reader, you should have figured out that I am always a tad on the rant-ish side, but I assure you that I do have a point. I carry with me a cell phone and a PDA at almost all times. Both are wi-fi compatible. Both have GPS/Map-type programs on them. Did I use them? Um, no.

I will be the first to admit that I am a healthy mix of Digital Native and Digital Immigrant, to quote from Marc Prensky. I tend to be mostly immigrant when it comes to my own schoolwork. I tend to play with technology and work with paper. I believe - and have yet to be proven wrong - that this was ingrained in me from the beginning of my educational experience. I was always provided with technology at home - my parents placed it high in their priority list - but was not always provided with it at school. In fact, I can vividly remember teachers telling me not to use any online sources because books were the most reliable! When we tell students that they can't use iPods or cell phones or PDA's or whatever in school, aren't we sending the same message that some of my teachers gave me?

Which brings me back to my driving adventures...if I had been encouraged in school to use technology in as many areas as I could, would I have thought to check the two different map programs that I carry with me? I guess we'll never know...

Technorati Tags:
MAHETC2007, Education of the Future, Random

Why Bother?

Here is a powerpoint that I will be showing on Tuesday and Wednesday at MAHETC. It will be my anticipatory set (if you will) of both my podcasting and blogging sessions. I think I did a nice job, but I'd love some feedback if you have time. Thanks!

I think all you have to do is click on this powerpoint and it will open the presentation (including music) into your browser. Please let me know if you have any problems.

Technorati Tags:
MAHETC2007, Random, iPods, education

Anti-Theft that Really Works!

Finally, an iPod anti-theft device that we KNOW will work!

Check it out here!

PS Yes, I know this is a joke. Please don't email me and tell me that it is a joke and that I'm dumb. Get a sense of humor! :)

Technorati Tags:

iPods, Random