_Spore_ Is Biology

I wanted to upload a picture from my iPhone of my brother-in-law playing Spore with my nine year-old niece and my seven year-old son eagerly looking on. I know little about Spore, but, from my vantage point, I am hearing tons of great biology. My little guy worried about a creature with tusks eating another. "But tusks aren't for eating!" said my b-i-l. I hear lots of conversation about the advantages of being herbivores or carnivores. There was a discussion of the benefits of having a carnivore in the group for protection against other creatures but an acknowledgement that the carnivore might pose a threat within the group. Of course, I also hear all of the problem-solving associated with being in a new world and discovering the rules of that world while they are trying to survive in it. Wow!! Can my kids please play this game in school, as a part of science class?

"Like a Patient Etherized upon a Table"

This blog. Soon this blog will be "like a patient etherized upon a table." I enjoy blogging here during the summer, but I haven't yet been able to keep it up during the school year. I have too many other things to do, like memorize the first few stanzas of T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

PhotoStory and the Faculty Retreat

Yesterday and today I have been immersed in PhotoStory. This application, preloaded on the student laptops at SILSA, seems like a good introduction to digital publishing for our students. I have finished two stories, one about the NSP Conference in Winston and one about NECC 2008.

The NECC 2008 story is much longer, and I worked on it almost continuously from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm today. I would have finished much sooner, but I lost more than an hour's productivity by being slack about saving my work. Now I know that PhotoStory doesn't autosave.

I will use both stories during the staff development April and I are preparing for the SILSA Faculty Retreat. We are charged with sharing what we learned at NECC 2008 with the other staff members for a full day on Tuesday, August 12. Greg asked that we do as many hands-on activities as possible.

I am considering creating a folder of SILSA photos for each staff member and having each of them create a PhotoStory. We might be able to use those stories later at potlucks or recruitment events.

I will also present information from the Primary Sources workshop I attended at NECC. I want to make sure others know about the resources available at the Library of Congress website.

Finally, I want to discuss teaching students how to use InspireData to keep track of their progress in their classes a la Robert Marzano. I think Greg is going to order each of us a copy of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works for professional development this year. Without reading the book, I have only a vague idea about how this might work.

We are leaving on Saturday for a final beach camping trip before school starts. We won't return until August 10, so I am trying to do as much as possible right now. I say, "Good luck!"

iPhone!

blogging from iphone is hard but cool. Drove to charlotte. For once we are early adopters!

EduCon 2.1

Chris Lehmann just posted some information about EduCon 2.1 on his blog. I want to go!

In some fairly superficial ways, the Science Leadership Academy reminds me of my own SILSA. The EduCon Axioms would sound familiar to my school's students, parents, teachers:

The Axioms / Guiding Principles:
1) Our schools must be inquiry-driven, project-based and empowering for all members. (Honestly, I'm beginning to look for something more meaningful than "project-based..." I don't think it speaks to the deep-level we want to get to. Inquiry does, Understanding does, Empowering does. Dunno.)
2) Our schools must be about co-creating -- together with our students -- the 21st Century Citizen
3) Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4) Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
5) Learning can -- and must -- be networked.
(Retrieved from http://educon20.wikispaces.com/planning on July 21, 2008.)

If I make it, I will need to do it under my own steam. (I wonder if I could write a grant for this?!?) If I can't go to Philly in January, maybe I can visit EduCon2.1 in Second Life. Gives me a good reason to get off Orientation Island, huh?

Working on attaching a file!

I know you can't read my diagram. I am trying to learn how to put the file on the blog. Any ideas?

Technology in the Classroom

I hope you can read my Inspiration tree about how we might use technology in the classroom. I worked on this draft this morning. I know it isn't complete. Please feel free to remind me of ways to use technology in the classroom that I have forgotten.