May 2011
3 posts
Packing It Up
Spent this morning packing up the trucks. I have three trunks that are nearly packed full. I always bring lots of stuff, but worry that people think that its my focus for the trip. I have several goals planned for the trip and these are just the necessary tools to get the job done. The coolest feeling is leaving DFW with 150 pounds of gear, knowing that I will return in a couple of weeks with only...
Jesus and the Copy Machine
This afternoon, about 4:00pm, I tweeted:
Its a good thing Twitter was down for a while today. It saved me from posting some comments that were inconsiderate and not well thought out.
That’s because I spent from 1:30-4:00 this afternoon trying to get the school’s copy machine to work…and reconnect two other teachers’ printers. It was unusually frustrating because, quite...
2011 Kenya Mission
In an effort to help myself plan for my upcoming trip, and to share my story with my family and friends, I’ve outlined my goals for this year’s mission trip to Kenya. I will be returning to Nairobi for the fourth year in a row to work with the students and staff at Made in the Streets, an orphanage and boarding school for kids that have lived on the streets of Nairobi. It is the most...
March 2011
3 posts
Recommendation: StickyJesus
Yesterday, I read the book StickyJesus, by Tami Heim and Toni Bridsong. I really enjoyed reading it and was challenged by the message at the same time. The book is an investigation into how Christians should be committing their time and efforts into social networks.
The authors make the case that the newest mission field is the internet, specifically social networks. As Christ followers, our...
MAN-daids
In yet another example of our society’s cognitive surplus, I present to the world: MAN-daids.
I live in a house full of girls, and every band-aid we have in the house has either flowers, butterlies, or cats on it. I know this, because I needed a band-aid yesterday and walked away, unwilling to wear one on them. This got me thinking, what kind of band-aid would I prefer. And, as usual, I...
Poke the Box
Tonight, I read Poke the Box by Seth Godin. Its too short to be called a book, so he refers to it as a manifesto. I like manifestos. I read two books last year, which far exceeded the number of books I’d read in the previous twenty years combined. Poke the Box might be my new favorite. Here’s why…
I found the book on Amazon (http://amzn.to/hQA1BH ) for $9.50. I noticed that it...
February 2011
1 post
Building Capacity
We are going to have our third Tech Camp day on Friday, February 25th. Tech Camp has become a professional development tradition at Guthrie, where we invite the students to participate and learn along side our teachers on professional development days. These days have been very successful and popular with teachers and students alike.
Friday’s session is focused on using online resources to...
January 2011
1 post
Learning Walk, CSCOPE, Solving for X
NOTE: I am very fortunate to work in Guthrie. For the last two years our superintendent and principal have taken teachers on “learning walks” to other schools in the area. This is usually a group of 3-4 teachers and 1 administrator visiting an area campus and conducting a series of walk-throughs in classrooms. We use a document to direct what we look for…things like:...
November 2010
1 post
Developing the Development
These are my notes from Developing the Development: Building and Teaching Effective Online Courses presentation by Jerram Froese, Irving ISD. Looking forward to it.
His notes are here: http://www.irvingisd.net/iisdonline/developing.pdf
We can’t assume that students know how to apply their skills to the world of online learning.
1. Design Framework. Break down each module into six...
August 2010
2 posts
2010 Kenya Photos
Uploading my Kenya 2010 photos HERE. I’m at the Austin Hilton and the internet isn’t cooperating, so it may take a while for the first set (361 pics) to get uploaded. Take a look around and then check back later for the rest. After processing these, I came to some conclusions:
1. Lightroom 3 on my new MacBook Pro is simply amazing for processing photos. 2. Photographs are magical....
Back From Kenya
We arrived home safely late Friday night. Re-entry was incredibly hard on me this time, and I was pretty sick and beaten down all day Saturday and Sunday. I am finally back to myself this morning, only to remember that my flight to Austin is at 5:00 this afternoon. I’m attending and presenting at the Vision2020 and T3 Technology Conference this week. Blah.
July 2010
29 posts
Home
Woohoo! Texas, it’s like a whole other country.
Almost Home
Almost home. We were stuck at the Nairobi airport for nine hours and ran through the Amsterdam airport in about 15 minutes. Our luggage got left in Amsterdam and our new connecting flight from Chicago to DFW has been delayed. We should arrive in DFW by six tonight and do the five hour drive to Guthrie, getting home by 11pm. Didn’t see this one coming at all. Yuck.
Ha
I just remembered from last night that I actually slipped on a banana peel. I didn’t fall all the way down, but I thought ‘what the heck? slippling on a banana peel? is this a cartoon?’
Here We Go
Last day in Kenya: Chapel. Pictures. Walk to the 19 acres. Computer class. Lunch w the kids. Hugs. Drive into town. Dinner at Java House. Jump on the plane to Amsterdam.
Here we go.
Blessings
I’ve been blessed in abundance the last two weeks in Kenya. I cant describe how great this trip has been. I brought more than I thought possible. I accomplished more than I thought I would. I made many new friends (Americand and Kenyans) and renewed old friendships. And, I am absolutely leaving more blessed than I deserve. God’s love for us is extravagant and never ending!
The wedding...
Letter From my Adopted Daughter
We sponsor four kids at Made in the Streets: Mary, Mwanahawa, Zainabu and Duncan. Getting to hug them, sit next to them and get to know them is THE highlight of my trips. They are all unique and amazing. When I am here they call me dad, party as a joke but mostly because thats the way they see me.
All of the students here write back and forth with their sponsors in the ‘States, but few...
Dusty & Cecily
Excited about shooting a wedding tomorrow in Kamulu. My new friends Dusty and Cecily, recent grads from Pepperdine, have brought their family and friends to Kenya for their wedding. Its been great getting to know all of them this past week. They are roasting two goats and will be baking lots of bread and cakes tomorrow. I hope I can caputure their amazing personalities and the wonderful...
Carnivore
If you are ever in Nairobi, Kenya and are looking for an epic food adventure, you’ve got to check out CARNIVORE. Dinner last night was insane. I lost count of the number of meats that were served and carved at the table from swords. Words just can’t describe the experience…all-you-can eat meat extravaganza. Craziness.
Ready to Work
We had a nice Sunday worshipping and relaxing in Kamulu. It was all about fellowship, sharing meals, studying God’s word, resting, celebrating transformed lives and just enjoying being alive and together. I imagine its just the way God intended.
We’re ready to get to work this morning. I will finally get to teach some classes, now that the computer lab is put back together. Everyone...
African Sky
Woke up to a wonderful Saturday morning. Cool breeze and a wide African sky. We are headed to Mathare vally this morning. Mathare is one of the largest slums in east Africa with over 500 thousand people living in unbelievably bad conditions. The houses are made of scrap corrugated metals, random pieces of lumber with cardboard flooring laid out on the dirt. There is no sewer system, no trash...
Fanta Orange
I’m feeling a little homesick, so I am planning to walk to the kiosk by the highway this morning and buy a Fanta Orange for breakfast on the way to the learning center. Not because I usually drink Fanta for breakfast back home, but just because.
I’m counting on a busy day. I really want to finish up all the installations and upgrade today, so we can start using the lab for teaching,...
Sustainability
I’m wondering if the new computer lab, shared computing, open-source software, sim card internet access, etc. is sustainable. Its probably not. And, come to think of it, very few new, innovative and transformative things here in Kenya are sustainable. All we can do is encourage, motivate, equip, partner, work and pray. Every day. For a long time. Without stopping or getting discouraged.
Keeps getting better.
It was a busy, but productive day. We were able to get all the workstations joined to the domain and mapped to the server without much problem. We’re having some issues with the NComputing stations randomly losing their mice connections, requiring constant restarts. I was able to download the latest firmware this evening and hopefully that will solve the issue in the morning.
On the bright...
Its Thusday...
…and we’ve been in Kenya a week. Only one more week. :-(
NComputing in Kenya!
We installed the NComputing X350 devices on our two brand new Dell Optiplex computers this morning. They installed much faster and much easier than expected. We now have 8 new seats from those two computers. Outstanding! Also, we got the six “new” laptops connected and running, giving us a total of 14 total seats in the computer lab. Its not any more than we had before, but they are...
Great Day in Kenya!
What a day. We were scheduled to take nine students in the computer skills training group on a field trip today to city centre Nairobi for some computer shopping. We had 120,000KSH to spend on computers, computer supplies and a special lunch for the students. The day turned out even better than expected.
After chapel this morning, the students met with me and Moses to go over our goals for the...
Great Day in Kenya!
What a day. We were scheduled to take nine students in the computer skills training group on a field trip today to city centre Nairobi for some computer shopping. We had 120,000KSH to spend on computers, computer supplies and a special lunch for the students. The day turned out even better than expected.
After chapel this morning, the students met with me and Moses to go over our goals for the...
Kenya: Day 3
Worship service in Kamulu church was two and one half hours this morning but still wasn’t long enough. Wow. They know how to do it, and it’s so natural and authentic. I’m sad that I only get to take part in this two Sundays a year.
Late lunch at the Java House in Nairobi. Hamburger and a chocolate shake! Blessed!
Kenya: Day 2
Relaxing Saturday. Making plans in the computer lab for an extreme make-over. We will buy two brand new machines on Tuesday and turn them into 8 using NComputing. Plus, eight laptops I brought in the suitcases! That equalls 16 new workstations, making this the best school computer lab in east Africa. (a little proud)
If that’s not good enough, I think we have talked the teachers into...
Kenya: Day 1
We made it! Today we spent time walking among the bases near Eastleigh. We met with several groups who live in the trash dumps. It was an amazing site, and an unbelievable experience. I didn’t take may camera, but won’t ever forget it. Safe at home tonight and we enjoyed dinner with Charles & Darlene.
Checked In
At DFW. Checked 300lbs of gear (6 cases) and made it successfully through the security checkpoint with my cameras and electronics. We board for Amsterdam in a hour! Gonna get an ice cream cone. Sweet!
Good Day
Up at 6. Pack. Leave by 8. Drive to DFW, on to Amsterdam, then finally to Nairobi. Gonna be a great day.
Looking Into the Extreme Future
My notes and takeaways from Ian Jukes and Lee Crockett’s session titled: Looking Into the Extreme Future.
We live in exponential times. What does this mean? How do we quality that? 30 linear steps get you to 30. 30 exponential steps get you to one billion. Change is so rapid know we can no longer predict what is 30 steps or even 10 steps away. Moore’s Law (1963) stated that...
Change From the Radical Center
My notes and takeaways from Doug Johnson’s “Change From the Radical Center” session. His resources from this session are here. He is the author of the Blue Skunk Blog. The event was sponsored by http://skoodat.com/ (looks interesting)
Doug introduces himself as a Radical Centrist. There are those who push to the outer extremes for change, but Doug looks for practical radical...
June 2010
7 posts
Aysnchronous Mastery Learning
These are my notes and takeaways from the session Aysnchronous Mastery Learning in a Hybrid Classroom from Science teachers, Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams from Woodland Park, Co. I first found out about these guys about a year ago from THIS STORY. These guys have inspired me quite a bit and I’ve shared their story with a lot of teachers. This should be a good session. Welcome. Intro....
Twitter Goes to School
These are my notes and takeaways from the session titled:Twitter Goes to School presented by Chris Bigenhoc. He’s from the Greenhill School in Addison, TX. His blog is here.
Considering my most recent rant, I am interested in how he is using Twitter to connect students/teachers and their stories. My focus will be looking for ways to use a simple tool, Twitter, to connect people through...
I call B.S.!
I was priviledged and humbled to attend the TEDxDenverED Conference last night. I have followed TED Talks for many years now, and several of the talks have had a profound impact on the way I teach and learn and think. The second I saw that there was going to be a TED Event in Denver, I jumped at it. There was an amazing lineup of speakers and it was amazing to get to attend such a prestigious...
21 Things about 21 Things
These are my notes and reflections from a session by Amaoge Okoye titled: 21 Things about 21 Things: Lessons Learned from Staff Development. Instructional Technology Team from Portsmouth Public Schools; supporting 16,000 students and 1,100 educators.their 21 Things was inspired by “23 Things” from Helene Blowers.
They needed staff development that was: customizable, online, self...
Creativity 2.0
My reflections from Gary stager’s presentation titled: Creativity 2.0: The Quest for Meaning, Beauty, and Excellence.
First off, I have followed and read Gary for some time and really appreciate his passion, straightforwardness, and focus. He balances disruptiveness and constructivist learning with sound educational theory. He is not swayed or distracted (or impressed) by the novelty or...
1 tag
Teaching The Digital Generation
Some of my take-aways from Ian Jukes and Lee Crockett’s session: About digital learners: Brain researchers are showing evidence that our kids are actually neurologically different than we are… both chemically and wired differently. This is due to the bombardment of media they have been exposed to since birth. “Kids these days” are different. This has always been the case,...
