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| I just love Skitch. It is the perfect graphic utility. |
While the Laptop Institute is winding down, and the Building Learning Communities conference is winding itself up, I’m sitting in the middle of nowhere. It’s a Hampton Inn in Salisbury, Maryland, in the middle of the Delmar Penninsula. It’s 4:11 and I just got through to tech support, so Internet started running much better, though I’m beginning to worry again as I try to load Google Maps. Now I’m trying Google Earth to see if it comes up better.
Anyway, I just wanted to write to say that I do not feel entirely left out. In a few hours I’ll leave my hotel to drive about an hour to Lewes, Maryland, where I’ll take a magnificent ferry boat ride to Cape May, New Jersey (pictures to come). From Cape May, I’ll drive another 15 minutes to Wildwood for NJELITE’s annual Wildwood conference for school administrators. I’ve worked this conference several times in the past, though not in a couple of years. It was originally funded by Bill & Melinda Gates, when they were funding administrative staff development, but this conference now runs on its own momentum.
The conference use to be run like a workshop, where groups of administrators would work together with technology trainers from across New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania. But this year administrators will cycle through sessions such as…
Unique & Compelling Internet Applications for the 21st Century Learner — from CIESE (Mercedes McKay, Associate Director)- Podcasting — from Apple (David Marra)
- Thinkfinity — from Verizon
- Teaching through Second Life — Beth Lynne Ritter-Guth, Lehigh Carbon Community College
- Video Games as Learning Engines — I’ll be doing that one
- “Net Generation” Speaks Out — a panel presentation from local students
I’ll also be closing the conference with a keynote about 21st century literacy. The theme of the conference is “Digital Age Literacy.”
The high point, however, in my opinion, will be the opening keynote by Daniel Pink, author of Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind. I will likely be blogging his keynote, A Different World, A Different Worker, plus, he’ll be doing a follow-up discussion about Transitioning from the Information to The Conceptual Age.
Just wondering. What are Mr. Pink’s qualifications for speaking about learning and school leadership?
I’m just wonder! What kind of qualifications does he need?
FYI,
Lewes is in Delaware not Maryland. Its a beautiful area.
Yes! That’s the reason I had such a hard time with Google Maps! 😉
— dave —
David,
Thanks for your question.
I’ve read Daniel Pink’s official biography. (http://www.danpink.com/aboutdp.php)
He’s a lawyer who never practiced, a former speech writer for Vice President Gore and once built latrines in Botswana.
It’s a huge accomplishment to write a popular business book. I get it.
However, being a fancy talker is an insufficient basis for me to take a person’s theories seriously.
Dave – Do you have any invites for Skitch available? If so could you send one to mr.moses@mrmoses.org? Thanks.
I just discovered google earth and will probably spend 100 hours on it over the next few days. OK, an exaggeration, but indicitive of my love of geography. By the way, someone else already pointed out Lewes is in Delaware, but it’s on the Delmarva Peninsula (short for Delaware, Maryland and Virginia).
I used to work in Baltimore and had been to Salisbury many times on business, but regretably, never got to Lewes, Rehoboth or Cape May.
All of this is incidental to the lecture by Dave Pink. I see what he is saying and what you are responding to. Isn’t that the benefit of dialogue? I tend to side closer to your point of view, but that’s because I’m a lefty and more right-brained than other folks.
Thanks for the interesting commentary, and even more so for posting the google map.