[Please forgive in grammar errors and mispellings. I am blogging this on the go without a spell checker]
I am sitting in a session being presented by Chris Harris, of Infomancy, about blogging. He is show educators some of the more objectionable content on MySpace. He made the teachers raise their hands before they went in, and pledge that they would not freak out. One of his major points is that kids are going to be having these conversations, regardless of the technology. We can’t stop the conversation. Kids will be kids. He says that we need to be talking about this in our schools. We need to start that conversation, so that we can start dealing with this.
He is now talking about instructional applications, mentioning Bob Sprankle and his 3rd and 4th graders.
So how do I start a blog?
- Read
- Think
- Write
- Read (re)
(This is from Will Richardson’s writings)
He’s talking about Class Blogmeister as an option for the classroom, because it is not blocked. He mentioned that teachers should donate to the programmer. I really need to add a link to my Starbucks card…because I’m running a bit low! 😉
I’m now sitting, now, in a session about iPods. The presenter is Christine Dowd, whom I have blogged about before.
I think she just said that 14% of all Internet traffic goes to the iTunes Music Store. I’ve got to validate that. Meanwhile, there are 25,000 podcasts.
Here’s a link to the 14% issues (MacNN).
I like the way that she just held up her digital camera and her iPod (with an iTalk) and said, “This is my field trip” Shift in is what it’s about, “Shifting the time and place of learning.” She just showed a slide with a picture of an iPod on a class podium, with a big red X. It doesn’t replace the teacher. It can, however, replace some of the functions that teachers engage in, and allow them to do more powerful learning engagements that they do not have time to do now.
She just heard the statistic that by 2017 (?), 55% of school aged children will not be native English speakers. I did find this quote in “A Look at the Progress of English Learners“, from California’s Legislative Analysts Office:
In Los Angeles, for instance, 55 percent of first graders are classified as ELs.