Grimm Adventures

Back In the Game/Pondering My Future

2011-11-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

My best buddy and before we ran the Mankato 1/2 Marathon in Oct. 2011

It has been a long, long time since I actually wrote a post. I am freshly into my new gig at EdVisions Cooperative working as the 1/2 time Director.

Not being a weekend Dad has me excited about the little things, like taking your kid for a haircut :)

So what have I been up to the last six months or so? To name a few things:

was laid off at my job June 1
did a 3 month stint at a call center for a national wireless retailer (quite an education)
moved back to my hometown of Mankato
have gotten to be more than a weekend dad with Broden
realized how old Cain is getting
got a new job working in the field I care about most: education

Cain and I tailgating before the Vikings/Packer game - Oct. 2011

The pace of life is much slower in Mankato than in the Twin Cities, which is both good and bad. Life is quite the journey and lately I have hit a few rapids (to use a kayaking analogy). I am not quite sure what is around the next bend of the river, but I plan to keep enjoying the scenery.

-- Aaron

Minnesota New Country School Senior Presentations

2011-04-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Minnesota New Country School's Senior Presentations are this week. See below for the complete schedule. I am not using student's last name (only first initials). EdVisions Schools hopes to provide at least some of the video for these on our YouTube channel.

Here is the info from Minnesota New Country School, located in Henderson, MN:

The following students will be presenting their 300+ hour projects (Capstone) to the public beginning each evening at 6 p.m. Student presentations will last 20 minutes with questions and answers. We invite the community to come and assist us in evaluating the senior projects.

Monday, April 11, 2011
Hannah P. - Israel Trip
Zeph R. - Alternative Energy: Hydrogen
Kezia O. - Adolescent Psychology
Tyler D. - Propaganda of WW II
Zach K. - Creating an Electric Trumpet

Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Hannah S. - Sex, Love and Misinformation
Nora S. - Suzuki School Benefit Recital
Hannah R. - Put Your Best Look Forward
Peter S. - Steam Traction Engines
Conner M. - Law Enforcement and Related Careers
Morgan O. - Law and Its Foundations

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Janessa B. - Community Based Art
Brady R. - Trademark Logo Business
Travis S. - Volkswagon History and Restoration
Kayla B. - Back Alley - Starting a Business

Sledding Video

2011-03-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

I just love the "slow-motion" feature video editing. I am getting much quicker at the editing process. I really need to learn Final Cut Pro. It is fun to look back at movies you make of your kids.... makes for good memories.

EdVisions Schools Design Essentials Videos

2011-03-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Starting in October 2010, I got to help put videos together that highlighted the EdVisions Design Essentials by interviewing students and staff at: Avalon School (St. Paul), EdVisions Off Campus (online, statewide) and Minnesota New Country School (Henderson).

Below are the videos compiled into channels. Please feel free to share this work or post comments via youtube or this blog.

Small Learning Communities:

Self-Directed Project Based Learning (personalization for each student):

Authentic Assessment:

Teacher Ownership/Democratic Governance:

Cain Shows Off His Hockey Skills

2011-01-31T14:40:00.001-08:00

Video I made on a Saturday morning with some highlights of Cain's season (it was really only one game and one session of outdoor ice. And the answer is "yes," he is much better than I am. He passed me up last year, which I am still having a hard time dealing with emotionally. ;)

Middle Class Amendment

2010-11-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

This excerpt is part of David Bly's address at MAAP's Administrative Workshop on Nov. 12, 2010. You can see his web site for info.

I am interested in your thoughts, as the middle class in our country is rapidly decreasing.

Remove Sports From High Schools

2010-11-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

picture from Evelien Heijselaar, from article posted on The Queen's Journal

If you have been following any of the sports hysteria that has swallowed our country, maybe you have had a chance to read about Cam Newton (Auburn's current quarterback) and the Sports Illustrated article by former agent Josh Luchs. As a parent of a ninth grader and someone who is highly influenced by media and commercials, he and I have many interesting conversations about the influence the sports has on our culture. When looking at how much Jordan gear he has amassed or seeing him browsing Bauer's hockey site for the latest and greatest gear, you realize just how much our sports culture translates to making money.

There is a lot of controversy around the amateur status of college athletes. Personally, as much as universities are making off of these "athlete students," I think athletes should be paid. If we start paying college athletes, this is only going to further corrupt high school programs. Our culture has gone sports crazy. It is funny how sports controversies like this, much like steroids in baseball, eventually have these revelations that we all knew were taking place the whole time... Why? because they are apart of the culture of American athletics.

What am I getting at? We need to get sports programs out of high schools. I am not saying get rid of sports, I am saying, they need to be pushed into a community program. Reading this old Minnesota Public Radio story "Are High School Sports a Luxury?" I want to answer a couple of the common objections:

Argument - High schools sports are a part of the community fabric. This may be true, but this does not mean that sports could be run on a community level. If community pride can only be developed by sports in the town, your community has a much bigger problem on its hands. In the Twin Cities, were I reside, the recruiting and student transfers has gotten out of control. What sense of a community is there when students continue to switch schools who never grew up in that area? Have a community run program would more locally focus activities, which in turn, would actually inspire community & neighborhood pride. Rural schools often consolidate for athletic reasons, which is really about consolidation about trying to create better sports teams.
Argument - High school sports teaches students good lessons outside of the classroom. While I don't disagree with this, I also think that having high schools and athletics tied so closely together has a major effect on school culture. Top athletes are the top of the social ladder in our schools. This begins to reinforce the perception that being an athlete trumps developing both personal and academic skills of this developing youth. Schools often say they won't "be parents" for youth, yet they have no trouble helping and insisting that athletes continue to develop their athletic skills. If schools don't have a problems developing athletes, why then should they not be responsible for developing the "whole child" of all students?"
Argument - Eliminating high school athletics (although I don't want to eliminate, but rather get them into a different sector) would have an impact on student fitness. I disagree with this claim as well. Such a small percentage of students, especially at the larger schools, have a chance to participate. If we took a more intermural approach, which would be better run in a community program, more students would get to participate. This would be better worth the money being spent. As someone smartly posted on the MPR article referenced above, schools cannot complain about funding and then go and build new sports stadiums with the latest scoreboard technology. Seems a bit of a contradiction or at the very least, misplaced priorities. I would still personally like to see how much of per pupil funding goes towards athletics. Since we are talking about public schools, if you look at the budget, you should be able to ascertain this information.
Argument - High School sports generate money for school districts. This is in fact true, but the money generated is much higher in affluent districts, like the suburbs. The suburbs already have a built in advantage money wise, since schools are funded in MN using property tax (higher value properties means more funding). Again, a community organization could use the revenue generated by these sporting events to fund itself as a nonprofit.

These are a few of the arguments that I feel could be dispelled or remedied. The bottom line is, students should not be choosing a school based on on athletics. If a kid wants to go to a school that doesn't offer sports, they should still be able to participate, since their parents pay taxes. Schools should focus on child development and improving student academic skills, rather than be mall schools, trying to amass state championships (i.e. Eden Prairie). This does not serve students well, whether they are athletes or not.

Lastly, which will assuredly be unpopular, teachers should not go into teaching to be a coach. While I know that there are coaches who do amazing things with students, teaching life lessons beyond the field or court, teachers need to be hired outside of considering what sports they coach. I cannot be any more blunt than that. I am generalizing, but some high school coaches need to take a stab at existing outside of the high school environment and live in the real world. Adults should not try to continue to exist in this realm of high school athletics forever, just because they were a good athlete. Unless a coach is there to make the athletes he/she is coaching better people holistically, they should hang it up. Winning championships should not be the focus of high school athletics.

While I am not naive to think that the possibility of athletics leaving high schools will happen anytime soon (since the MN State High School League would cry "murder"), I think that economics is going to require us to come up with creative solutions. Many communities would be better served planning for how they can move sports into a community run program now, rather than having to make the decision of "what to cut" in the near future. These cuts are rarely equitable and "what's best for the community."

I welcome your comments, in a respectful way. I am personally trying to throw "crazy ideas" out there more hoping to spark some discussion and thought on education. The way things have always been is not serving our students or our communities well. I am looking for equitable solutions, rather than to continue to use public dollars to fund disparity among our youth.

I leave you with this... If parents/teachers/community members spent even half as much time developing a passion for learning in kids, as they do in developing kids to be athletes (in which only .03% go on to play pro-basketball), maybe we would actually have better communities...

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to leave comments.

Thanks,
Aaron

Got Something for Ya

2010-11-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have been busy for the past couple of weeks getting reading for a video project on the EdVisions Schools Design Essentials, which you can follow by following our YouTube channel by clicking here. These first videos are from Doug Thomas (Executive Director) and Ron Newell (now retired, but formerly the Program and Evaluation Coordinator).

I do owe a special thanks for my former co-worker Gigi Dobosenski and her husband Matt. He helped us pick out some great equipment and also gave me a crash course in lighting. This project has truly been "Learning by Doing!"

Aaron

Digitizing the EdVisions Design Essentials

2010-10-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

I am moving on to a new project for the remainder of this year, which will have me digitizing the EdVisions Design Essentials. This will include supporting documents and interviews with school staff, students and parents.

Our hope is to open source what we have learned and inspire others to make changes that are necessary to improve schools for both teachers and students.

See a full list of the Design Essentials below:

Education Innovating - Give Teachers More

2010-08-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

Friends,

please check out a new blog: Education Innovating (Getting Beyond Traditional School) by the policy think tank Education Evolving. They have a long list of policy papers and educational insights on their website. You can also read their last paper entitled: Innovation Based Systemic Reform. I have referenced this group several times in the past, but wanted to point out their newest work.

One of my favorite lines from the current climate around attitudes towards teachers is: If you want to blame them for all of the systemic problems of schools, at least give them the opportunity to control and make decisions (which they currently have very little). This new teacher role starts first and foremost with having control, input, decisions making power and knowledge about how school budgets and finances work. This is the starting point for the Teacher Professional Practice (TPP).

There have been a few posts that you can check out from the past that I recommend, based on their congruance with my current job and advocacy beliefs around schools:

Jim's post (advisor at MN New Country School, my first teaching job) on how teachers and staff make the budget and finance decisions site based.
Gigi's Post, who works at my former school EdVisions Off Campus (online, project based school)
Doug's post around the formation of EdVisions Schools (my employer) and EdVisions Cooperative (MN teacher cooperative)
Joe Graba's post around "improving teacher retention by making it a better job."
Lynn Norgren post from Minneapolis Federation of Teachers talks about ownership possibilities inside the Minneapolis School District
Carrie Bakken's from Avalon School gives insight to the Department of Education around teacher ownership

There is many more posts that are of interest, but I wanted to highlight a few. The winds of possibility are blowing for teachers to have more ownership in their work. With ownership, comes increased responsibility. With responsibility, should come advocacy and monitoring of education policy.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer,

Aaron

Project Foundry Unconference in Milwaukee

2010-07-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

just finished day 1 of the Project Foundry Unconference. This year marks the 2nd annual event. It is a great time, with like minded educators who come together to talk progressive education and how it melds with the software Project Foundry.

Our keynote speaker today (for the 2nd year in a row) was Peter Pappas. You can check him out at: http://www.peterpappas.blogs.com. He has some great things to say about the practice on reflection, relevance and rigor. Once we deconstructed these words, the groups got a good idea about how these terms are thrown around in education circles, but we fail to define what they actually mean.

Overall, it was a successful day. Lots of friends here, coming together to help make what we all do better (using Project Foundry).

Resources from "Infusing Technology Into Projects"

2010-07-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Project Tracking Software

Project Foundry (tracking student projects)
Senior Project Tracker (Senior Project/Capstone Projects)

Video Resources:

Blogging

Example Projects/Blogs

Other Web 2.0 Tools for Students/Educators

Wikis

http://www.wikispaces.com

EPortfolios with Web 2.0 Tools

http://electronicportfolios.org/web20portfolios.html

EdVisions Summer Institute

2010-07-13T07:13:00.001-07:00

The attendees

Published with Blogger-droid v1.3.6

Jamie showing off his ipad

2010-06-24T10:09:00.001-07:00

Published with Blogger-droid v1.3.6

3 Documentaries On My "Must See" List This Summer

2010-06-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

There are three movies, around American education that should make things very interesting. While there have been many books written about the "one size fits all" factory model that I see as outdated, I am personally hoping that the movies get people to think more about our lack of innovation and systemic problems going on in schools.

To be clear, I don't blame teachers, but believe they should be some of the loudest advocates for change. I realize that I am young and still have much to learn, but one of my goals and passions in life is to see schools be better places for kids and teachers (as well as others)... more motivating, more engaging, more hopeful environments.

I embedded some of the trailers for these movies which all should be out this summer. I will try to follow up with thoughts later, but would also love to hear your reactions... along with any other documentaries that may be coming out around education.

Aaron

Race to Nowhere

The Lottery

The War on Kids

End Of the School Year Reflection

2010-06-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Whenever the end of the school year hits, there is something in my body that signals relief. Call it classical conditioning, but summer is never really hear until the school year ends. Sadly, like last summer, since I am not teaching at a school, summer will be a very busy time for me.

A few things cause me to reflect as the summer season moves in:

Cain completed his first year (8th grade) at a MNCS which help provide him a new sense of self. While he still has a lot to work on (as we all do), as a parent I am happy to see him be less stressed out about school. The new environment held true to everything I hoped it would. His engagement and hope (measured by the Hope Survey) definitely increased. I wonder if they will let me see the anonymous data? ;-)
I have been working on a new found lifestyle when it comes to food. On Sunday, it will be 9 weeks since I have eaten meat or drank milk (I can't say I am dairy free because I have eaten pizza a few times). While I am not yet pushing my new lifestyle on others, reading books like: Fast Food Nation, Omnivores Dilemma & Skinny Bastard (which ended up being more about what you should eat) and movies such as Food, Inc. & Super Size Me prodded me to try to make some changes. Honestly, I miss meat a little, but not nearly as much as I thought. Cutting out meat gets me to eat more vegetables and also contribute less to the synthetic industrial food chain. I highly recommend rice milk or soy milk to replace milk. I am losing weight, feeling better physically and mentally... and I am not even on a diet. Lastly, I have found out that buying food that is decent is not nearly as expensive an endeavor as I assumed. I do drive a little further now (shopping mostly at Trader Joe's and Food Coops), but it is well worth it. Tofu isn't that bad either, if prepared right. I am still working on the cooking it myself methodology.
Broden and Cain finished school. Broden is now a 2nd grader and Cain will enter 9th next year. I am getting old quick which I will have a reminder of next week.

To all you students out there, remember, just because it is summer doesn't mean that you should take a break from learning. I want to learn until the day I die, but I have to admit, I take breaks too.

Until next time,

Aaron

Educational Whirlwind Tour in Milwaukee

2010-05-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't had a chance to catch up with my blog, which I am trying to stay more on top of now. Last week was really busy and exciting.

I flew out on a very early flight last Wednesday to spend the day with Shane Krukowski of Project Foundry. Project Foundry has been a vital tool in both of the student driven, project based schools that I taught at (MNCS and EOC). Shane hosted a co-worker of mine and I for a day of Project Foundry enlightenment. We went through topics like: project proposals, approval options of projects/seminars, time logs/journals, result forms, project assessments, tasks, individualized learning plans, learning targets & standards, periodic assessments and reports & transcripts. We also caught up about some of the new releases that are due out before school starts again in the fall. I am definitely planning on attending the Project Foundry Unconference at the end of July, were there will be lots of like minded constructivists sharing best practices of this amazing 21st Century software.

On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure to attend a meeting with the group TransCenter for Youth, who were proposing to open a new school. The most powerful portion of the testimony came from students, who discussed how they had lost hope in their previous schools. All of the students are in schools that are around 100 students and they discussed how the size of the school lends itself to a more close knit, positive environment. The students were inspiring and reminded me why I get so excited to create better learning environments that better serve the needs of students (personal and academic). As tired as I was from a 5:40 a.m. flight that morning, my mind was racing about how inspirational the student stories were.

Thursday, another co-worker of mine flew in to attend the Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium's 2nd Annual Unconference. The event was held at the Kern Center, on the campus of Milwaukee School of Engineering. This event had both students displaying & presenting their work, along with adult sessions, were we presented on The Hope Survey.

On Friday, EdVisions Cooperative had our 3rd Annual Project Fair. We had two high schools and two elementary schools in attendance. I have to hand it to the younger students, they really surprised with me the depth of their work. Two of my favorite projects from the younger students were: 1) The effects of microwaves on water, which was a series of experiments with water. The plants that were given water that had been heated up in the microwave died. 2) My favorite student, Jacob did a project on peanuts. Who knew there was so much information to learn about this staple food? His presentation concluded with making peanut butter balls, but I missed out on the taste.

It was a crazy couple of days. I slept on the plane for the first time (minus my trip to Tokyo which was sleeping pill induced) ever. It was a short nap, since it is only about a 40 minute flight.

Hope you enjoyed the update. As always, feel free to touch base.

Best,

Aaron

My dinner Wednesday night (Pear Salad)... magnificent!

The Hope Survey

2010-05-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

After some strategic planning a few weeks back, my new position has me selling/doing outreach on The Hope Survey 75% of my time. This is work that I am really excited about, since it brings relevance and data driven decision practices to the school environment on more than just "how to get students to do better on tests."

My organization, Edvisions Schools, is submitting our second I3 grant on this work. The Hope Survey began more than five years ago when we were approached by Mark Van Ryzin, who was working on his PhD at the University of Minnesota in Education Psychology. Mark Van Ryzin is someone I have immense respect for, since I feel like he is actually working on things that matter to kids: motivation, relevance, mentor figures and so on. After five years of data, we are now able to definitively say that raising student hope correlates to raising student achievement.

The following is from a recent write up by Mark Van Ryzin: "The Hope Surveys measure autonomy, belongingness and competence, along with their resulting engagement in learning and their dispositional orientations towards achievement (i.e. their "hope"). Matched with student achievement scores, the resulting data can provide a detailed picture of the school climate and its effects on student performance. The Hope Surveys do this in a manner that protects student confidentiality yet still can measure student performance over time. The surveys require very little time, which means that they will not significantly impact instruction."

The Hope Surveys have been proven to help schools:

Understand the school culture and how it supports adolescent needs
Link school culture to dispositional hope, which is correlated to post high school success
Discover ways to engage students to raise achievement
Improve teacher effectiveness by providing appropriate interventions that raise engagement and hope

Here are some recent documents for your viewing pleasure (pdf's):

Hope Survey Figures (How building hope in students leads to achievement)
Overview of the Hope Surveys (by Mark Van Ryzin)
Hope Survey Variables (How the variables were constructed and why)

So the variables work like this:

Autonomy, Belonginess, Goal Orientation & Academic Press (student perceptions of these) lead to --->
Engagement - which refers to the student's behavior and attitudes in school (means students are both "behaviorally engaged" and "emotionally engaged" in school)... leads to --->
Hope - (psychological health) which reflects individual's perception regarding their ability to clearly conceptualize their goals & to develop the specific strategies to reach theses goals (i.e., pathway thinking), and initiate and sustain the activities in support of those strategies(i.e., agency thinking)... which leads to --->
Academic Achievement - I argue that schools should be held "accountable" for raising student hope ;-)

I invite any feedback on this information. I am looking for schools, networks of schools and states who would like use our survey. Does your school have have hope?

Aaron

aaron@edvisionsschools.org

507 248-3738 ext. 7

Early Registration Discount for Summer Institute Ends May 12

2010-05-10T05:54:00.000-07:00

For those who plan on attending the 10th Annual Summer Institute, you need to register by May 12th to get the early registration deadline (the early registration deadline has already passed for Hawaii).

We are really excited to have Deborah Meier, a giant in the small schools world, who will be joining us as our keynote speaker at our MN Institute in Henderson.

For registration info, check out the following spots:

Hawaii Summer Institute at Hakipu'u Learning Center (June 21, 2010 - June 24, 2010)
Minnesota Summer Institute at Minnesota New Country School (July 12, 2010 - July 15, 2010)
Wisconsin Summer Institute at Valley New School (July 19, 2010 - July 22, 2010) - discount for WI educators, inquire for details

Great Lakes Constructivist Consortium's Unconference

2010-05-10T05:37:00.000-07:00

I am happy to be heading to Milwaukee in a couple of weeks to attend the GLCC's Exhibition and Unconference on May 20 in Milwaukee. You can check out registration and a schedule by clicking here.

If you live in Minnesota, such as I do, you can take a flight into Milwaukee same day (fly in/fly out) for about $115, which sure beats driving.

I will be there with my co-worker Mary Menne presenting on the Hope Survey and The EdVisions Model.

Let me know if you will be in attendance. It would be great to talk shop. ;-)

Innovation-based System Reform: Getting Beyond Traditional School

2010-05-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

If you know me, I am big fan of the group Education Evolving. Recently, they published their latest paper (click here to view) regarding a familiar plea that public education move to a "two bet strategy." This two bet strategy would allow for more innovative approaches to education 21st Century students than the current "teacher as expert" model that we assume is our best bet to raise productive citizens in society. If you are interested in education policy, I think you will find it as a good read and one that trumpets what America's education system really needs, a large scale system change from the current one bet strategy.

If you don't believe me, believe my son Cain. Last year in a typical large, suburban, impersonal junior high, he grew complete frustrated with school. This started to effect his self esteem and definitely impacted his motivation to learn. This year (after he agreed to the experiment), he has spent the year at Minnesota New Country School, commuting down from the Twin Cities with me. He has rediscovered the joy of learning and is definitely improving his academic achievement. If he would have continued to stay in the "one size fits all" environment, as his dad I was afraid to see what would happen as he continued to disengage with school. He and I talk more than ever about learning and his future, because I am a real partner is his learning.

I am going to try and contribute more on here. I have to to admit that the facebook and twitter world we live in has me giving out short thoughts. As always, feel free to share your thoughts.

Aaron

Creatively Speaking, Part One: Sir Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind | Edutopia

2009-12-30T06:23:00.000-08:00

Creatively Speaking, Part One: Sir Ken Robinson on the Power of the Imaginative Mind | Edutopia

Was forwarded this video by a new like minded pal, Matt in Indiana.

What do you think?

My Thoughts On "Disrupting Class"

2009-12-03T03:06:00.000-08:00

New Adjustment

2009-09-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

After teaching for the past 5 1/2 years (2.5 at MN New Country and 3 at EdVisions Off Campus), my body is telling me it is time to go back to working with students. I am playing a trick on myself, as I will not be teaching this fall for the first time since graduating with my undergrad degree. Since mid June, I have been working at my new gig, EdVisions Schools.

Thus far, I have to admit that I am enjoying working in an office environment. Working from home the past 3 years has been a bit rough on this extrovert. I get energy from being around people. While I still have a lot to learn, my new job has been satisfying and a learning experience. A change in routine has been good for me.

Lastly, we made a huge change in Cain's education. After a lackluster, uninspired 7th grade year at the suburban, factory style junior high, he is now going to MN New Country. I have to say that I wore him down over time to at least give it a try. Being that he is an 8th grader, it is a good year for him to try this "different" way of learning. After working in project based, teacher led schools, I have to say that I am more excited than him. I will keep you updated, but so far, he is liking this new way of approaching learning.

Contact your MN Senators Before the Hearing on March 25

2009-03-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

MN Schools Make New York Times

2009-01-12T05:56:00.000-08:00

School successfully serving immigrant population are highlighted in this Saturday New York Times article: click here.

You may need to sign up for a free account on the New York Times site in order to view the article.

Aaron

Edutopia Article on Project Based Learning

2008-12-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

Click here to read the article: Put To the Test: Confronting Concerns about Project Based Learning. While I enjoyed reading this article and it brought up many good points, I think there is something missing. As a teacher of project based learning, I have found that good relationships with students to be the most powerful dictator of success.

I have the utmost respect for the work that The Buck Institute is doing, but I have never heard them talk about the relationships part of what makes PBL. While they have the two R's down (Rigor and Relevancy), they are missing the 3rd R (Relationships). After all, if PBL is implemented with the same, warehouse like school culture, the shift in the students may only be incremental. Their is so much talk about "investing in kids." Their is no bigger investment we can make than to get to know each individual student.

Now for praise... I am glad to see how much literature and information the Buck Institute is providing people. They have become true advocates for PBL and Inquiry Based Learning. I hope their influence can start to convince colleges around the country to train teachers in this curriculum and student centered approach.

I have to agree with the article though: once you go PBL, going back to traditional education seems unfathomable.

Aaron

MPR Piece on MN Charters

2008-12-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Star Tribune Letter (by a Co-Worker)

2008-12-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say I work with Karen. As teachers, we need to be advocates for things we believe in. We need to stand up for our students and our community.

Click here to read: The Value of Charter Schools Goes Way Beyond Test Scores

RocketOn - Chat Everywhere!

2008-11-25T15:13:00.001-08:00

Avatar Chat Is Great - Chat Now!

Click Here To Join Us!

KSTP "Investigative Report"

2008-11-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

If you cannot view the video, you can go to the story online by clicking here.

Some comments on ideas or premonitions from this "Investigative Report" from my perspective:

"20% of Minnesota's Charter Schools should be shut down or restructured." - I don't tend to disagree, but would venture to guess that the same percentage, if not higher in traditional public schools are in the same boat.
There isn't enough over sight on many things, including teacher licenses at individual schools. - I think that there are people that get into the charter world for a wide variety of reasons. Running an effective charter school can be equated to running a successful business. It is a lot of work and isn't somthing that should be taken lightly. Charter Schools should follow the standards and laws regarding teacher licensing that the MN Department of Education sets forth.
If a few schools have problems, they must all have issues. - This is just simply not the case. The variety of charter schools differ by almost all of the 143 (or so) schools. This would be as logical as if you met one teacher who was lazy and then applied that label to every teacher (which certain people do). If you look around the country, the charter schools vary from state to state. Taking the "if you seen one, you've seen them all" viewpoint is short sited.
Lastly, I feel the the term charter school is almost pejorative. It seems like if anything bad happens within a charter school anywhere around the country, the term charter school is inserted. The headline will then say something like "Charter School Director Guilty of Fraud." Thus, whenever the general public discuss charters, they have negative thoughts. Again, I go back to the fact that there are many bad things happening in our traditional schools today (although there are many good things, but those aren't talked about unless it has to do with sports), and we don't blame the traditional model systematically for these events, do we?

Many of these issues are sure to come during this legislative session. While I am not an charter ideologue, I do think that the large, traditional, warehouse-like schools need to be changed. I am a fan of small schools (traditional or charter), were student are treated as individuals. Good public schools need to serve the community (students, parents and the locale) they are in, whether they are charters or traditional schools.

With shrinking government budgets and quickening pace of technology assisted learning (including online learning), it is time to start talking about what works for kids. If we are going to invest so much public money into educating the future of our country, we'd better spend wisely. Measuring progress by snapshot tests isn't going to give us good insight into what is working. I personally feel relying solely on academic testing data alone is a disservice to our kids. We need assessment tools that measure student growth over the long term.

I felt myself going into a diatribe. I am cutting this short at the risk of getting too political, but as always, if you wish to discuss, drop me line.

All the best,

Aaron

Google Adds Voice and Video Chat within Gmail

2008-11-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

I owe Chris Craft for this info:

I was looking at my contacts in gmail, and noticed a green camera icon by Chris' status. I asked him what was the scoop, especially since he is a fellow mac user. I came to find that Google has released a voice and video chat that is embedded right in gmail. After you download the file, you simply enable it in the chat section in your email preferences.

Previously, in order to make video and voice calls, you had to use google talk (which exists outside of gmail). Previously, mac version of the voice and video chat were not available for google talk. I believe that google talk first arrived when google bought Festoon (also used for Skype). It is interesting for me to look back on how quickly technology is progressing. This application is no doubtably competition for Skype.

Regardless, I will check out this new chat feature in gmail and get back to you. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. For a more in depth article by Monkey_Bites, click here.

Or, you can check out this video that Google made:

Aaron

Microsoft Tools to Check Out

2008-11-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Rub your eyes, because yes, its true, I am blogging about Microsoft Tools that you should check out:

Innovative Teachers Network (not sure if you can access it without a password, but google it if need be) - a networking site for teachers to host groups and join groups.
Community Clips
World Wide Telescope
Photosynth

I thought I would try to explain all of these, but since I have only been to each site a few times, check them out for yourself. It seems that Microsoft is answering google's foray into cheap, web based apps. The big question is, how can microsoft support free tools, since they don't make their money off of advertising?

Out of these, I think that Live Mesh seems the most interesting. You can have a shared folder across many devices, no matter what platform they are on.

I find it odd that hard drives keep getting bigger on computers when more and more is moving to the web. More and more, you can see how this web based technology will fit seamlessly into the mobile world.

I hope you enjoy. If you use any of these successfully, especially in regards to education, please keep me posted.

Aaron

Register to Vote

2008-10-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

If you aren't registered to vote or have moved recently, you can use this widget to register in your home state.

Camp St. Croix Adventure

2008-10-11T10:27:00.001-07:00

We survived our school's 4th trip to Camp St. Croix in Hudson, WI. The weather couldn't have been any better the two days we were there.

We were lucky to have 25 students in attendance for a get together that included activities like: presentations/exhibits, a drawing lesson, a campfire, meals eaten family style, a game of predator/prey and a game of ultimate frisbee (with one injury).

In our closing proceedings at the end of the two day event, attendees seemed to overwhelmingly agree that the field trip was a great opportunity to come together as an education community. Students that attended did a great job in showing what bright, creative students we have at EOCHS.

I personally had a great time as I do every year. It helps that this field trip is in my favorite season: fall!

Enjoy some of the pictures taken on my camera and stay tuned for more.

Aaron

Video Gaming, Technology, Teens and Learning by Doing

2008-09-17T19:16:00.003-07:00

The following post is in reference to the following article: Major New Study Shatters Stereotypes About Teens and Video Games.

The beauty of my generation, is that I get to claim that I am neither a digital native, nor a digital immigrant (per Mark Prensky).

Three schools years ago, which would be the year of 2005-06, two students of mine did senior projects that followed the same premise of a study that was recently put out by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (emailed to me courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation). The students told me that their parents and I misunderstood what gaming was really like. I told them to quit talking and start proving their point, which they did by the way.

These two students told me that video games and technology could be used in a much more efficient manner for today's students, which would help them be more engaged in their learning environments and subject matter. I must admit, I was convinced three years ago and am even more convinced today that they were right. They told me about the strong connections they had online, but I didn't quite understand it.

I may comment on this further at a later date, but wanted to share the article with you. If this post bored you, you can check out "Did You Know 2.0" on the web.

Still Looking for Students at EOC

2008-09-17T19:16:00.002-07:00

What the heck, I have a blog and people are looking at it, I might as well tell you that we still have openings at our school, EdVisions Off Campus, for the 2008-09 school year.

We are an online, project based school high school (7-12). Students must reside in Minnesota to be eligible, as we are a public school.

You can check us out here, email me or leave a comment should you be interested.

Aaron

Eoc Powerpoint 2008 09

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: eoc powerpoint)

Plug for a Students Blog

2008-09-17T19:16:00.001-07:00

Since I am reading it, I am hoping you will check it out too.

One of the students at our school is spending time blogging on current events.

Check it out here.

Back Home

2008-08-26T05:46:00.001-07:00

I am almost over my jet lag after arriving home on Sunday around noon. I have lots more to comment on regarding this trip, but will let the pictures of our trip to the airport speak for me, for now.

In retrospect, we could not have asked for a better trip. We were gone from home a total of 8 days, but spent full day in the air. On Monday we had our sight seeing day, while working Tuesday - Saturday. We are looking forward to our Japanese friends visit in September 2009. I am still finding myself thinking of "good morning" and "thank you" in Japanese.

I should have some more pictures soon, as well as time to provide additional commentary.

I am off to our staff meeting. ;)

Aaron

Day 4 from Tokyo

2008-08-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

As I type this, it is 9:30 p.m. Tokyo time, 7:30 a.m. in Minnesota. This is the earliest I have been back to my hotel room since the first night we have been here. We only have two days left of conferences, so I am beginning to think sad thoughts about leaving.

Coming to Japan has been an amazing learning experience. I have so many thoughts running through my head that it is hard to prioritize.

The pictures in this blog are many because they include both my shots, along with Mary's.

1) Honestly, I feel completely guilty about many aspects of American cultures. Since we have been here, we have been treating insanely well. I am growing fond of many Japanese traditions. Every supper this week has been in our (Dee, Mary and I's) honor, with many different venues and guests. Our hosts have taken such good care of us. It is hard to think being treated this well in another country.

2) Education is a universal language. Both Japan and American people have a need to educate the youth of their countries to the best of their abilities. The Project Based Learning Workshop that has taken place this week is as about education as it is about advocating for the future of our societies. The world is shrinking and I commend our Japanese hosts for embracing this educational philosophy.

3) Japanese cuisine is much healthier. During every meal since arriving here, I have been completely satisfied. Portion sizes are much smaller here, than in America. When we go to to a coffee shop here, a large coffee is the same size as a small in America. Another thing regarding food/drink that I am growing fond of is that it is against norms to eat or drink in public. It is disrespectful to feed your face in venues other than a restaurant or home. Think about how much Americans eat in public. It definitely saves calories to only eat when you are at a meal/restaurant.

4) Believe it or not, Japan has more advertising than America. Even though I don't know many of the companies, Japan has advertising everywhere and it is hard to escape.

5) Public transportation is leaps and bounds above what we have in America. Granted, Tokyo is a city of 13,000,000 people, but their railway is especially impressive. We got to every destination we needed to go this week by train or short taxi ride. It makes me dream of life without a car payment and insurance.

6) Tokyo has proved to be very technologically advanced. I am able to check my email and make cheap calls to home while being 14 hours away. Cell phones here can pay for many things and I have seen many laptops that are smaller in size.

Here are many, 390 to be exact from Mary and I's camera the past few days:

I hope there aren't too many typos, because I wanted to get this posted before heading to bed. This has truly been a trip of a lifetime and I am hoping to bring both Cain and Broden here to experience Japanese culture.

Sayounara,

Aaron

In Tokyo - Check it out

2008-08-18T05:56:00.000-07:00

The pictures will mostly likely do more justice than I can, so look at those first.

Today we road at least 6 trains and ran our tour guides (Soshi and Kazu) ragged. We had views from 3 skyscrapers today: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Plaza at 9:30 this morning, Tokyo Tower (similar to the Eiffel Tower) and had a 7 course supper on floor 50 of another building downtown.

The true purpose, besides learning a ton about Japanese culture begins tomorrow. We will be meeting with Elementary students to look at projects they have completed.

I have a feeling the week is going to fly by and I am going to sorely miss Tokyo. Let me just say, after seeing the plethora of skyscrapers and shear population density, Minneapolis is the sticks. :p

We are being treated like royalty. Our hosts have been ever so gracious. I am amazed by how selfless our hosts have been, to the point of guilt. Honestly, I could not dream up better treatment from hosts. When our Japanese friends come back, I have some work to do.

This has truly been a trip of a lifetime.

I will keep you posted with the upcoming EdVisions Institute and Symposium that begins tomorrow.

Further Commentary on Technology's Role in Public Education

2008-05-19T12:16:00.001-07:00

For an interesting read, check out the following article I was forwarded from EdWeek.

To read the article entitled: "Computer-Based Learning Could Transform Public Education within a Decade through “Disruptive Innovation,” Experts Say," click here.

I would love to know what your thoughts are on this article and I can give you mine. ;) I think that teachers need to be out in front of these changes.

Aaron

EdVisions Cooperative 1st Annual Project Fair

2008-05-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I waited until now to post this, but on Wednesday, May 21 EdVisions Cooperative will be hosting hosting the first annual Project Fair at Hamline University. For details of the event, click here. A special thanks to Cathy Diaz and Bonnie Jean Flom for making this happen.

YouTube Video Hits Nearly 93,000 hits

2008-04-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

Thats right, you are about to view a video that I posted on YouTube on Nov. 2, 2006. While it is no "Obama Girl," I hope you like it.

Just a shameless plug to get some hits. It has been interesting to watch the views increase exponentially. By the way, Broden (the kid in the video) starts Kindergarten in the Fall.

Aaron

Growth in Online Learning: The Big Names Behind the Schools

2008-04-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I can't resit posting after reading and listening to the following article on Minnesota Public Radio: click here.

There is currently much debate around online schooling, as students seem to be flocking in droves to this new environment. The online world cannot be classified into a distinct learning environment, which is often classified as one in which students don't have much interaction. At our school, this is not true. As a teacher in the online world, communicating with people is not an issue at all. Just as before, I have to figure how to fit everyone in.

A couple of questions I have about this shift in students are:

Are the online providers responsible for the movement in students, or are do students feel like they have nothing to lose by trying something new?
Will this increase graduation rates?
Does an online environment inspire kids that haven't had success to get an education?
What will future online environments look like?
How will this effect our teachers in the future?

Currently, in Minnesota, we have three giant online providers either in the mix or will be full fledge players by next Fall 2008. K12 (MN Virtual Academy, based out of the Houston School District), Insight (adopted by Brooklyn Center School District) and Advanced Academics (part of the MN Virtual High School and Transitions Academy). To clarify, two of these are traditional districts, while the last name mentioned is a public charter school.

These online content providers are great at marketing. When I let my son pick the radio station, they are targeting the right demographic. Their message is on point... the marketing department knows what it is doing. When the individual schools or districts buy their courses, the marketing is usually a part of the package.

If you haven't made the connection, all of these are publicly funded schools, while the the providers of the educational content are private companies.

To further this interesting investigation, both Advanced Academics and Insight have parent companies that you may know well. Advanced Academics is part of Devry, while Insight is with the University of Phoenix (better know as the Apollo Group). (If anyone knows K12's Corporate parent, let me know) Thats right, the college providers have gone into the K-12 market. They don't even need to to through the PSEO paperwork nightmare to provide college credit. ?What will be the public sectors response

While I could just as easily chastise the public sector of education for not adapting earlier, it will be interesting to see where this leads. Online schools are often clumped into one big group, just like charter schools, no matter how different they are. In the end, I hope we truly do what is best for kids of our society. It is hard to argue that the current traditional educational institutions need to be updated, both at the K-12 and post secondary level.

At this point, I am begging higher education institutions to see the investment in K-12 that private business has. There is some momentum for developing a K-16 or K-20 model. Business has began to show us that it is possible to mesh K-12 and Higher Education. Let's innovate, shall we?

For the kids,

Aaron

Updating You with My Google Alerts

2008-03-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I started experimenting with Google Alerts. While it does continue the nonstop flood of email into my inbox, it has definitely been a useful tool to keep up with some of my interests.

For instance, right now I have Google Alerts set up for both the phrases "Minnesota Charter Schools" and "Aaron Grimm."

Having news articles and blogs posts come in about "Minnesota Charter Schools" have helped me to form a more national viewpoint around the Charter movement, both pro and con.

Having all web content that contains my name just seems to be a safeguard, but right now, most of the alerts are fruitless. It is entertaining at the very least, as as soon as I publish this post, an alert is soon to follow.

From now on, I plan to use a some of my alerts as content on this blog.

All the best,

Aaron

Chat that takes place tomorrow on March 26 at 2 p.m. EST.

2008-03-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

From an email from Education Evolving and EdWeek:

Want to think creatively and deeply about redirecting K-12 policy toward innovation?

Your chance to both think and act will be at www.edweek-chat.org tomorrow, Wed. March 26, 2:00pm EDT.

Please join Education|Evolving co-founder Ted Kolderie for an online discussion, organized by Education Week, on "The Other Half of the Strategy: Following Up on System Reform by Innovating with School and Schooling". You may submit questions today for Wednesday's chat here: www.edweek-chat.org. Or, go to the EdWeek chat site during the hour-long forum and participate--or just "lurk"--in "live-time."

In this most recent E|E paper, Kolderie asserts: The system reforms taking place make improvement increasingly necessary; make change increasingly possible. But they are only half the strategy. To meet its goals this country must next undertake a serious effort to develop new forms of school and schooling. It is time, Education|Evolving argues, to redirect K-12 policy toward innovation. "The Other Half of the Strategy" also suggests how to approach this redirection, outlining barriers to innovation and ways to overcome them. For a summary of the paper's main ideas click here.

See you there!

Aaron

Help a Student Out With His Senior Project...

2008-03-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

Go to download page

I am giving a shameless plug for my student Jake, who needs to have 100 downloads of this album for his Senior Project. Check it out and let me know him know at http://www.purevolume.com/oddlyfamiliar.

If you are so inclined, you can see their show March 21, at Beaner's in Duluth.

Get in touch with me if you have further questions.

Thanks,

Aaron (and Jake)

EdVisions Summer Institute

2008-03-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

Interested in Project Based Learning? Come to the EdVisions Summer Institute the last week of July. For more info go to the EdVisions Site.

Additionally, you can check out this recap from last year:

Google Maps Street View

2008-01-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

I was completely shocked today, when looking up a local coffee shop on Google Maps to discover "street view." For fun, I put in my address, only to see my car sitting out in front of residence.

Not quiet sure if this is good or bad, but this does give fodder to the talk that soon Google will allow users to create avatars to walk the world at street view.

For some reason I had to share,

Aaron

Free Harvard Computer Science Podcasts

2007-12-05T05:33:00.001-08:00

In further open source educational developments, check out these computer science podcasts you can take from Harvard.

Formats include: Flash, MP3 and QuickTime (so you can carry it with you on your iPod).

If you know of any other good resources, please send them my way. Students and I are working on a "Online Resource Wiki." We are looking solely at free content at this time.

Welcome to Jott. Just...

2007-12-04T19:51:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Jott. Just testing out this new site I found the other day. It's jott.com. You can actually post things to your blog by talking to your cellphone which I'm doing right now. Notice the link at the end of this you can add your clip of this and then also I've been posting to my Google Calender... listen

Powered by Jott

Free MIT OpenCourseWare for HIgh School Students

2007-12-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

Just like MIT's OpenCourseWare for college, they have developed a version for high school courses called "Highlights for High School."

For students looking to gain further insight into topics or to learn new concepts, this is a great option. I have lots of courses I want to take. ;) I am glad that MIT views education as open source.

Mobile Applications from Google

2007-11-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry if you get tired of me ranting and raving about Google's applications. As I had previously thought, Google entrance into the mobile market is happening before our eyes. And the answer is "yes," I have been drinking the Google Kool-aid.

Thus far, I have used Gmail, Picasa and and Google-411 "on the go." For schools and nonprofits, they should seriously consider ditching Microsoft and using these, in my opinion, great products. Did I mention, Google's products are free (unless you upgrade storage space). Remember how Google makes their money, off of advertising. The fact that you will be viewing advertising should be weighed when making the decision. Another plus, the programs update automatically, since they are web based. At this point, if I had to pick between getting a really nice laptop or a mobile phone, get the phone. It is about time America goes mobile, since we are far behind Asia and Europe (that I know of).

This is of particular interest because people will be able to organize everything web based on the go (Google's Mobile Blog). No more hauling your laptop everywhere. If you want to see what Google programs are already mobile, click here.

As a side note, notice that the mobile version of these web based programs has a different web address. This is because a phone and a computer access different networks. Although many new phones come with Wi-fi capability, when you are on the go, you rely on the speed of your cellular carrier. All of these options can get confusing, but here is a quick video about how your phone connects (it is outlines a new product: My Location)

Amazon Kindle

2007-11-26T06:17:00.001-08:00

Instead of my commentary, you can just watch the video. I gotta admit, a mobile reader is pretty cool!

While this currently costs $400, it is sure to get cheaper in the near future. This product truly makes me feel like I am living in the age of the Jetsons.

To be fair, check out this review by Media 3.0:

Looks like you might want to wait until the 2nd generation readers hit the market. ;)

Aaron

Brain Honey: Collaborative Learning Hive

2007-11-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

I have been watching this site grow: Brain Honey's home.

The following lesson is entitled: "Visions of the Future of Education". You can embed their lessons like this one:

Seems to be a great fit for Project Based Learning, being that teachers and students can view and even contribute content with Brain Honey's tools.

Aaron

Embedding Your Google Calendar

2007-11-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Another Google epiphany this morning. I am have been playing with embedding calendars into web pages and blogs using simple html code provided by Google. When a user is viewing their calendar, they can go to "settings" to see the code needed for embedding. Additionally, users can create separate calendars from their personal calendar and choose to make them public or private (by invite only).

For instance, you can check out my son's Hockey Team Blog, where I put their schedule in Google Calendar for all to see. While this is an experiment, I thought it would save time and convenience to have all the information in one place, rather than sending out piece meal emails. I can see this feature as a major tool for schools. The calendar automatically updates on the blog or site if updated or changed by the account user.

This ability allows left brained people like myself to stay organized. With Google's eventual mobile phone applications, all you will need is a cell phone to stay uber organized. Users can also choose to have event reminders sent to their email or mobile phone.

The follow video is a bit blury, but the audio is informative. If you want to check out more info, you can do a search for "google calendar" or check out the Google Calendar Home. If cost and convenience are two priorities, check it out.

Aaron

Politically Correct Testing Rant

2007-11-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Ahhh.... testing. As a school, we spent at least two weeks trying to get all our students to take the NWEA tests. Additionally, I spent the last two weeks helping an elementary school get their NWEA test completed. Our school is rapidly approaching the leftover BST's and current MCA's. I am going to be politically correct in saying that their is a massive amount of time getting these test set up, proctored, making sure all students take the tests and finally, test analysis (which there seems to be the least time for).

I came to some personal realizations, thus opinions, the last two weeks about testing.

Tests truly are written for white, middle class students (the monoculture phenomenon)
It doesn't seem possible that the test scores of ESL students can be valid
Snapshot (versus longitudinal) testing is simply a waste of time
More and more teachers must feel the need to teach to the test
If the time spent administering all the tests was put into another initiative, like peer mentoring for instance, it may be a better use of time by all
Testing may or may not correlate with the student's potential

I have more opinions, that of which shouldn't be posted for all to see. Sometimes I wonder who comes up with these ideas? Who comes up with these testing policies, the lobbyists for the testing companies? Can our own politicians pass all of these tests?

A bit synical, I know, but I had to get that off my chest. :) Now, do the best you can.

Aaron

Smart Investments in Minnesota's Students

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

Monday I attended a conference held at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul focused around bringing Academia and research to the table with policy makers. For the factual data reported by the organization that sponsored this event, Growth and Justice, click here.

Additionally, scholars Dr. Arthor Rolnick, Dr. Arthur Reynolds, Dr. Henry M. Levin, Dr. Megan Beckett and Dr. Laura Perna offered brief description of their papers found here.

There were many Minnesota House and Senate members in attendance. Most notably, Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller, Senate Minority Leader David Senjem and House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher. The Education Commissioner Alice Seagren also gave parting comments at the end of the day.

Many media outlets were there, which you can surely search the web for different resources (like a blogs, for instance). An article by the Star Tribune's James Walsh can be found by clicking here. Twin Cities Public Television was on hand to tape the entire days festivities, which I will keep you posted on. I have been checking TPT's website, but have been unable to fine the video as of today.

Overall, my suspicions seem to be confirmed. Education is important. The current traditional model costs a lot of money. There may be better ways to do things. The problem is as much financial as is it political. We need to start investing in our children's future. Change isn't easy for anyone, but far too many students are dropping out of school, yet we still are investing massive amount of public dollars. While I am a big proponent of school choice, we need to tread carefully.

The nugget that I came away with is that as a state and nation, we need to start putting much more money into early childhood for all families. The rate of return on this investment has the potential to money later in life. The "birth to 5" initiative is one that I am fully on board with. Birth to age three seems to be the most pivotal years in a human being;s development, yet we don't invest anything when compared to what we spend on K-12 and Post Secondary Education.

Just a few thoughts... Read for yourself and hit me back for debate. If you have other good resources about educational programs that work, you can send me a comment below this posting.

Aaron

Looking at Some of Google's Plans

2007-11-04T17:45:00.001-08:00

Check out this $199 computer, sold at Wal Mart :( that uses Google Applications on a Linux operating system. You can check out the New York Times article that cynically pokes fun of the "Microsoft Tax."

Additionally, you can check out some more of what Google is up to with its upcoming Gphone. The buzz seems to be at a frantic pace as of late. You can read more about the Gphone at Last 100 Blog. Wikipedia is already buzzing with an explanation of this phone. That's right, Google Calender, Docs, Maps, along with Google's other web based services (nickname GoOffice) will be available on your phone. Rumor has it that it may even be free, with users viewing advertisements as a trade off to paid cellular service. With all of Google's services, there isn't much a person will need a laptop or desktop for. Count me in.

Google is making a big push in many facets of the technology world. Many are scared that they will turn into the next Microsoft. While I am skeptical of large corporations, Google has a different business model (Wikipedia link). It is hard to argue with Google's price to consumers, which is free for many of their products, since they generate revenue from advertising.

Camp St. Croix Retreat for EOCHS

2007-10-25T06:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Camp St. Croix, Hudson, Wisconsin. There are a lot of pictures (over 120), but check out some of the good times we had with students, parents and staff at EdVisions Off Campus High School.

Special photo credits go to Rose and John. It was an awesome time to chat about our school community and project based learning.

Aaron

Videos Worth Sharing

2007-10-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

I would be interested in your thoughts on any of these. Notice that with each video, the coherence and professionalism gets better. YouTube is causing me to stay up way too late on a Sunday night, but at least now I have backup for conversation I have with people over an over. "19th Century system teaching 21st Century learners."

A Vision of Students Today

Information R/evolution

With a response by: Academia 2.0

EdVisions Coop Service Awards

2007-10-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

If interested, here is video from October 18 at the EdVisions Conversation Day at Avalon Charter School in St. Paul.

Thanks for watching,

Aaron

Minnesota New Country Hits "All Things Considered" on NPR

2007-10-19T21:51:00.000-07:00

Above: Peter and Jim, two of my former co-workers at MNCS, working on preparing for presentation night.

For the National Public Radio story and audio, click here.

I got news that Minnesota New Country would be featured on "All Things Considered" today at approximately 4:37 p.m. Yes, thanks to my former co-worker Jim, I was anxiously awaiting the story about my former school. For me, this environment caused me to look at who I am and become a better person, along with becoming a better teacher.

As Larry Abramson of NPR points out, advocates for project based learning and different educational environments aren't claiming to be the sole answer to America's educational crisis. Rather, New Country offers and choice option for students in that vicinity that may have lost hope in their former educational environment.

One of the luckiest days in my life is when I walked into New Country for a clinical at MSU, Mankato. It felt like home. I still feel welcome every time I go back to visit. I am a bit nostalgic looking back on all of the stories that have driven me towards my goal in life as a kid; which was to make a difference in the lives of others. I have tremendous respect for the staff and students at Minnesota New Country. As a staff member at MNCS, we often laughed about the fact that people traveled so far to see us in action, when we had the same struggles that many organizations face. People are looking for answers and stories of success. The lesson here is that it is a fight to change convention.

I miss working at MNCS because we truly were a team (as is the staff I work with now). I hope that staff and students at the school realize how special the community is. I can't even count on two hands the number of inspiring people that I had the pleasure to call colleagues in this special environment.

The coolest thing that project based learning has to teach is that motivation and self awareness comes from within, for both students and teachers. Their is no secret formula to unlock what motivates all individuals.

Bless the innovators (including those who dreamed of MNCS and its new way of embracing learning). I believe in educational experimentation and MNCS' modo: "Learning by doing."

Aaron

Educational Choices Bring Hope

2007-10-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Time for me to admit to being naive. After teaching for two project based learning establishments (Minnesota New Country and EdVisions Off Campus) for the past four school years, I have been overly bias to PBL schools, especially high school. Understandably, I haven't gotten out enough into different educational circles. Recently, I have had the chance to mingle with the staff and students from Hiawatha Leadership Academy in Minneapolis. It has done wonders for me to step outside what I know.

Hiawatha Leadership Academy has done a remarkable job of getting the word out, enrolling over 200 students in their first year. They did this the grassroots way by hitting the pavement. The challenge of opening a school is truly a remarkable effort.

This extended day program involves an intense commitment from their staff. Hats off to them for taking on the challenge of tackling the achievement gap among inner city students.

If interested, check out articles by Minnesota Public Radio and the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

As an educator and citizen, I think it is important for students and teachers to discover their optimal learning environments. One of the main reasons I am such a big fan of charter schools is that they seem more willing to take risk and experiment with different ways of delivering education. Personally, I wish that I would have had so many choices when I was a student four score and seven years ago.

Getting ready to turn on the heat,

Aaron :(

Nintendo Wii

2007-10-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

Thought I would fill all of this serious, education/technology talk with a little personal information about our newly acquired Nintendo Wii (still tech related, I guess).

Cain (my son) and I have been dreaming of getting a Wii after talking with friends that had one. He wanted a XBox 360, but I told him, "son, lets hold out for a Wii." We walked into a Game Crazy and asked "Do you have any Wii's?" one random Sunday before we headed back to school. We assumed the typical "no," since we had asked many times before with "get real" like responses at many different retailers.

Thus far, we have had our Wii about 1 1/2 months and we love it. It is a addicting and a great stress reliever. There are all kinds of extras that come with it, too many to list. A couple include the ability to download most old Nintendo System games, as well as an Internet browser (cost's point = $). We only have the game the comes with the system, Wii Sports (Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf and Boxing). Cain and I both dig tennis.

If you get a chance to try a Wii, check it out. They are hard to find right now, but are quickly beginning to outsell PS3's and XBox 360's. The game play is more of what I was looking for.

And that concludes the video game portion of the program.

Enjoy raking leaves,

Aaron

Over $1 Billion Invested In Virtual Worlds Over the Past Year

2007-10-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

For those interested in what is next in education and communication, start paying attention to the research and development behind virtual worlds (Wikipedia link). I got this article from my friend Tom and it can be found here.

While I have spent some time playing around in Second Life, I feel like there will be much better possibilities ahead in future virtual worlds. SL (Second Life) is busy making its own improvements. I haven't tried out the new voice feature.

If you know of any worlds that you could personally recommend, leave me a comment. I may be looking at testing this out with interested students before the year is over. Web conferencing with students is nice, but being inside a virtual world, I feel, would be much more engaging.

This subject is of particular interest to me, because two years ago, I had two seniors (Rob and Seth) doing their senior projects on making education more engaging. They argued that they go home at night to play video games online, participate in actual learning and meet people from all over the world. Their ideas was to get education to be more engaging using technology. Two years ago, I thought this was still a long way off, but I was wrong. All we have to do now is reprogram those educators that proclaim that education = pain!

To a pain free, engaging education,

Aaron

Online Networking and Other Ideas

2007-10-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

While being on the Community Building committee at EOC (with my esteemed colleague Mike), I have been racking my brain, thinking of ways for students to get to know each other. We have a school newsletter, this blog (which will get rolling, I promise), email lists and an instant messaging client. None of them seems to be fulling that social need to meet others.

In comes our very own social network, that I got free of charge from Ning. There are many early adapters. Students, as normal, have been much better beta testers than adults. I would divulge our address to join, but we are keeping it for our community only, which is the beauty of Ning.

My positives are many. Students are used to this environment and many have taken great pride in how their profile looks (using html skills from MySpace and Facebook). The main gripe I have so far is that I don't have a way to control passwords and usernames as an administrator. Students forget their passwords and come looking to me to help them, but there isn't much I can do.

It has been fun for our students, who live across the state of Minnesota to use a Web 2.0 technology for school related work.

Keep experimenting,

Aaron

It Has Been... A Month!

2007-09-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that I have been working hard at "trying new things," which I now have plenty to report on. First off, I have my 16 students, as well as another advisor using Google Apps. I purchased the domain edvisionsonline.com (which will have a web page soon) for the standard $10. All of my students have an email account, Google Docs/Spreadsheets/Presentation, a calendar standard. They can access any of the other applications with their username by going here.

Reason number 419, I am a Mac user, but use Windows on a daily basis (I have a Macbook Pro with an Intel chip). Instead of logging into the separate computer operating systems for documents or storing files in my email, I just save it in my Google Docs, and it is always there.

Being that our students use project based learning, Google docs has been effective as a checkoff tool. If I need students to get certain tasks done, I put them in a spread sheet and "x" off when they get things done. I just resend the spreadsheet (no attachment needed) in an email until they get it done. I have even trained a few students to keep me in line, telling me "give me an x, I have that done."

The cool new development is that Google has added a Presentation creation and upload capability. And, of course, it is web based.

Let me lastly say, in this post, that I am merely sharing my viewpoint and experiences with Google's products as and educator and a technologist. I do not receive anything currently if you click on links (although this is something I can do in the future, but Google is very peculiar about placing links in a dishonorable manner).

So what does this mean? Organizations do not have to pay expensive software fees that (cough, cough) some companies have had a "so called" unfair advantage in customers. No more Microsoft Office for those willing to take the leap. All of the Google programs allow the user to save things in many formats, including Windows formats.

If my explanation doesn't work, just check out this video:

Thanks for reading/watching,

Aaron

Money Saving Advice

2007-08-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I had better get a post out there, being that rule #1 of blogging is having regular content. Things are busy, getting ready for the school year. I have been using my Google Calendar quite frequently, finding it working out nicely. My favorite feature is that I can get choose to have text messages sent to my cell phone (and I can control when they are sent). I can use the extra reminders.

By now, some people may be getting sick of my Google ramblings, but just in case that isn't the case, I have a quick story how Google is saving people money (I know they are getting richer, believe me):

I know a lawyer in the Brainerd area that used to pay $3000 annually to have his "web page" searchable on the site, www.findlaw.com. For the $10 sign up fee using Google, I will be making him a custom URL site that will more informative, give he and his employees email accounts, calendars, docs and spreadsheets, chat and a customized start page (all web based and accessible from any computer, whether a Mac, PC or Linux OS). That is right, $10 (not including paying me to set it up). In turn, I can teach him to update his page if he likes, and he doesn't have to worry about a redesign every year or so. Now, the sites don't have crazy Flash graphics or PHP, but they make him easy to find the first place people look, on the web. We will do some experimenting with Google Adwords (to see if we can get some additional traffic looking at his site (which I can follow with a web analytics product).

People think that I am really smart technology wise (I know I still have a lot to learn), but I have figured most of this stuff out playing around, using trial and error. I like Google products because I think that it helps almost anyone look technology savvy.

Virtual Worlds a Passing Fad?

2007-08-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

Virtual worlds are being developed as we speak. The game Second Life is gaining a lot attention, and I have been "in world" about five times thus far (Gary Gynoid is my character. I find it funny that there is debate about Second Life being a competent technology. Virtual worlds are multiplying daily. If you don't believe me, check out this review on all the different virtual worlds by categories.

As I often state, it is of great importance that we don't look at emerging technology with our "this is the way education has always been" glasses. Technology has already drastically changed the institution know as "school." And... will continue to do so. Student live in this wired world. A world that I think will eventually change the role of teachers.

Personally, I am excited for the future. Excited that my sons will be able to collaborate with a fellow student in China by simply turning on their computer. What's next? I will try to keep my ear to the ground.

Keep those minds open,

Aaron

Bad Blogger with a Google of Excuses

2007-08-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my lack of posts over the summer. As teachers, we always think we will have so much free time, which never seems to be the case.

I can update you on a few of the things I have been up to, which pertain mostly to Google Applications. (Google Apps. for those in the know)

At the end of July, I did a presentation with Nick Ryan (a fellow teacher at MNCS) at EdVisions Summer Institute concerning collaborative technology. You can check Nick's thoughts out here. If you want to check out some of the web-based software we played around with, click here.

Additionally, Cain, Broden and I spent 16 days in Florida. While we were there, besides mowing lawns and enjoying utter relaxation, I build a website using Google Apps. for my friends Chris and Colin. You can click here to check out the simple site. For $10 I was able to buy the domain, build a site and get up to 200 web based (gmail) accounts, as well as a few other features. Put Outlook to bed I say. Of course I had to purchase http://www.aarongrimm.com also. ;)

Right now, I am having a lot of fun with Google Documents, which looks like a simplistic piece of software at first glance. I keep discovering new things you can do with it. The collaboration possibilities and ease of use for websites makes this a great discovery.

School is rapidly approaching, the summer is flying by. I will try to get back into the swing of things for the school year.

Aaron

P.S. Enjoy this slide show made on Picasa of a day at the Water Park in Florida.

Just One More

2007-06-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

Everyone likes games.

Google Gadgets

2007-06-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

Alright, I have to confess that I have spent way too much time playing around with Google Gadgets. Some aren't that useful, but it is fun to be able to customize a webpage. Check the sidebar for interesting additions or check them out yourself.

You simply customize the gadget with your taste, then copy and paste the html code into your page.

Here is an example of a virtual fish tank:

Listen to Free Audio Books

2007-06-15T04:22:00.000-07:00

If you go to LibriVox.org, you can listen to free audio books recorded by volunteers. How is this legal? Here is a clip from their website to explain:

"LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain and release the audio files back onto the net. Our goal is to make all public domain books available as free audio books. We are a totally volunteer, open source, free content, public domain project."

All of the books are easy to listen to. You can download audio files to iTunes or as mp3's. Or, if you like, you can stream directly from the site. A teacher can now assign students to listen to Romeo and Juliet on their iPod.

I learned about this site from an emagazine that I subscribe to called: "Learn Out Loud." This is a mega site for audio books, podcasts, mp3's and video that can be used for education. The content is a mixture of free and fee based. Personally, I have been checking out the technology and politics sections.

Senior Presentations from May 17th

2007-06-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Alex

Rocky

Mike

Heather

Amy

Innovative, for Microsoft at Least

2007-06-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know I am not a big fan of Microsoft products. I thought, to be fair, I should let you know about their latest innovation, the coffee table computer. It will only be sold to companies, rather than individual consumers upon release late in 2007.

Now, I think it is interesting to note the look of this new device/piece of furniture (looks very Appleish to me). Also, Microsoft is supposedly making all the parts to outfit this device, rather than farming parts to the cheapest bidder (an Apple practice). I first heard about this device on NPR, but have since done a bit of researching. Pretty neat, even for Microsoft. I could see this being used in a school environment.

Mobile Technology and Quick Education Chatter

2007-06-09T08:51:00.001-07:00

I thought I would give a quick post about a new phone I am trying out, the Tmobile Wing. This phone is the upgrade to the Cingular 8525. Notice both company use their brand name to market the phone. I have hear that both phones are made by HTC, a company that specializes in mobile technology.

This video from Youtube is courtesy of: Phonescoop

I have had my Wing for over two weeks now, and I have to say that I like it a lot. I would like it even more if I didn't have to use Windows, being that I am a Mac person. I can't wait for the iPhone to come out, but I don't want to fork over the money, or pay to switch cell carriers.

I have argued with many people on whether mobile technology will rear its head in education, which I believe it will. Internet technology is creating more and more information on demand. Here is an example in France where people can learn English using their phones. I have heard that China is taking advantage of this technology too. Do a simple search for "learning english on a phone" and you will be amazed.

Mobile technology is another example of a technology tool that can radically change the way education is delivered. The problem I sometimes encounter in educational conversation is that people view current technology with past experience and past frames, rather than trying to be creative and say "what if...?" Although, I am hopeful and committed to seek out new ways of doing things. ;)

Questions? Let me know.

Google Labs

2007-06-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

If you are bored or just a trend nut like me, check out Google Labs for the latest research and development projects by Google.

One of the current products of particular interest (although they are all interesting to me) is the Google Voice Local Search. Essentially, this can replace the service 411 that costs the user money. Although it is still in its experimental stage, I did find the top 8 coffee shops in St. Paul. It was a little rough when I asked for Dunn Bros. and they connected me to Dunkin Donuts. When I finally found my destination, I said "text message" at the end, and I was sent the address, phone number and Google Map URL of the location. On my phone, I clicked the link and was given a map of my new location. Pretty cool, especially since it is free.

2007-06-04T09:08:00.001-07:00

vs.

Thinking of getting a blog going? I have used both Wordpress and Blogger, and I have to say I like them both. Both are free.. Wordpress is clean and allows users build sites that look professional. Blogger, Google's blogging platform is easy to learn.

There are many options now for blogging. You can now even buy web domains easily for $10/year through Google here. I recently purchased aarongrimm.com, but haven't done much with it yet. I guess I just wanted to say I have it. ;) The amazing this is, you can use that custom domain with your blog, so your address is personalized, rather than the blogspot address.

Hope you liked the post. You can check out Ruby's portfolio blog here.

Another Variety Show Act

2007-05-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks Alek for letting me post this. We have some talented musicians at EOCHS, albeit all self directed. Hmmm.... I may be on to something here?

Ruby Playing Piano

2007-05-30T07:54:00.003-07:00

Check out Ruby on the Piano.

Updates for the Photography Portfolio's

2007-05-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

Check out these aspiring photographers:

Check out Tay's online album
and
don't forget to see what Jess has done too.

One More for Today

2007-05-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

I think I owe a few catch ups. I guess I should confess about what has been keeping me busy, besides having two boys and being a teacher. I have been looking hard the use of virtual worlds in education. If you haven't heard of Second Life, look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself "Have I been living under a rock?" Also, there are two virtual worlds that I know of that are in development for academic purposes, the Croquet Project and Multiverse. All three virtual worlds are free to join, so play around.

It's Been A While...

2007-05-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posts lately, I have been keeping busy. I am back from our All School Retreat at Canterbury Inn. If you weren't there, you missed some great musical performances.

Additionally, I also have been checking out Wordpress, which I have found to be an impressive blogging site.

There are a couple more performances, but I need permission to post them. Also, I will try to have the Senior Presentations up soon too!

Good day to you.

*Aaron

Roadmap 2016

2007-05-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

The following, simplistically put, is a primer on how collabortive technology will change the way we do things, especially in the field of education.

See the Metaverse Roadmap.

Caitlin's Senior Presentation

2007-05-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Eventually, presentations will be up on our new Viadesto site, but this blog will have to do for now. Feel free to leave comments below.

Credit to Tom Abeles

2007-04-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

Tom has been feeding me a lot of interesting info. I thought I would share it with you.

Contact Consortium

Seriosity

Reinventing Schools (this site is from 1995)

You Have to Read This

2007-04-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

After reading this, my brain has been going non-stop about the possibilities: Future Learning Environments.

This article not only broadened my mind as a teacher, but taught me history about the Wilson Campus School, located in my home town of Mankato, MN. For more on the Minnesota Experimental City, see this Wikipedia link here.

Not to get to philosophical on you, but I pose this question: What is a school?

My definition is quickly changing, but still centers around educating future citizens to think critically. Technology is changing things at a rapid pace and students are up to the challenge. As teachers, we need less of the status quo and more pushing the envelope. I am trying to keep my foot on the accelerator.

Back From New Mexico...

2007-04-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

I should have a lot to write about after three days in New Mexico at the National Charter School Conference. I do, I do! Now I just have to find the time.

Here are some sessions I attended:

Advocacy: How to Get What You Want Without Becoming a Bully (Antita Mendosa, Amerischools; Russ Moore, Seamless Education Consultants; Marta Reyes, California Department of Education; John Thatcher, Connections Public Charter School)
Education Excellence Through One to One Computing (Brian Schmitt, NComputing)
Toward Next-Generation Charter School Legislation (Jeanne Allen, Center for Education Reform; Phil Andrews, Charter School Solutions, Inc.; Sara Mead, Education Sector; Todd Ziebarth, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools)
Building a Taxonomy of Public Charter Schools: The First Step Toward "Apples to Apples" Research (Ginny Blankenship, Charter School Policy Institute; Ted Kolderie, Education/Evolving; Mark Van Ryzin, University of Minnesota)
Race, Class and School Reform (Dianne Piche, Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights; Lucretia Peebles, Loyola Marymount University)
Charter Schools and Unions: Can They Get Along? (George Fatheree, California Charter Schools Association; Steve Barr, Green Dot Public Schools; Jonathan S. Gyurko, United Federation of Teachers; Dan Quisenberry, Michigan Association of Public School Academies; Lydia Rainley, Center for Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington)
Getting in the Political Trenches: Recruiting and Financing Candidates for Public Office (Jon Schroeder, Education/Evolving; Jim Griffin, Colorado League of Charter Schools; Ember Reichgott Junge, former in State Senator/former House of Representatives candidate; Andy Rotherham, Education Sector; Greg Brock, All Children Matter)
Cyber Charter Myths and Realities (Barbara Dreyer, Connections Academy; Allison Perz, Ohio Council of Community Schools; John Watson, Evergreen Associates, Inc.)

Additionally, I got to witness Howard Fuller and Ted Kolderie be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Above: Ted Kolderie accepting his award. Below: Photo opp. with D.J. Howard Fuller.

Education Evolving Rolls Out a New Website

2007-04-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

If you have never been to Education Evolving's site or haven't visited for a while, check out the new layout and updates. I personally love the use of video they incorporated into the new design. Now, I just hope that people will pay attention to changes that need to be made in public education for it to be sustainable.

Education Evolving

Everything Google

2007-04-18T10:13:00.002-07:00

It is hard to say what is next from Google, but I am hearing rumors around the Internet about offering a free cell phone (I am not going to renew my current contract).

As if Google needs me advertising for them... They are amassing an impressive line-up of free web based software thus far:

Gmail - email (separate from the below accounts) - has built in IM for fellow gmailers
Blogger - blogging software
Calendar - links to gmail and you can share your calendars with others.
Docs and Spreadsheets (with presentation software soon to follow) - allows you to save to the web in your account. You can collaborate and let others view your document using a web address.
Notebook - can take notes in a web based environment
Orkut - extensive social networking program
Page Creator - easy to build websites with templates built in
Picasa - online photo editing (easy for embedding using html)
Google Talk - instant messaging, video chat and allows users to leave voicemail in place of text (while still an email message)
Google Video - includes searchable videos from YouTube being that Google bought the site

There are other programs like: Google Earth (satellite viewing of the world) and Sketch Up (3D modeling). You can sign up for these programs, for free at the Google accounts page or use the Google search engine to learn more. The programs work together for the most part, which is the reason why I am so fond of Apple's software.

What does this mean?
In my opinion, Google will make it possible to ditch expensive operating systems like Windows and Mac make that we all pay big bucks for. All a person will need is a web browser and a connection to the Internet to do all the things Windows and Mac make you pay expensive licensing fees for. Google is truly cutting edge and will hopefully save us all money.

For All You Non-Traditional Types

2007-04-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

If you have an interest in how technology can be used in learning, you should check out a man by the name of Mark Prensky. He is what many would label a futurist (according to Wikipedia) and has ideas, that a few years ago, seemed a bit crazy. Before last year, his ideas seemed a bit far fetched to me.

Last school year, I had two students (Rob and Seth) base their senior projects around much of Mark Presky's ideas and opinions. The students would make comments like "Why doesn't education use gaming?" and "Why don't my parents understand why technology shouldn't be feared?." The concept of both of their projects was to prove to my previous school (Minnesota New Country) that kids need to be surrounded by technology for them to be engaged in learning. I can honestly say that I learned as much, if not more than my students from their work. (It is important to note that technology is a tool and doesn't replace content) More technology doesn't scare me. Does it scare you?

It is hard to argue that the Internet, as we know it, is changing quickly. We are going from the information age to the networking age. It is now possible to collaborate with people around the globe, as long as they have an Internet connection. Education is changing as we know it too. Experimenting is taking place and the "traditional" ways of delivering education will surely change.

This is a wordy entry today, but thanks for sticking with me.

*Aaron

Interesting Online Journal Concerning Technology and Education

2007-04-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

Check out the online journal "On the Horizon."

I had the pleasure to meet the editor (Tom P. Abeles) this morning at a discussion on "Rethinking Public Education," but on by Growth and Justice.

It was a worthy discussion that brought together voices from all over the education community.

Couldn't Refuse Posting This

2007-04-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

This PowerPoint (using Slideshare) goes a long way in describing my feelings towards technology and teaching.

Two Great Sites for Learning

2007-04-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Check out Learn Out Loud Podcasts

And also, Learn Out Loud Video Podcasts

I haven't had much time to check these out, but you can thank Karen for sending me these resources. Let me know what you think.

Looking for Good Projects

2007-04-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

If you have a project you would like to share with others, let me know and I will post it to the blog. I have gotten some good feedback about Tay and Jess' project.

Even if you don't go to EOCHS, feel free to share.

Aaron

Poetry Project Using Slideshare

2007-03-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

A student in my group used Slideshare to share her PowerPoint.

Tay used her love of photography to add to her poems.

Check Out this Photography Project

2007-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of online portfolios. Thanks Jess.

Click here to see here pictures.

Testing Gcast

2007-03-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

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