Thing # 2 Blogging
The power of ideas is what sets sentient beings apart from other creatures. The power to reflect and develop upon ideas in one's own mind is a step toward critical thinking. The power to articulate your ideas and foment thought separates the learned among us. I was thinking about how I would advance a discussion on blogging last Sunday, when I chanced upon the second rally in America's Cup.
Imagine if you will two giant sailing boats racing off San Francisco, in the bay. One powered by the money and technology behind Oracle data bases and the equally formidable backers under the banner of New Zealand. What impressed me and captured my attention was the incredible photography. HD or 1080p has really changed what we see in the world. On my modest flat screen TV, I could see white drops of sea foam and mist blowing across sails. I could see sheets of water sheeting across polished red and black decks. to my surprise, I noticed that both boats were out of the water. They were sailing or flying on wings, Hydrofoils to be more exact. Their hulls were balanced on the tips of foils like a ballerina balanced one her toes. From center of giant her sail loomed upward constructed like an airplane's wing but lying on its side. Everywhere I looked I saw high tech technology.
Blogging is about sharing ideas and processing thought. Its not about the information, it is about how the blogger processes and pontificates on the data streaming in their head. Oracle won the rally, New Zealand came in second and low tech came in every other position. Americas Cup had 30,000 recorded data points! She sailed at 42 knots! and won because her "tactician" John Kosyecki know how to process all that data in his head as he choose the line that would steal the most wind from New Zealand and put him 9 seconds ahead at the finish.
Now, how do we instill that kind or higher level thinking in our students? What framework puts all those technologies together in the same hull? How do I lead this disruption into innovation in education? How was TPACK applied when teaching those technologies for the first time?
To make a difference blogging needs to be fun! You should enjoy blogging. pick a time of the day that works. Setting short routine goals can help build a life long habit. Don't try and "finish" the blog, it should never be finished. Sip some coffee, put on the fire place screen saver on your iPad and begin writing. Like every accomplished athlete knows, practice makes perfect. Practice builds muscle memory and the process gets easier. In time, you will be excited to come to the computer and share your ideas. You'll explored with metaphors and "ah ha" moments.
I have started countless blogs, and I have tried equally countless blog engines. I love working with the versatility of Weebly, which is more of a website with a blog attachment than it is a blog site. On the other hand, BlogSpot has a simple clean easy to setup interface. When typing, the interface is simple and clean. I can easily focus my attention on the writing. But I miss the use of photography that Weebly affords me. I can and will use images as I have done here, but the artistry will be the challenge.
In this blog spot, I choose the picture template. This allowed me to use the darker backgrounds I am know for and to substitute the template background with one of my photos. I choose a photo I took and later photo shopped of a my tablet and green stylus. Notice Reed Geertsen's table on higher level thinking in the tablet's display. The banner across the top is a Photoshop banner I made to celebrate the first day of school this year. Laptop one to one is its theme. I wanted these two elements to be a scaffold to support my ideas as we journey this semester down the Blog Super Highway.
Geertsen, R. H. (2003) Rethinking Thinking about Higher-Level Thinking. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 31. No. 1 (Jan, 2003), pp.1-19. American Sociological Society.
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