If I was forced to use the latest ed-tech terminology to describe myself I would fall in the category of digital natives…that interesting group of toddlers, tweens, teens, and twenty somethings who have always lived with a computer at arm’s reach. As such, I participate in social networks, twitter, blog, have a flikr account, purchase 99% of my media online, and much of my social interaction take place online as well.
According to a number of recent reports this puts me in a precarious situation. A number of teachers have been suspended, fired, and had their professional licenses revoked because of their participation in “web 2.0 scandals”. Most of the scandals involved the teachers revealing way too much of their personal lives on very public personal profiles,which isn’t a good idea for anyone, let alone an educator.
My advice to them is to simply be smart about what you post publicly. Facebook and Myspace both allow you to block the public from seeing the details of your personal profiles. With the simple click of a button you are free to post pictures of yourself at a drunken two way petting zoo if you so choose. Although the image of such a thing is disturbing at best.
To those of us who use the net to communicate, network, or just to amuse ourselves I encourage you to do what I do; take control of what people see about you online by being mindful of what you post. My entire online life is available for others to peruse at their leisure. I’m on twitter, classroom 2.0, facebook, flickr, youtube, teachertube, vimeo, etc. I choose to publish those attributes about myself that I think potential employers, parents, and the general public will find acceptable. I always have the option of posting or writing under a pseudonym if I feel the need to express any ideas that are not appropriate for children or nuns to read. I would never do such a thing though….really.
I suppose my overall point is that educators should use common sense when navigating the world wide web. Privacy is a myth and you never know who is watching.
Guess who finally got that clear renewable certificate ?
This guy!!!!
I love technology…and I love free. Every Tuesday I plan to post links to some cool free technology to make the lives of educators everywhere easier.
Pdf Creator – For those of you who do not have Office 2007, Open Office, or iWork there is a handy little piece of open source software called Pdf Creator. Essentially, it acts as a virtual printer and will turn anything that you can print into a Pdf. The best part is that it’s freeware. My only qualm about this piece of freeware is that it install a pdf creator toolbar in your browsers…but you can easily turn that off.
I use this in Windows Journal to turn my Journal pages into web ready pdf’s.
Enjoy.
I’ve gone on an extreme health kick in recent months. I’ve given up meat…with only a recent back slide into omnivore territory. I’ve gone to the gym 3-4 times each week for the last two weeks and I’m starting to look very different.
I wasvisiting lifehacker.com when I stumbled across an unholy exercise called the burpee.
The burpee is essentially a prison exercise that one can do in a small space, requiring no special equipment. I’ve done about 20 of these things and I can feel it all over my body. If you’re pressed for time, cannot afford a gym membership, and would generally be considered a recluse I highly recommend doing these to get back into shape.
Your body will thank you for it.
Books and Sharks are both examples of perfection in the word. Each is at the top of their respective evolutionary chains. Books being the perfect means of archiving and transmitting information and sharks being the perfect eating and killing machines.
Earlier today I wished that my webhost had more in common with an ordinary book.
Technology is wonderful…when it works. It’s easy to use, efficient, light weight, and it tends to make us all more productive. Yet, technology, with all of its advantages and benefits is oh so fragile. I thought I lost so much data…so much information all at the click of a button.
A book can survive falls, spills, extreme heat and cold…and the information will still be usable and easily accessible. The same cannot be said for my new laptop or for my webhost.
Today I wished that I could introduce a shark to my hosting providers…if only for a moment.
This happened to me…today…I googled the topic and found this amazing video! I love the net and the freedom with which we can share information.
Isn’t it sad that we have to turn to a fictional news show that satirizes real news to get…ya know…the news??!??!?
I really enjoyed watching Cramer squirm.
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