Tag Archives: Community

Learning 2.011 Are You Coming?

The first tech conference I ever attended was Learning 2.008. I was working in Qatar and felt very disconnected from any kind of network. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself- I am using the language of the present to talk about the past. Back in 2008, not only did I not have a network, I barely knew what one was. I had just parted ways with Kim Cofino with whom I had worked in Malaysia. Back then Kim was my only mentor in all things connected. I barely understood Twitter. I did not have a professional blog and I felt like I was working in a bit of a vacuum.

Back in Malaysia, Kim had arranged a project with Clarence Fischer, which had “succeeded” to some degree. I put succeeded in quotes because I am not sure what we had actually done, but The International Teen Life Project was my first taste of connecting with another teacher and classroom and I liked it. We experimented. We learned. We created. I remember doing a Podcast over Skype one day and feeling so…what is the word? Proud? Important? Connected? Not sure what I felt, but I knew that we were doing good work. I felt like I was on the cutting edge. I was hooked. I knew that is where I always wanted to be. I didn’t want to wait for someone to tell me what the latest thing was. I wanted to find it and use it and share it myself.

It was great to work with Clarence because I respected him tremendously. He was one of the many bloggers who Kim had recommended I read in my new RSS feed. So when Kim emailed me, informing me that there was a conference in Shanghai created by teachers for teacher, I didn’t hesitate to sign up. I paid my own way, because I wanted to meet people like Clarence.

Feels strange now, thinking back to how “star struck” I was. There I was having breakfast with Alan Levine, or talking about the echo chamber with Clarence and Brian Crosby. At the time it all felt so important and in a sense maybe it was. I remember sitting in on sessions and meeting people I had only read and respected. But the most important part for me was solidifying relationships with people i had just started to know online like Brian Lockwood and Jenny Luca among others. I still remember our dinner, just the three of us and that strange feeling of seeing someone you have only “known” online. I have had that feeling many times since and it never loses its appeal. I have written at length about the value of these relationships, so I will just say that these meals and breakout sessins with people you only know online are priceless.

The most important thing I took away from Learning 2.008 was that the only thing that separated the teachers I read about and me, was that they were writing and sharing and connected and I was not. I knew after that conference that things needed to change for me professionally. After all, I had ideas. I could write. I could be leading workshops and presenting keynotes.

Before I continue, let me say that I have no intention of becoming a globe-trotting-traveling consultant Ed-tech celebrity. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) I am too anchored in the classroom to give it up. But I am currently, dealing with my changing role in schools. You can only rant and rave about transforming learning environments long enough before a school calls you on it. So next year, I will be working with teachers at my current school to move our school forward as a technology facilitator. I am nervou and excited, but will write about that soon. We are in the process of defining what my role will be and what it means to creating a workable vision, but I am proud to say that I am playing an intrical part in our transformation.

So why am I telling you all this? What’s the point? The point is that in just three short years a lot has changed for me. But not just for me personally, but also the network, education, and conferences in general. I have taken what I learned back in 2008 and I have applied it to my career. I blog, I tweet, I share, and I build relationships. I have learned that the people I was so impressed by are just regular people like me. Yes, they are amazing educators who are doing everything they can to change education, but they are just like you and me. They are open, supportive and interested in what I (we) have to say.

This brings me to 2011 and Learning 2.011. Through a stroke of luck, hard work, or relentless self-promotion I seem to have fallen on the other side of the conference wall. I am so proud and honored to be leading the ESL cohort at this year’s conference and hopefully presenting a mini- keynote. I am stoked to be so unbelievably connected to hundreds of educators from around the world and now it is my turn to inspire.

I have some advice for anyone considering coming to this conference. If you are new to “it” “this” whatever it is we want to call it- this world of networked educators who blog and tweet and Skype and help each other out– this conference is invaluable. Bring your passion, your ideas, your classroom and let’s find other educators who can help you bring your ideas to life. As most people will tell you, conferences are about connections, and there is no better place than this conference, especially if you are in Asia, to meet like-minded professionals that will help you build your network and connect your classroom to others in the region. But more importantly, you will find countless people who like you just want to see what everyone else is doing, share ideas, and build a support network.

If you have been to a few conferences and are starting to doubt the usefulness of conferences then I urge you to come too. Learning 2.011 is a conference with few rules and expectations. It is what we make it. So let’s get together and create an unconference about what next? Let’s talk about how we can take what we have created thus far to the next level. I don’t know about you, but the idea of chatting with the Couros brothers (Alec and George) , Kim Cofino, Jeff Utech and others about what the next ten years could look like is pretty damn exciting.

Let me close by saying that I hope to see you in Shanghai in September. Talk to your staff, share this post with your admin and get a team togther to come to Shanghai. Bring your voice, your ideas, and your excitement and let’s create another amazing conference this year.

Would love comments about positive expereinces you have had and drop me a line if you are coming below.

Thoughts from The Nam (An ADE reflection)

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The fact that I don’t like corporations comes as no surprise to anyone who has read my work or talked to me for five minutes. They’re big and scary and faceless and subversive and greedy and dictate too much of how things are done in the world for my taste. Because integrity, honesty, passion and art are so important to me I am constantly disappointment by the concept of selling out. Giving in. Joining the dark-side. I mean, is there anything worse than seeing a song you love, being used to hawk a car or a TV?

I came to the Apple Distinguished Educator’s conference with a heavy heart. Was I selling out? Was this ultimate copulation to the very corporate forces I am constantly deriding? Because while Apple is hip and shiny and sexy on the surface, their main goal is still global domination. Of this there is little doubt. So what would a corporate sponsored educational institute look like exactly? How much of my soul would I have to sell? What was in it for me? There is a running joke surrounding the ADE program, likening it to a cult or saying that once there you drink the Kool-Aide you will be never shut up it again.

This post is random scattering of thoughts and ideas of my experience over the last four days in Vietnam.

Every organization, every conference, every school, every company, every story is about the people. Who they are? Their beliefs and values, and how they work with others are critical aspects of how they function as a bigger group. And so of course, it was the people that really grabbed my attention. From the talented and inspirational speakers like Rebbeca Stokely and Joseph Linaschke, to all advisory member facilitators and sixty plus ADEs, their was a tangible sense of excitement about the future of not only technology but how these tools can be leveraged to a global shift in how our students learn. The wild card group for me was the ADE educational team from Apple. I was excepting a bunch of disconnected suits from the corporate office, but really the Apple team are a dynamic, diverse group of men and women dedicated to the success of this program.Let me throw a quick thank you to Adrian for his dedication and passion to education.

Which brings me to what I think is an important point. What is the point of the ADE program? Here is my take:

To take innovative educators from within a region, who are already using and excited by the Apple brand, connect them to each other, build a tight-knit (almost cult like) community, so that they can work more closely together, have a wider global audience in hopes that they, (we?) can build a critical mass in the institute with which we work, in order to shift the paradigm. Could the cynic argue, he always does in my mind, that Apple created this program in order to have the sales department move in right after and turn whatever schools these ADEs are working in to Mac schools? Of course. But really, I am not here to write about that. Stop it! I can here murmuring , “sell out” under your breath, but really the truth is that I would choose to go to a Mac school over a PC school with or without the ADE program. What I learned this past week was the dedication this company has shown to this program. Hold on….had another cup of Kool-Aide, but really at the level I am working in now, I am proud to be a part of it. Should it ever change or demand more of me, than of course I will reconsider. For now, I feel a part of a healthy and exciting symbiotic relationship. I feel that I have the opportunity to stay honest, keep my integrity and write openly and honestly about my role as ADE. If at any point my views and theirs should diverge than I am sure we will be happy to end the relationship, but in the mean time I am stoked and excited to have met so many other amazingly talented individuals. Many I already knew through the network, but others who are a bit new. They are doing amazing work in their schools, but needed this platform to join the global conversation.To all the new ADEs I met this week, welcome to the conversation. Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts. This is where the remainder of our work together will be done.

My favorite part of this week was the professional development I saw. We were seldom asked to listen or watch. We were asked to do, to create, to reflect, to share. It made me feel like a student and I loved it. It taught me how to work with others and listen. It taught me that you might learn more if it is not done your way, that another person can add to your ideas and together you can sculpt shared ideas. I really hope to incorporate some of the activities and general ethos of the instiute to in-service days at my school for next year.

And of course it reaffirmed my belief that learning is done in process and cannot be assessed by product. The very experience of creation is important not the creation itself. We all know this, but we often need to be reminded of failure and mediocre products, so we can ease the pressure we put in students. The conversations I had with members of my group during our day on the river, or the emotions I felt while talking with locals being pushed off their land and from their homes in the name of globalization and progress, is impossible to document or assess in a four-minute video. I was left thinking of how much learning from our students is lost or forgotten in the search of a grade. There must be so much they are learning that we never see, because we are asking for such specific proof. This experience made me appreciate the role of reflections and student blogs as places of more holistic learning. A sort of expansive landscape, where if done right students as well as teachers can really design a more accurate picture of learning, one that does not require a rubric or standards, but when experienced as a whole over time reflects the journey of its creator. Much more on this soon.

This institute also gave me a chance to really look at my own current landscape and take inventory. Who am I? Am I spread to thin? What are my values? What do I want to promote and share? Am I on the right track? What does my name mean to others? Does any of it matter? Stay tuned for updates. I am working on re-worked, consolidated brand. I still hate that word. Maybe when I can articulate it, it will have a new name.

In the meantime, I am proud and excited by the work I did, the thoughts I had and the people I met. It is always a shocking experience to be thrown into such a crucible. I am sure the effects will be long lasting. I am looking forward to continuing the conversations we had this past week with everyone who was there, as well as all of you who were not. Not sure if I answered any of the questions I had going in, but I don’t feel like a sell-out and that is good. I feel like I am leading a fast moving train headed to great places. Come on! What are you waiting for. Get on. We have work to do.
Of course I would appreciate all my critical thinking, trouble making friends to tell me I am wrong about all of this, because there is nothing more dangerous to growth and learning as complacency

Next Level

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You know how there are people on Twitter you kind of know but not really? You see their smiley avatars and occasionally Re-Tweet their links or post, but you have never really “talked” to them. After an especially insightful tweet, you look up their bio again, follow the bread crumbs to their blog and say, “Maybe it is time I add this one to my RSS.” And when you do, suddenly that person begins to open up and bloom in your life. You get a few more bits and pixels of who they are. Suddenly, you start to notice their tweets more often and find yourself commenting on their blogs. Maybe there is the occasionally Skype call, and before you know it he unmet friend is in your midst and you cannot recall a time before you “knew” them, oh and of course you have still never met in “real” life.

Well it may be premature, but I think I may have found an kindred spirit. I do not know her well enough to say for sure, but I like her open and enthusiastic vibe. Last week I added Katie Hellerman‘s blog The Teaching Game to my RSS and have been pleasantly surprised by her eagerness to build community and make connections. For me, it started with her post Getting What I Really Want Out of Twitter. Which was followed by her Connection Challange.

This post is me taking up the challenge Katie! I have chosen you as the person I want to learn more about and perhaps work with. I understand that these things should happen organically if we want them to be authentic, but by mentioning her in my space, I hope I am talking a positive first step to help not only build our relationship, but hopefully also introduce her to my network as well. And of course there are connections we share already, so maybe this intensification will help cement and tighten bongs elsewhere.

After I commented on her blog, Katie sent me an email to which I responded with this post:

Hello again Katie,

I felt weird responding to you via email, because I thought the whole point was to open up and share in order to build community. I have chosen to post my email to you’re here on my blog, in hopes that maybe others new to my blog will find my introduction useful as well.

You ask why I am in Jakarta, so let me start there. I have been teaching at international schools for seven years now I started in Kuala Lumpur, then I was in Qatar and now Jakarta. I like to live overseas, because I feel the world is too big to waste living in one country. I want to expose my children to different experiences and show them the world is a place to absorb and learn from. I also taught for two years in the US Peace Corps in Mozambique where I met my lovely wife.

Born in Iran and raised in the Bay Area, I find nationalism and culture stifling and tedious. I would rather be seen as an internationalist. Simply put I grew tired of the States. I occasionally miss home, but I am spending my summer in Thailand this year, so I quickly get over it.

You ask about my goals beyond what I am doing. I love working with kids. I love watching them grow and explore. I am currently teaching middle school, but I would like to teach higher level English course and dabble in working with teachers. I have never envisioned myself doing anything but teaching, so I see myself as the old-long-white haired dude at a school well into my sixties. Never a fan of ambition, my goal is to raise two world wise daughters, find some kind of peace in my heart, and maybe make a difference in the lives of the children I encounter.

Wait I lied! I also want to publish a few novels, record an album, tour the world and be a rock star of sorts. I want to run for public office in the States and climb a few mountains. I want to travel to every continent and learn to play the clarinet and ukulele.

As for the rest of my story, it is unfolding everyday here on the Internet. You can find my passions, my music, my books, my art, my life tucked away in various nooks and crannies of the web. I feel it is all to convoluted and complex to be simplified in a blog post, that is why I write it and sing it and smear it in as many places as I can. You want to know me better, drop me a line, start a conversation and I will keep up my end, just ask the people who already “know” me.

Balls in your court! What more can you tell me about you? Here is my challenge to you: find something I have done on the web that somehow grabbed your attention and leave a comment. I will work from there to connect it back to you.

As for you dear reader, what do you think of Katie’s challenge? What brought you here? What are you offering? How can we take our relationship to the next level? What do you want to know? What are you willing to share? Go ahead, confess, spill your guts. Let’s see what you got!

Of Course

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Last week, despite the fact that I am juggling way too many personal art projects right now, I decided to push the envelope a bit more. I asked people on Twitter and friends on Facebook to send me requests for songs to cover. I mentioned that I would try to do this once a week. I received about ten requests that spanned genres. There was everything from Notorious B.I.G to Nirvana. I need a better way of keeping track of requests, but this week I just chose one and ran with it.

I started this project because I feel that The Daily Shoot is forcing me to push my skills in photography and as a result I am looking at the world differently. I was hoping to have something similar to music. I don’t think I will be able to create anything fantastic, but it is in the process of attempting to create these covers that I hope to learn and push myself musically. I played it a bit safe this week, choosing to go with a genre and bad I know and love. I chose the song Of Course by Jane’s Addiction.

Singing and recording is not easy at my house. There are only selected times when I am alone or have the space to let it rip. I would have liked some more time to take a few cracks at it, but that is not the point. I simply want to stretch my musical chops and see if any of these covers lure anybody else to look at a song more closely for collaboration. With the addition of the #ds106 peeps anything is possible.

Of Course by intrepidflame

That chimpanzee by the way is my daughter asking to be picked up in the middle of my take. She was not being tortured. Well, unless you considering my screeching trying to hit some Perry Ferrel notes. Week one. All requests from last week will be removed and I am open to some new ideas…What would you like to hear?

We Are Echoes and Refections

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Whenever I speak with people about openness and sharing, I feel the need to preface my philosophy by saying, “Well not everyone will feel comfortable sharing as much as I do.” It is almost as if I am doing something wrong, and to be honest I am not sure if sharing my every thought on the Internet is the best idea. I too struggle with my own demons, and I am not so naive to think that I am impervious to a break down, much like this, at any time.

That’s the thing about all of this; we don’t really know where we are headed. Those who say they do, the experts, publish article after article presenting research to prove which ever side suits their argument best. Each of us needs to take inventory of our privacy and intimacy and weigh it against openness and community. Is what you consider to be private more or less valuable to you on the inside or on your sleeve? There is not right or wrong answer. All I know is that I have had some amazing experiences over the years by being open and having faith in the goodness of people and trusting in the power of creativity. I have written about the Heart of the Internet, Trust and Community,and Peaking Out From The Edges; I have spoken about Life as an Open Book; others have written about stalking me, or shared stories about my work at conferences. Even after all of this, the connections seem to be becoming more complex and sophisticated. After four years of living online, I am still surprised on an almost daily basis by the generosity of the human spirit and our need to be creative collectivity.

For every paranoid news story about the Internet that forces parents and teachers to cry privacy, I feel the need to populate the web with a story like this one- I recently discovered a great site called SoundCloud, which is a great portfolio for my music. I use the word portfolio, but my music is not anything that can be classified as professional, but it is mine and it makes me happy. Each song, like my photos, my films, my blog posts is an illustration of my journey. I am not concerned with value judgments like good or bad. Like I tell my students, learning is not about success or failure, it is about growth and change. Learning is at the heart of evolution. I suppose we could grow and learn and evolve in privacy and in isolation, but where is the fun in that. We could be scared or insecure to share any aspect of our creativity for fear of being judged, but I choose bravery instead.

Sorry. Back to the story, I have begun to upload my small catalog of recorded music. Why? Because experience has taught me that if you share yourself with honesty and passion and love, the universe will send back echoes and reflections that remind you that you are not a single lonely self, but a pixel in the larger picture of humanity. I don’t write too many original songs. I am not good at it, and I find it extremely difficult. I can take a decent photograph; I am getting better at turning a word or two, but when it comes to music- I am weighed down with doubt. I know what music does to my soul, and I know that my singing is awkward and insecure. I can hear the doubt and tension. I play with apprehension, which ironically is the opposite of what music should do.

Sorry. Back to the story, I upload music anyway. I guess in a way I want to set an example. If I ask my student to express themselves online, I cannot with a clear conscious not do the same. It takes a lot of guts to allow the world into your heart and by singing online, I am able to assuage my fear.

No words could express how amazing it feels when something that you put into the world so tenderly could sound like this:

Falling out of Cars by onepercentyellow

This is a song I wrote and sang a few years ago. I posted my version on SoundCloud a few days ago:

Falling Out Of Cars by intrepidflame

and Leslie took it and made it her own. I am not sure what this means. I am not sure I know. I am not sure if I can articulate it. I am not sure you need it explained, but there is magic in what has happened here. There is beauty in these acts. There is love. There is community. This sharing and connection and creation brings me joy, and honestly that is all I have ever wanted. Please take these songs, the photos, the films, the text, the pieces of me and make them a part of you. We are echoes and refections posing as individuals.

Update: (This was written a few days after original post)

Of course this story didn’t end there. Once Keri Lee got wind of the project she added her own brand of loveliness.

Falling out of Cars 3 by klbeasley

Curious to see where it goes now. Take it and run….