Quoted

I'm quoted in a column, The technology kids want, versus what they need" by Tom Regan in the Christian Science Monitor. And he got the quote right!

 

The power of positivity!

Earlier this month, Adam Janowski, media specialist extraordinaire from Naples, Florida, wrote a guest blog entry on computer gaming in libraries. Sadly, in a follow-up comment to his defense of games, he wrote:

"Oh, how things can shift in days. Our superinendent was sacked yesterday, and today I get a message from our principal say NO to games.

"No discussion. Just an ultimatum.

"Such is life in a public school."

Happily, here is the rest of the story which is less about games and more about proactivity. - Doug 

I will start this post with an anecdotal story. For three years now, "Edison", a junior, has been the first person I have busted for playing Internet games on the computer. This year he said, "But Mr. J., this is an educational game!" It was. Very much like "Lingo" if you are a Game Channel addict. "Edison, for three years now, you have tested me, the rule is still the rule, "No Games"!
 
Some of you know from an earlier post that my principal had issued and edict banning computer games in the LMCon the basis that they violated "academic integrity". No discussion, that's all I had requested. After much back and forth, she told me that I could bring it up at our school Leadership Council meeting, but that still bothered me. I did it, but then tabled it. I wanted to talk about it first.
 
Someone who responded to my post on your blog, led me to a great article in support of gaming. I also contacted our District Coordinator, who told me there was no district prohibition on Internet games, and that they were, in fact, reviewing a Math gaming program to be implemented district-wide.
 
Today my colleague and I had an informal meeting with the principal in our office. We plied her with freshly-brewed Colombian coffee and home-made (I made them) pecan sandies. We brought up the issue of gaming. We gave her the article. We talked about the fact that we were not "normal" librarians, and that we were leaders in the field, that we had one of the few high school Reading is Fundamental (RIF) programs in the nation, that we were one of the few libraries that embraced a totally paperback fiction collection, that we had implemented an Information Commons to encourage creativity, and that we were recognized nationally for our innovations. I told her that we were tired of being the "games police" and that students would still play games, but just close windows as we came close. It was only the slower students that we caught. We told her that we were just encouraging students to become more sly, not a good thing.
 
Still, she was not convinced, until I pulled out my trump card! She still wanted it to go to the Leadership Council. But as she read the list of reasons that Doug Johnson posted about gaming and came to "Kids might be finding school fun and we all know life isn't about fun," she laughed out loud and said "OK, I give, it is really your room and you should set your own rules." "I just don't want them playing violent or inappropriate games. Let's try it as a pilot program for the semester."
 
At lunch today, I told Edison that we had persuaded the principal that games would be OK as a pilot program. We played his "Lingo-type" game together and he and I were able to advance to the next level. He said he had never been able to do that before as he "High-Fived" me! Life is good!
 
Adam <okadam (at) comcast.net>

The one afternoon plan for SecondLife

In this month's TechProof column for Education world, I committed to compiling a list of "must-see" sights for educators in SecondLife. Of course, it was in May when I wrote this and had the luxury of knowing I had all summer to spend hours and hours in the MUVE as BlueSkunk Johnson.

Ah, but how quickly the summer has passed and how little time I actually got to spend as an avatar. With my limited experience, from reading the blogs of Ryan Bretag and Kevin Jarrett, attending presentations by Lisa Perez and just being a collector of the odd article, I complied the list below. So, if you had but an afternoon to spend in SecondLife, where would you go? How about...?

1. ISTE Skypark Social
2. NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory
3. InfoIsland and InfoIsland 2 (Science Fiction Library)
   
4. Temple of Isis (example of a historical replica)
5. Island of Svarga
6. British Literature Classroom
7. Boracay
8. Teacher Networking Center
9. Ramaposlands Project (In Teen SecondLife)
   
10. ?
    

OK, here's the question: what should be dropped and what should be added? Or just nominate a number 10. Remember the audience for this column is regular educators - classroom teachers, librarians, building administrators - not techies.

Thanks for your ideas.

Just so I have them all in one place, here are my primary resources for Second Life for educators: 

• Chicago Public Schools Department of Libraries and Information Services in Second Life
• ISTE in SecondLife 
  
• Lighthouse Learning Island
  
• Second Life in Education
  
• Sites of interest to educators in Second Life edumuve.com
  
• SLTutorials.net 
• Top 20 Educational Locations in Second Life
  

Thanks to Lisa Linn and Kevin Jarrett for responses to an earlier e-mail on this topic!

 
A map of NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory