Shameless Self Promotion, kinda

A couple happy things appeared in my e-mail box yesterday. 

Teach.com

The first was notification that the Blue Skunk is in the Teach100 list:

To remind you, the Teach100 is a noteworthy ranking of education blogs across the web that we have launched in an effort to build a comprehensive and timely list of the most influential and innovative education blogs.  Our team of education experts has populated the Teach100 with some of our favorite education blogs, including yours.

For what it's worth. The little widget above lets one know one's ranking each day. I'll watch it for a bit and if it's not too embarassing I'll leave it up.

__________________________

The even happier e-mail was notification of a Tweet from Angela Watson that she reviewed my book, The Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide on her The Cornerstone blog. I have to say that it is probably the most thoughtful, comprehensive and kind review I have ever received on any of my books. I actually sort of blushed when I read:

I held my breath a bit when I got to the chapter on teaching 21st century skills. There’s a thin line between making technology accessible to beginning technology users and pushing them beyond their comfort zones. There are many resources on the market that refuse to challenge educators and disrupt the status quo, and the technology use they advocate is so similar to traditional teaching methods that I have to wonder why a school would invest in thousands of dollars of equipment if the teacher’s just going to stand at the front of the room and lecture while students listen passively at their desks. This is a sharp contrast from the other end of the spectrum: resources that advocate such revolutionary ideas that the typical classroom teacher gets completely turned off (let’s be honest: an educator who is just learning to use email effectively is probably not going to encourage students to use their cell phones in class to run a backchannel discussion.)

But Doug’s advice in The Classroom Teacher’s Technology Survival Guide is the perfect balance: it’s relatable and comes across as totally do-able. He’s in touch with what’s happening in actual classrooms and doesn’t labor under the delusion that change comes quickly to schools. He presents 21st century learning concepts in a way that makes sense and gets the reader excited about them. His advice to “try to only ask students questions to which you don’t know the answer” was thought-provoking; the guidelines for “choosing activities  and assignments that matter” are simple and easy to remember. Doug differentiates between truly engaging students with technology (holding their attention and inspiring them to participate) and simply entertaining them with it (providing amusement or diversion), and tells how you can make sure your classroom emphasizes the former.

Angela, thank you for actually reading the book AND writing the review. I am truly honored.

Seven reasons why teachers should UTOD

In the history of the world, no one has ever washed a rented car.
                                                                                 Lawrence Summers 

Do you use your personal technology to do school work? I do.

I've been thinking again about the off-hand proposal I made last fall (BYOD - to work) in which I suggested that instead of a school providing teachers a computer, it instead provides them an annual stipend to supply their own computing power. (Use Their Own Devices). 

The idea was met with pretty much universal negativity in the comments with concerns related primarily to the complexity of supporting multiple devices, operating systems, etc. The infographic below shows that workers themselves are divided about BYOD to work. The more "mature markets" are more resistant to such plans; the "high-growth markets" are far more receptive. (Oh, if there ever was a "mature market," education must be it.)

Worried Workers: BYOD Or You’re SOL

But I can think of a number of reasons why schools should pursue a BYOD approach to technology for all staff. 

1. Cost neutrality and increased productivity. OK, let's give each employee a $500 per year, tax exempt, stipend toward a computing needs. Contractually, the device must have certain capabilities, be less than three years old, and be in school when school is in session. Other than permanently fixed classroom technologies (IWBs, projectors, sound systems, network infrastructure, etc.), no other staff technology would be provided. My guess is that we now spend probably about this amount each year on providing, supporting, repairing etc. school supplied computers. (See below some possible cost savings on support and repair.) Having personal computing devices to take home would increase the likelihood of school work being done outside regular school hours. (I know, like teachers don't do this now.)
2. Economic advantage and fewer ethical concerns for staff. Staff could choose to use the technology stipend to by several lower-cost devices (cheap computer, tablet, smart phone) or one powerful device (a fast laptop). One would not need to worry about doing personal work on a school computer (or vice versa) and violating board policy. Careful policies on privacy would need to be constructed. Would the school be able to search one's personal device if there was probable cause of wrong-doing?
3. Fewer repair costs and less equipment downtime. People are more careful of their own property. Repair would be the responsibility of individual with a contract possibly worked out with a local computer store for doing repairs. Fewer coffee spills and greater virus protection would be logical outcome.
4. Drive to universal applications. With a diversity of devices, teaching materials and applications would need to selected for universal access and usability. This simplifies training and support as well as helps students who bring their own personal devices.
5. Greater use by staff. The more familiarity one has with a tool, the better it tends to be use. And familiarity is bullt through use. If one can select the interface and weight and size of the tool, the probability of use goes up. We use the things we like; we avoid the ones we don't.
6. Better utilization of tech staff. Not repairing school owned computers frees up technology staffing dollars to be spent on training and support. Same economic rational for moving servers and applications to the cloud. 
7. Greater potential diversity of tech use. Different devices present different opportunities for use. Educational monocultures are no healthier than botanical monocultures. Teaching and learning should both be deeply personal and allowing choice of computing devices enables personalization. 

I forgot my smart phone at home one day this week and I was once again shocked into recognizing how much this external brain supports my life. I expect than in the near future that forgetting one's external brain will be nearly impossible as computing devices are embedded in eye glasses, jewelry, clothing, or skin.

As computing becomes ever more "personal" and ubiquitous, having one external brain for school and one external brain for one's life outside of school makes less and less sense. Technology enhances us all in highly individual ways. Let's honor that individuality and let teachers choose the technology that works best for them.

Should I Unglue my next book?

What happens when crowd-funding meets publishing? You get Unglue.it From their website:

What if you could give a book to everyone on earth? Get an ebook and read it on any device, in any format, forever? Give an ebook to your library, for them to share? Own DRM-free ebooks, legally? Read free ebooks, and know their creators had been fairly paid?

At Unglue.it, you can pledge toward creating ebooks that will be legally free, worldwide. These books have already been traditionally published, but they're stuck: legal restrictions keep you from being able to enjoy and share them.

Unglue.it gets them unstuck. Authors and publishers decide what amount lets them freely share their books with the world while still making a living. We raise that fee here through crowdfunding: people like you chipping in. When campaigns succeed, the rights holders get paid, and they issue a free electronic edition under a Creative Commons license.

What if you could give your favorite book to the world?

What if you could unglue it? https://unglue.it/

As I look at a revision of my self-published book, Machines Are the Easy Part; People are the Hard Part, alternate means of publishing and distribution become interesting.

Published by Beaver's Pond Press, a local vanity publisher, back in 2003, sales of the little book were enough to cover the cost of a proof-reader, editorial assistance, printing about 1,000 copies, and my son Brady's remuneration for doing the drawings. And I was able to give lots and lots of copies away at my speaking engagements which was great fun.

A few years ago when I ran out of print copies, I moved the book to Lulu where it can still be downloaded for free as a pdf file or purchased for the cost of the printing and shipping.

The content of the book needs updating and expanding, some reorganization, and new drawings that reflect the increased skills of my son who is finishing a BA in graphic arts at the local university. But now, 10 years later, the options for publishing in a non-traditional means have grown.

First my goals:

1. Make enough money to pay Brady nicely for his new drawings and to me for a one-week writing "vacation" in some warm place. I'm thinking around $5000 total.
2. Keep the book free (or very low cost).
3. Allow generous re-use of the materials in the book with a Creative Commons license instead of a traditional copyright.
4. Rely primarily on electronic publishing distribution but be readable on as many devices as possible. A print version should be available, as well.
5. Make the book "interactive" if possible.

To me, it seems that one can either accomplish goal 1 or goals 2-5, but it will be difficult to do both. Therefore my interest in Unglue.it.

While rich, varied, and full of opportunity, the electronic publishing world is also a damn big mess. I read with great interest David Warlick's adventures in publishing the revision of his great book, Cultivating Your Personal Learning Network 2.0. While iBook Publisher is a wonderful tool, I do not like the fact that it's proprietary - the output can only be read on iPads. PDF can be read on about anything, but it lacks many of the nice features of e-books.

From what research I've found, it looks like ePub and mobi versions will be needed to make the book readable on most devices. Websites like Smashwords, Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, or my old friend Lulu offer e-book creations and distribution services.

Any readers with experience who can shine a light in this morass?