I’m spending way too much time on Twitter. Right now, for example, I’m (slowly) writing this post as I’m carrying on two or three Twitter conversations (it’s hard to tell – they kind of weave in and out of each other). It has occurred to me that Twitter is a lot like Cheers. I think that, for the most part, the characters in Cheers didn’t spend time together or know each other outside the bar. Of course, the point could be made that they never left the bar except to make opportunities for a quick joke. Almost all the scenes in the series took place in the bar. All the characters knew of each other were their bar personas and very little of the rest of their lives except as it was told to us in the bar. Nonetheless, within … Continue reading »

It was another great Elluminate session for the ECI 831 class tonight. Our presenter was Darren Kuropatwa, and we were all in awe of how he ties together so many tools and technologies in his teaching. For anyone who wants to move in the direction of what Darren (and many others) is doing, where do we get started? I want to share some ideas that might help you get started if you are in a state of stuck-ness. Here are my thoughts on overcoming stuck-ness in blogging. write about something you did, heard, saw or read today that sticks out in your mind. Often, this will lead to further ideas and observations once you start writing. Warning – this can easily lead to your blog becoming a cat diary. Remain vigilant about this. Blog posts aren’t essays. They are, to … Continue reading »

My greatest disappointment about MacWorld this year was the lack of an announcement about the Beatles music on iTunes Music Store. I could just delete that post from the blog, but I leave it there as a reminder of my lack of prescience. If you haven’t yet seen the Steve Jobs keynote from MacWorld 2008, you can watch the whole thing or just this highly condensed version. I know that I’m in a minority, but after a couple of days for the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field to wear off, the MacBook Air really isn’t looking that impressive. Yes, it is pretty. Yes, it is thin. But other than being thin, this really isn’t that terrific of a deal. Here’s the breakdown on what you get in the baseline MacBook Air (the hard drive version – the flash drive version is even less of a deal): … Continue reading »

I’ve noticed the many MacWorld hardware predictions, but none regarding other aspects of the Apple realm. Here’s my prediction in 5 words: Beatles on iTunes Music Store How do I come to this amazing prediction? Two pieces of evidence both from the “Apple vs. Apple Dispute” article on Wikipedia: Apple settling with the Beatles, or their estates, over the use of the name Apple for music sales. Apple (Computers) has had disputes with Apple (Records) over the use of the name. In 2007, a settlement was reached between the two. In 2007, Paul McCartney, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, said that the Beatles’ catalog would be released for digital download in the first quarter of 2008. Add it all up for the absolutely sweetest “One more thing …” ever!

Preamble: So many things to write about, and never enough time. Especially if I want to see my family and sleep. I also find that I let all the trivial thoughts that pass through the noggin find their way out via Twitter instead of blogging as I once did. But not all ideas are easily expressed 140 characters at a time. I’ve been spending a lot of time this week working on a couple of different online courses. One is Education Curriculum and Instruction 831 which is being taught by Alec Couros. Alec has been kind enough to bring me along for the ride as a teaching assistant/social capital philanthropist. Kyle Lichtenwald is also assisting with the course, and I’m looking forward to working more with him. Tonight was the second of two live sessions via Adobe Connect. Problems with … Continue reading »

I’m in awe of what D’Arcy Norman has done with his 2007/365 project. A short description from D’Arcy: I took at least one photograph per day for the entire year. I didn’t realize going in just how hard it would be, but it forced me to see things differently and I did learn to be a bit more proficient with the technical aspects of photography. Thanks to a photography course last spring, I can relate to the change in how I looked at things when actively looking for subjects to shoot. I did quite a bit of photography in high school and in university. Thanks to my bone-headed forgetting my old camera on an airplane, my photography days took a long hiatus. Despite having a couple of point-and-click cameras in the house, I didn’t feel inspired to go out and … Continue reading »