Ease of Use - aka - Limiting Paperless Paperwork on BTDH

After my last post about blogging anonymously, I have finally figured out how to allow people to comment on this site without all of the rigmarole (or if you prefer rigamarole) of signing in, etc.  Please keep in mine the fact that credibility is established with transparency, and I encourage you to be the "real you" on this site.  My clear effort is to honor our different perspectives and even revel in the divergence of our opinions.  If you have all of the same opinions as I do, for example, boy do I feel sorry for you.  I also would encourage you to follow this site by adding yourself as a follower...it's over there--&...

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Keeping Us Honest

Recently I was reading an exchange on Dangerously Irrelevant that placed the author in a position of defending his position on a posting vs. a reader's interpretation.  This is nothing new, but what tweaked my thought process was the concept that so many of the bloggers are truly anonymous.  In my responses, I use only my first name "Marshall" to reply to posts.  To most people this means little.  To those I personally know it may mean more (possibly it means less).  To be honest, my first few comments I made were done under a false name, and I felt free to say anything I wanted without ever having to back it up - or I didn't have to really back it up.  I know several people that do this or have done this as well.  In addition to blogs, how about the comments...

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Another Piece to Prioritize

Several times we have eluded to being too attached to technology, but ultimately it does come down to personal decisions. When the life of another is put secondary to a desire to play a game, things are out of whack. Check out this tragic story to see an example of how becoming too deeply rooted in anything can cause us to poorly prioritize our needs and wants. In a world where avitars are seemingly real to some, it is still important that we keep the true reality in the foreground. Any distraction could have been to blame - a basketball game, lunch, or a book - so this isn't a condemnation of technology, just an awareness that it, like other things, needs a place in our liv...

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Distance Learning Brainstorming Meeting

After attending an area meeting to discuss and brainstorm ways to connect various school districts in order to better serve the students, the following questions have been generated for additional discussion. In order to maintain clarity, please note the number of the question you are referencing in your comment. If you are responding to another comment directly, please note that as well. This will simply help our on-going conversation to expand. If there is a great swell of conversation on a particular question, we can add a separate posting to handle that one in more depth.Your contributions here are important and add to the brainstorming and idea generation that occurred in the face to face conversation that occurred. It is important to note that this is a public and freely accessible site...

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Iowa CORE - who has a handle?

With anything new, there is some level of confusion. Iowa CORE seems no different. When the information is being developed and taught simultaneously, how do we keep it all straight? What is the "handle" that we can grasp to make this concept useab...

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To Filter or Not to Filter

In schools today, technology is such a key source of information that we not only use it daily, we rely on it for our day to day activities. Given that dependence on our digital contact, what role does filtering play for both our adults and students?Some will indicate a clear need to drop the walls and let our conscious guide us. Over at Dangerously Irrelevant, it is clear what many are thinking. http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/09/we-trust-you-with-the-children-but-not-the-internet.htmlOthers will cry that we need to clamp down on the junk that we expose people to through this medium. Where is the balance between free access and appropriate u...

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Welcome to the "Horse"

Why the name? Of course that is the big question. After several conversations that have simply landed flat, I am interested in starting conversations that last a bit longer, allow more voices, and generally beat the topic (the dead horse, of course) to death. Not that there is any expectation of solutions, finality, or completeness, but a concept of avoiding a quick shot and walking away. Deeper conversation and re-reading what other viewpoints may be is hopefully the common thread that will develop at the "Horse."Another factor in the name is the state of US Education, and maybe education in general. We know that we can do better; we know our kids can learn more and differently; we know we can expect more; but instead of getting a "fresh horse" to carry us forward, we are content to keep...

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