coComments related to darrendraper

That's a good list, there, Gra

2008-08-17T06:01:00.067+02:00

That's a good list, there, Graham. As one responsible for conducting "traditional" professional development, what can I do to make it more compelling, more participant-centric, more alternative? I agree completely that the alternative to pd is far more compelling - but struggle to make the alternative fit into the framework of the traditional.

I actually believe that

2008-07-16T20:25:30.844+02:00

I actually believe that this bad boy took you fourteen hours to complete. Approximately how much time do you think you've spent on your first five installments? Folks need to realize how much time it takes to work hard to make it look easy. Well done, Dan. I concede: You are the man.

That discussion was one of my

2008-07-07T22:58:58.227+02:00

That discussion was one of my NECC highlights, too! It was great to finally meet you in person and I look forward to bumping into you in future discussions, D

> I think that the ed-tech

2008-07-07T21:59:42.812+02:00

> I think that the ed-tech community should take greater note of dissent - the Bretags and the Stagers should be sought out rather than ignored. I couldn't agree more. Critical thinking about what we're doing will do far more to benefit our practice and thinking than surrounding ourselves with like-minded yes-men. As far as Bretag's work goes, check out this post first - I think it will resonate with your line of thinking.

Hello again, Robin, thanks for

2008-07-07T19:36:35.908+02:00

Hello again, Robin, thanks for the post. Sheryl's observations about networks and communities are something that I'll need to digest further. While those that choose to blog about educational topics can rightly be considered a network of learners ("communities of practice" has also become a popular term), I would hope that we never forget the human element found in communities - as relationships are forged through such networking experiences. In the end, I agree with Steve: we're forging new territory here. It's exciting, it's transformative, and it's highly emotional. And honestly, I think it's all good. As we change what we come to expect from the "conference experience", we change not only how we expect to be taught, but how we expect to learn. Can't wait 'til NECC09.

I really like it, Matthew. T

2008-07-06T03:16:19.128+02:00

I really like it, Matthew. There are far too few critics in this venue/field and I think we're at a point in time where additional constructive criticism (or learning how to do it appropriately) would greatly help members of our growing, online community. I wonder, however, if your focus is actually valid: "With Web 2.0 technologies and digital media comes criticism – the good, the bad and the ugly." It just seems that so many have accepted Web 2.0 without a critical eye. We need folks like you to keep us honest. I wonder, however, if others would welcome your differing viewpoint. I recently mourned the fact that both Ryan Bretag and Gary Stager publicly mentioned how they didn't feel that their viewpoints would be welcome at an event like EduBloggerCon. Without honest, constructive criticism, we will never grow to our full potential. Best of luck, DD

Admittedly, I was hoping that

2008-06-29T04:09:06.471+02:00

Admittedly, I was hoping that the Unplugged sessions would be held in a location other than the Bloggers' Cafe. While I can still hope, the outlook looks bleak.

Trust online is an interesting

2008-05-28T19:43:07.721+02:00

Trust online is an interesting thing because we've all become accustomed to believing our eyes and trusting that people are honest in how they present themselves. That said, how do we really know who is actually commenting on our blogs, who is honestly writing the posts that we read, and who is truly the person behind those curious posts to Twitter? A perfect example of this lies (no pun intended) in the US presidential race. Obama and Clinton both maintain active Twitter accounts. Do you honestly think that Barack himself is anxiously posting to Twitter? Yeah, right. Nevertheless, it looks like Obama. We think that it's Hilary. Or at least we want to think that it is. When all is said and done, we've been nothing but duped. Duped into thinking that we're dealing with a person that we thought that we knew. We trusted them. We wanted to believe. Which is exactly what you may have done upon reading this comment. While it may appear that Stephen was the author of this comment... ...in the end, it was none other than Drape. And THAT is full disclosure.

Hello Sue, In following your

2008-05-20T21:10:27.661+02:00

Hello Sue, In following your progress in this 31-day challenge, I'm please to see that you're still keeping up. I'm sure you've learned a lot and have grown significantly in the process of interaction with others. That said, and in light of the 5 in 5, I'm wondering how much time you've spent in connection with this cause. The last thing I'm saying here is that the 31-day comment challenge isn't worthwhile - I'm sure that it is - I've just become increasing aware of how much time we all spend doing this stuff (and at the expense of what else?). Along these lines, I can empathize well with Ken Rodoff's thoughts here: http://tinyurl.com/6oz64e . I'm also wondering if - in order for me to be a good blogging citizen - I must sacrifice writing my own posts so that I'm able to comment on the posts of others. If I don't comment on other's posts because I honestly don't have the time (but I am able to scrape 5 minutes to write a post of my own), does that lower my status as a "good blogging citizen"? On a different topic, THANK YOU again Sue, for all of your help. I think the level of service you offer to educators worldwide is tremendous and unparalleled. Again.

Hello Sue, In following your

2008-05-19T23:27:40.709+02:00

Sylvia, Outstanding string of

2008-05-01T22:45:35.205+02:00

Sylvia, Outstanding string of posts on PD. I thoroughly enjoyed the survey and your interpretations of the data. I also appreciate you messing around with Google Gadgets. It's great to be able to embed the live data view. Too bad you can see the Gadget in Google Reader. :(

My first blogoversary is April

2008-04-14T19:58:38.486+02:00

My first blogoversary is April 19. Nobody said great minds don't think alike. Here's to a fantastic first year and to many more to come.

Well said, Wesley. Thanks for

2008-04-14T19:38:45.574+02:00

Well said, Wesley. Thanks for sharing your reflectively thoughtful summary of recent events. I think the last few days have been a positive period of growth for the edu-blogosphere and I'm thankful to be a part of it all. Great stuff, Darren

Sue your additions to our blog

2008-02-23T04:26:08.171+01:00

Sue your additions to our blogging lesson were amazing and to this day I have yet to hear a better explanation of the power of comments. Your example using conversation (and the way it builds upon others' comments) was spectacular! You truly out-did yourself once again. You will always be welcome to join us in our efforts - and we appreciate all that you contribute. It's always nice to have somebody to keep us Yanks on the right path. Thanks again, DD

Interesting post, Sue, and a g

2008-02-15T21:02:23.658+01:00

Interesting post, Sue, and a great extension of a discussion we've had on prior occasions. Like CogDog, I'm guilty of using the first comment tracker I ever tried. That said, however, I don't use it for every comment I ever make - quite the contrary. I only track comment conversations that I want to appear on my blog. CoComment makes it easy to post your comments with a nice little widget (see: http://www.cocomment.com/tools/share). Now, in viewing comment comparisons, I think you would be remiss if you failed to mention great comment writers like Dean Shareski (539 comments), Kim Cofino (602 comments), and many others who are naturally members of a commenting league in which I can only dream of one day competing.

Congrats, Sue! You're perfect

2008-01-16T19:15:53.586+01:00

Congrats, Sue! You're perfect for this! You asked for it, I'll give it to you: What I don't need is another echo in the chamber. Personally, I think this blog would do well to act as another filter in bringing the great posts to the top - perhaps the Sue Waters version of OLDaily. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: most educators simply don't have the time to read hundreds of blogs - even if they chose to use RSS. What we need - if not an educational focussed Digg - is someone competent enough to bring us the best on a regular basis. Now don't get me wrong: Stephen does a fantastic job with OlDaily! I just think that another effort - perhaps even a community effort - would be a healthy addition. Thanks for your hard work, Sue! DD

Sue^3, First, I can't think o

2008-01-14T17:04:26.420+01:00

Sue^3, First, I can't think of a person more deserving of this award than yourself. You are constantly sharing new ideas, tips, and tricks (for newbies and ol' pros alike) that make it a pleasure to work with you. I've been extremely impressed with how willing you've been to take so many educators by the hand, leading them through the initial stages of incorporating social software into their curriculum. Second, I'm honored to be nominated by you and - perhaps just this once - will gladly follow the rules. :)

I mentioned money, but money's

2008-01-09T19:56:21.902+01:00

I mentioned money, but money's really not the issue. The issue is accuracy. We constantly stress accuracy in prediction with our students. In math, for example, students are taught to estimate - or predict - hopefully preparing them for times in their lives that they will need to perform similar tasks. To continue, there are times when faulty predictions give rise to unacceptable consequences. Returning to math, if the mathematicians and engineers hadn't been able to successfully predict the varying scenarios that were involved in sending a man to the moon, do you really think we would have been able to successfully make the trip? And what would have happened if many of their predictions had been inaccurate? At times it is critical that predictions are accurate - because lives are at stake - and to say that such inaccurate predictions are healthy (because they enable conversation) is simply absurd. Thus, you'll never see me subscribe to the statement "It is not about being right or wrong; but about having the conversations".

Soooooo Sue, I've been thinki

2008-01-08T23:41:21.682+01:00

Soooooo Sue, I've been thinking about your post now for a few days now. Mostly about this: "Does it matter if predictions are right or wrong?" My answer, mingled with a few questions of my own: Yes, of course. And no. No, it doesn't matter if you're only concerned with "the journey". Admittedly, the conversation can be engaging. Nevertheless, at times the "journey" simply doesn't pay the bills. Other than an item of conversation, what good is an inaccurate prediction? Is it truly useful and if so, then how useful? Surely not any more useful than an accurate prediction. To conclude, I predict that we will think more about this, that you will write a future post referencing this idea, and that we will all learn together - not because of my accurate prediction, but in spite of it.

Very well said, Sylvia. Our k

2008-01-02T23:17:55.807+01:00

Very well said, Sylvia. Our kids are far more capable than we give them credit and you're absolutely correct: OLPC has a great chance at changing the world!

Yes, what John and Graham and

2007-12-15T16:37:15.891+01:00

Yes, what John and Graham and Stephen have said. Except that I do use Gtalk. Now one thing I do with Google Reader that I've found to work very well is to SHARE the posts I like (they're displayed on my blog as well) and to STAR the posts I will likely write about.

Yes, what John and Graham and

2007-12-15T16:35:50.508+01:00

Hey Sue, Writing extensive bl

2007-12-09T03:50:40.625+01:00

Hey Sue, Writing extensive blog posts about quality twitter tweets isn't the only way to preserve them: don't forget to star your favorites. Also, your own tweets are all archived - this page shows your tweets from August, for example: http://twitter.com/dswaters?page=150 (Just change the page number to go quickly back).

+10pts to Sue for flickrCC! On

2007-11-16T02:28:20.464+01:00

+10pts to Sue for flickrCC! One of the best finds I've found in several days. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Pretty interesting stuff, dswa

2007-08-22T17:25:58.628+02:00

Pretty interesting stuff, dswaters. The use of mobile phones in the classroom is a highly debated topic right now in the U.S. Personally, I think that the unfortunate fact of the matter is that until teachers can *control* what their students do with those mobile phones in the classroom, then they simply won't become mainstream tools for classroom use. *Should* they become mainstream tools? Yes, IMHO. Nevertheless, too many teachers simply don't want to allow their students that kind of freedom - for fear of their students not behaving responsibly enough.

Great post, Sue. Interestingl

2007-08-21T18:02:03.440+02:00

Great post, Sue. Interestingly, I've found (at least in our District) that many teachers actually don't know what policies are in place. Case in point: myself! I created the Pay Attention video last spring because I think there are many things that we can do as teachers to better engage our students. One of the ways I think we can do that is through mobile phone and iPod use - academically, in the classroom (again, if we can't beat 'em, why don't we join 'em). Ironically, when I created the video, I didn't realize that our district actually has a policy BANNING phone use during academic time! Can you believe it (see policy 2-A-7)? http://tinyurl.com/2yc6v2 Now, I realize that my brain is small. Nevertheless, I have been teaching in this district for nearly 10 years. Why wouldn't I have known about such a policy? As a result of the attention that Pay Attention has received, I will be (and have been) campaigning to have our District's policy slightly modified (hopefully to look a little more like 2-A-8) - the process is a very SLOOOOW one, at best, buthopefully we can make headway.