cc licensed photo shared by flickr user madpoet_one Let me brag about a couple of things which I think are worthy of boastfulness, though others may think are horrifying. First, I live very close to the school that I ply my trade in. Very close, as in, I could probably sneak out at any time, race home, put on a blue spandex suit with a big red ‘S’ on my chest, come back, and people would think there was a phone booth outside the school. Second, my eldest of three children, Yumi, has recently begun attending the same building as a student. She’s in grade 4, and she’s as jubilant about this as a squirrel who has found a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar. One of the best things Yumi and I do is ride to and from school together on our respective bikes. It’s a special thing. I shudder to think that there might eventually be a time when feeling the wind brush back our eyebrows while coasting on our mountain bikes together will be an unappreciated endeavour. Sometimes I even find myself getting choked up, cruising behind her while watching her  little body, capped off with a mushroom-like bike helmet, bobbing up and down. She tries to talk to me and tell me about mundane moments of her day, and most of the time I have to yell, "Tell me later, honey, I can’t hear you!" It’s been interesting to observe others’ reactions to Yumi and I. It’s perhaps a sign of the times. The first reaction is surprise that we ride to school in the first place. Everyone burns gas to get to their destinations, you know. I’m not trying to jump on my high horse here; I understand that most people are captive to our bizarre, sprawling infrastructures, that context is king, and that everyone’s family decisions are often based on circumstance. It does concern me, however, that many people seem to have simply discounted travelling to school by foot or by pedal as an option. Like it’s Cherry Cola or something; it doesn’t exist any longer. Another response I’ve received is one of mild horror when people realize I sometimes allow my daughter to walk/ride to school by her lonesome. The distance is 900 metres. That’s half a mile. We’re talking 984.252 yards. Once, on a rainy day in September, I actually had a stranger admonish me for riding home in the rain with Yumi. I was flabbergasted. Are we sugar cubes? I don’t think they realize I’m trying to raise eagles, not budgies. At this point I have to step off my soapbox in the interests of: a) preventing blograntism, and b) keeping this post for what it is. This post is a dad’s love letter to his daughter. I adore eating pho with you on our lunch dates at Sweet Basil. I treasure getting a glimpse of your face in the hallways. And I get all fuzzy in my stomach when we’re cruising around the streets together, ringing our bike bells. drawing by Yumi Lee

I created this video to help my students remember some basic things about filming with mobile devices. I hope it’s useful to other classrooms.

Just a quick instructional vid I made for colleagues at my school which may or may not be useful to you.

My chin is still recovering from the gaping wound that was created by my jaw crashing to the floor the other day. You see, that’s when I met several teachers who had been given district/school iPad devices with its camera functionality disabled. Apparently, this is becoming a common practice. Here are my questions for the decision makers: 1. What are you afraid of? 2. Who are you protecting? 3. What message(s) does this send to your teachers and students? 4. Why do you want iPad devices in the hands of teachers and students in the first place?

Do you have a bunch of fun family photos that no one in your family ever looks at? I bet you do. They’re probably all over the place, too: on her camera, on his phone, on the kid’s iPod, etc. I was playing around with my MacBook’s wallpaper and screensaver settings when I discovered something totally awesome. I didn’t think it was big deal at the time, but I’m now realizing how fantastic it really is. I simply linked all of our family computers’ desktop wallpapers and screensavers to connect to a shared Dropbox folder called ‘Wallpaper’. Then I spent an hour or two putting all of our favourite photos from the past decade into that folder. I also have a shortcut/alias folder on my desktop, so it’s easy to dump photos in as I go now. What’s more, you can link your mobile Dropbox app directly to that folder for easy mobile transfers. One repository for all your photos that displays itself to you every day. I really just did it for fun, but do you know what we spend a lot of time saying to one another now? I laughed today when I saw that photo of us when we were… Math class was about to start, and I saw that hilarious one where we… I couldn’t believe I once looked like that… Oh, that was my favourite day ever! Essentially, it’s prompted my family to talk more about the process and history of our time together. And what do we know about people who talk about process and history as they’re living life collaboratively? Well, they tend to have perspective of the big picture, for one. Don’t get me wrong, we’re the loudest, most obnoxious family ever. Still, we’re pretty happy reminiscing about those small moments that you shouldn’t forget, yet sometimes do when life’s manic pace takes it toll. If you’re looking for a way to bring a touch of sunshine into your busy family’s abundance of photographs, try out the below (I’m pretty certain the following has its multiple equivalents for PC).

CC licensed image shared by Flickr user Jordan Cameron I invite my middle schoolers to bring their headphones to class. It’s not just because the year is 2012, or because stringy white ear buds are as ubiquitous as skinny jeans that sag beneath boxers. I want them to use their music and headphones for at least a few reasons… CC licensed image shared by Flickr user Wolfram Burner It’s a beautiful way for students to attain instant solitude when it is needed in a class of near-thirty. Whether it’s listening to your favourite playlist, an audiobook, or a podcast exploring your passion, there’s a place for being in one’s own head in the sometimes-melee that is a middle school classroom. CC licensed image shared by Flickr user Ed Yourdon Learning partners can find paired solitude when doing invaluable partnered work and thinking. It’s a hygiene-obsessed person’s nightmare, but it often aids the best kind of group work - that which occurs between two, not more, people. CC licensed image shared by Flickr user nerissa’s ring I have so many metacognitive students. When left to their own devices (so to speak), many of them contend that music is a must for studying and/or learning. I don’t really see why that shouldn’t be leveraged in my classroom, simply because the proverbial buck ultimately stops with me. Do you permit students to use their iPods and headphones in your classroom? What are your reasons for doing/not doing so?

I’ve been asked by a couple of people to share a digital version of the anchor chart I developed with my students to help remind them about certain things in their formal writing. Here it is for all of you too. Reuse, remix, recycle.

students in my class doing a haiku deck presentation Disclaimer: No one paid me to write this. The app: Haiku Deck What you can do with it: Create slides from their database of beautiful, free to use photos, searchable by key words. Why it’s awesome: You can’t make boring slides. How to present like a boss (slides from my Haiku Deck presentation):

I read Mary Beth’s tweet and accompanying link about an hour ago and decided to delete my Instagram account. I’m leaving it for my first love, Flickr. It’s not because I haven’t found it to be a beautifully engineered app and social network. Nor is it because I haven’t found it funner than anything, as my son would say. It’s not even because I think their terms of service are necessarily any more clandestine or problematic than any one else’s (hello, my beloved Google). Moreover, although I’ve never Facebooked, I’m not going to pretend to be the most well-informed critic of their privacy policies or ambitions for world domination (read Maira Sutton’s post for a good one). Sure, this post would be a lot better if I could quote some Clay Shirky or Marshall McLuhan, but, at the end of the day, I just…really…felt like it. Here’s why: I use Flickr almost daily for CC licensed images that I can reuse, remix, or recycle. I need to get back to contributing to this great community as well. I like the fact that all of my Flickr photos are set up to automatically be CC licensed. All of my Flickr photos get uploaded in full resolution. I found myself taking too many photos in low resolution because of being in the Instagram world. Flickr has finally updated their app to include Instagrammy filters. I’m not a fan of Facebook. Flickr gives me so many more administrative options to play with my photos’ settings. I want those controls back. Are you sticking with Instagram, or leaving the club? Become my friend on flickr!