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The first speaker was quite good, but he kept referring to the “backnoise.”  I didn’t know what this meant, but a quick check of Twitter and Facebook led me to the BackNoise website.  From what I can determine, BackNoise is the equivalent of passing notes or whispering in the back of the classroom, except anyone who wants to participate or listen in can do so.  Someone had set up a conversation area on BackNoise for New Media Atlanta, and people in the audience were typing in comments during the day that others could read in real time. 

One thing I learned yesterday was how the existence of BackNoise can change the direction of an event in real time.  This sounds like a good thing, and it partly is.

after lunch, the lights in the auditorium were low and several people posted on BackNoise that they were falling asleep, so the organizers turned the lights back up.  When a panel discussion and the keynote speaker got good reviews, they let those sessions run long (which meant the last session of the day didn’t happen, which would have upset me if I were that presenter, but it appears the audience got what they wanted).  And there were enough gripes about the “no beverages in the room” policy that the organizers had a shipment of bottled water brought in and added a break in the afternoon.  All good stuff!

If you as a teacher have scarce time and resources to devote to learning new skills, learning those that will last you the remainder of your career is a sound investment. All teachers do need to be “technologically literate” if they are to both improve their professional productivity and to give their students the learning opportunities technology provides. If we don’t, we are as unethical as a doctor who refuses to learn how to take advantage of a CAT scan.

The focus of all teacher training must shift from just-in-case to just-in-time - learning only what one needs to know, just when one needs it. The just-in-time model of technology training relies less of district- mandated classes and more on more personal, individual learning opportunities.Whether individualize or though a class, learning technology should only be a part of a larger professional growth target.  Learning to use a database should be a part of learning to do more effective assessments. Learning to use mind-mapping software such as Inspiration should be a part of learning better writing instruction practices. Learning to more effectively search the Web should be a part of learning to how to improve student research practices. (Other examples can be found at <http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/rubrics-for-restructuring.html) In other words, the focus should be on improving professional practices, not learning to use a computer. Most educators, including me, are better teachers than students. I’ll confess I have small patience with most classes and workshops whether they are about technology or anything else. Sitting, even for a few hours, listening to a presenter drone on does little for me except help develop a strong empathy for our kids. But if we learn to structure technology training to suit individual adult learning styles and place it within the context of improving educational practices, teachers can and will become “technology-literate” – just in time. 

There’s a good video on YouTube on How To Use A Flip Video Camera. How To Us A Flip Camera is a simple guide with screenshots. David Pogue of the New York Times has a good review/description on using a Flip, and also has a video. Here are some tips on how to edit your videos after you’ve shot them. Here are some places to get ideas and tips on using them with students: Thirty-Nine Interesting Ways* to use your Pocket Video Camera in the Classroom is a great online presentation from Tom Barrett. 7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders is a good overview on using them in education. Classroom 2.0 has a good discussion on its Forum about using Flips. I believe you can access it without being a member but, if not, it’s free and easy to join. Richard Byrne has started a collaborative project with teachers sharing Many Ways to Use Flip Video Cameras in the Classroom.

A few Tips & Tricks for Student filming in the Classroom is another great post over at the Langwitches blog.

Many think of Twitter as a place where people post insignificant updates about themselves. You know, "I'm getting a coffee." There was a time when I thought the whole concept was silly. Then, Twitter transformed...actually Twitter users developed new ways to use this communication tool. Here's how educators are using Twitter to collaborate and learn more about their craft.

Hashtags changed everything. Twitter users have developed ways to search for content and one of the most important innovations is the hashtag (#). A hashtag is text inside a twitter post (called a tweet) that starts with a # and then some text (i.e., #hashtag). This provides a very efficient way to search for content.

- Note - The power of Twitter for professional development is not the tweets themselves...it's the links to broader content.

Slang terms and text-speak such as IDK (I don't know), SMH (shaking my head), and BTW (by the way) have become a common sight on student assignments, befuddling some high school teachers who are unsure how to fix this growing problem.

According to a survey of 700 students ages 12 to 17 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 85 percent of the respondents reported using a form of electronic communication, whether through instant messaging, text messaging, or social media. Growing up in a technological era, high school students may be unaware they are using language shortcuts in the classroom, says Allie Sakowicz, a rising senior at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Ill.

"I think that students don't even realize that they're doing it," Sakowicz notes. "When we're using all this social media we're not thinking about spelling words right, so naturally that's going to translate into the classroom."

Conclusion These are just ten ways that you can protect your privacy on Facebook. While there are a few other small things to keep in mind, these ten settings are most important. Keep in mind that while you may have turned off the visibility of many profile sections, there is no way to prevent all photos or videos from being visible if friends of yours make the images visible. The best way to prevent embarrassing items from showing up on Facebook in the future is to not make bad judgements in your personal life. We’re all human though and being completely paranoid about every choice you make is probably not the best way to live your life. Be aware of what privacy settings are available and be conscious of what your friends may be publishing about you. While you may not want to configure all of the privacy settings outlined, simply knowing how to do so is a great step in the right direction. By following the 10 settings listed above you are well on your way to an embarrassment free future on Facebook!

I’ll touch on each of the things listed above in more detail later. A