Julie and Julia

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to see Julie and Julia.

While reviewers (rightly) praise Meryl Streep's stunning portrayal of American chef, author, and TV personality Julia Child, many have been less enthusiastic about the subplot highlighting the culinary adventures of writer Julie Powell.

"How did she do it?" I wondered. Not the incredibly gifted Streep or the engaging and talented Child, but Julie the blogger: how did her blog gain such recognition?

I did a bit of searching today, and located "Julie Powell's Advice for Bloggers." Her tips include:

• develop a voice
  
• build on content that keeps readers involved
• be ethical, control emotions
  
• use blogs as a tool to address issues in a public venue
• keep [the craft of] writing at the center

All good, practical advice from a professional writer.

The tagline for "Julie and Julia" is "Passion. Ambition. Butter. Do You Have What It Takes?"

The butter. That's what adds richness, flavor, irresistible appeal. The butter keeps people returning for another taste.

So maybe the chef can also teach us a lesson about creating a desirable product.

Thanks, ladies!






"gotterdammerung" by rutabaga_love

Begin - Again

"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand -- and melting like a snowflake." -Marie Beyon Ray

My blogging has been sporadic recently, due to a number of factors.

I've retired from my position as a teacher/librarian and continue to evaluate my goals, prioritize my time, and try to determine what direction(s) my life should take.

It's also summer, a normally less-structured season for me, when impromptu trips and outdoor rambles tend to supercede online sessions.

The question is: do I want to continue blogging? If so, of what should my subject matter consist?

"Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." -Richard L. Evans

Although I'm no longer a classroom teacher, I'm still interested in education issues, both as a professional and as a citizen/taxpayer. Through my editing and facilitating duties at CyberSmart, and via numerous social networking sites (on Facebook, Twitter, and Plurk as dmcordell), I interact directly with educators. Their concerns remain my concerns: how do we best enable students to learn; how can we keep apace of technology and use it in all aspects of our lives; how do we remain active lifelong learners?

"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die." -Eleanor Roosevelt

My daughter asked if I planned to begin a new blog, but I feel that Journeys: Adventures in Life and Learning is still relevant. If my perspective has changed, my "mission" has not. I'll still be exploring and, hopefully, growing.

You're welcome to journey with me!





"Grand Re-Opening" by Ian Muttoo

Kaleidoscope

"I feel a need to pull back from the tools, and gravitate more toward meaning when I write." -Clay Burell, Web Legacies Wrap-Up, 9 Aug 2008


I began my blog in June, 2007, intending it to serve primarily as an online professional journal. Since that tentative and hopeful beginning, I've evolved, and so has Journeys.

While educational issues, like filtering, student blogging, and cyber safety still occupy my thoughts, my writing now is more likely to reflect the life I've lived and the person I'm becoming.

Technology is no longer an add-on. Social networking and other connective tools have helped to forge ties that defy categories: in many cases, my virtual colleagues have become true friends. Tools are...tools. Not the focus but the facilitators.

Both my husband and I are moving towards retirement. All the polished pieces and jagged shards of our experiences are shifting into new patterns, presenting us with choices that we never could have anticipated even a few years ago.

The world is changing, we are changing. The past will continue to influence but not dictate our futures. Hippies and cowboys, poetry and paintings, family and friends will all contribute to our kaleidoscope's colorful compositions.

Feathers and Wings: A Birthday Poem

“Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time.” –Jean Paul Richter


Feathers to enable flight
Wings to lift and carry
High and far above the earth
Wheeling in a joyous arc
Returning home to solid footing
Memory of wind and cloud
Earth below
Sky above



"By words the mind is winged." -Aristophanes

On the Occasion of my 200th Blog Posting

I wrote and posted my first blog entry on June 4, 2007. Re-reading that naive and hopeful little essay reminds me how far I've come and how much farther I still hope to travel.

My academic goals seem almost laughable: none of the technologies I envisioned using are in place. The best I could do for my students was to enroll them in a district-endorsed Blackboard account. All interactive sites are blocked (including PB wiki), YouTube is inaccessible, student email accounts, even those spun off of a teacher account, are forbidden. We are 19th century citizens of a 21st century world.

Personally, blogging has been an unqualified success. It provides an outlet for creative expression, a venue for professional reflection, and a connective conduit to people from around the globe.

I'm too impatient to wait until June to post this celebratory blog, so there will be a separate "Blog Birthday" message then.

Today, I decided to spotlight some of my own personal favorites from the 200.

Sentimental (tie)
Four Weddings
She Never Existed Before: Mother's Day 2008

Nostalgic (3-way tie)
Happy Birthday to Me!
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Age of Aquarius

Shortest
W00t!

Best (and only) Guest Posting
Fly on Your Heavy Feet

Most Popular
I'm Nobody! Who Are You?
Why Would You Want to Do This?
The Student Voice
Something of Value

Most Creative
The Bloggers

Best Images - Summer
Nature's Peace

Best Images - Autumn
In October

Most Deeply Felt
Stars were with me most of all


Thank you all for sharing this Journey with me.





“200” by xiaming

Objects Modified by Changing Light

“The Impressionists dissolved forms. They painted blurry ‘impressions’ of objects modified by changing light and atmospheric conditions—drifts of fog, shimmering forest shadows, the glow of gas lamps on rainy streets." -Stephen Kern


Although my online presence began, for all intents and purposes, less than a year ago, I've been a mother since 1977. When offered the opportunity to display this facet of my life by contributing to This Mommy Gig, I jumped at the chance. While my technology education may still have some significant gaps, I've got the motherhood experience covered.

Impressionist painters delineate a world where "colors are juxtaposed or contrasted directly, with none of the dark shadows used by the realists" (Paul Zucker). This new site, with its blending of different areas of personal interest: blogging, technology, motherhood, reminded me of an Impressionist work of art.

I'm still very much a work in progress. Realistic, Classic, Romantic: what artistic style would define your life?


"Green Apple" by Tim Cordell

The Name Game

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." -William Shakespeare

One of the quandaries facing a beginning blogger is how much personal information to reveal. Striking a balance between safeguarding privacy and establishing an online presence requires making a series of choices: avatar or photo; screen name or real life name; vague or specific locations for home and career.

In my own case, I've moved from an avatar








to a photo








My name has expanded from "diane" to "dmcordell" and "Diane Cordell." Although I usually list my location as "upstate New York," I occasionally mention my home town or the school district where I teach. I'm most protective of family members, and use their images sparingly.

Many of my online friends are experiencing a similar evolution, especially on Twitter. With familiarity and trust comes the desire to reveal a true image, mimicking the revelation of personality, philosophy, and character.

And as bloggers establish a presence, they increasingly desire to claim their Voice. Online, as in Real Life, reputations are important.

Because of the content of their postings, some bloggers choose anonymity. A school employee like Taylor the Teacher could well lose her job over a posting like "No Blogs Allowed!" Comments like "District installed new Internet filter today because the other one was too much like we lived in a democracy" and "Apparently kids aren’t allowed to see advertisements, either. This is okay since nobody sees ads in real life America. Unless, of course, they are military ads plastered all over the school. Heil!" are not encouraged in the public school arena.

In her own words

"The Annoyed Librarian is possibly the most successful, respected, and desirable librarian of her generation. She has no other interest than to bring her wit and wisdom to the huddled librarian masses yearning to breathe free. The Annoyed Librarian is a free spirit and you are lucky to have her."

By being No One, she (or could it be he?) is Everyone.


Today, a student blogger stepped out of the shadows. Welcome, Kaelie! It's fitting that you drop the "Curbxstomp" persona as you thank Taylor the Teacher for being your real life mentor. Perhaps some day soon she will be able to join you in the sunlight.


"A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character. You ask, What's in a name? I answer, Just about everything you do." -Morris Mandel








"HELLO, my name is..." by thost

Spindles

"If something bad can happen to even one child it shouldn’t be done" – paraphrased comment from meeting of a variety of DECS and AEU (Australian Education Union) representatives, Al Upton, and his Principal


In order to protect their beloved daughter, the King and Queen in "Sleeping Beauty" took the extraordinary step of banning spindles from their kingdom. Never having seen or handled such a tool, the young woman had no idea of either its utility or danger.

"The years went by, the little Princess grew and became the most beautiful girl in the whole kingdom. Her mother was always very careful to keep her away from spindles, but the Princess, on her sixteenth birthday, as she wandered through the castle, came into a room where an old servant was spinning.

"What are you doing?" she asked the servant.

"I'm spinning. Haven't you seen a spindle before?"

"No. Let me see it!" The servant handed the girl the spindle ... and she pricked herself with it and. with a sigh, dropped to the floor." - Charles Perault, La Belle au Bois dormant (The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood)

Sleep, ignorance, inexperience are no substitute for vigilance, knowledge, guided practice. Graham Wegner wonders about the nature of risks:

If one child could slip and possibly fall with injurious consequences, then there is risk. But the benefits of the playground far outweigh the negatives - the learning, the gaining of skills, the creation of games and the friendship of playing with your mates. And we are careful with the playground environment - no sharp edges, designs that cater for a variety of skill levels, soft fall on the ground, rules for safe play, teacher supervision - so that the risks are managed and lead to beneficial learning of physical skills.

Why would we treat the risks regarding, say, the use of blogs in the classroom any differently? Why do risks associated with technology seem to be so threatening that shutting down and banning is seen as the appropriate way to deal with it? And are those responsible for recommending or enforcing these methods really in touch with real or perceived risks?

Although both Al Upton and his Australian colleague, Sue Waters, stress that "They [Upton and his principal] are after constructive helpful comments and thoughts; and a balanced discussion of the issues," comments from the meeting seem to indicate that the miniLegends blog would have to be stripped of all interactive components to pass muster.

"Their key concerns are to make sure everyone is protected against all risks." Is such a thing possible?

The hedge of thorns that protected the sleeping princess will not spring up to shelter our students. The spindles in their world may not be as dangerous as the measures taken to ban them.

If schools are not allowed to teach children Internet safety and digital citizenship, how and when will they learn?

"Sharp Thorns" by katmere
"Familie mit Frau am Spinnrad" by Hermann Sondermann
"The Sleeping Beauty" by Sir Edward Burne-Jones

How Much is Your Blog Worth?

Thanks to Twitter friend Miguel Guhlin, I found yet another cool online toy to play with. When you enter your blog address into Dane Carlson's aplet, you receive an estimate of the site's value based on Technorati's API.

My results weren't too embarrassing, but I don't think I'll be cashing in any time soon.

My blog is worth $35,001.48.
How much is your blog worth?

Now if I could just legally change my name to

• Clay Burell: Your blog, beyond-school.org, is worth $127,021.50
• Will Richardson: Your blog, weblogg-ed.com/, is worth $611,961.36

or better yet

• Guy Kawasaki: Your blog, blog.guykawasaki.com/, is worth $4,879,319.22

I might have to take the money and run! Looks like my dearly beloved blog is safe for now.

I didn't want a permanent button, so I copied and pasted the results into this posting. Visit Carlson's site to see how your blog would fare on the open market.

To Know The Nature of Joy

"Where there is joy there is creation. Where there is no joy there is no creation: know the nature of joy." -Veda Upanishads


I just began an online course, "Learning and Teaching with Web 2.0 Tools." One of our first assignments is to create a blog, then write a posting "about how you would want to use a blog for educational purposes in your classrooms, schools, or districts." Because I've been blogging since last June, I asked the facilitator if I could use Journeys to share my ideas, and she agreed.

I'm hoping to fill in some gaps in my tech/tools knowledge; my online explorations certainly affirm that there are a LOT of things I want to learn, don't know, didn't even know I didn't know.

Still, I have made some progress. The required readings for class include articles and postings by people I interact with daily on Twitter or follow in my Google Reader. Wesley Fryer, Will Richardson, Steve Dembo, Miguel Guhlin, and the Students 2.0 contributers are all old friends, even though virtually. I could easily suggest another 20 or 30 outstanding edubloggers to add to the list.

What have I learned from this distinguished company? They have helped me to understand that

• learning must extend beyond classroom walls
• students have a Voice that needs to be heard
• safety means education not isolation
• teachers should be co-learners
  
• collaboration expands and enriches curriculum
• even in a 2.0 world, tools are secondary to content

A friend and colleague in South Korea, Clay Burell (whose wedding on Saturday was UStreamed, blogged, twittered and virtually attended by people from around the world) posted this reminder for bloggers:

I’d suggest this: if you think you have nothing to write about as you face the blank screen, remember these people, and their fine gestures, and consider, instead of thinking, simply feeling. And create from that. Create some new form of kindness. Let your education “lead you out” - from yourself. Let it pull you to engage the world from the tip of your nose to the opposite pole.

And that is the best lesson I've learned, to use blogging as a connector to others around the world, and by so doing, to discover joy.

"Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one's identity as a being of worth and dignity." -Rollo May



"tay0403" by jwfarmer10

Thinking Blogger Award

"Thinking Machine 4" by tj.firer

Twitter has been a joy and a revelation for me. After initial resistance to what I felt might be yet another trendy online distraction, I cautiously ventured into the Twitterverse, and "stepped into the light."

I've found a supportive network of teachers, techies, and just plain interesting people from around the world. One of my new friends is Anne Mirtschin, a teacher at Hawkesdale P12 College, in Victoria, Australia.

"@murcha" uses the power of social networking to enhance and extend her students' learning. Her blog, On an e-journey with generation Y, was created as a journal to document this journey.

Anne has been kind enough to give me a Thinking Blogger award. I thank her for the honor and can honestly say that I have learned as much or more from her as she has from me. But isn't that the whole point of our brave new collaborative world?

About the award.

The participation rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).
In addition there is a note: “Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking! ”

So, for 5 blogs that make me think:

• Students 2.0 Who is more important in the realm of education than the stakeholders, the students? This innovative cooperative blog lets us hear their voices and engage in a dialog about their concerns.
• Beyond School Clay Burell leads the fight against "schooliness" by constantly challenging his students - and his readers - to seek creative ways to move education into the 21st century. He is currently based in Korea, but his beat is the world.
• Not So Distant Future Carolyn Foote was one of my earliest online mentors. She exemplifies all the best qualities of a modern teacher/librarian.
• Assorted Stuff Tim Stahmer, an Instructional Technology Specialist in Virginia, combines observations about the state of public education with "comments on instructional technology, blogging and the read-write web (aka Web 2.0), various forms of media, digital rights and fair use, a very small dab of politics, and the everyday oddities of life that pop up." He is always interesting, entertaining, and informative.
  
• Tech Thoughts by Jen Jen Wagner offers practical advice on educational technology and invites teachers to participate in a variety of well-constructed, fun-to-do internet-based classroom projects. And her warm and friendly personality makes the digital world a much nicer place to visit!

Thank you, Anne, for sharing the award with me. It made a gloomy winter day a lot brighter!

"The world is round so that friendship may encircle it." -Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

Harmful Situations

"Web Wise Kids’ proven prevention strategies empower youth to recognize and resist all types of harmful situations that exist online. Situations such as social networking, blogging, Instant Messaging, online predators, cyber romances, cyber bullying, identity theft, flaming, piracy and more are introduced in our engaging and challenging Internet safety games." -Web Wise Kids website

Darren Draper's posting today certainly caught my attention. A new program, Web Wise Kids, is being introduced in some of Utah's schools to teach children internet safety through educational game playing.

Since I haven't previewed the product, I'm not qualified to pass judgment on its effectiveness. I can and will express my dismay at the overt linking of blogging and predators on the promotional banner and game description.

With the release of the National School Board Association's report on social networking, Creating and Connecting, proponents of blogging and other interactive and connective social media tools had reason to hope for a more enlightened approach to their use in elementary, middle school, and high school settings.

One of the stated goals of our educational system is to prepare students for life beyond 12th grade, in the 21st century. By questioning the safety and effectiveness of blogging as a tool for learning, Utah, and any other states who accept this approach, are doing their school population a great disservice.

University professor Daniel Lemire asserts that

“to me, my blog has become the single most powerful knowledge management tool I use. The way I use it, it gives me a view of where I am, where I’ll be, where I’m thinking about being. My blog is like my intelligence department… it collects lots of data in an organized fashion and it sits there, waiting for me to go to. The fact that I’m read means I get feedback, and hence, people help me complete my information. I also find out about new, interesting people because they link to my blog, comment on my blog and so on.”

Professor Henry Farrell identifies five major uses for blogs in [college] education, including the organization of in-class notes and providing equity in discussion for all students.

Blogging is also an import tool for those enter the world of business. Dave Pollard describes his evolving recognition of the value of blogs:

“So when I read that blogs were the next big thing in KM [Knowledge Management] I was dubious. It took an eternity even trying to understand what they were -- everyone had their own definition that seemed to deliberately exclude most of the actual applications of the leading blogging tools. When I finally realized that blogs were simply online journals, I decided to start one to get a feel for what they were about, and to start reading them to assess their potential value to business. Since I have always had a passion for writing, my own blog quickly proved addictive: Not only could I easily post my writing, as often as I wanted, without learning about HTML -- people actually read and commented on what I wrote! But it was only after I started learning about RSS -- the ability to send blog content to personal subscription pages the same way my Profiles filtered, aggregated and delivered all the site-licensed content, that I realized blogging was also a robust electronic publishing and subscription medium. And both the tools and the content were essentially free.”

In May 2005, Business Week devoted an entire issue to business blogging. Their advice boiled down to "Catch up...or catch you later".

The world of education would be wise to heed the same advice.

The Becoming of a Person

"Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things." -Denis Diderot

"According to a preview of unpublished research on the online activities of higher education institutions, a significant percentage of colleges and universities sometimes dig into would-be undergraduates’ social-networking profiles." -Scott J. Crech, Online Profiles a Factor in College Admissions, Education Week Online

As students become more comfortable with creating and sharing online content, colleges and prospective employers are beginning to utilize this information for assessment and decision-making.

Young adults who have been taught the essentials of responsible digital citizenship and cyber safety will take care to only post appropriate text, photos, audio, and video clips. This remains the prudent course to follow when constructing an online persona.

But such a deliberate orchestration might exclude one key element: passion.

Vinnie Vrotney's latest posting explains the reasons why blogging is an important means to explore and share personal passions.

"We blog so that we can share and allow others the chance to know who we are, what we are passionate about, and what we think. We build up the currency of thoughts and ideas which is becoming more valuable in this information age that we are living. We are establishing our portfolio to share with the world."

Colleges and businesses must look deeper than Facebook or MySpace to discover and evaluate an applicant's passion for an activity, an avocation, or a cause. And young people should recognize blogging as an opportunity to establish themselves as a unique presence in the world.

The contributing staff of Students 2.0 understands the joy and passion of blogging. Surely their individual and collaborative blogs will serve as impressive selling points in their educational and professional futures. Other students would be well advised to follow their lead.

"What is passion? It is surely the becoming of a person. Are we not, for most of our lives, marking time? Most of our being is at rest, unlived. In passion, the body and the spirit seek expression outside of self." -John Boorman

"Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark." -Henri Frederic Amiel


"Laptop desks in the computer science building" by maebmij

Dangling Conversation

"Like a poem poorly written
We are verses out of rhythm,
Couplets out of rhyme,
In syncopated time
Lost in the dangling conversation
And the superficial sighs,
Are the borders of our lives."

Simon & Garfunkel, The Dangling Conversation

Just as I'm starting to feel comfortable in my new identity as a blogger, there are ominous rumblings about the "death of blogging".

Ryan Bretag is not so much condemning blogs as questioning their validity as "participatory media tools". He describes his own frustration at failing to to "add much in terms of value-added through analysis or reflective thought that adds to our collaborative efforts to learn and improve education." Troubled by a lack of common goals and absence of "constructive confrontation", he wonders if blogs have stalled in their necessary evolutionary process.

Many of members of my PLC have either responded to Ryan's posting or begun parallel discussions. While recounting details of the Stager and Richardson UStream "Bootleg", Clay Burell mentioned "blogger burnout" and the lack of interaction by "top-tier bloggers" when comments are left on their pages. The announcement in October by Will Richardson that he was considering giving up blogging to concentrate on Skype chats caused consternation and controversy, as those outside of Will's inner circle contemplated losing his direct guidance and leadership [he continues to post, but not as frequently as in the past]. Clay reminds us (and them) that the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with some of the leaders in educational technology has always been a key benefit of reading and writing blogs.

A commenter on Ryan's post, Evan Scherr, is critical of those who spend time "telling me what they are doing in their classroom. For many of us, we can't get excited about how you are using UStream in the classroom when the UStream site is blocked by our public school district. We can't get excited about how your class built a MySpace page, when MySpace is blocked by our school district." I strongly disagree with this criticism. Although it can be disheartening to read about innovation that is (presently) out of my reach, every example I am able to cite from the edublogosphere is a valuable persuasive tool in helping convince my administrators, BOE, and fellow teachers of the value of embedded technology tools. Jo McLeay's Voicethread, Anthony Armstrong's podcast project, Cathy Nelson's experiments in both these venues, Clay Burell's digital storytelling renditions of "Paradise Lost", Carolyn Foote's virtual author visit via Skype...all serve to inspire rather discourage me. If they can do it, so can I; more importantly, if their students can do it, so can - and should - mine.

Finally, I'd like to share a quote from SC Morgan: "Twitter is for the linking--blogs are for the thinking." Twitter serves as a way to stay connected with colleagues. Blogs are better suited for the conversations, debates, explorations that will result in deeper understanding and professional growth.


"It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought." -Agnes Repplier

"With thee conversing I forget all time." -John Milton


"IMG_0214" by blair christensen

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

"la nuit blanche – not retouched" by Dom Dada

"One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions." - Admiral Grace Hopper


Depending on their results, bloggers have reacted with delight, dismay, or indifference to the ratings issued by the Blog Readability Test. Just what the test is evaluating, and how the scores are calculated, is never explained.

A bit of online searching brought me to Juicy Studio, a site whose mission is to "promote best practice for web developers in a fast moving industry." One of the Quality Assurance links takes you to Readability Tests:

"Gunning Fog, Flesch Reading Ease, and Flesch-Kincaid are reading level algorithms that can be helpful in determining how readable your content is. Reading level algorithms only provide a rough guide, as they tend to reward short sentences made up of short words. Whilst they're rough guides, they can give a useful indication as to whether you've pitched your content at the right level for your intended audience."

All three algorithms are used to evaluate any given website. The results are interpreted and compared to the readability of familiar documents, from TV Guide to academic papers.

If you are targeting a particular audience or would just like to analyze your writing, the Juicy Studio test is a far more useful tool than the showier "criticsrant" variation.


"Away with the cant of Measures, not men! -- the idle supposition that it is the harness and not the horses that draw the chariot along. No, Sir, if the comparison must be made, if the distinction must be taken, men are everything, measures comparatively nothing." -George Canning

Can You/Will You Read This Blog?

From the Blue Skunk Blog: The Blog Readability Test

I submitted my blog address, and this was the result. I don't know the criteria and can't decide if such a "classification" will hurt or enhance my readership. So I'm posting the "results" as a one-time oddity and passing on the permanent site badge.

Genius is as genius does.

Horizons

"We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon." -Konrad Adenauer

I've been thinking about my role as Librarian and how it's changed through the years.

Some of the changes are the result of shifting standards and curricula. But the most meaningful ones, the ones that have transformed my perceptions and shifted my teaching goals, are those that resulted from my participation in an online information literacy course and subsequent headlong dive into blogging.

Many teachers work in professional isolation, regardless of the size of their institution. The problem is magnified for librarians, who are frequently the only media specialist in their building, if not their district.

Discovering an online community with which to interact has been literally a life-altering experience for me. My new cyber colleagues share information, tools, and best practices in a constantly refreshed conversation. They teach in Texas and South Carolina, Australia and Korea. We share successes, dissect failures, and brainstorm possibilities.

It is not always a comfortable environment. There are the occasional philosophical "wars" and critical comments. Sometimes the innovations of others leave me feeling backward or inadequate. But someone always responds to my questions, someone always takes the time to reassure me that my efforts are worthwhile.

My new world is scary, exhilarating, exciting. It's where I want to be; I won't go back.

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.” - Dag Hammarskjold

"porte vers l'horizon" by coincoyote

My Voice

In celebration of my 100th posting, I decided to share a photo and a quote:

"I found you could raise your voice and talk out loud in the world." -John J McCloy

An Occasion for Reflection

“Leisure is not tied to work the way that recreation is—leisure is self-contained. The root of the word is the Latin 'licere' which means 'to be permitted,' suggesting that leisure is about freedom. But freedom for what? According to Chesterton’s cheerful view, leisure was above all an opportunity to do nothing. When he said 'doing nothing,' however, he was describing not emptiness but an occasion for reflection and contemplation, a chance to look inward rather than outward.”-Witold Rybczynski


A number of bloggers have been apologizing lately for infrequent or abbreviated postings. Dan Meyer has a laundry list of future topics but can't get to them right now (he is quick to assert that his love of blogging is still intact, in stark contrast to the unsettling comments by Will Richardson which seemed to indicate that, since "blogging is work these days", Will might be moving in the direction of more personalized communication venues, like Skype). Christian Long is seriously involved in family and career at the moment, but relies on cyber colleagues to keep his "radar tuned in." In Tim Stahmer's case, a scarcity of postings is "completely due to an overload of work."

Are apologies or clarifications necessary? Perhaps. A blog is more than a news article or casual "conversation". Bloggers speak directly to their audience, sharing their convictions, emotions, hopes and dreams. Personal relationships are established between people who might, probably won't, meet face to face yet who have connected in a very real sense. The more prominent the blogger, the more the audience becomes attached to, and reliant upon, his/her communications. An abrupt cessation of blogging might be seen as a betrayal of sorts.

Yet the blogger has the right to a balanced life, a time for professional and personal growth: the leisure to investigate, reflect, create.

Blogging is not a job. It's a medium of creative expression, an avocation.

"Some will not recognize the truthfulness of my mirror. Let them remember that I am not here to reflect the surface ... but must penetrate inside. My mirror probes down to the heart. I write words on the forehead and around the corners of the mouth. My human faces are truer than the real ones."-Paul Klee

Clash Day

"The clash of ideas is the sound of freedom."-Lady Bird Johnson

Today was "Clash Day", part of Spirit Week at school. Students - and some teachers - wore wacky, mis-matched clothing combos in wild patterns and colors. It is harmless fun and results in a lot of good-natured banter, even from those who choose not to participate.

Today my Reader feeds contained posts by:

• David Hoff: "Senate aides last night circulated a discussion draft of sections of NCLB. The draft addresses issues that aren't controversial, avoiding topics such accountability and teacher pay."
• Annoyed Librarian: "I'm not saying many, and perhaps even most, librarians aren't dedicated to library users. I'm saying it's time librarians stopped claiming that user satisfaction is all they're interested in, or pretending that public library service is somehow more noble than going out to work for the Man. If librarians were interested only in user satisfaction, they wouldn't complain about library outsourcing in such a knee-jerk manner."
• Library Thing Blog: "In defending Linden I want to make it clear that I am not a high-volume user of Second Life. I visit about once a week, usually for something like the BookMooch/LibraryThing meet-up... Until now, I enjoyed the site, but I wasn't passionate about it.Now, Doughty Lindens, I am on your side!"
• LifeHack: "While it makes good sense to teach your children to be aware of themselves and their surroundings in the company of strangers, the feverish panic that breaks out every year in the weeks before Halloween is way out of proportion to the actual threat posed to your children."
• Christopher D. Sessums: "While I regularly use both a PC and a Mac, the Mac generally makes me happier."
• Karin Chenoweth: "Hardly anyone ever talks about it, but the thing about schools is that most of them are incredibly sloppy, organizationally speaking."
• Clarence Fisher:"There are enough tools and filters available to track kids online and ensure they are "safely" closed off from being able to make meaningful connections and become digital citizens. Instead, this is about teachers and students being able to develop profiles of their learning online."

In my connected world, there are always new concepts to ponder, old beliefs to question, people with whom to begin or continue a dialog.

Color, pattern, clash and compromise: I love this environment!


"Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict."- Saul Alinsky