Iowa Education Hashtags

How do we contact the educators in Iowa?

• We could email them, but we would need all of their email addresses.
• We could send them post cards, but that is costly.
• We could text them, but we would have to know their phone numbers.
• We could tweet them, but then we they would all have to be following our twitter persona (i.e., @zeitz)

BUT WAIT!  THAT'S NOT TRUE!!

They would hear our short but important messages if they were following Iowa-Specific Twitter Hashtags.

It's easy, it's quick and it segments specific sectors of people . . . It's PERFECT!!!

The other day I was trying to find Iowa Education specific hashtags when I realized that I didn't have to do this alone. There are thousands of Twitter-using educators in Iowa who could help me.

I created a Google Doc (editable by anyone with the link), Iowa Education Hashtags.  I then created a tweet asking colleagues to help me create this collection of hashtags. I tweeted it a couple of times and the content began to grow.

Presently, the list looks like the one that is below, but it is growing.  Please visit it, Iowa Education Hashtags, and add any that Iowa-specific Education Hashtags that you might know.  Please include your name and the URL of a website that might be linked to the hashtag.

Thanks.

Z

Here is a snapshot of the Hashtags on the Iowa Education Hashtags site.  Take a look to see what the updated list includes:

Similar Job Types

#IowaTL - Iowa Association of School Librarians (http://www.iasl-ia.org/)
#IACoPI - Iowa Communities of Practice on Blended Learning
#Iowa1to1 - 1:1 in Iowa
#iaedldr - Iowa Administrators
#ialegis - Iowa Legislature - @jasonellingson

Iowa Specific Topics

#IAEDFuture - Future Plans describing ideas after the Iowa Education Summit
#iowacore - Iowa Core Standards
#iowaaiw - Authentic Intellectual Work - @jasonellingson
#iacomped - Iowa Competency-Based Education - @jasonellingson
#iaedreform - Iowa Ed Reform - @jasonellingson
#NoBullyIA - used before/after the bullying summit - @jasonellingson
#SBAC - SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium - @jasonellingson
#iastem - Iowa’s STEM initiative - @jasonellingson
#iowa1to1 - 1:1 schools in Iowa
#iowatl - Iowa teacher-librarians - i.e. @scsdmedia

AEA Hashtags

#gpaea - Great Prairie AEA - @sethdenney
#gwaea - Grant Wood AEA - @sethdenney
#plaea - Prairie Lakes AEA - @jasonellingson
#nwaea - NW AEA
#aeatech - Iowa AEA instructional technology consultants - @sethdenney https://sites.google.com/a/gwaea.org/aea-statewide-technology-integration/

Specific Schools/Districts

#BCLUW - BCLUW school district
#VanMeter - Van Meter School District
#2020HowardWinn - Howard Winneshiek School District
#Westmonona - West Monona school district -@techytweecher
#soloncsd - Solon Community Schools
#newellfonda--Newell-Fonda School District

Iowa Technology Organizations

#itec - Iowa Technology and Education Connection - @sethdenney  (http://itec-ia.org)


ALERT:  Here is a GREAT schedule of Education TweetChats across the country.  
It is created by CyberMan.  He is an AMAZING educators who has catalogued everything.  

Can you add any hashtags?

Guest Blog: Why Do Schools Begin 1:1 Computing Initiatives in Iowa? - Part 2

Dr. Jerry Schnabel

In my last post, we looked at factors that did not influence superintendents to implement a 1:1 initiative in their district. These included “keeping up with the Jones,” attracting students from neighboring districts, increased student achievement and budget. So . . . onto factors that did influence their decision:

School Visitations: When I had finished the interviews with the superintendents, my first observation was that the decision to implement a 1:1 initiative was not made in isolation.  Without exception, a factor that influenced the superintendent’s decision was visits to others schools that had implemented a 1:1 initiative. All the superintendents I interviewed told me that they had sent teams to schools that had already implemented a 1:1 initiative to see for themselves, firsthand, a program that was already in place.  These teams consisted of teachers, administrators and in some cases school board members and students.  The number of visits each team made to other schools ranged from 3-20.

Political Considerations: The superintendents also talked about the multiple efforts they undertook to work with staff, school board, parents and the broader community to engage and keep them informed of the progress of the consideration.  Most superintendents assumed the students would be receptive to the idea, but in one instance, students got the notion that once the computers arrived, all the teachers would be fired and students would receive their education strictly via the computer.  So, a lesson learned was not to overlook the students and to enlist them in the exploration process.

Equity: Equity was another factor that influenced the superintendents in the study in their decision to implement a 1:1 initiative.  The superintendents talked about equity in terms of equal access to learning opportunities for all students. These opportunities included access to technology and online resources.   

Staff Readiness: The superintendents in the study indicated staff readiness was an additional factor that influenced their decision. Staff readiness fell into two categories. The first was characterized by the staff being open to or supporting the idea of implementing a 1:1 initiative. The other category of staff readiness was their comfort using the technology.  There was a consensus among the superintendents that staff would need to gain further technology skills, but none of the superintendents were held back because of the technology skill level of the staff.  Districts were also on a continuum of teacher possessing the pedagogical skills required to teach in a one-to-one classroom.  But all superintendents felt their staff could gain this understanding through training and experience in the one-to-one classroom.

Student Engagement: This was an important factor in the decision.  One superintendent remarked that “when we observed and went to other schools and we saw student involvement in the classroom, that became our number one thought.  What a wonderful thing—you have 27 kids in class, everybody is involved, everybody is interested.”  Even once implemented, when the students told the administration in one district that they were not using the computers enough, the district’s response was to send the students to another district that was using the technology successfully. Students wanted to be engaged and after the visit to another district, they returned to their district and helped design changes in the classroom that increased student engagement.

Best for Students: The most important factor that influenced superintendents to implement a 1:1 initiative was they felt it was what was best for students.  This was an unexpected finding and the conclusion was based on examination of the transcripts in response to the question: “As you reflect on the various factors that influenced your decision to become a one-to-one school, what was the most important?”  One Superintendent articulated acting in the best interest of children in terms of increased opportunities for students being the most important factor in her decision.  “To be able to create things for their classes and projects.  To have an endless amount of resources to do that.  I see some of the projects that our kids are doing and I feel that it has been a smashing success with seeing the kids create stuff even more amazing than we thought they would when you give them these tools.” 

This was also cross-referenced using Wordle, an online tool found at http://www.wordle.net/.  When the transcripts of the interviewee’s answers were displayed in Wordle, “important” and “kids” are used most often and thus, appear as the largest words.  The words that were used most frequently after that included “students,” “involvement,” “education,” “everybody” and “projects.”  In contrast, when asked, “as you reflect on the various factors that influenced your decision to become a one-to-one school, what was the least important?” the word “kids” does not appear.   

Figure 1: Wordle Display for the Most Important Influence on the 1:1 Decision

As the map of 1:1 districts in Iowa continues to add more schools, there is a likelihood that many of the factors discussed in this piece influenced the decisions to implement the 1:1 initiative.  And it’s good to know that these decisions are not being made to “keep up with the Jones” but rather to do what is best for students.

Jerry Schnabel is the Director of Information and Technology Services at AEA 267 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He may be reached via email at: jschnabel@aea267.k12.ia.us

Guest Blog: Why Do Schools Begin 1:1 Computing Initiatives in Iowa? - Part 1

Dr. Jerry Schnabel

Have you heard that Bill Gates is giving $5,000 to Facebook users who click on a share link? I got it in my email, so it must be true, right? Well, thank goodness for sites such as Snopes.com that can either confirm or debunk many of the urban myths going around the Internet. (And no, Mr. Gates really isn’t giving money away to Facebook users).

Okay, maybe that was an easy one. Well, have you heard that the reason school districts are implementing 1:1 programs is to “keep up with the Jones?”  In my position as Director of Information and Technology Services at AEA 267, this is a belief I have often heard expressed.  Unfortunately, Snopes.com can’t tell me if this is true or not. And this is important for me to know, as the reasons and expectations schools have for implementing 1:1 programs give direction to the work of the AEA in the support of schools. So in the fall of last year, I went on a trek to visit a number of superintendents in Iowa to explore what factors influenced their decision to implement a 1:1 initiative.

I asked all the superintendents I interviewed if “keeping up with the Jones” was a reason they implemented their program.  They discounted this as a factor, although a few didn’t seem to mind that they had a 1:1 program and their neighbor did not.  Even given that nod to a bit of competitive school pride, I concluded this was not a factor in their decision. 

I also wondered how enrollment trends of the district influenced the decision to implement a 1:1 initiative.  I thought that an initiative might be part of an effort to attract more students from surrounding districts and retain the students the district already had.  This was akin to a “getting ahead of the Jones.”  All but one of the districts had experienced declining enrollment in the past five years.  Enrollment ranged from a one-student gain in five years to 20% fewer students in the same timeframe.  Even then, this was a minor factor at most.  While some superintendents felt it couldn’t hurt, none used a 1:1 initiative in an effort to attract and retain more students.

Another factor that I speculated might have played a part in the decision was increased student achievement.  With the emphasis of NCLB on student achievement, I thought that might explain the surge in the number of programs.  But I discovered student achievement was a minor factor in their decision.  In fact, most superintendents that I interviewed went to great lengths with their constituencies to downplay the possibility that a 1:1 program would increase student achievement.  When I asked why, some superintendents pointed to the mixed research results, with some studies finding a link to increased student achievement and others not.  Some said they did not know how they could determine that an increase (or decrease) in student achievement was directly linked to the 1:1 program.

A possible factor that puzzled me was how in a year of 10% across the board budget cuts to the general fund and a year of zero percent allowable growth, districts were moving ahead with 1:1 initiatives, without apparent budget concerns. The answer to that was the two-fold.  Almost all the superintendents I interviewed used proceeds from the one-cent sales tax to fund the program.  The other source of revenue was the PhysicalPlant and Equipment Levy (PPBL).  Both of these revenue sources largely escaped the hits that the general fund experienced and were available for 1:1 initiatives. With a steady source of funding, budget was not an issue.

So in the interviews I conducted,  “keeping up with the Jones,” attracting students from neighboring districts, increased student achievement, and budget were not really factors in influencing the superintendents to implement a 1:1 program.  So what factors did influence them? I’m no Snopes, but I’ll share with you what I discovered in the next edition of this blog.

What is your opinion on why schools go 1:1?

Jerry Schnabel is the Director of Information and Technology Services at AEA 267 in Cedar Falls. He may be reached via email at: jschnabel@aea267.k12.ia.us

Iowa is a Leader in 1-to-1 Computer Use in Schools

Do you realize that over 50% of the 327 school districts in Iowa's 99 counties have 1-to-1 computing initiatives? This doesn't mean that all of the students in each of these districts have their own computer, but it does mean that most of our school districts have decided that providing students their own laptops/tablets can be a positive influence on their learning.  

Above is a map of the school districts and the brands/types of computers they were using as of the 2012-2013 school year. It appears that there are more Mac laptops and iPads than any other brand. This may change over time. I understand that there are a number of districts that have decided to invest in Chromebooks.

NOTE: The map above is a screenshot of the interactive map that is available on the Iowa Area Education Agencies website. Link to the active page, and you will be able to Click on the district within the map to get additional information around implementation date, platform used, and technology coordinator. There is even a link to a spreadsheet with the specific data. 

Over the next few weeks, I plan to write (and have guest authors write) about some of the 1-to-1 activities in Iowa.  We have a burgeoning 1-to-1 culture in Iowa schools and it will be fascinating to see what we uncover.

Are you doing 1-to-1 and how is it changing what you do in your schools?

Z 

Related articles

• Ames High School in Iowa equips students with 1,425 11-inch MacBook Air units

Dr. Z Reflects on Reflectors

I started this blog six years ago so that I could share my thoughts about things that I thought should be shared.  Most of this deals with educational technology but I want to share something about another passion of mine - biking.

As you may know, I love biking.  Every year I ride RAGBRAI with Team Flamingo. It's an opportunity where I get together with 12,000 of my closest friends and we ride 500 miles across Iowa during the last full week of July. We call this fun.

This is my 10th year doing this.

The best part is the training rides that we make with our wonderful Team Flamingo members during the 3 months before the ride.

The other day I broke my mirror while putting my bike in the back of my truck. It costs $20 to replace so I went to a nearby auto parts shop and purchased a $3 convex stick-on mirror. What a find!!

I just love this. It shows so much more and you have a much larger field of vision.  It's made of plastic or metal so I don't have to worry about breaking it again. Even if I do, did I mention that it's only $3?

Sure, I know that this is a lame topic for a post but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to "Reflect on Reflectors."  BTW if you look closely in the photo above you can see the photo of my grandson, Tyler, on my phone. =-)

Related articles

• RAGBRAI to celebrate 40th anniversary in Cedar Rapids

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ITEC's IT Conference on March 15 & 16 Tailored for Techees

Here it is.  An IT conference specifically designed for Technology and IT Directors.

This is where you can come to learn about Networking, Filtering, Firewalls, Moodle Setup, Google Apps Scripting . . .

This conference is NOT for everyone.  It is for people who have a technical interest in making technology happen in our schools.

When?   March 15 & 16   (Registration Deadline is March 8)
Where?  Ames Middle School in Ames, IA (3915 Mortensen Road)

Here is a list of some of the topics included:

• Google Technical Deployment and Google Dashboard
• Google Apps Scripting
• Filtering and Firewalls
• Networking (both Basic and Advanced)
• Moodle Setup, Management, and Modification
• Virtualization
• Bring Your Own Desktop panel discussion
• Deploying Netbooks
• Deploying Chromebooks
• iOS Management
• Apple Lion Server Management and Imaging
• Wireless solutions
• School Web site products
• Open Source Tools
• How Students Can Provide Technical Support
• Department of Ed session on SIF integration
• How to Select Projectors and other A/V Equipment

Here is the grid for the many sessions. Click on the graphic to make it larger to read.  If you want a .pdf version, you can click here for a link to the actual grid of sessions.

Cost

• ITEC member (1 day)                $65
• ITEC member (2 days)            $125
• Non-ITEC member (1 day)        $90
• Non-ITEC member (2 days)    $150
• Students                                    $10

Sound interesting?  This is the first of its kind in the state of Iowa.  Come be part of history and build technology skills that you can use immediately.

Register today!!!!!!!!

Iowa Core Curriculum - Dr. Nadene Davidson @ UNI

The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) is a curricular program that provides guidance for educators in "delivering challenging and meaningful content to students that prepares them for success in life." This curriculum identifies the "essential concepts and skills for K-12 grade in literacy (read, write, speak, listen, and think), mathematics, science and social studies. It also identifies 21st Century Skills (civic, employability, financial, health and technology) that people must master to be successful in life. More than just identifying the content area, the ICC is designed to develop deeper learning engages students by "emphasizing interesting, robust, and relevant learning experiences."

The ICC is intended to be more than just another curriculum that is written by a group of specialists and then placed on a shelf to collect dust. The Iowa Legislature enacted Senate File 2216 that requires all Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to implement the ICC by 7/1/2012 (grades 9 - 12) and 2014-15 (K-8th grades).

This Iowa Core Curriculum is well researched and forward looking. It is still in the process of being developed. The Intent is there but the content/requirements haven't been completed. The key to success in learning and using the ICC will be in developing your knowledgebase.

In Spring of 2009, I taught a Selections and Integration of Instructional Technology Materials course at the University of Northern Iowa. I knew that I couldn't didn't know enough about the Iowa Core Curriculum to benefit my students so I asked Dr. Nadene Davidson, the Interim Director of Department of Teaching, to share her vast knowledge of the subject. Dr. Davidson has been an active participant in developing the ICC so she was able to provide the necessary insight.

I have linked to Dr. Davidson's 1 hour 40-minute lecture for your enjoyment. She does a wonderful job of describing the background for the Iowa Core Curriculum, its structure and the process of implementation. This video requires Real Player to watch. (Dr. Davidson's presentation actually begins 4 minutes 37 seconds into the video.)

Please review this presentation and share your comments.

Z

Skyping Guests into an ICN Room

How do YOU bring guests into your classroom?

I like to use Skype to provide a live discussion with experts from around the nation. This is simple when your students share the same classroom as you. You just need to project your computer screen onto the wall so that your students can see your guest and engage in the exchange.

How do you do it if your students are distributed all over the state of Iowa? THEN it gets to be a bit of challenge. This means that we need to Skype our guest onto my computer and then video conference it to my students throughout the state. This is challenging but do-able.

Iowa is blessed with a video conferencing system entitled the Iowa Communication Network (ICN). This is a state-owned fiber-optic network that connects 744 broadcast-capable classrooms throughout the state. Beginning in 1992, the ICN has been providing full-motion video to schools, hospitals, National Guard armories and federal/state government offices. The ICN has been quite useful in providing distance education opportunities (our UNI Instructional Technology program has been offering a 2-year masters program since 1994.) Unfortunately, linking Skype into the system so that my distant students can interact with a visiting guest is not built into our broadcast rooms at UNI. But this doesn't mean that we can't do it. It just takes some ingenuity.

Above, you can see how I (not as glum as I look) created this interactive system. Here is how we did it:

Hooked my MacBook into the ICN system so that the it was broadcast throughout the ICN. This means that I have patched in my video and audio into the ICN system. This would allow my students to see and hear our guest (Dr. Yvonne Andres from Global School Network).

We wanted to enable Dr. Andres to see the students. There was no direct video link from my computer to the ICN video broadcasting so I needed to get creative. I arranged my hardware so that the web camera in my MacBook was staring into the output monitor. This allowed our guest to see what is being broadcast over the ICN. The only problem was that it was difficult for her to hear my students. I often had to repeat many of the questions.

1. Although this is a little jerry-rigged, it allowed me to provide my students with an interaction with Dr. Andres that would never have been possible if we didn't have the technology of today.

What do you do to video link experts into you class? What do you use for video conferencing in a distance education situation?

Habitudes for College Students - Angela Maiers

Are you ready for tomorrow? It's almost time. Time to put all the years of schooling and studying to work. Some students have already begun dipping their toes in the water. Some have already jumped into the pool called the life/workforce. Whatever depth you're at today, it's a good idea to take inventory. A self-awareness exercise to make sure you're ready to weather any possible storm, to equip yourself with mental ammunition to create and innovate into a world where the only constant is change.


What habits and attitudes - Habitudes will carry you to heights beyond your vision? Your success as a 21st Century student, worker, and citizen lies in your passionate:

• Imagination
• Curiosity
• Perseverance
• Self-Awareness
• Courage
• Adaptability
  

Join us for a Habitude conversation at the University of Northern Iowa College of Education and the UNI Educational Technology User Group (ETUG) at 7 p.m. Monday, March 30, in Schindler Education Center room 252 at UNI (virtual map).

I'll be co-presenting with my good friend, Andy Drish, a recent graduate who lives his life in Habitude abundance. Our presentation will focus on the differences between being creative on occasion and living each day creatively as a habit and attitude.

For more information about the event, contact Leigh Zeitz (zeitz@uni.edu), associate professor of curriculum and instruction at UNI. (319) 273-3249

The information is free and open to the public. Join us! Join us for a conversation about the Habitudes.

IT WILL BE STREAMING!!!!

We are happy to announce that we will be streaming Angela's presentation. You will be able to watch it live using Real Player.
You will also be able to interact with us through our live online chat.

You can access the presentation or the online chat at the our Habitudes homepage at UNI.

How to Use Iowa AEA Online - Kay Rewerts

Iowa AEA Online is a significant set of clip art, photographs, streaming video, graphics, online tutorials, reference resources that are available for teachers and students to use. Beginning in the late 90s, the forward-thinking sages at the Iowa Area Education Agencies began to purchase statewide licenses to support learning resources. These licenses provide access for all public and private K-12 schools across the state of Iowa. The Iowa AEA Online resources include:

• AccuWeather
• AP Images
• Atomic Learning
• Clipart.com
• Discovery Education Streaming
• EBSCO
• SIRS Researcher and
• World Book Web

The licenses for using the graphic resources vary somewhat, but most of them allow students to use them on projects and web sites. Atomic Learning provides hundreds of tutorials for learning software and have recently begun to describe teaching strategies for educators. Discovery provides a plethora of videos (many editable) for instruction and to be used in video creation. Ebsco, SIRS, AccuWeather and World Book Web provide a wealth of research information.

The only problem with having access to all of these resources is learning how to use them.

TA-DA!!!! Enter Kay Rewerts!!!!!

Kay Rewerts is an educational consultant who have helped educators in 30 states. Fortunately, she lives here in Iowa and has worked as a never-tiring source of information and innovation for our educators. A few weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to have Kay in our class where she took us on a 45-minute tour of the obvious and not-so-obvious opportunities with Iowa AEA Online.

Mrs. Rewerts has given me permission to include her demonstration through my blog. It is something that will be well worth your time watching. Even if you don't live in Iowa, these resources are available globally and there are sections that will be useful for all educators.

If you are interested in contacting Kay Rewerts, please send her an email at krewerts@mchsi.com

Here is a link to the 45-minute Iowa AEA Online workshop that Kay provided.

Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part II

Continuation of Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part I

Thursday night came and it was time to visit Schindler Education Center at the University of Northern Iowa to assume my role as a Richardson precinct captain. Three different democratic caucuses were begin held in this building in three different lecture halls.

We arrived at 6:00 for the 6:30 caucus and I was amazed by the number of people who were there already. Signs were posted for all of the candidates in each of the halls. Some of the campaigns even had sandwiches and goodies to eat.

Everybody was there. This was as much a social happening as it was a political event. We checked in at the front table. Would you believe that we were even given a survey where we could note which candidate we were going to support. Unlike balloting, the caucus process is completely public so it is OK to ask who you are supporting. You weren't required to complete the survey, but if you did, it will probably be added to your voting record somewhere.

An interesting aspect of the evening is that if you were not registered on the list out front, you could actually register to vote inside. This is handy for the first time voters. This also means that if you were a republican and wanted to vote for Hillary, you could register that night as a democrat and then change it the next day. While this may seem a little fishy, since the doors were locked at 7:00 and you were not allowed to leave or reenter, there was no chance of people running over to another caucus and voting twice.

Each of the support groups were sitting in a specific section in the hall. The Obama group was huge. Edwards was well-represented as well as Hillary. Our Richardson group had about 15 people in it. The question was whether or not this was going to be enough to make Richardson a viable candidate for the caucus.

Viability is the crux of a democratic caucus. A candidate is required to have at least 15% of the total attendance to be considered viable. We were anticipating about 210 attendees so we would need 31 supporters for Richardson to be considered viable. Things were not looking good for the Richardson camp.

The activities actually began at 7:00. The doors were locked and the number of attendees were counted. The number that was given as the total number of registered attendees was identified as 233. Whether this number came from the registration list or a head count is not certain. The caucus leaders took care of some administrative activities like nominating and electing the permanent precinct chair and secretary.

Next it was time to identify the viability for each candidate. The Richardson campaign had a spreadsheet to calcuate the caucus math. Our son, Chris, ran it for me. Fifteen percent of 233 computed to 35 people. Our precinct had a total of 7 delegates to share between the candidates and it was time to begin the process of splitting them up. The captains were to group their supporters together and provide a headcount. Turned out that Hillary, Edwards, and Obama were viable. Richardson, Kucinich, and Biden did not have enough people. There was even a group of uncommitted voters.

Having identified the viability levels, we now had 30 minutes to drum up enough supporters to make our candidates viable. The representatives from the viable camps were allowed to give a short speech to "sell" their candidates. Having completed those, the non-viable candidate supporters were allowed to make their speeches. I took the podium and made a pretty good speech to support Governor Richardson. I emphasized his experience and proven policies. We were really hoping to convince the uncommitted to join us.

Now it was time to get people on our side. We had more supporters than Kucinich so we tried to bring them into our fold. We got a couple of uncommitted voters but it only reached 25. Finally, we decided that we were not going to be viable so we released the supporters to go to the camp of their choice. Some members of our group decided that if they couldn't support Richardson, they would remain uncommitted. The rest of the group moved to the Clinton, Edwards or Obama groups. I joined the Obama crew. Obama had been my second choice.
Now it was time to present another head count for the viable candiates. Ultimately, it turned out that Obama earned 4 delegates, Edwards earned 2 and Clinton earned 1.

After the delegates were divided, it was time to elect who would actually attend the Iowa Democratic Convention on Saturday, March 15. I decided to get involved in the convention. You won't believe it, but I am now a democratic delegate for Obama!
This elected group of delegates was then ratified by the precinct as a whole. It was answered with a resounding "Aye!"

Finally, it was time to discuss resolutions that would be added to the Democratic platform. These planks had been submitted on paper in the back of the room before the caucus and this was the time where voters could discuss these issues. Unfortunately, we had been at this for almost an hour and a half already and everyone just voted to accept the resolutions without even discussing them.

The group voted to adjourn and the primary elections had begun . . .

The democratic caucus process is by no means scientific or even consistent between precincts. The structure is there, but the public aspect of the democratic caucus adds a variety of dimensions that don't exist in private polling. The 3-hour process during a designated time eliminates interested voters who have to work during that period. This is not a problem with the typical primary polling situation where voters can cast their votes from 7 AM - 8 PM.
It should be noted that the Republican caucus is not public like this. Voters come together in a caucus the same as the democrats, but they hold private election where ballots are submitted and then counted.

Here are some other bloggers' comments on the Iowa Caucus:

• Is This Really Democracy in Action? - John Fund
• Celebrity Politics - Rob Galloway
• Democrats, Republicans take differing approaches for polling on caucus night
• Caucuses '08: Dazed and confused in Black Hawk County

Living Through Caucuses in Iowa - Part I

The Iowa caucus experience is different than anything in the country. I just learned that Wyoming just had their caucus but it isn't anything that anyone noticed. (Will Anyone Notice Wyoming's Caucuses) Besides, it is only for Republicans. Romney won 8 of the 12 delegates. Interestingly enough, the Democrats won't have their caucuses until March 8.

In search of victory in these early January caucuses, candidates have been visiting us since March of 2007. I haven't spent too much time visiting with all of the candidates (I have met and spoken with Richardson twice and Obama once.) The picture up there includes Me (Dr. Z), Gov. Richardson, and our son, Jeff. Some of my friends have been making a point of seeing as many candidates as possible (Clinton, Biden).

We LOVE all the attention that Iowans receive from the candidates and the nation . . . at least we enjoy it for the first 8 months. The last few months are utter chaos. The cities are invaded by politicians and their entourages and their campaign workers. There is another reason "Why Iowa Wants to Be First." The New York Times says that they spent over $13 million dollars in the state while trying to win us over.

The campaign workers are an important part of the campaigns. Our son, Jeffrey Zeitz, worked as a fields operative in Des Moines since June. He was in charge of organizing the campaign in Dallas County (yes, we DO have a Dallas in Iowa.) I was able to meet the Gov at a salsa-tasting party outside of Des Moines. Here you can see that he knows something about grilling chilies. Of course he does, he's from New Mexico.

As we looked closer at Gov. Richardson and what he could bring to the presidency, both my wife, Kathy, and I became Richardson supporters. We contributed to his campaign and housed 3 "road runners" from New Mexico during the final week of the campaign. Road runners are volunteers who came to Iowa to provide the added people power for the final onslaught of the campaign assault. They were wonderful people. One of our visitors, Terry, blogged on his experiences from Dec. 25 - Jan. 5 in his blog, Ennui - Personal & Political. His writings provide a deep understanding of the inner workings of caucuses.

I also volunteered as a precinct captain. In this role, I will organize and lead the Richardson contingent for our precinct at the caucus. The caucus rules require each candidate to have at least 15% of the total number of voters attending to be viable. (I will explain this in more depth in Part II of this series. ;-) Based upon previous turnout, we were expecting to have about 210 attendees which would mean that we would need 31 voters. We only had 18 registered voters in our precinct who had identified themselves as Richardson supporters so we had some work to do to build support.

I decided to become one of those annoying phone callers who call you to ask you to support our candidates. The Richardson campaign had a web-based system that allowed me to phone from home. It provided me with names phone numbers and caucusing locations. I used Skype Out to make the phone calls. This service enables me to call any landline phone in the US or Canada from my computer for only $3/month. Therefore, I was able to call potential supporters all over Iowa. It was pretty cool to sit at my computer wearing my headphones and mic. I really got into the groove and made about 130 calls. Talked with a number of interesting people. Iowans are amazingly cordial. I only had about 3 or 4 people hang up on me.

I also helped Don and Terry (our New Mexican Road Runners) in distributing door hangers around Cedar Falls. These were cards telling them about the location of their caucusing location. Interestingly, we didn't place them on all of the houses. In the interest of conservation, we hung them on the doors of specific houses. These were the houses of supporters and those who indicated that they were "leaning towards Richardson" or indicated that the Governor was their second choice. It wasn't difficult work, but it was about 2 degrees (-15 degrees when considering the wind chill.) It was REALLY cold and our New Mexican guests had quite an experience.

Well, this all led up to the actual caucus night on Wednesday, January 3. I will discuss this further in the next episode.