Live Video Feed of Oil Gushing in the Gulf of Mexico

. . .  and the oil just keeps flowing.

On April 20, 2010 a deep-water oil well blowout caused a catastrophic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon Offshore oil drilling platform. Located about 40 miles southeast of Louisiana, the explosion kill 11 workers and injured 17 others.

In September, 2009, the Horizon Offshore platform drilled the deepest oil well in history with a vertical depth of 35,050 feet.  (5,000 feet to the bottom and then another 30,000 into the earth) Conversely, Mount Everest is 29,000 feet and passenger commercial jets fly between 32,000 to 40,000 feet in the sky.

While BP and NOAA have stated that about 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) were leaking per day, this video had enabled experts to estimate that the leak at over 1,000,000 gallons (23,810 barrels) are leaking per day. 

Solutions

British Petroleum (BP) had tried a variety of solutions:

Top Kill - The most recent response was pumping heavy drilling mud into the oil spout 5,000 feet below the surface.  As of May 29, BP admitted that Top Kill has failed.

I have been looking for a list of each of the solutions already tried.  I remember that they tried burning the floating oil and use dispersants to break-up the oil.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find such a list.  Do you know of one?

What do you think should be done about this problem?  What will be the outcome of the disaster?

Photo: NASA

5 TED Talks about Education and Learning

TED ROCKS!!!!
The TED Talks is a conference that covers for Technology, Education and Design. This is the opportunity for some of the greatest minds on the planet to get together to share their visions, accomplishments, and ideas. It began as a single event in 1984 and turned into an annual event in 1990.

Since 1990, TED has accrued hundreds of videos of these <18 minute presentations. I must admit that I like to watch these more than anything I can find on TV (except maybe West Wing). These videos range from education to architecture to global warming to world hunger to ????  The list seems endless.  They continually challenge your ideas and give birth to new ones.

Over the past couple of years, TED conferences have been held around the world. These are called TEDx conferences. As of 2010, there have been at least 60 of these TEDx conferences held. India, New York, Rotterdam, Sydney, San Francisco, Boston, Tokyo, Shanghai, Des Moines have all been venues for a TEDx event. (Here is an ever-increasing list of these events) I even heard a rumor that recently, when a group of creative people were stranded in the Heathrow Airport in London because of Icelandic volcanos, they even presented an impromptu TEDx. Don't know if there were any videos taken of that but it would have been interesting.  NOTE: Robin Galloway noted in the comments (see below) that the Heathrow TED was called TEDxVolcano and that the videos can be found on the TED Blog.

Notice that I mentioned Des Moines, Iowa as a site for a TEDx. On May 16, 2010, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the first TEDx in Des Moines. As you can see from the list on their website, we had Superintendent Carver, Christian Renaud, Dr. Sue Savage Rumbaugh (see below), Fernando Aveiga, and Charlie Wittmack & Andy Stoll.  I will do a more complete report on this when they get their videos online.

Here are some videos about education and learning that I wanted to share with you. There are many more in this field that I liked and I will share them at a later date, but this is the beginning of a series.

Apes by Dr. Susan Savage-Rumbaugh
You will notice that I am beginning with a video on Apes. This doesn't have much to do with schools, but it has a great deal to do with learning. Consider what you are seeing and what it says about the learning process in both human and non-human primates.

Schools Kill Our Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson
Sir Robinson is a strong proponent of rethinking school.  He doesn't propose that we should update it. He believes that is should be completely redone to nurture instead of destroy our children's creativity.

Bring on the Learning Revolution by Sir Ken Robinson
Continuing with his revolutionary perspective, Sir Robinson, advocates nurturing students' strengths.

What Adults Can Learn from Kids by Adora Svitak
A 12-year old lecturing adults to take children more seriously. Adora has been lecturing since she was 7 years old and lectures throughout the world about life from a child's perspective.

Life Lessons Through Tinkering by Gever Tulley
Learning doesn't have to be about books. A great deal of learning has to do with developing ideas and turning them into reality by tinkering.

True Success by John Wooden
The winningest basketball coach in history, John Wooden shares his definitions of success and learning.

I hope that you have enjoyed these videos.  What are your favorite TED talks?  What should I be watching?

Z

 

photos:tedtalks.com

Does Adobe Connect Connect in Class?

Well, I held my first class using Adobe Connect this evening. It was a pretty good experience. We were able to gather 13 of use with cameras and a couple that only had an audio connection with the gang. The interactive quality was OK. We had about a 2 second delay between what we said and when everyone else heard it. Admittedly this may have been a stretch on the throughput from house to house throughout Iowa, but it was a bit aggravating at times.

We began the session by giving each student audio and video access and having them figure out how to connect their camera and mic and brain at the same time.  They had to remember to press the little Talk button in the lower left corner.

The question is will Adobe Connect replace the Iowa Communications Network which is the face-to-face video conferencing system that I have been teaching on for the past 16 years?

Adobe Connect has some advantages:

• Students can connect from their homes.
• All of the students can be available at once (assuming that you have the bandwidth).
• The recordings are automatically digital and immediately available.
• By definition, all of the students will have internet access so we won't have to worry about sites where the schools have locked up the internet access or the sites we want to use are blocked.
• While the ICN has its flaws; when it worked - it worked well and there was a good connection between sites.
• Access is not dependent upon the school's custodian to open the door.
• The cost is almost free.

Adobe Connect has some disadvantages compared with the ICN:

• Students who shared sites with other people often developed a collegial atmosphere.
• All students are geographically alone.
• The audio and video seemed sporatic.
• Adobe Connect was a bit clumsy and not intuitive in many of the actions I had to take to make the connections and interactions.

 I have a long way to go to master using Adobe Connect in my classes.  I like how I can have set up an ongoing meeting where we can always at the spur of the moment.  I still don't think that Adobe Connect is easy enough for the typical teacher to feel comfortable.  It can be learned but there are a number of things that can be done to make it easier to use.

I hope that Adobe finds this posting and asks me for some suggestions about how to improve their interface.  I think that I would like to have such a tool available for my students to use to communicate with one another as well as with me.  I think that it can be an empowering tool, but it has a ways to go.

What do you think?  What are your experiences?

Z

Skyping Guests into an ICN Room

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• Connecting Teachers to Classrooms with Adobe Connect (blogs.adobe.com)
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People don't buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it - Simon Sinek

The sun is out and the skies are clear.  This means that I can walk to school and enjoy life. My favorite part of walking to school is listening to my iPod Touch as I travel. Lately I have been listening to the TED Talks presentations. I have arranged my Synching settings so that every time that I synch, it will place another set of 10 unheard TED Talk presentations on my iPod.

I will NEVER run out of TED Talks presentations this way!!!

Anywho, I had the pleasure of listening to Simon Sinek's Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action presentation. In this presentation, Simon explores his research into why some companies lead and some follow. He talks about his Golden Circle.

He uses the Golden Circle to describe how some organizations are able to lead while others are not. He states that the followers in a field move from the outside inward. They emphasize What they do and How they do it. Leaders in the field begin with Why they do it, How they do it and What they do.

You MUST watch this 18-minute video. I have watched it about 5 times now and am finding that I am applying it to everything that I do.  I am working on a grant with top-notch team of experts. We are progressing along nicely, but I keep wondering if we are conveying WHY we are doing it. Would it make a difference to its appeal to the funding organization if we began with explaining WHY we are doing our proposed program and then explaining HOW we are going to do it?  Would it appeal more to principals in the schools if we shared WHY we are doing this program and then explaining HOW we will be doing it?  I don't know.

What do you think?

I found that Simon Sinek has a book. Not surprisingly, it is entitled Start with Why. I am going to order this from Amazon.

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action [Hardcover]

image: leadershipnow.com

Wikis and Blogs and VoiceThread . . . Oh My!

Image via Wikipedia

Wondering how you can make your presentations more interesting?  Trying to make your projects in class more interactive?  Here are some resources:

Wikis: 

• Wikis in Plain English
•  Wiki Resource Page on Active Web 2.0 page
• WikiSpaces.com 

Blogs 

• Blogs in Plain English 
• Blogging Resources Page on Active Web 2.0 page
• Blogging Examples
• Blogger.com

VoiceThread

• What's a VoiceThread Anyway? video
• Millennals and Their Learning Styles
• eRacism voicethread
• VoiceThread.com

How Do I Move to an Inquiry-Based Form of Teaching/Learning?

Inquiry-based learning seems to be a buzz word in the curriculum overhaul movement of today. I think that most teachers can explain the overall idea of inquiry-based as a method which replaces memorization with a learning experience that engages students to learn by questioning. The question is how many educators can use their present knowledge-base to transfer their existing coursework into a bone fide inquiry-based learning experience?  I am not certain that I can do it.

My Instructional Technology university courses don't usually include much paper and pencil testing.  Most of them involve hands-on learning with projects that apply to the students' professional lives and pursuits. This hopefully makes their work more relevant and they are definitely problem-based, but I am not certain that I am posing the problems in a way that would be considered Inquiry-based.

I am tired of hearing and talking platitudes about changing our educational system from a memorization-based learning experience to a student-engaging learning environment which challenges students to answer problems and convert information and data into useful knowledge. Is there a system for this conversion? Is there a checklist to better identify an inquiry-based system? Is there a premise for the questioning system that needs to be used to optimize this system?

It is difficult for a university professor to acknowledge his ignorance in an area of study where he is supposed to be proficient, but I don't think that I understand the formalized world of inquiry-based/project-based/challenge-based learning.  I know that it is more than doing projects. There is a level of cognitive development that needs to be nurtured to optimize the learning experience for students AND teachers.

I may have a better understanding of Inquiry-based learning than I am admitting here, but I just wanted you to know that I am beginning a pursuit to better understand and implement inquiry-based learning in my courses.

What do you know about inquiry-based/project-based/challenge-based learning?  What resources can you suggest? Are you using this format? What are you doing?

Thanks for your thoughts and support.

Z


photo: flickr.com/MarcoBelluci

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Our Students are Tomorrow's Change Agents

Recently, Magda Galloway blogged about students feeling like they can make a difference. She explained about how we completed our Educational Technology and Design undergrad class with a lecture on "Being a Change Agent in Your School."

This was an interesting way to bring closure to the class. We posted some polls in the CoverItLive backchannel that we ran during the lecture. It was interesting to see that 75% of our students thought that they would be change agents in their schools. 25% of them said that they weren't ready to be change agents. None of the students in the backchannel said that they wouldn't be change agents.

Read Magda's post to learn more of the specifics: Being a Change Agent AKA the Status Quo Sucks!

Innovating Education

Innovating Education is an opportunity for Dr. Z to discuss with UNI colleagues their visions, successes, anticipations and fears of creating learning environments to address the needs of the first digital generation, the Millennials.

One of the tools that we will be using during this hour-long experience will be a backchannel using the CoverItLive utility. It provides an on-going chat that will allow students to discuss the topics with each other while Dr. Z is exploring the topic.

The presentation will be going from noon to 12:50 CST. You are welcome to join in the discussion if you wish no matter where you are in the world. Please chime in.



You will be able to access the slideshow and resources that are mentioned in the discussion at the Innovating Education wiki.

Watch the Earth Shake and Twitter About It!!!!

Just heard about a 7.2 earthquake in Baja California through Twitter.  Can you believe that a friend was on a golf course in Palm Springs when she felt the shake. First thing she did was twitter this incident to her tweet-network. Next thing I knew, there were tweets from Palm Springs, San Diego and Orange County. One tweeter mentioned that he was following the LA County Fire Dept's tweets as they responded to earthquake news. (@lacfd) 

Anywho, I was looking for immediate information about the quake and I found the IRIS Seismic Monitor map. This is OUTSTANDING!!!!  Click on the map above (after you finish reading this posting and leave your comment) and it will take you to their live map of the latest seismic activity around the world. The color of the rings indicates the recency and the size of the rings indicate the magnitude. See the Big Red in the California region?

Click on these buttons to access informative educational resources:

Earthquake Headlines - takes you to the latest Google News about earthquakes;

Special Events - leads you to the Recent Earthquake Teachable Moments page on the IRIS site.

Education Links - links you to the IRIS page on their website that is filled with instructional resources.

This page is a lucky find. Do you see how you might use it in your teaching?

Share your thoughts with us.

Z

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• Mexican Earthquake Felt In Los Angeles (news.sky.com)
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Photo: IRIS Seismic (iris.edu/seismon)

You CAN Work Less - the Research Proves It!

Nice Mantra! Work Smarter, NOT Harder.

We have all heard about this idea that we need to be be smart about how we work. The only problem is that I consider myself pretty smart but I still find myself working ALL the time. That's not smart.

I recently read Matthew E. May's posting about How to Work Less and Do Better." He describes the same questions about what working smarter means. The great things is that he goes beyond wondering and cites a couple of studies that show working less can actually increase your productivity. One study tested the level of productivity for a Boston Consulting Group if their consultants took "predictable time off" every week. That is one uninterrupted evening free each week after 6 p.m. No work and no Blackberrys. Interestingly enough, their productivity increased and satisfaction improved.

Another study involved Lance Armstrong reorganizing his six hour workouts to well-planned four-hour workouts that achieved more. His 7-year record of wining the Tour de France is evidence of his success.

I must admit that lately I have been taking short breaks from my typical 15-hour work days. It doesn't mean that I don't still do 15-hour work days, but I do less of them. I tend to take all of Saturday off and sometimes don't even look at email. Believe it or not, I was at a conference where I went 4 days without checking email. Quite relieving, but I had 400 unanswered emails when I returned to the grid - It was worth it.

What about you? What is your work schedule? How do you give yourself a break? Do you give yourself a break?

You should.

Z


Related Posts.

Off the Grid and Lovin' It!

Complex Answers for Simple Problems? Thanks, Rube Goldberg

Automatic soup cooler (blog.tmcnet.com)

Albert Einstein once stated "Everything should be made as simple as possible but no simpler." That's nice, but not fun.
I have been a long time fan of Rube Goldberg. It is all about finding a round about solution to a problem. I like that. The Webster's New World Dictionary defines Rube Goldberg as a comically involved complicated invention, laboriously contrived to perform a simple operation.

That's called FUN!!!!

There is a certain charm and challenge in finding complex solutions. I remember building Revell plastic models of some of these solutions when I was 10 years old. Here's one for giving a baby a bottle.

This can be quite motivating to challenge your students to design these ideas. Purdue University has sponsored a Rube Goldberg Machine Contest since 1949. In 2007, high schools were allowed to join in the competition. These competitions build young engineers which integrates with their STEM program.

The 2010 Rube Goldberg Machine Contest is challenging students to find a way to dispense an appropriate amount of hand sanitizer into a hand.

Here is a video of what some call the most complex Goldberg machine ever made. I don't know about that, but it certainly takes up this person's whole house so I wonder what this developer does for a real life.





Rube Goldberg has even made it big with the rock group OK Go. This video, This Too Shall Pass, is ingenious and more fun!!!





I just found a video about Gerberich's Gadgetry that isn't completely Rube Goldbergish but close enough to share here. Stephen Gerberich (originally from Iowa) posts his stuff on this Gerb - o - Matic website. He has displays in museums all over the country. A good introduction to his work is his motionclip.

Here is a link to his video archives.

Below is a 3-minute interview with the vodcast, Rocketboom.




Are you using Rube Goldberg-like projects with your students?
What have they created?
How are you integrating this with your curriculum?


Z

6-Word Stories - R Enough

6-word stories could be considered eXtreme short stories. It is said that Ernest Hemmingway once proclaimed his 6-word story, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn.", as his best work.

Wired Magazine asks sci-fi, fantasy and horror writers to write their own 6-word short stories.

• The sun explodes . . . eight minutes left. - Maximus

Pete Berg launched a Six Word Stories blog in Dec, 2008. This is where he stores thousands of 6-word stories. He has these catagorized by subject and author. It is possible to submit your own and receive comments from the readers.

• For Sale: Guitar. No strings attached. - Mathijs hoitsma

Visual six-word story group project on Flickr

• Bearded pensioner held over yuletide breakins - 5/10

Writing 6-word stories is not easy. You must first envision an event or tale that you want to tell. Then you whittle away the words it would take to convey your ideas about this story. Finally, you have the true essence of your dissertation.

Here is my first feeble attempt:

Blog posting today: six-word stories. - Dr. Z

What have you, can you, will you write in 6 words?

Have you used this in your classes? I met a teacher at my Google Teacher Certification class, but don't remember his name. He was doing some wonderous things with his students.

Please share your ideas on this.

Z

Dr. Z's Creative Cookbook for Collaborative Communication - WEMTA Keynote

Today, from approximately 9:20 - 10:45 CDT, Dr. Z will be giving a keynote presentation, Dr. Z's Creative Cookbook for Collaborative Communication, at the Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association conference in Baraboo, WI.

We will experimenting with some audience involvement tools during this presentation:

Chat: We will also use CoverItLive (an open chat system) to allow those watching the presentation to participate in a backchannel discussion about what they are seeing. These participants will be both at the conference and at distant locations.

Twitter: Comments about the presentation can also be made using Twitter. Include the hashtag, #wemta , in your message and it will be automatically added to the CoverItLive conversation.

Video: We plan to broadcast the presentation through the internet using Ustream. This will allow viewers from around the world to enjoy the presentation.

Below are links to the CoverItLive and Ustream and connections. Just click on them and you should be able to get started in the experience. Share the word with your friends and let's see if we can get people from all over the world involved.

Cover It Live discussion for Dr. Z's "Creating a PLN" presentation at WEMTA

Begin by visiting our Presentation Wiki. It is filled with links for PLNs.

Here is a link to the CoverItLive online conversation that we will have during our presentation Using Web 2.0 Tools to Create Your PLN.

Below is the session window for the discussion that will be held during Dr. Z's presentation. You just need to click on the circle in the center of the window and it should open a window where you can enter your name and then enter your comments.

Begin by saying "Hello" to everyone and your city of origin.
Good luck. If you have any problems, turn to your neighbor. Together you can figure it out.

Z

P.S. The presentation will begin at 10:15 but the discussion will officially begin at 10:00 AM

TWITTER FEEDS: We have enabled this discussion to capture Twitter feeds with the HashTags:
#wemta
#wemtapln

As you may know, wemta are the initials for this conference "Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association". Include either of these in your twitter postings and they should appear here.