New Year, New Gig

Happy New Year! It has been almost a year since I have posted to this blog, and there is something to be said for making your self so crazy-busy you have no time to write, or breathe, or take care of yourself. But I am back.

In November I started a new adventure in Instructional Design for a local, very well known publishing company, and although it has only been 6 weeks, I find myself with time to think and wonder and explore again-as well as write. I have decided to keep this blog, but to write shorter posts, more often. I also have an Education-Technology Blog over at Edublogs: http://mrsbrophy.edublogs.com and I will be starting a new blog with quick, "How-To" posts for folks that just want to know, "How'd you do that?"

So there will be time for posting personal, fun stories-and yes I am still losing things, forgetting things, and plan to do more traveling, so that should be fun-as well as requiring the occasional need to vent without offending too many people. This will be the place for those posts.

If you want to hear how technology can and will change education for all learners, then head on over to Over The Tech Edge, and if you want to see what is coming next, well, you will have to check back in a day or two as I roll out my new blog.

Where else can you find me?

I am on

Twitter: @brophycat

Diigo: cebrophy

Flickr: cebrophy

Linkedin: Catheirne Brophy

Skype: Catherine

2 Years of Blogging

But it is my third December blogging-although the frequency has certainly diminished, now that I can express myself in 140 characters or less, but the blog still reigns supreme. So here's what' new!



I use iGoogle to keep the blogs I follow organized-I have a page of Technology blogs I follow and a page of general news type blogs as well. It is one of the first things i do in the morning-whereas I used to read the newspaper, now I check Tweetdeck, iGoogle, THEN my email from my Blackberry. It's all about efficiency. Of course it is also about selecting which news to read-customizing the content that is delivered to my desktop electronically.



This year my daughter inspired me to organize my photos. Of course she uses Snapfish, I just organized mine into folders on my hard drive. I also am proud to say for the first time ever I created a photo Christmas card-something I have been wanting to do, well, since my kids were little-now I have grandkids. Sometimes it takes me a while to actually get around to doing stuff.



We have colored lights on our tree. All those years of matchy-matchy lights and decorations. The colored lights are quite nice, and we finally figured out how to put the tree in the stand so it doesn't topple over.



I have been working with a personal trainer for a year. Yesterday during my session we reviewed the year. I have gained weight. BUT-I am Advil free and able to deadlift a whole bunch of weight and my back and shoulders and neck feel great. It's hard not to step on the scales and get that sinking feeling. And the bowl of Lindt truffles next to the computer doesn't help.

I will finish with a quote from one of my tweeps:

"Your Lifeforce is tangible albeit fleeting in the face of time. However, our immortality lies in the progression of sharing, not harboring."

And so I share with you whoever you are. Happy season of light and darkness, of winter and solstice. Cheers!

August Adventures

I am sitting in a hotel room two thirds of the way through a Microsoft Teacher Education 3 day workshop. So far I give the experience a B. It is kinda cool hanging out on the 6th floor of the Microsoft training facility-all green and orange and red-I promise to take a picture of the server room before I leave- So far the best part of the workshop has been connecting with the head of education marketing (well, he's probably not the head of marketing-but he is in the marketing department.)

It is a small group of teachers form Maine, Massachusetts and NH-and every one of us is committed to helping other teachers discover ways to engage students and using technology to do it.

Some observations. It is really quiet-carpeted hallways, dimly lit, lined with classrooms filled with laptops. The sign is obscure-tiny letters, no real signage once you enter the building, except for standing signs directing us to the West Elevators.

Laptops have been rented and images loaded-tech support has been contracted-a young man sits at his laptop, bored to tears, waiting for something to break. The Internet connection has been slow and there have been some server issues (but it looks so nice behind the glass wall!)

There has been interesting conversation-differences of opinion-different ways of doing business. The Microsoft teacher trainers have been engaging, interested and sincere in their desire to make things better for teachers. But they have a long way to go. Microsoft is no longer the Prom Queen. They are not the Yankees. They are not Goliath any more-and it is increasingly obvious they face stiff competition from all sides. But competition is good for everyone, and we are hoping it will be good for education.

We can only hope. Tomorrow we spend the morning creating an action plan-for the future. How will we use what we learned to impact education for kids? My thoughts were reinforced once again-that it is not about the technology-it is about the teaching. Great technology is not going to make great teaching. But great teaching will be impacted exponentially by the use of great technology. But in order to be great-it must be easy to access, easy to use, and able to be seamlessly integrated into those great lessons.

Creativity cannot be learned..it is innate

If you are an American, born and raised and educated in American schools, AND you think you are creative (which you probably are) you can thank your parents and your teachers and AMERICA. America, in spite of all you hear and read about, still is the richest, most creative country in the world-by a long shot.
But are we globally competative?

If you want to maufacture and export the most toys? Then no....that would be China. But I thought we wanted to compete with China?

Check out http://www.worldmapper.org/ to see for yourself how the US stacks up against its fiercest competitors and global rivals.

I just got back from attending the 2008 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in Nashua, NH, and Dr. Yong Zhao, from MSU, was the keynote speaker on Wednesday. He was good. Very good.

Technology has redefined talent. If you don't believe me, how do you explain someone selling an authentic Michigan Maple Leaf on ebay?? Better yet, how do you explain someone buying it?

How do you explain Chines goldfarming? Oh, yes, let's compete with China. Isn't that what good test scores will get us? Ask American teens what gold farming is and it is old news. This documentary was on MTV in 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

And how do you explain the fact that our BIG 3 automakers are seriously living in pre historic times when compared to Toyota, Honda and Nissan. I think we need some young talent running the show in Detroit. Granted, Henry Ford did invent the automobile, but technology has redifined the talent needed to manufacture automobiles. The assembly line is dead.

Our kids are moving from being consumers of multimedia to producers and creators of that same multimedia. How else can you explain youtube? Kids create the media they want to watch. Would you rather hire someone or work with someone who knows how to memorize facts and write fast or click fast, or someone who knows how to collaborate, create a storyboard, manilpulate video equipment, edit video and audio, and share his creation with the world? Or perhaps someone who can solve a multi layered problem never seen before? Or someone who can invent a new solution or device to solve a global problem or fill a global need?

Technology has redefined talent. But does it help raise test scores?
According to a study released in April, 2007, classrooms who used software scored no better on tests than classrooms that only had teachers. So what is the message? That relatively inexpensive software can perform as well as a classroom teacher....

Technology redefines a whole new category of disabled individuals..those who can and those who can't. Those who look good on HDTV and those that don't. Before television, looks didn't matter, right?

So do we want to go back to teaching facts and skills in isolation, and challenging students to be the best? Russia is moving ahead of the US (1950's). We need to keep up with Japan (1970's). We must be competative with China! And India!(1990's). There is absolutely no correlation between Math and Science test scores and the global economy and creativity as measured by the number of registered patents. Read Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind" if you don't believe me...http://www.danpink.com/wnm.html

Dr. Yong Zhao can say it best; Download this podcast and be enlightened!
http://nlcommunities.com/communities/alannovember/archive/2007/11/21/156147.aspx

How Do You Do That?

So every week my one student comes to class with a list of questions for me. And we go through the questions, one at a time, until A) I either answer it and show him what he is looking for; or B) I tell him "That' s a new one! I will have to look into that and get back to you!" The people he works with think I have the answers to everything! I do not. I have very few answers...really, more questions than answers....

Every day someone in my world asks me some kind of random technology question. I have grown accustomed to it and I expect it. I like it. I like that I am helpful to people. I do not like that lately I have been impatient and annoyed. I am bothered that I can let outside influences affect me in such a way that I, in turn, pass some kind of negative energy on to the next guy.

So I am stating here and now that I will try to be a more positive, helpful person to those that are clueless. I will try to be more patient and kind. I will try...that's all I can do.

Maybe it is getting me used to working with 5 year olds, because lately, that's the way I am seeing adults. There are a lot of 5 year olds running around my building... Remember Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten? Well it is true. Here you go just in case you forget:

• Share everything. (some adults really have not learned this... and some share WAY too much!!)
  
• Play fair. (All is fair in love and war)
  
• Don't hit people. (Especially when they are down..)
  
• Put things back where you found them. (Simple)
  
• Clean up your own mess. (Sometimes messes are big.. and involve other people)
  
• Don't take things that aren't yours. (This is called stealing...especially if you are not going to share...)
  
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. (Even if you don't mean to hurt them..)
  
• Wash your hands before you eat.
  
• Flush. (Kind of goes with cleaning up after yourself)
  
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. (All things in moderation...warm bread and cold beer works, too.)
  
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance

and play and work every day some. ( In that order, preferably)

• Take a nap every afternoon. (Even if it's with your eyes open)
  
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. (You need someone to hold hands with, first....that's important.)
  
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
  Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. (Slow down and enjoy your life...)
  
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
• For more inspiration, visit www.robertfulghum.com

Part 2: Maybe we can get a connector from the Apple guys

So where was I? On our way to Connecticut in the Tacoma with maybe 4 hours sleep. The keynote presentation is working great! The Dell notebook has a not so cool version on powerpoint just in case.... I am driving.

Not even 10 minutes into our jaunt I get something in my eye and we need to pull off the highway because I literally cannot open my eye and it's getting worse by the second. Bad karma....So after dowsing my eye with bottled water and wiping the streaky makeup off, we're off.

Great commute! Good karma...we get to the Convention Center in just about 2 and a half hours and pull into the parking garage. It is nearly 10:00. Almost 4 hours after registration. First level Full. Up to the second level. Full. How do you get to the third level? Is there a third level? Round and round we go. "Haven't we been down this section already?" Back down to the first level....to the Parking Garage Office. "You need to go all the way up to the roof." Great. Round and round we go.....Bad karma. Up to the roof, where twenty minutes after we arrived, we park and lug our shit to the elevator.

To the registration desk.....to our room....we have a mic and a sound system. Good karma!! Let's go hang out and relax in the Presenter's Lounge. How do we get there? No signs....up the escalator...down the escalator....back up the escalator...Let's ask this guy!! Back down the escalator..around the corner...there it is. Through the Boardroom Door. Not a lounge. A Boardroom, with a table and chairs and drinks. Is that chocolate on your pants? Bad karma....

Thank goodness for the Tide Stainstick!! Let's go online....no IP....more bad karma. This is why you need to bring a digital camera with you EVERYWHERE you go.

Okay, so let's go to the Exhibition Hall. Apple's here, maybe they can answer our Keynote questions!! Right. No answers there, sorry..Too big a room, not enough people. We were the only ones wandering aimlessly looking for cool stuff. Vendors huddled over their laptops ignoring us...bad karma.

Killing time....let's go get set up. Into the Big room with the Big screen ,the podium, the sound system, the projector with the cable for a pc...not a mac. Crap. Let's call Tech Support. Maybe the Apple guys have a cable! We are, after all, at a tech conference....

So my colleague leaves, and I get my not so cool powerpoint set up, and once I figure out which outlet to plug the speakers into I have Outback Popstar wafting through the room out into the hallway. 10 minutes to show time.....5 minutes to go.....and suddenly this really nice guy comes up to me and says he' s going to get me connected to the internet. "But I don't need the Internet for my presentation, " I say. But I think it must be like when you call for an ambulance and they have to take you to the hospital anyways, cause he insited on helping me set up my wireless connection. Then he whipped out his directions to get my colleague's macbook set up too!!
"Click Keynote" he says....nope, that's not it..." Click File" Nope that's not it....1:00 now, no Marcy. People are wandering in , grabbing handouts, grabbing seats, "Got it!" It' s the Apple. Great. No Marcy. Where the heck is she? What time is it? Almost 1:10...

"Okay, let's get started!" The presentation from hell begins....

Well...the Apple guys...nowhere, pretty useless...the CWD Guy enthusiastically offered a cabel from his car, only to return without it, sorry. No cool Keynote. Only Powerpoint. Not bad, somewhat entertaining. We definitely needed some retail therapy after that one. You know the Master Card commercial? Stopping at the mall to buy comfortable clothes and shoes to change into .....and changing in the truck in the parking lot...priceless.

Have I got questions!!

Alright...so the last two and a half days have been a lesson in perserverence, exhaustion, problem solving and patience. Some questions have been answered...some problems have been solved, and some questions are being put on the clipboard for now.

It all began with Jury Duty again on Monday. So what happens if you actually get to go into the courtroom to be a part of the selection process? All rise please, for the Judge. The Judge explains the case and reads a list of questions, to which you must ask yourself....is my answer "yes" to any of these? If your answer is yes, and they pull your name out of the little wooden box, then you must say "Yes" when the Judge asks if there is any reason why you cannot be on the jury. Nine names selected....safe so far...then they pulled my name. "Yes" I said. "Please approach the bench," the judge said. "Judge, I am to present at a technology conference in Connecticut tomorrow...AND I know one of the lawyers."

"You're excused." As I nervously walked toward the back of the courtroom to escape, I really wasn't thinking about much except, "Phew..that was close."

The court clerk blocking the door simply stood there and waited for me to get right up close to him before he said,"You have to stay."

"Right, oops, sorry.." as I scurried back to my seat.

I was in such a hurry to get the heck out of there, I was halfway home before I realized I had left my new book, The PHOTOCOACH, back in the Jury Assembly Room. GRRRRR!!! All the way back to the courthouse, back through the metal detector with my shoes in my hand because they set off the detector every time. Up the stairs, with the guard who unlocks the door because everyone has gone to lunch, into the room where my book is right where I left it. Phew again.

So night time arrives, and my colleague and I prepare to finalize our presentation for the CECA/CEMA Conference at the Hartford Convention Center the next day. We were using a powerpoint presentation we had done once before, with revisions, however.I had my snazzy new operating system, and she had her slick new macbook. And the macbook was running xp as well. So 4 operating systems. 2 Notebooks. 2 presentation softwares.

Let the fun and games begin. Inserting movie and audio files into powerpoint is no small feat on a day when you are rested and ready to go. It is a challenge when you have put in a 10 hour day, and you still have a few hours to go. Let's remember the trick about powerpoint-all the files associated with the project have to be saved in the same location as the powerpoint in order to play properly.

Question # 1: Why doesn't my movie play? It was playing the last time I opened the presentation.
Question # 2: Why is there audio but no video when I click my movie?
Question # 3: Why is there no audio on this podcast?
Question # 4: Should I convert the file from wmf back to quicktime...back to wmf?
Question # 5: Should I convert the video to avi?mp4?mov?
Question # 6: How can I get this to advance to the next slide? The movie keeps playing over, and over when I click it.."
Question # 7: Can you import avi files into powerpoint?
Question# 8: Can you import mov files into keynote?

Some of the random answers we came up with:
Let's make a movie of the podcast and trick powerpoint into thinking it's a movie.
Let's use moviemaker to make a movie of the slide show and then import it into 1 slide.
I know..let's not save the project and just leave the macbook plugged in and the project open until we present...

10 pm..still not working...11pm...still not working. I am knapping on the couch at this point. "Why don't you just stay here tonight?" Did I mention registration for the conference began at 6:30 am??? The next morning. In Hartford. Three hours away.

SO now it's midnight. We don't really know if the project is saved...because the macbook needed to be shut down. The notebook with vista, meanwhile, had a close second to the cool keynote presentation, but not as slick. But it was saved, and would work in the event of a macbook disaster.

"I'm going home for a few hours sleep," my colleague said. "I'll be back at 5am to take a shower and get ready." Did I mention she had no hot water at her house?

So at 5:30 am I awoke to dim headlights in my driveway." Did you sleep in my driveway?" I asked. "No, but I really wanted to stay up all night and come back into your house and finish the presentation. But I was afraid I would scare you."

When the macbook booted up and the keynote presentation opened...it all came together and worked like a charm....EXCELLENT! "Let's bring both, just in case...... by 7am we were on our way to Connecticut to present at their regional technology conference armed with our 2 laptops, 2 presentations, 4 operating systems and a couple of portable speakers...just in case.

Tomorrow....stay tuned to more blogging about the Presentation From Hell.