Day 2- Delegation

18. May 2010 by MrBall.

From the post of day 2 I have very little to say. It isn’t that I am trying to be modest but I often don’t feel as though I have had many chances to delegate jobs to others.

As a leader of a summer music camp, back in the days, I had many opportunities to delegate work. I was never comfortable delegating work in that atmosphere. I felt inexperienced for the task and easily not as confident as I now feel. Also I often felt like I was passing the buck. It isn’t that I felt others weren’t competent. I wouldn’t hire people if I didn’t think they could do a good job.

In delegating work more recently I have had only a few chances but it is now easier for a few reasons. First, I have a better idea of the skill sets and interests of my co-worker. We were chosen with skill diversity in mind. Second I am more confident in my role as a consultant and a tech leader.

Reflecting back in the change I think my confidence level is one of the deciding factors in delegating work. Now htat I feel more responsible and more knowledgeable I am able to let go of the total control of a project and give out work to others.

Posted in Management, Reflections | 1 Comment »

Facebook over Moodle

16. May 2010 by MrBall.

Concordia students prefered Facebook as a means of sharing work. I was sharing things with Concordia University Ed students via moodle only to find out that they have created a page for the course. We were even using ietherpad.com to share links to Math resources but that failed for me. I asked them to put together the days assignment on Microsoft Word only to find out that many had actuall switched to Facebook as a sharing tool.

They weren’tall friends with each other but they did all use the page. They posted photos and links and managed discussions all on Facebook before I even knew that the ietherpad was failing for them. Move over Moodle and iEtherpad Facebook is taking your place.

Posted in Management, Reflections, Presentation | No Comments »

ISTE NETS and Alberta’s ICT outcomes

10. March 2010 by MrBall.

I really enjoyed the simple way that this video and the others like it are shot.  I found this video sitting on http://scottmeunier.com/ .   He is an Edmonton educator who I was able to hook up with via EmpireAvenue.com.  While watching the video I was reminded of the International Society for Technology in Education’s - National Educational Technology Standards (ISTE NETS) Here are the sites for more information- Implementation Wiki and Main ISTE NET.

 

I quite like that the ISTE NETS refocus the teaching with technology back towards the curricular outcomes and students. I’ve heard talk that the Alberta ICT outcomes are being refashioned around the ISTE NETS. With that change and the push towards the TPACK model I am hopeful that the sometimes over-hyped classroom technology tools will fit more comfortably into the classroom of today. Don’t get me wrong I love the tools but I don’t like that teachers being forced to adopt technologies that create the classroom of the future. They can have the classroom of the future tomorrow. Lets just teach the kids today.

Posted in Reflections, Presentation | No Comments »

Exploring Empire Ave (Beta)

5. March 2010 by MrBall.

I was at the opening of Empire Avenue last week at Transcend and I had a chance to meet the Empire Ave team. They were all very friendly and approachable group. They, like I, believe in word-of-mouth marketing. Empire Avenue hasn’t evolved into the marketing tool that they talk about here but I think it is on its way.

I was lucky to be invited in on day one and I have been having a hoot. Buying stocks in the people I feel are influential and trustworthy in what they create online.

Most of the community so far seems to be of the early adoptor tech crowd. I am eagerly awaiting the Ed. Tech community to join in, especially the educational video game crowd, to see what their thoughts are. I think that there is a high level of engagement that goes along with this site that is further reaching than a video game. It is a peer and computer coded feedback system that as @MrTedMartin says- “#empireavenue Has me, for the first time, really thinking about my online presence… and what I can do with it.”

The current creators like #yeg ’s Mack D. Male  @mastermaq have been doing their work pretty much for free.  I am curious if EmpireAvenue is changing the way they measure their success or how and what they post about.

 

At this point I am reluctant to admit complexity in the market because I think there are more variables than I could dream up. The basics are like this: 

1. You buy stock in someone you feel is a creator on the interweb.

2. If that person creates content they are rewarded by the market and you are rewarded through dividends at the beginning of the next trading day.

Yeah yeah! I know it is more complex than that. That is why I called it the basics. The market has it s ‘ups’ and I’m sure it will eventually have its downs. It seems to be a bit like a popularity contest right now but I think that will be solved with larger numbers of investors. The market setting right now is one of high volatility. Not a big deal. The beta is small, currently 280 (March 5th 10am), and with those lower numbers there is going to be high volatility in the peoples market. There were some players who are taking advantage of this. These people are just players not content creators so as the market moves forward they will lose value and probably be sold quickly. I hate to burst their bubble (that’s my joke).

If you are lucky enough to get in on the beta of EmpireAvenue.com get me on your ticker by buying ABALL.

Posted in Reflections, Fun, Engagement, Games | No Comments »

Final Day at St. Anne

18. February 2010 by admin.

I’ve had a lovely three days at St. Anne school. The staff were very eager to learn how they can incorporate Smart boards into their regular lessons. My goals in demonstrating the Smart boards to teachers has changed to fit. Previously I would work my way across the top of the tool bar and shown them a tool at a time. I would show teachers a tool and an example of how I’ve use that tool. Over

The last couple of weeks at St. Elizabeth and St. Anne I have had many teachers ask simply for a demonstration of how I would teach a lesson with the board. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from teachers of all levels through this form of demonstration. The first thing teachers say to me is “Is that all!? I can do that.” which is combined with a look of relief on their faces. I think that the Smart board has become a monster to some who don’t understand that it is simply another tool.

Posted in Reflections | No Comments »