Tools For The Classroom...Howie DiBlasi

If you could change one thing about education in America, what would it be?

2010-01-18T11:36:00.002-07:00

If you could change one thing about education in America, what would it be?

What is impossible to learn in school?

2010-01-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

What is impossible to learn in school?

Final Thoughts for 2009-Web 2.0 Tools

2009-12-16T19:04:00.001-07:00

Web 2.0: New Tools for Schools
“Schools are stuck in the 20th century. Students have rushed into the 21st. How can schools catch up and provide students with a relevant education?” Marc Prensky
What an exciting time to be in education and I hope that we, as leaders, administrators, teachers and librarians, can rise to the occasion of providing our students with the Web 2.0 tools they will need to be successful.
My goal is to increase educators' awareness of the Web 2.0 tools that are available and provide examples of how the tools can be used in the classroom to reach, motivate, educate, and assess students.
We are in a different "Flat World" today and things are changing at such a rapid rate that it is difficult to keep up with the latest "Digital Tools" for our students.
Students are miles ahead of adults, staff included, in their comfort with technology of cell phones, creating YouTube videos, IM, Blogging, Facebook and MySpace.
They have grown up with it and are as easy with it as we are with newspapers and TV. Schools are not at the level they should be. They need to prepare our students for the 21st Century jobs that require, global awareness, communication, teamwork, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving and knowing how to collect and/or retrieve information.
I’m always interested in finding new ways to learn quickly and efficiently. It’s important to get the most educational value out of my time as possible. I think that applies to our students as well.
One method is to use 21st-century tools and projects that are models for driving change in education. Many of these tools are called Web 2 tools. We can transform our educational institutions into model learning environments that cater to the broadest range of users through collaboration tools. Through creating, communicating and collaborating, students can learn 21st-century skills while they master core curriculum skills and prepare to meet the demands of the global community.
Thomas Friedman's book "The World Is Flat" changed our views on globalization and trying to explain and understanding the forces driving the flattening of the world. From teleconferencing to podcasts and manufacturing, to restaurant order taking, educators need to realize that in the 21st Century classroom our students need to learn how to learn, teach the students to stay curious and innovative, if we are to excel in a global economy.
If we are the change our classrooms to reflect the 21st Century we need to adopt and incorporate the 21st Century models for school. I have listed a condensed version below of the skills.
• Use 21st Century Assessments that measure 21st Century Skills
• Evaluate the quality, relevance, and usefulness of information
• Knowing more about the world - creating global citizens
• Collect and/or retrieve information
• Information and communications skills
• Use digital technology and communication tools to Teach and learn in a 21st century context
• Thinking outside of the box - creativity and innovation
• Interpersonal and self-directional skills
• Digital Age Literacy
• Collect and/or retrieve information
• Learn academic content through real-world examples
• Organize and manage information • Interpret and present information
Things like global awareness, information gathering and manipulation, and just plain technology savvy are fast becoming the primary items that we as schools are going to have to ensure our students have when they graduate. Our exit exams and other measures of fitness for graduation have to be replaced with something more encompassing and rigorous.

Over the past year, I have been researching and interviewing small and large businesses to see what skills for success, students need to enter the workforce.
WEB reference here http://www.graduateopportunities.com/career_advice/graduate_skills
The top 3 skills for that employees form small business owners to major corporations include:
• Creative problem-solving
• Critical and analytical thinking
• Information gathering, evaluation and synthesis
The other skills that employers want include:
• Team work
• Adaptability
• Literacy and numeracy
• Time management and organization
• Oral and written communication
• Initiative and enterprise
• Ability to apply discipline knowledge and concepts
• Interpersonal skills
• Capacity to manage stress levels
• Community involvement
• Personal attributes such as ambition, self-awareness and an inquiring mind.
There are two questions that need to be asked and addressed”
Question one: “What needs to change about our curriculum when our students have the ability to reach audiences far beyond our classroom walls?” Will Richardson

Question two: “How do we prepare our students for jobs that don’t yet exist.” Dr. Howie DiBlasi, “Emerging Technology Evangelist”

So what is the best way to get started? The following list has my favorite Web 2.0 tools and ideas to change your classroom or district. Each tool includes a brief description and the web site of the tool. All of the Web 2.0 suggestions are tied to the 21st Century Skills listed above and are designed to integrate with your curriculum and incorporate the 21st Century skills that apply.
Web 2.0 and who to invite to the table to implement 21st Century Skills. Web site : http://www.etoolkit.org/
Global Connections ePals is a social network optimized for K-12 learning. Over half a million classrooms in 200 countries and territories , and over 11 million students and teachers from 191 countries are building skills and enhancing learning with ePals. FREE e-mail for students http://www.epals.com

Eduhound Online Educational Resources - Thousands of free lesson plans that meet state and national standards http://www.eduhound.com/

Curriki - is a community of educators, learners and committed education experts who are working together to create quality materials that will benefit teachers and students around the world. Free distribution of world-class educational materials. http://www.curriki.org/
Think.com Project site: Think Together. Think.com is now part of ThinkQuest -- A learning platform where teachers and students create learning projects.
http://www.thinkquest.org/en/
HotChalk - A 100% free curriculum management, content sharing, professional development, and social networking service with a simple mission: to make teachers’ lives better. www.hotchalk.com
Free Technology for Teachers Free resources that teachers can use in their classrooms. awarded the Edublogger Award for "Best Resource Sharing Blog. http://www.freetech4teachers.com
VoiceThread Online presentation site that lets you attach audio and video. Other users can leave audio and video comments. Ability to upload images or video files and then add text. http://voicethread.com/#home
Our Learning Communities - Ning - Social Networking: Ning.com
Ning lets you create new social experiences for the most important people and interests in your life. Ning offers an easy-to-use service that allows people to join and create Ning Networks. URL: http://www.ning.com
Join a Ning and collaborate http://toolsfortheclassroom.ning.com/
Classroom 2.0 If you ONLY join ONE NING.....Make this the ONE !!!
A social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. Sign up participate in the discussions to receive event notifications, and to find and connect with colleagues. It is a FREE, community-supported network. http://www.classroom20.com/

Create a Twitter Account Read what teachers are saying about Twitter:
"As soon as the lunch bell rings at his elementary school in Medford, Oregon, teacher David Cosand takes a few minutes to scan his mobile phone screen for messages that have accumulated throughout the morning in his Twitter account. In a few well-chosen words, the people Cosand follows via this free online service share their latest news, resources, questions, and (sometimes) trivia about education, technology, and related topics.
Cosand became a Twitterer about a year ago, and he now considers Twitter one of his best sources of real-time professional development. "I'm able to get information and find opportunities I wouldn't have been able to gather on my own," he says.www.twitter.com
Discover RSS and subscribe to a Podcast or Blog RSS in Plain English-An introduction to RSS as a way to save time reading web sites. Watch a video here: http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english
Google Reader
Google reader is my power RSS reader - it has great new features that lets me share and receive clippings from others and add clippings to my own blog. I link my Google Reader to my iGoogle page and feed my "Hotlist" of blogs/ links to my own blog/ and custom searches. Love Google reader. http://www.google.com/reader/

NewsMap This meta analysis of the news provides your students News from around the world. Great resource when you are discussing cultures, comparing the leading news stories in various countries, searching for current events, searching for state literary and emerging news. http://newsmap.jp/

Digital Vaults - Education resources
It’s an entry into the vast resources of the National Archives, and allows you to use those resources to create your own movies, posters, and what it calls “Pathway Challenges” to… challenge others to find connections between a series of images, documents, and other resources you put together. http://www.digitalvaults.org/
The Great Idea Finder Innovation - Creativity - Creative Thinking
Created to promote the progress of science and useful arts by providing a showcase for innovation. Their mission is to provide inspiration to the "inventor" in all of us. Great stories behind the world's greatest inventors and great inventions. They showcase the best and most innovative ideas. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/index.html
Voki Allows students to create wacky avatars then record themselves speaking. Some teachers have found it to be a fantastic way to assess speaking in the target language. "What if the Voki was reading a list of spelling words? What if it was speaking another language? The site offers a high level of customization ranging from the overall look of the Voki to the sound of its voice. http://www.voki.com/
Kerpoof - A site that provides a variety of creative for animation, drawing, and movie creation. Wide range of preset characters and environmental options, or they can create their own. Drag-and-drop simplicity coupled with advanced animation and editing capabilities that open the platform up to a range of curricular applications. http://www.kerpoof.com/
Diigo: Social annotation and bookmarking service where users can bookmark sites and add highlights and notes to them. Great for research. http://www.diigo.com/
del.icio.us: Social bookmarking site where users can save bookmarks and organize them with tags. Users can also take advantage of their del.icio.us network allowing them to add friends to their account and keep track of bookmarks left by each friend. http://del.icio.us/

What Ever Happened To The AV Club?

2009-09-22T09:02:00.001-06:00

What Ever Happened To The AV Club?

When I was in high school in the 60s, I was a proud member of the Audio Visual Club. This was before geeks and nerds — we were the pre- geeks and nerds. We would have a contest to see who could load the 16-mm film projector the fastest and our second contest was to see who splice a tape for the reel-to-reel tape recorders the fastest. I held the school record for replacing an overhead bulb in the projector.
None of our group ever imagined a CD, DVD, clickers, smart boards, Second Life, podcasting, video conferencing, the Internet and several other technologies that our schools use every day.

The common thread in comparing old and new technology is a vision for creating positive change.

Several new technologies are changing the shape of classrooms:
• Smart Boards – (a large – 4ft by 8 feet- white board that projects images on the board- teacher or students touch the screen/whiteboard and it is interactive. Used to display computer and or video images. The board is similar to a touch screen and you can cut/copy/paste/move images or type on it.

• LCD Projectors – (short description of what each is here) (a projection devise that you can connect a video camera, TV output or computer and project the image on a large screen up to 10 feet by 10 feet)

• Clickers – (Students can use the handheld device and click on a small keyboard to answers questions in the classroom. Allows the instructor to receive instant feedback and display the results on a computer)

• IVC – (Interactive Video Conference –camera and TV allows connections around the world. Can bring experts, museums, zoos and other content providers into the student’s classroom using IP video connection on the Internet)

• Document cameras – (a stationary camera mounted on a stand an pointed down to the stand, - that allows the instructor to display document, specimens, samples and any small object to display on a large screen. A zoom lens on the camera can maginify the object from 10 – 1000 percent.)

• Podcast Recorders –Podcasts are recorded by students about educational projects in the classroom. IE. book reports, digital stories, debates, class discussion, performances etc. (the old cassette recorder for the 21st Century Classroom. A small electronic recorder that fits in the palm of your hand. Can record up to 3 hours of content on a small media card. Card is removed and inserted into a computer and recordings are then edited to be placed on the Internet for educational listening

• Virtual Reality – (VR is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment. It can be real or imagined one. Most of the current virtual reality environments are primarily a visual experience that displays on a computer screen or through special or stereo vision goggles)

Districts that make new technology work invested in staff development and train teachers with new tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and visual literacy.
They provide access to new equipment including clickers, smart boards and 1-1 computers for every student and also invest in technicians and a chief information officer to keep systems operating correctly.

Digital natives — young people who have spent their entire lives in the digital world — need new tools to expand their reach into the world to acquire and remember information. School districts should not be afraid of new technology that challenges old paradigms.

In most of our schools today, students have very little input in the structure and substance of their education. Teachers still do the proverbial classroom lecture every day. Research is beginning to tell us that kids are bored, especially when outside of school they are using YouTube and media-saturated, tech-driven products and applications.

I wonder what would happen if we were to seek input from our students? We might learn that they prefer questions rather than answers. Maybe they would share their opinions, group projects, devise project for the classroom, communicate on real-world issues, and tell us how they can own their own learning.
Talk to your students — they have great ideas on how to integrate technology into the classroom — lead by listening. Ask students: What experiences in school really engaged you? How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?

What would you do to make school more fun?

How To Get An ISTE-2010 ( NECC-Denver) Proposal Accepted !!!

2009-09-08T11:10:00.009-06:00

I have not lost it! I am not crazy!! I did not stay out in the sun for 5 hours!!!
That is the reaction i received, when I shared with a few close friends that I was going to do a Blog Post on the secrets of getting accepted at NECC

I have reviewed conference submittals for a number of years and it amazes me how many of the proposals need a lot of work to be considered for a slot in the conference....

I am going to give you several tips on how to make sure your proposal "Stand Out' and have a better chance of being selected.

A great proposal can be decisive in securing a presentation slot at NECC, while a poor one can cause your submission to go it the "reject" box.

Follow these 11 tips to a write a "GREAT" proposal every time.

1. Create a powerful, but concise 25-30 word summary Decision-makers start with and focus on the opening statement and summary, so create this section with that fact in mind. When writing the summary, assume that the reader knows little or nothing about the proposed project.

2. Be generous with your ideas Share your expertise. Attendees are looking for solution and new ideas to use in their districts classrooms. Use your ideas and solutions to show conference attendees your approaches to problems in creative and innovative ways.

3. Quantify the results that the attendee can expect from your conference presentation. Be specific on the results in the form of performance objectives. List the process, solutions and methodologies.

4. Size does matter Keep your proposal submission as short as possible, while meeting the conference requests and requirements. Think quality, not quantity.

5. Focus on the individual attending your session at the conference. Many proposals begin with a long discussion of the individuals describing their qualifications and history. There is usually a place for that at the end of the submission. Focus your proposal on the " INDIVIDUALS NEEDS" first.

6. Remember, conference attendees care only about how you'll address their issues, so show them how you'll do that.

7. Beware of best practices. Instead of relying on answers that worked for a previous conference, find a blend of outstanding practices and innovative solutions that fit the individual attending the conference.

8. Be accurate and Sweat every detail Double-check and triple-check the information. Spell check the submission at least 3 times. You'll risk turning a winning proposal into a loser if you present inaccurate data and/or misspelled words.

9. Rewrite your resume for every proposal. Some conferences require a resume. Highlight the skills in your resume that demonstrate your qualifications for the presentation at hand.

10. Finish early Let your proposal sit for a day after you've completed the final draft, and then reread it completely before sending it to the conference committee. You're likely to come up with some new ideas that enhance your work, and you may find errors that you missed earlier.

11. Let your personality shine through. Give the review committee a sense of your culture and your style of standing in front of the group and making the presentation. What will it be like to attend this session at the conference?

I will not be a SLACKER..I will post in my blog

2009-09-08T07:02:00.003-06:00

I will not be a SLACKER..I will post in my blog.

Post later this AM on Tips to a Winning Proposal for NECC 2010-Denver

Cool Web Sites To Check Out

2009-03-24T14:27:00.010-06:00

The past month has provides conferences in Texas. North Carolina and Wisconsin.

TCEA is always an excellent conference with excitement and energy from educators, technology coordinator and leaders from across the state. Rather than give you all the detail of the conference I thought I would provide a few of the links we used in the workshops and sessions.

North Carolina was a fantastic experience and allowed me to connect with several of my favorite people. NCTIES organized the conference around a construction theme, and developed a Dream Design Technology Team. The team included David Warlick, Tammy Worchester, Vicki Davis, Kathy Schrock , Leslie Fischer and myself. What a great time discussing with the movers and shakers, 21st Century Skills, software applications, Web 2, filters in school district and the challenges we all share as "Idea Peddlers"

The sessions that we presented included:
Tammy's Favorite Technology Building Tools for a Web 2.0 Classroom
Tammy Worcester,

10 Rules For Revolutionaries In The 21st Century Classroom
Dr. Howie DiBlasi

Digital Photography and Elements
Leslie Fisher,

Personal PD Cultivating your Personal Learning Network
David Warlick,

And finally on to Wisconsin and Madison attending and providing the Keynote for WETA.
Small conference of around 500 attendees but they consumed the content and were really excited about the Web 2.0 presentation and how to change their classrooms.

Links below:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/245
Demo-What is WildEarth (WE)? A new concept in wildlife TV. Everything you see is 100% LIVE and happening right now. Join us for r a LIVE presenter lead safari, where WE go in search of some of our favourite characters. WE also do a LIVE bush walk every weekday morning, visit the WEschedule for all the times and shows. http://www.wildearth.tv/home
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· 360 Cities brings interactive, panoramic photography to the mainstream. http://www.360cities.net/
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· EduHound Site Sets are collections of topic-based online education resources http://www.eduhound.com/
Thousands of free lesson plans that meet state and national standards http://www.eduhound.com/lesson_plans.cfm
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· Imbee Sudent Social Site (Imbee) www.imbee.com

Article from School Construction News

2009-02-21T15:13:00.001-07:00

The Digital Age

New Columnist Discusses IT Solutions for the 21st Century
By Howie DiBiasi

I recently retired as the chief information officer for the Durango School district, in Durango Colorado. During the 14 years I spent in Durango, I witnessed many changes with information technology and had a first-hand look at old vs. new techniques for classrooms instruction, construction and management.

My world changed dramatically after I retired in January of 2008. My phone started ringing with invitations to speak at conferences and provide professional staff development to educational leaders and teachers. My emphasis is 21st century skills and how we need to change our classroom environments to prepare our student for the global work force.

Over the last six months, it has become very evident to me, that most schools are teaching with too much paper. Administrators are inundated with test scores, state standards, No Child Left behind and other assessments required at the local, state and national level. Many districts teach to the test by spending hours training the students to get betters test scores. We need to move into the 21st Century classroom and become agents of change.

A 21st century Classrooms should incorporate the digital tools our students use every day. A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that:
• 59 percent of all American teenagers engage in at least one form of online content creation
• 35 percent of all teen girls blog
• 20 percent of online boys blog
• 54 percent of girls post photos online compared with 40 percent of online boys.
• 39 percent of online teens share their artistic creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories or videos
• 33 percent create or work on Web pages or blogs for others including groups they belong to, friends or school assignments
• 28 percent have created their own online journal or blog, up from 19 percent in 2004
• 27 percent maintain their own personal Web page
• 26 percent revise content they find online into their own creations

My research indicates that more than 78 percent of schools block students from creating content, blogs, wikis, photos sites and other Web 2.0 tools. I understand the need to meet the e-rate requirement and provide filtering content, but most districts block the very things that kids are doing every day when they leave our classrooms.

In the next few months I will answer question and provide information on the digital tools and technology that are shaping modern classrooms:
· Ways educators can meet the demands and challenges of 21st Century learning.
· How Digital Tools can provide 21st Century skills that involve: Writing, Speaking, Visual,Technical, and Personal Development Skills.
· Use technology to develop proficiency in 21st century skills and support innovative teaching and learning
· Techniquest to enable students to easily go beyond the narrow confines of the safe knowledge base of their academic discipline to apply themselves to whatever they encounter in the post-education world.

Howie DiBlasi is an IT consultant who speaks regularly about 21st century schools and teaching techniques throughout the United States.

Your ideas or comments?

Howie...Where have you been???

2009-02-21T15:03:00.001-07:00

I am so far behind in my blog.....Really working on some new posts this weekend.
Stay tuned !!!

Jamestown Elementary-ROCKS !!!!

2008-10-18T18:54:00.004-06:00

Jamestown Elementary-ROCKS !!!!

As the new school year begins, my conference schedule starts to heat up. We are 5 weeks into the school year and my Frequent Flyer miles are adding up quickly. Over the past 2 months I have received many phone calls about out new IVC (Interactive Conferencing) Professional Development Series. We use IVC equipment and connect to your school and do a live Interactive 21st Century Skills Workshop. Most are 3 hours in length and staff and teachers can ever receive certification credit or Graduate Credit for attending the workshops. This saves the districts travel costs and keeps the cost of Professional Development low.

I have completed sessions with Bangkok, Thailand, Colorado, Texas and Virginia. I recently completed a session with Jamestown Elementary in Arlington Virginia. Camilla Gagliolo is the Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Arlington Public Schools.

Her e-mail is: camilla_gagliolo@apsva.us

We are doing a series on 21st Century Skills including, Web 2.0 tools, Blogs, Wikis, Global Communication and Visual Literacy.

When you provide 21st Century Skills Professional Development, you never know if you have generated a spark, to get the staff fired up using 21st Century Tools in their classrooms or if the flame goes out. The session this week started a FOREST FIRE.

We started with the Wiki and discussed the applications, why to do one, how it works in their individual classroom and how to build one. Then we continued with “Blogs” answering the same questions. You never know what will happen after the class but, I want to share examples of their excellent work.

Second grade teachers completed Podcast projects called “The Best Part of Me.” The student selects a part of their body they are most proud of and then tells about that feature. The teachers took digital photos of the part of the body and than make a Podcast of each student. Check out the work here. Great job. Here is a note from Camilla.

“Hi Howie,
I want you to see the first products from our workshop, 2nd grade podcast on my favorite part of me at http://web.me.com/jamestownelementary/Favorite/Welcome.html
Photos with voice recording from iPod and strung together with Garageband end published with iWeb.
Camilla.”
Congratulations to Chrissi Weaver and Helaine Ortiz.

One of the Kindergarten teachers, Guye Turner made a Blog that really has everyone talking. Check out his K Blog here. Check it out at : http://turnerkindergarten.blogspot.com/
This is what he had to say.
“Welcome to Mr. Turner's Super Kinder Blog. We are a kindergarten class at Jamestown Elementary School in Arlington County, Virginia. Our class has 23 students, a lead teacher (Mr. Guye Turner), and an assistant teacher (Mrs. Valarie Kuehn). This Blog will serve two purposes. The first one is to give our parents an insight on what we do in our classroom. The second is to give us the opportunity to connect with other kindergarten classrooms around the world! My students are extremely excited and we are ready to start sharing with the world what we do.”

My special thanks goes out to Camilla and Laura Annan Glascoe, Principal, for their vision of providing 21st Century Skills for the staff and students and providing their staff a Professional Development Model for the 21st Century Classroom.

Jamestown “ROCKS”…all of you are great…Keep up the SUPER work…

I am traveling over the next 3 weeks to Dallas, Michigan, Arizona, California and then to Denver and Jamestown will be in all of my Keynotes. What a great example of teachers implementing 21st Century Skills in THEIR classrooms.

N.E.T.A.: Omaha, Nebraska

2008-09-10T09:39:00.003-06:00

N.E.T.A.: Omaha, Nebraska
Scott Plummer splummer@geringschools.net knows how to impress someone. I received an invitation from Scott to be a feature speaker at the 2,500 plus attendees of the Nebraska Educational Technology Association Conference this past April. During our conversations of making arrangements for the conference he mentioned a few of the other speakers;

Will Richardson,
Will Richardson is known internationally for his work with educators and students to understand and implement instructional technologies and, more specifically, the tools of the Read/Write Web into their schools, classrooms and communities.

Dr, Tim Tyson:
Dr. Tim Tyson, named one of Georgia's High Performance Principals by State Governor Sonny Perdue, served as the principal of Mabry Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia. The School Library Journal has referred to Dr. Tyson as the "Pied Piper of Educational Technology," and his innovative use of technology to maximize student achievement.

Bernajean Porter,
Bernajean, an educator for over 35 years, is internationally re-known to educators for her belief that technology can accelerate kids-of-all-ages rediscovering their joy and personal success as learners. Her philosophy of work uses cutting edge organizational processes for building local capacity to translate the power of technology’s potential into actual classroom practices.

…and then me…..

The selection committee liked the idea of a presenter who could think outside the box, challenge the group and provide new, hands on skills for the classroom.

I always do a survey at the beginning of a keynote, so I know the make-up of the audience. I ask 5 quick questions o; 21st Century Skills, Web 2.0, Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts. I am always amazed at the numbers of educators who know about the technologies but are not using any of the new “Tools” in the academic classrooms. Reasons are many but the number one issue is Professional Development. Many school districts still don’t get it. They buy the technology, put it in the classroom and tell the teachers to use it.

As a former C.I.O., my number one priority was Technology Staff Development. Our District Technology Committee always met before we installed and implemented any new technology. Our IT staff and Professional Development Coordinator always worked together to make sure the staff and instructors were proficient with the new equipment and software. Classes were offered using school time and we provided substitutes for the teachers to cover their classes. We also provided after school classes and provided college graduate credit to anyone who desired it.

In the past, when I meet with many administrators, I hear whining and wiggling reasons of not enough money or time for Technology Staff Development.
Fortunately, that is starting to change. In my next posting, I will share some real leaders around the country that make the Technology Staff Development and 21st Century Skills a priority.

Ok....Off my soapbox and back to the conference. I actually did 3 different presentations. The first on Web 2.0 tools, the second on Visual Literacy and the final one on Free Software for the 21st Century Classroom. I am always amazed at the response after the presentation as I travel from conference to conference. Educators that converse after the presentation about how they are inspired to stat and change the way they can use the new “Tools” in their classroom. BUT..the best part is when I get an e-mail from them and how they have transformed and changed their classroom.

An e-mail from a recent presentation.
Howie,

Just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that we have several teachers and classrooms that are already incorporating strategies that you introduced at the training you provided in Julesburg. The teachers and students are excited by the new teaching and learning experiences. Thanks so much for your assistance it is making a difference and I know sometimes when you present you never know if what you are doing makes a difference. Also am attaching the US News and World Report Rankings of the Best High Schools in America that I had mentioned to you during training. The Julesburg School District made the list for 2008, out of the 178 school districts in Colorado we were 1 of the 26 in Colorado to make it and out 18,000 High Schools across America we were in the top 2500 High Schools. We are proud of the academic achievement of our students and as district do very well but we are constantly trying to improve and the training you provided will definitely help us stay at the top and hopefully improve on our abilities to reach all students. Once again thanks so much for your efforts and keep up your important evangalistic mission of transforming education.

Shawn Ehnes
Julesburg School District

Next: T.I.E. Colorado

TxDLA...If it is March..we must be in Galveston, Texas..

2008-09-01T12:28:00.001-06:00

TxDLA

If it is March..we must be in Galveston, Texas..

I do not know how they do it…but every year they make it better and better. If you can only get to one Distance Learning Conference this is the ONE !!!!.The Texas Distance Learning Association is the most dedicated, professional, energetic and exciting group I have ever been involved with. I have been attending and presenting at this conference for the past 4 years and over 1,000 attend and the excitement is infectious.

Moody Gardens is a great location for a conference. Located in Galveston Tx., it has a beautiful hotel and several things to do right next to the hotel.

It is an island of fun. Many that attend the conference bring their families because you can enjoy the tropical destination and enjoy your time here to explore the oceans depths at the Aquarium Pyramid, to see penguins, sharks and thousands of tropical fish. You can visit the Rainforest Pyramid that features a diverse collection of exotic tropical plants and animals. Kids love the mysteries of science at the Discovery Museum. We loved the action of the IMAX® 3D, 4D and Ridefilm theaters. Several of us arrived a few days early and cruised aboard the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat and enjoyed the beautiful white sand beaches and blue lagoons at Palm Beach.

The conference is 4 days of mind expanding, information packed ideas and networking to the MAX !!!.

TxDLA is the largest state organization in the U.S and is worth a visit to see the movers and shakers in IVC and Distance Learning.

All of the big hitters were there sharing their experiences, innovations and passions for IVC and Distance learning. It is always a pleasure to see everyone face to face and share what we have all been involved with over the past year. Several familiar faces observed in the presentations rooms were:
Presenter:
Glaser,Roxanne.
Willis, Carol
Conn,Ken
Blackburn,Rhonda.
Lim, Jeanene
Maglia,Geri.
Allen,Vicki
November,Alan
Powell,Marci
Shuck,Elaine
Howard,Shane
Stager,Gary
Bearden,Tommy
Hieronymus,Paul
Brown,Charlie
Teitelman,Carol
Colavita, Dawn
Lentz, Linda
Zanetis, Jan

Some of the session included:
.
Colavita, Dawn, Lentz, Linda
School improvement goals focus on areas in which student improvement is needed and the professional development to provide educators the increased knowledge and strategies that lead to that improvement. See how videoconferencing and collaborative technologies provide access to professional development, student programming and collaborations which can meet these needs.

Ms. Heidi Ashbaugh, Texas Woman's University
This presentation will discuss the use of blogging as a tool for learning, and how it can be used to support the learning theories of constructivism and connectivism. An example of how blogging was integrated into an online Fiction course is included in the presentation, and there will be an opportunity for the audience to share their own ideas for implementing blogging as a learning tool. Educators of all levels (as well as anyone just interested in blogging) are encouraged to attend.

Dr. Howie DiBlasi, Digital Journey
Participants will explore six Building Community Projects and making a Global Connection with IVC. Projects allow students to learn 21st Century skills; prepare them to meet the demands of the global community; engage them in mastering writing and core curriculum skills. Learn how to improve learning through Digital Media/Multimedia Magic.

Ms. Gerri Maglia, Education Service Center Region XI
Don't get anchored down with the same ol content, matey! Come learn what the Connect2Texas interactive videoconferencing providers have to offer from science programs to fine arts. Hear about the latest and greatest shipmates that have joined the Connect2Texas crew.

Mr. Alan November, November Learning
In an economy where global outsourcing is commonplace, students must be prepared to participate in an increasingly competitive job market. In many ways they are in competition with bright energetic, hardworking students from all over the world. In this session Alan discusses some of the ways we can empower our students, help them build a strong work ethic and develop self-directed learning skills. We should not underestimate what our students are capable of achieving.

Rhonda Blackburn, The University of Texas at Dallas
Do you want to know how to become more involved with TxDLA? In this presentation I will talk about the various committees that you can join that will help you get a better idea of our wonderful organization. I will also talk about the fall leadership workshop that is held every Fall. Both committees and the workshop are excellent ways to learn more about the organization and to step up into a leadership role within TxDLA.

Ms. Roxanne Glaser, Education Service Center Region 12
Mrs. Paula Yezak, Temple ISD
Mr. Shane Howard, ESC Region 12
Schools can maximize videoconferencing budgets by finding and creating free collaborations. Paula and Roxanne will share practical strategies for transforming ideas into engaging collaborations that take student learning to the next level. Duplicate successful videoconference projects and sail into spring with great ideas to finish the year!

Gary Stager, Consultant Description:
Dr. Stager has been online since 1983 (unless you count using an acoustic coupler five years earlier), was instrumental in creating Pepperdine University's Online Master of Arts in Educational Technology Program in 1997 and has written online courses for Classroom Connect, Generation YES and Logo Computer Systems, Inc. In this session, Gary will reflect on his experiences teaching online, designing course content and observing children enrolled in online courses in order to challenge some the conventional wisdom about distance learning and offer examples of how online learning requires an amplification of the best teaching practices if it is to realize its potential for all learners.

Dr. Howie DiBlasi, Digital Journey
The places you and your students will go using Interactive Videoconferencing to see and hear each other simultaneously, whether across the state or around the world. Videoconference connections outside the classroom, increases student motivation and learning. Getting started for $288; how to deliver; costs; content providers; virtual fieldtrips, collaborations, meetings.

Ms. Marci Powell, Polycom, Inc.
Elaine Shuck, Polycom, Inc
Whether you are ready to set sail or have been navigating for awhile, this session will help you create an environment for smooth sailing in distance learning. Take a cruise through the many applications enabled by our tools and programs.

Elaine Shuck and Marci Powell
Sailings:
Itinerary: Ports of Call include Collaboration on Deck, Grand Streaming Islands, Ultimate HDX Vacation Adventure, and Content Provider Harbor
Jamaica this your choice for breakout sessions

Jan Zanetis, TANDBERG
Recent innovations in distance learning technologies and pedagogy are empowering educators to take learning to a whole new level. Come to this session to find out more about streaming video and how students can access archived video content from the web, IPods and even from your Moodle site! Learn how educators are using live and streamed video to empower their students in creating authentic lessons they share with peers across Texas and the nation.

Ms. Linda Gillis, Region 4 ESC
Mr. Fr Jose Losoya, Oratory Athenaeum for Universtiy Preparation
Using Bb as the medium to conncet 25 students, 6 teachers, and 2 coordinators who are physically situated in different countries and continents and you have a format for a unique K-20 collaborative and learning experience which meet all identified 21st Century Skills.

I want to give credit to all of the behind the scenes workers, officers and board members of TxDLA. There are a dedicated group of individuals that really know how to grow and support an organization

2008-2009 Officers
TxDLA Officers are elected by the general membership and are members of the Executive Committee which meets on a monthly basis to monitor the operation of the organization and to also report and make recommendations to the Board of Directors.

Rhonda Blackburn
University of Texas-Dallas
President

Bob Barnes
ESC10
President-Elect

Laurie Hogle
ESC11
Past-President

Terry Comingore
Brazosport College
Treasurer

Cindy Smith
University of Texas-Tyler
Secretary

Board of Directors
The affairs of TxDLA are managed by a Board of Directors which acts as the governing body, serving as an advocate for the broader field of distance learning. The Board is made up of its officers and members representing different distance learning constituencies in Texas, a regional group chair, and Chief Information Officer. The Board formulates policies of the organization and conducts all business pertaining to TxDLA

Raymond Hartfield
AT&T, Central Texas
Corporate/Private Sector

Kevin Eason
Tarrant County College District
Board Chair
Executive Partnership Council

Laura Johannsen
Texas Department of Transporation
Government/Military

Steve Welch
ESC18
K-12 Education

Patrick Pluscht
University of North Texas
Higher Education

Lance Zimmerman
Texas State Technical College Waco
Vocational/Technical Education

Bruce Niebuhr
University of Texas Medical Branch
Healthcare/Medicine

Carol Willis
Texas Education Telecomm Network
Member at Large

Kevin Lemoine
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Member at Large

Oscar Hernandez
South Texas College
Regional Group Development Chair

Bennie Tschoerner
Retired-Paris ISD
Chief Information Officer

Vicki Traweek
Weatherford College
Parliamentarian

NEXT: Off to Omaha and the Nebraska Educational Technology Association Conference

Hey Babe..Want to go to Scottsbluff, Nebraska?

2008-08-31T13:20:00.001-06:00

Hey Babe..Want to go to Scottsbluff, Nebraska?

I was invited to do a feature presentation in the middle of Feb. for the Educational Service Center and the S.O.A.R. group. My wife said she would pass on this one but she really missed an exciting and energizing group.

I want to thank Penny Businga, LaRrits Van Boskirk, and Craig Hicks for a great conference. Thanks Craig for setting up a Moodle server making Blogs and Wiki’s available to the 300 plus in attendance and the Educational Service Center that serves 25 school districts. Many came away with a good understanding of the 21st Century Skills and how to incorporate the newfound skills into the various classroom areas.

As with most of the conferences, I provide Keynotes or feature presentation to, I am always amazed at the small number of educators that are aware of 21st Century Skills but are not incorporating them in their classrooms. There reasons are many, some things that they cannot control. Technology Directors that want to control everything and lock out all sites that have anything to do with Web 2.0 applications, social networking and social bookmarking. They block the very things that we are trying to use to incorporate 21st Century skills in our classrooms. I understand the issues of filters and e-rate funding and making a safe network. But, why not take a different approach and teach our kids about what to do when you encounter an inappropriate site, teaching Internet Safety and inappropriate Material, Cyberstalking, Cyberbullying, Meaningful Consequences, how to search the Internet effectively, how to check vital information and the content, learn to think critically, even suspiciously, compare and contrast, why filters can be a false sense of security, inappropriate content and behavior, and what to do about accidental access to Porn.

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….big fella, you are getting on your bandwagon….I will address this in another session…….back to the S.O.A.R.Conference.

At the S.O.A.R. conference, I provided sessions on 21st Century and Changing the Classroom, Visual Literacy and Web 2.0 Skills in the Classroom.

The absolute best part of traveling around the country and spreading the “21st Century Gospel are the e-mails and phone calls that I received after the conferences…..I have 2 of the responses below from Beth Still..What a champion…she jumped in with both feet and is making a change in her district and with her students.

“Howie,
This is Beth Still. I met you at the Civic Center earlier today. I just wanted to say thanks again for such a fantastic day. Your presentation was wonderful! I will continue to try to be the "one out of ten" who strives for change. I was so excited about the ePal program that I already posted a profile.

Each time you asked who was using podcasting, blogs, wikis, etc. there were only a few of us in the room who raised our hands. Please do not think this means that we are not interested in teaching 21st century skills to our students. I am so fortunate to teach in a school (an alternative high school) where we have 15 computers in a classroom with 12 students per class.But that is not the case for many of my colleagues..

I will continue to work closely with Craig to implement different tools into my classroom. I will keep in touch as my students begin to experiment. I will see you this summer in San Antonio at the ISTE conference.

Beth Still

This is the BEST !!!!!!!
Howie,
Thank you for keeping in touch. I have to share one thing that I have done this week. Out of all of the suggestions you shared last week I was most intrigued with the ePals program. I immediately registered and posted a profile. I literally got Goosebumps when I sent my first international email-----which was to Greece. Over the last few days I have heard back from schools in Japan, Germany, and Colombia. By the end of the week several of my students will probably receive their first correspondence from their pen pals. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited my students are about this project! Thank you for telling me about it.

I will share more projects as we go.
Beth Still

Keep up the GREAT work Beth…..

Next...On to Galveston Texas and TxDLA

Howie...Where have you been????

2008-08-20T10:40:00.001-06:00

My head is on overload…..so many events in the past months. I thought I would be watching the grass grow, watering the pants, playing golf and enjoying retirement. Little did I know how exciting my life would be after I retired January 31, 2008

I realized that I had not posted to the Blog in 6 months…SHAME on me…I advocate 21st Century Skills in the classroom and don’t keep my Blog up to date. Several conferences over the past 6 months have increased my airline miles but had prevented me from updating the Blog.. I will spend the next 2 weeks catching everyone up on the adventure of the “Emerging Technology Evangelist”.

The week of Feb.1,2008, found me in Austin, TX providing 3 days of hands on workshops. What a great group of teachers and administrators. Excited, energized, charged with enthusiasm and ready to set the work on fire. We looked at Global Communications via Building Learning Communities, created projects and then learned how to share them global. The second workshop included Visual Literacy and Digital story telling projects. Everyone created projects that told stories about their town, their favorites and a their best feature. We concluded with the third workshop on Web 2.0 and free software to use in the classroom.

In the Building Learning Communities Workshop we developed presentations that would provide background on six Community Projects and how to make a Global Connection. The projects allowed students to learn 21st Century skills and prepare them to meet the demands of the global community and engage them in mastering core curriculum skills. We discussed projects as models for driving education change and transforming educational institutions into model learning environments that cater to the broadest range of users and using collaboration tools.

In the Visual Literacy Workshop the participants now understand teaching, learning, and assessment strategies for working with the digital generation by creating Visual Literacy Projects. We helped them to interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using both conventional and 21st century media in ways that promote, advance thinking, decision-making, communication, and learning

In the Web 2.0 Workshop we discussed how Web 2.0 tools could translate traditional information skills for an information landscape into Web 2.0 application to use in the classroom. The participants discovered how Web 2.0 applications, Screencasting, e-pals communication projects, digital stories, Podcasts, Blogs, Wikis, handheld devices, and annotation software provide more engaging and collaborative personal computing environments for students and teachers, with emerging Web 2.0 development tools.
We created projects that involved social bookmarking and other classroom applications and discovered how to build an infrastructure for continual professional development
Our goal was to increase the awareness of educators with regard to Web 2.0 options and successful uses in classrooms in the U.S. as well as other countries.

Next POST…on to Nebraska

Eyes Closed Tight

2008-01-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Gordon Freedman recently published an article in e-school News- He asked the question:
Why is it that educators who wouldn't dream of buying their airline tickets or banking anyplace but online have not been able to transform education with technology?

I just completed a 21st Century Skills Presentation at FETC in Orlando. What a great group that attended. They were energized, enthusiastic and listened with open ears and hearts. There were so many e-mail with questions, praise and challenges , it charges my batteries even more and provides additional passion for me to "Change The World".

So......back the Mr Freedman's question... Why is it that we have only changed about 5 % of our classrooms to integrate 21st Century Skills.....TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

The New Adverture...The Last Lecture

2007-12-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Durango 9-R C.I.O. ends run at school district

DiBlasi winds up 14 year stint

After 14 years in Information Technology Management, Howie DiBlasi will leave Durango on Jan 15, 2007 to go traveling. And when he says traveling he means traveling. He has applied for a 3 month volunteer program in Italy, teaching college students on the Cruise Ship, Semester At Sea College program, enrolling in Siena , Italy Language School, spreading the word at seminars about 21^st Century Learning Tools for Schools, providing consulting on 21^st Century Workshops with Alan November and November Learning and try to complete 17 other items he has on his list.

DiBlasi’s successor is James Torres, who is the current e-learning coordinator for the school district. Torres brings extensive technology, education and leadership skills from the Albuquerque School District and Lorinix Systems. Torres will begin his new position Feb 1, 2008.

An avid outdoorsman who loves motorcycling, hiking, photography, skiing and travel to exotic locations, DiBlasi has dedicated himself professionally to the areas of , Education and Information Technology.

DiBlasi started work as a teacher in the area of Industrial Education in Florida. He moved to Michigan as a Vocational Education Teacher and then on to Arizona to become the Director Of Vocational Education in Lake Havasu, Arizona. DiBlasi’s department was awarded a Arizona State award for the “Best In The West” as the “Best Vocational Education Department”.

Howie DiBlasi was recognized as “Vocational Teacher of the Year” for the State of Arizona and nominated as a finalist in the “Top Secondary Leaders in America”. He has been featured in several magazines as “A CIO that really thinks outside the box”.

The call of running his own computer business was so great that he left education and opened the first retail computer business in Lake Havasu, Arizona as an IBM and Apple dealer. After 10 years, “Building Empires” , as he describe it, it was time to move on.

His computer business was sold and off to retirement…that lasted for 6 months, while he tried to figure out what to do next. His wife kindly informed him to “Get a job and stop driving me crazy around the house.” After a quick search for a new job he landed in Durango as the Education Manager of a local computer store and spent most of his time on the road. Covering areas like Aspen, Vail, Wolf Creek, Telluride and Durango to service and maintain computers at the school districts was a ”Tough Job” as he stated…. “But, I always managed a few ski runs when I was in the area.”

In 1993 the Durango School District was advertising for a new Technology Director and a friend convinced him to apply. After a phone call accepting the position, he was on a mission to change the world. The school district had 73 computers in 1993 and most of them were Apple II’s with a floppy disk drive.

DiBlasi started building the “Durango Empire” with new file servers (42 today), networks at every school, Internet connection to every classroom, high speed connections to all schools, Interactive Video Conferencing at all 10 schools, Voice Over IP phone system district wide, 911 caller ID in every classroom , and so many other technology upgrades, it would take several pages to list all of the changes.

Howie serves as a state board member to C.A.L.E.T. (Colorado Association of Leaders in Educational Technology), President Elect and Communications director for I.S.T.E –Interactive Video Conferencing Special Interest Group. He is known as a highly energetic, compassionate and approachable speaker. He is a trainer that blends humor, applicable stories of best practice and high levels of audience involvement. Over the past fifteen years, he has presented programs, courses and Keynotes to thousands of administrators, teachers, technology specialists and professionals around the country. He has been married to his wife Joan for 42 years, has two children and four grandchildren and will move to Georgetown, Texas. in January of 2008.

DiBlasi stated that he will begin working with Internationally known 21^st Century Learning advocate “Alan November” in January and deliver 21^st Century Digital Skills Workshops across the country.

His parting words were: “I guess I am crazy enough to think I can change the world and hope I have a small impact on what we do as educators,” DiBlasi said.

Running the last leg of the race…

2007-12-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Running the last leg of the race…

I will be turning over the baton and passing it on to James Torres in the next 30 days. The selection committee made the correct choice in selecting James from a candidate pool of representatives that were all very well qualified. James brings with him a wealth of experience in the education field and the business world. It will be a great experience to watch him lead the department as we move forward in the 21^st Century.

Joan and I have sold our house in Durango and are building a new one in Austin Texas…Why???..well it is much easier to do my new adventure out of the Austin Airport that will require travel around the country.… but the real reason is a granddaughter named Ava, (age 1) and a grandson named Brock, (age 3).

I am sending this now, via my Blog and e-mail because I will be doing a Keynote in Nebraska on the eve of the retirement dinner for the retiring staff next April. I will be here for part of January training James for his “New Adventure”

In closing, I am thankful for everyone of you that I have know for the past 14 years…you have made this the BEST job I have ever had. Your support and kind words over the years is very much appreciated. It is my hope that I have made a small impact on you and the Durango School District.

I will miss you all… God bless you…everyone..

I am Leaving Durango, “ To change The World…. One Teacher At A Time”….

My new e-mail is howie@frontier.net

My new WebPage is: www.toolsfortheclassroom.com

IF YOU WANT CHANGE …BE THE CHANGE

2007-12-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

IF YOU WANT CHANGE …

BE THE CHANGE

As to my future, a BIG new world is opening before me….I have been so blessed over the past 6 months for the new opportunities.. It began with a few phone calls and e-mails to request presentations and workshops at other school districts in my free time away from Durango. In July the floodgates opened. I was invited to present at the Building Learning Communities Conference directed by Alan November. If you do not know who Alan is, check out his Web Page at:

http://www.novemberlearning.com/ He is one of the most influential leaders in the country and the world, for 21^st Century Classrooms and Building Learning Communities. What an opportunity to visit and work with Alan during the week. You can read about the details of that conference and my involvement at : A day at M.I.T with Mitchel Resnick: (link is below)

http://tools fortheclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/07/part-3-day-at-mit-with-mitchel-resnick.html

The next thing I know I am doing Keynotes and Feature Presentation around the country in August, September, October and November. As many of you know my passion is to the share the gospel of 21^st Century Learning and to “Change the World….One Teacher At A Time.” Then I receive a phone call from Alan asking me to work as a consultant for November Learning. I was lying on the floor from disbelief, as he provided the framework of what would happen after my retirement. As I stammered and stuttered and said yes, the reality of it all hit me after I hung up the phone.

Another opportunity opened this past summer in the Center School District with Superintendent George Welch. It would take 3 pages to tell you about that exciting adventure. In a nutshell Center has a population of 1,500 , free and reduced of 86 per cent and a Hispanic population of 81 per cent. George with his school board has led the district thought 1 (one) year of McRel training (http://www.mcrel.org/topics/topics/Instruction/products/19/ and a one to one computer initiative so that all high school students have their own computer, personal computers for all of the teaching staff and providing his teachers in a series of 24 workshops on 21^st Century Classroom Skills that I provided this fall. We specifically designed the workshops for 21^st Century skills that the staff could take back to the classroom and implement the next day of school.

….Guess what happened…CSAP scores are going up…they make AYP for the first time…NCLB requirement are being fulfilled…..all because of a Superintendent that gets it. He and his board have made 21^st Century Skills a priority in their district and provided the funds to make it a priority…..George is a real supporter of 21^st Century Skills. It has been an honor to instruct his teachers and bring that district into the 21^st Century.

Durango could take a lesson from George…as I stated above if there is one shortcoming that I have it is not having the district as a whole support 21^st Century Skills for our Teachers. Other items have been a priority and it is my hope, this will change with the new Superintendent.

I think the best way to close is with a document that I send to anyone that requests the "Did You Know" PowerPoint. It is amazing what has happened with this video...There have been over 100,000 views on YouTube, traveled to China, Norway , many eastern Europe countries , India and thousands of school districts in the U.S. The"Did You Know 4" was released at a Keynote ,I recently did in Dallas , Texas.

Is My Life An Obligation or An Opportunity^1.?

When my phone rings in my office, I respond to each call as an opportunity to serve, earn, learn, influence, network, encourage or teach. A sign on my desk reads “ Obligation or Opportunity.” The people who change the world around them –rarely act from a sense of obligation….they almost always act from a sense of incredible opportunity. They interact with the world around them because they want to, not because they have to. Those who lead effectively view the circumstances around them as opportunities not obligations.

Genuine, authentic leadership infuses meaning into your life, because you know that your efforts count and that you are serving the needs of others as well as your own. You can help, influence and inspire those around you.²

In August of 2006 Karl Fisch shared a Power Point with me about our changing world and the impact of the “New Global Economy”. I then read the Thomas Friedman book, “The World Is Flat”. I then came across an old 1986 commercial called “Think Different”. For me that week was life changing. All the pieces came together on changing the way we teach our “Digital Natives” in the classroom. The commercial content included snapshots of people who changed the world and the concluding statement was….”People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”. You can download or view the commercial on my web site at the following address: http://www.toolsfortheclassroom.com/page7.html

You can download the “Did You Know 4” along with the mp3 music file that goes with the presentation by clicking on the link below. There have been over 105,000 views on YouTube, presentations at 10 conferences and over 2,000 attendees that have carried the message back to their school district. The intent is for you to show the PowerPoint and start on a journey of teaching our “Digital Kid” differently. Have a discussion with your peers, administrators, and school board members and help “Change The World, one teacher at a time.”

Download the PowerPoint or Windows Media Video here:

http://www.toolsfortheclassroom.com/page12.html

Mark Sandborn said it best, “ People who take an active leadership role in their lives tend to be good thinkers…Great leaders tend to be GREAT THINKERS”.

Enjoy…..

“If You Want Change…Be The Change.”

Howie DiBlasi, Ph.D.

C.I.O. ( Chief Information Officer)

Durango School District 9-R

201 E 12 St.

Durango Colorado, 81301

970-247-5411 ex 1451

^{1 & 2}…Content paraphrased from “The Fred Factor”; “You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader”; “The World According To Mister Rodgers”.

LOOKING BACK…..

2007-12-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

The school year began in August with a message to our Durango Administrators on 18 Ways to Change the World LINK HERE and ideas for implementing 21^st Century Learning in their individual schools. Since my time is short and I will finish my 14 years with the Durango School District in December…I feel an urgent rush to share the message to implement what I preach in my own district. There are several changes going on over the next 6 months and it will make change difficult. After my announcement of retirement our Superintendent, Mary Barter announced that she will also retire. She has been an excellent supporter of implementing Technology in our district over the past 9 years.

Diane Doney, the Finance Business Manager has left to be the new Business Manager for the Douglas County School District. Diane was my greatest supporter and any crazy idea I had for changing the classroom for the 21st Century skills, she would listen to the project information, ask questions, challenge me back, find a way to do it financially and assist in the implementation of the program. Durango lost a fantastic asset when she left. Over the past 14 years we have made huge improvements in Educational Technology, Information Literacy and 21^st Century skill implementation.

Over the past 14 years we have observed many significant changes in our district because of our Staff Development coordinators JoAnne Hibbard and Bonna Steinle. Bonna and I worked for the first 8 years and really broke ground in the area of Technology Staff development. This was back in 1996 – 2003… beginning with the Internet using Pine and all text based products on Apple II’s and the first IBM PC and the World Wide Web was developing.

We found early adopters and supporters of technology and offered FREE classes for the staff. We would provide a little food and a free class and it was amazing to look back on the results. Those early adopters would start using the new technology and then other teachers started asking what it was about and the group would grow. Bonna and I were on the cutting edge for several years teaching the new technology skills. She is now retired and living in, Mesa Arizona. I had no idea how important those early days would shape my future and the future of the Durango School District.

JoAnne Hibbard stepped in to fill Bonna’s shoes as we were writing our ET/IL (Educational Technology and Information Literacy) plan. http://web9r.durango.k12.co.us/grants/powered/kinder/Science_Healthy_heart_K.pdf The goal of the plan was to specify standards and ends to provide training and development to all staff and assist them in becoming proficient in Technology competencies and implementation. Our Durango plan was selected as a model for the state of Colorado and is the reason we have 100 percent proficiency for all of out 389 Teachers. JoAnne and I have continued to provide Technology Staff Development to our staff over the past 5 years and we have observed significant change in the classroom using Visual Literacy, Podcasting and Blogs. Our Technology Web Page has many samples for you observe and listen to.

http://web9r.durango.k12.co.us/conf/

Another significant success marker is our Media Specialists at our 10 Schools. They have been the connection for me to each school. They NEVER say no…..Our Technicians provide the training to assist them the basics of trouble shooting the technology equipment. Their dedication is such that I have arrived at their schools to find a lady in proper school attire – (i.e. dress and blouse) on the floor under a desk tracing the wire to find out why a computer would not start correctly. Every one of them go above an beyond the call… Thanks you to:

Janet Oliver, Sue Mooney, Ann Ruetschle, Mary Kay Oneil, Cindy Tucson, Marilyn Zion, Trish Kilpatric, Danna Neilson, Suzanne Wickman, – Michelle Brown – and Steve Powell.

Over the past 14 years there is so much history, including many Superintendents, including Walt Jackson who originally hired me, Harvey Guest, Gene Young (can I tell you stories about this piece of history), Joel Jones – (Interim) and Mary Barter. There have been many other Directors and Principals including many that were “run out of town” to those who should have been run out of town. As they say, the cream rises to the top as I remember; Walt Jackson, Dennis Simpson, Dan Patterson, Rich Yeager, John Welcher, Bonna Steinle, Judy Michalski, Kathy Deaderick, Pete Harter, Marci Dennahm, Judy Wilke, Nyla Gruver, Gene Giddings, Norm Higgans, Jean Thweat, Amy Kindorski, Brian Hester, Marc Cooper, John Cordalis, Kristy Rodri, Darlene Wylie and so many others that names do not all come to mind. I am sorry but it would take 10 pages to list everyone; that names above flash back to times remembered for things that had an impact on me.

The are only 2 incidents that are negative in the 14 years—you will have to ask me personally to re-visit the 2 individuals….one involved a situation with a former HR director and another with a former Superintendent…do any of you remember the vote of no confidence back in 97 for 2 administrators…that is another story to visit someday….

If I have one regret, it is not bringing about systemic change to the district for 21^st Century Learning and 21^st Century Skills for the District. My hope is that when I come back to visit in the next few years, I would see a shift in priorities and the emphasis on 21^st Century Skills…..If you want to read an excellent article :

http://www.wvexecutive.com/featured/summer07/21st-century-education/

If you want to know what 21^st Century Learning is all about:

http://www.21learn.org/

and what are the skills…..?

http://www.ncrel.org/engauge/skills/skills.htm

Re-charged- and saying goodbye….

2007-12-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

I am in Colorado Springs presenting to the Colorado Association of School Boards. The first four months of school are a blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. David Warlick just finished his Keynote to over 2,000 school board members and he really charged me up. I had the privilege of meeting David after his Keynote and discuss our views on 21^st Century Classroom Skills and Implementation. More on that discussion later on the blog…. http://toolsfortheclassroom.blogspot.com/

…… David’s message is the reason I am back on the blog and bringing you up to date.

As many of you know I will be retiring on December 31, 2007. First a little background in my tenure in Durango…

In 1994, I began as the Information Technology Director and the department consisted of one person …me. The district had one file server and 42 Apple IIe computers, 14 Macs and 15 IBM PC’s. A total of 71 computers for the district. The Internet use was just beginning and a district wide network for connecting all 10 schools was a figment of our imagination. Fast forward 14 years with 42 File Servers, 2,018 computers, Internet connection to every classroom, Fiber connection for the District office to the middle and high school, Interactive Video Conferencing at all schools, VoIP phones, direct dial to all classrooms, 9-1-1, ID to all classrooms, Blogs, Wiki’s, Podcasting and Visual Literacy in our schools and it all makes my head spin.

Today, our department consists of a staff of 10 and 2 College Interns. These individuals are the most dedicated employees I have ever been involved with. They are all serving in the District to be of service and support for all 678 staff members and all of the 5,000 students. These individuals are the heart and soul of this department and the district.

Last week in our weekly staff meeting, I shared how much I would miss each of them and how much I was going to miss the daily interaction of my staff and all of the individuals that work in the district. I was attempting to be the big macho Information Technology Director and not show any emotion….but in the middle of the thank you… I lost it… I felt the tears welling up in my eyes…my mouth going dry…my heart starting to race…..and it hit me…. how much my involvement in the Durango School District in so imbedded in my everyday life and a part of my heart and soul….. I am really going to miss this place.....all I could do is say, “Thank You” to all of them and go in my office, close the door and let my emotion out….it took me 20 minuets to compose myself and wipe the tears from my eyes….

My deepest heartfelt thanks go to, Roger Dodd, Parker Jardine, Brain Schoff, Chris Lake, Ramon Milanez, James Torres, William Schutt, Joe Green, Kimball Hutchins, Aaron Farrington , and Angel Hawkey for make the department the best in the state of Colorado the shining star of the Durango School District.

Janet Oliver, Sue Mooney, Ann Ruetschle, Mary Kay Oneil, Cindy Tucson, Marilyn Zion, Trish Kilpatric, Danna Neilson, Suzanne Wickman, – Michelle Brown – and Steve Powell.

Over the past 14 years there is so much history, including many Superintendents, including Walt Jackson who originally hired me, Harvey Guest, Gene Young (can I tell you stories about this piece of history), Joel Jones – (Interim) and Mary Barter. There have been many other Directors and Principals including many that were “run out of town” to those who should have been run out of town. As they say, the cream rises to the top as I remember; Walt Jackson, Dennis Simpson, Dan Patterson, Rich Yeager, John Welcher, Bonna Steinle, Kathy Deaderick, Pete Harter, Marci Dennahm, Judy Wilke, Nyla Gruver, Gene Giddings, Norm Higgans, Jean Thweat, Amy Kindorski, Brian Hester, Marc Cooper, John Cordalis, Kristy Rodri, Darlene Wylie and so many others that names do not all come to mind. I am sorry but it would take 10 pages to list everyone; that names above flash back to times remembered for things that had an impact on me.

Who IsThis Guy?

2007-07-24T19:30:00.000-06:00

Dr. Howie DiBlasi
Durango , Colorado
Tools For The Classroom

www.toolsfortheclassroom.com

Known as the "Did You Know II" guy.

See it on YOUTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65wE6yFYgP8

Part 3: A day at M.I.T with Mitchel Resnick

2007-07-24T13:06:00.000-06:00

Part 3:

A day at M.I.T with Mitchel Resnick:

Building Learning Communities/Alan November Conference 2007:

The day began at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) with Mitchel Resnick , director of the Lifelong Kindergarten Project. Mitchel believes that we should be helping children grow up as creative thinkers. He stated “Our ultimate goal is a world full of playfully creative people who are constantly inventing new opportunities for themselves and their communities.”

The Lifelong Kindergarten group is fortunate to be located within the MIT Media Lab, a hotbed of creative activity. In one corner of the Media Lab, students are designing new musical instruments. In another corner, students are designing new social-networking software. This type of activity makes the Media Lab not just a good research lab, but a GREAT place for learning, since people learn a great deal when they are actively engaged in designing, creating, and inventing things.

Unfortunately, most children don't get the opportunity to engage in these types of creative activities. In school, they learn specific facts and skills, but rarely get the opportunity to design things -- or to learn about the process of designing things. Outside school, they interact with electronic toys and games, but they don't learn how to invent or create new ones.

In the Lifelong Kindergarten Group, they are trying to change that. They believe that it is critically important for all children, from all backgrounds, to grow up knowing how to design, create, and express themselves. They are inspired by the ways children learn in kindergarten: when they create pictures with finger paint, they learn how colors mix together; when they create castles with wooden blocks, they learn about structures and stability. They are extending this kindergarten style of learning, so that learners of all ages continue to learn through a process of designing, creating, experimenting, and exploring.

After Mitchel’s introduction of the “Lifelong Kindergarten Project” philosophy, he introduced us to “Scratch” and “Cricket”. We were all given a project to explore as an individual or as a small group of 2 or 3.

It is hard to describe the experience. I was allowed freely to follow a process as I did as a 5 year old. First “ Imagine” – thinking what I wanted to do, then “Create”- build my project, “Play” -with my project, “Share”- my experience with others, and then “Reflect” -on what I had learned, mistakes I made, changes I could make etc. Then I started the process all over again.

Quite a revolution in learning: - allowing me to make mistakes, reflect and then try it again. Imagine the possibilities if we start to “Think Different” in our teaching methods, move the student center stage, and remove the teacher from the center of the stage.

After the first session, I wandered around the “Lab”. Mass chaos; it appeared to be very disorganized and an office that had piles of clutter. (See photo) BUT..what a creative environment. Real learning going on with graduate students all working on projects, asking questions, exploring, sharing , creating and then reflecting on what they did.

After lunch I had the opportunity to visit with Mitchel about 21^st Century Learning and the model he uses. We had a great discussion about his vision, current and future projects. I was provided this opportunity because I decided to direct my own learning and attend the workshop. I know Mitchel enjoyed providing the workshop to our group….but I am the one who reaped exponential benefits as a learner and obtained many new ideas to bring back to our Durango School District. What an incredible opportunity for this “Durango Country Boy”.

As my mind is racing during this process, I realize my heart is pounding……I am really excited about the new process of learning experience that I had just participated it. Mitchel is really on to something here. What a shift and change in thinking about learning styles. How would we do this in a school? We really have our work cut out for us!

Part 4 of 5 – next week

Part 2: Comments and quotes from the Building Learning Communities/Alan November Conference 2007

2007-07-24T12:51:00.001-06:00

Part 2: Comments and quotes from the Building Learning Communities/Alan November Conference 2007:

Leadership is being:
Accountable
Dependable
Predictable
Passionate
Empowered
Engaged

Students should take ownership of their own learning

It has nothing to do with all the Technology stuff you have—it has everything to do with what you do with it…

I think we should require EVERY principal to have and write a Blog- communicate with the community, staff and students.

Tell me what make a good teacher?

Kids are digitally juiced

Kids who use Wikis do better school work

My staff is a reflection of me

Can we shift control to the kids?

If you spend a lot of money on the Technology stuff for a pointless purpose; it is a waste of money

It’s not about Technology and connectivity; it’s about the contributions we can make as students and educators.

Our schools today only skate the surface..they do not use the full power of the Internet.

I do not need a physical classroom anymore.

How does this change the way I learn?

When our kids walk into the classroom of today—we cut them off from social connection and communication.

Every class offered at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). is on-line: With 1,550 courses published as of November 1, 2006

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/courses/courses/index.htm

http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Audio and Video Guide: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Global/OCWHelp/avocw.htm

I.B.M. has over 400,000 employees that have social web pages.

What are we going to do with these disruptive Technologies?

If you as teachers are not doing it, someone else will.

Every classroom should be connected to a nursing home or assisted living area.

Learn to know how to honor the wisdom of a senior citizen.

Be watchful of what could be wrong; but be a model of what can be right.

We all need to be in the learning business not the school business.

We are at the beginning of a revolution with these new technologies; i.e. Blogs, Wikis, PodCasts, Visual Literacy, Interactive Video Conferencing and Digital Story telling.

The role of a teacher is to expand the boundary of communication.

Tools For Creative Thinking: Most of the educational systems around the world have not changed to support creative thinking.

The Creative Process should be like kindergarten and applied at K-12:

Imagine

Create

Play

Reflect

Repeat the process:

Teachers need to get out of school – they all should have the opportunity to be involved in an internship with a business during the summer.

Give kids “Real Work” and “Real Problems”

Feel the fear – and do it anyway.

Why do our classroom have fixed walls?

Part 1: BLC – Building Learning Communities Conference: July, 2007:

2007-07-21T19:18:00.000-06:00

Part 1: BLC – Building Learning Communities Conference: July, 2007

After thoughts and reflections:

My head hurts and my brain is on triple overload. I am tired, exhausted, excited, inspired, challenged and have so many new ideas, I do not know where to start.

Over the past 6 months I have been doing a lot of reflection and self-examination as I prepare for my retirement in December of 2007.

I believe I am where I am today as the I.T. Director because I am a visionary for Technology and an instrument for change. I challenge my staff, help them advance, challenge their thinking and train them for success. I provide Technology Staff development to our Durango teachers and challenge each of them to think different and implement change in teaching methods in the classrooms.

Six months ago I was provided the opportunity to present and attend the Alan November: Building Learning Communities Conference, in July of 2007.

Alan makes my brain hurt; he challenges me, expands my thinking, provided new ideas, stretches the boundaries of 21^st Century Learning and provides me the opportunity to “Think Different”. Those of you that know of me or my work know that I begin all my presentations with the “Think Different Video”. I always share my closing comment with “ I am crazy enough to think I can change the way teachers teach- one teacher at a time.” Some of you may know me for the “Did You Know II and III” video that I remixed and re-edited for YouTube. It has had over 65, 000 views and continues to inspire and challenge individuals. It was absolutely amazing, while at the conference, to meet people that use the video to get the change process started around the world. What an honor to have Alan November, tell me that he has used it in his presentations. His expression was priceless “ You’re the guy?—You are the GUY !!! The presentation is brilliant.” I am so humbled that someone like Alan would say such kind words…..

Then 30 minuets later, to find Shuchi Grover, Educational Technology Consultant, Bangalore, India, sitting behind me, and have her share how she uses the “Did You Know II” video to start the change process in the 21^st Century Education process in India. It was like meeting an old friend. We spent the next 2 hours sharing and then I attended her presentation “ Building Online Communities of Educators: Experiences from India. It really is a flat world!!!!

After day one of attending the BLC conference I felt like a truck had hit me…..my whole body ached. Imagine spending 5 days with 10 of the premier Educational Technology Advocates and leaders for 21^st Century Learning in the same room with you…. listening to their presentations, attending a workshop with them, being provided the opportunity to discusses with them your visions for the 21^st Century Learner and interact with them. These individuals traveled from around the world; China, India, Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Australia, Africa and the 50 states.

Alan November knows how to produce a 5 day conference. You do not present at his conference unless he knows you and thinks you offer a challenging 21^st Century Skills related presentation and you will excite participants. You must have a passion for what you do and be able to transfer that excitement to attendees at the conference.

Session were divided into 4 different strands:

Critical Thinking and Information Literacy
Online Community Building
Leadership and Managing Change
Transforming and Designing New Schools

A short list of presenters included Alan November, Mitchel Resnick (MIT researcher), Will Richardson ( Blogs, Podcasts and Wikis book), Mark Prensky ( Digital Kids- Digital Immigrants book), Bob Sprankle ( Room 206 Podcasts with 3^rd graders), Shuchi Grover, (Educational Technology Consultant, Bangalore, India), Marco Torres, (Teacher, Creative Director, Media Coach, Sylmar, CA ) , Dr. Yong Zhao , (Distinguished Professor from US-China Center for Research), Professor Angela McFarlane, Professor in Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. ,Soyki India ( ) and Dr. Tim Tyson, (Principal of the Year, Mabry Middle School, Cobb County Public Schools, Marietta, GA.) , and of course Howie DiBlasi – Tools For The 21^st Century advocate…. Of course I am not in the same league as any of the above, but what a privilege it was to be able to listen to all of them and then interact on a one to one level. My desire is to polish my skills and learn from the masters like Alan and to someday be included in their company.

Individuals, keynotes and session are listed below:

Tools For Creative Thinking

Dr. Mitchel Resnick, Associate Professor at the MIT Media Laboratory, Cambridge, MA

Moving from Personal Knowledge to Global Contribution

Dr. Tim Tyson, Principal, Mabry Middle School, Cobb County Public Schools, Marietta, GA

Online Communities of Learning: Lessons from the Worlds of Games and Play

Professor Angela McFarlane, Professor in Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

Digital Citizenship in a Global Economy: The Internet Revolution and Its Implications for Education

Dr. Yong Zhao, University Distinguished Professor, Director, Center for Teaching and Technology Director, US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence, College of Education, Michigan State University

A Web of Connections: Using Blogs, Wikis, RSS and Other Cool Tools to Connect and Learn - Will Richardson, Author, Chief Learning Officer, Connective Learning, Flemington, NJ

Leadership Applied: Building Powerful Learning Communities - Dr. Tim Tyson, Principal, Mabry Middle School, Cobb County Public Schools, Marietta, GA

Building Learning Communities: Putting It All Together - Alan November and the November Learning Team - (Chris Turek, Brian Mull, Lainie McGann)

Turning Classrooms into Learning Studios: Lights, Camera, Learn! - Marco Torres, Teacher, Creative Director, Media Coach, Sylmar, CA

Professor John Anderson, Education Associate, Northern Ireland Regional Training Unit, Northern Ireland

E-Schooling: Global Messages from a Small Island

Bill Bierdon, Adjunct Professor, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN (Session sponsored by Atomic Learning)

Making Content Delivery through CMS Systems or Web Pages Easier Using Just-in-time Learning

Donelle Blubaugh, Director, PreK-12 Education, PBS, Washington, DC

Melinda George, Sr. Director, PBS TeacherLine, PBS, Washington, DC

Rob Lippincott, Sr. Vice President, Education, PBS, Washington, DC

Calling All Tech-Savvy Science Teachers

Are You a PBS Teacher?

Tom Daccord, Academic Technology Advocate for the Humanities, Noble and Greenough School, Chestnut Hil, MA

Empowering Community and Enhancing Creativity in the Classroom

Tim DiScipio, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, ePals, Westport, CT

Using Collaborative Classroom Communities and Tools to Impact Literacy and Learning

Cyndy Everest, Training and Development Manager, Apple Inc., Las Vegas, NV; Lester Ray, Ontological Engineer, Apple Inc., Monmouth Jct, NJ

Podagogical Perspectives

Multi-Dimensional Digital StoryTelling

Lauren Fee, Instructional Technology Consultant, Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio, Inc., Columbus, OH

Leveraging Technology to Differentiate Instruction

Communities of Practice and Web 2.0 Tools: Finding, Organizing and Sharing

Shuchi Grover, Educational Technology Consultant, Bangalore, India

Building Online Communities of Educators: Experiences from India

Dr. Sara Kajder, Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Telling Our Stories: Digital Storytelling across Content Areas

Bringing the Outside In: Effective Ways to Engage Reluctant Readers

Real Reasons to Write: Working with Authentic Tools and Authentic Audiences

Dr. Don Knezek, CEO, ISTE, Washington, DC

Refreshed NETS•S

Beverly Knox-Pipes, Assistant Superintendent for Technology, Genesee Intermediate School District; Executive Director, Genesee Network for Educational Telecommunication (GenNET), Flint, MI

Bridging the Gap to Online Learning in Michigan: A New Requirement

Keith Krueger, CEO, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), Washington, DC

Reinventing Technology in K-12 Education to Make a Difference

Darren Kuropatwa, Department Head Mathematics, Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute, Winnipeg, MB

Thinking About Innovation in Education or Learning the Guitar

New Tools, New Pedagogies: What Can I Do Now That I Couldn't Do Before?

New Tools, New Pedagogies: Developing Expert Voices

Dr. Bobbi Kurshan, Executive Director, Curriki - Global Education and Learning Community, Washington, DC

Opening Up Education in a Wicky World

Christian Long, President & CEO, DesignShare, Fort Worth, TX; Chris Lehmann, Principal, Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia, PA

Designing High School 2.0: Philadelphia's Science Leadership Academy Case Study

Designing for the Future of Learning: Global School Design Trends

Sonny Magaña, Teaching and Learning Coordinator, Promethean, Inc., Atlanta, GA

21st Century Learning Environments

Bette Manchester, Director of Special Projects, Maine Learning Technology Initiative, Augusta, ME; Barbara Greenstone, Staff Developer, MLTI, Augusta, ME

Leadership and Sustainability: The Maine Journey

Lainie McGann, Consultant and Trainer, November Learning, Newport Beach, CA
Blogging? It's Elementary!

Social Bookmarking: It’s About Information, Collaboration and Communication

Ewan McIntosh, New Technologies Research Practitioner, Learning and Teaching Scotland, Glasgow, UK

Reel Celtic Connections: Blogging for 5 Million Years

“We’re Adopting:” An Adoption Strategy for Social Software in Education

Is Your Public Body Public?

Walter McKenzie, Professional Development Specialist & Educational Consultant, Surfaquarium Consulting, Amesbury, MA

Multiple Intelligences and Instructional Technology

Margaret Meijers, Teacher and ICT Curriculum Coordinator, New Town High School, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Games: A Gateway to Becoming an Inclusive Learning Community

Brian Mull, Director of Research and Content Development, November Learning, New Orleans, LA

Web Ethics and Safety

The Hype About Skype

Alan November, Senior Partner, November Learning, Marblehead, MA

Teaching Zack Webliteracy

Leadership: Managing the Transition

Smart School Design and Re-engineering

Building Learning Communities

Bob Pearlman, Director of Strategic Planning, New Technology Foundation, Tucson, AZ

Designing Secondary Schools of the Future

Getting and Assessing 21st Century Knowledge and Skills

Marc Prensky, Speaker, Writer, Consultant, Learning Game Designer, New York, NY

The True 21st Century Literacy is Programming: What we should be teaching our kids, and how to do it

The Death of the Classroom and the Rebirth of Learning in the 21st Century: How technology changes the meaning of teaching

The Rules of Engagement: Turning on the Lights

Dr. Mitchel Resnick, Associate Professor at the MIT Media Laboratory, Cambridge, MA

Fostering Creative Thinking in the Classroom

Dr. Dave Richards, Global Director, Partner Engagement, Oracle Education Foundation, Reston, VA

ThinkQuest: How Collaborative Learning Develops 21st Century Skills

Will Richardson, Author, Chief Learning Officer, Connective Learning, Flemington, NJ

New Internet Literacies for Educators

RSS* The New Killer App for Educators

Connective Learning: Reading and Writing in a Web Connected World

Bob Sprankle, Technology Integrator, Wells Elementary School, Wells, ME

Podcasting with Purpose

**Listen to our podcast with Bob Sprankle

Carolyn Staudt, Curriculum Developer/Professional Devel't, The Concord Consortium/ KidSolve, Inc., Concord, MA

Universal Design for Learning in Science

Do It Yourself Science Collaboration

Marco Torres, Teacher, Creative Director, Media Coach, Sylmar, CA

Lights, Camera, Learn: Movie-Making Made Simple and Fun!

Chris Turek, Education Consultant, November Learning, Houston, TX

The Wonderful World of Wikis

Best in Show: Empowering Students with Open Source Tools

Dr. Tim Tyson, Principal, Mabry Middle School Cobb County Public Schools, Marietta, GA

The Blogging School

All Things Podcasting

Joyce Valenza, Librarian, Springfield Township HS Library, Erdenheim, PA

Web 2.0 Meets Information Fluency: Designing Projects for 21st Century Learners

School Library Websites: State of the Art Information Landscapes for 21st Century Learners

Jim Wenzloff, Interactive Media Consultant, Macomb ISD & Chris Burnett, Language Arts Teacher, Mount Clemens Community Schools, MI

Using Technology to Meet Language Arts Standards

Is My Life An Obligation or An Opportunity ?

2007-06-22T16:51:00.000-06:00

When my phone rings in my office, I respond to each call as an opportunity to serve, earn, learn, influence, network, encourage or teach. A sign above my desk reads “ Obligation or Opportunity.” The people who change the world around them –rarely act from a sense of obligation….they almost always act from a sense of incredible opportunity. They interact with the world around them because they want to, not because they have to. Those who lead effectively view the circumstances around them as opportunities not obligations.

Genuine, authentic leadership infuses meaning into your life, because you know that your efforts count and that you are serving the needs of others as well as your own. You can help, influence and inspire those around you.2

In August of 2006 Karl Fisch shared a Power Point with me about our changing world and the impact of the “New Global Economy”. I then read the Thomas Friedman book, “The World Is Flat”. I then came across an old 1986 commercial called “Think Different”. For me that week was life changing. All the pieces came together on changing the way we teach our “Digital Natives” in the classroom. The commercial content included snapshots of people who changed the world and the concluding statement was….”People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”. You can download or view the commercial on my web site at the following address: http://www.toolsfortheclassroom.com/page7.html

I have included the “Did You Know III” file in the attachment. If you can not receive the attachments the file is on my web page : "Tools For The Classroom" web site: www.toolsfortheclassroom.com

There have been over 50,000 views on YouTube, presentations at 10 conferences and over 2,000 attendees that have carried the message back to their school district. The intent is for you to show the PowerPoint and start on a journey of teaching our “Digital Kids” differently. Have a discussion with your peers, administrators, and school board members and help “Change The World, one teacher at a time.”

Mark Sandborn said it best, “ People who take an active leadership role in their lives tend to be good thinkers…Great leaders tend to be GREAT THINKERS”.

Enjoy…..

“Good Enough Never Is”

Howie

1 & 2…Content paraphrased from “The Fred Factor”; “You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader”; “The World According To Mister Rodgers”.

Tools For The Classroom-Welcome

2007-05-14T13:39:00.000-06:00

Howie DiBlasi

Called "The Emerging Technology Evangelist” a Durango, Colorado resident is currently the C.I.O. (Chief Information Officer) for the Durango School District. Howie has been recognized as “Vocational Teacher of the Year” for the State of Arizona and was nominated as a finalist in the “Top Secondary Leaders in America”. He has been featured in several magazines as “ A CIO that really thinks outside the box”.

A recent comment at the Texas Distance Learning Conference was “ I have not heard someone think that far out of the box in years.”

His recent presentations and sessions have been to standing room only in Florida, California, Colorado and Texas. His passion is 21st Century Learning and he describes himself as a “Zelot” (a person who shows zeal or fanatic).

An expert in his field, Howie conducts interactive seminars on 21st Century Learning, Visual Literacy, Digital Interactive Learning and “Making Show-N-Tell Cool”. Howie’s programs are fun, educational, high energy and full of practical, take-home value. He has presented at over fifty (50) Technology conferences and is a recognized leader in 21st Century Learning and Digital Literacy. His professional focus has been in the fields of 21st Century Learning and Digital Literacy.

As an experienced classroom teacher for 20 years, 10 years as a computer business owner, and 15 years as a C.I.O., he brings the understanding of the business and the educational worlds together.

Howie serves as a state board member to C.A.L.E.T. (Colorado Association of Leaders in Educational Technology), Communications director for the I.S.T.E –Interactive Video Conferencing Special Interest Group and the President Elect for the I.S.T.E –Interactive Video Conferencing Special Interest Group. Howie is known as a highly energetic, compassionate and approachable speaker. He is a trainer that blends humor, applicable stories of best practice and high levels of audience involvement. Over the past fifteen years, he has presented programs, courses and speeches to thousands of administrators, teachers, technology specialists and professionals around the country. He lives in Durango, Colorado, has been married to his wife Joan for 42 years and has two children and four grandchildren.

“I guess I am crazy enough to think I can change the world and hope I have a small impact on what we do as educators,” DiBlasi said.

DiBlasi will retire from the Durango School District in December of 2007. After retirement, he will travel and continue to spread the word as a consultant and active member of TxDLA when he and his wife, Joan, relocate to Georgetown, Texas.

ED. NOTE: Howie DiBlasi's contact information is:
Howie DiBlasi, Ph.D.
I.T. Director, Durango School District
970-247-5411 ex 1451
e-mail: hdiblasi@durango.k12.co.us
Web Address: http://web9r.durango.k12.co.us/