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November 2, 2007
I am getting asked a good bit these days how my learning communities are going. I would say they are going swimmingly well. My kids have embraced the new technlogies and are blogging and podcasting away! They have been more excited about coming to class than before, and sad when they leave. In this podcast I discuss how Audacity works now, but at the same time doesn’t. I also talk about the various Linux distros that I am using in the classroom. Enjoy, and as always please leave me comments and suggestions!
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Tags:
communities,
Episode,
Podcast,
state
November 2, 2007
This week I’ve noticed that everything seems to come back to our artificially created systems. If I’m waiting for a decision it’s because of poor information flow at some bottleneck in a hierarchy. If I’m not able to take action on an idea that would help many people it’s due to some artificial construct called a regulation or policy. No one is responsible; it’s the system. I feel blocked at every turn and I’m not alone. Mark Federman sums it up best with his thesis pitch:
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Tags:
living,
models,
working
November 2, 2007
MPS board approves 9% tax levy increaseMembers blame state government for Milwaukee schools' fiscal woesBy ALAN J. BORSUK
aborsuk@journalsentinel.comPosted: Nov. 2, 2007
Whether you call it 9% or 6.27% or 13%, it's less than 16.4%.
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November 2, 2007
School is winding down on what has been a very intense, productive and exhilirating year, one that I will not soon forget. And I’m feeling it in a number of ways, most decidedly by a pull to get back in touch with my kids again and spend more time playing than sitting in front of a computer. I really marvel at the people who can continuously carve out the necessary hours every day to write and comment and continue the discussion. And it is great discussion and thinking that’s moving at such a fast pace that it’s getting really hard to keep up with. I have learned a lot. But let’s face it, there are, many more important things out there than Web logs. And I think I need to take back some of that perspective.
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Tags:
Kids,
Playing,
With
November 2, 2007
Cathy Nelson has a marvelously interesting post today about her school/district’s restrictive new IT policy.
She writes (emphasis mine):
What did I say? I said, “This is not real-world. How am I going to teach students to be ready for the 21st century if normal computer standards like desktop icons and right click are not available?” Yes I distinctly remember putting voice to that comment. And only now do I realize how keenly the crowd that gathers in the library each morning listens to me. You see we have an 8th grade current events exploratory class. The class is creating a newsletter for students–target audience–> Read the rest of this entry »
Tags:
Cathy,
hearing,
Nelson,
slip,
Students
November 2, 2007
Donation to fund college program Group pledges $40 million for Wisconsin CovenantBy ERICA PEREZ
eperez@journalsentinel.comPosted: Nov. 1, 2007
A nonprofit Madison group has pledged $40 million to help fund the Wisconsin Covenant, an initiative that promises eighth-graders who do well in school a spot in college and financial help.
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November 2, 2007
Bill rethinks school funding Senator wants state aid to do more for poor districts; others prefer to stick with budgetBy AMY HETZNER
ahetzner@journalsentinel.comPosted: Nov. 1, 2007
A legislator wants to reverse a state budget provision approved last week that distributes $79.3 million through the state's school funding formula to the benefit of residents in wealthy communities.
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