The Caffeinated Carbivore

Our culture is based mainly on stories. Humans tell stories through vehicles, which can be characterized by: Face-to-face: personalized vocal inflection gesture/facial expression Written: can be personalized or mass produced written description pictures linear (open book, beginning, middle, end, close book), or can be interrupted (open book, beginning, sit on shelf for three weeks...). Visual: non-personal; mass produced vocal inflection gesture/facial expression pictures interrupted thought stream (commercials, banners, etc) We pass these stories down, re-telling them and re-structuring them to our cultures' needs, similar to our re-appropriation of words . The characters change, but usually their traits do not. The hero is brave, honest...the villain is manipulative. The "villain" even has certain physical traits that often carry across narratives. How do stories change when told as narratives or as textbook stories? Here's a great lesson plan . At large, our ...

The "Challenge yourself to blog" campaign has begun! What are the challenges? Learning how to use new gadgets, embedding code, making and editing videos...the list goes on! Besides fun, there are a lot of benefits: Students can 1. strengthen their blogging basics 2. widen their PLN 3. get creative ideas 4. meet other student/teacher bloggers 5. learn about new tools and gadgets 6. register your individual (not class) blog here ! Teachers can 1. submit ideas for challenge activities 2. connect students to an international bloggosphere 3. register your class' blog here First Challenge: One Day on Earth 10.10.10 Students all over the world film their 24 hour experiences. Let's see how different, or similar, we all are. Current global student commitments:

Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders Omphalophobia: The fear of Belly Buttons ...and the list goes on . Our culture creates and appropriates words to fit the current situation. We even re-name certain events or individuals as our culture sees fit. For example, a cel phone gets you in touch with your friends outside of class, but in class teachers call it a " mobile educational device " (if used for lessons, that is). Recently, American culture has developed a hypersensitivity to Islamic culture. In recent news, we've heard about unrest in Florida and the possibility of burning the Koran . What doesn't hit the daily news is that we are making assumptions about Islamic women in the workplace (yes, even us teachers!) The following is a scene from the film Arranged during an ice breaking session where Nasirah was asked by the headmistress to tell a little about herself Perhaps this is a reaction to our age-old Crusading history, or the more recent historical event of 9...

I talk a lot about where I hope to see #EdTech end up...but what about where it started? As any good history student knows, you gotta study the past to understand why you're at the present moment. This slide show by Mr. Farber's Room explains: A Brief History of Educational Technology View more presentations from randommind . Another important note about technology and teaching is re-appropriation. I love social media and see an excellent source of educational value (lesson plans, teaching tools for students at home, etc) in Twitter and Blogs . Twitter and blogs already exist, so encourage their use in education. Once we have a few solid lesson plans , then maybe even cel phones (though I'm not convinced they can be "mobile education tools" just yet). Another great example is Skype. I used Skype to maintain a long distance relationship while studying in Greece. Why not use it for distance learning, or even linking to another class for intercultural stud...

Despite my recent blog entry about Cyber Bullying , there is still so much more to say about the topic. As we educate our students on the benefits of social media, we should also alert them to the dangers. There are various approaches to cel phones in schools . As Wes points out , labeling is an important part of image. If the phone is to be used for education, it is called a "mobile learning device" to emphasize its educational importance. However, students, parents, and teachers should be aware of the technology's dark side. As exemplified in the case of the cel phone's educational name, "mobile learning device", parents should be aware of the differences between "bullies" and "Cyber bullies". The many phases of bullying. 1.Olden days: Size: large, often older or taller than the average kid. Skills: Cruel nicknames, stealing lunch money, extreme snowball accuracy. 2. New Wave Size: varied Skills: everything nice, note encoding 3. Cyb...

I first started using a PLN, or Personal Learning network, this summer. I began a google bookmark list to compile great suggestions or online gadgets that I could use in my classroom. I've even joined the movement to re-appropriate social media for education, turning my Twitter account into a space for sharing and discussing educational technology, aka #edtech. Social media has come a long way these past few years. "Media culture" was once theorized to make national boundaries permeable; now it reinforces them . The need for educational technology is clear: our students are entering a more technologically advanced society which demands their interaction. More pressing still is the learning styles students adopt from their new media teachers, such as multitasking and visual presentation methods. We need to teach them to use these tools, but more importantly, the skills needed to read and discern their meanings. The media has a plethora of persuasive methods at ...

Most of us have never seen sickness, only its symptoms. After ten years of work, scientists have released a 3-D map of the common cold . H1N1 has been making a splash in the news, and in schools . This interactive map offers a month by month representation of H1N1's spread across the world. The future of disease? That depends on an accurate flu death toll, which scientists still debate . You can monitor flu-based doctors' visits throughout history on Google Flu Trends: Now that we know how flu viruses and vaccines work, we start to look at the institutions which literally call the shots: health care. How will health care reform effect Americans? This chart shows many age and income levels and depicts how their lives could change.