Daily-Ink & Pair-a-dimes un-post-ed

Daily-Ink & Pair-a-dimes un-post-ed http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com An (almost) daily journal as well as things that don't make it onto my blog, or haven't gotten there yet. posterous.com Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:47:37 -0800 Blending Learning: The Convergence of Online and Face-to-Face Education http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/Ck61JsgA_8w/blending-learning-the-convergence-of-online-a http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/blending-learning-the-convergence-of-online-a <p> NACOL - North American Council for Online Learning :: Promising Practices in Online Learning<br /><b>Blending Learning: The Convergence of Online and Face-to-Face Education</b><br /><a href="http://www.15centnewspaper.com/resources/inacolblend.pdf">http://www.15centnewspaper.com/resources/inacolblend.pdf</a><p /> <i>"...blended learning should be approached not merely as a temporal construct, but rather as a fundamental redesign of the instructional model with the following characteristics:<p />* A shift from lecture- to student-centered instruction in which students become active and interactive learners (this shift should apply to the entire course, including face-to-face contact sessions);<p /> * Increases in interaction between student-instructor, student-student, student-content, and student-outside resources;<p />* Integrated formative and summative assessment mechanisms for students and instructor.”<p /> Most importantly, in this view, blended learning represents a shift in instructional strategy. Just as online learning represents a fundamental shift in the delivery and instructional model of distance learning, blended learning offers the possibility to significantly change how teachers and administrators view online learning in the face-to-face setting. “The widespread adoption and availability of digital learning technologies has led to increased levels of integration of computer- mediated instructional elements into the traditional F2F [face to face] learning experience,” write Bonk and Graham, in the Handbook of Blended Learning."</i><p /> -----<br />This is why I say there is a 'transformation' going on! It's not about things 'not working' or being 'broken', it's simply a necessary shift from doing things in a traditional school setting to doing things in a meaningfully <i>different </i>way. It's not about adding technology to teaching, it's about a transformation in what teaching means today. Exciting stuff! </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/blending-learning-the-convergence-of-online-a">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/blending-learning-the-convergence-of-online-a#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gFEZ8okQDO7S6mG5vTJ5YZaLSFM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gFEZ8okQDO7S6mG5vTJ5YZaLSFM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gFEZ8okQDO7S6mG5vTJ5YZaLSFM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/gFEZ8okQDO7S6mG5vTJ5YZaLSFM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/Ck61JsgA_8w" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/blending-learning-the-convergence-of-online-a Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:56:00 -0800 Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/6MNQ7ZpPhq8/pranav-mistry-the-thrilling-potential-of-sixt http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/pranav-mistry-the-thrilling-potential-of-sixt <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Media_httpimagestedco_bdblc" height="240" src="http://getfile2.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/aCnqhfqpvCmGFBJDprAAsdvCbJlHCeuHBhfAoDpxxxspDheanuwszEbDJzwm/media_httpimagestedco_bDblC.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="432" /> </div> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html">ted.com</a></div> <p>Wow! I love the very ending when he talked about developing a missing 5th sense.... It excited me about the potential for helping with special needs students. </p><p>Two other thoughts: </p><p>-What's the next iPad? What's the next device that everyone will want? What will it do? </p><p>-How do we create schools where students can explore and 'tinker' like Pranav?</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/pranav-mistry-the-thrilling-potential-of-sixt">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/pranav-mistry-the-thrilling-potential-of-sixt#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kt0_TptY2QQpm36EhDHJt2g5Oz4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kt0_TptY2QQpm36EhDHJt2g5Oz4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kt0_TptY2QQpm36EhDHJt2g5Oz4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kt0_TptY2QQpm36EhDHJt2g5Oz4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/6MNQ7ZpPhq8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/pranav-mistry-the-thrilling-potential-of-sixt Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:27:37 -0700 Cassie and Katie - Public Speaking 2011 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/BkzX6OZDWK4/cassie-and-katie-public-speaking-2011 http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/cassie-and-katie-public-speaking-2011 <p> <div style="">Both of my girls did a great job with their speeches! </div><p><div style="">Katie was a finalist in our non-judged Junior Public Speaking Celebration, on the morning of June 9th, 2011.</div><div style="">Cassie was 2nd in the Grade 5/6 category of the Senior Public Speaking Finals, later that afternoon.</div><p><div style=""><b>'My Day with Boon the Elephant'</b> by Katie Truss</div><div style=""><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZVnS_nbHf2U?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></div><p><div style=""><b>'Procrastination' </b>by Cassie Truss</div><div style=""><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UzhgFaecd4k?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></div></p></p></p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/cassie-and-katie-public-speaking-2011">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/cassie-and-katie-public-speaking-2011#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/k4ivFhFQMVJDrrTlF119ezTh2ng/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/k4ivFhFQMVJDrrTlF119ezTh2ng/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/k4ivFhFQMVJDrrTlF119ezTh2ng/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/k4ivFhFQMVJDrrTlF119ezTh2ng/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/BkzX6OZDWK4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/cassie-and-katie-public-speaking-2011 Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:20:07 -0700 Sarcasm, even spelt right too! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/qAEQ7oNdJEw/sarcasm-even-spelt-right-too http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/sarcasm-even-spelt-right-too <p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/y9dk7x1xmp4WDzxmd4s7BMzEH0KZKjGdrHRUuvTn7HjHBwcPuB6vqo4uuXmF/2011-06-20_07.38.10.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="2011-06-20_07" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/3dM97yUvT7Xt1aS5XhRtXcXthc0eDaadHhTzzC0SFFmJY8sf8aoJRPm6F1QG/2011-06-20_07.38.10.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p>I think Cassie was only 3 years old when she started asking me, "Dad, are you being tar-tas-tic again?" <br />This is from her Father's Day card. <br />It's interesting but I really don't think that my sarcasm plays out online. I tend not to use it as it is too easily interpreted as rude or at times even scathing. So instead I barrage my kids with it. I'm sure as they get older their eyes will role-over as I embarrass them in front of their friends, (the eye-rolls have already started), but my editing filter shuts off at home. So, my girls will just have to put up with me... even with my sarcasm. :-)</p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/sarcasm-even-spelt-right-too">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/sarcasm-even-spelt-right-too#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MhEEU9J0zmk8SgxiuxC8T5LYfcg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MhEEU9J0zmk8SgxiuxC8T5LYfcg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MhEEU9J0zmk8SgxiuxC8T5LYfcg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/MhEEU9J0zmk8SgxiuxC8T5LYfcg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/qAEQ7oNdJEw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/sarcasm-even-spelt-right-too Tue, 14 Jun 2011 06:55:18 -0700 Compliment Tree http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/-GiUQoYLGZs/compliment-tree http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/compliment-tree <p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/NotKx0mSiFbzxNGZhGHwKJB2Ju70ORbg9s7fjZ3DpmJMUonvybSXLQeGOxQ4/2011-06-14_17.03.11.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="2011-06-14_17" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/UErGllIcaOeMhEoQuU33901WuDnO14OnEJhERkhobTAZspCHX1dxP0VTkOs0/2011-06-14_17.03.11.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p>Very sweet, she's a keeper! :-)</p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/compliment-tree">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/compliment-tree#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/198lHX3jEp46vt-iX8Mf1Iip3Yo/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/198lHX3jEp46vt-iX8Mf1Iip3Yo/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/198lHX3jEp46vt-iX8Mf1Iip3Yo/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/198lHX3jEp46vt-iX8Mf1Iip3Yo/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/-GiUQoYLGZs" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/compliment-tree Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:54:23 -0700 "I will spank you"... loosely translated http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/zosySoaPMT0/i-will-spank-you-loosely-translated http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/i-will-spank-you-loosely-translated <p> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/5TKeoDRO7bJlx7mv7NaAubBzCHzJfS3EjxliFC1Y26haa09xQtdbDdmrFXl5/2011-06-13_14.34.29.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="2011-06-13_14" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/RcA9PhelrbHX1Bt7wZVluQHiNFcDfxtJ00oMs8Tljg43dLLkGT3UrVop72O0/2011-06-13_14.34.29.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <p>... Time to get out the liquid paper and edit this library book!</p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/i-will-spank-you-loosely-translated">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/i-will-spank-you-loosely-translated#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2jjFmmmWu9PMTnmVQVy-jrN70pU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2jjFmmmWu9PMTnmVQVy-jrN70pU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2jjFmmmWu9PMTnmVQVy-jrN70pU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2jjFmmmWu9PMTnmVQVy-jrN70pU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/zosySoaPMT0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/i-will-spank-you-loosely-translated Thu, 02 Jun 2011 07:14:00 -0700 Katie and Yvonne - Bo Lang Gu (Drum-Shaped Rattle) http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/r2Lj9T4yWlY/katie-and-yvonne-bo-lang-gu-drum-shaped-rattl http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/katie-and-yvonne-bo-lang-gu-drum-shaped-rattl <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <iframe allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/K6bE8pf2aag" frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6bE8pf2aag">youtube.com</a></div> <p>Yvonne, our Mandarin teacher, helping Katie with her Chinese homework - A song she will be singing with her class in a couple weeks.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/katie-and-yvonne-bo-lang-gu-drum-shaped-rattl">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/katie-and-yvonne-bo-lang-gu-drum-shaped-rattl#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kbgPDghg12KlWHwmKCTe7P885tM/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kbgPDghg12KlWHwmKCTe7P885tM/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kbgPDghg12KlWHwmKCTe7P885tM/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/kbgPDghg12KlWHwmKCTe7P885tM/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/r2Lj9T4yWlY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/katie-and-yvonne-bo-lang-gu-drum-shaped-rattl Thu, 26 May 2011 01:35:00 -0700 T.I.C. Chinese School PE Program Inspection http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/qTiSdLuPzrU/tic-chinese-school-pe-program-inspection http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-chinese-school-pe-program-inspection <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <object height="319" align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,115,0" width="425"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" value="http://assets2.qik.com/swfs/qikPlayer5.swf?1306186124" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><param name="FlashVars" value="streamID=6cbb3d646f354272b38d2c42bea6315c&autoplay=false" /><embed name="qikPlayer" src="http://assets2.qik.com/swfs/qikPlayer5.swf?1306186124" allowfullscreen="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" height="319" align="middle" flashvars="streamID=6cbb3d646f354272b38d2c42bea6315c&autoplay=false" quality="high" width="425"></embed></object> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://qik.com/video/40387090">qik.com</a></div> <p>This routine is practiced almost daily for a few months before the inspection. At the start of the year it involved skipping ropes, but our school (neighbouring theirs) showed a lot of interest in basketball, so they incorporated basketballs into their spring routine. </p><p>Every student was asked to bring a basketball from home. The small items on the ground near them are cardboard rings that they made to keep their ball from rolling around at the back of their classrooms. Often during PE classes you'll see the younger students wearing these like bandanas on their heads. Cute! </p><p>Watch to the end to see the speed at which they run to their line-ups to head back into the school. It's that fast even when there isn't an inspection happening. </p><p>A neat look into a very different school culture.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-chinese-school-pe-program-inspection">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-chinese-school-pe-program-inspection#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uG2gyqXPbowWP2cSXvh5PRzFkpk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uG2gyqXPbowWP2cSXvh5PRzFkpk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uG2gyqXPbowWP2cSXvh5PRzFkpk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/uG2gyqXPbowWP2cSXvh5PRzFkpk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/qTiSdLuPzrU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-chinese-school-pe-program-inspection Fri, 20 May 2011 10:21:00 -0700 Looking into North Korea http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/YWL-3dVQ_JE/looking-into-north-korea http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/looking-into-north-korea <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/aXEO3kBMdT5i0IKDmxb9B4A1NSyDLYnalwSyjzHsXvqhD6SnbcUmb7eauwCp/1305897487945.jpg"><img alt="1305897487945" height="184" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/PdSBjPhhmtqJ1q9Hg2FCa8OfE9vLLuhARH33whesguEFI2f3tjolH8MMoWz7/1305897487945.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>We arrived in Dandong at about 9:15pm. This is the view of the Peace Bridge heading into North Korea. The lights on the bridge end at the border. Apparently a city of <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">almost 2 million</span> about 200,000 people sits in the darkness. Any hint of light is probably a military installation. <p /> We'll learn more in the morning, but this one image tells quite a story.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/looking-into-north-korea">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/looking-into-north-korea#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2aQTOx-5cbTSxHvP01qn5b8Phvs/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2aQTOx-5cbTSxHvP01qn5b8Phvs/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2aQTOx-5cbTSxHvP01qn5b8Phvs/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/2aQTOx-5cbTSxHvP01qn5b8Phvs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/YWL-3dVQ_JE" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/looking-into-north-korea Mon, 02 May 2011 04:45:00 -0700 an original sin http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/gTaHHpGj1UA/an-original-sin http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-original-sin <p> <p>I want to talk about something sinful. I say this in the hope that it promotes Good, not anger. Please keep that intent in mind as you read. <p /> I've said this elsewhere before:</p> <div> <div style="text-align: center;">I think the two most <em>noblest</em> of traits are compassion and forgiveness.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Compassion because it links us to others in a way that we lose ourselves.</div> <div style="text-align: center;">Forgiveness because more than any other trait, it can not be faked</div> <div style="text-align: center;">and true forgiveness is to see love even in the faults of others.</div> </div> <p><br />This post is not directly about compassion and forgiveness but it is about being noble: <em>having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals. </em>It is about being responsive in a way the shows high moral principles in the most religious sense... where all great religions share common beliefs.</p> <p>This post is about two things, Good and Evil. I believe there is capital 'G' Good in this world and also capital 'E' Evil in this world. I believe these forces are at battle globally, nationally, locally and personally. We have both good and evil <a href="http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/two-wolves/" title="Two Wolves"><em>wolves</em></a> within us all and we chose which one we feed. I question which one is being fed in today? <p /> Osama Bin Ladin is dead. <p /> I do not question if he was Evil. Osama Bin Ladin is dead and the world has been rid of an Evil man. <p /> What I fear now, what scares me, is the response I see to his death. It is vengeful, vindictive. It is spurred by hate. I see the only of the 7 deadly sins not necessarily associated with selfishness or self-interest: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins#Wrath" title="Wrath (on Wikipedia)" target="_blank">wrath</a>. <p /> I've seen this before. I've seen it around the world. My earliest memory of it was when Ronald Reagan was shot. I sat, shocked, watching my friends television after school, one of the scenes shared, a celebration in the streets of an unremembered country, far from the US in distance, diplomacy and idealism. It felt wrong. I have the same feeling now. <p /> And so I seek to see things from multiple perspectives and to understand things that we may miss because we take things for granted in our own culture and in our own fixed perspective. <p /> President Obama <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead" title="REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON OSAMA BIN LADEN" target="_blank">said</a> on the death of Osama Bin Ladin and in discussing the tragedy of 9/11, <em>"... And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts."</em> <p /> I remember watching that on television too. Much of the world gasping for breath as towers crumbled. And once again, scenes shared of celebrations in the streets of other countries, far from the US in distance, diplomacy and idealism. This too felt wrong. I have the same feeling now. <p /> How many have died since the towers fell? How many parent-less children are there? ...the victims of a war on Hate. Victims: not gun-wielding Evil men and women... Just people in the wrong place at the wrong time. <p /> "<em>... And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The</em><em> empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace." </em> <p /> Without doing research I would estimate the number of deaths from the war on Hate to be closer to 300,000 than 3,000. But the totals are not shared to be compared, they are both significant numbers that exceed zero, making them painful reminders of Evil. They leave gaping holes in many of <em>our</em> hearts. <p /> It is hard for any of the surviving family members, victims in different countries but with common suffering, to see the Good in this world. But we do have Good in this world. And there is room for more of it. There is always room for compassion and forgiveness. There is always a possible response that is noble: <em>having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals.</em> <p /> An evil man is dead. I see celebrations around the world and this too feels wrong. <p /> Will the killing stop? I read a book about 'The Spider and the Starfish'. You sever a leg of a spider and it is crippled. You sever the leg of a starfish and it grows a new one. I fear that al Qaeda is more starfish than spider. <p /> How do we let the Good in us reign? Where can we now seek love? Where can we show compassion? To whom can we show forgiveness? How can we bring peace to our world? <p /> An evil man is dead. This is cause for relief, not rejoicing; reconciliation, not retribution; reflection, not wrath.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-original-sin">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-original-sin#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Wu9aVCmsRd10ibA1Qj1rDHvM4hI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Wu9aVCmsRd10ibA1Qj1rDHvM4hI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Wu9aVCmsRd10ibA1Qj1rDHvM4hI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Wu9aVCmsRd10ibA1Qj1rDHvM4hI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/gTaHHpGj1UA" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-original-sin Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:04:00 -0700 Natural Museum in Dalian http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/a4HI5l8Qlzs/natural-museum-in-dalian http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/natural-museum-in-dalian <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/ib2ZLo45vjiXRtl4bUqVeSgGI4qIHIL6C0KRjo06WcK6npZoHiCcM61bi1VH/2011-04-27_11.55.10.jpg.scaled.1000.jpg"><img alt="2011-04-27_11" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/IA4JOIqEam13zrPA50QmUS8WGJliVUGV87VmvUTE0Tn5hahEsN9uXVn7gbUy/2011-04-27_11.55.10.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p style="text-align: center;">Some great life-sized whales & dinosaurs etc.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">Some creepy specimens in glass jars.</p> <p style="text-align: center;">And this... the first monkey on the left:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>"Act no evil"</strong></p> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/natural-museum-in-dalian">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/natural-museum-in-dalian#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/AQya5UpEgtBhbkZnD9kp3PVcGSs/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/AQya5UpEgtBhbkZnD9kp3PVcGSs/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/AQya5UpEgtBhbkZnD9kp3PVcGSs/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/AQya5UpEgtBhbkZnD9kp3PVcGSs/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/a4HI5l8Qlzs" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/natural-museum-in-dalian Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:22:00 -0700 Happy Earth Day! http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/hWzSOBQElh0/happy-earth-day http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/happy-earth-day <p> <div style="text-align: center;">Some 'recycled' posters from our school: </div> <p /> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Earth-day-poster-7" height="640" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/mZL5bA3tYucIddmdJrzgn3sHSKS4nSzsmgY1EPi2mWTyFt59WsqQsD2NQuVs/earth-day-poster-7.jpg" width="479" /> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/HsdHnADoQ9HojVa9VgfyAujUVXxKu53PkZjFyJWa0EEkSZohQH6C7ykrkf9n/earth-day-poster-8.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-8" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/ZR2sK16eEkiXsHLXV6P2bAz3MFPpWgV9TPEZiqN4qDFboHxlTQXR8uohFnUm/earth-day-poster-8.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/V0ImwjaiI8keXhVZ1HfaI3VWX1EzJsgcBVdN5P4r5KwdFEAPjUgBMG4X2xPZ/earth-day-poster-5-6-2.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-5-6-2" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/1539xFsWSLA71fgCkVQ3lSwoIaTgRnHNLvtvJbibEuBZcIA6DXOzESUMrRGr/earth-day-poster-5-6-2.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/EIopwKZ7t4aMTkNUJNXZtHpsyRN8pK7TFiOWOGL8AEA1V0DzMNj2FHdSw4uN/earth-day-poster-5-6.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-5-6" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/1JmxZlizZkExiyLRbP9W7TsOveYk5T1AfXQpxvLAI2H988vklWC8MqiR4N14/earth-day-poster-5-6.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/iZvs38MXFAWuFHVYGqFtX1wckXtb5IvTwGlvjdKjXrOtyNdrG0s9GFt48DRN/earth-day-poster-3-4.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-3-4" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/LwtBDOvXetbDJwbjCjv9vLQkPmdtpkXiriWbpcy3fSTuMl6kOXryCmbWNC1i/earth-day-poster-3-4.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/7AeIrmgvXlNhmhvc7RuXyPOFXlAFP3iOG0x9PqRIOkGgKQrVrfWkxz01Ut9S/earth-day-poster-3-4-2.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-3-4-2" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/7PEKTHm1CZEsfQpBXFyYSdSddHjcwXtkgiKt8dpUI4vvX4fCpuuGHykB7O10/earth-day-poster-3-4-2.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/A2IRVptgddh20giZTj75B1dMB314tfcE0s7O2gZs4CuDQSEEhyyqngr6ExV8/earth-day-poster-2.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-2" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/WY8U4hxFmjDZZxNVXLhJpsjoVUqXvTkWMFwZftkXiFddQskyjDMlERLeoA2Y/earth-day-poster-2.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/gZ4nTSUcxOU3JMLlnfatQ15087DVeu3H1EL9C3IAyprZ6kHVyB1ZzeZpvqzk/earth-day-poster-1.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-1" height="374" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/aE0PhFi2PIdCTklB12m99tD3zJKilot3RQcxFTpGxDbxfJ4SPuLEJolbTlG3/earth-day-poster-1.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-04-21/wDHkBeAtrFJejJhIbyqJsqvHinFlpDChADgbvIpDfCespbbtbwhedgtsgbtm/Earth-day-poster-9.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Earth-day-poster-9" height="581" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-04-21/wDHkBeAtrFJejJhIbyqJsqvHinFlpDChADgbvIpDfCespbbtbwhedgtsgbtm/Earth-day-poster-9.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p /> <p /> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #007e1d;">And my favourite Earth Day video:</span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #007e1d;"><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1XTcFokKOk?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></span></div> <p /> <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 37px;"><span style="color: #007e1d;"><strong>Happy Earth Day! <br /></strong></span></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/happy-earth-day">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/happy-earth-day#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mAP3utTn0bxmeKcgqK_BWrupUjI/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mAP3utTn0bxmeKcgqK_BWrupUjI/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mAP3utTn0bxmeKcgqK_BWrupUjI/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/mAP3utTn0bxmeKcgqK_BWrupUjI/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/hWzSOBQElh0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/happy-earth-day Wed, 20 Apr 2011 01:55:45 -0700 To spam or not to spam? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/vnOUelmeQuQ/to-spam-or-not-to-spam http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/to-spam-or-not-to-spam <p> I <a href="http://www.cocomment.com/comments/datruss">comment</a> with the intent to add value to the conversation.<p /><div>When you get comments like this, do you approve them, trash them, or mark them as spam? </div><p /><div><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/ndT8vLsAOfGa94t64aHH6CWJN7EaqC1raBRLyPZExXxnBnEHeOMfYxuY9ZhT/Spam-or-Not.jpg"><img alt="Spam-or-not" height="294" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/oRboSU2pH0tWhIG2TAOQGWSB1bweOe2Mc9t4azBefe3fW370QLsJ5Q4Da4Aw/Spam-or-Not.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/to-spam-or-not-to-spam">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/to-spam-or-not-to-spam#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IE1Kg5ck1nfDNmux4NBTkVE3MFk/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IE1Kg5ck1nfDNmux4NBTkVE3MFk/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IE1Kg5ck1nfDNmux4NBTkVE3MFk/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/IE1Kg5ck1nfDNmux4NBTkVE3MFk/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/vnOUelmeQuQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/to-spam-or-not-to-spam Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:55:24 -0700 An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers re: Social Media, Part 2 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/tB2txm4VXHI/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0 http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0 <p> I'll start by saying, 'Shame on The Canadian Press and shame on cbc.ca', I thought this was a news source I could rely on. Next, I'll say, 'Shame on me', since I reacted publicly, based on a single secondary source for information, and I did not go to the main source. As an educator who makes great efforts to use social media in appropriate ways, I feel embarrassed that I contributed in disseminating exaggerated and miss-informed hype! I will learn from this, hopefully others will too. <p /><div>Here is a link to what I said yesterday: <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac">An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers re: Social Media Fears</a></div><p /><div>But what was of greatest concern to me was the message to 'not use' social networks with students, and that is not the case!  </div><p /><div><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype, Palatino, Book Antiqua, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;">The Ontario College of Teachers </span><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype, Palatino, Book Antiqua, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;"><b>DID NOT</b></span><span style="font-family: Palatino Linotype, Palatino, Book Antiqua, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); font-style: italic; line-height: 22px;"> say teachers should avoid connecting with their students on Facebook or Twitter.</span></div><p /><div>Here is a great video they have created: </div><p /><div><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8iMLjqIptBc?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></div><p /><div>While I could nitpick and suggest some minor changes, I think that the advisory does an excellent job of saying three key things:</div><p /><div>1. Interact with students appropriately </div><div>2. Understand privacy concerns</div><div>3. Act professionally</div><p /><div>And, they offer sound advice that will help teachers both think about, and understand, that their digital communication is public and therefore needs to be professional. </div><p /><div>Here is the actual advisory:</div><p /><p><div class='p_embed p_file_embed'> <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/pdf.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <strong>OCT_Prof_Adv_Soc_Media.pdf</strong> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/0dhEvhOMmembzOku6ukX7a2kovnMFHyVXL7KsY3iDI7qxbPN23LwwpEJAaHd/OCT_Prof_Adv_Soc_Media.pdf">Download this file</a> </div> </div> </p><p></p><p /><p /><div>I will end in saying, 'well done' to the Ontario College of Teachers! </div><div>And again, my apologies.</div><div>Kind regards,</div><div>David Truss</div><p /><div>ps. Special thanks to Ontario teacher Lorna Costantini <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lornacost">@lornacost</a> for questioning the news article's interpretation and for pointing me to the sources provided above. </div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/fHBHoD_CdlqhQMZ04XSgH5qh3_4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/fHBHoD_CdlqhQMZ04XSgH5qh3_4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/fHBHoD_CdlqhQMZ04XSgH5qh3_4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/fHBHoD_CdlqhQMZ04XSgH5qh3_4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/tB2txm4VXHI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0 Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:47:00 -0700 An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers re: Social Media Fears http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/ZiYHXrBnUg8/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>*Updated post and apology letter:</strong></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0" title="I was wrong to trust the media interpretation and react publicly without going to the main source of information!">An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers re: Social Media, Part 2</a></strong></span></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;">I request that you please go to my link above for clarification on this post. </span></span></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="color: #595959; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; font-size: small;">Thanks to Ontario teacher Lorna Costantini <a href="http://www.twitter.com/lornacost" style="font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #006699; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;">@lornacost</a> for questioning the news article's interpretation and for pointing me to the sources provided in the link above, and in the 6th comment below. </span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="color: #595959; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>____________________________________________</strong></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="text-decoration: line-through;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Ontario teachers advised not to tweet with students</strong></span></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">By The Canadian Press, cbc.ca, Updated: April 12, 2011 6:44 AM</span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Social media may be the new frontier of communication but not between teachers and students.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">The Ontario College of Teachers says teachers should avoid connecting with their students on Facebook or Twitter.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">They are also told to avoid contacting them on LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">The college issued an advisory to maintain professional boundaries, saying it's vital to the public trust.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">It also says some members have groomed a student for sexual purposes, using electronic messages to win their confidence.</span></p> </blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation"><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">via <a href="http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=28339513">news.ca.msn.com</a></span></div> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Dear Ontario College of Teachers,</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">I've read the article above, and you have one thing worthy to note in your statement: "The college issued an advisory to maintain professional boundaries, saying it's vital to the public trust."</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">However, as a professional, I thought that was self-evident.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Beyond that your statement is nothing less than counterproductive!</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">You see, by removing educated professionals from the pool of participants who can actually 'TEACH' students about appropriate social media use, you invite students to be influenced, and bullied, and taken advantage of by less scrupulous people... including your members who are less than professional and likely to avoid your advisory anyway.</span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">What's vital to the public trust is that they trust teachers to be current and to teach students to communicate and relate to the current world they live in... or should we still be teaching students to use quill pens?</span></p> <p> </p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>*Updated post and apology letter:</strong></span></div> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac-0" title="I was wrong to trust the media interpretation and react publicly without going to the main source of information!">An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers re: Social Media, Part 2</a></strong></span></span></div> <p> </p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NmXGoIyInfG68CxWKToC-BHgQbg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NmXGoIyInfG68CxWKToC-BHgQbg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NmXGoIyInfG68CxWKToC-BHgQbg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/NmXGoIyInfG68CxWKToC-BHgQbg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/ZiYHXrBnUg8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/an-open-letter-to-the-ontario-college-of-teac Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:51:00 -0700 Beyond Good ~ Seth's Blog: Moving beyond teachers and bosses http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/iVnX-v72eHI/beyond-good-seths-blog-moving-beyond-teachers http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/beyond-good-seths-blog-moving-beyond-teachers <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"> <p>We train kids to deal with <strong>teachers</strong> in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a 'good student.'</p> <p>We train employees to deal with <strong>bosses</strong> in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to do. Figure out how to do exactly what they want, with the least amount of effort, and the last risk of failure and you are a 'good worker.'</p> </blockquote> <div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/04/moving-beyond-teachers-and-bosses.html">sethgodin.typepad.com</a></div> <p>Good enough is not good enough!</p> <p>So many things about the structure of our schools today promote this... promote the next generation of worker bees who drone on and do 'what needs to be done' instead of 'what's possible'.</p> <p>How do we UN-standardize our schools?</p> <p>It starts with the smallest of points... <br /><em>"A paragraph 'needs' to have 5 sentences."</em> <br />... Which produces a class full of mediocre 5 sentence paragraphs.</p> <p>To the biggest of points... <br /><em>"<a href="http://pairadimes.davidtruss.com/shifting-attitudes/">I can't</a>"</em> <br />... Whether this is a response from a teacher or a student.</p> <p>As Seth says at the end of his post: <em>"The opportunity of our age is to get out of this boss as teacher as taskmaster as limiter mindset..."</em></p> <p>What are our students capable of if we foster their creativity and get tests and curriculum and scheduled blocks and 'busywork due the next day' out of the way?</p> <p>How do we move beyond educators as taskmasters?</p> <p>Good enough is not good enough!</p> </div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/beyond-good-seths-blog-moving-beyond-teachers">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/beyond-good-seths-blog-moving-beyond-teachers#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ywYwNowEmqY9Y61Flc9NWyhT4BY/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ywYwNowEmqY9Y61Flc9NWyhT4BY/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ywYwNowEmqY9Y61Flc9NWyhT4BY/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ywYwNowEmqY9Y61Flc9NWyhT4BY/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/iVnX-v72eHI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/beyond-good-seths-blog-moving-beyond-teachers Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:35:00 -0700 Steve Wheeler has some 'Synching feelings' http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/955-Yt3ScGA/steve-wheeler-has-some-synching-feelings http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/steve-wheeler-has-some-synching-feelings <p> <div class="posterous_bookmarklet_entry"> <blockquote class="posterous_long_quote"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 130%;">One final word: We need to remember that professionals built the Titanic, but an amateur built the Ark. It's not always about expertise - sometimes it's about passion. </span></blockquote><div class="posterous_quote_citation">via <a href="http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/11/synching-feelings.html">Synching Feelings on Steve-Wheeler.blogspot.com</a></div> <p>Go visit & read the whole post... but I wanted to share the quote above, and the post script to my comment below. </p><p>ps. I love your 'One final word'! </p><p>Many uneducated farmers have taken machinery built by 'experts' and made them better. Many 'amateur' stargazers have made astronomical discoveries within clear view of the experts. Many educators are turning their practice inside-out and sharing what they do with the world, while the experts model great schools around getting good standardized test results... hmmmm.</p></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/steve-wheeler-has-some-synching-feelings">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/steve-wheeler-has-some-synching-feelings#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Q0sjO9HNSVYMB9eQVdctHgiv2zU/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Q0sjO9HNSVYMB9eQVdctHgiv2zU/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Q0sjO9HNSVYMB9eQVdctHgiv2zU/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Q0sjO9HNSVYMB9eQVdctHgiv2zU/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/955-Yt3ScGA" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/steve-wheeler-has-some-synching-feelings Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:44:35 -0700 Simple Wikipedia http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/ZKHqxTyoHeY/simple-wikipedia http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/simple-wikipedia <p> <div style="text-align: center; font-size: 15px;"><b>I think </b><a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/"><b>Wikipedia</b></a><b> is a GREAT resource! </b></div><div><p /><div><div style="text-align: center;">To me it should be the 'first place to go' for students... The start of research, before digging deeper and finding other sites.</div><p /><div style="text-align: center;">BUT...</div><p /><div style="text-align: center;">The language can be a bit tough for ELL or younger students! </div><div style="text-align: center;">So, check this out:</div><p /><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Wikipedia-logo-simple" height="155" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/6KdHtHPiOYREsOvzCvLpPPmW3k1AeX5KWLGd5lLJgNLVpENxduKnNGRv7TP4/Wikipedia-logo-simple.png" width="135" /> </div> </a></div><p /><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 21px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page</a></span> </div><p /><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 13px;"><b><a href="http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_English_Wikipedia">Simple English Wikipedia</a>:</b> <i>Wikipedias</i> are places where people work together to write encyclopedias in different languages. We use Simple English words and grammar here. The Simple English Wikipedia is for everyone! That includes children and adults who are learning English.</div><p /><div style="text-align: center;">AND for younger students:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wikikids.ws/WikiforKids.html%20"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Wikipedia-kids" height="223" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/datruss/CvbMhXWeZNqUQ4Nfhwo8ZyXIrZFjKAwcMhUzi2xagNJAtSksLg4eFiJzUnwC/Wikipedia-kids.png" width="310" /> </div> </a></div><p /><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 21px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><a href="http://www.wikikids.ws/WikiforKids.html">http://www.wikikids.ws/WikiforKids.html</a></span> </div><p /><div><div><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div><div style="text-align: center;">Wiki for Kids delivered search results from the "Simple Edition" of Wikipedia and is powered by Google SafeSearch for added safety. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/simple-wikipedia">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/simple-wikipedia#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/g4JYjTgMH58ELFzgmgpx6Mj_ztg/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/g4JYjTgMH58ELFzgmgpx6Mj_ztg/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/g4JYjTgMH58ELFzgmgpx6Mj_ztg/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/g4JYjTgMH58ELFzgmgpx6Mj_ztg/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/ZKHqxTyoHeY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/simple-wikipedia Mon, 28 Mar 2011 06:35:08 -0700 Can you spare some Bandwidth? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/nZFWxRHJqe0/can-you-spare-some-bandwidth http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/can-you-spare-some-bandwidth <p> <div><div style=""><div style=""><div style=""><div style="">This is a plea to friends living places where internet bandwidth is not an issue. </div><p /><div style="">I would like a copy of this interview: <a href="http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/8649">http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/8649</a> to share with my Grade 9's who are starting their <a href="http://flatclassroomproject.org/">Flat Classroom Project</a>. </div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div><div style="">And my digital colleague Lyn Hilt recently shared this link with me, <iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ebJHzpEy4bE" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe> and I'm a huge Alan November fan. Related to that, Brian Crosby shared his TEDx video that I also can't watch right now: <a href="http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=1091">http://learningismessy.com/blog/?p=1091</a> </div></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /> </div><div>So, with the internet all but shut down both at my school and at home... I'd love for someone to throw these in a public <a href="http://db.tt/3V9DVLW">DropBox</a> or share these with me in some other way that doesn't require me streaming the video. I'm a huge TED & TEDx fan so don't hesitate to throw a few of those (that you like & recommend) into the mix as well!  :-)  </div><p /><div>DropBox won't let me share a 'public folder' link, just a 'public file' itself (dumb, I miss drop.io!). I just checked to see what the public file link does, using a link to my <a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3689596/Videos-from-friends/ABraveNewWorldWideWeb.MP4">Brave New World Wide Web</a> video and it streams it rather than lets me download it... Uhhg! (I can't even get past the opening Quicktime 'Q' without losing the connection and getting a '?'...  much less watch the video that way). So, if we use dropbox it will have to be through sharing a public DropBox file via invitation. If this doesn't make sense, ignore me. If it does, invite me, I'm datruss on gmail, or ask me to invite you (that's better for me, I get all the videos in one folder that way). </div><p /><div>I'm sure there are other file sharing options out there, but I just tried looking and my delicious bookmarks won't even load right now... must be the extensive graphics on that page (he says in a tone dripping with sarcasm). </div><p /><div>Anyway, to anyone that can help me out: Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU! </div><p /><div>Oh, and I'll owe you a cup of coffee, or a beer, when we next/first meet. </div>Dave. </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/can-you-spare-some-bandwidth">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/can-you-spare-some-bandwidth#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1ZF2ugT5EAXQhN7AXJmPx2W4n7k/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1ZF2ugT5EAXQhN7AXJmPx2W4n7k/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1ZF2ugT5EAXQhN7AXJmPx2W4n7k/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/1ZF2ugT5EAXQhN7AXJmPx2W4n7k/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/nZFWxRHJqe0" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/can-you-spare-some-bandwidth Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:06:00 -0800 T.I.C. - This is China - Blocking still works http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/daily-ink/~3/DwdlZxA04ds/tic-this-is-china-blocking-still-works http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-this-is-china-blocking-still-works <p> <p>Congratulations to the Great Filter Wall... it is alive and well, and doing it's job. </p> <p /> <div>I've only heard rumours about why things are so slow here now, but I'm guessing they are right... It's hard to create a digital 'movement of the masses' when connecting digitally, (and especially to the spaces where this happens), is painfully difficult. </div> <p /> <div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network">VPN's</a> (that bypass the 'Great Filter Wall') have been hit hard, even mine that has been stellar so far required me to get a new address from support to link up. Instead of linking through Hong Kong, my connection must now go through Los Angeles to connect. The slow internet, plus the longer connection route means it takes longer to connect, longer to load pages and impossible to do things like watch a video.</div> <p /> <div>Teachers here with Yahoo or Hotmail will say to me, "What did your email say? I can get into my inbox to see you've sent an email, but I can't open the message."</div> <p /> <div>I created a "<a href="http://datruss.weebly.com/funhouse.html">Funhouse</a>" for our club days, for a group of primary kids, and they have seen it, but not visited it yet. I did get to read the scrolling book that I pre-loaded the first day, but since then the internet has been useless and sending them to image-rich websites would be a useless activity. (I loaded the Funhouse link above to get the address to link it here and the page has yet to load as I type this.) </div> <p /> <div>So, blocking works. But at what cost. I'm scared to introduce Weebly to my staff because although it's a great blogging platform that works here, I can only seem to get the editor to work after school when no one else is on the system. I know someone at Intel who says he can't even upload work related photos on his home line. How many other businesses that rely on the internet are pulling their hair out? How do you do business in a connected world when the connection is severed? </div> <p /> <div>I don't turn on Tweetdeck at work anymore because I don't want updates to steal bandwidth from my teachers. I'm a disconnected principal that enjoys being a <a href="http://www.connectedprincipals.com/">connected principal</a>. </div> <p /> <div>The reality is that I'd like to think that information is free and accessible to all, but 1/5 of the population of the world have a filter on information, news... and learning!</div> </p> <p><a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-this-is-china-blocking-still-works">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-this-is-china-blocking-still-works#comment">Leave a comment  »</a> </p> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gm_9h3wes05_RhR6rRZRMoCG0j8/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gm_9h3wes05_RhR6rRZRMoCG0j8/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gm_9h3wes05_RhR6rRZRMoCG0j8/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/Gm_9h3wes05_RhR6rRZRMoCG0j8/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/daily-ink/~4/DwdlZxA04ds" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/295893/David-Truss-09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37qIUGANxtHX David Truss datruss David Truss http://daily-ink.davidtruss.com/tic-this-is-china-blocking-still-works