Bump on the Blog

I’m Here for the Learning Revolution

Brian Grenier — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:30:13 +0000

I had some fun today designing a couple of images for Wes Fryer’s and Scott McLeod’sкомпютри втора употреба I’m Here for the Learning Revolution button contest. Just thought I’d share my two submissions here

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This I Believe….about educational technology

Brian Grenier — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:57:39 +0000

I’ve been tagged by Tim Holt to participate in a new meme starting up. This meme is modeled after NPR’s All Things Considered segment, “This I Believe“. The rules of the meme are simple, in 500 words or less finish this statement. “This I believe about educational technology….”

Your submission can be written or in multimedia, then passed on to 5 people. Tim had asked that everyone leave a link on his site, I’m changing that rule and asking that your submission be tagged “ibelieve”.

This is what I believe…

Tagged:

Graham Wegner
Dean Shareski
Darren Draper
Eric Langhorst
Karl Fisch

photo credit: WTL photos

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“No Excuses” at Mitzi Bond Elementary

Brian Grenier — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:13:36 +0000

I am so happy to pass the word along that one of the elementary schools I work directly with has been accepted into the No Excuses University Network of schools. After much hard work and dedication, Mitzi Bond Elementary is now one of only 16 elementary schools in the US, and one of two elementary schools in Texas to hold this distinction.

No Excuses University schools are part of an elite network that aggressively promotes college readiness for every student. They do this by embracing cultures of universal achievement and creating exceptional systems.

Educators at No Excuses Universities believe they have the power to influence every student to be academically successful, even those who are most at risk. This is a radical concept, but No Excuses Universities are making it a reality every day.

Myself, and the faculty, staff and students at Mitzi Bond Elementary are very proud to be accepted as a No Excuses University campus and would be honored if the higher education institution you work at, attend, or graduated from would join us in our commitment to the belief that ALL students can go to college.

Each of our classes has “adopted” a college or university to help us show the students how important and attainable this goal is for them. You can help us by providing flags, banners, pennants, pencils, pens…ANYTHING you can offer. We want to make our students and their parents aware of as many colleges and universities as possible…including universities outside of the United States.

Mitzi Bond Elementary is a public elementary school in the El Paso Independent School District in El Paso, Texas.

The best part of your support, is the students! They are so excited to get college stuff! Our school has received all kinds of things for the students. Some schools even provide t-shirts for a class to wear on “College Day” every week.

Your commitment to our students, by agreeing to become our “adopted” university, would be a great honor.

If you would be able to join us in our belief that EVERY student deserves the opportunity to go to college, please contact me. So that I can provide you with further information. We would love to hear from you.

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Unlike Fire, The Benefits of Technology are Not Derived from Standing Nearby - Live Blogged from TCEA

Brian Grenier — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:24:59 +0000

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Copyright and Plagiarism - Live Blogged from TCEA

Brian Grenier — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:51:54 +0000

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Google Earth and Beyond! Live Blogged from TCEA

Brian Grenier — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:38:04 +0000

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Sally Ride Keynote - Live Blogged from TCEA

Brian Grenier — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:57:40 +0000

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Assassins with Poor Grammar

Brian Grenier — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:41:05 +0000

I thought I had seen almost every type of scam to get me to send money or account information to an unknown person who was looking out for my best interest. I’ve had former heads of state in exile, old ladies, young children, and even the IRS send me emails describing some mistake I had made, or plea for my assistance in transferring large sums of money out of their country. I thought I had seen it all…that was until I opened my email today and read through this latest bit of phishing to come through my inbox:

How are you.

Am very sorry for you my friend, is a pity that this is how your life is going to end as soon as you don’t comply.As you can see there is no need of introducing myself to you because I don’t have any business with you,
my duty as I am mailing you now is just to KILL/ASSASINATE you and I have to do it as I have already been paid for that.

Someone you call a friend wants you Dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this, the person also came to us and told me that he want you dead and he provided us with your name ,picture and other necessary information’s we needed about you. So I sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation on you, and they have done that but I told them not to kill you that I will like to contact you and see if your life is Important to you or not since their findings shows that you are innocent.

I called my client back and ask him of you email address which I didn’t tell him what I wanted to do with it and he gave it to me and I am using it to contact you now. As I am writing to you now my men are monitoring you and they are telling me everything about you.

Now do you want to LIVE OR DIE? As someone has paid us to kill you.

Get back to me now if you are ready to pay some fees to spare your life, If you are not ready for my help, then I will carry on with my job straight-up.

WARNING: DO NOT THINK OF CONTACTING THE POLICE OR EVEN TELL ANYONE BECAUSE I WILL KNOW. REMEMBER, SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOU VERY WELL WANT YOU DEAD! I WILL EXTEND IT TO YOUR FAMILY, IN CASE I NOTICE SOMETHING FUNNY.

DO NOT COME OUT ONCE IT IS 7:30PM UNTIL I MAKE OUT TIME TO SEE YOU AND GIVE YOU THE TAPE OF MY DISCUSSION WITH THE PERSON WHO WANT YOU DEAD AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLIED WITH MY DEMANDS, THEN YOU CAN USE IT TO TAKE ANY LEGAL ACTION.

GOOD LUCK AS I AWAIT YOUR REPLY

Regards

Don bush.
donbush.04@gmail.com

Something very unsettling about the methods these scammers are using. Is there a lesson or hook somewhere in here that we could use with students?

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Growing Up Online - Live Blogged

Brian Grenier — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 02:58:01 +0000

By now I’m sure most of my readers have at least heard about, if not seen already, the airing of “Growing Up Online” on your local PBS station.

In Growing Up Online, FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the very public private worlds that kids are creating online, raising important questions about how the Internet is transforming childhood. “The Internet and the digital world was something that belonged to adults, and now it’s something that really is the province of teenagers, ” says C.J. Pascoe, a postdoctoral scholar with the University of California, Berkeley’s Digital Youth Research project.

UPDATE: You can watch the entire program online and for free here

Depending on my impressions of tonight’s showing, I am already considering using this program in an upcoming conference that is geared toward students and parents. As I watch the program tonight for the first time I will be live blogging my thoughts right here. My purpose here is twofold…one I want to create a record of my initial thought on the program that I can then use to develop a discussion guide for use in my presentation. Secondly, I have been meaning to try out the live blogging tool provided by CoverItLive.

If you are online tonight (Jan 22) at 9:00 MST, I would invite you to join me here and participate in the discussion. If you are reading this at a later date you can read through the live blog and leave your thoughts in the comment section. So between now and 9:00 feel free to check out the program preview below….

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Two Great Questions

Brian Grenier — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:37:46 +0000

Ask your students these two great questions posed by Michael Welsh that were brought to my attention by Scott McLeod…

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