Ednet is now Ednet2

A few weeks ago I wrote Another list is gone, almost - bemoaning the impending loss of Ednet, which I consider the grandaddy of all Internet edtech lists. Here's what happened after that post.

It really broke me up.

To the point that I volunteered to take over the list.

I'll spare you the process, but the deed is now done.

Ednet is now Ednet2

At several points along the way I wondered if I had lost my mind. Hadn't I just written about the email list being a thing of the past? In the end I had no choice, for these reasons:

• I cut my internet teeth on Ednet. I learned so much there, and I felt so grateful for all the advice and guidance offered from the list, and individuals on it. It was a way to pay it back. The feeling of wanting to help was undeniable, and strong.
• I knew how to do it. I've started and moderated Yahoo!Groups lists for several years. It's not that hard. Plus I figured if it got real active again, there were a few list members I could hit up to take over moderator duties :)
• Finally, I'm a saver. I think many things increase in value and credibility with time - if you start with a quality product, of course. That's certainly the case with Ednet - quality. You don't just throw something like that away - or allow it to disappear, if you can help it.

So here I sit, loosely holding the reins on this venerable piece of Internet edtech history. I hope it continues to grow and expand in scope. That will be up to its membership. I believe it still has a lot to offer. Below is my first post to the list. Feel free to join!

Hello Ednet Subscribers,

Ednet is now at a new home. You all should have received an email saying you
were on Ednet2. There was a bunch of information in that email, which I'll
try and consolidate here:

- To send a message to the list: ednet2@yahoogroups.com
- Note that replies to Ednet2 messages go to the list, not the poster.
- Unsubscribe: send a blank email to ednet2-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
- Home on the Web: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ednet2/
- There you can set your email preferences, post, get the rss feed, etc...
- Or send me an email if you want anything changed.

Please feel free to post messages to the list. Here's the Mission Statement
from the original Ednet:

EdNet@UMass is intended as a forum for the exchange of ideas among those
interested in exploring the educational possibilities of this new medium,
and beyond.

EdNet@UMass should serve to:
* link educators with similar or overlapping interests on the "Information
Superhighway".
* introduce students, educators, and interested others to current concerns
and actual work in a number of possible fields, as well as to local and net
sources of information.
* provide informed but informal criticism of, or suggestions for, projects,
proposals, articles, trends, etc.
* to act for all as a community where their educational ideas or questions
will, at least, be taken seriously-- whether in friendly opposition or eager
collaboration.

I think that's a great foundation from which to go forward. - moderator Mark

NECC 08 Live, via XO

NECC 08 Live, via XO
Originally uploaded by mahlness

On the picnic table in the back yard in Seattle, watching/listening to NECC 08 from San Antonio. This was a Ustream session setup by Jeff Utecht on Sunday, June 29th. Twitter going in another browser, shared chat also running...

Any XO users in San Antonio (or elsewhere), be sure to tune in to the OLPC Birds of a Feather Session at 4:45 on June 30th.

tags: olpc xo NECC08 NECC

XO chat/video share at NECC

If anyone is interested in joining in an XO chat or video share while at NECC, I'll be keeping a chat invitation out there and open for you to join. Often. And occasionally a video/photo share.

To connect, you need to set your XO to the same jabber server: school.letschange.org - don't you love it? Here's how:

In Terminal, type:sugar-control-panel -s jabber school.letschange.org

hit enter

hit control/alt/erase to restart sugar

Once you get your Internet connection started up again, check the Neighborhood button - and look for a chat icon. Click on it, and you're in! Or it might be a Record button - we can share pictures/video.

All realtime, instantaneous.

See you out there! - Mark

technorati tags - xo olpc NECC08

Another XO chapter

Regular readers of this blog may shake their heads about yet another XO post. Man, I'm sorry, I guess I have gone off the deep end. I can't help it. I didn't plan what has happened. But I would not have missed a moment of this ride.

I've tried to come up with catchy post titles so I could put this story in a logical order, like "Year of the XO, Part 1". Problem was, there was no logical order to what happened in my classroom this year with the XO laptop. As soon as I thought I knew where we were going with them, things changed. So the news has been pretty scattered. I'm not going to retell it just yet. It would be much too long, and frankly, the story is still being written.

Yesterday, the fourth member of my classroom XO family arrived! Like the second and third, it was a donation. I'm absolutely blown away by the generosity and good will that has prompted people to do this. I'm so grateful for the chance to give my third graders the opportunity to expand their worlds and their thinking with these little green computers.

Most people who bought an XO in the G1G1 program have one laptop. I was thrilled when I got mine. But I had no idea of its power and potential until I had more than one. They were designed to be used in groups. The next time you see somebody slamming the XO for being too slow, too user unfriendly, too underpowered - please keep this in mind. The built in collaborative potential is phenomenal, and many people just don't see that. You have to look them as a group. You need to use them in a group to really get it. I like to think of that group as a family. OLPC has called it The Neighborhood.

This fall, we'll start the year with 4 XO laptops. I can't wait. Last year I brought mine in to school in January, got a donation a couple of weeks later, another a month later, and a loaner in late February. So we kind of made up our "xo program" as we went along. While we were figuring out how to work them and what to do with them, more appeared. Things were hit and miss, until late May when we participated in a pilot of a new piece of software for the XO with some UW students. That was for sure the cherry on top of the sundae.

This summer I'll work on upgrades, try out new "builds" and "activities". And of course I'll come up with a way to teach my kids how to use them and show them what they can do with them. It'll be nice to have some time to work on the planning. One of the things I'm most excited about is using them as e-book readers. They are designed to be used in tablet form for this, and are super - a relatively large screen and excellent color display. I'm thinking a flash drive library of books, with several flash drives holding hundreds of books.... We'll see.

I feel extremely lucky to have a chance work on creating new and unique learning environments for my kids that will challenge them in creative ways. Once again, to those who have donated and loaned their XO's to my classroom, I send you many, many thanks.

technorati tags: xo olpc roomtwelve

Happy 85th, Dad!

My dad was born 85 years ago today, in Miles City, Montana. It would have been Lemmon, SD, but Miles City had the closest hospital. Tonight I spoke with him in Ithaca, NY, where he lives in assisted living, close to my mom and sister. 

Happy Birthday, Dad! 

(picture taken and uploaded from an XO laptop, and blog posted from one)

Hummer Solstice

Solstice Hummer
Originally uploaded by mahlness

A few feet away from this frenzy of energy from a hummingbird, I'm about as far away from it as I can be, in terms of resources. It is the summer solstice. This young fellow ( a juvie Anna's) has been a persistent visitor lately.

School is out. The tank is empty. It feels good.

Last Day Bittersweet

No technology piece here - this is just about teaching...

Most northern hemisphere classrooms are over for the year by now. Today was the last day with my third graders for me in Seattle. It was out of control chaotic - in the best sense, a great way to end the year.

I did my usual last day of school rendition of Mark Twain's The Glorious Whitewasher - a 10 minute one man skit where I play Aunt Polly, Tom Sawyer, and Ben. The tie came off, my shirt got untucked, and my sleeves got partly rolled up. It went pretty well, one of my better performances, I'd say. It's nice to give the kids a piece of me that they never get to see, on the last day.

I can't tell you how many times people came up to me today and mentioned my supposed relief and exultation.

Far, far from exultation were the feelings I went through today. I'll miss my kids. I wish I had done a better job with them in so many areas.

Teacher angst. It's the part of the job that drives better instruction "next year" way more than any other summer course or inservice.

(Image from http://www.studiobtheater.info/audition_info.php)