John Dewey's Pedagogic Creed

clipped from cuip.net "I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile.... But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move.... Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience." --John Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed, 1897

F**k'n wit my sh*t

observation of life

clipped from findarticles.com Literary Review,  Fall, 2000  by Daniel Bosch I do not know her, but I will never forget her, never forget the terrible beauty I heard in her words, never forget the way she punctuated her speech with real blows to the belly of her remembered enemy, how she showed me the fragility of linguistic power. She taught me how even violent words quickly lose their punch unless they are used artfully. Her dependence on fuck is not crafted; it betrays an inurement to violence and a need to project power she has little of: she was smallish and skinny. Her speech twists into irony Joseph Brodsky's notion that the person who does not have words enough for her anger will use her fists.

Defining Lexicon

Social networking serves a valuable purpose. Now let's expand...

clipped from www.techlearning.com Its about Educational Networking NOT Social Networking The Economist debate on social networking has sparked some interesting discussion between Ewan McIntosh (the pro side) and Michael Bugeja (the con side) and uber social-networking researcher Danah Boyd has interjected her wisened thoughts into the matter.   I'd like to add my thoughts into this debate as I think that there are some things that should be said from a teacher who is USING "social" (I detest that term) educational networking. They want their personal and "professional" lives separate as do I.  We're heading down a slippery slope of forcing students to delete their own memories when we force ourselves to use "social" networks AS educational or professional networks. Social networks are great platforms and create spaces that cannot be duplicated, however, either Facebook and Myspace need to allow for different TYPES Of associates:

create a target board

clipped from www.bnet.com Introducing a Productivity Initiative Create a Target Board Measuring productivity is a vital component of any initiative to increase productivity levels. Communicating targets to staff members can actually prove to be a useful tool in facilitating an increase in productivity. Without clear and visible objectives, employees have no reason to improve their productivity. What is more, it is unfair to expect employees to guess what their targets are! Creating and updating target boards on a regular basis and ensuring that they are visible to staff (through a suitable medium) can contribute toward developing an objective-based working environment within which increased productivity can be clearly documented, and employees can be rewarded or held accountable for their performance.

Tips for building confidence

clipped from blog.inc.com How to Build Confidence As long as I've worked with, trained, and improved sales people, the number one focus for success has been their confidence. More important than any sales tactic is how each sales person feels about themselves. Simply put, people sell to their level of esteem. Here, then, are key areas to improve your team's confidence and esteem: Knowing you: Sales people who want to improve their mediocre performance must begin by understanding themselves. Knowing the company: And by knowing the company, they must know the people. One of the key areas of team building is knowing and embracing the people around them everyday. Knowing the customer: Author and businessman, Harvey McKay, wrote a list of 64 things you should know about your client to really be effective Knowing the product: Become an expert on your product. Set your vision: Set a vision of where you want to go. When anyone has a burning vision of what they want out of life, small set backs remain small.

Even large companies identify a niche

clipped from blog.inc.com Find Your Niche and Develop It! And I'd speculate that your business or industry probably isn't that different either. It's a universal truism that all businesses need to find their own niche and align their strengths around it. Aquascape's strength is in its products, training and education, marketing and brand. Our distributors' strengths run the gamut, and it's up to each and every one of them to figure out for themselves how they want to leverage those to service the customer. And the customer, after all, is the only one who truly matters in the end. As for our original distributors who chose to stay on ... so far so good! Almost every one increased sales in an open market, further validating that free market economies work. That is, provided you find your niche!

Blog email listserve

clipped from www.blognanny.com BLOG-L: What it is There are lots of blogs about blogging, but I didn't find much in the way of email discussion lists on the subject. Since email discussion lists have certain advantages over blogs for quickly accessing the collective wisdom of a large number of people, it seemed like a good idea to create one for blogging, so I did. BLOG-L is an email discussion list about blogs and blogging.  Email messages addressed to the list are received by all subscribers to the list. Subscription is free. BLOG-L's mission is to provide a quick and easy way to share information about blogs and blogging. Subscribe to BLOG-L Email: Visit this group

Define success for your blog

clipped from www.problogger.net From 0 to 2000+ Subscribers in 120 Days I often get asked how I did it, and I decided to compile this article as a record of my experience with hope that others might benefit from what I’ve learned. I want to show you that it is possible to achieve your blogging goals starting from scratch, using my case as a live example. I’ve learned that there are no real secrets to blogging success, all it really takes is a deep desire to do so, along with an urge to action. I have three important reasons why my blog has been successful: Concrete Goals & Focus - You can’t get what you want if you don’t know what you want. Content Creation - Where I spend most of my time. Content and understanding your audience is king. Getting the Word Out - Actionable tasks I did to market my blog. All are easily reproducible by anyone. But only focus on this after area 2 have been in place. Without content, all your marketing efforts will be ineffective.

23 Questions for Prospective Bloggers

clipped from www.problogger.net Please note that these questions are in essence a list of qualities of successful bloggers that I’ve come across over the last few years. If you don’t have some of these qualities it’s not the end of your blogging dreams. The list is idealistic and the questions are there to help potential bloggers enter into blogging with open eyes and making good decisions about whether a blog is right for them. It also might help potential bloggers to think about what type of blog they might start and what type of skills they might need to develop: Without further ado - here’s my 23 questions: Do you enjoy writing? What’s your Message? Are you a good communicator? Are you better at writing or speaking? Do you want to be the central voice on your website? Are you a self starter? Are you disciplined? Do you have time? Are you thick skinned? Are you willing to be in the public spotlight? Do you have any technical ability? Do you enjoy reading? Are you willing to work hard?

Intro to blogging

clipped from www.problogger.net What is a Blog? Confused yet? Don’t be - its really quite simple. To put it as simply as possible - a blog is a type of website that is usually arranged in chronological order from the most recent ‘post’ (or entry) at the top of the main page to the older entries towards the bottom.

Tips for writing about you

clipped from www.problogger.net How to Write Your “About Me” Page There are four main questions that readers want answered on your About Me page: who you are… your expertise and how it addresses… their problem or goal, and how they can… contact you

Resources for monetizing your blog

clipped from www.problogger.net How Bloggers Make Money from Blogs Income Streams for Bloggers - How to Make Money Blogging Advertising Programs - Perhaps the most obvious changes in the past few months have been with the addition of a variety of viable advertising options for bloggers looking to make money from their blogs. The most common way bloggers seem to earn money online is via the contextual ad program from Google - Adsense. A more recent addition that many are using successfully are Chitika’s eMiniMalls and WidgetBucks, Text Link Ads. Azoogle Ads, Intelli Txt, DoubleClick, Tribal Fusion, Adbrite, Clicksor, AdHearUs, Kanoodle, Pheedo, TextAds, Bidvertiser, Fastclick and Value Click (to name just some of the options) and there is a smorgasbord of options. Of course there is more to come with MSN Adcenter and YPN both in beta testing and with a variety of other advertising system currently in development (YPN is only available to US publishers). Lastly there’s BlogAds

An oldie and a goodie

These netiquette guidelines were posted in 1995...and they still apply today! (Thank you Kathie Thomas for the link)

clipped from www.faqs.org Netiquette Guidelines October 1995 This document provides a minimum set of guidelines for Network Etiquette (Netiquette) A good rule of thumb: Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you receive. You should not send heated messages (we call these "flames") even if you are provoked. On the other hand, you shouldn't be surprised if you get flamed and it's prudent not to respond to flames. Do not blame the system administrator for the behavior of the system users. Assume that individuals speak for themselves, and what they say does not represent their organization (unless stated explicitly). If you should find yourself in a disagreement with one person, make your responses to each other via mail rather than continue to send messages to the list or the group. If you are debating a point on which the group might have some interest, you may summarize for them later. Avoid sending messages or posting articles which are no more than gratuitous replies to replies.

Another Use for Google Alerts

Sometimes, the simplest things are the most illusive. I use Google Alerts for everything other than myself. This was an eye opener. Why didn't I think of this?

clipped from www.blogcontentprovider.com Blog Content Provider .com Professional Blog Management Why Google Alerts Is Your Most Important Free Tool Google Alerts is indispensable for anyone wanting to business online. Just Google “Google alerts” and you’ll find it. The tool allows you to type in any keyword or phrase and be notified, literally within minutes, of any new information that has been published about you or your company. I recommend that you monitor all content that consists of your real name, any business aliases that you use, your online nickname, your company names, and the names of your partners. You should also include any company brands, product lines, individual product names, and various labels associated with your business.

Another article about Banking in SL

clipped from www.baltimoresun.com Virtual world is make-believe, but crooks are real Money disappears at Second Life bank By Alana Semuels No individual seems to have lost enough money to make filing a lawsuit worthwhile, said Robert Bloomfield, a professor at Cornell University's School of Management who has been following the Ginko case. Because Second Life members live in different countries, "It's not at all clear what jurisdiction you would file suit in," he said. Real-world regulatory agencies don't monitor multiplayer computer gaming environments such as Second Life. And before last week, Linden Lab had handed down only two other official bans against anything - prohibiting simulations of sexual activity involving minors and gambling. Linden Lab seems to see itself as no more responsible for what goes on in Second Life than an Internet provider such as AOL is for illegal activities discussed over e-mail

Word of caution...

This is an FYI so you are aware. Thank you to Andrea Cannavina for the link.

clipped from www.baltimoresun.com Wi-fi users, beware: Hot spots are weak spots By Joseph De Avila Many Wi-Fi users don't know that hackers posted at hot spots can steal personal information out of the air relatively easily. And savvy criminal hackers aren't settling for just access to credit cards, bank accounts and other personal financial information; they love to sneak into your company's network, too. Whether you're using a Wi-Fi hot spot at a hotel, airport or cafe, "you've got to assume that anything you are doing is being monitored," says Shawn Henry, deputy assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrimes division. Even with additional security, users shouldn't pass sensitive information over the Web at public hot spots. "It the same thing as talking on a phone on a crowded bus, you probably don't want to give out your Social Security number," says Dennis Whiteside, vice president for broadband consumer marketing at AT&T

Second Life Banks restricted

clipped from www.massively.com The SL Banking ban - fear and greed If your RL neighbor put up a counter, and a sign "First Bank of [insert your street name here]" and offered interest on deposits, would you deposit your money with her? Would you be more or less likely to if she offered interest rates far in excess of your regulated bank? If she wouldn't provide specifics on where that interest came from? At the site of JT Financial inworld, protestors gathered with signs. Some blame Linden Lab, some blame JT Financial, and others - well, if there's someone who can be blamed, there's someone doing it. Plus the usual collection of tangential, random and humorous protest signs that gather in any Second Life protest, "Baba Sucks" (a reference to oldbie resident Baba Yamamoto) being among the most prevalent of the outliers.

Second Life changing Group IM

In all my years in real life, I have been the type of person to embrace change. Jump from the frying pan into the fire? Sure! Why not? The fire just might be better.
However, in my Second Life the frying pan is definitely safer than the fire. Every time Linden Labs "updates/upgrades" Second Life, I have to achieve a new level of comfort. I have to learn a new set of workarounds to the new set of bugs.
My Second Life has taught me the devil I know is safer than the devil I do not know.

clipped from www.massively.com Peering inside: changes coming to SL's group IM interfaces Starting from viewer 1.19.0 (as was planned, anyway) you would not receive IM messages from any group, unless you already had that group tab open. If the tab was open in your IM window, you'd get IMs as and when they came through - if it was closed, nothing. Group notices and voting proposals would come through normally, but to monitor a group's IMs you would need to open the tab for the group manually, and then leave the tab for that group open. If you logged out, you would need to open the tabs manually again when you logged in. Why the change? Apparently all this was to essentially ease the load on group IM subscription/session management systems. Whatever it is that we end up getting, it probably won't be half as interesting as the process.

Creating a continuity plan

some good ideas to add to your business' plan in case of an emergency

clipped from www.wikihow.com How to Create a Business Continuity Plan Business Continuity Plans are sometimes referred to as Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP) and the two have much in common. However a DRP should be oriented towards recovering after a disaster whereas a BCP shows how to continue doing business until recovery is accomplished. Both are very important and are often combined into a single document for convenience. Make a "How-to". It should include step-by-step instructions on what to do, who should do it, and how. List each responsibility and write down the name of the person assigned to it. Also, do the reverse: For each person, list the responsibilities. That way, if you want to know "who is supposed to call the insurance company?" you can look up "Insurance". And if you want to know what Joe Doe is doing, you can look under Joe for that information.

Inconclusive results about Donda West

With all of modern day technology and we still can not confirm cause of death.

clipped from www.reuters.com Cause of death for Kanye West's mother said unclear By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles County Coroner said on Thursday the exact cause of rapper Kanye West's mother's death in November was unclear, but there was no sign of "surgical or anesthetic misadventure." The final autopsy report released on Thursday is inconclusive, saying that West "died from some pre-existing coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors following surgery." "Based on the history and available information, as currently known, the manner of death could not be determined,"

It's like smiling when you talk on the phone...

When you talk on the phone, if you smile, people can "hear' the smile in your voice.
As cute and humorous as this post is, there is an element of truth to what is said. If you dress appropriately, you will reflect your professionalism while you work - even if it is virtually.

clipped from stevebrewer.blogspot.com Home Front Memo to those who work at home: Work-at-home wardrobe rules It has come to our attention that you folks who don't go to an office every day do not adhere to an enforceable dress code. 12. We here at the main office recognize that many of you enjoy the comfort of bare feet. But there are many hazards lurking in your home. Sharp-cornered plastic Legos. Need we say more? 13. Similarly, working in the nude to circumvent these regulations is not recommended. That coffee is hot. Trust us.

Bringing back Head Start

I had a foster child in a head start program over ten years ago. It was one of the best programs.

clipped from www.pta.org Head Start Program Reauthorized On December 12, President George W. Bush signed into law legislation reauthorizing the Head Start program.  The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 concludes a four-year effort to reauthorize the law.  The legislation also Dedicates $2 million in fiscal year 2008 to Head Start agencies for local training and improvement efforts. Sets a goal that half of all Head Start teachers and curriculum specialists earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Expands Early Head Start by $83 billion to serve additional low-income infants and toddlers. Establishes a new system for the designation of Head Start grants and provides for an open competition among agencies with deficient record of non-compliance within Head Start. Eliminates the National Reporting System, a controversial test given to all 4- and 5-year-old Head Start students.