The Road Less Traveled

Finally… I own an I-Pod. Sure, it’s an I-Pop Mini and it’s a girly blend of pink and purple, but it’s mine. Thanks to an unbelievably generous student (who was already in my book as one of the nicest kids I’ve ever known) I now have an I-Pod filled with 300+ of my favorite songs.

I decided to share it, so if you were to check my artists, you would come across Fergie, Gwen Stefani, Kellie Pickler, and a dozen or so more that are far from what I enjoy listening to. You would also find a Playlist titled “Disney.” Not hard to guess who that’s for.

I’m just so excited. I’ve spent hours already, syncing it up to my I-Tunes and getting as many of my songs as I can on there. I was really pleased o know that Nine Inch Nails is offering their new album The Slip for free online. Of course I downloaded it. It’s not as good as other albums of theirs, but hey, free music. You can get it by entering your e-mail here:

    The Slip

I was also happy to find that Smashing Pumpkins (who were one of the first rock bands to offer an entire album online) still had Machina II available online. You can get it here:

     Machina II

I think maybe I’m obsessed. I already have 433 songs on there and I still have more to go. I’m ripping some MP3s from CDs I have and putting them on, also. The CDs are just taking up space in my car.

If anyone knows of some other artists who offer MP3s of their music online, just let me know. I know Josh Ritter, an amazing songwriter comparable to Bob Dylan, has a few free MP3s on his homepage, as well:

    Josh Ritter Music

Until later — “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

DISCLAIMER:  The following playlist contains language that may be offensive to some listeners.

This one was actually not the result of boredom.  I was made after a creative whim.  I was thinking of how cool it would be to make a playlist inspired by the Beat Movement.  The playlist has a mix of jazz and blues that are true to the Beat Movement time period as well as some more modern poetic songs that I feel are true to the messages and views of the Beat poets.  And, my favorite part, there are some poetry readings by famous figures of the Beat Movement. 

If you’re not familiar with the Beats, check out this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_Movement

Right now, my favorite Beat writer is Jack Kerouac.  I’m currently working my way through On the Road and I just recently bought The Dharma Bums (which I heard is more enjoyable than On the Road, but not as important).  I just love the idea of traveling across the country just to feel free.  My brother and I are planning to hike into the woods this summer with sleeping bags, food, and anything else we think we need, walking until we get tired, rolling out our sleeping bags, and spending the night wherever we are in the woods.

Hope you enjoy.  You should try this some time, create a playlist inspired by your favorite book, movie, video game, or whatever you want.

After all the talk about technology and its current impact on the world, I decided to do a little research on some other inventions that revolutionized the way we communicate and connect.  I found this article on morse code from White River Valley Museum:

 Morse Code History

Morse code relies on precise intervals of time between dits and dahs, between letters, and between words. Here’s a chart that shows these relationships:  dit  1 unit of time  dah  3 units of time  pause between letters  3 units of time  pause between words  7 units of time The speed of transmitting Morse code is measured in WPM (words per minute). The word “Paris” is used as the standard length of a word. To transmit the word “Paris” requires 50 units of time. If you transmitted the word “Paris” 5 times, you would be transmitting at 5 WPM. An experienced Morse code operator can transmit and receive information at 20-30 WPM. Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse, (1791-1872), was a famous American inventor and painter. Morse graduated from Yale in 1810 and went on to study painting in England. In 1815, he took up portrait painting and was quite successful in this field. Morse helped to found the National Academy of Design and served as its first president.In 1827, Morse became interested in electricity. In 1832, he began a 12-year period perfecting his version of an electric telegraph, for which he subsequently received the first patent for this type of device. Samuel F. B. Morse (1791 - 1872) In 1844, Morse demonstrated to Congress the practicality of the telegraph by transmitting the famous message “What hath God wrought” over a wire from Washington to Baltimore. He later experimented with submarine cable telegraphy. Samuel  Morse Telegraph Receiver Used to receive the message, “What hath God wrought” during the demonstration to Congress in 1844. Smithsonian National Museum of American History Electric Telegraph

Does any of that sound familiar?  How about, “… the Morse telegraph was successful for a number of reasons, including its simple operation and its relatively low cost.”  Computers have increased in popularity because they have decreased in price and although they have become more complex, they have become easier to use.

Let me know what you think.

Another clever video.  This one is really similar to The Connected Classroom, with some slightly more catchy background music.

Download Video: Posted by bionicteaching at TeacherTube.com.

This is a very similar video to Did You Know 2.0 but is more focused for teachers.  Before watching this video, I had my room set up in rows because I was taught in college that it was the best set up for maintaining classroom management.  After, though, my desks are arranged in clusters of five.

Download Video: Posted by khokanson at TeacherTube.com.

I think I may start a series of videos on education and technology to post on this blog for anyone who has not seen them yet.  I’m not as frightened of the 21st century as many others are but I am also a fast learner when it comes to technology.  I think, though, one of the reasons so many people are worried is because now we have no choice but to learn and grow.

In The World is Flat:  A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Friedman interviewed Nandan Nilekani, CEO for Infosyst Technologies Limited.  Nadan said, “The playing field is being leveled” and that America is going to be challenged but “… the challenge would be good for America because we are always at our best when we are being challenged” (Friedman, 7).

I love a challenge.  I don’t always rise to the occasion, but I do believe that people are at their best when being challenged.  That is an important thing to understand as a teacher.  Increase expectations, challenge students, and you will see the best in them.  They may not all meet the expectations, but they will be amazed by how hard they worked to try.

Until later– “There’s no turning back now that you opened up to your mind.”

This is a great video.  I showed it to my students and they were amazed.  The end of the video is an special message for parents on how to prepare their child for the 21st century.  This video may change the way you view the future.

Download Video: Posted by mcleod at TeacherTube.com.

Let me know what you think, your reactions to the video.