using social media to expand the classroom community
Posts tagged with iPhone
by derrickwillard on January 1, 2011 at 9:31 pm · Filed under iPhone and tagged: facebook, iPhone, Life 1.0, Web 2.0
Well, I’ve been absent from the edublog-o-sphere for the last two weeks. From time to time I like to unplug from my Web 2.0 PLN. I get so much stimulation from my Twitter feed, Google Reader feed, and reading blogs that sometimes I feel I have to step away from the “table” to “digest” all I have ingested! Additionally, I really feel the need to cut off Web 2.0 in order to fully embrace Life 1.0–to get more exercise, to get outside, to enjoy my family. Of course, living with an iPhone I have found I can not fully unplug anymore. While I really did not open Twitter for 2 weeks, I did open facebook daily. I’m not a big facebook user, but I find that I do “feed the beast” more on holidays and summer when I am away from my professional networks. I used to think there was a more definitive line between Web 2.0 and Life 1.0, but now I am not so sure. I do feel the need to stay connected, regardless of the means…
So, I’m back and ready to blog…check in Monday for thoughts on a new year.
by derrickwillard on December 1, 2010 at 9:24 pm · Filed under iPhone, USTREAM and tagged: iPhone, twitter, USTREAM
So, I’m back…I had a great trip with our junior class in the Florida Keys. We spent 3 days exploring mangrove and coral reef communities, catching critters and examining their adaptations to live in near shore saltwater environments. That’s my favorite part of my job, introducing kids to the beauty and mystery of the natural world. A moment like this is priceless-look at that smile:
Ain't that cool?
So, I tried a little experiment while we were there. I tried live streaming some of our adventures from my iPhone using the USTREAM app. It is amazing! You can create your own channel (here is mine), invite folks to tune in via Twitter, and share the adventure. And, the USTREAM site records and archives the video feeds. If you are interested in seeing brief clips of our group snorkeling on sponge flats off Big Pine Key, check out our trip blog here. What a cool way to invite parents or friends along to share an adventure!
by derrickwillard on November 18, 2010 at 5:24 pm · Filed under blog, iPhone and tagged: blog, iPhone
I’m heading down to the Florida Keys for a few days…but it is not quite a vacation. Every year we take our entire junior class to Big Pine Key to the Newfound Harbor Marine Institute for a little “fins-on” marine biology. I’ll blog about it from the road using my iPhone at this site: http://pdsblogs.org/keys2010/
Back on the edtech beat sometime next week…see ya then.
by derrickwillard on March 23, 2010 at 3:03 pm · Filed under iPhone and tagged: iPhone, Life 1.0
Well, it has been about a week since I lost my iPhone in the back of a cab in NYC. Update: I know that at 7am on 3/19/2010 it was in this line of cabs at JFK airport:
Satellite Image via mobileme (click to enlarge)
Amazing, huh? Yep, the mobileme service from Apple actually let me track the iPhone when it was last connected to a wireless network. Of course, the cabbie has yet to turn it back on…guess he saw that I passcode locked the device (so its useless to him) and guess he ignored my offer of a reward for its return. Maybe he just threw it in a trash can…
So, have a missed my iPhone? Strangely, no. I don’t feel as compelled to check in with my Web 2.0 PLN constantly. Life 1.0 is pretty interesting. Sure, it was ultra-convenient–esp. with mobile me helping me sync multiple devices, calendars, email accounts, contacts. Not sure what I’ll do next. Do I really need it?
Guess I’ll wait a full week and cancel my service? I’ve gone 41 years without a cell phone and only 6 months with one.
Or, maybe I’ll just wait until that 4G version of the iPhone comes out…
by derrickwillard on March 19, 2010 at 7:57 am · Filed under iPhone, social media and tagged: iPhone, Life 1.0, the journey
This week was spring break from my school. I told myself I would unplug, which was very hard to do after the all the excitement and stimulation from attending the NCAIS Innovate Conference. I dropped of Twitter (professional tool) for the week, but took my iPhone to NYC on my family vacation and could not keep from posting regular updates on Facebook (personal tool). Having the iPhone was so handy! I used apps (like yelp) for searching/reviewing/locating restaurants and entertainment. I found an app for the NYC subway system and got around without ever picking up a paper map.
Understand that my iPhone is my FIRST cell phone. I got it last fall, about a year after starting this journey into social media (at age 41). It seemed a logical next step with all that I was doing online. Unfortunately, my iPhone fell out of my pocket in a taxi during our last night in NYC. By the time I noticed, the cab was gone…
Yes, I filed a lost and found report with the Taxi & Limo Commission. Yes, I have mobile me service, so I’ve posted a lost and found message and hope to track its use if someone recharges the spent battery. Yes, I was really bummed.
But, losing my iPhone and constant access to the Web forced me to really unplug. So, what did I do then? I was more attentive to my family. I watched other people. I swear I could hear more detail of my surroundings. I thought about my NYC experience. I read a short book, Food Rules, by Michael Pollan (awesome). I noticed all the screens built into Times Square, like a website with pop-up ads. I noticed all the hundreds of people immersed in their phone screens while walking. I even saw a couple in the airport sitting across from each other at a table-both captivated by their phones and not even speaking for quite some time.
I was immersed in Life 1.0 having lost Web 2.0.
Since staring this journey last fall, I have felt this constant pull between Life 1.0 and Web 2.0. As we seek to shift educational experiences into this virtual world, we must be aware of the trade offs. Social media and access devices have great potential to encourage participation and collaboration in and out of the classroom. However, as access to Web 2.0 becomes ubiquitous, we stand to lose being present in the moment and valuable reflection time if we don’t unplug…
