Comment #2 on: Golda Lawson-Cohen Week 4 Reading Entry

http://goldadlc.wordpress.com/month-11-mac-blog/wk4-reading-art-of-possibility-the-we-story/

Wk4 reading: Art of Possibility – The WE Story

Telling the WE story has me reflecting on my marriage. We have been together for 15+ years. Part of our success is the ability to communicate. We talk about everything including small talk. Topics will vary and sometimes we will argue. Even though we may argue about things, we tend to in the end come up with the possibility of agreeing to disagree. It is because of this philosophy, we find that we cannot stay angry at one another. Agreeing to disagree allows for mutual respect. It is this mutual respect that gives us our inner strength within our relationship. Another thing that made us stronger is that we were friends first and later to become best friends. Best friends do everything together and support one another in their endeavors. I truly believe that I would not have reached my goal of obtaining a second Masters degree if we did not go through it together. It was the support network that we had that enabled me to achieve this goal. Now we will go through the process of working toward me gaining employment once my goal of this degree is obtained.

My Comment

Golda, thank you for your personal reflection in telling the WE Story. Your daily striving for a continued successful marriage is wonderful. You are right on target about communication. You have apparently mastered what many only dream to do even once and that is “agree to disagree”. It’s hard to turn it off and stifle that calculating self when agreeing is not the thing we desire to do. You mentioned support; trust me we all needed that to get through this last year. Like you most of us got it from our spouses and friends but we also got it from each other. Remember back to our early days on the beach in Second Life now we are both faced with a new second life. Good luck in your search and remember you have all the skills and knowledge you need to make a mark on this world.

Comment #1 on: Irving Peralta’s Week 4 Reading Entry

http://irvingperalta22.blogspot.com/

Wk 4 Reading Art of Possibility: Graduation

This book continues to bring awesome memories back from when I was in Jr. High and High School and how everything I went through as a band member is now helping me to be a great leader. Seriously, we should have started Full Sail University reading this book. What I like about it the most are the stories. Most books are just what one individual thinks or his/her research, but this book contains substance by bringing us in the lives of real people. I love the story of the 10 year old from the ‘failing’ school who was given a chance to conduct the band. WOW! What a dream and all because a man was able to enroll others to see the positive outcome of what seem to be pointless. I now can relate to the feeling I get when our 4th graders graduate. For the past two years we’ve been able to take our kids to their actual future high school and have them walk the auditorium stage as they receive their diploma. We are the only school in our district doing this and believe me that it brings chills to know that they will eventually attend that school. From the proud parents to their bright smiles it is worth spending that money to rent the buses and purchase the balloons. We’ve enrolled ourselves in our community and have benefited from their positive feedback and gratitude. Sure, we cannot please every parent even when the place sat more than enough people there were still complaints. But as I learned from the book, when this situation gets on the board I have the opportunity to make the change and help solve the problem or make it worse. As they say, “the ball is in my court”. What I will do next time is choose a better framework. See this as an opportunity to make our graduation ceremony better the following year. Constructive criticism.

My Comment:

Irving, I agree with you that this book should have been at the start of our journey with Full Sail. I was surprised in my readings to find that the book was an easy read. Again I agree with you that I love the stories. The Zanders have a way of telling the events that keep you enthralled on every word. Their ability to read people and create or develop solutions and antidotes from their mishaps and shortcomings is a tribute to their leadership style. Your explanation of his ability was right on target. He has the ability to enroll others to see the positive (or the possible) outcome of what seemed pointless but only initially. I thinks its great that you have you are involved in planting sparks in young peoples lives that will ignite within them the same sparks that are within you.

Week 4 Reading - Paying-Forward the Experience

In my weekly reading of The Art of Possibility this week I was attracted to the chapter on creating frameworks for possibility. After seven years in my current dream position I will be moving on to another dream position. I will be the Educational Technology Director for a PreK-12 private school. The school is a technologically progressing institution seeking advice, ideas, and leadership to be forward thinking and not downward spiraling in technology adoption.

I see my initial challenge, not yet knowing the political landscape; as working with educators some who may be reluctant to immerse themselves or their students into technology and others who are ecstatic. I will need to find the sparks that will ignite them. In fact I will be seeking the enrollment, for some, in something they may not have complete “buy-in” yet.

In applying what I have read, I have a ready-made game plan for entering my new environment. I will first need to have defined for me or define the school’s technology vision. Within the framework of possibility as defined by Zander, what are the vision’s elements? Equipped with this information I can then begin the steps to the practice of framing the possibility in my new position. First, make a new distinction by determining any downward spiraling and its cause. Secondly, I will submit to “what is” and seeing the possibility of the environment as it is. Lastly, I’ll develop “on track” and “off track” milestones in order to keep my finger on the pulse of the technology vision.

I will attempt to get the faculty to enroll in the possibility I’m offering and what I’ll be offering will be in the support of the school’s vision. To do the support job of a school’s EdTech Director it must not be about me. It’s about the teachers and students that I will be serving. As I see it that’s what I’m going to do to pay-forward from my experience with the universe of possibility.

Resource
Image: eye.png, by Bill Harris, taken on 05/25/2012 
Image: The-Art-of-Possibility-Zander-Rosamund-9780142001103.jpg, http://lfp-blog.com/the-art-of-possibility/the-art-of-possibility-1-of-15-the-story-of-african-shoes/, retrieved  on 05/25/2012
Image: zander.jpg, by Jurgen Banda Hansmann, 2008, http://www.jurgen-photo.com and f-Possibility-Zander-Rosamund-978014200110.png, arranged by Bill Harris, http://www.betterworldbooks.com/the-art-of-possibility-id-0142001104.aspx, retrieved on 05/25/2012

Week 4 Leadership Role Model Reflection

TechHelper's EdTech Hero: Meg Ormiston

Meg Ormiston
Published with permission

I met Meg Ormiston about six years ago at our annual conference and workshop, Week of the Young Child. The conference is conducted and hosted by the Middle Grades Department, College of Education, at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Each year the conference is held for pre-service teachers or teacher candidates to be introduced to a myriad of educational and academic related topics. One year we invited Meg as our Keynote Speaker and boy did we get a KEYNOTE speaker!

Meg is passionate about transforming teaching and learning thorough the power of digital tools. She is a high energy, animated, and motivating speaker captivating everyone within the sound of her voice or mesmerized by her podium presence. She addresses large and small audiences with the same enthusiasm. I have seen and auditorium with over 200 participants engaged in learning activities as though they were in a small group activity. Participants with eye wide-opened, hands flying up to indicate acknowledgment or an answer, and adults flying out of their seats in anticipation of a correct response. Her keynotes are full of content, examples, and information. No one that I know has gone into her workshops and has not come away with something useful in their own personal teaching library.

Meg travels nationally and internationally empowering educators through her dynamic presentations focused on creating positive change in the classroom. She has researched how curriculum aligned to the common core state standards can be delivered through the use of visual images, simulations and multimedia, coupled with real-time assessments. Meg has authored five books with the most recent winning the prestigious Book of the Year 2010 award. Its title is, Creating a Digital Rich Classroom: Teaching and Learning in a Web 2.0 World. What’s more exciting is that she is developing online professional development to engage staff anytime and anywhere.

In this blog post I wanted to look at individuals or organizations that I admired and spell out what it is that attracts me and how I might incorporate this [attraction] into my own leadership style. I did not have to look too far or hard. Ever since I met Meg and seen her every time thereafter I have admired the work she does using her talents to make her positive mark on education. That’s what attracts me to her. I desire to use my talents with that same burning passion to ignite teachers and educational leaders to “think outside the box” when it comes to technology integration and adoption.  To quote Meg, she says, “I’m not about technology, I’m about teaching and learning” and to it I add my personal phrase that I’ve said for years, “I’m not a techie. I’m and educator.” Meg inspires me to be a passionate educator in using my technology skills and I'm proud to know someone like her.

"Role Model" a definition:   

RoleModel.egg on Aviary.

Comment #2 on: Duwaine Jenkins’ Week 3 - Art of Possibility Reading

http://duwainejenkinsmonth11.blogspot.com/

WK 3-Art of Possibility Reading

In reading this week, one phrase stood out. The conductor doesn’t make a sound. He uses the strengths of his orchestra to produce it. The first story that made me think about my classroom was with the Cuban and American Youth Orchestras. Due to unseen circumstances one piece of music was not given to one group. This almost ruined the concert until one conductor came up with an idea. Let the youth teach each other. This pressure caused them to think outside of the box for a moment. I want to say for a moment because when they saw a solution that worked they almost resort back to business as usual. How many times do teachers find that ah-hah moment and then resort back to the routine? In the next scenario, one viola blanks out during a crucial time in the performance. The violinist sitting next to him seamlessly plays the part on his instrument that is not tuned at the same pitch. The piece went off flawlessly. Wouldn’t it be great to be in a class and not be noticed? Not because you are ineffective, but because your students are collaborating so well that they embrace the assignment and make it their own.

My Comment

Wow! Duwaine, you eloquently spoke the truth that many of us have seen or at least I have seen. Too often I’ve seen teachers in training get that “Ah ha!” moment in training go back to their classroom and apply their “Ah ha” solution with great anticipated success and not use that success to replicate it with other classes of students. This was a prime example of that. This worked because of what we know today, collaboration works. In collaboration students take ownership of their learning and sharing of that learning. Not in a way that is boastful but in a reassuring prideful way. They would seem to say, “I know what I’m talking about and the correct way that I just shared it with my peers confirms that I know what I’m talking about.”  You made an excellent point.

Comment #1 on: Kristen Mckernin’s Week 3 Reading Entry

http://kristenmckernin.blogspot.com/

Wk3 Blog Post - Art of Possibility (5-8)

This book is really moving me.  I think this book was the EXACT fit to have to read nearing the end of this long journey.  It is really helping me examine my own life and I find myself relating to it almost every page.  I have kept a Word document of my favorite quotes.  I have been so incredibly busy this past year, I have bought my first house and I will have completed graduate school all in the same year.  Both of these have taken up all of my time after work, that I have seemed to "loose myself" in the process.  I have been thinking for weeks what I am going to do next, since I feel like I am not going to know what to do with my time.  I think the next step will be to "find and improve" myself.  I am not unhappy in any way, but I know I can do and be better.  This book is so motivating and is just the right thing to start me on that path!  I especially need to learn to remember the Rule Number 6.  I think that I am going to pass on this chapter to my administration and see what they think about implementing it in our environment.  I think that it would be a great thing to remember throughout our very hectic days.  I have also realized that I need to find my central self because I almost always react with my calculating self.  I over analyze almost everything in my life and go back and forth questioning a decision a million times.  I always try have other people make decisions because I am always afraid I will choose the one that will make someone or others unhappy.  But I guess that leads to learning that you cannot please everyone. 

I hope others are finding this book as moving as I am....

Regardless of the changes I would like to incorporate in my life, here are some of my favorite lines that I feel will help me become an even better person:

“Humor and laughter are perhaps the best way we can ‘get over ourselves.’  Humor can bring us together around our inescapable foibles, confusions, and miscommunications, and especially over the ways in which we find ourselves acting entitles and demanding, or putting other people down, or flying at each other’s throats.”  (80)

“When we practice Rule Number 6, we coax this calculating self to lighten up, and by doing so we break its hold on us.”  (81)

“When one person peels away layers of opinion, entitlement, pride, and inflated self-description, others instantly feel the connection.  As one person has the grace to practice the secret Rule Number 6, others often follow.”  (89)

“Mistakes can be like ice.  If we resist them, we may keep on slipping into a posture of defeat.  If we include mistakes in our definition of performance, we are likely to glide through them and appreciate the beauty of the longer run.”  (102)

“Abstractions that we unwittingly treat as physical reality tend to block us from seeing the way things are, and therefore reduce our power to accomplish what we say we want.”  (108)

“Downward spiral talk is based on the fear that we will be stopped in our tracks and fall short in the race, and it is wholly reactive to circumstances, circumstances that appear to be wrong, problematic, and in need of fixing. 

“Focusing on the abstraction of scarcity, downward spiral talk creates an unassaible story about the limits to what is possible, and tells us compellingly how things are going from bad to worse.” (108)

“The more attention you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence of it will grow.   Attention is like light and air and water.  Shine attention on obstacles and problems and they multiply lavishly.”  (108)

“Speaking in possibility springs from the appreciation that what we say creates a reality; how we define things sets a framework for life to unfold.”  (110)

“We start from what is, not from what should be; we encompass contradictions, painful feelings, fears, and imaginings, and- without fleeing, blaming, or attempting correction- we learn to soar, like the far-seeking hawk, over the whole landscape.”  (111)

My Comment:

Kristen we all need to remember “Rule #6” modified for some of us of course. I think that every time we react to our “calculating self” we are serious about our goals and our focus. I think that we become calculating because it becomes our way to survive in world where everyone seems to be calculating. But I see that’s why “Rule #6” makes people stop and take notice…it’s different from how others are acting or reacting. This difference causes a change in you, which in turn causes you to be different. In your response, I detected a little downward spiral in your conversation. You used “but” instead of “and”. You have accomplished so much in this extremely busy year “and” you bought your first house “and” graduating from Full Sail also. You are so alive with the enthusiasm of life. Keep telling yourself that. To quote or re-quote the source of one of the Zanders sayings, “Speaking in possibility springs from the appreciation that what we say creates a reality;…” source quote, Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue:…” Meaning; what we say positively or negatively out of our mouths will make a difference in positively or negatively affecting our lives. If you profess unhappiness then you will be unhappy until you profess something else. This is what the Zander’s are simply telling us. 

Week 3 Reading - Tearing Down Walls

http://social-creature.com/how-to-stand-in-the-face-of-powerlessness-for-a-new-generation

In Zanders’ Seventh Chapter of The Art of Possibility both Ben and Roz takes the reader on a “journey of possibility” by given examples and experiences that shows us how we take negative experiences and turn them into “walls” of challenges instead of paths toward our journey of possibility. The antidotal quotes and stories they use seem common sense, many of which we know. They have a way of helping you understand why it is “OK” to view the world from the “glass half-full” view instead of the opposite of half-empty. The focus of view that we should take should be on what is positive about the circumstance. In that ay we can focus on what moves us forward and not what holds us back.


I made an emotional connection as well as had an “Ah ha!” moment when reading the chapters of this assignment at two points. The first point; I teach teachers technology integration and continually hear from some teachers, “I can’t do this stuff”, “I’ll never understand this technology”, where am I going to get the time to practice”, or my favorite, “I haven’t needed technology in all these years, why do I need it now?” For most of these teachers their focus was on the “wall” or the technology. Many could not see the possibility in advancing themselves or their students through its use. Zanders’ explanation helps me to understand my role as an educational leader to reach them. Teachers often fear technology because they are afraid to make a mistake or “break” the computer. Zander says it is difficult to maintain an approach to things positively, “…in our competitive culture where so much attention is given to mistakes and criticism that the voice of the soul is literally interrupted.” This is where my leadership skills come in to make them feel secure both in training and when they return to the classroom.


The second point of encounter came from Roz Zander’s discussion of “The Wall”. In that section she talks about the “the wall” between a 16 year old boy and his parents. She addressed how the more the father talked about the wall that the boy put up the more the boy withdrew in the conversation. The only question I had when reading this section was how did Roz Zander get in my house without me seeing her? I had a mirror reaction to my now 25-year-old son when he was 15-16 years old with the same situation and circumstance. The conversations always centered on the wall and not what caused the wall or better still what would it take to fix it or tear it down. Discussions were usually “downward spirals” that inevitably led to a higher and thicker wall or as she puts it, “tend to look more and more helpless.” The long story cut short, leads to our finally remembering how much we loved each other and my realizing that he only wanted to be heard and seen as some value to the family. The wall fell down.


I am enjoying the journey.

Week 3 Discussion Board 3-1: Resistant to Change

Why do you think educators are so resistant to change, especially when it comes to technology? How do other institutions, such as business, deal with technological change?

While reflecting on the discussion prompt, I stumbled upon a section of an article, entitled: Changes in Technology in Business that read:

“Accessibility 

Advancements in mobile technology allow employers and employees to communicate in newer, faster ways. Laptops, tablet computers and mobile devices like PDAs keep workers constantly connected, raising networking to another level. Companies have access to their clients and customers on-line and vice versa, increasing the frequency and speed of communication, and making companies more available to their customers. 

Application 

By utilizing the connectivity offered by changes in technology, businesses can easily keep customers and clients up-to-date with the latest information and news. They can also use this access to conduct faster research on what clients are looking for, leading to more rapid business development. Many businesses are already using social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay in constant contact with their customers and learn more about how they can better their company.”

As I was reading my mind immediately began replacing words that reflected educational terms instead of business terms, e.g., parents for clients and students for customers, etc. The results made sense and were in fact true. But why then does it feel so uncomfortable as we read it. (The paragraphs below are the same as those above with the bold and italicized words below replacing the underlined words above).

Accessibility 

Advancements in educational technology allow teachers and students to communicate in newer, faster ways. Laptops, tablet computers and mobile devices like PDAs keep students constantly connected, raising collaboration in education to another level. Schools have access to their parents and students on-line and vice versa, increasing the frequency and speed of communication, and making schools (or content) more available to their students.

Application 

By utilizing the connectivity offered by changes in technology, schools can easily keep parents and students up-to-date with the latest information and news. They can also use this access to conduct faster research on what students are looking for, leading to more rapid educational development. Many schools are already using social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay in constant contact with their teachers, parents, and other students and learn more about how they can better their educational environment.

However, the reality of its use is different. Businesses and other institutions embrace technology change. For them, they know that to change and incorporate technology means a change in revenues. The right technological change could mean a serious increase in revenue and a wrong move could mean a loss. In business this is considered a business risks and in many cases considered acceptable and may be recoverable. This could result in little or no major or long-term effect on the business or its employees. However, in education the risk is much greater if the implementation of a technology fails. If technology adoption or implementation fails the results are immediate and long lasting in terms of student expense and therefore considered unacceptable risks and losses to stakeholders.

This is one of the factors that make educators so resistant to change, especially when it comes to technology. Hixon & Buckenmeyer (2009) showed there are many factors that hindered teacher adoption of technology in classroom instruction. Identified were the lack of teacher technology training, the lack of funding for technical support, the lack of focus for the intended use of the technology, and from personal observation, the fear of the technology for whatever reason.

I have found that as veteran teachers (those approaching retirement age) begin to attrite from in-service to retired, newer younger more tech-savvy teachers are picking up he mantle of technology implementation with little effort. However, unless there is a fundamental institutional change of attitude from educational leadership and the way we are preparing teachers to use technology there will be no change in technology adoption in education (see my AR project).

Leadership Post: Leadership Project Hub

Moore’s technology adoption curve. Inspired by Jane Hart

A Recipe for Success: A View of Technology Adoption

(1) Introduction

When I began my project I was investigating what elements contributed to a school’s successful technology adoption. According to the research I found that common to many successful programs and from my own personal experience were teacher professional development and educational leadership. The purpose of my action research was to explore the importance of building-level leadership and a strong professional development program and their role in the successful implementation of an effective educational technology adoption program by examining the attitudes and behaviors of a selected group of teachers and a group of building-level administrators involved in integrating technology in an academic environment.

(2) A list with the links to the two previous weekly Leadership blog posts,

Week 1 Leadership Post

Week 2 Leadership Post

(3) Clickable link to your Leadership Document.

Presenter's Notes

Linkable Presentation

Week 2 Comment #2 for: Lori Hobbie

MAC Week 2 Reading Blog: The Art of Possibility

I have actually read this book before. As I’m re-reading the book, it’s giving me an opportunity to reflect how this book (and a few others related to linguistic ontology) created an open space in my life for me hold questions with no answers needed and to think so radically outside of my “measurement” box that I actually considered pursing a graduate program in Educational Media Design and Technology! How serendipitous that as this journey is coming to a close, I am being taken back to the year of contemplation that led me to this program. I had a dream to create an educational coaching practice that could help kids to become their best selves in their respective educational environments. I even took a year off of teaching to invest time and energy into this idea and I wasn’t even exactly sure what it was. So that is how my company One Life Learning was born. From there, I was drawn to the opportunity that Full Sail offered of gaining a skill set that would allow me to market this dream, to place it in a relevant context. And here I am. So when Zander & Zander refer to “inventing a framework”, “set the context and let life unfold”, “give yourself an A” and “ declaring yourself a contribution” they are reading my mail! What a joy it is to re-read this book on this side of a long transitional journey…full of possibilities.

My Comment

Lori, its exciting to see someone drawing their lines outside the box. I have had the desire for something similar but have failed to give myself an “A”. You however made a point that we all share in the enlightenment. We all drew lines outside our boxes and pursued a graduate program in Educational Media Design and Technology and as for me it’s my second masters. Why, when I’m so close to my second retirement? Because I guess I am thinking outside my measurement box. I don’t want to be measured by the standard, I want to set it! I didn’t think I could get more motivated than I already am from this program but the Zanders’ book gives me a fresh way to see what I’ve always known and even included in my own philosophy. Case in point, I have a saying that for every problem there is one or more solutions you just need to find them. On page 27 of his book, Zander puts it a little more elaborately, “Every problem, every, dilemma, every dead end we find ourselves facing in life, only appears unsolvable inside a particular frame or point of view. Enlarge the box, or create another frame around the data, and the problems vanish, while new opportunities appear.” Good luck with One Life Learning!   

Week 2 Comment #1 for: Cyndy Mandaski

Week Two Reading:  Human Potential, not Music Notes

By Cyndy Mandaski

The Ted video had me hooked from the start; I do not feel that I would have absorbed as much from the readings had I not seen, heard, and felt Zander’s energy in the video first.  The video and “The Art of Possibility” are inspiring words of wisdom for all walks of life, not just for musicians.  He talks more of human potential than musical notes.

Having a son who has now played violin for 5 years and a son who is learning to play the saxophone for the first time this year, I truly “laughed out loud” when he modeled how an early student of music plays a Chopin prelude.  It was as if he had been in my living room over the course of the last few years watching my boys learn to play!  Zander has not only an understanding of music, but of children’s growth as well. Many of the things he (and Rosamund) said in this week’s reading hold true from a teacher’s perspective.  Zander says, “My job is to awaken possibility in other people”.  I took what he was saying to mean that his goal is to take his students on a journey where they find their worth and look for the best in themselves.

I contemplated for a long time on what is meant by “The Easy A”.  At first reading, I thought that it doesn’t make sense to just pretend that all students are the same and they all get an A.  Pretending that my students will all rise to the challenge and do things they can’t do.  

After sleeping on it and being back in school with my 8th graders after thinking about it, I read that section again.  Maybe what he meant is that giving out The Easy A brings out what is unique in students, rather than how they fall when “standardizing” kids against each other.   Grades (and of course the high-stakes testing I just administered) are all about how my students measure up against all other 8th graders in Ohio.  Grades and OAA scores do not take into consideration the environment and unique talents of my kids. The Easy A however, allows students to face their own unique challenges and tell why and how they deserve their A.  This would give a teacher richer information:  not how they stack up against others, but how they stack up against their own hopes and dreams.  This concept aligns with the Social and Emotional Learning program my school has instituted, and I can see how it can have great benefits.  However, my district says I have to assign grade cards and administer OAAs.  To find how The Easy A can be used in my classroom is a challenge I will have to think more about.

My Comment

Cyndy, I am impressed with your in depth review of Zander beyond his book. I do understand like you how difficult it would be to give an A to start everyone off. Students are unique and all will not perform to the “standard” of A but that does not mean that all may not try because of the excitement of that expectation. I think its something worth trying on a small scale. It is a shame that Zander had a lapse in judgment in using a convicted sex offender around children. But lets look at the “possibilities” from Zander’s side. I can see how with his optimistic view on human behavior and motivation that he saw Peter’s potential success and not his past failures. 

Week 2 Reading: The Art of Possibility in Application

I do not think the book addresses how to bend the world to your will or even about what to do when the world around you opposes your vision of what could be. I think it’s about how to take control of your life and shape (not bend) the world to your vision of what could be within the realm of your influence. So far, I’m enjoying the book and will more than likely read it again at a more leisurely pace.

Amazingly enough I encountered a situation on the day of this entry in which I was able to share the Zanders’ enlightened wisdom by consulting a former student. I had responded to a phone message in my office to return a call to one of the school districts I served. The voice on the other end answered with the standard polite greeting of the office title, her name, and “may I help you”. I thought I recognized the secretary’s name but thought to myself, “Nah! This couldn’t be one of my former students who I taught in middle school and now working at a district office. I’m not that old!” Well, it was and she recognized my name and voice. After addressing the business of the call, she politely asked me if I minded if she asked me some questions about career, being successful, and the disillusion of education as a means to “get ahead”. She expressed how disappointed she was that after receiving her bachelor’s degree, her masters, work experience in many human-service related areas, and a minimum wage salary, she has nothing to show for it. She did not feel successful. Having read the first few chapters of The Art of Possibility, I asked her by whose standards did she feel unsuccessful? I explained to her as Zander puts it, that her thoughts and actions…where reflections of the measurement world. I explained to her that that meant she was living up to the standards of the world and not hers.

In the “Giving an A” chapter Zander gives account of his use of the giving an “A” to a group of music students at the beginning of the course and tells them to earn it they must explain in writing how they earned the “A” as if they were telling it in the future. The simple psychology of that says that by imagining, seeing, or projecting yourself into success will cause you to establish a focused goal in which to work toward. Using Zanders section titled “The Practice”, I asked the young lady the questions more or less and she came up with her own conclusions. She was not focused, she had not really set goals for herself, and no one ever told her that she could set her own level of success. In other words she had no one to give her an “A” so she could move to the next level. She did tell me that it was because of my influence in teaching computers that she went on to get her B.A. in Computer Science. If I remember I did her an “A”.

I could go on about that conversation with my former student but then this entry would be so long my readers might not come back. By the way, I’m passing her off to be mentored by some successful women I know and I recommended “The Art of Possibility” for her to read.

Week 2 Leadership Post: Where Do I Want To Share My Project?

The two conferences where I want to present are the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC 2012) and the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC 2013). The Georgia conference is held each year in Atlanta, Georgia and has a large number of educators and educational leaders from the state of Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee in attendance. The Florida conference is one of the largest educational technology conferences on the East Coast and attracts attendees from all over the world. The audiences who attend these two conferences for the most part are in my area of immediate influence. Having worked in the EdTech field for sometime the issues I broach in my AR Project and presentation will be quite familiar to many and therefore may excite the interest of some. With emerging technologies and Web 2.0 developing so rapidly many school systems are re-thinking technology integration and I feel that the theme of my presentation remains constant in its solution to assist educators in being successful in technology adoption.

Week 1 Comment Entry for: Faith Olarsch

Faith Olarsch MAC: wk 1 Blog

MAC Wk1 reading: Copyright issues, parts 1 - 3:                             

We can copy, right?

If you create a tangible work, you own the work and the right to protect that work, currently for a lifetime plus 70 years, or 100 if you are a company.  At one time, copyright was 14 years.  The printing press made the copyright law important due to the ease of copying.  You must share and you are unable to copyright common words, calendars, improvisation, and rulers.  Creative commons law creates an acceptable means reasonably sharing your work.  Those who make lots of money from the work of artists heavily protect the copyright law ("Good copy, bad," 2009).  The artists make money too, sometimes.  I do not knowingly infringe copyright laws, but...

image: copy, right? by Faith Olarsch

I would argue that creating and consumption of media is addictive.  I would argue that iTunes has saved the music industry by teaching the industry that they cannot continue to be unreasonable.  

As a human race the way we learn best is through observation and imitation.  You can’t deter that, call that illegal, and put people in jail because of the way we learn and evolve.  When I say you can’t, I mean that you can't spiritually, ethically, and truthfully.  There is evidence to show that you can make unreasonable laws to earn lots of money and then enforce those laws with that money without people standing up for themselves en masse.  This is why we must encourage and protect fair use and the creative commons license.  Fair use is a defensible position to protect you against overgrown copyright laws.  This right is defended by the first amendment according to the Supreme Court, but citizens need to protect this ideal ("Remix culture: Fair," 2009).  "Fair" use is defined by how it is used, how much is used, and the commercial effect on society. 

Creative commons license allows the creator to share their material on their terms.  

Reports indicate that when pirating occurs, that the industry sometimes makes more money (Anderson, 2010).  I believe that this is relevant to the Shepard Fairey vs. Associated Press (AP) vs. Garcia conflict on the Obama hope poster.  Fairy took a photo from the AP and changed the picture so much that Garcia did not recognize the photo that he took, and made it famous.  Associated Press wants the money because they purchased the use of that photo.  Garcia would like money because he put in the time to create that photo as a freelance photographer (Samad, 2009).  Who was the source of this powerful emotion?  Who was the creator of this popular poster?  I wish they had used the creative commons license to demonstrate their intent of their work, but they did not.

Just an aside....

If you would like an elementary teaching tool for copyright laws, consider this link: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/
      http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/04/us-government-finally-admits-most-piracy-
      estimates-are-bogus.ars
Good copy, bad copy [Theater]. (2009). Available from http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/
Remix culture: Fair use is your friend [Web]. (2009). Retrieved from 
      http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_in_online_video/ retrieved on  
      7/18/2009
Samad, J. (2009). Shepard fairey: Inspiration or infringement?. Retrieved from 
      http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101182453



Anderson, N. (2010). Us government finally admits most piracy estimates are bogus . Retrieved from 

Has anyone noticed the lack of funding for unified arts programs?  Has anyone noticed that you may have a difficult time making a living with sports, but you can still find them in every public school?  My husband said to me the other day, have you noticed that there has not been anything new that is truly legendary in the music industry?  How many times do you hear, this is a remake?

My Comments

Faith, if I understand your statement that you agree that iTunes has helped save the industry by teaching the industry that they can no longer be unreasonable, then I agree with you. Just as much can be said if not more that the whole affair is a result of Napster making its’ stand for music and file sharing services on the Internet. Without these civil court cases, Fair-Use may have never been born. I guess that’s why we have judges and the law so that emotional cases vs. the law can prevail in fair practices.

Mannie Garcia/Associated Press

You mentioned the Shepard Fairey vs. Associated Press (AP) vs. Garcia conflict on the Obama hope poster. You further pointed out that Garcia would have liked to have money because he put in the time to create that photo as a freelance photographer. Is it not interesting though that Garzia was quoted to say, “I don’t condone people taking things, just because they can, off the Internet...but in this case I think it’s a very unique situation.” He was further quoted saying, “If you put all the legal stuff away, I’m so proud of the photograph and that Fairey did what he did artistically with it, and the effect it’s had.” It is clear to me that he as a practitioner of the Arts understands artistic freedom while clinging to his rights as a copyright holder. I always appreciate your work and insights, Faith. Keep pressing!

Week 1 Comment Entry for: Duwaine Jenkins

Duwaine Jenkins' Post: Week 1-Fair Use

arman-mydiary.blogspot.com

As I look at these videos, I reflected on how much I may have infringed on someone else's work. In my classes I used to take video clips and start discussions with them. I thought the idea after watching "Dream On", a comedy on HBO. I would use clips from Disney movies all the time, thinking that since it's animation, I wouldn't have to worry about material being too sensitive. Well I'm glad that my idea never went viral or anything, because when it does, it starts to cost.
The underlying theme here to me was that money was the underlying theme. I am very saddened that many works will never be seen, because the filmmaker didn't have enough cash to keep his documentary current. This happened with the film "Eyes on the Prize", a movie about the Civil Rights movement. Half a million dollars to renew? In my personal opinion, this is still an attack or an effort to erase a vital component in American history.

Week 1: Reading Entry

I thought I knew a little something about Copyright until I went through the lessons on Copyright. I then found I knew little about copyright and learn the something. I had seen the “What the Heck is Copyright” before and had a good understanding of its application or so I thought. I had assumed that copyright was there to protect the copyright owner from having his or her intellectual property stolen from them by denial of proceeds due them. In fact as Peter Jaszi says, Copyright exist for one purpose: “to promote the progress of science and useful arts”.  He further goes on to say, which makes perfect sense, that Art doesn’t come from nowhere. Cultural progress depends on the ability of artists to make reasonable use of preexisting material and that includes copyrighted material”. How obvious is that! It reminds me of another saying, “There is nothing new under the sun”.

As I see it, a study of music genres, reveals various genres merging with others from different time periods to create a “new” genre, only to have to revert to another at another time period. Its as though in order to avoid copyright infringement a “mix” of genres are created to create something so called “original”. Adding a sesame seed bun, special sauce, a different type of lettuce, and cooked another way than fried does change what it is…it’s still a burger. But without the original you can’t have the modifications that some people may want.

Even though Mr. Jaszi’s point is well taken, I can’t help but feel that we here in the United States make such a big thing over copyright to protect our money and not the art. Other countries as “Copyright issues, part 1 stresses seem to consider the arts more than the profit made. I believe in one scene a young music producer said that musicians were more interested in getting their popularity up by having their music mixed and played at parties and clubs so they could perform in concerts and make real money.

I now see that copyright does in fact support and protect the Arts (in legal terms) by allowing the use of “somebody else’s copyrighted music, pictures or words without paying or asking permission as long as it benefits society more than it hurts the copyright holder.”

Cartoon obtained from: http://www.michaelgaigg.com/blog/tag/copying/

Week 1 Leadership Post: To Publish or To Present

  

I have presented at many local, regional, and one national conference over the past seven years and consider it the most effective way to deliver information and generate discussion amongst a community of common stakeholders. I have decided to prepare a presentation to present the results of my Action Research project to be delivered at a conference.