Education and Politics. In both meetings today there was general agreement that technology is not really a problem. [b.cognosco] Politics is a part of life. Politics at its most elemental level is about relationships, relationships between people, groups, institutions, etc. Too bad that these relationships are not healthy at this moment and in the end the ones who suffer are each new generation, who are taking our lead. As Guy Kawasaki, famed Apple evangelist wrote,""People remain anchored to their original opinions and have to be moved from these starting points. Thus, anchoring limits the practical range of opinions....these people suffered most from an inability to see beyond the limits of their anchors."

Centralization: More centralization by IT is the order of the day in Chicago. In the Chicago Public Schools, every computer connected to the CPS WAN is getting Timbuktu, Net Octopus, and an Anti-Virus program installed. After 9.11 and Nimda, IT is battening down the hatches with vigor. Rightly so? Yes! One WAN admin told me , that if he had a chance would have thrown out every Microsoft Information server in the system. In part, the Chicago Public Schools is paying for depending on Microsoft products. The Nimda virus wreaked havoc within the WAN. The other is not properly training educators who are entrusted with operating Windows based servers in the schools. OK. Education and prevention is good. In CPS we have the administration and instructional parts of the WAN. I can agree that the administration half of the WAN should be very secure, due in part to the sensitive and confidential information that is passed through the system. Where I can see problems or better the challenge is on the instructional half of the WAN. CPS can blindly stifle any creative endeavor by saying in a blanket statement, " That server package is not secure". What CPS can do is to add greater hosting power to the present intiative they started about three years ago. Basically, CPS becomes a hosting service for schools. CPS can offer LAMP or Manila blog packages with technical services in terms of installation and configuration. I know we have the iron to run such a service! The question goes back to vision and will. Since the relationship with IT and Learning Tech has never been a smooth one, I do not see this happening in the near future. That is sad.

Check out: Word to the wise: Decentralize By Dan Farber December 11, 2002 http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2901455,00.html

This article speaks to large urban metro school districts. I wish someone would listen.

The issue is finding the appropriate balance between centralized and decentralized computing as well as organizational structures that promote collaboration and nimbleness. But as distributed computing models mature in the coming years, the task of automating, managing and provisioning the network will present a significant barrier to shifting away from centralized controls.
10:24:56 PM  #  comment []

The e-Learning and EduBlog Community. Today was EduBlog day. [b.cognosco]

Good news from Atlanta. It all starts with networking,keeping in touch, and developing contructive relationships. It good Terry got to see Tim and Anne. Tim Merritt, apart from his DV for Teachers blog, is a weblog evangelist. Anne Davis from the school of education is in the trenches, "working it" . Now if the PeachTree Writing Project folks would get involved...
10:22:16 PM  #  comment []

Teacher Inquiry, DV and a Blog Congratulations to our teachers, Kim Alamar and Claudia Greene for doing a presentation at the Illinois Multicultural Convention on "Science Talk" a project that combines teacher inquiry, digital video ( dvd ) and a manila blog. I cannot forget our other sixth grade teacher Jose Trigueros, who is also a participant in this project. He was also present at today's presentation. It takes something to teach in front of a camera as many times as these folks do. It is about the practice and ultimately our students.
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New Google Labs!. Google Labs has two new projects: Google Viewer lets you view the web pages of your search results, in a slideshow fashion. Google Webquotes annotates results with quotes from other sites. Neat!... [Google Weblog] [lawrence's notebook]
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We're experiencing technical difficulties. [Scripting News]

This is a very cool yet a comment on the sad state of affairs in Washington DC. THINK!
4:04:23 PM  #  comment []

Fetch 4.0.3. Fetch is a scriptable FTP client for the Apple Macintosh. Version 4.0.3 offers improved compatibility with Apple's Mac OS X Jaguar release, version 10.2, along with dozens of improvements in such areas as AppleScript support, Kerberos security, and the use of SOCKS gateways. [AppleScript Info]

Fetch just plain works! Do get the update for Jaguar!
10:40:11 AM  #  comment []

LibraryLookup bookmarklets. I love the Internet. I knew that posting yesterday's partial solution to the library lookup problem would prompt someone to prompt me to take the next step. Via Technorati this morning: ... [Jon's Radio]

I agree! Very Cool.
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