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TLDR 30

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 30

Published: 2016-01-29 • 📧 Newsletter

Hi all, welcome to the TL;DR Newsletter.

This week we delve into cognition, perception, and fatuity. It might not make sense now...and hopefully it makes sense at the end. :)

These posts from my readings and work this week in literacy, technology, & education. Please feel free to share with others you believe would benefit. If you like what you see here, I recommend subscribing to get it (electronically) hand-delivered.

This week I shared the following:

🔖 Key Takeaways

📺 Watch

Marvin Minsky passed away this week at the age of 88. He is identified as a pioneer in artificial intelligence and philosopher that helped inspire the creation of the computer and the Internet.

In this video (24:01) he is interviewed by Ray Kurzweil and they discuss the brain, cognition, and construction of artificial intelligence. If you're interested in education, thinking, the future of technology or AI...I thoroughly recommend spending a half hour with Marvin.

📚 Read

Over the past couple of years we've heard more talk about mindsets, soft skills, and dispositions. Within these discussions, we've already read a great deal about the growth mindset, resilience, or determination.

In this post from Edutopia, Jennifer Goldberg posits that students need to build/possess positivity, purpose, and volition.

Tom Ostapchuk pulled data from the OECD's report titled "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" and created graphical comparisons of teacher pay across nations.

Tom also pulled out some (equally) interesting info about teacher pay and recent trends across US States.

Perhaps teacher salary isn't the only indicator...but perhaps we need to consider how we value education and educators as we identify new ways to evaluate them.

A great resource produced by KQED Education and the Trust and Safety Team at Twitter.

The post provides granular advice and support on online safety, netiquette, Twitter 101, parent/administrator resources, and digital media formats.

An interview with Tobias van Schneider in FirstRound Review provides guidance as you consider side projects...or taking a risk in your work. This post was much-needed advice in my own world.

We hear educators consider implementing the 20% time rule from Google into their own classroom routine. Within this context, Tobias offers some advice for your own students...or your upcoming side projects.

A scientific theory of humor

A post from Scientific American looking at research trying to unpack the formula behind being funny.

I view humor as a tool in my own life and practice. The problem is that humor is often viewed differently...but different individuals. Perhaps there is a method or formula behind what people perceive as funny.

For now...I'll stick to my self-deprecating style and hope to not "put my foot in my own mouth" for at least another day.

Resources for Maker Education

Thinking about building up a makerspace in your own classroom? I recently spent some time with a local library system trying to get them to consider installing a small maker lab for student use.

This post from Edutopia provides the links, videos, and shopping lists you'll need.

🔨 Do

If you're a regular blogger....or have just started up a new website...one of the challenges is that many of the links that we connect to in our posts frequently become disconnected, fail, go down...or just rot.

This happened to me in class this week as students tried to click on some links I left behind in class materials.

Amber is a tool that archives links and creates snapshots of pages that you've linked to. If the page is not available...Amber will recognize this and send the reader to an archived version of the intended page. Brilliant.

🤔 Consider

"But there's a big difference between 'impossible' and 'hard to imagine.' The first is about it; the second is about you!" — Marvin Minsky

This week we delve into cognition, perception, and fatuity. It might not make sense now...and hopefully it makes sense at the end. The promise is intentional. The arc is uncertain. The faith is required.

Five pieces of work this week. WalkMyWorld Project started up with Learning Event One—if you're trying to figure out how to make and share, and connect...please come join us on Twitter. The invitation is open. How to teach and connect in online, networked spaces—post that originally started as re-posting but as I started writing it quickly became a call to friends and colleagues to answer the "why would I want to do that?" question. The transformation was organic. The question is fundamental. Why you should build and maintain your one space on the Internet—guidance to my students (and members of WalkMyWorld) as we build up our websites and online presence. How I use Evernote as my online, multimodal notebook—colleague asked how members of our department organize their materials as we research. The question prompted revision. Track 1 for Learning Event 1 of WalkMyWorld—I put together my first real podcast for learning event one and shared it out. I decided that each week I'll add a track to the "soundtrack of my life." I'm trying to learn how to podcast and this is the messy part. The admission is honest. The messiness is embraced.

Marvin Minsky passed away this week at age of 88. Pioneer in artificial intelligence and philosopher that helped inspire creation of computer and the Internet. Ray Kurzweil interviews him about brain, cognition, and construction of artificial intelligence. If you're interested in education, thinking, the future of technology or AI...I thoroughly recommend spending a half hour with Marvin. The recommendation is unqualified. The investment is worthwhile.

Jennifer Goldberg posits that students need to build/possess moxie: positivity, purpose, and volition. Over past couple years we've heard more talk about mindsets, soft skills, and dispositions. Moxie adds dimension to growth mindset, resilience, or determination.

Teacher pay across nations and US states. Perhaps teacher salary isn't the only indicator...but perhaps we need to consider how we value education and educators as we identify new ways to evaluate them. The perhaps is significant. The consideration is overdue.

KQED guide to using Twitter in teaching practice. Great resource providing granular advice and support on online safety, netiquette, Twitter 101, parent/administrator resources, and digital media formats. Comprehensive and practical.

Tobias van Schneider interview provides guidance as you consider side projects...or taking a risk in your work. This post was much-needed advice in my own world. Let yourself be stupid. Take it one step at a time. Ditch your obsession with growth. Trust yourself more. The permission is liberating. The advice is personal. The application is immediate.

Scientific theory of humor looking at research trying to unpack formula behind being funny. I view humor as a tool in my own life and practice. The problem is that humor is often viewed differently...but different individuals. Perhaps there is a method or formula behind what people perceive as funny. For now...I'll stick to my self-deprecating style and hope to not "put my foot in my own mouth" for at least another day. The uncertainty is acknowledged. The style is chosen. The hope is realistic.

Thinking about building up makerspace in your own classroom? I recently spent some time with local library system trying to get them to consider installing small maker lab for student use. Edutopia post provides links, videos, and shopping lists you'll need. The effort is ongoing. The resources are available.

Links that we connect to in our posts frequently become disconnected, fail, go down...or just rot. This happened to me in class this week as students tried to click on some links I left behind in class materials. Amber is tool that archives links and creates snapshots of pages you've linked to. If page is not available...Amber will recognize this and send reader to archived version of intended page. Brilliant. The problem is immediate. The solution is elegant. The implementation is necessary.

Marvin Minsky: But there's a big difference between "impossible" and "hard to imagine." The first is about it; the second is about you. Messy podcasting. Calls to colleagues. Moxie as positivity purpose volition. Teacher valuation. Side projects should be stupid. Self-deprecating humor. Maker lab advocacy. Link archiving. All forms of distinguishing between impossible and hard to imagine. The question remains: what are we calling impossible that's merely hard to imagine?

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