Learning

A Little Bit of Resolution

And I shall call it Lazarus. My iMac that is. And I promise this will be my last post about it.

My Mac world spins blissfully on once again as last weekend I was able to install a new hard drive in my iMac. I purchased a 500 GB Seagate drive, and with the help of my dog (who insisted on sitting right next to me so she could take in the wonderful smell of computer), installed the drive in about 30 minutes. It’s quite amazing to peer into the innards of a computer as well engineered as the iMac.

I was also able to use a USB to SATA converter to get all my data off my old drive, so no valuable photos, music, or graphics files were lost. I did try to run DiskWarrior with no success, which affirmed how totally hosed the drive really was. The short of it is, I’m back in business.

Just like my experience creating this blog, there is so much here for me to consider in correlation to the learning process for students. I don’t think there is any refuting how powerful a learning experience can be when it is motivating and guided by self-interest. I spoke at length about this in one of my previous posts, so I won’t rehash it all again.

Tomorrow I plan to return to thoughts that are more directly tied to technology in the education process. Thanks for sticking with my ramblings about my computer issues.

I Think I Killed My Mac-Day 2

This has been quite an experience.  I should probably clarify one thing quickly before I update where I’m at and where my iMac is at.

I’m not cheap.  Really.  I know it might seem like I’m trying to get out of this without spending any money, but that’s not the case at all.  I’m trying to get the most knowledge out of this experience as possible.  If I wanted to go the cheap way, I’d just take the machine in and have it fixed.  There’s no risk in that.  If I ran a risk vs. cost analysis of trying to fix the machine myself, the results would prove that I’m not taking the fiscally responsible path.  But, I can’t resist.  It’s like when you were a kid and you took apart the toaster to see what it looked like on the inside.  It’s a completely inquisitive, problem-based learning opportunity.  I could probably write five different posts on the relationship of this experience to the way learning happens in the classroom.  Maybe I will in the future.

On to the update.  It got gory last night.  I opened up the iMac and began pulling out its innards as it yelled out “Freedom.”  I’ve gone past the point of no return.  Here’s the proof.

I have a friend who is going to let me borrow a SATA connection interface so I can see if I can connect the drive directly to my MacBook Pro and retrieve any data.  Thanks to Jay Blackman for that suggestion.  Also, Adam Christianson from The MacCast sent me a very helpful email recommending I give DiskWarrior a try.  If I can get the data off the drive, and since I already have the computer in pieces, I think I’m going to purchase a higher capacity hard drive to replace the old drive.  See, I don’t mind spending some money.

Well, that’s where we’re at right now.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will once again get to see the pictures, listen to the music, and work on the graphics projects that I fear may never be seen, heard, or worked on again.

The End of a Beginning

I find it only fitting to make my first truly official blog post a somewhat imploding, inward spiraling discussion about blog posts. Somehow that seems like literary cannibalism, but don’t quote me on that.

I seriously had an incredible time building this blog. I wish there was some way I could have captured each step and created a very cool time-lapse video like that guy did of his wife every day she was pregnant. I guess the effect wouldn’t have been quite as dramatic. It’s just pretty astounding to look back at my experience and realize how much I learned about how I learn through this process.

So I began this experiment with the thought that I would establish a professional blog for reflecting and connecting with my colleagues in a field at which I am very new. I’ve been quite invested in the field of education for many years now, but it’s the educational technology leadership role that’s so fresh. I have so many ideas and so many things I’m itching to try, but I have to find the self-control to reign that all in and take things in the order in which they’re meant to be taken. That’s going to be a learning experience all on its own.

I started all this with an idea and an absolute lack of any semblance of a single web development skill. I ended up with a product I’m very proud of, and I got here through trial and error, much research, several very near misses at controlling expletives, and an enormous amount of help from a very good friend. Looking over that list, I think it’s a pretty accurate summary of the learning process, controlling expletives not withstanding. How I got to the end of my beginning is something I need to keep right at the front of my brain, so I can offer this same experience to the teachers I teach, and especially to the students who those teachers will teach.

I won’t go on anymore about this, other than to say, if you’re at all interested in how I somehow managed to get from this to where I am now, I’d love to talk it over with you. I will say, at the end of your beginning, you’ll likely look back and say it wouldn’t have happened without help. Isn’t that what makes living in today’s world so amazing? Our sense of community is growing, and I hope you and I can be an active part of that.

Thanks to Mely-O for the Flickr image.

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The Revolution’s Cliff

So here we stand. All of us. Together. We’ve shuffled up to the edge of the cliff, and the timid are leering over with great trepidation, the curious have started toeing pebbles over the edge, and the impatient, emboldened ones are heaving boulders over just to see what might be hit below.

It’s more than just something we can see. We can feel it. Something is in the air, and we all know it. There’s change coming, but no one can predict exactly what shape the change is going to take. It’s exhilarating and terrifying equally at the same time. Our culture is about to shift. Learning is about to become radically different, and beneath it all, I have this sneaking suspicion that technology will be the impetus. Keep throwing the rocks and peering into the haze below. It won’t be long now until we start seeing something real taking shape down there.

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