Letting Literacy be Literacy

Posted by on Apr 6, 2009

In my opinion, most often discussions of “new literacies” are really discussions of new skills in applying literacy to new contexts. Let me explain. Literacy, at its core, is about gathering and conveying meaning through communication. In the very beginning, before modern language, there was showing and viewing. I’d show you how to hunt a […]

An Online Identity Crisis of Sorts

Posted by on Mar 27, 2009

A few weeks ago I took my life into my own hands and faced certain ruin and potential eternal consequences.  I sent a tweet from church. My wife had to leave service to take care of our young son, and I was left to my own devices.  Quite literally.  I decided to try an experiment […]

Photos of the Week

Posted by on Jan 5, 2009

I really wish I had the motivation and dedication to do a 365 photos type experience.  For those of you unfamiliar with such an undertaking, the basic premise is to register with a group in a service like Flickr, take one photo a day, post the photo to the group’s stream, and repeat for one […]

The Power of a Conference

Posted by on Nov 30, 2008

I believe attending conferences is one of the most dynamic ways for a professional to develop. I recently attended the IETC conference in Springfield, IL, and I left, as I typically do from such a conference, with the indelible notion that there simply aren’t many better forms of professional development in existence.  I find this […]

Building Better Backchannels

Posted by on Oct 30, 2008

I remember the first time I heard the term, “backchannel.”  I was at NECC, and I was immediately struck at how the word seemed somehow geekily mystic.  It took me a bit to realize the term was really just synonymous with chat. According to the define function of Google, a backchannel is, “the practice of […]