PEP Tech Talk: April 2007

Joost Invites...3 only

Finally I have 3 invites to send...I had 10 requests...suggestions?

Here's the email I got today:

Hello Glenn,

We hope you are enjoying your Joost experience.

Good news! We've posted 3 invitations in "your Joost" so you can invite
your friends to watch your favorite program with you. To invite your
friends, start up Joost, click on "my Joost" and fill in your friends'
details in the "invite friends" widget box. Enjoy the ride!

About Joost:

As you may know, we're working on a project that we think will
revolutionize the way you're watching TV - bringing you the best of TV
and the best of the Internet.

So, we hope you will enjoy our beta tester program and help us put the
finishing touches to Joost. This is still a private, invitation-only
beta and the software is being rigorously tested. We would greatly
value your opinions, and we hope you'll participate actively by
giving us your feedback.

Enjoy, and see you on Joost!

The Joost team

TED 2.0

I've been a long time TED fan. I've seen every speaker and even shared a few on this blog.

Now I can create my own profile, respond to and indicate my favorites.

Tedsters are cool and the video are fantastic!

Labels: TED

Our Service Area

Google's My Map of the Wildwood Elementary Boundaries.

Labels: google, maps

The Elements of of Email Style!

The Elements of of Email Style!!!
From NPR via Dr. Jordan Reifel :)

Send: Think Before You Click (excerpt)
by Will Schwalbe and David Shipley

Seven Reasons to use the Telephone instead of Email
When you need to convey or discern emotion.
When you need to cut through the communication forest. Rememberthat meeting that had already taken up sixty-seven emails? In three phone calls, it's all set. (Date, time, location, roster of participants, who's having what for lunch.)
When you need to move fast. (Yes, it's true—even with cell phones, ou can have trouble finding someone, or you can get stuck in voicemail. Still, the phone is faster and more reliable than anything else. When you've actually found someone, you know it.)
When you want a remote communication to be private. (Unless you're being recorded or speaking really loudly—and rudely!—in a public place.)
When you need to reach someone who doesn't check their email.
When you want people to be able immediately to engage and respond. The fact that we can talk at the same time and interrupt each other means that we can communicate the way we do in person. The phone allows our words and ideas to overlap, mingle, and amplify one another. Instant messaging and texting mimic this—but it's not the same.
When you need to send a harsh email, you can soften the blow (or distance yourself from it) by calling first with advance warning. ("I just wanted you to know that I'm going to be sending you a formal email letting you know that your bid wasn't successful. I value our relationship and hope that we can speak tomorrow, after you've read it.")

Labels: email

Lucky Rabbit's Foot

WASL Washington Assessment of Student Learning starts on Monday.

We've got our chewing gum,
we'll be using Brain Gym to stimulate our minds,
the baroque music is playing,
we'll be wearing the right colors,
and hopefully the correct scent...

All we need now is our lucky rabbit's foot.

Labels: WASL

Skype me!

I just hung up from a free conference Skype conversation with Melinda Miller a Principal in the Show Me State. Also joining us was Janeta Garton from the same district, her role is to provide instructional tech support to the principals and teachers in their district. It was exciting for me to listen to their enthusiasm as they were involved in a professional development opportunity at 10:30 pm from their own home.

I am now their newest fan on delicious, Miller & Garton.

Thanks for the call, I enjoyed our conversation and look forward to learning more about the cool things you are both doing for the kids of Willard.

Have you tried Skype?
Why not

and give it a try!

Random Skype fact:
Did you know that eBay purchased Skype in 2005?

Labels: Skype collaboration

Fun Virtual Party Tonight!

I attend an ISTE social gathering tonight through Second Life.

Here are some snapshots I took:

Here's the transcript.

My name is Wildwood Wildcat.

If you are a member of Second Life...will you be my friend?

Labels: second life iste

My Map

Google added My Maps today...very cool with tons of educational possibilities!

Here's My Map from My House to My Church...and if you have Google Earth it has a KML file.

You can even add videos and pics...here's the easy to follow directions to you get started.

Labels: google maps

I'm a Joost Beta Tester

Free TV on the internet...hmmm...I'm giving it a test run for the company.

Joost pronounced juiced is a brand new start-up.

So far with my high speed connection only a few glitches with buffering...I like the interface and it's pretty hip and easy to use.

Here's the promo video.

Let's watch something together...My profile is GEMalone. I can invite you if you're interested.

Here's their post on the Joost blog today:

It's showtime!

The latest version of Joost is now available to our beta testers for download - and it's our biggest release yet.
We have also added a bunch of new content, so there's now more channels to choose from - including some from the biggest brands in entertainment.
To celebrate this we have given all beta testers fresh invitations to hand out! So if your friend is a beta tester, this would be a good time to ask for an invite ;o)
We have changed the login, registration and invitation systems for this release: now everything is happening in the client directly. So the first thing you must do when starting the new version, is to register and choose your own personal Joost name.
So for all you beta testers, you now get the chance to choose a cool Joost name before everybody else!

Do you want an invite?
(Edit: I need your first and last name w/ email to invite...however the invite system is down currently and may be limited to the first 5.)

Google Web Accelerator

After only one days use I've saved myself 18.8 seconds so far with the Google Web Accelerator...is anyone else using it and how many hours have you saved?

Labels: google

Social Bookmarking

Which social bookmarking site do you use?

If you don't have one, why not?

I'm surprised that we principals and school administrators don't do more to connect and share online...but then again I'm not surprised. When we were teachers we worked with many who chose to close the door and do their magic...but the really good ones shared and contributed to the conversation. So let's synergize!

I evangelized the blessings of del.icio.us today and I now have 2 new principals in my network...welcome Arturo Gonzalez and Miles Erdly.

Steve and Jan are you next?

I'm a Peepel Person

Not sure if I'll give up Google Docs & Spreadsheets just yet...but Peepel looks like another great free solution.

17 Years Old!

Talk about Digital Natives take a peek at Dustin Bachrach. Dustin is a 17 year old developer and he has created some very cool applications. The one I like best, ShowYourself was featured in my post yesterday. After I added one of Dustin's cool widgets to this site, Principal Mr. P asked me, "How'd you do that?" Well truthfully Dustin made it so easy that even I could do it. Check out his work and ask yourself, "What the heck was I doing when I was 17?"

Labels: cool widgets