However, I’ve noticed that rather than get to all those posts from The Guy/Girl Who Posts 12 Times Daily, I am find myself looking forward to reading those posts from The Guy/Girl Who Posts One or Two Nuggets Per Month. What I mean is, while I thought I’d be happy about spending more time in my reader because I’d finally have time to read all the stuff from the people who seem to have tons of time to do nothing but write blog posts, I’m finding that these people — the ones who post incessantly — are not the ones whose blogs I look forward to reading.

Why?

Well, I’m starting to think it’s because I favor quality over quantity. Just because you’re writing all the time does not mean you’re writing something good all the time. Some of it’s good, and some of it isn’t. In fact, I’d venture to say that of The Guy/Girl Who Posts 12 Times Daily, about 20% of those posts are worth reading. Granted, even 20% of 12 each day still more than The Guy/Girl Who Posts One or Two Nuggets Per Month, but which posts are staying with me later? which ones am I remembering?

The ones from The Guy/Girl Who Posts One or Two Nuggets Per Month.

Isn’t that interesting?

And I find myself really excited when I see something new from Nugget Guy/Girl in my reader, whereas when I see stuff from 12-Posts-A-Day Guy/Girl, I kinda find myself groaning about how I’m going to have to sift through all the post titles to find what’s actually valuable. And even being worth reading is not the same as lingering in my mind and causing reflection.

I’m still thinking about how and why this all is, and may post a follow-up at a later date… just thought I’d record my thoughts while I had them.

What do you think? Do you, like me, seem to prefer reading Nugget Guy/Girl over 12-Posts-A-Day? Or is it not possible to generalize? What makes specific posts in your reader stand out?

Striped Bachelor by Matti Mattila

Hello -

Thank you for applying to the Google Teacher Academy at the
Googleplex.  We had over 250 applications for only 50 spots, and we’re
sorry to inform you that all 50 slots have been confirmed.  We realize
that there are many amazing people that won’t be able to attend, and
we wish we had room for everyone.

Thanks again for all your hard work and accomplishments. We wish you
luck in your continued endeavors.

Cheers and best,
The Google Teacher Academy Team

So I guess this year I will not be one of these:

But I am going to send them a quick reply asking what kept me from being in the 50 Definites as opposed to one of the Purgatory Delegates.  Surely if I try again I could get in?  Especially if I have been Wait-Listed before?

But I will save that e-mail to the GTA team tomorrow, for tonight it is already late and sleep beckons.  Thanks to all of you well-wishers and the positive support you gave me in my personal learning network.  I appreciate your kind words more than you know. 

In TeacherTechGeekyness,

A very tired Ms. M

Hi Adrienne -

Thank you for applying to the Google Teacher Academy at the Googleplex on June 25th. We’ve reviewed all the applications, and we recognize that you are doing some great things. As a result, we’ve placed your name on the Wait List. On Monday, June 9th, we will let you know if there is room to include you. You will have 24 hours to respond to us by the end of the day on Tuesday, June 10th.

The above is the e-mail I received on Thursday evening (Thursday morning, GoogleTime).

So, I’m not one of the 50 Definites, but I’m also not one of the 200+ Definitely Nots. I guess I am pretty pleased! I was not really expecting to get in, mostly due to the poor quality of my 1 minute video once it was uploaded to YouTube / GoogleVideo. And now, here I’ve gotten what I am viewing as honorable mention. Not bad, not bad at all!

But I still am not in, and thus I wait in In-Between-Land . . .

Photo credit: Life Is The Space In Between by drp licensed under a CC 2.0 license.

What an experience for me just to put together the 1 minute required video. Fun, but definitely challenging. For my reflection and for your enjoyment (or perhaps mockery!), here are a few things I learned:

1. It is impossible for me to put my entire teaching philosophy about Classroom Innovation into 1 minute. Impossible! Perhaps I have too much to say…?
2. I can definitely type faster than I can write. The screen vids of me inking those memorable quotes across the screen of my tablet didn’t make the cut because I can’t ink three words in less than 9 seconds. But I can type three words in 4 seconds! (Thanks to my university days as a temp, I tell you!)
3. I have an incredibly talented partner who knows more about making music than I do, even on a computer. And I promise next time I will not ask him to do the music edits at 11 p.m. on a school night.
4. I have a lot to learn about using video software, though I have discovered that it doesn’t get much easier than iMovie.
5. The end of May is not a good time for me to be making movies (exams, report cards, people leaving, etc.). Mental note taken, stored, and written in cyberstone here. Amen. I think this vid would have been much better if I had not had 2398989712 things going on.
6. The difference in quality from my raw mp4 file (pretty good) to the Google Video / YouTube upload is REMARKABLE. My exported mp4 (using iMovie’s “Expert settings”) looks great — super sharp and clear. Upload to Google Vid / YouTube looks grainy and all around sucky. Anyone have tips on this? (Note that I am new to this kind of thing; most of my contributions to the digital world have happened via written text and photo. Video is a whole new (fun) ballgame.) Sadly, what this means is that the Google Earth portions of my video are not viewable in the way I intended. Wah.
7. I do not know enough about recording screen shots on video. Need to learn more about this.

And for those who are interested, the software / hardware I used:

• CamStudio – on the Vista Fujitsu Tablet
• Inspiration v.8 – also on the Vista Tablet (hat tipping to UNIS)
• Google Earth – on the Vista Tablet, my iBook G4, and partner’s MacBook Pro
• iMovie HD v.5 on my iBook, and then later v.6 on MacBook Pro
• GarageBand on MacBook Pro

Lastly, for those who are interested, here is the vid itself:

Photo credit: Jan 24, 2008 “Reflection” by shannonpatrick17

What a great learning tool — for community service, for Humanities / Social Studies classes, for learning in general.

My favorite quote:

Johnstone [UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner] stressed that the agency had to change how it works to keep pace with technological developments as well as the increasing complexity of refugee issues, with economic migration and displacement due to climate change adding to traditional patterns of refugees forced from their homes by conflict.

(MYP teachers, see how many references to Areas of Interaction you can find in that one statement!  )