Facebook: A MTV Diary

As I was going though channels, I stopped on MTV Diary (one of my favorite shows in HIgh School by the way) and saw the Facebook logo. Apparently it was a special on Facebook called "Facebook: Hack Attack." It followed people who worked there and of course they talked about how much fun they were having. One particular segment that caught my attention was "hack-a-thon" where basically people stayed up all night at work to develop projects and new products for Facebook. People were provided classes that have nothing to do with there position or to being allow to create brand new products like trying to do a wireless version of Facebook to stop people from Facebooking while driving. Another segment was showing how Facebook helped to reunite a family who had never met each other to employees meeting people who have been affected by Facebook. What was interesting about the show is that it was really bringing a human face to a soical media site that we think of as part of our product and media structure for the accounts we work on. It is the first time that I ( and maybe most of the people who watched) really got to see that Facebook was about people instead of social networking. As someone in advertising, after "The Social Network" and other stories about the mystery of Facebook, I thought it was very smart to make Facebook and the people involved in it human. Maybe it was a PR opportunity or just them wanting to let there consumers know what they are up to, but putting a human face to the machine is always a good idea.

Diary - Celebrity News

Wk4 Publishing/Leadership project part 1: publish/presentation

With the decision to present or publish was not a hard decision for me to make. I decided I wanted to present rather than publish a paper. I feel that my research is best presented in the way that I was researching about. While doing my research on gaming and media, I talked about how power point / slide presentation are a great way to tell a story and learn. So when I saw the option to present, I grabbed at it. I think one of the best ways for me to present in a way I researched. Also, another reason I wanted to present using keynote is because of my professional background. I work in media and we use this way of presenting to our clients and to other departments in the office. Presenting in this way I feel is the best fit for me. Lets see what happens.

Wk4 Publishing/Leadership project part 2: Where I would like to present

During my research for where I would want to present my presentation on the research I am doing, I found the International Society for Technology in Education. There are doing there conference in Philadelphia this year and I think it would be perfect for my presentation. The society research on bringing new technology in to the class room is innovative and open to new voices. I think gaming and media would be a good fix in there research about technology and the classroom overall.

Another conference I would like to do my presentation for is the Journal of Research on Technology in Education. The Journal is doing a World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications. The focus will be on how these different topics are important and needed in education. My research focus about media and gaming would

fit well into the multi media presentations that are going on within the conference because my research talks about the benefits to students and how gaming and media can be implemented.

Presentation:

files.me.com/kerestenbooker/wom7sa.key.zip

WK4 Blog Comments

Week 4_Beyond the #$%^ It.

All right, I have to laugh, this was really the last thing I expected to find in this book, although really it makes sense. I've been at that point in my life, and thankfully, like the cellist in the book, it worked to my advantage.

I had spent the previous 4 years working in a building as a building substitute. I worked everyday in the same building and when I was needed in a classroom, I was in. When I wasn't needed, I worked with small groups of students in all the grades. The problem was, I made minimal money and had no benefits or contract. The last year I was in that position, I was asked to be a second teacher in a third grade SAGE classroom that was seriously over "capacity." I should have been given a contract like a regular teacher, or at the least been considered a long term sub, but I wasn't. The administration had interviewed me a few times for various positions, but I was always passed up for the job. I was too good at what I was doing as a building sub. It was disheartening.

I was on vacation that summer with my family in Vail, CO. We were visiting my brother out there for the first time. It's beautiful out there. I had been applying to various districts around where we lived and we were in the middle of a serious hunt for our first house. I got a call from a principal in Kenosha for an interview, she wanted me in the next day and I was 1200 miles away. She offered me a phone interview and I took it. I was BTFI. I went for it and put it all out on the line. She thanked me and asked if I'd be available the next morning for a second interview. I figured, what the hell? Why not, I've gone this far. So I had the second interview and we took the day to drive up the mountain. My phone had no signal, so I couldn't have taken the call if she called to turn me down. We returned and my husband and I went with my two brothers to have a drink together. My phone beeped in my pocket and I knew this was my call. It was my answer.

I listened to the voice mail and there was the principal, offering me A JOB!!! My first real classroom and first real position. Not that what I was doing before wasn't real, but this was a classroom. four years in the waiting and I finally had what I want.

Going beyond the #$%^ it was worth it. It gave me the job I wanted, and my husband and I bought our house in Kenosha. It's all been uphill from there.

Hatchepshut1950 said...

You are truly blessed, especially with the situation with teachers going on thru out the country. I know it has been an uphill battle, but your story shows that the fight you gave was worth it. Great Blog!

February 27, 2011 12:16 PM

Wk 4 Present or Publish?

This is an easy choice for me: I am going to present. The reason for this is because I'm a video editor by trade, so I speak visually all the time. While I have been using iMovie all year, I can't stand using it. It's such a clunky piece of editing software. So I am going to create my video on Quantel. It will still be a presentation, but controlling fonts and graphics are so much easier for me in Quantel, and I think it will come out much sharper.

WK4 Free Blog

Instead of just putting up just a video, I wanted to say a few words. I want to say that during my time at full sail so fair, I have found that teaching and education is so much deeper than I ever thought before. It is the foundation of most of our world today, and it is our responsibility to realize our worth and our importance. Even though teachers throughout the country are not getting what they deserved, educators must stay stedfast and strong in the belief that education in paramount to the future of the world today.

This was from two years ago....now some teachers have added a week long furloughs since then.

Its really sad.

WK4 Art of possibility

The book, from beginning to end, as has not only been entertaining, but it makes you rethink teaching and how you represent yourself to you students. Reading this book has been a true pleasure.

While reading chapter 9 through 12, I notice there were many concepts throughout the chapters. In “being the board” there were interesting concepts about leadership. It makes you think about how you are the leader of your class and how best to present to your students in a much deeper way. How you present a lesson to a students and how they receive the information is very much in control of the teacher.

Sometimes as a trainer or an educator, you have to realize that your feelings about a lesson can affect a class. If you come in not caring about what you are teaching, it will not only show but it will affect how students feel about the lesson as well. Now mind you, this is not always easy because after a while you may get bored with a lesson plan or a subject. But it is your job to find something new and exciting about whatever you are teaching. Keeping things fresh can but difficult but required if you are trying to do your best work.

WK3 Wimba

I cannot lie, wimba session got me kind of freaked out. I have an idea of what I want to do, but I really wish I could have made this session to ask questions.With out question I want to present. I want to do a podcast of my presentation with a powerpoint presentation. For me personally it is something that I am most comfortable and goes with what I been research, which is the use of media. What I am curious about however is the coding. That has been an issue for me when it comes to my AR site and other things through out my time at full sail. If anyone can help let me know.

Wk3 Blog comments

Wk3 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Art of Possibility Ch. 5-8

Wow! As I read through chapters 5-8 in "The Art of Possibility," I couldn't help but think of two things: 1) teacher-talk in the staff room, and 2) the power of student- to-student learning. Allow me to explain.

The whole concept of the calculating self vs. the central self completely changed my thinking about how I view certain aspects of the teaching profession. I asked myself, "Self? Am I a person that tends to take things too seriously to where it effects how I interact and lead my students?" Fortunately, the answer from my "self" was a resounding "No!" But what my inner self was convicting me of was how I can somehow be effected by how others relate themselves to the calculating self analogy. In other words, I can at times get sucked in to a conversation at lunch with other teachers that revolves around the common complaints of standardized testing, state standards, decisions by administrators, micromanagement and a plethora of other topics that educators seem to find the time to rant about. I discovered that I will listen to these conversations and walk away wondering what good did that just do for any of our students, other creating a free therapy session for these teachers at my expense? My point is, and I think this is what Zander was getting at, was the fact that there will always be something to disagree with, something that doesn't go the way we want it to, or someone that doesn't do things the way I would do them. But the question is whether or not I choose to stay stuck in that rut or way of thinking, or do I choose this presence without resistance approach? Do I let the obstacles stand in my way, or do I allow myself to say that is the way it is and allow myself to be creative and open the pathway for possibility? Obviously my goal as a teacher is to do the latter, but I know I am guilty of allowing my calculating self shadow the central self and the possibility it can unleash.

Secondly, the whole idea of students teaching other students kept running through my head. After reading the story of the Cuban and American orchestras teaching each other how to play different and difficult pieces, I started thinking about how much power students have when teaching other students. I use this strategy in my own classroom to a certain degree, but this concept of the "silent conductor" really highlighted my thoughts on how I can enhance the learning by disappearing from the lead of the room, so-to-speak, and let the kids lead their own learning with each other. Automatically, my head began spinning with different ways to approach some of my lessons and how to implement a more centralized learning environment to where I enable or give students the freedom to learn from each other. By doing this, I think the dynamics of my classroom would completely change, and if nothing else, a great social experiment for my 6th graders who are mostly English Language Learners!

@Gregg Eilers

Students teaching each other is great in a training session when you are in the working world. Not only does it help the trainees to work together, but students have a way of explaining things sometimes that a teacher/trainer just cannot express because we understand the material deeply. Some who just got it has a better understanding of how to get his/her fellow classmate to understand the material as well.

Week 3-The Art of Possibility

Rally on the capital steps.

It's been a difficult week here in Wisconsin. I am sure most of you have heard by now that our governor is trying to take away our collective bargaining rights here in WI. This will affect 157,000 public unionized employees. Teachers, sanitation workers, nurses, health care workers, etc. This "budget repair bill" has divided our state and created huge conflict. I am going to admit, it's been very hard to focus on anything else this week. I've been doing my best to keep my head held high, but it's been tough.

I became a teacher because I had a teacher once tell me I was stupid to my face. I never wanted another child to feel the way I did at that moment. I set out to make a change in the world, small little me...making a change. I never thought the day would come that our union rights would be threatened and our bargaining rights taken away. I never thought I would see the day that an elected official (not by me!) would find so little value in education. It makes me sad.

Ok, so I am sure you are wondering how this all connects to this weeks reading. Here goes.

"Being present to the way things are is not the same as accepting things as they are in the resigned way of the cow. It doesn't mean you should drown out your negative feelings or pretend like you really can't stand."
"It simply means, being present without resistance: being present to what is happening and present to your reactions, no matter how intense."

The capital rotunda at 8:00 on Wednesday February 16, 2011

This seems so fitting to the personal turmoil I've been dealing with this week. Last Friday this bill was introduced and the state began to panic. My husband and I followed it all weekend, but there was little news coverage about it. Monday it began to pick up and Tuesday we were in full force. Unions began peacefully protesting at the capital. Teachers began to plan days to go to Madison and protest in solidarity. (I do want to say I don't condone "sick outs" and not showing up to work.) I've been very vocal about my feelings at school, something I usually don't do. I like to keep politics out of my workplace. But I couldn't stay quiet about this! Wednesday we got an e-mail from our union saying the district would allow teachers to leave upon student dismissal. (Wednesdays our students are released early for collaborative time within the building.) So almost all the teachers walked out together and 8 of us piled in the car and drove two hours to Madison to make our voices heard. I couldn't sit still anymore and not take part in what was happening.

The capital rotunda at 8:00 on Wednesday February 16, 2011

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous. I've never been a political activist or any type of activist for that matter. But I had to do this. I had to make my voice heard. I couldn't stand by and do nothing anymore. Being there was the experience of a lifetime. It was peaceful, inspirational and motivating. Seeing thousands of people come together to fight for something they believe in was amazing.

The capital all light up at night. 2-16-11

@Andrea Shike

I was just watching this story yesterday on CNN. Teachers I know is Georgia and other states are getting furlow days like crazy and getting there benefits cut almost every new school year. The peaceful protests I think are wonderful because not only are you all fighting for what you believe in, but you all are doing in a way that is a good example to the students you are teaching. Keep up the good work and I hope that things work out for you all.

Wk3 Art of Possibility

Remembering rule #6 can be somewhat tricky when you are working in media meaning that it is good in theory but not necessarily in practice. When you are working in an environment where there are hard deadlines and millions of dollars on the line, being serious very important. However, the great thing about digital media world is that you have room to have fun and be silly, but the trick is that you have to know when to be silly and when to be serious. 60 seconds in the break room on relaxing is not really a bad thing on certain occasions, but you have to know when. Relaxing when you have a hard deadline is not a good idea. You have to have balance, which is what my work environment is all about and others like it. Just read about Google working environment and you will understand. It’s all about balance.

Speaking of balance, I found a strange one in the story of the two business partners. Certain things not being good or bad I believe are just apart of life. There are very few things in the world that are 100% evil or good. Things that might seem evil to someone might not be to someone else. This might be based off of religion, moral code, or general instinct. Except of a handful of things of situations, good and evil are variable.

WK3 Free Choice Blog

After last week it seems that people are enjoying the blog, I thought about using another TED.com video. What I like about TED is the fact that they have so many things covered.

This video is about the process of building a complete digital library of everything ever published, but someone else does it.

WK2 Free Choice Blog

Lately, I have been reading some pretty intense blogs from my fellow classmates. I know for a lot of us, its been pretty stressful on everyone. So I decided to help out my fellow students by adding some comedy to the blog mix.

This was hilarious! Keep up the hard work everyone

WK2 Wimbia:copyright issues

I feel like everywhere I go I deal with copyrights, lol. In my job, a deal and make or break based off copyrights. However, what is good is that we do have access to a lot of copyrighted materials once we start working with a company. But those laws, I cannot lie, can be a real pain in the butt. If you do not watch your Ps & Qs you can have problems, especially when you working with internet advertising. Like I said in my last blog, copyrights are not on the ball when it comes to internet or media. I understand that its difficult to regulate, but some things are just common sense. If you use someones work, even if its very available, you should get permission when you use it for advertising. Its crazy how this concept is not understood by people, its crazy.

WK2 Comments

Reading the first chapter reminded me a lot of playing Mindtrap with my friends in middle school. It would pose questions like these:

Picture a bridge four kilometers long and strong enough to hold ten thousand kilograms, but no more. A loaded transport truck weighing exactly ten thousand kilograms drives onto the bridge. At the halfway point, a sparrow weighing 30 grams lands on the truck, yet the bridge doesn't collapse. How could this be?

The answer is:


The truck will have used up 30 grams of gasoline by the time it reached the halfway point.

Playing these games for hours upon end has helped me with lateral thinking and questioning what is presented in front you. But the sad thing about society is that from the moment you enter school, you are trained to be part of the group; to follow rules and not question. It continues into professional career as well. People rarely react negatively to conservatism and status quo, but present a radical idea and you suddenly have a lot of attention on yourself.

I don’t get why fierce competition is a terrible thing for musicians but the author is delighted some student had his heart broken. Both instances, losing a competition or a girlfriend, can be sources of creativity. Should the musician take up heavy drinking so he can use that experience in his music? Or kill a man in Reno, just to watch him die? I don’t see the causation of either. There’s a great Mr. Show sketch that has parents depriving their kid of affection as a baby so he would have confused feelings about love and grow up to be a famous playwright. Here’s the clip:

http://www.ifc.com/videos/mr-show-205-brightcove.php

I liked the idea of contribution. The problem with that – for me – is I know I cannot be that type of person when my own personal schedule is jam-packed. The author specifically mentioned this exact thing and how he went to speak to the old people anyway. I know that going to Full Sail has robbed me of some of generosity in the world. I’m a worse boyfriend. A worse friend. Worse at work. I’m just much more busy and stressed out. I know my limitations. But I did like the idea of this…

@ Bryan Antos

It is a very thin line between encouragement and pushing too much.You have to be careful when it comes to competition and teaching students how to deal with challenges and competition. Unfortunately, the world is competitive and you have to be prepared for that. However, what has worked for me personally is to keep a balanced life. I want to do well and my best when it comes to my work, but I cannot let it affect the standard of life. If I don't have balance, everything I do suffers, including my school work.

February 12, 2011 9:37 AM

Catherine Yoho Blog:

Where will your A take you in your world of possibilities?

Our children start in life with no stifling concerns about expectations. They are free from those constraints and it is reflected in their creative self expression. Unfortunately, that begins to change as they enter the world of education. Grades become the measuring stick of their growth, instead of pencil marks on a door frame or pictures of their imagination in play. Conversations change from, "Let's pretend we're on an adventure...," to, "Why did you fail that test?" It's no wonder so many children become disengaged in school, and from their families. They are being asked to perform within the box of expectations rather that thinking outside the box and in a world of possibilities. With the pace of technology changing the world we live in, we NEED to encourage the wider thinking outside the box, filled with the potential of creativity, and ever expansive thinking. The future does not exist inside the archaic box of measurement of the past. Rather than admonishing our children and ourselves for not conforming to the measurement standards that are so rigid, we need to encourage them and ourselves to, as Jim Morrison sang, "Break on through to the other side." Exploration and growth has always depended on the belief that more is out there, we need to go and find it. Ask the early explorers, scientists, philosophers and artists. I'm not quite sure how that was lost in guiding our children, students, and each other, but we need to believe in it again.

Hatchepshut1950 said...

One thing I have never, ever understood is why the grading system has not changed. People have to understand that a student doesnt really have to learn to get an A these days because the way the system is set up. You have so many different resources and ways to get information because of the internet that kids these days can literally copy and paste to a good grade. When will administrator learn?

February 12, 2011 11:48 AM

WK2 Art of possibility

The reading this week was very positive. With so many things that are negative and not popular when it comes to education and educator these days, its nice to know that you can still keep an upbeat attitude and be a good educator. Even though I do not work in schools, I have found that the positive approach is great when it comes to helping trainees and new employees. Ben and Roz concepts when it comes to keeping things positive and happy while learning works well with kids and adults. While training people, you have to keep in mind the affect your attitude has on your trainees. Your attitude is just as important as the material you are teaching. I am glad Roz and Ben explained and understood that concept.

The repetition story, “toes to noes” is funny to me because I make my trainees do that a lot and it drives them crazy. Be what they don’t understand at the time is that the repetition really works. It’s such a basic study tool but it is highly affective. I always tell my trainee “ if you can go to sleep and remember it, you got it.”

Wk1 Wimba Session & AR Project

All I can say as a first reaction for this week Wimba session is Wow. I am impressed at the fact that so much was covered in under two hours. I appreciate Professor Joe going in-depth the way he did when it came to the videos in FSO and about the AR project overall. Before last month, I was really scared when it came to how my AR project would turn out. However, in the last two months I have become more and more confidant in what I have to presentation. The amount of work I still have to do is very daunting, especially when it comes to the website, but I feel like I have the ability to get it done in time. Its crazy to realize that our Full Sail journey is almost over, but I am looking forward to see what I can do in the final stretch.

wk1 Project Blog

Thru out my AR experience, it has been really up and down. To be honest, I really cannot believe that the journey is almost over. I am so use to doing stuff for the project that it is going to be quite strange not doing anything for AR anymore. Overall, I got my paper done ( thank goodness) and I am getting stuff together for the website. My friends thru out the experience have been awesome. They have been so open and helpful to get stuff done while also being very honest with me. I could not have done it with out them, literally and figuratively. I wonder who has been helpful in your AR experience? What did they contribute?

Cannot wait to see the comments

wk1 Blog Comments

wk1 reading: copyright issues

Every day I work, I create video for my company that is seen by millions of people. But that video is protected by copyright that my company owns. I cannot post my work on youtube or anywhere. And that's a personal problem as I want as many people as possible to see my work. At the very least, I want my friends to be able to see it.

Additionally, not every piece is saved by my company. The best thing I ever produced (and was copied by Nike and NBA Productions, poorly, except for getting Marvin Gaye's version of the National Anthem, which is awesome) is gone forever. That is sort of devastating to me.

I understand the point of copyright but there will always be pirating. The trick is to embrace the new techniques and create a legal version of that. 5 years ago I suggested making shows available for download and I got laughed at. Every single person laughed at the idea. And now it's one of the biggest priorities of the company.

You just have to wait for the younger generation to get in there and try and change these laws. Like I said in a comment, the musical genius of an album like Paul's Boutique cannot really happen nowadays. That needs to change.

But you really have to give the law some credit. Being able to use any copyrighted work for parody or education is great.

Hatchepshut1950 said...

Bryan,
I work in advertising, and I have to deal with copyrights on almost a daily basis. You seriously have to be careful when it comes to your work. Internet and media is such a big bredding ground of your work to get copied and ideas taken. And the worse part is you can get around copyright laws by just doing slight changes to your media work. The concept of copyrighting is to protect people's work from being stolen. However, when these laws were established no one had any idea the internet would on day come and take over. The premise is a good one, but the execution needs to be adjusted.

February 5, 2011 9:18 PM

EDM613 MAC - Week 1 Reading - Copyright

This is my husband's band, Echo Road. Feel free to listen to or
download their music at echoroadband.com

Reading and watching the videos about copyrighting, and fair use, was daunting! There is no easy answer or clear right/wrong thing to do. I believe that artists are inspired by elements in their world, including music they hear. So what's a person to do? Be careful and always ask permission. Better to have requested permission, and find out fair use applied, then to not ask, and break the law.

Hatchepshut1950 said...

Catherine Yoho,

Copyrighting is extremely daunting I have to agree. I understand both sides of the argument and why it is such a passionate debate. I think the advent of the internet as really caused it to be one of the biggest debates when it come to having information so widely available. Personally, I think the laws need to be adjusted to catch up with what going on with the internet.

February 5, 2011 11:26 PM

Wk1 Reading:copyrights issues

Working in advertising, you learn very quickly about copyrights and what you can and cannot use for legal reasons. We might come up with a great idea for a client,but you cannot use it because of copyright issues. We have to be aware to make sure we are not taking an idea.

Not only do we have to be aware to not use copyrighted ideas, but we have to make sure the advertising we create is copyrighted and guarded closely. You have to be careful when it comes to who gets it, where it is saved in the system and etc. These pieces of advertising are usually worth a lot of money and you do not want it in the wrong hands.

After working in advertising, I have a deeper understanding of why we need those laws. Interpretation is the highest compliment, but credit should be given to whomever does the work. I think the laws for copyrighting needs to be adjusted when it comes to music and media because it is ever changing and massive. The laws right now do not cover media enough because the internet and media is in constant change. I think copyright laws really need to address that.