This evening I was multi-tasking a little, watching TV and keeping an eye on Twitter. Mark Pesce popped up on Twitter and coincidentally I was watching the New Inventors on the ABC here in Australia. Mark acts as a panellist on this television programme from time to time. Not tonight.

Exchanged a tweet or two with Mark [something that still amazes me as I think about it] and asked if he had recently presented in the USA as his name had been mentioned in a couple of tweets over the weekend. He mentioned he had and moments later he linked to this video of his presentation at the Personal Democracy Forum, Lincoln Center, New York City, 24 June 2008.

I highly recommend that you watch Mark’s presentation. His introduction will intrigue you. I guarantee you will learn something new every few minutes. He examines the impact that mediums such as the printing press, mobile phones and networks have had on civilisation in disseminating ideas and giving individuals empowerment. He speaks of hyperconnevtivity and the power of individuals to harness networks to seek and seize change. These forces have the capability to bypass those in power, those in government. A powerful presentation, an excellent argument, a cogent message.

The text of his presentation is available on his blog, the human network. Enjoy. Learn. Adapt. Be ready.

How did I create this post? I took the two screenshots using SharpShooter.  I resized each to 400 pixels in width to a dpi of 72 in Adobe Photoshop Elements and exported them using the Save For Web… option which allows you to fine tune file size and quality. I used CyberDuck to upload each image to my host. I used Worpdress to create this blog post.

Liberation

One of the best decisions I have made recently was to follow my gut feeelings and rename my blog. Formally it was called TeachTech but as you can see I renamed the blog Watershed, last Sunday.

It is a liberating feeling as I now no longer feel constrained by the TeachTech title and technology tips tag line. Sure, there will be technology and teaching notes in the future yet there will also be additional posts that reflect on day to day life, often with an education bent. I shall endeavour to include the addendum at the conclusion of each post where I briefly outline how I created the post and its contents. I feel that readers may find that useful.

Some sage advice from a couple of curious Corellas

So, if you have ever thought about renaming your blog, particularly if you feel it will more accurately reflect how you feel and write, then do so now.

How did I create this post? I took each photograph using a Nikon D-70 several years back. I uploaded the images to my Mac using a USB 2.0 card reader. This is much faster than using the USB cable that came with the camera. I imported the second image into Comic Life and added the word balloons, etc. I exported the Comic as a jpeg image and then resized it in Adobe Photoshop Elements. I resized each image down to a width of 400 pixels and 72dpi for inclusion in this blog and exported each using the Save For Web… option which allows you to fine tune file size and quality. I used CyberDuck to upload each image to my host site. I have also linked to the galleries that contain other photographs taken at the same time as those displayed in this post.

Well, what happened today? Well, first of all I transferred some notes on my classroom’s whiteboard to my MacBook. I had quickly jotted down some notes down on the board yesterday while sharing some ideas with the class about various theories regarding the downfall of the Minoan Civilisation and a possible connection with the volcanic demise of Thera. There is debate regarding possible connections and the dating of the eruption on Thera. I was repeating the lesson to a second Year Eleven class later today.

My first class, with Year Ten History, focused on the Day of Mourning on the 26th January, 1938. That was the 150th anniversary of white settlement in Australia. William Cooper and William Ferguson organised the Day of Mourning, related publications and protests.

Following that lesson I taught a class about the conscription debate that took place in Australia during The First World War 1914-1918. Australia was supporting the efforts of Great Britain during the conflict. Voluntary enlistments were high during the first two years of the war but by 1916 numbers  were dropping off and the current Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, led the call for an amendment to our conscription laws so that men could be conscripted to fight overseas. The debate was highly emotional and split the nation in half. Two referendums were held and the No vote won on each occasion. The results were relatively close on each occasion. 

Following recess I taught a double period Year Eleven Ancient History class regarding the nature of, and evidence for, the relationship between the island of Thera, the Mionoan Civilisation on Crete and the Mycenaean Civilsation on the Greek mainland. I repeated that double period with a second Year Eleven group after lunch. I also interviewed a number of students regarding the current state of their historical investigations.

During lunch, grabbed some kites, went out to the oval and flew kites with some of the Year Seven students. A crowd of students turned up all wanting a turn. Years ago I used to build and fly kites with the students. I remember one day we had about 30 kites flying above the school. An old photograph from those days is included below.

The kite flyers, 1995.

It was quite windy today and we could only fly the smaller single and dual line kites. One kite was damaged when it hit the ground, hard. Repaired it when I arrived home. It was great to watch the kites flipping about in the wind today. The kids had a great time ~ running, launching kites, untangling lines, laughing, watching and clamouring for more. Students are fascinated with the kites. Such a simple ‘technology’ with which they love to play. Shall be flying the kites again tomorrow.

My favourite kite, Jurong East, Singapore, 2003.

I enjoy kite flying. It is a great way to de-stress. I take a few with me when I travel. I have a couple of soft kites that can be folder and rolled so small that they take up no more room than a pair of folded socks.

After reapiring the kite, scanned the Google Reader and cleared all the posts. Saved nineteen for later reading. Did note that a number of the NECC related blog posts reveal a little frustration with the numbers and ‘noise’ of edubloggers in some venues. Too many edubloggers in one place? Is that possible? Is this homophily in action? I feel that a conference full of edubloggers would be almost superfluous given their skills in connecting online already. I guess that is why there is an unconference but even that may have suffered due to homophily. Perhaps I am wrong. I am not there. Wish I was, admittedly.

I shall be catching up with some edubloggers in July hopefully. The last thing I wish to talk about is edublogging, twitter, education technology and the like. I simply wish to eat, drink, chat and converse about politics, people, IVF, weather, wine, beer, pets, house renovations, climate change, whatever. Get my drift? Whichever way the wind blows.

How did I create this post? I scanned the photograph on a HP Photosmart 2570 All-in-One device, rotated and resized it in Adobe Photoshop Elements, saved it as a jpeg using the Save for web… option in Elements, uploaded it to my host using CyberDuck. Of course the blog post was created using Wordpress. I also linked to an image in my own gallery.

Sunset, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2001.

Watershed ~ a critical point that marks a division or a change of course; a turning point; a period of time that marks a turning point in a course of action.

Well, I think that we are in the midst of a turning point or a change of course in terms of education so I have decided to give my blog a new name ~ Watershed.

I have been pondering this name change for a while.

The term watershed has been a part of my vocabulary since I read The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler about 30 years ago. In this seminal tome Koestler gives an account of mankind’s changing view of the universe and cosmology. He applied the term watershed to that period of the scientific revolution when Kepler and Galileo forever changed our view of the universe.

Dusk, Albion Park, NSW. 2006.

This is an aboriginal interpretation of Zorba The Greek. This performance always lifts my spirits. I am always happy to see anyone enjoying life and not taking themsleves too seriously. As the description on the YouTube page explains…

Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy from Milingimbi has been in the Indigenous Media Industry for many years and has been a long-standing member and supporter of the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association, TEABBA Radio. He has worked Independently in Music and Film for many years also. As the man behind the camera and release of the video, Frank is also representing the dance group who call themselves “The Chooky Dancers”.

Frank has said that he filmed the footage at this years Ramingining Festival on the 30th September 2007 and knew it would be “something special” as soon as he saw the boys rehearsing. “The crowd went wild as you can see in the video, and the classic song Zorba the Greek has now become a hit overnight in the communities and now it seems, everywhere else too.”

This afternoon my colleague, Wayne, and I were chatting in the car on the way home. Wayne mentioned that he had read that if we look far enough into the universe we should eventually be able to see the back of our head as the universe folds back on itself, apparently. I mentioned I would like to be around if instantenous interstellar travel was ever invented. A few of the places I would like to visit are depicted below.

The Andromeda Galaxy. Photography by DJMcGrady. Some rights reserved.

The Horsehead Nebula and Flame. Photography by DJMcGrady. Some rights reserved.

The Great Nebula In Orion. Photography by DJMcGrady. Some rights reserved.

Of course, things would look a little different given that the light visible in these photographs may have taken hundreds or thousands of light years to reach Earth.

Thinking about the universe reminded me of the relative insignifcance of the planet Earth. Then the thought crossed my mind that its most civilised inhabitants are quite strange. The human race has missed the point. If we were truly an intelligent species would we be working five or more days a week for most of our lives? Would an intelligent species establish a society that is directly contributing to the demise of its planet via climate degradation? Would an intelligent species war with itself?

Global Warming. Mind Map prepared by Learning Fundamentals.

Then, thinking about global warming, mass extinctions of plant and animal species, peak oil, melting ice-caps and so on I wonder what will the current generation of students inherit after we shake off our mortal coils? Some of the more recent predictions regarding the health of this planet are rather dire. The planet is not in good shape.

How long will the human race be around for? Will we ever reach the stars? Will the human race see out the next 1000 years? The next 100 years?

Today my classroom received an interesting visitor. A huntsman spider wandered into the classroom from the garden outside. Huntsman spiders visit quite regularly. Some of them happily live in the eaves while others inhabit the spaces behind the loose bark on the eucalyptus trees.

I think this huntsman is a Delena cancerides of the family Sparassidae. I have also seen the family referred to as Heteropodidae. There seems to be a conflict among the taxonomists.

Links:

Huntsman spiders at the Australian Museum
Wikipedia entry: Huntsman spiders
Huntsman
Huntsman spiders at home: Outside | Inside |

Few days back Clay Burell began a meme, Bullying then, Successful Now. I responded with a comment on Clay’s blog. I recounted an experience that still impacts upon me to this day. Once again, as I consider the events of that year the ninth floor of a particular building and an almost empty room spring to mind. I decided to just call this post Bullying Then… as opposed to Bullying Then, Successful Now. I have not quite completed the journey through to the other side.

I made reference to an album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds called The Boatman Calls in my comment. One track from the album, Into My Arms, is particularly special for me. In fact music has always been important for me. It has helped me get through some, let’s say, interesting experiences.

Clay responded within the comments and asked if I could reproduce the lyrics that did it for me. I do so here. These are extracts from the lyrics.

People Ain’t No Good

People just ain’t no good
I think that’s welll understood
You can see it everywhere you look
People just ain’t no good

It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad
They can comfort you, some even try
They nurse you when you’re ill of health
They bury you when you go and die
It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad
They’d stick by you if they could
But that’s just bullsh*t
People just ain’t no good

People they ain’t no good
People they ain’t no good
People they ain’t no good
People they ain’t no good at all

Into My Arms

I don’t believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

And I don’t believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that’s true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
To each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love
And guide you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

And I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candlew burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

Are You The One That I’ve Been Waiting For?

I’ve felt you coming girl, as you drew near
I knew you’d find me, cause I longed you here
Are you my desitiny? Is this how you’ll appear?
Wrapped in a coat with tears in your eyes?
Well take that coat babe, and throw it on the floor
Are you the one that I’ve been waiting for?

As you’ve been moving surely toward me
My soul has comforted and assured me
That in time my heart it will reward me
And that all will be revealed
So I’ve sat and I’ve watched an ice-age thaw
Are you the one that I’ve been waiting for?

Out of sorrow entire worlds have been built
Out of longing great wonders have been willed
They’re only little tears, darling, let them spill
And lay your head upon my shoulder
Outside my window the world has gone to war
Are you the one that I’ve been waiting for?

O we will know, won’t we?
The stars will explode in the sky
O but they don’t, do they?
Stars have their moment and then they die

There’s a man who spoke wonders though I’ve never met him
He said, “He who seeks finds and who knocks will be let in”
I think of you in motion and just how close you are getting
And how every little thing anticipates you
All down my veins my heart-strings call
Are you the one that I’ve been waiting for?

Black Hair

Last night my kisses were banked in black hair
And in my bed, my lover, her hair was midnight black
And all her mystery dwelled within her black hair
And her black hair framed a happy heart-shaped face

And heavy-hooded eyes inside her black hair
Shined at me frome the depths of her hair of deepest black
While my fingers pushed into her straight black hair
Pulling her black hair back from her happy heart-shaped face

To kiss her milk-white throat, a dark curtain of black hair
Smothered me, my lover with her beautiful black hair
The smell of it is heavy. It is charged with life
On my fingers the smell of her deep black hair

Full of all my whispered words, her black hair
And wet with tears and good-byes, her hair of deepest black
All my tears cried against her milk-white throat
Hidden behind the curtain of her beautiful black hair

As deep as ink and black, black as the deepest sea
The smell of her black hair upon my pillow
Where her head and all its black hair did rest
Today she took a train to the West
Today she took a train to the West
Today she took a train to the West

Lime Tree Arbour

The boatman calls from the lake
A lone loon dives upon the water
I put my hand over her
Down in the lime tree arbour

The wind in the trees is whispering
Whispering low that I love her
She puts her hand over mine
Down in the lime tree arbour

Through every breath that I breathe
And every place I go
There is hand that protects me
And I do love her so

There will always be suffering
It flows through life like water
I put my hand over hers
Down in the lime tree arbour

The boatman he has gone
And the loons have flown for cover
She puts her hand over mine
Down in the lime tree arbour

Through every word that I speak
And every thing I know
There is hand that protects me
And I do love her so

All words and music by Nick Cave.

Links

Nick Cave / Bad Seed.org
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave Online

I have began a page of bullying links. I would like to add more. Can you suggest any?

Can my friends in the United States please confirm the following for me ~ Are backyard clotheslines really banned in some states or cities? Is it simply a local council edict or recommendation? I was amused to read about this in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning.

I wonder if there are similar regulations in some of the newer gated communities and elitist suburbs of Australia? Anyone know? When I lived in an apartment here in Australia residents were not allowed to hang out washing on their balcony as it would make the building look ugly. I was on the top floor so I could get away with it. Only visitors could see that I was breaking the strata rules of the estate [The body corporate of this estate annoyed me. One year I collected as many proxy votes as I possibly could from absent landlords. At the annual general meeting I voted myself in as President and Treasurer of the estate’s body corporate organisation and simply voted against a number of the more contentious and costly proposals. The busy-body clique that used to ‘run the show’ were not amused.]

In the article, Getting pegged for letting it all hang out,  Ian Munro, reporting from Connecticut, writes how it is illegal to have a clothesline in one’s backyard in some parts of the United States. Attempts to have clotheslines legalised have failed as some residents are fearful that property values will drop.

Mr Munro writes that “Electric clothes dryers represent about 6 per cent of domestic power consumption, according to official estimates, and while the world searches for responses to global warming, Mrs Vocke points to her backyard, wind and solar power.” This brought home to me the usefulness and intrinsic value of the old backyard clothesline.

A quick bit of research revealed that clotheslines are clearly not illegal across all of the USA. This colourful site, Mrs Clothesline ~ A Celebration of Clothesline Culture, features a gallery of clotheslines with titles such as Shadow Line, Pretty in Pink and Midnight Love.

Clotheslines are a feature of the backyard here in Australia. Some of you may be familiar with the Hills rotary clothes hoist, invented right here in Australia. We used to hang from these as kids while a friend or sibling spun you around at high speed. It was a great way to demonstrate centrifugal force and also gravity for the smaller children. Are you reading this Dan? [Centrifugal force is not a real force apparently. I learnt something new today.]

Our rotary clothesline, sans clothes, with a kookaburra on the lookout.

Well, the anti-clotheslines brigade in other parts of the world would need to get used to the backyards of Australia if they ever moved here and I wonder how they would cope with the clotheslines of Singapore and Hong Kong? The clothing poles that project from beneath the kitchen windows or laundry areas of the high rise residential buildings cannot be missed.

Laundry drying, Singapore.
Photograph by OtoPhoto. Some rights reserved.

HDB flats with clotheslines, Singapore.
Photograph by ton2fig. Some rights reserved.

HDB block, Singapore. Some rights reserved.

The clotheslines in Singapore helped to break up the lines or form of the buildings and always added colour to the environment. Quite often they were the first indication of a change in the weather as the first hints of a breeze caused the sheets to flutter to and fro. It was always fascinating to watch nearly all of them disappear from view as the rain clouds approached.

I am not too sure what is the point of this blog post. Shao Ping and I hang out and collect the washing together. We also rush out to save it when a storm blows in. Do you have any interesting or colourful clothesline images from around the world?

This post has a similar theme to my previous post. My thoughts were concerned with the dread of those who seemingly wish to manage or mould the world of education blogging.

Kate Olson has expressed concerns for those who wish to establish a set of rules for Twitter. I am an infrequent user of the tool yet Kate’s post echoes similar views ‘out there’.

Kate writes:  “I also don’t limit my blog reading to education blogs or twitter interactions to educators, so I’ve been rather frustrated when I see educators (and social media users, for that matter) try to make rules for twitter based on their particular use for the tool.”

I agree with Kate. We do not need rules.

As with my previous post I repeat my comment on Kate’s blog below. It sets out how I feel.

“Good post there Kate. You made a good point in your earlier post regarding ‘blogging rules’ back in February and as I indicated back then I feel that there is an edublogging hierarchy out there that is trying to establish a set of rules for all of us to follow. The ten commandments of the blogosphere. Thou shalt blog in my own style and image, sort of thing. Conservative, as opposed to progressive or even laissez-faire, thinkers. I hope I am not hauled up before the blogging inquisition for these statements.

It is a little weird at times. Sometimes I feel myself getting caught up in it as well and when I feel the tug of that conformist whirlpool dragging me in I don my flippers and swim away.

I agree, there are some twitter users and even bloggers who give the impression that they wish to set the agenda and hammer all of us into a square hole when we are all shaped in a variety of different ways. I am shaped like a rhombus.

Perhaps the ‘rule makers’ are frustrated educators who have a secret desire to be school principals or heads of department. They have an inner craving to be the principal of “Edublogger College” or “Twitter High”. [Not that I have anything against principals. I read a number of excellent blogs composed by principals, enlightened principals. Peter, if you are reading this, I like you too. Tee hee.]

Last night I was thinking wouldn’t it be wonderful if one could change their twitter avatar with a single click to reflect one’s mood or motive, like emoticons. You could have a bank of your own Twitter avatars at your disposal. If you are tweeting on a serious note then your avatar may be wearing a tie. If you are relaxing then there might be a can of beer or a cup of coffee in the avatar’s frame.

I giggled to myself as I thought about that multiple avatar idea further. What I was planning to do was to copy the twitter avatars of a number of the people that I follow and, using photoshop, replace just their face with my own. Then I was going to use the amended avatar and tweet in the style of that person, still with my original ID of course. Sometimes I feel people take Twitter and edublogging far too seriously. It would have been mischievous conduct but what the heck. They cannot put me in prison, can they?

Nadine, Harold, Christine, Sheryl, Taylor, Diane and Mindelei all have the right idea in my opinion. Yes, there is no need for rules. As I commented on Darren Draper’s (Drape’s Takes ~ a great blog by the way) recent blog posts (here and here) concerning Blogging Etiquette I do not need a set of rules or norms to guide me. I have a set of principles in my own conscience that I follow. That is enough.

Heather, I do not feel that with twitter and also with blogging that there should be some ‘social norms’ to follow. If a twitter user is inappropriate in any way simply block them. Let the masses decide. The same with bloggers. If they are a nuisance or inappropriate then all you need do is unsubscribe. Let the dynamics of the net decide their fate, not a set of rules or social norms. Who decides the ‘social norms ‘anyway?

Blog on Kate and tweet as if the sun had just risen!”

There is no need for rules. We are all grown up enough to be sensible. Blogging and the occasional tweet appeal to me because there are no ‘rules’. Theoretically I can blog and tweet when I want, how I want, and on whatever I want. Of course I endeavour to be sensible. No ten blogging commandments for me.

If users of Twitter want to set up ‘rules’ then they can establish their own little social network api and call it Bitter, Flitter, Nitter or whatever.