The PD Problem
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I\'ve been reading Linda Darling-Hammond\'s new book The Flat World and Education , and while I\'m finding it rich with detail about everything that\'s troubling about the US education system (and the potential fixes), I\'m also struck by the fact that there is very little here in terms of a meaningful .. .. read more..
Reality Check
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Recently a school administrator shared a story that reminded me why I need to spend more time talking to more people outside of the echo chamber. She said that a group of parents had requested a meeting to discuss the methods of a particular teacher and his use of technology. It seemed this teacher.. .. read more..
Mistakes I have made building web applications
Thursday, March 11, 2010
As son as I saw the first web application building \'mistake\' I knew I should link to this post. The mistake? \"Not thinking about character encoding right from the start.\" All I can say is, ack! ack! ack! (I hate character encoding issues). Another good one is number 10: \"Underestimating the proble.. .. read more..
Moodle: Frankenstein or Franken-steen?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Antonio (no last name on this blog) offers a responds and reframing of recent criticisms of Moodle. He\'s concerned abut the critics implicitly helping competitors, like Blackboard. And the criticisms, he says, miss the point. \"It\'s not Moodle which cost 6 million British Pounds. Moodle was free, ha.. .. read more..
Microsoft issues vouchers for online training
Thursday, March 11, 2010
One would think that organizations and companies that support vouchers would use them themselves, instead of relying, as they all do, on directed or in-house training. Until now, looking for a company that actually did this would be futile. But according to this article, Microsoft is offering free .. .. read more..
Self Education: Five Essential Sites
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Can people educate themselves? The jury\'s still out, I think, on this. But these five autodidact sites suggest that, maybe, they can. Jeff Cobb, Mission to Learn, March 10, 2010 [Tags: none] [ Link ] [ Comment ] .. read more..
The New National Ed Tech Plan…Pinch Me
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The first thing I want to say to the authors of the new National Ed Tech Plan (pdf) is this: DON\'T TEASE ME. Please. I\'m trying not to get overly optimistic here, but suffice to say, if the rhetoric is any indication of the direction, we may have actually turned a corner. Personalized learning Lear.. .. read more..
Open courseware an ‘opportunity\' for education publishers
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
David Wiley points to the new US $500m OER initiative and notes they will be free for commercial reuse. \"We now know that the resources created under the AGI funding will either be licensed CC BY or placed in the public domain. We know this because no CC licenses with SA or NC clauses live up to th.. .. read more..
The standard for online courses is firmly in place?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The standard for online courses, we are told , is firmly in place. Mark Guzdial protests. \"Surely, this can\'t be it - it can\'t be that Sakai + Twitter + a blog or Wiki is what all future studies will call the \'traditional\' form of online courses? What about amazingly and powerful collaborative spac.. .. read more..
DIY U Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation…
Monday, March 8, 2010
Norm Friesen previews a book, \" DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education \" by Anya Kamenetz. We both received email this week from the publisher announcing the forthcoming release and noting \"Dr. Friesen and you are briefly noted within the text, based on a se.. .. read more..
Is Higher Education Evolving?
Monday, March 8, 2010
If higher education were like an organism that evolved, what would it look like? Probably nothing like this mixed-metaphor formulation: \"the pendulum swing(s) faster between proprietary integration and open modulation to accelerate the clock speed for more effective and efficient knowledge creation.. .. read more..
TedxNYED: Amazing…So What?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
So here\'s a 5:30 am brain dump because I woke up thinking about all of the minds on fire at TEDxNYED yesterday and there\'s no way I\'m going back to sleep, not with the brilliant voices the likes of Andy Carvin teaching me how social media can save people\'s lives, saying “voluteerism has been .. .. read more..
Time for Action: The Big Questions
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Apologies for not getting back to this last week as promised. As sometimes happens, life got in the way of blogging. Not regretting it at all, btw. ;0) So, whaddaya say we actually try to do something with these Big Questions, as in turn them into a document that schools can use to frame their own .. .. read more..
Teachers as Master Learners
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
As we continue to have conversations around change with the 800 or so practitioners were working with in PLP , I continue to be struck by the frustration I\'m feeling at the seeming separation between teaching and learning. I know that this isn\'t new; I\'ve been writing about teachers\' difficulties w.. .. read more..
Collins/Halverson Archive
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
For those who may have missed it, or anyone who wants to relive the experience, here is the Elluminate session archive for the interview with Allan Collins and Richard Halverson, authors of Rethinking Education in an Era of Technology. The mind bending sometimes thought provoking chat is here . Tha.. .. read more..
The Big Questions: Now What?
Monday, February 15, 2010
So as of today, 220 of you were kind enough to vote on what you thought were the 10 most important questions from the list that we generated at Educon . Here are the “winners” at the moment: How do we support the changing role of teacher? 116 What is the role of the teacher? 110 How do .. .. read more..
“Re-Thinking Education” Interview Monday Night
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Just wanted to give a quick heads up that I\'ll be interviewing Allan Collins and Richard Halverson, authors of Rethinking Education in an Age of Technology , this upcoming Monday night at 8 pm EST. More than any other in the past year, this book has really been pushing my thinking about the urgency.. .. read more..
On-line chat about the MBA in Arts Administration
Friday, February 12, 2010
I don\'t talk much on this blog about the specifics of my day job, directing an MBA degree program in Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business. But I certainly get questions about that work through e-mail responses to the blog, and when I\'m out and about at conferences and the like. F.. .. read more..
What Does Publishing 2.0 Look Like? Richard Nash Knows - How is Technology Chang..
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Traditionally, writers wrote, editors edited, publishers published, retailers sold, and reader read. But in the age of the Kindle, e-books, author web sites and comment boards, all the roles are becoming fuzzy. Richard Nash has started a company called Cursor, which is trying to pioneer the idea of.. .. read more..
Triangluating open mesh conversations with Buzz!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
OK - so I didn\'t get into Wave right away - but I can\'t help but notice Buzz in my GMail. Haven\'t figured out how to get these blog posts into my Buzz - yet - but I\'m all a GaGa about another new form of connection - courtesy of our favorite behemoth. NO wonder Smarr and Messina joined them! Clearl.. .. read more..
Google Enters the Home Broadband Market - So That\'s What All of Google\'s Dark Fi..
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
In a week already full of Google announcements, another bomb was casually dropped today via Google\'s blog. The Borg from California announced that it was experimentally entering the Fiber to the Curb (FTTC) market, and that they planned to offer much higher speeds than current offerings (1Gb/sec) a.. .. read more..
Google Buzz: Is it Project, Product or Platform?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I think that it\'s great that Google is iterating Gmail, and actually improving an existing product versus rolling out something new and half-baked. Nonetheless, I am confused. I thought that Google Wave was destined to be the new Gmail, but after today, I am left wondering if Gmail is instead, the .. .. read more..
Continuing the Educon Conversation
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
(Note: Your participation is requested below…) So it’s taken me a couple of weeks to get to this reflection on the conversation I led at Educon. I hope those in attendance and online feel as I do that it was a pretty compelling session, and I like the fact that we had a tangible albeit undeveloped .. .. read more..
1st week of Feb. 2010 - blogging
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Perhaps Michael Arrington should watch my going away present to Silly Valley on the notion of what a Persona editor would look like. Unfortunately this video has never been included onto teh Google Tech Talk page - or indexed into Google - though that was why I did it. But regardless - the issue .. .. read more..
On-demand “Lost”
Monday, February 8, 2010
Since I teach my class on Tuesday nights - I\'ve been unnable to catch the new episodes of “Lost”. So I\'m forced to go to ‘Hulu\' and go on-demand. But what a pleasure! Given “Lost\'s” time travel motif, I can\'t help but comment on and create a blog post on how coolio it.. .. read more..
Transformative Technology? Really?
Monday, February 8, 2010
So I ran across this Smart Ease of Use video in the course of one of our threads in a PLP cohort and I have to say, I can\'t seem to shake it. I mean, maybe I\'m missing something here, but if this is a vision of “transformative” technology, we\'re in some serious trouble. Worse, if this m.. .. read more..
Everyone\'s a critic, or collector, or joiner, or...
Monday, February 8, 2010
I\'m in Maine at the moment, preparing for a week-long visit to Colby College to think about and talk about audiences and the arts. At conferences and other arts conversations, there\'s certainly a lot of talk about how audiences are changing. The assumed contract between artist, audience, and commun.. .. read more..
I\'m not passive in any way
Saturday, February 6, 2010
My wife just said it perfectly. I\'m going to pursue the answers. I\'m not gonna sit still and accept the status quo. Kismet has brought me here and I\'m letting fate guide me. My current class has us building the user experiences for the Case Connection Zone . Stay tuned on that one. It\'s installi.. .. read more..
The cumulative value of stories
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Social anthropologist and \'\'chief culture officer\'\' Grant McCracken has some great thoughts bubbling in his recent blog posts . He\'s wondering out loud about finding ways to capture and share the narratives and histories of the objects we wear, use, and pass along. His most recent post wonders if a.. .. read more..
It\'s George\'s birthday - and I\'m blogging
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Happy birthday to my best friend here in Cleveland - George Nemeth! The Open Web doesn\'t have a single vendor I can\'t think of a better person to run Google\'s social efforts - than Joseph Smarr! Subscriptions are the new black - I still think OPEN is the new black . Others agree . It\'s Time to Kno.. .. read more..
A useful question about nonprofit status
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I\'m pleased to notice a new blogger among the ArtsJournal crew, James Undercofler, who recently joined the faculty at Drexel University\'s Arts Administration program after an illustrious career in symphonies, conservatories, and cultural nonprofits. His State of the Art blog will focus on the parti.. .. read more..
A blog post about Cleveland, Youngstown and the Plain Dealer
Monday, February 1, 2010
Over here in NEO (North East Ohio) the Plain Dealer is the old school media player who\'s Cleveland.com has been the old school portal of note. In yesterday\'s Sunday paper the Plain Dealer published: - yet another article on Youngstown and the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) - an attack on the C.. .. read more..
EduCon 2.2
Monday, February 1, 2010
If I could put in a few phrases what I took away from this year\'s Educon experience it was this: Stop complaining. Be the change. Love your students and do well by them. If that includes technology, so be it. And it was those first two that stood out, for me at least. I heard variations on those th.. .. read more..
Kicking off Feb. 2010 - blogging
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tee Hee Hee - it seems that the 26 year journey of Flash and multimedia players - is still not resolved. Funny how lock-in standards just WANT to get open sourced! Maybe if Apple had bought us “back in the day” - we wouldn\'t have this problem. And boo hoo to all those iPad users who .. .. read more..
Final Jan Blogging - ‘10
Friday, January 29, 2010
I tried to talk to Anil Dash about the work we\'re doing here in Cleveland to generate Jobs. He listened - but he told me - AMAZINGLY - that Expert Labs was NOT interested in Jobs . That\'s just AMAZING to me. It\'s the #1 issue facing us today! If there\'s anyone reading this blog - who can get me .. .. read more..
Local food ecology workshops - No. Lima, OH
Thursday, January 28, 2010
My good friend Maurice Small has discovered blogging and he\'s on a tear. He asked a bunch of us to help him promote these workshops being put on by GoodnewsGrows.com . All good people. Good cause. Good people. Good things. Good food. MMMMmmmmmm Learn how to grow your own! And he\'s promised to help.. .. read more..
Sustainability Design Committee
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Mayor of Cleveland helped sponsor a summit on Sustainability last summer which has led to all sorts of groups being formed and actions planned. A key part of that effort has been meeting to come up with a collaborative tools platform - to connect all these efforts together. I\'m hoping to utiliz.. .. read more..
Rumination on \'\'expressive life\'\'
Monday, January 25, 2010
I\'ll be blogging elsewhere on ArtsJournal this week, as part of the \'\'Expressive Life\'\' week-long blog discussion convened by Bill Ivey and featuring a ragtag bunch of big thinkers . Since his work as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Bill had been increasingly frustrated with the pu.. .. read more..
I\'ll be back eventually...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sorry to all who keep coming back to the blog or checking your feeds. My New York trip was busier than expected, and the arrival home found many projects waiting eagerly. I\'ll work to get back to the blogging next week. Lots to explore from my experiences in the big city. .. read more..
Off to NYC
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I\'m traveling to New York tonight to participate in both the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference and the International Society for the Performing Arts conference . Both promise different perspectives on the state of the live performing arts. And both offer the glorious opportunity .. .. read more..
Free tools for teaching (and talking)
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A core service for most arts organizations is the connection of artists and audience. Hope that\'s not a shock. But if you were to create a time diary for most organizations, tracking how they spent the minutes available in a single year, you\'d likely find that the actual connection (face to face, v.. .. read more..
When the money gets tight, the moneyed get metrics
Monday, January 4, 2010
One major emerging trend in formal philanthropy over the past decade has been the increasing effort to quantify social return. As philanthropic dollars are fewer, and competition for contributed income grows more intense, it\'s only natural for boards and big philanthropists to seek observable evide.. .. read more..
Off for the holidays
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
I\'ll be on a blogging break until the new year. But I wish all of you out there in the ether a joyous and recuperative holiday season. See you in 2010! .. read more..
Rebirth: The Future of Classical MusicBrief outline
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What\'s missing from this outline: details, objections to what I say (and my answers), liveliness, fun, and music. I\'ll spend... .. read more..
Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music
Thursday, September 24, 2009
My book on the future of classical music is going to unfold here, or at least parts of it... .. read more..
Old versions: First try
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Episode 1: Mark, Jed, and Beny Moré Episode 2: An Odd Blankness Episode 3: What Is Classical Music, Anyway? Episode... .. read more..
One World Symphony - NY Times Review
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The New York Times published a short review of our season opener: Inspiration From Bjork, ‘The Alchemist’ and the Sea .. read more..
Viola Enluarada
Monday, July 27, 2009
I recently came upon a life-changing idea and became deeply engrossed in the beauty and depth of the text and music of a song “Viola enluarada” composed by Marcos Valle and his brother Paulo Sérgio Valle. In Brazil viola refers to the acoustic guitar. Violas are used for serenades, to a.. .. read more..
Dutch Kills Gallery on July 11
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dutch Kills Gallery is pleased to present Cast Shadows, a solo exhibition of new works by Niki Kriese . Among the grouping of sculpture and video, there will be a series of special performances: a set of scores by Audra Wolowiec featuring Maria Johnson and Lauren Edman and cinematic projections by Y.. .. read more..
One World Symphony
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
June was a busy month for me and I forgot to update my blog for several weeks! Oh no! After finishing up the show with Princeton, I jumped right into a bunch of rehearsals with the One World Symphony , located in Brooklyn. We put together a production of Samuel Barber\'s Vanessa and performed twice l.. .. read more..
Technology and Process in the Arts
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Digital technology has shifted our attention away from the the object to focus on the process. As we discover process in creating new artistic works, we find that there is considerable overlap in generating new media. Now we have tools for investigating and interrogating our personal artistic proces.. .. read more..
Vote for \"No Bullets in the House\"!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Hey guys if you can, take a minute to vote for my friend Geronimo Madrid\'s short story, \"No Bullets in the House\" , as storySouth\'s Best Story of the Year ! .. read more..
Lincoln Center on June 5
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
On June 5 I\'ll be playing a tune or two with the LA-based band, Princeton (see above photo), who will be in town to play at the Virginia Woolf Conference. My friend Lynn Tsai is also going to be rocking out on flute that night. We\'re going on at 8pm in the Pope Auditorium - more details to follow l.. .. read more..
Das Lied von der Erde with the Brooklyn Symphony
Monday, May 11, 2009
This month I\'m playing a concert with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra ! I hope some of you can attend! You can add the event to your calendar through Facebook . MAHLER – Das Lied von der Erde Nicholas Armstrong, Artistic Director Stephanie Houtzeel, mezzo-soprano Matthew Garrett, tenor Sunday, May .. .. read more..
Four Celtic Voices - Topselling World Album on Billboard Magazine!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Yeah yeah yeah! Way to go Celeste Ray and Erin Hill! Check it out: http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/genre_index.jsp .. read more..
Wonderful Town
Saturday, April 25, 2009
I\'m doing a couple last-minute performances of Bernstein\'s Wonderful Town at The Calhoun School today! The school is located at 74th and Amsterdam. Matinee is at 2pm, evening show at 7pm. .. read more..
First New Report of Stimulus Funds Used for Music Education
Friday, April 24, 2009
As I reported yesterday... Stimulus Funds are going to HELP music education. Here is the first report on how a district receiving Special Education Funding was able to HIRE a music teacher. As I said yesterday... Music and Arts Educators this IS your bailout! School district to receive $500,000 in .. .. read more..
Where’s My Bailout? Right Here!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
With literally TRILLIONS of dollars being thrown at various industry sectors, stimulus programs and bailout efforts the resounding course from the American public is this: Where’s MY bailout? Well I can’t speak to where the bailout is for all Americans... but I can address my favorite topic by aski.. .. read more..
Quadrant Arts Education Research Launched
Friday, April 3, 2009
After several months of planning I am happy to announce that Mike Danforth... the founder of MTD Marketing and I have put all our work together to create Quadrant Arts Education Research... The press follows: Market Intelligence for a Change: Industry Veterans Launch Quadrant Arts Education Researc.. .. read more..
My Roommate is a Movie Star
Monday, March 30, 2009
My roommate, Kelli Chaves, just wrapped her first film, Battle of the Bands . The crew plans to finish post-production in July 2009. In it, Kelli plays a rockstar, which is pretty appropriate, considering I think she is a real life rockstar. .. read more..