I would like to say it is not much like me to be opinionated about things in my life, but anyone who knows me knows that would be one the largest, dare I say it, fibs ever. I am not only opinionated, I rarely keep those opinions to myself - but I really do not try to push them off on others, unless there is something that I just can't contain and keep inside. Well, everyone, this is just one of those times.
To say I am a huge fan of Apple and the products they make would not exactly describe me at all. I'm more just a connoisseur of their products. Yes, I own an iPod (mini, nano and touch). When I purchased my new car a few months back, I also bought an iPhone because I was enamored with the OnStar app that would start your car from anywhere. I love my iPhone, but am a bit disappointed because the ONE car I purchased does not have that feature through OnStar, so all I can do is lock and unlock my doors and, seriously, where is the fun in that? Finally, for my classes at Mason I bought myself an iPad because I thought it would be so much easier to carry around, download my books to and take notes on - none of which I've really been able to do because my books are not available via iBooks, I suck at typing on the screen, and I really need a computer to do most of the work I do for class. I'm not saying I don't like their products, but to say I am a fan? Eh, not so much.
To me, being fan of something means you sort of live, eat and breath whatever you happen to be a fan of - for instance, Trace Adkins. Now, in my case, I would consider myself not just a fan, but a HUGE fan. So much so a stalking order would probably have to be put in place if I lived anywhere near where he lived. Seriously, when it comes to Trace Adkins, I am definitely coo coo for cocoa puffs. On the grand scheme of things, I would not put Apple on the same plain as Trace - barely even on the same planet; HOWEVER, I must tell you, after what happened to me the other night, my stock value in Apple has gone from simply Ho Hum to, "Ya know, I think they really got something there".
Last Thursday, class ran a little late, so my dutiful husband called to see if I was okay. Not realizing, after I answered his call, I neglected to put my iPhone back into my purse. When class was over, I said my goodbye's and off I went. It wasn't until after I'd gotten home that I realized my phone was not with me. I will tell you, I'm not one of those people who is so addicted to their phone that my heart began to race and I thought I was going to pass out because I didn't have it. Instead, after making sure it wasn't in my car or jacket pocket, I called my professor to see if she had left campus and when she said she had, asked if she wouldn't mind looking for it when she returned the next day and if she found it just keep it until we saw each other again. I also sent an email. Not terribly alarming, I know, but it did occur to me that I might have to replace it and, since it was not my turn for an upgrade, I wasn't looking forward to spending the $400 to get a new one.
Suddenly, I had an epiphany. I have a TON of apps on my iPad - mostly games that I don't play - but one day when I was downloading apps I came across one that helped locate your iPhone if it was ever misplaced. To me, misplaced does not mean lost - it just means I set it in the house somewhere and couldn't remember where I left it. Since I have this problem A LOT, I decided that this was probably a good app to have, so I downloaded it and set it up. I've had the app for about 6 months and for the first couple weeks, had a lot of fun playing with it. I would set my phone down and then walk through the house trying to trace it. Once or twice I forgot it and left it at home and, while at work, would do a search for it and sure enough, it would show up safe and sound at my home address. So this was my epiphany. I ran upstairs, grabbed my iPad, opened my app and marked the phone as lost. Sure enough, it showed up as still being on the campus at George Mason (although it didn't give an exact location - maybe Apple can work on that). Feeling better about it, I password protected it (because it normally isn't), set a phone number on it to call in case it was found and off to bed I went.
In the morning, I was working from home so I began my routine as normal. Got up, showered, dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and went into the livingroom to begin doing a lot of, mind numbing, data entry. When I noticed my iPad sitting on the table I thought, what the heck, let me see if my phone is in the same place as it was the night before. I opened the app, and much to my chagrin, the phone had moved. The app even showed the trajectory in which the phone had gone from one place to another. Again, no buildings, but I knew it was still somewhere on campus. Instinctively I walked back into my kitchen and sure enough, the message light on my home phone was flashing. I checked the message and lo and behold, at 2:22 a.m. my phone had been found and was sitting in the office of the campus police. "Wow", I thought, "how cool is that?" I called campus police, described the phone, verified it was mine and in less than an hour had my phone back.
So what did I learn from all of this? First - don't ever answer the phone when your husband is calling during class. Second - if you have an iPhone and another piece of Apple equipment, download and install the "locate my iPhone" app. Third - Apple really isn't a bad company after all and some of the apps they make can be useful and helpful. I do look forward to dumping some of my games and really looking into other useful Apple apps - but that will be after I finish my Master's class. For now, I'm happy to have my phone back, and as a special gift I bought it a new cover today. It's completely blinged out in pick and white rhinestones and has a giant rhinestone peacock on it. I mean, if I'm going to have my phone back, it's going to look good too!
So thanks Apple, for making what could have been a really bad situation turn out great. Believe me, I will be sharing this experience with my students and making sure they have, if they haven't already, downloaded this app so they have it because, as we know, teenagers NEVER know where they leave their phones, and if this can get even one back it's worth the download!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Thrill of Instant Technology, or the Hunt for Jim Cantore
Yesterday was the first "big" snowstorm in the Northern Virginia area since about 2 to 3 years ago. As a snow lover, to say I was excited about the anticipation of a big snow was an understatement. Schools were closed; even the Federal Government had shut down for the day. Sadly, we didn't get nearly as much snow as I was hoping, but it was beautiful and it became a short day of work for my husband, which is always a treat.
To allay your fears, this entry is really not about the weather, although without the promised snowstorm this entry could not be written. What this entry is about is the absolute and unequivocal thrill that comes with all of the instant technology that is at our fingertips today. I'm sure there those out there who still don't understand why instant technology is so important, and why it has become a seamless part of today's youth, but yesterday was a prime example of how instant technology has woven itself directly into the fiber of our lives.
As you may have noticed the title of my blog entry is the thrill of instant technology, or the hunt for Jim Cantore. For those of you who may not be weather channel buffs, you many not know that Jim Cantore is "the guy" to watch when bad weather comes to town. If there is a hurricane approaching any coastline, Jim Cantore is there. If there is severe weather in the plains states, Jim Cantore is there. Well, yesterday, Jim Cantore was here, in anticipation of the DC snowstorm that really wasn't. It's probably odd to think, since he isn't a rock star, or movie star, but Jim Cantore does have a fan base and, although I cannot or will not mention names, many women in my family are huge "fans". When my husband's work day was cut short, and he found out that Mr. Cantore was in DC, he decided to do what any good husband (who also happens to be a professional photographer) would do. He decided to take a trip into DC to hunt for the elusive weatherman. It took some doing, with a little help from me sitting at home watching live weather reports and talking to each other on our cell phones, my husband eventually found the "treasure" he was looking for.
Shortly after locating Mr. Cantore, I received a final phone call. I immediately flipped the station back over to the Weather Channel, just in time to see my husband standing several feet behind Mr. Cantore. My husbands back was to camera, and he was looking at the street (so as not to appear too conspicuous), all the while he was talking with me on the phone. So what was the next thing I did? Grabbed the remote and hit the record button on the DVR, so I could memorialize my husbands television appearance. Granted, I did it primarily as a joke, and to show our 20 year old. After all, who would really believe he hunted down and found Jim Cantore?
Enter, instant technology. As soon as my 20 year old saw her father on TV, standing behind Jim Cantore, she immediately posted, from her smartphone, about her father's whereabouts to all of her friends on Facebook. By the time her father had gotten home, there were several comments posted (most of which were non-believing). So what did I do? I grabbed my smartphone, turned on the DVR, cued up the video (as proof), recorded it with my smartphone and then uploaded it to YouTube. Then I grabbed my laptop, went onto Facebook and commented on my daughters post, providing the necessary proof that he had, in fact, scoped out and found Jim Cantore.
My husband then grabbed his iPad, hopped on his Facebook account and shared the video with people he was friends with, that I wasn't. Then he grabbed his laptop, downloaded the pictures from his camera, did some editing and uploaded them to Facebook. In a span of, about an hour, because of instant technology, his day's "hard work" had been seen by at least a couple thousand people; more if any of our family and friends shared his video and/or pictures.
And? You might be wondering. What does this really have to do with anything, other than bragging about the fact that my husband was able to track down and take pictures of Jim Cantore? The "And" in all this is, it's not just our students who have learned to move "at the speed of light". Kind of like Jim Cantore, instant technology is everywhere and if we aren't embracing it, as educators, then shame on us. If we aren't allowing our students to use it in classrooms or teaching our students how to use it properly and effectively then we are failing them and we are failing ourselves.
Think back about 15 years and consider this same encounter. Yes, we would have known that Jim Cantore was in town, but what would have been the odds my husband would have found him as quickly as he did? Without having cellphones, he could have wandered the streets of DC for hours. If, by some miracle, he did find Mr. Cantore he could have snapped his photos but then he would have had to develop them and then share them as hard copies via regular snail mail. What we were able to do in the span of an hour would have taken a couple weeks. Sure, those unmentionable fans I spoke of earlier would still have been happy to get their pictures, but they would have had to have waited and then the only way they could have shared them would have been to carry them around in their purses and pull them out to show to others. They also wouldn't have been able to "see him" on the streets of DC unless they had been watching the broadcast at that very moment in time. Because of instant technology, they didn't have to wait, they received their pictures almost immediately, and they were able to share my husbands experience almost right along with him.
So when you are thinking about lesson plans and ways to use technology in your classroom, keep the above example in mind. Today's students are naturally adept at using instant technology. As educators, it is up to us to make sure we keep abreast of the changes in technology so we can be more that just adequate in our classrooms. We need to find ways to stay ahead of our students in order to challenge them, to make learning fun and to maintain and hold their interests. We need to be their "Jim Cantore", so they spend time seeking us out. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be the teacher whose students think I'm a rock star than a has been.
To allay your fears, this entry is really not about the weather, although without the promised snowstorm this entry could not be written. What this entry is about is the absolute and unequivocal thrill that comes with all of the instant technology that is at our fingertips today. I'm sure there those out there who still don't understand why instant technology is so important, and why it has become a seamless part of today's youth, but yesterday was a prime example of how instant technology has woven itself directly into the fiber of our lives.
As you may have noticed the title of my blog entry is the thrill of instant technology, or the hunt for Jim Cantore. For those of you who may not be weather channel buffs, you many not know that Jim Cantore is "the guy" to watch when bad weather comes to town. If there is a hurricane approaching any coastline, Jim Cantore is there. If there is severe weather in the plains states, Jim Cantore is there. Well, yesterday, Jim Cantore was here, in anticipation of the DC snowstorm that really wasn't. It's probably odd to think, since he isn't a rock star, or movie star, but Jim Cantore does have a fan base and, although I cannot or will not mention names, many women in my family are huge "fans". When my husband's work day was cut short, and he found out that Mr. Cantore was in DC, he decided to do what any good husband (who also happens to be a professional photographer) would do. He decided to take a trip into DC to hunt for the elusive weatherman. It took some doing, with a little help from me sitting at home watching live weather reports and talking to each other on our cell phones, my husband eventually found the "treasure" he was looking for.
Shortly after locating Mr. Cantore, I received a final phone call. I immediately flipped the station back over to the Weather Channel, just in time to see my husband standing several feet behind Mr. Cantore. My husbands back was to camera, and he was looking at the street (so as not to appear too conspicuous), all the while he was talking with me on the phone. So what was the next thing I did? Grabbed the remote and hit the record button on the DVR, so I could memorialize my husbands television appearance. Granted, I did it primarily as a joke, and to show our 20 year old. After all, who would really believe he hunted down and found Jim Cantore?
Enter, instant technology. As soon as my 20 year old saw her father on TV, standing behind Jim Cantore, she immediately posted, from her smartphone, about her father's whereabouts to all of her friends on Facebook. By the time her father had gotten home, there were several comments posted (most of which were non-believing). So what did I do? I grabbed my smartphone, turned on the DVR, cued up the video (as proof), recorded it with my smartphone and then uploaded it to YouTube. Then I grabbed my laptop, went onto Facebook and commented on my daughters post, providing the necessary proof that he had, in fact, scoped out and found Jim Cantore.
My husband then grabbed his iPad, hopped on his Facebook account and shared the video with people he was friends with, that I wasn't. Then he grabbed his laptop, downloaded the pictures from his camera, did some editing and uploaded them to Facebook. In a span of, about an hour, because of instant technology, his day's "hard work" had been seen by at least a couple thousand people; more if any of our family and friends shared his video and/or pictures.
And? You might be wondering. What does this really have to do with anything, other than bragging about the fact that my husband was able to track down and take pictures of Jim Cantore? The "And" in all this is, it's not just our students who have learned to move "at the speed of light". Kind of like Jim Cantore, instant technology is everywhere and if we aren't embracing it, as educators, then shame on us. If we aren't allowing our students to use it in classrooms or teaching our students how to use it properly and effectively then we are failing them and we are failing ourselves.
Think back about 15 years and consider this same encounter. Yes, we would have known that Jim Cantore was in town, but what would have been the odds my husband would have found him as quickly as he did? Without having cellphones, he could have wandered the streets of DC for hours. If, by some miracle, he did find Mr. Cantore he could have snapped his photos but then he would have had to develop them and then share them as hard copies via regular snail mail. What we were able to do in the span of an hour would have taken a couple weeks. Sure, those unmentionable fans I spoke of earlier would still have been happy to get their pictures, but they would have had to have waited and then the only way they could have shared them would have been to carry them around in their purses and pull them out to show to others. They also wouldn't have been able to "see him" on the streets of DC unless they had been watching the broadcast at that very moment in time. Because of instant technology, they didn't have to wait, they received their pictures almost immediately, and they were able to share my husbands experience almost right along with him.
So when you are thinking about lesson plans and ways to use technology in your classroom, keep the above example in mind. Today's students are naturally adept at using instant technology. As educators, it is up to us to make sure we keep abreast of the changes in technology so we can be more that just adequate in our classrooms. We need to find ways to stay ahead of our students in order to challenge them, to make learning fun and to maintain and hold their interests. We need to be their "Jim Cantore", so they spend time seeking us out. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be the teacher whose students think I'm a rock star than a has been.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)