Tomorrow morning (09:30 UK time) I will be giving a talk entitled 20+ tools in 40+ minutes. So what’s that all about?
I have used the word “tools” to encompass useful applications, websites, blogs and societies. They are all ones I have found to be useful, or think would be useful to others.
Like many others, I suppose, I sometimes forget that just because I am familiar with something (a piece 
Hmm. Seems kinda obvious to me...of software, a workaround, a report -- whatever) doesn't mean that everyone else is. And they're not going to tell you that they don't know something for one very simple reason -- people don't know what they don't know!
About a year ago I explored this issue, and suggested ways to deal with it, in an article entitled The art of stating the obvious. Click the link to read the article now.
A few years ago I coined the term “presentational dissonance”. Derived, clearly, from the psychological concept of cognitive dissonance, the term is used to describe a situation in which the nature of a presentation, and its content, are at odds with each other.
For example:
Join us for the final Vital Teachshare discussion of this school year, as Tony Sheppard, aka Grumbledook, talks to us about a topic that I am sure is dear to our hearts:
Why Technology Goes Wrong. The discussion begins at 7pm UK time Tuesday 26th July, and you can access it by clicking on the link just given. Use the timezone converter to find out what time it is where you are.
Tony is a key member of Edugeek, one of the most vibrant online forums I know of.
Please tweet about this event, using the hashtag #vitalcpd. Thanks!
See also:
We had a great session: brilliant talk by @grumbledook that covered just about everything, and a great follow-up discussion.
To view the recording, click the link below:
Later on today, Di Brooks, who lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, will be giving a talk on life without connectivity, based on her recent experience with the earthquakes there. this will be followed by a discussion.
The talk will take place at 7pm UK time, 6am Christchurch time. And if you get as confused about time zones as I do, check what time it will be in your neck of the woods by going to this time zone converter.
To listen to the talk and join in the discussion, click on this link.
I’ve decided that I spend so much time at my computer that my desktop background needs to be calming. Here’s the photo I chose.
As you know, Christchurch in New Zealand has been beset recently by a terrible earthquake, which was then followed by aftershocks – which are still occurring. People have lost their homes and, worst, their lives.
For those who are fortunate enough to have survived the disaster, what has it been like without internet connectivity, or with only intermittent internet access? Why did Diane Brooks, an ICT consultant who runs an ICT in Education blog, recently advise schools to take up blogging?
(c) Terry Freedman All Rights Reserved