#ISTE13 Six Word Story Project

As I'm reading through all the ISTE13 recaps, I started thinking about how it might be cool to create a six word story about my ISTE13 experience.  As I thought about what mine might entail, I wondered what others might look like.  And then it hit me.  We should make a collaborative video of six word stories all put together into an ISTE13 compilation!

So, here is the deal.  The more people we get to add to this, the more fun it will be.  Spread the word.  I first heard about the idea of a six word story from Dean Shareski (@shareski).  And I think it is a great project for any teacher to use in their classroom.  So, this will be good practice for you.  :)

Tell the story of your ISTE13 experience with one image and just six words.  It can be an image that you took at the conference, or one that someone else took that helps tell your story.  Look here for some ideas from Ben Grey's (@bengrey) wiki: http://bengrey.wikispaces.com/6+Word+Story+Project

Use a photo editor (pixlr is a good free one for Chrome and Fotolr used to be pretty good on the iPad) to add the text of the story to your image.  You can publish your image to a photo sharing site like Flickr and then add it to our Google Presentation by the URL.  Or you can upload a copy of the image directly to the Google Presentation.

Add your story to the collaborative Google Presentation here:
http://goo.gl/cVHUS
Be sure to include your name, where you are from and twitter/g+ account info in the notes section of your slide.

I will download the slideshow and create a video out of all of the stories.  And then in two weeks we will have a Google Hangout to watch the end result.  Sound good?  :)

Thoughts on the Google Pixel

Google Pixel

As I read the news about the Google Pixel announcement it seemed that there was a lot of focus on the price of the device ($1299-1499).  I don't think evaluating this device on price is the right angle at all!

When I was first reading about it, the first thing I focused in on was the touch integration announcement.  ChromeOS just added touch integration! Seriously!  No, there isn't a full keyboard, but the touch integration is there with gestures.  This paves the way for a whole new set of devices running ChromeOS!  And with the Chromebook partners picking up speed, there is a lot of potential here.

Combine that thought with the physical specifications and design of the Pixel.  It is almost so impressive it is scary.  Apple's prized possession of late has been their screens.  First on the iPhone and iPad screens.  With the inclusion of the Retina display on the MacBooks this year they continued that trend.  However, Google just took Apple's lunch money and put them on notice with the Pixel display!

The Google Pixel has a 12.85" screen running at 2560 x1700.  It has a Intel i5 processor (1.8ghz), and 4GB of ram.  Throw in a ChromeOS with touch integration and you have a pretty major statement.  Google just proved they can package the same high quality hardware (designed with software in mind), with all the advantages of a web based ChromeOS.

Boom!

Imagine where we go from here...  :)

Destiny

I had the great opportunity to present the closing keynote for the 2012 Fall TECSIG meeting this year.  I chose to speak about Destiny, and tell a little bit about the life experiences of my and my son Robert.  My goal was to tie those experiences back to some current issues I see in Education.  I didn't feel like I did as great a job as I could have in that manner.  But you can be the judge of that.  :)  Tim Holt (@timholt2007) captured it all on film:
http://youtu.be/qjunYlea1aQ

Check it out.  At the very least you will learn a little bit more about me.  And you might just find out if Russia is really visible from a front porch in Alaska. :)