Tim's Goree Details
Technology in Education
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." - General Eric Shinseki
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." - General Eric Shinseki
A blog about Politics, School & Education, and Technology.
Real Name: Tim Goree Member Since: July 07, 2007 Last Signed In: October 12, 2008 Profile Views: 367 Blog Views: 1064 Bailing Out the "Den of Vipers and Thieves" Here Comes the Judge! Textbooks Must Die! - Part 1 So, What Format Is Your File In? Games Are More Important Than You Think Pirates Can Be Helpful The Idea Factory To Power Off, Or Not To Power Off, That Is The Question! Interruptions - The Best Part of My Day Cotton Mouth, Spilled Water, and Great Conversation July 07 August 07 September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 iJohnPederson 
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I know, it's a fairly inflammatory title, but it matches my attitude on the subject - I am fairly inflamed.
Textbook companies are cozy with state government to the detriment of our kids in local schools. Considering the state of our California budget as well as this week's "revelations" on Wall Street and their connection to the federal government, I would hope that you aren't surprised!
Folks, I believe that the state is more concerned with making life easier for...
Did you know that different computer programs often save their files in different formats? Formats that other computer programs can't open or alter. Wouldn't it be great if all computer programs could just talk to each other and read each other's files automatically? Yeah, that would be great, but there are all kinds of reasons why that won't be a reality for a very long time, if ever.
So now you have to live in reality, and it isn't pretty! Having a Macintosh as my...
Andrea Bennett, one of my favorite people, and the Executive Director of CETPA (CA Educational Technology Professionals Association) e-mailed me today asking if I would do her a huge favor and write an article for the OnCUE (Computer Using Educators) magazine on behalf of the CETPA membership. Well, it's hard to say no to her (she's so nice), so I asked what the deadline was. She said ASAP. Nice. So, I wrote this and turned it in. You saw it here first!
Oh, and...
Watch this entire 25 minute long video!
Three points to be made about this video -
1 - Nervousness and other problems with speaking in public can (and will) be overcome by passion for the subject and telling a personal story. It doesn't matter what your problems with speaking are, you can engage people in any setting through passionate story telling! This concept is SO important because public speaking is SO important. Public speaking is NOT a talent that only a few...
I recently had a whale of a time at the Computer Using Educators (CUE) Conference in Palm Springs with 3 collegues of mine. This is a conference I never miss, but it is primarily aimed at classroom teachers, so if I go without taking some teachers along with me, it feels like I'm wasting an opportunity. Luckily, 2 of the people I took with me were classroom teachers - Tara Treaster and Christine Whitaker. The third person was Omar Garcia, one of the computer technicians that...
This may seem like a simple and unimportant subject to write about, but I have to say, I get this question an awful lot these days.
Here it is: How often should I turn off my computer completely?
Years ago, there was an epidemic of computer power switches that started failing because the computers were constantly being turned on an off. At that time, the computer would basically cease to function at that point. So, it became common knowledge that it was better to leave the...
It's easy to get into the rut of believing that interruptions are the things that hold you back from getting "real" work done. As a technology director, I am one of the most interrupted people in my school district!
I had an interruption recently, however, that reminded me of the beauty of such moments, and their importance to teaching, learning, and generally being needed.
It so happens that an office that I was working in one day is attached to the Kindergarten...
I while ago I blogged about the opportunity I would soon have to speak to my peers at the CETPA conference. That opportunity has come and gone, and as expected, I am a better man for the experience.
I began the 50 minute session with a terrible case of cotton mouth, but was not worried due to the fact that I had enough intelligence to prepare a glass of water before hand to have at the presentation table. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough intelligence to control the movement...
First off, I have to publicly thank Jeanette Dow for putting a little book in my hand yesterday and instructing me to read it. Mrs. Dow is the library aide at Veterans Elementary, so it's no surprise that she put a book in my hand and instructed me to read it - that is what she is supposed to do!
I read the book, Machines are the easy part; people are the hard part: Observations about making technology work in schools - by Doug Johnson, in about an hour. This has more to do...
I couldn't stand it anymore. After working for a year on my part (technology) of building the brand new Veterans Elementary School, I just had to know how my spending and purchasing for the new school compared with the Norris School District's other new school - Norris Elementary.
I wasn't working here for the construction of Norris Elementary School just 2-3 years ago, and Veterans has been my first experience heading up technology operations during the building of a new school in...
If you're a teacher, and you've been looking for a multimedia project that your class can do that:
A) Doesn't cost much
B) Is easy to learn how to do
C) Integrates a lot of writing standards
D) Gets the kids really charged up
E) Is easy to share with the community (especially parents)
AND
F) Is just plain fun
Podcasting just might be what you are looking for!
If you aren't familiar with what this is, it basically boils down to the students...
It was almost as if my last post on Microsoft Office was a prayer that has been immediately answered!
Now, I understand that this won't be exciting to about 85% of the world's computer owners (because that is the rough percentage of Windows only users), but just last week, Apple announced iWork '08. This would be their first attempt to compete head-to-head with Microsoft Office.
iWork '06, which was the previous version, consisted of two programs: Pages (word processor) and...
No, it's not!
Lately, I've become very interested in alternatives to the traditional Microsoft Office Suite of applications. You know, the ever useful, standardized, and famous Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications. These are great computer programs, make no mistake. There is definitely a reason why they have become the standard for office applications world wide.
There is, however, the problem of money. For normal folks, Microsoft Office isn't exactly...
So, I've been accepted as a speaker/presenter at the next CETPA (California Educational Technology Professionals Association) conference in October. To me, this generates excitement, a sense of honor, and naturally, some fear.
My respect for this organization and its members is deep. These people have been, and continue to be, great supporters and sharpeners for me in my professional craft. To speak to them on a topic near and dear to my heart is, well, all of the the...
It's not necessary for me to write a lot about this at this time. Instead, I'd love it if folks would watch a 20 minute video which pretty much says what needs to be considered by leaders today who make decisions in education.
I believe that the arts have been and continue to be downplayed in our educational system at our own peril. I also believe that technology can play a critical role creating the kind of artistic experiences needed in our educational system today. Listen to...
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