Saturday, January 22, 2011

Tech Ramblings

I have not posted to the blog for almost a month! I apologize for that, but I have been busy getting presentations and grad courses ready for various upcoming events!

One that took me a long time was the "history of technology" presentation I am doing at NCTIES in Raleigh in early March. I had put together a 20-minute movie on the topic a few years ago for our MassCUE anniversary celebration, but I did not do any talking. I had to figure out how I was going to adapt the content I had already collected and gather the four additional years of technology coolness and present it for a break-out session.  I did manage to do it, and the resulting presentation was as much fun to put together as I hope it will be for my audience to watch! I created a "technology scrapbook" of my personal tech acquisitions over the years, and included personal photos and all kinds of other fun things! (However, I probably cannot share the presentation outside of a conference space, because, as you can well imagine, I did not get permissions for all the gadget photos I have included in the show!)

I also have been busy learning some new software interfaces, most notably the new version of Adobe Connect 8 and the new Adobe Acrobat X. The components of both have been improved and the navigation has been made easier, but it still takes a while to adapt to new interfaces. Adobe Acrobat X has some exciting new accessibility features, too! I have also been using the new Apple iLife suite, mostly iMovie, and am taking advantage of some of the new features.

I have perfected my "Using Infographics as a Creative Assessment" presentation for ISTE11 in Philadelphia. I am sold on this alternative assessment practice, and, if you attend the session,  will help you see how great it is, too!




 That's it from kinda snowy, but very cold, Cape Cod! I am looking forward to attending FETC in Orlando next week and will be helping in the DEN pre-conference and doing two featured sessions. I hope the weather is at least sunny for me!