In my part of the world, today is the first day of school for many post-secondary students. Some are heading into their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year – others are walking in the doors for the first time. It’s interesting times in the world of education; technology has enabled us, as teachers, to expand the classroom experience beyond anything most of us could have imagined 10 years ago.

I have successfully used technology in my classroom for many different things – I’ve built online communities where students can connect, used Wikis to share information, created YouTube channels for students to show off their work, and brought guest speakers in via Skype. I’m encouraging my students to ask me fewer questions by email and more questions by Twitter and Skype, because it’s faster and could potentially benefit others. I use tools like VisibleTweets and CommonCraft as visual aids. This year I intend to do all of these things, and more. I’ll be leveraging YouTube to connect with my classes when I can’t be there in person. I’ll be having more Skype-based guest speakers, and playing with CamtasiaRelay to do software tutorials. I’m sure many of you will be exploring similar tools, and figuring out how to best use them in the classroom.

But let’s take a step back for a moment.

It’s really, really easy to get caught up in all the tools and toys and shiny things – there are so many things to learn about and explore. We run the risk of getting so caught up in the tools, that we can start to forget about what our purpose is as teachers.

My job in the classroom (virtual or otherwise) is to create an environment where students feel confident and inspired. I want them to have the courage to try new things, share their ideas, and work together to create good things. In order for them to succeed at this, I need them to be attentive, engaged, and understanding of what is expected of them. If I spend too much time focused on the technology, I’m not focused on them. Somewhere along the way, I need to find a balance. I want to leverage the power of social media and other emerging technologies to improve the experience for my students, but I need to be careful not to let technology get in the way of the learning.

If I’m including technology in a class, I test everything out before I get to the class. If it’s Skype, I make sure I’ve got the person in my contacts. I try a test call on the computer I’ll be using during the class. Even something simple like VisibleTweets should be set up ahead of time, so you can just let it run in the background. Make the technology part of the background of what you are doing, not the emphasis. Use the tools as just that – things to aid you in the process.

Always be prepared for a technology #fail. Even the best of tools go down occasionally. Internet connections are slow, or stop working altogether. With that said, always have a backup. I download videos from YouTube as a separate file so I can run them locally if need be. If my Skype connection fails, I have the speaker’s phone number handy so they can talk via speaker phone if necessary. Remember, the emphasis is on the learning experience – and the experience shouldn’t fail just because the technology breaks. Your students should always come away getting what you promised them, with or without the shiny toys.

Technology in the classroom is a wonderful thing, but remember, it’s not the be all and end all of the classroom experience. Like everything else, education is about people, not technology. Keep the focus on your students and their learning, plan and prepare your use of technology, and the rest will fall into place.

And you? What are your plans to include tech in the classroom this year? How will it enhance the learning experience?

[photo credit: Rego on Flickr]

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Yesterday I said I liked the iPad.

I didn’t qualify it, I didn’t say what specifically I liked about it, but I got some comments questioning my decision, wondering why I’d want such a silly thing, what possible use it could have, and why I’d just lemming along with whatever Apple is pimping without actually looking into it first. Defensive? I don’t know. But for all those who are questioning my sanity, let me explain now.

I’m not planning to run out and buy one as soon as they hit the shelves (though I’d like to try one out, just for fun). I didn’t rush out and get the iPhone either (in fact I waited a whole YEAR!). But the story of the iPad is far more important than the gadget that is going to be in people’s hands come April.

It’s not about the tool. It’s about what it represents. Oh, wait, Suze, are you saying AGAIN that it’s not about the tools? (Snore).

But Suze, the iPad is a TOOL!

Yep, yer darn tootin’ it is. But the iPad is not so much about what it is and what it does (because there are going to be lots of copycats now). It’s about mixing it up a bit – trying out new ways of human/computer interaction. We’ve been strapped to our keyboards and mouses (mice?) for a long time. The iPad gives us something new to think about and experiment with.

But wait, Suze – tablet computers are nothing new. They’ve been around for years! Apple’s not exactly innovating here.

That is true! But 1) there are no original ideas and 2) the iPad is a first iteration of a new kind of concept for a tool. It behaves somewhat differently than tablet PCs. It is a mobile device, not a laptop computer. It’s like the iPhone was to smart phones – it shakes things up a bit. The funny thing is, when a company tries a different spin on a concept, it’s often people who turn around and innovate with it. Twitter is a good example of this – the @ reply feature was originally a syntax that the users came up with, not @ev and his team. The Twitter developers just made it into a feature because it was so darned popular and useful. And ultimately, it made Twitter what it is today (a many to many conversation).

You see, the way it works is, companies like Apple create the new technology, and people decide how to make it useful. It’s a tool, yes. But mostly it’s a behaviour changer.

But Suze, change is scary!

Ugh. Tell me about it. Why would I want to change the way I’m doing things now? I’m quite content with the status quo. The way I use computers hasn’t changed much in the past 10-15 years. Keyboard, mouse, point and click, maximize, minimize, CTRL-ALT-DELETE (when I’m on my PC ;)). It’s been pretty productive, in spite of my repetitive stress shoulder injury and early-stage carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s been great to have to clunk out my big ol’ laptop at client meetings, wait for it to wake up from endless sleep, plug it in after the battery dies in 20 minutes, and try to noodle around on the touch pad fast enough that I don’t bore people to death (because my wireless mouse died).

The point is, why wouldn’t we want to see if there’s a better way? Seth Godin said that “If you’re not upsetting people, you’re not changing things.” New stuff is scary to most people. They don’t want to try because they are afraid it won’t work. But not trying at all means you’ll never know if there’s a better way.

I say it’s time we had something out there to mix it up a bit. Let’s give it a fair shake. See if it works. If it doesn’t, we’ll see how Apple works to improve it (or how someone else makes a better one).

Ok, but Apple is still the Evil Empire. I’d never buy anything of theirs.

So don’t! Lots of other people still will. And eventually, someone else will come along with a new thing that you do like. As for Apple’s proprietary nature, I think it’s not so bad. I’ve been an iPhone user for a little over a year, and have had an iMac for 3 years. We also are the ones who have the Apple TV (in case you were looking for it). I buy music and movies from iTunes, I download apps from the App Store, I use Final Cut and iPhoto. The truth is, I’m already invested in Apple. My stuff resides there anyhow. So a tool like the iPad isn’t a far stretch for me. I can load it up with all the same stuff I’m used to having (with the exception of Final Cut, but that’s not what the device is designed for). So for folks like me, something like the iPad might be instantly useful. For others, it might be a way for them to get in to the scene.

Ultimately, you have the right to buy or not to buy. To use the technology or toss it aside. But what I’m asking is, give it a chance to see if and how it’s going to change things before discounting it as more shill from the Evil Corporation.

Mark my words (or I’ll be eating my words)…I think there’s a lot to pay attention to with the iPad. Don’t think about the tool itself. Think about what it means to innovation, moving forward, and how we’re going to interact with machines in the future.

The thing about trailblazers is, there’s nobody ahead of them to fight the tigers.

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This morning I sat down over tea and cookies with two of the most interesting, creative and smart people I know. We’ve all been friends for years and years – since I was just a wide-eyed kid embarking on my first real TV job.

My friend’s basement office was like some sort of secret lair, a place where you just know big plans are being made. We huddled over our shortbread. A large painting of our host was oddly juxtaposed behind him. The striking likeness watched over our conversation with interest, as the real man sat in front. It was at once surreal and familiar. We sat, sipping, and mulled over our own big plans. The whole experience set me on the following stream of thoughts for the rest of the day.

One of the reasons why I am so interested and engaged with social media is because it revolves around the central theme of community. Whether you are building social media strategies for multimillion dollar companies, or creating a personal blog about your passion, you are striving to achieve the same thing – to build a strong, thriving community around something people care about.

It baffles me that so many people look at community as being some kind of bold new concept, especially in conversations around social media. They talk about community building, community management, community awareness…as if it’s the next big thing, the next new wave. They totally over complicate the process, and the entire point  of community gets lost in translation. I’m as guilty as the next person of getting caught up in the fad of community – especially as it relates to the online world.

Community isn’t new. Community has been around as long as we have. Communities are not created by tools or technology…they are created by people. My two friends helped me to remember this today.

One of my friends is working on building a new community. My other friend (the guy with the secret lair) has been building communities for years. Both of them are really really good at it. They’ve got it cased. Not only do they know how to build a community, they know how to make it strong. It doesn’t matter what kinds of communities they are building. What matters is that they aren’t getting caught up in the process or the buzzwords or the tools. They are just doing it. Want their secret? Well, okay then.

1. Surround yourself with smart, passionate people. Then, you never have to worry that there won’t be anyone around to help.
2. Just because someone has different tastes, doesn’t mean they don’t belong in your community. Give everyone a chance to try it out. A strong community is a diverse community.
3. Strong communities have great leaders. Great leaders have strong communities.
4. A community doesn’t take work. It takes passionate people who care about making it work.

Sometimes I think we get so caught up in the technology and the next big thing, that we forget that really it comes down to people. It’s not hard to build a community. What’s hard is putting aside the gizmos for a bit and focusing on what kind of community you want to build. And then, just getting out there and building the darn thing.

Thanks, two friends!

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I met someone for the first time recently. They asked me “What do you do?”.

The story of what I “do” has changed over the years. I used to just say “I work for [insert company name here].” Then after a while, I started to identify more with the actual work I was doing. “I’m a TV producer.” “I’m a web designer.” “I’m a technical writer.” “I’m a professor.”

When we started the company, my description started to become more complex. “I’m a partner in a production company.” Which always prompted the response, “Oh? What kind of production?”, to which I’d have to go into a long-winded explanation that well, we do tv production, but also web video, corporate video, and oh – yah, we develop web sites too, and do marketing…..

The problem I was having is that I could no longer easily sum up what I actually “do”. I was “doing” too many different things. Then the other day, it hit me. What I do is irrelevant. It’s a task list. It’s what I am that matters.

So what AM I? Simple. I’m a storyteller.

All day, every day, I’m telling stories. I’m telling them here, on my blog. I’m telling them in 140 character increments, on Twitter. I’m telling them when I meet my friends for drinks or coffee or dinner. And I’m helping my clients figure out how to tell their stories too, whether it’s through a new web site, a video, a TV show, a marketing campaign, or all of the above.

It’s all storytelling.

So how does this tie in to the notion that it’s not about the tools? Well, the fact that it’s really all about storytelling rather proves it, I think.

If what we’re all doing out here is telling stories (our own, our clients’, others’ -it doesn’t matter), then really, the tools become irrelevant. Sure, it’s important to know how to use the right tools, and use them the right way to ensure the story is told well. But the tools themselves are secondary. It’s the story that really matters.

When all’s said and done, it’s the story that people will remember – not what you used to tell it. I’m wondering if it’s time to reconsider how much effort we are spending talking about the tools themselves, and if perhaps we should be spending more effort figuring out what our story is and how we’re going to tell it.

Thoughts?

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