Free Range Learning

Sorry for the delay in posting this Tech Talk (the recording got misplaced). Jennie Bartholomew takes us through issues surrounding digital images: finding images, copyright issues, and helpful resources.

Here's the Tech Talk from April 29, 2010. In it I talk about some basic concepts for video editing, show a rough process, and talk a little bit about how to export videos based on how you might want to use them.

The New York Times ran an excellent article Tuesday on the problem of how PowerPoint is being used in US military briefings. Citing how overly complex slides such as this are creating barriers to understanding and good thinking.

“PowerPoint makes us stupid,” Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said this month at a military conference in North Carolina. (He spoke without PowerPoint.) Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who banned PowerPoint presentations …

Here's the recording from the Tech Talk on 4/22/2010 on using Google Calendar.

Mary Hess made a great presentation on "Learning the Bible in the 21st Century, Lessons from Harry potter and Vampires" at The Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia as a part of the Hein-Fry Lecture Series. During the presentation she weaves together, biblical imagination, popular visual culture, and learning theory.

I recently started volunteering with Aeon as a property gardener. Aeon is an organization that provides high-quality affordable housing throughout the Twin Cities. Each of their properties has some sort of garden that needs tending throughout the summer - some small projects, others rather significant ones. The idea behind the property gardener is that you adopt a property and then care for the garden - plant, weed, water - the basics. The property that I've adopted is downtown St. Paul in Wacouta …

One of the joys of being a student, faculty member, or a staff person at a school is the value we place on working with big ideas. Learning, ideas, and creative thinking are our work. But do our work habits actually inhibit good thinking? Sometimes, I think they do.

Fast Company has a great series by Gina Trapani on tips for working smarter in the digital age. I enjoyed this one about Time Blocking in my schedule in order to make time to think.

Here's the latest Tech Talk on managing your email. It explores the ideas of Inbox 0 a method for keeping your inbox empty and also looks at some of the available tools in Google Email.

The Inbox 0 portions of the Tech Talk were inspired by Merlin Mann's work on the subject. You can see him present to Google staffers on his inbox 0 ideas here.

Merlin Mann on Inbox 0

Here's the latest Tech Talk - Working from Home. It demonstrates free tools and resources that staff, faculty and students can use when working from home.