Drape's Takes - Latest Comments in If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

docfrog09 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:31:39 -0000

Your next step is a NECC conference presentation. Finishing your dissertation will give you something worth presenting.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

amd — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 04:22:20 -0000

wow bow

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Bill Gaskins — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:53:07 -0000

Wow!!! Great story...When will you start the Open PD Again. I want to participate and have already corresponded with Robin. I am looking forward to it.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Beth Holmes — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:06:53 -0000

Darren,
What a story! I'm so glad you shared it.To your credit, the opportunity to address 600 people came your way and YOU WERE PREPARED! That says a lot about you. Congratulations!

Coincidentally, I discovered OpenPD quite by accident a few days ago. I emailed Robin Ellis to inquire about the next session. You two are onto something. I'm thrilled for you. Go on...do it...change the world!

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Robin Ellis — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:58:19 -0000

Maybe because it was your brainchild. You ask the million dollar question and the answer is absolutely, of course those who joined us should be trying to do the same thing. Wish I had an answer why no one is. Everything we used is free, all you need is a few accounts, computer, camera, internet access.

Maybe for some managing all of it on their own is too much, not that they could not ask for participation. Maybe time is a reason why some don't try, we put a lot of time into our sessions, planning, testing, reflecting. I wish I had an answer, risk is a factor too, you have to be willing to take the risk something won't work

I have had people contact me recently asking if we are doing it again, so there remains interest in attending, the interest in leading is what appears to be less appealing.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Darren Draper — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:05:13 -0000

I'm not sure I am the best one to share the experiences from OpenPD.
To be perfectly blunt, I'm not sure why it all hinges on me.

Aren't the teachers that have participated in the OpenPD classes just
as qualified to explain it to others? Shouldn't the technology
specialists that joined us last year be doing the SAME THING with
their teachers that we tried to do with ours?

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Robin Ellis — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:54:50 -0000

Congratulations Darren, what a great opportunity for you yesterday! You are the best one to share the experiences from OpenPD, proud to be part of the endeavor, wish I could have been there yesterday to hear you, and applaud you. You are well on your way to changing the world each and every day.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

dennisar1 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:27:48 -0000

Darren, it is always a pleasure to hear your passion!

Darren Draper "...quit making excuses and change the world."

from Robert F. Kennedy 1966 speech worth reading: 2 quotes

"Our answer is the world's hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and the obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress. This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease."

"First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills -- against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. "Give me a place to stand," said Archimedes, "and I will move the world." These men moved the world, and so can we all."

Day of Affirmation, University of Capetown, South Africa (6.6.1966)

http://www.rfksa.org/speech...

Regards,

Dennis

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Nicole — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:21:35 -0000

So cool! Thanks for sharing. :)

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

benwildeboer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:08:46 -0000

I've taken this as a call to quit the excuses and start making some waves at my new school. What am I waiting for? If I want to see change, I'd better start pushing for it.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Dean Shareski — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:02:35 -0000

You are the living example of what November speaks about. Anytime you can point to a real teacher/student/educator that's actually doing what you're trying to communicate, the impact is far greater. The fact that you're living amongst these folks, is all the more powerful.

Here's the lesson for me: Continue to showcase people doing the good work. This is how the message sticks.

Nicely done.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

lulu — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 01:00:48 -0000

what an egotistical person.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Darren Draper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:49:09 -0000

You should have seen him today. He is extremely smooth - the kind of geek
that people like because he's so smooth that you forget he's a geek.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Darren Draper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:45:15 -0000

I couldn't agree more. At this point, the technologies we are forced into
using to accomplish OpenPD are still clunky. The Ustream/Skype/Chat combo
we've used, in spite of being free, can be daunting. Elluminate and
Flashmeeting are still not perfect, either.

I think we'll know we've arrived at an adequate solution when there are as
many online discussions about teaching math, language arts, and science as
there are discussions and classes about how to use the tools.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Patrick — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:26:13 -0000

Darren,

Just another example of why you just rock. I've been purposely bumping into Alan November over the last few years, for one main reason: he has a way of saying things to teachers and administrators about technology and the future of education that is disarming. He welcomes the "yeah, buts," and diffuses them without souring the crowd on his message. That's no small feat especially when he frequently lets everyone know how far behind we are in the U.S.

Cant' wait to send some teachers your way when OpenPD begins again. Best of luck!

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Amy Jones — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:57:22 -0000

Congratulations, Darren! Alan November is the reason my husband and I Skype everyday when he goes to Chile for three weeks in February. Alan called France during one of his presentations at the Boise Tech Expo several years ago.

Educational technology companies need to be providing a framework for OpenPD to their customers. They need to help teachers make faster progress toward moving the technology to the back seat and teaching/learning to the front seat.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

jethrojones — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:47:45 -0000

Way to go Darren. It should happen to nobody other than you. You rock.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

njtechteacher — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:14:08 -0000

Big pat on the back for being brave enough to go up to introduce yourself in the first place. Sometimes that can be difficult. What an opportunity to share the ideas behind OpenPD with such a large group. So many people outside your direct sphere of influence in Utah have benefited.

Global Collaboration in the Classroom would be a great topic. There are so many different ways to make a collaboration a success. We would all benefit from talking with each other and learning from each other.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Darren Draper — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:33:01 -0000

Thank you all for your kind words. I guess we all have a good day every now and then.

Now to get down to business:

What are your thoughts on the next OpenPD (topic and time)? I'm starting to lean toward a topic like "Global Collaboration in the Classroom". Really it's about the collaboration, isn't it (and not about the tools)?

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Sue Waters — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:55:28 -0000

Oops should have finished reading everything that was in my Google Reader. Well the presentation was really cool but I have to say this was even cooler --- well done!!!!!! Check this out! Off course I'm sure that Robin Ellis will have already told you :)

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Sue Waters — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:51:51 -0000

That's so cool :) . I'm so excited for you. Your Open PD is excellent, hope this gets you lots of new participants and that it starts up soon so I have something to keep me occupied when I wake up early in the morning.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

gabriela — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:06:57 -0000

Darren, I'm so happy to read this. You must be feeling great. Enjoy. You deserve it.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Deanna — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:59:18 -0000

Darren, that is so cool! Keep up your good work. I have appreciated your work and your tweets on Twitter to keep me going. We invite local teachers who are doing great things in their classroom to share their stuff with other teachers of like disciplines (workshops such as Elementary 2.0, Language Arts 2.0, Science 2.0, & Social Studies 2.0). They are so excited to share with each other and to be appreciated for what they do. They are nervous but often it propels them into the next level. As a teacher, I was asked to share with my colleagues and it just made me feel great. What a great way to show students that they are doing a great job; invite them to share with their peers! And now we are thinking about presenting at our state tech conference (NETA) and maybe even NECC. If I can do it, anyone can!

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Karl Fisch — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:46:01 -0000

Wait, you're not Adam?

Thanks for sharing this, and keep changing the world.

Re: If I Can Do This, Anybody Can

Lee — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:42:01 -0000

<clap> <clap> <clap> <clap> <clap> <clap><clap> <clap> <clap>
That's awesome. I think sometimes, the best conversations and even, presentations come out of spur of the moment opportunities like the one you described. I wish I was there to partake. I tell (skeptical) teachers all the time, about my background, as an elementary teacher who was always too nervous to speak in front of her own faculty. On parent night, my stomach would hurt and I'd avoid talking to the parents by showing a self-playing 30-minute PowerPoint of the kids work instead. It's hard to believe that I would do that, but I've grown to be a trainer, collaborator, presenter, blogger, Twitterer, etc. by making myself take small steps out of my comfort zone. If I can do it, anyone can!!

Thanks for sharing your story. ~Lee