I haven’t mentioned lately how much I love the Tablet PC, so let me just state for the record: I still really, really love my Tablet PC. And so do the teachers at my school who have been taking part in the tablet pilot this year. Love them. Really.

Today, I teamed up with my colleague Rob Mancabelli and his wife Gayle Allen and presented on our pilot to a rapt audience of about 30 tech types at NJ Techspo in the smokey, noisy Ballys casino in Atlantic City. Rob went over the project plan, Gayle, who is in the doctoral program at Columbia, presented some pretty persuasive research findings that she had put together after doing a number of observations, interviews and surveys, and I got to demo the technology. (I loved that part. Really. Loved it.)

The result? Well, um, let’s just say it’s too bad we weren’t getting a comission from the tablet makers ’cause there were quite a few converts, I think. And yes, we had the obligatory “so why do I need a smart board?” discussion.

But I have to say that while the tool is pretty amazing, I think our process has been even moreso. I got the sense that most people were more envious of the almost complete buy-in we’ve had on the part of over 200 teachers in our build out for next year, based as much on the way we made our decisions as the technology itself (if not more.) Teachers are invested in becoming better practitioners with Tablets, not just happy to be getting laptops. That is a significant difference.

One side note: I finally got to meet fellow Jersey blogger/podcaster Jeff Moore for a quick chat before the presentation. That’s always a treat when that happens. It’s almost like being a birder, crossing of bloggers on your life list. Well…almost…

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So I’m back into slogging rather than blogging mode. This seems like a pretty rhythmic thing anymore. About every few weeks I seem to hit a wall where I just find it impossible to keep up with what other people are writing and doing and I get envious as heck because I want to be writing and doing that stuff too. Take for instance this very cool Flickr presentation that Alan and Brain put together. I mean, my goodness…I’m in awe. Where do they find the time to do that and keep their day jobs? My brain has this very whiny voice screaming “I waaannnnnaaaa doooo that! Waaaah!” And I know I shouldn’t complain because instead I get to blogvangelize in Florida and Tablet PC-elize in Atlantic City today and work with Jeff Jarvis training some professors at CUNY tomorrow and all the while have a pretty swell time. But I just want to do it all.

Oy.

So, I’m slogging, and probably will be for awhile. But the good news is the reinvention side of my brain is clearing. Some changes are afoot. For now, I just have to deal with the fact that I can’t know everything and do everything. For now…

From the “Courses I’d Love to Take (or Teach)” Dept. comes this class from The University of Missouri taught by Dr. Donna Strickland:

The goal of this course is to provide you with the tools and incentives to take up blogging as a reading/writing practice and to use blogging generatively for gathering and commenting on ideas and events. With that goal in mind, we’ll spend time throughout the semester on three categories of tools and incentives:

Technology: use blogging software, simple hypertext, rss, and other social networking tools

Practice: read and write regularly to develop habit/rhythm

Theory: read widely in blogs and the growing number of commentaries on blogging to generalize uses and strategies for blogging; contribute to “mother blog” to theorize blogging

Ok…where do I sign up? “Blogging generatively for gathering and commenting on ideas and events.” Cool. “Develop habit/rhythm.” Yes, that is a part of this isn’t it. “Read widely” and “contribute to the ‘mother blog’.” I love it.

Now, where is the “Blogging in Theory and Practice for Educators” course???

Go, Blogs! Go!
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