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Welcome to my home on the web!

I like to think of this as my online lab for practicing, talking about, and studying 21st century skills. I've got parts of the website for my classes, places for teachers, and some space for my ongoing reflections. Drop me a line if you find this useful or have a question. Thanks for stopping by.

Bob Irving

The Machine is Using Us

Posted on February 8th, 2010 by admin.
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 It's an old one (originally Feb 2007), but I have a feeling it's still light years ahead of where most educators are.

Trying to get Drupal image galleries working

Posted on January 28th, 2010 by admin and tagged .
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Is there a wall nearby I can bang my head against? I want to get some pix of my Lego robotics team up here on the site. Just using the standard, low-fi Image module, nothing fancy. But can't seem to get the pix into galleries. Stay tuned.

 

 
 

 

 
 

the big picture test

Posted on January 27th, 2010 by admin.
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What do you think?

 
the big picture test

FLL debrief

Posted on January 11th, 2010 by admin and tagged .
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What a day! Our first attempt at FLL, at least with me as the rookie coach and loads of rookie students. Here are my observations:

1. It's a LONG day. We left the school at 6:30am, drove an hour to get their, finished the day there at 5, drove an hour back and left school at 6:30. 12 hours on a Saturday.

2. Lots of down time at the tournament. This actually was helpful, as it provided some practice time for our research presentation as well as tinkering time between robot game rounds. iPods, iTouches, PSP's came in handy.

So leave a comment already

Posted on January 7th, 2010 by admin.
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If you read this site, let me know. I get tired of hearing the wind whistling and watching the tumbleweeds tumbling....

 

Getting ready for FLL on Saturday

Posted on January 5th, 2010 by admin and tagged .
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Saturday, January 9 is the Big Day. Our team heads off to our First Lego League competition. As a rookie coach with a rookie team, I'm feeling my share of trepidation. I did go once as an observer, so I have seen what a terrific program this is. But that's not the same as coaching a team.

The days when it's all worth it

Posted on December 17th, 2009 by admin and tagged .
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Have I mentioned recently how much I love teaching middle schoolers? Yes, I know they can be maddeningly immature at times -- but isn't that the wrong measuring tool? After all, they ARE immature. That's what being an early adolescent IS. Why fault them for that?

Immersive Worlds and Learning

Posted on November 20th, 2009 by admin.
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Makes me want to join WOW and join the CognitiveDissonance guild. I'm sure that I could get my school to pay for my monthly fee as well as any extra stuff I'd need, like a headphone mic. Right?

Seriously, you have to ask (and try to answer) the question: if software companies have figured out how to get students to do things that are challenging but require persistence, what aren't we doing these things?"

The Innovator's Dilemma

Posted on November 17th, 2009 by admin.
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From Mike Masnick, publisher of one of my favorite sites, Techdirt. It all seems so clear. What do you think this means for education? We're not immune.