Flatclassroom Conference Day 1: WOW

Flatclassroom Conference Day 1: WOW

When you create a conference around students it takes on a whole new meaning. When you challenge those students to take on a project that will impact the world….it means even more. I wish I could describe to you the energy level that was in this room that that you see to the left. Students from around the world, thinking […]

Doha and Flatclassroom Conference

Doha and Flatclassroom Conference

In just a few hours I’ll be flying to Doha, Qatar to take part in the Flatclassroom Conference. Just how flat is our world? I will fly 10 hours, meet with teachers and students from around the world and then fly back to Bangkok all within 3 days. To think that travel alone is this easy anymore. That we take […]

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President

Dear Mr. President, Last night I stood and watched as you became the 44th President of the United States of America. It was a gathering of many excited American expats in Bangkok, Thailand. My wife and I moved overseas in August of 2002 to Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. A small town 3 hours north of Jeddah. When we arrived in August […]

How long does change take?

How long does change take?

Napster was started in June 1999 and for many marked the beginning of an era of free digital music. For the next 10 years the music industry would try to stop people from downloading free, and what they claimed to be, illegal music. In January 2009 the largest online music store in the world, Apple’s iTunes, announced it will offer […]

Information Hippie

Information Hippie

OK….I admit it. I am an information hippie. I believe that information should be free and accessible to all. I believe that filters are over rated, do not protect our kids, and that education is the only way to teach responsible use of this amazing machine we call the World Wide Web. Man….do I feel better! As schools continue to […]

The international recruiting season has begun!

The international recruiting season has begun!

Actually it began quite a few months ago according to the administrators I talked to here at the Bangkok ISS and Search-Associate recruiting fairs. Technology is making this process easier and recruiters are showing up to the actual fairs with a focused set of people they are looking for. I hope Julie Lindsay and Clay Burell both chime in on […]

7 things you might not know about me

7 things you might not know about me

I got tagged with this thanks to Dean Shareski…I’ll play along in the spirit of my first day back to work. 1. In my first 9 years of teaching I only held the same position at the same school for two consecutive years. 2. Our two cats (now 11 yrs old) have Collen Powel’s signature on a visa entry form […]

'09 Bringing social learning to the masses

'09 Bringing social learning to the masses

I love making predictions….I mean what the heck. If you’re wrong ah well. But if you’re right you get to act like you know what you’re talking about. 🙂 Last year I predicted that ’08 would be remembered as the year of the “Live Web”. Personally I don’t think my prediction was too far off. We saw many things go […]

Reflecting on 2008

Reflecting on 2008

Since I’ve been on vacation and reflecting offline for the past two weeks, it’s time for me to put down my thoughts for 2008 and my predictions for 2009 (a separate post). What can I say about 2008? It was a fascinating year for me professionally. I started the year without a job having resigned from Shanghai American School and […]

31 and counting

31 and counting

Well we’re back from our winter holiday to Prague, Vienna and Zurich. It’s 4am and I’ve been awake since midnight. I usually don’t jet lag this bad, but it’s hit both of us hard this time. What can I say about our trip? It’s Europe, it’s beautiful and someday we’ll live there….it’s a goal and with the number of international […]