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Podcast Video: https://youtu.be/aVnCyeZhZBw Description We get up in the morning, check our weather app, check our Facebook, check Instagram, check the top news feeds pushed to us on our mobile device, and scroll through the dozens of notifications we received over night. The volume of information that our technology pushes to us is greater than ever before, yet our biology has limitations on what we are designed to pay attention to, or even process.  Apps and social media are fighting for our attention, yet we have maxed out or surpassed what we are biologically capable of focusing on…   Wait, I lost my train of thought. What am I talking about again?   Oh, right, data overload. Today we continue our discussion on distraction as we talk about the battle between the biology of attention and the demands of technology.   Lessons Learned Chris – 5 Tips for Zoom Breakout Rooms – https://bit.ly/2P9gb1b Understand the basics Personalize the rooms Highlight kindness and courtesy Assign roles Allow feedback opportunities (and address feedback) Dennis – Wonder.me (What Zoom breakout rooms SHOULD be like.) Daniel – Be careful with sharing Zoom windows.  VTC   Fun Fact If “Back to the Future” was made today and Marty McFly traveled back in time 30 years like he did in the original, the song he would likely be playing at the dance would likely be “Smells Like Teen Spirit” because it would be 1991.  (Yes, 1991 was 30 years ago.)   In 1991 There was no www.anything.com We were renting VHS tapes from BlockBuster – remember searching through the empty cases on the shelf to see if they had any of the new release that you wanted to rent? Playing Legend of Zelda on Nintendo (NES)   Notes & Links Link: https://www.hottopics.ht/21102/the-quest-for-educational-categorization/   Key Points from Article “multi-tasking also creates a dopamine feedback loop, effectively rewarding the brain for losing focus. In short, we can become addicted to multi-tasking and the false sense of accomplishment that it brings.”   “We become better students through the quality of the information that we internalize, and not through its volume.”   The conscious mind is capable of processing c.120 bits per second. A conversation requires c.60 bits per second. To listen deeply requires more. In other words, our brains are not designed to multi-task.   “Attention is a limited capacity resource. And our brains have evolved to focus on a single thing at any given time.”   Solution: Organize and Categorize, two things we are very good at doing. Give yourself specific times to do specific tasks, and don’t cheat yourself!

Description It’s happened to all of us.  You’ve got a project you’re working on that needs to be done. A message from your friend pops up with a funny new Bernie Sanders meme, which inspires you with an idea for another meme. You start searching for memes.  Your search results include a new music video parody with Bernie in it. You click the link to watch the video.  Another suggested video shows up with a preview for that new movie you’ve been waiting to see . . . yada yada yada . . . It’s 11pm and your project still isn’t done.   Okay, maybe that’s just me, but we all have issues with distraction.  And with the amount of time we spend on screens during remote learning and home quarantines those distractions have become an increasing problem – especially for our kids.   Join us today as we try to focus on distraction as we discuss “The Covid Effect”.   Lessons Learned Dennis – Online learning requires low tech tools.  Have “Justin Case Bags” ready to go at a moment’s notice. Chris – I’d have a lesson learned, but I got so distracted with pop-up alerts on my screen that I never got my “lesson learned” done. Has that ever happened to you? Daniel – Manage your iMovie hard Disk space. Terminology: Library & Projects.  Have your teachers or students create new libraries each semester.   Fun Fact 22 Palindrome Dates in 2021 From the Farmers Almanac (https://www.farmersalmanac.com/what-palindrome-28106) According to the Farmers’ Almanac, 2021 will have a total of 22 palindrome dates, which are dates that read the same forwards and backward in four, five, and six-digit formats. From January 20 – 29 we had 10 straight days of 5 digit palindromes. In December we’ll have another 9 straight days.   Notes & Links NYTimes Article:  https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/16/health/covid-kids-tech-use.html   Blog Post from Brad Jasper “How to Maintain Your Productivity During a Crisis” https://heyfocus.com/blog/maintain-productivity-in-a-crisis/   Identify what distractions you can control and what you can’t.  (Your Circle of Control) Monitor your media intake Use a web site blocker Establish a News-Free morning (That includes personal news on FB/Twitter/Insta) Take time for your own mental health (i.e. Tai chi)   Students picked up a lot of bad habits during the pandemic.  How do we help them learn to manage distraction? Understand what distracts them. They often don’t even realize it. Use ScreenTime  – https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982 Manage their distraction and Focus on schoolwork – block distracting apps, web sites, and notifications when you need to concentrate on work. Focus app for Mac – https://heyfocus.com/ The Pomodoro Technique – https://heyfocus.com/blog/master-the-pomodoro-timer/ Turn off notifications Make communication channels different from personal.  (i.e. Canvas & PowerSchool Learning vs. WhatsApp, WeChat) Separate personal from school – Create a second user or use a second computer that only has school related apps, minimal browser extensions.

Description Twas the podcast before Christmas… and all through the school, Not a waveform was stirring, this holiday Yule. The headphones were hung by the micks with great care; In hopes that some podcasters soon would be there; The listeners were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of webapps danced in their heads; And Mama with her iPad, and I with my apps, Had just settled in for a long winter’s nap. When out of Alexa there arose such a clatter, I dropped my device to see what was the matter. Away to the laptop I flew like a flash, And searched for Concordia’s Edtech Podcast. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But episode six of this, our eighth year, I played it in hopes of something spectacular. I knew I’d succeeded: The Christmas Techtacular!   Lessons Learned Dennis – Give orphan Google Documents a home for Christmas.  If you created a document in a shared folder and the folder was deleted, the file is not gone. It just exists in “unorganized space” on your Google Drive.  It is an orphan file.  You can search for it if you know the name, but what if you don’t?  Type this in the search on Google Drive is:unorganized owner:me to reveal all your orphan documents.  Then move them back to your Google Drive or to one of your folders on Google Drive. Chris – A special gift to our listeners called “WHAT’S THAT APP?  (A “Who’s on First” tribute with actual app names.) Daniel – Email a dumpster fire – https://hey.science/dumpster-fire/  – Send an email to dumpsterfire@hey.com with whatever you want to torch. Use plain text or an image attachment. PG-13 rules apply.  Watch on the live feed as your message is created, conveyed, and then dropped into the rolling flames.  Experience catharsis. Darcy –  Just Keep Trying!   Fun Fact 6 Companies use up 43% of total internet bandwidth   Alphabet(Google): YouTube, Android Market, Google Search, Google Docs, Google Drive, DoubleClick, Gmail, and Crashlytics Netflix: Netflix Video Facebook: Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Video, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Oculus Rift Microsoft: Xbox Live, Windows Update, Skype, Outlook 365, Office 365, SharePoint, OneDrive, Windows Store, LinkedIn Apple: iTunes, iCloud, Apple Software Update, FaceTime, Apple Music, Apple.com, iCloud Photo Stream, Mac App Store Amazon: Amazon Prime, Twitch, Amazon.com, Alexa, Amazon Glacier, Amazon Music   https://www.sandvine.com/blog/netflix-vs.-google-vs.-amazon-vs.-facebook-vs.-microsoft-vs.-apple-traffic-share-of-internet-brands-global-internet-phenomena-spotlight   Notes & Links Digital Christmas Gifts Save the Christmas wrap and avoid the hassle of  airline travel and covid tests this year.  Today, for our Christmas Tech-Tacular we “unwrap” our favorite DIGITAL CHRISTMAS GIFTS.  So fire up that YouTube Yule Log, and settle down for a long winter’s download.   Free! PhotoPea.com  – Don’t want to pay for Adobe PhotoShop?  You’ll find most of the common PhotoShop features you’ll need for creative imaging editing right here, with a surprisingly similar interface.  And it all works right in your browser. Spotify – Up 1400% increase in listeners during covid.  Search for various playlists.  Need a school-friendly themed playlist for an event? Advertisements on the free version. Codespark – Academy is Free for educators. Aligned to Math and Science standards.  Great for pre-readers and up! Mmhmm – Make Zoom take off with this Zoom enhancer. Include videos and slide decks, and get yourself out of the picture, or you can just shrink yourself. PearDeck https://www.peardeck.com/googleslides Not Free, but not expensive Jackie Lawson Advent Calendar ($4.99 US App Store) Bloxels Home Account (Two ways to get it) Using at school? Have your teacher release your account and send you an invite. Get it yourself at https://playbloxels.com/?jumpTo=buy Notion – $48/year – is an online workspace with powerful tools for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.  Google Doc You’ll need some help from Santa (or your rich uncle) JBL Charge 4 – $130 – Take it anywhere and also charge your devices   If you need something non-Digital Andy Losik’s 2020 Holiday Gift Guide – https://andylosik.blogspot.com/2020/11/mr-losiks-2020-holiday-gift-guide.html Little Passports – https://www.littlepassports.com/ – subscription boxes for young children.  Every month the child will receive a box full of activities.  (Geography, Travel & STEM activities)   Our Musical Christmas Gift to you from Darcy Hendricks Additional Music Credits This show’s segment bumpers were used via Creative Commons License.  If you need music for your students we recommend this site for class projects and media creation.   We Wish you a Merry Christmas by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4612-we-wish-you-a-merry-christmas License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/   Up on a Housetop by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4571-up-on-a-housetop License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Description “To all that come to this happy place, welcome. (This school) is your land. Here you relive the fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. (Our School) is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created (this reality)… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” That’s a paraphrase of Walt Disney’s welcome message at the opening of Disneyland in 1955. Do you think it could be a motto for your school? Do you think it should be? Today on the podcast we’ll think about how imagineers used technology to drive the theme park experience and wonder how we might apply some of those design principles to the ways we integrate technology at our schools. After all, shouldn’t  schools be among the happiest places on earth?   Lessons Learned Dennis –  iPhone screen shot – capture a full page in Safari. Chris – Wondering how to tell facts from fiction, simple truth from spin, online? The wonderful team from SHEG (Stanford History Education Group) just released a four-minute video showing us how to search laterally, a powerful corrective to online manipulation. Check it out, and explore the many other videos in SHEG’s Civic Online Reasoning  series! <https://cor.stanford.edu/videos/lateral-reading-video> Daniel – Plex Media Server – Your own personal Netflix/Prime Video server.   I set one up this week.  Install the software on  your old mac mini or a Network Attached Server.  Software is free….mium.   Home videos, old movies. I can share my library with anyone around the world.   Fun Fact Robotic Clones of Real Persons, Touch Sensitive Plants, Life Saving Wristbands, 3D-Rendered Eyeballs and more.  These are just some of the inventions created by . . . wait for it . . . Disney.  That’s right. Part of keeping up to date and creating a unique entertainment experience means you have to dream up new technology. Tech to scan a human face and create a replica animatronic character. A censor that pipes a low voltage current through plants so a computer (and park security) can know when and where someone is touching it.  Useful to know when someone is climbing the trees or hedges to enter your property.   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/tomorrowland/walt-disney-science-inventions/   Notes & Links Disney Plus Documentary –  “The Imagineering Story”  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imagineering_Story   “Imagineering is Disney’s right brain, the place where technology and creativity combine for a singular, higher purpose – to tell stories.”   “That famous Arthur C. Clarke quote about any sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic, that’s a mantra we live by.” https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/future-of-marketing/digital-transformation/a-world-of-pure-imagineering/   In school it should never be tech for tech’s sake, the technology should drive the learning experience, without being the learning experience.  

Description Every breath you take, every post you make, every page you swipe, anything you type, they’ll be watching you.  Woa! That’s really creepy! They’ll be watching ME?  Who’s watching me?  Social media of course!  And what are they doing with all that information they collect on you? That’s the “Social Dilemma”.  Today we’ll be talking about the new documentary showing on Netflix that’s the center of a lot of  talk among tech people, schools, parents or anyone who uses social media tools, aka EVERYBODY!  Should we be afraid?  Should we delete our Facebook and Google accounts? Join us as we dig into those and other questions, and together unpack “The Social Dilemma” Lessons Learned Dennis –  Learned from Rushton Hurley at ACAMIS Conference.  Which would you rather do – “change” or “improve”?  People often say they dislike change, but rarely  say they don’t want to improve.  Look at what you are doing today and see what you can do to make it just a little bit better. Chris – Search engine use globally reveals that over 92% of all web traffic flows through Google <https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share>. In the US that number is over 88%. Imagine the data being parsed there! The closest runner up is Bing, coming in at 2.83% usage globally. If you want a search engine that reduces parsing your data then try duckduckgo <https://duckduckgo.com/>, or use the duckduckgo extension in chrome that combines the search engine, tracker blocker, and encryption enforcer into one Chrome Extension Daniel – Nothing better than wired connection.  Moved into my new home and set up the LAN network.  Old and trusted Apple airports.  Keep the same SSID (Service Set Identifier) Name and Password. Fun Fact World Wide Social Media Facebook has 2.7 billion monthly active users as of July 2020.  Which country has the most Facebook Users? India 290 million (21.4% of their total population) US 190 million (57%) Indonesia 140 million (52%) Brazil 130 million (62%) Mexico 89 million (70%) Philippines 76million (71%) https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/ Which country spends the most time on Social Media? The Philippines https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/social-media-what-countries-use-it-most-and-what-are-they-using   Notes & Links There’s been lots of talk about the “documentary” The Social Dilemma on NetFlix.  The talk centers around the seemingly nefarious nature of Social Media Tools – specifically Facebook and Google – and how they are manipulating us and intentionally trying to change our behavior for the benefit of their advertisers or for political purposes.   Our Take on this film…   Daniel – The tension and anxiety that it produced at the beginning was a bit much.  We know that these companies are making lots of money by offering us a ‘free’ service. Flip side of the coin – Good intentions/Systems take on a life of their own. “Eroding the social fabric of society” Have we all fallen under a spell? Tristan Harris – Design Ethicist – Ethical Design Companies notifications are changing our behaviour Jaron Lanier – Author Center for Humane Technology – Aza Raskin “If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product. Competing for your attention:  “How much of your life can you give to us?” Jaron Lanier – It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behavior and perception that is the product.  (Changing what you do and think) Discussion – TV for many decades did this with cable television….what is different? Notifications All data (clicks, searches, likes) is stored which creates models of a user Online connection has become primary. Persuasive Technology – Designed to change your behaviour in a specific way. Unconscious habit. Tagging people in photos, Emojis, autofill “Not for our good.  They want us to be zombies so we watch more ads. Moved from a tools-based technology environment to an addiction and manipulation based environment. Uses your psychology against you. Digital Pacifier – No longer are we alone with our thoughts. Conclusion -Blah Blah Blah   Chris – Feeding us a steady diet of self-reinforcing, often non-factual news, is the single greatest contributor to the growth of the extreme right and the extreme left. The former VP of Facebook’s monetization team now has a single greatest short-term fear for the US: civil war! Don’t believe me? Checked out Wired article: https://www.wired.com/story/left-right-speak-different-languages-literally/ Dennis – my notes while I watched… The produced segments seem a bit contrived – scare tactics. Daniel – Was nice to see that Welsley Crusher was at the helm of our attention. Not selling your data. You are not the product. The product is how they can change your behavior. Goals of Social Media Engagement  Growth Advertising “Yeah, right” moment – Scene in the kitchen when the phone nefariously calls the kid who’s trying to go without for a week. “Two businesses call their customers “Users”  – software and drug dealers.” How do you navigate truth? What is truth? Democracy threatened. Harvard Business school democracy without religion fails: https://youtu.be/YjntXYDPw44 Best part happens during the end credits. This is where the experts explain what  we SHOULD be doing.

NEW – Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/wpo5lfpJl-c See our presentation just like attendees at the ACAMIS Conference. Description Welcome to the 4th Annual LIVE podcast from the ACAMIS Tech Conference, hosted by Shen Wai International School, Shenzhen. It also happens to be season 8, episode 2, of the Concordia EdTech Roundtable.  We hope you are live, too,  and that your camera hasn’t frozen just as you have that awkward look on your face. Hey, now that many of us are returning to school after months of teaching online in our pajamas, I’ve gotta ask … Did your clothes shrink too? I know mine did. Stupid clothes … Why can’t we teach in elastic-waistbands, anyway?!? I may grow fond of the days when my students could only see me from the chin up. You’d think I’d be doing better with all of the exercise I’ve been getting. I’ve been building non-stop since the “illness-that-shall-not-be-named”  hit … building lessons plans, building an online presence, building patience, resilience, empathy, humility. Why, I’m positively proud of my humility … but in all that whirlwind of activity we cannot overlook the most important thing: Building connections. Hey, life IS about relationships. Everything else is window dressing. Now that so much of what was is gone and what will be is unknown, we’ve got to focus on the main thing, building connections. Lessons Learned Dennis – When using your Mac laptop do you ever ask yourself, “Why did it do that!?”  You can stop some of that annoying trackpad behavior by going to the trackpad on your system preferences. Highlighting a word, the dictionary definition keeps popping up?  Disable “Lookup Data Detectors” Swiping/scrolling accidentally moves you back a web page? Go to “More Gestures” and disable “Swipe between pages”. You might be surprised at all the different things you didn’t know you could accidentally do. Chris – Sometimes, ringing a bell gets past the students’ hesitation to raise their hands. When I found out that some kids in my AP US History class were starting to raise their hands only to pull them down before I saw them, I had an idea that only Anita Ward could help me with. “Ring My Bell” echoed in the classroom as the kids came in, and I instructed them to download a ringing bell app while I mercilessly rang my app’s bell, just to be annoying. That open insistence on stopping me whenever they had a question broke the ice. That lesson really came alive as kids asked for clarification, wanted to deep dive on an issue or three, and generally lost the inhibition of raising their hands. Thank you, my wonderful daughter, for giving me the insight I needed to meet my students’ needs. Daniel – The badge notifications showing unread account are decreasing your ability to prioritize.  Turn them off and use the new iOS 14 widgets feature to create shortcuts to the apps that you need without getting distracted by the notification badges. https://discoposse.com/2018/09/09/why-badges-and-notifications-are-killing-your-productivity/ https://www.howtogeek.com/691703/how-to-show-or-hide-notification-badges-in-the-app-library-on-iphone/ https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/21/how-to-make-the-most-of-ios-14-widgets-and-iphone-home-screen-customization/ Fun Fact Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon We know learning is about relationships, but before we get into that we think we need to address the most important relationship of all – how are you related to Kevin Bacon. How to calculate your Bacon number. https://oracleofbacon.org/ Notes & Links Learning is all about relationships – How can we build & nurture connections  given the new restrictions of a post-Covid world? Zoom Burnout is real – How do you deal with it? Zoom is one communication tool; know it’s roll!  Use the appropriate tool. Building Connections – Teacher-Teacher Avoid Toxic positivity Encourage open/honest conversation Avoid social media rabbit holes Attitude Matters – You cannot be both grateful and resentful. Virtual Connections – Interaction! Virtual Coffees/Happy Hours. Regular check-ins. How are you doin? Watch a movie together! Building Connections – Teacher-Student Don’t waste zoom time on the content which can be presented via other tools.  Lectures can be flipped – not live Use that “Face to Face” time for regular Zoom Check-ins.   Intentional moments to be a community. Instant Assignments – EXAMPLE: 5 point assignment that requires you to go outside and video yourself doing something. Don’t be afraid to be goofy – Don’t be afraid to sacrifice your dignity for the sake of learning.  Kids want/need to see the real you! Let your personality shine through. (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/16/back-to-school-reopening-online-parents-guide/5416528002/ ) Sound Bite from Brandon Wislocki – Grade 5 teacher in Irvine, CA.   (His Bacon Number is 3.)   TAKEAWAY POINT:  Kids don’t care what you know until they know you care.  (Maslow Before Bloom)

Description Well it’s been a quiet week here in Lake “Covid-Be-Gone” where the coffee is strong, the parents are good-looking, and all of the children are above average –  wait a minute!  Quiet is NOT the word for it!  If jumping back in the saddle to start school in Fall of 2020 feels more like one of those upside down spinning rides at a sketchy roadside carnival, or maybe “Traction Park,” New Jersey, then you’re not alone. Let’s rock and/or Roll together as we hang on for another exciting academic ride as we spin out this new season! Lessons Learned Dennis – Zoom Breakout Room accountability – in a Google Slide show or online Power Point, create and assign a slide for each breakout room.  After placing students in breakout rooms, switch to slide sorter view so you can watch the slides live.  If you see nothing happening on one slide, you can jump in that breakout room and check on those students who might be off task. Chris – There is no tech failure so large that I cannot teach through it. Zoom connection breaks? WeChat! Team teacher freezes? Jump in! Internet fails? Discuss what you were showing. Model adaptability. Daniel – The Social Dilemma – the algorithms have been created to keep your attention…to go down the rabbit hole of watching video after video; post after post so that advertisers get their message in front of you.   Fun Fact Will I live long enough to see the last Star Wars Movie? Star Wars began in 1977 with  its first movie Episode 4, a New Hope.  Final trilogy began in 2015 with “The Force Awakens”.  To put that in perspective, the Wizard of Oz premiered in 1939, 38 years before the first Star Wars Movie.  The Force Awakens premiered in 2015, 38 years after the original Star Wars.  When you consider the number of side stories in production, and shows like the Mandalorian which begins its second season next month, we have been enjoying the Star Wars Universe for over 43 years and it doesn’t look like that will end anytime soon.  Will I live long enough to see the last Star Wars movie from “a long time ago?”  Probably not. FYI – Star Trek has been going since 1966.  That’s 54 years. Notes & Links How has this pandemic made our teachers and our schools better?   What old practices have we been forced to let go of and how will this make us better? Tech Training has moved up in priority as it is a required skill. The excuse of “I’m not good at technology” is no longer acceptable. Teachers use their time in front of the students more effectively.  Distilling lessons to the most important. Standardizing classes in  your LMS.  Students and parents need to spend less mental energy finding what they need to do than actually doing it. Standardizing tools – teachers need to agree on a common set of tools, and can’t be lone rangers. (Think back to our “Shadow IT” podcast) Standardized Testing vs. Authentic assessment If we trust, they may fail, but if we fail to trust, we fail ourselves … the game is already over. [Going for a chiasmus here but not quite getting it.]