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Blog Archives
Bold Predictions Sure to Go Wrong for 2019
It's that time of year when we like to make resolutions, change part of our diet, and set out with some goals for our personal and professional selves. For me, this time of year marks an annual tradition of making some bold predictions that I think might come true in the coming year. Last year was by far my most successful year of predictions coming true (or mostly true), so with my new found (false) confidence, I've decided to really step it up this year with my prognostications.
I realize that some of this may seem far-reaching, but hey, I said "BOLD" right? Also, in looking back at some of my previous years, I noticed that my time frame may have been off by a year or two, but they still came true….eventually. (For the record, I don't count those as accurate predictions) These predictions are a mix of technology, education, and some fun. Part of what makes this interesting is your feedback, so please drop your bold predictions in the comments below the post. Even if it's crazy!
Virtual Reality takes fright…er….flight in the classroom
This past holiday, my lovely wife surprised me with an Oculus GO VR headset. This all-in-one headset doesn't require a computer or a phone to use and within a few minutes of use, I immediately become both motion sick and mesmerized with possibilities in Education. Even though the graphics aren't quite there yet, just the experience of riding on a virtual roller coaster or even looking out the window of a 97-story building immediately immerse you in the world. Imagine what that could look like in a classroom? I know that Google Expeditions and Nearpod 360 Cities do some of this, but the world I'm envisioning has interactions with the students. Imaging taking part in the American Revolution or being able to be a member in the audience during Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro"? Or better yet….why not put yourself in the shoes of the actual conductor? With the now lower cost of these all-in-one devices and the mobility (no more lugging around a huge desktop) I can see a near future where Interactive VR plays a role in the learning experiences of our kids.
The Universal Translator will make learning a foreign language obsolete
This past couple of years, Google and other companies have really tried to capitalize on the idea of having a Universal Translator (think Ohura from Star Trek). The current versions of this are still fairly clunky, but I can see a not so distant future where learning a foreign language might not be that important. This doesn't mean that all those LOTE (Languages Other Than English) teachers will be out of a job though. With an effective universal translator, knowing the culture and customs of foreign lands will become even more important should you accidentally say or gesture the wrong thing.
Alexa will accidentally burn down someone's house
Ok, so this one is a little morbid, but is it really that far-fetched? I wrote this post last year about When Smart Homes Attack about how my kids almost froze and starved to death because I changed the wireless router on a snow day. There are a TON of smart home devices coming out of CES this week (including this awesome SMART block of wood) and with the "Internet of Things" taking over homes across the country, there are some inherent dangers. Like imagine someone asking Alexa to play Turn up the Heat by Justin Bieber only to have it accidentally fire up the fireplace or stove? I see a future Black Mirror episode or crime novel in our future where someone hacks the smart home to kill its inhabitants. (Ok…this is getting way too dark now)
Netflix will launch an EDU Version of its service
I've been pitching this to higher-ups at Netflix for the past couple of years, but all my emails and tweets go without a response. It seems to me that this is an opportunity for Netflix to expand its service to the educational market. My daughters already have their own customized channels full of educational content like Bill Nye and Magic School Bus. Netflix even offers one-time educational screening permission for certain programs and movies. We don't want an educational environment where kids are just mindlessly consuming content, so this would have to be done with some fidelity, but I think there could be a potential use case where the teacher acts as the moderator of customized content for each student under a EDU subscription. Instead of binge watching…there would be binge learning!
Restaurants will post non-device zones similar to non-smoking areas
It seems that more and more we are facing an internal conflict of too much screen time (remember the smart wood I mentioned earlier?). Associated with us being glued to our screens is the feeling that we are doing too much "nocializing" (going out with friends only to be on your phone the entire time) rather than actual interaction. Don't believe me? Walk through the airport sometime and see how many strangers are interacting with each other. Our district just went through a lengthly process evaluating our own use of technology in the classroom. The major concerns around screen time in schools is a valid one especially when you couple it with the heavy use of screens at home with kids after school. One of the major outcomes of our research was that we need to really educate and promote the purposeful use of technology in and out of schools. This isn't just a school problem, it's a social one. I predict that this year, in response to this, we will see restaurants begin to set up non-device zones for those that choose to not have their devices out. The only exception will be for people using their phone to read this post. (Ha!)
Someone will write a blog/paper using only predictive text
Imagine the world of the future and we can have access to our new home app using a mobile device? (that was all written with predictive text…scary isn't it?) Surely someone will use predictive text to send a love letter, submit a college paper or even write out their wedding vows (see next prediction). Felix Jacomino actually crowd-sourced his predictive text poem a couple of years ago for his Ed Tech Poetry Slam. Here's an example of a comedian who has re-written the Avengers script using predictive texts using an online tool called botnik. This could be a terribly lame prediction (begin predictive text) but it would also make the best way to play with some friends. Um….okay?
A couple will get married over Facetime
A couple of years ago I became an ordained online minister in order to be the officiant at my buddy Chris Parker's wedding. It seems to me, that if for $50 and an online application I can become ordained, then surely some couple out there can be married without being physically in the same location. In doing some quick internet digging, it appears that getting married over the internet is still not legal. However, my guess is that with modern laws being updated all the time and with the hustle and bustle of our modern lifestyles, someone will get married via video chat. Some questions I would have around this would be: Do they have to put it online so there are witnesses? Can the officiant be virutal as well or can they be married by a virtual assistant (A.I.)? How do you kiss the bride? I can hear it now: "Do you have the Ring (camera)?"
There will be a FortniteEDU for schools
Remember when people laughed at the thought of Minecraft ever making its way to the classroom? A Microsoft buy-out later, MinecraftEDU has made it into our schools. Imagine a Battle Royale where you have to solve math problems to get weapons or complete a simile to get a shield potion? Doesn't seem that far-fetched now does it? If anyone can make this happen, my money would be on Mike Washburn who has already done some work in this space. He was the first educator I can recall showing and presenting the educational values of Minecraft way back when. C'mon Mike! Make it happen!
A SMART toilet will save someone's life
Yes, these are a thing. It seems hard to imagine, but considering there is now something called "Poo Purri", it doesn't seem that far fetched. In fact, Kohler just announced their high-end smart toilets complete with mood lighting and built in speakers. While that's cool, futurist Michio Kaku predicts in this video that smart toilets have the potential to detect a finite amount of cancer cells before it grows into a tumor. How incredible would that be? Also, I'm posting this because I have some guilt from an earlier prediction claiming that a smart home would kills someone (there's always a balance, right?) These toilets will have an impact in schools and public sector jobs too as they will have the ability to detect drugs/alcohol in student-athletes or politicians, which could get real interesting…
LearnFestATX will again break the rules when it comes to a conference
Last year, as we transitioned from iPadpalooza to LearnFestATX we went into "beta" mode to test out some new concepts to engage adult learners. Admittedly, not all of them were great. However, a few of the ideas were HUGE successes that we plan to feature along with other unique engagement mechanisms this June. From silent disco keynotes to the "What's HOT in Ed Tech" challenge, this summer's event in Austin will hit you on all fronts. This year's theme is "Ready Learner One" with a play on classic video games from our past. So if you're ready to Dig Dug deeper, be sure to register now as this is should to be a Knock Out! (FYI – we are also accepting calls for proposals until Feb. 8 – accepted presenters can be part of the fun for FREE)
Robotics enter mainstream curriculum
Largely due to costs and complex programming, robotics has remained an after-school program or secondary elective. However, with new models of robotics like Sphero and Trashbots hitting the market at an affordable price AND coming with easy-to-use curriculum integration tools, this will be the year that robot goes from a "fun Friday" activity to mainstream. I may be cheating a bit on this one as Fred Benitez recently shared some science teachers at our middle school doing that very thing with Sphero and Anatomy:
THIS will be the year my children's book series actually gets published
Third time is a charm right? I've had this false prediction on this post for the last two years and I think it's time to make it happen. I even bought a website for it this past weekend so it better become a reality even if no one buys it. 🙂
There you have it. Twelve different bold predictions (a record for this post) on things I believe will happen during 2019. Like I stated at the beginning, I would love your thoughts on crazy, bold ideas that could happen in our near future as well. Comment below and thanks for reading!
Happy New Year everyone!
The Dream That Was….iPadpalooza
During his mini-keynote, Derrick Brown (@DAB427) claimed that we were all "just living in a Hooker's dream." While I'm honored by his statement, I can tell you this entire experience has far exceeded any dream I could have dreamt. I can also tell you that this dream wasn't just mine, but a shared dream amongst teams of dedicated educators that I've had the pleasure of working with because of this event.
This past week at the ending of our 6th annual learning festival, I announced that it would be the last iPadpalooza main event. This decision was not made in haste and has involved countless of hours of discussion, counseling, and, in my case, even some tears. But, before we dive into what comes next, I decided to write this post as part explanation, part reflection, part appreciation, part therapy (for me), and part teaser (for what's next).
First…a little history
In 2011, we had launched our iPad 1:1 and wanted to hold an event that would bring teachers together to share and learn from each other. Since other districts in the area were doing it, we decided we could open it up to outside educators as well. The thought of holding an "iConference" was kicked around but sounded boring and overdone. One of my amazing iVengers (Marianna Ricketson) said at a meeting in early 2012 that we should name it iPadpalooza as a way of making it sound more fun. So we bought the domain and set a date without any clue as to what we were going to actually do. (Hey, sometimes, you just have to take a risk and put it out there)
Also at that point, I added the tagline that "It's not a conference…it's a learning festival" to make attendees aware of what they were attending would not be a normal educational conference. So, on June 19, 2012, we partnered with TCEA to host our single-day event and even had some film students create this promotional video (below). As a fun side note, I had to reach out and chat with Norman Greenbaum to get his permission to use his song in the video. He's a groovy dude.
The truth behind the lieFollowing a successful first year, we wanted to make the next year even bigger and expand it to two days. So I hopped on the phone with Sir Ken Robinson's people to try and convince him that he needed to come to our learning festival. When he said he'd never heard of it, I lied. I told him that it's a global event that is attended by 1000 educators from all over the country and the world. He and his people agreed to do the keynote, and even though in the first year we only had 400 attendees, when he showed up, so did 1000 people from all over the country and the world. So….it wasn't necessarily a lie, it just wasn't true…yet.
The "Learning Festival" ideology
Getting educators to attend professional learning during their off-time can be extremely tricky. While ideally, people would just come to improve their craft, there is also some pressure on those providing the learning to make sure it's worth their time. When I was a classroom teacher, I always thought the best trainings I attended gave me some choice and allowed time to collaborate and be hands-on with activities rather than sitting in a room for several hours being talked at. When I attended conferences, I took notes of the parts I liked, and the ones I didn't. Cramming sessions in with 5 minute breaks left no time for reflection and collaborating. Also, as I attended events like TEDx, SXSW, and even ACLFest (a music festival), the idea to create a festival atmosphere kept creeping into my head and those on my team.
The learning festival ideology is centered around the concept that learning can be fun (even for adults) and that learning should be an event…an experience if you will. From the moment you walk in until the moment you leave, you should be a part of the experience. Taking the traditional conference concept and shaking it up with live music, food trucks, t-shirts, contests, film festivals, and unique session types helps make the learning more festival-like.
It's more than just a name
We knew when we named the event "iPadpalooza" that the name immediately excluded certain groups of educators (those without iPads). While we began the event as a way for teachers to share iPad resources, education, devices and technology integration has evolved. Indeed, our session titles in the early days were also centered around the device rather than learning. Sessions like "50 apps in 50 minutes" were popular when we began, but as the festival evolved, we noticed a stronger push to focus deeper on learning strategies with and without technology. Whatever our next iteration will be, we want to make sure that all adults (and students) have an opportunity to experience the Learning Festival-feel regardless of what device their district may have purchased.
6 years – by the numbers
Here's a look at a few numbers of iPadpalooza over the the last 6 years:
Major Keynotes
Before Sir Ken, Tony Vincent took a chance and decided to open up our inaugural event in 2012. (I was actually the closer for that event). Without Tony, our event wouldn't have had the initial credibility to get off the ground. I'm forever grateful to him and the work he brings to education. Other featured keynotes included Sugata Mitra, Guy Kawasaki, Adam Bellow, "iPad Magician" Simon Pierro, Cathy Hunt, Eric Whitacre, Kevin Honeycutt , Austin Kleon and Jason Silva. Also, in 2014, just to be a little different (and to make @techchef4u happy), we had the band Blue October close out our event.
Besides the above, we've hosted nearly a hundred "celebrities" from the education world, many of whom have been roped into doing a mini-keynote over the years. Here's just a few names that have generously given us some of their educational expertise over the years: Tom Murray, Christian Long, David Jakes, George Couros, Kerry Gallagher, Dan Ryder, Amy Burvall, Dean Shareski (and his daughter this year!), Audrey O'Clair, Wes Fryer & Shelly Fryer, Felix & Judy Jacomino, Adam Phyall, Amy Mayer, Greg Kulowiec, Andrew Wallace, Cathy Yenca & Tim Yenca, Lisa Johnson, Greg Garner, Don Goble, Kyle Pace, Phil Hintz, Kyle Pierce, Leo Brehm, Chris Parker, Michelle Cordy, Jennie Magiera, Scott Meech, Tracy Clark, Cori Coburn, Rafranz Davis, Kathy Schrock, Monica Burns, Derrick Brown, Todd Nesloney, Jon Samuelson, Matt Gomez, Reshan Richards, Julie Willcott, Richard Wells, Rabbi Michael Cohen, Brianna Hodges, Carolyn Foote, Brett Salakas, Jona Nalder, Matt Miller, Holly Moore, Joan Gore, Janet Corder, Kacy Mitchell, Steve Dembo, Lucas Loughmiller, and Chris Coleman just to name a few. (Apologies if I left anyone off this list!) So much talent has graced the halls of Westlake High School over the years and I can honestly say you would be lucky to have any of the above as keynote speakers at your event. There were also countless other rock-star teachers that have been a part of the 509 presenters that have shared their wisdom at our events. Check out the last couple of mini-keynotathons and other featured speakers on the iPadpalooza YouTube channel .
Events around the event
One of the things that really makes our festival different is the thought, time, and energy put into events happening during and around the main event. The APPMazing Race and Youth Film Festival both kicked off in 2013. In 2014 we added the iLead Academy and in 2015 the Prepalooza Learnshops. This final year, we also added our first ever Ed Tech Poetry Slam at the Spider House in Austin (Shout-out to Lisa Johnson for the idea!) These events around the event really make it a nearly 24/7 experience in learning, connection, fun, and collaboration.
Other 'paloozas and the Learning Festival Network
In 2014 I was approached by Kari Gerhart and Caroline Little about the possibility of bringing iPadpalooza to Minnesota. And thus, the iPadpalooza spin-off events were born. A little bonus history here, it was around this time that someone, either Caroline or possibly Reshan Richards coined the term "Godfather" for me – owing to my Sicilian background.
All told there have been over a dozen spin-off events with Minnesota, East Texas, and South Texas being the longest running. In 2016, we went international and became the first iPadpalooza in Australia. While the main event is over, we still support our spin-off events and hope many more will pop up over the years.
Speaking of spin-offs, there were several events created that were "inspired by" the spirit of iPadpalooza. Events like iEngage-Berwyn, Miami Device and others took pieces and parts of iPadpalooza to spice up their own event. In the coming years, we hope to fold these and other spin-off events, into our Learning Festival Network to support them in any way we can.
Making sponsor "thank you's" fun
In 2014, I decided that instead of doing the traditional sponsor thank you speech at the beginning and end of the event, that I would turn it into a rap song. I also tried to set the Guinness World Record of "most synchronized light show" in history by turning off the lights and controlling everyone's iPads with Nearpod as I sang my version of LMFAO's "Party Rock". While it worked, Guinness sadly failed to show to recognize the achievement.
The following year, I tried my hand at a parody of Eminem with "iPadpalooza Yourself" (sang to "Lose Yourself") but realized that this was becoming a one-trick pony and I needed to push myself.
If you haven't figured it out yet, a lot of my inspiration comes from talking and collaborating with others.
Enter Felix and Judy Jacomino. With their input, we starting working on a different way to thank the sponsors….via a "Slow Jam". Experience it below –
This year I attempted to follow it up with my version of Car pool karaoke, which was fun…but the slow jam will always be my favorite. And their ending of this year's event with the "Ed Tech Musical Review" will go down in history as an epically funny way to look at trends in Ed Tech.
iVengers & Volunteers
These events can't happen without dedicated staff willing to do the dirty work from running around fixing projectors to handling prima dona keynote speakers. I've been blessed with an amazing team here at Eanes ISD. They work their tail off year after year for this event and always with a smile on their face. Without my amazing team of Ed Techs, a.k.a. iVengers, none of this would be even remotely possible. The ideas for this event come from the collective brain power of this group, not just me. I'm excited to have them on board for what comes next….
So…What's Next?
While iPadpalooza sails off into the sunset, I can promise you there will be something else coming. We are already cooking up ideas for a prototype event next summer with our internal staff that will keep some of the same features of iPadpalooza but also open up some other thoughts and ideas. But why stop at just one event? There are also plans for a SUPER SECRET idea (my BHAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goal) that I can promise you will be a one-of-a-kind experience.
Thank you all for being on board this voyage for learning over the past six years.
Here's to the next dream!
Bold Predictions Sure to Go Wrong in 2017
Every year I embark on an expedition to either look brilliant or embarrass myself. (Let's be honest, that's more like every day in my life) Since 2013 I've set out to make a series of predictions, mostly in the Ed Tech world, that are bold. Now, let's look at the definition of "bold" below before we get started.
While all of these certainly can be applied, I'm going to focus on the final definition and say that some of these predictions stretch the usual limits of conventional thought or action. Last year for example, I predicted that schools would start to implement self-driving buses. As crazy as this may sound, about a month after the prediction, a company in Perth, Australia, began to pilot the self-driving bus in their community. It's only a matter of time before schools use them right?
You get the idea. Some of these are crazy, others actually just make sense, and some I just wish would happen. So, with that in mind and stressing that this is a "no judgement" zone, let's proceed:
A Dual-Language school will open with coding as the second language
The immersive dual-language movement has been going on for decades. Why not treat coding as a foreign language? If we really believe that we are preparing kids for a global society, then why not teach them a language many of them will find useful later in life? This does not mean that learning an actual foreign language is any less important, it's just that we should probably start to value coding and programming on that same level in schools. One sign that this would become a reality would be if a school district actually gave a language credit to those learning to program and code. Talk about taking "hour of code" to the next level!
The POTUS will use SnapChat to give the State of the Union
I'm not even touching the political side of this, but instead, let's focus on the medium to which our future president will use to communicate the State of the Union with the masses. I get the feeling that Twitter will not be enough for him in the future. I mean, either they'll have to change their limit of 140 characters (not likely) or he'll choose a different way of communicating. Enter SnapChat! What a great way to make a bold statement and then have it disappear (sort of) just a few seconds later. Does this sound all that crazy considering where we are today with social media, politics and the recent election?
The Learning "Movement" will take center stage at this year's iPadpalooza
Every year, iPadpalooza tries to center our attention around a certain theme. Last year we let the "Learning be with us" via a Star Wars-focused theme centered around looking into the future. This year, we take the PokemonGo phenomenon and flip it on its head with our "Learning on the GO" theme. I mean, what good is it to have all of these mobile devices in schools when kids are forced to sit in desks in rows learning the same traditional content the same traditional way? During this year's event, there will be a whole lotta shakin' going on with sessions centered around the theme and even a new type of session called a "Walk n' Talk" where attendees will actually walk around the campus with a presenter sharing an idea. You'll want to have a good pair of walking shoes before you join us this summer!
Someone will invent a PokemonGO type app for education
Speaking of PokemonGO, it's only a matter of time before someone invents an app that has some of the same addictive…er…engaging pieces of the widely popular Niantic app. I know there already is a PokemonEdu Facebook group and Twitter hashtag centered around using the characters from the app in an edu setting, but I'm talking something bigger here.
Imagine it. As a teacher, you have access to a platform that allows you to upload little learning nuggets into a platform. Students then actually get up and physically leave the classroom to discover these learning nuggets. Working in teams, they put the nuggets together and get certain badges for completing certain challenges. There could even be time limits, based on the class schedule, so you don't just have kids wandering the halls all day. It's like taking the APPmazing Race to a whole other level….hmmmmm….
Data actually gets sexy
I'm always reading stuff about "Big Data" and hearing about some fancy things happening with the IBM Watson project, but in truth, I find data to be extremely boring in its traditional, spreadsheet-focused format. I equate it to going and getting a physical. You don't want to do it, but you need to if you really want to improve your health. Let's face it, unless you are an accountant or testing coordinator, you'd rather find something else to do with your time rather than pouring over hundreds of color-coded graphs.
But this year, I think that will change. Now, I'm cheating a little bit here as I've been privy to a new program (called CatchOn) that actually puts usage data in a simple, clean, fantasy-football-like format. Gone are the days of me logging into different programs to look up usage statistics and figure out the ROI of a particular program. In this not-so-distant future, we'll actually be able to see everything that's being used on a district or school level right on our phone and then adjust accordingly. As someone who delivers professional learning in my district, being able to see this data instantly and beautifully would be powerful in steering what we need to help train teachers on or what we need to get rid of. Now that would be sexy (and save us money)!
Mixed Reality makes it's way into the mainstream classroom
For the past couple of years, there have been several one-off ideas of using some sort of mixed reality in the classroom. Maybe it's virtual through programs like Google Expeditions or Nearpod VR, or maybe it's augmented like using the Aurasma app to see hidden things (something I attempted to do with my book series). Either way, mixing realities can provide a powerful way to engage students into certain content areas and up until now, it's largely been seen as a niche or fun side activity. As witnessed by this recent Kickstarter called the ZapBox, it's not too hard to see a future where the holograms actually do pop up on the desk so you can interact with them. Now, if only they can invent a way to create virtual versions of those paper footballs that I used to flick across the classroom.
VR-Enhanced Movies!
Piggy backing on the VR concept and expanding into pop culture, I see hollywood grabbing onto the VR the concept and expanding it to the viewer. Now, as someone attending a VR-enhanced movie, you put on the VR goggles, much like you do now with 3D glasses, and are instantly in the middle of the movie. You look around at all the characters around you and actually sit in the middle of the room where the action is taking place. Imagine sitting in a car from Fast and Furious 15 as it launches out of a plane and lands on a boat! Or imagine sitting in the living room during Halloween Part 13 and instead of yelling at the screen for the actor to turn around, you can actually turn around as the killer approaches? Doing it in a movie theater gives everyone the same shared experience and you could even make movies more "Choose your own adventure-like" where half the audience goes down one hallway and the rest go down the other. Sound crazy or genius? I'm not sure where I fall on this yet, but hope it happens.
The Classroom becomes "Smart" with Frank
With devices like Google Home and Amazon's Alexa really taking off in the consumer market, it doesn't seem that far-fetched that we would soon see an educational version of these tools. I think it should be called something like "Frank". Frank would be like a fact-checking teacher's assistant that all the students could also use. "Frank, when was the battle of 1812?" or "What is Bohr's law?" or maybe "What is my teacher's favorite treat?" All of these could be useful in saving time in the classroom and help dive into even deeper learning and higher Bloom's level thinking. However, I imagine it might also come with a lot of new classroom management issues. But hey, for every challenge comes an opportunity, right Frank?
I finally publish my first children's book…and this time I mean it!
Yes, I know this was on last year's predictions, but I sort of had that whole Mobile Learning Mindset book series to finish first. With that series finally complete, I'm ready to embark on a new journey. I've got a lot of good ideas for a tech-centered children's book that will definitely be some sort of mixed reality book too. It might even come with it's own pair of VR goggles attached on the back. Like a virtual pop-up book of sorts. Now, if only I can find a publisher willing to take a risk….
There you have it. A few bold and bolder predictions that may happen this year. What do you think? What do you predict? Add your comments below and maybe together, we can make the future a better place for learning too!
Happy New Year!
Reviewing my 2015 "Bold" Predictions for Ed Tech
Making predictions can be a messy game. I mean not all of us can have a Miss Cleo in our back pocket for getting things right. Part of why I do these predictions is to get me to think about the future direction of educational technology, including some likely absurd ideas. The other part is what I'm doing right now; reflecting on the year that has been and how many of these actually came true. In looking at 2014's review, I hit on a few, missed on a few (giving up Google for lent? C'mon!) and sort of in between on others. In January of this year, I made a set of ten more predictions that I thought were sure to go wrong in 2015 (remember, "bold" is in the title). Now for the moment of truth, let's see how I did.
1. Classrooms will become automated
Outcome: Not yet
I've seen more sessions at conferences around the idea of automated or "smart" classrooms, but the technology is still a far ways off. I think as beacon technology becomes more ubiquitous and more and more devices enter schools, this one will become a reality. I do think with the recent debates over student privacy, we will have to go through some legal loopholes before a truly automated classroom becomes a reality.
2. Pearson will lose its testing contract in Texas
Outcome: BINGO!
I am actually still in a state of shock that Texas would go a different direction, but with the exception of a few hold over assessments, we essentially dropped our contract with Pearson. While I'm still not sure that replacement system ETS is much better, one thing is for certain, those people looking for jobs scoring 4th grade writing tests on Craigslist are surely going to be disappointed.
3. Wearables will take over the world…and then regress
Outcome: Getting warmer
I made some jokes about the soon-to-be-formed P.A.W. ("People Against Wearables") but in reality wearables came on like gang-busters in 2015, especially early in the year. After the Apple Watch hit the market, it became commonplace to see people checking their wrists for cute emoji-based text messages. While I heard some rumors of a school in Australia going 1:1 with Apple Watches (for health data research), I think the fervor over wearables, coupled with the afore mentioned data privacy has slowed down the wearable market. It still didn't stop me from wearing this cool Matrix-like light up shirt at iPadpaloozaSouthTx this past summer!
4. A human battery level app will be invented
Outcome: Uh…no
So we haven't entered cyborg-level yet, but I can tell you this partially came true this week when my dad went in to replace the battery on his heart defibrillator. That's close right?
5. This year's iPadpalooza APPmazing Race will bend the mind.
Outcome: Not quite, but it was a blast!
We ramped up the challenges to over 30 in the 3 days of iPadpalooza and dozens of teams rose to the challenge. We had people doing "jumper" pics into swimming pools, putting bunny ears on Felix Jacomino, and tearing up the stage at lunch-time karaoke. The winning team each walked away with their own Apple Watch! All of this sets up for a crazy 2016 race as we continue to raise the bar and up the ante. Check out the highlight video here and be sure to register now as the early bird rates are going on through the holidays!
6. 3D Printers will become common classroom (& household) items
Outcome: Still a ways off
We did see the price of 3D printers continue to drop and even got introduced to these snazzy $99 3D doodler pens, they are not quite common place yet. I do think in several years we will be at a place where we can truly "download" the parts we need to fix something, but for now I'll just patiently wait for hours as this machine prints out a mini-bust of my own head.
7. Someone will complete the 21 things every 21st century educator should do
Outcome: Not yet
This blog post made the rounds for the past year and half as a list of things every teachers should try to do in their classroom. Many tried it, but I've yet to find one person who completed all of them. Rather than rest on my laurels, I decided to up the game and create this "36 Weeks of Innovation" post for teachers to try one thing in their classroom every week. As of this writing, I know of many that have done some, but none that have done them all.
8. Drones will make their way into education
Outcome: True
This was sort of a joke when I wrote it last January, but it is actually now becoming a reality. Last week we completed our national "Hour of code" and I saw many posts on social media about kids programming and coding their own drones. In fact, amazingly enough, I may have predicted what iPadpalooza Keynote Adam Bellow would do this year during his presentation. During the middle of his keynote, he use the Tickle App to successfully program and fly a drone out into the crowd and then watch it turn around and come back. Check out his full keynote (post on YouTube for the first time today!) below and watch the magic happen:
9. Someone will complete the Billy Madison #Student4aDay Challenge….maybe me?
Outcome: Not even close
I had grand plans this past year to follow up my #Student4aDay challenge in 2014 with a gauntlet of going through every grade level as a student. While I'm not dismissing this one for myself, I did see more and more people trying the #Student4aDay challenge in their own schools. I think it's one of the best ways to really experience what kids go through on a daily basis as well as seeing how administrative decisions (like 1:1 technology) impact the classroom.
10. Carl Hooker will FINALLY publish a book
Outcome: TRUE! (in 2016)
This was more of a way to blackmail myself then anything, but after searching for a publishing house in early 2015, ISTE Publishing came knocking on my virtual door. I am excited to announce that I will be creating a 6-book series titled "Mobile Learning Mindset" in 2016 & 2017. Each book will focus on a different area of the school environment. The first two books (focusing on district and campus leadership) will hit shelves in early March of 2016. The last four books will dive into mobile learning in the classroom, professional learning, technical support and the role of parents and community during a mobile learning initiative. While I'm extremely honored and blessed to be a published author, I can tell you that it is NOTHING like blog writing. I'm hopeful that these books will go a long way in helping schools on their own mobile learning journey and can't wait to see them in print (both real print and virtual).
And that puts a bow on 2015. All in all, I was surprised by some of the results and not so much about others. I'm now going to start brainstorming for 2016 and will publish those after the New Year. What did you think about these predictions? What predictions do you have for 2016? Comment below, and if I use it in my next post (as a "guest prediction") I'll give you full credit!
We're Bringing Boutique Back…
…..and all those mega-conferences don't know how to act.
There's a movement afoot in the Ed Tech world. It started with Ed Camps and has evolved into something even bigger.
It's the "boutique" conference.
A couple of years ago I was chatting with good friend and fellow "boutiquer" Felix Jacomino (head cheese of Miami Device). We were chatting about iPadpalooza and his (then) upcoming first event. We were talking about ISTE, the preeminent Ed Tech conference in the United States when he said something both profound and prophetic.
"ISTE is like the Walmart of Ed Tech conferences."
That phrase resonated in my brain like a Taylor Swift ear worm. I couldn't escape it or put my finger on it but Felix was dead on.
At ISTE you have thousands upon thousands of people attending for any variety of reasons and from any variety of places. Some come to learn about interactive white boards (still). Others come to learn about Microsoft Office. Others iPads. Others Chromebooks. Windows. Mac. Apps. GAFE. CCSS. PDFs. Gifs. Etc.
If you are an event like ISTE you have no choice but to go the "Walmart route" when it comes to sessions to ensure your customers have access to everything even if it might taste a little bland. While I think there will always be a time and a place for that, districts are also looking for something more meaningful. They are looking for something more tailored for their staff and their Ed tech goals. In the past, like Walmart, the attendee was forced to sort through the hundreds of isles of products (sessions) looking for that one specific item (learning) and try not to get lost or end up on stage at EdTech Karaoke (guilty as charged).
As we formerly launch the registration for our 5th annual iPadpalooza, there is a growing abundance of options available to educators and leaders. iPadpalooza started as a learning festival to share and grow in the realm of iPads but it's now grown into something more than that (we welcome all devices!). While at its heart it's meant to inspire and make learning fun, it's also meant to be an experience. No not some sort of Burning Man in the desert experience (do they have wifi out there?), but more like you are a part of the learning experience and not just an attendee.
This year's theme is "Summer Blockbuster" and is centered around the explosive potential of mobile learning but also the movie stars we have in and around education. Because this is a "boutique" event, we can offer flexibility in terms of when you can come (we have single-day passes this year) and a little extra for those wanting to dive even deeper (this year we have added some "Pre-Palooza" workshops in addition to our iLead Academy).
While my heart belongs to the mothership event here in Austin, I love the fact that these are now starting to spread into other states (not unlike TEDx events) including Indiana, Minnesota and now Louisiana. Each one is unique in that it brings in local talent and flavor into the festival-like atmosphere. At iPadpaloozaSouthTX they even created their own theme of "Day of the Tech" based on the "Dia de los muertos" holiday.
What I love most about these spin-off events is the ownership taken by districts and educators as part of the mobile learning movement. It's not just seeing someone experience the stress and joy of hosting an event that MUST have a level of fun and local spirit, but also seeing them experience the smiles on the faces of attendees. It's about the tweets of minds being blown and passion being ignited. It's about discovering something they haven't seen or thought of before and rethinking how learning can change in their classroom.
Ultimately, that is why you go to a boutique conference. Not necessarily to look for a specific thing, but to have a specific thing find you.
Who's ready to go shopping?
Bold Predictions Sure to Go Wrong in 2015
For the past three years I've made an attempt at predicting what the future might hold for the Educational world, usually around the area of technology. The truth is, anyone can predict fairly obvious things (like Google will be the number 1 search engine), so what I attempt to do here is make some daring predictions that may or may not come true (like Alta Vista will make a comeback! Ok…maybe not that daring). Here's a look at my 2013 and 2014 predictions which I also review every year to see how I did. Some of my predictions that have gone right include my 2013 predictions that a non-Apple devices will rise up to challenge iPads in education (see Chromebooks) and my 2014 that a new form of social media will crop up with teens (see YikYak or Whisper).
And so, I present to you, my 2015 bold predictions that are sure to go wrong this year.
Classrooms will become automated
I'm not talking about the learning in the classrooms becoming automated, this is more about the low-hanging fruit in our schools. Things like attendance, daily quizzes, etc can be done so much more efficiently with technology however they still require an element of human interaction (and teacher time). I can see a future where a student walks into a classroom and the room "knows" he/she is there, thus eliminating the need for attendance (and saving hundreds of instructional minutes a year). While this may seem big brother-ish and far fetched, I'm working with a company called Signal 360 that works on something called proximity marketing using uBeacon technology. It wouldn't be that far-fetched to see this one come true.
Pearson will lose its testing contract in Texas
With over 50% of the UK-based company's income coming from the state of Texas and it's500 million dollar contract, the people at Pearson could be sweating it this year as their contract comes up for renewal in the Lone Star state. It's no secret that Pearson is now under investigation with the FBI for it's back-room dealing done during the L.A. iPad fiasco. Add to that a recent turbulent legislative session around standardized testing (finally!) and you start to see that Pearson could be in for a surprise this year when the contract comes up for renewal. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you are a Pearson-supporter) there are not really any other companies out there that can swoop in and grab that contract, making this prediction probably more asinine than bold. But here's hoping….
Wearables will take over the world…and then regress
Between the Apple Watch (debuting in the next couple of months) and this gadget known as the "Ring" unveiled today at CES 2015, we've become smitten with wearable technology and the internet of things. I predict we'll reach critical mass by mid-July, at which point someone will have vision problems from their Google Glasses (ala Naven Johnson's OptiGrab invention) or get in a car accident trying to get driving directions from their watch thus resulting in the creation of the "People Against Wearables" (P.A.W.) activist group.
A human battery level app will be invented
Realizing this is counter to the above prediction, wouldn't it be great if you could see how much energy you had left by checking an app? (or better yet a projection on your arm via something like this) "Sorry Bob, I'd like to work on that project with you but I'm only at 14% and I need to recharge." I'm hoping with all the wearable tech out there and the power of the internet, there will soon be a way to check this. Think about how much more productive you could be if you knew this data? Or better yet, what about if we knew this data about our students? The next step would be to invent a "Student Engagement Level" app. Now that would be something.
This year's iPadpalooza APPmazing Race will bend the mind
Last year we premiered the APPmazing Race at our annual global event. This year, we're stepping it up a notch as teams will compete on a series of challenges throughout the 3-day learning festival. At least one of the challenges we are working with in R&D is going to be pretty mind-stretching for teams participating. I can't wait to see what they come up with! (come join the spectacle this year by registering here)
3D Printers will become common classroom (& household) items
Again, thinking bold here, but with the rapid price drop from $10,000 to closer to the $1000 range for a 3D printer, it wouldn't be far-fetched to think we could see these in everyone's classroom (and house) at some point in the near future. Did you break that part on your washing machine or pencil sharpener? Just download the instructions and print the replacement part!
Someone will complete the 21 things every 21st century educator should do
Based on my blog post from the fall on this subject, I've heard a few people try and do some of the items on the list. It's not meant to be a challenge, it's more to inspire thinking and ways to integrate everyday technology that kids use into learning, however it would be cool if someone actually did all the items on the list (and then blogged about it.) I'm working on a book version of this post too with Sean Junkins (see final prediction), so hopefully this will continue to grow and it would great to have an example of someone actually doing this to credit in the book.
Drones will make their way into education
Forget all this chatter about Amazon and military use of drones, when will they make their way into education? I've seen these given away at educational technology conferences, but I've yet to see any actual good application of drones in terms of learning. I can see science really getting a boost from having access to this technology right away. Imagine the old "egg drop" experiment recorded from an aerial view of a drone? Or how about athletics and band using a different view of their formations?
Someone will complete the Billy Madison #Student4aday Challenge…maybe me?
In December I took the #student4aday challenge and became a 10th grader for day. It was enlightening in many ways but over the winter break I started to reflect on how well do we really know our students in all grades K-12? A single day as a 10th grader is a start, but I'm thinking we need to dig deeper and expand the grade-levels of the challenge. I would love for someone to complete what I'm calling "The Billy Madison #student4aday Challenge" based on the cult-classic movie staring Adam Sandler. In the movie, Billy has to go through all grade levels from K-12 to get his diploma. We should do the same thing! Rather than being passive about this, I'm going to challenge myself to be a student in every grade level at some point in the next year and challenge other administrators to do the same. As the principal in the movie states, "Mr. Madison, that was be one of the most insanely idiotic things I've ever heard…" although my last prediction may be even more insane.
Carl Hooker will FINALLY publish a book
This has been on my radar for the past couple of years. As I hear more and more people tell me "you should write a book!" I'm starting to believe it (I know…that's a scary thought). Even if my mom is the only one who buys it, I'm still hoping to publish something this year. I've got collaborations in the works on a couple of books and I'm working on a couple of my own ideas too…just need to find the time.
Some of these predictions I have direct control over and others I'll be watching from a far (or on twitter) to see if they happen. At any rate, I get the feeling that 2015 will be another progressive year of change in the classroom when it comes to technology. And while some of these predictions may not come to fruition, I'm just happy to be a part of this change.
Happy new year everyone!
9 Tips To Getting the Most Out of a Conference
Having just wrapped up a successful iPadpalooza and seeing all the chatter around ISTE 2014 online, I wondered: what makes a memorable and meaningful conference experience?
At iPadpalooza, we had 98.4% of people tell us they would come back to our event next year. Rather than being happy about that number, I focused on what the 1.6% didn't like. Was the live music too loud? Were the speakers or presentations not what the attendee expected?
I used to be guilty of attending conferences and passively waiting for information or presentations to amaze me. I'd leave disappointed and wonder what attending these conferences would mean for me in the future. However, all of that changed when I started taking a more proactive approach to my conference experience. Here are a few steps to help anyone attending either their 1st or 50th event.
Prior to the Event
Laying a good foundation of prep work prior to attending a conference on the scale of ISTE or the variety of something like iPadpalooza can make huge a difference.
1. Find Some People to Follow – This doesn't mean cyber-stalk or physically tail someone during the event. Rather, look at the big name speakers or presenters and start to follow their work on social media. This will give you a flavor of their presentation-style and may indicate what kind of content they might offer during their sessions.
2. Identify sessions ahead of time – Looking at the program guide for the first time at the registration booth puts you at a disadvantage. Most events (especially Ed Tech ones) post their session titles and descriptions well in advance. Take that opportunity to do some early research on topics that interest you and areas that you want to improve upon professionally. Additionally as popular sessions can fill up quickly, always have a back-up plan.
3. Plan on giving yourself time between sessions – George Couros blogged about a conference in Australia that left 30 minutes in between sessions. While that's a great way to have time in your schedule, most events only allow for 15 minutes or so. When planning out your days, be sure to leave a couple of longer breaks throughout the day. This extra time will allow you to reflect on a session or connect with colleagues and maybe actually have a professional lunch that is longer than 30 minutes.
During The Event
4. Don't sit in sessions you don't want to be in – EdCamps have mastered this strategy by the "voting with your feet" way that they run their events. If you are "stuck" in a 2-hour workshop on the theory of how Disney's Frozen can be applied to advanced Physics, you either didn't research the workshop well enough or the description was completely off (First clue – it was called "Let it Go: Why Liquid Nitrogen is the Bomb") Don't be afraid to walk out to your back-up session. If that one is full, find a quiet place where you can observe and follow the conference hashtag. At least that way you might pick up on some great things shared at other sessions.
5. Meet somebody new and connect – The easy way to do this is to have some virtual introductions via social media before-hand and then approach them when you see them in person (assuming their social media avatar looks like them). The more challenging, and sometimes more interesting way to do this, would be to find an attendee sitting by themselves and just introduce yourself. You never know how their story may help inspire you in the long run and vice-versa.
6. Capture your thoughts and reflect daily – I like to blog about the things that I have learned at conferences. This isn't so much to share with others as it is for me to identify the things that I found valuable in my learning each day. Not a blogger? Use a tool like Storify to capture bits and pieces of a hashtag and make your own recap with others' social media posts.
After The Event
7. Go back and share what you learned – As teachers, we know that our students learn by doing. Therefore, take what you learned and teach someone else. The blog that I mentioned in step #6 is a great way to share what you learned. For the slightly more daring, ask to have some time at an upcoming faculty meeting to give your 5-minute Ignite-type talk about highlights of your learning to the whole staff.
8. Follow-up with attendees and presenters online – Now that you've made some connections with new people from the event, be sure to send a message in the weeks afterwards to strengthen that connection.
9. Blackmail yourself – Learning new and inspiring ideas at an event can be great momentum going into the beginning of the school year. However, often weeks or months pass before you even get the motivation to apply something you've learned and by then you are too tired with the day-to-day of school life. Rather than blow it off, blackmail yourself. Outwardly tell colleagues (online or in person) that you are going to try a new concept that you learned. Then, set a time when you are actually going to try it and publicize this as well. I like to send myself an email in the future using futureme.org or the like. Setting up that email immediately after the event ends and can immediately reignite you months later.
These steps or tips are not fool-proof, and they do require a bit of heavy lifting on the part of the normally passive conference attendee. But, if you apply some – or all of these steps – you'll find yourself not only enjoying conferences more but also sharing that joy with other colleagues and students down the road.


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Sainsbury's Bank is launching mortgages especially designed and developed for the Sainsbury's customer. The bank will offer residential home purchase mortgages and remortgages for first time buyers, lending into retirement for certain customers and for the self-employed, across the whole of the UK.
The range of fixed and variable rate products offers flexible features that allow overpayments, underpayments, and payment holidays.
Sainsbury's Bank are also introducing a mortgage that comes with an added shopper reward. Both home purchase and remortgages include a unique reward scheme for supermarket customers. The mortgages reward the customer loyalty of Sainsbury's shoppers, by letting them earn up to £200 a year (in vouchers) off their shopping, for two years.
The new range, which can be seen in detail at sainsburysbank.co.uk initially includes a two (fee and no fee options), and five-year fixed rate product, and a two-year tracker with loan-to-values (LTVs) of up to 90%, and it will also consider customers aged up to 70 years old.
Customers can contact the Bank direct over the phone and speak to our team of mortgage advisers, or apply through initial intermediary pilot broker partner, L&C Mortgages. Direct, non-advised online applications will be launched later this year.
Catherine More, Head of Mortgages Sainsbury's Bank said: "Mortgages and grocery shopping are some of our customers' biggest household expenditures and we're uniquely placed to help them out with both.
"We've built our new mortgages in response to our customers' needs, they told us they wanted to feel supported through the whole process, that they wanted the flexibility to pick the advice that suits them, and to receive a good deal."
The launch marks the start of our expansion into the mortgage market. Over time we will review and add to our mortgage range, this will include launching buy-to-let as well as refining our entry product offers.
The intermediary channel is a preferred route for many of our customers and crucial to our expansion, so we're also partnering with Legal & General's Mortgage Club with a view to welcoming more brokers on board over the next twelve months.
Mortgage pricing has been set to ensure Sainsbury's Bank products are competitive and affordable with rates starting from 1.34%. The range includes fee-free products. Remortgage customers will benefit from free-assisted valuations and legal advice.
Andrew Hagger of Moneycomms said: "It is good to see a provider entering the mortgage market with such a competitively priced range of products across the full range of LTVs. The added bonus of a shopper reward is an innovative move that makes the deal even more appealing for Sainsbury's shoppers – the option to earn up to £400 vouchers off shopping over two years is not to be sniffed at."
David Hollingworth of L&C Mortgages, said: "We welcome more competition in the mortgage market and particularly from those entrants that have put real customers at the heart of their design. We're delighted to be working with Sainsbury's Bank as initial intermediary pilot partner."
Customers applying over the phone can call 0345 111 8005 between 8am and 9pm Monday to Friday or between 9am and 4pm on Saturdays and 10am to 1pm on Sunday.

subset: commoncrawl


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With numerous successes in its short history, including its first full-length ballet and performance at Dallas DanceFest, Puder's Avant Chamber Ballet is one step closer to its goal of reconnecting live music and dance.
Over the past three years Avant Chamber Ballet (ACB) has accomplished what takes most small ballet companies years to do. Along with bringing together a cohesive group of talented professional dancers and building a solid audience base, ACB is also filling a void in the Dallas dance scene with the use of live chamber music at its performances. This feat can be attributed to Artistic Director Katie Puder's tenacity and resourcefulness both artistically and enterprisingly speaking.
Puder began her ballet training with Wichita Falls Ballet Theater before moving to Fort Worth at age 13. She continued training with Paul Mejia and Maria Terezia Balogh and at 17 she joined the Metropolitan Classical Ballet. The idea for starting ACB came to Puder while attending multiple Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) concerts. "I was inspired to start doing more choreography just from hearing so much fantastic live music. Our first choice for the musicians for our performances are always DSO musicians, and I think very few ballet companies in the world can say they have musicians of that quality performing with them."
With the aid of DSO principal horn David Cooper, ACB's focus is on strengthening the ties between live music and dance in the Dallas area. Since its inception in 2012, ACB has performed eight new works, including Puder'sExactly Woven and Carnival of Animals, which premiered at the Eisemann Center in October 2014. This past year ACB also produced its first full-length ballet, Alice in Wonderland, with a commissioned score by resident composer Chase Dobson to positive reviews. "It seems that dance audiences have really missed live music. We also have a part of our audience who are music fans and we are their first exposure to dance performances. I love hearing from people who are discovering how exciting live ballet and music can be for the first time."
Not one to idle, Puder is always looking for news way to increase exposure while also enriching the local dance culture. Participation in local dance festivals this year, including the {254} DANCE-FEST in Waco and the reimagined Dallas DanceFest at the Dallas City Performance Hall has helped ACB expand its reach within these communities. Puder's plans for 2015 include the company's first Women's Choreography Project, which happens this weekend at Richardson's Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts and a collaboration with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's SOLUNA: International Music & Arts Festival in May.
The Women's Choreography Project, a series she plans to continue, features work by Puder and local choreographers Elizabeth Gillaspy and Emily Hunter, as well as guest choreographer Amy Diane Morrow.
A firm believer in supporting other local artists Puder has invited local dance companies such as Dark Circles Contemporary Dance to come perform with ACB. Puder is beginning to see this supportive stance spread across the whole dance community. "I have this feeling of a real community between different companies and circles. There is more awareness of what other people are doing and people are being supportive." With Puder's work ethic ACB will continue to draw in new audiences and raise the bar for other professional dance companies in the area.
This piece was originally posted on TheaterJones.com.


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400 mls coconut cream
800 mls chicken stock
2 chicken breast
2 stalks lemon grass sliced in half and cut into 4 cm chunks
1 hot chili sliced in half
3 tbs jaggery (or palm sugar)
3 shallots cut into quarters
4 coriander roots well washed
5 cms ginger cut into thick slices
3 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbs fish sauce
2 cobs of corn kernels removed
1.5 limes juiced
1 handful coriander leaves
Rice noodles prepared to package
In a large pot combine coconut cream, chicken stock, lemon grass, jaggery, shallots, coriander roots, ginger, limes leaves and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with fish sauce and limes juice and taste, adjust if not balanced in sweet salty and sour. You will know if it's not balanced if it doesn't taste quite right. Add corn and chicken and serve when chicken is cooked through on top of rice noodles.
I have linked up with Tuesdays Table so go check out what everyone else has been up too!


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Captain America might be The First Avenger, but the first Avenger to hit screens next summer is Thor and director Kenneth Branagh brought several of his stars, and a nice chunk of footage no one had seen yet, to present during the Marvel panel Saturday evening in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con. The film, about a Norse God banished to Earth after seemingly betraying his people, will hit theaters in May 2011 and this was the first time fans got to see footage from the superhero film.
What was shown? What did cast members like Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Tom Hiddleston and Clark Gregg have to say about Thor? Hit the jump and find out.
Right when Branagh took the stage, he sort of geeked out that he was able to see some of the mythology from his movie in the short Captain America footage that was shown. He also assured everyone that, though he was mostly familiar with English comic books, his favorite American one was Thor and he sought out the project when it became available.
The first question was for Thor himself, Hemsworth, and it was about the hammer. He said they had a ton of conversations about its real world functionality and he feels they came up with a good solution. He continued talking about the character and specifically his messed up family, including his father Odin played by Anthony Hopkins.
Portman admitted that her character wasn't that well defined in the comic books but she relished that as an opportunity and enjoyed playing a smart, strong woman. She was also excited to get back to working with blue screen – a skill she picked up on the Star Wars films – especially with Branagh at the helm, because he had a whole different approach.
Dennings seemed totally blown away by this whole thing and rambled along about how her character is totally new and is nothing more than Portman's character's protege.
Hiddelston, who play Thor's evil brother Loki in the movie, seemed very humbled that he's playing, what he described, as a psychologically damaged character.
Clark Gregg, who was also in both Iron Man films and will be in The Avengers, said he loves be "the glue of the Marvel Universe." He told a story about how when he delivered the line in Iron Man 2 about "New Mexico" he had no idea what he was talking about. He had to ask Kevin Feige who said "Thor is in New Mexico."
When posed with the question how the real world of New Mexico and ethereal world of Asgard blended together, Branagh and Feige decided to show footage to explain.
The footage, which was cut together as basically a long trailer, was way too much to digest on a single viewing, so thank the gods we got to see it again at the end of the panel. It starts off basically where Iron Man 2 ended: with the hammer in the desert. Cut to Thor being interrogated by Gregg because he destroyed a whole team of his men. We then go to Asgard, which looks sort of like a golden, more polished and richer version of Naboo, where Thor is being yelled at by Odin, stripped of his powers, and banished to New Mexico. "This is Earth, isn't it?" he asks when he's discovered alone, in the desert, but Portman's character. She then bring him into her world where he describes that where he's from, magic and science are one in the same. Back in Asgard, things don't seem to be going too well and Loki is now the king, which seems to set off a bunch of things on Earth, including Thor trying – and failing – to lift his hammer. We then get a bunch of action stuff cut together, including some awesome stuff with Thor swinging the hammer and a bunch of the other gods, etc. In the end, we see a Destroyer come to Earth and blow up some cars before the footage ended.
Oh, and did we mention it was in 3D? It's still early in that process – the movie is almost a year away – but the 3D seemed very impressive in some scenes and totally pointless in others. I could take it or leave it.
And that's sort of how I felt about the footage. I wasn't sure what I was watching. I had no idea of the through story in this movie. Where does everything fit in? Everything I saw – on its own, looked impressive and very promising – but all together, it was confusing.
Back to the Q&A. Branagh went with the classic hammer and wanted the whole movie to look "clean."
There will be some surprises in the film for fans of the Don Blake Thor.
Portman will not be in The Avengers, but will return for Thor sequels, if they occur.
A gentleman asked Feige about Edward Norton not being Hulk and Feige was very diplomatic and said "the panel's not over yet," referring to the Ruffalo announcement later.*
Branagh said he felt very capable to direct this movie because his first film, Henry V, had so many of the same themes and plot points: battle, family issues, war, politics, etc.
To prepare for the role, Hemsworth was given a ton of normal books, comic books, Norse mythology and more and basically just filled his head with it.
Feige confirmed that The Punisher is back under the Marvel flag and that there's a plan in place to get him back on the big screen.
Branagh was both excited and nervous to tackle the action scenes because it was something he'd never done before but he knew the great team assembled could pull it off.
Then they screened the footage again and that was it.
With the Captain America sneak peak, this Thor panel, and ultimately the reveal of The Avengers, Marvel basically won Comic-Con. Other panels and presentations (Paul and Sucker Punch were my person favorites) were great, but overall, it was all about Marvel. Now, if the films are half as good as they look, and link together half as well as it seems they do, we could be in for a long line of great superhero movies.


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- Though Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has left the presidential race, while he was front and center, he often spoke of his husband, Chasten Buttigieg.
- During one debate, he was asked about his stance on student loans considering he's said he and Chasten have over $130,000 in debt. Here's what he said—plus more about Chasten.
It was once a challenge to keep track of the dozens of candidates running for president in 2020. But one undeniable standout in the crowded field was Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who over the past few months went from dark horse to potential frontrunner before he ultimately left the race on March 1. (Now, he endorses former Vice President Joe Biden.) If elected, Buttigieg would have been the first openly gay president–which would have made his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, America's inaugural First Gentleman.
Before we get into their backstory, let's quickly revisit one the stand out moments from the debates. In the Democratic primary debate in Detroit, Buttigieg was grilled on his stance on student loans. Pete has previously mentioned that he and Chasten have over $130,000 in student loans. And his proposal was to make public college free of debt for low-income students by turning to Pell grants.
"We can have debt-free college for low and middle-income students by expanding Pell grants and compelling states to pick up more of the burden," he said during the debate. "On the back end for those who do have a lot of debt, we can make it more affordable and we can expand a public service loan forgiveness program."
As expected, some folks loved his proposal and others didn't, but one person who will always have his back is Chasten. Ahead of the debate, he posted a cute photo of them together on Twitter, writing, "Round 2. You've got this, P. Love you."
Pete and Chasten, who were married a year ago, have an incredibly sweet and supportive relationship which has won them–and their dogs–a devoted following of fans.
Below, a few key facts to know about Chasten.
Chasten Buttigieg had a difficult coming out journey.
Chasten Glezman (his given name) grew up in a working-class family in Michigan, and told The Washington Post that he often felt like a misfit alongside his brothers, who were into playing sports and hunting. "I would be inside reading Harry Potter or singing Celine Dion at the top of my lungs while my mom and I were dusting the cabinets," he said.
His family's reaction to his coming out at the age of 18 was not positive. "I don't recall my parents specifically saying I couldn't live at home anymore, but I was made to believe I needed to leave," he told the New York Times. Leaving home was the beginning of a tough period in which Chasten sometimes slept on friends' couches, and sometimes slept in his car in the parking lot of his community college.
Eventually, his mother called and asked "Will you come home?" Chasten recalled to the Washington Post. "And I cried and I went home immediately." Though his relationship with his parents improved over time–and they "proudly walked him down the aisle" when he married Pete–he remains estranged from his brothers.
"11 years ago, when I came out, I didn't think there was a place for me in this world," he recalled in a tweet in May, as he shared he and Pete's Time cover story. "10 months ago we said 'I do.' 1 month ago we said 'let's do this.'"
Chasten and Pete met on a dating app.
A truly relatable modern couple! Pete and Chasten met in the summer of 2015 on Hinge, the app which seems to be rapidly eclipsing Tinder in terms of popularity. At the time, the two were living in different states, but per the Post, Chasten offered to visit Pete in South Bend. Their first meeting sounds like something right out of a romantic comedy–when Chasten got out of his car in front of Pete's house, they both said "Howdy" at the same time. "So gross," Chasten remarked to the Post. "But my heart fluttered."
Their first date carried on in similar rom-com fashion. They bonded over Scotch eggs, as you do, then watched a baseball game, which featured fireworks. "Literally, there were fireworks on our first date," Chasten told The Times. "It was kind of ridiculous, I know, but I was hooked."
Pete proposed in an unorthodox location.
Nothing says romance quite like Chicago's O'Hare Airport! But there's a story behind Pete's decision to propose at O'Hare–according to the couple's Time profile, it was in that airport that Chasten first saw Pete's dating profile on Hinge.
The couple were married at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. James in South Bend in June of 2018. And if their New York Times wedding announcement is anything to go by, the wedding was incredible:
Tacos from the Rico Suave food truck; sliders from South Bend's the Beard & the Boss (even the pork was local, provided by Gunthorp Farms, a fourth-generation Indiana operation); beer from South Bend Brew Works; an assortment of regional cheeses from Oh Mamma's deli; salads from Cafe Navarre; lattes and coffee from Zen Cafe, housed inside LangLab; artisanal chocolates from local Violet Sky chocolatier; specially created ice cream from the Outside Scoop, flavored with honey harvested from community gardens or whiskey from an Indiana distillery.
Yes hi, hello, is there a way for us to go back in time and crash this wedding, please?
Chasten Buttigieg is a dog lover.
One of the many, many, many things we miss about the Obama era is the semi-regular updates from their adorable dogs Sunny and Bo. But there's a new pair of prospective First Dogs on the horizon, and their names are Truman and Buddy Buttigieg. The couple adopted Truman, a beagle-Labrador mix, in 2017. Buddy, a one-eyed beagle-pug mix, joined their household last year.
Truman and Buddy have a sizable social media following of their own–their Twitter account currently has a following of more than 75k–which is no surprise, because every single update is a joy.
He's a ray of sunshine on social media.
If you generally find Twitter to be a bottomless pit of despair and rage that leaves you feeling much worse every time you log on, a) you're not wrong, and b) you need to follow Chasten ASAP. His social feeds are relentlessly positive, even when he's touching on serious subject matter, and his Twitter generally features a mix of fun updates, premium dog content, and mindfulness tips.
R. Eric Thomas really summed it up over at Elle when he wrote: "Quite literally, if the relentlessly upbeat potential first spouse ever took a social media break I think I would spiral into a pit of despair that only a glint of light from Michelle Obama's Balenciaga boots could pull me out of."
You owe it to yourself to make Chasten's updates a staple of your social media diet.
He's incredibly supportive of his husband.
Chasten used to be a junior high school teacher at Montessori Academy in Mishawaka, Indiana, having earned his master's in education at the nearby DePaul University. But after Pete announced he was running for president, Chasten left his job to support him full-time, and now alternates between joining Pete on the road and taking care of things at home.
But though he's incredibly supportive now, Chasten has admitted that he wasn't sure how to react when Pete first announced his plans. "I laughed," he told the Post. "I was like, 'No, no, no—are you serious? Okay, what are we thinking here? I love you. I believe in you. You're amazing. Do you think this would work?'"
More recently, Chasten opened up on Twitter about how he's dealing with the regular separations from Pete. "Sometimes when he's on the road and I'm missing him," Chasten wrote in one tweet, "I just take a deep breath and watch this to remind myself what we're here for."
The couple just celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
"One year ago I married the love of my life," Pete wrote in an emotional June 16 Twitter update, as he marked his one-year wedding anniversary with Chasten. "I'm so thankful I found you, Chasten, and can't wait to spend the rest of our life together."
Meanwhile, Chasten posted some adorable couple pictures, and revealed that he was en route "to find this cute guy on the trail. Can't believe it's been one year."
We know it's used all the time but, these two really are relationship goals.
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Grab the nearest copy of the collected works of Alexander Pope (or is it Pope Alexander?) and join me for the inaugural session of the Mythgard Movie Club, the brand new (and free!) program from the Mythgard Institute. I and my podcast co-host Curtis Weyant will be spearheading this new program which will meet every 6 weeks or so to discuss the films and TV shows worthy of a deep dive. We'll be focusing primarily on speculative fiction, but that's a very broad category and who knows where we might go!
Since we're doing all the work to get this party going Curtis and I took the liberty of choosing the first two films. First up is my what if I were hard-pressed I would name my favorite movie of all time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry and springing from the twisted and hilarious mind of Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine explores the fallout of a new technology that allows people to erase unpleasant memories through the once-passionate but now-stale relationship of couple Joel and Clementine. Funny, poignant, and sad, Eternal Sunshine mixes tones and genres with a kind of low-fi visual approach that make it a truly unforgettable viewing experience.
If my pitch doesn't convince you, how about that stellar cast? Jim Carey plays the quiet one and Kate Winslet the loud one! Kirsten Dunst in her best performance to date! Creepy Elijah Wood! Mark Ruffalo dancing around in his underwear! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll miss your dearly departed pets.
Our other panelists include Signum U. regulars Brenton Dickieson, Emily Strand, and Kelly Orazi. You can find out more about the Mythgard Movie Club here and sign up to attend the Eternal Sunshine discussion here. If you want to donate to support future free programs through the Mythgard Institute, check out Signum U.'s yearly campaign.
And of course, don't forget to watch Eternal Sunshine! Unless you already did and erased it from your memory… in which case you should probably watch it again.
When: Monday December 4th 8:30 PM ET.
Where: Here!
Edit: And here's the recording! It was a great discussion, if I do say so myself. Thanks to everyone who attended and participated live. If you catch up with video leave us a comment in the Signum U. forums to tell us what you think or to continue the discussion.


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Everyone loves the misheard lyrics videos. It is simply entertaining to see what other people come up with for song lyrics. Have you ever wondered would would be better at figuring out song lyrics between a professional transcriptionist and IBM Watson, the "smartest machine on earth"? When placed against each other, who would be the better party at hearing song lyrics correctly?
To figure it out, you need a few a cappella versions of each song so that IBM Watson would not get confused by the music behind the lyrics. Also, you have to be sure the professional transcriptionists promise, pinky-swear even, that they had not heard the songs before. They also couldn't use Google to verify the words they heard. These were precautions taken to make sure that both the transcriptionists and IBM Watson were on the same level.
The challenge was broken into 4 parts. The first was to the Taylor Swift song "I Knew Your Were Trouble." IBM Watson heard "I go" instead of "ago" in the lyrics of her song. He also heard "a loon" instead of "alone" and "then you say" instead of "in your sights." Some of these were not even close. He made four errors and there were 6 words missing from the lyrics. The professional transcriptionist heard everything correctly. She made no errors and there were no words missing.
The second challenge was to the Van Halen song "Runnin' with the Devil." Again, IBM Watson made 9 errors and there were a total of 15 words missing. The professional transcriptionist made absolutely no errors and missed no words.
The trend continued with the third challenge which was with the Elton John song "Tiny Dancer." IBM Watson heard "Blue gene bear bear yeah. Lazy lately yeah. Seamstress for the man." That included 8 errors and there were 3 missing words. However, the professional transcriptionist heard the lyrics perfectly: "Blue-jeaned baby, LA lady, Seamstress for the band."
The final challenge was to Brad Paisley's song "Ticks." It should come as no surprise now that there were 12 errors and 5 missing words from IBM Watson's interpretation of the lyrics. Once again, the professional transcriptionists made no errors.
At the end of all of the challenges, there were hopes of getting some funny mondegreens, another term for the strange misheard lyrics, but IBM Watson was really all over the place and what he heard wasn't that funny. At the same time, the professional transcriptionists made no mistakes at all and were basically excellent at their jobs. In the end, IBM Watson isn't as smart as he claims to be. There are many improvements that need to be made to the system to work out these kinks.


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Carol Coletta
Carol Coletta is president and CEO of CEOs for Cities and host and producer of the nationally syndicated public radio show Smart City.
Previously, she served as president of Coletta & Company in Memphis. In addition, she served as executive director of the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation.
Carol was a Knight Fellow in Community Building for 2003 at the University of Miami School of Architecture and completed coursework toward a Master of Design Methods at the Institute of Design at IIT and at the University of Houston in Future Studies. She is a highly sought after speaker on the success formula for cities and creative communities and is frequently interviewed as an expert on urban issues by national media.


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Potty Training Special Needs Children- Recommended Potty Chair
Toilet-training time doesn't have to be stressful, Toronto Star, Nov 21, 1989 by Janet Enright
Last summer I received a notice about a musical potty called the Doo Dah (now Tinkle Toonz). It is a kind of plastic chair with a small computer chip in the bottom. When the child performs, the chip immediately responds by playing Old MacDonald Had A Farm .
I didn't know what to think of this thing, really. But my daughter, who is developmentally delayed, had resisted the idea of toilet-training for so long, I thought it was worth a try.
Ever since it arrived on our doorstep, it has turned the whole house upside down. Nancy loves it and simply can not wait to use it. She is so thrilled by her ability to control this event in her life that she now helps us keep our own lives in perspective: Whenever my husband and I come home after a grueling day in the workplace, Nancy runs to greet us at the door and tell us about her successes with the potty.
Curious ThingThe curious thing about toilet-training is that I have never taken it too seriously. As my pediatrician said to me 10 years ago, when I asked him about toilet-training my first child, "Have you ever known an adult who isn't toilet trained?"
My mother took it more seriously than I, in the sense that for her and her generation, toileting was an important benchmark of progress - one to be struggled for and achieved. But then mother was using cloth diapers, a wringer washing machine and a clothesline in the backyard. I was using easy, disposable paper diapers.
Dr. Ken Citron is a child psychiatrist in private practice. He told me that the classic (Freudian) analytic view of a child's development still focuses on toilet-training as a pivotal event. However, many psychiatrists now believe that relationships between child and parent are worked out on a day-to-day basis, and toilet-training is a major event within that context whereby "a parent's style of discipline will bear on the child's development."
Betty Flint is a professor emeritus at the Institute For Child Study, a department of the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto. She was a professor there for 25 years, specializing in infancy.
The impetus for training always comes from the parent, said Flint, never from the child. But that is because, at a certain stage in the child's life, we become aware of cultural expectations that it is time for our children to use a toilet. It's like table manners. We don't mind if our children smear food all over their faces when they are babies, but we do mind if they do that when they are 10.
And at a certain time, children should get out of diapers and start to use the toilet. Still though, "we should only initiate toilet-training when it is appropriate," Flint said. That is, when the child's toilet patterns begin to be consistent and when the child has the emotional capacity to deal with this big step.
Enormous impact
Children between 2 and 3 - the normal age when the muscles are reliably mature - don't have large vocabularies and do have large fantasies. Their perceptions and fears - such as being flushed down the toilet - will have enormous impact on how agreeable they are to toileting. We just have to be patient with this, because they may have fears that our reasonable brains simply can't comprehend.
What both Flint and Citron said is this: If the child resists toileting, don't push it. "Don't make a battlefield of this," said Citron. "As long as you are in tune with your child, you'll find a way through this that won't be stressful. If the child becomes oppositional over toileting, it can lead to all kinds of problems later." Remember, although the parent initiates the idea, toileting success depends on a parent being responsive rather than assertive.
If you are in a hurry because you want your child trained so he can go the nursery school, you will have to put more of yourself into the effort - gently, said Flint. But if it doesn't work reassess your agenda. If you compel your child to toilet-train so that he can go to nursery school, there could be lifelong consequences and nursery school just isn't worth it. As Flint said, "If a child feels ashamed and doesn't really understand what hasn't happened, he will tie himself up in knots."
Flint has some guidelines for parents to consider about normal toilet-training situations:
- Watch for the child's signal of readiness. When patterns begin to emerge, capitalize on them.
- Attempt to toilet-train only when it is appropriate for the whole family, i.e. periods of stress such as Christmas or exam time are not ideal. Summer is often the easiest because we are all more relaxed and clothes come on and off more easily.
- Don't leave the child on the potty alone. Sing, read or talk to him. He needs you there while he gets used to the process and learns to make connections between the feelings in his body and performance in the toilet.
- Don't leave the child on the potty more than 10 minutes. No one will perform after that. And you'll get frustrated, which will lead to conflict.
- If no progress is made within about 10 days, drop it for a month or so, before you try again
Stay CoolReward is everything. Praise him whenever he is successful. And if nothing happens, it just doesn't matter. Scolding can have profound effects. It is usually your agenda that gets discouraged if he doesn't perform. So take a look at your own agenda and question why you are imposing it on your child.
We've all seen parent who scold a young child when he has an accident in his pants, or misses the toilet. This is unfair. Children try. Don't crucify them if they aren't perfect. After all, it's only a mess and an automatic washing machine will clean most of it up for you.
Stay cool. My doctor was right. I don't know any adult who isn't toilet-trained.


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TNA champion Sting vs. Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam
Anderson talked trash to the others, so they ended up both punching him back and forth between them. RVD drilled him into the buckles. Sting followed suit. Sting nailed the Stinger Splash in the corner. He went for the Scorpion Deathlock but Van Dam waited until he turned it over and drilled him with a spinning kick.
RVD did hit shoulderblocks into the backflip and kick in the corner on Sting. Van Dam nailed a standing moonsault press for two count. He rebounded off the ropes but Anderson pulled the ropes down and RVD hit his head on the cage.
Anderson was caught by Sting and went for the Scorpion Deathlock again. Van Dam tried to interfere but Sting nailed him and locked it on both of the challengers at the same time. That was creative. Van Dan finally reached the ropes, as did Anderson.
Sting whipped RVD into the corner and drilled him as Van Dam tried to go up and over. They both went down in the collision. Anderson tried to cover each but couldn't get the job done. Anderson nailed Rob with a neckbreaker. He set up for the Mic Check on both and nailed it. Sting kicked up. Anderson covered RVD who kicked up as well.
Anderson charged RVD but was kicked off with a spinkick. RVD went for the Five Star Frog Splash and connected. Sting broke up the cover. Sting whipped Van Dam into an Anderson kick. Sting went for the Deathdrop on Van Dam but as he hit it, Anderson clotheslined him.
With everyone out, Hulk Hogan's music hit and he came to the ring with a pipe. Hogan's wife and daughter got a lot of camera time. Hogan tried to offer the pipe to RVD. Rob accepted it but then threw it down at the mat. Anderson grabbed it and nailed RVD but warned Hogan he wasn't doing it for him, but for himself.
Anderson set up Van Dam in the center for the pin but Sting grabbed him and nailed the Scorpion Death Lock for the pin.
Your winner and still TNA champion, Sting!
The match was decent but wasn't anything that is going to be considered a classic. They all worked hard but it was all about the tease of an RVD heel turn. Everything was secondary to the Hulk Hogan Shakespearean drama.
They showed lots of shots of Hogan not looking happy on the stage. Sting dared him to get in the cage. The crowd popped for that. Hogan said it would happen on his time and walked out. We are so getting Hogan vs. Sting at Bound for Glory at this rate. I hope Nick Patrick isn't the referee.
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My 14th day in Kenya is only an hour away and I have not gotten to post much about my time in Nairobi. I have been ruminating on several potential blogs topics but have not had the time to develop them fully. I will try to catch-up over the week.
What am I doing here? The short answer is that I am working at Mbagathi district hospital in Nairobi. The district hospital happens to be less than half-block from the national referral hospital, Kenyatta. The proximity means that we have relatively good ability to send complicated patients to a higher level of care.
The long answer requires a good amount of background. First the pubic hospital (healthcare system) system in Kenya, which caters to the 80% of the population is organized in tiers. The bottom tiers are more community based, smaller clinics, which ideally should progressively refer up the chain with more complicated patients. The district hospitals are the sixth level of care before patients have laser-guide their hope onto Kenyatta Hospital. The district hospitals also have some special concentrations/specializations, which they own. In the case of Mbagathi, it is the infectious diseases (HIV, tuberculosis and the likes) referral hospital.
Also a quick summary of the medical health workers structure will be helpful. More like Europe than the US, we have medical doctor education with medical schools, with further training to become medical officers. A few people go ahead with specialization to become registrars, then consultants. There is also a parallel system for a lower-level health workers, clinical officers. Clinical officers (CO) are close to the idea of physician assistants in the US, but COs are not always directly supervised or scrutinized by medical doctors. The lower levels of health care facilities may be entirely run by an autonomous CO. COs have 3 years of -post-secondary school- university level education. Then all graduating COs complete a year of internship at a government approved facility where they spend 3 months rotating through internal medicine (adult medicine), surgery, pediatrics and obstetrics. COs are registered after completing the internship based on varying mix of subjective and/or objective criteria set by the different training locations. A minority of COs do further optional training in the different specialties. The actual real-life responsibilities of COs vary widely based on their expertise, comfort level and how under-resourced their job destinations are; for example 'minor surgeries,' deliveries, c-sections, treating HIV are routinely in the purview of COs. The parallel and hierarchical system is how the Kenyan healthcare system has chosen (willingly or not) to deal with delivering health services within limited resources; I do not intend to debate the ethics or discuss the pros/cons of the system.
With that background, I will answer the question. I am working on the female general medicine ward, which has 30 beds but on average about 40 patients are admitted. Mbagathi is a training hospital for COs. CO interns are directly responsible for caring for the day-to-day activities of the patients; each intern has 6-10 patients. The CO interns are supervised by a medical officer (MO) intern, who is responsible for both the male and female general medicine wards (60-80 patients). The MO intern reports to a medical officer, who calls the shots on patient care. The final say, however, is an internal medicine specialist, who is also the medical director of the hospital. Daily patient rounds ideally should be done with the MO, MO interns and CO interns. Twice a week, the specialist comes on rounds. If you are a novice to medical jargon, I am sorry but I hope you are following; I suggest a quick Google or Wikipedia search for unclear words. I am the equivalent of the medical officer (knowledge and experience-wise); I basically run rounds or assist in running rounds in the morning. The afternoons are packed with a variety or procedures: placing intravenous lines, doing spinal taps, ultrasounding peoples bellies, placing grastric tubes, removing fluids for places they should not be; and checking off a crazy-list of mundane things. As you may imagine, the patient acuity level is quite high (probably 50% would qualify for ICU care at any US hospital); and resources are palpably limited.
So, on a regular day, I wake up sometime before 7am; exact time varies depending on whether or not I plan on running. I get to the hospital sometime between 8 and 9 am. My walk to work is 30minutes of brisk walking from the Kilimani residential area. Kilimani is on the edge of Kibera (Google Kibera!). The walk takes me past cars stuck in traffic, dirt back roads, urinating men, charcoal sale stands, chicken cages, and small market grocery stands. My most memorable walking companions are the poof of smoke that inevitably bellows in my face as I walk by some truck or large bus, and the sorry mentally ill gentleman who I encounter two blocks from my apartment gate with half-a-head of dreads as he compulsively scratches the other half. I also walk back home, usually at a more leisurely pace and stopping to by avocado, tomatoes, cilantro or eggplant. That is my working day.
Of course, I have a favorite café; I will write about "the Mug" later. I will also surely dish on many other things in the coming weeks.