Blog Articles
Recently I took the Myers-Briggs test to determine the type of personality that I resembled. When I first took it, I thought it was trivial and did not see the real benefits although after I received a detailed description of my results, I quickly saw the importance. I also realized that it would be very helpful for my students to take this test so I can understand their personality and their style of learning. I can then better assess the best way to teach technology to reach each individual and when assessing their learning, I will know how they think and express themselves.If you are not familiar with the test, there are four separate categories for scoring the results.
My personality results were very interesting as noted in bold:
ENERGY FLOW: extrovert, introvert
GATHERING INFORMATION: sensing, intuition
DECISION MAKING: thinking, feeling
ORGANIZATION: plan, flexible
I am attending a two week teacher's training and with all of the speakers and seminars everyday, I am getting a good feeling of what it feels like to be a classroom student again. I am finding that if the speaker does not try to engage and draw me in within the first five minutes, I dismiss the lecture and spend the rest of the time trying to keep my mind focused on what is being presented. Those who walk around, use energy, and are expressive are much easier to listen to no matter what they are talking about. And if they use stories to teach, I'm hooked for most of the session and will even remember at least their stories the next day. Visual aids also are a huge factor. So far, everyone has used PowerPoints and most of them were made in the 90's with gaughty clip art and typical layouts, a major turnoff. Made me realize how much of an impact visual aids have and to make sure I use quality visuals that are unique. So far, I have found success with Prezi and After Effects but it is more time consuming. Although, Steve Jobs makes some good Keynotes when introducing a new product.
View the 
Since photography is one of my biggest hobbies and one of my side jobs that I focus on at my studio, 
Here at the ADE conference in Singapore my group (
Just finished the first day of five here in Singapore for the Distinguished Educator's Conference. The first night's speaker didn't even talk about technology, which surprised me. Instead, she talked about social culture and how we interact with each other. She had this phrase, "Yes, and." She explained that a lot of times when people talk, evaluate, and plan with each other, they don't listen to each other and use "Yes, but" statements. "Yes, and" is much more productive and supportive while getting things done. So as we work together in the conference we can apply the statement which will help the social culture. It reminded me that when I teach or train teachers, I shouldn't just jump right into the tech stuff but lay down foundations to make (tech) things go smoother in the end.
Understanding how search engines think can help you think critically when searching other areas. For example, today I decided to finally buy my summer plane tickets when we travel to see family. It is a complex flight (Seoul > Hawaii > Portland > Seattle > Dallas > Memphis > and back to Seoul). 
As I watched the ball drop in New York city on a TV at our vacation condo rental in Maui, Ryan Seacrest reminded the world that 2009 was year for Twitter, who won the "Breakout of the Year" by Webby Award. But then I checked and Twitter was first launched back in 2006 and the public finally "ate it up" last year. With all the hype Twitter has received, I was surprised to read an 
I have been waiting for three years for a rumored "G-Drive" from Google that would allow you an easy access storage space to upload and keep your files. I know you can do this indirectly through email but I wanted a file system style with folders for easy access and organization. Well, Google is now offering this 
Coming back from Christmas vacation back home in Hawaii, I have been arranging lesson plans as I begin a new segment into video in computer class. Searching for some good lip sync examples to motivate my students, I came across a couple of high schools (Shoreline and Shorecrest) next to each other in Wisconsin who have started a YouTube dual. Each school's video class planned, filmed, and edited a school video that included all of the high school students. After watching the videos, I could get a better sense of the school environment and students. I'm sure these videos will be treasured among the students in years to come as they look back at them at class reunions. Video is a great way to promote school spirit and archive memories; I just wish schools would do more of it. 
Today was a professional development day at our school and I was asked to lead an hour long session on Google tools. I had given a similar seminar a couple weeks ago for a room full of teachers and enjoyed sharing tips to make life more efficient with Google but also ideas on how to integrate Google into the classroom. My computer lab has 24 computers and iMacs which I thought would be efficient but teachers just kept coming and the final head count was 47. I did a quick run through of Google Search, Gmail, iGoogle, and Reader in the time I had. I like to go fast pace and give people glimpses of the tools so that they have to really use their minds to keep up with the presentation and also to convince them to dig into it on their own after watching my trailer. Here are the slides with the screencasts embedded 
Over the past couple of weeks I have had students ask me to fill out college recommendation forms. I have so much respect for those rare students who have figured out my computer class and earned an A+. I would bet that 90% of those students will become successful. It is rare for a "book-smart" student to get an A+ because I assess more creative and practical thinking skills in my assessments which are project-based. Usually my street smart students excel. Anyways, I was looking at various college fairs coming up for the seniors and my eyes popped out when I read about the 
Had a couple of teachers ask me over the week what is the best tool to convert their PDF to a Word document. Most start with a Google search and the first hit is www.pdftoword.com. This one is a gymic. You supposedly upload your pdf and put in your email for them to send it to you but it never comes. I'm sure they sell your email to online marketers. The second hit is 
Posterous 
As a computer teacher, sometimes the last thing I think about is the English side of the lesson. Although, I need to focus more on it, especially since I teach a wide-range of international students. Since my wife teaches English at the university, she reminds me of the importance of English instruction in my lessons. I often assume the students understand the content and vocabulary of my lessons, but in computer, students often don't grasp the technical jargon. Today I was surfing a Twitter group and discovered 
I was reading an old issue of Tech & Learning magazine from my 
Signed up and going to the Apple Education Summer Institute here in Hawaii. There is so much knowledge out there to learn but how do you prove what you know? A teacher may have full knowledge of Final Cut Pro, great lessons, and high quality student work, but in today's world, you have to advertise and prove your ability or you may be deemed incompetent and get replaced in today's teacher cutback days. It is also important to prove to parents your skills.
I used 
If a school does not have the money, network, or knowledge to support Microsoft OneNote, there are other comparable open source options: 
I went to an educational technology conference over spring break and attended two seminars by a program developer from Microsoft. One of the things he showed us was advanced features in 
Over recent years, Adobe has been targeting schools and increasing the integration of the Adobe Suite into high schools. When I was teaching in Thailand, we had Photoshop and Illustrator, which I taught in a required desktop publishing course for 10th grade students. We also used Adobe to design a 300+ full-color yearbook. Most of the students adapted very quickly to Photoshop and Illustrator since it gave them an avenue to use their creative and think outside the box. I watched an motivating 
If you conduct a lot of research for classes that you are taking or teaching, I must suggest 
If you skipped over yesterday’s blog because you are already familiar with Delicioius bookmarks and are currently using it then how about 
Educators are constantly researching subject matter in preparation for the classroom. 
Over the weekend, I was helping my cousin out with her 
In 2003, I used a simple and free website creator, 
Last semester I participated in an online seminar sponsored by Sony, 
I am a huge fan of no textbook classes and saving the trees. All students have access to a computer. If needed, they can print at home, library, friend’s house, or even the school in most cases for a small fee. There are so many free open source resources that teachers can use that would replace textbooks and would not be outdated. Although, many teachers would be alarmed if they were told they would have to use their own curriculum for it would take a lot of research and time. Old fashion textbooks do allow a backbone for teachers although, some curriculum standards are too focused in simply completing the textbook instead of choosing effective and current content learning. 
I am currently working on producing an educational video on best practices in teaching for teachers that will be aired on cable television. Last week I shot video and photography for the content of the video and while shooting in multiple classrooms, I couldn’t help but notice that all of the teachers were using interactive smartboards in their lessons. Although the concept and interactivity with smartboards are cool, they are a pricey 1-5,000, which is a lot of money with tight education budgets these days. I had a conversation with another teacher and we both agreed that smarboards were overrated and teachers are not effectively using “old” technologies to their fullest potential to increase learning in the classroom. 
Today I was given our monthly newsletter from the state education department of Hawaii and the focus was Six Keys to Successful Parent Involvement. The first key was communication and highlighted Mililani High School in using Edline to communicate homework assignments, grades, school events, exam dates, and more. It is good to see more schools jumping on the bandwagon of online communication. I first started using 
I am a member and subscriber of The International Educator and received an e-mail from TIE Online yesterday:
I have found that online student portfolios are an effective tool in motivational learning. In my graphic design class in 2006, my students’ final project was to create an online portfolio using a simple and free webpage creator, 
I am currently taking an online training course this semester in teaching online from the Department of Education Hawaii. My current project was to create a lesson plan for an online marketing and technology course, which can be viewed on 
Internal web development in schools are more essential than ever. With web 2.0 tools, social networks, and blog developments, schools can improve student learning and present it on display for the world to see. After creating an school athletics page, I would like to take on a project of creating a student learning website.
Students like collages; I think it’s because they are able to express themselves using their own style in an open environment with less borders. Their minds are flooded with information, mostly influenced by the media, so they like outlets in order to express their tastes.