Entertaining Distractions

So I've run across a few fun videos on YouTube. Careful, these can really suck the hours out of your day!

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days


Straight No Chaser - The Lion Sleeps Tonight


To see more, look for mikado95's videos on Straight No Chaser. You can backorder their DVD. With all the orders, they won't be able to mail anything until January 21, 08, but I think it'll be worth it!

Then I found Terry Fator, ventriloquist and winner of America's Got Talent - and it's obvious why.

Here's Terry performing Unforgettable:

Part II - Illinois School Looks to Tech Tools to Teach

This relates to my previous blog about online courses, which you can read here.

I read Part II of this report this morning and here are some thoughts I have about it ...

Fear of Technology
It still sort of surprises me that educators are afraid of technology. However, in this article, they talked about using pbwiki or wikispaces.org as back-ups in case the school's site goes down. I can see that. It's nice to see that some folks realize there are other options. The whole point - to me - of online education is the flexibility. Students can learn whenever and wherever they can and want to.

Online Effectiveness
This got my attention a little bit too. Yes, the next generation of students is 24/7. And it's not just the M generation or the Y generation or any other generational label people want to attach to it. It's also for people who cannot - for whatever reason - physically get to class. Maybe the class they want to take is offered at a school across the country, or across the world. Or maybe someone is physically challenged to the point that transportation is difficult, or nearly impossible. Or maybe someone just prefers to be in the quiet of a space they choose to be in. There's something to be said for being evaluated based on ideas and merit in this online environment versus physical appearance and presence.

I look forward to your thoughts.