Friday, March 28, 2014

Through the Looking Glass

OK, so I swore I wouldn't use the obvious title Through the Looking Glass because it's SO obvious and cliche'.  Obviously, tonight, I'm Mr. Cliche'.

Lewis Carroll wrote of glorious and unusual adventures through the eyes of Alice, the girl who chased the rabbit.

I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then .

I wonder if this quote will be true when I hand off Glass in just over a week?  I also wonder if this is true of the technology we have and how we should view this.  Imagine life without a cell phone . . . or your smartphone.  Have these tools begun to define a generation or the society in which we live?  How would Alice have have reacted if the world she was transported into involved mad people talking into thin air having a conversation with someone miles away?  Lewis Carroll loved his camera, how would he react to a person walking around with one on his head?  

In our world, the one in which we walk around in every day, there are spectacular wonders popping up all over the place.  On more than one occasion at the WISN conference I heard whisperings as I walked by about " . . . that guy with Google Glass."  It's hard to imagine after the countless number of conversations I had with students and adults over the past two days that a year from now this device could become as common as . . . the iPhone.  Amazing when it first came out but now another bleep and bloop in an increasingly competitive world.  

Some highlights from my trip through the Glass.


Sitting in a session.


Presenting a session.


Jimmy John's is fast making subs but not as fast as the employee that asked about Glass and then tried them on.  Wonder what he's talking about tonight.


Waiting for my ride in a parking lot off Hwy. 51.  No snow!  It's exciting to me; there's 4 feet at home on the ground.



By far and large my favorite part.  I believe a standing ovation is reserved for only the most special and spectacular performances.  I don't cave into peer pressure and stand for everything.  I gladly stood and smiled as this outstanding group of children wowed the entire room.

So, onto my deep thoughts for the conference.  To start, what a wonderful group of dedicated people. 

 I thought about things I'd never thought before
Things I'd thought before I thought again
The thoughts I thought were good thoughts needed rethinking
I think some thoughts more thoughtfully
I thought with thinkers

Recharge, refresh, relax, retain.  Good conference.

Back to Glass.

I've taken to the habit of removing Glass and hooking it into my shirt collar when I enter the restroom.  Even then I opt for the confinement of the stall so I don't make people nervous.  Something to think about if these become part of education.  How much do we trust students?  We don't make them leave cell phones outside the facilities.  (BTW I always choose the private staff bathrooms at school)

Kids are ready for this.  They were excited, polite, interested and fascinated when I talked to them.  Adults were also excited, but not in the same way.  Adults seemed like it was neat and cool and were curious about it; kids were all about "This will be mine some day." and were comfortable in their amazement.

I guess I expected to see another pair of Glass at the conference.  I don't know why, but I was surprised that there wasn't more exposure to it from the crowd.  I may have to expand my test group to others in other districts.  It's begging to have a presentation at TIES regarding its use.  Time to hit up the other educators using it this spring to present with me.  Maybe it's going to be commercially available.  I predict that if 2014 is the year, Christmas is going to get slammed with it.

Be prepared for the onslaught of broken Glass posts as I enter spring break and relax with Glass.  

Well, as much as I ever relax.



2 comments:

  1. You have a really good point about how we look at Glass and should it be looked upon differently than cell phones? Cell phones have the same capabilities as Glass, yet we do not feel subconscious about walking in a bathroom with our cell phones. Of course, the obvious reason is that Glass is worn on our faces and cell phones can be concealed. However, I have felt weird about wearing out to the grocery store and other public place. I guess I need to push myself out of my comfort zone so I can see if there is a reaction or not.

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    1. Definitely push yourself. I live in a small community and always wear it out in public. Some of the greatest conversations I've had are with people just walking up to me and asking about it.

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