UnPlugd13: Fuel Your Passion

Who: Educators and their families
What: A summit for educators interested in making meaningful connections with colleagues while pursuing a wide range of creative and recreational pursuits.
When: August 5-8, 2013
Where: Northern Edge Algonquin
Why: Because we’re worth it!

Over four days and three nights, you will interact with kindred spirits who long to share stories and ideas amidst the natural splendor of Algonquin park.  You’ll be amazed at the meaningful connections you can make in an off-the-grid setting.

Whether your yearn to engage in rich conversation; to dive into uniquely Canadian recreation; or to dine on nutritious and delicious meals, you’re sure to find the unplugd13 experience to be rejuvenating in ways you’ve never imagined.

UnPlugd13 is limited to the first 40 participants, so if you are at all inclined to join us, visit the registration page while space is still available.

Learn More:
·       If you’re not yet familiar with the concept of learning and relaxing in an unplugged setting, consider visiting UnPlugd.ca, or review photos and reflections of recent participants.
·       Follow past participants via #unplugd11 or #unplugd12.
·       Feel free to connect with me via phone, email or video conference.
·       Join in on the pre-event conference call for registrants.

UnPlug'd Approaches...

In recent weeks and months, I've been thinking and creating with a terrific group of Canadian collaborators who are breathing life into a first-of-its-kind event. Very soon, we will be taking a collective pause from our virtual learning networks, in order to connect face-to-face, and to think deeply about what it means to be a teacher; learner; and change agent.

“If a teacher thinks in the forest, does he/she make a sound?”

A diverse collection of Canadian educators with experience that spans primary, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary classrooms, will answer that very question at ‘UnPlug’d: Canadian Education Summit’.

UnPlug’d delegates will gather amidst the concrete of downtown Toronto, before making their way to Northern Edge Algonquin, a retreat on the northwest corner of Algonquin Park. By the time the weekend is over, participants will have traveled by plane, train, bus, kayak, canoe, and mountain bike, all in order to connect with transparent learners who embrace opportunities to think, learn, and teach.

By unplugging from their highly networked personal and professional lives, participating Canadian change agents will:

- reflect on personal and professional learning while forging connections to the learning stories of other participants;
- share stories of small scale innovation with colleagues who are similarly engaged in discovering what matters most in teaching and learning;
- transform digital relationships through face-to-face encounters, strengthening the loose ties that bind us as networked Canadian educators;
- go deeper with ideas than might otherwise be possible, amidst the hush of a natural, purely Canadian setting;
- come to appreciate what it means to be a teacher and learner, in Canada, both today, and for tomorrow.


“But will it make a sound?”

A multitude of conversations, stories, and ideas will resonate from the UnPlug’d experience. The collective wisdom of the group will become evident through the digital release of “UnPlug’d: Why _________ Matters” which will follow on the heels of the summit. Throughout the days and weeks that follow, blog posts, audio reflections and multimedia pieces can be anticipated from particpating delegates.

To discover more about UnPlug’d and to meet the participants, visit www.unplugd.ca
To tour the venue we’ll be meeting at, visit www.algonquincanada.com
To receive UnPlug’d updates, follow @unplugdca
To learn from the delegates before and after they unplug, follow the group: http://twitter.com/#!/unplugdca/unplugd-2011

New iPhone eh!

It's official! The iPhone 3G is coming to Canada!

Earlier today, "It's a Small World" was used as the fanfare to announce that 70 countries will have unfettered access to the most coveted digital device on the planet.

This morning, Steve Jobs, members of his team, and a number of software developers introduced the new Apple iPhone 3G which runs on the faster 3G network. The mobile phone boasts a 3.5 inch display; built in camera; and embedded GPS technology. Jobs claims that the battery power would provide 5 hours of talk time; 5-6 hours of browsing at high speed; 7 hours of video; or 24 hours of audio.

No more pretending... the iPhone is one powerful computer! Courtesy of the shared Software Development Kit made available only a few short months ago, a number of new tools will soon be available via the iPhone App Store at prices set by the developers (starting at 'free'). A few of the highlighted applications capitalize on the read/write web and are surely just the tip of the iceberg:

The Office Hub: MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and the iWork apps will be viewable. Mobile Me promises to synchronize information on a number of disparate devices as dot-Mac is re-tooled to harness this handheld.

Blog in Your Pocket: Typepad makes it simple to create blog posts including photos directly from your iPhone.

Global Reporting Device: While the idea of a cell phone equipped camera as a reporting device has been around for a while, the Associated Press has optimized the Mobile News Network for the iPhone. Your photos will know from where they've been taken, making it easier than ever to be an on-the-scene reporter!

Social Networking from your Palm: Loopt, a Twitter-like app has been created for keeping tabs on your contacts. The word may enter the lexicon as GPS is leveraged to plot networked buddies as pushpins on a map.

Live Sports Connection: Sports fans will appreciate “At Bat”, a tool created by www.MLB.com: Real time video highlights channeled to your phone minutes after the play!

Band on the Go: An innovative interactive application promises to turn the iPhone into a Music Machine. With 'Cow Music’ the touch sensitive screen will allow your iPhone to emulate a variety of musical instruments. You can create, save and edit music on the go!

Digital Game Machine: Sega, Pangea, Digital Legends, and other software companies will turn the iPhone into a handheld video gaming device. Titles like Cro-Mag Rally are only the beginning. I can see many advertisers porting (or licensing) free interactive games to the iPhone in order to engage eyeballs.

The Doctor's Brain: MIMvista is one of a few companies preparing to launch upwards of a dozen medical apps. Rich medical information will be available at a doctor's touch, with options to zoom, scroll, and measure. Thanks to an embedded accelerometer, images will even when you shake the phone.

Today's news is that the iPhone 3G is coming to Canada; Tomorrow we may even forget that it's a telephone!


Today's Teacher 2.0 Podcast provides an audio overview.

To capture your own highlights, check out the WWDC 2008 Keynote Presentation.

Photo Credit: Betacontinua

Five Reasons to Love a Loonie

* Note to the non-Canadian world: Loonie is the slang term for a one dollar Canadian coin.

1] When you have enough loonies in your automobile ashtray, you can be a big spender, splurging for a an 'iced cap' at Timmies;

2] A loonie will buy you a great song like 12:59 Lullaby by Bedouin Soundclash on iTunes;

3] You can spend a loonie in more places than you can spend Canadian Tire Money;

4] The loonie is cute enough to have a great nickname!

5] The loonie buys as much as an American dollar (at least today it does!);

Are there more great things about the loonie?