To Tweet Or Not To Tweet?

I know that Twitter is a great way to share ideas and when I do go to my Twitter page I’m never disappointed by the people I follow. BUT ….. I’m still not using it as I should. I’ve just seen the news that Ivy Bean has died at the age of 104 years. Apparently Ivy was the oldest ‘Tweeter’ in the UK with over 56,000 followers – impressive. She was also an avid Facebook user with over 5,000 followers. When Ivy was born in 1906 it would still have been another 7 years before the first national telephone network was established.

Marc Prensky talks about ‘Digital Natives’& ‘Digital Immigrants’   -

Today’s students represent the first generations to grow up with this new technology. They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using  computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age.

But Digital Immigrants typically have very little appreciation for these new skills that the Natives have acquired and perfected through years of interaction and practice. These skills are almost totally foreign to the Immigrants, who themselves learned – and so choose to teach – slowly, step-by-step, one thing at a time, individually, and above all, seriously.

Where does that put Ivy? A  digital immigrant keen to embrace the world of her younger digital natives ……. and me, someone who prides himself on using technology …. in terms of ‘Twitter’ I’m much closer to the digital immigrant divide.

What Have You Learnt Today?

What have you learnt today? How do you keep your mental saw sharp?

Two lumberjacks were in a contest to see who could cut down the most trees in a day. One of the contestants was determined to win. As he worked he listened to his competitor – at the end of the first hour he heard him stop sawing, everything was quiet for 10 minutes and then the sawing started up again. This happened every hour on the hour – his opponent would stop sawing for 10 minutes. This spurred him on and he worked non stop for the whole day. At the end of the day he was convinced he must have won, he hadn’t stopped sawing all day. Imagine his surprise when the final tally was made and he discovered he had lost. He asked his opponent how he had managed this when every hour he stopped for a 10 minute rest, the reply was, “I wasn’t stopping to rest, I was stopping to sharpen my saw.”

So, how often do you sharpen your saw & how do you do it? When I was working I would often ask this question of my fellow primary school head teachers – most of them would say that they did not have time.

My favourite ways of keeping my saw sharp were, and still are:

• Reading – I love reading and wandering around bookshops. I enjoy reading crime thrillers, science fiction, management books, books about leadership, about learning self-help books …….. My friends and colleagues thought I had strange tastes in reading! As I look at my bookshelves four of my favourite books stand out – ‘Slow’ by Carl Honore; ‘The Big Picture – Education Is Everyone’s Business’ by Dennis Littky; ‘Presentation Zen’ by Garr Reynolds; ‘Tribes’ by Seth Godin …… the list could go on.
• Listening to Podcasts – there are some great ones out there. One of the joys of being retired is being able to go on long walks listening to different podcasts on my iPod Touch. Some of my favourites at the moment – ‘The iPad Show’- I can’t wait to get my iPad;  ‘The Moth’ – a chance to listen to some great stories; ‘Twooting’ – how business use Twitter.
• Reading Some Great Blogs & Following Links – I love finding a great blog & then checking out the blogs that that person follows. A couple of my favourites – A Brave New World – Tania Sheko; ‘Presentation Zen’ – Garr Reynolds
• Watching Videos – I love using YouTube as a search engine – you never know what you are going to come across. For some truly inspirational videos try out ‘TED’ – my favourite video is by Sir Ken Robinson – ‘Schools Are Killiing Creativity’
• Reading Magazines – as well as my regular reads, which tend to be either writing mags or ones about technology, now and again I like to choose something that I would not normally pick up – just to check that I’m not missing something important.

As a head teacher I would often hear parents, at the end of the school day, say to their child, “So what have you learnt today?” When was the last time someone asked you that question? So what have you learnt today, this week, this month?

Latte or Cappuccino?

I have this vision of writers and other intellectuals using coffee shops to gather and develop their creativity. It worked for JK Rowling why shouldn’t it work for me? So far, over the last three weeks, I’ve been popping in to my local coffee shop a couple of times a week. I have my regular cup of coffee, take out my notebook and write. I must say that it’s very enjoyable. To date my jottings have been just that – I’ve not started that best-selling novel yet, but I’m enjoying myself.

I didn’t realise that coffee houses have been around for so long. Apparently the first one in Britain opened in 1650 in Oxford. During the 17th & 18th centuries there were more coffee shops in London than there are today. Did you know that ‘tipping’ started in these coffee houses? If people wanted better service and a good seat they would put money in a jar labelled ‘To Insure Prompt Service’. They were used a lot by artists, intellectuals, merchants, bankers and political activists. They were often called ‘penny universities’ – it was said that, in a coffee house,  a man could ‘pick up more useful knowledge than by applying himself to his books for a whole month’. A penny was the price of a coffee.

I’m not sure how many political activists or intellectuals are frequenting my coffee shop. While I am enjoying the activity I do get a little nervous in there. So far I’ve managed to make the coffee last about three quarters of an hour and then I’ve left. I’m not sure what the etiquette is for coffee shops and would be writers? How long should I stay before I buy another coffee? Should I be taking up the whole sofa? Should I explain to the owner what I’m doing? I find more and more that if I’ve got a question I can often find an answer through google! You would be surprised, or maybe not, just how many blogs and websites there are covering the thorny issue of ‘coffee shop etiquette’. Here are just a few of the suggested rules that I came across:

• Remember it is a business, it is someone’s livelihood, so buy something at least every hour.
• Tip well.
• Try not to be noisy – put your mobile on vibrate & cut out the start up noise on your computer.
• Take up only one chair (not the whole sofa!) and try & sit at the smallest table.

In other words try to be as inconspicuous as possible in the hope that no one will notice you are there. Not like the 18th century coffee houses which were often crowded, smelly, noisy, fiesty, smoke filled places of creativity.

One Of Those Days!

It’s been one of those days! I decided early on that it was going to be a ‘writing’ day. So, armed with a mug of tea, some chocolate biscuits, my computer and my notebook, I set off down the garden to my ‘Studio’, my place of inspiration and creativity – or, at least, that’s what I tell friends. At this point I feel I must pause and tell you a little about my ‘Studio’. My wife and friends, despite being told otherwise, will insist on calling it a shed. As the more discerning amongst you can see it is more than just a shed! It is my pride and joy. Built with my own fair hands it has a roof of cedar wood shingles, is fully insulated, including a double glazed window (another story for another day) and its own electricity supply. I was inspired to build it after reading a great book called, ‘Sheds’ by David Styles & Jeannie Styles. Enough about sheds, I digress, back to my day.

As I settled in my comfy armchair, surrounded by my books and various writing implements, I was ready to write. That’s where the problem began. I couldn’t decide what to write. Should I try and finish one of the two short stories that I started writing last week? I’ve not posted on my other blog for a while, should I start there? I recently read an interesting article about ‘flash fiction’, maybe I could have a go at that? Then there’s the new eMag that I’ve just subscribed to ‘Words With Jam’ – they had some interesting writing competitions I could try. At this point I made the fatal mistake of deciding to surf the web to find inspiration. Two hours and many visited blogs and websites later I wasn’t any closer to writing but I did find some great new blogs! One of the most interesting was ’73 Ways To Become A Better Writer’ by Mary Jaksch. Here are just a few of my favourites:

• Get the pen and fingers moving
• Read, think, read, write, ponder, write – and read some more (I’ve certainly done a lot of the reading, thinking & pondering today)
• Tell everyone “I’m a writer.”

At the end of the post she asks for further suggestions and the list has now grown to almost 100.

All in all an interesting day. What did I achieve? Well I had a great day seemingly doing nothing. However it was the reading and the pondering that helped me in the end because it prompted me to start a new blog – this one. My other blog is about education and learning in the 21st Century (up until a year ago I was a primary head teacher and I have been using my retirement, writing about what I was comfortable with.) This new blog is going to be about whatever comes into my days  and into my head. Let me know what you think.