Recently Gardner Campbell and I were tweeting about the myopic view that some public school officials have about the Internet. 

It’s amazing that in todays world there are school officials that don’t see the value in using the collaborative and experiential aspects of the Internet to create a more engaged and excited student.  In Henrico County  they provide Apple Macintosh laptops for all of the middle school students and Dell Laptops for the high school students. An amazing feat all on its own.  But then they hamper the students usage blocking the use of google search and they talk down (or outright ignore) the value of wikipedia. 

Back in February 2007 Wesley Fryer on the www.techlearning.com blog had this insight into schools blocking Google:

Working online without Google is analogous to someone trying to swim without using their arms and just kicking their feet. It may be possible, but you certainly won’t go very far or acquire the skills you’ll need to be proficient in the open water of the “real world” outside of the pool or the school.

It’s time to devise ways to elevate our students and make them net savvy.  Let’s work to create a more engaged student. Let them discover the value and fun of learning. Lets not put road blocks in their way. 

Let me know how your school district embraces or denies the reality of our modern world!

Technorati Tags: education, children, technology

Some people wonder all the time if they should be doing something better with their time.   A better job, a better relationship, a better hobby, a mission in life! Are you one of them or are you already in the zone or flow?

Walt Whitman described being in the zone this way:

“Well, every man has a religion;
has something in heaven or earth which he
will give up everything else for - something which
absorbs him - which may be regarded by others
as being useless - yet it is his dream, it is his lodestar,
it is his master. That, whatever it is seized
upon me, made me its servant, slave - induced
me to set aside the other ambitions - a
trail of glory in the heavens,
which I followed, followed with a full heart….
When once I am convinced, I never let go…”

If this passage resonates with you then you are one of the lucky ones.  You are operating in the flow and dare I say are inspired to do what you do!  You should know, if his words don’t resonate with you then you haven’t found that one special thing you need to devote your time, energy, passion and most of all your love to…

Fret not!  There is hope!  More than I year ago I was in what most people would call a very successful career. But I was unfulfilled.  My health was suffering, my relationships were suffering and I was flat out unhappy! Don’t get me wrong. I did a good job and was rewarded. But I dreaded going to work and came home tired and unable to recharge my energy. My kids thought I was a crump!

So I set out on a journey to discover what I should be doing. To find my passion, to get inspired, to be one with infinite capacity…  

The journey has only just begun, but alone the way I have already gotten my dream job and discovered my mission outside of work.  So when I first heard this passage by Walt Whitman, I knew instantly that it was written for me. It spoke to my head and heart. You see, most of my day at work and at home feels like flow. And the more I focus on that feeling, the more I operate in the zone. What I do every day is now my oxygen, my nutrient, my life blood!

I’ve started this blog, Vital Journey, to help inspire you to find your passions, to be in the flow, to be in the zone. I hope to teach, coach and outline some of what has worked for me.  I’ll try to make you laugh, sometimes make you cry and hopefully outline some of the steps that you can take to find your place!  And from time to time I’ll just complain about things as well.

As we take this journey together, let me know what’s working for you and what’s not. Let’s elevate each other, to be all that we can be and more!

Technorati Tags: inspiration, career, flow

Recently my oldest daughter and I had some time together warching youtube videos!  Once we starting watching clips from old Muppet shows we just could not stop.  This is one of our favorites with Statler and Waldorf. Their cynical and biting sense of humor always makes us smile.

Technorati Tags: fun, humor, muppets, comedy