Jon Stewart has been a pretty consistent defender of teachers.
Peace (in the skewering),
Kevin
Category Archives: humor
The iAnthology Prompt: A Fake Awards Ceremony
This week, my friend Janet is host to our weekly writing prompt at our iAnthology writing space (where National Writing Project teachers hang out and write). She suggested we create fake acceptance speeches for awards. I decided to go the funny route, using Voki to accept an award for most blog posts in a single day (I do write a lot, I know).
Thanks, Janet, for the great prompt. And while I am not a big fan of Voki, it worked for what I wanted for this prompt.
Peace (in the words),
Kevin
Check This Out: A Computer-Created Movie Script
Have you heard about Cleverbot? It’s a computer program that answers questions and has a pretty advanced algorithm (for a machine). Sort of like Siri’s cousin but with more of an attitude. Filmmaker Chris Wilson used Cleverbot to create a script for a short movie, and then created this amazing (and funny) video.
Peace (in the share),
Kevin
The Blog Goes Temporarily Silent
A Bit of Humor: Habits of Ineffective Teachers
My Fake Commencement Speech: You’re All Hyperlinks Now!
Over at our National Writing Project iAnthology space, this week’s writing prompt (we write every week there) asks us to consider what we would say if we were giving a commencement speech. I decided to add a little humor, and cultural references, to mine even as I thought seriously about what I would say in that situation.
You can listen to my podcast of what I wrote, too.
Dear graduates
First of all, thank you for letting my holographic image speak to you today. I was busy elsewhere, and I figured, if Tupac could do it, so could I, right? You all know what I’m talking about. Your parents? Probably not. I suspect you learned about it from a friend on Twitter, or on Facebook, or through a txt msg telling you to chk ths lnk. If you don’t mind, I’d like you all to take out your cell phones right now and tweet a few lines from my speech. Use the hashtag “hesstilltalkingtous” so I can check it right now from home as my holographic self talks to you. Heck, I may even retweet you even as I am talking to you.
I was thinking about what kind of metaphor I could use for today’s speech. But the more I Googled “Commencement Speech,” the more I realized that all the good metaphors have been used up by the real famous people. I later had to go on eBay to bid on a few left-over metaphors, and this is what I got:
You’re all hyperlinks now.
I know that sounds odd, but think about it for a second. You’re moving into a world that is full of connections, whether it be global or local, and the more the Internet and wired world develops, the more it is apparent that the infrastructure of the Internet — the backbone of it all — is the hyperlink. One thought connected to another thought; one person connected to another person.
If it hadn’t already been taken, I might even pull out the quilt metaphor at this point. But, let’s face it: quilts are the past. Fiber optics is the now. The future? Who’s to say? But if we cast our lives in the role of a hyperlink, of ways to find similarities and differences between us in a cohesive package of intelligent links, then maybe understanding, compassion and development of ideas will be nurtured in us all.
Just think of what the Web would be without links. It would be a land of dead ends. It would be static pages that lead to nowhere, and would be difficult to find. It would be ideas set only in isolation. It would be horrible, don’t you think? So, I think we all need to give a little shout-out to Tim Berners-Lee, the main (but not only) visionary who understood in the early days of the Internet that linking ideas together would be a powerful way to use information.
So, what does it mean to be a hyperlink? It means you have an obligation to the world and it means you have a support system and it means that your ability to grow and prosper is unlimited. Still, don’t be hemmed in by my metaphors or my definitions. Break free of tradition as you see fit. The world is always a better place for the innovators, visionaries and those brave folks who saw something as it is and decided they would rather see something as it should be.
I see my holographic is shimmering a bit, so I want to wrap up by saying, it was a pleasure not being here today. If you lost track of my ideas because you were too busy playing Angry Birds beneath your gown, it’s OK. I’ll be sending you my link later.
Have a good life.
KH
Peace (in the talktalktalk),
Kevin
The Making-Fun-of-Standardized-Testing Video Playlist
Thank you, Video Amy (from Edutopia), for sharing out your collection of videos that poke fun at standardized testing. We’re in a little lull right now — we’re past the ELA state test and next week, we move into Math — but these videos lighten the mood a bit. I’ll be sharing this collection with my colleagues.
When I was doing my Boolean Squared comic, I had a storyline about testing in education, too. Here is one of the comics from that story.
Anyway, you have to find ways to laugh, right?
Peace (in the funny stuff),
Kevin
Google Tap (for when there are too many keys)
Just remember today’s date and have fun watching this …
And, as a bonus from Japan, this “re-imagining of Google Maps as an 8-bit system:
– Kevin
PS — see this entire list of Google Pranks.
Top Ten Things I Heard People Say About My Nerdy Book Club Sweatshirt
Yesterday was dress-down day at our school, where staff can dress casual and donate money into a fund to support families and staff of our school who might need a little extra help. Normally, I just wear jeans and a dress shirt. But yesterday, as we were about head into February break, I decided to put on my Nerdy Book Club sweatshirt. (For those not in the know, the Nerdy Book Club is an online collection of teachers, librarians, writers and others who like books. There is a blog website and a #nerdybookclub hashtag on Twitter. You can join, too. You just did. That’s how simple it is.)
I got a lot of interesting reactions to wearing the sweatshirt, which I had hoped would generate some conversation. Here are some of them — from students and colleagues.
- What books are they reading? They don’t really have titles.
- Nerdy Book Club? Where does that meet? In a library?
- That’s my husband… right …. there. (points to the Nerd in image)
- Let me get this straight. You’re all teachers. You love books. And yet, you are nerds? That’s so weird.
- Those kids look pretty happy on your shirt, Mr. H. Must be good books.
- I think my mom is part of that Nerdy Bookie Club. Or, she should be. She reads, like, all the time.
- Do Kindles count for your club?
- No offense, Mr. H, but I don’t think I’d want to be in that club. Sitting around, reading? No thanks.
- I get the nerd part. That’s you, Mr. H. But how do books fit into it?
- There’s a stain there, Mr. H. Looks like you spilled juice or something.
Peace (in the nerdiness),
Kevin
