You, as a techie, might have heard of Microsoft’s so-called Mojave Experiment, a new marketing campaign devised to increase adoption of Vista by Windows users.

Okay, so I watched some of the videos. For the record, I’m in no mood nor frame of mind to purchase Vista, so I watched these simply for curiosity.

One person seems amazed that you can search via some “fast search” technology. The example is pathetic: “You can type C.A.L.C. for calculator, and look, it launches… no need to know where it is on the computer.”

This is akin to going to the command line (in UNIX, not DOS) and typing:

open Calculator.app

after switching to the /Applications directory (again, my frame of reference is Mac OS X). I mean, the whole point of the GUI is to know where things are by representing them through icons.

While I use Quicksilver on the Mac this way, and I know others have used Spotlight to launch apps on the Mac, the very suggestion that this is an improvement by using this particular example is… lame. In other words, a better example would have been to find a misplaced file.

In quite a few examples, people tell us they had “no idea Vista could do this, or that.” What does this prove to us, now? Microsoft really missed the boat in communicating why folks should upgrade. Or was it just all that interference of bad press because no one could use their printers and other peripherals?

I mean, do new features matter when basic ones no longer work?

And lastly, this is marketing here, so, we cannot read too deeply into any of the “reactions” or “conversions” made on “hidden cameras.” But the suggestion is a powerful one. “Look ma, this Vista rocks. People can’t believe how fast and powerful it is.” Many of the videos still don’t do a good job at articulating “improvements.” All I heard were references to the look and the speed.

First, speed is unfair. Microsoft was likely using new hardware.

Second, by looks alone, yes, Vista is a triumph over XP, I agree. But a proper “experiment” would pit these folks with Vista, on their own machines, for a period of time. Some real… “usability” testing, if you would.

My guess is, folks would grow tired of the new look in the face of a poor user experience, just like the bloggers and reviewers did when they had their shot at communicating what was right and wrong with Vista.

As John Gruber points out, I bet the campaign will be successful. Maybe we’ll see some copy-cats comparing the Microsoft products with… Linux and/or Mac OS X.

This is a post I automatically imported from my blog at work. I’m trying a plugin that will pull-in the posts from that blog into this blog. We’ll see if I like it…

Today I worked with our leadership team (principals, directors, and superintendents) with an all-day professional development session on Digital Culture in their schools. I think it went well. 

We combined a number of things in the training, including use of the Promethean board, various online tools, while we explored a number of educational theories, including the building information on “21st Century Skills.” 

Taking leadership into the twenty-first century includes using some of the latest tools. We supplied principals with iPod Touch handheld devices for performing classroom observations looking at technology and twenty-first century skills. These and other assessment instruments will be used on the devices for the collection of data used in teacher evaluations.

In addition, these devices can be used with our PowerSchool student information system and Google Docs and Spreadsheets (Apps). It was a full, yet exciting day.

N.B.: the Wiki we used for this session is private, but I did throw some of the slides online to give folks an idea of what we covered

During our Blogging 2.0 class today, I plan on spending a few minutes talking/practicing RSS with the participants. Some of my favorite RSS readers are:

• NewsFire for Mac OS X
• NetNews Wire for Mac OS X
• Google Reader

Via Karen Richardson, I came across this list via the newly-redesigned del.icio.us website today.

50 Must-Read Up and Coming Blogs by Teachers. Yes, I was disappointed none of our teachers appeared among those in the list. Which, of course, is okay, really, because… well, let me explain.

First, there’s a lot of blogs there, but many of them are by folks who are passionate writers and communicators. A blogger doesn’t automatically have passion. I mean, many do, sure, but when you impose blogging onto someone, well, it’s not always going to naturally flow.

Second, you have to set your sights higher. Who is the intended audience? We set the bar low. Our blogs, in the largest possible way, were intended for parents. Some write for their students. But so many in the list are intended for a bigger, wider audience.

Third, where’s the incentive to help your peers? Yes, blogging has reached such a saturation point now that we have a subset of bloggers that are teachers. This is good. But some paradigm shift must happen, a so-called “tipping point” if you will, to encourage more educators to find a really solid reason to blog.

That would be, of course, to help others. And “why should I spend my time helping others by writing about my profession?” Well, as I shared with ITRTs recently, nothing in life is free. You take some out, i.e., get help online with lessons, tools, etc., but you also have to put some in. It’s only fair.

I believe when the value produced by a small number of educator-bloggers is seen/perceived as helpful and useful, then, and only then, will we see reciprocity by other educators to do the same.

Fourth, as leaders big or small, we should be pointing out some of the great examples found within a list like this one. While I think blogging with students has much untapped potential as a personal learning tool for any student as an ultimate productivity tool, I stand behind my own decision to start with teacher blogging in my district. I think the act of blogging is required to really understand its potential. Alongside that is an awareness and understanding that everyone isn’t naturally creative and profuse in their thoughts and words.

Nevertheless, we can all learn by reading. Here’s to the love of some new newsfeeds!

I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to this summer at NECC. Today, ISTE released a number of video screencasts and audio podcasts (with slides) on their website.

• NECC Podcasts
• NECC Video Casts