Last week Prepare Maine.org hosted a Gubernatorial Forum and our Nokomis Warrior Broadcasting students helped provide technical support for event. We had six students located at the high school who moderated a statewide backchannel with over 100 students and teachers from across the state. Two more students manned a tech support help line take calls on a laptop using Google Voice.
At the event in Bangor we had two students involved, one live blogged the event here:
I often get asked about Google Spreadsheets so I thought I'd make one with a few of the cooler things they can do built into it. The first step to share is how to give others a copy of your spreadsheet if you don't want to put it in the Template gallery.
First publish the link and copy the address.
Then put that link on your website and change the end of the spreadsheets address, replacing everything after the & with newcopy so,
I bring kids to conferences. It's something I've done for years and when they have an opportunity to have a conversations with educators like Angela Maiers and Vickie Davis at the Maine ACTEM conference I'm reminded of exactly why. The times when we as teachers are engaged in professional development are some of the best times to have the perspective of students around. It's also important for the kids. The most introspective I've ever seen students be about themselves as learners has come when they were away from the school building. I don't think it always has to be that way, but when they watch educators talk passionately about their craft, students start to see their role in this educational dance differently. They're no longer playing the game of school.
Here is a conversation my students had with Angela. The jump cuts you see occur in the interest of length and tact, hopefully none of the value has been lost in the editing.
Two comments that struck me were when the kids talked about "too much tech" I take this to heart. Since most of my interaction with students revolves around technology in some way, I think it's important to make sure technology is never an ends in itself. The other comment was that they thought the best teachers were those who could, "think as a student."
Another great conference from ACTEM this year. With keynote speakers like Vickie Davis and Angela Maiers how can you go wrong. The Maine Google Certified Teachers ran workshops presentations on Google tools at the Pre-Conference. I ran two sessions focused on using Google Apps for Education as an educational platform. The sessions were geared toward administrators, principals, superintendents and tech directors who were ready to implement Google Apps for Ed in their schools.
One thing about the sessions that really encouraged me was how much of the conversation revolved around developing an new educational culture in a school or district rather than just worrying about the technical nuts and bolts of implementation. It's not that those questions didn't come up, but the discussion generally would tie in the difficulties of transitioning from a top down teacher driven education to a student driven one, and how technology can aid and encourage that transformation. If technology is the natural medium for change, we should be able to use it to help guide the educational changes we hope to see for our kids.
The 2010 school year has begun for us here in central Maine and like most years I'm often asked, "There's so much new technology stuff out there and it changes so fast, where do I even start?" I thought about it, and decided to respond to the question this way, if I was going to offer this as a course for new educators about how they could get started, this would be the makings of a syllabus.
Mental shift #1
First and foremost we must accept that as soon as this post is published (August 2010) it is out of date. The world of technology in education is moving too fast. There is no simple way to keep up with the pace of change and the first lesson is to be ok with that. If we are truly in a continual state of learning, then this change is welcome. I don't believe that it's really anything new, what's different is the speed and how pervasive the changes technology offers are.
The goal then, is not to read this post and be done, but rather to use it to develop techniques to manage the incoming information streams, build a group of like minded people available to help you and know how to find the rest.
If you're looking for additional rationale one of the first books that encapsulated this change was The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. (Ok, break away here and go read the book or you can download the free audio book. It's 27 hours long, but if you're into Spark Notes watch his 6 minute synopsis here.) Another important realization is how pertinent this is for our students. They will never known a world without this kind of access or easy communication. If the education system is not addressing directly, then students are probably left to figure it out on their own.
Click here and you can see more closely see how quickly the numbers reflect what's happening in social media, just since you've started reading this post.
Also check out this presentation by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. It's worth noting that this video was published in 2007 and the numbers are updated here (I just prefer this version) and it's also worth reading the story behind the creation here.
Mental Shift #2
Question from the back of the class: "Mr. Kelley, how is the technology integration different from all those other changes in education that happen every few years, good teaching is still good teaching, right?" Fair question and yes, nothing is so trendy as education. Every few years there is new vocabulary or a system in education that's going to change everything. Not sure what to call it? Go to the Educational Jargon Generator. The difference, I believe, is the state of the world and technology has become medium for better education. It has to be:
Ok, back to our checklist,
1) Manage streams of incoming information.
2) Find others to learn from.
3) Learn techniques to find the rest.
1) In discussing incoming information Clay Shirky says it best as, "It's not information overload, it's filter failure." (this from a 20min presentation explaining this statement.) The first tool I suggest teachers start with is a new Google Account. Basically because with one login, you can assess dozens of free services. Now, each of these has an equivalent if you already have accounts elsewhere or don't want to use Google. But, for a single login, Google's it. With this account you can start having different streams of information come to the same place so instead of five places to check, you have one or two. (I go into more detail about his here.)
Choose a login name carefully. As you build your online persona, you will become known as your account name, whether it's your real name or one you made up. You may want to use your real name as I did. Most accounts that I have online use kernkelley as my user name, if however you have a name commonly found or don't feel comfortable using your real name, make up something professional that you'll still like in the future.
Most of us are comfortable in email and have been using it for some time, so with your new Gmail (or Yahoo or Hotmail) it doesn't really matter the brand, the shift is that it's a web-based service, rather than locally on your machine. This means none of it lives on your own computer, and you can login to it from any computer or phone with Internet access.
Mental shift #3
Your digital 'stuff' is not on your computer anymore. This is a huge technological change that has occurred over the last few years. With more and more services being provided over the web it changes what we can do. Think of your bank account, most likely you have a way to access your bank account online. Even if you don't use this service, the account is still there. You can get to it from any computer that has internet access. Does this mean that all the programs on your computer are obsolete? Not yet, there are still some programs that don't work well online yet, (but they're always improving) and there's still the matter of access, but in my opinion both of these problems are being worked on, it's just a matter of time.
2)Who's out there. The good news is there are a lot of people looking for the same information you and and would love to connect and learn with you. Here is a webpage that pulls together about 10 different blogs of educational / technology thinkers. It's not 'the' list, it's just a place to start. Also, there's Lisa Thumann's list of 25 Ed Tech Leaders you may want to check out.
Finally join some of the existing online educational communities like www.classroom20.com, www.edutopia.org or www.learncentral.org These can be a little overwhelming at first because there are so many people and topics, but find something you are interested in and go for it. Once you start recognizing names and see who they recommend and you're ready to build your own list. Login to your Google Account and open Google Reader. Google reader is "a tool for gathering, reading, and sharing all the interesting blogs and websites you read on the web." For more help setting up your reader, watch this:
You can start with this list of 10 educational blogs I recommend or if you're looking for an educational blog about a specific subject or grade level, a another resource is: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers. So go ahead and start creating your own blogroll.
Another tool for a different kind of communication is Twitter. Sometime called 'microblogging' it's basically a site for very short messages that you can easily connect with educators from across the spectrum. Going through the process of knowing who to follow and receive their comments can be daunting as well, so a good place to start is an existing list, like this one by Lucy Gray which focuses on educators. As she puts it, "A list intended for people getting started with Twitter. A little bit of everything in this list!" You can check out the messages by those on the list to get an idea of what this community is about.
3)How do I find out the rest of what I'm missing? This is a tough one, because you don't know, what you don't know. The good news is now that you've built a structure for information to come to you and ways to engage with others who are interested in similar topics. The next step is to dive right in! Because technology is in a constant state of change, there's on perfect time to get started except right now. Maybe start with Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind (or the audio synopsis here) or subscribe to a few educational podcasts found at www.edtechtalk.com, check out the K12 Online Conference for ideas and help, or check out my recommendations for further reading.
Last week I was in London meeting some terrific people at the Google Teacher Academy U.K. It was the first international GTA and I think it went even better than expected. The response was overwhelming and everything that I've read has been very positive.
My biggest take away from the experience is based on a conversation I had with Mark Allen, one of the newly 'minted' GCTs. Specifically it had to do with the network that was being built in the room and it's relation to the knowledge that was being transferred .
Everyone there was learning from everyone else as always seems to happen when a group of Edu-geeks get together and I thought about this in terms of the hours saved by educators not having to start from scratch. It's not that the topics covered were unfamiliar, it's that now, every mistake one of us makes, provides an opportunity for so many others to learn from. In education the scarcest resource isn't money or technology, it's time. And that's what the network provides, little bits of time here and there by learning from other's mistakes so you don't have to repeat them.
A week ago I was asked to talk with a group of educators in northern California at the Krause Center for Innovation and the program: Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology (MERIT) with Rushton Hurley. The focus of my talk was the ownership of student work and how we can design an assessment system that has students take more control of their work, rather than feeling like it just comes from a teacher.
I had the privilege of working with some terrific people this week at the ASCD Conference in Dallas Texas. Working with the other November Learning presenters and participants was a ton of fun and I look forward to continuing the conversations online!
The Apple iPad just came out which I imagine will be followed by a bevy of tablet clones all with their own bells and whistles. My educational interest in these devices pertains to what they can offer our kids differently than what we already have. We have laptops, netbooks and the iPod Touch. What does a larger device with a touch interface allow kids to do that they could not manage otherwise.
Case in point: Below is my two year old son. He's playing a memory game and having a great time doing it. Now, card memory games have been around forever, no big deal. But he would never have the manual dexterity (or patience) to play a 20 card memory game. Yet, he does have the ability, as seen with my iPod Touch (and as much a surprise to me as anyone.)
You are cordially invited to the 7th Bi-Annual Student Technology Showcase. Located in Newport at the Sebasticook Valley Middle School on Saturday, January 16th. This event features the technology projects of fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade students from throughtout the year.
From 10:00 to 1:30 please tour the school and experiment with many of the technological tools our students use every day. Watch digital animated movies, view galleries of skateboards and hand built artwork, see a computer lab custom built by students, try your hand at anchoring in our News Studio, assemble and program robots, scan through student blogs, wikis and web portfolios, or take a virtual tour of the school.
If you are unable to attend physically, please consider attending virtually. You can use Skype in and get a personal live tour of the events going on during the showcase. The Skype name is studentshowcase and you can sign up here: http://tinyurl.com/ststour
The awards ceremony begins at 1:30 where participants can win prizes of iPod Touches or a MacBook. Please come and see the work of some amazing students! If you have any questions or want more information, please check out the website: www.studentshowcase.org or contact Kern Kelley at kkelley@rsu19.org / 368-4592.
Hope to see you there!
For an additional viewpoint, please check our Cheryl Oakes' blog post from last year's event:
For Christmas, my family swaps gifts that we make for each other. We draw names from a hat the year before and even the youngest toddler is in the mix. Everyone participates, everyone creates something and everyone loves it. (My brother Keith usually out does us all with some ridiculous computer he builds for one of the kids ;)
This year, I helped my four year old son create this one minute video as his gift to his five year old cousin Liz. He wrote the story, painted the pictures and then I recorded his narration. I built what is basically a moving slideshow. The final step was to put it on StoryKit on her iPod Touch. Here's the iPhone version.
Unmitigated cuteness aside, I've thought a lot about the educational process that went on here.
How fun it was for him, even though it could have been perceived by him as an 'assignment.'
How much the public presentation of the video influenced the work.
What he learned about story telling and the writing process.
Now granted, Dad had a heavy hand with the technological parts of the gift, but the images and words were all his.
Every year the iPod is one of the most popular holiday gifts out there and I'm sure this season will be no different. Especially since the new iPod Nano has a built in video camera and my personal favorite there's the iPod Touch. The issue is that the newer iPod's need iTunes 9 to work. iTunes 9 needs Safari 4 to work, however if you download Safari you get version 4.0.4 which only works on OSX 10.5.8, and the MLTI MacBooks have 10.5.7
Confused yet?
All you have to know is this:
DO NOTupdate the OS to 10.5.8 it will brick your laptop.
For the recent K12 Online Conference, I did a session on the iPod Touch in the Classroom. Now that it has been published, I can blog here with the link for the supporting documentation: tinyurl.com/itouchineducation and below I strung the videos together using Prezi. I've been wanting to try Prezi out and this was a good reason to do so. (Also for those who watched the video on the K12 site, there's an additional 'easter egg' at the end.)
One of the highlights of the Google Teacher Academy is Ronald Ho's run through of hidden features in Google Spreadsheets. On the plane home I was thinking about how some of the gadgets he shared and how I could use them with my teachers. Here's a few I came up with.
The first is way for teachers to create a Flashcard gadget they can post on their site or blog. What excited one of my teachers specifically was the ability for her to create different sets of terms for different unit and put them on different spreadsheet tabs. That way, she only needs to alter the range (where the gadget pulls the list from) and her site is updated with flashcards for the next unit.
Next is a template for Book Entry. We have a requirement that students must read 25 books a year and the management of recording all that data can become overwhelming. This Booklist Template uses a Form to enter the information, and dates, counts and creates a graph of the data. Not the coolest use of a gadget, but useful. (BTW I went with the BookWorm in the Bars of Stuff Gadget, but I really wish they would have some more educational oriented images like books, apples or school buses. I think it would get used a lot more.)
Finally, a teacher was making a Word Find for elementary students. She wanted a holiday theme, so we put three words in the spreadsheet, (holiday, tree, ornament) used the Magic Fill for the rest (explanation here) and we had a list of 20 holiday themed words. Insert the Word Find gadget that pulls from the list and wahlah you have a Word Find to print or embed in a webpage. I did remind her that this pure unadulterated busy work but if the time she saved in making it translates into something more educationally meaningful, then I was all for it.
At the recent Maine Google Workshop for Educators I promised to post how my district R.S.U. #19 is using Google Apps for Education (G.A.E.) from a long term managerial perspective. We are using Apps for our student's electronic portfolios as well as expansive communication throughout the district. The structure of our district is 5 buildings PreK - 4, two 5 - 8, one PreK - 8 and a 9 - 12 high school. We have under 3,000 students district wide.
Why Google? Rather than revisit this, please see my previous post and presentation I will be giving to the state superintendents with my students on the topic.
We created a separate domain for each grade level. Because the settings in a G.A.E. domain are the same throughout, we opted to currently do not have granular controls on settings, this way one domains settings apply to a single grade level, which may look different from a 1st grade to a 7th grade.
Naming Conventions
We have students choose an avatar (a nickname) to use for their account. Most students are familiar with the concept of creating an avatar for Club Penguin or Runescape. We have students create an name that will be their online presence until 8th grade (more on that later.) There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I want students to appreciate the importance of selecting a name online that portrays an image that they are comfortable with later on. Invariably I have students who in 5th grade chose something like Fuzzy Bunny and by 7th grade want to change it. The purpose is so they understand when they apply for that job or college interview and the interviewer asks for an email address to reach them they're not using hotgrrl53@yahoo.com or something equally unprofessional.
Here are the rules we use for student avatars.
1) Nothing that relates to or stems from a students real name.
2) No copyrighted names. I want these to be the students, not simply their favorite cartoon character of the day.
3) Not an avatar name they've used elsewhere.
3) No numbers (the reason why below.)
What they can use to create their avatar names:
Colors, animals, foods, nature, sports.
We follow the name selected with a number with district and year of graduation. This makes it easier for us to sort later on by grade level, and assures the student will be able to get the name in 8th Grade.
Pre-K through 4th Grade
Of course at the younger grades of course the teachers play a greater part in helping students digitizing their work, but as a platform for teachers to use for staff work and collaboration.
5th and 6th Grade
Students at these grade are far more involved and with each G.A.E. domain, student collaborate on work and hand in assignments to their teachers. It's also important to note that all the students in a grade level are within the same domain, this means that students work collaboratively on projects across the district. Last year, students work together in groups and the stipulation we told the kids was that the other kids in your group cannot be in the same room. We're developing a similar project, but the groups cannot be in the same school.
7th Grade
Since all students and teachers have 1 to 1 laptops, that raises the bar as to what can be expected. The 7th Grade is in a domain, but the expectation is working toward paperless classrooms. The best way to understand how this works is to see it in action. The classes in our district that have embraced it fully are so fun to watch. The best part, the students have no idea that it could be different. "Of course we hand in work this way Mr. Kelley, how else would you do it?" Reminds me of the saying, "How do you explain water to a fish?"
Side Bar: It's important that the onus of the digitization of work ultimately falls upon the students. The teachers are expected to score the results, but the students are responsible on converting, uploading, or whatever needs to be done to get the work there. The students are in charge of their work. They have to be. That doesn't mean that every student jumps on board initially just because they're using a computer. The reality is, if they are allowed to get away with the excuse. "the computer ate my homework," then they'll use it. But if the understanding up front is that they have to develop ways to manage they're own work, that's a life lesson we all need. Back up often.
Eighth Grade
Here it gets interesting. Eighth grade starts with the work of creating individual Google accounts outside of domains with students and transfer their work from the existing domain to the new account. This is a good time for portfolio weeding as the digital portfolio was never meant to be a 'glut' folder of everything. This can be a time for students to manage what stays and what goes. Remember, no real names, no scores and permission slips.
There are a couple reasons we go from the G.A.E. domain to individual accounts.
1) Portability. A portfolio's got to be web based now. The idea of handing out a Powerpoint on a CD isn't going to cut it. Traditionally the work a student creates in school, stays there when they leave. I think it's important for students to realize what they've learned is worth taking with them.
2) More features. A full account has a ton more services available to the students than a Google Apps.
As for Google Account creation, there are a couple important things to know before you dive in. Since we presently use First Class for our student email, that is the address used as a second account. This technically gives us a 'back door' into the account if something dramatic occurs and we have to take action. At the same time, because we are not going to maintain a students First Class account once they've graduated, we release our way in once they graduate.
9th & 10th Grade
Portfolio building time.
11th Grade
Student manages their portfolio. At this point a student probably has a good idea of what career path they're interested in pursuing. If it's the arts, then they can focus the portfolio on the arts, if science, then they can splash their best science work on the front. They can customize and focus their portfolio.
12th Grade
For a few years now, R.S.U. #19 has gifted every graduating senior with their own domain name. Something like, www.nathanielrhowe.com This is the first time we have linked the students real name with their virtual one. When my students go to a job or college interview, they can give their website as their 21st century business card.
Last week I was honored to be invited to the Breakthrough Learning Conference the Googleplex in Mountain View. This event brought together some of the brightest and most influential minds about education out there, and put them together at one place and time. (Check out the list of attendees here.) One of the recurring themes throughout the event seemed to be, "Let's really make something happen here." with some discussion about it being a sprint or marathon to substantive change in the education system. I felt that an important aspect was this conference was bringing together top players from all the sectors, education, tech companies, philanthropic organizations, etc. Of course we all have a vested interest in the outcome of a quality education system. One thing that came up was the question of, if it's too late. John Merrow stated it clearly which Mike Lawrence tweeted here:
And regardless if you feel that way, the change is imminent. Building off of this, I see this momentum as the perfect opportunity to conduct the practices that we've always wanted. If technology is the medium in which teachers feel comfortable sitting beside their students and learning with them, then fine. There's no better way to learn a topic than to have to teach it to others. And where teachers may no feel comfortable learning beside their students on algebra or reading, they usually have no problem having a student show them how to post to a blog. If you are not a learner, then you are not a teacher. Since this 'tech stuff' is the latest wave, we should use it as the medium to change the learning for the better. If I had been given the power to give out an actionable item to the group, it would be go to the source. Start bottom up with students as mentors for the adults in their lives. When the onus of their education is put on them, they will respond.
Side Note: One of the highlights of the trip (and the envy of my 4 year old) had to be seeing Grover.
Recently I was in a conversation with Richard Byrne and my Tech Director and she was teasing me that I should read Richard's blog more often, I might find more tools out there than Google. It was all in fun, but it got me thinking, exactly, why do I default to Google tools when asked? I thought that articulating my rationale would be beneficial. There's always the concern that someone might think I suggest a service because I like the brand rather than its worth. It's important that my staff realizes that I've looked at all the choices out there and pick what I think is the best fit for them. So here goes,
Reason One - With a single login, teachers have access to dozens of free services. I include a list that shows the Google service and its equivalent. I didn't include every one, but you get the idea. Arguably there are some on the right that are better than those from Google and there are many more that cannot appear on the left, (Animoto, VoiceThread, Prezi to name a few) but you get the idea. Most educators don't want 25 sets of logins and passwords.
Google ToolEquivalent
Google Search Yahoo (now Bing) / Ask
Gmail Yahoo / Hotmail
Google Docs Zoho
Google Calendar Calendar.yahoo.com
Bookmarks Delicious
Blogger WordPress, Edublogs.org
YouTube Vimeo, Blip.tv
Analytics GetClicky.com
Google Maps MapQuest
Google Earth Microsoft.com/Virtualearth
Sketchup Blender.org
Google Groups Freeforums.org
Image Search Picsearch.com
Sites Wikispaces, PBWorks, Wetpaint
Reader Bloglines, Netvibes
Talk / Video Skype
Translate Babelfish
Picasa Flickr / iPhoto
Reason Two - Google's not going anywhere. Last year I wrote a post "Is your Web 2.0 Recession Proof." There are many web 2.0 services that I love to use with the implicate understanding that they can go away for finicial, legal or no reason at all and the time and energy I put into that service is gone. Now, I'm comfortable with that possibility, but that would make many of my staff nervous. I can envision the conversation, "You mean all my stuff is just . . . gone?" So, while I'll push certain sites for projects, I never want a teacher's year long tech project work to appear on TechCrunch's Deadpool list. When was the last time you asked yourself, I don't think I should use Apple products, because they might 'go away.' Here's a brand comparison between Google, Microsoft and others. To be fair, Google has discontinued services too (Lively and Notebook come to mind) but I don't think the core services are going anywhere.
Reason Three - It's good stuff. Almost all services are free, and are good. Gmail, for instance, I almost forgot to include it in my list because I take Gmail so much for granted as the hub of most of my communication. (Probably what Google Wave will become.) And as Google focuses more on providing resources for educatoin we all benefit.
The Flip Side.
There are two major arguements against a move to Google tools beyond simply having accounts strewn all over the web. First, the continued fear of putting data in the cloud and second, having all of ones data stored with a single company.
Arguement One - I don't want my data in the cloud. Usually when people express concern about having their stuff online I ask them if they've ever bought anything, done banking, or paid their taxes online? They have probably put a lot of information out there. It continuely surprises me at the personal details found on the average Facebook page. If there's still a question as to the legitimacy of moving online, just look at Microsoft's push with Office 10.
Arguement Two - But all my stuff is in one place. There's the concern that if I put all my data in one place it's like putting all my eggs in one basket. This is true, yet one of the reasons for using a computer is the relative ease it is to backup in multiple places (with a service like Mozy for instance.) The problem is that most people don't do it. How many times have I had someone ask me to help them retrieve lost data. I think it's important to recognize what a company having all the information might look like. To see what's possible check out the Googlezon video.
Overall, as the web becomes more like the OS, much of this will be taken for granted. The access, the security questions. It's really just a matter of time.
This quote pretty much sums up how most of us feel the first time we see augmented reality in. If you are wondering what it is, ReadWriteWeb has a great post explaining it while keeping it in perspective of it's importance in relationship to other new technologies. There's even a cool graph of tech-hype vs long term usefulness:
I had the chance to show AR in action to a number of new Google Certified Teachers at the latest GTA in Boulder, Colorado. While it is as cool and magical as it seems, (Wes Fryer said it reminded him of being on the Jedi Counsel in Star Wars.)
Then, create a 3D model or download one from the 3D Model Warehouse. Note: The smoothness is dependant on the speed of your computer, so I'd start with a model without a ton of detail. Like this.
Go to the AR-Plugin page and download the 30sec trial.
Then download and print the marker needed to display the object.
Copy the plugin into the plugin folder in Sketchup. The locations will be dependant on your computer, but here are the MAC and PC user guides.
Turn on your webcam, load a model, click on the AR icon, and let the amazement begin.
The second question to be asked after, "How did you do that!" is, "How can I use this in the classroom?" And like most technologies, it depends on your age level and purpose. All levels will react to how cool it is initially, but like more new technologies, by the 3rd time they've seen it the novelity has worn off. This is how we use it my district. All of our 8th graders build projects for their Integrated Technology class and make Sketchup prototypes of their items before construction can start. This is a way for students to 'hold' the item in their hand and turn it around and see if their model reflects what they were trying to create.
I like to give myself a couple days after a Google Teacher Academy to collect my thoughts. First of all, once again, Google and the CUE team did a tremendous job. The day was fun, educational and in a word, 'Googley'. All the presenters and participants were such an exergizing group to work with, I can't wait to see them again online for more converstion and collaboration.
One of my favorite memories was getting to show Scott Green (the self described 'principal' of the Google office) the augmented reality plugin for Google Sketchup. He hadn't seen it yet and agreed it was very cool. I wonder if it will influence anything in Sketchup's development going forward.
Once home my four year son asked, "Dad, did you bring me something from Google?" Since my previous GTA trips he's become accustomed to getting primary colored pens, notpads and yo-yos when I return. This time I gave him a chocolate bar with the Google logo embossed in it. He grinned and took a large bite. Then he asked, "Is this what Google tastes like?" All I could think to say was, "Um, in a way, yeah, it's that good."
Last week I was in London meeting some terrific people at the 
