As promised here is some of the video shot with my Canon T1i and Sigma 10x20mm.
Man I love Vimeo.
Leonards Leap from Nathan Grahek on Vimeo.
Man I love Vimeo.
Another Perfect Day in Osceola
The weather was perfect on Saturday and Erik was excited to show me Leonards new favorite game.
For some reason Leonard really likes jumping off the boat way more than jumping off the dock. This made it tuff to get back far enough - hence so many of the shots his head is out of frame. It does however give you a good sense of how fast he is going. I will post a couple videos of it later this week. I was literally hanging off the front of the boat dangling the camera out as far as I could. Next time I am going to try and be in a second boat - and have my back to the sun. Black Labs are always just big black shadows when shooting into the sun.
He likes jumping off so much - he gave us all a mini heart attack when we started driving again - Erik had the stick in his hand - Lenard just exploded over the rail off the FRONT of the pontoon. Luckily we were going slow and my Dad was quick to kill the throttle.
So far this is still one of my favorite shots of the summer, from Memorial weekend.
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| From Fishin and Dog Jumping |
For some reason Leonard really likes jumping off the boat way more than jumping off the dock. This made it tuff to get back far enough - hence so many of the shots his head is out of frame. It does however give you a good sense of how fast he is going. I will post a couple videos of it later this week. I was literally hanging off the front of the boat dangling the camera out as far as I could. Next time I am going to try and be in a second boat - and have my back to the sun. Black Labs are always just big black shadows when shooting into the sun.
He likes jumping off so much - he gave us all a mini heart attack when we started driving again - Erik had the stick in his hand - Lenard just exploded over the rail off the FRONT of the pontoon. Luckily we were going slow and my Dad was quick to kill the throttle.
So far this is still one of my favorite shots of the summer, from Memorial weekend.
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| From Memorial Day Weekend 09 |
Sunday Morning Bloody Mary's
Over the years a number of people have asked for the bloody recipe I use, and I have been meaning to put something like this together for a while.
In a nut shell - while I almost always stick to the same foundation - experimenting with different ingredients is what I enjoy most. Take a look at what I have so far, please leave your comments - and let me know some of your favorite ingredients.
In a nut shell - while I almost always stick to the same foundation - experimenting with different ingredients is what I enjoy most. Take a look at what I have so far, please leave your comments - and let me know some of your favorite ingredients.
A short list of my favorite IDOL bookmarks
To my fellow Capella - soon to be - graduates:
I will add more to this post in the following weeks as the dust settles and I bask in the great feeling of being done with my Masters. !!!
I completed the Training & Performance Improvement track, it was the perfect combination of depth with high-level macro scope. I was able to develop skills for identifying performance gaps, recommending the best solutions, and evaluating their impact ... (in a nut shell).
In doing some reflection on my integrative project, I am realizing that because I chose to develop an actual program, it allowed me to really focus in on my passion for IDOL, and explore the state of this specific industry. With the rapid advancement of technology combined with the current economy - there is (and will be) a huge rush to leveraging web based solutions. It will be important that we stand our ground and use what we have learned to make sure the RUSH to the online learning is done with responsibility and caution. As we all know e-learning is not a panacea.
I am especially interesting in this whole term and concept of "Rapid-elearning" Is this just an excuse to cut corners to increase volume and lower ID quality?
Enough already, here is my list of bookmarks to share:
Please reply back to this with your favorite bookmarks that you use.
I just found these today, they should offer plenty of good inspiration. Most of them are really well-done, but many are riddled with extraneous load distractions:
Rapid-elearning Examples made with Articulate
This is a great list of some of the best training and IDOL blogs all in one spot:
http://www.pageflakes.com/trainingblogs
http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/
http://c4lpt.co.uk/index.html
http://elearningcurve.blogspot.com/
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/
I will add more to this post in the following weeks as the dust settles and I bask in the great feeling of being done with my Masters. !!!
I completed the Training & Performance Improvement track, it was the perfect combination of depth with high-level macro scope. I was able to develop skills for identifying performance gaps, recommending the best solutions, and evaluating their impact ... (in a nut shell).
In doing some reflection on my integrative project, I am realizing that because I chose to develop an actual program, it allowed me to really focus in on my passion for IDOL, and explore the state of this specific industry. With the rapid advancement of technology combined with the current economy - there is (and will be) a huge rush to leveraging web based solutions. It will be important that we stand our ground and use what we have learned to make sure the RUSH to the online learning is done with responsibility and caution. As we all know e-learning is not a panacea.
I am especially interesting in this whole term and concept of "Rapid-elearning" Is this just an excuse to cut corners to increase volume and lower ID quality?
Enough already, here is my list of bookmarks to share:
Please reply back to this with your favorite bookmarks that you use.
I just found these today, they should offer plenty of good inspiration. Most of them are really well-done, but many are riddled with extraneous load distractions:
Rapid-elearning Examples made with Articulate
This is a great list of some of the best training and IDOL blogs all in one spot:
http://www.pageflakes.com/trainingblogs
http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/
http://c4lpt.co.uk/index.html
http://elearningcurve.blogspot.com/
http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/
Gates on Malaria and Education
You may have heard already, Bill Gates received a lot of press for a stunt he pulled at the TED conference last week - In an effort to get the attention of his audience and raise awareness about Malaria, he released a "swarm" of Mosquitoes. Despite being at what has quickly become THE conference to go to if you're rich, smart, or otherwise important - filled with the greatest minds in technology and other things - Gates spoke nothing of technology. Instead he methodically outlines two great problems his foundation is trying to help address. Malaria and Education.
I can clearly tell he has received some good coaching on his presentation delivery skills - as well as his PowerPoint slide design.
In many ways I consider his talk more pragmatic than inspiring or thought provoking -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think its fair to say that he is doing what he is doing because of the position he is in. I am pretty confident that if most of the people I know, ever had his kind of money - they would be doing similar work. (Gladwell argues this point of privilege thoroughly in his latest: Outliers. In which he ironically uses Gates as a case study)
That said, I think that Bill's calculating approach to problem solving will transfer well to problems of more gravity than whether vista works or not. Most important will be his ability to identify and delegate the right challenges to the right people. Maybe Bill is learning this from Warren Buffet - his largest donor.
Gates pulled and "Oprah" and gave everyone in the audience this book:Work Hard. Be Nice. Written by the founders of the KIPP schools. There is all of this talk about what do to, and how to do it. Well taking a closer look at the organizations who are already doing it, seems like a good place to start.
Check out the talk for yourself below - or on Ted.com here.
Addition: They posted the follow up QA with Chris Anderson in the TEDblog here.
I would be interested to see more data on the health and birth rate correlation.
I can clearly tell he has received some good coaching on his presentation delivery skills - as well as his PowerPoint slide design.
In many ways I consider his talk more pragmatic than inspiring or thought provoking -- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think its fair to say that he is doing what he is doing because of the position he is in. I am pretty confident that if most of the people I know, ever had his kind of money - they would be doing similar work. (Gladwell argues this point of privilege thoroughly in his latest: Outliers. In which he ironically uses Gates as a case study)
That said, I think that Bill's calculating approach to problem solving will transfer well to problems of more gravity than whether vista works or not. Most important will be his ability to identify and delegate the right challenges to the right people. Maybe Bill is learning this from Warren Buffet - his largest donor.
Gates pulled and "Oprah" and gave everyone in the audience this book:Work Hard. Be Nice. Written by the founders of the KIPP schools. There is all of this talk about what do to, and how to do it. Well taking a closer look at the organizations who are already doing it, seems like a good place to start.
Check out the talk for yourself below - or on Ted.com here.
Addition: They posted the follow up QA with Chris Anderson in the TEDblog here.
I would be interested to see more data on the health and birth rate correlation.
Digital Overload
Want a distraction?
Here is a good article on how multi-tasking hurts our creativity and ability to focus
Digital Overload is Frying our Brains
Here is a good article on how multi-tasking hurts our creativity and ability to focus
Digital Overload is Frying our Brains
What makes Measurable Objectives so difficult to get right?
Learning how to define measurable objectives has been more challenging than I thought it would be. I am now realizing first hand how vital a role measurable objectives play. In these trying times for everyone, the gap between how important objectives are - and how often they are overlooked - is getting wider. Now more than ever, there is a need to evaluate training effectiveness and Return on Investment. Evaluation is impossible without a clear, measurable target. Unfortunately, the ineffectiveness of poorly defined objectives is not realized until attempting to evaluate, and by then it's too late.
I found myself asking what makes this so difficult? Why is it so often overlooked?
In this first post I will outline my answers to these questions. In a following post I will share the tricks I have learned to writing measurable objectives.
Writing Measurable Objectives is difficult because:
1) Knowledge or understanding can not be measured. (but we like to think it can)
On some levels I think we get this, but its easy to forget because so much of our culture wants to hold onto the illusion that we can. Throughout the entire education system we are conditioned to believe that our own knowledge is being measured when it isn’t. How much does knowledge weigh? What does it look like? We can only measure what we can observe and knowledge at its very essence is unobservable. What we can observe and therefore measure is behavior. Where we make the mistake is when through measuring a persons behavior we THINK we are measuring their knowledge.
The measurement of behavior can provide valuable insight, but this insight is often used incorrectly by mistaking correlations as cause and effect. Just because its when its snowing outside its freezing, does not mean that when its freezing outside its snowing. Clearly there are additional l variables to consider. The same is true with the link between knowledge and behavior. There are an infinite number of variables that contribute to a persons behavior. Therefore, knowledge does not cause behavior.
Thomas Gilberts Behavioral Engineering Model (BEM) provides 6 main categories in which we can group the many variables that contribute to a persons behavior.
While the BEM can be used to select a strategy for influencing a persons behavior, it can not be used in reverse. The measurement of a persons behavior should not be mistaken as a measurement of anything other than behavior.
I found myself asking what makes this so difficult? Why is it so often overlooked?
In this first post I will outline my answers to these questions. In a following post I will share the tricks I have learned to writing measurable objectives.
Writing Measurable Objectives is difficult because:
1) Knowledge or understanding can not be measured. (but we like to think it can)On some levels I think we get this, but its easy to forget because so much of our culture wants to hold onto the illusion that we can. Throughout the entire education system we are conditioned to believe that our own knowledge is being measured when it isn’t. How much does knowledge weigh? What does it look like? We can only measure what we can observe and knowledge at its very essence is unobservable. What we can observe and therefore measure is behavior. Where we make the mistake is when through measuring a persons behavior we THINK we are measuring their knowledge.
The measurement of behavior can provide valuable insight, but this insight is often used incorrectly by mistaking correlations as cause and effect. Just because its when its snowing outside its freezing, does not mean that when its freezing outside its snowing. Clearly there are additional l variables to consider. The same is true with the link between knowledge and behavior. There are an infinite number of variables that contribute to a persons behavior. Therefore, knowledge does not cause behavior.
Thomas Gilberts Behavioral Engineering Model (BEM) provides 6 main categories in which we can group the many variables that contribute to a persons behavior.
While the BEM can be used to select a strategy for influencing a persons behavior, it can not be used in reverse. The measurement of a persons behavior should not be mistaken as a measurement of anything other than behavior.