Ahhh… something from Improv Everywhere to make me smile after a busy week at work. I love the look on the volunteer runner’s faces as they round that corner and see the waiting crowd. We need more levity in this world – moments where we come together, even in the spirit of playful pranking, to make people smile and feel connected.
Enjoy your weekend. Open Day at my school tomorrow, so it won’t officially start for me until after 3.00pm tomorrow. I’ll be looking forward to it! đ
Sir Fedora, you’ve won my heart. How does a young kid post a video hoping to get one like, and then end up amassing close to one million views in the space of a few days? Well, making it to the front page of Reddit and having that community vote your video up is one way to do it. The video above is the follow up to this young boy’s initial posting, where he thanks the YouTube community for giving one like to that initial offering.
His reaction reminds me of the morning after I’d made my first post on this blog. I woke up to find two comments had been left by people whose blogs I read. If I’d had a video recording my amazement, you would have seen a similar reaction to that of Sir Fedora.
Perhaps we as educators need to take note of the power of publishing in public spaces. I’m betting Sir Fedora is motivated beyond measure to continue to grow his audience and develop content. The challenge he will face is realising that it’s going to be incredibly tough trumping the explosive first week he has just experienced launching his YouTube channel. Let’s face it, not many people find themselves remixed to honour their efforts!
Off to bed for me. It’s been beyond huge at school this week. I’ll try and tell you all about it in a post this weekend. Enjoy your two days off. Sleep in, seek out friends, soak it all up. Â đ
Yes, I’m sure this wasn’t a spontaneous act, especially given that it’s promoting the Grammys that are being held this Sunday, but I like it anyway. It’s a nice follow up to my previous post about Macklemore. I’d encourage you to read it if you haven’t already; he really is a fascinating person whose journey to fame can teach our young people much about the importance of persistence and self belief.
It’s been a big week. A new phone system has been installed and we’re launching Google Apps and Hapara Teacher Dashboard with our staff and students next week. The IT Staff who work with me have been absolutely unbelievable in their commitment to seeing these projects through. I’m very lucky to work with such dedicated staff who are willing to work above and beyond, especially when holiday periods are supposed to be the ‘quiet’ time.
Enjoy your weekend. I’m thankful for the Australia Day public holiday on Monday. Sleeping in will be a priority!
Yep, this video just about sums up what it was like living in Melbourne this week.
I saw a tweet last night where someone said this hot and humid weather reminded them of Borneo. I can only agree. When I visited there with students last year to do community work in a village, we were working for six hours a day in conditions similar to those experienced here over the course of the week. Not exactly my cup of tea. I was very thankful for the air conditioning in my office at work this week – made the return to work just that little more bearable.
To end the working week (for me, anyway. I’m incredibly envious of those of you still enjoying a break!) here’s a very funny video from College Humour doing the rounds over the last day or so. Warning: suggestive scenes and expletive at the end. But yes, funny.
Have a great weekend. If you’re in Victoria or South Australia, enjoy the cooler weather. đ
Now here’s something to put in the lesson toolbox for 2014. Chicago’s Magical Piano, currently sitting at 3,352,971 views on YouTube and looking for all intents and purposes like a wonderfully Christmassy feel good viral video from Amtrak.
But, it’s hard to get anything past the Reddit community these days. Here’s what transpired (from Mashable);
About two hours after it was shared on Reddit, a user named schwagro claimed in the comments that the video was fake. Schwagro posted a link to a notice about an Amtrak casting call for a video in Chicago’s Union Station with a “magical piano around Christmastime that seems to be truly alive.”
One of the examples given in the notice is that an actor might “play ‘Chopsticks’ … and we turn it into a duet,” which is exactly what happens to a young girl at the beginning of the video.
Kevin Nalts, at willvideoforfood.com has provided a scene by scene breakdown outlining the indicators to tip us off. Here’s what he had to share (I’d encourage you to visit the link to the site too);
Girl playing chopsticks has almost no reaction at :28 seconds when the magical duet that occurs. Her âmotherâ at :37 seconds realizes her reaction is just as disingenuous so she covers her face.
At 1:00 a business man gets frustrated in convenience proximity of the piano. As the music becomes tense, his hand stays up in a token gesture of frustration. People donât hold their hand up like that when theyâre frustrated, and if they do itâs for a brief moment. He somewhat convincingly barks at the piano at 1:07, but thatâs a much more severe reaction that would have occurred naturally. In real life, the guy would have almost subconsciously walked away from the noise to keep focused on his call.
At 1:25 a fat man approaches and almost convinces us heâs amused. But when he kicks into a manic blues dance at 1:44 weâre painfully aware that the moment is staged.
By the time two other musicians stumble upon the piano (a trumpet player and a harmonica player) I could no longer continue watching.
I scanned toward the end, and shouldnât have been surprised to see Santa shooshing the piano at 3:33. I think that was actually the real Santa, though⌠not an actor.
I had my students investigate the nature of viral videos in my class last year and I intend to do a similar thing this year. I’ll definitely be including this as a discussion point, perhaps with the title, ‘When is a viral video not a true viral video?’ As our eyes tune in more and more to spaces like YouTube and less and less to mainstream media, we’re going to see more companies try and get their message out with entertaining videos that tug at our heartstrings and make us aware of their company or product. Westjet did it well with their Christmas Miracle video, but they were upfront about what they were doing. Therein lies the difference. Be upfront at the start, and you won’t incur the wrath of the Reddit community and the less than complimentary debate that follows.
Have a great weekend. Lovely weather here in Melbourne at the moment, and next week promises to deliver the opposite of the Polar Vortex experienced by North America this last week. I will be returning to work and leaving the holiday behind. Can’t say I’m excited about that just right now, but them’s the breaks!
Nuff said, really.
(Made using Google’s Story Builder. Link to the original video here. You can’t get embed code from Story Builder, so I used Screencast-O-Matic to record my screen then uploaded to YouTube. There’s always a way…)
Have a great weekend. Oh, and a Happy New Year too if I don’t make it back here before then. đ
They see you when you’re sleeping
They hear while you’re awake
They know who you call and who you write
So encrypt for goodness’ sake!
With Congress in the dark and a cloak-and-dagger court
We’re lookin’ for answers, they’re comin’ up short
The NSA is coming to town.
They’re making a list,
Checking it twice;
They’re watching almost every electronic device,
NSA is coming to town
The NSA is coming to town,
The NSA is coming to town.
Thanks go to my good friend Helen for recommending Tim Minchin’s Occasional Address when he accepted an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Western Australia. Listen to what he has to say about teachers. If you’re pressed for time, here it is in print.
6. Be a teacher.
Please? Please be a teacher. Teachers are the most admirable and important people in the world. You donât have to do it forever, but if youâre in doubt about what to do, be an amazing teacher. Just for your twenties. Be a primary school teacher. Especially if youâre a bloke â we need male primary school teachers. Even if youâre not a Teacher, be a teacher. Share your ideas. Donât take for granted your education. Rejoice in what you learn, and spray it.
(You can read the rest of the transcribed speech here. Great for an English class!)
It made me think about those of us who are career teachers, and not just teachers for our twenties. It’s a hard gig being a teacher – there’s an unrelenting pace to the school year and the fact that it’s a job that continues well past the final bell means that it pulls on our families and our ability to pursue facets of our life that we’d like to pursue eg; the exercise that Tim is such a strong proponent for.
BUT, the rewards of the job are beyond measure…
Today was my last lesson with my Year 9 Language of our Times students. I’ve had a wonderful year with these girls, exploring ideas around communication in today’s world and utilising Project Based Learning methods of teaching with them. At the end of the lesson they hugged and thanked me. Ahhh…such rich rewards…for them, and me.
So yes, be a teacher.
Enjoy your weekend. I intend to. đ
Uploaded to YouTube by the NBA 22 hrs ago. Over 1.6 million views already. 2,878 comments. Just saw it on mainstream media featured in a sport news segment, not as an advertisement.
YouTube – you win. Mainstream media, you don’t stand a chance.
Enjoy your weekend everybody. đ
Back to the Future is one of my favourite movies. The Improv Everywhere team have done a pretty good job of recreating it for their ‘Movies in Real Life’ video series they have running now. I’m still waiting for the hoverboards that featured in Back to the Future II to become part of everyday life – we’ve still got two years to have that dream realised as it was 2015 when Marty made his way into a future where they were commonplace. Then again, maybe it’s a good thing they’re not ready for purchase – I can barely keep upright on a skateboard, let alone on something hovering in mid air!
Have a great weekend. I’ll be searching for sun, but the prospect of that in Melbourne this weekend is looking pretty grim. I hope the forecast ahead bodes better wherever it is you reside. Enjoy đ
Lucacept - intercepting the Web 