Laurie Bartels's Page

I've been asked to design and teach a 1 or 2 session adult ed course on social networking, including Facebook and Linkedin, and perhaps Twitter. The participants may likely be seniors, though these days I'm not exactly sure what age constitutes a senior. I can craft the curriculum in any format I like and decide the time frame. There is only one catch – we will not be using computers.

I am intrigued by this for two reasons. The first is my love of participating in professional development and a… Continue

Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft, an article in today's (12/16/07) Business section of the Sunday NY Times, is a fascinating look at the vastly different approaches of the two companies in terms of their business models and how they view the rest of us.

Google understands that the world is a global place, where people interact and collaborate, and where people want… Continue

Am doing a core dump of some ideas that have been mulling around in my brain for quite some time...ideas which I've discussed with Fred but have yet to set to text on a page. My writing has been provoked by Jane Brody's Tuesday article in the Science section of the NY Times: Mental Reserves Keep Brains Agile.

Brody's article is the second in a series of two that deals with memory. She discus

… Continue

Just listened to Alex and Don chatting at the recent Mohonk NYSAIS Unconference for Managers of IT and Librarians. Among other ideas, Don mentioned leveling the playing field among the conference participants. This struck a nerve with me because that idea is behind my proposal for my school's Professional Development Day this coming April. Below is the pitch I made to our Curriculum Council or you can read the full… Continue

Major discovery when starting out: blogging only works when I have something to say that will sustain my writing over a longer term than merely emails. In August, 2006, I began experimenting with a FirstClass blog and use it to write about in-house professional development at my school. My ah-ha moment came in April, 2007, when I began Neurons Firing (http://neurons.wordpress.com), my blog about the brain, learning, and professional development. It is m… Continue