McCormick Fellows

Coveritlive

Wiffit Practice

Oklahoma Teachers Learn

Multimedia Scrambles Brains

• Numb and Numb-er
  
• Nine Oklahoma High School Teachers Won't Be Left Behind
  
• Foundations Funding Innovation One Teacher at a Time
  

This is what happens when high school teachers go back to school. It's just gory...nearly impossible to describe. Back in the day, there was a commercial that said, "here's your brain on crack." Then, you saw an egg frying. Well for some learning about websites live Coveritlive, Twitter, Twitcam and Tinychat can feel the same way. "This is mind blowing." That comment can't be attributed because too many people have said it. You can go live instantly on the Internet with a group of total strangers if you choose to so. You can do a real time search through Twitter and any number of websites.


Nine educators from schools in Oklahoma, Sooner Country signed up for a seismic mind shift. After all, they teach art, science, english and more, the old fashioned way, they do it. Now they are facing themselves as they learn how to create "it" (whatever "it" is). THEY have to pass this test and the questions, the multimedia tools and mindset are changing everyday. On top of that, they are trying to keep the peace with the digital natives, their students. The kicker is they've got a serious deadline, four days to get "Tweetie" with it (To the tune of Will Smith's Get Jiggy With It.


The instructor mashup is courtesy of the Radio Television News Directors' High School Broadcast Journalism Project and the Oklahoma Scholastic Media, thanks to a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. It is all going down at the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at Oklahoma University in Norman.

Organized by Carol Knopes, a veteran journalist with RTNDF, the workshop facilitators include (really this is a give and take) Tammy Parks, the explorer/experimenter extraordinaire, who takes her 8-12 grade students from Howe Public School virtually everywhere. They produce a weekly television news cast called Camera! Lights! Education!. Janet Kerby, a retired and rewired broadcast educator and the professor and Multimedia Maven, Dr. Syb catapult the sheltered into the cyberspace without a safety net. Each one had her day in the virtual courtroom teaching the traditional shooting video techniques, writing for the web and ethics. But the unconventional story telling tools like livestream definitely shattered some norms. And, then there was Wes Fryer, a former high school educator turned entrepreneur who started Story Chasers and the Speed of Creativity websites. Since attention spans are short, here's a little "sumthin' sumthin" for your digital palate.

Fryer is a new media thinker and trainer, this is his take on where social media and storytelling meet. Don't forget, just take small bites or you WILL choke on the multimedia madness.

Oklahoma Teacher's Workshop

Oklahoma Multimedia Madness courtesy of Wiffiti.com

Wiffiti.com COOL!!!!!

Dr. Syb teaching Twitcam

Oklahoma Teacher's Workshop

Demonstrating Cover it Live for Seminar Participants

At NACO Presenting

Having a great time talking about social media.

NaCo

Twitcam

I HAVE OFFICIALLY MOVED!!

This blog has moved to: The Multimedia Maven.

Dr. Syb's Blog is on the Move

Hey Everybody,

I am in the process of setting up Dr. Syb's wordpress blog. So please add that one to your list. I'll have to shift one more time over to drsyb.com once it's up and running. Thanks for sticking with me. In the mean time, I've been reading Mashable, Lifehacker and getting new iPhone apps for those sites as well as Yelp, Skype, Kindle, Vlingo, Tweetie and more.

On top of that, I've been teaching like crazy and loving it!!! Here's a link to my Online Practicum Student's blog. Check out the tutorials.

I am reading Mavericks at Work by William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre, organizing two panels for a profesional conference next month, serving on the Online News Association conference planning committee, working with the National Association of Black Journalists, speaking on social media every chance I get and just trying to keep my sanity.

Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody

I haven't had a chance to read this book yet. I'm so behind. However, I'm showing this video to my class.

Tim Berners-Lee on the Future of the Web

I'm watching this video by the father of the web. Like most innovators, Lee's boss initially ignored him when he created the World Wide Web. Lee isn't the best speaker but he's a heck of a thinker. The video is from TED.

Entrepreneurs Unite!

I just scanned this article on CNN.com. If you can't work for someone else, work for yourself. I know starting a business isn't for everyone. I'm talking to the people and you know who you are, who just need some encouragement. Go for it!! You really have nothing to lose. Keep your day job if you can. Keep your side hustles and hustle a little more for a little while and see what happens.

Text vs. TXT

The real question is do you care about the fate of newspapers? This is more a testament to the value of text versus txt. As the younger generation seemingly moves away from the written word whether in a book or in a newspaper, what are the implications for society at large? Many are losing the art of constructing a grammatically correct sentence free of spelling errors. The brain processes images differently than the printed word. We have no idea what we are sacrificing by so readily abandoning words for pictures. Of course, Neil Postman talked about this at length in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death. But again, how many people have read the book?
Mind you, I love video but I am also an avid reader. And for the most part when given a choice, you'll find me reading instead of watching television.


Yesterday, the Editor and Vice President of Audience and Content Development Mark Silverman (who spoke to my students last week) wrote this editorial about the state of newspapers. Today, CNN.Com published this story about newspapers.

The question is who will read the articles about the demise of newspapers? Who will address societal apathy? Who will remind people about the value of the written word and not only give them a reason to read it but the time to do so? So many people are so busy trying to keep their jobs and put food on the table, they do not have time to pay attention to anything else. And when they finally come up for air, they do not want to deal with anything that is intellectually alienating.

This is really a terrifying time in American history, not just because of the terrorists, global warming, environmental issues, people having more and being less happy, the economic crisis and so much more, but also because the very core values of America are being revealed as suspect. The American Dream turned out to be a nightmare and few want to admit that greed was a very poor reason for success. It's time for our nation to reinvent itself with an agreed upon purpose to avert this identity crisis and realize our true greatness.

Twitter CEO at TED Conference

I think I'm going to use this one by Seth Godin.

Social Media Marketing

I am preparing to teach a graduate class on Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing. In addition to the texts that I've selected, I will use social media tools to demonstrate to the students how they can create campaigns on and off line. It is important to have an integrated strategy. Let me know if you think I should include this video clip. I'm watching it on You Tube right now.

Women and Business Speaker Series

This forum is sponsored by Reliant Bank in Brentwood, TN. It is free
for women to learn what they may not have time to get through other
venues. It's a creative way for Reliant to market their services and
build relationships.

I'm the speaker tonight and of course the topic is social media.

From Facebook to Twitter: Who Owns Content?

My students, as part of their online practicum class put this video clip together.

Getting More Stories Told

Thanks to my colleague Doug Mitchell for telling me about Transom. It is a fascinating site that extends the legacy of National Public Radio. It not only allows anybody to contribute but also provides a wealth of resources. For example, remember the Flash mic I blogged about a while back, well at Transom, they provide more details.

I'm still going through the site and just wanted to share the information. Have a great day!

Mark Silverman

Mark is the Editor and Vice President of Content and Audience
Development at the Tennessean newspaper which is owned by the Gannett
Corporation. He is talking to my students about the state of newspapers.

In his opening remarks, he jokingly asked when is the last time you
read the analog version of a website?

I ask you the same question, when is the last time you read a newspaper?

Radio by George! 3PM CST Today

Mar. 16, 2009
TODAY'S TOPIC:

PART II - Eddie & Friends talk about dating and relationships.

If you were tuned in last week you won't want to miss the conclusion as the subject of relationships is explored with the hottest panel on radio. Dr. Syb (Sybril Bennett, PhD) and Katrina are back to join Eddie once again to discuss men, women, and dating. It's sure to be a HOT DISCUSSION!!

And don't forget to chat "LIVE" with Eddie via Yahoo Messenger. His screen name is "radiobygeorge"...


Join us online this and every Monday afternoon ONLINE at 1PM PST/4PM EST, at www.eddiegeorge.com/radio on the Voice America Network. Call 1-866-472-5788 with your questions and comments or to just simply be a part of my new, empowering talk show!

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design

TED is an invitation only conference for the world's most forward thinkers. I am still processing a LOT of information but the bottom line is that I'm an early adopter who is determined to become an innovator. I take my role as your Multimedia Maven seriously and it's my responsibility to help educate the masses. Please look at this video and share the link to my site and visit TED.

Once you've finished that check out the SXSW conference website and follow the notes from participants on Twitter. I didn't know anything about this conference, if I did I would be there. UGH!!!!

This video presented by a team from MIT demonstrates a beyond amazing Minority Report type of technology.

Maximizing Twitter

Several people have asked me how and why I use Twitter. Initially when I heard about Twitter when it first started, I joined and ignored it. To some that may have been a tactical error. Had I utilized it back then, I would have been what Everett Rogers refers to as an innovator in his book Diffusion of Innovations which is strangely enough popularized by Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point. But I digress. An innovator is a risk taker, one who is not risk averse. He or she has the financial means to purchase and experiment with technology. Instead, I jumped on board with the early adopters. According to Rogers that group consists of opinion leaders and mavens like myself. We help sway the masses into adopting a new idea, innovation and/or strategy. Then, the early majority can afford the innovation and realizes that they need to get on in order to get along with and communicate with the innovators and early adopters. The late majority begrudgingly follows along and then finally the laggards bring up the rear.

I say all of that to say, you need to realize where you fall and why. You also need to understand that any level beyond the early adopter is in dire straits simply because things are moving so fast.

With all of that said, I use Twitter strategically. I follow folks like Pete Cashmore thanks to my colleague and friend Paul Chenoweth, BruinGeek on Twitter. Pete is very insightful on ways to improve your social media experience.

Amy Webb, who I had speak at Belmont recently. Here's my Coveritlive blog of her talk. She is beyond a visionary and knows her stuff. I can barely keep up but I'm trying.

I follow Mindy McAdams for her insightfulness and teaching strategies. She is also well travelled. And since I've been blessed to teach in London and plan to teach in Australia over the Christmas break, her experience is valuable to me.

To stay informed I follow CNN and Breaking News On . Ironically, Breaking News is often faster than CNN. I also follow the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune in order to know what's happening near my parents and other friends and loved ones. And understand that I get most of my news from Twitterific on my iPhone as the above icon illustration depicts.

I follow my former boss at CBS in Chicago, Mark Toney who owns Smith Geiger and the Poynter Institute's Al Tompkins to keep up with what is going on in the media industry in general. Al led the New Century Journalism Advisory Board for years and he led my archrival, the NBC affiliate, WSMV when I was reporting at News Channel 5 here in Nashville.

For the record, I also follow WSMV on Twitter since to the best of my knowledge, they are the only local TV station using the micro-blogging tool. Somebody please tell them not to tease on Twitter. Give me the facts or get out of my way. And, don't TWEET every story. I'm about to stop following you.

Anyway, here a few others whom I follow, Joe MD. I absolutely LOVE his insights on life. Pastor John Girton is a dear friend and partner in multimedia crime who has taken his message virtual. In his words, the church has officially left the building. I also follow the young millionaire Ephren Taylor for added inspiration.

You can check out who else I follow in my Twitter Mosaic, just click on the square of interest. I'm sure I've overwhelmed some and underwhelmed others. The bottom line is that I use Twitter for news, networking and necessary action. For me, it is not random, it is relevant. I also have my Twitter feed linked to my Facebook page and in terms of marketing that's an ideal situation. You know I have a little book called The Color-Full Alphabet Book.

Please leave me a message on the blog if you like my posts and feel free to ask questions, I'll do my best to find the answers for you. And/or just follow me, I'm a good leader. Also, let me know some of the people you follow and why.

Skittles

Alright, so I don't even eat Skittles, but I'm loving them right now. Last week, Skittles went totally social media and revamped their home page. Now when you visit the site, you get a navigation box in the top left corner. The box is a tad annoying but you can make it smaller by clicking on the negative sign on the top right corner of the box.

When you click on product information, you are sent to the Skittles' Wikipedia page. When you click on media and select video, you are sent to their You Tube page, for friends you get Facebook, for chatter, you get Twitter and for photos to their Flickr page.

In my mind, this strategy is priceless in so many ways. I know some will surely argue that placing company information on Wikipedia is a dicey a proposition. Given the fact that Skittles surely has some of the folks who used to work in public relations monitoring the site, it should be just fine.

Don't get caught up in the criticism. Get caught up in the innovative thinking, the crowdsourcing and the cost effectiveness, not to mention the free publicity they received just for making the change. Yes, they've relinquished control and opened every door for dialogue possible. Now, the public can tell them exactly what they want and the folks at Skittles have an opportunity to answer.

Dr. Syb on Radio by George

I'm getting ready to call in to be a guest on former Tennessee Titan,
Eddie George's radio talk show online. Google it and please call in.
Oh yeah, spread the word. I'm definitely NOT an expert just a
contributor. Show starts at 3CST.

Sent from my iPhone

Followed this link through TV SPY, a news blog about the news gathering organizations. It's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Clip which basically shows a lot of the research journalists are not doing. Of course, Jon is ridiculing television journalists. However, the lessons are clear for anyone who claims to expose wrongdoing to the public.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Blogging Center for NonProfit Management

Experienced serious technical difficulties.

Demonstrating Cover it Live for Seminar Participants

Session at Center for Non Profit Management

Twitter Mosaic

So the Multimedia Maven is preparing to give a Multimedia Workshop at the Center for Non Profit Management in Nashville and I decided to check on what my colleague and friend Amy Webb is up to these days. In one of her recent blog entries, she highlighted
Sxoop in order to display a complete mosaic of the people who are following you on Twitter. Having this information can be beneficial for marketing, branding, targeting tweets and in a plethora of other ways. Here's mine:

Get your twitter mosaic here.