Webinars

I've enjoyed being a guest on some webcasts recently. Here is the link to my appearance on Paul Allison's Teachers Teaching Teachers, and here is the link to my appearance on Steve Hargadon's Future of Education--Classroom 2.0. --scroll down to the bottom to find the audio file.

At the Movies

If it’s March, it must be time for March Madness, Shamrock Shakes, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. I’m headed up to the Festival today to see a film called Ingredients. But the film one sees is almost irrelevant to the pleasures of the festival, I’ve found. Of course, I’ve seen great films over the years—ones that stick with me that happen to be so obscure I’ve never heard of them again (Lamb) and ones that prove to be enduring experiences that shape my work and my art (the Up series of documentaries that have followed the same protagonists since 1964). But I think what keeps many of the 60,000 people who attend this festival coming back is the “social network” that develops around it. I know I’ve been seeing some of the same people in attendance at this for the 20 years I’ve been going—people I only see once a year. I don’t even know their names, but I recognize them as we reconnect standing in line or fighting over the last t-shirt. Of course, you can now follow CIFF on Facebook and Twitter. And there is a CIFF blog. But I’m hoping to see you there, at the movies.

Cleveland Film Festival

If it's March, it must be time for March Madness, Shamrock Shakes, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. I am headed there today to see a film called Ingredients, a documentary about the food industry. But really, ironically, the film that one sees doesn't seem to be the main draw anymore at the festival--it's the film festival experience that I think keeps bringing me back (and about 60,000 others each year.) I first started going to the CIFF way back in the late 1980s when it was still held at the Cedar Lee Theatre. I can still remember some of the films I saw in those early days--some so obscure that I've never heard of them again (Lamb) and others that have gone on to be very well known (The Up series of documentaries that have followed the same protagonists since they were seven years old in 1964). Even while the films have always been great, I think what I've most remembered are the people who attend. Some of these people I have seen once a year for 20 years at this event. I always see the same people there. I have no idea what their names are, even though we chat about the movies we've seen and the increasing lines at the event. What we have in common is the love of film and this "social network" that brings us together after a long winter at this event every year. And, of course, the CIFF has gone way beyond just publishing the old newsprint festival booklet from the old days. Of course, now you can now follow CIFF on Facebook and Twitter. See you there or, better yet, at the movies!