It's my birthday today. I'm 43.
You'd think that I could make up my own mind about things by now but I'm as easily influenced as I ever was. Except now my influences seep in through digital connection as much as face to face.
I went down and upgraded my mobile phone today at the Allphones store at our local shopping centre. I went with a new iPhone on my old plan which turned out to be a good deal as it includes a monthly data allowance of 1G which my old plan didn't have. My choice was heavily influenced by the numerous educators that I have read praising the iPhone as a device. I read in detail on this forum too about some of the issues that I might face with my carrier (3) after a warning tweet from Dean Groom. His past experiences led me to a greater understanding of roaming networks and whether my new upgrade would be a decent deal.
Consider my network as a pretty big influence in that decision. It's also the reason I plan to purchase and salary sacrifice a Mac laptop later in the term. I no longer have to rely on the salesman's pitch - I can gather intelligence from users already using the products I am interested in. I even tweeted a request out to ascertain the need for the Apple Protection Plan and got useful advice from Rachel Boyd, Isaak Kwok and Paul Luke.
Then tonight I watched the first episode of a DVD set that was my birthday gift, purchased way back in March. (A$13.99 a Season, good value.) The series is "The Wire" which I've never seen on Australian television but came higly recommended from another node in my network. Thanks, Dan.
Maybe somewhere my own bits of digital content help to influence and shape other people's choices in a positive way. Wisdom of the crowd, indeed.
dy/av : 006 : carver's classroom management from Dan Meyer on Vimeo.
greg carroll
Happy birthday mate …. from a NZ’r who is 42 today :-).
My wife tells me I have to wait to grow up to 43 to get an iPhone as I pointed out your post to her just now. My 60+yr old uncle has one too bought this week so I am beginning to bleet the teenage “I’m the only person in the WORLD without …” …lol
Hope the weekend has been good to you! Watching the rugby tonight? Or are you an AFL man?
cheers
Greg
Graham Wegner
Thanks, Greg. I am an AFL man for sure – never really understood the rules of rugby – but my team,Port Adelaide are having a pretty dismal season. The only reason I got the iPhone was because my mobile contract was up and there was the iPhone option for the very first time at a reasonable cost – and other phone options available on my plan were not very appealing. Now I have to convince my wife that she needs a 32G iPod Touch or I can try and sell it. For me, the iPhone solves the issue of having that device plus a mobile phone in my pockets. Now I have to get disciplined and ensure that I use it all to the maximum with the Calendar etc.
Pam Thompson
Happy birthday Graham. How exciting getting your iphone & your new MACbook. I think I’ll have to content myself with my Macbook – think I might be pushing my luck if I went for an iphone as well 🙂
I’m much the same as you though. My decision to go from a PC laptop to the Macbook was based on info from my PLN as opposed to info from tradespeople or salespeople. These were people I hold in high regard and had a lot of respect for their arguments for the Mac.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Hope you have a good return to school on Monday.
pala
Happy Birthday Graham. You don’t have to look very far to see your influence in action. As your colleague I am influenced by your digital knowledge an innovative use of it in the classroom. Like your mate Greg I too am moping around the house as my children are investigating the purchase of an iphone. Perhaps you can show me the ropes before I finally get my own.
Here’s to a great Term ahead.
Maria
Mick
Happy Birthday! I hope the day went well for you. As for technology, I have recently come across a site that you may really enjoy, http://applebatch.com. Applebatch is a teacher networking site that allows teachers to come together in a secure environment and share resources.