John Pederson is an Educational Technology Liaison with an outfit named WiscNet in Madison, Wisconsin. His personal and professional work focuses on organizing community online among folks passionate about learning with emerging technologies. Since 2002 he has been immersed in understanding the new shape of knowledge and how we all learn online. John dedicates himself to helping teachers use technology to connect ideas and learners in authentic ways to answer questions, share ideas, and develop community. Learning can be fun and personal. That said, this weblog contains musings, sometimes “on topic”, often not. While there may be references to his work and content which relates directly to his work, the ideas are his alone and are not necessarily shared by my employer.
John Pederson failed his quest of being a high school social studies teacher a year before even entering the classroom. When given the task of designing and teaching his first lesson in Social Studies Methods as an undergraduate, he introduced 30 pre-service teachers to something called the World Wide Web. Rather than teaching about the Bill of Rights, he introduced folks to the Internet in 1995. Here was a place where aspiring teachers could go to find endless resources about the Bill of Rights for use in the classroom. John received a D- and a red-penned comment, “Off topic. You taught us about computers, not the Bill of Rights.” And so it began.
The Internet enables new ways in which people can participate in community. Leveraging that potential for schools and libraries is critical in order for them to remain relevant.
In 1996, straight out of college, John began his career as a Technology Coordinator for the Moose Lake Community School district in Moose Lake, MN. After learning the ropes in a small, rural K12 school of 800 he later became the Director of Information Technology for the School District of Superior in Superior, WI. His passion for learning and K12 education drew him towards educational technology professional development in 2006 where he worked many teachers in the CESA #3 region and later moved to Madison to work across the entire state with WiscNet. His current position as “Educational Technology Liaison” involves connecting people to networks technically, but more importantly working to build the “people networks” around the technology. The Internet enables new ways in which people can participate in community. Leveraging that potential for schools and libraries is critical in order for them to remain relevant.
Contact
Email: ijohnpederson@gmail.com
Web: http://www.ijohnpederson.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ijohnpederson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ijohnpederson
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ijohnpederson/
Delicious: http://delicious.com/ijohnpederson
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Listening List
Here’s what I listen to on my iPod each week. I’m always curious what others are pushing through their ears. Tell me what you are listening to.
1. Bootleg Gillmor Gang – Inside baseball for the technology industry.
2. Wine Library TV – Wine. And Gary Vaynerchuck.
3. MacBreak Weekly – Leo Laporte and friends talk all things Macintosh.
4. net@night – Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte talk about the Internet.
5. No Agenda – Adam Curry (yes, the MTV DJ) and John C. Dvorak “assassinate” the media.
6. This American Life – Ira Glass tells stories.
7. This Week in Google – Leo Laporte, Gina Tripani, and Jeff Jarvis talk about cloud computing.
8. This Week in Tech – Leo Laporte and guests talk about technology.
9. Whole Wheat Radio – Jim Kloss runs an Internet based stream featuring independent music.
10. You Look Nice Today – Merlin Mann, Scott Simpson, and Adam Lisagor provide “a journal of emotional hygiene”.