FDSTL+Blog

=2011 FDSTL Conference Blog=


 * 3:58 PM, Monday, 5/2/2011**
 * Mas:** A huge "thank you!" to Rev. Sakamoto. And a huge "thank you" to everyone who put the Conference together. And finally, all the attendees without which none of this would be occurred. As Buddhism teaches us it truly is a set of almost miraculous series of event that allows each moment to occur. The only lament is that due to time constraints, the Network event to talk and share lesson plans did not occur, but no matter. We can still continue to share here at BCADharmaSchool Wikispaces. And I plan to upload some of the ideas that I personally came across here. (If you don't see your favorite, just upload it!) Again, thank you very much! In Gassho, Mas.

We're done! In his wrap up, Rev. Bridge reminded us of the need to adapt. Everything changes. We should be mindful, see things as they are, without judging and enjoy sharing the dharma.
 * 9:55 AM**

Thanks to the organizers of this 60th FDSTL Conference.

Special thanks to Reverend George Shibata who has served as the minister advisor to the Federation for many years. Rev. Shibata will be retiring from the ministry at the end of the year. He has served with a gentle quietness that will remain in our hearts and minds. Thank you sensei.

Stay tuned. I'm sure Mas will be back online with a lot of new ideas and stuff to do. Thanks for this opportunity. See you all in Dharma School!!!

Mas, glad you made it back safely. People are beginning to gather in the atrium for the closing service.
 * 9:20 AM**


 * 8:04 AM**
 * Mas:** By the way, please tell other people about this blog and this wikispaces site! Yesterday, we hit a record high of over 700 views yesterday at this site yesterday! Also looked at the country by country statistics and that we've had readers as far as Russia, Belgium, Great Britain, Canada and Japan!


 * 7:45 AM**
 * Mas:** By the way, a HUGE thanks to Sakamoto Sensei for taking over the blogging duties for me! Also continued thanks to Koichi Sayano for the pictures so far.

In a few hours the 2011 FDSTL Conference will come to a close. I'm sure the conference committee is beginning to feel a sense of relief. I hope they also feel a sense of accomplishment and a job well done.
 * 7:16 AM**

Last night talking with one of the organizers over dinner, he said, and perhaps this is a secret, but the organizers had placed a tremendous amount of planning and energy into a workshop plan that was eventually scrapped. What we were able to enjoy and learn from was the result of a frenzy of recalibrating in the last few weeks before the conference. Whatever the circumstances they are to be commended for the delivery of a great conference.

Now, only the closing service and wrap up remains then once again we will scatter across the country, back to our temples and students. Our experience here will be carried with us. We will remain connected.

Hi All. Taking over blogging for Mas. He's on his way home tonight with two passengers to keep him company. He should be arriving back in San Jose around 2:30 in the morning. Thanks Mas for all your work. Have a safe trip.
 * 11:11 PM**

I think that's it! Thank you everyone!!
 * 10:12 PM**

Glen H: TV Trivia game. Loved Petticoat Junction! oh, oh, I'm getting too many people telling me that I'm getting too many right. Glen accused us of watching way too much TV. But we didn't win...!!
 * 9:22 PM**

Recognition of all the committee members.
 * 9:21 PM**

President expressed gratitude to Socho Ogui for his service. This is his last year. (Standing ovation by the delegates)
 * 9:18 PM**

Expression of gratitude to the Conference Committee and Central District
 * 9:15 PM**

Presentation by the 2012 FDSTL Conference - Northern District Committee. Next year @ April 27-29, 2012 (to the [|theme from 2001 Space Odyssey]) at the [|Thunder Valley Casino-Resort]. The theme is "Future of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America: Evolution Revolution." "Be There!"
 * 9:06 PM**

8:58 PM Historian report: 2% decline since last count in 2009. //Stone Soup// is still being worked on. Should be posted on the wikispaces. Also found out that FDSTL is responsible for a page of the BCA Calendar. Looking for projects that can help all Dharma School teachers. Carl elected to work on the Bishop's Project fund. If there are any questions, please email the President Chizuko Kakiuchi (I'll dig this up for you -Mas)
 * Mas:** Treasurer's report

8:54 PM
 * Mas:** Education committee report by Koichi. Copies of the Book "Buddha's Wish for the World" (sp?) made available by funding from the BWA.

8:14 PM
 * Mas:** Announcement of Service awards for 10 and 25 years service. Zaidan fund collected over $400!

Now the General Meeting! The president calls the general meeting to order. Koichi presenting a change to the by-laws:
 * Voting eligibility changes,
 * Changes to associate membership wording changes, Removed requirement for 2/3 majority when someone resigns.
 * Made the immediate past president a Board position, instead of an advisor (will make the immediate past president a voting member). Some discussion on this point. This was unclear before. Added the the word member to the word "League" at one section (Article VI Section 1) which was inconsistent.
 * Another change: Allow "All Dharma School Teachers who are listed on the rosters of member and associate Leagues of FDSTL shall be eligible to vote."
 * Redefinition of quorum to be 50% of all the Board members including the regular member districts. This is approximately the same as before which was 2/3 of the regular members. Clarification of the 2/3 vote to add the word "majority".
 * Change to the duties of the Corresponding Secretary.
 * Change to the Board election process to add Election by simple majority instead of the most votes. A couple more folks!
 * Clarification to vacancy and filling the vacancy by the Board.
 * New requirement for prior service for 2 year (any years).
 * Clarification of substitute voting. No absentee proxy voting; cannot use someone else from another district as the representative.
 * Last one! Cabinet term limit to 2 consecutive terms. This is not a lifetime limit. This is the only one does not pass by 2/3 votes.
 * Last one! Cabinet term limit to 2 consecutive terms. This is not a lifetime limit. This is the only one does not pass by 2/3 votes.


 * 7:26 PM**
 * Mas:** Ok, what show featured Don Johnson and Cheech Marin and was filmed in San Francisco? That question puzzled our table while we waited for our entrees. Answer: Nash Bridges... the table beat Mas getting the computer out!


 * 6:57 PM**
 * Mas**: At the Banquet. Sitting at the table with Rev. Oshita. He's drinking [|Fat Tire Beer]. He says that the bike on the front is just like the first bike he had...a Schwinn. I wonder if he can get a endorsement deal from them!!! More seriously, he invites everyone to come to next year's Conference in Sacramento!

5:47 PM
 * Mas:** A break before dinner so just went through the Blog below updating with appropriate links. I'll update with more pictures after I get home. Just relaxing a bit now. Pretty warm outside now.(weather.com says 73 degrees). Unfortunately, I have to go home late tonight due to Nikkei Matsuri in San Jose tomorrow.

4:25 PM
 * Mas:** Don Y. our workshop leader shared several power point based lessons. I'll be uploading those into the high school section. One comment here from Don that the technology is the media, a tool, (maybe the attention getter), you still need good content and creativity that actually will connect and resonate with the students.


 * 4:22 PM**
 * Mas:** My apologies for the other workshops that I was unable to be with. If there's anything that someone would like to point out from them, please send me email!!


 * 4:20 PM**
 * Mas:** Yumi: might sense for us to have the teachers go through some of these lessons.


 * 4:13 PM**
 * Mas:** Don Y showed a video clip from [|Nacho Libre]for Buddha or No Buddha power points "It sucks to be me right now" Is that comment Buddha or No Buddha? Ask students and discuss. Clip from Lord of the Rings for discussion of Nirvana and Pure Land. **Key** point: that we don't lose the message due to the technology. Sometimes, the use of these media as a jumping off point to get the kids to talk and discuss.


 * 3:50 PM**
 * Mas:** George Teraoka (Fowler) talked about how to the adults he presents a current news interest. Ex. "[|Pray for Japan]" regarding the reaction of the Japanese people to the Tohoku Earthquake-Tsunami Disaster. Wanted to work on small District based lesson plan teams.

Yumi: Can we get an interview of you (George Teraoka) talking about why you chose the topics? George:" that's a good idea, but I worried about my ego showing through..."

Clip of [|Teri Hatcher interview]: Symbolism of Skulls : About mindfulness. All things will pass. Joy and Sadness will pass. Enjoy where you are. [|authorstream.com] : allows you to take internet content and embed into your slides. Question: does this allow you to download authorstream.com? A: according to the site, it's only Bing and YouTube. Mas: there are several Hulu downloaders available. ([|google "download hulu videos")] Games site: [|jc-schools.net/tutorials/ppt-games]
 * 3:20 PM**
 * Mas:** Showing clip from Kung Fu Panda. "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift. That is why it's called the present"


 * 3:11 PM**
 * Mas:** Don Y. talked about the CC YBA Juke Box. The interesting that work is that the students have to choose songs that depict particular Buddhist themes. The Juke Box displays the lyrics to get students to think about the words. Ex: [|//The Climb//]by Miley Cyrus.
 * Another idea: have students change the lyrics to gathas or make gathas by changing words to popular songs.


 * 2:57 PM**
 * Mas:** A note from Yumi Hatta who manages the [|DSresources wikispace]. She had issues with the Hongwanji Shinran Shonin Graphic Story and she had to remove it. Huge "gomenasai"! She'll get it reinstated as soon as possible.

2:54 PM
 * Mas:** More pictures from Koichi S (who happens to be in same session as me).

Don Y. leading the group...







2:47 PM
 * Mas:** My partner is Lindsay G. And she says "Hi!" to all the delegates!! She's from Parlier (I grew up there, too!! Really, it wasn't planned!) This is her first FDSTL Conference and she really like it so far!

2:33 PM Ideas:
 * Jeopardy with Buddhism ([|template])
 * [|dharmanet.org] has a [|Shin section]

1:40 PM We're now on the USB Flashdrive that we were all given. I'll update later on the content. Led by Don Y.
 * Mas:** Start of the Workshop.... I wasn't assigned in one so just walked into one in the Kings Canyon Room! And Lo! a IBM power cable!! Namu Amida Butsu!! Total Gratitude!
 * Internet Treasure Hunt (can be used with students!)
 * Hands-on lesson on PowerPoint.


 * 1:15 PM**
 * Mas:** Big thanks to Koichi S for these pics.

Rev. Harry Bridge during his Talk

Ministers after the service

11:33 AM More resources per Brian Dvorak: [|Cloudtrip.com]: A cloud computing site. (Ed. Hmmm. neat, but not much in the way of a resource for teachers -Mas) [|edutecher.net]: Looks like a Facebook-like functionality for the education market.

"You need to set up your own website; to set your own web identity" [|about.me] : Site to create personal profiles

10:51 AM
 * Mas:** What a neat entrance! Brian Dvorak ([|briandvorak.com]) pretended that he was stuck in Bakerfield and he had to present via streaming (ustream.com) from some "cafe in Bakersfield" He used Voki to create an avatar. ([|www.voki.com])**.** Story about going to Japan in the middle of winter to teach English and realizing he could not read the thermostat to raise the heat. Had to use body language to get the clerk to raise the themostat. {Picture of elementary school classroom from 1950s} {Picture of a modern computer lab with mac laptops} {Video: Technology in the Classroom} ([|www.eduteacher.net]) "My daughter will probably not see a VCR" {Picture of older classroom w/ students listening to teacher's lecture} {Picture of 21st Century Kid!} "A different type of learner; I use the term "learner" not "student" that's significant. {Video: student vs learner} [|www.c21L.org] "Give a man a fish, you have fed him for today; Teach a man to fish, you have fed him for lifetime"

{Picture of fetus w/ blackberry}

"Digital Natives spend most of their time staring at the screen... because the students of today processes information differently than their predecessors" "My 6 year old daughter handles all devices intuitively. She took her DS stylus and tried to write to a flat-screen TV"

{Picture: 'Honey, you weren't downloaded. You were born"}

{Table: Media Use over Time. Computer: 1999 (27 min) to 2009 (1:29)} {Table: Personal Media: iPod/MP3 player 2004: 18% 2009 76%}

"Nearly 73% of online teens use social networking sites" (facebook.com, myspace.com)

[|schoology.com] : free website to interact with students online w/ social networking look&feel. Back in the school next year due to downsizing, but will be using this in instructors.

Are the instructors different as well? {Video: 20th vs 21st Century Teacher} "Have the instructors really made that change?"

[|Polleverywhere.com]. "has our education system changed enough to keep up with the ever-changing student?" This is a phone texting poll site. For our question (above) the response was :13% yes, 88% no

Recently Brian took a class for Masters degree, All completely online. Never actually met the instructor or other students. Even the testing was on-line.

Listen to technology podcasts while commuting and spend 30 minutes reading information. Follow education tech in [|Twitter] Twitter is a powerful tool since it comes directly to the phone.

2 technology that have escalated everything: broadband and mobile technology.

"How many time have someone had a question about a movie, then someone looks it up on their phone?"

Tsunami : "11 o'clock at night. On that night in Twitter the top topic was the earthquake, then people were tweeting from Japan" CNN are now not late breaking information.

4C's: Communicate, Connect, Collaborate, Create

It's global. "Rev. Bridge talked about being on an island. With these technology we can connect"

[|Voicethread.com] : Upload a picture and share comments in voice or text or video. Can upload a picture as a prompt and have students comment.


 * 9:40 AM April 30, 2011**
 * Mas:** This Conference is about sharing. Podcast is like Books on tape on the Internet. After you download, then you can listen to it on your own time. "My music really drove me to record music on the compute**r....** I wanted to make other people listen to it." "It's lot easier now, but 10 years ago, that was a lot hard... took me several months... Needed to buy internet "space", how to upload (send a file to the internet). I record and then edit. It take several hours to create a 30 minutes segment. I give it to a friend who uploads the file to the net. [|Rev Bridge's Podcast]

"I was a bookstore Buddhist (while at Harvard Square)" "It's still hard to find Jodo Shinshu books, but lot better than 30 years ago"

Cautionary note: "I'm a victim of cyber stalking right now" "A lot of information on my is on the internet" "Nothing I could have done could have prevented this" "The local police and FBI can't help" "But it's not the Internet, it's actually the people" [|How to prevent cyberstalking]

"Caution: not to assume that texting and any new technology is bad, but how to leverage that; to kep an open mind" "Things are going to change; there's no turning back" "Our goal is education; in terms of Dharma; in terms of social interaction"

"Another caution: many of the podcast listners are alone. No Sangha. I can read alot. Can we encounter Sangha through the internet? The answer is not necessarily No" "So much of the Sangha is meeting and interacting with people" "It's interesting to note the appreciation for having the 'live' Sangha instead of a cyber-Sangha"

"You can be a lot meaner on the Internet; do I have one persona? Teaches us about 'No Self"'" "Can I stop? I'm ahead of the schedule. What a concept!"

"Encourage you to keep trying. No one knows everything. So we have to learn what we can. .. It's also about using, not just learning... when you really do it is when you really learn it."

"Keep an open mind and think critically" "Namo Amida Butsu"

"In typing class I went for speed over accuracy. My friend said I made a lot of errors. Now I was right! Now (spell checkers) fix things for me!" Question:How many between 35 and 45 (years old)? (no hands raised) How many between 45-50? (few hands raised) "I seem to be an lost age as far as BCA is considered" "I grew up on video games when I was a kid" "I think that helped in not being afraid of machines" "Actually, the age isn't really a consideration for being (computer phobic)" "(We) never had a Nintendo; never had a Mac" "I didn't get my computer on my own till 1998 while at IBS" "You don't have to be a certain age to do this stuff" "You don't need to have had certain experiences" "QWERTY was supposedly designed to keep speeds down" "What you really need is to really want to do it" "You need the desire/motivation" "You can't really hurt the computer" "You don't have to do this alone!" This conference is to share experiences and knowledge.
 * 9:21 AM April 30, 2011**
 * Mas:** Wow! We're underway. Rev. Bridge is talking about technology about in the perspective of the oral notion when Buddhism was in its infancy. And how people used to memorize entire sutras. Switch on culture from the oral to written culture. Also how it might be related to the Theravada and Mahayana shift. How the written form helps T'an Luan learn about the Pure Land (Amitabha). 1st known woodblock prints are Buddhist text. Also wood blocks prints were sometimes destroyed because they were the technology for dissemination of ideas and information. Empowering due to having the woodblock of the Shoshinge. 30 years ago: "many technologies, some catch on, some don't."


 * 8:31 AM April 30, 2011**
 * Mas:** Just said "Hi" to Judy Kono. She has a new iphone and I showed her how to get to this Blog with it!! She said that it was ok to put her name here! Hmmmm... my roomie isn't here yet and I'm getting hungry! Only 30 minutes till the Opening service!


 * 7:52 AM April 30, 2011**
 * Mas:** I'm here with Patti K, Diana Y and Ed N from San Jose. Patti and Diana just read this and had a few chuckles! More seriously, they thought that it was neat. (Patti says "don't write that what I'm really thinking about is breakfast!")


 * 7:28 AM April 30, 2011**
 * Mas:** GOOD MORNING!!! That was probably a lot cheerier than what I really feel. Early this morning (like 4 o'clock?!) our neighbor room blasted their radio (and didn't wake for a l-o-n-g time!). Anyway, really excited to be here. Just met Gordon Misaki who was one of the coordinators for the Conference. Also met the friendly crew at the Registration Desk as well (yes, I have a picture! And yes, I registered!)


 * 10:39 PM April 29, 2011**
 * Mas**: Your FDSTL Board was earning their money. :-) They just concluded their meeting just a few minutes ago. Everyone should thank their representatives for their unrecognized efforts on behalf of Dharma School in the BCA.

If there's any comments or suggestions on what I should do/ask, feel free to let me know by email: nish221@gmail.com

I think I'm going to turn in pretty soon. "See" everyone tomorrow!


 * 9:24 PM April 29, 2011**
 * Mas**: Whew! Arrived at the Holiday Inn, Airport! Just realized that I forgot to bring my USB reader for my camera. So I'm going to have to borrow something to upload photos to this site.

BTW. If anyone else is reading this and you have moderator permissions, feel free to add to this blog!

Yikes, I didn't bring a power cord either!! Ok, yet another thing to borrow!! Talk about being indebted to others! A real Namu Amida Butsu moment!


 * 1:36 PM April 29, 2011**
 * Mas:** Well, I finished my presentation last night, but I still haven't packed! I'll be getting into Fresno late since I need to go after work. Hope to get some pictures and blog about my arrival.


 * 10:22 PM April 28, 2011**
 * Mas:** Just starting the blog. I'm excited about the Conference and blogging in it.

The topic of technology in education is very dear to me as I've worked on this professionally, intellectually and as a hobby for a very long time. So I'm eagerly waiting to see how this turns out.

I'm using this section as a demo for including other media such as:
 * Other files: (This is a PDF file): [[file:award.pdf]]
 * Pictures:
 * [[image:OBUTSUDAN.jpg width="163" height="123" align="left"]]


 * Videos
 * media type="youtube" key="lZkTyRc728E" height="141" width="220" align="left"


 * Maps
 * media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Fresno+Airport+Holiday+Inn&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=42.360237,66.796875&ie=UTF8&hq=Airport+Holiday+Inn&hnear=Fresno,+California&ll=36.770781,-119.722831&spn=0.009522,0.016308&t=h&z=14&iwloc=A&cid=12645940074186324509&output=embed" width="224" height="174"