Pencil Me In

Tom Johnson's Adventure in Pencil Integration is a fantastic (literally; you'll see) blog that I think is really about dealing with the modern problem of using new media forms in education and elsewhere.

It is written entirely in metaphor. It is set in 1897 and Tom Johnson is working desperately to convince his school to use pencils, yes, pencils, in addition to, or instead of, chalk and slate boards. People have 'plogs' or Pencil logs, the IT guy (Instrument Technician) is concerned about the music classes and worried that if the hall becomes too narrow, the band will have trouble moving their instruments (yes, a band-width problem), and so on.

I have to admit that when I am busy, I skim through his posts when they appear in my reader queue but I am consistently impressed with how he stays in character as a 19th century teacher and yet discusses modern computer and teaching issues.

Well, now he is putting a book out. Pencil Me In is due out on September 1 and I recommend you check it out.