My Best

Welcome!

On this page, I’ve assembled a collection of online artifacts and resources that are reflective of my work and capabilities. To the left in the menu bar, you’ll find links to my four online resources, which represent my contributions to the field of education over the past decade.

My Connections: Over a career of twenty six years, I’ve connected with some of the finest technologists and educators in the world. These connections represent a distributed network of individuals with unique skills and mindsets that influence and contribute to my accomplishments, and that I rely on as contributors and mentors. Connections matter.

My Presentations: I have been presenting at the national (US) level since 1995, and have presented in Canada, Europe and China. The presentations I have given over that time span reflect the development of my ideas about the intersection of learning and technology. My presentations ( can be viewed at my presentation site) and my slidedecks can be viewed at Slideshare. Since 2008, my slidedecks have been viewed a total of 161926 views, 2193 slidedecks have been downloaded, and there have been 541 favorites made.

Presentation Resources: I host the content that I present at conferences at David Jakes Presentation Resources. Here are examples of how I support my attendees with additional resources beyond the presentation itself:

What If The Story Changed? My 2012 K12 Online Presentation. This presentation asks educators to rethink the story of education, and how to begin creating the language necessary to create the conditions in a school that are capable of supporting systemic change.

An example of a slide deck from my keynote at the Michigan Chapter of the American Institute of Architects:

View more presentations from David Jakes

Here is the video of my 2012 keynote at the TCEA TEC-SIG Conference in Austin, Texas

Here is the video of the panel on design thinking that i did with Grant Wiggins, Kristen Swanson, and Don Buckley.

Here is the video of my 2009 keynote at the New York State Associate for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE)

My work with students:

Digital Storytelling: over my education career, I’ve helped over 3000 students create digital stories. More than creating a video, digital stories help students find their voice, and help them realize that they can use contemporary media to stand up and say “Here is what I am, and here is what I believe.” To that end, the video below was produced as part of the “Digital Diplomacy Project” at Downers Grove North High School, which empowered students to communicate what it means to be an American, to their peers around the world.

My Writing: I’ve been writing in a number of venues about technology and learning, including on my blog, The Strength of Weak Ties, since 2005. Here are three posts that reflect how I write:

9 Dots | The Strength of Weak Ties
Towards a Vision for Visual Literacy Learning | David Jakes Presentation Resources
Caution: Falling Rocks | The Strength of Weak Ties
Your Climate, Your Culture | cross posted at Smartblogs on Education

Words Matter: I use DavidJakes.com to publish my thoughts on education, technology and learning, in a popular series called “Words Matter,” where I explore the contemporary meaning of one to two words. Here are three examples:

Published Articles: I’ve had a number of articles published in more traditional formats (see vitae for a full listing) This article, published by the Texas Computer Education Association, was in there November 2010 issue of TechEdge. It reflects some early thinking about designing learning spaces: How to Design a Space For High Tech Learning

My Photography: my favorite picture I have ever taken. This is the Oregon coast at Cannon Beach. The pointed “rock” in the center of the photo is Haystack Rock, a 22 story sea stack.

My photography:

www.flickr.com

David Jakes’ My Photography photoset

My upcoming projects:

Forty 140.com is a new project I am developing, along with Ryan Bretag, that will produce “thinking streams” on critical issues in education. Each thinking stream is composed of forty essential ideas presented in 140 characters or less (with an obvious nod to Twitter). Each idea is coupled with another reflective question that asks the reader to think more deeply about the 140 character concept, and develop a written answer. After completing all forty ideas, the reader will have a completed stream on their thoughts regarding that essential educational issue.