McKenzie+(FNO)

=Jamie McKenzie (From Now On)=



Jamie McKenzie is an educator, writer, and speaker who holds degrees from Yale, Columbia, and Rutgers Universities. He has been a part of the education community since he graduated from Yale in 1967. He has served as a teacher, principal, superintendent, humanities coordinator, adjunct professor, and as the library director for Bellingham, WA schools. McKenzie has stated that his lifelong dream was to be a writer, and this is something he has accomplished quite successfully. He has been a columnist for eSchool News (1998-2000), Classroom Connect (1998-2002), Multimedia Schools (2002), and Library Media Connection (2003-2004). He has also been editor for a few journals. These journals are No Child Left (2003-2007), which was a journal that was devoted to calling for amendment or repeal of national education laws (NCLB), The Question Mark (2004-Present), which is a journal that is "devoted to questions, questioning, sound intelligence, strategic reading and quality teaching", and his most prominent, From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal (1991-Present), which will be discussed below. He has served as publisher for FNO Press (1999-present), which publishes seven technology related titles and a series of online learning tools, as well as president for Network 609 (1984-Present), under which he holds seminars and training. McKenzie tours the country constantly, holding presentations and seminars over issues in education. He also has published a number of books, is a poet and songwriter, writes short stories, and dabbles in photography.

= From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal = As mentioned above, McKenzie serves as the editor for From Now On (FNO). This journal is published about six times a year (on average) and addresses issues in schools regarding technology, networking, goal setting, curriculum development, etc. The website for FNO (www.fno.org) contains links to current issues of the journal as well as the ability to search through past articles by keyword or subject (you can also view a list of past issues). The site also holds links to McKenzie's poetry, photography, books, articles, and information about his seminars and workshops. There's also a link to "Other Cool Stuff" that includes some neat reference tools. His books can be ordered through the site, and it is free to subscribe to FNO. I spent a lot of time clicking through his articles. He covers a lot of topics, which is great. I especially liked the current issue of FNO. It covers the concept of being overequipped with technology in schools (he mainly talks about the advantages and disadvantages of every student having his or her own laptop). In the article, McKenzie talks about how there is a time and place for students to use their own laptops during lessons and that laptops should not be used constantly for every activity (doing so will lead to students isolating themselves). He argues that laptops can serve as a distraction when not implemented properly in lessons and activities and that their use should be strategically planned to fit curriculum. I absolutely agree with this article. I believe that laptops can be a great educational tool, but at the same time, if they are used incorrectly, they can actually damage a lesson. While I don't have any educational experience, I can definitely see the flaw in one-on-one learning. I know how I have been in classes that are computer based, and I can admit that I didn't always paid attention to what's being taught in those classes because I was distracted by the computer. I can relate to his position in this article, and I like how he placed two different activities to try to test out this position. I also really liked his March 2010 article about the relevance of librarians. He outlines the thought processes people have as to why libraries and librarians are pointless in this technology-driven society, and he counters these thoughts with reasons why libraries and librarians are still relevant and will continue to be relevant as technology advances. I highly recommend this article! Why We Still Need Libraries and Librarians -EJS