21apples

I Was Escorted From A Mall For Taking Photographs of My Family

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:19:50 EST

It’s two days before Christmas, and I had to finish my holiday shopping for family gifts. I headed to Ross Park Mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a mall owned/run by the Simon Property Group, INC; a mall I grew up going to.

I had my camera around my shoulder because I wanted to pick up a tripod, and needed to test it out with my camera. While taking a break in the food court with my two brothers, mom and dad, I ordered a veggie gyro at Flamers (which was delicious, by the way). The young man making my gyro struck up a conversation, and was intrigued that I taught digital photography in New York City, so I offered to take his photo. He enthusiastically agreed, and I took the photo (left), and gave him my Moo card so that he’d be able to get the copy from my Flickr set, later. I then went and sat with my family while we ate. After we were done, we took some cheezy, mall family shots at the food court tables!

Then, we walked around the mall some more. As we were walking, I was approached my a mall security guard. He told me that taking photos in the mall or of the mall was against mall policy. He told me that I would need to delete the photos while he watched.

As I teach a digital media course, I’m familiar with photographers’ rights (resource 1, resource 2, resource 3, resource 4).I explained that I would not delete the photos, but that I would leave the mall immediately. I asked if this was ok. The guard (Maurice) explained again that it was against policy, and that I needed to delete the photos. I repeated that I would not delete them, but I would leave. He relented, and said that he would need to follow me out. He did so. When nearing the door with my shocked family, it occurred to me that I wasn’t done shopping! I asked Maurice if I could put my camera in the car, and return to do my shopping. He said that I was violating mall policy, and could not do that. I asked to speak to the manager, if it was possible. He said that it was.

The uniformed manager arrived, spoke with Maurice, and then returned to me. He repeated the policy violation, and I repeated my request. I added that my mom would leave with the camera, and I would continue to shop if that was ok. I added that I just need to finish my Christmas shopping! (gotta tug at the heart strings a bit) He said, let’s make a deal, you delete the photos, keep the camera, and then keep shopping. I said that I couldn’t delete them, but I’d gladly remove the camera from the premises. He said that he didn’t want me to leave, and appreciated that I wasn’t being hostile, and he wanted us both to have a happy holiday. While his words were nice, he was still very stern, and talking very close to my face. I was really itching to take his photo at that moment, but didn’t think it would go well. b I really couldn’t understand what they wanted. I knew that they couldn’t make me delete the shots from my own camera. But I also knew that they could ask me to leave, and that I’d have to (private property, and then I’d be trespassing if I didn’t leave), but lastly, and most importantly, I needed my gifts! In the end, after three mall security guards were around us, and one Ross Township police officer was standing just nearby, he agreed to let me take the camera out of the mall, and return to my shopping.

I’ve never felt so out of place in the United States, let alone my hometown mall! People are discussing this issue all over, from NPR, to Flickr New York City members, to the NYCLU vs the NYPD. It’s incredible to think about how many security/police resources were directed at me, the gyro-photographer while I actually heard their radios going off over a car accident in the parking lot! But to them, policy became security. And perhaps, in some way I can’t possibly understand, the photo to the right is some sort of security breach/threat to the mall.

I’m sort of writing this blog post stream-of-thought, and a somewhat fired-up-stream-of-thought, so I hope that it makes sense. I’d love to hear some simple responses on whether this is reasonable, whether I was unreasonable, or whether the laws are clear/unclear. Any input from photographers, mall goers, gyro eaters, and community members, would be much appreciated.

An exasperated, but Christmas-present—mission accomplished arvind. Happy holidays all!

reporting from the People of Color Conference

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 15:54:33 EST

I am currently at the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) People of Color Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is the 21st year of the conference, and here are some overwhelming statistics about the conference:

this is the second biggest conference in the 21-year history
there are 1,905 adults here from 560 different schools from around the world
there are 1,211 students here for the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, from 260 different schools

I had the privilege of being a presenter with three other teachers at independent schools in New York City; one from the Brooklyn Friends School, one from The Town School, and one from the Trevor Day School. We presented a workshop for people of color who went to independent schools, and now teach in independent schools. We had a great turnout, and a great discussion on making that transition from student, to teacher. The People of Color Conference is a powerful experience, and my second conference has been a phenomenal one, thus far. I have found that many educators don't know about the conference, so if you are interested in learning more, please read NAIS's writeup about the conference. The conference has an amazing online program, so do take a look at that to get more info on all that's offered. My school is making efforts to be more fiscally conservative during these uncertain times, so I had to pay for my conference registration ($600!), travel, food, etc personally, but it might be one of the best investments in myself that I've ever made. If you're a person of color working in independent schools, do yourself a favor and get yourself to the 2009 conference. You won't regret it! Happy to answer questions via email, or comments, so get in touch!

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Tags: POCC, NAIS, People of Color, conference, 2008, professional development, New Orleans

Holiday Present: Flip HD Camera

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:14:33 EST

We've been having a great time use Flip video cameras at the school where I teach. We have students video tape their robots (one-button recording, no memory cards), plug the camera directly into a laptop (no wires needed), and then upload to our school account at Blip.tv. Then, take the little code snippet, pop it into our EdTech blog, or our Moodle, and the video is ready to go. Simple. Effective. Awesome. Now, Flip came out with the Flip HD, and David Pogue put up a great video review. Do yourself a favor, get one of these for the holidays for a few hundred dollars (or less for the cheaper ones), and forget about all that klunky old video hardware.

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Tags: video, David Pogue, camera, Flip, HD, robots, robotics, class, blog, education, sharing, caring

Things I'm Bringing to NEIT2008 Unconference

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:55:58 EST

My techie packing list for the unconference:

I think that's more than enough nerdiness for tonight. How's your packing list looking?

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Tags: NEIT2008, NYSAIS, unconference, hardware, equipment, nerd, travel, Mohonk

NEIT2008 Unconference Planning Guide

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:53:52 EST

I provided a little writeup for the NY techies list to help them get ready for the NEIT2008 Unconference, beginning on Wednesday. I posted the info on, *gulp*, email, so I'm redoing it here, now. We're really excited to have author of SEND, David Shipley and Generation Yes educator, Sylvia Martinez there to help push the conversations.

Q: Is it too late to register?

A: Heck no! http://neit.wikispaces.com

Q: Need a ride to Mohonk?

A: Check the rideshare: http://neit.wikispaces.com/Ride+Board (thanks, Bill!)

Q: What is NEIT?

A: The NYSAIS Education and Information Technology unconference. For you auditory learners, listen to the NEIT2008 preview podcast at EdTechTalk: http://www.edtechtalk.com/21cl_83

Q: What types of tools should I bring with me?

A: Read the how to prepare guide: http://neit.wikispaces.com/How+to+prepare

Q: Who is coming to this thing?

A: So far, over 130 of “us.” But add your info to the who’s coming page (hint: click Edit This Page): http://neit.wikispaces.com/Who%27s+Coming%3F+2008

Q: How can I communicate with people during the unconference?

A: Via Twitter (http://twitter.com). Sign up for a free account, and start following: http://twitter.com/NEIT for unconference info. Oh, and see who else is on Twitter via the who’s coming page: http://neit.wikispaces.com/Who%27s+Coming%3F+2008

Q: How can I share photos during the unconference?

A: Via Flickr (http://flickr.com). Tag all your photos: NEIT2008 and they’ll automatically show up on the unconference wiki slideshow.

Q: Speaking of the unconference wiki, what is that?

A: It’s where you can find the schedule, rides to/from Mohonk, info on how to prepare, the schedule, the notes from breakout groups, photos, blogs posts and more. Oh, and you can edit it to year heart’s content! It’s here: http://neit.wikispaces.com/

Q: How can I contribute before, during, and after the conference?

A: Using blogs, podcasts, wikis, Twitter, and any other web2.0 tools, just tag things: NEIT2008

If you read all of this, nice work! Now that you’re geared up, just get up to the mountain safely. See you Wednesday,

arvind

on behalf of the NEIT2008 planning committee

http://neit.wikispaces.com/Organizers

p.s. what happened to shorter blogging?

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Tags: NEIT2008, NEIT, unconference, Mohonk, NYSAIS, technology, education

Long Blog Posts Overwhelm Me

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 10:04:11 EST

Some people are such good writers, and their blog posts are like micronovels. I love reading them, but sometimes have trouble with reading something so dense, via my screen. Or even worse, via my iPod touch screen. I like blogs that are short, to the point, and easy to digest. When I want to really sink my mind into something for an extended period of time, I pick up a book. Blogs turning into journal articles, and even books, scare me. What do you think?

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Tags: bookswriters blogs culture reading

Using Shopping To Green A Business

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 13:33:09 EDT

A video from Carrotmob on how they use local consumer power to encourage businesses to be more environmentally responsible. By combining their buying power, they managed to find a business willing to use a part of their profits for "greening" their store. One of the best parts of the videos is the thoughtful and playful video they put together explaining the event. Making it spreadable through the video-sharing site Vimeo helps them get even more attention through people like me, who want to see their work passed on. Godspeed Carrotmob, and thanks to Dean Shareski for pointing me to the video. Watch below. Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

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Tags: Carrotmob, DeanShareski, Vimeo, environment, green, consumer, collective, power

NEIT2008 Conference Planning Moving Forward

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:07:00 EDT

Alex and I were working on the NEIT2008 (NYSAIS Education and Information Technology) Conference wiki site. We're trying to determine what sections would be most helpful. Keep in mind that it is an unconference, so we want to keep the structure open as much as possible. Please go edit the page if you'd like, or just leave me suggestions here. Richard asked me yesterday if I was still blogging. I pretty much said no, but I guess I am. It's all about the inspiration, I suppose.ne

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Tags: neit2008, NYSAIS, conference, unconference, "Alex Ragone, "Richard Kassissieh, "NYSAIS Education and Information Technology

Learning to Change

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:27:24 EDT

Recently I have felt like my blog was dying. Joi Ito said it best when he said that Twitter killed his blogging. Mine too. Well, I'm going to blame it on Twitter, anyways. This video brought me back to my blog, because I wanted people who actually look here to see it. "Learning to Change" speaks to the ways in which we must educate our students for the future. 5 minutes very well spent. Just watch it. It's just below

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Tags: videoeducation future learning teachers students networks 21apples "Daniel Pink

Growing up Online - PBS Frontline

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:21:44 EST

PBS Frontline will be airing "Growing up Online" tonight at 9 PM EST. I like Frontline a lot beacuse of their balanced reporting. The fact that danah boyd is featured on the show makes me think they did their homework. I have written here before, and do believe, she is the smartest English-speaking person I've encountered on dealing with kids and the online world. Do not miss this program, or if you do, watch it online at their website starting tomorrow. Here is a trailer for tonight's episode:
Tomorrow on 21st Century Learning, Alex and I will be discussing tonight's show. Hope you tune in to the live chatroom at 12:00pm EST to discuss with us.

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Tags: PBS, Frontline, "danah boyd, "social networking, online, teens, "21st Century Learning, "Alex Ragone, EdTechTalk, education, technology