Alien Matters: Keychains, Bobble Heads, and Refrigerator Magnets

Excursion in Roswell, NM

I confess the venture was pure happen chance. It was at a coffee shop in Roswell, New Mexico. The proprietor was a second cousin to the brother-in-law of the nephew's half-brother who was married to…are you sitting down? He was married to the great-granddaughter of Mr. Foster who was, in fact, the very farmer who cited the visitation of the 1947 UFO on his ranch!

Yes, indeed, the stars had all aligned for me as I sat listening to a distant relative recant the story which indubitably upped his sales in coffee, as well as, impulse buys like alien magnets, alien key chains, bobble head aliens, and alien breath mints.

The door chimed and my husband poked his head in, rolled his eyes and told me he'd be at the Army Navy Surplus store next door. I, on the other hand, sat with baited breath listening to the story which landed Roswell, New Mexico on the map. It may have been the caffeine, but I couldn't stop thinking about whether UFO's and aliens exist.

After unpacking my suitcase and feeding the dog, I decided to investigate whether or not aliens exist. This blog is dedicated to my findings. Proof aliens exist:

1) iPads (Intergalactic Planet Augmented Device)

While iPads are ubiquitous in Earthling homes, businesses, and schools it hasn't been around very long. April 3, 2010 Apple, Inc. released the iPad to United States markets. What does it do? you ask. No, the question should be What doesn't it do?

Learning using school iPad

2) Unidentified Fruit Objects (UFO’s)

Aliens are altering our food's DNA in secret laboratories. The code name is "GMO". Go ahead and Google it. My hunch is that GMO is the precursor to an intergalactic food fight.

3) 3D Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D Food Printers

NASA and a Texas company have been at work to design food printers for deep space missions. The "D" stands for Dining. The printer will be docked at an undisclosed space station near the planet Mars in order to share Earthly cuisine with the Martians.

4) Ionosphere surveillance program (ISP)

Windmill farms are popping up all over the United States. Clearly, these "windmills" are part of a conspiracy to intercept governmental intelligence secrets from the ionosphere surveillance program (ISP) and feed them to rulers of the planet Zorgoff. The cover-up story is that scientists at Texas A&M are designing them to conserve our planet's natural resources. I don't buy it.

Edcamp Presentation 2014

5) #Edcamps

If 1-4 did not convince you, the birth of Edcamps is surely the coup de grâce to trump all human reasoning. Unlike traditional conferences sponsored by slick marketers and charging financially-strapped educators to attend, Ordinary Earthlings share ideas and resources...and it's free of charge!

Most recently #Edcamp Global connected educators all around the world in 24/7 PD. Clearly, aliens have had their hand (or tentacle) in #Edcamp's unprecedented popularity and growth.

I confess that I've given way more thought to this topic than I should have. When I think about it, what does it really matter? Aliens exist or they don't. So I've decided to take my husband's advise and leave the questions to Mulder and Skully. In the meantime, I'm going to relax while I play with my alien bobble head and finish off my last breath mint.

To learn more about Edcamps go to: edcamp.org

Confession Reflection:

• Have you ever participated in Edcamp? Reflect on your experience. 
• What are the benefits of teacher led professional development? How does it benefit the teacher? How does it benefit others?
•  How can the Edcamp PD model be implemented in schools? How would it support a culture of learning?