Sorry kids! Not Vanilla Ice this time… 

For the past few weeks, these words (Sad to say?... perhaps) have been ringing in my ears.  

Why, you might ask?  

1.  As I go through my CD collection on my time off, I'm reminiscent of the official first CD I purchased as a child (yes, I went through THAT phase, as well as some other unmentionables)

2.  I've been brainwashed with reruns of the Surreal Life?

3.  Mi familia lejos del hogar?  (www.google.com/translate)

Hopefully you guessed correctly and picked number three.  

As I watch all of these great things with our new website come to fruition while I've been on Paternity leave (proud daddy of a new baby boy!), I'm overjoyed to watch this exciting new face of our department come alive.  The hard work and dedication that the team has put into this is definitely showing, and I just wanted to take the time publicly to thank them.    Thanks guys!

As Yoda would say "Jealous, are you?" Who am I to argue with a Jedi Master.   I wish I were there to collaborate with you on this.

Perhaps Vanilla Ice was onto something well before Web 2.0 came around.  Perhaps he knew that students (and educators) would be collaborating at such great levels throughout the world. Perhaps he knew that listening to your peers and students would allow great things to unfold beyond our expectations.   Perhaps he wanted us to listen to one another and share in our achievements and struggles?   Who knows?  What I know is that it's great to have a team like I do, and I'm greatly looking forward to collaborating with them on many future projects.

When times get tough this coming school year, I'd ask each of you to "Stop, Collaborate, and Listen," because you might miss some great things going on around you.  Taking a fresh look at things, seeking some fresh insight just might give you that extra 'umph' you need!

I could go on talking about Vanilla Ice (shamefully, I could probably horribly rap the lyrics to Ice Ice Baby... just ask my wife), but I suppose I need to stop, listen, and get ready to collaborate when I get back next week!