The deadline approaches . . .

Today is the day that Google will stop accepting applicants for its 1GB Fiber competition.

According to Gigaom.com’s February post on the topic, estimates for the price of Google’s experiment in Gigabit Fiber to the home could range anywhere from $60 Million to $1.6 Billion Lets split the difference and assume that it is going to cost Google at least $500 Million to run fiber capable of 1GB speeds to 100,000 homes (estimates run from $3000 to $8000 per home).  That’s some serious cash.

Now, lets put that in terms of the exposure that they have gotten from the competitive way they offered this up to cities and towns across America.  Mayors and councilmen across the country have done amazing things for this opportunity.  Jumped in icy lakes, dove with sharks, renamed their respective cities, parks, and even local cocktail concoctions to lure in the attention of the residents of the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.  Heck, Leo Laporte has even offered to shave a ‘G’ into his hair and dye it blue if Petaluma, CA is chosen for the prize.

Put into perspective, what does this cost? Well, if they paid going rate of around $2.6 Million (If wikipedia is to be trusted on the matter.) for this [lame] thirty second Superbowl spot, then it doesn’t seem all that expensive.  Only about 190 Superbowl commercials.  For a solid month’s worth of coverage.  More importantly, Americans are finally learning that they are way behind on the bandwidth scorecard and are clamoring for faster better access than the telcos seem willing or able to provide.

And who knows, coupled with the ‘heroic’ pullout from censored search in China, Google may just about have generated enough good will to make up for its “debaculous” ™ handling of Google Buzz!

My top five:

• Ideation

• Futuristic

• Strategic

• Learner

• Communication

Recently I had the opportunity to  to take the Gallup survey that is at the heart of the Strengthsfinder 2.0 book as part of a professional development session about individualization and personalization.  The concept was that to knowing something about your students helps you to tailor instruction to them, and experiencing that firsthand was a first step toward driving that message home.

The test consists of 122 questions in rapid-fire succession.  You have to choose, on a Likert-like scale which of two options best describes you as a person.  Though sometimes I wanted to choose both, or neither.  In the end, I was amazed that the result was as accurate as it was!  Each person who took the survey got a custom 22-page report with in-depth analysis, ideas for action and case-studies that are eerily familiar.

We also looked at and continue to explore tools for students to use for similar feedback.  There are plenty of surveys about learner styles for older kids and adult learners, but not much online for younger students to use.  As we strive to individualize each student’s experience and learning, what are some of the best tools out therefor gathering this type of data?

An Open Letter to Educators