Links to My Life

Awards I Bestow

Ruth and Hadley Strange Awards
I have begun awarding two prizes annually to people (teachers or others) whom I believe "have made a difference."
The 2009 Ruth Hart Jessee Strange Award goes to Mr. William Chamberlain, a fifth grade teacher in Noel, Missouri.
The 2009 Hadley Harrington Strange Award has been given jointly to Mr. Jarrod Lamshed, Year 5/6 Teacher at the Hackham East School in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia and to Mr. Joe McClung, an eighth grade teacher at Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

My Classes and Related Blogs

I am Professor of Professional Studies at The University of South Alabama. I am the lead teacher for the course (singular) that seeks to prepare aspiring teachers to be technologically literate. These blogs are central to that part of my life.
  • EDM310 Class Blog. This is my master teaching blog. Prior to the Spring 2010 term, each semester had a separate blog for each instructor. Now there is one blog for the class. In addition, all sections of EDM310 are now my responsibility. I designed the courses, which is now a hybrid course with most instruction avaliable in .pdf, audio and/or video format on the internet. I have graduate students who assist me in covering labs, managing sections, supervising podcasts and presentations, and commenting on blogs
  • Dr. John Strange's Strange Thoughts is my blog in which I write an essay on some topic of interest to me from time to time.
  • My Fall 2009 Class Blog
  • EDM310 Podcast Blog. I require all my students to create a podcast which I post. You may find topics of interest. This Fall (2009) we will create videocasts.
  • My Professional Blog in which I reflect, on a semi-annual basis, on my professional practice as a teacher.
  • The Schools of Tomorrow and the Tech Literate Teacher which the repository of materials I use with my students to help them think about what schools and teaching may be like in the future.
  • Techliterateteacher, my Wiki in which I invite others to join me in thinking about what constitutes a "Technologically Literate Teacher"
  • My Summer 09 Class Blog
  • My Spring 09 Class Blog

My Points of Contact

My Photography and Art Collection

  • My Current Photography Exhibit
    I currently have an exhibit of 24 photographs in Alpha East on the University of South Alabama Campus.
  • My Art Collection

    I have established the John H. Strange Art Collection at the University of South Alabama. To date I have given the University 246 photographs and works of art and have agreed to give an additional 300 or more works of art from my personal collection to the University.
    I have also made a major contribution or works of art to the Mobile Museum of Art.
    Contact me for more additional information about how you can visit these collections.

Interesting Web Sites

Here are some of my picks:
  • Macs and Technology
  • MacBreak Weekly, a must if you have a Mac!
  • This Week in Google This is a relatively new podcast (August 2009) which covers Google and other major players in the rapidly changing world of communications. Leo Laporte, Gina Trapani, and Kevin Marks are the regulars on this podcast.
  • Photography
    This Week in Photography hosted by Frederick Van Johnson, Alex Lindsay and others.
    Alex is also a regular on MacBreak Weekly.
  • Photofocus. This is a new blog and podcast hosted by Scott Bourne and Rick Sammon.
  • Scott Bourne's Personal Blog. A master photographer, excellent teacher, knowledgable Mac guy, great podcaster, entertaining, and likes to give things away!

Education Web Sites of Importance

There are hundreds of educational sites I could recommend. But start with these great teachers: