Adventures in airport sitting for 18 hours: or hell on earth.

This is a tale of how one traveler went against all odds and pursued his final destination through some very unusual circumstances. This is a very long story so the first paragraph will be a summary of the events for those who don't want to read every little detail, twist, and turn that happened during my last 24 hours. So sit back, relax and enjoy this whirlwind ride.

Obstacles started to be hurled at me even before I left. A phone call delayed my departure and a storm shut down an airport, resulting in my connecting flight being canceled. As I waited to figure out what I could do, a family in my same situation suggested that we could fly to Philadelphia and then drive the rest of the way since there were no flights to Atlantic City until 3 pm, which would have made this entire trip pointless. Landing at 9 am gave me a chance to get to my destination because it was only an hour drive. I offered to rent the vehicle since I receive discounts and preferred programs and the father of the family I tagged along with was a truck driver and knew the best routes. We got to Philadelphia in no time but I had bad information and went to the wrong location. Finally finding the correct location, I made two loops because of how confusing the New Jersey Turnpike is, and actually made it to Atlantic City at 11:30 am, wasting my advantage. Fortunately, Job Corps gave me a slot in the afternoon where I had exclusive time to present KP Compass in front of all the teachers for 15 minutes. I knocked it out of the park blowing them away with what KP can do and made it home at midnight.

The Job Corps trip was planned to be (what we call in the business) a quick turn and burn. We fly in, do a presentation, and then leave for home within 24 hours. This is very different compared to most trips where we stay for 2-5 days exhibiting at a conference. My plan was to get there the night before, exhibit for three hours the next morning and then leave for home that afternoon/evening. Given that it was in Atlantic City, the small airport didn't offer many options, so I took the flight from Phoenix at 1:30 pm through Atlanta to land at 11:30 pm in Atlantic City with a return flight the next day at 6:30pm to land in Phoenix at 12:05 am.

That was the plan...

Leaving Phoenix was fairly routine, but I had already started with a delay. I got a phone call moments before I was to leave from someone important who I had been waiting to hear from. Over 15 minutes later I was off to the airport. I parked my car, waited for the shuttle, went through the secure gate in minutes. Smooth sailing. The flight was very good since I somehow got to sit in the exit row without paying the usual $20 upgrade fee and I was super productive because of the wifi on the plane. I even got a beer for free!

With half an hour until we were supposed to land, the woman next to me said she received an email from her husband that the storm will delay some flights. Sure enough on approach we were put into a holding pattern. The captain had hoped to get us in before they called in the storm so we had to sit on hold for 40 minutes...

Landing was rough but we deplaned with plenty of time to connect, except the flight which was scheduled was already delayed to depart at 11pm, then 11:30pm, then 12am, 1am, 2:30am. It turns out that the plane coming in was en route and eventually turned away. The storm that rolled through that night was a pretty bad one with heavy hail and shut down the airport shortly after we landed. We had that small window to land or else we would have been diverted.

The terminal was buzzing with stranded travelers. It was 9pm so I decided to call in, claim this delay, and have dinner. At 10:30pm, while sipping on a Bloody Mary in the Delta Sky Lounge, I got the notice on my flight tracker that my flight was canceled. Immediately, I hurried out to the Air Tran customer service counter to find out what options I had. By the time I reached the area there was a line 45 minutes long and it got even longer.

While on the way to the counter I met a few people who were on the Atlantic City flight. They were desperate to get home too so we joked about renting a car and driving overnight to New Jersey. I was serious; I wanted to get to my destination but was resigned with the very high possibility of having to return home. Once I got to the counter I found out that the next available flight to Atlantic City was at 3pm. That would have totally ruined my trip to the point where I should have just taken the first flight back home and call it quits, but fortune smiles on me. After talking it over with a family in my same predicament, I soon found out that there were flights available to Philadelphia at 7am to land at 9am. That opened up the possibility for me to make it there, late but better than never. After teaming up with the family, I offered to rent the car and split the cost because I was a Hertz Gold Member and didn't have to pay for insurance since I was covered by American Express. They said yes and I set my flight for Philadelphia.

By now it was 11:30pm. The family of five opted to stay at the terminal overnight but I decided to brave the outside world and try to get a hotel. It is times like this that I appreciate American Express platinum concierge and travel services. I called American Express and an agent spent an hour calling hotels in the area to no avail. He called every hotel trying to find me a space but all were booked solid due to the storm. On a whim I decided to use the distressed travelers’ site offered by Air Tran and they had one place open at a Comfort Inn. I left for the where hotel shuttles where located but not before I was approached by a driver from Super 8.

This was very creepy and my creep senses were tingling. He told me that they had five rooms available, to which I told him that was impossible since all rooms were booked. During the hour I spent at the shuttle staging grounds, I noticed the Super 8 shuttle always there. I said no thank you and he went to ask another traveler. I feared what I would have found if I took that offer. My last experience, errr Jonathan's last experience, with them was a very unpleasant one. So with that I ran away to get a cab.

Getting to the motel should have been easy. It was 5 miles down the road, a direct route from the airport to the destination. Well, the cab driver had a different route in mind. After traveling an extra 10 minutes and after I showed him on the G.P.S. how he was taking me in the wrong direction, I finally made it there alive. 2 am, I get to my room, set my alarm for 4:15am and pass out.

4:45am I wake up with an “oh shit” start. I grab my stuff and run out only to miss the shuttle by a few minutes. Fortune smiled on me once again as there was a lone cab driver outside. It turned out that he wasn't supposed to be there but was waiting for someone else. He mistakenly took me since I strolled out there with purpose. I made it to the airport at 5:15am, got through security, and ran into the family that stayed overnight.

Dazed and confused, the terminal was full of suffering passengers. With nothing open they laid about benches and floors. My two hours spent at the motel was hardly worth it but at least I got some shut eye. The worst part of being at the airport was not knowing if the flight was still going to happen since all flights were diverted, the plane could have not been there or the crew had to be reassigned. So many factors were weighing against the flight taking off on time.

As 6:30am rolled around, they called for general boarding and we’re off! I sat down, closed my eyes and found myself in Philadelphia. I can't believe I was there, on time and ready to go.


It was times like this that I am glad I have American Express platinum concierge services and Hertz Gold. I boarded the shuttle, got taken to the car rental area, and walked to the board where it told me my car was 234. I walk up to a gold minivan, get in, start the car and drive out to pick up the family of five.


The family was traveling back from Puerto Rico after spending 10 days there attending a funeral for a relative. They were tired and wanted to be home just as badly as I wanted to be in Atlantic City. Fortune smiles on me again as it turns out that the father, Ed, is a truck driver with 20 years of experience. During the entire trip he directed me on the best and fastest route to Atlantic City. The drive was swift and we made it there in less time than the G.P.S. predicted with better routes. I dropped them off at the airport so they can retrieve their car and then I said farewell.

Now, the original plan with the Job Corps meeting was to exhibit at the Clarion Hotel from 9am to 11am. By now it was 10:30am and I was going to catch the tail end of the time. I drove to the hotel only to find out that it wasn't where they were meeting and they were at the community college in the opposite direction! OMFG! All that rushing to get there with some time to spare and I was at the wrong location. I get in my car and set my G.P.S. to go there, 20 minutes with an eta of 11:05am.

Heading out, I drove down the turnpike spotting four patrol cars. I had to make sure I wasn't speeding. That was the last thing I needed. Heading down the turnpike I got to a point where it wanted me to do a u-turn. Unsure of where to do it, I missed it and had to travel an extra two miles to get my next opportunity. Heading back, the G.P.S. said to turn at a different u-turn location. Confused I turned down the u-turn only lane and checked the G.P.S. but it was too late and I was committed. First, you have to understand u-turns o the New Jersey turnpike. It's unlike anything you've ever encountered. See the below illustration, it’s confusing as hell.

So I make the u-turn and back-tracked two miles to the next u-turn spot and headed back again. It turns out that a quarter mile down the road was the community college hidden by trees. I wasn't the only one lost as others reported missing it and hitting the u-turn. Even Michael Ty, president of ACF, missed it on the first pass but he caught it just in time to not have to do the loop like I did.

Here is an illustration of my drive.

It is 11:30am; I locate the culinary arts building and head in. Relief washed over me as I met Dr. Francis Cole, tired, haggard, smelly, and wearing the same clothes I left Phoenix in made all of my struggles worth it. They were in the middle of starting lunch and decided to squeeze me in this afternoon during their instructor sessions after the judging.

At 12:30pm the chefs assembled in the classroom and began tasting the final round of dishes from the final six teams. After the judging concluded, the students and instructors separated. I was the fourth presentation for the teachers.

My presentation couldn't have been better set up. As I waited the window narrowed so I had to say everything in only 15 minutes. The presentation just before me mentioned how they are now required to incorporate technology in all curriculum and by 2012, all books will be replaced by digital versions. When I got up there and presented KP Compass for Culinary Arts, jaws dropped as I showed them the solution we devised to address online, out of classroom, learning.

The presentation was a stellar success as it was made at the perfect time in the perfect manner. The past 24 hours was hell but it was totally worth it. I never gave up despite all the obstacles placed in front of me. I made it home with no incident, even when I traveled through Atlanta again, which felt weird since I was just there 10 hours earlier. My head hit the pillow at 12:30am and I passed out, tired, smelly and excited for what this presentation will bring for USDOJ and Job Corps Centers.

The Irrelevancy of In-class Lectures

When I go to class, I don’t want to sit through yet another boring lecture by a teacher droning on about a subject I already know or can easily find out on my own. Lectures in class are a thing of the past. I have so many other ways to get information on my own time that all I want is to spend class time discussing what I’ve learned and doing something about it.

In the past, educators were the gatekeepers of knowledge. By being the gatekeepers, they had ultimate control over when and how the information was delivered. Students in the same class were all taught at the same level, and if they accelerated or lagged behind, because one teacher can only perform one lecture at a time. Everyone attempts to gain some objective from the same presentation. Rarely do the students have a chance to learn at their own pace and according to their individual learning style.

Keeping the classes at the same pace made it easier for educators to teach and to grade, but not for the students to achieve. In the past, teachers didn’t have the aide of computers and other forms of technology that can serve to differentiate instruction and to address multiple learning styles in one class. They really didn’t have much of a choice but to use what was in their head, the experience they had in life, and the textbook that was given them to teach from.

Today, technology has removed the need for in-class lectures. With the invention of the computer, the internet, and digital media, students now have multiple ways to gain information. Does this mean that they no longer need teachers? They can find information, read it , and absorb it independently. The question is, do they comprehend it? Does the students’ effort actually transform the information into knowledge? This is the role of the teacher today- to guide the students through their search and their intellectual growth.

The future of education isn’t in information delivery by the teacher, but in the educator’s ability to help students to navigate through and comprehend the vast amount of knowledge they have at their fingertips. Class time should be spent discussing what they’ve learned, applying the knowledge in practical exercises, and performing tasks in labs. The information delivery can be easily made online through various avenues. Teachers can direct students to current data, deliver videos, podcasts, and news articles that are relevant to their subject as well as their everyday lives. Students can set the pace of their own learning; they can come to class prepared to ask questions when they need to and to apply their strengths to productive problem solving.

Differentiated instruction is possible now as teachers move away from being the gatekeepers of knowledge to knowledge guides, moving students toward the best path possible in achieving academic success. The challenge is for teachers to think creatively and leverage the technology available to them for the benefit of their students.

Building a better e-book: moving away from cheap cop-outs

E-books are heralded as the new way for students to learn! Save trees, fix shoulder problems, reduce eye strain! I find e-books to be cheap cop-outs by publishers just repackaging the same outdated technology called textbooks into a shiny new shell. PDF versions of textbooks do not help 21st century learners any more than if they carried a 50 pound book. Sure, it’s lighter, portable, accessible anywhere, can be searched and bookmarked, but the format, layout, and linear nature of the content remains the same. Students today require more than just a textbook to thrive; they need an interactive, dynamic environment to further develop their multi-media enabled brains.

Books cater to an old method of teaching. Read, digest, regurgitate. Teaching to the test often is the result of such a practice. Teachers who create rich dynamic classrooms do not rely on the textbooks. They mix it up with other resources to help their students grasp concepts the books fail to explain. No successful teacher just uses the book, so why should publishers keep producing textbooks that happen to have an “e” in front of it.

The need for content experts to take published works to the next level is critical in our evolution of education. No longer can authors be content with words on a page with a few graphics and illustrations; they need to enhance the learning experience by keeping up with the current technology (and that doesn’t mean e-books). 20 years ago, books were the norm because that was really the only way to produce the information and have it transported to eager minds.

Rich, immersive, interactive, relevant experiences can now be produced because the technology is out there to produce them. Today the minds of the students are much more complex, even more complex than the MTV generation. The video game generation has opened their eyes to whole new worlds they can control and education needs to mimic that mindset. Our students are self initiated learners. They want to control their own education, much like controlling their characters in a video game. They understand the objective and will work their way to the goal. Books do not give them a semblance of control since their path is already chosen for them.

So why are publishers ignoring this aspect in our social development?

1. The powers that be still believe in the old way of teaching because that was the way they were taught.
2. Creating a learning environment that can be intelligently remixed for the learner. (Imagine a book publisher building a World of Warcraft)
3. They’re lazy.
4. It’s expensive.

I feel that the fourth point really hits home. It’s more expensive to create these immersive learning environments than to just crank out a product that has been established for over a thousand years. So I leave it up to you to decide. Do we continually perpetuate this 1000 year old tradition and settle or do we demand an investment in innovation in education? We can’t afford not to innovate.

To blog or not to blog? Why I resisted blogging.

Ever had an idea and wanted to express it?

Ever feared sounding stupid.

Ever been flamed, ridiculed, or put down because you spoke out publicly?

This is how I felt about blogging. And what’s prevented me from sharing my thoughts and ideas to the world.

I have no problem sharing inane stuff like things I do on trips, reviews of products or services, or just the general banter on current events but when it comes to the sensitive topic of where my passion lies, I shy away. In conversations I have with teachers, they love my ideas, thoughts and feelings on how the system could be improved and how my learning theory differs from the norm. When it comes to putting that down on paper, I hesitate, stop and shut that idea down. Why? Because I don’t consider myself an expert.

This feeling is purely based on the fact that I haven’t been in the front lines of the classroom, dealing with the students, peers, parents, administrators, policy makers, government. Who am I to tell someone how to do something when I haven’t been there before? Sure, I observe, listen, and learn from my friends who are teachers and think, reflect, and strategize on their frustrations, stumbling blocks, and challenges. I am only an outside observer looking into their world and try my best to understand.

Sure I run one of the most advanced software curriculum development companies who have some of the best ways to deploy digital content in an intelligent and sophisticated manner, but I’m still not in their shoes. Maybe the solution is to take a teaching position at night part time? Unfortunately I don’t have time for that because I spend all my energy looking for solutions and building it.

Things are different now? Maybe I gained some bit of courage now that I’ve spoken to the teaching body at ACTE Nationals. Maybe the times I have speaking with authority on CTE education at the conference have dulled that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. The pivotal point was being hit with the fact that I don’t practice what I preach. In preparing for “The World is Connected: the great social networking experiment” at the FENI conference, I read blogs on how teachers have shared what they have found. I’ve been reading blogs for years but I never have contributed to that social spear of knowledge and experience. I realized that I have to do this to grow personally and professionally. I had to put down those fears and just speak my mind no matter how stupid I sound.

Growth comes from trial and error and if I don’t put my silly ideas out for people to read, reflect, and comment on, I can’t shape those ideas into greater ideas and then turn those ideas into movements. I need to do this to make my goals realized. I need to put my neck out on the line, get it chopped off, reattach it and figure out how not to get it chopped off the next time. After trial and error, then I can take that experience and publish it in a real publication.

So, I’ve been mulling over this topic for a week now. And yes, I hope I can only keep up the pace and momentum. Heck I don’t have the time for it but I can’t afford to not keep this up.

I hope that others who have felt this way will try this social medium of expression. It takes a lot for me, a private person to make the jump and so should you.