EdVentures in Technology
teaching, learning and change
Archive for November, 2005
November 28, 2005 at 1:49 am · Filed under Random Thoughts
Ok, every once in a while we need to break from form and play. I came across the following ‘test’ courtesy of a Graham Wegner post linked to D’Arcy Norman. Like D’Arcy, I too scored a “Sheridan.” So much for my dreams of becoming a wizened Jedi master 
In other link action there is a test to identify: What pre-1985 video game character are you? My results were so lame that they do not deserve to be posted here.
And then there is this from OkCupid that one of my HelpDesk staff pointed me towards. As you can see I am a geek and I mean that in the most affectionate, loving, caring way. Actually according to my test I am classified as a modern cool nerd. That being said I could use some good social consciousness blogs to round out my experience. No rabid Republicans or Democrats need apply!
| Modern, Cool Nerd56 % Nerd, 65% Geek, 34% Dork |
For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd.
Nerds didn’t use to be cool, but in the 90’s that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn’t quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and “geek is chic.” The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)! Congratulations!
Thanks Again! — THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST |
|
This test tracked 3 variables. How the score compared to the other people’s:
|
|
Higher than 48% on nerdiness |
|
|
Higher than 90% on geekosity |
|
|
Higher than 55% on dork points |
|
|
To top this all of Graham linked to a site that allows you to create your own likeness as a South Park character. Mine is still under construction as my rural dial-up is not exactly happy with me at the moment. But I’ll post it here once it’s complete.
Now get out and play!
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite 
November 25, 2005 at 9:32 am · Filed under TechTalk, Web 2.0
I am in the process of developing a presentation for the Technology for Teaching & Learning track of the annual NERCOMP (the North East Regional Computing Program) conference to be held in Boston, MA from 20-22 March. The working title is:
Dancing on the Bleeding Edge
- The Implications of Web 2.0 in Higher Education.
The gist of it, as laid out in my presentation abstract, is this:
The recent emergence of a trend identified as Web 2.0 is heralding a new influx of challenges for educational institutions from faculty buy-in to the selection, deployment and maintenance of new campus-wide applications. This presentation is an overview of the technology, pedagogy and politics of the next generation of web apps.
The guiding question asks, “What is so important about the phenomenon known as Web 2.0 and how do institutions balance the demand for emerging technologies against their already strained resources?” The answer to follow will, hopefully, be a birds-eye view of the concept of Web 2.0 as recently coined by Tim O’Reilly, including the apps, but more importantly the attitudes that shape his definition over the past few years.
The proponents of Web 2.0 believe that the net experience is no longer satisfied by personal home pages and uni-directional communications. The new net experience is defined by its social impact, its facilitation of what George Siemens calls “connectivism.” Generic apps such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and other forms of social software such as del.icio.us and flickr, even mySpace and Facebook pose new challenges to be faced by not just IT departments but also the faculty and students we support.
As nearly all institutions struggle to keep up with the growing demands of their user base when it comes to new technologies, it is becoming increasingly essential that we stay abreast of current trends in order to best support those who will be using them.
Some of the resources I am using to compile supporting data for the presentation include:
There will be more to come, but this is a start in the right direction. Please feel free to send other resources my way!
November 25, 2005 at 8:36 am · Filed under TechTalk, Web 2.0
Ok, so I am more than a little stoked and this post is a shameless plug - but for a great resource!
EdTechTalk is an incredible integration of weekly online conference, podcast and neural jump-start with a global audience. Hosted by Jeff Lebow, Dave Cormier and Jeff Flynn and made possible through the support of Worldbridges.com, this ed tech “Professional Development to go” series has showcased those I would consider to be Web notables: Stephen Downes, George Siemens, Jay Cross, Wil Richardson and James Farmer. But more importantly, these folks have made it a point to highlight practioners such as Barbara Ganley, Kathy Malsbenden, Elderbob Brannan, Harold Jarche, Buthaina, and Art Gelwick. The talk ranges from nuts and bolts topics such as the practical matters required to set up a blog, a moodle or internet conference all the way to the more intricate aspects of Web 2.0 with discussions on connectivism, e-learning, and informal learning.
So why the name dropping? The bottom line is to drive more folks to this site. Unlike many podcasts, which are too often one-sided lectures, EdTechTalk is highly interactive. Their regular show schedule allows for, even encourages, global participation in the conversation. Whether via chat room, Skype, or tele-conference (I rely on my mobile as my rural connection rarely exceeds 22.6k), EdTechTalk is Web 2.0 at its finest - connectivity, discourse, and social networking.
Get involved and help make this great resource for those of us in the EdTech field even better!
November 18, 2005 at 12:59 am · Filed under Connectivism
I’ve been listening to the EdTechTalk podcasts lately and I picked up the scent of a common thread in a number of conversations - that of students, their use/familiarity with technology and their ability to not just consume but to evaluate, process and recombine the data to which they are exposed (whether analog or digital) in order to produce new solutions, new cognitive connections.
In EdTechTalk #25, the featured speakers were David Warlick and Terry Freedman. David made the comment 39:59 minutes into the cast that:
“These kids do not think of information as something that you merely consume. And I that’s a lot of where the classroom is today, that we still think of information as something that you consume. It’s a text book that you read, it’s a video that you watch. And kids are consuming information and memorizing it, whatever. These kids don’t look at it that way. Information is something that they interact with. It’s something that they work. It’s something that they remix. And unless we are addressing this new way of looking at information in our classrooms, we are going to lose these kids.”
In EdTechTalk Brainstorm #11 at 45:23, the conversation returned to wikis and I believe it was Jeff Flynn who said:
“…when I was presenting with my colleagues, there were 3 or 4 media specialist/librarians in the group. And I could not believe, I was shocked by, the fervor, repulsion and horror they had with the term ‘wiki.’ I mean they had been receiving so much email and listservs about the horrors and dangers involved with Wikipedia. They were casting aspersions just on the term wiki before I even presented the software because of the evils they see involved with the un-nailed down, corporate certification for every piece of information out there.”
To which, Dave Cormier replied:
“Yes like the information that comes from the textbook company is perfect.”
And Jeff responded:
“That’s right. And like you wouldn’t want to double-check what CNN has to say?”
I mention this not to vilify media specialists or librarians but to point out that technology has enabled us to not only have more access to greater quantities of data but to be more critical in our analysis of its veracity. Historically, truth has been the stronghold of the publishers, whether in the press or the hardcover. The relatively free and open access that network technology has provided to so many new sources of information has us challenging heretofore sacrosanct texts.
The bottom line is that when it comes to our students, technology and data, the more traditional analog conduit will continue to be challenged by new filters and perceptions facilitated by the digital medium.
November 17, 2005 at 2:18 am · Filed under Random Thoughts
ECAR has released a 2005 version of their report titled “ECAR Study of Students and Information Technology: Convenience, Connection, Control, and Learning.” The report is lengthy at over 130 pages but it delves into the research done into the current (2005) technological lives of our entering and future students and draws comparisons between data garnered in their 2004 study.
It has some eye-opening and, for those still rooted in analog pedagogy, frightening data. As I digest the report, I will be summarizing it here.
The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR)has come out with its 2005 study on students and information technology. StevenB observes that while students use search engines, “they clearly do not use those resources exclusively.” Barbra Fister reports, though, that “students report using computers only 11-15 hours a week, with searching library databases at less than an hour.” Christopher D. Sessums, following the Chronicle article, reports that the study “shows Students desire a balance of technological and human contact.”
Stephen’s Web ~ by Stephen Downes ~ OLDaily
technorati tags: students, net gen, learning, ECAR, technology, education
November 15, 2005 at 2:49 am · Filed under Connectivism, Web 2.0
With all the buzz about social software and Web 2.0, it would seem to me that our basis for the assessment of the efficacy of technology as a learning tool should reflect its ability to facilitate the development of connections, whether those connections are social, cognitive or emotional. And isn’t that what learning is all about? Drawing connections between seemingly disparate pieces of data in order to form a more complete comprehension of a subject?
As the culminating project for my Master’s course in Theories of Learning and Cognitive Development, I plan to explore and reflect upon the impact that social software and Web 2.0 has on learning and cognitive development through George Siemens’ concept of connectivism.
November 10, 2005 at 6:27 pm · Filed under Creativity
After my last post on the brilliance of the 5-year old mind, came a post from Kathy Sierra’s Creating Passionate Users blog on a similar topic. Even twenty-somethings have trouble with expressing their creativity having stifled it for so long in middle and high school. So here are the first five techniques Kathy recommends for kick-starting one’s creative juices (for the rest, read her blog!):
- Shuffle your music
- Have kids (if that is out of the question, rent or borrow some!)
- Go to a toy store
- Make something
- Go to a live show
Read this blog entry or the entry title Blow Your Own Mind and you will find more tidbits and springboards that might serve to loosen up your pucker factor. Creativity is everywhere, you just need to learn how to see it.
November 10, 2005 at 6:25 pm · Filed under Creativity
I was sitting at my desk working up the curriculum for this class when my 5-year old son Hunter asks me, “Dad, what are you doing?” In my best fatherly tone I explained to him that I was preparing to teach this [Web Expressions] course in the fall. Without any hesitation he asked me the question that weighs on all little boys’ minds, “Dad, do big kids play too?” Being an adult and not too swift by 5-year old standards, it took me a minute to realize that the “kids” he was talking about were the students in my class.
Well, that innocent little question stuck in my head (like one of those cheesy ad jingles or the Muppet “Mahna-mahna” song) and got me to thinking. At the time, I was trying to find a way to “teach” creativity and was frustrated by my lack of progress. Creativity is a rather abstract concept and it’s very nature is fluid and boundless. How do you neatly package something like that?
Well, if Hunter is right, the answer just might be in how we play.
When we play, whether it is building towers with blocks, creating an imaginary friend or skiing a backcountry bowl, we are expanding our minds, testing and pushing our perceived limits and developing new experiences upon which to build our future selves. Watch any child at play and you can see them grow, evolve.
How we play changes as we get older, as we explore new opportunities. Some of us lose touch with the ability to play with the unencumbered freedom of our youth. We find it difficult to “be creative” because we have for so long struggled with trying to fit in, trying to satisfy the expectations of others.
Get out and play, be a kid, who cares who’s watching? You just might learn a thing or two about yourself.
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite
November 10, 2005 at 6:23 pm · Filed under Random Thoughts
One of the most frequent questions I receive in my Web Expressions class in which I have my students working with blogs is “What do you want me to blog about?” Now this class has a focus on creative thought and the expression of that thought through various types of web-based tools. To me, now, it would seem an obvious answer - whatever drives you, turns you on, turns your up, ignites your passion! But then I thought back to my first effort with a blog and saw how dispassionate and uninspired I had been and what came of it.
So I examined the question I was asking myself and came up with two potential answers. One, I needed to know why I was blogging and two, being a visual learner, I wanted to see examples of blogs in action to get a feel for what others were doing.
Perhaps the best “How-To” I came across was developed by Stephen Downes. His post on How To Be Heard is an excellent step by step, design based approach to developing and maintaining a quality blog.
Here are a list of some of the blogs I follow regularly:
November 10, 2005 at 6:19 pm · Filed under Web 2.0
Joel Foreman, Associate Professor of English at George Mason University, postulates that massively multi-player online games (MMOGs) can equal learning opportunities if leverage properly.
After a brief history of the evolution of video games from Missle Command (2d - more abstract than realistic) to Vzones (still 2d but more realistic) to There (a near 3d PG-13 MMOG), he dove into MMOGs as learning environments.
So how does this equate to learning?
MMOG’s lead to the development of real-world economies. Citing Edward Castronova’s Synthetic Worlds, Foreman notes that many people are turning games into profit with anshechung making $80k/year as an online real estate developer for the MMOG Second Life. IGE is a clearing house for many MMOGs giving a real-world portal to the virtual landscape. Some of the other issues that have arisen as a result of MMOGs are real property conflicts, the development of governance systems (not just democratic), and the refinement of interpersonal communication skills (such as the development of alliances and peacemaking).
Mr. Foreman believes that if we can create fantasy and real-world simultaions, how much more would it take for us to develop environments that support learning? Studying Shakespeare, send your students into a virtual Elizabethan England. Exploring marine biology? Immerse yourself in an exploration of the Great Barrier Reef. Following a parallel theme, there was a blog entry by Barbara Ganley that reflected on how social software can engender a sense of place without one ever having had to leave their physical environment. One of her students posted the following blog entry:
But a question emerges from jet exhaustion…must we physically plant
our feet in its soil to have traveled to another place? Just two days
ago I was back, ironically also for the third time, at Middlebury
College for a pre-orientation program called Project for Integrated
Expression (P.I.E.). Fifteen freshman from all edges of space were in
attendance. Jamaica, Gaza, Idaho, Arkansas, Alaska, California, the
list grows. And as I listened to their stories, felt around their
selves, their souls, imagined their communities, their sense of home,
while tentatively sharing my own, I had the overwhelming feeling that I
had traveled to a new place. In knowledge, in understanding, in
perspective,in space, in my very own being. But my feet stayed planted,
the scenery around me unchanged.
It’s funny, in this age of globalization, of time and space
compression, of mass communication and rapid progress, how far must we
travel to be in a new place?
|
Bryan Alexander mentioned the Open Croquet project (formerly Tea) as an open-source MMOG development tool.
One last note: I at home among geeks!!! Of the four books mentioned, Ender’s Game, The Matrix, Snowcrash and Neuromancer, I’ve read three! Not that this is important by itself but these are identified as a few of the springboards from which our current MMOG/social technology has sprung.
Next entries »
