Of Mice and Middle Years…

A tribute to one of the great academic thunkers of our time.

georgewathisbest.wmv

Reflections of EC&I 831… as you can see, I don’t see this as an end to a journey.
What I have learned? As the saying goes, “Everything and nothing…” (In nothing I mean…wow there is so much out there, isn’t there!) Theory and philosophy, proprietary and open source, static and interactive, past and future, traditional practices vs engagement, analogue/ digital learning…Think about it, in reality there is no limitation to the imagination of the millions of content providers in publishing or programming that have developed or will dream of in the future in relation to educational technology. The courage of Dr. Couros to gather together the cutting edge minds and technologies that at first (for me) overwhelm, intrigue and then most important, the opportunity to play, learn and apply to my educational experience. Discussing issues utilizing Ustream and Skype and suddenly discovering that experts in the field of educational technology just happen to drop by to engage and offer their experience. Blogs, wikis, videos and readings that challenge dullard educational practices and open a glimpse of a world to come. Getting the opportunity to be involved in online discussions outside the class with people such as Dean Shareski to explore other educational issues. And two important words…TED talks! All melt together to a common theme that something must be done to meet the needs of our students. I may not have agreed with all that was presented, but I certainly found practicality where in many courses theory eludes practice.
To all the participants, I hope to encounter you all in the blogosphere or FTF sometime down the road. I think we all have taken something back that has changed much of what and whom we are trying to educate for the present and future.

Maybe it could carry my Imac around the school with me…

See the full article here with the links….

Boston Dynamics keeps working on their BigDog quadruped robot, which will probably grow to be the future AT-AT of the Pentagon. Its evolution since the last time we saw it is nothing sort of mindblowing, and a bit spooky….
It looks like an actual biological quadruped. Seeing it climb through rubble, snow, jumping over obstacles like a wild goat, and saving a near-fall on iced ground at the last second (fast forward to the middle of the video) defies belief….

After listening to Brian Lamb and D’arcy Norman’s presentation Tuesday night, I took some time to read the article they had posted entitled Social Software in Action (No Real Software Required). I think the article does a terrific job in summing up the message that both gentlemen conveyed in their presentation; knowledge need not be housed or conveyed to only the select few in our society through traditional or “proprietary” (and expensive) avenues… it can be open to all and distributed through the collective efforts of a social network using a variety of inexpensive/free tools.

I must admit, I had some struggles in regards to free access to knowledge in regards to whether there was a question of that knowledge bearing academic validity and integrity. After picking Rob’s brain (local calls are really cheap) I came to the conclusion that I was actually muddling these concepts. We in EC&I 831 are introduced to presenters who facilitate insights and knowledge (academic validity and integrity) through an expensive program such as Elluminate, yet that same presentation is then sent out to Ustream where all can view and (by the grace of the instructors) participate (free access to knowledge). Our Wednesday night discussions are delivered effectively through free online tools (Ustream and Skype) In a sense, I was preoccupied with the “milk” and the “driver” and not on “truck” itself.

Do they even still have milk trucks?

As with all projects, the hardest and most important step is the pre-planning and planning stages. With my project, developing screencasts to help teachers/students with digital applications has been nothing short of exasperating. If the adage “three is a crowd” is true, then that is the crowd that encompasses the total amount of collaboration I have been able to muster in the development of this project.

So, my “collaborators are as follows:
First, the principal thought it would be a great idea to develop a series of videos explaining how to use our online report card system. I agree that would not only help our staff but would extend to the other schools in the division. (as an aside, I always seem to be developing projects that are division wide throughout this course…this happen to anyone else?) But (gulp) not having to use the program for the past couple of years may prove to be a small challenge…

Secondly, Mind42 will be my second set of screencasts in order to help staff and students use this tool as an alternative to written reports/essays and brainstroming techniques. This was suggested by a teacher as well.

My third screencast, if I can muster the time, will be to help younger students begin to use a simple typing program called Ten Thumbs. I really want this project to target both older and younger grades.

I am still trying to get around the issue of screen size and volume using Jing. By the way, Jing is a FANTASTIC and easy tool to use!

When does this course end????

I once enter the world of programming many years ago with my Vic 20 and my COCO 28 (Radio Shack). Did some work with LOGO at the high school. Then GUI came along…. praise the Mac Classic.

Then Mr. Downes shows his customized tools for collecting feeds of various types, organizing, creating, etc. and I wonder why I left the coding world. However I take comfort in his belief in open source and that knowledge should be free to all….. I just hope his plan to release his “reader on steroids” is a little more user friendly for us illiterate coders.

I found his slideshare presentation on networks vs groups excellent and thought provoking. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law work in the area of business, and often refer to their attendance at conferences and lunches as “networking”. Yet when they collaborate on a project with their peers, they work in groups.
Institutions, such as schools and businesses, thrive on the group model, assigning roles and tasks to individuals; part of our best practice in teaching.
So what about networked collaboration when there is a time frame involved? Personal learning certainly is affected because of these constraints, do they not?
1.) Is networking or groups the best approach to problem solving in terms of effective, time based outcomes, or for personal informal learning experiences? Does the concept of timed outcomes within a network destroy the concept of a network?

2.) Can a group model maintain some of it’s positive aspects (time frames, for example) and still maintain some characteristics of a network? If so, what would it look like?

I hope I have expressed myself clearly. I may be attempting to re convey my meanings in the next short while!
Thoughts.

I write this post with some sadness this evening. I will be unable to join the EC&I class in Second Life Wednesday night due to Parent Teacher interviews. I have some experience in this area. Virtual environments, where participants create personalized avatars for interaction on a multitude of levels, is in my opinion one of the most fascinating aspects of an online computing experience.

Millions of people are involved with these environments. Many are our students.

Although online, these types of experiences often are so powerful that they have been known to extend into “reality”. The following quote is from a paper I wrote in ECMM 802 a few years ago:
“Over the summer, Mr. Maggio followed a blog about goings-on in Second Life and was intrigued by what he read: Participants in the community strive for social acceptance, hire private investigators to spy on virtual spouses, hurl harassment charges at each other, and debate whether a virtual marriage ceremony performed by a minister’s avatar is – well, real. In one scandalous case, two virtual characters reportedly developed such a strong connection that their human operators ditched their respective spouses and moved in together.”
Foster, A. L. (2005). Avatars of Research. Chronicle of Higher Education., 52(6), 35-36.

I was clicking through the channels tonight, and (this is completely true) I stumbled upon Southpark. I despise the show, but the episode involved the characters and their experiences in Warcraft, one of the most popular online games at present.
The satire was hilarious, centering around the point that for many gamers, this MMOG (massive multiplayer online game) is often very real to the player (as illustrated in the above quote). One quote from a character in the show (paraphrased)…”My goodness, this could destroy the world…..of Warcraft.” The gameplay in the episode was authentic (according to my son). Blizzard, the creator of Warcraft, is prominently displayed throughout the episode. They are not ignorant: they know their demographic is a large part of the Southpark audience… We must not forget that aspect…these are businesses that want these “free accounts” to entice players to derive the benefits of membership. For that, you, the player, must pay!

Anyway, enjoy Second Life all. I will be with you in spirit. Try not to lose your Linden dollars in the experience!!

I should have known better. When you want to create a project that educators would take ownership for don’t begin around REPORT CARD WEEK!!! My digital project depends upon that input, but the actual development is my job. So my goal is this…any sign, movement, or utterance in any form that refers a preference in context to my project, I am pouncing on it.

Sample conversation.

“Hello _______.”
“Hi Shaun.”
“So, you know how to use drawing tools in Star Office 8?”
“Uh whaa…”
“No problem! Done! Thanks for the input!”

Tone of grunts, body movements, “blink once for yes”, etc. will also be incorporated as feedback.
Jury is still out on “silence means consensus”. Have a staff meeting tomorrow. May need to happen.

Clarence Fisher’s presentation raised some thoughts as I continue to explore the variables that affect the validity of technology for students in the classroom. One variable is ratio as demonstrated by Clarence has in his room…an ideal 1:1. Every class in our system has 4 sun terminals in the room and a school lab. I have managed a 1:1 ratio in my behavioural program..I have 8 terminals (hey, when they give you two hubs you use them….) How important is ratio (school access) for our students?
Smartboards are an example where collaboration and potential for effective use is demonstrated at a 1:20 (more or less), yet this technology, I admit, allows for multiple students to work on one board. Yet the ratio is not 1:1, and I would argue that proper use of this technology, as demonstrated by both students in this class and some of our presenters(Darren Kuropatwa), is really the key to engaging students.
So, those students that have the chance to go home and use their personal technology to access school resources benefiting at a greater degree than those who cannot afford these technologies? If so, how do we address this?

Collaboration, access, teacher knowledge of technology have been important topics in this room. Clarence has shown how excellence in these areas have developed positive, engaging experiences for his students. I think, as Alec has mentioned, more research is needed in regards to the topic of ratio. Chicken or the egg scenario— do we encourage boards to pour money into reaching that 1:1 ratio that would then “prod” teachers to incorporate these technologies in the classroom, or expose teachers to effective uses of educational technologies (and proper inservice) that would then result in boards allocating more money into increased access? Both?

I listened to the Feb. 27th Ustream conversation on the ongoing projects and I had a few thoughts to blog…
First, the projects mentioned are all astoundingly impressive and I am envious of your various muses…where you people get your inspirations is beyond my means and should be commended. That cannot be overstated!

The important comment I gleaned from the conversation, especially from Alec, is that it is fine to make progress, make mistakes, as long as you document/blog your experiences. Really isn’t that what reflective learning is all about isn’t it?

Also, I appreciate the fact you techies still love us GUI based educators..I was in the middle of an anxiety attack listening to your discussions via the computer science people before that comment..

Last of all, in reference to the Ustream recording…maybe it’s just my old G3 laptop (darn thing actually plays Ustream to a T) but with headphones the participants comments are very low, and Alec now owes me a hearing aid from his clear, articulate, high decibel comments!