I don't know what it is about mountains, but I love them. I always have. I remember as a small kid staring at the Appalachain Mountains that I grew up in, just wondering. You know, looking at the ridge lines receeding seemingly forever into the distance and just wondering where they went. Sunsets in the mountains are always so spectacular. Sunrise is even more so; especially when you wake up in a sleeping bag watching the sun come up over your toes.
I became a telemark skier, then racer, then backcountry enthusiast. I guess that happened when I discovered the amazing Wasatch and Rocky Mountains and what backcountry skiing was REALLY about. Telemark racers are notorious for making the race secondary to the free ski in order to just hit the trees (not literally but backcountry wise). Those races were too much fun, and so my love of mountains expanded. Then, there were the Alps that became more familiar during the Telemark World Championships in St. Anton, Austria and San Gervais, France. Jumping with the Norgies (Norwegian Tele Skiers) was certainly eye-opening. I realized you could talk with anyone, anywhere in the world if you could talk about mountains; or better yet, if you were experiencing them together you didn't need to talk at all. Blissful existence and good memories afterwards.
I could go on and on about mountain experiences; the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt; the backside of Killington, Vermont; spring camping trips up Tuckerman's Ravine in New Hampshire; even an expedition to Mt. Everest as a trekker and student of expedition life. Hiking the mountains, biking the mountains, climbing the mountains, trout fishing in the mountains of Montana, or just staring at the mountain ridges from my kitchen window in Vermont. Many of my most memorable and long-lasting friendships were forged in the mountains.
So what's this got to do with technology and on-line learning? Not much. That's the whole point. Contrast. Having the one makes you appreciate the other. So when it came time to design a course (in Moodle) for on-line study, I chose a topic that took me to the mountains (in terms of content, not actual geography) where I knew the subject matter would keep me going through the frustration of "dissonance in learning". I am learning lot, but I'm still struggling with how to get it all into my moodle course. I did this little widget flickr badge to motivate and inspire students of my Avalanche Safety in the Backcountry on-line course. Seems the only one it's motivated is me, cause I can't get it into moodle (yet).
Check out my new flickr badge, anyway. Most of the photos are not mine. Wish they were.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Thinking, not computing.
“We need to get away from the notion that computers are something we go use in a lab once a week. When was the last time we sent kids to a pencil lab?”
Chris Lehman, principal at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia
I think what Mr. Lehman is saying is that the computer, as a tool, needs to be more integrated into the entire educational experience. Additionally, and perhaps more subtly inferred, is the notion that training the mind comes before the use of tools to express or document what the mind produces. Once again, it is the mind that matters in education. The tools change. The tools are secondary to education and the two are distinctly different.
The difficulty, however, comes in when the lives of our young people (the MySpace Generation) are filled with “programmed” activities. Yes, it’s fascinating to play with ipods and personal computers and phone cameras and to learn flash and photoshop and imovie and 2nd life virtual realities. But filling our lives, or the lives of our children, with these activities precludes the possibility of developing imagination. If we fill all our time learning the tools, when do we learn to think, imagine and make the connection between the tool and what to do with it? The whole person, complete with curiosity, imagination, and motivation to connect the dots is the goal of education. The tools don’t do it. Effective pedagogy and assessment does.
The value in learning programmed tools and applications is two fold. The most obvious is learning to use the tool. Then, there’s the less obvious, what to do with it? Web 2.0 Technology gives us the invaluable opportunity to connect in ways that were never possible before. The value in learning the tools is in answering the question, where will the next generation take this technology and how can we educate the mind to do it in the best possible way. Where do we want the next generation to go? Are the values of peace, moral conscience, and world-wide human betterment still the goal? How do we teach our coning generations to use the tools of technology to get closer to the goal than we have?
Chris Lehman, principal at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia
I think what Mr. Lehman is saying is that the computer, as a tool, needs to be more integrated into the entire educational experience. Additionally, and perhaps more subtly inferred, is the notion that training the mind comes before the use of tools to express or document what the mind produces. Once again, it is the mind that matters in education. The tools change. The tools are secondary to education and the two are distinctly different.
The difficulty, however, comes in when the lives of our young people (the MySpace Generation) are filled with “programmed” activities. Yes, it’s fascinating to play with ipods and personal computers and phone cameras and to learn flash and photoshop and imovie and 2nd life virtual realities. But filling our lives, or the lives of our children, with these activities precludes the possibility of developing imagination. If we fill all our time learning the tools, when do we learn to think, imagine and make the connection between the tool and what to do with it? The whole person, complete with curiosity, imagination, and motivation to connect the dots is the goal of education. The tools don’t do it. Effective pedagogy and assessment does.
The value in learning programmed tools and applications is two fold. The most obvious is learning to use the tool. Then, there’s the less obvious, what to do with it? Web 2.0 Technology gives us the invaluable opportunity to connect in ways that were never possible before. The value in learning the tools is in answering the question, where will the next generation take this technology and how can we educate the mind to do it in the best possible way. Where do we want the next generation to go? Are the values of peace, moral conscience, and world-wide human betterment still the goal? How do we teach our coning generations to use the tools of technology to get closer to the goal than we have?
Thursday, April 5, 2007
flickr fantasy
I like to periodically look at my classmates' blogs to see what everyone else is writing about and what sorts of tools are being used. Today, while sitting at my usual spot in the bookstore cafe, I scanned the blogs and found that Jen had done a sweet little animated flash widget with photos from flickr. I was mesmerized and spent the next six and a half hours cropping and uploading and organizing photos to do the same.
I was obsessed. The more I did, the more I wanted to do. I did sets, and groups and tried to do another flicker flash widget for my avalanche class (haven't figured it out, yet) and then realized I could organize my portfolio for viewing a lot easier than adding pages to my web site. Wahhooooooo!! I thought I'd reached nirvana in a flash (get it?). I was so obcessed that I worked all day exploring flickr instead of doing the moodle work I'd planned to do.
I was motivated like I never was when it was assigned to us to explore flickr. Now, why is that? What was the mechanism that stirred my imagination when my instructor, although well prepared and expert at the job, could not? This question is exactly what we've been reading and discussing. That is, how can an educator customize (differentiate) education and/or the tools one uses to motivate learning? In particular, how can we, as educators, use web tools to motivate and assist learning?
For me, personally, being so visual, I am intrigued with motion, color, photography and how things look. Naturally, the flickr badge caught my attention. Herein lies the key - how do we find that tool, that mechanism, the question that will open a door and motivate a student? It's not so simple. I'm sure at some point in explaining flickr, someone probably mentioned the badge widget and other features of flickr. It wasn't until I SAW it and CONNECTED the possibility to how I could use it as a tool in creating my avalanche safety course, that I "saw the light" so to speak.
In the classes I have taught, I always ask, "Why are you taking this class and what do you expect to get out of it?" I even do this with four and five-year-olds who always amaze me with their wisdom. This gives me an insight into each student's mindset, prior experiences and personal expectations. And, even though I have objectives, goals, needs assessment and structure for the class (although frequently I don't finalize my course structure till I've asked this question) inevitably, I customize the details of executing the class based on the individual students. Along the way I check in, monitor and access not only the progress of the class, but each individual according to his or her personal goals. I check on myself, as well. Am I achieving my objectives and goals? Are the tools I'm using motivating and assisting understanding or are they confusing the issue? Are the students "getting it?" Or, do I need to take another tack? Perhaps the plan works for some, but not others. How do I deal with that and is my structure flexible enough to accommodate change?
With all the readings we've been doing, it's been gratifying to realize that what I've been doing has support in the educational community and has a name - differentiated learning. Not having had the benefit of formal education in education, I was just following my nose and my intuition. I wasn't trying to be an educator as much as a "guide." This has been my own personal guiding rule for being a mom or an educator or any sort of leader. Respect all as equals. Even the 5-year old can show you something new and valuable.
I can't imagine teaching any other way. After all, every one is different. Everyone responds to different kinds of stimuli. Like me, spending six and a half hours on a flickr badge, finally "discovering" flickr and finally being motivated to really learn what it can do.
I was obsessed. The more I did, the more I wanted to do. I did sets, and groups and tried to do another flicker flash widget for my avalanche class (haven't figured it out, yet) and then realized I could organize my portfolio for viewing a lot easier than adding pages to my web site. Wahhooooooo!! I thought I'd reached nirvana in a flash (get it?). I was so obcessed that I worked all day exploring flickr instead of doing the moodle work I'd planned to do.
I was motivated like I never was when it was assigned to us to explore flickr. Now, why is that? What was the mechanism that stirred my imagination when my instructor, although well prepared and expert at the job, could not? This question is exactly what we've been reading and discussing. That is, how can an educator customize (differentiate) education and/or the tools one uses to motivate learning? In particular, how can we, as educators, use web tools to motivate and assist learning?
For me, personally, being so visual, I am intrigued with motion, color, photography and how things look. Naturally, the flickr badge caught my attention. Herein lies the key - how do we find that tool, that mechanism, the question that will open a door and motivate a student? It's not so simple. I'm sure at some point in explaining flickr, someone probably mentioned the badge widget and other features of flickr. It wasn't until I SAW it and CONNECTED the possibility to how I could use it as a tool in creating my avalanche safety course, that I "saw the light" so to speak.
In the classes I have taught, I always ask, "Why are you taking this class and what do you expect to get out of it?" I even do this with four and five-year-olds who always amaze me with their wisdom. This gives me an insight into each student's mindset, prior experiences and personal expectations. And, even though I have objectives, goals, needs assessment and structure for the class (although frequently I don't finalize my course structure till I've asked this question) inevitably, I customize the details of executing the class based on the individual students. Along the way I check in, monitor and access not only the progress of the class, but each individual according to his or her personal goals. I check on myself, as well. Am I achieving my objectives and goals? Are the tools I'm using motivating and assisting understanding or are they confusing the issue? Are the students "getting it?" Or, do I need to take another tack? Perhaps the plan works for some, but not others. How do I deal with that and is my structure flexible enough to accommodate change?
With all the readings we've been doing, it's been gratifying to realize that what I've been doing has support in the educational community and has a name - differentiated learning. Not having had the benefit of formal education in education, I was just following my nose and my intuition. I wasn't trying to be an educator as much as a "guide." This has been my own personal guiding rule for being a mom or an educator or any sort of leader. Respect all as equals. Even the 5-year old can show you something new and valuable.
I can't imagine teaching any other way. After all, every one is different. Everyone responds to different kinds of stimuli. Like me, spending six and a half hours on a flickr badge, finally "discovering" flickr and finally being motivated to really learn what it can do.
Monday, April 2, 2007
The Gods Must Be Crazy or Unfamiliar With Web 2.0
Technology is a tool that broadens the scope of possibility. Without the human mind behind it, however, there is no creativity, only programming. The importance of the tool is that it provides a window to the world. It gives us the opportunity to see and hear and experience (to a limited degree) almost instantaneously, the writings, thoughts, visions and news of the world. It allows us access to the world’s libraries, books and people. Nothing is far away; no one is a stranger and no culture hides with the possibilities of internet technology.
Technology is the tool that allows us to be creative by being able to access new data with which to work. We make new connections between old things or new things. We create seemingly new things through the connection of heretofore unrelated elements. New thinking is generated through new stimulus or seemingly new stimulus because of new access.
The mind, the individual, with his or her individual talents and short comings, is the raw material with which the educator works. That material, that person, remains a complex, fertile, as yet not fully understood, field of potential. The mind is subject to fluctuations of mood, chemistry, environmental factors, age, developmental level, physical/emotional variations, and even the personal response to a particular educator. Every person, every moment, every day is different.
It is the educator’s job to make the tools for accessing information useful to the minds he/she works with. It is up to the educator, to find ways to stimulate interest, motivation, creative thought. There are many tools with which to do this, but few are as impactful or exciting as the tools of Web 2.0 and 3.0. These tools are part and parcel of the new generation's environment, but they are less familiar (if familiar at all) to the prior generations who are the educators. This is the dilemma.
There was a film made some years ago Called "The Gods Must be Crazy. " It's about an Australian Aboriginial native who found a Coke bottle that seemingly fell from the sky. He’s never seen such a thing nor have any of his tribe. It turns out to be a very useful tool, so useful, infact that this small tribe who have never known "ownership" or anger or violence, now start to experience these things because of this new thing that is essentially, the new technology. Everyone wants it. But no one knows how to handle it. And, suddenly everything has changed. The native tries to get rid of the Coke bottle; but somehow it keeps comeing back. So he decides to walk to the end of the earth and throw it off, so they can go back to being the way they were. Somehow, it never happens and the adventures that he and his family get into during the journey bring them into more and more contact with new things, not less.
This film is available on UTube in its entirelty, but the part that interests me is the concept of how the coke bottle changed them, the natives. The bottle was just a bottle. It's impact on them, however, was extensive and ever widening.
So, here's the point. Educators have all sorts of tools at their disposal. They are only able to use those that they understand and find personally helpful. Students come from a different world, so to speak, where the language of the internet tools is simply part of their thinking. All tools are useful. All internet tools are useful. But you can't use them, or speak the language that a student needs if you don't understand the tools.
Technology is the tool that allows us to be creative by being able to access new data with which to work. We make new connections between old things or new things. We create seemingly new things through the connection of heretofore unrelated elements. New thinking is generated through new stimulus or seemingly new stimulus because of new access.
The mind, the individual, with his or her individual talents and short comings, is the raw material with which the educator works. That material, that person, remains a complex, fertile, as yet not fully understood, field of potential. The mind is subject to fluctuations of mood, chemistry, environmental factors, age, developmental level, physical/emotional variations, and even the personal response to a particular educator. Every person, every moment, every day is different.
It is the educator’s job to make the tools for accessing information useful to the minds he/she works with. It is up to the educator, to find ways to stimulate interest, motivation, creative thought. There are many tools with which to do this, but few are as impactful or exciting as the tools of Web 2.0 and 3.0. These tools are part and parcel of the new generation's environment, but they are less familiar (if familiar at all) to the prior generations who are the educators. This is the dilemma.
There was a film made some years ago Called "The Gods Must be Crazy. " It's about an Australian Aboriginial native who found a Coke bottle that seemingly fell from the sky. He’s never seen such a thing nor have any of his tribe. It turns out to be a very useful tool, so useful, infact that this small tribe who have never known "ownership" or anger or violence, now start to experience these things because of this new thing that is essentially, the new technology. Everyone wants it. But no one knows how to handle it. And, suddenly everything has changed. The native tries to get rid of the Coke bottle; but somehow it keeps comeing back. So he decides to walk to the end of the earth and throw it off, so they can go back to being the way they were. Somehow, it never happens and the adventures that he and his family get into during the journey bring them into more and more contact with new things, not less.
This film is available on UTube in its entirelty, but the part that interests me is the concept of how the coke bottle changed them, the natives. The bottle was just a bottle. It's impact on them, however, was extensive and ever widening.
So, here's the point. Educators have all sorts of tools at their disposal. They are only able to use those that they understand and find personally helpful. Students come from a different world, so to speak, where the language of the internet tools is simply part of their thinking. All tools are useful. All internet tools are useful. But you can't use them, or speak the language that a student needs if you don't understand the tools.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Internet Neighbors
Because I live in a rural area of Vermont, in a wee, tiny town, I can only get dial-up service for internet acess. So, in order ot do most of my schoolwork, I go to the bookstore internet cafe, buy a latte, get the password for the day and enter into the world of high-speed internet. I sometimes spend over 9 hours a day there. I see the breakfast meeting crowd, the lunch crowd, the afternoon shoppers, the Long Trail School kids who get off the bus at the bookstore for lacrosse practice or to be picked up later by parents who are still working. I watch the cafe slowly start to empty out about 5:30 or 6:00.
Inevitably, I see lots of folks I know - other lacrosse or hockey parents, my son sometimes meets me after school, business people I know. People say hello, chat awhile to catch up on any news, ask what's new. Total strangers help each other with the weird things that happen when the router blinks out. It's a really tempramental router but the regulars know it just has to be reset. These are my neighbors, friends and acquaintances. These are the folks with whom I share a little bit of the world.
At the same time, I'm logged into any number of on-line discussions or chats. I read the news from all over the world through all my RSS news feeds. I read the thoughts and writings of like-minded professionals and students through their blogs and participate in the larger "community of thought and contribution" through various wikis. Frequently, I'm emailing friends and associates as far away as the People's Republic of China or Long Island. I can click a photo of a friend having coffee with me and instantaneously show it to a friend in France. I'm here but I'm there. I'm sharing my little moment in time and space with these folks, too.
Right now, I'm sitting alone in the cafe. It's 5:45 and I'm the last of the die hards, today. The silver is clinking and rattling as it's being taken from the dishwasher and put away for tomorrow. The music is quietly playing in the bckground. I took a break earlier to go down the street to watch my son at lacrosse practice. It was sunny and cold. I was both warm in the sun shining on my face and cold in the wind that blew through my too light coat. It was wonderful to feel the world around me and hear the sounds of boys at practice, siblings play chase to pass the time and familiar parents discuss this year's team, coach, weather, whatever.
Then, I came back here to the digital world. I don't need a second life. I have many lives at any second of the day. They're all valid. They're all real. All these folks are my neighbors and I am dumbstruck with the wonder and reality that we, truly, have become a global village.
And then, the immediate next thought is, "How then, do we really create community in this global village? Or will it happen as naturally as just neighbors passing the time of day?"
Inevitably, I see lots of folks I know - other lacrosse or hockey parents, my son sometimes meets me after school, business people I know. People say hello, chat awhile to catch up on any news, ask what's new. Total strangers help each other with the weird things that happen when the router blinks out. It's a really tempramental router but the regulars know it just has to be reset. These are my neighbors, friends and acquaintances. These are the folks with whom I share a little bit of the world.
At the same time, I'm logged into any number of on-line discussions or chats. I read the news from all over the world through all my RSS news feeds. I read the thoughts and writings of like-minded professionals and students through their blogs and participate in the larger "community of thought and contribution" through various wikis. Frequently, I'm emailing friends and associates as far away as the People's Republic of China or Long Island. I can click a photo of a friend having coffee with me and instantaneously show it to a friend in France. I'm here but I'm there. I'm sharing my little moment in time and space with these folks, too.
Right now, I'm sitting alone in the cafe. It's 5:45 and I'm the last of the die hards, today. The silver is clinking and rattling as it's being taken from the dishwasher and put away for tomorrow. The music is quietly playing in the bckground. I took a break earlier to go down the street to watch my son at lacrosse practice. It was sunny and cold. I was both warm in the sun shining on my face and cold in the wind that blew through my too light coat. It was wonderful to feel the world around me and hear the sounds of boys at practice, siblings play chase to pass the time and familiar parents discuss this year's team, coach, weather, whatever.
Then, I came back here to the digital world. I don't need a second life. I have many lives at any second of the day. They're all valid. They're all real. All these folks are my neighbors and I am dumbstruck with the wonder and reality that we, truly, have become a global village.
And then, the immediate next thought is, "How then, do we really create community in this global village? Or will it happen as naturally as just neighbors passing the time of day?"
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Quiet Time
I heard an interesting talk on WNPR the other day as I was driving along. It was the author of a book, The Fourteen Traditions, talking about how children today have way too much stimulation, entertainment, planned activities and passive activity in their lives. The book is a comparison of the present generation to those of previous, quieter, less "entertained" generations. It poses the question, "Is all the stimulation, entertainment and activity that technology affords the young and into which we are all plunged, good for us? How will this change children of this generation from those of the past? How will we develop contemplative, self-reflective adults if the means through which these qualties are achieved is changed?"
This author, whose name I can't recall just now, stressed how he grew up with a strong sense of self developed through quiet, reflective activities. Children were encouraged to read, write, imagine or reflect during free time. There was little in the way of entertainment. Days were spent in school or work or doing chores. What little time there was for play was spent in imaginary games and environments - places where only the mind could go. Toys were made, not bought. Evenings were quietly spent around the dinner table talking over the day. and, if there was any time afterwards, it was spent with reading, a stamp collection or family storytelling.
Now, conversation is infrequent, if at all, among family members. Everyone is tuned in to his or her own mode of entertainment. The television is going, as are the portable DVD players and ipods. Children and teenagers spend free time engaged in playstations, xbox, computer games, ipods, video or other entertaining and technology heavy pastimes. Where and when does anyone reflect on what one is doing? There's so much doing, is there actually any time to absorb it all; to comprehend it all or to see ourselves in it?
This is a metacog blog. So the question becomes, how and when do our children learn to learn about themselves if they are always so busy? Does metacognition exist for them?
This author, whose name I can't recall just now, stressed how he grew up with a strong sense of self developed through quiet, reflective activities. Children were encouraged to read, write, imagine or reflect during free time. There was little in the way of entertainment. Days were spent in school or work or doing chores. What little time there was for play was spent in imaginary games and environments - places where only the mind could go. Toys were made, not bought. Evenings were quietly spent around the dinner table talking over the day. and, if there was any time afterwards, it was spent with reading, a stamp collection or family storytelling.
Now, conversation is infrequent, if at all, among family members. Everyone is tuned in to his or her own mode of entertainment. The television is going, as are the portable DVD players and ipods. Children and teenagers spend free time engaged in playstations, xbox, computer games, ipods, video or other entertaining and technology heavy pastimes. Where and when does anyone reflect on what one is doing? There's so much doing, is there actually any time to absorb it all; to comprehend it all or to see ourselves in it?
This is a metacog blog. So the question becomes, how and when do our children learn to learn about themselves if they are always so busy? Does metacognition exist for them?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Wiki Wiser
Will's Web II class was a potpourri of wiki's and wiki usage. A little sample of what I did last night in class is just to your left under 'about me."
To see the real thing, here's the link:
http://mat064.pbwiki.com/sheila
To see the real thing, here's the link:
http://mat064.pbwiki.com/sheila
Eureka! Audio Clip for Junior Ski and Snowboard School
Here it is!!!! Finalemente! Eureka! Can this be it?
The audio clip has arrived, alive.
Stratton Mountain Junior Ski and Snowboard School
Instructional audio clip #1
The audio clip has arrived, alive.
Stratton Mountain Junior Ski and Snowboard School
Instructional audio clip #1
My Home Town, Y'all
Believe it or not, I come from a small, coal mining town on the New River in West (by God) Virginia. Every Spring I get a hankering to go there. Check it out. Life in the hills of Beckley, West Virginia.
Can't get there from here...
I know I'm doing something wrong; but what is it?
I got the editing done (Garage Band, Audacity, Itunes),
I got the clip converertedinto an Mp3(Switch),
I got the clip uploaded to Hipcast (tried Odeo, too),
I got it published to our class blog for this purpose(Hipcast),
I even got to the source code and copied it.
But Blogspot will not let me post it into the source code on my blog.
It looks like this:
Well, I can't show you the code because the editor tells me there's something
wrong with it. Sigh. Big sigh..
Just can't get there from here.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Oy!!! Audio!!
I'm still struggling witht the audio thing. How can this be so difficult? Hipcast doesn't work. Audacity doesn't work. Maybe these things have something to do with the problem. Now, I'm working with Odeo, a nifty new widget that has at least let me get my audio clip into itunes. Has this gotten me any closer to my goal of getting my audio clip actually loaded onto my blog? Oy!! I don't know.
Garage Band Rag
Having struggled with Audacity, imovie and a few other free sound and editing softwares for the last month, I'm still (I repeat STILL) working on a sound clip of about 7 minutes. Perhaps the problem is that I have worked with film and sound editing at a professional level and I'm expecting too much from both myself and the available software. I am accustomed to using FinalCutPro for film and sound editing. I'm a MAC user for those of you who don't know. Perhaps the inherent limitations (or just plain differences) of nonprofessional sound editing software is what's driving me crazy. Isn't there some sort of standard vocabulary?
I'm now working in Garage Band, at the suggestion of a classmate. The editing should be intuitive and industry standard, but, Garage Band seems to have its own vocabulary. In editing a marker is used to note a spot where editing is intended to occur. However, in GB a marker is something else and so far, I've not found the equivalent by another name. I've found this to be true with lots of other "tools." It's hard to do what I need because tools are called things other than the known, industry standard names or names that I, a basic level professional, have come to know as standard. And, there doesn't seem to be any easy way (that I've found) to translate; like maybe an old-fashioned glossary. Why?
At this point, I've finally figured out how to cut, join (no options for transition although GB does a great job of the match-up in joining clips), add audio clips and tracks and with the aid of a sweet little software called Switch, www.nch.com (purchased online for $28 after a 15 day trial period) I've converted my edited sound into an mp3 (Garage Band does not save as an mp3 which seems a bit mean-hearted on the part of the developers) ready to be uploaded by Hipcast, today. Now, if I can only master Hipcast. Wish me luck.
I'm now working in Garage Band, at the suggestion of a classmate. The editing should be intuitive and industry standard, but, Garage Band seems to have its own vocabulary. In editing a marker is used to note a spot where editing is intended to occur. However, in GB a marker is something else and so far, I've not found the equivalent by another name. I've found this to be true with lots of other "tools." It's hard to do what I need because tools are called things other than the known, industry standard names or names that I, a basic level professional, have come to know as standard. And, there doesn't seem to be any easy way (that I've found) to translate; like maybe an old-fashioned glossary. Why?
At this point, I've finally figured out how to cut, join (no options for transition although GB does a great job of the match-up in joining clips), add audio clips and tracks and with the aid of a sweet little software called Switch, www.nch.com (purchased online for $28 after a 15 day trial period) I've converted my edited sound into an mp3 (Garage Band does not save as an mp3 which seems a bit mean-hearted on the part of the developers) ready to be uploaded by Hipcast, today. Now, if I can only master Hipcast. Wish me luck.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Home, Home on the Wayfare...
There appears to be a plethora of new mapping mashups. It does appear to be the new combo technology to use satelite maps coombiined with map maps and various other new technologies to make it possible to "wiki" mapping. What would old world cartographers have to say about this? How do you suppose Christopher Columbus might have approached the Queen of Spain to finance his trip to the unknown new world if he had "Wayfaring" at his disposal? Wow. Queen Isabella would have been mighty impressed. For those of us int he "new world" however, it's lovely to go home, home on the wayfaring. The limitation is the availability of satelite maps of the area. Since I'm from a small town in West Virginia, there's little available. Too bad. And, now I live in a small town in Vermont. Again, not much available. The problem here is that all those cosmopolitan areas already have tons of points of interest available on all sorts of regular maps. Those small towns are the onew who could use it.
For educational purposes, the new map technologies present some pretty fabulous opportunities to get students excited about geography and history. I can definitely see applications for all sorts of education. How about touring around the parts of the world from which famous literature or art has originated? Fabulous. Maybe the post should have been called "Art, Art on the Wayfare...".
For educational purposes, the new map technologies present some pretty fabulous opportunities to get students excited about geography and history. I can definitely see applications for all sorts of education. How about touring around the parts of the world from which famous literature or art has originated? Fabulous. Maybe the post should have been called "Art, Art on the Wayfare...".
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
ARCS, IDDE, ADDIE, Piaget, Bruner, Gagne, Fink!
LBJ took the IRT down to 4th ST USAAAAAAAA. When he got there what did he see? The youth of America on LSD.
Remember the musical, HAIR? I sometimes feel that I'm singing another version of the above song when I have to recite my favorites in the educational theory arena. It goes like this...
ARCS a favorite of mine, useful and found in IDDEEEEEEEEEE. When you get there look and see; does this have something to do with ADDIE?
Favorites? Well, should I start with Piaget? Bruner? Gagne? Fink? I find it hard to say who or what is my favorite theory or theorist. As applicable to what? All are important. All have application. All are stepping stones to the next or reflections of the past. What about Maria Montessori? Her name hasn't come up. We study some, we ignore others. There are simply too many to do them all. But we cover the basic concepts. And, in my book, the best is a combintion of them all - whatever theories apply to the need and give the student the tools needed to achieve. That's my favorite.
Remember the musical, HAIR? I sometimes feel that I'm singing another version of the above song when I have to recite my favorites in the educational theory arena. It goes like this...
ARCS a favorite of mine, useful and found in IDDEEEEEEEEEE. When you get there look and see; does this have something to do with ADDIE?
Favorites? Well, should I start with Piaget? Bruner? Gagne? Fink? I find it hard to say who or what is my favorite theory or theorist. As applicable to what? All are important. All have application. All are stepping stones to the next or reflections of the past. What about Maria Montessori? Her name hasn't come up. We study some, we ignore others. There are simply too many to do them all. But we cover the basic concepts. And, in my book, the best is a combintion of them all - whatever theories apply to the need and give the student the tools needed to achieve. That's my favorite.
Furl It!
I've been furling and bookmarking and social bookmarking and generally explorig the world of furl, delicious, and RSS feeds. Has this gotten me anywhere? Not yet. I've read some really interesting stuff. I've been thinking about the meaning of social bookmarking (to be explored furter in another post). But, generally, I still prefer to save articles as web archives on my hard drive in files that I create and organize according to my own eccentric heirarcical system.
There is a very good reason why this works so well for me. I live in rural Vermont where there is only dial up available at my house. For high-speed internet access, I go to the Spiral Press Cafe at the bookstore, spend $4 on coffee and get the password for the day. But there are many days when there is no internet access at all. This is (believe it or not) a reality for many people. windstorms, snowstorms, electrical failures, human failures. So, on those days, I have information on my hard drive to be read at leisure.
Yes, yes. It does sound old fashioned. But I like it. It works for me. I will continue to explore the world of furl, delicious, RSS feeds and lots of new sites that are showing up to help me wade through the slog of information available on any given subject at any given moment. However, I don't find it a slog. I don't find it a chore or an inconvenience to organize my own information. It actually gives me an opportunity to think about the content - sort of like hand writing. What is a chore, is having to learn a new system, software, procedure, etc. when all I want to do is read an article. If I have to do all that everytime I want to read an article, I probably won't bother - unless it's really important.
There is a very good reason why this works so well for me. I live in rural Vermont where there is only dial up available at my house. For high-speed internet access, I go to the Spiral Press Cafe at the bookstore, spend $4 on coffee and get the password for the day. But there are many days when there is no internet access at all. This is (believe it or not) a reality for many people. windstorms, snowstorms, electrical failures, human failures. So, on those days, I have information on my hard drive to be read at leisure.
Yes, yes. It does sound old fashioned. But I like it. It works for me. I will continue to explore the world of furl, delicious, RSS feeds and lots of new sites that are showing up to help me wade through the slog of information available on any given subject at any given moment. However, I don't find it a slog. I don't find it a chore or an inconvenience to organize my own information. It actually gives me an opportunity to think about the content - sort of like hand writing. What is a chore, is having to learn a new system, software, procedure, etc. when all I want to do is read an article. If I have to do all that everytime I want to read an article, I probably won't bother - unless it's really important.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Subscribe to ME!
Hey, you can now subscribe to ME!!! How about that? I'm working on that audio thing. It will be here this week and then you can subscribe to my blog and listen to me ramble on every week. Maybe, I'll even sing. All sorts of possibilities. Singing blogs. Could be a beautiful thing.
Check it out in the left column. There's a link to subscribe.
Check it out in the left column. There's a link to subscribe.
MP3 vs Podcast vs Hipcast vs Feedburner
1. Record and Produce your MP3 file (includes editing)
2. Host your MP3 on a public server.
3. Publish as an RSS by publishing in a blog (automatically turns your MP3 into an RSS)
4. Syndicate by using Feedburner.
This gives me a podcast instead of an MP3. In my blog I will see a verbal connection that when pressed shows me the same image that I would get from hipcast (which turns my MP3 into a flash visual; which is why I get the "tuner" image)
Wow. This was a lot to understand and I'm not yet sure I do.
2. Host your MP3 on a public server.
3. Publish as an RSS by publishing in a blog (automatically turns your MP3 into an RSS)
4. Syndicate by using Feedburner.
This gives me a podcast instead of an MP3. In my blog I will see a verbal connection that when pressed shows me the same image that I would get from hipcast (which turns my MP3 into a flash visual; which is why I get the "tuner" image)
Wow. This was a lot to understand and I'm not yet sure I do.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
About That Audio Clip
I'm still working on it. I've been having lots of problems and distractions. But...I AM making progress. It just seems to take forever to get all the bits and pieces and then put them all together. It may be that I am something of a perfectionist. I can't imagine doing this at least as professionally as I did for Public Access TV. But I had equipment and software that was made to do what I needed, and not a bunch of freebie softwares that don't work.
Audacity is completely useless and I wasted about two solid weeks trying to work with that! I'm actually too depressed and tired to go into all the details of how I find myself a day before my audio clip is due with nothing more than I had last class. That's because I needed to put some time into my other classes having spent the prior two weeks almost solidly on Web II.
Now, I've more or less caught up with Ped II and Networking Environments, but I'm behind on Web II. There just isn't enough time this trimester to do it all. Perhaps that has something to do with all the personal distractions, like sick kids, sick me, legal stuff still having to be done for the divorce that will not end, etc, etc.
Yikes. I love working on my projects. I just wish there was just more time in the day to do it.
Audacity is completely useless and I wasted about two solid weeks trying to work with that! I'm actually too depressed and tired to go into all the details of how I find myself a day before my audio clip is due with nothing more than I had last class. That's because I needed to put some time into my other classes having spent the prior two weeks almost solidly on Web II.
Now, I've more or less caught up with Ped II and Networking Environments, but I'm behind on Web II. There just isn't enough time this trimester to do it all. Perhaps that has something to do with all the personal distractions, like sick kids, sick me, legal stuff still having to be done for the divorce that will not end, etc, etc.
Yikes. I love working on my projects. I just wish there was just more time in the day to do it.
All My Prior Posts
March 7, 2007Noodle Head
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Claiming my Feed
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February 24, 2007Substantive Posts
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Processing vs Posting
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February 19, 2007Random Thoughts
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February 17, 2007Bad Technology / US Cellular
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February 15, 2007Audio Tool
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Technology Overload
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FLUMOXED
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February 9, 2007Eureka Moment
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January 31, 2007
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1/30/07 and 2/1/07 AGAIN
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January 30, 2007Sheila Says...
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Switching Blogs Midstream
I've been inspired by my classmates classy blog layouts and writings that are far more significant than anything I've done. I somehow thought my blog entries were to be treated like a diary. So I posted the silly things I would have put in a diary. I didn't get it that we were supposed to be writing, literally, an essay on each week's readings. Why didn't someone just say, "Write an essay about the week's readings and post it to your blog." Geeeee. Then I would have gotten it. And my posts would have appropriately been essays.
So, I am, at this late date, inspired to do something about my ticky tacky blog and start over. Ta da! I've switched from wordpress to bloglines to, now, blogger. But the question remains, how do I get all my blogs from bloglines over to blogger? Is there a way to "stream" them? Or is it the old cut and past? If I cut and past, I lose all my dates and bits, unless I add them into the blog. Heeeeey. That could be a good work-around.
Now, I need to inform everyone that they can find me at my new address, wwwsheilasays.blog.com. And, I need to move my less than substantive posts to the new layout.
Then...I need to write like hell.
So, I am, at this late date, inspired to do something about my ticky tacky blog and start over. Ta da! I've switched from wordpress to bloglines to, now, blogger. But the question remains, how do I get all my blogs from bloglines over to blogger? Is there a way to "stream" them? Or is it the old cut and past? If I cut and past, I lose all my dates and bits, unless I add them into the blog. Heeeeey. That could be a good work-around.
Now, I need to inform everyone that they can find me at my new address, wwwsheilasays.blog.com. And, I need to move my less than substantive posts to the new layout.
Then...I need to write like hell.
New Blog, New Thoughts
I started teaching "technology in 2000 when I designed and taught the elective curriculums for two classes at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont. I was hired to teach a graphic design course (I am a self employed graphic designer of over 20 years) and to turn the previously extracurricular yearbook club into a class and teach that as well. No one had any idea how to do these things, including me. But, given my adventuring spirit, I figured, "Why not?" After all, that was what design was, as far as I had experienced it, taking an unknown thing with an objective and create a known thing that accomplishes that objective. "Why, not, indeed."
Without the benefit of any formal education in education, I put together curriculums to teach my students industry standard softwares that would allow them to do the work needed. I provided them with concise backgrounds in composition, marketing principles and journalistic design. Then, I set them loose and let them run with the tools of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and QuarkXpress. And you know what, they surprised not only me but themselves as well with the level of thinking, skill and imagination. I guided them by making them come up with their own parameters and critical thinking. The exercises I designed for them pushed them to think before using any technology and then use that technology to achieve an objective. Then, we judged the finished work with critieria that they, the students, self-determined.
What I discovered was that instinctively, I understood the what , why and how of the education part. Perhaps because as a designer I was trained to speak specifically to the message. that is, I think in terms of what are we trying to accomplish here, and how do we know we've done it? This is pretty much what designers ask. And, frankly, this is what teachers ask. What needs to get done, what is the objective I'm trying to reach, what tools do I need to do it, and how will I know if I've achieved my goal?
So. I have to say, I am somewhat perplexed by the continual pounding to express and re-express, the concepts of assess, evaluate, reevaluate, make objectives, make goals and then do it again from the point of view of yet another theory. OK. I get it. I got it. It's not new and it's not exciting or even intriguing anymore.
I am one of those teachers who does it while standing on one foot. The joy comes from figuring it out as I go based on the students I have and what they individually need from me. Sometimes, all the theory in the world doesn't match up to plain old compassion and caring. I care about my students, each and every one of them, the bad ones and the good ones. the ones I teach on the ski slope and the ones I teach ion the classroom.
What I'm wondering right now is how do you express caring and compassion on the internet?
Without the benefit of any formal education in education, I put together curriculums to teach my students industry standard softwares that would allow them to do the work needed. I provided them with concise backgrounds in composition, marketing principles and journalistic design. Then, I set them loose and let them run with the tools of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and QuarkXpress. And you know what, they surprised not only me but themselves as well with the level of thinking, skill and imagination. I guided them by making them come up with their own parameters and critical thinking. The exercises I designed for them pushed them to think before using any technology and then use that technology to achieve an objective. Then, we judged the finished work with critieria that they, the students, self-determined.
What I discovered was that instinctively, I understood the what , why and how of the education part. Perhaps because as a designer I was trained to speak specifically to the message. that is, I think in terms of what are we trying to accomplish here, and how do we know we've done it? This is pretty much what designers ask. And, frankly, this is what teachers ask. What needs to get done, what is the objective I'm trying to reach, what tools do I need to do it, and how will I know if I've achieved my goal?
So. I have to say, I am somewhat perplexed by the continual pounding to express and re-express, the concepts of assess, evaluate, reevaluate, make objectives, make goals and then do it again from the point of view of yet another theory. OK. I get it. I got it. It's not new and it's not exciting or even intriguing anymore.
I am one of those teachers who does it while standing on one foot. The joy comes from figuring it out as I go based on the students I have and what they individually need from me. Sometimes, all the theory in the world doesn't match up to plain old compassion and caring. I care about my students, each and every one of them, the bad ones and the good ones. the ones I teach on the ski slope and the ones I teach ion the classroom.
What I'm wondering right now is how do you express caring and compassion on the internet?
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