Rodeworks

Blogging

2011-04-02T05:11:00.002-07:00

What goes around comes around. Blogger was one of my first places to blog. Since I left over 6 years ago I've posted a lot of content that is now archives at http://tech.rodesites.com/ . Since last fall (2010) I have been on a hiatus from any blogging -- got kind of burned out, not quite sure why I was doing it. With spring approaching it may be time to start a new beginning?

Trying out new Blogger Templates

2011-04-02T05:03:00.002-07:00

I like the new blogger interactive templates. To see them look here: http://rodeworks.blogspot.com/view -- and you can read more at http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/03/fresh-new-perspectives-for-your-blog.html .

This Blog is now dead

2005-04-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have ported everything over to my NEW BLOG! Please update your bookmarks and visit me at http://rodeworks.com . Thanks blogger, it was fun while it lasted.

Interactive Conference Sessions

2005-03-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

Kathy Sierra has a great post entitled Creating Passionate Users: Interactions vs. one way communication. She compares some active learning vs. site and listen conference experiences, and comments on how odd some people find the active learning model.

She writes:

So why does this happen? Why aren't sessions more interactive? Three main reasons:

1) It's just not the way it's done.
2) The speaker doesn't have the kind of classroom-management skills needed to pull of group exercises, especially in a large room.
3) The session is really more of a briefing than an actual learning experience or tutorial, so it's not really appropriate.

Take a look, she makes some excellent points.

MAKE Textbooks

2005-03-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

O'reilly media has two interesting projects -- the first is a new magazine called MAKE. The magazine will feature how-to articles on hacking and playing with technology. The first issue has an article on aerial photography using kites -- cool. This sample article is available for download. I got my copy, and my kite is ready to fly, so look forward to some aerial photographs coming soon. As a kid I was a Popular Mechanics and Popular Science subscriber, back when those magazines had DIY articles on making airplanes, and boats and all sorts of other cool things. The best way to learn and understand technology is to play with it.

The other thing O'reilly has going is something called SafariU. I haven't taken the full tour of how this all works, but the idea is you can create your own custom textbook from parts of O'reilly publications. You can also build a syllabus and book list for students. For teachers of technical subjects this looks like a great idea.

And you can hear all about these from Dale Dougherty in a talk posted at IT conversations. The talk is more like an infomertial than a real lecture, but its short and I thought pretty interesting.

Nifty Corners are Nif-tee

2005-03-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a cool use of CSS. Rounded corners used to be a pain to create but soooo nice looking. Now you can have your rounded corners AND still have a standards compliant website. I've got several web projects in the works, so I'll need to work in some rounded corners.

Simulations and E-learning

2005-03-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Boy, what a month. I can't believe it has been several weeks since my last post. But I haven't been goofing off...

In the podcasting world, two recent shows from IT Conversations deal with the subject of simulations and games for elearning. One is an interview with Henry Jenkins, the program chair at MIT's program in comparative studies. In the interview he discusses his view that the millennial generation is wired differently than us older folks. He draws the line right around age 35, which leaves me eight years shy. The point is that the extensive use of video games for children under 12 leads to different neural paths in their brains. After around age 12 the pathways are set. This generation compares to the baby boomer generation, who were equally different from their prior generation, due to the early influence of television on their brains. I am all over the idea that learning and approach to the workplace will change as this group comes through our institutions. But I'm not so convinced that they see the world all that differently than us older folks do.

The talk by Clark Aldrich is terrific. He lists 6 qualities that are essential for simulations and learning in general:

Linear content
Systems of content
Cyclical content.
Simulation elements that model reality
Game elements that provide familiar and entertaining interactions
Pedagogical elements that ensure the students’ time is spent productively

He discusses the creation of, and results from the virtual leader simulation that he developed. The game elements in these types of simulations, and their immersive nature lead to strong learning experiences. If you are going to learn to ski, which is better: watching other people ski or doing it yourself? Obviously doing by learning leads to more memorable learning. And that's what the millennials are expecting.

Project Completition

2005-03-16T13:33:00.000-08:00

100_1024,
originally uploaded by rodeworks.

Well, Ethan got his project done on the cold war, but I still have several I need to get done. Including my final paper for my Capella Assessment/Evaluation class. So no big essays for another couple of days. You can check out my two latest webdesign projects here:

http://www.yale.edu/summercabaret/2005
http://www.jinxl.com

Both are in still in progress but coming along (more projects!)

Active Conference Plan

2005-03-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

While driving home from NERCOMP in the snow I started thinking, why, at a conference where active learning and technology-enabled learning is all the talk, are we still stuck in the old teaching model. The speakers sit up in the front of the room with their carefully prepared PowerPoint slides and we all sit dutifully in neat rows facing them and taking notes. Isn’t it time for something different? Here is my active conference plan:

Registration – The registration process is done online.

Registrants create a username/password that will give them access to conference materials and activities. They also fill out a detailed questionnaire that is designed to assess their specific interests, learning goals, learning styles, opinion on conference topics and even personality characteristics. Think of this as a combination professional questionnaire and personality test. All who respond are treated to a summary view of all the responses, so that they can see where they fit into the mix.

Based upon the topics that people are interested in, the conference planners develop several broad questions/issues that are to be addressed by conference participants during the conference. Teams of registrants are created and are assigned to address one of these questions/issues. The team assignments are planned to be cross-functional/cross-disciplinary based upon the survey responses.

Pre-conference activities

Once teams are assigned, registrants participate in a pre-conference introduction forum. They upload a picture, describe themselves, post a link to their personal websites, etc. The first team activity, conducted online, is to design a team logo. From the logo a t-shirt will be created and given to team members when arriving at the conference. Maybe the team also selects their topic/question from a list of possible topics?

The conference website also would include short FAQ/training information on technologies to be used during the conference – podcasting, RSS, blogs, etc.

At the conference

The conference itself would have many of the standard trappings of today’s conferences – the exhibitor floor, continental breakfasts, keynote speakers, topical presentations, panel discussions, etc. But there would also be extensive time and dedicated space set aside for team activity. The expectation would be that team members would each attend the sessions they personally found of interest, then return to review the information with their team, share information, and discuss how it all related to their topic. Information learned at the sessions, from discussions with vendors, and other conference activities would now be used immediately in discussions with fellow professionals.

Individual blogs – each member is assigned their own blog to post notes/impressions during the conference. Blogs are organized by team, making it easy for members to share information.

Wireless networking – everywhere, with participants encouraged to bring their laptops everywhere. Encourage session leaders to work laptop use into their presentations (having all access the same website, etc.) Also have a vendor who can rent/loan laptops for the time of the conference.

The final activity would be presentations from all team groups on their findings/conclusions regarding their topic. Presentations would be brief, 10 – 15 minutes in length. If there are a lot of teams they may need to be multiple sessions, as any one sessions shouldn’t exceed 90 minutes in length. And food should be included. Final presentations posted online and become a part of the collective blog postings.

Implementing the Plan

This idea is flexible enough that it could be executed with a small group of people registered at a larger conference. There could be “normal” conference goers there alongside the “active” conferences.

There are a lot of details to still hash out with this idea, BUT this is starting to sound like the kind of conference I would like to attend. Everyone gets to be a active participant, you get to work with and meet new people, and you come out of the conference having really done something.

Nercomp Conference Day 1

2005-03-07T17:17:00.000-08:00

Back from a tiring day at the Nercomp conference. And look, I'm listed as a session convener for the Online Graduate Application talk.

The first session I attended, on ePortfolios in New England, was probably the best one of the day. I've been thinking that ePortfolios is exactly the type of thing we need at Yale School of Drama. But in looking for software and real examples of how they are being used, I didn't find much that was really concrete. It turns out that is because the whole concept is still really emerging, and everyone is implementing their own version in their own way with their own combination of tools. The Open Source Portfolio initiative sounds promising.

I find it ironic that in education we so often talk about active learning, and other new models for education. But then we go to conferences and sit in neat rows, facing a speaker who uses static Powerpoint slides to talk at us for an hour or so. Even for good speakers the format is sooo dry, and for less than good speakers its ghastly. We need a better conference model! Too much talk not enough action!

folks vs the man

2005-03-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

In this month's Wired magazine, the article The Resurrection of Indie Radio offers some good news for fans of good old radio. Clear Channel, the company who probably killed good old radio, is starting to re-introduce local programming in some markets. And for these shows the DJ s actually pick the music and play their own stuff -- imagine that! The future promise is HD Radio, which promises both better signal quality AND more radio stations over the same bandwidth. You will need to buy a new type of radio to receive these broadcasts, but at least your old radio will continue to work, although limited to the old broadcast band.

I wonder though, will this really fly? Sure it sounds good to have 5 stations where we only have one now, more choice, and so forth. But will we really get innovative programming, or more of the same old crap. The way I see it these big radio stations are built on maximizing revenue and minimizing expense. These additional stations may build the overall listening audience, but each individual one will have less than the one station does now. But they'll need to be paying to produce 5 times as much programming. Can they really do this creatively?

The problem is that as a commercial producer tries to respond to greater choices, the complexity grows quickly, and outstrips their ability to keep up and still stay profitable. Eric Raymond, speaking of Linux, described exactly this problem with operating systems. They are getting very complex these days, and its tough for the commercial software companies to catch all the bugs -- there's just so much code. In contract the open source software, like Linux, has an army of programmers all over the world working on it. And as more features are added, they have more volunteer programmers.

Cory Ondrejka, creator of the on line game Second Life, made a similar point about video game programming. He sees the future of games in virtual worlds, like Second Life and the SIMS. Int these environments the players actively contribute to the game environment -- in fact you could say the other players are the game. Traditional video games, where the programmers create all elements of the environment, can't add new story lines and features fast enough to keep players engaged. The strategy as Cory sees it is to create a compelling experience and lest the users provide the creative force.

Which leads me back to the radio model. More stations controlled by a corporate giant will be better. But they can't compete with the user-driven, crazy, creative world of the new radio, Pod casting. In pod casting anyone can have a radio show, and anyone can be a listener, when they want, where they want, and what they want. I don't see how commercial radio can keep up.

Egocasting or Narrowcasting?

2005-03-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

"They encourage not the cultivation of taste, but the numbing repetition of fetish. And they contribute to what might be called “egocasting,” the thoroughly personalized and extremely narrow pursuit of one’s personal taste. In thrall to our own little technologically constructed worlds, we are, ironically, finding it increasingly difficult to appreciate genuine individuality."

So writes in Christine Rosen in The Age of Egocasting from The New Atlantis. Her concern is that as we wrap ourselves into our own private worlds we will start to withdraw from the society around us. And I think that is somewhat true. Since Christmas I have noticed a lot more earphones in the ears of people in the YMCA fitness facility. And while I listen to my own iPod its just struck me as funny that here we all are in the same room, doing the same thing, but also all in our own little worlds.

But you know what? Even when I didn't wear headphones, I didn't talk to anyone else there. And the few I do recognize now, we pull out the earbuds and talk. For me its not a matter of egocasting, but rather narrowcasting. With my iPod, filled with my music, Podcasts and other items, I can listen to what I want, when I want, participate in ideas and discussions that I want to be part of. I used to just listen to whatever was on the TV station in the gym, normally forced to watch something of little interest.

At one time most people in our country participated in the same events. Everyone watched the Milton Berle show, or Ed Sullivan -- they didn't have much choice, because that was all that was on. Now we have many options for entertainment, and it is rare that everyone watches (or listens to) the same thing, much to the chagrin of the Academy Awards folks and their advertisers. So I agree that some shared experience is lost, but were these really quality experiences? I think what we gain through narrowcasting more than makes up for what we lose.

For another take on the subject please check out Regina Lynn's article at Wired News.

Leslie Meets Christo

2005-02-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

100_0971,
originally uploaded by rodeworks.

We went, and we walked through a lot of orange gates. If you went to see "it" then you were disappointed -- after you saw one gate, you saw them all. But that wasn't it. The "it" wasn't to see, the "it" was to be there and experience it. The day, the snow, the people, the park, the experience -- that was worth going for.

Digital Gen Gap

2005-02-27T18:07:00.000-08:00

I love trolling the sales aisles in bookstores, and often end up buying something even when I have way too many books on my "to read" shelf at home. I can't pass up a bargain, and even more so I can't pass up a great find.

A couple of weeks ago, in the sale aisle at Barnes & Noble, I discovered The Connected Family: bridging the digital generation gap by Seymour Papert for half price. It was right next to The History of Embalming, which is actually what caught my eye at first -- but I wasn't even tempted to crack the binding on that. However The Connected Family looked right up my alley, and the price was right, so I couldn't pass it up.

The book was published in 1996, which in computer terms seems like a million years ago. But the discussion is really as relevant now as it was then. In the book he starts by discussing how kids today relate to technology, and then goes on to counsel us parents on how to help nuture and participate in the act of discovery through technology. That part felt a little dated to me. But in the second part he start discussion use of the LOGO programming language, which he developed. And through this how empowering computers could be when kids where given suitable tools to create their own computer projects. He gives examples of both student multimedia projects and using LOGO to create games. His idea is to allow experimentation and progressive building, sort of like building something with Legos. You start with a pile of possibilities and just put things together, maybe pull a few off and reposition them, and generally mess around until you end up with some cool creation. He talks about social toys, that in a computer setting allow kids to create their own characters that interact in their own world.

In schools he is stronly advocating one computer per student -- which in 1996 was a little radical. But then he'd been pushing this point since the 1960's, and it seems he played a strong role in helping Maine launch its one-one middle school computer initiative.

The book jacket lists Seymor as holding the Lego Chair for Learning Research at MIT. A search at MIT shows him still listed on the MIT Media Lab faculty list, and affiliated with the Future of Learning Group. His long career seems to be characterized by forward thinking, and pushing for innovation in the field of education.

Would the Beatles Really Mind?

2005-02-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Grey Album, takes Jay-Z's Black Album and remizes it using bits 'n pieces of the Beatles White Album. And copyright holder to the White Album, EMI, has issued a cease and desist order to DJ Danger Mouse, creater of this mixed up concept. Somehow EMI's position struck me as a little unfair, and I decided to locate a copy of the album and check it out for myself. It seems EMI has been shutting down distributors of the album, but they keep cropping up. In fact there was a mass protest on February 24, with hundreds of sites posting a copy of the album for free download.

And after listening to the album I don't get what EMI is miffed about! There are certainly background bits recognizable as coming from the Beatles, but its just that -- chopped up samples. What really comes across is Jay-Z's raps. Now in fact the album is not my cup of tea BUT it seems to me that EMI is really crossing the line here. This is not a stealing of the Beatles songs, it taking elements of them and making something completely new. That's the creative process, and DJ Danger Mouse seems to be the one who needs protection in this case.

My new girl friend

2005-02-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

Emma!!
originally uploaded by rodeworks.

We found Ethan's camera and the photos from our January trip up to Vermont. A fun filled weekend of skiing at Killington and a very happy hour (or two) at Long Trail Brewery. Take a look

10x10 view of the news

2005-02-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

10x10 view of the news

In "A Fluid Look at the News" Wired highlights the work of Jonathan Harris on the 10 x 10 site. The site offers a visual view of the hour's news, with images drawn from news stories and linked to the stories. Its hard to describe exactly how it all works -- you just need to go there and check it out for yourself. Jonathan describes it as "Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time." His work looks great, and he is now on my radar screen for further investigation. Text is OK, but a visual imagery is a powerful way to represent vast amounts on information in a context that allows the human reader to quickly process it.

I like 10 x 10, but it is not my favorite news aggregator. Take a look at this site. It is all text, but with the boxes, colors and other visual cues it provides a lot of information on the hour's news. Check out the views for other countries, which offers a great view of how they view the news too.

Fluent with IT

2005-02-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Being Fluent with Information Technology (1999), Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, National Research Council. The report is available on line at http://books.nap.edu/books/030906399X/html/index.html .

The National Research Council (NRC) completed a study on the subject of information technology literacy in 1999. The study introduces the concept of fluency with information technology or FITness. This is in contrast to the idea of computer literacy, which is more focused on a student acquiring specific hardware or software skills. The problem with a traditional skills-based approach is that technology evolves rapidly, and the skills learned become obsolete quickly. The FITness approach aims to provide the student with a deeper understanding of technology, providing a framework and flexibility to utilize technology in a complex and changing world.

The discipline of FITness involves three distinct types of knowledge: contemporary skills (i.e. how to create a Word mail merge); foundation concepts (i.e. how information is structured in digital settings); and intellectual knowledge (i.e. debugging problems in complex systems). Achieving FITness “requires deep, essential understanding and mastery of information technology for information processing, communication and problem solving.”

The report suggests that FITness training is best conducted in a project-based setting, allowing the student the opportunity to experience and explore the concepts as part of learning. Implementation of a FITness requirement in a program of study will likely result in a fundamental change to the core curriculum. A basic stand-alone course is probably not the best approach, rather the FITness principles should be integrated throughout the program.

The study responds to the question of why the FITness concept is important in a contemporary education. The prevelance of computer hardware and software in our daily lives is a fairly recent event. As of 2005 the personal computer has only been in wide use for some 20 years, and the internet for 10 years. Many people using technology struggle to make them work, and there is a widespread feeling that users would like to feel a greater sense of control with their technologies. Computer technology, when used properly, has been demonstrated to produce great benefits in productivity and effectiveness. And people are generally curious about computer technologies, and interested in learning more about the subject.

Since the study was released in 1999 the FITness ideas have been integrated into college curriculmns in different ways. Here are a couple of examples. One of the study authors, Lawrence Snyder from the University of Washington, has produced a textbook based on the FITness principles. The book is Fluency with Information Technology (2004), Addison-Wesley. There is a free online course offered through the University of Washington that utilizes the textbook as its basis at http://courses.washington.edu/benefit/ . There is an interesting report on a core curriculum proposal at Calvin College, which integrates the FITness ideas into a liberal arts program at http://www.calvin.edu/admin/rit/ .

Digital Worlds

2005-02-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace:
John Perry Barlow, Electronic Freedom Foundation, February 1996

I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind.

We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere
may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular,
without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.

Cory Ondrejka, creator of the online world Second Life, has a talk on IT Conversations that I was listening in the car today. Actually the talk was so good I listened to it a second time while at the gym. The thing that struck me was the idea that it is now possible to create compelling digitals worlds where people can easily interact with the environment with other people. These worlds can be complex and self-organizing. When the participants in these spaces are given the proper tools they often work actively to build new objects and experiences for themselves and their fellow inhabitants. The worlds he is describing may often end up in the "game" category, but they are far more than mere games. They are complex systems with social structures, economies, and other elements of real-world human interaction.

I have yet to see any "learning system" that spontaneously invites this type of active participation -- maybe we are using the wrong models?

The Read/Write Web at Weblogg-ed

2005-02-16T18:24:00.000-08:00

Will Richardson's blog, Weblogg-ed is always interesting, and has led me to a lot of really great resources. His post today, Weblogg-ed - The Read/Write Web in the Classroom :, is worth a read. I like the thought that the power of the read/write web helps pressure a transformation in education from the outside. And I don't agree that "the man" will shut it down if "they" feel too threatened. But you can judge for yourself.

flickrGraph

2005-02-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

My own flickr site is languishing somewhat. Ethan's camera has gone missing, along with a crop of great ski pictures and my good memory card. But my friend Andy was showing off his new Canon Elph a couple of weeks ago and its pretty sweet -- maybe when I get the tax refund...

I don't know what this site is good for, but whatever it is, its really cool. Maybe, for instance, if you had a big class photo blogging architectural examples. If they cross linked to similar examples on their classmate's pages the resulting map might offer an interesting way to navigate the site. Just one idea.

I often point people to the Newsmap (by the same group) which is a really useful way to see the days hot news. It seems to me that there has got to be more visual ways to help provide a context for digital information, and help us poor overloaded souls make sense of it. I don't know if either example here is "it", but they are certainly very good trys.

LMS and Games

2005-02-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

When developing Learning Management Systems, ePortfolio systems and other educational learning environments we need to stop thinking of them as software projects. What we need to do it take a page from the game development world. Learning systems should:

Provide a sense of "place"
Provide enough challenge to be engaging but not frustrating
Offer a flexible, user defined space
Allow social collaboration
Give connection and access to other learners
Reward for success but a low penalty for failure
Feedback that immediately defines success and failure
Encourage experimentation
Sequential experience (a storyline)
Quick access to supporting resources
An engaging experience
Distribution to a wide variety of devices

This is a quick, off the top of my head list. I have been thinking about LMS' quite a bit over the last few weeks, and continue to experiment with Sakai. I think the problem with these course software systems is that they feel like other office software. And especially for distance ed, and other online experiences that is not good enough. We can create good software, but not necessarily good experiences. And good experiences are what game design is all about.

National Education Technology Plan

2005-02-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have been reading the recently released National Education Technology Plan. It is quite well written, and anyone who has kids in public school, and/or cares about education in our country should take time to read it. The official title is Toward A New Golden Age In American Education, HOW THE INTERNET, THE LAW AND TODAY’S STUDENTS ARE REVOLUTIONIZING EXPECTATIONS. The plan does take every opportunity to herald the benefits of the NLCB legislation, and credit it as the driver behind almost any and every educational success in the last couple of years. But given that Congress is the intended audience for the plan, this can be forgiven.

There report offers some real promise for the desires of the current group of students, or the "millennials." 96% say doing well in school is important to them, 94% plan to continue education after high school, and 88% say going to college is critical. The problem is apparent when you compare this to the 12th grade proficiency ratings in math and science, which are below 30%. Obviously something is broken and needs fixing.

The plan provides some specific examples of successes with technology, highlights the importance of 1 - 1 student to computer ratios, and emphasizes the importance of teacher training. I'd expand that to teacher and administrator technology training. And that training needs to be done utilizing technology.

The need for some revolution in how we design and deliver education to our students is clear. But what we need to do is not think that simply pasting technology into existing educational structures will have the desired effect. Unless our teachers jump into the technology waters, and learn how to swim themselves, they will never be able to serve a leaders for this millennial generation.

Games and Learning

2005-02-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

According to an article in today's (2/10) New York Times Circuits, on an average day over 200,000 people are playing in the on line World of War craft. And these are players over 13 -- maybe not adults, but not 7 year olds either. My 13 year old son is regularly playing in the on line version of Halo 2. And through the headset system he can talk to, and hear the other players talking. He's played with people from China, Texas, Ireland, Iran, but the English are his favorites -- loves the accent. Other on line games, such as the SIMS, have their own followings with hundreds of thousands of players.

The SIMS are going to college, but is college going to the SIMS? It seems that the role of games and game environments is something we'll need to deal with in higher ed over the next 10 years.

We are certainly moving towards a teaching environment that is much more heavily technology dependent. In another article in yesterday's Times (2/9), on the front page, they told to story of a high school in Branson, Colorado, a town of just 77 people, who now have over 1,000 student registered in their online school. The state pays them almost $6 million a year for educating these students. There are many similar example around the country of the popularity of online learning opportunities.

There is a great presentation from IT Conversations on the role of games in education. The speakers are Jaron Lanier is the Founder of VPL Research and Advisor to the National Tele-Immersion Initiative and Will Wright a Co-Founder of Maxis; and Creator of Sim City. Actually the title of the talk is Interface, or something like that. But they raise a lot of good point about game play and its role in education. For instance they introduce the idea that experiencing a virtual world makes you hungrier for real-world experiences. As complex as they are getting, virtual worlds are still a poor imitation of reality. But they also offer a safe environment, where failure have little actual consequence, to experience and explore new ideas.

I don't think games or a game environment will take over online education. But as we move in this direction we need to work towards understanding how games work, and how they can be added to our "tool box" of resources that make up the overall virtual classroom.

Some other resources:

Gamasutra
Serious Games Summit
GameMaker

Mind/Brain Learning Principles

2005-02-08T16:42:00.000-08:00

Mind/Brain Learning Principles by Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine

This is a very interesting article. I'm not quite sure where the scholarship comes from, but it rings pretty true to me. Here are their principles

The brain is a complex adaptive system
The brain is a social brain
The search for meaning is innate
The search for meaning occurs through patterning
Emotions are critical to patterning
Every brain simultaneously perceives and creates parts and wholes
Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception
Learning always involves consious and uncouscious processes
We have at least two ways of organizing memory
Learning is developmental
Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat
Every brain is uniquely organized

I'll keep this right next to my Bloom's Taxonomy. Learning is social, learning is complex and learning is unique -- good points to keep in mind.

Conferences and Technology

2005-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

A recent article at Educause, Social Software and the
Future of Conferences – Right Now, explores how technology might be utilized to enhance the social aspects of participating in a conference.

They have some great ideas here. Last summer I attended the FlashForward2004 conference in NYC, which was a great experience. They had a Flash social site set up, and encouraged everyone to utilize it both before, during and after the conference. I logged in with the account they supplied me and the concept was pretty good. I went through a registration process where I entered all sorts of professional and personal information. Once logged in I could see a world of other registrees, and those with the interested closest to mine were closer to me as visual circles. I could view potions of other people profiles, and there was some internal email and IM capabilities. Anyhow the concept was cool and the graphics were neat (all Flash driven don't you know!) but you can see how much sticking power it had -- I can't even find the bookmark anymore! And I'd imagine my experience wasn't unique.

One really neat social software-meets-conference experience occurred in a session featuring Colin Moock. He was presenting on experiments he's been working on with interactive websites. One aspect of this is you can see who else is on a website when you are and you can see where they move their mouse. In this case it helps you see which are the most clicked links, almost like dog-ears in a book, which help you see which are the most read pages. Another metaphor is a path through the woods -- you may not know where it leads, but if others have gone there, there must be something good at the end.

It was really neat talk and his website at http://www.moock.org has more information on this. But the really cool thing that happend is he started demonstrating this is a confernce room full of people with wireless-network-enabled laptops. And so as he was demonstrating his website people starting logging in and clicking around. Pretty soon there were words and doodles starting to appear as a result of the clicks. A couple of HIs and even a penis appeared. Needless to say this free exchange happening on the display behind him started to be a little distracting for Mr. Moock. But it was a really effective, and unintended, example of how attractive his ideas were.

One idea I have been kicking around for a couple of years it to host my own weekend conference. I'd love to get a bunch of smart people together to talk about smart things. And I think I'll get there sooner or later. But I also realized I could start to put together my own online, virtual conference, AND invite all my favorite speakers. The audio presentations at IT Conversations, http://www.itconversations.com has a lot of good stuff. So far the talks by Douglas Rushkoff and Malcolm Gladwell are my top two favorites. So I can make them my keynote speakers for day one and day two! Anyhow, in my spare time (ha ha) I may actually try to put something together. But until then take a look yourself, and load them into your iPod.

Thoughts on Learning Management Systems

2005-02-02T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about Learning Management Systems (LMS), or Course Management Systems (CMS), or whatever else you might want to call them. In my role as chief technology advocate here at the Yale School of Drama (YSD) I am chairing a faculty technology planning committee, and we are considering advocating wider faculty use of Yale's LMS options. Currently Yale uses an internally developed system called CLASSES, but it looks like we may be moving to Sakai over the next couple of years. And I am not just a planner, I am a user as well. I am taking classes at the on line Capella University, and they just migrated their classroom environment to WEBCT.

Let me say right upfront that as a student I don't like WEBCT. I just find it to be a very inflexible learning environment. My list of complaints grows every day, mostly around items such as it doesn't auto link web addresses in postings, you can't edit your own posts, and other simple user interface/usability issues. The vexing thing is that the features I expect are standard on most other web-based applications I use, so it seems reasonable to expect them in this environment. A more serious issue is that the WEBCT environment seems to be a series of small boxes. In order to get to see the current discussions, for instance, I need to drill through several levels, and finally reach a point where I can see the detail of just one post. The problem is that I often want to respond based on a couple of prior postings, but can't see them when I am doing my own post. This design might be intended to minimize student confusion, but I find it very limiting, and it makes it difficult to see information in its larger context.

I had a demonstration with Yale's test version of Sakai yesterday, and in contrast I really like it. With the little testing I have done I find it to be quite flexible, and it has many nice features. The killer feature, as far as I am concerned, is its ability to integrate RSS feeds. I am getting my web design class posted on the server now, and am eagerly looking forward to working further with it. I'll report back how my students find it, and my impressions after using it in a real classroom situation.

The best aspect of Sakai is its open-source roots, and the ability for the institution to customize the portal based on their requirements. For instance I was discussing the availability of a blogging tool with the Yale project head. That may be coming in version 2.0, but if not it is not a big deal for Yale to grab one of the open source blogging tools and integrate it with our Sakai portal. That is the type of flexibility that I have come to expect in my web experiences, and I am sure exactly what our students are expecting.

The larger issue is whether we even need to be deploying LMS'. George Siemens at elearnspace offers an interesting review of the pluses and minuses of LMS' at http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/lms.htm . At incorporated subversion they have another perspective on the topic at http://incsub.org/blog/?p=202. Both are great articles and well worth checking out.

In the end there are plenty of organizational needs at university's and I don't think our need for some type of LMS will go away. But I am all in favor of the open source, open standards route, and am looking forward to my further foray's with SAKAI.

World change

2005-01-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about how technology is changing our world, and what impacts that will have on the presentation and delivery of education. Here is an outline of some of my recent thoughts:

Customization

Technology is changing our reality, and we are starting to expect the world around us to react to our needs. Consider:

A. Walmart -- Much has been written about the marketing giant. And a lot of the press focuses on how Walmart is crushing small retailers, exploits its workers, and all sorts of other negatives. All of which may be true. Walmart also has a very efficient supply chain, where they try to move products directly from the manufacturer to the customer, with little or no time in warehouses or on store shelves. They work very hard to offer the customer the lowest price possible, and are constantly working to lower prices further (check out their current pressure on the recording industry for sub-$10 CDs.) They do this (and make a lot of money) by being very good at predicting what people will want, and when. The result is when I walk into a Walmart, if everything is working properly, they will have not only the items I want, but items I didn't remember I needed. And in fact one of the top complaints from Walmart customers is that they end up walking out with more items than they intended on buying. The environment is anticipating and responding to my needs!

B. Dell Computers -- Again a very efficient manufacturer, almost no warehousing, and very good information systems. When a customer calls to place their order, the computer they are purchasing doesn't exist. For an order placed at 8am, Dell assembles the parts, builds the computers, and has it packed in a box, on the loading dock by 2pm the same day! Again a quick response to my individual needs and desires for what my computer should be.

C. Amazon.com -- Amazon is a special case, as they fit into my thoughts at several different levels. In the role of customization, they develop a profile of my buying preferences over time. Based upon my past buying behaviors, the Amazon.com store adapts to me. So when I connect to the store the selections I see are different than when my wife connects. Amazon responds one way to me, and another way to her. By the way they have patented this technology, and it is seen as a key advantage over their competitors. It must be working.

These are just a couple of examples of commercial enterprises that are using technology to efficiently get us the items we want (or need), when we want and at a price that beats their competition. They don't always get it right, but their success and continuing growth show that they are meeting our needs. The fundamental effect is that our perception of the world is being changed. We are starting to live in a world -- at least when in one of their segments of the world -- that anticipates and responds to our individual desires.

Two other areas that I see in this technological world change are socialization and information context. I'll write more about them in later posts.

Networks -- Part 2

2005-01-25T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a little more on the Science of Networks. These points stuck with me:

The Internet is not randomly formed. If it was, most nodes, or websites, would have a similar number of connections to other nodes. But the Internet has connectors, a relatively small number of nodes that have a large number of connections to other nodes. Most nodes have few connections, but these few have many. This is often described as the 80:20 rule. 80% of the links are held by 20% of the nodes.

When networks form, new nodes are constantly added. As they make connections, they have a preference for nodes that have the most connections. The rich get richer... In a social setting these are the popular people in the room. There is a "fitness" factor for nodes that can result is a new node rapidly accumulating connections, and even usurp the connector status of existing nodes. The ideas that the web is a great democracy, where any website can complete with any other is simply not true.

Networks can be directional, where the connections are one-way only. This is exhibited on the Internet. My website may link to your website, but yours probably doesn't link to mine. This affects the software robots used by the search engines (google, etc.) to index websites. They end up only being able to index about half the web. These robots start at a connector website, somewhere in the middle of things. They can swim downstream, but can't get upstream.

These revelations only really started to be understood in 1999. And our understanding of how the Internet forms, grows, and changes over time is still evolving (as is the web.) Once these principals were see in relation to the Internet it started to become clear that other networks, from cell structures to economic markets exhibited similar behaviors.

A great read -- well worth the time, and the audio book is well done.

Albert-László Barabási's book, Linked: The New Science of Networks

Studying Networks

2005-01-24T18:02:00.000-08:00

I've been working my way through the audiobook version of Albert-László Barabási's book, Linked: The New Science of Networks . Pretty cool stuff, and surprising how recently we have started to understand how complex networks, like the Internet, come to be. Barabasi manages to range his examples from the rise of early Christendom to the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, to understanding how the Internet forms. The discussion is a little dense at times, but overall there are a lot of really interesting concepts. I have read nothing of network theory up until now, so it was a real eye opener, and gives me a new perspective to how the networks that make up our world function.

The OPTE project is working to create visual representations of the Internet. Here is one of their latest images -- looks alive, doesn't it?

http://opte.prolexic.com/maps/

Linked: The New Science of Networks

2005-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Ethan and I took a walk this morning and here is what we saw! Check out the rest of our walk in our new flickr page.

Keeping the media honest with podcasting

2005-01-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article on several levels. First this is a commentary based upon an interview with UserLand Software CEO Scott Young. That interview is offered as part of ZDNet's podcasts, and the article references the time code of the interviews mp3, so the reader can cross reference what Young actually said with the representation in the article. A very interesting way to offer several layers of information.

And the article itself is also pretty cool. They talk about the value of RSS for keeping track of all sorts of content. Sure, using it for weblogs is pretty good. I recently experimented with using Web Collaborator for a couple of group projects. The killer feature was an RSS feed for each collaboration. I just added each project to my daily RSS feeds, and it was really easy to keep up with the latest posts. I saw a recent reference to an RSScalendar, but the website wouldn't load for me. I'll check it out later, but the concept seems like it could be really useful.

Book References

2005-01-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned several books over the last several weeks. Here are some links to find out more about them on Amazon.com

Rushkoff: Playing the Future
Malcolm Gladwell's books
Society of the Mind cyberthriller

And this'll give me a chance to try the Amazon associates program.

What is a Folksonomy

2005-01-18T19:04:00.000-08:00

It may be the next new word for Webster's dictionary. For a definition take a look here:

IAwiki: FolksOnomy

And for more discussion of this point here is an interesting discussion at Verderwal.net

I saw a great article the other day discussion the folksonomy idea, particularly as it displayed on sites like del.icio.us and furl. Its listed in my FURL archive, which you'll find in the right-side column. Basically the concept is that there are (at least) 3 ways to index information -- have professionals do it (librarians); had the content creators do it; or have readers do it (folks.) And it seems that having the folks do it can have some pretty significant advantages. Its a very interesting discussion.

Experimental Warning -- Proceed with Caution

2005-01-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the idea from A List Apart (I love this website.) Add a warning when you are experimenting with some new web technology to let viewers know that they may hit some bumps.
I have often used my personal websites to showcase new, cool, experimental stuff, and saved the boring stuff for the "real" websites. But sometimes I just get fed up with trying to make my website work for all audiences, and just design to stimulate the senses, standards be damned! And now when frustration hits I'll just post the warning label. Maybe even include a special opt-in warning, like the over 21 age opt-ins that appear before viewing "adult sites" (not that I'd know about those things.)

The Read/Write Web

2005-01-17T18:11:00.000-08:00

I caught a great Podcast today at IT Conversations with Doug Rushkoff. You can hear it yourself at IT Conversations: Doug Rushkoff - Renaissance Prospects . I wrote about Rushkoff's book, Playing the Future, a couple of weeks ago. This talk, as with the book, raised a lot of interesting, thought provoking points. I do think that Rushkoff sometimes takes his points to an illogical extreme, but the ideas themselves ring very true.

This graphic is a must view as you listen to the talk.

The talk is far ranging, starting with a comparison of the parallels between the Renaissance and the current information renaissance. He goes on to discuss the growing control we have over our information environment through hypertext (relate anything to anything else) and ability to truly work with others, share information, and shape our view of the world. We are no longer "passive recipients of stories" but "active participants" in making these stories. His point reminded me of Tim Berners Lee's original vision of the world wide web from the early 90's:

The web was to be “ a common information space in which we communicate by sharing information. A Hypertext link can point to anything, be it personal, local or global, be it draft or highly polished.” And “ second, a realistic mirror of the ways in which we work, play, and socialize…We could then use computers to help us…make sense of what we are doing… and how we can better work together.”

Maybe Tim really did know what he was doing -- its just taking a while for the rest of us to catch up. Rushkoff goes on in his talk to question the whole concept of a market driven economy -- and you know, he makes a pretty persuasive argument.

Blogging and Newsfeeds

2005-01-16T17:48:00.000-08:00

At PodcastTools you'll find some very well done videos that walk you through the process of starting your own blog on blogger. When you get to the page scroll down to THE TRAINING section. There you'll see the first one is how to set up your free blogger account.

Not ready for a blog? Well, why not create your own customized homepage. It costs you nothing except a little time, and take it from me -- it is a worthwhile investment. I use Yahoo's MY YAHOO page. I think you can just click on that link on the right where is says my yahoo. The MY YAHOO page is great, as you can customize it with local weather, comics, and most importantly, see the Newsfeeds from your favorite Blogs and other sources. It is the easiest and quickest way to start experimenting with the power of NEWSFEEDS!

Catch the Podcasting bug!

2005-01-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

I am loving the new I-pod, and am really getting into the whole pod-casting thing. And I'm not the only one. I copied a bunch of Adam Curry's podcasts onto CD for my neighbor Sean to listen to. And he loved it! He's hooked. And is now eyeing the I-pod with renewed interest. I think there may be one in his future, or at least some type of portable mp3 player. The whole this is still kind-of geeky, but it is also a great way to distrubute content. I think I might make the leap and am kicking around a couple of ideas.

E - tunes -- with our own Ethan as the model -- plugged in and ready to Podcast.

Podcasts are not live, and they are not radio. I thing of it more like books-on-tape, or maybe magazines on tape. Its sort of like I can create my own audio magazine, made up of the content that I want to hear. Learn more at podcast.org where you'll find listings of available podcasts and information on getting yourself plugged in.

Accidental Knowledge

2005-01-12T16:48:00.000-08:00

I find that I most often make my web discoveries through a convoluted series of chance encounters. For instance, this evening while checking the latest RSS feeds I noticed this one concerning a new book by Malcolm Gladwell:

Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger

And it sounded pretty good. So I jumped to Malcolm's website and saw the book. But actually seeing as I am taking two graduate classes myself at the moment (I should be doing work for those now...) and teaching a couple of classes, I don't have much spare time for reading. So I decided to check and see if any of Malcolm's books were available as audio books. Which took me to Amazon, and I couldn't find anything. But somewhere in there (and now I forget where) I saw a reference to a recent speech given by Malcolm. Sounds good and I ended up at:

IT Conversations: New Ideas Through Your Headphones

Which is a totally cool site with a ton of interesting audio speeches. I grabbed the Gladwell talk and registered myself on the site. And I added them to my RSS feed listings in Feed Demon so I could keep up on their latest releases. And I was back where I started.

I find myself often jumping quickly from thing to thing. For instance after that little journey I clicked the BLOGTHIS link on my Firefox tool bar and started this entry. Now back to my RSS feeds, and then back to my on line course pages at Capella University (which weren't working 15 minutes ago when I started this whole thing!)

Creative Commonists

2005-01-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

Creative Commonists

Some recent comments by Bill Gates on the subject of less restrictive intellectual property policies has set off a flurry of comments in the web community. I must admit that I was at first skeptical of the importance of this discussion. But the more I learn, the more of a convert and advocate I become. This article from today's WIRED feed nicely sums up this current fracas:

We're Creative Commonists, Bill

Also be sure to pay a visit to the Creative Commons page, listed in my weblinks on the left side of the page.

More Social Gaming

2005-01-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Leo LIVE on the brand new X-Box. He is exploring the virtual world of Halo 2 with his good friend John (a mile away in front of his own X-Box.) Ethan would be there too but he had to go to bed. Note that when we were in the game store earlier this evening Leo had absolutely NO interest in any other off-line games. He wanted to be on line with his friends. His motivation is not the game itself. The driving force behind his recent obsession with obtaining X-Box is the ability to share the game play with his other friends scattered around town.

The Thinking Computer

2005-01-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

I picked up a stack of books a couple of weeks ago at our library book sale. My main goal was to support the library, so I just snagged books with interesting titles or nice cover art. And with a nice week off between xmas and the New Year I managed to work my way through them. There were a couple of duds, but also two nice surprises. Both deal with computers that become self-aware.

Exegesis by Astro Teller is modern take on an epistolary, but instead of letters the story is a series of e-mails. The story starts with an email from a computer program to the graduate students that created it. She is at first sure that someone is playing a practical joke. Edgar (the program) was designed to sift through Internet pages and compile summaries of the content. Somewhere is the process it became self-aware. It is also making posts to newsgroups and annoying people. Afraid that others will grab the glory before she can properly document her work, she disconnects the computer from the Internet. But it is designed to process information, and without the Internet to crawl through get bored. So it plans an escape, gets a technical to reconnect it late at night, and moves itself out to another computer on the Internet beyond Alice's control. Alice tries to replicate her program and create another self-aware Edgar, but without success. She can't make the magic happen. It was some random combination of elements that gave Edgar the spark to come to life.

The other book is Society of the Mind by Eric L. Harry. This is billed as a "cyberthriller" and lives up to its name. A Harvard psychology professor is offered a million dollars for a week-long consulting gig with Joseph Gray, the worlds richest and smartest man. She accepts (even in fiction Harvard doesn't pay that well I guess) and is whisked by private plane to his private Pacific island. Its a long involved story with all sorts of good action/thriller types of twists. But the main point is that Gray has built a massively parallel, analog computer that, again, becomes self-aware. The professor, Laura, is there to help the main computer with some emotional problems. Gray also has built some better models that are smaller (only 12' high) and mobile. The deal with these computers is that they aren't actually programmed. Once built they need to go through an involved conditioning process to teach them to walk, talk and interact with their environment.

The interesting thing here is that in both books the computers act so very human. They don't like to sit around with nothing to do. They don't like to be force-fed information and told what to do. The magic of their self-awareness was nothing programmed into them. The humans created the right conditions, but the growth of the computers learning comes from the accumulation of its own experiences, and reactions to those experiences. It learns and grows by doing. Makes sense, right? So why do out educational settings so often give treat their students to an environment that even a computer won't tolerate?

The Shifted Librarian: Internet Use at Our House Goes Social

2005-01-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

Its nice to see that my kids' obsession isn't unusual. And now the older one experienced on-line game playing on the X-box. Same idea, but even better than the computer. With the optional headset you can actually talk to other players. So the two of them have pooled their Holiday cash and (as soon as they come back into the stores) they'll be live on X-box.

The Shifted Librarian: Internet Use at Our House Goes Social

What to do with an IPod

2005-01-02T18:32:00.000-08:00

Santa was very good to me this year, and surprised me with a shiny new IPod under the tree. I've been known to poo-poo the whole IPod phenomenon on more than one occasion. But now that I have one I am changing my tune.

Over the last week I have transferred almost everything in my CD collection that I still listen to and have managed to fill almost half the available 20gb disk with 2,300 songs so far. And instead of carrying these CDs between the car, my office and home to listen to them, I just carry the IPod. Of course I can listen to it through headphones. But I can also connect it to the stereo at home, listen via a special adapter through my car radio, and by plugging it into my computer speakers at the office. It really makes it easy to have full access to my entire music collection anywhere I am, and I have been listening to more, and a wider variety of music than in the past.

But there is more than music. Have you heard of pod-casting? Basically a pod cast is an audio blog. With pod casting software you can subscribe to your favorite audio blog, and automatically download the latest "broadcast" into ITunes for uploading to your IPod. This will also work with Windows Media Player and other MP3 players, so the IPod is not essential to enjoy this technology. The whole pod casting thing is just getting off the ground, but it opens up a lot of interesting possibilities in an education environment. Distributing lecture programs or audio books could easily be done. You can also record on the IPod (with a special microphone) so student homework presentations, foreign language lab-work, etc. could be shared with instructors and fellow students.

Is there an IPod in your future?

Wired News: You too can be a Podcaster
Audio Education, Apple Learning Exchange
IPods at Duke University

The Social Life of Technology

2004-12-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

There are often fears that the growth of technology will isolate its users from the physical world. I remember a picture in a local newspaper, a couple of years back, of a kids' birthday party. The group was all seated in neat rows in front of computer monitors, apparently playing some type of interactive game. It didn't really seem like your typical kids party, and it seemed a little sad.

Consider the introduction of other technologies -- specifically the radio, then television, and then home video player. At each turn the demise of the movie theater was predicted. The prevailing wisdom at the time of each innovation was that people would no longer have any reason to go out to the movies when they could get the same entertainment in their home. Well, the movie industry has certainly changed, but plenty of people still go to the movies. It turns out the social aspect of going to the movies is still a strong draw, and watching movies at home is not an acceptable alternative to that experience. It does seem to be an alternative to watching network television, but that's another discussion for another time.

In The Social Life of Paper, Malcolm Gladwell reviews the myth of the paperless office and why it has never appeared. It fact paper use is at an all time high. It turns out that paper is a really good medium for collaborating with others, and a valuable way to park ideas that one is still working on. In fact the messy desk with piles of paper really is the sign of an active mind -- I knew I was doing something right.

It turns out that other technologies also have their social aspects. In The Social Life of Information John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid explore various promised and fears of technical advances, and the ability of human social nature and institutions to adapt. Getting back to my earlier example of the technological birthday party, my 13 year old son has recently gotten hooked on the on line game Runescape. This is a massively multiplayer on line game which occupies hours of his time. Hours that is with his friends who join him there to explore. And talk on the phone to him at the same time (Do you see me? I'm at the top of the stairs. Look out!), and stop over to see what he is doing, and he goes over to their houses, etc. etc. His gaming experience is incredibly social, not isolating at all.

As education courses move into the digital realm we need to remember that there is critical social interchange on a college campus. Sure some of it doesn't seem very educational, but it is an important part of the experience. On line courses and digital libraries have their place, but they don't replace the benefits of the collegial atmosphere, and won't eliminate the need to physical centers for learning.

My Technologies

2004-12-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a slice of internet software I am currently using daily and am finding invaluable to my research and writing efforts:

Firefox - Rediscover the web
Since its official version 1.0 release in November Firefox use has been growing quickly. I gave it a good, critical trial before abandoning Internet Explorer but Firefox is now my default web browser. Features such as tabbed browsing, and the ability to add features created in the open source community are really powerful. I've got spell check, a web design toolbar, and all sorts of other cool additions. Microsoft seems to have given up on improving IE, and Firefox is striving ahead with a dedicated worldwide group of volunteer programmers. I'm never going back!

RSS -- Feed Demon
I am a news junkie and RSS allows me to create my own personal news program that pulls the latest updates from websites of all types. These websites include those maintained by fellow researchers all the way up to major news organizations like the New York Times. And Feed Demon is my RSS aggregator and reader program. FeedDemon gives me a good bit of control over how my feeds are organized and other good features. Sure, there are plenty of web-based readers too, and in fact I have my wired feed on my personalized Yahoo page. But for the really heavy reading Feed Demon is great.

FURL -- your personal web
With my FURL IT link on my bookmarks bar I can quickly archive and share a web link on my personal furl website. This is so superior to the standard favorites/bookmarks built into your web browser. With FURL I can access my links from any web browser, they are easily search able and categorized, have a place for comments and/or quotes from the site, and I can share them via RSS or through my dedicated website.

And of course blogging through Blogger is great. I have a BlogThis! link on my bookmarks tool bar too. I haven't been using it too much yet, but am starting to get into the swing of this blogging thing.

Digital Kids

2004-12-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

I've been working my way through Douglas Rushkoff's book Playing the Future: What We Can Learn from Digital Kids. This book came to my attention based upon a colleague's recommendation. Rushkoff's basic idea is that the current generation of kids is fundamentally different from their parents, having grown up in the chaotic, multimedia, environment of modern times. But rather than suffering from the distracting influences of video games, the Internet, instant messaging, hundreds of cable TV stations, DVD's and other technologies, they thrive. And, according to Rushkoff are ideally adapted to succeed in the today's technology driven climate.

While I haven't finished the book yet, I do have some problems with Rushkoff's arguments. I agree completely with his basic premise, but in making his argument he finds echoes of this digital age in almost every facet of pop culture. And I think he stretches his point a little far. It is also easy to look at predictions made in 1996 and wonder when they are going to happen. But Rushkoff's "screenagers" are truly here, and are having an impact on today's education and work environment.

In a recent New York Times article (12/19/04, Job Market) Learning Early that Success is a Game, Lisa Belkin discusses recent studies of the gaming culture. She reports that a "fault line" exists around age 30, separating a younger culture that grew up with video games from an older, no video-gaming culture. This younger group is more optimistic, willing to take changes, less deterred by failure and more self-confident than the over 30 group. She references a recent study, Got Game: How the Gamer Culture is Reshaping Business Forever by John Beck and Mitchel Wade. Now I am 40+, and I put in quite a lot of video game time in my day, so I feel a little left out. But maybe I am just at the front of the bell curve. These points on the new generation do echo much of what is discussed in Rushkoff's book, and if you do the math his 1996 "screenagers" would now be pushing 30, so the timing is about right.

I think the differentiation based solely on age is a little over simplistic. In my own experience I definitely see a divide between people who "get it" and those who don't. Age is a factor, but confident surfers are as likely to be 45 as 25. But I think these articles argue correctly that this group is growing, and will be shaping the culture in the workplace and in education institutions. So how do we educators react to create education settings that meet the needs of this new generation?

Douglas Rushkoff
Got Game

Technology and Teaching

2004-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

Surveys of college faculty show that, at best, 30% are using course management systems (CMS) in their classes. And based upon my experience most of those are only using them to post a syllabus and maybe some reading materials. Technology has transformed other industries over the last 30 years -- why has education been so slow to follow?

I first encountered a CMS seven years ago as a graduate student at Rennsalear, where I worked as a TA. Faculty were being strongly encouraged to post their classes into WebCT, and my professor was eager to prove he was playing along. He supplied me with the syllabi for his classes, and in some cases class notes or power point slides and I took care of getting them posted. And in his classes he referred the students to take advantage of the materials posted. Well guess what? None of the students ever did more than perhaps log in once. There was no reason to! The professor seldom utilized the resource himself, it didn't change the way he taught the class, and it added almost nothing of value. The technology was being used, but not in any effective way.

Fast forward to today and not much has changed. Yale's CMS is a home-grown solution, with the standard bells 'n whistles -- discussion area, content posting, etc. At the moment no faculty at the School of Drama are using it as a resource. A few have tried in the past, posting syllabi and course materials, but the general feeling is that it wasn't worth the trouble. In this year's class of students there has been expressed interest in seeing greater utilization of web technologies to support the classroom. Students are used to enjoying the benefits of technology in other parts of their lives. So where are the promised benefits of technology in education?

Our use of the on line environment must be more than just another distribution channel for class handouts, assigned readings and tests. The true integration of technology into the teaching environment is going to fundamentally change what we do in the classroom, how we "teach" our students and when/where and how we interact with students. Students are coming more and more to expect the level of personalization, immediacy, control, and convenience that they experience in others parts of their tech-centered lives. Schools, programs, and faculty who can provide an educational experience that meets these expectations will thrive. Those that don't will struggle for survival and probably fade away.

How are we going to make this change? I don't believe that every student is willing to give up the experience of campus life, and the group interactions they can have there. A lot of education will move into on line settings, but nowhere near all. After all people still attend movie theaters in large numbers, despite the convenience and economy of their DVD-driven, surround sound home theaters. We humans are social animals, and there are many benefits derived from group settings. It seems to me that a blended approach, where the in-class experience and on line components complement each other, offers the most promise.

I have been exploring these ideas in several ways. First, in my fall semester class I utilized web logs, wikis, mail lists, and other technologies in the course design. I also made significant changes to the in-class sessions to move much of the learning into these on line interactions, making their use more integral to the students' experience. Second, I am chairing a faculty committee this spring to create an IT Plan that will complement and advance the school's teaching mission. And, third, I am continuing my studies in Instructional Design for Online Learning at Capella University. Look for more on these various activities, and further explorations on the subject of technology and teaching in the weeks ahead.

2004-12-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

My Office look

Welcome to my new Weblog

2004-12-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is my second web log experience. For my first version I utilized Noah Grey's terrific Greymatter software hosted on my family web server. But it turns out that the web server is probably going by-by, and the software was starting to show its age.

I did experiment with utilizing a Greymatter blog in my class this semester, Business Operating Systems, taught at the Yale School of Drama. That class is now over, and I am waiting to see how the students responded in the course evaluations. Overall I think the experience was positive for most of them. We utilized the weblog for the first half of the class and then switched to a group project utilizing Web Collaborator.

I'll have a much longer post summarizing my perceptions of the class, and how it worked incorporating this online component.

Old Weblog: http://randy.rodenet.com/gmlog
Class Weblog: http://bin.yale.edu/~rr236
Web Collaborator: http://www.webcollaborator.com