Teaching Computer Literacy online

Pamela D. Hegg, Oakton Community College

Welcome announcement spells out Time commitment, book requirements and other important information.

Has about 1/3 of her students show up to chats but it dwindles to nothing later in the semester.

Uses WebCT 4!  but in her computer literacy class, doesn't do just basics, uses Second Life, social networks (both Facebook and MySpace).  

Channel 15-Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation with Mayor Cook

Gabriel Ramirez 
Game fields-The Parks Maintenance  have to walk the 140 fields regularly to check for areas that need to be filled in since uneven surfaces could cause injury to the athletes.  The dirt has been already brought in, and now they rake it smooth and flat.  The Mayor grabbed a rake and helped.

Eduardo Aragon
Lining the fields with chalk - only line the outfield for special requests.They use a line to help keep things straight and then a metal frame to line out the batter's areas.  They line the fields the day before the game.   

Paula Powell - Sports Manager
50 teams at Tobins Park  over 5,000 citywide.   Now parents attend training to help deal with the past problems.  Many years ago, the mayor while umpiring was punched by an angry parent who didn't like the call.   The team was very small kids.

George Flores-Park Area Supervisor
Arbor day-modesto ash planting.   They are careful to plant at the right depth and they move it in its box to the right location to keep the root ball safe.  Wonder how much trouble they have with theft?   The trees have sprinklers to make sure they get enough water.  I especially liked how they had everyone come so they all had a chance to be filmed and meet the mayor.

Gregory Edmunds - Recreation Program
Indoor Hockey Rink - Saturday morning Tues, Wed and Thurs mornings.  Black Diamonds roller team.  They switch from soccer to hockey in the arena since they require different items.    90-95 miles an hour for a hockey puck.  Mayor played street hockey on roller skates that tightened onto one's shoes (I remember those!!).

NLA-FIre Department 11/19/2009

Mike Ortiz, El Paso Fire Department

A lovely facility on Montana with a firefighter's museum in front.   

They respond to over 73,000 calls, 85% of which are medical emergencies.   There are 52 firetrucks and 20 Ambulances.   It includes a water rescue unit which often has to recover bodies from the Rio Grande.   Their accellerant-trained dog's name is Kim, she is a big, black dog like a shepherd.   They don't have any dalmations, dalmations are one dog that usually gets along well with horses and would guard them while the firemen were sleeping.   No horses=no dalmation.

He spoke highly of EPCC's fire-fighting program, but admits most of the faculty are El Paso FireFighters. 

No firetruck anywhere can go over 5 stories (104 feet).   Anything over that, they rely on fire doors and similar structural devices to keep the fire contained and people safe.   Opening those doors endanger everyone.

There is only one person to monitor all 5,000 fire hydrants.   That individual knows how much water each will pump and ensures they are inspected thoroughly every 5 years.

El Paso has an ISO Class 1 Fire Department, which is in the top 1% nationwide.   This helps all residents and businesses keep their fire insurance rates low.    They will come out and do free home inspections, and then provide a document that can be taken to some insurances for additional discounts.  They do not cite anyone for violations, they just inform the homeowner and it is up to the homeowner what will be done.  Most common concern is the lack of escape bars on windows, the ones that are bolted in are fire traps.  Call 771-1090 for the inspection.

One issue was the public schools who fail to keep accurate records of fire drills.  This was a tick mark on the ISO Class 1 renewal.   Schools are supposed to conduct one firedrill each month they are open.   This is only K-12.   EPCC, UTEP and proprietary schools  are considered businesses, not schools.   Any citizen visiting a local school can ask to see the fire drill record and ensure it is up to date.

They have approval to build a Regional Fire Training Center on Airport land.   They are just looking for the funds now.

The Fire Department (and the Extreme Weather Task Force) are both on Facebook and also are trying hard to redesign the website to make it more userfriendly.

SharePoint Training - Organizing a site

The importance of avoiding silos; and organzing by function rather than department.

MOSS includes WSS but WSS does not include all of MOSS.

Put Ttitle in both title and description to rise to top of search.

Spaces break sharepoint so no spaces in website address.

Keep filename as short as possible.  Blank sites can't get everything. 

Sharepoint Training-Introduction Part 2

Appendix page 16 - Best strategies   

1. The strategy contains proportionate attention to the elements of people, process, and technology.
2. Measures for success for the portal initiative are clearly defined and documented and are tied to an implementation calendar.
3. Initial release of portal should involve a group or department that has broad enterprise applicability, high visibility, and strong credibility.
4. Role based Portals should provide a process-centric, contextual view into information and transactions for specific tasks and job functions.
5. At least one "sticky application" that will get users to the portal and keep them there should be included in the initial release.  Sticky application is something that brings people to the site.
6. A detailed decommissioning policy is defined and enforced for all application and enforced (Pg 18)
7. Policies and standards are defined to minimize the potential for "portal sprawl" or the proliferation of multiple, stand-alone portal instances. 

http://www.sacsharepoint.com/ >Resources >Pre-Implementation Survey 

Create forms that allow input and then follows a workflow for approval and use. 
Folders make things harder to find.    We need to be dynamic and keep it easy to find.
Key performance indicators (KPI)

Max of 10 across by 10 down.   Flat taxonomy ensures that users can easily "digest" the scope of information; most portal-accessible content collections contain between 10-15 top-level categories.

Definition of metadata (fancy term for columns and the lookup tables).

http://www.wssdemo.com/Pages/websites.aspx

Sharepoint Training-Introduction Part 1

Sharee English, New Horizons

What you will be developing.

Sample Sites
   Team Sites vs Intranet
Being too close to content-designing for the people using rather than assuming they think our way

Most important decision: choosing the template used to design the site.   There is a tool that can export/import, but it isn't a microsoft topic.

1. end users, upload-download content
2. server admin   set up initial site
3. site administrator (focus of this class)

Do not make all the decisions alone.   eg tagging info...needs to be standard across the site  Sometimes if the backend isn't turned on proper, some things won't work, even if they seem to be
Day 2

1. WSS is totally free and has 12 templates (40 additional can be installed)
2. MOSS is not free and has 12 templates (Chapters 2,3 all day Tuesday

Day 3  Lists stores content

1. Chap 4 & 5  
2. Lists are based on list template (cannot change so get it right from the beginning.  Some cannot link to Office

Day 4 Advanced Lists (Libraries.  Lists store data and documents are optional)

1. # 1 used for lists is Excel
2. Can't store documents but documents are optional
3. Libraries store data and documents are required.  (

Chapter 7 Workflows automate business processes.  Policies auditing or tracking info in SharePoint. 

Chapter 8 is the most fun since it is where you can connect everything.  (Usually Friday morning)
Chapter 9  often covered as we go so it goes fast  Personalization creates buy-in.  

3 primary audiences:  viewers, members, and owners.  Important to see how it displays to them.

Chapter 10/11 3.5 hour labs each   10 has document issues; Chap 11 is a collaboration issue. 
---------------------

Taxonomy = designing your data. 
Service Levels - how much is it supported  24/7?

Every site has a single purpose.  Multiple purposes creates a mess. 

• Internet: Info about your Co 4 Public
• Intranet (secured) Info about company for employees  no hidden content from any employee
• Extranet (secured) Info about company for vendors/customers with sign in
• Team Site (secured) Info about Dept for department people only. 
• Workspace (secured)  Info about projects/department for different or combined departments.   Only site with broken permissions.

Publish means send to Intranet where everyone can view but no one can edit.  

Sharees blog:  www.shareesblog.com/?s=planning+worksheet  Useful excel document for planning purposes

Appendix pg. 11  chart

Site collections separate things, Navigation, templates, users, Top level site template is the most important since it controls everything below it.    

Internet and Intranet - stricter governance and control since it affects either everyone in the world or everyone in the company.   Team/Workspaces less controlled.

NLA-Tax Collector's office 11/4/2009

Presenter was Juan Sandoval,  City Tax Assessor Collector

Personally, I've never heard such genuine pride in their operation as I heard from this individual.   His happiness was infectious.

Things I learned:

1. We have the only fully consolidated tax office in Texas.   They collect the property taxes on behalf of 31 taxing entities. 
2. Instead of multiple bills from whichever entities authorized to tax a particular property, only one bill is sent listing each.  No more running all over to pay these.
3. 20 permanent and 4.5 temporary positions to run this department  Their budget is $4.5 million, of which $3 million is for the appraisal district, the rest for the tax district.
4. Mr. Sandoval and his staff did outreach, often presenting multiple times.  Socorro was the last to join, but is the fastest growing and will eventually eclipse EPISD. The cost savings to Socorro alone was staggering, freeing that money for schools or other projects.
5. The tax collector receives only .62 cents per parcel (or account), all the rest goes directly to the taxing entity.
6. Tax collector doesn't determine the value of the house, he merely takes the tax rate and applies it to the assessed value.   He says he has the easiest part since complaints about the tax rate go to the elected officials and the complaints about the assessed value goes to the assessors.   He just calculates and collects.
7. He definitely takes his job seriously, watching for businesses liquidating or closing to ensure the taxes are collected before they disappear.   He goes with the sheriff to collect.   They have a 97% collection rate and hit $803 million this year.   He hopes to reach the billion mark before he retires.
8. He clearly is dedicated to making this as easy on the taxpayer as possible and uses technology to do so.   Mail, Walk-up all over town  (City Tax Office, Wells Fargo branch banks, any County Tax office), drive through at Wells Fargo branches, and two ways via internet.   Even Escrow accounts for those that want to pay monthly and not have to worry about coming up with it all at once.
9. His explanation of the various terms helped.  I always thought that increasing tax rates meant there would be more money, but in a sense, it is often just to keep the total collected at a particular level.  So if homes go down, tax rates increase since the total amount collected needs to remain somewhat stable.   If that increase/ is over a certain threshold, the voters can ask for a roll-back, and that means trimmed budgets.
10. He also encouraged understanding the law and enjoining any taxing entity that doesn't follow the law to prevent dishonesty or unnecessarily high taxes.
11. I also liked how he encouraged understanding the consequences of using the over-65 deferral of taxes since it often becomes a large amount due very quickly.   He didn't discourage using it, just in being aware what the consequences could be.

Just in time Faculty Development-ITC 11/3/2009

Webinar from ITC
Speakers Debbie Kell, Assistant Dean, Mercer County Community College

B.A.T = Better Approaches to Teaching.

BAT is their brand name, like ours is TRC, but they can play off it (The Virtual BAT Cave)

Debate about whether the look-feel of college site should be duplicated, they opted no, theirs is very different since they had very different desires and goals.  Humor helps faculty/staff enjoy the site and respond.

BatCast Central:

• Constantly changing content within structure but maintain structure to keep it easy to locate info
• serves 120 FT and 400 adjunct faculty   primary audience is faculty.   Bat cave staffed by 2 analysts (PT), one coordinator, 2 pt admin assistants, and one Assistant Dean.
• Appeal to Collegial Egos.  
• Nicely done spotlight on faculty members that changes focus a few times a year.   People come to check that out and then stay and look at other stuff.  Spotlighted faculty nominate other faculty but cannot nominate those within their particular division.   Kept grassroots.
• Using students didn't work, no media developer either.  A faculty member who teaches media helps with the video/editing for web delivery
• Virtual College staff keep the initiative going
• They link to StarLink and they have links that help them go straight there.
• They track hits.  They use Google-Analytics to produce the site. 
• Newsletters, emails etc.  encourage people to check the video of the faculty member spotlighted.  They have fun with it.
• The text below the video is not a transcript, it is additional info to encourage both viewing and reading.  Sometimes they add audio, as in an instructor playing an instrument.
• Library maintains the reading room portion.
• Has required certification of faculty  9 hours of hands-on and 12 hours of online
• The Cheatability Factor
• Not having luck with wiki either.    did have a flurry during an implementation but then slowed down to a crawl again.   

Channel 15-City government

Street Lighting Ceremony - Hawkins/Montana 10/30/2009
  Will  help the fire department, the police department, the neighborhood association put up 50k for the landscaping, plus federal funds of 260k in lighting.  Daryl Cole from Streets Department.  Burges HS drum corps.   Daryl Cole and the gentleman from the association both  lauded City Manager who really helped them make this happen.   Emma Acosta was mistress of ceremonies.  Wish the announcement of the ceremony was publicized a bit more by Ms. Acosta's office so maybe people would have come out to celebrate.

Public Library system-Clardy Fox Branch 5515 Robert Alva
  Pictures of the library.

Rachel Quintana and her relatives cutting their hair for Locks of Love at a local day spa.

Passport Card  information - $75 for adults and good for 10 years.  Wallet sized card.  $25 Execution fee.  Mexico, Canada, Bermudas, Carribean.  Not valid for air travel   County will also take the pictures for $10  http://www.epcounty.com/ for more info  915.546.2021

Update on H1N1 virus   Michael Hill,    8,000 vaccines given out.   Those in line hated the lines (cold and wet)  but the Health Department was trying hard to get those vaccines out to everyone.  They are looking to use the convention center or somewhere large next time to avoid people waiting outside and process people in one place (consistency in determing priorities). Lessons learned.   Will try to take more control over lines, if only 100 doses, then cut the line off at 100.    Need a mike for the questions.  The volume was too different between questions and answers.   Red Cross was trying to help make people comfortable, handing out water and coffee.  Little seasonal flu, just H1N1 is being seen.  Clinics are trying hard to be good customer service, they will try hard to honor the waitlist.  Helping those who are standing in line is being looked at.  Other places do have the vaccine for sale.  High Risk is Pregnant women, caring for infants less than 6 months.  Healthcare workers, Emergency Care.  

Lights on Afterschool Recreation Centers - Azcarate Elementary School Nanette Smejkal, Director Parks and Recreation.   Mauricio Cano, Principal.  Introduced staff.  Emma Acosta  3 schools represented.  A couple helped fund this Gary & Cindy Aboud.  Their son died in skiing accident and enjoyed being around their friends.  They sponsored these programs.

Arbor Day 2009 - Nanette Smejkal, Director Parks and Recreation,  Lisle Davis invocation,  Deniece Baisley, vocalist for the national anthem.  Fire truck flew the flag and it was very pretty.  Cub Scouts/Brownies from a local school led the pledge.    Oscar Mestas, Texas Forest Service, Fall is very good for planting trees in El Paso, they get established well.  Sam Calhoun, Parks Superintendent read list of all the donors.  Info on the Memorial Tree Program

SharePoint Tng-Functional Overview (0:39:49 - 1:54.55)

Adding columns to a list is very similar to Access

1. The syntax appears to be the same
2. Datasheet view(table view) vs Standard View (quick form)
3. Calculated columns - =datedif([Column 1],[column 2],"d")
   
4. Hyperlink to other pages (but it wasn't clear how he knew what to type)
   
5. Adding multiple entries to a column means no sorting, only filtering.  
   

Working with Views

1. Create View takes me to the list of view formats Standard, calendar, access, datasheet and Gantt
2. Can rename views as well
3. Works very similar to Access

Versioning

1. Check out means you lock the editing of the document.   It is only available for documents.
2. Can lock it on the server or temporarily to your my-documents, keeping it locked until you finish working and re-check it back in.   Can use offline this way, no one can change it while you have it, and then your amended copy is reloaded and the check out flag is removed.
3. Working offline is faster than working on the copy that is still on the server.   But working on the server is fine for a quick, minor change.
4. Publishing features allow control over the documents (doesn't apply to anything else).
1. Can tell who checked it out by hovering over icon before title of document
2. Versioning settings can control the documents to be checked out.
3. The changes are self-reported.
4. For any materials we are all working on, this makes it much easier to avoid stomping on each other.
5. Versioning and checkin is set list by list, no global setting.
6. Versioning can number for major or minor changes.  Changing a minor version to major changes the version number.  (e.g. 3.1 would become 4.0)
7. Can require an approval process. 
5. Versioning can be for tasks as well.

SharePoint Tng-Functional Overview (0:00:00-0:39.48)

Definition: Site

1. Collaboration
2. Document Management
3. Portal
4. Content Management (publish/design processes) 

Not sure if we have MOSS-Standard (user profiles/audiences/web content) or MOSS-Enterprise (InfoPath, Excel).

Features:   Navigation, Sites & collection; Lists,Columns, views; Versioning; Notification; Web Parts; Personal Site; Search

Site: Illustration
Sample course had

1. Course Materials using Document List Template
2. Calendar
3. Assignments (tasks assigned to students)
4. Class Discussion
5. Lab Inventory

Definition: Site Collection
Site collection is a set of sites together.   Site template which determines the site functionality and initial configuration of content on the site.  

Definition: List
Lists stores a collection of items. Pages, people, documents, calendar entries, tasks etc...  Default views can filter based on permissions.  List templates determine list functionality

Navigation Terminology
Example included 6 tabs:   Training Intranet, document center, news, reports, search, sites. 

1. Tree view can make it very busy (Set under Navigation)
2. Global navigation at top; current navigation on left
3. Open link in new window checkbox with add link  (Misstyping at 18:00, distracting to viewer)
4. Navigation setting that controls what appears in tab (Navigation> Show Subsites)
5. Blank template vs a template like team site (which added a series of pages)
6. Can upload documents either one-by-one or drag and drop (use internet explorer option
7. Tasks in all task using the datasheet view makes it easier to add (looks a lot like access)

NLA - Oct 28, 2009 Mayor Cook, Carl Robinson

Mayor Hires:

1. City Attorney
2. Executive Assistant
3. Admin Assistant
4. Rates the City Manager along with the opinions of the council
5. National search for a trained City Manager

Compared city council to being like herding cats.  

1. Each has different needs, goals and desires. 
2. Some districts need more of something than other areas, eg the westside is park-poor. 
3. Keeping old infrastructure is different than new infrastructure.
4. Hires a moderator during the strategic planning session. 
5. Produces vision, mission and goals for city manager but also have to come up with the funds.
6. Sometimes there is no choice about the raising of taxes. 
7. Fema only paid 75% of the value (eg a 20 yr old road that has 30 yrs of life, they paid 75% of prorated 33%)
8. He has to try to extract the common elements from them and then convey that to the various other elected officials. 
9. Talking with the mayor of Juarez when the dam was about to break, and then sent pumpers and engineers to help.   Otherwise the downtown would flood.   Fires over there, our firefighters have to volunteer because workman comp would not have paid out-of-country but they are doing it because the very next warehouse was full of toxic materials that would have filled the air with poison.
10. County is an extension of the state.  Very different from the city.
11. 2500 emails a month to the mayor's office.

Carl Robinson, City Representative

 

1. Understanding that we, the council, are supposed to choose what's best for the city, not just our district.
2. Satellite office in NE, 9600 Dyer, NE command center Police 10-4 on Friday.
3. Running for office means sacrifice time, money, personal life, family time, and it is very hard. Walk, take criticism, icky people,involved in community causes name recognition.
4. NE will build some apartments for the soldiers
5. Ft Bliss has the largest land mass in all the world for training.

SharePoint-Understanding Key concepts

Understanding Key Concepts by Sharepoint Training Videos.com
Goal:  Fundamental concepts of how Sharepoint is built.

1.  Sharepoint as a series of sites and lists.   Every site having its own lists of things with multiple lists that help you find what you want.  
2. Think of links (and Web Parts) as shortcuts to what you want on a site.   The WebPart is just a display of information, not the item itself.
3. All Site content will display everything, not just what is on the "Landing Page" that has the web parts.   WebParts can filter so not everything will display.  This can be called "Views".
4. Navigation is based on two types.   Global navigation is the tabs at top and controlled by the college.   The left side is usually controlled by the owner.
5. Permissions -   SharePoint will not let you view anything you do not have permission to see.

Very nice video.

Sharepoint -It isn't the technology.......

Mark Schneider-It isn't the technology, it is what you actually do with it...
A great article that helped me get my head around who will want to implement (vs who will be required to implement).  Here are some of the quotes that especially hit home.

Don't forget that the point of SharePoint isn't technology, but improved business performance where ad hoc data is concerned.

Sharepoint.....is a virtual environment that connects people, information and work areas in order to accomplish ad hoc tasks. The truly amazing thing is that it does so in a way that enables the knowledge workers to have a great deal of tactical freedom while maintaining a strategic structure and focus to all of their activities.

The bigger portion of the story is what you do with it once you have it in place. Your organization has to understand what SharePoint "means" to your culture, your processes and your people. It is the peopleware and not the hardware or software, that will differentiate vendors moving forward. Can your implementation and services vendor help you figure out how to successfully leverage and use SharePoint after it is in place? If not then all they have done is help you install a really expensive "U: Drive."

web 2.0 Tools that Work. And ... are free!

Free tools

1. Skype
2. Elluminate - very flexible, but almost always need to update constantly so doesn't always come up instantly
3. DimDim - web meeting allows more connections than free Elluminate.  quick and easy
4. Livestream - provides access to www.livestream.com/boydtv a live feed (used to be called Mogulus)  seems like something really good to play with.  backchannel chat   no authenticate so anyone can come in and look. 
5. Voicethread.com  group conversations   introductions for a meet-greet
6. jrboyd.posterous.com
7. Jing - a free version of camtasia
8. FlipCam - 2 hours video possible  quick and easy  approx $180 on sale
9. ooVoo - video call (like Skype)sometimes better clarity than Skype   Can't use full screen in ooVoo  group meetings outside class.

Didn't cover but were listed:

1. pibb
2. fan pages
   

Other suggestions from group:

1. mebeam (another video call) 

This might make a good poster-type session where one tool per presenter for 20 minutes or so.

The Tools for Performance: Building Information Fluency by Risking your Life to Disrupt Inefficient Practice

An interesting session that I need to review the archived copy.  

One calls himself a disruptive (subversive in a nice way) technologist

I liked the chart, I need to retrieve it from slideshare.

1. Digital literacy hasn't truly been figured out yet.
2. What is critical thinking exactly?   in one study, it caused test scores to actually go down.
3. relying on "sophistry".  Framing thing they've been told.
4. If you cannot engage out there, then you are alone and and isolated insight.   (made me stop and think, I do lurk a lot)
5. Incremental transformation isn't possible, there is simply too much happening to plan thoroughly.
6. Clouds are messy but jump into the heart of it.

Perfect Storm or Perfect Opportunity for Higher Education

Adult-friendly was an interesting phrase from this end-of-the day session.   Are we adult-friendly or do we treat our students like children, infantilizing them instead of respect.   The discussion of reading skills, vital to independent learners, was interesting.  The digital divide, and the need for inexpensive computers came up as well.

Hard to accept who we really are, rather than who we think we are.

Peer groups make a major difference.

Online Learning Effective Practices: Providing Greater Access to Education with Blackboard

The slides and a white paper will soon be available from Blackboard.   By far the most interesting was a brief overview of BYU's Financial Compensation Model, which rewards those that use tests that aren't computer graded, that require a substantial amount of communication and similar items we know will aid learning and retention.

Hands-on-Computer Lab: Web Fusion: Integrating Twitter, Widgets and Web 2.0 Technologies into Learning

This turned out to be using DNN and its modules.  It was interesting what could have been possible for us  if IT hadn't locked our version down so hard.

Poster sessions and odds/ends I collected during the conference

Use of facebook by the distance education programs is well worth looking into.   In the first day, they had 200 fans!  They also produce a newsletter just for their distance education students to help them develop a relationship with the school.

Elatewiki - Electronic Learning and Teaching Exchange.  

TTIX - Teaching with Technology Idea Exchange

Intelecom - Learning Object Repository

Creative uses and examples of using tools

Questions, Methods, Results: Reshaping the Future of E-Learning Research

Note:  I need to listen to the archive, it just went very fast and my notes have holes that need filling.

Speaker 1:  Norm Friesen, Canada Research Chair in E-Learning Practices, Thompson Rivers University
How is the technology being used? 

• Missing lessons if we don't differentiate between the casual use from the innovative use.
• "Domesticating" technologies - using them in but not necessarily in the same ways the designers thought they would but instead making them integral parts of their lives
• Open o many uses, non-use or improvisations

Speaker 2: Terry Anderson, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Distance Education, Athabasca University

Learning:

• Social Learning
• Media rich
• Participatory and connectivist pedagogies
• Umbiquity and persistance
• .....

Open Access Journals have no significant different in citations from closed journals.

Speaker 3:  Katrina Meyer, Associate Professor, University of Memphis

10 pieces of somewhat no-brainer advice

1. Submitting to wrong journal - know their preferences by reading them.  Follow all submission directions. 
2. Poor comprehension of literature.
1. incomplete
2. out-of-date
3. lacks analysis
4. dull
3. Research questions not tied to review
4. Research may not be necessary
1. Comparison studies - does it make a difference?
2. Satisfaction studies -
3. So What?? questions
5. No or poor link to theory.
6. Wrong research method
7. Incomplete methods section - vague or didn't even follow a method
8. Method lacks credibility
1. reliability/validity
2. Sample population
3. Counter evidence
9. Conclusion not tied to results.  Hypothesis beyond what is reasonable
10. Poor or incomplete writing.  Grammar. Spelling. Disconnected sentences

Positive advice:

1. Mechanisms/process of learning online
2. Application of pre-internet theories are desirable
3. .... effectiveness of online learnings
4. Intended/unintended consequences
5. 1/3 literature  1/3 methodology  1/3 results/discussion
6. Attention to careful design
7. Focus on measurements
8. Every word, phrase, sentence out to add to article. 

Enhancing the Human Potential: Innovative Tools for Teaching in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Nancy Matchett, Institute of Professional Ethics, University of Northern Colorado

• Navigation as open as possible, self-directed ever-deepening understanding
• Used text boxes to add info and stored in database.  Then that info redisplayed with additional questions and more empty text bloxes to respond to additional.   Then that info stored and again redisplayed with additional deeper questions.    Can find it at the Center for Ethical Deliberation

Maps
Chaudhuri, Science Reference Librarian/Assistant Professor, University of Northern Colorado

• I have a full double-sided page of links that she talked about, some of which allowed download of data as well.

Conversion of a Ground-based Music Education course to OLT
Benjamin Smith, Head, Music Department, Hibbing Community College (MN)

• Had a cool keyboard that allowed the user to play music.  From somewhere in England.
• Uses Rhapsody music service (students get a 4 month subscription) to listen to high quality recordings

Second Life & Social Networks: Permeable Worldware Everywhere

Christen Bouffard, Instructional Designer, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Demo of Second life and installing various elements that display blogs, twitter, flickr, etc.   Christen doesn't teach using Second Life.  At this point, she does have property though.  Slare Board, PingFM (look up this one) and a blog tool as well as RSS feeds were used in the demo.

Ritchie Boyd, Teaching and Learning Technology Specialist, Montana State University

• Technology-rich learning   How we use it is far more important than what tool.
• 55% online teens use social networks  85% myspace 7% facebook.  Almost half check it at least once per day
• Fully half of the teens could be considered content creators
• Technology intrudes deep into lives, 15% americans stopped having relations to answer a cell phone!
• Medial Hauntings - trying to use a new tool similar to the way they use old tools and not seeing any difference.  For example, someone used to a typewriter that still hits hard-returns at the end of each line.
• The trouble with Twitter - no scaffolding, no guidance,
• A whole series of conflicting articles from well-known sites shows how little we really know what is going on. A tiny sampling that showed students prefer real classroom to a Virtual World.
• I liked the chart demoing appropriate place for tools that looked somewhat like

Smart People
(arrows pointing up/down)
Tools
(arrows pointing up/down)
Me

Disrupt vs Assimilate -  new tools do one or the other.

Hands on Computer Lab: Create your own Ning by Ed Bowen

Started one to find a place to talk to others that share his interests and also a place to share materials and ideas. Why should I use this?   Does this make sense to me?  Is it useful?

Learning environment has 3 things   information, experience, reflect
The more dialog increases, the less structure there is.   The more structure, the less dialog

• personal tutoring - high dialog, low structure
• correspondence course-low dialog, high structure

Photopeach.com   a free and useful tool that displays the powerpoint slides in an interesting swirl


Before doing a ning,

• think about what you will use it
• Can be free or paid for.   
• Can be open to anyone or invite only.
• Can be deleted when no longer needed
• Write a purpose
• Look at other Nings.  Watch for features/functions that I think I can use, and also for what is good/bad to help know what to choose
• Is the Ning design that is pleasing and purposeful, inviting people in.

Teaching in a Recession

• Navigational buttons in addition to the menu to draw attention

TxDLA Ning

• Clear purpose

Librarian Ning

• restricted to those who sign up

Desideratum (his ning)

• TED
• Kick lets you download youtube to desktop in your format.  Kiss does too
• Ken Robinson  
• Slideshare
• Can RSS or Google Alerts
• Ed's Diigo
• Universal Design for Learning
• Ikeepit (all kinds of formats)
  

WCET-Opening Session 10/22/2009 Ed Lazowska,

Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington

eScience
*Jim Gray-Turing award winner-database metadata

• SDSS SLow guided tours of the heavens. Data rich & tagged
• worldwide telescope (allows students to develop paths thru the heavens by themselves)
• users want the government/science database and develop tools that let me create the report my way
• the incredible amount of data that is being produced daily, from Point of Sale to science
• eScience is working with this data and making sense of it. analyzing it
• There is simply too much information to process it by hand
• sensors& networks
• databases
• data mining
• eSience capabilities must be broadly available in any organization. if not, the organization will simply cease to be competitive.
• top faculty across all disciplines understand the coming data tsunami. Computational science focused faculty will help identify what
• How do we track the IT needs of our college's leading researchers? 
• what extent are we meeting those needs 
• How well do we understand? 

Understanding how Google manages to support millions of data requests, and deliver what it does, helps understand how to manage all this data.

• map/reduce to relevant results
• eScience using the cloud, renting compute cloud
• animoto's use of amazon's cloud
• Universities getting out of the computing business.  stop processing email and stop providing computing services

broadband and the role of higher education

• * it is ed's access to broadband that is bringing it to the underserved areas 
• * everyone needs access
• , even Microsoft gets that social good must rule on the use of these funds 

 Once upon a time the content of the goods we produced was predominately physical. Now it is predominately intellectual.

• What is the chart of how we distribute our faculty/departments vs projected growth for jobs.
• if we train our students in low-growth, low paying jobs, we prepare them to remain poverty. 
• we hurt our local businesses by not preparing the local students to stay. Not everyone can afford to recruit nationally. Don't gamble with the future of our young. 

Sharepoint - 10/20/2009

• Overview of the process
• Evangelize November/December
• Start introducing SharePoint in January
• Serious implementation during Fall, 2010.
• 2010 won't be implemented until it has been out for 3 years.
• Smart Start is a different technology so it cannot be integrated.
• Live at EPCC (basically hotmail).  
• Migration is not thought through yet, they are investigating the auto-upload.
• includes chat
• Permission levels
• Owners have full control of the whole site.
• Contribute
• design/manage hierarchy required for Designer
• 3 groups will be created for a site automatically:  Members, owners and visitors
• Groups are vital to avoid confusion and frustration since you add (people to the group or permission to the group) once and the permissions automatically fall in line for everyone.  Managing by groups is more effective.
• Inheritance allows you to use the same settings across multiple sites.   It is more manageable than individual sites.
• Inheritance means you can't add people unless you add them to the group.  You must 'break' the tie if you want to a person added only to a specific subsite.  But it is definitely harder to manage.
• Keep in mind, adding to a group means everywhere that group has access, the individual automatically has access to everywhere that group has access at the level it has access.
• When adding to a group, make sure you look at group permissions to see exactly what that group has access and at what level.

The Changing Nature of Professional Development In Education

Read an interesting article in the blog: Educational Paradigms, authored by Andrew T. Garcia, Music/Technology teacher in the Central Berkshire Schools.  He is talking about training/professional development as it is often delivered.

The problem with this mass approach was that topics had to be general enough for teachers of all subject areas. How to go about implementing the initiative was up to the teacher which usually meant a low adoption rate. Surveys of teachers about professional development offered by districts paints dismal pictures about the relevance of in-service in schools. 

A serious problem that certainly isn't unique to education. 

 It will require a leap of faith for school districts to 'trust' staff members to independently pursue their own relevant professional development but that's exactly what's necessary now. Imagine a professional development day where the in-service memo indicates that "all teachers will independently find, read, investigate, and synthesize any information they may find relevant to their classroom teaching assignment and share that information on the school professional development network. PDP's will be issued once a reflective essay is published on the school's server indicating the learning you achieved and how you will apply it to classroom teaching."

That would be meaningful Professional Development, 21st century style.

We definitely need to pursue this.   How do we manage it?   What would be the standards?   While this is certainly do-able, is it scalable for 3,300 employees?   Fortunately, the repository can handle it easily.

City government channel 15 10/17/2009

Time Warner evidently is having problems with their signals since the voice often faded and was overwhelmed by static but it was still interesting to listen to him.

• Opening of new skate park at west side, nice shots and a very young girl sang the Star spangled banner which was nice.   Some fool used dirty language when talking in the mike, hope his mom deals with him.
• the Kiosk for development, allowing people to get their informaiton quickly 
• Road Resurfacing- the transmap system allows them to assess 270 square miles of roads.  I especially liked that they put people's names on the screen, it helps.
• Pool..they went over the rules rapidly but at least had some of it in writing as well.   Just too much at once to absorb it
• H1N1 9/25/2009  Michael Hill, Director of Public Health
• vaccine question-flu mist type first, then injectible vaccine
• How much will go to El Paso
• all makers of vaccine are overseas
• please stay home if sick
• biggest problems have been those with underlying health issues.
• vaccine is free, but the providers can charge a small fee for administrative costs
• he certainly doesn't plan have the border patrol in his clinics checking for citizenship, he suspects there will be some from Juarez
• children are less careful about good sanitation

Mayor Cook "Walk a Mile in my Shoes"  - Animal Control

• Kept for a while so owners have a chance to find them
• animals are tested, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, chipped, unlike stores or newspaper. Dipped before added to general population. 
• newspaper sales should have breeders licenses if they are selling animals
• selling animals on street-report to police, against law because they may be stolen
• Cat adoption is very low - there are a lot waiting for homes
• animal control has old computers!  and they have to use maps instead of a nav aid!  
• about 300 calls per day
• Microchipping has a 3-5% failure rate, which results in 600 plus animals picked up that don't show as being chipped when they are.  
• They also pick up horses, chickens, goats, etc..  They pick up rattlesnakes too!
• City got involved in pets in 1960s rabies was rampant.  Picking up strays, vaccination and investigating fights has greatly reduced the rabies problem.  They found 18 rabid bats last year.
• Huge home on east side, 3 car garage with fancy car but didn't vaccinate dogs?  course he said they were his girlfriends and the dogs escape a lot.
• 18,000 times a year an animal control worker has to execute an unwanted animal.   The mayor is for a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative getyouhome.gov 

• RFID technology - chip in card is a number assigned and that is then compared against the database.  The info is fast and they are on their way 35-45 seconds
• Less documents - 6 different birth certificates for Arizona alone   There will only be 6 cards

Sharepoint made understandable

SharePoint in plain English (CommonCraft)




You can see more of these great videos at www.commoncraft.com

NLA-City Manager 10/14/2009

Joyce Wilson, City Manager Mark Alvarado, Neighborhood coordinator

• 2004 changed to Council Manager form of government, most popular form of government in communities with populations of 5,000 or greater. Combines strong political leadership with strong managerial experience.  
• Mayor/Council: elected, define public purpose, decides what and why; intent, expectations, motive for government actions and mayor provides political and community leadership 
• Mayor is key representative for intergovernmental and international relationships. sets goals, priorities and initiatives for the community 
• Council appoints city manager; evaluates City Manager, hire/fire and mayor cannot veto their decision; forms the legislative body, approves the budget and votes on ordinances and resolutions 
• City manager never donates, never goes to election events, etc... to avoid bias. Her job is to implement the decisions, not make them. Decides how or the manner in which it is implemented. Full-time, paid, public service. Influence is positional through organizational authority. Should view the community as a "whole" and systematically, not as separate districts 
• 6000 employees (FTE? or body count?)  
• Percentage from taxes 56-59% from property and sales tax. rest from fees and intergovernmental transfers.
• Technology
• Social media - slowly entering but putting rules into effect before there is a problem. 
• Activenet - can register and pay for things, not yet 
• inspections can be scheduled online now 
• e-ticketing for police so it can be done on the spot
• ambulance can now record everything rather than waiting later 
• 60% of budget for city is people; for police it is almost 90% 
• City vs County
• County implements state law and policy, has powers specifically conferred directly upon them 
• City has autonomous jurisdictions within the state 
• Report a pothole to street department 
• Water department - reports to Deputy City Manager of Development and Infrastructure Services. It is separate on the chart because of various laws that have been passed previously to protect them. Appointed by city council 
• Regional mobility-i.e. the 375 loop around El Paso, widening of the border highway, express tollways . City council appointment 
• Metropolitan planning organization is required if you want transportation funds. It had to be semi-standalone, and involves a variety of interested parties. appointed by various entities 
• Download a document that explains the City Council Strategic Policy Goals and accomplishments 
• Issues brought up by participant about jails (city one is gone). Weekend in jail; then gets out to work. cost of keeping someone vs putting on an ankle bracelet and make them stay at motel 6 Municipal crimes are billed to city and it is much cheaper than running a jail. Arrest for municipal is mainly substantial numbers of outstanding warrants. 10-15yr old depts can't be written off but are uncollectable. Ms. Wilson is seeking to segregate these debts so they don't give a false picture of what is due and collectable. The city focuses on 5 year or less and uses both collection agencies and/or warrant roundups or ticket payment. The city is running about 80% of the fines being collected 
• Another asked about outstanding fines that should be collected. Police serve warrants in city, constables only in unincorporated areas.  
• Current Major issues (slide) 
• 10 hr days  huge gas savings and smaller other savings.   People did come in before and after work, but it was light then, would people come downtown if it was dark?
• 311 (informational for the city).   The cost per call is prohibitive so they are looking for alternative  solutions   it would at least stop calling so many places trying to find the right one.
• resurface and improve freeways between gateway and freeway
• freight trains-getting rid of them.  The train companies are willing to cooperate if the city pays the costs.
• spaghetti warehouse fell through because of finances.
• budgeting process - 4-5 month process, Manager has to present a budget recommendation.  Has to be balanced and is presented in June.   Department by department presentations during July Thursday and Friday.   Then wrap up which includes tax rates, then is set by council.  Last week in August the tax rate is set and budgets finalized.
• Unemployment rate - 9.6% here in El Paso, below the national avg for the last 2 years.   Last year, it was below 6 % and two years ago it was about 5%,   Technology/healthcare/pharmaceutical/manufacturing-green/
• Another port to Mexico??  looking at it for either new one or larger   long term
• One Participant wants more stuff for BMX and freestylers, including a larger area for racing
• first-time homebuyers   many programs and will be covered soon
• neighborhood grants
• Parks will be presenting November 11th
• Morale issues  Ms. Wilson thinks it is very good, she spends a lot of time in employee forums/just did survey, new adhoc employee committee.   Job security concerns; workforce the survey was thorough. Some dept had more concerns than others.

Like most things on the web, always check the information with the source.   Just because I wrote it down doesn't mean I believe everything or that I understood it completely. 

NLA-Orientation and Municipal Clerk's office 10/7/2009

Wide variety of people are participating, almost all working people or retired working people.   Some work for the city, some for other agencies.   Quite a few with grandstand agendas but hopefully the staff will keep them in check.  One person was from the Diario.

Speaker was Richarda Duffy Momsen from the Municipal Clerk, City Clerk and Municipal Court Clerk
Background:

• 76.7 FTE employees and 11.6 Judges   6 offices plus a 24/7/365 Warrant office.  Hours are on the web
• This office respons to open records requests
• Maintains record retention of City Council Actions
• Conducts City Council & Mass Transit Board meetings
• Elections
• Board Appointment records
• Clerk for El Paso Municipal Court of Appeals

Ways to become involved in City government voluntarily

• Serve on 42 City Board or Commissions (343 Board and Commission Members)-apply through City Council Representative
• Join/Launch a Neighborhood Association (better informed and gain greater clout)
• Join/Launch a Neighborhood Watch Association
• Attend City Rep's meetings
• E-mail, write or call City Rep or Mayor
• Attend City Council
• Report City Ordinance Violations to EPPD
• Vote in city elections  (May 2007 - 7.78% of voters cast ballots)

Call 541-4000 about

• Out of control weeds
• Junked vehicles and other rubbish accumulation
• Illegal construction or water running on right of way
• Loud parties past 10:00 pm
• Possible stash houses

Voice support or opposition to items posted ont he agenda such as zoning changes, new laws, policy issues

Alert Council to issues that aren't on the agenda by signing up for Call to the Public (but didn't provide info on how to do that and we were running out of time)

Gotta love numbers, they can be interesting:   

• FY09  268,780 tickets were issued for traffic violations, 72,902 for parking and 20,012 for city ordinance violations.  
• Of the money collected:  13,964,608 city revenue; 9,250,989 state revenue; 1,285,896 went to a collection agency. 
• Tickets can be paid through mail, online or in person or even via a payment plan (18,145 were granted).   Community Service for indigent or juveniles, 8,654 hours of community service completed.  Ticket consequences increase substantialy if you ignore the arraignment. 
• The police officer ALWAYS has the option to arrest instead of ticket and let them go.  Don't be ugly!
• Can request trial by jury but those 12 people can be quite mean and give the maximum.  Some defendents do win though.
• If you plan to appeal if judge rules against you, be sure to ask for a record be taken BEFORE the trial begins.

Clicker Training-In the Beginning-Tuesday 10/6/2009

Much of this was a repeat of yesterday.

• To permanently change the settings to keep the add in active: Tools, Settings, Presentation, Miscellaneous-Add in Always Loaded, True
• Anonymous means not connected to device.   Auto records device numbers and attaches them to the answer.
• Analogy slides have automatic entries or you can change them to your own.
• Scramble leaves out some letters.  Participants choose which combo fits.
• Response Card RF doesn't work
• Fill in the blank doesn't seem to work
• To change slide to Turning Point, existing slides must be the Title-Content layout if you do not want to do a lot of formatting.  the others won't work
• Home>Select>Editing (far right)>Selection pane to see items
• Then go to Turning Point ribbon, insert object, select type of chart.
• Wrong format, the insert Turning Part chart won't work.
• Turning Point online help.   It has detail for each step.

Turning Point clickers-Participant Lists

Attended workshop training on creating participant lists using Turning Point.  
Take Aways:

• Lists of the clicker tag numbers and device numbers are available electronically from IMS.  This would make it easier to associate a student name/ID# with the clicker. 
• IMS labeled the sets so that the instructor knows if they received all the clickers back from the students.
• Recommends anonymous unless it is important to associate names with clicker number.
• Hasn't explored groups yet so that training will be later
• Went over how to get the info from Banner into the clickers via Excel.  
• There is a setting within Turning Point to always start the add-in whenever PowerPoint is opened.   That way you don't have to use the Turning Point icon.

Blog-hopping

Catching up on reading the blogs...


Clive on Learning - Putting it bluntly business games seem to work -

"There were no significant differences between ethnicities, yet all ethnic groups scored significantly higher with game play. Students 40 years and under scored significantly higher with game play, while students 41 and older did not" from Does Game-Based Learning Work?, a report by Richard Blunt of Advanced Distributed Learning.

Take-aways

• Take with a grain of salt.
• Older adults scores actually went down.  Wonder if their perception was the game made the learning trivial and therefore less important to learn.
• Amazing how much money is spent with no real assurance it has results.

Academic Commons - NEH Launches New Online Database

• The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) unveiled a new Funded Projects Query Form that allows visitors to search online for information on all projects funded by NEH since 1980.

• Would be interesting to just wander through and see what people are doing and how much money is spent on the way.  Not today though.

Dy/Dan - Bob Parker Nails It  which is a followup to A Trash-Talking High School Math Teacher 

• The question originally posed to the class is which grocery store line moves faster, several carts with only a few items each, or one large cart with a quite a few more items.   It ended up in a discussion the role cash, check and credit play in moving people through the line.   Bob Parker points out

Credit can’t be slower then cash – Visa told me so. They told me I am a social pariah if I pay in cash.

Informal Learning Blog - Blogging to show off your organization 

At first, I choked on the practice of paying bloggers $10/hour. This smacks a little of surreptitious product placements. (Drink Coke!) Then it occurred to me that payment takes care of the loss of control issue. While MIT vows not to fiddle with anyone’s posts, a student who wants the job is not going to go crazy online.

• Why not EPCC?  I can hear them now, our students aren't really  there yet, but if we aren't there yet, how can we attracts students who are?  Round and round, downward.....

Informal Learning Blog - Social Contagion Researchers Nicholas A. Christakis & James H. Fowler say:

We found that social networks have clusters of happy and unhappy people within them that reach out to three degrees of separation. A person’s happiness is related to the happiness of their friends, their friends’ friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends—that is, to people well beyond their social horizon. We found that happy people tend to be located in the center of their social networks and to be located in large clusters of other happy people. And we found that each additional happy friend increases a person’s probability of being happy by about 9%.

• Hmmmm, maybe I need to take a good hard look at my friend lists.
  

Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech - Honour our attempts  (The quote below is a copy of a copy that originated in Jan Smith's classroom blog.

Please notice our successes, not our mistakes. Our blog is an invitation to see what we are up to. Some of our work will be polished, and some will be in draft form. Please honour our attempts.

• Absolutely love this.   Being free to make mistakes, to not have it perfect.  A priceless freedom.
  

Onlignment - Using John Keller’s ARCS model to motivate online learners

• Sometimes it is so very hard to hang on to the basics 
• Attention-capture it or nothing will happen
• Relevance-if I don't know why they need to know it, what makes me think they know why?
• Confidence-who wants to do things they don't think they can succeed at?
• Satisfaction-without it, the work is drudgery.
  

Enough for today......

The Way North

EPCC Salute to the Arts sponsored this documentary in the Lecture Forum at TM.   I was fortunate enough to get to spend time talking to the producer (Dan VanZant) and director (Shara K. Lange) at a reception before the documentary.   Both are very animated young people.  

The documentary highlighted part of the life of Fatima Rhazi, the first female sports photographer in Morocco and her work for the Femmes D'Ici et D'Ailleurs (Women here and elsewhere). 

Take aways:

• Fatima is an incredibly strong person, a survivor who also enables others to do so too.   Once a photographer for the King, she left Morocco after her husband's death to avoid her husband's parents from taking her child from her.  
• Quote I especially like:  "I thought that in France life would be easier—it’s the land of liberty. But it wasn’t like that at all." --Fatima Rhazi   I suspect my great-grandfather would have said the same thing about the United States.
• The issue of clothing (in this case wearing a head scarf) is universal between parents and child.
• Children need to feel they belong in school.   Fatima made a point in the film that her son, who is very dark skinned, will have a much more difficult time because of his color.  We forget that racism isn't just here in the US. 
• In France, she deals with the same ills we find here, racism, sexism, learning a new language, finding one's vocation, etc.   Before the film, I hadn't thought much about other countries having illegal immigration issues, and this was a great film to start that conversation.
• Maghrebi refers to people from the areas of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania.
• This documentary was a school project for Shara's MFA.  Dan and Shara teamed up at UT Austin.
• Small grants and access to the equipment/staff/fellow students at UT Austin made the project possible.
• Hadja's papers were eventually approved. 

Definitely enjoyed the film and bought a copy of the DVD to watch it again.

Trivia:  Dan and I are both from Illinois.

SharePoint for Departments

SharePoint is being implemented, albeit in fits and starts. Today we started learning some of it (although the CTR team is already making inroads in using it).

• Organizational structures will be followed. So we have lots of layers deep, all of whom have full access to any sub-site.
• Full access has the ability to do almost anything
• Creating groups is a simple process and a group can be coded a specific level of access avoiding the need to set each one.
• Personal sites are separate.
• The TRC site and subsites are on production, they will not be wiped out.
• The faculty sites are not yet up from what we can tell
• Setting alerts is critical unless we use Sharepoint as initial portal.
• Discussion seems very simplistic
• Wiki lacks changes comparison page, discussions linked to pages or sections.  Feels like nothing more than web pages with links encouraged.  Have to flip back and forth for discussion.
• Can add or delete web parts, much like any mashup.  

Organizing Your Digital Life

You can view the slides here. Overall, this was well received by participants, although it was way too fast with too much jargon for those who still are struggling with things like blog. Lots of requests for smaller pieces, slower pace, and hands on so it was a great jumping off place for more workshops.

 

Maria H. Anderson, Math Faculty at Muskegon Community College goes over the tools she uses to keep chaos down.  
Take Aways
E-mail  (gmail)

• Clean inbox each morning.  Sorts first, then responds.   Very few folders so search works quickly.   She has only Happy (for things that cheer her up); her institution; her PHD emails; Read later; Respond; Watch later and temporary folders like Workshop. She said her "read later" and Watch later are no-guilt folders, things she doesn't want to delete but doesn't have time for. 
• Has all her e-mail consolidated from the various places and pulled into gmail where she reads it there.   I doubt ours allows it.  
• Has her calendar send her a weekly schedule so all she does is print it.   Like an electronic admin assistant.
• Ideally, all e-mail either get deleted, archived or responded to.  Search instead of folders.
• Move all the existing stuff into an e-mail DMZ and start fresh.

Bookmarks

• Since bookmarks are for websites, bookmark them on a website
• Google Bookmarks (not really shared), Delicious, Diigo
• Anyplace, anytime

Learning

• Quote: Use the internet as an extension of your brain.  File cabinet plus personal assistant plus learning diary
• Mindmaps - mindomo.com    her personal mindmap for this workshop http://tinyurl.com/9kd35u
• Wikis
• Blog (stores notes of what you learned)

Other stuff

• Jing -record self doing a non-routine task for playback next time need to do it.
• RSS
• Twitter-keeping track as she worked on her PHD, some of her students use it to keep track of how much time they are spending on their homework.  In a sense, keeping oneself accountable.   It isn't necessarily about who reads it but she made friends along the way as people became interested and started encouraging her.  Hash tag use
• A.nnotate - Note-taking and allows tagging of passages so she can sort by tag or by document.  Searchable.
• Course shells - for cooperative work, not just courses.
• 5pm - for to-do lists and projects
• Google docs
• Quote:  If you aren't careful, you can spend your whole life checking to see what's happening in your life.
• Digsby - combining many communications into one tool, e-mail, IM, and social networks like facebook
• Dual monitors is the way to go (I definitely agree!)
• Google calendars, being able to control which are public and which aren't
• RescueTime - for those that lose track of how much time they spend on things.  Automatically tracks which web sites & applications are used

Teenagers who are Living and Learning with Social Media (Danah Boyd, )

2009 Penn State Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology
Link

Take Aways

• Four properties: persistence, searchability, replicability, and scalability
• Three dynamics:  invisible audiences, collapsed contexts, and the blurring of public and private. 
1. Message can't be adjusted for the audience.  A video can be understood differently in another context, it can be remixed into something different.
2. Impact on TV/Radio:  Stokely Carmichael civil rights activist in 1960s.  Used a very educated proper posh "white" way of speaking to DC politicians, but a rolling  style of speech in talking with others of his own race. Television and radio changed this, there was no neutral voice and he could no longer change voice to suit the audience.  Both, simultaneously, were his audience.   He chose the "black" style of speaking and subsequently that alienated white society.  The collapsed context no longer allowed him to communicate effectively with both since it was simultaneous.
• For adults, home is the quintessential private...but home is one of a teens most public space, their behavior is often constantly monitored and corrected.
• Learning to learn
1. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease tell me why pre-calculus is important to me..." (A, 16, CA) 
2. "...You're not learning this stuff because you need it every day as an adult...The reson is studying these things (precalculus, Shakespear, ...whatever) helps you get good at learning how to learn. And that, you will definitely have to do for the rest of your life.  That's practically all we do as adults...." 
3. Personal note:  I will always remain thankful for Mrs. Clikeman, who encouraged  me to learn how to teach myself so that I "would never be totally dependent on the teaching ability of others." 
• MySpace vs Facebook - "The higher castes of high school moved to Facebook.  It was more cultured, and less cheesy.   The lower class usually were content to stick to MySpace.  Any high school student who has Facebook will tell you that MySpace users are more likely to be barely educated and obnoxious.  Like Peet's is more cultured than Starbucks, and Jazz is more cultured than bubblegum pop, and like Macs are more cultured than PC's, Facebook is of a cooler caliber than MySpace.  (Craig, 17, California).
  
• Peripheral awareness of people around you.
  
• Average age of people on twitter is 31.
  
• Issues of faculty  friending students and forcing them to friend each other just because they have a similar class.  Now that we have children attending college classes, this becomes a greater issue as well.
  
• Copy of dissertation is available.
  

It is easy to forget that TV and radio weren't always so common, and the change they brought equally difficult in some ways.  I did like her comments about the teens knowing how to adapt the technology to their uses, but not understanding anything about how it came to be or works.  Also, that unlike adults, teens don't have the critical thinking skills surrounding their use, the looking at why and how.

Formalizing Informal Learning-What? Why? How?

 Attended "Formalizing Informal Learning- What? Why? How?" by Lance Dublin. Thanks to the kindness of the people at Elluminate, the archive will be available for a month or two here (free of charge). I will probably attend more of Lance's presentations but in archive format so I can stop and digest the information a bit more, he talks very very rapidly.

Take Aways:

• "Informal learning is never organized, has no set objective in terms of learning outcomes and is never intentional from the learner's standpoint. Often it is referred to as learning by experience or just as experience.... "
• "Making mistakes is inevitable."
• "Surprises are a given."
• The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be." Paul Valery 1871-1945

The problem with informal is it is also unrecognized and untrackable for the most part. Unrecognized and untracked learning often equates to under-appreciated learning. How do we create a way for people to get recognition aside from the time/staff intensive testing?

PLE's and Connectivism

Am already behind in the connectivism class. I suspect they are ok with that as long as I'm learning and contributing as much as I can. Over 700 working professionals from all over the world in this group so it generates a lot of noise that drowns out a lot..  Much of the talk is academia-speak, but then I'm rather used to it.  

  

Watched Richard Schwier interview George Siemens recorded with Skype. The topic was Connectivism, "a theory about learning that draws on network theory, social networking, and social constructivism among other things." You can watch it here if you would like. Some parts I had to play multiple times so if you need to do so too, don't feel alone.

  

Take Aways:

 

• What is worth connecting to and what is not? Developing the ability to sift the information, opportunities and tools and choose the best available. How to develop in myself? ....in others?
• Inherent weakness of networks The flock, surrounding oneself with people of similar thoughts and feelings. Diversity is important to avoid tunnel vision and to provide new perspectives. Reminded me of Randy Pausch's class, teaming up programmers, artists and others to form a diverse and strong team in developing a virtual project. I would definitely have enjoyed a class like that.