Online Calendar (Thing 12)

For this thing, I tried the "30Boxes" application, which is basically a calendar program. Many of the other applications looked quite interesting and useful, but I've long had a desire to try to synthesize/ streamline the often disparate bits of my life, and so this is my newest stab. For it to work, it will have to link into the things I do everyday, like check e-mail. If I can make the calendar part of my homepage, for instance, it might actually work for me.

I found 30Boxes fairly easy to use, although the means of entering...or especially editing...information was not the best I've seen. I do like the option of being able to share the calendar with others...this could really come in handy, I should think, especially in coordination events with family members...

Online Productivity Apps (Thing 11)

I suppose the folks at Microsoft stand to be a bit worried, although I imagine not everyone will go for Google Docs...at least not right away. It takes time for habits to change...and a good number of people may have no interest in have their documents "out there."

At the same time, schools will make a big difference here. If using Google Docs (or a similar application) becomes commonplace during the school years, millions of people will become familiar with it...and probably continue to use it.
If using Google docs can circumvent the massive headache of saving and transferring documents from home to school...I'm all for it. Not to mention that it allows groups to collaborate outside of class...which could save lots of time in class, and lead to a better product as well.

Entering wikiworld (Thing 10)

Nothing to it, really. Of course, being away from the classroom, I have serious doubts as to what to do with my new wikispace...and even more serious doubts that it will be used, at least in the immediate future.

Like with almost any new skill, for me there will need to be some sort of impetus to do more with this, at least before I learn much with it. The tutorials are only useful if the information is applied, I think. Still, knowing that a wikispace is so available and accessable is quite valuable, in that it opens whole new possibilities for extending learning (and the learning community) beyond the classroom. Exciting stuff, especially in my context...

Wikiworld (Thing 9)

If the wiki works like I think it does, they hold lots of educational promise. The idea of posting daily assignments, such as a "study hall" wiki would be just a start, although a very helpful one at that. The wiki study guide also seems to be a common and highly useful idea. It reminds me of an on-line version of a review day...where one student asks a question another may not have thought of, or phrases something differently (or better) than the teacher.

Another sight featured a debate applying Chinese governing philosophy to current practice, where students were weighing in with opinions. This holds a lot of appeal, as the conversation can continue outside of class (and school), and the teacher can add things (upon further reflection) that may prove helpful.

I would like to try something like this, for a number of reasons. For one, it may encourage (or force) students to "listen" to the ideas of another. Secondly, it moves the teacher off center stage in the conversation. Thirdly, it gives the more reserved students equal time and space, and the more reflective students better chance to participate.

Photos and visuals are nice to draw people in, initially, but I think the content is still most important. An engaging subject or stimulating question will really keep the conversation going. In particular, I would like to do wiki-debates, as I've never found a good way to use debates in class (although I think they are fun and important).

RSS...again (Thing 8)

I've enjoyed using Google Reader and the RSS feeds, thus far. I'm not really sure what is the best way to add feeds...using the Google Reader Search tool seems pretty good to me.

I suspect, however, that from now on I will be looking for the RSS icon when I happen upon a site I like, and then add it on. The question is really how often I will use the reader...

Feed Read (Thing 7)

It's a nifty thing, the RSS Reader. One more step in consumer-driven news and entertainment. What is good about this, I think, is that it allows for more specialization and diversification of interest and opinions. At the same time, I wonder if the end result will be toward greater polarization in our society.

What I mean by this is that the media has often served to unify the culture, be it "official" news reports, popular songs and music, sporting events, etc. To a large degree, the population submitted itself to the authority of the writers, photographers, and editors...and ran the risk of seeing or reading something they might not (initially) be interested in and/or agree with. An average newspaper or magazine has many articles, on many different subjects.

If I can pick and choose most (or all) of my sources, however, I can more or less continue to be fed only stuff I like, by people who (more or less) see things the way I do. I am not sure that this will lead to much personal growth, or the type of citizen best suited for democracy...or life in a diverse society.

Educationally, however, we may be able to use this tool to the student's advantage, if we ourselves are careful. We could promote/ require students to subscribe to a certain range of feeds, especially during a particular course or unit, and have them make use of it during class discussion and in their own studies. We have to be careful here to not "feed" them only our favorites...or ones that only coincide with one particular viewpoint.

Technophobia? (Thing 6)

This week I had all but created a Flickr account for myself, but then stopped short. It was the Yahoo connection that did it; a much more tech-savvy friend once told me he "wouldn't go near Yahoo with a ten-foot pole." (I think his concerns were security related). I realized if I don't even really know what (or who?) is inside my own computer...perhaps I should be concerned about what information I give away to "anyone out there." Thus, I have not (yet?) created a facebook account for myself.

My wife and I have also noticed a trend with some of our friends on facebook or in blogs. Namely, they feel free to share things that seem unsettling (or unseemly) in their candor. It's as if they are journaling in public...which (I think) is exactly what is happening. Because no one is present when writing, there is great freedom. And then this "journal" gets shared with others. Previously, if you share a journal, you only do so in the context of a close, trusting relationship. But a post then becomes public property--almost like one's letters when they die--and the author loses control over the audience.

Many others have made similar comments about the pictures posted on Facebook, and what they seem to reveal about a person. I have been told that many employers now check an applicant's Facebook page as part of the "interview" process.

It appears that the technology for Web 2.0 has evolved more quickly than the ethics of Web 2.0. So perhaps this is where teachers (or the older generation) can play a key role...in helping students/ society understand and respond to "a new thing," but one that incorporates lots of older issues, questions, and patterns.

Mixing Mashups (Thing 5)

I had seen these faux-motivational posters on-line, but didn't realize they were/could be mashups. Much of the other stuff also had a familiar feel to it (comic captions, posters, etc.) There's an ironic nature about a fair number of the mashup options, it seems to me, which appeals to me and a number of my students, I gather.

Of course the use of mashups has classroom implications... but I can see lots of ways they could help with the various communications (staff, parents, family) we all find ourselves needing to do.

Resourcefulness (Thing 4)

Not nearly so beautiful and clear as many of the images on Flickr, but more like most of our photos...and our lives. It occurs to me that photographers, like writers, do not all fit into the same category. Some are like poets, and scour the world to find images which stand alone on their visual qualities, regardless of meaning. Others are more like journalists, and use photos to document real people, events, and so on. The best ones probably are able to do both, but we (and most people we know) are much more like the journalist...bypassing technology and technique to "get the picture"--like this one of boys selling black market gasoline in Southeast Asia. Flickr simply makes it possible to share one's art...or one's lives, with a wider (and more anonymous) audience.

Blogworld (Thing 2)

Turns out I forgot the final step on "Thing 2..."

What makes a good blog? Intelligence, first of all. In a "real" live discussion, there are some who speak to be heard (by themselves?), and others who genuinely have something to add. A good blog is articulate, generous (if possible), informative and/or persuasive...just like a good writer or speaker.
I will be challenged, encouraged, or changed in some way as a result of reading it.

How do blogs enhance existing web sites? Blogs allow nuance and alternative viewpoints to surface. There is generally one "official" voice or position of a site, and blogs can function like the discussion following a presentation.

Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish. Without a doubt. Just like with independent music, however, there are advantages to having a label or a publisher. Those marketing people sometimes know what they are doing.

Life-long learning...(Thing 3)

...talk about a shopworn phrase! Not that I disagree with the idea of "life-long learning...but it's a bit hard to imagine someone who is not a "life-long learner" (at least at some level). I suppose the notion of life-long learning is meant to get at a person's: a) attitude toward learning and b) tendencies to seek (voluntary?) learning opportunities. Anyway, on to the question at hand...

"Beginning with the end in mind,""accepting responsibility for own learning," and "creating my own learning toolbox" are all things that I do rather instinctively, I believe...as well as teaching others, which is both my habit and my job. I do not always see problems as "challenges," however, nor do I use technology to my advantage. While I often do not possess the latest technology, I certainly do not make the most of what I have either. These two in particular, as well as giving myself time, space, and occasion to "play" will need to change for me to grow in the area of using Web 2.0.