Too Much Technology, Not Enough Time

I spent the weekend with Erica working on our final project.

We looked at different web 2.0 tools which would make our site intersting and engaging. We had an idea of what we wanted to do but we didn't know how to implement it. So we spent the time before the weekend searching for things that we thought would work best. After going in circles, we found that there are a lot of good things to use but need a lot of invested dollars to make it work. For us starving students, it wasn't going to work. Scraping together what we had to use for free, we talked through different scenarios of how things would work. After a lot of sitting, drinking tea and coffee, and listening to infomercials on the TV, we finally had it.

I will leave the details to our presentation but the purpose of this weeks blog entry is that I realized something. Technology can be a great thing and can be a bad thing depending on how it's used. There is so much stuff out there but not enough time to try everything. When using technology, I think it is best to sample and play with a handful of items. There will always be something better out there but maybe for what you want to accomplish, what you have can serve fine. You also do not want to use too many tools in a single lesson plan. This might confuse the students. Using new technology is useful but just make sure it's not taking away from the main goal of the lesson you are teaching.

Jonestown - 30 Years Later

I was only 4 when this tragedy took place. Growing up, I had heard of this horrible thing but I really didn't know much about it. Today, November 18, 2008 marks 30 years since the Jonestown Massacre happened and technology has allowed this story to be passed along to hopefully remind and teach people that this should never have taken place.

My boyfriend had me watch a documentary with him on MSNBC. It was called "Witness to Jonestown." He had asked me if I knew about this story. I nodded and said "Wasn't it about some cult that committed suicide?" He nodded back and told me that there was much more to the story. He had seen a similar documentary on another channel so we sat together and watched this one. After an hour I felt kind of sick. I couldn't believe that this could have happened in my lifetime. We talked about what we had just seen for a bit then went online to further our knowledge. I was able to pull up tons of information. There were articles from newspapers, magazines, an audio recording of the last moments, and some video which was shot also before everything happened. I was in shock!

I felt that the story would have been lost in time without the detail that was kept using modern technologies. Having this be a reminder of the horror of this happening, I hope it will continue to educate people to the truthfulness of how this came to be and how to ensure it doesn't happen ever again.

Stupid Vacuum Cleaner

The book chapter we were asked to read from "The Design of Everyday Things" was very interesting. It went over a bunch of design pointers how they are used. Some considered criteria are accordance, constraints, mappings, feedback, visibility, and
conceptual model.

Looking around the everyday things I interacts with, I found one particular item that I wanted to share. This item would be the newly bought Eureka Vacuum Cleaner that was purchased by my company for our production office. At first glance I was quite happy as we didn't have one in the past. The dirt on the carpet was pretty gross, so having such an item brought joy to me.

Taking it out of the box, there were a bunch of pieces that needed to be assembled. The main body of the vacuum looked pretty similar to any other vaccum. The problem was that this niffty vaccum was a compact all in one. The tubes and connectors all somehow fit onto the small body and it was up to me to figure out how it was assembled. The visability of the inital item was ok but to where the attachments went, it fails for sure. As I was putting things together, one of the attachments didn't fit. It looked like it should go in one spot but as I tried to put it there, the plastic holder snapped in half. I would say that affordance was pretty poor as well. The plastic holder looked like it was designed to hold everything and be sturdy but it didn't last long for it to break. Great going.. I just broke our new vaccum. The mental model I had of how the thing should work and be put together was drastically different. Everything designed on this particular vaccum had only one way for it to go on and one way to go off. Finally I kind of had it put together. I found the power button and woooooom, the sound it made gave me good feedback that it was indeed on. The mapping of the controls worked as it should... the floor type adjuctment was set so that up meant think and down meant bare. As I pushed the vaccum forward it went forward and so fourth. The floor was finally cleaned but I still could not figure out how to get it back to how it was supposed to be assembled. The picture you see is basically the unit as it lives in the back of the room today... stupid vaccum.

Working on Success

Last week we were greeted by a guest speaker, Eugene Lee, the CEO of Socialtext. He talked about his experiences in the workplace and personally. I thought that his talk was very interesting as he is a wonderful speaker. His down to earth manner really took me back as it is not what I pictured as I typical CEO. He touched on a few things of importance which mainly was about the thinking process. He left his prior jobs because he wanted to do something meaningful which in part makes him happy. I think this is a valuable lesson although how realistic is it for everyone to follow this guidline? I think that everyone does in their own way.

I had a chance to listen to Ethan's podcast. If you haven't listened to it, I highly recommend it. The phrase that really stuck in my head was "Embrace your amatureness." This was a quote from the Symphony chapter in A Whole New Mind. We will be exploring this with our group project so I won't go into it here.

The 5 frame stories so far have all been wonderful. We were asked to nominate one for our favorite. It's been hard as earch one has it's certain sparkle. Everyone is so creative. The right brian is truely being worked out.

No Podcast, But How About a Movie?

There will not be an episode of Connect @ 830 this week but in it's place we will have some other multimedia. Let's start with this week's assignment shall we?

This week we were to create a 5-10 picture slide show to convey a story. Here is what I came up with.




We also did some reading in the Eduction for a Digital World. This week we took a look at Social Media for Adult Online Learners and Educators. I thought that the gist of this chapter fell within the lines of it's not the technology itself but how you use it. There are a lot of technologies out there that have been sitting and unused. The example given in the chapter was blogs. Since 1995 web logs were used but it wasn't until 2000 that the tool exploded. Now having the tool, how do you promote usage? There is a difference between adult and children learning. So what is it? Kids tend to learn for the sake of learning. Adults have a lot of variables like time and money and motivation. It will be the usage of proper learning theories to engage the adult learner.

The second chapter was titled "Online Collaboration: An Overview." This chapter basically defined the terms collaboration and cooperation and talked about the differences. It's a matter of sharing material and coming up with ideas that can be changed. I find that a collaboration is much more like something that is evolving. A cooperation is more like a partnership. Since the coined term of "web 2.0" I have found myself collaborating much more without even knowing it. Using tools and websites like facebook and google docs seem already taken for granted. It's just the way we work to make things more efficient. But taking a step back, it's all about collaborating and user created content. It will be interesting to see what the next stage of learning will be.

Since we did a silent slide show this week, I thought I would share something with sound and movement. Here is one of my short films entitled "Faded Reality." See if you can figure out the story and enjoy.



Connect @ 830 will continue next week. See you then!

Podcast - Episode 05 (Live)

Erica makes her debut

This week Erica reviews the following

- Using Elluminate - 21st Century Technologies for a 21st Century Class
- Leslie Rule from KQED

Be sure to leave comments for Erica as well as respond to this weeks question after listening to the podcast.

Here is also the link for Google Chrome as presented by Yana.

Google Chrome:
http://www.google.com/chrome

Podcast - Episode 06 (Live)

What happened to episode 05? This episode will be live soon so be sure and stay tuned. It will be Erica Chan's Connect @ 830 Debut! In the meantime here is part 1 of the double feature week!

A Whole New Mind

This week we look at the first 3 chapters of Daniel H. Pink's book "A Whole New Mind" We will explore the following:

- Right Brain Rising
- Abundance, Asia, and Automation
- High Concept, High Touch

Be sure and leave some feedback after listening to the show. Enjoy everyone! ^_^

Double Podcast Coming This Week

I apologize for the absence last week as there was a huge event at work that kept me from class and this podcast. To make up for it, this week will be a double show.

Guest host Erica Chan will be bringing an episode this week. Look for her Connect @ 830 debut.

The second show will feature a review of the first three chapters in the assigned reading of "A Whole New Mind."

Look for both shows coming this week here on this blog.

Cheers!

Pocast: Episode 04

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the podcast. Hopefully it is helpful and will continue to be as the semester progresses. You guys are great :-) All right.. now on with the show.

Learning for the 21st Century

This weeks episode we talk about the the reading Learning for the 21st Century.

How you you answer the following questions afetr reading the article and listening to this weeks episode?

Are you seeing current educators implementing these best practices?
How can you use these strategies to plan your next lesson design?

Leave you answers and comments here on this blog.

Videoconferencing 2.0

This week during class we used technology is the best way! It's what I'd like to think is Videoconferencing 2.0. Using a Tanburg videoconferencing systen, we enjoyed a talk with Curt Bonk. Although it should be considered a part of Web 2.0 as streaming video and voice over IP are all net based.

The first generation of videoconferencing units used IDSN or traditional voice phone lines to transfer data. It was very expensive and you could not share documents or websites. It was a point to point communication tool. With the introduction of IP based dialing it brought the cost of videoconferencing to almost free. Sharing and colaboration became possible as videoconferencing units became able to share documents and have interaction tools integrated in the programing. I thought this hit the point of ITEC 830 as we are using technology in the classroom rather than just talking about it.

Reality and Virtual Reality - True or False

This week the assigned reading was titled "Growing up with Google: What it menas to education." by Diana G. Oblinger. The article talked about how the new generation of learners use technology differntly. The Net Generation is all about obtaining information when they want it instantly. When they need to look up something, they go online; instead of going to the library and looking in books or asking one professional, they look to social groups online or learn by discovery. Traditional methods of learning are now being updated to try and accomodate this new generation. For example, some libraries are no long strictly silent; they will encourage a place where people can socialize and share information. One of the issues brought up in the article was about information validity. Learners will need to be educated on researching skills and finding validity within the plethory of digital information.

Reading this article made me think of a one in a lifetime marketing scheme during the budding growth of the net generation. I always thought I was net tech savy and the internet had already become a daily tool I used. A friend of mine had me download a movie called "The Blair Witch Project." He didn't know what is was, but it hit the net with great force disguising itself as a film in which the families of these victims were looking for information to solve their missing persons case. Having this pre-context, the film was creepy. I then went online to check the validity of this film. What I found was a multiple websites and forums all about the missing people. There were news reels and local newspaper clippings along with police reports and evidence pictures. After spending a day or two researching this material, I was convinced that the film was legit. I then went and spread the word and the film to all of my friends. They all had the same reaction I did. It became the center of our conversations for a while.

At least 6 months has passed with this going around the net unitl someone spotted one of the missing people at the Sundance Film Festival. The bubble bust and the cat was out of the bag. We had all been had. A year later, the film was released in the theaters and was somewhat of a success. I think it had lost it's kick now that everything was exposed. The point of my story was that this is exactly a downfall to information being shared over the net. It will be up to the user to do better research to validate information that is posted. I think the whole "Blair Witch Project" scam was a brilliant marketing scheme and can not be replicated ever again. It was a lesson in the digital age as well as a reality check to all.

Podcast - Episode 03

This weeks episode is all about links! We've got em.. look for them below the podcast link. Since we did a whole reading on emerging technologies in e-learning, I wanted to know what web 2.0 tools and or applications everyone used. I also wanted to know peoples comments on how they thought the tools they used are shaping "web 3.0." This week is was able to interview Lily, Erica, Henry, and Professor Foreman.




Links to Cool Tools:
iGoogle: http://www.google.com/ig

Google Docs: http://docs.google.com

Google Maps: http://maps.google.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

Pandora: http://www.pandora.com

This link wasn't covered in the podcast but for those of you looking for public domain music to use on your blog, this is a great resource

IODA Promonet: http://iodapromonet.com

Emerging Technologies in E-Learning

The reading on emerging technologies in e-learning a good reflection on technologies that I believe I have already taken for granted. Being someone whom has always played around with technology, I have been up with the trend in using new tools and applications. I was using social networking , personal broadcasting, and online meetings without even knowing the significance of them to the new digital era. I started playing World of Warcraft, a MMORPG which started a whole new type of online gaming. (I had stopped playing after trying it for a month. This game seriously was eating my life away.) My friends all use wikis to keep everyone informed of events and borrowed items. Because I have been activity using these tools I have already gotten used to them. They have already become apart of my everyday life.

Looking forward, I think the next step is refining the technologies we have and improving them. It's like how we took the cell phone and integrated all of these social networking, information, and entertainment to them. Using all of these new tools in the classroom has and will continue to affect teaching styles. The encouragement of remote and user created content will be a major factor for the new wave of e-learning. The challenges that are ahead will help to define how the bridge the quick multi-tasking z-generation to learning theories that have been established with those that are being discovered.

Podcast - Episode 02

Podcast: Episode 02
In this week's show, we speak with Melissa and Miles on Siemens Context of Learning example as well as his theory of the quick outdating of learning.




Here are some useful links:
Google Reader
http://www.google.com/reader

Tag Galaxy
http://taggalaxy.de

Learning and Knowig Today

Learning and Knowing Today

There were an article and podcast that were assigned for this week; John Seeley Brown's Learning in a Digital Age, and George Siemen's Connectivism - Learning and Knowing Today. John Seeley's article set the stage for the podcast to be heard. Brown talks about the change of learning in the digital age. He introduces information and communication technology (ICT)and how the new generation is shifting their learning experience. Now using discovery based learning rather than authority based learning and taking ideas and building upon them as compared to the music mash-up popularity. These ideas influenced the talk that George Siemens gave in his podcast.

First of all as a audio techie person... this podcast need to be normalized. I almost blew out my ear at the beginning when the sound guy was adjusting his levels. I could also hear the wrong mic placement on Mr. Siemens. Anyway... I thought the talk was very interesting. The thought of solving a problem without context is something that I felt was very intriguing. How many times have you found a solution for something waiting for a problem to occur? How about solving a problem without thinking what other consequences might happen afterwards? This will be my subject matter for this week's Connect @ 830 podcast. It will be interesting to see how many of our colleagues have done this not being aware of it. I know I have. This will be a key thing to keep on your mind the next time you prepare material to teach or present. Siemen's continues to express how learning today is very different than it was before. Learning is a continuing process and must be because as Siemen's states, "the ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today." As technology grows, the latest and greatest today will be outdated tomorrow... so keep learning and know how to weed through the tons of information available at your fingertips.

In class this week the first three SME presentations were done on RSS, Feeders, and Tagging. I hope that everyone is using these tools. It's the best way to have your personal interests come to you. Tagging will help you find content you are interested in. Of course all of these tools can be overwhelming so pick and choose... the best way to learn is the use the tool... don't just read or hear about them.

Podcast: Episode 01

The first episode of Connect @ 830 is finally here! What you will find in this week's episode is:
- What is Web 2.0
- An Introduction to Connectivism
- A look into George Siemen's Article: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

I realized that I haven't done a podcast in a long time. Please bear with me... The first two shows are a bit rusty and dry. I'll be trying some new thing to hopefully spice things up. If anyone has comments or suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I want to try and get everyone involved with this and make it something that will be useful and entertaining at the same time. In the meantime... cheers everyone :-)

A New Start... A New Beginning

Hello everyone! I wanted to do something fun which will hopefully be entertaining and helpful for the ITEC 830 class. Next week will start the very first podcast of "Connect at 830." This podcast will basically be a summary of the weeks course with some interactive content. Each week feature a 5-10 minute show with classmate interviews, rants, and opinions. I hope it will be something fun and exciting for everyone so be sure to stay tuned here on this blog.. where we can all coneect at 830!