Web2.0 vs. TV...(hint: TV won't win!)

An interesting insights and short talk by Clay Shirky (author of Here Comes Everybody) at Web2.0Expo explaining how the participatory web is shaping how we're using our surplus time. He makes a great argument on how TV just no longer "gets it".

Student Blogs, Ownership & Social Ratings in the Marketplace of Ideas

Cole Camplese and company at ETS are doing fabulous things at (and for) Penn State. Beside hard work, I gotta chalk up a lot of their success to a willingness and openness to experimentation (with apparent administrative support)--not with wild abandon, but in a measured and calculated way.

Student Blogs: In my last post, I shared how I was challenged with trying to find a meaningful way to integrate blogs into my course. Well, I think I'm on to the solution...courtesy of Cole Camplese and Scott McDonald . Cole recently posted some details on how he and Scott McDonald are using blogs and social ratings in the "disruptive technologies" class they co-teach...and I steal, edit and present large swaths of his original post here:

A while back we completed another Hot Team white paper related to social rating sites — think of digg.com as the big example. Essentially a space where content is either aggregated in or submitted by users and then voted on by the community. Lots of people find these types of spaces very important for helping them filter and discover the things that are interesting to them. Scott McDonald and I made the decision to put a pligg (open source) site at the middle of our course. At the start it confused students a bit, but I am starting to see content coming in from student blogs, with comments, and votes. It is really cool to see a community developing before my eyes.

Students [respond] to the course readings in their own blogs (so they “own” the content) and they are aggregated automatically into the Pligg site. They are then given three votes to give to the top posts (and they must comment on the post as to why they voted for it). The top vote getters rise to the top and these then form the basis for the face to face discussion for the week. It feels like it is a solid way to bring lots of pieces of content together and give students a real voice in the organization of emerging conversation.

Ownership: I think I'm finally getting what they're up to and once again feel like I'm a day late and a dollar short (I might be slow, but I catch up fairly quickly). I love the idea that by using individual student blogs, students "own" their comments, ideas and thinking. It stays with them in their own blog. Currently, we generate good discussions in the discussion forums embedded in our LMSs, but this--sometimes very rich--conversation all dies (or gets archived) once the 3 month course is over. By having students post to their blogs, there's a level of public accountability for what they are posting, and their thinking remains with them throughout their studies and potentially beyond.

Social Ratings in the Marketplace of ideas: I think I like the social rating aspect of pligg too. I saw a very cool form of social ratings built into a beta discussion board tool at Indiana U a couple years back, and have long sought for such a marketplace-based approach to sharing/selling ideas. I think social rating systems can help stimulate individual accountability within learning environments, where collectively we can help separate the wheat (insightful comments) from the chaff (chatter). The comments of value generally rise to the surface. There is perhaps a danger of margnalizing less mainstream voices in this process, and faclitating "bandwagon ratings", but I imagine this can probably be mitigated with simple some course policies.

While a somewhat minor issue, the look-n-feel of pligg needs to be significantly decluttered in my opinion to avoid distracting from the posts. As it stands, he default pligg interface appears to present more "clickable" items in each post than raw text which all vie for attention and I find confusing when you want the focus to be on the conversation. I prefer the cleaner look of posts in this pligg platform website http://www.realestatevoices.com/, which has decluttered the interface somewhat.

So, some very intriguing ideas that will likely need refinement through the process of my own experimentation, and by closely tracking the experiments of other innovators like Cole and Scott.

-Joel G.

Ramblings (to self) on purposeful technology use...

Some reading tonight on the folly of teachers building websites spawned some thoughts about the importance of having a purpose for using any given technology or assigning any learning activity. The post talks about how teachers are so often sent to professional development workshops to learn web development or how to build web pages. Too often, however, teachers fail to have a solid purpose for using websites, and their web pages go unused or are never updated remaining eternally "under construction". David Jakes writes :

Teacher Web pages are the HyperCard stacks of 2008.

I agree, but I would edit this to read:

Teacher blogs of today are the teacher Web pages of the turn of the century, which were the HyperCard stacks of the 1990s.

The notion of using technology for a purpose is not new, but was brought up again for me tonight as I read Jakes's post and by questions yesterday from a couple of my students who asked me what we 'd be doing in class with the blogs. I had real no answer and proceeded to remove some vestiges of the "blog" language I had initially tried to shoehorn into my syllabus.

I had been trying to find a way to use blogs in my online course--I'd been trying really hard! It just didn't make sense yet for my course. I believe there are great ways to use blogs (and wikis and podcasts too)...but not for my class this semester. This has frustrated me because as an learning technologist, I really want to use blogs in a class to gain some first-hand experience and best practice knowledge with using blogs in a social/group learning environment. But it is not to be this semester, and I'm glad I didn't take the bait and put the proverbial cart before the horse.

With regard to building websites, my students (who are largely teachers) used to create websites in my class too. I don't address that anymore, but have not yet found the ideal substitute for posting small instructional, media-rich nuggets. Wikis are likely the solution, as they provide a more customizable environment than a blog, but wikis are built for collaboration, and to use them just as modern-day-WYSIWYG web page builders seems less than ideal.

I've not yet found the optimal solution. I think I ideally need an "Bliki" or a "Wlog"--an easy-to-use web publishing environment that has elements of both blogs and wikis. Maybe this is a job for Drupal or Movable Type 4....better yet, our focus in general should first be in helping teachers/instructors understand why, where, and for what purpose to use a given technology, and only then on providing them with knowledge on how to use them and mini successfful experiences in using them.
Well, I'm rambling at this point, but wanted to capture these thoughts as I continue to mull this dilemma over.
-Joel G.

Happy New Year...and more Social Bookmarking that is more...well, Social

First off, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and happy whatever other holidays you may celebrate.

2008 is going to be a big year with lots of change in store for me: I'm teaching a largely new online course and trying out a bunch of new things which is usually exciting, but is also a bit scary this time since its lots of new all at once; I'm anticipating new employment and many new projects; I'll likely be moving and purchasing a new home; and on the personal-improvement level--and this is not yet well-thought-out--I want to get into more social social bookmarking!

Most of my bookmarking is simply for myself (I primarily use del.icio.us), but there's little social about it. I intend to do more with my class this spring, so we'll see how it goes. In the mean time I came across this article "Five Ways You Can Fall in Love With Tagging Again" that is already bemoaning what I haven't yet even started in earnest--social bookmarking. I've considered and struggled myself with the notion of tagging. I am not yet comfortable navigating my own tags and have not settled on consistent enough terms for myself, but I'm still not convinced the established taxonomies are all that much more useful.

In any event, I look forward to teaching my online class this semester, and experimenting with ways in which to effectively use bookmarks in a more social way.
How do you use, or how have you used social bookmarking for yourself or in your teaching? Let me know.
-JG

Sink or Swim: Front loading Challenging Learning Activities

I teach a digital-video-production-for-educators class online for Penn State World Campus, and am finishing a significant revision of the course. With this class, I'm concerned that I'm throwing my students in the deep end right at the outset of the class by having them plan, record, and upload an introduction of themselves on a video hosting site (Viddler, Voicethread, Teachertube, etc.). Some have never done anything with their videotapes--ever! let alone, connect their camera to their computer, edit, compress and post their videos to an online hosting site.

My concern is that by requiring this, I may be setting myself up for a tech support nightmare. I'm hoping this is not the case. I'm hoping that we've come to the point where 1) tools are easy enough to use, and 2) participants have enough online media literacy. The first I hope is especially true. The latter I'm here to help my students with.
Later assignments will have them first edit their videos and then post them and comment on each other's videos throughout the class.
E-learning guru, Michael Allen, says:

Learners prefer jumping into interesting tasks, then breaking them down into their components as it becomes necessary....Actually it's much more effective to present challenges first. If learners can meet the challenge then you won't have bored them by telling them what they already know. If they can't meet the challenge, they can ask for help, and in doing so will value the information they receive more and will see its relevance [paraphrased].

Believing he's right, I proceed to front load the challenging part of the class and get right to the whole point of the class--create and share effective instructional media using the tools of the day. I look forward to this new model over how we used to do it by sending videotapes back and forth by snail mail, email attachments or posting files to our CMS. I'm hoping that this new approach encourages far more collaboration and discussion around the videos, facilitates more experimentation and gives class participants new media skills--and that these skills will help them better do their respective jobs.
...but maybe deep down inside, I hope most of all that I haven't created a support nightmare.
-JG (did I mention that I've submitted ALL my final dissertation materials...all that's left now is the walk)

Change Happens...Lessons Live On (hopefully)

A Fall weekend hike in the woods of beautiful central Pennsylvania with my family and my camera reminded me of some things about change:

• Like the color of the leaves, change happens...
• Like the seasons, change happens...
• Like the technology of yesteryear, change happens...
• Like our children, change happens...
• Like the way we use things, change happens...

...but hopefully we learn valuable lessons along the way, and enjoy/embrace/relish the change. More often than not, it is a sign of growth.


(click on the slideshow to visit the album and view full-screen)

-JG

The problem with "2.0"

Ryan Bretag posted a great little gem on the potential confusion caused by the recent "2.0"craze. So many terms (even in education) are getting the 2.0 treatment with unfortunately too little explication.
I agree that there is a more-than-trivial danger in applying a versioning scheme to learning and educational practice.
This may quickly get out of hand with everyone upping the ante, supposedly indicating that they have superior, latest-greatest teaching and learning going on.
If you think it's a puzzle now, just wait till some institutions/technologists start hawking and presenting at conferences on their new Learning 5.0 wares and methods!
I'm with Ryan on his trend-setting suggestion--i.e. start a trend of NOT using 2.0 language if we can help ourselves. I find myself waaay too often invoking (and furthering) the silly title of an otherwise important and meaningful phenomenon. I just don't think it is possible to stop at 2.0, and am concerned about already having seen mention of "Learning 2.5 and 3.0".
-Joel G.

Is Learning is Changing?

An interesting video clip on how learning has changed. It is a bit negative, addressing the worst of large lecture classes, but interesting nontheless.

-JG

The future of elearning requires change in Tools, Processes AND Teachers

Funny how my thinking never seems to stray very far...and these are just out-loud thoughts right now.

I've been developing an online "course/workshop" with the goal of helping faculty who are new to online teaching and learning, navigate the waters of building their online courses. Quite honestly, I've been stumbling over myself on this project, and think it has something to do with what I see as inconsistencies in what I'm used to doing, and what I've come to value in recent months with regard to what online teaching/learning should be. I stumble in reconciling what "stuff" should be taught vs. what can be effectively learned without being experienced. In retrospect this is not completely new to me since I prefer learning through doing--both in my own teaching and in my own life.

Cole Camplese posted recently about what future elearning tools might (need to) look like. Cole says:

What I struggle with is the idea of what is a really good eLearning environment these days? In my mind, a handful of pages of content that link and embed objects that drive student and faculty to engage in conversations (on or off line) seems to be the goal. With that said, why not design those content pages in a blog so students and faculty (and maybe people from the outside) can have conversations in context? Why are we still struggling with what the right eLearning tool set looks like when we are sitting in a world with dozens of content creation tools? The model we are trying to avoid consists of tons of static text pages that prompt students to leave the content and jump into a discussion forum to interact — I’ve never liked that, but now the technology supports what I am after … the opportunity for conversation at every level of a course experience.

This is no trivial puzzle that has also occupied my thinking of late…I feel like the Grinch (who stole Christmas) in that he puzzled for hours "till his puzzler was sore"--how I feel on this particular issue.

The current model--or the way I've been trained to design instruction was largely content based, peppered with some online activities where possible. A lot of lip service is paid to active engagement and learning activities. Like Cole says, a host of disparate new tools exist out there that have a great deal of potential, but how to aggregate them, and how do you help teachers think differently about online teaching.

I and many others advocate some form of a 3-pronged attack--one that looks at:

1. the enviroment (tools)
   
2. the processes (learning activities)
   
3. the people (both teachers AND students).
   

The environment/tools, processes and even students are coming along, but they are only 2/3 of the equation. The teachers and online teaching practice generally seems to lag a smidgen. These 3 areas have to move forward together to affect change, but too often the responsibilities for these 3 areas lie in different organizations and (try to) go forward uncoordinated.

-Joel G.

Blogging: Lessons from Leonardo da Vinci

Amy Grahan posted some thoughts on "How to blog without the time sink". I like her comment on not treating posts as article writing, but rather like a "backup brain". She makes three main points on blogging:

1. Blog your initial brainstorming (ideas).
2. Blog your research & discovery (came across x today--just like this post).
3. Blog your interactions (interesting conversations).

A few years ago, I visited an exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's sketches at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was an amazing exhibit featuring a bunch of unfinished, not fully formed ideas, drawings and musings. The kind of stuff I doodled in the margins of my notebooks in highschool--only admittedly much better.

I found his unfinished, "unpublished" works amazing...if not more amazing that his polished work. Maybe because I got a glimpse on the process, on the thinking that makes his work so enduring. Though he didn't publish his notebooks, his unfinished "process" is an astounding exhibit itself!

Take a moment to visit the "turning the pages" link at the British Library site to see one amazing early-day blog! (scroll down on site to find Sketches by Leonardo)

So, I agree with Amy Grahan's points for the most part. I generally want and TRY to make each post to be a meaningful nugget. What that often means though, is that I delay writing thought/ideas that are good enough (i.e. great gets in the way of good enough) . It also means that when I do get around to writing, it is often too much. I for one have little patience reading long blog posts, and imagine others do too. So, I'm going to work on remedying this.

This handicap pervades much of my life. As I finish up my PhD dissertation, I have found nearly every step of the way in this process that I have let striving for perfection--notice I said "striving", not "achieving"!--paralyze my progress. I've been doing better lately, but it's a lesson I have to keep re-learning.

Blogging in some ways has, and can continue helping me do what Da Vinci did with his notebooks. It can help me get over my habit of perpetual tinkering and polishing--fearing to release my ideas into the world before they are fully formed.
so with that, and without turning this thought into an "article," I'm going to hit the publish button and see what happens.
-JG
[Update: I went back and edited this post a bunch---aaargh, though it is considerably better (and longer), I just couldn't leave good enough alone. Maybe I need to turn off editing rights for myself ;-) ]

Digital natives, information literacy and a skills gap?

The New Media Consortium's 2007 Horizon Report is a very interesting read (at least hit the executive summary!). A couple claims they make about student skills and literacies resonated with me as I read (from different sections of the report):

1) There is a skills gap between understanding how to use tools for media creation and how to create meaningful content. Although new tools make it increasingly easy to produce multimedia works, students lack essential skills in composition, storytelling, and design. In addition, faculty need curricula that adapt to the pace of change and that teach the skills that will be needed—even though it is not clear what all those skills may be.

2) Information literacy increasingly should not be considered a given. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the information literacy skills of new students are not improving as the post-1993 Internet boomlet enters college. At the same time, in a sea of user-created content, collaborative work, and instant access to information of varying quality, the skills of critical thinking, research, and evaluation are increasingly required to make sense of the world.

I've made an interesting observation with both my 12 and 14 year old daughters, my older nephews, and many of their friends with whom I have some Facebook or other social network contact. They all seem surprisingly computer illiterate...despite their amazing keyboard skills, and hours on computers--"Oh, there's a calculator on here?" or "how do I attach that file?" or "Dad, the computer's not working" (when only the wireless switch was turned off--as if the Internet IS the computer...OK, I'll give them that one).

Perhaps more to the point of the Horizon Report claim #1, I see them viewing, sharing, remixing, and even creating photos, videos, music with each other with either no aesthetic quality, or even less purpose, message or meaning. Sure, not everything has to be deep and poignant, but this stuff adds up to heaps of material posted to YouTube, Facebook, Flickr etc. that is really senseless material--outside of just wanting to publish/share something and get a reaction from friends (no sense watching more than 30 seconds of this example close to home).

Admittedly, I have undergraduate degrees in photography and film, spent years creating video and media professionally, and have been teaching media courses for the last 4 years. Yes, I probably have higher expectations than some (and wish my kids would have picked up a thing or two), but I as I have repeatedly seen in the classes I teach, for most people, access to technology and skills with the tools alone does not ensure the creation of meaningful content. (with some amazing exceptions to the rule out there--where young kids have created and shared some very beautiful and compelling work).

Is this akin to phenomena of days gone by?--have we seen this before with word processors, wysiwyg html editors, and handheld camcorders (and blogs) for example? Every Tom, Jane and Hari with new tools excitedly creates material and eventually either gives up, or hopefully learns and improves. The difference perhaps now is how easy it is for Tom, Jane and Hari to parade their drivel (or masterpieces!) in front of the world's eyes--which is where claim #2 on information literacy becomes critical. I don't think kids are learning enough info literacy in schools.
I think I'm part part of the solution in closing the gap of both claims (both as a parent and instructor). I'm currently significantly revising my online course (for educators) which will also be renamed from "Video and Hypermedia in the Classroom" to "Instructional Media in a Digital Age" pending approval. The title is maybe a bit tacky, but the revised course is going to be a creating, sharing, connecting , tagging (web 2.0) blast, focused on meaningful, purposeful content. I can't wait to teach my new version in January. We also spend time in class (but not enough) on information and media literacy--learning to evaluate and appreciate the media we encounter.

I wonder what others experiences are. Is "information literacy" a legacy term part of a dying system that says experts and expert viewpoints exist? Do we need to be teaching people how to create "meaningful content", or do we simply let "meaningful" be what either the creator and/or consumer make of it?
-Joel G.

(photo:http://flickr.com/photos/iamarlong/)

Winds of Change 2

An interesting video on the changing educational landscape by Karl Fischer (it's been around for a year, but it was new to me)...It makes my thinker sore.
-Joel G.



Original video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

Winds of Change--is faculty development lagging?

A couple short USA Today articles (from 2006!) that describe the changing student demographics at universities.

The first describes student networking (MySpace, Facebook) and how new incoming students use such tools to find out about prospective schools, and more about the schools they'll be attending. Universities would be wise to proactively be in this space.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-08-15-freshman-networking_x.htm

This next article simply outlines some of the new characteristics of the incoming digital native student.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/2006-08-16-gen-next-tech-savvy_x.htm

I question how much universities have done, and how much they are doing to address this trend...it's now been a year since these articles were published. Penn State (where I am currently) appears to be doing a number of things indicating they are taking this change seriously. Though infrastructure/technology change is an important part of the picture, it is only part of the solution. There's a lot (even more) work to be done with our faculty (with notable exceptions) to meet student needs, and help keep their education and training relevant to society's needs.

-Joel G.

An alternate voice on all this innovation...

David Snowden's presentation (17:00 min) is sensible, and provides an alternative (but not luddite) view to the prevailing "throw-caution-to-the-wind-ramming-speed!-you're-either-with-us-or-irrelevant" view of the changing education landscape. His message (part of the Future of Education online confererence 2007) is that social comuting/networks and associated web20 tools are all good and powerful, BUT they have some imporant downsides for education and societies. He also discusses briefly "nodal networks" strength over "social networks".
http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/foe-2007/Dave_Snowden/
The first 17 minutes is his presentation, and then there's some Q/A which is also pretty good.
-Joel G.

Article: Pedagogoical affordances of syndication, aggregation, and mash-up of content

An article titled "Pedagogical affordances of syndication, aggregation, and mash-up of content on the Web", by Barbara Dieu and Vance Stevens.
Though the article focuses on ESL/EFL learning, it's got some good ideas and is itself is a good example of a multimedia text that requires (or at least takes advantage of) some multiliteracies.
http://tesl-ej.org/ej41/int.html
-Joel Galbraith

Conducting a Ed-Tech vanity search

A couple years ago , I began a making a list of things I've experienced in life that help shape who I am today. (I'm sure as an avoidance tactic to keep from working on my graduate schoolwork)

I share here the "education" and "technology" -related piece of my still-growing list...(I do NOT claim to be an expert on most of this by any means). These are simply technologies I have used, or things I have experienced. It is a fun activity--a form of vanity search, tantamount to Googling your brain for the search term: me*technology*education--and I'd heartily recommend the exercise (especially if you've got a looming deadline or project to put off).

You'll likely amaze yourself with all you've done in life so far, how privileged you are, and with how quickly (educational) technology changes! I was/and still am!

___________________________________
THE LIST

Education (school andteaching experiences)
-I have taught and team-taught university courses (online, face-to-face)
-I have taken asynchronous correspondence courses (print, web)
-Participated in synchronous Distance Learning Tele-lectures (satellite, Internet hi-band, web-based--PictureTel, Vtel)
-I have attended schools in Israel/Palestine, Holland, and the USA
-I have attended a Montessori school, have experienced homeschool, private school, public school, Catholic kindergarten, Anglican Church school, Private University (Brigham Young University)
-2 years as a teaching missionary in Switzerland, Germany and Austria (German language)
-I have attended two intensive, immersion language training programs
-I have had formal music instruction in Trumpet, Tuba, Guitar, Contra-base Clarinet, Piano and Organ.
-I have been trained in scouting, and likewise trained young scouters
-I have guest lectured in university courses, conducted faculty training workshops
-I have had numerous church teaching opportunities (young adult and youth Sunday school)
-I completed an associates degree (photography), B.A. (Film), and Masters (Technology Education), I am currently finishing a Ph.D. (Instructional Systems, PSU)
-I have attended numerous professional development and HR workshops (Covey Leadership, Stanford Institute Project Management)
-I have attended and presented at professional conferences (state and national)
-I have visited a one-room Amish school, and observing teaching and instructional materials.

Technology & Media (non-computer related)
-I have dealt with the following film formats: 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, 35mm , 70mm film cameras (loaded, threaded, cleaned, filmed, edited)
-I have dealt with the following film projectors: 8mm, 16mm film, 35mm projectors (splicing/editing, playback, threading)
-I have played, recorded and edited with the following video formats: Betamax, VHS, SVHS, 3/4 "U-matic, 1", Betacam SP, video8, Hi8, minidv, DVCpro, DVD-video
-I have videotaped with many professional camcorders (Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Ikegami, digital (dsp), and analog)
-I have used, edited and masterered numerous videodiscs (levels 1 and 2), Recordable Videodisc (CRV) Sony, Pioneer.
-I have used the shortllived CD-I (interactive) format from Pioneer.
-I have worked with the following photography media: transparencies, negative, darkroom, 35mm, Medium format (Hasselblad, Mamiya) Large format (4x5, 8x10) Color, B&W
-I am a trained Steadicam operator (used with 16mm film, DVC-pro, Betacam and MiniDV cameras)
-I have used film strips (usually with cassette tape-manual. The advance-on-tone variety)
-Used slide projectors and developed multi-projector (up to 3) presentations (with synchronized audio and control tracks) (This format was considered the original "multimedia")
-Have worked on numerous film production crews (Documentary, Television and Theatrical release)
-Am familiar with and have used a host of professional audio equipment (microphones, speakers, headphones, mixers, routers and patch bays): Audio Technica, Shure, Sennheiser, Telex, Pro-tools, MOTU, Yamaha, Motorola, GLM, Denon, Peavey, Mackie, Sony, AKG, JBL, Tascam, Nakamichi, SierraVideo Systems, Kramer, Marantz.
-Photography (Aerial (sea-plane, helicopter), Terrestrial (in, on, under many moving vehicles) & Underwater)
-Chalk (dust free, regular, natural) Chalkboards (green, black, brown, handheld slates, wall mounted, painted)
-Whiteboards (electronic, copyable, projected, pressure sensitive, networked.)
-I have used and/or recorded with: Audio cassette recorders, 8 track player, Audio-CD , DAT, Minidisc, adat, Record (vinyl) turntables-phonographs (33, 45, 78 speeds) single and multi-platter versions
-I have experiences with reel to reel audio (splicing, playback, threading)
-Flip charts (handheld, easel mounted, Post-it variety)
-I have used the following environment controllers in "electronic" classrooms (Crestron, AMP)

Technology and Media (computer-related)
-Computer platforms/OS (Sinclair, Atari 800, Commodore 64, Apple, Mac--OSX, Wintel--Dos, Win 3.1, Win 9x, Win 2k, ME, XP) -Digital media formats (Mpeg 1,2,4,7, avi, wav, aiff, au, wmv, rm, ra, mov, mp3, swf)
-Group response systems (Onetouch, Fleetwood, Group Systems)
-Electronic slides (Presentations, Powerpoint, Astound)
-Synchronous Distance Learning Tele-lectures (satellite, web-based, Internet hi-band--PictureTel, Vtel)
-Video streaming, (broadcast and Interactive w/chat)--(QT, Flash, Real, Windows media, Vivo, Vxtreme, Geo)
-DVD-Video, DV-ROM-web hybrid
-Authoring systems (Authorware, Toolbook, Flash) Multimedia CD
-Avatars, VRML (3d spaces)
-I have helped develop PDA courses (Palm, Pocket PC, Trivantis)
-Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG, MMOG) (There, Second Life, World of Warcraft)
-I have accounts in the following Social Networtk sites: Facebook, Linked-in, Orkut, Friendster (chose to stay out of MySpace)
-3D rooms (BYU, PSU "caves")
-Variable speed Playback VSP (Enounce)
-Whiteboard, electronic, copyable, projected, pressure sensitive, networked.
-Synchronized media (Mpeg-4, Real, Windows Media, Flash, Director, QT)
-Computer Supported Collaboration technologies (Elluminate, Netmeeting, Centra, Interwise, Webex, HorizonLive-Wimba, Placeware, Paltalk, Groove, Atinav, iChat, and many others)
-Simulations (virtual chemlab)
-Media search (Pictron, Virage, Excaliber, Google video, MediaSite)
-Asset management and digital library products (Bulldog, MediaSite, Jaguar, Content DM, Hyperion, TeleScope, Silver Platter
-Non Linear Editors (NLE) (D/Vision, Avid, Premiere, Toaster, Play, FAST, Final Cut, iMovie, Windows MovieMaker)
-Immersive, networked gaming (World of Warcraft, Delta Force, Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Pod racer), (Other: Command & Conquer, Age of Empires)
-I have used the following data backup systems: SyQuest (various capacities), Quantum DLT 4000-8000, Iomega
-I am familiar with, and have had (to attempt) to design for SCORM, IMS, AICC compliance (learning objects, media objects)
-I have used the following LMS, CMS and LCMS products: Blackboard, WebCT, Angel, Moodle, NYU Online, Lectora, Topclass, Learningspace, FirstClass, Click2Learn, Avaltus, Playback Media, Skillsoft, Tegrity and others

-I have maintained and/or used Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, regular html websites

-I have used RSS feeds to distribute and aggragate online content.

-I have posted and shared photos and video online (Flickr, Picasaweb, Googlevideo, YouTube)

Other Technology
-Global Positioning System receiver (GPSr) devices--handheld and automotive from (Lowrance, Garmin, Magellan & Cobra)
-Gestetner, stat machine, mimeograph (still remember the smell of purple acetone), ditto machine, photocopiers
-Word Processor (Word, (Corel)Wordperfect, Apple/Claris works, Star Office Writer)
-Overhead projector, LCD projector
-Post-it sheets (various colors and sizes, easel pads)
-Chalk (dust free, regular, natural) Chalkboards (green, black, brown, handheld slates, wall mounted, painted)

-Typewriter (manual and electric front strikes, and "IBM selectric", with and without correction strips, two-color ribbons)
-I've used Carbon copy paper
-Telex machine, facsimile machine
-PDAs (Palm OS, Pocket PC)

Other Experiences
-Facility design (Sound design, studio design, school design, classroom design)
-I am a Christian, Father, Husband, Son, Grandson, Brother, Neighbor, Friend, Student, Foreigner (Canadian), Teacher, learner.
-White, Male
-I scuba dive (not in years), ski (not very well), snowboard (ok)

-I have attended most of the following (inter)national conferences more than once: NAB (National Association of Broadcasters), IBC (International Broadcasting Convention), TeleCon, Online Learning, ALN (Sloan-C), AERA, AECT, EdMedia, SALT, IDLCON (International Distance Learning Conference) now E-Learning, TechED. _______________________________________

I imagine many of you have had similarly rich experiences with technology and education. The list continues to be added to, and I still need to come up with a better categorization scheme...Any ideas?

-Joel Galbraith

Education and the future...a trends map

Here's an interesting site (interactive data map) that looks at trends in education and society..."A map of future forces changing education". I'm not quite sure how to read it, but it looks like it is worth investigating and there is a demo which may help understand how to use it better.
http://www.kwfdn.org/map/map.aspx
-Joel G.

Hanging on for the ride...changes in education

Related to a few of my earlier posts, this great presentation addresses why we might embrace, rather than fear the Web 2.o dragon.

The presenter, quotes an Irish university IT director, Michael Nowlan, as saying his mantra is now "Yes before no; allow before disallow; open rather than closed". This could be an approach for any director, designer or educator and is all about letting go of control–-control of content, control of interaction, control of learning, control of power, control of the environment, control of the future.

Yikes! Scarey indeed, but I've been starting to adopt that position myself on a number of decisions already and am starting to feel the anxieties and excitment knowing that the roller coaster has left the station, and there's no turning back now! I do reserve the right to step off the roller coaster at the end of this run, and also make no guarantees that my stomach can handle it (i.e. the experience for some of those closest to me may not be very pleasant).

"Only fools rush in" you say?! Agreed! But for me, I proceed cautiously. This is calculated risk and a move that has already shown early personal benefits.
-Joel G.

(available from:http://www.slideshare.net/lisbk/web-20-opportunity-or-threat-for-it-support-staff)

New literacies in Education...

I came across another great blog post that addresses this idea of new literacies and basics in education that I've been contemplating lately. The original post is very long, and covers a lot of ground on Moodle as an example. I'm presenting wholesale-size swaths of the original post by Miguel Guhlin because it is done so well--but I want to editorial rights, and don't care too much about moodle right now.
(photo by fotologic)
_________________________________
New Literacies Jun 13, 2007 (yesterday)
from Techlearning blog by Miguel Guhlin

How we read, write, and communicate has changed. This is an earth-shattering truth for people in any walk of life, but even more critical for educators to grasp. It is critical because educators are the ones charged with preparing children for the future. The prevalence of the Internet forces these changes in what our definition of what constitutes literacy in our world today. Moodle, a course management system, can provide a solution that can be used to maximize the impact of new literacies while helping educators survive this 21st Century earthquake.

New literacies include--as defined by Leu, Mallette, Karchmer, and Kara-Soteriou in their 2005 book, Innovative Approaches to Literacy Education-- the following:

...the skills, strategies and dispositions necessary to successfully exploit the rapidly changing ICTs continuously emerging in our world for personal growth, pleasure and work. These new literacies allow us to use the Internet and other iCTs to identify important problems, locate information, analyze the usefulness of that information, synthesize information to solve problems, and communicate the solutions to others.

In addition, citing Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, being able to create using these new literacies is of essence. In fact, it is not enough to be able to evaluate web sites, synthesize information, but important that we able to create and craft compelling narratives--digital stories--that encompass, as George Lucas shares, the "language of images and sound." Text is no longer enough, and new literacies require a level of fluency that teachers today have not yet grasped systemically in K-16 education. For people everywhere, these are defining literacies that must be learned. You either learn them, or risk a profound disconnect from the world.

In fact, many teachers, parents, administrators may be--dramatically--groaning in fear, gnashing their teeth at the need for new literacies. They see that the Internet, as its ubiquity increases, as it becomes an ever-changing tool molding itself to the mind of its users, now forces reading, writing and communication to be as changeable as the technology it is dependent upon.
The connection between reading, writing, communication and new literacies is multi-modal, engaging everyone as learners as a result of its constant, transformative nature. Multiple modalities go beyond traditional ways of communicating--such as pen and paper, keyboard and mouse--to combine old literacies with new ones. This results in increased usability, increased experience that engages learners.

The connection is also multi-directional, involving not just one or two people, but a global community networked together. As Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams write in their book Wikinomics, mass collaboration changes everything.' Mass collaboration involves peer production, people partnering together to create content, remix it in ways specific to their situation yet useful to others connected via a worldwide network.

As new technologies emerge, how can any one "new literacy" be used to keep up with another? In other words, how can we use technology to help us keep up with the changes brought about technology?...New literacies require us to better prepare ourselves and our students for a future where survival requires everyday technology use.
_______________________________
Again, this is not my writing, but that of Miguel Guhlin--retrieved Jun 13, 2007 (yesterday) from Techlearning blog. I share his words because he says clearly, what I'm thinking.

-Joel D. Galbraith

Sticking to Basics--part 2

A great post related to my earlier "back to basics" post with a couple equally interesting links. The original can be found here .
-Joel G.

Thoughts on “Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative” by Ken RobinsonPublished by Jessica Draper June 13th, 2007 in Shop Talk

Ken Robinson argues in Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative that the world is changing rapidly, due in large part to technological advances, and that the old-fashioned style of “logico-deductive” education simply cannot meet the needs of the rapidly arriving future. The future, in his view, demands a new vision and effective use of human resources—specifically, the urgent need for creativity in all areas of education, culture, and business.
He defines creativity as “imaginative processes with [real-world] outcomes that are original and of value.” This process is the key to thriving amid the rapid and radical changes in modern culture—and the even more rapid and radical changes to come.
Some of these changes have already weakened the traditional view of education and employment; having a university degree is no longer a guarantee of either getting or keeping a job. Employers, he says, “want people who can think intuitively, who are imaginative and innovative, who can communicate well, work in teams and are flexible, adaptable and self-confident. The traditional academic curriculum is simply not designed to produce such people.”
The good news is that anyone can be creative under the right conditions. Robinson argues that creativity is not either/or, not just for certain people or disciplines; instead, “real creativity comes from finding your medium, from being in your element.” It is “a dynamic process that draws on many different areas of a person’s experience and intelligence.” It is also a cultural process, arising “out of our interactions with ideas and achievements of other people.”
So, how can education help train these creative, flexible, innovative people? Robison strongly advocates various reforms (reuniting arts and sciences, abandoning the IQ-based conception of intelligence, and others), but his keys to promoting creativity (in education and in business) are:
Encouraging risk-taking and experimentation.
Creating interdisciplinary associations, breaking down the barrier between art and science.
Harnessing creativity, encouraging and acting on ideas and creative solutions.
Obviously, any of these things is much easier to say than to actually do in the real world. (This is where grand visions in education-reform books tend to founder—it’s harder to come up with specific techniques and recommendations than general principles.)
On the subject of reducing the risks that stifle experimentation, however, a couple of ideas did bubble up as I read the book. They’re based on the question posed in the parable of the fence or the ambulance: do you build a fence at the top of a dangerous cliff, or station an ambulance at the bottom? To reduce the negative consequences of failure as a learner explores a new topic, a combination of techniques seems promising.
First, the fence. When presenting a new subject, reduce the consequences of failure by providing the learners with the background, concepts, and guidelines they need to freely experiment. Nothing is so frustrating as having too wide a field and no idea at all about how to proceed. Giving the learners a defined “sandbox” and the tools to use in it changes confusion into purpose, and wandering into real exploration. Schools that follow Maria Montessori’s methods [http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/montessori.html] provide just one example of fence-building technique: the children use tools and toys that let them freely explore and experiment, but they conduct those explorations and experiments within precisely defined structures and routines that are set up so that they can correct themselves when they begin to go off track. (For a humorous look at Montessori schools, see The Cult of the Pink Tower by Emily Bazelon.)
Second, the ambulance. If methods for preventing failure don’t work, the failure shouldn’t have such dire consequences that the students are afraid to experiment. Part of decreasing the consequences of failure is changing the focus of assignments and exercises from categorizing students (by score and grade) to assessing whether or not they actually know the material or can do the task—aiming for mastery rather than earning a score. Providing low-stakes, repeatable assignments with frequent, specific feedback, for example, lets students try, learn from their mistakes, and try again without worrying about a single failure permanently marring their academic record.
Of course, making those assessments relevant, interesting, and even fun is another challenge. Sounds like a job for creativity!
To see Ken Robinson talk about education and creativity, watch his speech at TED.