March 2005
March 31, 2005
Feds' study on Internet
It only took seven years and a million dollars, but a government report about that "Internet" thing is finally complete.
Feds' study on Internet took 7 years to complete | News.blog | CNET News.com
Another reference to Leetspeak
Acronyms abound in the world of 'geek speak'and Instant Messaging, but creativity rules when it comes to new generations of keyboard fanatics: A parent's primer to computer slang. There are even generational divisions between true leespeakers and those who look down upon the the extreme short forms found in AOL speak. And if you haven't a clue as to what all this is about, there is an online translator available to convert your English, German, or French into proper leetspeak.
Chasing the Dragon's Tale: Leetspeak sk1llz0rz - a culture seeking its own language
PC Drive Reaches 500GB
Hitachi's new Deskstar 7K500 drive marks several milestones in the storage industry: It's the first desktop hard drive to reach 500GB and one of the first to use the speedy new SATA II interface. In terms of how it stores data, though, the Deskstar may be among the last of its kind, as drive manufacturers begin to approach the limits of how densely they can pack data using today's standard recording technology.
Demand for greater capacity continues to rise due in large part to a growing need for music and video storage on PCs and consumer electronics devices. To meet that need, storage vendors are turning to new recording technologies. The first of these, perpendicular recording (see "How It Works: New Drive Technology" ), will debut from Toshiba this year
PCWorld.com - PC Drive Reaches 500GB
March 30, 2005
Cost of developing interactive courses
One of the most common questions we're asked is "how much does it cost to develop an interactive course?" That's a bit like asking "How much does it cost to build a house?"... It's frustrating to get the answer "It all depends..." but it does. One of the key determinants of cost is the level of interactivity. Hundreds of pages of static content can be produced in the time it takes to build one sophisticated interactive learning environment.
Cost of developing interactive courses - Knowledge Exchange (blog) - Resources - Synapsys NZ Ltd.
How much work is involved for students in online course?
In one of the regular e-letters that I received in my inbox each month, there was an article entitled "Student workload in an online course: Balancing on a rule-of-thumb" (see http://www.ecollege.com/news/EdVoice.learn). The basis of the article was that in a traditional post-secondary setting, students should study two to three hours outside of class for each hour that they spent in class. The article then began to speculate at what that rule-of-thumb might look like in an online environment.
Virtual High School Meanderings
March 28, 2005
Internet extends limits of learning
It isn't unusual for Ted Peck, a student at Hawai'i Pacific University, to skip class. In fact, it's the norm.
Peck is among a growing number of students stepping out of the traditional classroom environment in favor of Internet-delivered courses. Peck, a 38-year-old principal at downtown management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, is taking the fifth of 14 courses required for a master's degree in organizational change.
Internet extends limits of learning - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper
March 27, 2005
Quantum Teleportation
It would sure beat the five hours of flying I just did with our baby to Mexico.
Teleportation is the name given by science fiction writers to the feat of making an object or person disintegrate in one place while a perfect replica appears somewhere else. How this is accomplished is usually not explained in detail, but the general idea seems to be that the original object is scanned in such a way as to extract all the information from it, then this information is transmitted to the receiving location and used to construct the replica, not necessarily from the actual material of the original, but perhaps from atoms of the same kinds, arranged in exactly the same pattern as the original. A teleportation machine would be like a fax machine, except that it would work on 3-dimensional objects as well as documents, it would produce an exact copy rather than an approximate facsimile, and it would destroy the original in the process of scanning it. A few science fiction writers consider teleporters that preserve the original, and the plot gets complicated when the original and teleported versions of the same person meet; but the more common kind of teleporter destroys the original, functioning as a super transportation device, not as a perfect replicator of souls and bodies.
Teens Health
Welcome to TeensHealth! TeensHealth was created for teens looking for honest, accurate information and advice about health, relationships, and growing up. We offer a safe, private place that's accessible 24 hours a day to get the doctor-approved info you need to understand the changes that you (or your friends) may be going through - and to make educated decisions about your life. There's a lot of confusing, misleading, and just plain wrong health information on the Web - and our mission is to tell it to you straight.
Conflict in Design Education
I recently had to think about design education again. I sense some divide between approaches of design education. The devide is to some degree a difference between classical and novel ways.
owrede_log: Conflict in design education
Leveraging LMSs to Enhance
Learning management systems influence student engagement and learning outcomes in ways that we do not properly understand--and should
EDUCAUSE Quarterly | Volume 28 Number 1 2005
Us.ef.ul
There are several reasons you should probably be using del.icio.us. If you use computers in multiple locations, say one at home and one at work, delicious can synchronize your bookmarks. This becomes even more useful if you're using Firefox 1.0 for reasons I'll address in a minute. Secondly, it's a great way to keep track of things on the web. Built in bookmarks in your browser are cool, but if you're like me they pile up and become hard to find and manage.
March 26, 2005
How small the world has become.
I have always travelled a lot. People expect me to be on the road to some place when the high schools have a break. My wife is a teacher as well which means we have the same holiday and through the wonders of time shares we travel to nice resorts all over the world. What has changed in the last couple of years is that my work day and holidays blend together. Here I am presently sitting in a nice time share in Los Cabos Mexico working on a blog entry. Not five minutes ago, I used my VOIP phone system to call a few people back in Saskatoon and went online to check out the cyber school. If I was sitting in my office in Saskatoon my activities would not have differed this day. The world is indeed a small place, it is going to get harder and harder to find a place to get away from it all. However, sitting by the pool, doing a presentation to people from all over the world using elluminate while wearing my bathing suit and sunglasses is a kind of cool way to get a suntan.
How hard do you think it would be to try to get my bosses to allow me to travel for a year and still do my job of running the cyber school? Just to see if it could be done, I think it would make for a great study. A video phone, VOIP, wireless connection and a motorhome and we have cyber school on the move. Might have to think about this one.
Anyways, I am off for a quick jog on the beach then a few emails and off to bed so I can get up and send another day by the pool. Give me a call, email me, msn or Voip me, I am in the connected world.
Tanning D. Cannell
Trends in North American E-learning.
The talk is focused on the United States but points to some resources worldwide. What I like is the author's line of argumentation, showing as she does that open education, such as the OpenCourseware initiatives, is the best way to approach e-learning in the future.
E-Learning
Teaching Kids to Stay Safe Online
A new program has taught teachers how to prepare children to protect themselves online from viruses, identity theft and even chat-room bullies.
Web Watchers: Teaching Kids to Stay Safe Online
March 24, 2005
Beyond functionality and technocracy
Beyond functionality and technocracy: creating human involvement with educational technology.
Innovation of education is highly topical. It is obviously boosted by a range of new technologies, which enable new modes of learning that, are independent of time and place through Web-based delivery and computer-mediated communication. However, innovators in education often encounter intrinsic conservatism or even deliberate obstructions. For innovators it is important to be aware of and to understand the basic premises underlying the idea of innovation. This paper explains the origins of technological optimism and the associated faith in progress. Also, techno-pessimism as rooted in the negative side effects of the industrial revolution is reviewed. To solve the conflict between techno-optimism and techno-pessimism we elaborate Borgmann's "devices paradigm": in order to avoid apathetic and indifferent consumption of technology-based commodities, users of technological devices should be given the opportunity to develop substantial involvement with the technological devices. While extending this idea to educational technologies, we present an explanatory model for the mediating role of technological artefacts. In conclusion, we explain how to approach technology-based innovations in education by arguing for transparent and interactive devices, for products as carriers of meaning, for values that harmonise with the characteristics of man and for a mixed mode of developing new ideas and preserving former achievements.
Journal of Educational Technology & Society
Faculty Participation in Online Distance Education
The purpose of this review is to examine the overall attitude of higher education faculty toward teaching via distance education. This review will also note factors that motivate and deter faculty participation in distance education, specifically in a web-based, online format. Information regarding attitudes and specific reasons for participation in distance education can provide insight to administrators attempting to build distance education programming while supporting faculty.
Literature Review â€" Faculty Participation in Online Distance Education: Barriers and Motivators
March 23, 2005
Images Canada
Images Canada -- the gateway to images of Canadian events, people, places and things!
Search the collections of participating archives, libraries, museums and universities from across Canada. Type a keyword in the search box, select the number of images you want displayed per page, then press "Go". Follow an Image Trail or browse through the Photo Essays for search ideas.
Images Canada: picturing Canadian culture
Electronic Portfolios and Dimensions of Learning
I am not sure I agree with this but...
The infusion of technology in all academic areas makes it evident that schools of this new millennium will look quite different from the schools of the past. I feel electronic portfolios will be how students create and store information. This technology will bring new ways for students to document their progress through the course of a year, and even throughout their entire educational journey. So one might ask, why electronic portfolios? The answer is simple: Electronic portfolios will allow students to not only sharpen computer skills, but also give them a wider media to express their knowledge. Students are able to document knowledge through the traditional written text more powerfully by incorporating video clips, audio and animation. These new enhancements will challenge students to think more creatively and critically as they develop their portfolios. The following will show a direct link between electronic portfolios and the dimensions of learning.
Electronic Portfolios and Dimensions of Learning
March 22, 2005
The Learning Partnership.
The Learning Partnership is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing together business, education, government, labour, policy makers and the community to develop partnerships that strengthen public education in Canada. More than three million students and teachers have participated in one or more TLP programs since its inception in 1993. As champions of public education in Canada, we strengthen our programs through research on best practices and policy discussions.
Science Resources Grades K-9
This site features resources (units and internet sites) that support the Saskatchewan Science Curriculum objectives grades 1-9.
March Resources
Resources for teachers and students.
March 19, 2005
No One Knows Why...
A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile services
(two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance) but did not renumber the other
channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no
Channel 1.
The "save" icon on Microsoft Word shows a floppy disk, with the shutter on
backwards.
The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The
following sentence contains them all:
"A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful plough man strode through the
streets of Scarborough, after falling into a slough, he coughed and
hiccoughed."
The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which re
antonyms of each other; adhere and separate.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is
uncopyrightable.
Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as
does arsenious, meaning containing arsenic."
Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of
arms for that reason.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have about ten.
The word "Checkmate" in chess comes from the Persian phrase "Shah Mat" which
means the "the king is dead".
Pinocchio is Italian for "pine head".
Camel's milk does not curdle.
In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.
An animal epidemic is called an epizootic.
Murphy's Oil Soap is the chemical most commonly used to clean elephants.
The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
Blueberry Jelly Bellies were created especially for Ronald Reagan.
All porcupines float in water.
Hang on Sloopy is the official rock song of Ohio.
Did you know that there are coffee flavoured PEZ.
Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was
host of "Lorne Greene's Wild Kingdom".
Cat's urine glows under a blacklight.
Nondairy creamer is flammable.
The airplane Buddy Holly died in was the "American Pie" (Thus the name of
the Don McLean song)
Texas is the only state that is allowed to fly its state flag at the same
height as the US flag.
When Opossums are playing "possum", they are not "playing". They actually
pass out from sheer terror.
The Main Library at Indiana University sinks over an inch every year because
when it was built, engineers failed to take into account the weight of all
the books that would occupy the building.
The only nation whose name begins with an "A", but doesn't end in an "A" is
"Afghanistan.
The reason firehouse's have circular stairways is from the days of yore when
the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground
floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
March 18, 2005
Student's Responsibility
I look forward to the day that a student who fails within the Cyber School, or in a face to face school, will not be looked at as a failure of the system or the educator. I have on numerous occasions told my cyber teachers it is ok to allow a student the flexibility to fail. A student failing is sometimes the best education we can give that person. Some of the most valuable lessons I have learnt in my life have been from my failures and I think if you spoke to most educators they would agree with this statement. Yet, a student's failure within our courses we tend to see as a failure in our ability as an educator or in the system. Many of the students that are being referred from the face to face school to the Cyber School are the students who have not been successful in the face to face learning environment. A percentage of those referrals find the online environment is a better match for their learning style and excel. However, some of those referred students are not successful online for the same reasons they were not successful in the face to face. They are not taking ownership for their education. If they failed in the face to face school and then they fail in the online school maybe they will stop placing blame where it does not belong. Or, maybe they are not mature enough or ready to make this conclusion.
A student's failure sparks many discussions. As educators our goal is to do everything we can to make a student successful. Keeping this in mind, maybe the challenges we have in K-12 education have nothing to do with the delivery system, maybe it has to do with our lack of willingness to let students fail. Maybe we need to make the students more and more responsible for themselves. As a student gets closer to grade 12 this responsibility increases. Education should be viewed as a privilege rather than a right. The time has come when we should let the students decide how and when they access this privilege. That does not in anyway mean that good teachers, administrators and schools don't do everything they can to assist students when they ask. A percentage of a teacher's time is spent trying to assist the students who never asked or don't want the help. Online schooling, home schooling and face to face schooling are all options for today's student. This new environment of options might mean we can allow the student to meet education on their terms, returning the responsibility for a student's education back to the student. It can allow them to pick and choose how and what they want; it can allow them to tailor their consumption of education. We as educators can go back to offering the education to those who want it and spend less time forcing it upon those who do not.
Selling Online Education
As the administrator in charge of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School the acceptance of online K-12 is very important to me. Just as when I was a face to face teacher the acceptance of what I was offering was accepted by the students. I now spend a portion of my day educating adults, teachers, parents, and administration about online education. Many days I feel more like a salesman than an educator. In the twenty years as an educator I have never been involved with another educational movement that has been deemed as a threat by so many who are ignorant of what it all entails. As a face to face educator, parents would apply their educational experience upon their child's experience within my classroom. The Cyber School is unique in the fact that it is being evaluated by adults who have no point of reference because, unlike the students, they have not been raised in the information era. This accounts for the gap between the differences in the acceptance I am seeing between adults and students. The selling of the Cyber School to the students has been easier than it has been to the adults.
When we first started the adult naysayers of the program outright denied the fact that it was possible to use something other than face to face to educate students. I think we are past that with most people, I think the movement has now achieved acceptability to the stage where they are willing to concede that students can be educated using the internet as a vehicle.
Less and less I am hearing English teachers state, that it is possible to teach every other subject but not English. The explanation given is that English is different; it needs to have the teachers in the face to face environment to do a good job. I just pick English teachers as an example, you could replace English with any subject and in the past I have heard the statement. To students a Cyber School course in one's schedule is not a novelty, it is just another option. In the past to some educators, students should add cyber school courses to their schedules, just not the subject they teach. I think we are entering a time where a mixture of face to face and Cyber School in a student's high school career will be the goal. I think it will result in a better prepared student for the information age.
I do not know of another system or a group of educators that would have been as open and supportive as the Saskatoon Catholic System and it teachers have been during the development of the Cyber School. The past challenges stated above were growing pain which every cyber school will have to overcome if they are going to have any longevity. Selling online education was part of my job and will continue to be.
New Paradigms for Learning
In recent posts I have talked about the power of informal learning, and wondered why learning professionals conspicuously ignore the potential for performance improvement that it offers. Now that the kind of human interactions that make informal learning so effective are being facilitated by the Internet, the relevance and impact of formal training may diminish even further. Do we as learning professionals stand by and watch our empires get sidelined, or do we try to take a leading role in defining and refining emerging learning paradigms?
Parkin's Lot: New Paradigms for Learning
March 17, 2005
Planning for Neomillennial Learning Styles
Rapid advances in information technology are reshaping the learning styles of many students in higher education. The standard "world to the desktop" interface is now complemented by
multiuser virtual environments in which people's avatars interact with each other, computer-based agents, and digital artifacts in a simulated context; and
augmented realities in which mobile wireless devices infuse overlays of digital data on physical real-world settings.
EDUCAUSE Quarterly | Volume 28 Number 1 2005
Designing Schools for the Present Age
Designing Schools for the Present Age: "Based on our experience as physicians specializing in helping children with learning problems, we would like to offer several observations on what children in the present age "need to know", and what current brain science suggests about the best ways to help them acquire this knowledge."
elearnspace: Designing Schools for the Present Age
Learning Strategies Applied to Online Courses
Effective design and instruction of distance courses can provide additional support for students who are at risk of failure due to the fact that they never developed effective learning strategies in traditional face-to-face environments.
March 15, 2005
Dave's ESL Cafe
The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL + EFL teachers + students from around teh world.
Shakespeare and the Globe
Encyclopædia Britannica is proud to present Shakespeare and the Globe: Then and Now. This Britannica Spotlight commemorates the official inauguration of the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London, where William Shakespeare produced his world famous plays. This Spotlight explores the long and storied legacy of Shakespeare, from the original Elizabethan productions in London to the modern international performances, films, and operas.
Shakespeare and the Globe: Then and Now
The Online Books Page
Listing over 20,000 free books on the Web
Children's Literatire
Internet resources related to Books for Children and Young Adults
CLWG: Children's Literature Web Guide
March 14, 2005
Gone to the dogs
Every once in a while you run across something that makes the internet all worthwhile.
March 13, 2005
ReformK12.com
Welcome to ReformK12.com! We are dedicated to improving our schools by focusing on effective and practical education reform.
Effective: The best methods have a track record of success, and have been proven to work in real schools, with real students and real teachers.
We don't need theoretical solutions which promise results "any day now."
Practical: The best methods use today's funding, today's people, and today's resources. Reform does not need to be expensive!
In many cases, the effective method is actually less expensive than the 'wonderful' innovative one.
If you are new to our site, please see our "Education Reform Sampler." And for a quick 6-point plan for education reform, see our blueprint.
ReformK12.com: Education Reform is NOT Rocket Science!
I hate spyware.
Welcome to the Amarillo Computer Guy's FREE resource for ridding your computer of annoying pests. We HATE spyware, adware, viruses, and any other program that attempts to invade your privacy or cause problems with your computer. We specialize in the removal of theses varmints and have a great SOFTWARE area that has links to several FREE PROGRAMS that will help keep your computer running great! We also have an excellent FAQ and "TIP OF THE DAY" area for you to check out!
March 12, 2005
On Reusability (in learning objects)
The XPlanaZine article by Susan Smith Nash appears to have kindled some thoughtful commentary on the blogosphere (on a Saturday, no less). I agree completely with her reservations (as well as those of Darren Cannell). Reusability is pretty much a fallacy, especially when attempted with highly complex "learning objects" like websites, powerpoints, etc...
D’Arcy Norman Dot Net » Blog Archive » On Reusability (in learning objects)
Leading the transition
Leading the Transition from Classrooms to Learning Spaces
One of the most important activities of a college or university is enabling student learning. Historically, the place where faculty and students came together for formal learning was in the classroom. However, the Internet has changed notions of place, time, and space. Space is no longer just physical; it incorporates the virtual. New methods of teaching and learning, based on an improved understanding of cognition, have emerged, as well. As a result, the notion of a classroom has expanded and evolved; the space need no longer be defined by "the class" but by "learning." Learning space design has emerged as an important consideration for colleges and universities.
EDUCAUSE Quarterly | Volume 28 Number 1 2005
The Problem with Learning Objects.
It is nice to see someone else agrees with me...here is my posting from October 4 2004
Learning Objects a time saver or not?
Here is the situation...
I have been given the job of creating on online course. I have heard the experts tell me don't re- invent the wheel. One to always listen to the experts, I go searching the web and run across many learning objects.
Is this going to save me time?
Is this going to cause me more work then me doing it from scratch?
Now what?
If you can find someone who has created objects that match your content, your approach and have broken it up into sections that you would have used. Then you are off to the races...but nine out of ten times this doesn't happen. Most times you find this great learning object and then you alter your objectives and flow to try to make it fit into your course...bad news.
Learning objects should support not create instructional materials. A structure for the instructional material, an approach for presenting the material should be designed first. Once this has been done, using learning objects to support the instructional material result in the best material. The reason being is that it is very difficult to find an object which will fit the material, objectives, and approach perfectly. So quite often they are used to support rather than create.
Trying to create instructional material directly from learning objects tends to force the developer down an instructional path that was not originally part of the plan. In other words they will find an object that contains material that pertains to the lesson that is being worked on but has a few extras that do not and hence creates a disconnected mish-mash approach to course material.
Creating a common approach to instructional material which has been supported by a variety of learning objects is the strongest approach to the use of learning objects.
Just my vision through the cyber glasses.
Sounds like someone else has bought a pair of cyber glasses from the same place, check out this entry...
Faculty and instructional designers encounter problems when they try to adapt learning objects for delivery in their general education college-level distance courses that are intended for a military audience. One result is disappointment and frustration in those who believed in the promise of learning objects to save time, provide robust solutions with depth, high quality, and perfect interchangeability.
March 11, 2005
SCCS Open House
If you are in the Saskatoon area next tuesday March 15th between 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. we will be having an open house at the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School. This open house is for anyone interested in seeing the school. Check out the site for the address and directions.
Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School
For all of you who are not in the Saskatoon area. during this day we will also run a virtual open house check out our site on that day.
See you either virtually or physically.
March 10, 2005
Ask an Expert Source
Connecting your students to an expert in the field is an excellent way of expanding their horizons, supplementing the curriculum with current information, and integrating Internet resources within your classroom. The sites on this page are links to experts in K-12 curricular related topics.
Planning Good Change
We are making some changes in our system and some of this rings true.
It is easy to make change.
Change happens.
Even if we sit still . . . do nothing . . . change happens.
It is more difficult to make good change.
Change that makes life better. Change that endures.
Change that persists.
This book is about making good change by combining technologies with an emphasis upon literacy.
Internet use booming
A striking study by the Online Publisher's Association shows internet use by young people is booming, often at the expense of other media such as newspapers and magazines. One of the key findings is that young people have a clear preference for using the Internet as their primary source for news.
Use Booming
March 9, 2005
Course Management Systems. Comparison
Free Online Learning Styles
Informations of Free Online Learning Styles
March 8, 2005
Tower and Paper are losing control.
Another posting a day or so ago was about "Has the blog backlash begun?" Part of the posting was that I would comment on this after a day or so. Well, I slept on it and have come to the conclusion that this man is reacting to a loss of control.
The Ivory Tower of the Learning (Universities) and the traditional media is reeling from this attack on their turf. At one time the place to find your answers was always the towers and papers. The information age has arrived and has allowed others to have a voice. These voices if not filtered through the towers and paper might still be of value. Just because there are more voices doesn't mean that all the voices are experiencing a deflation of value. It is said that if you always use the same approach you will always get the same results. I find it refreshing that the information age has ushered in a new approach which allowed us to see both the voices that are filtered and the unfiltered ones. This new approach might mean the next great idea might come from the gas jockey who did not fit into the university model and was not considered an expert, so would never have been able to share his views through the traditional media. With everyone being able to make their voice heard in the information era, it is possible to have the idea straight from the pumps to me. In other words this allows me as an information consumer the freedom to choose what I think is important rather then the tower and paper deciding for me. Don't get me wrong I like the filter information what I don't like is them thinking that they are the only voice. Having access to both the filtered and the unfiltered is a refreshing change and I am sorry if this is threatening to an old way of life in the towers and the paper. I for one welcome the change. I for one, think the next great idea will come from a voice that is not filtered. I for one like the variety. I for one like swimming in this massive sea of information and I don't need a sage on the stage telling me what is of value. I for one think that is a call I like to be able to make myself.
A comment by Rob Wall that was attached to this posting and made me chuckle and I think it needs to be repeated.
"Mahatma Gandhi is attributed as saying "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win."
I'd say we are entering stage 3. That should fill us all with hope for the future!
Thank you
The other day in my blog I asked the question; "Who was reading my blog?" It was more of a rhetorical question and I really was not fishing for people to comment. However it was to my delight that people responded to the posting and I had some comments to read that were not the standard spam about poker and Viagra. So I would like to thank the people that took the time to comment. For those of you who do not blog, a single comment to a blogger is enough to make one realize why we put in the effort to populate a blog with our thoughts and our surfing findings. One of the comments posted an interesting idea about categorizing the commenter into three different categories. I like the idea but I would like to put all commenter into one category. This category is motivator, by interacting with a posting you give a blogger fuel to continue, you justify the effort and you become the reason why we do it.
A big thank you to all you who comment.
Disruptive Technologies
Education is expensive. People will pay something for a rite of passage, but they have certain expectations of their tuition dollar. What this means to me, as an instructor, or designer / developer of courses to be delivered in possibly yet-undefined ways, boils down to professionalism and flexibility. I have to make a commitment to deliverability and service. I can't let challenges dismay me. I can't let myself get caught up in being "right" or "wrong" -- what I have to do is listen.
E-Learning Queen: Disruptive Technologies and Distance Education
I have no words and I must design.
There's a lotta different kinds of games out there. A helluva lot. Cart-based, computer, CD-ROM, network, arcade, PBM, PBEM, mass-market adult, wargames, card games, tabletop RPGs, LARPs, freeforms. And, hell, don't forget paintball, virtual reality, sports, and the horses. It's all gaming.
But do these things have anything at all in common? What is a game? And how can you tell a good one from a bad one?
Well, we can all do the latter: "Good game, Joe," you say, as you leap the net. Or put away the counters. Or reluctantly hand over your Earth Elemental card. Or divvy up the treasure. But that's no better than saying, "Good book," as you turn the last page. It may be true, but it doesn't help you write a better one.
As game designers, we need a way to analyze games, to try to understand them, and to understand what works and what makes them interesting.
We need a critical language. And since this is basically a new form, despite its tremendous growth and staggering diversity, we need to invent one.
I Have No Words & I Must Design
March 7, 2005
Teaching Tips Index
This is a website that you will want to add to your favourite list. A great set of resources.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE INTERNET TO BE?
From Michael Geist today: "The Minister of Industry, together with Liza Frulla, his Canadian Heritage counterpart, are also reportedly about to finalize new rules that may reshape the availability of Internet content to educational institutions. Acting on the recommendation of a parliamentary committee that was chaired by Toronto MP Sarmite Bulte, the government may soon unveil a new 'extended license' that would require schools to pay millions of dollars for content that is currently freely available on the Internet."
There's a lot more; if you are in Canada make sure you read this report. "There are some who see a very differing Internet. Theirs is an Internet with ubiquitous surveillance featuring real-time capabilities to monitor online activities. It is an Internet that views third party applications such as VonageÂ's Voice-over-IP service as parasitic. It is an Internet in which virtually all content should come at a price, even when that content has been made freely available. It is an Internet that would seek to cut off subscriber access based on mere allegations of wrongdoing, without due process or oversight from a judge or jury."
What Do You Want the Internet to Be?
Student to Student interaction.
An excess of teaching presence will limit student-student interaction"
Joe Ugoretz has a provocative piece out in Innovate regarding the importance of letting students start worthwhile tangents in online class discussions. (Registration required.) It would be easy to flatten his argument into a "guide on the side" bromide, but I think Joe provides both more meat and more subtlety than that.
Has the blog backlash begun?
This is a interesting view point. I am not sure if it is sour grapes or if he has a point. It seems to me that there has been a lose of control and he is still trying to come to grips with this. I will ponder this and post something in the next couple of days. But until then check out this entry.
Has the blog backlash begun? | News.blog | CNET News.com
How many People are actually reading my blog?
A few things have been happening on my blog that makes me wonder ..."How many people are actually reading my blog?"
Every once in a while I write a postings that is a view through my cyber glasses. These postings are uniquely mine or in other words written by me. They are not the interesting sites that I posted to the blog that I find as I am surfing around the net. These are "posting through my cyber glasses" and as they appear on other people's blogs or on websites it makes me wonder how many people are actually seeing the material posted to my blog.
I will clarify, I posted a site the other day that I found on a Chinese blog and tried to translate it into English. It caught my eye because my name appeared in it. In the posting to my blog I requested some help in translating the entry. Within three hours I got a response back and a second response less than half hour after that. I loved it, but it also got me to thinking.
According to my hit counter on my site, I get about 14 hits a day, the chances of someone seeing the posting and commenting on it within four hours are very slim when you only have about 14 hits on the site a day. The chance that two of those 14 would speak chinese and comment are slim. Am I way off on the number of people who are reading the blog? Maybe my hit counter is no good? Maybe RSS feeds account for more hit on the site than I know?
There was a lot of talk about "A-List" blogs a few weeks ago and it got me to thinking...
I have no idea how many people are actually reading my blog.
I am looking for suggestions on how to figure out this question and how to increase the readership. If the RSS feeds are the most popular way people are reading my blog, how do I go about capitalizing on this fact?
My cyber glasses need some help in seeing.
March 6, 2005
dary English Resource Page.
The links below were compiled by future English teachers enrolled in SSED 4320, Teaching Skills for the Secondary Teacher, at The University of Texas at Tyler. We hope you find them useful.
THE UT/TYLER SECONDARY ENGLISH RESOURCE PAGE
March 5, 2005
What Makes an Online Group Project Work?
In this paper, we examine factors that make an online group project work. We asked the students in an online class to share their past group experiences at the beginning of the semester. We then used the categories derived from the students' responses as baseline and asked the students to talk about their online group experiences at the end of the semester after they completed the online problem-based learning projects. We compare the responses, analyze similarities and differences, and provide suggestions on what makes an online group project work.
Gov.: Tech could save small schools
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin believes distance-learning technology might be the answer to the dilemma of how to expand curricula throughout the state without sacrificing small schools to consolidation.
March 4, 2005
Egypt: Secrets of an Ancient World
Thanks for the today's entries goes to Judy Byers: Project Leader: Online Learning Saskatoon Public School Division.
Laid out in a timeline from first pyramid to last, this National Geographic site makes excellent use of multimedia to explore the pyramids individually, and place them within historical context. When visiting each pyramid page, place your mouse over the photo of the pyramid to view a diagram of its internal structure. Most of the eight featured pyramids also have additional photos available on the Images button in the upper right-hand corner.
National Geographic: Egypt Pyramids--Facts, Photos, Diagrams
CanTeach: Writing Prompts
Written specifically for Canadian elementary teachers, but appropriate for a much wider audience, this long list of more than two hundred writing prompts is enough to keep anyone writing for years. The prompts are organized into questions that ask "Who, what, where, and when?" as well as "I wish," "Describe" and "Miscellaneous."
CanTeach: English Language Arts: Writing Prompts/Journal Topics
NoodleQuest
One of the hardest parts about doing academic research on the Internet is figuring out where to start! A search engine is usually the first thing to try, but what search engines are the most useful for your topic? Fill in the short form below, and we'll point you in the right direction.
NoodleQuest - Search Strategies Wizard
Classzone
Are you Web-savvy? You may already use the Internet to e-mail friends and find the latest information on movies, news, sports, or music. Take the Internet Basics Quiz to determine what you know about the Internet and its uses. Then explore the other sections of Web Research Guide to build on your prior knowledge and learn the skills you'll need to do effective research on the Web.
The ARt of the Simple Idea
Uncomplicate your life! Take this short quiz to test your art direction and creative thinking skills. You'll link to a series of screens posing six newspaper art direction challenges. Think about what your visual solution to the story would be; do some sketching and doodling and take your time. Then link to a page that reveals one person or one publication's solution to this particular challenge.
Design With Reason: Art of the Simple Idea: Home Page
Project Censored.org
This is a media research group out of Sonoma State University which tracks the news published in independent journals and newsletters. From these, they compile an annual list of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked, under-reported or self-censored by the country's major national news media.
Saskatchewan News Index
This web site offers a searchable index of stories published in Saskatchewan newspapers. Make sure to read the Top 100 stories from 1884 - 2000.
Journalism.org
An initiative by journalists to clarify and raise the standards of journalism through research and education.
Journalism.org - Journalism Tools: Reporting - The Art of Interviewing
March 3, 2005
And I want some of these too!
Hoping the new Adidas 1 will be to the sneaker industry what Apple's iPod has been to digital music, Adidas will put on sale March 18 what it bills as the world's first computerized "smart shoe."
USATODAY.com - Adidas puts computer on new footing
Law 30: The Law and You.
If you are teaching grade 12 law this might be a useful site for you.
Native Studies Grade 10
Welcome to the Native Studies 10 Resource Page. This web site will provide teachers learning resources that are specifically designed in conjunction with Saskatchewan Learning Policies and Guidelines. The site is organized into modules identified with the same heading as you would find in Saskatchewan Learning Curriculum. All navigation is the same throughout the site. This site also contains links to various other resources which complement the curriculum. All resources are downloadable and copyright free.
Grade 10 English Language arts B
Grade 10 english teachers would find this very interesting.
Multiple Intelligences
A different approach, kind of a cool site.
SESD Multiple Intelligences Home
Integrating Technology into grade 8 Language Arts.
Positive Role Models in Our World" are a series of Grade 8 Language Arts activities created by Bart Cote and Alisa Klippenstein . These activities were created to integrate technology into the Saskatchewan English Language Arts Curriculum: A Curriculum Guide for the Middle Level (Grades 6-9) (July 1997).
The Language Arts activities are designed to be teacher directed, with fully developed ready to use student activities. It was designed to give a teacher the opportunity to incorporate these activities into a unit of study in their classroom. The activities were designed to complement the Saskatchewan English Language Arts Middle Level Curriculum Grade Eight sample unit, Growing Up Around the World. However, these activities may fit into a number of different units in Language Arts or other subject areas. The fully developed student activities will lead the students in building and presenting a biography about a Positive Role Model. See the teacher pages to find out more about the activities.
Middle Years Career Guidance
Middle Years Career Guidance Web-Based Learning Resource Project
Online resourse based theme boxes
An interesting collecting on topics, worth a look.
Resource Based Theme Boxes
Journey Through Literature
Grade 1-5 literature resources.
Qu'Appelle Valley Shared Services English Lanquage Arts Project
An Educator's Guide to Evaluating Web Sites
Thanks again to Judy Byers for these resources.
This self-guided tutorial provides an introduction to the issues of information quality on the Internet and teaches the skills required to evaluate critically the quality of an Internet resource.
The Internet offers access to many resources but some of them can be of questionable quality. This tutorial will help you gain critical evaluative skills required to assess the quality of an Internet resource.
An Educator's Guide to Evaluating Web Sites
March 1, 2005
Listening to students in an online course
Listening" is vital in an online environment because it establishes "real" responsiveness - not the coerciveness or ego-crush of an automated response generated through artificial intelligence.
