Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Ignite Presentations
I think that I really ended up liking this assignment, both composing my presentation as well as viewing and hearing each of the presentations.
The main thing that I realized is that my presentation, as a composition, greatly challenged my preferred mode of composition. I was not able to mull it over in m mind as I do for most the other pieces I create. Instead, I found myself more focused on the images I wanted/needed to use in order to complete the 20 slides. I wonder if I let the focus on the image took my focus a little bit away from my content.
Jana's image use was really intriguing. I faled to think of using negative space as an attention point and to draw the focus back into the content as well as into the reader/listener's mind.
The main thing that I realized is that my presentation, as a composition, greatly challenged my preferred mode of composition. I was not able to mull it over in m mind as I do for most the other pieces I create. Instead, I found myself more focused on the images I wanted/needed to use in order to complete the 20 slides. I wonder if I let the focus on the image took my focus a little bit away from my content.
Jana's image use was really intriguing. I faled to think of using negative space as an attention point and to draw the focus back into the content as well as into the reader/listener's mind.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Distance learning
I have never been in a true distance-learning situation, mostly through my own choosing. I enjoy direct social interaction. I like being able to chat directly with my students, to hear the intonation and emphasis in their statements and questions. I like hearing their laughter and their perplexed or confused tones as they verbalize their thinking and problem-solving efforts. It's not that I believe that this direct contact is inherently better, but I do believe that it is valuable. Learning separated from a direct social construction worries me as I feel that much of our personalities can be lost through on-line postings.
My email or Twitter interactions (and even blog posts for that matter) rely on the groundwork that I have already formed through direct personal interaction with my students and colleagues. They, more often than not, know my tones and moods and can understand my written (typed) words better due to the background relationship that we already have.
I guess that all this shows that I value the learning community in which all members can contribute to the learning of others and learning does not need to be strictly teacher-centered delivery of material. The teacher is responsible for creating a learning situation and helping to make sure that fair and equal opportunities for learning are available to each individual student. I see this as problematic for many of my high school students since technology and computer access, including web connectivity, are not equal throughout the variety of socio-economic conditions of my students and their families.
Peterson seems to acknowledge the changing roles and modes of education due to technology, but I feel that she does not wish to construct a model of one model being the ideal for all students and that teachers must not "abdicate their responsibility to actively participate in the shaping of new roles for instructors" (377). This is a valuable statement as we will continue to be reactive rather than proactive in the manner in which we teach our students as well as the technology we choose to incorporated into our learning situations. This seems to be the case for my school district as decisions are made on the district-wide administrative level rather. Thus, technologies are adopted and instituted without our input and we are forced to incorporate those technologies or be faced with wasting tax-payer resources.
So, if I do not best utilize network, email, web, or inter-active whiteboard technologies, I am judged to be failing to fully utilize school funding, when the root failure may lie in the adoption process.
Please don't be confused as to where the blame should lie; teachers are as much at fault as the administrators who made the purchasing decision.
My email or Twitter interactions (and even blog posts for that matter) rely on the groundwork that I have already formed through direct personal interaction with my students and colleagues. They, more often than not, know my tones and moods and can understand my written (typed) words better due to the background relationship that we already have.
I guess that all this shows that I value the learning community in which all members can contribute to the learning of others and learning does not need to be strictly teacher-centered delivery of material. The teacher is responsible for creating a learning situation and helping to make sure that fair and equal opportunities for learning are available to each individual student. I see this as problematic for many of my high school students since technology and computer access, including web connectivity, are not equal throughout the variety of socio-economic conditions of my students and their families.
Peterson seems to acknowledge the changing roles and modes of education due to technology, but I feel that she does not wish to construct a model of one model being the ideal for all students and that teachers must not "abdicate their responsibility to actively participate in the shaping of new roles for instructors" (377). This is a valuable statement as we will continue to be reactive rather than proactive in the manner in which we teach our students as well as the technology we choose to incorporated into our learning situations. This seems to be the case for my school district as decisions are made on the district-wide administrative level rather. Thus, technologies are adopted and instituted without our input and we are forced to incorporate those technologies or be faced with wasting tax-payer resources.
So, if I do not best utilize network, email, web, or inter-active whiteboard technologies, I am judged to be failing to fully utilize school funding, when the root failure may lie in the adoption process.
Please don't be confused as to where the blame should lie; teachers are as much at fault as the administrators who made the purchasing decision.
Web literacy -- Sorapure et al.
Even though this article dates from 1998, I think that the question of web site "reliability and usefulness" is vitally important as a teacher AND as a researcher (333). The authors speak of the "increasing importance of Web literacy" (335). I certainly agree that the "importance of Web literacy" has increased even more since the publication of this article especially in light of the concerns Sorapure et al. list including "reduced attention span, alienation from print documents, and isolation from human interaction" (335).
I don't know if I agree with their list of detrimental effects of web publication. The reduced attention span man not be directly related to web publishing, but to texting and television broadcasting impacts. I wonder if the affinity for published texts (whether printed on paper or published electronically, may be increased due to a greater ability to access those publications due to the web. Lastly, I initially agree with the concern regarding "isolation from human interaction" as it seems that the more social networking and interactivity found in web sites, the more we may lost the identity of the writer who may wish to hide behind the anonymity (real or imagined) that the web may offer.
One of the main points that I hear from Sorapure et al. is the need to teach ourselves and our students to be discerning readers of web sites and postings. One great message for me is that "there are potentially valuable Web sites available to student researches that should not be dismissed just because they are dissimilar to sources found in the library" (388). I see a raised importance for evaluating each site individually, especially the linked pages.
The discussion of the "coolness" of a web site struck a particular chord for me, as I have thought about this since the publication of USA Today in 1982. One of the appealing items of the national newspaper was the layout and graphic elements incorporated into each daily issue. Nearly daily is a readers' poll as well as the use of color and info-graphics -- one of the first newspapers to incorporate these elements. So I often wonder if the paper is successful due to its coolness rather than its content, just as many web sites.
At the same time, If people don't read the daily issues, the newspaper will never successfully communicate news to anyone, just as web sites may contain the best information, but will never relay any messages if it fails to attract readers. So form and design are valuable and the 'coolness' does carry legitimate weight.
I don't know if I agree with their list of detrimental effects of web publication. The reduced attention span man not be directly related to web publishing, but to texting and television broadcasting impacts. I wonder if the affinity for published texts (whether printed on paper or published electronically, may be increased due to a greater ability to access those publications due to the web. Lastly, I initially agree with the concern regarding "isolation from human interaction" as it seems that the more social networking and interactivity found in web sites, the more we may lost the identity of the writer who may wish to hide behind the anonymity (real or imagined) that the web may offer.
One of the main points that I hear from Sorapure et al. is the need to teach ourselves and our students to be discerning readers of web sites and postings. One great message for me is that "there are potentially valuable Web sites available to student researches that should not be dismissed just because they are dissimilar to sources found in the library" (388). I see a raised importance for evaluating each site individually, especially the linked pages.
The discussion of the "coolness" of a web site struck a particular chord for me, as I have thought about this since the publication of USA Today in 1982. One of the appealing items of the national newspaper was the layout and graphic elements incorporated into each daily issue. Nearly daily is a readers' poll as well as the use of color and info-graphics -- one of the first newspapers to incorporate these elements. So I often wonder if the paper is successful due to its coolness rather than its content, just as many web sites.
At the same time, If people don't read the daily issues, the newspaper will never successfully communicate news to anyone, just as web sites may contain the best information, but will never relay any messages if it fails to attract readers. So form and design are valuable and the 'coolness' does carry legitimate weight.
Sirc and Cornell's box
I am always amazed when things make full-circle connections. While showing a PBS Art documentary series on American Art (written and hosted my Robert Hughes) to my Honors sophomores last week Wednesday (, I was reminded of Joseph Cornell's boxes of 'collected stuff' art and the way that the collection and arrangement of the items themselves made the art.
The class participated in a discussion and they seemed to come to the realization that 'collecting' was where ideas came from. They came to the conclusion, mostly on their own I think, that their ideas stem from the way they perceive information and then how they put it together and process it. it seemed that many of them liked the idea that writing could be assimilating, reorganizing and restructuring 'collected stuff from their observations and experiences.
The class participated in a discussion and they seemed to come to the realization that 'collecting' was where ideas came from. They came to the conclusion, mostly on their own I think, that their ideas stem from the way they perceive information and then how they put it together and process it. it seemed that many of them liked the idea that writing could be assimilating, reorganizing and restructuring 'collected stuff from their observations and experiences.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Symphony
All I could think about for a while was Lotus Symphony, but now I am over it.
Logic -- Analysis -- Synthesis -- Intuition
It will take a great deal of work to get int incorpoating all of those into a 'chat' (my word to use rather than "presentation). I think that may be while so many of us fail at using PowerPoint effectively. We are so focused on the bullets and designs (not to mention the animations) that we have seen that we often forget about the entirety of the content and we end up dialing in on the minutiae. The key is knowing what is most important for which situation?
Logic -- Analysis -- Synthesis -- Intuition
It will take a great deal of work to get int incorpoating all of those into a 'chat' (my word to use rather than "presentation). I think that may be while so many of us fail at using PowerPoint effectively. We are so focused on the bullets and designs (not to mention the animations) that we have seen that we often forget about the entirety of the content and we end up dialing in on the minutiae. The key is knowing what is most important for which situation?
I don't think that I have the full concept of The Learning Record, but it seems that it may be somewhat similar to portfolios? It clearly focuses on growth, learning and activity rather than simply preparing for a standardized test.
It also seems to be in place in a university setting, but I wonder if it can't be implemented in a secondary situation pretty easily? Computer access may be an issue for some schools -- my own included, but I think that it could be possible?
It also seems to be in place in a university setting, but I wonder if it can't be implemented in a secondary situation pretty easily? Computer access may be an issue for some schools -- my own included, but I think that it could be possible?
Monday, March 28, 2011
Technology Fails us?
Hawisher & Selfe have done a nice job outlining the flaws in our reporting of our own use of computer technology in our classrooms, especially with the self reporting of the extraordinary gains we make in democratizing the classroom. I try to make all my students equal, and even try to level the field so that everyone feels that they are equal contributors to the classroom activities.
Furthermore, I am struck by the statement that "we must begin to identify the ways in which technology can fail us" (41). Very often I hear that technology, and computers in specific, with be the panacea for the woes of education as well as the equalizer to bring all socio-economic classes to the same level of education and opportunity. I wonder, also, if we shouldn't change the process by which we adopt technology for our schools and classrooms. Is the technology we adopt and implement actually more divisive of the economic classes and racial groups?
The process by which we adopt technology often feels to be more about public relations (e.g. 1 computer for every two students, interactive white boards in each classroom, etc...). Is there real thought given to the pedagogical, social and economic impacts of the technology we actually do adopt/implement?
So, I guess that I must ask if the technology has failed us or whether we have failed our students in our process of evaluating the technologies we should be able to offer to them.
Furthermore, I am struck by the statement that "we must begin to identify the ways in which technology can fail us" (41). Very often I hear that technology, and computers in specific, with be the panacea for the woes of education as well as the equalizer to bring all socio-economic classes to the same level of education and opportunity. I wonder, also, if we shouldn't change the process by which we adopt technology for our schools and classrooms. Is the technology we adopt and implement actually more divisive of the economic classes and racial groups?
The process by which we adopt technology often feels to be more about public relations (e.g. 1 computer for every two students, interactive white boards in each classroom, etc...). Is there real thought given to the pedagogical, social and economic impacts of the technology we actually do adopt/implement?
So, I guess that I must ask if the technology has failed us or whether we have failed our students in our process of evaluating the technologies we should be able to offer to them.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
I always was a pack rat
Sirc continues with the idea that "text as box = author as collector" (117).
This speaks to me as this is how I gain much of the content of my own works. I am forever collecting snippets, words and phases from whatever happens in the world around me. It may be from others speaking, the radio, other texts, observations of events, images of scenery and landscapes; I am not sure where it all comes from, but it all goes in my little journal as pastings, cuttings and recordings which I then use in various fashions.
I guess that makes me plagiarist, doesn't it? Nothing I have is truly my own, but re-sequenced, newly-nuanced, or even newly paired concepts. I think that it is folly to say that what we choose to compose is purely imagined and created solely from our minds. In truth, all we choose to say, write, draw, display is influenced by our experience, isn't it?
This speaks to me as this is how I gain much of the content of my own works. I am forever collecting snippets, words and phases from whatever happens in the world around me. It may be from others speaking, the radio, other texts, observations of events, images of scenery and landscapes; I am not sure where it all comes from, but it all goes in my little journal as pastings, cuttings and recordings which I then use in various fashions.
I guess that makes me plagiarist, doesn't it? Nothing I have is truly my own, but re-sequenced, newly-nuanced, or even newly paired concepts. I think that it is folly to say that what we choose to compose is purely imagined and created solely from our minds. In truth, all we choose to say, write, draw, display is influenced by our experience, isn't it?
Sirc's layout style
I am trying to decide how Sirc's layout makes the text/message appeal to me. I think that I am not seeing the why of the layout as much as I am questioning the why? Is it effective if I am only wondering why it is formatted/arranged in such a fashion? On page 113, is that the staircase from Duchamp's Nude Descending..?
113 -- "'I considered painting as a means of expression, Marcel said in an interview, 'not an end in itself [...P]ainting should not be exclusively retinal or visual; it should have to do with the gray matter, with our urge for understanding.' (135-136).
I must address this as I love it. Too often we read a text, whatever the purpose may be, but only satisfy ourselves with what is on the page. I hope that I can bring this concept to my studets as we explore both reading and writing. If we see only as far as the actual text on an actual page/screen, we shortchange the composer, the writer....
113 -- "'I considered painting as a means of expression, Marcel said in an interview, 'not an end in itself [...P]ainting should not be exclusively retinal or visual; it should have to do with the gray matter, with our urge for understanding.' (135-136).
I must address this as I love it. Too often we read a text, whatever the purpose may be, but only satisfy ourselves with what is on the page. I hope that I can bring this concept to my studets as we explore both reading and writing. If we see only as far as the actual text on an actual page/screen, we shortchange the composer, the writer....
Visual literacy
Selfe argues that "Teachers continue to privilege alphabetic literacy over visual literacy, in other words, because they have already invested so heavily in writing, writing instruction and writing programs--and we have achieved some status as practitioners and specialist of writing"(71).
I wonder, as I always do, if this is the fault of teachers or the system or both? In the National content standards and most state standards, evaluation of student success is wrongly placed on doing as something 'should' be done, how it always has been done.
I have some personal fear, also, that with a possibly increased focus on image, less attention will be given to words -- and I wonder if thought and language (words?) are intricately coupled. I need to explore what Steven Pinker might say?
So I am caught in the the teacher conundrum: Should I teach my kids to explore more or write to the norm to which they are being held -- how can I best blend the two while teaching my students to best read their situation -- situational literacy?
I wonder, as I always do, if this is the fault of teachers or the system or both? In the National content standards and most state standards, evaluation of student success is wrongly placed on doing as something 'should' be done, how it always has been done.
I have some personal fear, also, that with a possibly increased focus on image, less attention will be given to words -- and I wonder if thought and language (words?) are intricately coupled. I need to explore what Steven Pinker might say?
So I am caught in the the teacher conundrum: Should I teach my kids to explore more or write to the norm to which they are being held -- how can I best blend the two while teaching my students to best read their situation -- situational literacy?
Monday, March 14, 2011
Is it just my fear? or my mode of thought?
Wysocki further discusses changes and variations in composition and argues, "We can experiment with building arguments that use photographs or drawings instead of words, for example, (as both Cynthia Selfe and I describe on our various chapters), and we can experiment with alphabetic texts whose visibility is more foregrounded in typographic and layout choices" (16).
My mind automatically rushes to my layout and design work with yearbook, and formerly newspaper, as a teacher and writer/designer, but it is the words that always captivate me as I read. I neglect most images, and even font choices unless the font causes the piece to be difficult to decipher, in most of the readings I have done. In most cases, I consider the image work to be superfluous, especially in textbooks, and many of the images online tend to slant to the commercial aspect of web traffic.
I know font and design can captivate the attention and grasp that attention, but I wonder if it is just that -- grasping for attention in a image and sound saturated civilization? I know that I am leaning toward the side of the cynic, yet I still worry for the inherent meaning in the compositions of writers and the depth of that meaning.
My mind automatically rushes to my layout and design work with yearbook, and formerly newspaper, as a teacher and writer/designer, but it is the words that always captivate me as I read. I neglect most images, and even font choices unless the font causes the piece to be difficult to decipher, in most of the readings I have done. In most cases, I consider the image work to be superfluous, especially in textbooks, and many of the images online tend to slant to the commercial aspect of web traffic.
I know font and design can captivate the attention and grasp that attention, but I wonder if it is just that -- grasping for attention in a image and sound saturated civilization? I know that I am leaning toward the side of the cynic, yet I still worry for the inherent meaning in the compositions of writers and the depth of that meaning.
Outside the lines
Wysocki posits a valuable question in terms of software design and functionality as it pertains to composition: "how many word-processing or Web page composing software packages do you know that encourage scribbling, doodling, writing outside the margins, or writing in anything but straight lines?" (6).
This feels to be a pretty important question as we look at software which helps us create, whether it is Web page composition, word processing, or some type of photo- or graphic design software. It feels so often, that the software would rather tell me, the composer, what the piece should look like, feel like, or even what words I wish to use and that I need to work almost too hard to attempt to circumvent the predictive nature of the application as it attempts to guess/dictate what I say and the way that I wish to say it.
So often, my kids won't be able to correctly format their work because the application default settings are making them feel that they will be wrong if they change it.
This feels to be a pretty important question as we look at software which helps us create, whether it is Web page composition, word processing, or some type of photo- or graphic design software. It feels so often, that the software would rather tell me, the composer, what the piece should look like, feel like, or even what words I wish to use and that I need to work almost too hard to attempt to circumvent the predictive nature of the application as it attempts to guess/dictate what I say and the way that I wish to say it.
So often, my kids won't be able to correctly format their work because the application default settings are making them feel that they will be wrong if they change it.
Wysocki - entry 1
I find it interesting that what has piqued my interest most so far is that this book is not bound well. This isn't a problem for digital texts, but I think it speaks to how crucial every extraneous aspect of publishing really is. The font choice, screen colors and column layout will certainly appeal to the reader or detract from the readability.
On page 6, Wysocki states, "There is little or nothing, for example, that encourages someone composing a Web page to think about how and why, in her place and time, her choices of color and typeface an words and photograph and spatial arrangement shape the relationship she is constructing with her audience..." -- I cannot state that I agree with this as much time, effort and study has gone into the readability and accessibility of web pages. (see http://dotgov.com/2010/04/accessibility-hack-3-testing-colours-to-enhance-readability/ for just one example). I also know that visual text is crucial to yearbook publications as well.
On page 6, Wysocki states, "There is little or nothing, for example, that encourages someone composing a Web page to think about how and why, in her place and time, her choices of color and typeface an words and photograph and spatial arrangement shape the relationship she is constructing with her audience..." -- I cannot state that I agree with this as much time, effort and study has gone into the readability and accessibility of web pages. (see http://dotgov.com/2010/04/accessibility-hack-3-testing-colours-to-enhance-readability/ for just one example). I also know that visual text is crucial to yearbook publications as well.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
On the other hand...
How to become a better searcher.
I remember using Boolean keyword searches in my undergrad and early graduate school years. It was trial and error and often I would enter terms and symbols to arrive at few or meaningless results. It was a bit frustrating, but it was the process by which I could find the information that I needed to use.
Now I have the expectation of finding whatever I want as soon as I type a word into the Google Search bar. But I don't even need to do that much as Google has worked it out so that the page will suggest the full terminology for what I am seeking before I type it. So maybe I didn't really want to search for Kayaks and really wanted to search for Kalahari....I don't know. Maybe I wanted to look at the two combined?
Nonetheless, I think that one of the better ideas that I am gaining from reading Halavais is that I need to work on helping my students reach Beyond Google. They need to realize, something I have known for years but not practiced well, that Google is one tool we can use when trying to find information on the web. It is not the only tool we can or should use.
The funny part is, I read and view multiple news sources in print, via broadcast and online and I stress to my students that a varied source of news will help fill in the gaps in reporting and will help defuse the inevitability of bias, but I don't think that I have ever helped them recognize this in their online search methods.
I will fix that.
I remember using Boolean keyword searches in my undergrad and early graduate school years. It was trial and error and often I would enter terms and symbols to arrive at few or meaningless results. It was a bit frustrating, but it was the process by which I could find the information that I needed to use.
Now I have the expectation of finding whatever I want as soon as I type a word into the Google Search bar. But I don't even need to do that much as Google has worked it out so that the page will suggest the full terminology for what I am seeking before I type it. So maybe I didn't really want to search for Kayaks and really wanted to search for Kalahari....I don't know. Maybe I wanted to look at the two combined?
Nonetheless, I think that one of the better ideas that I am gaining from reading Halavais is that I need to work on helping my students reach Beyond Google. They need to realize, something I have known for years but not practiced well, that Google is one tool we can use when trying to find information on the web. It is not the only tool we can or should use.
The funny part is, I read and view multiple news sources in print, via broadcast and online and I stress to my students that a varied source of news will help fill in the gaps in reporting and will help defuse the inevitability of bias, but I don't think that I have ever helped them recognize this in their online search methods.
I will fix that.
and this is why my journals are so spotty too....
Wow. It's been a while since I posted. Not good. I think that I need to address that I am not doing well at this blogging thing. I just don't really like to sit down at the computer and exchange my thoughts, feelings and ideas this way.
I think that it's a matter of a fear of laying too much personal out there at the same time as feeling depersonalized in the writings of others. So that makes me just not MAKE the time to sit at the computer and write and read (well....my teaching load and my beautiful wife and three fantastic daughters are to blame/thank as well).
I was thinking about how much time I do use electronic devices for communication and I am frustrated with how much time it does take. I have been tracking my email use just for work -- it occupies 1-2 hours each work day. That is a great frustration for me, but it's necessary, isn't it?
And email is more personal, sometimes. At least someone needs to choose to write to you rather than a faceless, nameless audience.
I know that wasn't an effective segue to my considerations of audience, but I still have trouble seeing my professor and my classmates as my readership even though I SEE them every week. I like to talk and see the response and vary my topic or argumentation based on their responses, both verbal and non.
I don't mean to insult those who blog so effectively for their readers. I think that is great, but I haven't found the blog that I can follow so much. I haven't felt the pull to always see what is said next. I still need to push myself to sit at the monitor and read and search the net for that blogger who will become my steady read.
So anyway, that is my blathering way to explain my lack of posts and responses in the past two weeks.
--
I think that it's a matter of a fear of laying too much personal out there at the same time as feeling depersonalized in the writings of others. So that makes me just not MAKE the time to sit at the computer and write and read (well....my teaching load and my beautiful wife and three fantastic daughters are to blame/thank as well).
I was thinking about how much time I do use electronic devices for communication and I am frustrated with how much time it does take. I have been tracking my email use just for work -- it occupies 1-2 hours each work day. That is a great frustration for me, but it's necessary, isn't it?
And email is more personal, sometimes. At least someone needs to choose to write to you rather than a faceless, nameless audience.
I know that wasn't an effective segue to my considerations of audience, but I still have trouble seeing my professor and my classmates as my readership even though I SEE them every week. I like to talk and see the response and vary my topic or argumentation based on their responses, both verbal and non.
I don't mean to insult those who blog so effectively for their readers. I think that is great, but I haven't found the blog that I can follow so much. I haven't felt the pull to always see what is said next. I still need to push myself to sit at the monitor and read and search the net for that blogger who will become my steady read.
So anyway, that is my blathering way to explain my lack of posts and responses in the past two weeks.
--
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Diigo links
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FREE -- Teaching Resources and Lesson Plans from the Federal Government
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80 Excellent Podcasts for Every Kind of Classroom | Online Classes
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Teaching/learning technique
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VPR News: Test Results: High School Students Struggling With Math And Writing
test scores
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What is transformational writing, and how do you go about teaching it? - English - TES Connect
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Afghan Army Gets Training In Reading And Writing : NPR
Is writing a life and death issue?
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What Is the Best Software for Novel Writing?
appls/software for wiriting?
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the 10 methods for articles writing | Articles Directory - Submit Articles Free
Methods to writing articles. Could be used to talk about writing as process/recursive
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Lincoln is seen through his writing, rare objects at Omaha exhibition
Reflection of the writer - history of the self
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Google Labs - Explore Google's New Ideas
Awesome new stuff to use, check out
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NCTE Secondary Section: The hardest part of the ACT was writing in cursive
P2 - keywords/wordwatch
Hey...I decided to try something a bit new (at least for me) for my last paper. I tried to create links within the paper, since it was submitted electronically and I am guessing that most of the readings will be done electronically. It should provide links to documents online and in a companion folder that I uploaded to GoogleDocs. I wonder if anyone else has done the same? Is this the future of how documentation will be completed for online journals? it seems to provide a greater intertextuality, but also could be quite cumbersome and almost overwhelming.
Oh shoot....
So in my disarray following two snow days in which I have not visited my work desk, I have just realized that I cannot find my book for comments of Selber -- and I actually had a lot for today! I guess that is one of the danges of any technology (print, SmartPhone, computer) I choose to use and one of the benefits to using something like SpringPad, EverNote or Catch. I ran into this two weeks ago as I left my laptop in the classroom after a Tuesday evening class....(what is happening to my mind?)
With all these communication and organizational tools, I often feel that I am becoming more and more overwhelmed with input and I wonder if I am capable of filtering it....
If I had already typed my notes in, I could just share them with you all right now rather than leaving my computer, as I am going to do right now, to search for my book!
With all these communication and organizational tools, I often feel that I am becoming more and more overwhelmed with input and I wonder if I am capable of filtering it....
If I had already typed my notes in, I could just share them with you all right now rather than leaving my computer, as I am going to do right now, to search for my book!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Questions that need to be asked -- as a teacher
"What is lost as well as gained? Who profits? Who is left behind and for what reasons? What is privileged in terms of literacy and learning and cultural capital? What political and cultural values and assumptions are embedded in hardware and software? " -- Selber (81). More on this later...
I love these questions posed by Selber. I think about this quite often as I ask my students to depend more upon technology in my delivery of calendars, schedules, and assignments. Half of my students can't use Twitter during the days because they don't have unlimited texting and the site is blocked as a matter of institutional policy.
Many of them cannot download or access documents from home as they have cut the internet connection due to family budgets. Even more of them have unreliable internet access at home due to viruses shutting down their machines.
My school is not aiding in balancing this inequity either as our media center hours have been cut to 10:30 - 2:14 each day -- all the while locking up over 100 PC's dedicated for student use -- due to state and district budget constraints.
So, the rich kids get further and further ahead in the technology game while the poorer kids fall even further behind and the public education 'solution' doesn't seem to be working so well.
I love these questions posed by Selber. I think about this quite often as I ask my students to depend more upon technology in my delivery of calendars, schedules, and assignments. Half of my students can't use Twitter during the days because they don't have unlimited texting and the site is blocked as a matter of institutional policy.
Many of them cannot download or access documents from home as they have cut the internet connection due to family budgets. Even more of them have unreliable internet access at home due to viruses shutting down their machines.
My school is not aiding in balancing this inequity either as our media center hours have been cut to 10:30 - 2:14 each day -- all the while locking up over 100 PC's dedicated for student use -- due to state and district budget constraints.
So, the rich kids get further and further ahead in the technology game while the poorer kids fall even further behind and the public education 'solution' doesn't seem to be working so well.
Questions that need to be asked by me -- personally
I feel like an old guy now (and my students say that 41 is old), as I am more thoughtful of which technologies I will adopt and incorporate in my life. I wonder if it's due to Kevin Kelly and his insistence on the nearly autonomous state, and possibly ominous tone of a 'technocratic' life. I know that I have modified the usage of Technocratic, but in some instances we are fully reliant on technological tools (most specifically electronic ones) and many of our systems would fail with the failure of one or more of these tools.
In my class discussion, I was forced to think about the technological tools which I CHOOSE to use and those I MUST use for the completion of my work, for pleasure, for survival and so on. I benefited greatly by recognizing how reliant I am on the technological tools in my life, but it also gave me a clearer view of what I could do without or do with less of.
It also made me recognize that I am not fully invested in the technology that is available to me. A simple case in point is this blog. It is difficult for me to 'blog' (and I am bothered to even use the term as a verb -- it removes my precious verb "write" -- I don't physically place myself in front of the computer very often, so should I try a different method? Would I be more willing to 'blog' if I didn't need to sit down? If I didn't need to be alone when I was writing? If it were more directly a social action for me?
Likewise, I think that I have failed to take full advantage of the vast amount of information available to me. I can quickly find reliable information on nearly any topic I wish. Millions of others are posting blogs, news articles, songs, videos and other packets of information each minute and I could access them if I needed.
My reluctance here is the question of the filter. No matter the method I use to search for that information on the network, I must rely on some application or service to deliver that information to me. Just as with television news, I only see what is delivered to my screen. While that may sound bad, it is not as I would be inundated, or more likely overwhelmed, with the articles and web pages containing information. Without a search engine, I could not even find the sites containing the information I need, let alone weed out the irrelevant sites.
While Google and Google Reader are effective tools, am I becoming too reliant on them as they feed me never-ending streams of data, snippets and information? Am I even able to keep up with the readings since I spend so little time in front of the computer each day?
In my class discussion, I was forced to think about the technological tools which I CHOOSE to use and those I MUST use for the completion of my work, for pleasure, for survival and so on. I benefited greatly by recognizing how reliant I am on the technological tools in my life, but it also gave me a clearer view of what I could do without or do with less of.
It also made me recognize that I am not fully invested in the technology that is available to me. A simple case in point is this blog. It is difficult for me to 'blog' (and I am bothered to even use the term as a verb -- it removes my precious verb "write" -- I don't physically place myself in front of the computer very often, so should I try a different method? Would I be more willing to 'blog' if I didn't need to sit down? If I didn't need to be alone when I was writing? If it were more directly a social action for me?
Likewise, I think that I have failed to take full advantage of the vast amount of information available to me. I can quickly find reliable information on nearly any topic I wish. Millions of others are posting blogs, news articles, songs, videos and other packets of information each minute and I could access them if I needed.
My reluctance here is the question of the filter. No matter the method I use to search for that information on the network, I must rely on some application or service to deliver that information to me. Just as with television news, I only see what is delivered to my screen. While that may sound bad, it is not as I would be inundated, or more likely overwhelmed, with the articles and web pages containing information. Without a search engine, I could not even find the sites containing the information I need, let alone weed out the irrelevant sites.
While Google and Google Reader are effective tools, am I becoming too reliant on them as they feed me never-ending streams of data, snippets and information? Am I even able to keep up with the readings since I spend so little time in front of the computer each day?
Saturday, February 12, 2011
On Twitter
I just sent a message on Twitter...@MRWabe...I wonder who will read it.
More than that, I kind of like Twitter because I am limited to 140 characters and I choose not to use texting lingo or abbreviations. I think that I am pushing myself to do this as a test of what is important to say and the idea that I need to be concise. What do I really have to say and how do I make sure that the people who need to read it do read it?
More than that, I kind of like Twitter because I am limited to 140 characters and I choose not to use texting lingo or abbreviations. I think that I am pushing myself to do this as a test of what is important to say and the idea that I need to be concise. What do I really have to say and how do I make sure that the people who need to read it do read it?
Friday, February 11, 2011
I will leave myself
Ok, so I love my children, right?
So I want to leave a bit of myself for them
and so they have my letters, and journals, and notes and snippets
in my handwriting, because that technology
carries a bit of my moods, personalities, feelings, dreams and hopes,
in the mode and penmanship of that day...
So I want to leave a bit of myself for them
and so they have my letters, and journals, and notes and snippets
in my handwriting, because that technology
carries a bit of my moods, personalities, feelings, dreams and hopes,
in the mode and penmanship of that day...
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
If it's not Literacy...
Wysocki & Johnson Eilola present a fairly good case for the possible overuse of the term Literacy, but I think that the issue truly lies at the essence of what we expect people to be able to do, use, manipulate and construct. Literacy, which once, as I understand it, meant 'the ability to read' is certainly thrown around a great deal. In my school, I have heard it used for reading fiction, reading non-fiction, being able to read signage and directions, computer literacy, smart-phone literacy, technologically literate, etc... Additionally, it has been used in reference to one's ability to write.
I think that Literacy is just a term that we are using to speak of one's ability to solve problems. The problems may appear in the tasks of decoding symbols to make words, decoding words, sentences and paragraphs to create meaning, inscribing symbols to paper (writing), deciphering mathematical computations to create solutions, etc... It is the identification of a task which needs to be accomplished and then using the tools, whether they be intrinsic tools within our minds and rationales, or extrinsic tools such as pencils, keyboards, computers, electronic files and so many more.
We need to address the ability of the learner (students and teachers alike) to evaluate the situation and then use whatever medium and tools are available to receive information, transmit information or create some product for a consumer which could come in the form of an evaluator, production manager, customer, or any variety of person in the social and economic chain.
Does it hurt to use Literacy as this word? I don't think so. Is it minimizing those who struggle with literacy of the written word? I don't think so, but it also is a convenient tool to identify skills that we may need to use in order to function n our societies.
I have always viewed Literacy as just that: the ability to function in a given social circumstance, whether that circumstance is created by physical proximity to people, hypertext, audio transmission, print on paper, music, or even sounds generated by tools such as whistles and commands. In each instance, the participants are more successful when they 'read' the situation correctly and interpret what the appropriate response should be and then act on it. That seems to be Literacy to me.
I think that Literacy is just a term that we are using to speak of one's ability to solve problems. The problems may appear in the tasks of decoding symbols to make words, decoding words, sentences and paragraphs to create meaning, inscribing symbols to paper (writing), deciphering mathematical computations to create solutions, etc... It is the identification of a task which needs to be accomplished and then using the tools, whether they be intrinsic tools within our minds and rationales, or extrinsic tools such as pencils, keyboards, computers, electronic files and so many more.
We need to address the ability of the learner (students and teachers alike) to evaluate the situation and then use whatever medium and tools are available to receive information, transmit information or create some product for a consumer which could come in the form of an evaluator, production manager, customer, or any variety of person in the social and economic chain.
Does it hurt to use Literacy as this word? I don't think so. Is it minimizing those who struggle with literacy of the written word? I don't think so, but it also is a convenient tool to identify skills that we may need to use in order to function n our societies.
I have always viewed Literacy as just that: the ability to function in a given social circumstance, whether that circumstance is created by physical proximity to people, hypertext, audio transmission, print on paper, music, or even sounds generated by tools such as whistles and commands. In each instance, the participants are more successful when they 'read' the situation correctly and interpret what the appropriate response should be and then act on it. That seems to be Literacy to me.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Oh, I want to be Amish in my ways, but I am distracted by the lights and buttons and.....
So two things about K.Kelly: -- With fixed link
I often listen to podcasts including one from WNYC (NY Public) called RadioLab. It's a great show which focuses on Science and Tech related topics and is hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. In this particular episode (http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/nov/16/idea-time-come/), Robert is 'moderating' a forum at the New York City Library with Kevin Kelly and Steven Johnson (author of Where Good Ideas Come From). I find it interesting to listen Krulwich's hesitancy to accept Kelly's postulation of the Technium as a nearly living entity. It's fairly short if you wish to listen....
I think the concern I have is that the Technium, as presented by Kelly, is still not sentient, yet is "controlled" by humankind in the programming of that technology and that tools and gadgets which develop.
My second, and more pressing note on Kelly, is I further believe that Kelly hits home in his discussions regarding the Amish and I love that he assigns them with the "Hacker" label. Immediately, I become uptight and critical when the word "Hacker" is used because current rhetoric has put such a negative connotation on the word, yet it isn't bad. I love how the Amish manipulate the newer technological tools to fit into their desired lifestyles rather than shaping their lifestyles around the technological tools....That seems to be key for me in regard to my personal use of advanced technology in my personal and teaching spheres.
A current situation I am dealing with is the implementation of interactive whiteboard technology (IWB) in my English classroom. I am struggling to make the time to fully implement the technology because that is what the district has chosen to pursue, but I am also battling with the best ways to use the IWB for teaching composition and literature. For me, I am not convinced yet that this is the better mode of teaching kids to read, write and to explore literature.
The crux is that I haven't fully had time to evaluate the technology to see if it fully integrates with my goals for my students. In much the same way as the Amish do, I guess that I am one of the early 'testers,' but we have already bought in to fully outfitting each classroom with an IWB, but haven't defined its role in our mission and goals statement nor or current curriculum and teaching methods, so I believe we may have lost the POWER to reject technology.
That is where Kelly is heading, I believe...that we must leave ourselves the ability, power and position that we are not compelled to adopt all technology, but to pick and choose as the Amish.....
I often listen to podcasts including one from WNYC (NY Public) called RadioLab. It's a great show which focuses on Science and Tech related topics and is hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich. In this particular episode (http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/nov/16/idea-time-come/), Robert is 'moderating' a forum at the New York City Library with Kevin Kelly and Steven Johnson (author of Where Good Ideas Come From). I find it interesting to listen Krulwich's hesitancy to accept Kelly's postulation of the Technium as a nearly living entity. It's fairly short if you wish to listen....
I think the concern I have is that the Technium, as presented by Kelly, is still not sentient, yet is "controlled" by humankind in the programming of that technology and that tools and gadgets which develop.
My second, and more pressing note on Kelly, is I further believe that Kelly hits home in his discussions regarding the Amish and I love that he assigns them with the "Hacker" label. Immediately, I become uptight and critical when the word "Hacker" is used because current rhetoric has put such a negative connotation on the word, yet it isn't bad. I love how the Amish manipulate the newer technological tools to fit into their desired lifestyles rather than shaping their lifestyles around the technological tools....That seems to be key for me in regard to my personal use of advanced technology in my personal and teaching spheres.
A current situation I am dealing with is the implementation of interactive whiteboard technology (IWB) in my English classroom. I am struggling to make the time to fully implement the technology because that is what the district has chosen to pursue, but I am also battling with the best ways to use the IWB for teaching composition and literature. For me, I am not convinced yet that this is the better mode of teaching kids to read, write and to explore literature.
The crux is that I haven't fully had time to evaluate the technology to see if it fully integrates with my goals for my students. In much the same way as the Amish do, I guess that I am one of the early 'testers,' but we have already bought in to fully outfitting each classroom with an IWB, but haven't defined its role in our mission and goals statement nor or current curriculum and teaching methods, so I believe we may have lost the POWER to reject technology.
That is where Kelly is heading, I believe...that we must leave ourselves the ability, power and position that we are not compelled to adopt all technology, but to pick and choose as the Amish.....
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Choices bring happiness...
Kelly says that increased money bring an increase in choices (78) but what about Schwartz's argument (available here as a video podcast) that too many choices are what is driving the growing trend toward depression?
Kevin Kelly appeared on BuddhistGeeks...
I find this quote pretty intriguing... "There was actually Buddhist philosophers like EM Shoemaker and others who were talking about, “Small is beautiful, simple is beautiful” And that was part of the philosophy. But I think what it did is kind of open up for me, the door into the idea that some technology was better than other technology, and that some was very appropriate. That you could select the right technology and the right technology could be very sophisticated."
Here is the link to the rest of the transcript (an MP3 download is available as well).
Here is the link to the rest of the transcript (an MP3 download is available as well).
Right -- easier = more
It is certainly easier to do, read, write, travel....more with the aid of technology, but is it always necessary? I think that so often, the technium (as Kelly terms it) is the driving force behind our implementation and usage of a certain technology as well. Just because we can now often means that we must. One example is mass media itself. We have the ability to read online articles and texts with relative easy, and often from our phones. We can update our Facebook pages and read our 'friends' Facebook updates as often as we'd like, but so many are feeling compelled to update and read. We even harangue those within our social and work circles who do not update 'often enough' or who haven't heard and read the latest news/gossip. Those who choose to turnoff the stream of information, even for a short period of time, are doomed to face scathing criticism for being uninformed.
So composition needs to be addressed as well....I can post it, so should I? Where is my editor to help me perfect the piece? In texting and Twitter space, that editor is the character limit as I must be as efficient as possible, and thus succinctness is mandated unless I were to fall into the crutch of Textspeech....(makes me think of Doublethink and 1984). lol
So composition needs to be addressed as well....I can post it, so should I? Where is my editor to help me perfect the piece? In texting and Twitter space, that editor is the character limit as I must be as efficient as possible, and thus succinctness is mandated unless I were to fall into the crutch of Textspeech....(makes me think of Doublethink and 1984). lol
Monday, January 17, 2011
It's supposed to be easier
If technology and invention were supposed to make our lives so easy --as I was told repeatedly through my early days of education -- why do we now have so much work to do? Why are we filling the time after sundown with work and with studies when we could be sleeping and resting and talking with our family and friends. I have some severe doubt regarding the direction my own life has taken with regard to my own reliance on advancing technologies....
I am well aware that these technologies have given us luxuries of safety and free time during the daylight hours that are not consumed with tasks of survival, but it seems that we have created the necessity of writing when there may have not been a need before the technology was available. The simple number of emails that I must answer each day is astounding to me -- and many of these emails are ridiculous in nature as they may be inquiries that can be easily determined with a little thought and consideration ro they are messages meant to entertain and distract from the monotony of the day --which wouldn't be if I weren't tied to that email application on my laptop computer....the cursed anchor. The joke used to be that the ball and chain was one's wife after marriage, but now it's the laptop that one's workplace so generously gave.....
I wonder if we have created technologies of economies which simply consume time.
I am well aware that these technologies have given us luxuries of safety and free time during the daylight hours that are not consumed with tasks of survival, but it seems that we have created the necessity of writing when there may have not been a need before the technology was available. The simple number of emails that I must answer each day is astounding to me -- and many of these emails are ridiculous in nature as they may be inquiries that can be easily determined with a little thought and consideration ro they are messages meant to entertain and distract from the monotony of the day --which wouldn't be if I weren't tied to that email application on my laptop computer....the cursed anchor. The joke used to be that the ball and chain was one's wife after marriage, but now it's the laptop that one's workplace so generously gave.....
I wonder if we have created technologies of economies which simply consume time.
Technology --It's Alive....
Gene Wilder's character ("It's pronounced Frankensteen") recreated the famous "It's alive" line when he created his "Abby-normal" creature. And I hear some of the same language as Kelly tells us that technology is alive. In some ways, I agree that we have created a situation in which we are seeing a living 'Technium' which seems to evolve into newer and newer technologies, but I also wonder if this living technium, which we may or may not have started, is causing us to devolve. Are we less able to survive now? What happens to us if/when we lose electricity and fossil fuels? The blackout of the eastern third of the United States is but a simple example of the chaos which ensued when we lost our electronic communications and our electronic assistants.
I am not a Luddite -- I wish I could be, but I am too lazy -- and were they really against technolgy in the first place? I think that they were only against the elimination of a set of jobs that had been reserved for artisans?
I think about it in the simple terms of my garage door. The structure of my home and garage is, of course, a technological advancement to provide my family shelter and comfort. Furthermore, the rail, bearing and spring system which makes the opening system of my door is a technological advancement. The last bits are the electrically powered mechanical opener and the remote, located on my visor, which triggers the motor -- all those make my life so very easy, but I could survive without them. That much is true, but I don't think that I would want to. I have become comfortable and reliant. I think that my wish is that I could then have the skill and knowledge to repair that technology myself.
The same is true in the case of my gas heated clothes dryer -- which broke on Friday... and I had to learn to disassemble it to then repair it before reassembling it so that we could dry the clean clothes (so many technologies to think of here....) And this creature comfort which helps to keep my clothes soft and dry now has cost me 6-7 hours of time....and I curse that technology for breaking, but it saves me so much time when it is working.
So it's almost a situation of codependency maybe. I am dependent.
I am not a Luddite -- I wish I could be, but I am too lazy -- and were they really against technolgy in the first place? I think that they were only against the elimination of a set of jobs that had been reserved for artisans?
I think about it in the simple terms of my garage door. The structure of my home and garage is, of course, a technological advancement to provide my family shelter and comfort. Furthermore, the rail, bearing and spring system which makes the opening system of my door is a technological advancement. The last bits are the electrically powered mechanical opener and the remote, located on my visor, which triggers the motor -- all those make my life so very easy, but I could survive without them. That much is true, but I don't think that I would want to. I have become comfortable and reliant. I think that my wish is that I could then have the skill and knowledge to repair that technology myself.
The same is true in the case of my gas heated clothes dryer -- which broke on Friday... and I had to learn to disassemble it to then repair it before reassembling it so that we could dry the clean clothes (so many technologies to think of here....) And this creature comfort which helps to keep my clothes soft and dry now has cost me 6-7 hours of time....and I curse that technology for breaking, but it saves me so much time when it is working.
So it's almost a situation of codependency maybe. I am dependent.
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