Updates

I have not posted in a little bit as a lack of something to say. However I will say this that our project is going along smoothly with no major hickups. The outline and the proposal are complete and now its a matter of piecing this thing together. Other then that I really don’t have much to say…..

mmmm learning or is it M Learning?

Either way last class was an enjoyable way to take a look at the world of M Learning. Leslie has an infectious appreciation for this growing field and to actual play with the tools was great fun. There are just so many applications and it is an ideal way to get outside the classroom. It offers students a far more palpable approach to a plethora of subjects.

I am in the process of trying to set up an M Learning course for my brother (he is an ecologist for the National Park Service). He is restoring the natural habitats of certain islands just off the coast of Boston. M Learning will provide a powerful tool to raise awareness and educate all the visitors (students and the public alike) when the parks open. Hopefully this will work out but environmental education is a great field in which this tool can be utilized.

This that and I don’t know what else…

I missed the last class and it sounds like it was a good one. Ah blog posts and tons of white space to fill with something relevant. I highly recomend taking a look at this two part post. It is a nice introduction to some good software out there that is in this whole web 2.0 / read/write web world that we are exploring. Other software to keep a close eye on is Drupal , Elgg and the integration with Moodle. Check out this article about how these open source solutions are being used or will be used to provide a powerfull web presence and learning experience for any educators at any level.

This a test of the emergency rant system……

I know this is supposed to be all about Web 2.0 and the like but I just have to write something about this thing we call the news media. The fervor over Bill Clinton asserting himself is just sad and pathetic. That is what the democrats need someone with balls and someone who can fight back. He was asked questions none of those Bush morons are ever asked. There is so much evidence out there damning the current administration it is so sad that this country is too full of hapless idiots to do anything about it. TV journalism is dead and has been for some time. Turn off those channels and think for yourself….

Ok now back to our regularly scheduled posts….

Flikr and long live the Wiki Queen

I m way behind on my posts so I thought I would jam the last two fine presentations in this one. I seem to have forgot to shake my fists these past weeks. Anyways, Azure’s presentation on Flickr was a great introduction to those unfamiliar with the site. Flikr is a fun place to have all your photos and to see some nice work by others. It was one of the first real success stories of the whole web 2.0 movement.

Speaking of web 2.0 Susan’s presentation on Wikis was very thorough and informative. If you don’t at least have some real understanding of the world of wikis now then I don’t know how you could ever. Wikis are a powerful tool and most certainly the future of the internet. The biggest draw back is that there is still some real distrust with the accuracy with wikis and until people stop this the wiki universe can only go so far.

Object of my homework or something along those lines

What exactly are we supposed to talk about here? I originally was going to bring a lighter to class as that is an interesting object in many ways. However, I never put it in my bag as the forgetfulness continues. So that leaves me with my second choice: a fine pair of black handled scissors. These things have been utilized for some time and have such a simple design to them they almost scream out their usability. Immediately it is understood what action takes place even if it cuts something other paper.

The digital divide

I came across this article this morning thanks to rss and netvibes (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-09-05-digital-divide_x.htm) It’s a look at the stats of the the digital divide and its true harm on our society.

“Two of every three white students — 67% — use the Internet, but less than half of blacks and Hispanics do, according to federal data released Tuesday. For Hispanics the figure is 44%; for blacks, it’s 47%.”

“Some 54% of white students use the Internet at home, compared with 26% of Hispanic and 27% of black youngsters. Limited access at home can erode a student’s ability to research assignments, explore college scholarships or just get comfortable going online.”

These numbers are just appalling. It is true that the internet is a place for bad things but it is also a powerful tool that can be utilized for wondrous things. As San Francisco joins the fight to bring free wireless internet access to the city we should take a look at how hard the telecom industry is pushing back. Comcast and Cingular (who bought out AT&T) are two (of a few) leviathans that are the most destructive force in ending this horrid divide. They send their lobbyists to Washington to block cities from creating these wireless networks. It is a disgusting example of how these multi-national businesses’ do not care about you and your future. They want your money and that is all they want. The more they keep us all ignorant the more we are willing to fork over 120 bucks for a pair of sneakers made by a poor chinese 8 year old girl who works 14 hour days for a paltry allowance.

We as instructional designers are all trying to learn how to harness the power of the digital tools that surround us. But until we cage these rotten bastards at Comcast and the like, the harder it will be for any of us to make a real dent. The digital divide needs to be erased and in some places we are seeing just that. For a country that created the atom bomb in 3 years (right?) it is a disgrace that we do not have green energy and we don’t have internet access in every living room and and in every community. I just had to shake my fists and talk out load here but your comments on this subject are more then welcome.

Thoughts and other such things: the first class

It was nice to see some familiar faces as we all head back to the classroom. This semester should be an interesting journey as the web 2.0 world has been an area of interest of mine over the last year or so. The web 2.0 galaxy is exciting and has yet to be fully realized. The challanges will be, like with the first internet boom, to weed out the positive aspects of this new found reality. As we move out of the classrooms and back into the job world it will be interesting to see how the instructional tech community adopts the tools and spirit of web 2.0 into the education market. This is an exciting time in tech indeed, though, we face a future in which less and less experts will be needed to genrate dynamic content. Knowledge is power and this new found communtiy growing in the midst of the web 2.0 movement can have a profound effect in allowing further access to information. It will open doors to many were put off or intimidated by the computer. It seems that I could ramble a little more about this, but I will save that for later blog posts….