The Web 2.0 CEO

I was hoping to do this blog as a podcast; maybe next week... I have been looking at a lot of blogs recently, and I find another type of blog has emerged, one in which comic strips convey the content in place of the written monologue. I'd like to do one blog using comics before the semester ends...

The reading was in two parts; first, another article about Web 2.0 technology and, second, an article dissecting collaborative online learning. Although my initial reaction to the first reading was, "yet another Web 2.0 technology article," the continuing exposure to this grouping of technology is helping to fix it in mind. Usually, a single brief exposure to something new is forgotten if not used or repeated---at least for me---and I find I'm more conversant with the technology as a result of repeated exposure, whether that exposure be reading about, writing about, or using the technology.

The reading about online collaboration was a delightful experience because I completely identified with the experiences of the three learners which conclude the article. I identified with the disappointment and frustration of poorly designed learning content and with the enjoyment of collaborating and sharing knowledge with people I have never met in person. Like those three learners, I do believe online learning has limits---I prefer the classroom when available.

Personally, I found Eugene Lee amazing; I've worked with a lot of CEO's but never with one who is tuned in to communication/collaboration technology as thoroughly as Lee is. What I took away from his presentation was the degree to which he uses technology in his professional and personal life---and how seamlessly that technology fits into his life. Lee has leveraged the technology, rather than allowing it to dictate to him. He has employed it to a positional advantage that allows him every possible avenue to success. The stories he told based on his use of the tools are gems. His surprise and delight in the unexpected effects of using Web 2.0 tools are refreshing.

Walter's Five Picture Story

Okay, it seems I'm the only one not using a slideshow to display my story, so here we are; initially I dismissed using this format because it automates the process without regard for the viewer---kind of like riding a tram past exhibits in a museum. (No, I don't equate my pictures to museum objects---just making a point.)

The 5 Picture Story - 23rd October

Clouds + GPS + Context = ?

This is Cloud Computing, through which your can create your own PLS---which of course you are free to share with anyone you choose. According to the IEEE, Cloud Computing "is a paradigm in which information is stored on servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, notebooks, handhelds, etc." That definition should include every device capable of Internet connectivity.

Using a small, handheld and wireless device, it is possible to obtain your geographic location (latitude, longitude, altitude) anywhere in the world. GPS, the Global Positioning System, was originally the exclusive domain of the U.S. Department of Defense; however, in the 1980s, the system was made available to the public. As of 1994, a full constellation of 24 satellites was available, and the more of those your GPS unit can "see" the more accurately it can calculate your position.

Here's a beginner's guide to GPS---it's a .pdf of 9 pages.

Learning everywhere,

especially outside the classroom

Learning for the 21st Century

CLICK THE C-MAP---IT BECOMES BIGGER

This is the first article on the subject of 21st Century education I've read which attempts to be comprehensive; it certainly covers a lot of ground, as I discovered when I tried to conceptually map its core elements (results on left).

My favorite part of the article is this quote, which is part of the 21st Century Assessment:

"Measure what we value

or it won't be taught."

I'm a believer in the reverse design process detailed in, "Understanding by Design," so I don't view the quote in the same light as "teaching to the test."

What I took from the article(s) sums up topically as a trifold plan for creating a 21st Century educational experience:

1. Incorporate 21st Century ICT tools into the educational process; teach both the use of the tools to receive content and use of tools to create content
2. Increase the breadth of core subjects to reflect the 21st Century world, which is equal parts local, national and global
3. Foster cognitive skills development in students, so they can think creatively, think critically, become proficient at problem-solving, and develop a life-long learning model for themselves.

Web 2.0 Scholarship - Curt Bonk

Cheers! to Dr. Bonk for his synchronous video lecture and Q&A on Scholarship and Web 2.0. Part way through Bonk's lecture, I realized the topic was not as new to me as I had thought it was. I've been using academically produced, online publications and learning objects for a few years; moreover, I've been modifying them and combining them with other material to suit my own purpose or that of my students. The new element in the topic for me is the ramification of Web 2.0 Scholarship---authority and control are changing hands in the academic world just as they have in the day-to-day world. Control over publishing, multi-media, interactive learning objects, video, audio---control over it all passed into the collective world population a few years ago, or more. And now control over "the news" is changing, as various forms of reportage generated by day-to-day citizens appear throughout the structure of the Web.

My previous education is largely grounded in an older model of authority. For example, if Nature, Scientific American, or Popular Mechanics chose to publish an article, the content was to be trusted. The publication was the authority (and in fact still is in many cases). Now I find a considerable portion of my academic reading online, freely available; in this class we're reading non-traditionally published articles. So where does "authority" fit in? Perhaps it rests in the expertise of the instructor who selectes them. Perhaps it rests in part within the community which links to the publications. Just maybe, it rests also within the consumer---after all, judging by blogs and posts in several ITEC classes, we've generally agreed that students (that's us) need to know how to find, evaluate, and store information for subsequent retrieval.

I believe there's a lot of cheerleading and overestimation associated with Web 2.0. The scholarship aspect of 2.0 reminds me very much of the beginnings of the Open Source Software movement, which has empowered thousands of programmers whose combined efforts have benefitted millions of people---even if the computing world is still largely running proprietary operating systems and software. Control and authority are forever redefined---that won't change. Web 2.0 continues to grow as new tools are created and the initial use of those tools morphs into multiple purposes, including education.