Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech

The concept of using your network to filter content (I don’t mean content filtering I mean filtering content…never mind, just keep reading) is a burgeoning idea. The fact that I spend a huge amount of time online need not be beneficial only to me. Like the spies going into Egypt and reporting of the abundance, I can come back with reports of goodness of all that I see, read and hear. Here are  3 simple ways to filter content for your network:

1. Use your the “Share Feature” in Google Reader.  By simply clicking the Share button at the bottom of key posts, I filter out on average about 1 out of every 400 posts I read. If more people did this, you’d quickly create an easier entry point for newcomers.
2. Delicious link Roll. While many have added their del.icio.us links on their blogs, I just added a “mustread” tag. I’ll likely add this tag to about 1 in 10 items I tag. The difference here is that I totally control all my bookmarks but with my Reader, I only control my feeds, not every post. While I subscribe to many folks bookmarks, I think adding a mustread tag would be helpful to those with only a passing interest.
3. Videos I watch. I just recently noticed VodPod on Susan Carter Morgan’s blog which allows you in the same way you add bookmarks in del.icio.us, you can have a bookmarklet to save videos. I do have a favorites list in youtube but this allows me to gather video from a variety of sources. I’ll likely label about 1 in 5 must see. Video is certainly more of a time investment in most cases so it’s likely more I see will be worthwhile.

One argument that continues to surface is that since we live in a publish then filter world, students quickly get the impression that simply posting content online is good enough. I think Sturgeon’s law is fairly accurate: “90% of everything is crap.” Finding the 10% that is really good takes a lot of time. But again, using the same power that allows us to easily publish crap, we can also easily label quality. Sure, it’s still arbitrary, but overall, it’s a pretty good system.

This is all about the power of tagging. As you can see if you’re reading this on my blog, that I’ve added all three of these to my sidebar. I’m trying my best to filter out what I think the best of the best is for me. I realize their are a number of other ways to filter content for your network.

What did I miss? Do you have some other ideas for filtering content?

Image: Seive by James UK

Technorati Tags: googlereader, delicious, vodpod, sturgeon, susancartermorgan, filter

This podcast is a bit odd in that I take 3 episodes of TWIT and mix them up to highlight the discussions around twitter. I think it’s the best I’ve heard in helping form some understanding of this stupid, yet powerful thing. If you know nothing about twitter, I think this might help. If you use it, it should help clarify some things as well.

Here are the links to the full episodes in case you want more:

TWIT 134
TWIT 135
TWIT 136

Just doing a little filtering for ya.

Also I wasn’t happy with my audio, it sounds tinny. I used Audacity and really didn’t do much with the settings. I used a ClearChat Logitech USB microphone but it doesn’t sound great. Any advice?

 

 What is Twitter?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Today I made 2 presentations entitled “Are you Published?” for Showcase 2008.  You can get all the details including the slidedeck and the video (posted below, so if you’re planning to attend this session on Tuesday, this may or may do it for you). In most cases, I rarely walk alone, whether it’s a pre-call out for ideas or links, or live appearances, I have a plethora of resources that I can tap into anytime. Today was no different.

I invited Will to return the favour (btw Will, you still owe me a few more appearances) and share some ideas (about the 14 minute mark) about publishing which sparked some great discussion and questions. So he gets in from sledding with his kids and chats with us for about 10 minutes. I carry on. Then David Warlick watches via Ustream and at just the right moment (35 minute mark), skypes in to share his thoughts on Lulu.com ( I had asked David earlier so it wasn’t a purely random interruption). So I went to the back of the room, grabbed a water and allowed David and Will to do their thing.  It’s been said often, that the minute you open up your laptop, you’re no longer the smartest person in the room. I never was anyway. But this is what learning ought to look like; finding and connecting to others that help you learn more. Easy, free and personal. Low hanging fruit.

I realize this is not profound or new, but I just wanted to share.

Technorati Tags: showcase2008, davidwarlick, willrichardson, skype, lulu

If you still see flickr as simple a photo sharing site, you’d be sadly mistaken.  The ways in which its users have crafted endless ways to leverage their photos continues to increase. The following is simply a few insights into my learning via flickr.

Thanks to D’arcy Norman’s inspiring work of 2007, a number of us decided to take on the challenge of shooting a photo a day. 48 days into it and I’ve certainly become more visually aware and I believe more literate.  Part of the power of joining a group in flickr is to be able to see how many are trying to achieve the same thing but in a myriad of ways. Amazing learning takes place.

Subscribing to the 366photo feed allows me to see everyone’s efforts. Today I was struck by a seemingly innocent photo of a child’s rocking chair taken by Alan Levine.

Flashback to the day before. Alan writes about his “pathetic” photo,

A photo of a corner of my roof makes my 366photos of the day? Could this be the most pathetic day of the year (that i always possible). No, this marks a spot where something was but is no more. Today, I sold the Hughes Satellite Internet Dish that sat here for 2 years. Since moving to Strawberry, I got more reliable (used loosely in a small town) cable internet service. I posted a few paper flowers down at the market and Post Office in Pine, but shazam, it was Craigslist that connected me with a family near Snowflake AZ (look it up actually named for town cofounders with last names of “Snow” and “Flake” and thus could have just as easily been called “Flakesnow”) that needed a dish to get to the net. So in a contemplative mood I am wondering- we typically focus on a photograph as a means to “grab” or portray something that is there– but is there room or a place to consider perhaps “negative space” photography, the portrayal of a place where something is not there? On a less philosophical note- proceeds of this sale have underwritten the costs of my new western footwear…

Every picture has a story. If you aren’t already aware, you need to understand that Alan is a master at this type of storytelling. Witness his efforts to tell the same story about his dog Dominoe using 49 different online storytelling tools. So now we move to today’s post of the chair. I won’t attempt to share the contents of the story, you need to read it for yourself,but I hope we begin to see how powerful and important it is to think about how we see the world. All of us have hundreds of these images stored in our memory filled with beautiful, sad, scary, disturbing, inspiring stories that are waiting to be shared. Yes shared.  Okay, keep some of them private but I as I commented to Alan:

What a privilege to be in a community where people feel vulnerable enough to share such depth. To think a seemingly innocent photo a a rocking chair could illicit such emotion and meaning….if your last photo was your most pathetic (I doubt if it is) this might be your most powerful.

Images: David’s Rocking Chair by Alan Levine
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/2274055016

Technorati Tags: darcynorman, alanlevine, flickr

I love debates, especially when it comes to controversial topics that I struggle with.  Ewan is in an official debate regarding social networks.  And like Will, while I side mostly with Ewan, I hope to learn of some viewpoints I hadn’t considered.

I’m naturally attracted to blog posts where controversy and heated discussion occurs. That’s why you need to visit the site and not simply rely your reader because you’ll miss the comments. While some get overly concerned with the tone and their interpretation of malice, I’m interested in the arguments and appreciate diversity because it helps me learn.

Here’s one I’m currently watching: David Warlick’s post on Pedagogy and Gary Stager’s Response. The fact the Gary is challenging David is far from novel but no doubt their previous bouts have been helpful to me in developing my own beliefs. I like what both of them stand for and say. Is that weird or possible when at times they seem to be on opposite sides?  My feeble comment on the issue restates my feeling that they are likely closer in their thinking than it appears but still their discussions and perspectives serve to clarify and hone my thinking.

Another one that might not materialize but I find interesting is Tom Hoffman’s concern about Dan Meyer’s latest design contest. I won’t even provide much detail here because I’m not sure what I think yet but hope others join in on this to voice their opinions and uncover the nuances and perspectives on this issue.

Embrace diversity and learn.

Image: Courtroom One Gavel Joe Gratz
http://flickr.com/photos/joegratz/117048243/

Technorati Tags: debates, ewanmcintosh, socialnetworks, garystager, davidwarlick, danmeyer, tomhoffman

The digital citizenship discussions have been intriguing and have been teaching me quite a bit. The issue I deal with is whether or not, digital citizenship be taught formally in schools. I”m more convinced that social virtues, as some might call them, are best taught in context. I’m not sure whether one can be taught these virtues or morales in isolation nor should they. While there is certainly an information piece connected to the technologies, it’s mostly about making wise choices and it’s difficult to do this outside of the real world. Just as technology ought to be used and taught in context, I think the same is true of character. The best context is a model of practice and lifestyle that is transparent.

Which is likely the reason for things like this and this. Because most teachers do not practice or engage in the same kinds of online activities which for the most part is social networking, it’s going to be difficult for them to model. In addition, they likely don’t consider it a relevant topic of discussion amidst the daily work load they already face.

Which leads me to my title, can a fat man teach physical education?  Perhaps, but if the goal is to help students lead healthy,active lifestyles, it seems like a hard sell. It would have the same result as a tone deaf music teacher or an illiterate English teacher. If we’re really concerned about teaching our students to make moral, ethical choices online, teachers need to have some experience that can at least validate discussions and suggestions. Stephen Downes recently chimed in on one of my discussions:

But I think even the students will see through the directed curriculum when taught by a teacher that has never set foot online.

So whether we choose to formalize the teaching or not, it may not even matter. You can go ahead and ask every teacher to teach these principles and the results will be limited, if not damaging. Without credibility we’re just blowing hot air. So rather than jurisdictions making these types of requests, I prefer this response from Regina Lynn of Wired Magazine:

All adults who work with youth should be aware of how young people communicate, fall in love and stay connected; I encourage teachers to try social networking services, to have a blog, to text message with their own families and friends. Experienced teachers will not only gain a better sense of the world their students live in — indeed, a world their students are creating — they will have a greater understanding of the young teachers entering the profession.

I think I answered my own my question.

Technorati Tags: digitalcitizenship, stephendownes

Social Capital has been a termed explored and pursued by two of my posse members, Heather and Rick. They both talk about it quite a bit. I may be butchering the definition so I hope they forgive me if I miss the purest definition or better yet, add to the conversation with some insights.

To me, social capital, or perhaps there’s a better term, is a quantifiable measure of contributions to one’s social network. So a few things have arose as of late that sparks an interest in this for me.

• Will’s recent post on Pocket Texting and the idea of “knowledge power” points. We have seen the use of ratings on sites like experts-exchange and other sites where the usefulness of one’s answers ranks them higher and in some cases produces economic benefits.
• Tweeterboard. I hadn’t even heard of this until this tweet a few days ago. So for the past few days I’ve tried to figure out how in the world this works and what’s the significance? First of all it appears to be a random sampling of twitter so that needs to be considered but the idea is basically a combination of quantity, shared links and exchanges with others.
  

  They’re calculated using some algorithmic mojo that resembles the link analysis algorithms used by search engines. Your reputation points are based on the conversations you’ve had over the last 28 days, which means your score can jump around a lot.

• A conversation I had with Ewan Mcintosh about a company, (maybe Ewan can add the link) that is developing their own algorithm that measures social capital within their business. He mentioned things like identifying writing and work that has been reused or tagged several times and looking at the usefulness, sharing,commenting of one’s work inside a company. Ewan’s thinking about how this might be used to measure the work and value of Scotland’s student bloggers.
• My continued pursuit of a higher commpost rating.

So while tools like Technorati provide some degree of measure, there’s so much more than comprises social capital. How might we assess, our total online portfolio? The fact that many are involved in dozens of communities from flickr, youtube,facebook,blogs,wikis, the whole sha-bang would require some fancy mathematical calculations. I’m guessing it would include things like: the number of communities you’re actively involved with (which means “active” must be defined) numbers of tagged pieces of content by others, number of other’s work you’ve remixed, comments, IM’s…the list goes on.

Teachers are excited when I show them simple things like the history feature of wikis that track student work. The sophistication of some of these tools to measure the depth of conversations and contributions seems to be increasing.  While in many jurisdictions the importance of standardized testing seems to preclude many discussions around the value of social capital I think there is some real ripeness for some of our schools to utilize tools that could measure social capital. I’m guessing that so would many businesses. Not that that is the ultimate goal but like Will watches his gas gauge on his Prius perhaps our kids could get excited about watching their social capital points rise. Or does that miss the point totally? I’m just wondering.

Technorati Tags: willrichardson, heatherross, rickschweir, edtechposse, twitter, ewanmcintosh

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I’ve been a del.icio.us user for a couple of years. I started social bookmarking with Furl and made the switch mostly because of the number of users. Del.icio.us is all about the network. I have almost 1000 bookmarks and I’m sure at least half of them are from my network.  If you’re not currently using the network feature of del.icio.us you’re missing out.

One of the most important feeds I subscribe to is my del.icio.us network. Like twitter I can follow anyone’s bookmarks so daily I receive a feed of bookmarks from the likes of Will Richardson, David Jakes, Jeff Utecht, Wes Fryer and 23 other people (I need to add to that number). If you want add me to your network for example, simply go to your network link at the top of the delicious page and add the user of your choice on the right side of the page. To subscribe to your network page, click the RSS icon at the bottom of the page and you’ll be able to be notified every time your network has added a new bookmark. One more part of my research team. These people are scouring the web looking for the very best, most interesting pieces of content.
There are many other tutorials but I created this one very quickly to demonstrate what you need to do.

Del.icio.us quick tutorial

Today, people like twitter when links are posted. Often this leads to some great discoveries and learning. Del.icio.us has been doing the same thing for a while. Last time I checked only 16 or so were following my bookmarks, I think I’m close to 50 now. More important, I had been stuck on about 23 people that I follow. That’s not near enough.

Go to del.icio.us and start building your team.

Technorati Tags: twitter, delicious, socialbookmarking, network

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