Why am I constantly surprised about how many educators are NOT incorporating technology into teaching and educating? I just finished attending a three day conference in Denver as part of a national grant our community college. These are peer learning meetings where we share information with ten other colleges about what we are doing. I had suggested that instead of waiting for a twice a year meeting we might be able to use a wiki to share information. Nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. I was flabbergasted. Other college professionals wanted to get copies of my contextualized curriculum and powerpoints. Instead of emailing, I could easily post this information on a wiki. And vice versa. I could get up to date information from other colleagues instead of waiting six months.
Then the conference organizers struggled to use their powerpoint presentation. Well, I know that we all have trouble with equipment. At one time or another, we've all had this problem. And it is frustrating. But these are professionals (I thought). They need to have a back up plan when you are presenting at a national conference. Somehow we all got distracted and I couldn't tell you what her talk was all about.
I'm pushing forth a new plan of action for our new grant. Our community college will be targeting out of school youth (ages 16-20) to try to get them back in school (through Adult High School or GED) and then seamlessly transition them into community college. We need to show them the possibilities and benefits of post-secondary education. My strategy is to share information with the other colleges in the grant. I will personally set up a collaborative wiki and invite my North Carolina community colleagues to join me. We need to be proactive in collaboration instead of waiting around to see what others are doing. There is definitely a benefit when I can bounce off ideas on this wiki.
Stay tuned for Chapter Two of my "Wiki Goes National". I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop when some administrator who doesn't even know what a wiki is tells me that we can't do this free sharing of information because it is not "official".
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Media Literacy, Gangs, andn Social Networks
This is a new article found through PBS and learning.now
It talks about how community technology centers are trying to combat gang recruitment of youth by offering computer lab time for at-risk kids. There have been reports that gangs are out there right now using social networks like MySpace to recruit middle-school age kids. But, in this article, the community technology centers (CTCs) are allowing kids to come in after school and hang out on the Internet in a safe way. It doesn't really explain how the CTC staff is policing these websites. But, they are trying to show these kids there is a "good" way to use the Internet and find positive things to do.
A very interesting take on social networking and gangs....
It talks about how community technology centers are trying to combat gang recruitment of youth by offering computer lab time for at-risk kids. There have been reports that gangs are out there right now using social networks like MySpace to recruit middle-school age kids. But, in this article, the community technology centers (CTCs) are allowing kids to come in after school and hang out on the Internet in a safe way. It doesn't really explain how the CTC staff is policing these websites. But, they are trying to show these kids there is a "good" way to use the Internet and find positive things to do.
A very interesting take on social networking and gangs....
Friday, April 11, 2008
Let's Be Careful Out There
We don't want to be blogging too much.... here's an article from the New York Times about two recent bloggers who unexpectedly passed away. Is it too stressful???
A differing view of the use of technology today
This link to another blog takes a different view of all the technology that is available to our youth. As we have been exploring in our LIS class, not all technology is the absolute answer to teaching and engaging students. It's great to know what is out there and what's available, but we don't have to jump on the bandwagon every time the newest gadget rolls out.
Let's just keep it in perspective...
Let's just keep it in perspective...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
could it be more than your first life?
I've tried playing around with Second Life in my first life. I've heard lots of things about it -- good and bad -- and so it was time to see what's all the fuss about. I created my default avatar but soon discovered that she paled in comparison to all the other hotties on SL. What's an avatar to do? Now I have some cool clothes so that I fit in just perfectly. Luckily I had some friends along and they showed me how to teleport around SL so that I wasn't just swimming in the middle of the ocean.
What could we use SL for? SL is a place to meet up with friends or make new ones. Since being anti-social is high on my Myers-Briggs indicator, I decided that I had more fun hanging out with my good ol'friends (classmates). Much safer that way. We could talk (chat) and visit the Library of Congress. For some strange reason I found myself drawn to the solitary games that were available in the LOC. I wasn't too interested in talking to anyone. Hmmmm... maybe that's why I'm not so interested in this SL thing. I can play games elsewhere on the Internet.
Good things about SL -- this is a way to advertise and market your library. It would be easy to post things here and make them freely available (another portal to the library). Bad things --
there are some weird people out there, so everybody be careful!
Well, at least I gave it the old college try. I might not be heading back anytime soon, but if I'm out there and you are too, just look for me -- here's a clue to my name -- I'm a "flamboyant pianist" and a "basketball player from China".
Who else is using Second Life? In one week, it seemed like EVERYONE was on SL. Dwight Shrute from the Office was on his Second Second Life as himself -- very typical. He had fun just being himself. And on CSI:NY there was a murder of an avatar by a rabid fan of SL. She even had plastic surgery to look like her avatar!! And finally, at North Carolina State University, there was an open question posted on the university's discussion board -- would anyone be interested in meeting his or her advisor on Second Life for an advising session? The discussion showed that not too many students were interested and some of the students had no idea what SL was. It may be that SL is geared for an older crowd. Are we old?
What could we use SL for? SL is a place to meet up with friends or make new ones. Since being anti-social is high on my Myers-Briggs indicator, I decided that I had more fun hanging out with my good ol'friends (classmates). Much safer that way. We could talk (chat) and visit the Library of Congress. For some strange reason I found myself drawn to the solitary games that were available in the LOC. I wasn't too interested in talking to anyone. Hmmmm... maybe that's why I'm not so interested in this SL thing. I can play games elsewhere on the Internet.
Good things about SL -- this is a way to advertise and market your library. It would be easy to post things here and make them freely available (another portal to the library). Bad things --
there are some weird people out there, so everybody be careful!
Well, at least I gave it the old college try. I might not be heading back anytime soon, but if I'm out there and you are too, just look for me -- here's a clue to my name -- I'm a "flamboyant pianist" and a "basketball player from China".
Who else is using Second Life? In one week, it seemed like EVERYONE was on SL. Dwight Shrute from the Office was on his Second Second Life as himself -- very typical. He had fun just being himself. And on CSI:NY there was a murder of an avatar by a rabid fan of SL. She even had plastic surgery to look like her avatar!! And finally, at North Carolina State University, there was an open question posted on the university's discussion board -- would anyone be interested in meeting his or her advisor on Second Life for an advising session? The discussion showed that not too many students were interested and some of the students had no idea what SL was. It may be that SL is geared for an older crowd. Are we old?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
This is deli.cio.us
I finally figured out what all the buzz was about. I've been reading about social bookmarking, but I was too embarrassed to ask someone what it's used for. I guess since I don't use my favorites toolbar anyway, I wasn't missing much.
But now, every day I get older, and I keep forgetting stuff. I see cool websites, cool things that I know I'll remember and then "poof" they're gone.
And then to make it worse, I get mixed up where I put my favorites. Is it on my laptop? Is it at work? Is it on my flashdrive? Can't be too sure.
So, now, my favorites are all in one place, and all I have to do is summon "delicious". I used my podcasting name to name my delicious account. Just look for Mel N. Koly and you'll see what I like to play around with.
But now, every day I get older, and I keep forgetting stuff. I see cool websites, cool things that I know I'll remember and then "poof" they're gone.
And then to make it worse, I get mixed up where I put my favorites. Is it on my laptop? Is it at work? Is it on my flashdrive? Can't be too sure.
So, now, my favorites are all in one place, and all I have to do is summon "delicious". I used my podcasting name to name my delicious account. Just look for Mel N. Koly and you'll see what I like to play around with.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Can't get enough of it!!
More more more about games. The more I read about it, the more excited I am about games and libraries. I've always loved games and I've always loved libraries, so it's a perfect match.
But do games belong in libraries? And is the library just a game? Well, here's some interesting discussion at the Games and Libraries Intersection from Jenny Levine, blogger at The Shifted Librarian. After reading some of this, you'll believe too! This is from her latest presentation:
Here's some characteristics of great gamers:
--willing to experiment and keep trying
--willing to seek expertise and ask for help
--willing to share expertise and help "noobs" (new players)
--desire to collaborate (team player)
--learn from their mistakes and adapt quickly
--thrive on fast decision making
--good at prioritizing
--willing to take risks
--focused on feedback and continuous improvement
--constantly seeking to be challenged
--proactive, not reactive
--don't want to be spoon fed, want to do their own research
--expect interaction, rewards, and multiple paths
Examples of Skills that Employers want in Higher Wage Workers
--adaptation to rapid change
--team building
--learning on the fly
--rapid information acquisition
--determining what needs to be done, allocating resources
--plan/develop/implement
--multiple task prioritization
--information synthesis
http://www.fas.org/gamesummit
Can you see the relationship? I just led my classroom in a group exercise called "Crossing the River". It is a logic test given to potential IT employees in Japan. The object is to follow the rules and get everybody to cross the river with the rule constraints. The employer is looking for potential employees who can complete this task in less than 15 minutes.
Click here if you want to try it: http://www.robmathiowetz.com/
It was an interesting class session. We used the computer overhead projector to view the screen on the whiteboard. I followed the commands and clicked on their choices. There were about a dozen people in class. They worked together, called out suggestions, pointed out wrong assumptions, and as a class, they were able to solve the problem! I was so proud of them!
But do games belong in libraries? And is the library just a game? Well, here's some interesting discussion at the Games and Libraries Intersection from Jenny Levine, blogger at The Shifted Librarian. After reading some of this, you'll believe too! This is from her latest presentation:
Here's some characteristics of great gamers:
--willing to experiment and keep trying
--willing to seek expertise and ask for help
--willing to share expertise and help "noobs" (new players)
--desire to collaborate (team player)
--learn from their mistakes and adapt quickly
--thrive on fast decision making
--good at prioritizing
--willing to take risks
--focused on feedback and continuous improvement
--constantly seeking to be challenged
--proactive, not reactive
--don't want to be spoon fed, want to do their own research
--expect interaction, rewards, and multiple paths
Examples of Skills that Employers want in Higher Wage Workers
--adaptation to rapid change
--team building
--learning on the fly
--rapid information acquisition
--determining what needs to be done, allocating resources
--plan/develop/implement
--multiple task prioritization
--information synthesis
http://www.fas.org/gamesummit
Can you see the relationship? I just led my classroom in a group exercise called "Crossing the River". It is a logic test given to potential IT employees in Japan. The object is to follow the rules and get everybody to cross the river with the rule constraints. The employer is looking for potential employees who can complete this task in less than 15 minutes.
Click here if you want to try it: http://www.robmathiowetz.com/
It was an interesting class session. We used the computer overhead projector to view the screen on the whiteboard. I followed the commands and clicked on their choices. There were about a dozen people in class. They worked together, called out suggestions, pointed out wrong assumptions, and as a class, they were able to solve the problem! I was so proud of them!
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