Evolution of Text

Just want to share a wonderful editorial that I had saved, but not shared, from back in September re the September, 2008 Atlantic article "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/technology/21ping.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Darlin%20September%2021%202008&st=cse
A notable comment for those of you who are engineers: "...The engineer's point of view puts trust in human improvement" (italics mine).
Very inspiring. This post not quite a Twitter, but close!

Wikimania and Walled Gardens

Looks like the Baltimore Public Schools are getting into individual classroom wikis in a big way: http://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&tab=wm#inbox/11f91ee6c4610b2b

Am still trying to find the time to get my AP Spanish wiki up and running. Any helpful hints about setup stages? I don't want to wander into "walled gardens" that are irrelevant to the overall purpose: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walled_garden_(technology)

Bridging the Gap and Edmodo

What do Edmodo and Ruby Payne have in common? Ruby Payne is a rather controversial educational theorist and workshop presenter. Her focus is bridging the gap between children in poverty and their teachers, who are from mostly lower-middle- to middle-middle-class economic origins. She has succinctly characterized some elements of communication and lifestyle differences by social class (not without criticism from some quarters) and developed highly prescriptive methods for educators to deal with those differences. She defines these "hidden rules of poverty" as superseding racial distinctions:
http://www.ext.wvu.edu/cyfar/rut/hiddenrules.htm

While I do not accept her theories wholesale, she has identified one important element about the culture of poverty: it is marked by a participatory, collaborative communication style (and generally lots of background "noise"), not unrelated to the necessity of sharing material goods for survival in other aspects of life.

Many middle-class teachers are perturbed by what they perceive to be student "outbursts" in class when, in fact, for some students, "participatory" oral communcation is a way of life outside school, against a backdrop of talk, television or radio noise.

Edmodo, with its immediacy and focus on dialogue and instant feedback, could be a rather useful tool in helping some students in poverty bridge the educational-behavioral gap in communication styles in a non-confrontational manner. Students would benefit from the instant feedback and the opportunity to acquire behaviors that reinforce concentration and self-restraint, with positive implications for their studies and life outside of school.

Creative Commons and Copyright (Thing 9)

Because copyright law is so complex, I am grateful that others are constantly watching its ongoing development. As an evolving field, copyright law is a critical topic for the MILI context. If we are not well-informed, how can we help our students to understand the underlying concepts of "intellectual property"?

My personal experiences with those showing respect for copyright law have reinforced my understanding of why it matters. I have been contacted several times by various people here and abroad wishing to copy parts of my graduate research.

It is also gratifying that Creative Commons is now available in an ever-increasing array of languages. The definition of "intellectual property" is not consistent across cultures, and the concept continues to grow in legal importance as the world shrinks via electronic media.

"Anonymous" A-Rod and Internet Infrastructure in Jeopardy

Don't know about anyone else, but I will be thinking twice about responding to "anonymous" online surveys any more, especially those that are work-related. It seems that third-party access to a supposedly "anonymous" survey of drug use among ballplayers is how Alex Rodriguez' prior use of performance-enhancing drugs was exposed: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/technology/16link.html?scp=1&sq=privacy%20web&st=cse. Educators may also need to think through the implications of this re using online surveys with minors. In addition, the great minds of computer engineering are now saying that the Internet's infrastructure is decaying rapidly and will need to be "reinvented" or at least "reconfigured" soon. That could mean less individual privacy to ensure greater security: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/weekinreview/15markoff.html?scp=2&sq=internet&st=cse

One for the Road re Facebook...

From the 8 February, 2009 New York Times re "Cyberbullying" of teachers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/us/08cyberbully.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Cyberbullying&st=cse.

I find it very ironic that most of the best information that I receive re the Internet is from print sources! 'Nuff said re Facebook - we're "not in Kansas any more"!

Facebook Fine Print (Thing 13)

Read the fine print and then decide if Facebook in its current form is really a good tool for you: http://www.legalandrew.com/2007/07/21/facebook-and-the-law-8-things-to-know/
Here's what a few kids are saying, FYI:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2301537792

Here's what the office of the NY Attorney General has been thinking in the not-too-distant past:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9788413-36.html

Plus, the Facebook "founder" may have stolen the business model upon which it was based and has been involved in multiple infringement lawsuits: http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/31/why-were-suing-facebook-for-25-million-in-statutory-damages/

For a case about "The Indiscreet " (i.e., really stupid teachers) on Facebook: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/319902.html

Some people really need to be saved from themselves!

...or from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR2009020802365.html

And now for a few words from "The Academy" (aka "Academia"): http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/309855

Caveat emptor!

Please don't take my Kodachrome away...

Winter getting you down?

Want to play with photos or show the students how? Here's a free photo-editing site that does not require registration and you can do it right from your browser window. You can even post to Flickr or, God forbid, Facebook: http://www.picnik.com/ It's positive recreation for photo beginners - much more creative than trolling on Facebook or YouTube.

When it all gets to be to be toooooo much, take a break with this site: http://www.pogo.com/home/home.do. With more than 100 games, there's something for everyone, and best of all, you and the students can play in multiple languages (and you didn't think you were a polyglot!). I'm going to put this link on the "Fun Pages" of my webpage.

If you are totally at wit's end, you will find this silly little link irresistible (kids of all ages adore this one because it's just so loopy): http://www.poissonrouge.com/kidscorner/.

Foxy Synchronization

Until the introduction of Foxmarks http://www.foxmarks.com/, it was difficult to synchronize bookmarks on various PCs. As wonderful as Delicious is, there is a plus to Foxmarks that goes one step beyond: if you wish, it will automatically synchronize bookmarks among your multiple browsers and computers, including between Internet Explorer and Safari. So far, I like the way it works, and best of all, it's free for the moment.

Don't beam me up, Scotty!

Although a frequent critic of Google, I have to say that Google Earth is breathtaking. My mind is way ahead of my typing fingers in imagining the potential applications of this marvelous tool: http://earth.google.com/. Go visit ASAP and see what I mean! For example, click on "Touring" and you can create narrated illustrated tours of a site. Click on "Historical Imagery" and you can travel back through time. The applications for earth sciences seem boundless. In Spanish, I am dreaming of multiple applications pertaining to the vast, diverse geography of the Spanish-speaking world. See it all before the advertisers populate this wonderful parallel universe!

Intellectual Robber Barons

The debate over Google's Book Search (book digitalization project) continues. Better minds than mine (such as Robert Darnton, the head of the Harvard library system) continue to raise concerns about Google, lacking serious competitors, having a monopoly of virtually all digitalized books covered by copyright in the U.S. . Google denies that the profit motive is an operational force in the project, but that seems highly disingenuous:
http://books.google.com/googlebooks/agreement/ .
Others raise more general legitimate concerns about the centralization of information and who will eventually have or lack access to that information: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/technology/internet/02link.html?scp=1&sq=Millions%20of%20Books&st=cse. History has shown that profit motives typically gain control. This continues to be an interesting case that educators need to follow closely.