Getting Ready for April 1

On the heels on Easter Eggs, we have an April Fools’ Day this week.

Wired posts some computer pranks for Nerds at:  http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2008/03/pranks08

What to do, What to do.

Looking for the perfect prank.

Any ideas?

Just be careful not to take anything you read on the internet too seriously on April 1.  http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/03/62794

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Tags: April1

Setting Examples

It’s Sunday morning and I’m just spending some time doing some reading and catching up on some of the blogs that I follow.  While waiting for the coffee to finish dripping, I noted the following from a Richardson post “The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It”.

(i.e. “And right now, while kids by and large have the technology skills to create, they have very few models for appropriate uses for that creation.” Oy.)

At a recent RCAC Meeting (technology coordinators in South Western Ontario), we had a discussion about the Read/Write Web and shared some examples with the group.  One of the questions that arose was about whether we as technology coordinators should be creating these things or whether we should be supporting colleagues by doing workshops about how to create them.

The nagging voice in the back of my head said, of course, both.

Without it, it’s a return to the old adage “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Last night, I happened to stumble upon a blog and a post from the author proudly announced that she/he was back to posting after a year’s absence.  Related to this, I always get a kick out of Computers in the Classrooms classes where participants have to create a webpage or create a webquest.  They do, get the mark, and promptly forget about it.  Yet, like a lot of Internet dead rot, it remains on the free web hosting site serving as a dated resource for who knows how long to come.

I also had opportunity to look at a Myspace page for something that I was researching.  I’ve never seen so much blinking and flashing in one spot.  I was also wondering what was happening to my iTunes music because there seemed to be two tracks playing and then I realized that it was background music, overly amplified, to the page that I was previewing.

So, what are the “models for appropriate uses for that creation”? 

Are we really doing a service when we require a webpage or a webquest in these courses without talking about the responsibility for considering potential visitors?  Is there a value for flashing green on a bright red background?  Is there value in discovering information about the planet Pluto?

I think it’s a relevant discussion and adds to the original notion that we, as technology coordinators, need to be leading by creating these models.  Even as something as simple as putting a last revision date on a creation adds so much value to content that we’re donating to the Internet cause.  If we create a standard worth modelling, others will replicate.

Since there are no hard and fast rules about these models, perhaps that should be one of the first things that is addressed in any course that asks people to create content?

Many students “get it”.  They know the power of collaboration and content creation.  With a little bit more modelling, they could add so much more to its value.

A Self Documenting Society

When I reflect upon some of the major events and achievements in my own life, they really are remembered fondly. The large majority of them are just really good memories. The really major ones are captured on camera and filed away in photo albums on shelves in the family room. Some are even easy to find because they have year labels on the album spine. If you pull some of the pictures from the album and turn them over, there’s even some descriptions about the event and the people written on it. However, the majority of life experiences are filed away in grey matter and I’m sure that some of the monumental events are a tad over exaggerated but that’s OK, it’s just my mind.

I was reading the Globe and Mail about the incident between the Quebec Remparts and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and the punishments that were handed out to the participants. Of course, the family Roy with father and son involvement makes for great news material. Watching QMJHL hockey isn’t something that I do regularly. In fact, I don’t recall ever watching QMJHL. Being bored, my mind says “Hey, I’ll bet someone posted the incident to YouTube.” A quick search and I find a capture of a Sportsnet broadcast where the incident is recorded. Not only do I find that video, but a number of others. While at the YouTube site, I figure I might as well check out the 197 foot goal scored against the Maple Leafs. (I’m a Canadiens fan so this is really entertaining…) Both videos were very easy to find with a few search terms. No spine labels to wade my way through.

In my mind, it was the television show COPS that really brought to the forefront the notion that we have the ability and the technology to capture life as it happens. Unstaged, poorly lit, bouncing video, but documenting events nonetheless. You don’t need a stage, lighting, perfect sound and video reproduction. It’s the event that was important.

For a few dollars, with a telephone or a camera, anyone can document events or your own history. Because it’s digital and unlike the printed photographs of the old SLR camera, the only limitation to creating these documented events is the storage capacity of your device. I think back to opportunities lost for documenting my own history. I remember dressing up as a horse to pull a wagon for charity, square dancing in physical education class, getting success with writing a payroll program in Fortran and getting it to work, falling through while ice fishing, and so on. Had I had cheap and easily accessible technology, I could have recorded it and shared it with you in this post. Sadly, I can’t.

Today’s student can. Kid friendly digital cameras are now cheaper than the costs of processing a roll of film in the good ol’ days. Posting and sharing images and video is so easy when you’re connected, and we know and sometimes fear just how connected our students are.

Unlike the family photo album, this is history on demand. It’s an easy vision to see a student or group of students working on a project, posting it and submitting only a URL to fulfill a curriculum requirement. In many cases, this can’t be done. As we move from the real world to the classroom setting, we have barriers to stop this sort of creativity and sharing. We block and protect our internal networks from the evils outside. We can’t minimize these evils. They are real and have no place in the classroom. Right now, just as I could bring in my photo album, students can bring in a memory key or a CD-ROM when confronted with this wall.

The challenge to education is to support and educate students as they grow up in this self-documenting society. The technology savvy student isn’t going to have a bookshelf of memory keys to document their personal history. They know that they can post it and share it and keep it forever.

They will have life recorded with colour and audio and others commenting on their work. Participants will be tagged; activities will be annotated.  Not necessarily on the backs either!  Digitally, they don’t have to weed out media for storage reasons. When they graduate school, they could have years of projects and accurate memories to go along with them.

I have my mind.

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Tags: YouTube, video

When you don’t see the value of Twitter…

I had a conversation with a friend tonight who asked what I saw in Twitter.  Where’s the value?  What do you get from it? 

I’ve got a Twitter account and a couple of friends but don’t get it.”

You’ve got to drop back and take a look at what you’re doing.  Yes, you can find out what your friends and kids are up to.  But, that’s just a superficial use of it.  You need to view Twitter as your own Personal Learning Network.  Imagine a world where you have the ability to read and listen to the best in the field, in a variety of fields.  Only then does it come into focus. 

Surround yourself with a Personal Learning Network of those you acknowledge as experts in the field.  Surround yourself with some great speakers, some news feeds, some weather feeds, and even some folks to give you the latest updates from Formula 1.  Where else would I learn so quickly that Google is up to this:  http://mashable.com/2008/03/26/google-apps-hosted-translations-video/

If you’re bored or don’t see the value, you’re not following enough.

If you’re overwhelmed or reading dupes, you’re following too many.

It’s your Personal Learning Network.  Make it what you need it to be.

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Tags: Twitter, Personal Learning Network

A Day Late

But still fun all the same.

Just when you thought that it was safe to use your computer, delve into the world of Easter Eggs.

http://lifehacker.com/371083/top-10-software-easter-eggs

Easter Eggs aren’t new.  They’ve been around since programmers thought that it would be cool to throw in a little extra added value to the original software.  A collection of those that are known appears here:  http://www.eeggs.com/

It’s kind of cute when the egg opens a new level or changes the character in a game application.  Cheat codes are very similar.

I think it’s a different thing, though, when an Easter Egg is hidden in a productivity program.  Wouldn’t it be nicer if the same effort went into making the program error free?

When you visit eeggs.com, check out the background about why Easter Eggs are included in software.  Interesting reading.

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Tags: EasterEggs

It’s not just me

In this article, the reports are that television audiences could be down by an estimated 12% in 2008.

In the responses to the original report, the responders talk about the amount of advertisement that appears in television shows.  They talk about how much and how intrusive it is.  Besides the amount that is shown for breaks in the middle of shows, we’ve all seen the scrollers and the advertising that pops over the show while you’re watching it.  I think of the weather reports from Mexico that end up on the screen during Law and Order as an example.  Or, the rotating sponsors that provided updated scores at sporting events.  We’re willing to put up with score updates, how about a little advertising to go with it?

Salaries have to be paid and sponsors are the way that it’s done.  Think of how it’s changed over the years.  Professional sports has to be the worst. 

How many can remember the times when the boards at a hockey arena were white whereas now they’re plastered with advertising.  Check out auto racing.  The background is a continuous mosaic of advertisement and you can’t watch an interview with a NASCAR driver without learning about all of the sponsors who made success possible.

Is it advertising, though, or is it the networks themselves?  Or, is it the media?

There used to be a time when new television shows coincided with back to school time.  It was always a big deal when the New Fall Season arrived.  Now, we witness premieres all during the year.  It’s got to be difficult to get loyalty as shows jockey for position and prestigious time slots.

Dig deeper.  Is it the media?  Is it all in the presentation?

Consumers have more than just watching the big channels to compete for their attention.  Satellite and cable television offer a huge selection of alternatives to compete for your remote control fingers.  But, television isn’t the only media.  Go online and there’s a never ending source of entertainment and information available that once was provided solely by television and public libraries.

Radio used to be something that you got when you turned your car on.  In an effort to get the best possible service, people will pay for quality service with XMRadio and Sirius.  The quality and amount of variety are very attractive and people will pay.

We live in a media rich world.  Providers need to come to grips with this.  Perhaps the notion that a television network is your sole source of information and entertainment is what needs to be dealt with.  We now see interactive television.  Fire up the Weather Channel or TSN and get more than just what is broadcast on the screen. 

I can’t help but think that we’re at a crossroads.  Providers will need to find some way to win back the 12% that they stand to lose.

As consumers, we should be the beneficiary as this all changes.  Regardless of television, radio, or broadband media, it’s advertising that will provide the funds to make it happen.

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Tags: Media

Malaysia

It’s a Formula 1 Sunday and I’m NOT looking through Twitter until after the race.

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Tags: Formula1

Blogs to Go

With all of the information, and really good information, that’s available, sometimes staying on top of them all can be a daunting task. If you check many people’s blogs on places like WordPress, you’ll see that they often include Blogrolls. A blogroll is really just a listing of other blogs that you indicate to the world that you read on a regular basis. Through the concept of blogrolling, you add to the concept of the web by easily webbing from blog to blog.

In reality, a lot of these people are lying! They don’t read all those blogs. It’s a status symbol to say that you have so and so’s blog on your blogroll so that visitors to your blog think, wow, this person is really connected. After all, there are only so many hours in the day. You can’t spend them all reading blogs, can you?

Who says that you have to READ blogs? Maybe you could just LISTEN to them instead!

Well, let’s analyse the part of the day that you’re not reading blogs. It could be when you’re driving, our for a little exercise, or in an airplane, or just sitting in a chair reading. Get yourself an account on Blogbard. This service will read blogs to you. Even better, rather than doing it online, download the blog post to your iPod and listen to it when you can. What a great concept. You now have your own personal blogging radio station.  You may have to upgrade your car to get a radio with an audio jack but it’s a small price to pay!

It’s not going to replace your favourite podcasts as the voice is computer generated and you don’t have the same inflections that a regular recording would have but you have the content.

Now, you can say with confidence, I do pay attention to the blogs in my blogroll. Sometimes I read them; sometimes I listen to them.

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Tags: blogging, ipod

Spam Pays

And apparently very well.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=47559

The timing is very appropriate as we enter into tax season.  We all find spam in the mailbox annoying but this article puts a dollar figure to it. 

Suppose that you were going to go legit with this operation and pay your taxes.  How would you explain your profession to the good folks at H&R Block?  Self employed?

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Tags: Spam

Learned Helplessness

I don’t much like blogs that are full of pictures and movies. My preference is to read something that makes me think. I’ve seen this video many times below and it’s one that makes me think.

I can think of so many presentations that I do where this would be helpful so I’m just going to post it to the blog so that I don’t lose track of it.