Monthly Archives: November 2009

Nov 21 2009

Online Textbooks

I tossed this out to my friends yesterday and got a number of different results.

The question was “What does an online textbook look like?”

I know that when I taught Computer Science that the perfect textbook didn’t exist.  I was always supplementing, or in some courses, completely creating the materials myself.

So, it’s a serious question and I think one that the educational community needs to come to grips with.  I think that we all know what a traditional textbook looks like.  It’s got a cover, pages, facts, some errors, questions, usually answers to some or all of the questions at the back, and the newer ones may have links to websites that the student types into a browser to enhance the content from the book.  Some of the newer traditional textbooks come with CD-ROMs or a supporting website with materials.

But, they are expensive and people are looking for affordable alternatives.  Coupled with this, there is no doubting that the internet is not only rich with resources and facts, but has lots of simulations and games that support the learning of a concept.  It seems to me that it only makes sense that a good author would take advantage of this.


Image via Wikipedia

We live in a hyperlinked world – it’s nothing to be in the middle of a webpage and see a blue, underlined link that takes us away from the original page.  It enriches the content of the page.  Would it do the same in a classroom or would the link take the student off task in a completely different direction?

If an online textbook contained simulations or content that a student would interact with, there should be some way that the student offer successful completion as proof of understanding the concept being taught.

So, I’m just mulling around in my mind what should an online textbook look like?  Is it a PDF version of the original paper version?  Does it contain active content or do you link offsite to get that?  Definitely good textbooks are full of pictures and diagrams to support the content.  An online textbook should have at least that.  A traditional textbook doesn’t have to be linear; you can jump back and forth between chapters rather than being locked into a sequence developed by the author.  A traditional textbook comes in various forms to accommodate learners of different abilities.  Should an online version have screen readers or text that is adjustable?  What about the cost?  A traditional textbook has marketing, expensive paper and binding rolled into the cost.  Does an online textbook come in less expensively because you can remove that from the mix?  Or does it become more expensive as you contract interactive activity developers?  Does your use of the online textbook expire at the end of the course, or does the student have it forever to support the concept of life long learning?  With traditional textbooks, you can always get an older copy so that you can refer to previously taught concepts?

Or, is the concept of a textbook dead?  Does the content exist in a learning management system where the content and materials are pre-packaged and the students work their way through that?  Do we go to the extreme and provide a course outline in a wiki and the students research and actually create the textbook on the wiki collaboratively and with their access to online resources?

And, what about the teaching?  Is it different when you have an online textbook?  How does a teacher balance the humanity of a regular classroom with the potential isolation of working online?  What are the best strategies for ensuring success for every student?  How do we deal with the distraction of being online overriding the discipline of just getting the job done?

At every turn, I seem to be generating more questions than answers.

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Nov 21 2009

links for 2009-11-20

Nov 20 2009

Adding to the List

Yesterday, I commented on the list provided by CNN of the top 10 technical events of the past decade.  Their list is pretty good but I have an additional 10 moments that defined things for me.

The iPod – For me, it was the iPod and not the iPhone that was the big change agent.  It was the next logical step to the Walkman and allowed for more portability as you listened to music.  The iPod has changed significantly over the years from the first one with the buttons that were really buttons.  It now runs applications and doesn’t have a hard drive inside it.  They also make great gifts and I have amassed a collection over the years as thank yous for speaking.  I have seven of them and the challenge is to keep them all powered.

Macintosh OS Comes of Age – I remember my first experiences with the Macintosh OS.  It was on a Macintosh IIsi with a former superintendent who loved it.  But, it was slow, clunky, and had really obscure messages.  Over the years, the operating system has evolved to the state that it is now.  It’s now very functional and, while I have challenges with the current release of Snow Leopard, is generally pretty solid.  As it matures and evolves so does Windows and we all win.

Linux - Here was a real game changer for me.  In the early days, with the need to drop to the Command line to do anything, it appeared that Linus was a real throw back to MS-DOS days.  However, it just keeps getting better and better.  The current release of Ubuntu is spectacular and has breathed life and performance into an old desktop that I would have normally thrown away.

Netbooks – This is just starting but has the potential to change everything.  Instead of desktops, many of us moved to laptops and then notebook computers for portability.  However, they still were kind of heavy.  As we move to the smaller Netbooks, portability becomes increasingly a good option.  The machines are pretty peppy and connect to the internet nicely.

The Cloud - Once connected though, the real advantage come with what you connect to.  I don’t recall just connecting and going to a search engine to find stuff as part of my daily routine anymore.  Much of what I do is stored and developed on applications that are “out there”.  I do have them backed up locally because I’m not ready to throw all my eggs into that basket yet but the functionality of just connecting and getting things is so powerful.

Wireless – And it wouldn’t happen without the ability to connect to a wireless network to make it happen.  I’ve used it all – coaxial cable, token ring, ethernet – but you can’t beat the ease of just opening your machine and grabbing access to a network.  When it doesn’t happen, you feel quite cheated these days.

Unlimited Storage – Well, not quitely, but close.  I remember the excitement of getting a second 5.25″ floppy drive for my first Radio Shack TRS-80 computer.  I thought that I had the world by the tail.  Now, 2GB for free on web storage seems to be the entry point.  There’s no longer a need to be particular about file storage.  Just keep everything organized and you never have to throw anything away.   Plus I have all these iPods to use as backups.

Unlimited Collaboration - There used to be a time when you had to troll and really search out partners for projects or ideas.  Now, a simple Twitter message brings the masses to your side to help out with things.  The power of these connections is amazing.

Freedom of Speech – In my world, I have access to folks anywhere who can say anything and promote whatever cause.  There was a Web 1.0 world where you had to go through a webmaster to approve and publish content.  No longer – with the contemporary tools, we all can speak and express our opinions.

People – This is probably the most important thing for me.  With my connections though Delicious, Diigo, Twitter, and the blogs that I read, I have met people and made friends that are taking and pushing my learnings and understandings daily.  All of the other stuff is just technology.  We’ve got learning and understandings about digital citizenship and privacy, to be sure, but these are worthwhile learnings and we’re all the better for learning them.

I can’t wait to see what the next decade brings for us.

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Nov 20 2009

links for 2009-11-19

Nov 19 2009

Where were you?

and what impact did they have on you?

CNN has released a list of the Top 10 Internet moments of the decade.  Lists like this are kind of nice to have because you don’t have to think too deeply and you can more or less go down the list and check off the impact that they’ve had on you.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/18/top.internet.moments/index.html

So, here’s my response to their list.

Craigslist expands beyond San Francisco (2000) It’s interesting and, if I’m travelling, I like to browse the location that I’m going to and see what’s up.  Even though cities may have their own websites, this digs into the real culture of the place.

Google AdWords launches (2000) – This changed everything we ever thought about navigating the net and who’s paying for it.  There’s no free ride and Adwords defined targeted advertising.

Wikipedia launches (2001) – This has a huge impact.  People like it; librarians hate it.  I like it.  It’s often my first or second stop when I’m beginning research.  It’s so interesting to watch the debate between the two camps. It’s a great discussion.  I created the OSAPAC entry which still has been flagged for its tone.  I wish someone with literacy skills would fix it.

Napster shuts down (2001) – I never used Napster.  Sorry.

Google’s IPO (2004) – My lack of vast financial resources keeps me away from the stock market.  But, it’s still great to watch!

Online video revolution (2006) – This started big and only continues to grow.  It’s a source of great value for learning and for wasting time.  We got on board with the purchase of RCA Small Wonder cameras for our schools.  We did see this one coming and did recognize the impact up front.

Facebook opens up, Twitter takes off (2006) – I never quite got into MySpace and when the kids got Facebook accounts and started using them all the time, I sat up and took notice.  I’ll play Scrabble and Word Twist with anyone.  Twitter remains my primary source for leads to support continuous professional development, awareness, and discussion platform.  I scrape my Twitter comments over to my Facebook account.

The iPhone debuts (2007) – I remember the buzz going into the NECC conference that still is present at conferences.  I bought myself and my kids an iPod Touch to enjoy everything except the phone and the camera and we continue to use it daily.  Great apps like Twittelator and FirstClass client keep me easily connected.

U.S. presidential campaign (2008) – I followed this as much as I could.  It was a media event from every perspective and every move from the very beginning to the final election was documented and commented on not only by the big media but by anyone with a keyboard.  Photosynth came to prominence for me during this.

 Iranian election protests (2009) - This was fascinating and you could see step by step just what was going on.  Often with out of country elections, the winner gets announced on the news and that’s it.  This was recorded in the first person.

It’s a great list.  What impact did these events have on you? Thanks CNN for producing the list.

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Nov 19 2009

links for 2009-11-18

Nov 18 2009

Seesmic for Windows

My computer just got faster!

Overnight, Seesmic, the developers of Seesmic Desktop and Seesmic Web released Seesmic for Windows.  This is yet another Twitter client – the type of application that just hums away in the background pulling down updates from Twitter, perform searches on the public timeline for terms, and lets you post updates to Twitter from your desk.  Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck are two of the large players in this field.

Both programs are built on Adobe Air which adds another layer running on your computer between your fingertips and the internet.  With a high powered computer, that’s probably not noticeable but it definitely takes a hit on this computer.  Air does require its own set of resources to run.  Another issue that I’ve had with Air applications is the placement of windows on the screen sometimes has psychotic behaviour.

No more, with Seesmic for Windows.  It’s a native Windows application and so it runs without requiring the Air environment, thereby simplifying the process, and ultimately making the experience even better.  Right off the bat, the performance is noticeable better on this machine.

 

I like the tabbed layouts on the left for navigation to manage accounts, perform searches or manage your userlists.  Seesmic incorporated lists into a Desktop version a little while back.  It does recognize lists that are on Twitter itself but doesn’t appear to give an option to migrate existing lists from the old Desktop application.The label on the product is 0.5 and there are some noticeable things missing when comparing this product with the Desktop version.  There is no Facebook integration and the little wheel in the bottom right when you click on an icon doesn’t do anything.  Integration with bit.ly and twitpic are there so I’m happy about that.  There are also no options to change colour schemes – not a biggy with me but I know that other users like to customize things.

In the short time that I’ve been playing around with the new product, it seems to be working like a champ.  I’ve done some reading and there are, reportedly, hooks so that third party developers can create add-ins like Firefox has.  That will be a coll feature and it will be interesting to see that play out.

So far, I’m liking it.  The biggest single thing that I’ve missed to date is Facebook integration but I’m sure that’s in the works.

If you’re a Windows user, I would encourage you to download and check it out.  You can register to be a member of Team Seesmic on their website and that gets you access.

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Nov 18 2009

links for 2009-11-17

Nov 17 2009

Let Children Learn

We’ve all seen the “Did You Know” series of movies and messages.  They are very powerful messages for those of us who are a little older and can put things together into perspective.

But, for the younger?  How do we get the message across?  Check out the following.  It’s great for all ages!

I haven’t been able to find a YouTube type of version so you’ll have to click through the link to play the Quicktime Movie but it’s worth it.

http://motionographer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/ZEGELFILM-ENG-HD.mov

The original Dutch version appears here:  http://www.kinderpostzegels.nl/nieuws/091102.asp Maybe someone could help out by finding the English version.  It’s a real keeper.

—

Later that morning…Courtesy of reader @gday09, I how have a YouTube embed.  Thanks, Geoff.

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Nov 17 2009

links for 2009-11-16