links for 2009-11-07

links for 2009-11-06

Twitter @ ECOO

It’s another #FollowFriday on Twitter and I just sent out a tweet showing my list of Ontario Educators.  Great people, great reads when you follow them.  I would encourage you to follow them all.

As I posted the message, I also started to think about the ECOO Conference next week.  The Educational Computing Organization of Ontario hosts this conference annually.  It’s a very special year for ECOO as it celebrates its 30th annual conference.  That’s quite a record for longevity for anything.

Things have changed over the years.  For those who are regular attendees, you probably have great memories of events good and bad.  Remember the year the power went out during a heat wave?  Remember the Regal Constellation?  Remember Icon presentations?  Remember OISE?  Take a walk through ECOO history at this link.  It is great to see how time and technology has morphed through the years.

I’ve been a regular attendee, presenter, and now on the exhibit floor working the OSAPAC booth.  It’s always great to meet old friends and new friends at this event.

At the OTF Professional event last weekend, we started to lay very informal plans for a meetup of Twitter users at ECOO.  Conference organizer @brendasherry has promised to book us a room.  Somebody, somewhere decided to call it twECOO.

But, who’s coming?  As I posted my #FollowFriday list, it occurred to me that we could turn this Twitter list stuff into something productive.  So, I’ve created a new list called ECOO-Twitterers.  I would encourage all ECOO attendees who use Twitter to get themselves added to this list.  I haven’t quite figured out how to automate this yet so I’ve created a Google Form where you can add your details, if you are so inclined.  There is a little option to indicate whether or not you’re interested in attending the meetup.

If you’re headed to ECOO, please consider adding yourself to the list.  You can do so by clicking here.  I’ll look forward to seeing you there.

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links for 2009-11-05

links for 2009-11-04

links for 2009-11-03

Another Upgrade

I received notice that Ubuntu had released version 9.10 of its OS while at the OTF Conference in Toronto.  After all, it is the end of October.  The bandwidth wasn’t the fastest at the conference so I held off upgrading until I returned home.  Being the dummy that I am, it never dawned on me to do it in the hotel room at night.  Oh well.

Normally, an upgrade is just a tweak here and there but when Ubuntu upgrades, it’s pretty serious.  So, it was anticipation time to see how this upgrade would work.  I had purchased this Dell Mini 10v to take with me to the NECC.  I’d also read that people use this machine to install the Macintosh OS on it although I wonder why.  A news report yesterday indicated that Apple is looking to an update that will not allow it to run on an Atom processor anyway.

I wanted to do a clean install so I backup and then go looking for a memory key that didn’t have this and that on it.  That’s harder than you’d think; I still haven’t mastered the technique of organized memory key storage.  For me, it’s just a portable solution that’s failing for me miserably now that I need to create a boot disk.  I do find one and download 9.10 to the key.

On the Netbook, I do use the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.  Supposedly, it is optimized for the Atom processor and the smaller screen.  So, I get the ball rolling and before long, we’re rebooting ready to go.  Ubuntu is known for its beautiful designs and so the subtle white friends logo was kind of a surprise.  So was the login with the user name just a click away once the first account was created.

Once loaded, though, it was the incredible interface that I’m come to expect.

Like a kid in a candy store, I’m running around checking out the new look and interactions.  Everything is so well designed.  I like the transparent menuing so that you can see a desktop background.  Little things like that count.  So, I set a background and a colour scheme.  While I like the Ubuntu orange, I also like the New Wave look as well.

So, next to check out the internet.

None.

Say what?  I just downloaded the image file.  Sure enough, there was no wireless abilities.  So, I’m puzzled.  I head off to near my wireless and plug in a cable.  Ethernet works fine but still no wireless.  After spending way too much time, I realize the solution which I should have known right off the bat.  The Broadcom card requires restricted drivers.  So, I grab them and voila.  I’m wireless.  Mental note – I need to shake the Macintosh and Windows mindset to completely immerse myself in this field.

Then, I start to think again and notice that the trackpad is working exactly like it should.  With previous versions, the cursor would periodically jump for no apparent reason.  It seems to work nicely now.  I wonder – I wonder – I never could use headphones with previous versions.  I plug in a headset and go to RhythmBox to play some MP3s and I don’t have any.  Grrr. I plug in an iPod and find one.  No MP3 driver.  Of course.  But, my search this time got me up and running and the music plays nicely through the headset.

I wonder about the camera.  My 14 year old tutor from Washington told me that would be the acid test.  Cheese works perfectly.

One final test is to see if the Visual effects have been enhanced enough to make them worthwhile.  They are enhanced.  My windows are snapping and dragging like they might.  I’m still not sure that I’m going to like that but it’s nice to know that I can.

Then, it’s off to FirstClass.com to grab my email client.  I notice that version 10 is available for Windows and Macintosh but an older version for Debian.  No problem; I get that installed and that’s up and running too.

Through Twitter, I read this article about the Perfect Desktop – Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).  Lots of good advice from past experiences are contained here.  There are also some new titles.  I’m going to have to dig into this when I get a chance.

It looks like another sleepless night.  My first impressions are incredibly positive and I look forward to digging into this new upgrade even further.  With so much functionality and the price of netbooks, this continues to be something shining brightly on the horizon.

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links for 2009-11-02

Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

Last Friday and Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of being invited to the Ontario Teachers’ Federation’s Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century session.  The keynote speaker and facilitator was Will Richardson.  In addition to Will doing his work, there were a number of different breakout sessions facilitated by Ontario Educators.  It was a marvelous setup and a great opportunity to learn together with some of the great Ontario minds and to learn and reinforce concepts as they would apply in the 21st Century.

The two days was absolutely full with learning opportunities and the change to meet and re-connect with folks from around the province.  I even ran into a retired colleague, Mike Budd, who I’ve known for years.

The setup wasn’t quite what I had expected.  The learning wasn’t quite what I had expected either.  But, perhaps that was consistent with the message of Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century.

So, just some random observations from my perspective that affected our learning and just things to be aware of as we move forward.

Registration – There was a registration bag with the agenda for the two days in it.  Although there was lots of information to be gathered during the event, it wasn’t going to be on paper.

Hand Sanitizer – What was in the bag was our own personalized sprayer of hand sanitizer.  This was there to help us stay safe, for sure, but it reminds us that the world is changing, getting smaller, and that we have contact with more people from more diverse areas than ever before.

Computers – Not everyone brought one although it was clear that this was an event where you would be connected, online, and learning.  Interesting.  But, for those that did bring computers (very clearly the majority), there were Macintosh, Windows, and Linux computers spread throughout the room.  It’s tough to be nosy and identify dialects of the Macintosh operating systems which didn’t require much support.  It was the Windows computers where you noticed Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows 98 with all kinds of customizations and problems installing software and connecting to the networks.  The small group of Linux users just did their own thing and it just worked.

Networking – I would have thought that wireless would have been the easiest way of connecting the folks but each table had its own switch and 8 ethernet cables so that you could just plug in.  Networking remains a challenge and will remain a challenge to get a computer to talk to its network.  Most of the people were using DHCP which made it easy to connect but assistance was needed for people bringing in machines with a static IP trying to connect to the network.  Don’t believe all that you see in television advertisements about easy networking.

Devices – Connectivity means more today in terms of devices than ever before.  There were folks using iPhones, iPods, and Blackberries during the connected communication sessions.  We must remember that being connected means far more today than it every did.

Protection – This goes along with network literacy and a reminder to folks that computers in schools are not the same as computers anywhere else.  It’s fine and dandy to configure a machine to work on a school network but it may not be configured to be portable!  I met a whole team whose desktop was mapped to a drive G:\ somewhere beyond the four walls of where we were!

Easy On Ramps – There are easy ways to get started in this business.  It’s called your network.  When all that you need to do is get connected and then get going, the workshop sessions were easily started.  When you had to download or borrow a CD-ROM and install software and then look for activation keys, it gets messy.

Talking is great – There were very few people in the room that you might well know but talking and sharing abounds.  In all of this, it’s comforting to know that the person next to you has more to share than their Facebook address.

Communication is great – When it was time to go live, Twitter connected the group.  The hashtag #otf09 kept us all on the same page.  Twitter lists and exploring friends and followers expanded the connections.  Presenters had no qualms showing off their wikis and blogs as proof that they’re ready to go.  The new folks got a chance to create these accounts.  The challenge will be to see what happens today.

Future communication is great – In addition to the face to face meeting, Elluminate sessions are scheduled to ensure that the conversation continues.  This will be a nice support for people trying to get started with their new creations and are in search of some support.

We can vote with our hands – No technology need get in the road when we come to the fork.  The power of the masses speaks simply by putting up one’s hand and voting for options.

Copyright is so confusing – We had lots of discussions when it came time to bring in a little music or some clipart.  Where do you get it and what do you do with it?  How about those people running around the hall with their cameras taking pictures of us?  For even this event, we had media release forms that needed to be signed to respect privacy.

Time – Time is such a precious commodity.  Can we add more of this stuff to an already full plate?  Or, does something have to be pushed off in order to accommodate?

Connectivists and Constructivists – These people can actually work together in the same forum.  They had better because I don’t see either camp taking over.

We’re all unique – Just like everyone else.  I’m not sure that there were any two people that would have walked away with the same learning.  Presenters were careful to differentiate the experience so that everyone was successful at some level. 

This, all before we talked about any actual content. 

You can read the rest of the November 2009 edition of GEC Computers in the Classroom by clicking here.

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links for 2009-11-01