Steve's Scribblings

Access Denied!

2007-06-27T23:29:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I’m still learning.

Virginia has released Guidelines for Internet Safety. This seems to go in the direction we have been discussing in class - educating students regarding internet safety. You might want to take a look at this.

Now there are a few other laws out there that give me a few concerns.

There is a bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 which could really put a damper on social networking and web 2.0, Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006. This bill would require all libraries and public schools to block social networking sites. The FCC would define “social networking” using the following guidelines. (i) is offered by a commercial entity; (ii) permits registered users to create an on-line profile that includes detailed personal information; (iii) permits registered users to create an on-line journal and share such a journal with other users; (iv) elicits highly-personalized information from users; and (v) enables communication among users. (Can you thing of a Blog or Wiki that doesn't do this?) The teeth in this law are that if you don’t follow it, you lose your E-Rate money.

Several states have already passed laws like this. It would be easy for me to envision well meaning people in Virginia doing the same type of thing.

My concern is that this will eliminate the kind of social networking we've been doing in class, blogging and wikis for instance. It seems that we can find some ways to produce the kind of control that will make these safe without having to block everything.

At any rate, we have a long way to go.

Victorian Internet Revisited

2007-06-26T22:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, I want to take everyone on a trip down memory lane. Remember when we first started. We learned all about the history of telecommunications and how when telegraphs and later phones came into use, a whole new set of laws had to be developed. We talked about how this would need to happen with regard to the current Internet.

Today I attended a law conference and a Principal's conference (that's the kind of thing we do during the summer). I though you might be interested in some of the more recent legal developments.

With regard to cell phones:
States and some cities have really taken different approaches. New York and Detroit both have by law banned cell phones from school campuses. Having a cell phone at school is a chargeable offence. As a result, a new cottage industry has cropped up. Businesses near school as installing "Cell Phone Lockers" for students to store phones. Several states have adopted something similar to Spotsy's model of don't show / don't turn on, a sort of twist on don't ask don't tell, but it works the same way (sometimes). As long as we don't know you have a phone, you can keep it.

Some schools are installing cell phone detectors of jammers (illegal in VA).

In some cases, administrators are searching phones for evidence of cheating, photos etc. The ACLU is openly seeking a case to go after the issue by suing a principal. The claim is that school officials do not have the right to search private phone records.

One state, Florida, has taken a very different approach. By law, phones are permitted on school grounds. Schools cannot create rules banning phones.

As for Web pages: While students cannot be disciplined at school in most cases (it's got to be really bad and disruptive), several teachers have sued students and be awarded damages from the students for cruel or libellous statements. A few administrators have been sued for taking improper disciplinary action.

IPODS,
Duke has been providing IPODs to incoming students for the past three years to see how the devices can be used to support education. Professors are encouraged to podcast lectures.

Data Storage:
There is a web site, Turnitin.com that will store and check papers to make sure they are not reused by students. Two students from McLean (and two from Arizona) copyrighted their papers prior to turning them in and are suing the owners of Turnit.com for copyright infringement - sort of along the lines of the Google book storage issue.

We'll have to wait to See how much of this shakes out, but it is interesting to watch.

Enterprise 2.0

2007-06-23T21:59:00.001-04:00

I was reading Joe's blog this week and got to thinking about business and the impact technology will have on the way it is done. Apparently there was a conference this week that addressed that issue directly.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/06/enterprise_20_c.html

The article discusses the role that blogs and wikis will play. Check it out.

The Bickerstaff Papers

2007-06-22T21:08:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about Web 2.0 and "The Cult of the Amatuer." There were some interesting posts on this earlier this week .I got to thinking about how easy it is for people to post incorrect information. According to Keen, if we rely on a professional, print media, the information would be much more reliable.

Which brings me to my point. Way back in the 1700's, Johnathan Swift (one of my favorite authors) wrote a pamphlet (under the pen name Isac Bickerstaff). Swift hated the abuses of astrology, and as a satirist, wrote and published several predictions of his own - including one predicting the death of John Partridge, one of the most celebrated astrologers in England at the time. Partridge owned a major astrology publication at the time.
Swift, predicted the death to occur on March 29Th, 1708. On March 30Th, under a different pen name he published another pamphlet praising the accomplishments of Bickerstaff's predictions - including the death of Partridge. Partridge put out his magazine and pointed out that he was still alive. Bickerstaff (Swift), published still another pamphlet providing proof of Partridge's death and claimed the current publisher was an impostor trying to live off of Partridge's good name. Partridge lost readers in droves and ended up bankrupt - never knowing who Bickerstaff really was.

So my question is, other than using a digital format, have things really changed that much? People chose to believe what they want to believe.

As the English SOL's have as one of their goals, the ability to read and understand print media. One thing we need is something that teaches students to read for validity as well.

How do you think they will test that?

2007-06-17T20:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I was listening to NPR. They were interviewing Andrew Keen. He was discussing his new book "The Cult of the Amateur." As I understand it, the book attacks Web 2.o (mentioned specifically), blogging and wikis as undermining professional journalism and communication in general. It is creating an "Internet cult" of amateurs who are publishing their own news stories.

You can listen to the interview at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11131872
I found it very interesting given the discussion in class and Richardson's book. One of the points Keen makes is that by opening up communications to everyone, all we have is amateur communication - which is not governed by any principles, guidelines or sense of professionalism..

He referred to newspapers and encyclopedias as "road kill" on the information highway. He indicated that all we are really left with is a bunch of people presenting their own opinions on blogs and wikis.

As I listened to this interview, a few things popped into my mind: Dan Rather's story about Bush and the bloggers who discovered the "yellow journalism" at CBS and the constant accusations by the right and left regarding the biased media.

Humm. I'm so glad that all of the news media is unbiased and doesn't include any one's personal opinion.

Angel In Our Midst

2007-06-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

I am really interested in the new course management system. While I know very little about it, I think that providing a way for teachers to create 24/7 learning will inprove learning. Angel won’t instantly get teachers involved on-line, but it will get us all moving that way.

My main interest is with regard to professional development uses. I think it could open up an entirely new way for us to train. Getting the teachers involved with PD that includes Angel could expedite teacher use.

I did find a way to check the program out through a sandbox feature at, http://angellearning.com/Global/AccountRequest/accountRequest.asp

If you get the chance, go there and play.

Now for the big question, if we are going to have 24/7 learning, how can we make sure that it is 24/7 learning for all? How do we bridge the digital divide? While it is important to move forward, it is also important to make sure that we don't leave anyone behind. I'd love to hear any ideas, suggestions to overcome this concern.

Memories, Moonbeams and Wikis

2007-06-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

I heard a wonderful quote watching the movie By the Sea. If you haven't seen it, it is a great flick. I picked the quote up the first time it was said, and they come back to it later in the movie.
"Memories are like moonbeams - you make them what you want them to be."
I just thought it was such a neat concept, and it is so true.

I think that the quote also fits technology and some of our struggles. I was reading a discussion on Carlene's blog about some one's reaction to wikis. There is so much out there that terrifies so many different stakeholders - particularly educators. I'm reminded of Saber tooth Curriculum. Are we so caught up in accurately teaching fish grabbing that we're blind to better ways to catch a fish. I love that book! The only group out there that seems totally comfortable with technology are the kids. Just about everyone else out there needs to be shown how useful technology can be.

I think that it is our job to 1) begin to learn how to use as much as we can, 2) use it effectively and 3) share it with as many folks as we can. As we do this and more and more people do this, I think the walls (firewalls) will start tumbling down.

As I get deeper into Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Podcasts and Wiki's, I find myself beginning to try more and more of these features. To me, this is a world that needs to be explored. I realize that there are others out there who only see the dangers of the jungle. Funny how in spite of how far we've come, the problems really haven't changed that much.

By the way, can anyone tell me how to edit the HTML for this page? I want to add a bunch of links and there has got to be a better way than adding them one at a time.

Steve

The Read / Write Web

2007-05-30T22:51:00.000-04:00

Two things.
First, I'm going to work really hard over the course of the next few weeks to become a more efficient consumer of information. I think bogging and Web 2.0 can really open some doors for students teachers and administrators.

Second, I found an article in a print magazine (i.e. magazine for a free subscription http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Community/I.E.+Magazine/Subscribe.htm). The article addressed Social technologies offered by Web 2.0, blogging and school administration. The article looked at administrators who are using "social" networks of blogs to find out what others are doing to address various concerns. I really liked the idea. Another important point raised by this and other articles in the magazine is that administrators need to lead by example more with often with regard to technology. I think it would be easier for a teacher to go out on a limb with regard to blogs and wikis if there were a few administrators out there.

PD Blogging

2007-05-26T11:40:00.000-04:00

One neat thing about blogging is that you can do it from anywhere. Today I'm in Phoenix. Yesterday, I discussed the possibility of creating a blog or a wiki to work on developing areas of focus for next year. I strongly believe that when teachers talk about education, great things can happen for kids. My thinking was to use a blog or wiki for the teachers to exchange ideas over the summer and begin a dialogue that can continue through the year. The goal would be finding ways to improve instruction / build interest etc.

When I described blogs and wikis, the teachers involved in the discussion liked the idea of building as wiki and using it to identify key concepts and way that these could be approached. I think that it would be a great for them to do this. I'll work on helping them set one up, and then just turn them loose.

Steve

Blogging

2007-05-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

As we began looking at a few of the ideas discussed tonight, I quickly began to see how useful blogs can be. I currently maintain an e-mail database and send a daily e-mail to provide parents with daily announcements. We could easily shift the process over to an on-line blog. I think it would be possible to create sections for key areas, sports, clubs, other areas as well. This would target the message to specific groups. Parents could look for the information or scores that they are interested in. It could be modified by the group / teacher etc who is posting the message. This would make the information more available and current. It would also create a record of announcements. I like the idea. Would we need to train the parents to use web 2.0?

Carleen mentioned using a blog a way for teacher to communicate. I think that this would create a great format for teachers to use to discuss content and instruction. I might try to set up one or two to see if we can get a our teachers talking / blogging during the summer. I think we have quite a few teachers who would find the discussion stimulating. We'll see.

I think I will also try to use blogs to post a syllabus and create a place for classes to reflect. The uses are really endless.

Steve's Scribblings

2007-05-17T18:45:00.000-04:00

This is my blog. I started in on 5/17/2007 as part of a class project for a graduate course. On this page, I hope to post a few on my thoughts particularly with regard to blogs, wikki's and podcasts. Have fun reading.