Well, that’s one way of getting there. But it’s not the way I go. I suppose Google maps doesn’t have an innate knowledge of traffic. Doesn’t have a ‘backway’ route.
All posts by Tania Sheko
The elephant and the balloon
I know that many people are kicking against this Web 2.0 learning curve. I’m not saying everyone, but I have spoken to several (more than 3) people who are finding this experience more pain than gain. Well, I just want to say , don’t give up! Once you pass a certain threshold, you suddenly get stuck into it, and you know what, you can’t stop.
Personally, I’m finding that I have an opportunity to learn which I feel is always a privilege. As a child I enjoyed learning at school, always something to look forward to. There was a time in my life (quite a prolonged time ) when I didn’t have the opportunity to learn as much as I was used to. I’d say that these were the years when my children were very young. Sure, I had to learn stuff, but you know what I mean, there was no time for me.
This program has given me the opportunity for exploration and creativity. I thrive on that. Without it, I’m not in a good state. As I read others’ blogs, the links in these, look at possibilities offered by Web 2.0 applications, I feel like I could do anything. Lately, I’ve decided I could write a children’s book. Do you ever think that? How hard could it be? Well, here’s a YouTube video from the British comedy show Black Books that I think illustrates what would happen if I ever tried to write a children’s book.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/mAM-ceTC1io" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
#12 Google docs
Some Questions Can’t Be Answered by Google
Originally uploaded by Mykl Roventine
The unmistakable beauty of Google Docs is that they can be saved and accessed on any computer. It seems that all good things are free-floating. We’re no longer anchored to one harbour. That goes for del.icio.us, furl, librarything and others I can’t think of at the moment.
I played with a google doc, created a folder, was able to see ‘all revisions’ made and how long ago, compared different versions of the document. The ‘sharing’ aspect is cool. This is the meat in the Web 2.0 sandwich, the networking aspect. I had the option to invite people either as collaborators or as viewers. I could even give my ‘collaborators’ permission to invite other collaborators. A socialnetworking army! I feel so powerful!
Lastly, you get the option of saving the document in different formats: html, open document (what the…), pdf, rtf (what the…), text, word – have a look for yourself.
Zohowriter was similar, and enabled me to save folders as tags, ensuring easier location and access. Inserting images is apparently easy, and you can post it to your blog. You can also make a draft post. The ‘add comments’ feature is useful for teacher/student interaction.
Class, take out your Facebooks
Originally uploaded by gualtierocatrame
One of the most useful aspects of Facebook is the Groups application. This enables group communication with all the messages visible to the whole group. We could easily incorporate this type of socialnetworking in schools, eg set up the following groups:
Sci-fi; graphic novels; Manga, etc.
Another feature is the promotion of events. A book group, writing group or author visit could be advertised within Facebook.
Relevant YouTube videos supporting events or interests could be uploaded.
a small matter of perspective
Here’s an example of the way Facebook can broaden local perspective.
My older son is currently doing Year 12 IB (International Baccalaureate). He joined an IB related Facebook group (You Know When You’re in IB When …) , and read that northern hemisphere IB students had already finished. Thinking that he could attract some pity, he wrote that his end of the world had 6 months of IB to go. Here’s his post:
Sasha Sheko (Ivanhoe Grammar School) wroteon May 15, 2008 at 9:29 PM
That’s right… You guys are done but us people in the Southern Hemisphere (i.e. Australia) have six months to go.
The response from an IB student in Lebanon took him by surprise:
(I had to conceal some language)
Post #3
Omar ‘Boobass’ Boubess (American Community School Beirut) wroteon May 18, 2008 at 9:50 AM
holyy sh* so u guys take the november tests?? goodluck with that…if this could make u feel better there was a civil war here in Lebanon and we still had to make our way thru all the shellings and rpg’s (<< yes f*ing RPG’s) and get to school to take the test.. god bless IB 🙂
Yes, Omar, you win….
Facebook/MySpace? What the…? (#10,11)
Facebook Vs Myspace (Ben Heine)
Originally uploaded by Ben Heine
What’s the difference between Facebook and MySpace? To find out, I asked my son who uses both:
MySpace
– more customised in terms of html; the look is more customizable;
– you can stick pictures wherever you want and also YouTube or widgets
– he feels it’s more ‘his space’ and puts effort into making it look nice and individual
– automatic widget from lastfm plays his cds on autoplay so it comes on for visitors.
– no autoplay, so visitors have to click on to hear his music, and they might not do that
– smoother, when you tag someone it works better – doesn’t open up a new window or take forever
– photo albums are better, quicker , tagging is better
– better for groups – eg. interests, themes, etc
– he likes to send messages to more than one person at once (like email) and when they reply it goes to everyone in the group selected so it’s good for collaboration
His general comments:
MySpace can look awful (matter of taste)whereas facebook is the same for all
It’s ridiculous that we talk to the same people on MySpace and facebook and msn but we do it
– writing on the wall in facebook is similar to comments on MySpace although with Wall to wall, if there’s a conversation going on b/w two people, it’s easier to keep track of
Participating in these socialnetworking communities, you know more about a person – their taste in movies, music, comedians etc. than you would otherwise – you can’t always work that into a conversation.
My views:
I think that for school, using something similar gives the kids an identity, this is their space, and includes all that they think makes them unique and what they want their friends to know and see about them. Book and film reviews pages could be set out more like this, so that students have an identity and their own space for creativity.
Drupal might be a good option. What do others think?
Rip Van Winkle feels at home in our schools
Time magazine cover how to bring our schools out of the C20th century
Originally uploaded by tania.sheko
Here’s a dark little joke from an article featured in Time magazine in 2006 that may touch a sore spot in educators. The article is entitled How to bring our schools out of the C20th century.
Rip Van Winkle awakens in the 21st century after a hundred-year snooze and is, of course, utterly bewildered by what he sees. Men and women dash about, talking to small metal devices pinned to their ears. Young people sit at home on sofas, moving miniature athletes around on electronic screens. Older folk defy death and disability with metronomes in their chests and with hips made of metal and plastic. Airports, hospitals, shopping malls–every place Rip goes just baffles him. But when he finally walks into a schoolroom, the old man knows exactly where he is. “This is a school,” he declares. “We used to have these back in 1906. Only now the blackboards are green.”
For all our technological advances, our new ways of communicating, how much have our schools really changed?
#9 Library related blogs
I have to apologize for my non-linear blogging techniques but hey, I’m a Web 2.0 kind of person.
Finally – my post on blogs in my RSS feeds. I put this off because I didn’t have anything earth-shattering to say. Still don’t. It’s pretty self-explanatory: you save library-related blogs into Bloglines (or other) and group them into folders, as I’ve mentioned in my earlier post. What I want to do is share one of the blogs with you – apologies for those who already read this blog. It’s Ripple effects (and it’s also in my blogroll) by Tony Ryan who used to be involved in all sorts of teaching in Brisbane and is now a consultant. I’ve come across some interesting things in Tony’s blog. One of these is a video which demonstrates the power of wikis in classroom learning and in a very simple, visual way. Here it is.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/-dnL00TdmLY" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Another video which really cracked me up I found in his del.icio.us list. It’s called Introducing the book. I don’t know about you, but I’m a technophobe. My first reaction to new technology is the primitive ‘run’ and ‘scream’. I can so relate to this video. I hope it will make you laugh.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/xFAWR6hzZek" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
#11. Let’s face it …
Originally uploaded by tania.sheko
A little background … My older son was one of the last to ‘be allowed’ to use MSN, Facebook and MySpace. What am I saying? He was one of the last to ‘be allowed’ a gameboy, Nintendo, to watch The Simpsons, South Park, etc. Reflecting back on my reluctance to condone MSN, Facebook and MySpace, I have to admit amongst many other reasons, a distinct nervousness about this new way of socialising. True to every generation, I was afraid of change, and I wasn’t in control of this socialnetworking – I didn’t understand it at all. When you don’t understand something, you’re likely to be suspicious of it. Could even be paranoid about it.
Some time this year – I don’t remember why – I decided to ‘get’ Facebook. That weekend I don’t think I even came up for air. I was hooked. In a short time, I’d ‘found’ people I’d lost touch with and minutes later was communicating with them – my god-daughter in Sacramento, friends from Sydney we’d lost touch with – we had lived in Sydney for 13 years. Posted photo albums revealed young people we had known well as young children. I was able to see friends’ trips all over the world. I saw albums of weddings, christenings and other events.
The different levels of communication have proved interesting. When suddenly finding someone I knew but hadn’t seen for ages, and unsure of whether they wanted to reconnect, I was able to ‘poke’ them, leaving it up to them whether they wanted to communicate or not. Brief responses indicated a more distant willingness, whereas some responses were overwhelmingly positive and took the form of private emails. Writing on people’s walls is public with the knowledge of others being able to read everything. Very twitter-like is the initial few words that everyone adds which lets you know what they are doing or thinking or feeling in the last day or so. Sounds trite but sometimes I’m happy to be informed of things on the run – eg. if someone has passed an exam, got a new job, is sick, etc. You’re not expected to respond. It also means that you don’t have to email everyone separately with those little things.
Lastly, I have to admit, it’s addictive. If you’re the kind of person who has to check emails throughout the day (yes, it’s a little sad), then watch out – Facebook is worse because all your ‘friends’ are up there together and there’s so much going on at once.
Yes, I have changed my attitude to my sons’ participation with Facebook. I think it’s a good lesson, and one that can be translated to our experience as teachers/teacherlibrarians. If you don’t ‘do’ something, you won’t really know what it’s about. You’re more likely to be negative, suspicious, critical. But if you don’t keep up, not only could you alienate young people, you could miss out on a lot.
PS. Yes I do have a life. I also live in the real world.
I’d love to hear about others’ thoughts.
Grumpy blackboard
Originally uploaded by tania.sheko
Here’s a dilemma. I wanted to resize my Grumpy Blackboard but could only add it by blogging through Flickr which means I would have to delete my previous post and copy and paste the text into the new one. All good and fine, BUT I would lose my comments. Wouldn’t I?? What do you think?
