Shawn Allenby :: Blog

Tim Hawes, the designer, developer and all around reason Commun-IT is running is going to be delivering an online workshop to folks attending ECOO 2008 on Wed., November 5th from 3:30-4:30 using web conferencing technology.

To register for this session, please login to this link:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pzKJdhWce3kSdRpj3sYQIQw

Thanks to Tim for doing this and hope to see you there!

Well, I have started using my new GPS and I have had some unsettling feeling about it.  I have long prided myself on my ability to recognize landmarks, remember them and use them when traveling to ensure that I don't get lost and take the best routes possible.  This navigtion ability came about from growing up in the country, where not all roads were found on the maps.  I still used maps, especially for finding back roads that would make my drive shorter or more pleasant.  So when I started using the GPS, I assumed it would be like using a road map, but I have found out I am wrong.

I started out by plotting where I was going and using the GPS to, what I felt, was blindly guide me there.  I ended up getting to my destination, but when I looked at the route the GPS took me on, it was a round-about way that I would not have taken if I used my handy map.  I went on another trip a few weeks ago to the ECOO board meetings and took a route that I used to take to my cottage.  I programmed in "via points" and off we went.  Well, wouldn't you know it we ended up in a subdivision about 2 miles from our intended destination.  On the way home we followed the route the GPS calculated and ended up taking another round-about way that I would have never have taken...GPS navigation saver...not yet!

 So I started thinking about this problem and started thinking that this technology might cause our students to lose the sense of navigation that has helped us navigate through the years.  But then I started seeing similarities with other tools when they were first introduced.  I wonder if people felt the same way when calculators were introduced?  Did they think people would lose their reasoning and mathmatical skills...I know they felt that way.  How about the computer.  Did people feel that they would "run our lives' and we would not want to do anything for ourselve?  I bet that was the case.  In both of these examples, when the initial dust settled, it is obvious both of those tools did not cause us to lose our skills, but instead enhanced them and allowe us to reach further into the future by allowing us to build on our already established skills and enhancing them with technology.

 I suspect the same will be the case with the GPS...but for now, I still check that map to see if the route is the best one to take!

/shawn

The WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft research has just release an application that is social networking for the sky.  It looks an amazing application that allows users to take a tour of the universe in an uncluttered, easy flowing environment.  The best part is, there are ways to create "tours" and share those tours with other users, in a social-networking type of way.  In fact, the WWT developers are encouraging the use of these tours to "tell the story" of the universe.  They really believe that, through social networking and sharing of these "tours" that students, educators and all people can benefit from the "story telling" of the universe.  This is another example of how the world really is at not only our fingertips, but our students' fingertips.  We are very shortly going to facilitate learning, instead of being the conduit for learning, as educators.

 It really looks like an amazing tool, and once I get it downloaded and set up, I will report back.  I can't wait to use it and let my little guys try it! 

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

/shawn

ps The system requirements for the use of the application are very intensive, so make sure your system requirements can handle this.

Here is a TED video describing the WWT

The ECOO Secondary Multimedia contest deadline has been extended until May 16th, 2008!  Your students can win $ and the teacher involved will be invited to showcase their project @ the ECOO 2008 Conference!

For more details go to:  www.ecoo.org

Please pass this on to any teacher in Ontario who might be interested!

 Thanks,

/shawn

I read a great article today on students today and how we are not meeting their needs.  http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9928174-7.html?part=rss&am

This research confirms exactly what we all have been believing the last few years.  Students believe in instant gratification and they are ever becoming producers of content and expect others to view it, comment it and expand on it.

Our profession needs to increase its technology skills to better meet the needs of students, or at least use our students' knowledge to increase our own knowledge, thereby empowering our students to take control of there own learning...and if we don't...dinosaurs come to mind, but then again, I am preaching to the converted aren't i?

/shawn

ps here is a great video take off of "Student's Today" by Digital Ethnography, it is "Student's Today K-12"

Adobe has re-entered the realm of web-based apps with their Photo-shop express offering.  It has an easy to use and slick interface that is very similar to their new interfaces on their elements products.  It was easy to sign up and get an account and easy (though slow) to upload and has tons of functionality.  It requires adobe flash player 9, but the download is worth it to use the app.  It appears to have more functionality than flickr or photobucket (which offers the Adobe video editing online tool).  It will be interesting to see if Adobe does the same thing with the video remix software it offers in Photobucket as it did with Photoshop Express.  This may have huge implications on education as now there is a quick, easy way to use effective online software to edit/share/enhance and post photos.

Very soon school boards may not have to purchase apps that ensure their students are getting the just below-industry standard software that will allow them to learn how to utilize tools to move ahead into higher education.  These types of applications are paving the way for full curriculum delivered via web-based applications, which can be a saving to any school board (though an increase in bandwidth usuage will occur).

 Well done Adobe, this app looks awesome!

https://www.photoshop.com/express/index.html

Are you teaching a Comm Tech course, a Media Studies course or a World Studies course (or any secondary course for that matter) and want to explore using video to address expectations or course curriculum?  Well ECOO has a contest for you!

By creating a video relating to curriculum expecatations and then uploading it to teacher tube (www.teachertube.com) you are eligible for the 3 prizes of $300 each! As well, as the teacher involved, you will be invited to share your experiences in an ECOO conference session in the fall!

For contest rules, please see: http://www.ecoo.org and click on the Secondary Media Contest link or view the attached file.

It was interesting reading the article in the Globe yesterday about the student using Facebook to not work independantly (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080318.wfacebook0).  It was very interesting to see the reaction of his professor and the outpooring of reaction to support his facebook community that was supposedly a "study group". 

This type of issue is going to be happening more and more frequently with students understanding and using social networking sites such as Facebook to their advantage.  It will not be very long, and in fact I am sure it is happening in K-12 without folks even knowing, until we are faced with similar dilemmas in K-12.

Weather we like it or not educators are going to move, slowly maybe at first, but quicker as these technologies get more pervasive, into being faciliators of learning instead of those who impart learning.  Being a big believer in Project Based Learning, I believe that this can be a good thing, but we also need to ensure that students can learn in a multitude of ways including  lecture, experiential, project-based, discovery to name a few.

It will be interesting to see how the first school board in Ontario deals with a similar case to this Ryerson student...it really is only a matter of time!

The CHF (formerly Canadian Hunger Foundation) is sponsoring a media literacy contest for creating media works by students centred on "Sustainable Agriculture".  The site includes an assessment rubric (which you can use for your class), media materials including illustrations, photos and videos and explanations of what sustainable agriculture is.  Students will be awarded prizes in the following 5 areas:  early bird (due Dec. 1), elementary panel, secondary panel, school award for the most entries by one school and the People's Choice award, as determined by on-line voting in the spring.

For more information you can go to  www.chf-partners.ca/medialiteracy.

Good luck with the contest! 

 /shawn

I have heard the term lately web 3.0 (see here for a definition) which I laughed about because so many people are currently trying to define web 2.0.  But after seeing this absolutely shocking and jaw-dropping demo, I may have seen my first glimpse into web 3.0.  This video was taken at a TED conference, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design (I originally thought Ted Turner might have had something to do with it).  A colleague sent me the link to the video that explores the unbelieveable world of Photosynth and Sea Dragon which are both being worked on in the "microsoft labs" environment.  (sounds remarkably like google labs, but that is for a different blog).  It has taken me a few days to open the video, but what I saw was truly remarkable. 

With Sea Dragon, the whole premise is to smoothly browse visual information, regardless of the amount of data or the bandwidth.  The video demonstration is truly awe-inspiring.  To be able to view entire books and then zoom in to see the chapters, paragraphs, lines and letters with ease is incredible.  By wikipedia's definition, hence our definition, of web 3.0, this application appears to fit as the application is trying to provide accesible content in a whole different environment.

The Photosynth demo was eqully amazing.  What the application does is look at a large collection of photos, analyzes them for similarities in photos that are meta-tagged in flickr (or any other photo repository) and then creates a composite 3-D simulation of the place or object, all contributed to by the many photos of that place or object.  Obviously the more photos about that place or object would result in views from different angles and the ability to zoom in on the smallest of details.  The more photos that are taken and entered into the photo databases about the place or object, the more detail, views and better the construction the 3D image becomes.

I know some of you might think, wait a minute, let's get our heads around web 2.0, but when I saw these apps demonstrated, I then knew that there was the potential to moving to web 3.0 and apps like these will be leading the charge.  The collective fruits of our labours can result in an encredible breadth and width of knowledge with these two applications allowing us to collectively increase and demonstrate that knowledge.  I tried to run the demonstration of Photosynth on my desktop and laptop, but I'm going to have to wait until my new one arrives next week.  I can't wait!

Photosynth demo @ TED: 

Developer demo's photosynth: 

 Wired Science clip on photosynth: (no controllers on this one, takes about 5 mins)

After you view the demo and interviews, I think you will be inspired.

/shawn