Sunday, July 29, 2007
This is a blog article that I am creating using Google Docs and Spreadsheets.
The great thing about google docs is that I can share just about anything.
I can use the tools to make this available anywhere online.
I can use the settings to show how this works.
Now I have found a way to publish this through Google.
Some great uses for this could be:
(1) Posting worksheets for students to use.
(2) Posting announcements.
(3) Using this as an editing device to make sure your blogs are spelling correctly (grammar also, but not truly correct).
The great thing about google docs is that I can share just about anything.
I can use the tools to make this available anywhere online.
I can use the settings to show how this works.
Now I have found a way to publish this through Google.
Some great uses for this could be:
(1) Posting worksheets for students to use.
(2) Posting announcements.
(3) Using this as an editing device to make sure your blogs are spelling correctly (grammar also, but not truly correct).
Wiki Example I know that will count
Okay, my attempt at trying Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_at_the_Pan_American_Games
I was trying to update the Basketball Results of the Pan American Games, but failed with the alignment.
I may need to read up on how to edit!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_at_the_Pan_American_Games
I was trying to update the Basketball Results of the Pan American Games, but failed with the alignment.
I may need to read up on how to edit!
Wiki Example of Use
I know this is probably not going to count but I have created a user profile using Wiki see below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Suorangefbfan10
I think my next mission after I get a look at Google Docs and Spreadsheets will be to create!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Suorangefbfan10
I think my next mission after I get a look at Google Docs and Spreadsheets will be to create!
I realized something!
You have to post examples of my use of these applications:
So to start here is MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/mroxfordmath
Some things that I have learned from doing this profile page:
(1) You really cannot do much of anything for about 7 days. I wanted to start a collaborative group with mathematics discussions. When trying to form a group they gave me a message saying that I cannot start much of anything since I started a new profile with my teaching account. (I do not want to give away my personal account).
(2) I thought in the planning process that when posting information about your purpose on this site, the myspace blog has no way of sticking a topic of what is important information. For example, I wanted to create a Terms of Service of this page (knowing the security issues of MySpace). That is why I am a bit fearful of posting my picture because of people who might recognize me. Plus, the definition of "a friend" here? That is the reason for starting a group rather than a personal page. I figure with a group, the label of a friend is not there. May want to explore this a bit further. Sadly it will be by the end of the course, but I am really interested through the article I read about MySpace in the post below. I think some playing still needs to be done.
So to start here is MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/mroxfordmath
Some things that I have learned from doing this profile page:
(1) You really cannot do much of anything for about 7 days. I wanted to start a collaborative group with mathematics discussions. When trying to form a group they gave me a message saying that I cannot start much of anything since I started a new profile with my teaching account. (I do not want to give away my personal account).
(2) I thought in the planning process that when posting information about your purpose on this site, the myspace blog has no way of sticking a topic of what is important information. For example, I wanted to create a Terms of Service of this page (knowing the security issues of MySpace). That is why I am a bit fearful of posting my picture because of people who might recognize me. Plus, the definition of "a friend" here? That is the reason for starting a group rather than a personal page. I figure with a group, the label of a friend is not there. May want to explore this a bit further. Sadly it will be by the end of the course, but I am really interested through the article I read about MySpace in the post below. I think some playing still needs to be done.
Google Docs and Spreadsheets
Google docs and spreadsheets is used as a repository of created documents. It also combines the uses of a spreadsheet to embed charts and graphs. It kind of combines the use of a blog and a wiki in the fact that document is created by the user, but the user can set it so that anyone can colloboratively edit the documents you create.
I am still exploring the use of this educationally right now.
I am still exploring the use of this educationally right now.
Wikis: Tellacollaborative Uses
(1) A UMBC Professor has used this for short writing assignments in her Shakespere Courses. She claims it breaks the monotony of collection, grading, discussion. She has small groups work on the assignments and has students claim that it was more fun working on them in this form.
http://ezp
(2)An issue that comes up not just in a tellacollaborative sense, but as a universal problem of wiki would be what is it authority on such information? This article discusses are wikis worth the time to use as a learning tool?
http://ezp
In the end, Wiki's Telecollaborative use, if use with a sense of purpose and careful planning, is a very enriching experience.
http://ezp
(2)An issue that comes up not just in a tellacollaborative sense, but as a universal problem of wiki would be what is it authority on such information? This article discusses are wikis worth the time to use as a learning tool?
http://ezp
In the end, Wiki's Telecollaborative use, if use with a sense of purpose and careful planning, is a very enriching experience.
Wikis
What is Wiki?
"Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly." (BoLeuf, 2002)
From: http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki
Basically, a group who has a Wiki. Can create information, and anybody, anywhere, who has permission to this information, can edit this document at anytime.
What makes it so different than the blogs? In my blog (unless you are a sophisicated hacker) you cannot edit any piece of my posting. The only one who can is me (and anyone who has access to my username and password).
The Power of a Wiki:
The Power of a Wiki is as stated above, it can be edited anywhere, anyplace, and anytime as long as you have that permission.
Educational Usage:
(1) A group of teachers in Texas have decided to use a Blackboard.com Application in which they centralize their lesson plan into a server that's a wiki. They discuss any changes on a blog, then someone goes in through the wiki and make changes.
http://ezp
(2) Tellabcolloborative Projects - See next post.
"Wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly." (BoLeuf, 2002)
From: http://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki
Basically, a group who has a Wiki. Can create information, and anybody, anywhere, who has permission to this information, can edit this document at anytime.
What makes it so different than the blogs? In my blog (unless you are a sophisicated hacker) you cannot edit any piece of my posting. The only one who can is me (and anyone who has access to my username and password).
The Power of a Wiki:
The Power of a Wiki is as stated above, it can be edited anywhere, anyplace, and anytime as long as you have that permission.
Educational Usage:
(1) A group of teachers in Texas have decided to use a Blackboard.com Application in which they centralize their lesson plan into a server that's a wiki. They discuss any changes on a blog, then someone goes in through the wiki and make changes.
http://ezp
(2) Tellabcolloborative Projects - See next post.
MySpace.com from a Tellacollaborative POV
MySpace.com can be used in a tellacollaborative sense in the fact that each MySpace Profile contains a comment section. Students can use comment sections to communicate about certain aspects of a project. However, I feel some direction will be needed to keep the conversation within the boundries.
Teachers can set up groups in which they can use to moderate these deep discussions.
The issue of MySpace being the invaders, can be easier said than done. A lot of districts do block access to this site and therefore leads to can everybody have access to it?
Teachers can set up groups in which they can use to moderate these deep discussions.
The issue of MySpace being the invaders, can be easier said than done. A lot of districts do block access to this site and therefore leads to can everybody have access to it?
MySpace.com
For the first exploration, I will do MySpace.com. I am going to explore the power of MySpace.com as well as the technological features and educational uses of MySpace.com.
MySpace.com: An Introduction
Myspace.com is reported as used for "social networking". MySpace quotes themselves as: "Create a private community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends! (MySpace.com, 2007)"
This site certainly does that, however there are somethings that are hidden here which will be discuss in the power section of this essay. Also, I would like to challenge the true privacy of MySpace.com which will be discussed in the educational and technological issues.
The Power of MySpace.com
The power of MySpace.com is that it connects everyone with everyone. When a user logs on they have a directory of just about everyone they can look up and can request as friends. Now in order to be friends on MySpace.com, the other person you request must also add you as friends.
When you start a new MySpace site, it starts intially as a public site. Meaning that everyone in the world can see the site. However, certain security settings can have site set so that only your friends can see it that you have invited or you accepted their plea for invite.
Students use this more for a social outlet then they really do for deep educational discussions. Students can find other people who share the same music, movies, and interests. Clicking on the groups section and typing in your interest can find you many people who claim they share the same interest as you. These group pages work as a sounding board for their topics of coversation. The conversation is a mix of educationally productive material and not educational conversation. However,
The Technological and Educational Uses of MySpace.com
So how private is MySpace? Certain hackers have been able to find their way through the privacy settings and were actually viewing private profiles. This site actually discussed a few ways the hackers have found around the privacy and why they have been fixed.
http://askbobrankin.com/view_private_profile.html
The author states it is a cat and mouse game of hackers finding holes and MySpace covering the holes. In the comment section of these blogs, I was actually finding the people who would like to know how to bypass privacy settings come anywhere from concern parents all the way to people using copyrighted material as their profile photos.
Educational uses are very hard to come by when it comes to productivity. A journal article asks the question: "How do we empower and protect our students in an environment that increasingly excludes us?" (McLester, 2007). The McLester article (which I will link below) tells us ways to go about answering that question.
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604312
Please consider the opinion of the author of the above article about MySpace:
"It is interesting to note, though, that for every student I spoke with—and these were all serious and successful learners—MySpace and its ilk represent the polar opposite. To them, these sites are the core of their daily lives, providing essential connections, collaborations, and ongoing communications. They are a one-stop shop for both school and social purposes—to connect about homework, organize study groups, or find out where the party is. MySpace is both the good and the evil, depending on where you stand. Finding a way to bridge this new generation gap will be our next big challenge." (McLester, 2007)
I think that McLester is trying to convince people that MySpace is not what people are overhyping to be, it is just where do you stand on it. So my question to the blog world would be where do you stand on it? I kind of agree with McLester, with the addition that everything must be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The Curriculum Review takes another side of this issue, actually calling MySpace "Invaders" and list ways to tell administration to deal with these "Invaders" (Curriculum Review, 2006).
http://ezp.dyndns.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ754947&site=ehost-live
Leading a Discussion:
As future tech decision makers, where do you think MySpace's place will be in the schools?
MySpace.com: An Introduction
Myspace.com is reported as used for "social networking". MySpace quotes themselves as: "Create a private community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends! (MySpace.com, 2007)"
This site certainly does that, however there are somethings that are hidden here which will be discuss in the power section of this essay. Also, I would like to challenge the true privacy of MySpace.com which will be discussed in the educational and technological issues.
The Power of MySpace.com
The power of MySpace.com is that it connects everyone with everyone. When a user logs on they have a directory of just about everyone they can look up and can request as friends. Now in order to be friends on MySpace.com, the other person you request must also add you as friends.
When you start a new MySpace site, it starts intially as a public site. Meaning that everyone in the world can see the site. However, certain security settings can have site set so that only your friends can see it that you have invited or you accepted their plea for invite.
Students use this more for a social outlet then they really do for deep educational discussions. Students can find other people who share the same music, movies, and interests. Clicking on the groups section and typing in your interest can find you many people who claim they share the same interest as you. These group pages work as a sounding board for their topics of coversation. The conversation is a mix of educationally productive material and not educational conversation. However,
The Technological and Educational Uses of MySpace.com
So how private is MySpace? Certain hackers have been able to find their way through the privacy settings and were actually viewing private profiles. This site actually discussed a few ways the hackers have found around the privacy and why they have been fixed.
http://askbobrankin.com/view_private_profile.html
The author states it is a cat and mouse game of hackers finding holes and MySpace covering the holes. In the comment section of these blogs, I was actually finding the people who would like to know how to bypass privacy settings come anywhere from concern parents all the way to people using copyrighted material as their profile photos.
Educational uses are very hard to come by when it comes to productivity. A journal article asks the question: "How do we empower and protect our students in an environment that increasingly excludes us?" (McLester, 2007). The McLester article (which I will link below) tells us ways to go about answering that question.
http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604312
Please consider the opinion of the author of the above article about MySpace:
"It is interesting to note, though, that for every student I spoke with—and these were all serious and successful learners—MySpace and its ilk represent the polar opposite. To them, these sites are the core of their daily lives, providing essential connections, collaborations, and ongoing communications. They are a one-stop shop for both school and social purposes—to connect about homework, organize study groups, or find out where the party is. MySpace is both the good and the evil, depending on where you stand. Finding a way to bridge this new generation gap will be our next big challenge." (McLester, 2007)
I think that McLester is trying to convince people that MySpace is not what people are overhyping to be, it is just where do you stand on it. So my question to the blog world would be where do you stand on it? I kind of agree with McLester, with the addition that everything must be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The Curriculum Review takes another side of this issue, actually calling MySpace "Invaders" and list ways to tell administration to deal with these "Invaders" (Curriculum Review, 2006).
http://ezp.dyndns.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ754947&site=ehost-live
Leading a Discussion:
As future tech decision makers, where do you think MySpace's place will be in the schools?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Update! Update! Update!
All Right! Here we go:
(1) Made a few grammatical checks of my past posts I will probably continue doing that through out! One of the great benefits of the blog is that it gets updated, and edited.
(2) I have linked to everybody's blog that has sent e-mail. If you do not see your name or your blog please e-mail the listserv just to make sure that everybody has it.
(3) I am still in an indecision about what three sites I am going to analyze for my project. That will probably be my goal for Wednesday.
On to the readings!
Good Night!
(1) Made a few grammatical checks of my past posts I will probably continue doing that through out! One of the great benefits of the blog is that it gets updated, and edited.
(2) I have linked to everybody's blog that has sent e-mail. If you do not see your name or your blog please e-mail the listserv just to make sure that everybody has it.
(3) I am still in an indecision about what three sites I am going to analyze for my project. That will probably be my goal for Wednesday.
On to the readings!
Good Night!
Monday, July 16, 2007
So, What is this Web 2.0 Thing?
The answer to my topic question is debatable:
The two "extreme" sides of the debate are the following:
(1) Web 2.0 is nothing but a marketing ploy by the dot-coms. (Wikipedia Discussions, 2007)
(2) Web 2.0 is a turning point for the internet where the internet is controlled by the user rather than the "alpha geeks". (Wikipedia Discussions, 2007) (O'Reilly, 2007)
Here are some websites that I have explored in trying to answer the topic question:
Tim O'Reilly - What is Web 2.0?
Tim O'Reilly is what a lot of people of the technological world would consider the father of Web 2.0. O'Reilly has a vision that he wanted the internet to be used by everyone. The old internet 1.0 was seemed to be controlled by the big dot-com companies. They tend to focus on a control aspect and not necessarily a community collaborative aspect. He shows a really complex, yet, neat visual of what he sees his vision of web 2.0. On this site, he also has his own blog in which people are allowed to comment on his work. He even sees the reason why people would say it is a marketing ploy. Almost to the point of agreeing with him. O'Reilly states that the article is more of a clarification of what it is and that people are so stuck on the economics and not on the final product. Albeit complicated, O'Reilly makes a very decent attempt to clarify his view of what Web 2.0 is. This is no way a Web 2.0 for dummies. Also, O'Reilly does not really go into detail of what benefits it has for society and education.
Wikipedia Article - Web 2.0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2
(downloaded as of 4:45pm on 7/16/2007: Article Subject to Change)
This is the where the debate centralizes. Especially, if you click on the discussion tab (more on this in a later post!). This article tries to give a clearer "unbiased" view. This article is frequently visited and change as you will see if you click on the history. Although about 50% of the changes is cosmetic it really does show the debate between the two sides. This is a great central hub to get an idea of how the "Web 2.0 Define" debate goes.
Web 2.0 Essay by Paul Graham
http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html
Paul Graham is a programmer who received his doctorates from Cornell. Writes many essays for view online as well for many monthly magazines. He simplifies Web 2.0 into three descriptions.
(1) Java now is easy to use - Called Ajax
(2) Democracy - The fact that ordinary people can surpass the experts. He uses wikipedia as his example
(3) That the start-up companies doing this phenomenon do not maltreat their users. In other words, they open their product (open source) for them to edit to their likings.
I feel that Paul Graham is over simplifying and have his own agenda and is focused on the technical/business aspect rather than what good is it for the society.
G02Web20.net
http://www.go2web20.net/
This site list all the sites that have been labeled web 2.0 as suggested to by the public and approved by two people. One is Orli Yakuel who used to work for AOL (more on this later in the article.) as a Web 2.0 Analyst. The other is a gentleman by the name of Eyal Shahar, who is the vice president of a virtual and visual architecture firm in Israel called Mantis.
At the current check, there were 1,374 sites listed on this directory (and I want to try every single one of them!) . Some I have visited before, like Myspace and Digg. Others, I have never heard of in my life. This site may give you good ideas of what determines a site to be web 2.0.
All these sites that I have visited so far are great sites. However, I do not see the true answers to the following question:
What makes a site a web 2.0 site? I think this project of exploring the power of it does answer that question. The final link kind of got me going in a direction of the answer to this question:
You Tube - Web 2.0 is Us/ing Us?
Michael Wesch, a Cultural Anthropology Professor
from Kansas State explore how we have evolved from just writing paper on text all the way up to the sharing of information. Towards the end of the video he poses some rethinks which I think will truly answer the question of the power of web 2.0. (Which reminds me I need to create one more purpose for this blog. To answer the question: "What makes web 2.0 so powerful?")
So the check list for the next post:
(1) Make edit of my purpose.
(2) Create links to my colleagues blogs
(3) Select the thee Web 2.0 sites that I will explore their power, educational use, and their techonological features.
Good Night!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2
(downloaded as of 4:45pm on 7/16/2007: Article Subject to Change)
This is the where the debate centralizes. Especially, if you click on the discussion tab (more on this in a later post!). This article tries to give a clearer "unbiased" view. This article is frequently visited and change as you will see if you click on the history. Although about 50% of the changes is cosmetic it really does show the debate between the two sides. This is a great central hub to get an idea of how the "Web 2.0 Define" debate goes.
Web 2.0 Essay by Paul Graham
http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html
Paul Graham is a programmer who received his doctorates from Cornell. Writes many essays for view online as well for many monthly magazines. He simplifies Web 2.0 into three descriptions.
(1) Java now is easy to use - Called Ajax
(2) Democracy - The fact that ordinary people can surpass the experts. He uses wikipedia as his example
(3) That the start-up companies doing this phenomenon do not maltreat their users. In other words, they open their product (open source) for them to edit to their likings.
I feel that Paul Graham is over simplifying and have his own agenda and is focused on the technical/business aspect rather than what good is it for the society.
G02Web20.net
http://www.go2web20.net/
This site list all the sites that have been labeled web 2.0 as suggested to by the public and approved by two people. One is Orli Yakuel who used to work for AOL (more on this later in the article.) as a Web 2.0 Analyst. The other is a gentleman by the name of Eyal Shahar, who is the vice president of a virtual and visual architecture firm in Israel called Mantis.
At the current check, there were 1,374 sites listed on this directory (and I want to try every single one of them!) . Some I have visited before, like Myspace and Digg. Others, I have never heard of in my life. This site may give you good ideas of what determines a site to be web 2.0.
All these sites that I have visited so far are great sites. However, I do not see the true answers to the following question:
What makes a site a web 2.0 site? I think this project of exploring the power of it does answer that question. The final link kind of got me going in a direction of the answer to this question:
You Tube - Web 2.0 is Us/ing Us?
Michael Wesch, a Cultural Anthropology Professor
from Kansas State explore how we have evolved from just writing paper on text all the way up to the sharing of information. Towards the end of the video he poses some rethinks which I think will truly answer the question of the power of web 2.0. (Which reminds me I need to create one more purpose for this blog. To answer the question: "What makes web 2.0 so powerful?")
So the check list for the next post:
(1) Make edit of my purpose.
(2) Create links to my colleagues blogs
(3) Select the thee Web 2.0 sites that I will explore their power, educational use, and their techonological features.
Good Night!
Welcome!
The purposes of this blog are to:
(1) Serve a requirement for my ET 630 class.
(2) Explore the power of a Web 2.0 Site.
(3) Discuss the technological features and its educational uses of Web 2.0.
(4) To link to other fellow classmates who are also studying Web 2.0.
The first problem that I am going to solve is to discuss what is Web 2.0 and what technology should I introduce for discussion.
That will be the first topic that I will present in my blog!
(1) Serve a requirement for my ET 630 class.
(2) Explore the power of a Web 2.0 Site.
(3) Discuss the technological features and its educational uses of Web 2.0.
(4) To link to other fellow classmates who are also studying Web 2.0.
The first problem that I am going to solve is to discuss what is Web 2.0 and what technology should I introduce for discussion.
That will be the first topic that I will present in my blog!
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