1. Squashing words together to make webby sounding ones... "blogosphere", "edutainment", "e-learning", "netiquette", "blogcast", "vlog"... urgh! We don't search for stuff any more, we 'google it'. We don't send out audio files, we podcast. We can't just learn... we e-learn. Back away from the English language... slowly... that's good...
2. Jumping on the bandwagon. There was Web 2.0... now anything 'new' has to have a 2.0 shoved on the end. STOP IT! E-learning was bad enough without it becoming 'e-learning 2.0'. No people, no!
3. CamelCase = new and exciting. Or is that NewAndExciting? YouTube. MySpace. Ooooh - you left out the space between words. How spangly fresh and youth!
4. Made up words. Mashup. Throw up.
5. Spam. I don't need viagra. I don't have male genitalia. I don't need a girlfriend. I don't want an additional 6 inches. I really don't care about the benefits of cialis. I don't want to take part in the Nigerian Lottery. There's not a single bit of me wants to give you my bank details so you can fleece me of my hard earned pennies. GET OUT OF MY MAILBOX!
6. Multiple passwords and user names. I can't remember them. I just can't. It's bad enough trying to remember where you last logged in... but trying to remember the user name... and the password to go with it. Mr Internet... why don't you just know it's me? Why do I have to do all the hard work of remembering a million and one different identities? Why have you made me paranoid to write them all down so I have to merrily forget them and then tear my hair out when I want to access something again? Why? Why oh why????
7. txt spk. not gr8. if u no wot i mean m8. Vowels are your friends. Numbers are for quantities. Capital letters are a dying breed... protect them. Keep those three rules close to your heart.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Web 2.0 for elearning
Because I'm in a bit of a lull with work and studying at the mo... I thought I'd take a minute to catch my breath and put together a list of all the web 2.0 goodies I use to make elearning that bit cosier and squashier.
1. Blogger.com
Easy to use blog, integrates with your browser a treat and I don't have to host it myself. I particularly like it for making reflective notes on articles I've read online and doing a brain dump before getting on with 'real' work.
Part of conglomo-google... but otherwise pukka!
2. Mindmeister.com
An excellent free mind mapping site. You can work on your own or collaboratively, share your mind maps, export them as graphics and rich text (or other formats if you fork out). Not too fancy, not too limited. A Ronseal bit o' web 2.0
3. Del.icio.us
Bookmark, share, tag, comment, network... great for pooling resources or even just tracking down links which have tags you're interested in.
4. Zamzar
If you're sent a file in a format you can't open... then Zamzar can bash a way in for you by converting it to something you have got. You can even convert things like pdf files into stuff you can edit. V.handy!
5. Google Notebook
Yes, another Google offering - and I also use Google Reader too... I'm addicted to Google... so shoot me
Again, I love the browser integration, I like having my notes on any computer I happen to be using. I like the way you can edit your notes using Google Docs (feed that Google-addiction woman!) and it's fantastic for keeping track of quotes and references when you're off doing online research
6. SlideShare
I have to admit... I don't use this... yet. But, I do really like the look of it and the prospect of being able to embed presentations in a web page could be really handy when the OU VLE comes on-stream properly
I'm sure there are others too, so I'll revisit this 'un at a later date!
Stuff I don't get...
SecondLife - nope. Don't get it. Nope.
YouTube - okay, so there's some good stuff on there but just soooooooooooooooooooooooo much dross, but I can't see me wanting to upload anything I've created in a hurry)
MySpace - tried it... didn't get it... got out.
Elgg - 'elearning platform'... train has left the station
Flickr - tried it... ermmm... useful in a 'look at my photo albums' kinda way... but... ermmm
1. Blogger.com
Easy to use blog, integrates with your browser a treat and I don't have to host it myself. I particularly like it for making reflective notes on articles I've read online and doing a brain dump before getting on with 'real' work.
Part of conglomo-google... but otherwise pukka!
2. Mindmeister.com
An excellent free mind mapping site. You can work on your own or collaboratively, share your mind maps, export them as graphics and rich text (or other formats if you fork out). Not too fancy, not too limited. A Ronseal bit o' web 2.0
3. Del.icio.us
Bookmark, share, tag, comment, network... great for pooling resources or even just tracking down links which have tags you're interested in.
4. Zamzar
If you're sent a file in a format you can't open... then Zamzar can bash a way in for you by converting it to something you have got. You can even convert things like pdf files into stuff you can edit. V.handy!
5. Google Notebook
Yes, another Google offering - and I also use Google Reader too... I'm addicted to Google... so shoot me
Again, I love the browser integration, I like having my notes on any computer I happen to be using. I like the way you can edit your notes using Google Docs (feed that Google-addiction woman!) and it's fantastic for keeping track of quotes and references when you're off doing online research
6. SlideShare
I have to admit... I don't use this... yet. But, I do really like the look of it and the prospect of being able to embed presentations in a web page could be really handy when the OU VLE comes on-stream properly
I'm sure there are others too, so I'll revisit this 'un at a later date!
Stuff I don't get...
SecondLife - nope. Don't get it. Nope.
YouTube - okay, so there's some good stuff on there but just soooooooooooooooooooooooo much dross, but I can't see me wanting to upload anything I've created in a hurry)
MySpace - tried it... didn't get it... got out.
Elgg - 'elearning platform'... train has left the station
Flickr - tried it... ermmm... useful in a 'look at my photo albums' kinda way... but... ermmm
Sunday, May 13, 2007
MindMeister - think together
MindMeister - think together
If anyone wants some mind mapping software then I definitely recommend MindMeister. It's available online, free and you get some excellent features such as the ability to work collaboratively on mind maps etc. There's a premium version as well as a basic one which lets you do a couple more things... but it's one of those bits of software that's simple and just does what you want it to do... me like!
If anyone wants some mind mapping software then I definitely recommend MindMeister. It's available online, free and you get some excellent features such as the ability to work collaboratively on mind maps etc. There's a premium version as well as a basic one which lets you do a couple more things... but it's one of those bits of software that's simple and just does what you want it to do... me like!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Second life - no ta
The Ed Techie: e-learning: "I am one of those many people who have tried SL and not got beyond the training island. I wonder why this is so, since I'm not a technophobe."
I could have written the above myself - in fact, I have on several occasions! The above comes from elearning guru (or is it elearning 2.0 guru... who can say the rate things change these days!), Martin Weller, and it's kind of reassuring to see that he doesn't get it either. All the reasons he lists for not getting on with SL are reasons I am sat nodding along vigorously to. I don't want to play role playing games. I don't want to have an avatar. I don't want to waft round in a virtual reality. I hate the updates that seem to take forever before you can load it. I don't want to zap things in order to find out what they are. I want to talk to other people - whether that's in written or vocal form. I want to communicate with people. Not people with made up names and faces. I'd rather speak to someone with a made up name and no face than both having been made up. I'd rather speak to someone with a real name and no face. I'd rather not live in a 13 year old's imagination and use a transporter to get around different islands. There. I've said it. I tried Second Life and I decided I preferred my own. Both online and offline versions. I don't like being a fake version of me.
I could have written the above myself - in fact, I have on several occasions! The above comes from elearning guru (or is it elearning 2.0 guru... who can say the rate things change these days!), Martin Weller, and it's kind of reassuring to see that he doesn't get it either. All the reasons he lists for not getting on with SL are reasons I am sat nodding along vigorously to. I don't want to play role playing games. I don't want to have an avatar. I don't want to waft round in a virtual reality. I hate the updates that seem to take forever before you can load it. I don't want to zap things in order to find out what they are. I want to talk to other people - whether that's in written or vocal form. I want to communicate with people. Not people with made up names and faces. I'd rather speak to someone with a made up name and no face than both having been made up. I'd rather speak to someone with a real name and no face. I'd rather not live in a 13 year old's imagination and use a transporter to get around different islands. There. I've said it. I tried Second Life and I decided I preferred my own. Both online and offline versions. I don't like being a fake version of me.
The Ed Techie: Some more reasons to blog
The Ed Techie: Some more reasons to blog: "The technology required to keep a blog is fairly simple to use, so it is easy to get started, and then once your blog has momentum you may wish to explore some of the related tools and technologies."
While I definitely agree with this in principle and have seen it work... I've also seen it have the opposite effect when the technology isn't right. The Moodle blogs available on the pilot presentation of T175 are, as far as I've seen to date, extremely limited. There is no means for the formation of a supportive online community. No browser integration. No easy URL. Out of sight, very much out of mind. If a blog is to have power and be a way of students engaging with Web 2.0 technologies etc, then you need to get the foundations right. Me? I'll use a blog when I know what my purpose for that blog is. When I can quickly create entries as I'm browsing articles online. When I can share a friendly looking address with others. When I can tweak it to give it a bit of 'me'. When I can customize its appearance so I feel I have some ownership and it'll represent the online version of me I want. Without those factors, it's a simple to use bit of technology which doesn't do anything more than sit flacidly empty in cyberspace.
Oh, and interestingly enough, the blogs I've used for the OU's MA ODE courses haven't used Moodle-based blogs and I've used them regularly. This blog - not Moodle based - used fairly regularly. My T175 blog - ermmmm... Moodle... phhhht!
While I definitely agree with this in principle and have seen it work... I've also seen it have the opposite effect when the technology isn't right. The Moodle blogs available on the pilot presentation of T175 are, as far as I've seen to date, extremely limited. There is no means for the formation of a supportive online community. No browser integration. No easy URL. Out of sight, very much out of mind. If a blog is to have power and be a way of students engaging with Web 2.0 technologies etc, then you need to get the foundations right. Me? I'll use a blog when I know what my purpose for that blog is. When I can quickly create entries as I'm browsing articles online. When I can share a friendly looking address with others. When I can tweak it to give it a bit of 'me'. When I can customize its appearance so I feel I have some ownership and it'll represent the online version of me I want. Without those factors, it's a simple to use bit of technology which doesn't do anything more than sit flacidly empty in cyberspace.
Oh, and interestingly enough, the blogs I've used for the OU's MA ODE courses haven't used Moodle-based blogs and I've used them regularly. This blog - not Moodle based - used fairly regularly. My T175 blog - ermmmm... Moodle... phhhht!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Wikis Described in Plain English | Common Craft - Social Design for the Web
Wikis Described in Plain English | Common Craft - Social Design for the Web: "Wikis Described in Plain English"
A useful page which describes the what, why and when of wikis. As an aside, I always find it interesting that one of the advantage of wikis is that no HTML is needed for their creation... but there are a whole load of punctuation and stylistic bits o' code that you need to know if you don't want your contribution to look like an amateurish, numpty kinda affair. Will the community behind the wiki be sympathetic to your L plate blunderings? Will you be shot down for lack of academic rigour? Will you have all your hard work wiped in an instant when someone decides to grafitti it? What's really *your* work at all?
Anyhoo... enough blathering... if you want to get your head around wiki basics, this is the page for you!
A useful page which describes the what, why and when of wikis. As an aside, I always find it interesting that one of the advantage of wikis is that no HTML is needed for their creation... but there are a whole load of punctuation and stylistic bits o' code that you need to know if you don't want your contribution to look like an amateurish, numpty kinda affair. Will the community behind the wiki be sympathetic to your L plate blunderings? Will you be shot down for lack of academic rigour? Will you have all your hard work wiped in an instant when someone decides to grafitti it? What's really *your* work at all?
Anyhoo... enough blathering... if you want to get your head around wiki basics, this is the page for you!
Monday, May 7, 2007
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold: "Web 2.0 wave starts to take hold
Ian Hardy
Whether you use your computer for work or fun, the programs you use generally have one thing in common - they are stored on your PC. Increasingly though, that software is moving online.
The move to put more and more of those familiar programs on to the web has been happening for a while but its latest incarnation has won the name of Web 2.0.
What is it - the definition is imprecise at best, but it loosely describes a category of websites that are known for interactivity, collaboration and community.
Developments in underlying web technology make this all possible and mean that what the sites can do is very new. Simplicity is often the key. Often it is an online application that does one thing and does it well."
A nice little article which provides a whizz through the whole Web 2.0 deal and gives some good examples of Web 2.0 sites. I've tried Clipmarks (but don't 100% like it as much as Google Notebook) and had a look at some of the other recommended sites. This gives a small taste of the sort of thing that's out there, but I'd say that more often than not Web 2.0 sites have that feel of 'ooooh that's nice... but how am I going to use it'. You need to have a purpose for all of this stuff and looking pretty and being collaborative / community based isn't enough for real stickyness.
Ian Hardy
Whether you use your computer for work or fun, the programs you use generally have one thing in common - they are stored on your PC. Increasingly though, that software is moving online.
The move to put more and more of those familiar programs on to the web has been happening for a while but its latest incarnation has won the name of Web 2.0.
What is it - the definition is imprecise at best, but it loosely describes a category of websites that are known for interactivity, collaboration and community.
Developments in underlying web technology make this all possible and mean that what the sites can do is very new. Simplicity is often the key. Often it is an online application that does one thing and does it well."
A nice little article which provides a whizz through the whole Web 2.0 deal and gives some good examples of Web 2.0 sites. I've tried Clipmarks (but don't 100% like it as much as Google Notebook) and had a look at some of the other recommended sites. This gives a small taste of the sort of thing that's out there, but I'd say that more often than not Web 2.0 sites have that feel of 'ooooh that's nice... but how am I going to use it'. You need to have a purpose for all of this stuff and looking pretty and being collaborative / community based isn't enough for real stickyness.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Johnson slapped on wrist for recommending Wikipedia | E-learning | EducationGuardian.co.uk
Johnson slapped on wrist for recommending Wikipedia | E-learning | EducationGuardian.co.uk: "UK universities could well take similar measures, predicted Will Murray, director of a plagiarism advisory service for British higher education.
'There's a general feeling that students are regarding Wikipedia as an authority without checking to see if it is or not. It's a site that should be treated with scepticism and it's those skills that higher education is interested in getting across to students,' said Mr Murray, of the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc)."
Is Wikipedia the educational version of cribbing off your mates and then discovering that actually your mates knew less about the subject than you did?
'There's a general feeling that students are regarding Wikipedia as an authority without checking to see if it is or not. It's a site that should be treated with scepticism and it's those skills that higher education is interested in getting across to students,' said Mr Murray, of the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc)."
Is Wikipedia the educational version of cribbing off your mates and then discovering that actually your mates knew less about the subject than you did?
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Jon Udell: Heavy metal umlaut: the movie
Jon Udell: Heavy metal umlaut: the movie
If you've ever wondered how a wiki page is constructed... this is a great little tour of an obscure page floating around wikipedia. An interesting look at the production of a collaborative piece of online text. Satisfies my inner geek anyway!
If you've ever wondered how a wiki page is constructed... this is a great little tour of an obscure page floating around wikipedia. An interesting look at the production of a collaborative piece of online text. Satisfies my inner geek anyway!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
BBC NEWS | Technology | Fragrant future beckons for web
BBC NEWS | Technology | Fragrant future beckons for web: "Fragrant future beckons for web
Within a decade the net will be able to deliver smells as fast as it does data"
Urgh! Pong-o-vision? Ta, but no ta...
Within a decade the net will be able to deliver smells as fast as it does data"
Urgh! Pong-o-vision? Ta, but no ta...
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