At the risk of repeating myself, with every technology I/we've discovered and worked with this semester, it's been overwhelmingly apparent that any tool is only as valuable as the energy and expertise being put into it... and the practicality of investing that energy. Similarly, the value of this class has been in the contributions you all have made, in conjunction with the structure of the course, and the materials made available to us.
Thank you all for your refreshingly genuine contributions to the class!
Hooray for technology and the cool people it connects!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Post-Course Discourse
As this semester ends, and with it the blogging assignments, I’m left to wonder whether—or in what form—I’ll continue to express myself online. I’m leaning toward continuing a blog, but a private one… or however private one can keep something added to the online trail/electronic footprint deal. When I feel motivated, I’ll share the blog with others.
Why a blog, rather than a journal?
- A blog is so much tidier, so easily made to look professional
- I’m a quicker typer than hand-writer
- Multi-media capabilities
- Easy sharing, if and (immediately) when I’m so inclined to share
As far as contributing online content professionally, in addition to consistently adding resource links to my library’s home site (Destiny) I’m leaning toward creating a new, official Ning account for the Manhattan Village Academy library media center. I’m also very strongly considering writing my REACH grant report on a Ning. My vision is to:
- Post a slideshow of photos of the library under development
- Post a video and/or podcast featuring students responding to the new library materials
- Describe the purchases made with the grant money in the blog portion of the site
The one weakness I can think of that I don’t know that I mentioned during my group’s final presentation (which, by the way, I really enjoyed, thanks to the contributions of my fellow group members), is that in order to view a Ning profile or network, one must belong to Ning by having created an account. In this context, and others, I wouldn’t want to create my report in a format that is exclusive. By “exclusive,” I suppose I mean that it excludes those not willing/eager to create (yet another?) online account, with all the trappings we’ve discussed an online identity to possess.
Thanks to this course, I feel comfortable with a number of new technologies, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with them further. There’s so much out there! There will be even more tomorrow. That’s awesome.
Why a blog, rather than a journal?
- A blog is so much tidier, so easily made to look professional
- I’m a quicker typer than hand-writer
- Multi-media capabilities
- Easy sharing, if and (immediately) when I’m so inclined to share
As far as contributing online content professionally, in addition to consistently adding resource links to my library’s home site (Destiny) I’m leaning toward creating a new, official Ning account for the Manhattan Village Academy library media center. I’m also very strongly considering writing my REACH grant report on a Ning. My vision is to:
- Post a slideshow of photos of the library under development
- Post a video and/or podcast featuring students responding to the new library materials
- Describe the purchases made with the grant money in the blog portion of the site
The one weakness I can think of that I don’t know that I mentioned during my group’s final presentation (which, by the way, I really enjoyed, thanks to the contributions of my fellow group members), is that in order to view a Ning profile or network, one must belong to Ning by having created an account. In this context, and others, I wouldn’t want to create my report in a format that is exclusive. By “exclusive,” I suppose I mean that it excludes those not willing/eager to create (yet another?) online account, with all the trappings we’ve discussed an online identity to possess.
Thanks to this course, I feel comfortable with a number of new technologies, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with them further. There’s so much out there! There will be even more tomorrow. That’s awesome.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
sharing is caring
Not being able to use the popular (teen attention-grabbing) song that my group had envisioned as perfect background music for our podcast has had me thinking a lot about copyright law and content ownership.
Enter Sita Sings the Blues, a really terrific film for which a friend of mine did the sound editing. When I first saw Sita Sings the Blues, in the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, creator (read: writer, producer, animator, editor) Nina Paley talked a lot about the difficulties she and her team faced in distributing the film, and in being granted permission (or not) to include some of the songs in it. Learn everything about the animated feature film at www.sitasingstheblues.com, and more about its copyright problems and unorthodox distribution from wikipedia's Sita entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita_Sings_the_Blues.
I am really inspired by these words and actions of creator Nina Paley (www.sitasingstheblues.com):
Paley wrote a great article titled Understanding Free Content, available here: http://www.questioncopyright.org/understanding_free_content
Another interesting idea realized (and described in full at http://www.questioncopyright.org/creator_endorsed_mark): "The Creator-Endorsed Mark is a logo that a distributor can use to indicate that a work is distributed in a way that its creator endorses — typically, by the distributor sharing some of the profits with the creator." I think that the concept is a good one, and I hope that the belief that, "...given a choice, audiences will prefer sources that support the artist, when they have a reliable way of recognizing such sources." I'll be keeping my eye out for the mark!
Here's another interesting article entitled Did You Say "Intellectual Property"? It's a Seductive Mirage: http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/not-ipr.xhtml.
I want to trust you, culture, and freedom with whatever I create!
Enter Sita Sings the Blues, a really terrific film for which a friend of mine did the sound editing. When I first saw Sita Sings the Blues, in the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, creator (read: writer, producer, animator, editor) Nina Paley talked a lot about the difficulties she and her team faced in distributing the film, and in being granted permission (or not) to include some of the songs in it. Learn everything about the animated feature film at www.sitasingstheblues.com, and more about its copyright problems and unorthodox distribution from wikipedia's Sita entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sita_Sings_the_Blues.I am really inspired by these words and actions of creator Nina Paley (www.sitasingstheblues.com):
"Dear Audience,
I hereby give Sita Sings the Blues to you. Like all culture, it belongs to you already, but I am making it explicit with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. Please distribute, copy, share, archive, and show Sita Sings the Blues. From the shared culture it came, and back into the shared culture it goes.
You don't need my permission to copy, share, publish, archive, show, sell, broadcast, or remix Sita Sings the Blues. Conventional wisdom urges me to demand payment for every use of the film, but then how would people without money get to see it? How widely would the film be disseminated if it were limited by permission and fees? Control offers a false sense of security. The only real security I have is trusting you, trusting culture, and trusting freedom.
That said, my colleagues and I will enforce the Share Alike License. You are not free to copy-restrict ("copyright") or attach Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) to Sita Sings the Blues or its derivative works."From Nina Paley's blog (http://blog.ninapaley.com/), I discovered www.questioncopyright.org, "A Clearinghouse For New Ideas About Copyright."
Paley wrote a great article titled Understanding Free Content, available here: http://www.questioncopyright.org/understanding_free_content
Another interesting idea realized (and described in full at http://www.questioncopyright.org/creator_endorsed_mark): "The Creator-Endorsed Mark is a logo that a distributor can use to indicate that a work is distributed in a way that its creator endorses — typically, by the distributor sharing some of the profits with the creator." I think that the concept is a good one, and I hope that the belief that, "...given a choice, audiences will prefer sources that support the artist, when they have a reliable way of recognizing such sources." I'll be keeping my eye out for the mark!Here's another interesting article entitled Did You Say "Intellectual Property"? It's a Seductive Mirage: http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/not-ipr.xhtml.
I want to trust you, culture, and freedom with whatever I create!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
i prefer to consume... and how.
danah doyd’s Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace struck a chord with me in that it mentions the fact that academia—or the parameters it imposes—can be limiting, revealing the value of freer forums like blogs and social networking sites and YouTube.
Here, in particular: “For the academics reading this, I want to highlight that this is not an academic article. It is not trying to be. It is based on my observations in the field, but I'm not trying to situate or theorize what is going on. I've chosen terms meant to convey impressions, but I know that they are not precise uses of these terms. Hopefully, one day, I can get the words together to actually write an academic article about this topic, but I felt as though this is too important of an issue to sit on while I find the words.”
I like that people can sort out what they’re trying to say, and get feedback on it, as soon as they have something to say.
I generally prefer to read people’s observation-based assertions, in part because they strike me as more genuine those based upon statistics (which I cannot help but question). There is definitely value in theories based upon soundly collected data, but nothing is more compelling to me than personal accounts that illustrate (or start!) a larger trend (not to mention a discussion). There’s something to be said for the fact that reputation, readability, and relevance can make a blog oor site or forum popular (as opposed to knowing the right people in order to be published by the right entity), and that seems like such a pure democratic process.
On YouTube...
About this: “While [the] idealization of YouTube as a self-organizing, radically democratic community for sharing clip culture certainly helped to buffer what could be considered an act of selling “the community” as property to a corporate giant, the image of YouTube as a revolutionary alternative to corporate media culture has been a powerful one” (The YouTube Community). This “loss of an idealized space outside the global totality of commercial culture" (from John McMurria, quoted by Henry Jenkins in Taking the You Out of YouTube?) made me wonder about where our responsibility lies as far as being aware of—or assuring—that social networking sites be ‘socially responsible’ or ‘free’ or ‘ad free.’ My feelings on this are difficult to articulate (I’ll work on it), but it ties into my concern that Apple has set products up so well that we rely on them, however limited their lifespan (my shiny computer looks too beautiful to be outdated after just 4.5 years!!) and continue to pay big bucks for them. I wonder if people would still use YouTube if they had to pay a fee for it. I wonder if individuals will ever be generous and organized enough to beat out corporate giants. Or will we ever want to?
The phrases “radically democratic” and “profoundly democratic” fascinate me and have me wondering what the actual definition of plaine old “democratic” is! When I looked up the term in Wikipedia, I was redirected to the entry for Democracy. I did, however find a link to “Non-democratic democracies” which explains, “Moreover, in many countries, democratic participation is less than 50% at times, which makes them democracies only in name.” Could “radical democracy” have anything to do with the amount of participation, or am I leaping here? It’s interesting to note that Alex Juhasz describes YouTube as “relatively democratic.”
Another note about Boyd: She also asserts that “Americans aren't so good at talking about class,” and I feel her on that one. Never in my life has class been so immediately relevant to me, to my daily conversations and ruminations, as now, teaching in a New York City public school, and I often have the distinct feeling that I lack the vocabulary to discuss essential class issues. Interestingly, sometimes I feel suffocated by the need for political correctness (particularly in the context of student-related communications), and sometimes I feel offended by others’ lack thereof. Whether I have a set of standards that I can’t fully articulate, or whether my sensitivity depends on my mood, I can’t say. I’ll try to pay closer attention, and to connect the dots to see if there’s an identifiable pattern.
I like that class issues and moral debates are being explored online, in myriad formats and forums. I like that I can choose my sources, and that I can respond at will, and that how and why I (we!) do so is being talked about.
Here, in particular: “For the academics reading this, I want to highlight that this is not an academic article. It is not trying to be. It is based on my observations in the field, but I'm not trying to situate or theorize what is going on. I've chosen terms meant to convey impressions, but I know that they are not precise uses of these terms. Hopefully, one day, I can get the words together to actually write an academic article about this topic, but I felt as though this is too important of an issue to sit on while I find the words.”
I like that people can sort out what they’re trying to say, and get feedback on it, as soon as they have something to say.
I generally prefer to read people’s observation-based assertions, in part because they strike me as more genuine those based upon statistics (which I cannot help but question). There is definitely value in theories based upon soundly collected data, but nothing is more compelling to me than personal accounts that illustrate (or start!) a larger trend (not to mention a discussion). There’s something to be said for the fact that reputation, readability, and relevance can make a blog oor site or forum popular (as opposed to knowing the right people in order to be published by the right entity), and that seems like such a pure democratic process.
On YouTube...
About this: “While [the] idealization of YouTube as a self-organizing, radically democratic community for sharing clip culture certainly helped to buffer what could be considered an act of selling “the community” as property to a corporate giant, the image of YouTube as a revolutionary alternative to corporate media culture has been a powerful one” (The YouTube Community). This “loss of an idealized space outside the global totality of commercial culture" (from John McMurria, quoted by Henry Jenkins in Taking the You Out of YouTube?) made me wonder about where our responsibility lies as far as being aware of—or assuring—that social networking sites be ‘socially responsible’ or ‘free’ or ‘ad free.’ My feelings on this are difficult to articulate (I’ll work on it), but it ties into my concern that Apple has set products up so well that we rely on them, however limited their lifespan (my shiny computer looks too beautiful to be outdated after just 4.5 years!!) and continue to pay big bucks for them. I wonder if people would still use YouTube if they had to pay a fee for it. I wonder if individuals will ever be generous and organized enough to beat out corporate giants. Or will we ever want to?
The phrases “radically democratic” and “profoundly democratic” fascinate me and have me wondering what the actual definition of plaine old “democratic” is! When I looked up the term in Wikipedia, I was redirected to the entry for Democracy. I did, however find a link to “Non-democratic democracies” which explains, “Moreover, in many countries, democratic participation is less than 50% at times, which makes them democracies only in name.” Could “radical democracy” have anything to do with the amount of participation, or am I leaping here? It’s interesting to note that Alex Juhasz describes YouTube as “relatively democratic.”
Another note about Boyd: She also asserts that “Americans aren't so good at talking about class,” and I feel her on that one. Never in my life has class been so immediately relevant to me, to my daily conversations and ruminations, as now, teaching in a New York City public school, and I often have the distinct feeling that I lack the vocabulary to discuss essential class issues. Interestingly, sometimes I feel suffocated by the need for political correctness (particularly in the context of student-related communications), and sometimes I feel offended by others’ lack thereof. Whether I have a set of standards that I can’t fully articulate, or whether my sensitivity depends on my mood, I can’t say. I’ll try to pay closer attention, and to connect the dots to see if there’s an identifiable pattern.
I like that class issues and moral debates are being explored online, in myriad formats and forums. I like that I can choose my sources, and that I can respond at will, and that how and why I (we!) do so is being talked about.
Monday, April 20, 2009
and you can quote me
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." --Alvin Toffler
Sunday, April 19, 2009
ipodder fodder
I'll admit that I've always dreamed of reading something I've written on NPR.
As a child of the Bay Area, I spent considerable time in the car, traversing 101 and 280 with my mother, who dutifully drove me back and forth between my myriad activities. The car stereo-enabled soundtrack to my uncomfortable yet swift changing from school clothing into my gymnastics leotard, and my scarfing down of the snack du jour to fuel me for a 4 hour practice, was always NPR. The voices of guest readers and regular hosts filled the car cavity and my brain cavity with information, sure, but mainly, unfailingly, with comfort.
When, years later, I met Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor at a library conference, I stood as close to him as possible (he was signing at the Penguin adult group booth which neighbored the Penguin Young Readers booth at which I was working, managing a concurrent author signing session), for as long as I possibly could, inhaling the sound of his voice. When we were introduced, I hardly knew how to articulate what his voice meant to me, and it occurred to me that I had literally never been so excited to meet--or be in the proximity of--a celebrity. I asked Mr. Keillor to sign a copy of his latest to my mom and dad, and then boldly requested a photo as he joked about my looking far too young to actually work at Penguin. He said to me, "Be still my beating heart, of course!" and I've yet to fully recover, which explains why I'm sharing the story on this blog, like a blushing pre-teen.
The story, the feeling, demonstrate how powerful and wonderfully experiential voice and story telling can be, and there's nothing like the calm that I find when fully engaged in a beautifully designed radio program or podcast.
So. Since I know what I love and what I respond to, I'm really excited by the idea of creating podcasts... and not just to hear my own voice. These are a few podcast ideas I've come up with thus far (favorites in bold):
- How to conduct an effective search using MVA library's home page and database subscriptions
- REACH grant feedback from students and teachers, to post on planned REACH grant blog detailing purchases / use / evolution of library
- MVA book club: opinions on book, direction of the club, etc.
- Sample of MVA's upcoming drama production, advertising participants, date, etc.
- MVA students reading self-written poetry, explanations of the writing process
- Individuals reading their favorite quotes and explaining what the significance is (fair use: quote inspiring their original thought)
- Teachers or students reading brief excerpts of their favorite books, then explaining why it's a favorite and to whom they'd recommend it
- Students sharing their thoughts on the whole college preparation / selection / application process. Hopes / fears about college in general. Resources they'd recommend.
- Students sharing a research success story, detailing the search process, emphasizing what they learned and how they applied or will apply the results
- Interviews on stereotypes of librarians, and where they come from, how/if they're changing, and why/why not
- Interview with student library patron of the week, to be posted on MVA library site
As a child of the Bay Area, I spent considerable time in the car, traversing 101 and 280 with my mother, who dutifully drove me back and forth between my myriad activities. The car stereo-enabled soundtrack to my uncomfortable yet swift changing from school clothing into my gymnastics leotard, and my scarfing down of the snack du jour to fuel me for a 4 hour practice, was always NPR. The voices of guest readers and regular hosts filled the car cavity and my brain cavity with information, sure, but mainly, unfailingly, with comfort.
When, years later, I met Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor at a library conference, I stood as close to him as possible (he was signing at the Penguin adult group booth which neighbored the Penguin Young Readers booth at which I was working, managing a concurrent author signing session), for as long as I possibly could, inhaling the sound of his voice. When we were introduced, I hardly knew how to articulate what his voice meant to me, and it occurred to me that I had literally never been so excited to meet--or be in the proximity of--a celebrity. I asked Mr. Keillor to sign a copy of his latest to my mom and dad, and then boldly requested a photo as he joked about my looking far too young to actually work at Penguin. He said to me, "Be still my beating heart, of course!" and I've yet to fully recover, which explains why I'm sharing the story on this blog, like a blushing pre-teen.
The story, the feeling, demonstrate how powerful and wonderfully experiential voice and story telling can be, and there's nothing like the calm that I find when fully engaged in a beautifully designed radio program or podcast.
So. Since I know what I love and what I respond to, I'm really excited by the idea of creating podcasts... and not just to hear my own voice. These are a few podcast ideas I've come up with thus far (favorites in bold):
- How to conduct an effective search using MVA library's home page and database subscriptions
- REACH grant feedback from students and teachers, to post on planned REACH grant blog detailing purchases / use / evolution of library
- MVA book club: opinions on book, direction of the club, etc.
- Sample of MVA's upcoming drama production, advertising participants, date, etc.
- MVA students reading self-written poetry, explanations of the writing process
- Individuals reading their favorite quotes and explaining what the significance is (fair use: quote inspiring their original thought)
- Teachers or students reading brief excerpts of their favorite books, then explaining why it's a favorite and to whom they'd recommend it
- Students sharing their thoughts on the whole college preparation / selection / application process. Hopes / fears about college in general. Resources they'd recommend.
- Students sharing a research success story, detailing the search process, emphasizing what they learned and how they applied or will apply the results
- Interviews on stereotypes of librarians, and where they come from, how/if they're changing, and why/why not
- Interview with student library patron of the week, to be posted on MVA library site
Monday, April 13, 2009
a library's still about books. and questions.
Instead of bathing in the Bahamas (I like to pretend I could afford a week-long vacation), I'm logging student teaching hours with the little ones. My project here, at present, in between reading to and sitting with the wee ones, is to address the Native American / American Indian collection. It is still about the books. And there are still many questions that weeding brings about, as far as collection development goes.
It's refreshing to recognize that not EVERYTHING is about the newest technologies.
I found this, here, and I find it to be a refreshingly concise stance:
"Timmy wrote on October 3, 2006 8:05 am:
" Although I'm sympathetic to the spirit of this, this is not the proper solution. What qualifications do these media specialists bring to the table as arbiters of cultural correctness? Further, what literature does "accurately" portray culture? As a working class kid I seldom saw my "culture" depicted in books I read in school, and when I did it was usually in clumsy stereotypes. Given the infinite complexity of culture it's difficult to imagine any work that could withstand full scrutiny, no matter what culture it happens to be written about. Beyond that, even ethnographic histories themselves are forever shifting and changing. How are these media specialists to jump into the midst of the cultural maelstrom and determine "proper" and "improper"? I love Beverly Slapin's point that these books need to be maintained because they are a chroncile of our misguided notions of the past that should humble us into recongnizing that we still live with misguided cultural notions today. I admire the solution of leaving the books on the shlves, with reviews attached that challenge some of the information in the book so that the reader is allowed to think for him/herself, and truly grasp that books today likely contain similar inaccuracies based on contemporary understandings that will one day be similarly challenged. There is a real education in these old books that view cultural issues so differently than we do today. ""
It's refreshing to recognize that not EVERYTHING is about the newest technologies.
I found this, here, and I find it to be a refreshingly concise stance:
"Timmy wrote on October 3, 2006 8:05 am:
" Although I'm sympathetic to the spirit of this, this is not the proper solution. What qualifications do these media specialists bring to the table as arbiters of cultural correctness? Further, what literature does "accurately" portray culture? As a working class kid I seldom saw my "culture" depicted in books I read in school, and when I did it was usually in clumsy stereotypes. Given the infinite complexity of culture it's difficult to imagine any work that could withstand full scrutiny, no matter what culture it happens to be written about. Beyond that, even ethnographic histories themselves are forever shifting and changing. How are these media specialists to jump into the midst of the cultural maelstrom and determine "proper" and "improper"? I love Beverly Slapin's point that these books need to be maintained because they are a chroncile of our misguided notions of the past that should humble us into recongnizing that we still live with misguided cultural notions today. I admire the solution of leaving the books on the shlves, with reviews attached that challenge some of the information in the book so that the reader is allowed to think for him/herself, and truly grasp that books today likely contain similar inaccuracies based on contemporary understandings that will one day be similarly challenged. There is a real education in these old books that view cultural issues so differently than we do today. ""
Sunday, April 12, 2009
hoooold on, there, web 3.0
I received this message from mediabistro.com (which I'd signed up for to stay hip to the upcoming trends in my publishing days):
"We'll be celebrating Web 3.0, our upcoming conference in New York on May 19-20. Web 3.0 is all about new technologies that are driving businesses forward today. Some of the conference speakers will be at the party, so if you have questions about what's next on the web, you can ask the experts including our hosts, conference co-chairs Dan Grigorovici and Hank Williams."
It has me thinking of how similar libraries' needs are to those of business, particularly as far as web use is concerned.
"We'll be celebrating Web 3.0, our upcoming conference in New York on May 19-20. Web 3.0 is all about new technologies that are driving businesses forward today. Some of the conference speakers will be at the party, so if you have questions about what's next on the web, you can ask the experts including our hosts, conference co-chairs Dan Grigorovici and Hank Williams."
It has me thinking of how similar libraries' needs are to those of business, particularly as far as web use is concerned.
podcast pumped
I'm thrilled that we're exploring podcasts because, at present, I'm intrigued and intimidated by them. The experience I do have with podcasts has me realizing that my intimidation is caused more by a lack of time and updated equipment (my computer, 5 years old but beautiful, is sooooooo slooooowwwwwww) than it does from the medium itself.
I'm about to jump onto a train, and I'll be listening to a podcast on it from my iPhone (with which, if I haven't mentioned it already, I'm having a love affair, by the way), and I'll be considering why I've yet to incorporate podcasting into my every day life. See you on the other side of the cast.
---
Podcasts have the power to transport, if given enough space and just the right conditions for transport.
That's what I determined en route yesterday, This American Life podcast streaming into my ears. Enough space on my iPhone, just the right volume, just long enough a commute, and I was elsewhere, mentally, in the best way: entertained, comforted, and thinking critically.
Podcasts and blogs and email all allow such immediate, potentially rich communication (takes the right ingredients and timing, like cooking)... by anyone. The opportunity to express is so freeing. But. The responsibility to monitor, to assess, to respond can be so incredibly daunting. Case in point:
I offered a student the option to email me over the break regarding a research project book recommendation. She did:
"Hi Ms. Daehler,It's me... I think I know what I would like to include in my paper, but I'm not sure if it's "modern enough." .... Since the paper is due in such a short amount of time I think that these books would do. I would also throw in some quotes from the Bible, but I've never really read it. I know some stories but I've never read it from cover to cover. Are these books okay to include. If they are I think I know which direction I can write my paper in.Thank You in advance. Happy Easter!"
My taxes are not yet done. I have homework and projects and reading and student teaching to do... But my eagerness to connect with a student and help them see me as a resource, combined with the mighty powers of the internet, and an expectation for quick response, adds a to-do to my list. I'm marveling at what kinds of communication technology is facilitating... and what kinds of stress it's capable of inducing. What am I doing with the concern? Blogging about it.
I'm about to jump onto a train, and I'll be listening to a podcast on it from my iPhone (with which, if I haven't mentioned it already, I'm having a love affair, by the way), and I'll be considering why I've yet to incorporate podcasting into my every day life. See you on the other side of the cast.
---
Podcasts have the power to transport, if given enough space and just the right conditions for transport.
That's what I determined en route yesterday, This American Life podcast streaming into my ears. Enough space on my iPhone, just the right volume, just long enough a commute, and I was elsewhere, mentally, in the best way: entertained, comforted, and thinking critically.
Podcasts and blogs and email all allow such immediate, potentially rich communication (takes the right ingredients and timing, like cooking)... by anyone. The opportunity to express is so freeing. But. The responsibility to monitor, to assess, to respond can be so incredibly daunting. Case in point:
I offered a student the option to email me over the break regarding a research project book recommendation. She did:
"Hi Ms. Daehler,It's me... I think I know what I would like to include in my paper, but I'm not sure if it's "modern enough." .... Since the paper is due in such a short amount of time I think that these books would do. I would also throw in some quotes from the Bible, but I've never really read it. I know some stories but I've never read it from cover to cover. Are these books okay to include. If they are I think I know which direction I can write my paper in.Thank You in advance. Happy Easter!"
My taxes are not yet done. I have homework and projects and reading and student teaching to do... But my eagerness to connect with a student and help them see me as a resource, combined with the mighty powers of the internet, and an expectation for quick response, adds a to-do to my list. I'm marveling at what kinds of communication technology is facilitating... and what kinds of stress it's capable of inducing. What am I doing with the concern? Blogging about it.
Monday, April 6, 2009
whoa whoa WHOA! organizing the organizers
I've just had a really interesting, informative meeting with Ms. Chemistry Teacher, and I'm excited and OVERWHELMED.
Ning is great, and I think it'll work really well with the 20-student Science Club to start with. Chem Teach and I plan to introduce the tool to them on April 23rd. We're also planning to survey the teachers to determine how they use technology in the classroom. Chem Teach is actually studying the topic for an action research project, but I'm happy to be involved. We plan to present the survey at our next weekly staff meeting.
Check out these crazy Web 2.0 resources / resource lists!!
Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: http://www.solutionwatch.com/512/back-to-school-with-the-class-of-web-20-part-1/
GradeFix: http://www.gradefix.com/index.php
NoteMesh: http://notemesh.com/?a=home
All these resources intend to make life more organized and informed, but there's so much to explore! Not enough time... to save time.
Ning is great, and I think it'll work really well with the 20-student Science Club to start with. Chem Teach and I plan to introduce the tool to them on April 23rd. We're also planning to survey the teachers to determine how they use technology in the classroom. Chem Teach is actually studying the topic for an action research project, but I'm happy to be involved. We plan to present the survey at our next weekly staff meeting.
Check out these crazy Web 2.0 resources / resource lists!!
Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0: http://www.solutionwatch.com/512/back-to-school-with-the-class-of-web-20-part-1/
GradeFix: http://www.gradefix.com/index.php
NoteMesh: http://notemesh.com/?a=home
All these resources intend to make life more organized and informed, but there's so much to explore! Not enough time... to save time.
miss, you trippin'
I keep thinking about Nicholas Carr's description of his Web foraging as "tripping from link to link," and the notion of hyperlinks propelling us toward related works. Are we less and less susceptible to inadvertent link propelling (as we are, I think, to advertising), or are our brains increasingly operating as Net-provided information demands that it be?
Here, Jim Kapoun writes (in 1998), "If you are an instructional librarian, you know that the Web, in its ever-changing formats, is seemingly here to stay." I don't remember ever questioning (or doubting) that the Web was here to stay, let alone in recent years. No way, no how, no question. I am questioning whether my attention span is here to stay, or whether it's a goner. :/
Here, Jim Kapoun writes (in 1998), "If you are an instructional librarian, you know that the Web, in its ever-changing formats, is seemingly here to stay." I don't remember ever questioning (or doubting) that the Web was here to stay, let alone in recent years. No way, no how, no question. I am questioning whether my attention span is here to stay, or whether it's a goner. :/
let's ning this thing!
Once in a while--more than, actually--I wake up and recognize that I'm the luckiest librarian out there. I'll not deny that the thought has crossed my mind an abnormally high percentage of the time on generous school system vacation days, but work days definitely have me thinking it, too.
[A student just now returned an SAT review book and checked another out, and that's the kind of thing that gets me all choked up. Ahhh.]
Last week, in the midst of Science Fair Preparation Madness*, our 11th grade Chemistry teacher approached me (presumably in response to a memo I'd sent out recently advertising our newly purchased databases, asking for book requests--hooray REACH grant money!--and offering to collaborate on lessons) and asked if I was interested in collaborating on a lesson using Ning. Um, yes! The teacher had just returned from a conference featuring a session that apparently stressed the potential benefits of utilizing technology in the classroom, and she was clearly inspired. Her interest has me giddy.
We'll meet today to plan the lesson, and I've just signed up for Ning in preparation. I also joined the Library 2.0 social network. This involved providing additional (and repeat) general information, plus a statement about why I am interested in joining the network. I wrote, "I'm very interested in user-centered change and participation in the creation of content and community!" Who, I wonder, was reading my 'application'?! I received an email that said, "Welcome to Ning, where you can create and discover new social networks for the most important people and interests in your life." Wow now! Said that way, I almost feel as though I've won some sort of gift.
The gift is apparently conditional, though. My current status? "Your membership to Library 2.0 is pending approval. Hello, Ms. Daehler, Your profile details must be approved by the Administrator before you can become a member of Library 2.0. You will receive an email once your profile is approved."
Well, then!
Oooh, update [22 minutes or so later]! This just in: "Congratulations! Your Library 2.0 membership has been approved."
I'm basking in the approval (could there have been a wrong answer? Might someone actually be rejected?), and I'm excited to see what my colleague and I are able to set up for the students this afternoon. SNS use in the classroom, here we come.
*In order to prepare students for their Science Fair project presentations, Joe, our ESL teacher, and I made mock presentations to every section of the 11th grade. We demonstrated, very effectively (if student feedback is any indication), all the things NOT to do: awful posture, over-generalizations, lack of focus, no eye contact, reading off of the slide (while blocking it, back to the audience) in monotone, slang ("These molecules are O.D. running into each other, yo!"), poor team work, etc. etc. We caused a lot of giggles, and students were wonderful about pointing out exactly what we'd done wrong. Following the presentations and feedback sharing, when everyone was calm and attentive, I also "got" to make a big speech about how to take care of the library (they'd left the place a MESS the night before, and I was flustered and insulted). I'll spare you the speech, but judging by the current state of the library, it was effective. Timing and mood has so much to do with it, I think!
[A student just now returned an SAT review book and checked another out, and that's the kind of thing that gets me all choked up. Ahhh.]
Last week, in the midst of Science Fair Preparation Madness*, our 11th grade Chemistry teacher approached me (presumably in response to a memo I'd sent out recently advertising our newly purchased databases, asking for book requests--hooray REACH grant money!--and offering to collaborate on lessons) and asked if I was interested in collaborating on a lesson using Ning. Um, yes! The teacher had just returned from a conference featuring a session that apparently stressed the potential benefits of utilizing technology in the classroom, and she was clearly inspired. Her interest has me giddy.
We'll meet today to plan the lesson, and I've just signed up for Ning in preparation. I also joined the Library 2.0 social network. This involved providing additional (and repeat) general information, plus a statement about why I am interested in joining the network. I wrote, "I'm very interested in user-centered change and participation in the creation of content and community!" Who, I wonder, was reading my 'application'?! I received an email that said, "Welcome to Ning, where you can create and discover new social networks for the most important people and interests in your life." Wow now! Said that way, I almost feel as though I've won some sort of gift.
The gift is apparently conditional, though. My current status? "Your membership to Library 2.0 is pending approval. Hello, Ms. Daehler, Your profile details must be approved by the Administrator before you can become a member of Library 2.0. You will receive an email once your profile is approved."
Well, then!
Oooh, update [22 minutes or so later]! This just in: "Congratulations! Your Library 2.0 membership has been approved."
I'm basking in the approval (could there have been a wrong answer? Might someone actually be rejected?), and I'm excited to see what my colleague and I are able to set up for the students this afternoon. SNS use in the classroom, here we come.
*In order to prepare students for their Science Fair project presentations, Joe, our ESL teacher, and I made mock presentations to every section of the 11th grade. We demonstrated, very effectively (if student feedback is any indication), all the things NOT to do: awful posture, over-generalizations, lack of focus, no eye contact, reading off of the slide (while blocking it, back to the audience) in monotone, slang ("These molecules are O.D. running into each other, yo!"), poor team work, etc. etc. We caused a lot of giggles, and students were wonderful about pointing out exactly what we'd done wrong. Following the presentations and feedback sharing, when everyone was calm and attentive, I also "got" to make a big speech about how to take care of the library (they'd left the place a MESS the night before, and I was flustered and insulted). I'll spare you the speech, but judging by the current state of the library, it was effective. Timing and mood has so much to do with it, I think!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
anonymity, please. oh, and sometimes fame.
It struck me as I read "BBC: Google Pulls Some Street Images" that while some were making noise about being pictured (and demanding that their now public sightings be removed), others were SUBMITTING PHOTOS of their found selves to be publicized. Different people want different things. And, sometimes, the same people want different things... in juuuuuuust the right proportion.
Sure, Carrie wants her photo in the paper. But would she rather be seen the city over looking a wreck than not be in the paper at all?
Aaaaaand I'm back to the control issue. At what point does technology's power (to expose, to misrepresent) extend beyond our immediate control? What do we sacrifice, technologically, for 'complete' control? Or is control, at this point, an illusion? What kinds of privacy to we exchange for connectivity?
Sure, Carrie wants her photo in the paper. But would she rather be seen the city over looking a wreck than not be in the paper at all?
Aaaaaand I'm back to the control issue. At what point does technology's power (to expose, to misrepresent) extend beyond our immediate control? What do we sacrifice, technologically, for 'complete' control? Or is control, at this point, an illusion? What kinds of privacy to we exchange for connectivity?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
tweet from a non
For someone who is totally removed from the whole twitter phenomenon, I'm paying way too much attention to what others are saying about it. Maybe I'm offering myself to be convinced?
Twitter: Incredibly Valuable Or Utterly Useless As A Link Building Tool?
http://searchengineland.com/twitter-and-link-building-behind-the-scenes-17133
Twitter: Incredibly Valuable Or Utterly Useless As A Link Building Tool?
http://searchengineland.com/
Monday, March 30, 2009
twitterated
This just shared on the NYCSLIST listserv:
Go to http://mrslwalker.com/?p=79620905 to see nine reasons why teachers and library media specialists should twitter.
Laura Walker provides answers "that you might like to share" to these questions:
What’s the point of Twitter? Why should educators get involved? What difference does using Twitter make?
Highlights:
“Following smart people on Twitter is like a mental shot of expresso.”
"Remember, your experience on Twitter is only as high quality as the people who you follow and the information you share."
Go to http://mrslwalker.com/?p=
Laura Walker provides answers "that you might like to share" to these questions:
What’s the point of Twitter? Why should educators get involved? What difference does using Twitter make?
Highlights:
“Following smart people on Twitter is like a mental shot of expresso.”
"Remember, your experience on Twitter is only as high quality as the people who you follow and the information you share."
Sunday, March 29, 2009
awakening to wikis
It's back. The awareness that contributions are public, and therefore potentially exposing, and therefore intimidating.
Wait, wait, wait, I tell myself. Aren't people all too eager to twitter every second? Surely, people have something—a billion things—to say, and no qualms about saying it publicly. BUT. There is tremendous range as far as the type of contribution that's possible. Twittering (tweeting?) about what you're doing and how you're feeling about, say, yourself, is easy; there’s no wrong answer, you speak from as little or as much expertise as you like, and something about the personal element makes it your soapbox.
But the note at the close of The New Yorker’s "Know It All: Can Wikipedia conquer Expertise?" article by Stacy Schiff (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact), suggests that anonymity is not an uncommon component of the wiki world for a reason:
“Essjay was recommended to Ms. Schiff as a source by a member of Wikipedia’s management team because of his respected position within the Wikipedia community. He was willing to describe his work as a Wikipedia administrator but would not identify himself other than by confirming the biographical details that appeared on his user page. At the time of publication, neither we nor Wikipedia knew Essjay’s real name. Essjay’s entire Wikipedia life was conducted with only a user name; anonymity is common for Wikipedia administrators and contributors, and he says that he feared personal retribution from those he had ruled against online.”
Before one posts on a professional wiki, it would behoove one to be well informed about not only the purpose of the wiki, but also about the topic on which one is posting. Even an opinion should be well formed and supported, it seems. I suppose I’d define it as audience-conscious blogging, the idea being that one shouldn’t only have the potential judgments of the likely audience of the post in mind, but also their needs. How useful is what you have to say to others?
As a number of our readings have pointed out, participation is the key element to a tool's success. Forced wikiing I’d argue, begets poor wikiing, if only because it does not spring organically from an authentic need.
I was fascinated to review the profile of wikiier “elm007,” a central figure in NYC’s Office of School Library Services. She did include a picture, which is a voluntary piece of information. Also available for public viewing, though, were these stats:
Member since Dec 19, 2006 5:49 am
111 page edits, 3 message posts
Wikispaces: 08schoollibraryfallconference, 8-Million-Reasons-to-Read, IFC-Integration, Library-Automation, newlyassigned, nyc-ccd, nyc-inquiry, NYCSLS-Assessments, NYCSLS-Council, NYCSLS-ReadingToolkit, schoollibraryfallconference07, slsmentor, tween2teen
That’s a lot of info! I will have to investigate further into how many of those stats are voluntary. This recalls our discussion about the control settings of SNS, and how their defaults are often set to public.
All this said, I’ve seen wikis that work, and I’ve been inspired by them. Our class wiki has been an extremely useful tool, for example. Also, the wiki created by the New York City School Library System’s Program of Cooperative Collection Development (CCD), which is funded by the New York State Education Department and which, “promotes resource sharing opportunities among member libraries,” is excellent:
It is introduced this way: “In order to support the CCD program’s mandate for resource sharing, the librarians who curate the individual collections have created pathfinders. They have been posted on a Wiki: http://nyc-ccd.wikispaces.com. They are listed on the left hand column in the table of contents. Please access these for guidance and suggested resources when your students or faculty need materials within these subject areas” (http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/LibraryServices/EducatorResources/EducationalResources/Cooperative+Collection+Development).
Another wiki I've invited into my life, if only in hopes of them wooing me into participation*:
Library Automation Wiki: http://library-automation.wikispaces.com/Cataloging+Tools
Another fun one (because of all the pictures?): http://robinhoodlibrarians.wikispaces.com/
* This sounds snotty, I know, but I promise I'm open to them; I just haven't encountered a need for the tool yet, so it's more of tool to explore, at this point, than a need-to-use to accomplish x goal.
Wait, wait, wait, I tell myself. Aren't people all too eager to twitter every second? Surely, people have something—a billion things—to say, and no qualms about saying it publicly. BUT. There is tremendous range as far as the type of contribution that's possible. Twittering (tweeting?) about what you're doing and how you're feeling about, say, yourself, is easy; there’s no wrong answer, you speak from as little or as much expertise as you like, and something about the personal element makes it your soapbox.
But the note at the close of The New Yorker’s "Know It All: Can Wikipedia conquer Expertise?" article by Stacy Schiff (http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact), suggests that anonymity is not an uncommon component of the wiki world for a reason:
“Essjay was recommended to Ms. Schiff as a source by a member of Wikipedia’s management team because of his respected position within the Wikipedia community. He was willing to describe his work as a Wikipedia administrator but would not identify himself other than by confirming the biographical details that appeared on his user page. At the time of publication, neither we nor Wikipedia knew Essjay’s real name. Essjay’s entire Wikipedia life was conducted with only a user name; anonymity is common for Wikipedia administrators and contributors, and he says that he feared personal retribution from those he had ruled against online.”
Before one posts on a professional wiki, it would behoove one to be well informed about not only the purpose of the wiki, but also about the topic on which one is posting. Even an opinion should be well formed and supported, it seems. I suppose I’d define it as audience-conscious blogging, the idea being that one shouldn’t only have the potential judgments of the likely audience of the post in mind, but also their needs. How useful is what you have to say to others?
As a number of our readings have pointed out, participation is the key element to a tool's success. Forced wikiing I’d argue, begets poor wikiing, if only because it does not spring organically from an authentic need.
I was fascinated to review the profile of wikiier “elm007,” a central figure in NYC’s Office of School Library Services. She did include a picture, which is a voluntary piece of information. Also available for public viewing, though, were these stats:
Member since Dec 19, 2006 5:49 am
111 page edits, 3 message posts
Wikispaces: 08schoollibraryfallconference, 8-Million-Reasons-to-Read, IFC-Integration, Library-Automation, newlyassigned, nyc-ccd, nyc-inquiry, NYCSLS-Assessments, NYCSLS-Council, NYCSLS-ReadingToolkit, schoollibraryfallconference07, slsmentor, tween2teen
That’s a lot of info! I will have to investigate further into how many of those stats are voluntary. This recalls our discussion about the control settings of SNS, and how their defaults are often set to public.
All this said, I’ve seen wikis that work, and I’ve been inspired by them. Our class wiki has been an extremely useful tool, for example. Also, the wiki created by the New York City School Library System’s Program of Cooperative Collection Development (CCD), which is funded by the New York State Education Department and which, “promotes resource sharing opportunities among member libraries,” is excellent:
It is introduced this way: “In order to support the CCD program’s mandate for resource sharing, the librarians who curate the individual collections have created pathfinders. They have been posted on a Wiki: http://nyc-ccd.wikispaces.com. They are listed on the left hand column in the table of contents. Please access these for guidance and suggested resources when your students or faculty need materials within these subject areas” (http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/LibraryServices/EducatorResources/EducationalResources/Cooperative+Collection+Development).
Another wiki I've invited into my life, if only in hopes of them wooing me into participation*:
Library Automation Wiki: http://library-automation.wikispaces.com/Cataloging+Tools
Another fun one (because of all the pictures?): http://robinhoodlibrarians.wikispaces.com/
* This sounds snotty, I know, but I promise I'm open to them; I just haven't encountered a need for the tool yet, so it's more of tool to explore, at this point, than a need-to-use to accomplish x goal.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
presenting Exception
Yesterday's class "hive mind" insisted that hippos are just plain MEAN. This photo says otherwise. Just sayin'!
Monday, March 23, 2009
paranoid? not pararnoid enough? and/or what am i here for?
Every word I write now has a place in history.
Or might.
Right?
I have trouble wrapping my mind around the notion that the trail I'm leaving behind won't disintegrate in time. That might be because I think no one can possible care, what with all the info out there. What have I to offer?
Whenever I think of how potentially catastrophic it might be for someone to happen upon--intentionally, rather than accidentally--past ramblings of mine, rotting in shambles--I imagine that I am running for office of some kind, and that incriminatory quotes from my long forgotten past will splash the front pages of the world's papers. But I never intend to run for office. I haven't done anything tooooo racy, either. It's an irrational fear.
Right?
I do worry about my writing not being my best, or too cheesy, or immature... But here's what I worry should really worry me: "It occurs to me that such warning systems can easily be turned on their heads, and become a kind of automated data detective. How long before such programs are circulated online to help people learn the secrets of others?" (http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/what-your-social-network-can-r.html)
What secrets do I have to keep? Identity theft isn't new (or, as I mentioned in a previous email, necessarily possible to prevent, I've decided to accept). Exposing a teacher for a loony--or even an irresponsible twenty something--is, though. To me. But my identities are pretty consistent, I think.
That saiiiiiiiiid... I don't necessarily want my students having access to my full identity, consistent or no. Why? It complicates things. Not befriending students is something I can control.
On the other hand... Two (male) students asked to take a picture of me dressed up for Spirit Week one day last week. No problem; I like the two students a lot. As soon as it was taken, though, one said, "A picture with Ms. Daehler! This is going to be allllll over facebook!" It wasn't a compromising picture by any stretch of the imagination, but exposure beyond my control to an audience who might actually care about the photo had me feeling suddenly nervous.
I shook it off. It's a new age. Pictures are taken and shared everywhere by everyone. A posted picture does not steal my soul. It might embarrass me. But that's the worst it gets. Right?
As far was what Dubbles refers to here as "the big three," this is where I stand:
- MySpace: No presence (though I did sign up for a secret account years ago to see a friend's posted photos)
- Facebook: Active, but never "active enough"; now double active with my two facedness (though neither is not me!). I am hesitant to invest in a second account--and I feel a little sketchy doing so--but I am MOST worried about how befriending students--even former students--might complicate my life! My prinicipal, I believe, would be against it. No matter how positive Cindy Long speaks of Facebook's potential, I don't know that the benefits of connecting to students through this means, at this time, outweigh the very real, very pregnant with danger drawbacks.
PLUS, there's the whole issue of Facebook being blocked at work. For better? For worse? As mentioned in a previous post, I receive email notifications of people's direct contact with me, which is really why I'm on Facebook (as opposed to the stalk-options. Hehe. I'm sure that term's been used before, but it's new to me :).
- LinkedIn: Passive, but on there. I created an account after three former co-workers invited me to join. Since then, I've yet to jump on the offensive, though I do see the value, particularly if I were to be in the market for a job. I'm pictureless on LinkedIn, and for some reason, that says something.
I don't twitter (but Facebook is apparently becoming my twitterish). I still strive to be less connected.
I wonder what the next thing will be, and how it will connect and disconnect me, and how all that will affect my lifestyle and mood. And identity.
Other reading notes:
- Also from Cindy Long re. ACTIVE participation: "An active community is key, because social networks are only as good as the conversations that take place within them, says Hargadon of Classroom 2.0."
- Great list of social networks for educators there, too! Pass along to MVA teachers
From Facebook Rules:
- Backlash to a feature that many argued threatened privacy... but then vindication when the feature became standard, but optional: "And he has been vindicated: hardly anyone opted out, and today the news feed is one of Facebook’s most widely-used features. I bring this up to illustrate that no one — neither Facebook, nor its users, nor the Internet’s chattering classes — knows exactly what features and policies a social networking site should have." We don't know what we want yet!
- Bottom line: "THERE CAN BE NO LEARNING WITHOUT EXPERIMENTATION"!
- The challenge is to walk the fine line: "As a Facebook user, I want Facebook to be experimenting with new features and policies, because some of them will make my Facebook experience better. I also want Facebook to listen to users and respond to their concerns. But I wouldn’t want Facebook to become so afraid of user backlash that it stops experimenting altogether."
- How much help do we need/accept to help forge an identity? Our identities?
- "Facebook has always been an incredibly supportive tool for young artists as they forge their identities, work and careers."
- when will law catch up? who owns what? who cares?
- gooooooo. when you put it like this: "the site is tracking your every keystroke" Scary.
- interoperability patterns are reallllllly interesting to me. So many parallels to human behavior! Who sets the trends? who opens up to whom? or what? and why? motives, responses, implications... fascinating.
Or might.
Right?
I have trouble wrapping my mind around the notion that the trail I'm leaving behind won't disintegrate in time. That might be because I think no one can possible care, what with all the info out there. What have I to offer?
Whenever I think of how potentially catastrophic it might be for someone to happen upon--intentionally, rather than accidentally--past ramblings of mine, rotting in shambles--I imagine that I am running for office of some kind, and that incriminatory quotes from my long forgotten past will splash the front pages of the world's papers. But I never intend to run for office. I haven't done anything tooooo racy, either. It's an irrational fear.
Right?
I do worry about my writing not being my best, or too cheesy, or immature... But here's what I worry should really worry me: "It occurs to me that such warning systems can easily be turned on their heads, and become a kind of automated data detective. How long before such programs are circulated online to help people learn the secrets of others?" (http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/what-your-social-network-can-r.html)
What secrets do I have to keep? Identity theft isn't new (or, as I mentioned in a previous email, necessarily possible to prevent, I've decided to accept). Exposing a teacher for a loony--or even an irresponsible twenty something--is, though. To me. But my identities are pretty consistent, I think.
That saiiiiiiiiid... I don't necessarily want my students having access to my full identity, consistent or no. Why? It complicates things. Not befriending students is something I can control.
On the other hand... Two (male) students asked to take a picture of me dressed up for Spirit Week one day last week. No problem; I like the two students a lot. As soon as it was taken, though, one said, "A picture with Ms. Daehler! This is going to be allllll over facebook!" It wasn't a compromising picture by any stretch of the imagination, but exposure beyond my control to an audience who might actually care about the photo had me feeling suddenly nervous.
I shook it off. It's a new age. Pictures are taken and shared everywhere by everyone. A posted picture does not steal my soul. It might embarrass me. But that's the worst it gets. Right?
As far was what Dubbles refers to here as "the big three," this is where I stand:
- MySpace: No presence (though I did sign up for a secret account years ago to see a friend's posted photos)
- Facebook: Active, but never "active enough"; now double active with my two facedness (though neither is not me!). I am hesitant to invest in a second account--and I feel a little sketchy doing so--but I am MOST worried about how befriending students--even former students--might complicate my life! My prinicipal, I believe, would be against it. No matter how positive Cindy Long speaks of Facebook's potential, I don't know that the benefits of connecting to students through this means, at this time, outweigh the very real, very pregnant with danger drawbacks.
PLUS, there's the whole issue of Facebook being blocked at work. For better? For worse? As mentioned in a previous post, I receive email notifications of people's direct contact with me, which is really why I'm on Facebook (as opposed to the stalk-options. Hehe. I'm sure that term's been used before, but it's new to me :).
- LinkedIn: Passive, but on there. I created an account after three former co-workers invited me to join. Since then, I've yet to jump on the offensive, though I do see the value, particularly if I were to be in the market for a job. I'm pictureless on LinkedIn, and for some reason, that says something.
I don't twitter (but Facebook is apparently becoming my twitterish). I still strive to be less connected.
I wonder what the next thing will be, and how it will connect and disconnect me, and how all that will affect my lifestyle and mood. And identity.
Other reading notes:
- Also from Cindy Long re. ACTIVE participation: "An active community is key, because social networks are only as good as the conversations that take place within them, says Hargadon of Classroom 2.0."
- Great list of social networks for educators there, too! Pass along to MVA teachers
From Facebook Rules:
- Backlash to a feature that many argued threatened privacy... but then vindication when the feature became standard, but optional: "And he has been vindicated: hardly anyone opted out, and today the news feed is one of Facebook’s most widely-used features. I bring this up to illustrate that no one — neither Facebook, nor its users, nor the Internet’s chattering classes — knows exactly what features and policies a social networking site should have." We don't know what we want yet!
- Bottom line: "THERE CAN BE NO LEARNING WITHOUT EXPERIMENTATION"!
- The challenge is to walk the fine line: "As a Facebook user, I want Facebook to be experimenting with new features and policies, because some of them will make my Facebook experience better. I also want Facebook to listen to users and respond to their concerns. But I wouldn’t want Facebook to become so afraid of user backlash that it stops experimenting altogether."
- How much help do we need/accept to help forge an identity? Our identities?
- "Facebook has always been an incredibly supportive tool for young artists as they forge their identities, work and careers."
- when will law catch up? who owns what? who cares?
- gooooooo. when you put it like this: "the site is tracking your every keystroke" Scary.
- interoperability patterns are reallllllly interesting to me. So many parallels to human behavior! Who sets the trends? who opens up to whom? or what? and why? motives, responses, implications... fascinating.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Where now?
I recently pinned up a poster (in a high traffic area of the school) from GALE (thanks to a trial subscription to a number of really exciting databases we're test driving) that reads, "If you're going to fight authority, be well-armed... Ask your librarian for access to Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center." Response to the poster has been great (in that there has been any, at all; it's amazing how much/what the students DON'T see), and I've been meaning for a while now to hunt down more attractive posters to post around the school. I decided to go on a quick hunt.
I entered search terms "ALA free poster" and clicked on this, the third link: Pick up a free READ poster or ALA (American Library Association) t ... Sounded decently promising to my multi-tasking self. I ended up in a virtual store offering virtual goods: http://sllibrarians.ning.com/photo/650964:Photo:14960?context=latest.
Hm. I instantly felt uneasy, misled, annoyed... intrigued? The concept is familiar to me, the cause a good one.... But of what use is virtual wear to me? To my students? To those of us who prefer to live in the real world?!
I'll be thinking more about why this experience caused such a strong, negative reaction. Maybe I'll mull it over a long walk outside... in Second Life. With my fingers. Eyes on screen.
Glch.
I entered search terms "ALA free poster" and clicked on this, the third link: Pick up a free READ poster or ALA (American Library Association) t ... Sounded decently promising to my multi-tasking self. I ended up in a virtual store offering virtual goods: http://sllibrarians.ning.com/photo/650964:Photo:14960?context=latest.
Hm. I instantly felt uneasy, misled, annoyed... intrigued? The concept is familiar to me, the cause a good one.... But of what use is virtual wear to me? To my students? To those of us who prefer to live in the real world?!I'll be thinking more about why this experience caused such a strong, negative reaction. Maybe I'll mull it over a long walk outside... in Second Life. With my fingers. Eyes on screen.
Glch.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
two faced and overbooked
I'm considering creating a new face, and it's stressing me out.
I was once an "early adopter." I mentioned in a recent post that I worked as an intern for There.com one summer; during that time, I crashed into the world of online communication. I was one of the first to join friendster, one of the first mainstream social networking sites, and I even encouraged friends to do the same. I made friends of strangers online through There.com, which I hadn't done since chat rooms in the 90's (with which I had very quickly became tired and wary). I chatted using AIM. I made one special friend in There (we got along so well, and stayed up nights chatting, our avatars touching souls... I can't even write that with a straight face, but it's pretty much a true story) that moved onto AIM, then emails, then a phone call. My best There friend tried unsuccessfully to convince me to move on to myspace, in which I somehow had absolutely no interest. Years later, we reconnected via Facebook. It took years to reconnect because at the close of that Summer of Connectivity--during which I was, for much of the day, paid to be online--I was, for the most part, over online communication beyond email for years.
Now I'm a slow adopter, wary of the ways I know a service will inevitably change my lifestyle. I joined Facebook a little later in the game than most (of my generation). I'm on it now, and it's fun. And stressful.
The stakes are higher now, and there's more responsibility involved. Friends are communicating time-sensitive information, the expectation being that I'll check daily, if not many times a day. For that very reason, I finally took a big step in arranging for my facebook alerts to be sent to my primary email address from my secondary, spammish address.
Why does Facebook stress me out? Here's why. I still feel as though I'm BAD at Facebook, as if its use is a skill.
Admittance is the first step to recovery, right? Here goes: I love the thrill of being contacted. I love being handed information that's relevant to me, to my friends... And then I know, and I'm over it, and embarrassingly unmotivated to reply or provide my own content. Once in a while I am motivated, and I get feedback, and it's gratifying. I vow to be better at it more often.
[Tangent: Really interesting to consider is the information that we've gained and lost as technology develops. How many people know friends' telephone numbers now that we can rely on our phones to remember them--dial them--without us? (Until, of course, our phones break and we're left with only useless hardware and the realization that, like air, we just might not be able to live without it.)]
My Facebook Dilemma involves a fear of the lack of control over the me content that people have access to. There are control settings, yes, but there politics involved. More on this soon.
Ok. I've done it. There are now two Stefanie Daehler's floating around Facebook, and one of them is the professional me (not yet pictured, but soon to be), the other the more carefree, I can't control my friends' content, me me. The professional me is ambitious--or strives to be--and wants to connect with the community of librarians and teachers and authors and literacy organizations in Facebook existence. Befriend me?
I'll see if, or for how long, I can maintain both faces. Maybe one will overtake the other, devour it, and leave nothing but remnants. We'll see!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
plan, lesson, plan!
As far as my lesson planning goes, I find myself debating between focusing on an “imperative” vs. “fun” or “extra” lesson, which is in itself an interesting way to approach lesson planning. I’m recognizing as I write that my job here is to create one that is both, one that effectively teaches the nuts and bolts while incorporating the bells and whistles that might draw the most reluctant in… and keep them engaged.
My principal is all about inquiry-based learning, and, for better or worse, I’d like to develop a lesson plan that screams INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING.
Borrowing from Jakes, Pennington and Knodle’s definition of inquiry-based learning, the objectives of the lesson are to set up conditions that allow students to:
- experience a process through which they formulate investigative questions (ideally that are directly relevant to them)
- (efficiently) obtain factual information, and
- build knowledge that ultimately reflects their answer to the original question… and introduces more questions, the answers to which (now, hopefully, more easily found) will further their knowledge and will in turn introduce more questions!
I’d ideally like to design a lesson that has students engaging in cooperative teams, though it wouldn’t have to. I know both the rewards and, well, dramas that team projects can bring about. Assessing/grading individual contributions to group projects can also be tricky.
I find comfort in considering the final product to be a well-defined and thought out but pliable process.
Beyond conveying foundation information, I aim to avoid “What is…” questions* and to steer more toward, “What plan can I develop for…” or “What might be done in order to…” questions addressing real life scenarios.
Again drawing from the Jakes, Pennington and Knodle reading, my lesson will:
- Develop a search strategy
- Locate information
- Filter, distill, and cross-reference
- Evaluate the amount of information (what’s missing?)
- Develop the answer(s) to the question
- Develop a ‘product’ to represent the answer(s) in a cohesive, creative manner
Along with teaching and guiding students through the process of obtaining and evaluating information, I do think that it is incredibly important to focus on how to “package” the information gathered in a way—the way—that is assigned by the designer of the project. I see students so often earn a lower grade on a project simply because they do not make sure, after all the work they have done, that each component of the assignment is clearly addressed. Checklists can be handy here; in initial assignments I think they should be provided, and in later assignments the students should be expected to create them themselves from the written assignment.
An ideal assignment response will require intentional selection and articulated justification of the information provided.
I like the idea of establishing (6-10) foundation or “What is…?” questions to provide structure and guide the inquiry process (this is essentially what I’m doing in fleshing out what kind of elements I’d like my lesson plan to contain). Providing (and receiving!) feedback to these questions is an excellent next step. In the school setting, I see all the time how important it is to provide timely feedback to students; in real life, this brings to mind questions of how much responsibility students must assume to fully understand the assignment and go ahead and complete it to the best of their ability, and how thoroughly (overworked!) teachers must scaffold and provide constant individual feedback.
I find it interesting that I am constantly considering readings and concepts in light of what I know to be true in the school setting in which I’m currently immersed. Some ideals fly. Others don’t, and primarily, I think, because of limits on time, resources, and human capabilities.
My question is whether technology is expanding these capabilities or whether it is just increasing demands at a disproportionate rate.
Too much broad wondering, I think. More concretely, I’d like to focus on a lesson involving some combo of the following:
- Photography
- Evaluating web sites
- Understanding and experimenting with the ability to produce and share content
I’d like this lesson to be experienced—and formulated, in part?—by high school aged students.
---
* I found this quote from Jakes, Pennington and Knodle to be really thought provoking:
“Effectively, in this day of digital ‘cutting and pastin,’ asking a ‘What is..” question is a license to plagiarize.”
Is it really ever excused to plagiarize (for some weird reason this brings to mind the folks who sued McDonald’s for their obesity)? Beyond considering how thought –provoking a question is when phrasing an assignment prompt or essential question, are we to actively consider how plagiarism-encouraging/allowing an assignment is?
Another question:
Could inspiration software, aimed to help students generate foundation questions actually be hampering students’ ability to use their own brain power and creativity to generate questions independently? I’ve heard a number of people from older generations mention how new-fangled toys have ruined kids’ imagination, and ability to entertain themselves independently (as, of course, they were able to do for hours and years on end).
My principal is all about inquiry-based learning, and, for better or worse, I’d like to develop a lesson plan that screams INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING.
Borrowing from Jakes, Pennington and Knodle’s definition of inquiry-based learning, the objectives of the lesson are to set up conditions that allow students to:
- experience a process through which they formulate investigative questions (ideally that are directly relevant to them)
- (efficiently) obtain factual information, and
- build knowledge that ultimately reflects their answer to the original question… and introduces more questions, the answers to which (now, hopefully, more easily found) will further their knowledge and will in turn introduce more questions!
I’d ideally like to design a lesson that has students engaging in cooperative teams, though it wouldn’t have to. I know both the rewards and, well, dramas that team projects can bring about. Assessing/grading individual contributions to group projects can also be tricky.
I find comfort in considering the final product to be a well-defined and thought out but pliable process.
Beyond conveying foundation information, I aim to avoid “What is…” questions* and to steer more toward, “What plan can I develop for…” or “What might be done in order to…” questions addressing real life scenarios.
Again drawing from the Jakes, Pennington and Knodle reading, my lesson will:
- Develop a search strategy
- Locate information
- Filter, distill, and cross-reference
- Evaluate the amount of information (what’s missing?)
- Develop the answer(s) to the question
- Develop a ‘product’ to represent the answer(s) in a cohesive, creative manner
Along with teaching and guiding students through the process of obtaining and evaluating information, I do think that it is incredibly important to focus on how to “package” the information gathered in a way—the way—that is assigned by the designer of the project. I see students so often earn a lower grade on a project simply because they do not make sure, after all the work they have done, that each component of the assignment is clearly addressed. Checklists can be handy here; in initial assignments I think they should be provided, and in later assignments the students should be expected to create them themselves from the written assignment.
An ideal assignment response will require intentional selection and articulated justification of the information provided.
I like the idea of establishing (6-10) foundation or “What is…?” questions to provide structure and guide the inquiry process (this is essentially what I’m doing in fleshing out what kind of elements I’d like my lesson plan to contain). Providing (and receiving!) feedback to these questions is an excellent next step. In the school setting, I see all the time how important it is to provide timely feedback to students; in real life, this brings to mind questions of how much responsibility students must assume to fully understand the assignment and go ahead and complete it to the best of their ability, and how thoroughly (overworked!) teachers must scaffold and provide constant individual feedback.
I find it interesting that I am constantly considering readings and concepts in light of what I know to be true in the school setting in which I’m currently immersed. Some ideals fly. Others don’t, and primarily, I think, because of limits on time, resources, and human capabilities.
My question is whether technology is expanding these capabilities or whether it is just increasing demands at a disproportionate rate.
Too much broad wondering, I think. More concretely, I’d like to focus on a lesson involving some combo of the following:
- Photography
- Evaluating web sites
- Understanding and experimenting with the ability to produce and share content
I’d like this lesson to be experienced—and formulated, in part?—by high school aged students.
---
* I found this quote from Jakes, Pennington and Knodle to be really thought provoking:
“Effectively, in this day of digital ‘cutting and pastin,’ asking a ‘What is..” question is a license to plagiarize.”
Is it really ever excused to plagiarize (for some weird reason this brings to mind the folks who sued McDonald’s for their obesity)? Beyond considering how thought –provoking a question is when phrasing an assignment prompt or essential question, are we to actively consider how plagiarism-encouraging/allowing an assignment is?
Another question:
Could inspiration software, aimed to help students generate foundation questions actually be hampering students’ ability to use their own brain power and creativity to generate questions independently? I’ve heard a number of people from older generations mention how new-fangled toys have ruined kids’ imagination, and ability to entertain themselves independently (as, of course, they were able to do for hours and years on end).
Saturday, March 7, 2009
stars will make you feel like you got friends - a media morning of surfing
I'm all abuzz; awake, of course, on the one day of this week that I have two extra hours to sleep in. I am alone in my room, but I feel overwhelmingly connected, in a very converged, multimedial way. (I think a little coinage and grammar-be-damned is goin' on here, but I'm going to flow with it.)
I woke up. Checked the clock on my iPhone. Cracked open my computer*. Without a moment's delay, I heard the insanely smooth and comforting voices of strangers (WHY are the Australian accents of men as calming as a mother's cooing?! I've turned their volume down, but they're still talking as I write, and it's as comforting as I imagine womb sounds were when I was, you know, in the womb.) streaming from the speakers. I had left the Quicksilver Pro '09 surf contest site open from yesterday evening. Not a minute later came a commercial with a song and lyrics that actually warmed me. I had to know what the song was. I googled the lyrics and found someone who'd posted my exact question:
"Whats this song called: stars make you feel like you've got friends?
its like a guy singing and its on an ad for this drink
does anyone know
please help :)"
And in response, someone had posted a comprehensive answer including the song title, the artist, and the entire song's lyrics.
I felt grateful. Informed. Connected. And whatever you call the opposite of alone in this world. Someone was looking for answers, not only just like I was, but also just how I would. And someone else out there took it upon themselves to provide the sought after information, the resolution. Up for a few moments, still in my bed, and I felt that a lot had been accomplished, happened. To me. By me. Easily.
Then. Washing up in the bathroom, I found that my roommates had left a magazine on the sink, and I flipped open to a page on which a comedian's picture was featured, along with a silly quote (I've found it since then here, just to give you, my uncertain reader, the visual I had been given via paper). In a moment I was provided a visual of the comedian and his words... and I swear I could actually hear the comedian saying them, maybe thanks to my imagination, or maybe because I've actually heard him perform before (how much of what we see and soak in registers, and how much just sits there, inactive until it's brought to the front thanks to another stimulation?). I immediately thought of a friend who might find this guy's quote hilarious, and I made a mental note to send it out to said friend. The site had a number of handy tools itching to help me share the feature, too: email, print, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, reddit, StumbleUpon. Sharing is caring.
----- Even as I write this, I know exactly how I'm feeling and where I want to head with this... and I KEEP. HAVING. TO. RESIST. THE. URGE. TO. CLICK. OVER. TO. ANOTHER. TAB. Nothing I really want to check there, no missing piece of info hidden there (unless inspiration's a concrete thing)... just battling an insane need to be more than one place at once?? Or is it ADHD? Caused by...? -----
I suppose my point is that, although I awoke completely alone, I felt extremely connected via multiple media... but also in happy control of that connection.
Is this more of a ramble than a tight description of the AM inspired Ah HAH! Media Moment I was born into this morning? Hm. In any case, it's real. And this is my blog.
And I cannot
be separated
from the media
in which I am
immersed.
It's everywhere!
And I've invited it there.
I think I extended an open invitation once, and only on occasion do I feel that it has overstayed its welcome, and is peeking in corners of my house that it shouldn't be, and messing with belongings and interactions of mine that I wish it would just back far away from. This morning I am overjoyed that media and I understand each other so well.
In the course of writing this blog entry, I have written an email (conveying to a friend when I will be arriving by train to her town later this morning), sent three text messages (coordinating the train trip with two friends), referred to wikipedia three times, checked a social networking site twice, downloaded a song and listened to snippets of five more by the same artist... and all the while, the Australian surfer men's voices have been providing a consistent, flowing backdrop. I've discovered that a ten minute set and narration has been on a loop, but it hasn't bothered me a bit; in fact, I've been sent back to that same commercial--DEFINITELY a _____ commercial, this one--that pushed me deep into this connectivity upon waking this morning.
I've done some serious surfing this morning myself. I've learned some. I've expressed myself some. And now I'm ready to interact with real people, people whose volume and action I can't control, but people that inspire in me an even deeper and more genuine sense of connectivity.
---
* What, exactly, is my computer computing for me? Or (see definition right below) processing for me? Helping me to process?
com⋅put⋅er /kəmˈpyutər/ [kuhm-pyoo-ter]
–noun
1. Also called processor. an electronic device designed to accept data, perform prescribed mathematical and logical operations at high speed, and display the results of these operations. Compare analog computer, digital computer.
computer. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 07, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/computer
I woke up. Checked the clock on my iPhone. Cracked open my computer*. Without a moment's delay, I heard the insanely smooth and comforting voices of strangers (WHY are the Australian accents of men as calming as a mother's cooing?! I've turned their volume down, but they're still talking as I write, and it's as comforting as I imagine womb sounds were when I was, you know, in the womb.) streaming from the speakers. I had left the Quicksilver Pro '09 surf contest site open from yesterday evening. Not a minute later came a commercial with a song and lyrics that actually warmed me. I had to know what the song was. I googled the lyrics and found someone who'd posted my exact question:
"Whats this song called: stars make you feel like you've got friends?
its like a guy singing and its on an ad for this drink
does anyone know
please help :)"
And in response, someone had posted a comprehensive answer including the song title, the artist, and the entire song's lyrics.
I felt grateful. Informed. Connected. And whatever you call the opposite of alone in this world. Someone was looking for answers, not only just like I was, but also just how I would. And someone else out there took it upon themselves to provide the sought after information, the resolution. Up for a few moments, still in my bed, and I felt that a lot had been accomplished, happened. To me. By me. Easily.
Then. Washing up in the bathroom, I found that my roommates had left a magazine on the sink, and I flipped open to a page on which a comedian's picture was featured, along with a silly quote (I've found it since then here, just to give you, my uncertain reader, the visual I had been given via paper). In a moment I was provided a visual of the comedian and his words... and I swear I could actually hear the comedian saying them, maybe thanks to my imagination, or maybe because I've actually heard him perform before (how much of what we see and soak in registers, and how much just sits there, inactive until it's brought to the front thanks to another stimulation?). I immediately thought of a friend who might find this guy's quote hilarious, and I made a mental note to send it out to said friend. The site had a number of handy tools itching to help me share the feature, too: email, print, Delicious, Digg, Facebook, reddit, StumbleUpon. Sharing is caring.
----- Even as I write this, I know exactly how I'm feeling and where I want to head with this... and I KEEP. HAVING. TO. RESIST. THE. URGE. TO. CLICK. OVER. TO. ANOTHER. TAB. Nothing I really want to check there, no missing piece of info hidden there (unless inspiration's a concrete thing)... just battling an insane need to be more than one place at once?? Or is it ADHD? Caused by...? -----
I suppose my point is that, although I awoke completely alone, I felt extremely connected via multiple media... but also in happy control of that connection.
Is this more of a ramble than a tight description of the AM inspired Ah HAH! Media Moment I was born into this morning? Hm. In any case, it's real. And this is my blog.
And I cannot
be separated
from the media
in which I am
immersed.
It's everywhere!
And I've invited it there.
I think I extended an open invitation once, and only on occasion do I feel that it has overstayed its welcome, and is peeking in corners of my house that it shouldn't be, and messing with belongings and interactions of mine that I wish it would just back far away from. This morning I am overjoyed that media and I understand each other so well.
In the course of writing this blog entry, I have written an email (conveying to a friend when I will be arriving by train to her town later this morning), sent three text messages (coordinating the train trip with two friends), referred to wikipedia three times, checked a social networking site twice, downloaded a song and listened to snippets of five more by the same artist... and all the while, the Australian surfer men's voices have been providing a consistent, flowing backdrop. I've discovered that a ten minute set and narration has been on a loop, but it hasn't bothered me a bit; in fact, I've been sent back to that same commercial--DEFINITELY a _____ commercial, this one--that pushed me deep into this connectivity upon waking this morning.
I've done some serious surfing this morning myself. I've learned some. I've expressed myself some. And now I'm ready to interact with real people, people whose volume and action I can't control, but people that inspire in me an even deeper and more genuine sense of connectivity.
---
* What, exactly, is my computer computing for me? Or (see definition right below) processing for me? Helping me to process?
com⋅put⋅er /kəmˈpyutər/ [kuhm-pyoo-ter]
–noun
1. Also called processor. an electronic device designed to accept data, perform prescribed mathematical and logical operations at high speed, and display the results of these operations. Compare analog computer, digital computer.
computer. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved March 07, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/computer
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
good news! brought to you by...
Extending my reach...
I received this fantastic news: "Congratulations again on your selection by The Fund for Public Schools to receive a Library REACH grant to upgrade your library media center. I would also like to inform you that your school is one of 15 schools selected to receive an additional $1,000 Best Buy Gift Card to further improve your library facility. These gift cards are made possible through the generosity of Best Buy and their partnership with The Fund for Public Schools."
Yayyyyy! Computers aren't an option, and a color printer would be too expensive to maintain (not to mention that it would raise all kinds of complications regarding which students could use it for what), so I'm thinking digital camera and video camera for student/project use, flash drives for student use, maybe a digital photo frame to display student-taken photos on a loop in order to draw students into the library... We'll see! It's a fun dilemma.
Here's the class applicable stuff, though, perfectly timed after our discussion last class:
Next paragraph:
"Best Buy takes its commitment to communities seriously. They know that a strong, healthy community is a great place to live and work, and the strength of the community is dependent on the strength of its schools. Best Buy rewards schools like yours that are finding creative ways to engage students through the hands-on use of technology. For more information on Best Buy's focus on teens, see http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/our_focus.htm."
So now I know! Best Buy is in a genuine partnership with The Fund for Public Schools, and Best Buy really gets me.
I will say this: With $1,000 in my pocket to spend on electronics that I will get to see my students get creative with, I have nothing but appreciation for whatever entity slipped it in there.
I received this fantastic news: "Congratulations again on your selection by The Fund for Public Schools to receive a Library REACH grant to upgrade your library media center. I would also like to inform you that your school is one of 15 schools selected to receive an additional $1,000 Best Buy Gift Card to further improve your library facility. These gift cards are made possible through the generosity of Best Buy and their partnership with The Fund for Public Schools."
Yayyyyy! Computers aren't an option, and a color printer would be too expensive to maintain (not to mention that it would raise all kinds of complications regarding which students could use it for what), so I'm thinking digital camera and video camera for student/project use, flash drives for student use, maybe a digital photo frame to display student-taken photos on a loop in order to draw students into the library... We'll see! It's a fun dilemma.
Here's the class applicable stuff, though, perfectly timed after our discussion last class:
Next paragraph:
"Best Buy takes its commitment to communities seriously. They know that a strong, healthy community is a great place to live and work, and the strength of the community is dependent on the strength of its schools. Best Buy rewards schools like yours that are finding creative ways to engage students through the hands-on use of technology. For more information on Best Buy's focus on teens, see http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/our_focus.htm."
So now I know! Best Buy is in a genuine partnership with The Fund for Public Schools, and Best Buy really gets me.
I will say this: With $1,000 in my pocket to spend on electronics that I will get to see my students get creative with, I have nothing but appreciation for whatever entity slipped it in there.
cool. why isn't it cooler?
Two energized 10th grade boys stopped on their way past my circulation desk to check out the pop-up book I have on display called Blood and Goo and Boogers Too! by Steve Alton, Nick Sharratt, and Jo Moore. It's not exactly a must-have for a high school library, true, but you'd be surprised how many kids say, "Whaaaaaaaat? Isn't this for little kids, Miss?" and then spend 10 to 15 minutes flipping through, totally engaged, learning about the human respiratory and circulatory systems... enjoying themselves.
A moment ago, these two boys stopped, amused by the textured cover (the green snot on the cover is gooey and, believe it or not, impossible to resist touching), and said, "Cooooooooooool! I love pop-ups!!"
Then the second boy said, "Does it have sound?"
Really? With all the colorful, complex, interactive features this book, he wanted sound to boot??
A few more words on this dissatisfaction with the pretty darn amazing, a bit more entertainingly expressed, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus
Sunday, February 22, 2009
all together now
If this exercise circulating amongst friends of mine isn't a prime example of ______ involving all of the elements under recent investigation, I don't know what...
It just is.
---
CREATE YOUR BAND NAME & ALBUM COVER:
To Do This
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" or "comment" and TAG the friends you want to join in.
---
It just is.
---
CREATE YOUR BAND NAME & ALBUM COVER:
To Do This
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
5 - Post it to FB with this text in the "caption" or "comment" and TAG the friends you want to join in.
---
i am where the internet is
I've been sitting at cafe for the past few hours because my internet connection at home went down. I could not do what needed to get done without the internet. It told me where to go and how to restructure my day. Even more annoying than spending hours in an unfortunately chilly place with noisier than ideal strangers is the recognition that I am Connection's slave.
And then...
I made the unfortunate mistake of leaving my copy of Convergence Culture at work, which has been locked up over this last week because of the school's winter break. That reading will have to wait until tomorrow morning, while all of the online-accessible materials were immediately at my fingertips. When I had internet connection. Which has me thinking of internet connection as an almost tangible thing. Interesting!
Another thought...
I spent hours a week or so ago tidying my gmail inbox--from 2,367 unread messages to none...
yet my actual room remains a mess
(though, to be fair, it is roughly shoebox-sized, and looks cluttered even when it's clean).
The Rainie reading on tagging has me thinking a lot about how organized my online presence is. I'm learning, tools are improving, and I'm liking the way my online room is shaping up.
And then...
I made the unfortunate mistake of leaving my copy of Convergence Culture at work, which has been locked up over this last week because of the school's winter break. That reading will have to wait until tomorrow morning, while all of the online-accessible materials were immediately at my fingertips. When I had internet connection. Which has me thinking of internet connection as an almost tangible thing. Interesting!
Another thought...
I spent hours a week or so ago tidying my gmail inbox--from 2,367 unread messages to none...
yet my actual room remains a mess
(though, to be fair, it is roughly shoebox-sized, and looks cluttered even when it's clean).
The Rainie reading on tagging has me thinking a lot about how organized my online presence is. I'm learning, tools are improving, and I'm liking the way my online room is shaping up.
in anticipation of flickr
I love photos (taking them, viewing them, sharing them), and "making" things with them (though I never seem to get around to actually printing photos... Am I doing so less because I'm spending more time staring at my computer screen than I am at, or within, my home walls?), so I'm very excited about our flickr lesson.
In anticipation, I happened upon this incredible site with lots of links to applications that do really fun photo-y things for free:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/
Here's one example (featuring my boyfriend Brent and friend Megan):
I just spent way too long fooling around with another fun tool, the Magazine Cover maker. See my new profile picture for the fruit of my labor.
Rebecca Blood mentions in her blog posting on flickr (http://www.rebeccablood.net/archive/2006/04/how_flickr_singlehandedly_inve_1.html):
"Flickr slideshow of photos of the French employment riots [Flash required] amply demonstrates that, on Flickr at least, collaborative photojournalism is thriving. That success is at least as much a product of Flickr itself as it is a product of the contributing photographers."
It is clear to me, too, that photojournalism is thriving (as always, I remind my students--and myself--not to believe everything I see in shared photos, no matter how many words they're worth. I'm really interested in consider what trends are born in response to new technologies, and which technologies are devised in response to an expressed need/interest. My guess is that it's almost impossible to tell, and probably irrelevant. Maybe.
Speaking of photo editing software, I just learned (from NYCSLIST) that Sumo Paint is an online image editor that opens in your browser and does most of the things you’d want from Photoshop for free: http://sumopaint.com/web/
Neat!
As I'm reading more about flickr and the "mashups" out there, I'm increasingly excited about the whole thing. My one hesitation, though, is the idea of putting all of my personal photos . Privacy settings, sure, but... they'll be out there for people who know more tricks than I do to access. This general unease is the single reason I've not yet uploaded all of my photos to flickr (my other big fear being that I somehow lose all of my precious private photos thanks to a busted hard drive and a failure to adequately back them up).
A few other reading notes:
- Gail Shea Grainger's "Dewey Browse"
- Howard Rheingold: "My thinking is that activism, to be successful, needs to be visible." (http://www.smartmobs.com/2005/08/16/flickr-based-smartmobbing-the-ministry-of-reshelving)
- This social bookmarking tools site proposes appealing lessons
- Should I create a librarian trading card? Here.
- making sense of tagging / labeling / bookmarking: Lee Rainie argues that tagging is more tailored to individual needs than Dewey's more all-inclusive system.
- I'm not tempted to "label" my blog posts... yet. I will consider if/how it might be of use to me.
In anticipation, I happened upon this incredible site with lots of links to applications that do really fun photo-y things for free:
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/
Here's one example (featuring my boyfriend Brent and friend Megan):
I just spent way too long fooling around with another fun tool, the Magazine Cover maker. See my new profile picture for the fruit of my labor.
Rebecca Blood mentions in her blog posting on flickr (http://www.rebeccablood.net/archive/2006/04/how_flickr_singlehandedly_inve_1.html):
"Flickr slideshow of photos of the French employment riots [Flash required] amply demonstrates that, on Flickr at least, collaborative photojournalism is thriving. That success is at least as much a product of Flickr itself as it is a product of the contributing photographers."
It is clear to me, too, that photojournalism is thriving (as always, I remind my students--and myself--not to believe everything I see in shared photos, no matter how many words they're worth. I'm really interested in consider what trends are born in response to new technologies, and which technologies are devised in response to an expressed need/interest. My guess is that it's almost impossible to tell, and probably irrelevant. Maybe.
Speaking of photo editing software, I just learned (from NYCSLIST) that Sumo Paint is an online image editor that opens in your browser and does most of the things you’d want from Photoshop for free: http://sumopaint.com/web/
Neat!
As I'm reading more about flickr and the "mashups" out there, I'm increasingly excited about the whole thing. My one hesitation, though, is the idea of putting all of my personal photos . Privacy settings, sure, but... they'll be out there for people who know more tricks than I do to access. This general unease is the single reason I've not yet uploaded all of my photos to flickr (my other big fear being that I somehow lose all of my precious private photos thanks to a busted hard drive and a failure to adequately back them up).
A few other reading notes:
- Gail Shea Grainger's "Dewey Browse"
- Howard Rheingold: "My thinking is that activism, to be successful, needs to be visible." (http://www.smartmobs.com/2005/08/16/flickr-based-smartmobbing-the-ministry-of-reshelving)
- This social bookmarking tools site proposes appealing lessons
- Should I create a librarian trading card? Here.
- making sense of tagging / labeling / bookmarking: Lee Rainie argues that tagging is more tailored to individual needs than Dewey's more all-inclusive system.
- I'm not tempted to "label" my blog posts... yet. I will consider if/how it might be of use to me.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
order of preference
I just noted that when I reviewed this week's assignment I viewed the videos first, read the book with varied pictures second, and read the printed, densely paragraphed article last. Upon reflection, I believe I chose to view the videos, the mixed-media, first because it they would take the least discipline, somehow, to engage in.
I wonder, though, if viewing the videos first then made it more difficult to focus without distraction on the printed materials. I noticed long ago that I personally operate less efficiently in the evening after watching TV (so I generally try to avoid it). I appreciate the distinct 'zones' each portion of the assignments put me in.
I wonder, though, if viewing the videos first then made it more difficult to focus without distraction on the printed materials. I noticed long ago that I personally operate less efficiently in the evening after watching TV (so I generally try to avoid it). I appreciate the distinct 'zones' each portion of the assignments put me in.
tech notes
As I write this blog, I'd like to make note of what specific tasks were confusing or difficult for me to accomplish using blogspot. I plan to experiment with adding to this post a note about these difficulties as I come across them.
- I find that I am not able to space postings using the tab key. It's more frustrating than I'd think it would be!
- I find that I am not able to space postings using the tab key. It's more frustrating than I'd think it would be!
medium mulling
Let's start with a definition (and then I'll make a note on what I've learned about definitions not providing enough answers in the instance of media literacy):
medium. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 15, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/medium
me⋅di⋅um / ˈmidiəm
1. a middle state or condition; mean.
2. something intermediate in nature or degree.
3. an intervening substance, as air, through which a force acts or an effect is produced.
4. the element that is the natural habitat of an organism.
5. surrounding objects, conditions, or influences; environment.
6. an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished: Words are a medium of expression.
7. one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.
8. Biology. the substance in which specimens are displayed or preserved.
9. Also called culture medium. Bacteriology. a liquid or solidified nutrient material suitable for the cultivation of microorganisms.
10. a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living.
11. Fine Arts.
a. Painting. a liquid with which pigments are mixed.
b. the material or technique with which an artist works: the medium of watercolor.
12. a size of printing paper, 18 1/2 × 23 1/2 in. (47 × 60 cm) in England, 18 × 23 to 19 × 25 in. (46 × 58 to 48 × 64 cm) in America.
13. Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 17 1/2 × 22 in. (44 × 56 cm).
14. Also called medium strip. Midland U.S. median strip.
15. in medium, Movies, Television. with the principal actors in the middle distance: The scene was shot in medium.
–adjective
16. about halfway between extremes, as of degree, amount, quality, position, or size: Cook over medium heat. He is of medium height.
I'm struck by the prevalence of environment in this definition, and in McLuhan.
"Environments are not passive wrappings, but are, rather, active processes which are invisible... The interplay between the new and old environments creates many problems and confusions. The main obstacle to a clear understanding of the effects of the new media is our deeply embedded habit of regarding all phenomena from a fixed point of view." (p. 68)
I wonder: what sort of environment is the internet? What kind of environment(s) does it proved? create? deny?
"Environments are invisible. Their groundrules, pervasive structure, and overall patterns elude easy perception." (p. 84-85)
Defining media literacy may not be necessary, or at least it may not provide enough answers. Hobbs acknowledges that broad definitions and range of applications of media literacy leads to diverse approaches that bring conflicts and tensions. Media varies so greatly that so many (deep) understandings of the concept can exist, without one being all-encompassing.
I was struck by mcLuhan, in general. The reading was an experience. Having just viewed the videos, I was considering branding, and what mood the combination of images featured in mcLuhan provoked. The book closes with this quote, bringing the mood to a heightened level: "It is the business of the future to be dangerous." - A. N. Whitehead
I disagree at this juncture with mcLuhan on this point: "As new technologies come into play, people are less and less convinced of the importance of self-expression." (p. 123) I am expressing my personal opinion on this matter, thanks to technology. Just saying.
- Humor teaches!!
- "All media are extensions of some human faculty--psychic or physical." (p. 26)
The quotes I'm mulling for the McLuhan quote assignment:
"there is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening." (p. 25)[This is, I believe, why I'm in this class and profession!]
"The major advances in civilization are processes that all but wreck the societies in which they occur." - A.N. Whitehead (p. 7)
p. 10: unique opportunity to learn by humor (changes perceptions! p. 92)
p. 22: mass audience was
p. 24: Burning Man philosophy!
p. 25: inevitability
p. 26: all media are extensions!
p. 41: extension of sense -> ratios -> CHANGE!
p. 44: Wordsworth: we can't help but see and hear
p. 50: literacy conferred the power of detachment
p. 68: environment
p. 69: multiple models for exploration
p. 70: does over exposure desensitize us?
p. 93: professionalism vs. amateurism
p. 100: student disconnection! education must shift from instruction to probing and exploring
p. 111: music everywhere; visual vs. ear world
p. 113: Socrates! think we'll know everything; know nothing!
p. 123: self expression?
p. 124: no we're adjusting, not inventing; find environments in which we can live with our devices
p. 125: television!
p. 142: propaganda; talk to the media, not the programmers
medium. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved February 15, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/medium
me⋅di⋅um / ˈmidiəm
1. a middle state or condition; mean.
2. something intermediate in nature or degree.
3. an intervening substance, as air, through which a force acts or an effect is produced.
4. the element that is the natural habitat of an organism.
5. surrounding objects, conditions, or influences; environment.
6. an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished: Words are a medium of expression.
7. one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.
8. Biology. the substance in which specimens are displayed or preserved.
9. Also called culture medium. Bacteriology. a liquid or solidified nutrient material suitable for the cultivation of microorganisms.
10. a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living.
11. Fine Arts.
a. Painting. a liquid with which pigments are mixed.
b. the material or technique with which an artist works: the medium of watercolor.
12. a size of printing paper, 18 1/2 × 23 1/2 in. (47 × 60 cm) in England, 18 × 23 to 19 × 25 in. (46 × 58 to 48 × 64 cm) in America.
13. Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 17 1/2 × 22 in. (44 × 56 cm).
14. Also called medium strip. Midland U.S. median strip.
15. in medium, Movies, Television. with the principal actors in the middle distance: The scene was shot in medium.
–adjective
16. about halfway between extremes, as of degree, amount, quality, position, or size: Cook over medium heat. He is of medium height.
I'm struck by the prevalence of environment in this definition, and in McLuhan.
"Environments are not passive wrappings, but are, rather, active processes which are invisible... The interplay between the new and old environments creates many problems and confusions. The main obstacle to a clear understanding of the effects of the new media is our deeply embedded habit of regarding all phenomena from a fixed point of view." (p. 68)
I wonder: what sort of environment is the internet? What kind of environment(s) does it proved? create? deny?
"Environments are invisible. Their groundrules, pervasive structure, and overall patterns elude easy perception." (p. 84-85)
Defining media literacy may not be necessary, or at least it may not provide enough answers. Hobbs acknowledges that broad definitions and range of applications of media literacy leads to diverse approaches that bring conflicts and tensions. Media varies so greatly that so many (deep) understandings of the concept can exist, without one being all-encompassing.
I was struck by mcLuhan, in general. The reading was an experience. Having just viewed the videos, I was considering branding, and what mood the combination of images featured in mcLuhan provoked. The book closes with this quote, bringing the mood to a heightened level: "It is the business of the future to be dangerous." - A. N. Whitehead
I disagree at this juncture with mcLuhan on this point: "As new technologies come into play, people are less and less convinced of the importance of self-expression." (p. 123) I am expressing my personal opinion on this matter, thanks to technology. Just saying.
- Humor teaches!!
- "All media are extensions of some human faculty--psychic or physical." (p. 26)
The quotes I'm mulling for the McLuhan quote assignment:
"there is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening." (p. 25)[This is, I believe, why I'm in this class and profession!]
"The major advances in civilization are processes that all but wreck the societies in which they occur." - A.N. Whitehead (p. 7)
p. 10: unique opportunity to learn by humor (changes perceptions! p. 92)
p. 22: mass audience was
p. 24: Burning Man philosophy!
p. 25: inevitability
p. 26: all media are extensions!
p. 41: extension of sense -> ratios -> CHANGE!
p. 44: Wordsworth: we can't help but see and hear
p. 50: literacy conferred the power of detachment
p. 68: environment
p. 69: multiple models for exploration
p. 70: does over exposure desensitize us?
p. 93: professionalism vs. amateurism
p. 100: student disconnection! education must shift from instruction to probing and exploring
p. 111: music everywhere; visual vs. ear world
p. 113: Socrates! think we'll know everything; know nothing!
p. 123: self expression?
p. 124: no we're adjusting, not inventing; find environments in which we can live with our devices
p. 125: television!
p. 142: propaganda; talk to the media, not the programmers
Monday, February 9, 2009
torn
I’m torn as to how to organize my blog. My approach to the project—and that’s what as I’m seeing it as; that or an experiment—is to put it down, get it out, and THEN worry about editing, revising, re-designing. Or not. Depending on how it does, how it reads, how it feels, as is.
Because I am overwhelmed by the finality of turned-in papers, it is a liberating thought to consider this blog an ongoing process.
I’m also torn as to how I feel about the act of blogging itself. I’m at once attracted to the idea of being a blogger, and daunted by it. Why?
Time spent blogging is:
Time spent organizing and articulating my thoughts.
Time spent creating.
Time spent contributing content… to a content-overwhelmed universe?
Time spent apart from real people in real time.
Time spent reaching out to those I otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach.
Time spent initiating a potential conversation with the public, the readers, the stumblers-by.
Time spent wondering of what worth my thoughts are to others.
I have identified an aspect to being online-present that makes me uncomfortable: I feel uneasy considering that people might know when (exactly) I’m seated, staring at a computer monitor. I do not like time stamps. It’s not a privacy issue, not a safety issue... It’s a loss of control-issue, or an exposure issue. I do not want people—at least an unidentified population thereof—knowing what I’m up to at a given moment. I don’t. I don’t want to be constantly connected, or constantly accessible.
I am, in contrast, increasingly comfortable with being photographed and sharing photographs. Much less so with video, though. Video, live footage, is so much more exposing; it gives away so much more. Of what? Of who I am? Of who I am in a given moment? Do I worry about consistency? Is it the same question of audience? Do I worry that the wrong performance will be given to the wrong audience?
Am I hopeful that the performance will hit just the right audience, however small (maybe just me?), in just the right way? Yes. Maybe that.
Because I am overwhelmed by the finality of turned-in papers, it is a liberating thought to consider this blog an ongoing process.
I’m also torn as to how I feel about the act of blogging itself. I’m at once attracted to the idea of being a blogger, and daunted by it. Why?
Time spent blogging is:
Time spent organizing and articulating my thoughts.
Time spent creating.
Time spent contributing content… to a content-overwhelmed universe?
Time spent apart from real people in real time.
Time spent reaching out to those I otherwise wouldn’t be able to reach.
Time spent initiating a potential conversation with the public, the readers, the stumblers-by.
Time spent wondering of what worth my thoughts are to others.
I have identified an aspect to being online-present that makes me uncomfortable: I feel uneasy considering that people might know when (exactly) I’m seated, staring at a computer monitor. I do not like time stamps. It’s not a privacy issue, not a safety issue... It’s a loss of control-issue, or an exposure issue. I do not want people—at least an unidentified population thereof—knowing what I’m up to at a given moment. I don’t. I don’t want to be constantly connected, or constantly accessible.
I am, in contrast, increasingly comfortable with being photographed and sharing photographs. Much less so with video, though. Video, live footage, is so much more exposing; it gives away so much more. Of what? Of who I am? Of who I am in a given moment? Do I worry about consistency? Is it the same question of audience? Do I worry that the wrong performance will be given to the wrong audience?
Am I hopeful that the performance will hit just the right audience, however small (maybe just me?), in just the right way? Yes. Maybe that.
bloggedybloo
“A Blogger’s Blog: Exploring Definitions of a Medium,” danah boyd http://www.danah.org/papers/ABloggersBlog.pdf
I like this: "A study of blogs must draw from the practice of blogging, not simply analyze the output" (p. 2). Well, sir/ma'am, that's the intention. I am most interested in gleaning from this experiment an understanding of what is to be gained from creating this kind of content. Or, I should say, from creating content in this kind of way. Blogging is, after all, "a diverse set of practices that result in the production of diverse content on top of a medium that we call blogs" (p. 1). Diverse content.
I like that boyd recognizes blogs to be the bi-product of expression and the medium itself (unlike radio, which exists only when people's speech/music is broadcast through radio waves).
I like the notion of a medium being "the channel through which people can communicate or extend their expressions to others" (p. 11). Not opinions or wisdoms or experiences, but expressions.
boyd proposes, as McLuhen (1964) apparently did, that a medium be defined "by what it enables and how it supports people to move beyond the limitations of their body" (p. 12). What might some find to be limitations of blogs, though? Writing style? The commonly oppressive Grammar and Spelling and Punctuation?
Is it true that the boundaries of blogs are socially constructed, not technologically defined, as boyd suggests (p. 12)? There is always a fear that a private blog might be exposed, and the contents held against me in a trial of societal fitness. I am more interested (for once, and maybe just for a moment) in the technological definition of blogs. I have a tremendous appreciation for those who develop tools to support specific values and practices (for the iPhone especially, I'll note here). I love that they are motivated to do so--especially those not motivated by earning potential.
boyd writes, "Blogs blur the line between orality and textuality, altering both the mechanisms for performance [sic] the power dynamics between performer(s) and audience. The medium creates a dynamic that is synchronous and asyncrhonous, performative and voyeuristic" (p. 16). Yes! Yes. What is my aim as a performer? Who is my audience? Should what they want shape what I perform? Should I base my content around the stage set-up of the theatre in which I'm performing? Is this too cheesy a metaphor? Do I become the voyeur when I comb a taping of the performance's audience for their expressed and nonexpressed reactions?
If a blog is like a home, who do I decide to invite into it? How much of myself am I exposing to those who set foot inside?
n-to-? Who ARE you, audience?
Who do I want you to be?
Inspired by other bloggers and a life-long aspiration to write regularly as a practice, I stepped up to the plate just about a year ago today, and created a blog. This was my first entry.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Here begins the writing.
I've been a lot of things since 2007 offered its belly to '08...
...including inspired. Maybe even inspired. Something loud and brilliant and confusing and sometimes whispery soft subtle... but undoubtedly present. I've been inspired both to change, and to appreciate being me in this stage of life, as is.
I like knowing that I don't have to make perfect sense in this forum. It's MINE! Maybe even just for me. Being selfish can be an act of responsibility, I think. I do, too. So we're all in agreement. Continue.
I'm looking forward to a lot of things. I'm regretting little. I'm deciding to be a little bolder in the expression department (up the stairs, aisles 9-12), and I'm working on not worrying so much about how what I say or write in a given moment defines me. It's all about the process, man. Oh yeah, and I'm trying to enjoy the writing process, too.
I've no one to lose here, but me. Right? I say so.
Love, beginnings, experiments,
me
This was also my last entry. The blog sits just as it did a year ago. I've visited it a few times since then, and what strikes me is the extent to which, despite the passage of time and the popularization of blogging, my excitement and my concerns--both deliberately expressed--remain.
I published the blog thinking that it'd be a perfect place to consider writing publicly... but to keep it private until I reached that comfort zone. I've checked my profile, outfitted with the cheesiest photo imaginable, which I can only hope--why do I care?--people will recognize as a joke, and I just found it to have had 51 views to date. Apparently my security settings were more lax than I'd intended. I cannot imagine who would have happened upon the blog, or how, or why, but of course it intrigues me. What did they think? What did they think of me? Who is they? And why do I (n) care what ? thinks??
Who do I hope reads my blog? People I know (to know me better? To provide feedback?)? Like-minded strangers, as boyd suggests? I feel as though I have too many people in my life to spend quality time each of them, as it is... could it be that I am inviting the very limited, safe, minimal energy-requiring input of strangers or lower tier acquaintances?
To explore further:
Found digital objects.*
* Okay. Now. I jotted down "found digital objects" because I'm really drawn to the expression, and I'd like to explore it further. Instead of just plopping it down, though, I feel, because of the ? factor in the n-to-? equation, that I have to frame it somehow. It feels like it's my job, whether I've chosen it or not, in this public forum, to make my writing smooth and readable and... beyond for me. That's the best way I can think to say it. Sorry if it's not up to your standards. But THIS IS MY BLOG! :)
I like this: "A study of blogs must draw from the practice of blogging, not simply analyze the output" (p. 2). Well, sir/ma'am, that's the intention. I am most interested in gleaning from this experiment an understanding of what is to be gained from creating this kind of content. Or, I should say, from creating content in this kind of way. Blogging is, after all, "a diverse set of practices that result in the production of diverse content on top of a medium that we call blogs" (p. 1). Diverse content.
I like that boyd recognizes blogs to be the bi-product of expression and the medium itself (unlike radio, which exists only when people's speech/music is broadcast through radio waves).
I like the notion of a medium being "the channel through which people can communicate or extend their expressions to others" (p. 11). Not opinions or wisdoms or experiences, but expressions.
boyd proposes, as McLuhen (1964) apparently did, that a medium be defined "by what it enables and how it supports people to move beyond the limitations of their body" (p. 12). What might some find to be limitations of blogs, though? Writing style? The commonly oppressive Grammar and Spelling and Punctuation?
Is it true that the boundaries of blogs are socially constructed, not technologically defined, as boyd suggests (p. 12)? There is always a fear that a private blog might be exposed, and the contents held against me in a trial of societal fitness. I am more interested (for once, and maybe just for a moment) in the technological definition of blogs. I have a tremendous appreciation for those who develop tools to support specific values and practices (for the iPhone especially, I'll note here). I love that they are motivated to do so--especially those not motivated by earning potential.
boyd writes, "Blogs blur the line between orality and textuality, altering both the mechanisms for performance [sic] the power dynamics between performer(s) and audience. The medium creates a dynamic that is synchronous and asyncrhonous, performative and voyeuristic" (p. 16). Yes! Yes. What is my aim as a performer? Who is my audience? Should what they want shape what I perform? Should I base my content around the stage set-up of the theatre in which I'm performing? Is this too cheesy a metaphor? Do I become the voyeur when I comb a taping of the performance's audience for their expressed and nonexpressed reactions?
If a blog is like a home, who do I decide to invite into it? How much of myself am I exposing to those who set foot inside?
n-to-? Who ARE you, audience?
Who do I want you to be?
Inspired by other bloggers and a life-long aspiration to write regularly as a practice, I stepped up to the plate just about a year ago today, and created a blog. This was my first entry.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 15, 2008
the beginning of soMething
TumTUM!Here begins the writing.
I've been a lot of things since 2007 offered its belly to '08...
...including inspired. Maybe even inspired. Something loud and brilliant and confusing and sometimes whispery soft subtle... but undoubtedly present. I've been inspired both to change, and to appreciate being me in this stage of life, as is.
I like knowing that I don't have to make perfect sense in this forum. It's MINE! Maybe even just for me. Being selfish can be an act of responsibility, I think. I do, too. So we're all in agreement. Continue.
I'm looking forward to a lot of things. I'm regretting little. I'm deciding to be a little bolder in the expression department (up the stairs, aisles 9-12), and I'm working on not worrying so much about how what I say or write in a given moment defines me. It's all about the process, man. Oh yeah, and I'm trying to enjoy the writing process, too.
I've no one to lose here, but me. Right? I say so.
Love, beginnings, experiments,
me
-------------------------------------------------------------
This was also my last entry. The blog sits just as it did a year ago. I've visited it a few times since then, and what strikes me is the extent to which, despite the passage of time and the popularization of blogging, my excitement and my concerns--both deliberately expressed--remain.
I published the blog thinking that it'd be a perfect place to consider writing publicly... but to keep it private until I reached that comfort zone. I've checked my profile, outfitted with the cheesiest photo imaginable, which I can only hope--why do I care?--people will recognize as a joke, and I just found it to have had 51 views to date. Apparently my security settings were more lax than I'd intended. I cannot imagine who would have happened upon the blog, or how, or why, but of course it intrigues me. What did they think? What did they think of me? Who is they? And why do I (n) care what ? thinks??
Who do I hope reads my blog? People I know (to know me better? To provide feedback?)? Like-minded strangers, as boyd suggests? I feel as though I have too many people in my life to spend quality time each of them, as it is... could it be that I am inviting the very limited, safe, minimal energy-requiring input of strangers or lower tier acquaintances?
To explore further:
Found digital objects.*
* Okay. Now. I jotted down "found digital objects" because I'm really drawn to the expression, and I'd like to explore it further. Instead of just plopping it down, though, I feel, because of the ? factor in the n-to-? equation, that I have to frame it somehow. It feels like it's my job, whether I've chosen it or not, in this public forum, to make my writing smooth and readable and... beyond for me. That's the best way I can think to say it. Sorry if it's not up to your standards. But THIS IS MY BLOG! :)
amused, alive, altered
Postman, N. (2006). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin Books.
"And, in any case, I should be very surprised if he story I have to tell is anywhere near the whole truth. We are all, as Huxley says someplace, Great Abbreviators, meaning that non of us has the wit to know the whole truth to tell it if we believed we did, or an audience so gullible as to accept it" (p. 6).
"The news of the day is a figment of our technological imagination" (p. 8).
"...it is, I believe, a wise and particularly relevant supposition that the media of communication available to a culture are a dominant influence on the formation of the culture's intellectual and social preoccupations" (p. 9).
"For although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication--from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television. Each medium, like language itself, makes possible a unique mode of discourse by providing a new orientation for thought, for expression, for sensibility" (p. 10).
"It has been pointed out, for example, that the invention of eyeglasses in the twelfth century not only made it possible to improve defective vision but suggested the idea that human beings need not accept as final either the endowments of nature or the ravages of time. Eyeglasses refuted the belif that anatomy is destiny by putting forward the idea that our bodies as well as our minds are improvable" (p. 14).
Is it just me, or is the most quotable book imaginable? I am so PLEASED to be reading something so thought-provoking and brilliantly concise… and applicable. Postman, I feel, is dead on. Ahead of his time. And more gush gushings.
This is the first text book in a long while that I have decided to just go ahead and write in. Too many post-its sticking out of each page.
I will be referring to Postman over and over this semester, I know it. For now, as he sinks in, these quotes to address in future ruminations and writings:
"And, in any case, I should be very surprised if he story I have to tell is anywhere near the whole truth. We are all, as Huxley says someplace, Great Abbreviators, meaning that non of us has the wit to know the whole truth to tell it if we believed we did, or an audience so gullible as to accept it" (p. 6).
"The news of the day is a figment of our technological imagination" (p. 8).
"...it is, I believe, a wise and particularly relevant supposition that the media of communication available to a culture are a dominant influence on the formation of the culture's intellectual and social preoccupations" (p. 9).
"For although culture is a creation of speech, it is recreated anew by every medium of communication--from painting to hieroglyphs to the alphabet to television. Each medium, like language itself, makes possible a unique mode of discourse by providing a new orientation for thought, for expression, for sensibility" (p. 10).
"It has been pointed out, for example, that the invention of eyeglasses in the twelfth century not only made it possible to improve defective vision but suggested the idea that human beings need not accept as final either the endowments of nature or the ravages of time. Eyeglasses refuted the belif that anatomy is destiny by putting forward the idea that our bodies as well as our minds are improvable" (p. 14).
Friday, February 6, 2009
thoughts about what a critical librarian’s practice might look like to me
Hmmm. I am, as a librarian, currently thinking critically about this prompt.
Thoughts to come.
Thoughts to come.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Beginning
Beginning is always a challenge. Beginning something public is always more of one.
For now, before the meaty, reading-response posts begin, a few thoughts/notes on issues I'd like to explore throughout this course:
- In considering how to structure my blog, I wondered how strongly format influences content. How much of what we share has to do with the formats in which we're able to do so?
- Why is it so intimidating to write publicly?! Control issues... Exposure issues... Mine are less about safety, I think (not necessarily because I feel safe, but more because I feel that people who are relentless searches for information about me will without a doubt be able to find it somehow; I'm somehow resigned to that reality, and am left to hope that people are essentially good.)
- I have always written with a particular audience in mind. Writing a publicly accessible blog challenges that pattern.
- Why do people like to read other "ordinary" people's writing? Why do we like to know the details of others' lives, particularly of acquaintances-->strangers?
- I am curious about the effectiveness of writing consistently (have always been, in fact, and have always been unable/motivated to do so for an extended period of time), particularly as far as its therapeutic/processing qualities.
For now, before the meaty, reading-response posts begin, a few thoughts/notes on issues I'd like to explore throughout this course:
- In considering how to structure my blog, I wondered how strongly format influences content. How much of what we share has to do with the formats in which we're able to do so?
- Why is it so intimidating to write publicly?! Control issues... Exposure issues... Mine are less about safety, I think (not necessarily because I feel safe, but more because I feel that people who are relentless searches for information about me will without a doubt be able to find it somehow; I'm somehow resigned to that reality, and am left to hope that people are essentially good.)
- I have always written with a particular audience in mind. Writing a publicly accessible blog challenges that pattern.
- Why do people like to read other "ordinary" people's writing? Why do we like to know the details of others' lives, particularly of acquaintances-->strangers?
- I am curious about the effectiveness of writing consistently (have always been, in fact, and have always been unable/motivated to do so for an extended period of time), particularly as far as its therapeutic/processing qualities.
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