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."

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.

presenting Exception

Yesterday's class "hive mind" insisted that hippos are just plain MEAN. This photo says otherwise. Just sayin'!

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.

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.

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!

Flickr Project Link!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35856484@N06/sets/72157614956904409/

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).

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