Blog Reflection...

It’s amazing the way that technology changes how we experience and interact with the world around us. For this assignment, I was asked to create a blog and involve myself in the instantaneous community that follows from posting ideas and thoughts through an online persona. I had some initial hesitancy about putting myself out there in cyberspace. However, once I got past that fear (which was also heightened by this past weeks discussion on cyber security), I was able to realize that blogging is actually quite powerful.

In short, creating and maintaining a blog is something that takes effort but also allows me to declare that I have something meaningful to contribute to a global collection of ideas. And, the linking and commentary aspects of the blog allow others to validate and comment on my ideas. In the end, I think blogs are thoughtful “idea incubators” in the truest democratic sense. I choose what to present to the world at large and hope for some sort of meaningful response which is essentially guaranteed because my audience could be anyone anywhere.

I thought that the overall assignment was interesting and very helpful in allowing me to teach myself how to go about the process of creating, maintaining, commenting, and customizing real-time online content. That being said, I did have some minor problems related to the structure of the assignments.

First, I think that the overall demands of the blog assignments were too low in regard to the number of topics that we had to address. In other words, I would have preferred to blog about an array of information technologies. In retrospect, having only two assigned topics was somewhat limiting. While it was an effective experience to post on two pre-selected topics, I think a better idea is to make our postings relate more to what we are interested in researching and learning more about.

Second, I was sometimes frustrated at the amount of time I had to wait in order to see updates on other people’s sites and also, at times, seeing feedback on my mine. I think part of this has to do with the fact that this project was an assignment as opposed to a real world experience. People use blogs because they have something meaningful to say, so it makes sense that the blog project would fail to incite true passionate commentary and feedback because it’s an assignment. Instead of the current method we’re using, I think a good idea is to let students choose an interesting position, and defend it on other people’s blogs through reading and response. The point here is that people are much better at creating passionate discourse about chosen topics.

In the end, this assignment introduced me to an online practice that I would not have otherwise ventured into. Since I have gained experience in creating and maintaining a blog, I am comfortable enough with the process and have since learned the value of using blogs in an educational setting. Through collaboration with teachers, this Web 2.0 tool can be used to enrich school activities and enhance student learning.

Signing off~

Kate

Final Note on Geocaching

I'm hoping that after these past few weeks, all of you have enjoyed learning about geocaching.

As we've seen, this "treasure hunting" activity transcends into the classroom as well. Some of us, as teachers or librarians, may want to incorporate some of the geocaching activities into the educational setting. As we've learned, you can adapt such activities to make it work for a particular age level or for a particular subject (science, math, etc.). In addition, activities can be done without a GPS and still receive the benefits of geocaching activities.

Below is a list of resources, from the geocaching.com website, that may be of some interest. If you find yourself lost without having anything to do on WebCT [insert laugh] over the next few weeks (between semesters)...have a look and explore!

Articles

TD2 Into the Woods - Video

Hundreds "Cache" the Craze

Cache In on Some Surprising Valuables...

Go on Your Own Treasure Hunt

~Kate

Let's talk about "Phishing"...

Phishing has the capability of affecting individuals from various age groups, so what can be done? First, let's take a look at some of the key points that we've talked about so far this week during our group's discussion.

About Phishing:

• phishing attacks have increased over the years
• phishing attacks seek to steal people's personal identity
• scammers are using more sophisticated ways to attack consumers
• repercussions for scammers are difficult to pinpoint and enforce

What can be done?

• conduct internal security checks to identify vulnerabilities, which will therefore protect individuals (i.e. in public spaces- library, at work, in schools, etc.)
• educate consumers, students, etc.
• never respond to an email by giving away personal information, unless you are certain that the source is a valid and secure one
• keep current with new ways in which scammers phish for information

Is this something schools should be discussing?

This topic is absolutely relevant to school librarians who typically house a technology center in the library. We need to take the initiative to teach our students what to be aware of when venturing online. Librarians can teach kids by making the content more age appropriate to the audience, but also in such a way that the message clearly gets across.

I'm not a librarian yet...if any of you fellow bloggers are, have you discussed this topic yet with your students?

~Kate

Classroom Applications

Now that we understand the basics of geocaching (and the YouTube links were quite helpful...scroll down to a previous post if you didn't get a chance to peruse), I decided to research a bit on how this "hide and seek" game can be adapted for more educational purposes.

Look in your WebCT to read the relatively short journal article entitled: "Hide and Seek: GPS and Geocaching in the Classroom", by Lynn Lary. Due to copyright issues, I emailed it to all of you.

Below is a list of some of lessons that can be taught in relation to geocaching:

1. How GPS devices work and applications of GPS (coordinates, mathematical calculations, etc.) - simple caches can be hidden around school
2. Multi-site cache - find the first set of coordinates and then answer a question correct to get to the next set of coordinates, and so on
3. Locationless caching (without the use of a GPS - a good variant if cost is an issue)
4. Travel Bugs - particularly good for elementary school teachers

As seen in this article, geocaching does in fact have a place in the classroom. It can be adapted to serve a particular audience and it can be incorporated across various subject areas - i.e. math, social studies, science, etc.

Might you be a cacher in your school?

-Kate

Thoughts on the technological revolution...

I've been thinking a lot lately about the intersection of technology, education and community, and have spent considerable time debating the double edged merits of the technological revolution we're all part of.

1. First off, it's obvious to me that every technological device we interact with was designed as a product to maximize profit for a corporation. In other words, all the tools we're falling in love with, including the internet, have on a basic level been designed or co-opted such that we're fixated, addicted, or in need of the specific device so that we buy and support what's being sold. Many of us have gone from a world of needing a telephone, to needing email, to needing a cell phone, to needing a laptop, to needing a BlackBerry, to needing an Iphone and much more along the way. Clearly this "need" is an external stimulus and it wouldn't occur unless someone somewhere tapped into our collective cultural identity and produced that “thing” which we all want. So I'm left with a difficult realization that we can't stop progress - and technology is a great thing to have but it’s also a corporate tool to make profit. The needs of education are often different from the needs of profit.

2. The Ipod is a great tool and Dr. Ross Todd's description of taking the bus in New Zealand is something that I, as a New Yorker who sometimes takes the subway to work, can absolutely relate to. The trouble I'm having when I think about this has to do with a type of technological narcissism that is creeping into everyday life. By this I mean very explicitly that we now live in a world that can be so specifically tailored through technology that we can choose the exact, specific soundtrack (or other form of digital media) to score every part of our lives. Riding to work I can listen to a podcast of NPR, taking a walk at lunch I can surf the web and watch streaming video and on the ride home I can talk on the phone while I listen to my favorite musician. And, because everyone else is doing the same thing I don't have to worry about being offensive or rude.

The problem is not the availability of technology but what this instantaneously gratifying technology does in regard to how we see the world. If I don't like the world around me I can always tune out.

3. So I don't know what the answer to the idea I've posed is, but it leaves me with a very real question about the future of what we call "community" and our roles as educators involved with technology. As I see it, we're not actually getting closer to real human interaction. Instead, each new technology makes us farther apart. A cell phone can never replace a real voice and sometimes the dirtiness of life shouldn't been ignored by listening to the right song.

Teaching uses interpersonal skills to mediate information in a meaningful manner. This is the act of teaching itself. I wonder if technology does something slightly different, which is the technological mediation of information with less and less of true interpersonal involvement. Will our kids be taught by computers someday and, if so, what corporation builds and profits from it?

Watch this!

Hello fellow bloggers...

I realize that sometimes it can be fairly difficult to explain something that can be a bit technical at times. So I found a couple of great clips from YouTube that visually explains how geocaching works.

By watching the videos, I'm hoping that you 'll be able to see the actual process of how this activity works.

Click on the links to see geocaching-related news videos:

1. "Geocaching Fox News"

2. "Geocaching PBS" (this video is more educational and very interesting)

3. "Geocaching Alaska News Story"

Hopefully by watching these video clips, you get more of an insight into this great" treasure hunting" activity. As I make my way up to Maine and NH next month, perhaps I'll get the urge to hunt for a cache - of course, I'd have to get a GPS first!

-Kate

Why not Bookshare?

I was happy to read about this week's discussion topic. As I mentioned in a WebCT discussion post, I had the opportunity this year to work with a 5th grade student who was visually impaired. The year prior to that, one little girl in my 2nd grade class was extremely hearing impaired. Both of those experiences opened up my eyes (and ears!) to the special needs of students.

Bookshare.org provides a wealth of reading materials for those who are print disabled (that term was new to me). My first instinct was to see what exactly is available to students and from there I saw the "Schools and Groups" menu option. It seems that this service is a good option not only for classroom teachers, but clearly for the librarian as well. And...it gives students access to thousands of downloadable books.

Ok, I can't work in public education and not think about the cost. So, for a block of books that are available to all registered staff and students the following fees are incurred:

30 book download - $300
60 book download - $450
100 book download - $600

My first impression is that the cost is a bit on the higher end. Librarians are well aware of the measly budget allotted to them for the annual collection development. However, perhaps this fee can be taken from the computer software budget? Perhaps that can be finagled some way? Or (an I'm already thinking of the possibilities) schools can have book sales, fundraisers, etc.

I searched quickly through what's available at the bookshare.com collection and was impressed by the results - even for younger children. In addition, when you click on a book - you receive helpful book information such as summary, quality, ratings, etc.

If schools look at their student population and determine that there is a need for a service such as this, then they will find a way to provide for their students. In this instance, what better person to initiate this than the librarian. The librarian has the benefit of seeing all students and the responsibility to respond to student needs.

~Kate