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

Kids and Geocaching

Beatrice had inquired about the connection between geocaching and kids...so I thought that I'd do a bit of investigating - as my initial searches primarily discussed geocaching as being an adult activity.

I came across a website titled "Geocaching with Kids: Activate the Learning Environment". Essentially, it discusses how geocaching can be an activity for kids to participate in as well as adults. The focus of this site explains the significance of finding activities that excite and motivate children.

Again, think of this activity as comparable to a treasure hunt - the treasure is the "cache". As you explore the page, you will come across a list of tools that are needed and/or recommended to find a cache - the most important item is a GPS system - as discussed in my initial post on this topic. However, there are other items worth mentioning as well: notebook/sketchbook, camera, audio/video recorder, etc.

A GPS can look like this:

Geocaching can also be used by teachers as well. Special geocaches can be set up for a class or a small group of students. Implications to think about when planning for this activity can be read on the website.

In addition, scroll through the menu at the top of the webpage to find more information on this topic. I found the FAQs section to be of particular interest.

Finally, if you are interested in searching for a cache in a particular area, please click here and in the top right corner, search by zip code, state, or country.

Enjoy!

-Kate

What in the world is GEOCACHING?

To learn more about my second topic, I visited the most popular geocaching site, which is located at www.geocaching.com.

Geocaching is an outdoor "treasure-hunting", actually a cache hunting, game where players use a GPS (global positioning system) to locate the cache. You may be familiar with GPS as they are now frequently found in cars. Though my 1998 Subaru Impreza does not sport such high-tech features, a lot of newer cars now have the GPS option...and I don't know if any models offer this technology standard.

Anyway, people set up caches all over the world and participants use their GPS to find the items. The cache typically consists of inexpensive objects, such as trinkets - small toys, etc. that are placed in some sort of waterproof container. The cache can literally be anywhere - including some underwater locations!

Once the player finds the cache, he/she is allowed to take a "prize", but they are also asked to leave something for the cache as well. Does this sound easy? Supposedly it's not. It's one thing for your GPS to give you the coordinates and thus an approximate location, but it's another to actually find the cache once you're there.

I look forward to reading and researching more about this topic. For now, after reading my blurb, you may have some specific questions that you're curious to learn more about. If that's the case, visit http://www.geocaching.com/faq/ for answers to some of your questions.

Enjoy!

-Kate

What do you think?

Ok, back to filamentality. I put together a quick example to experience the step-by-step process of building a webpage using this tool. From what I've found so far, there are different levels of using this tool, from the most basic form (hotlist) to something more advanced (WebQuest).

I created a hotlist page on the topic: plant growth. Filamentality guided me through the process of setting up a title, brief description, along with suggested links that relate to the topic. The end result was a "no-frills" page that listed websites (I listed about three, though there was an opportunity to post more) for students to visit - in a fairly organized way.

My opinion of this tool up to this point fluctuates. For instance, filamentality stores your created webpages at no fee to the user, which is great for teachers. However, the webpage created looks like nothing more than something that you can create in Microsoft Word, but at least in Word you can add graphics and images. However, it's easier for students to access something on the web, versus as a saved Word document. So my problem with filamentality so far is that aesthetically...it's unappealing to look at. I can't upload pictures and create different fonts, etc. Therefore, it will be difficult to attract the interest of students.

For now, check out my "hotlist" filamentality example. Next week, I hope to explore the next level that perhaps will enable to creator to do more. Oh, and like I mentioned above, you can add more links and resources, but I did the minimum for the sake of an example.

http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listgrowingkl.html

Kate

Let's Explore Games...

When we think about games in our culture we understand them to be about violence and other factors which can be disturbing to young children. In fact, there have been several prominent studies conducted in the last few years which directly speak to this issue. One piece of literature in particular to consider, written by Douglas Gentile and Craig Anderson called "Violent Video Games: The Newest Media Violence Hazard", speaks fairly clearly to the fact that video games can lead to negative behavior in younger children. Click here to see the full text.

Clearly these types of games can have negative repercussions in children, but these aspects simply reflect the corporate choice to make products which sell themselves through explicit violence and sexuality. It must be understood, though, that there are other alternatives and these can be explored.

If we consider games, removed from their potentially violent theme or content, and focus simply on their interactive and tactile systems we see that they can be used to teach an amazing variety of topics. Games build skills in several areas including three dimensional thinking, perception, individual problem solving, team based problem solving, and help students become comfortable with computer and network technologies. In addition, it's very possible that multiplayer online games using virtual worlds allow children who otherwise would feel marginalized for their potential short comings (being too smart, too short,or too shy) to join and interact in a positive manner in a virtual community. One good example of a video game with direct and positive impact on students today is a game by Will Wright, the creator of SimCity called "Spore", which allows players to trace the evolution of an organism from the micro to the macro scale. As a teaching tool, it provides an exceptional opportunity for scientific learning in an engaging manner. Click here to see a YouTube video by the creators of Spore.

In the end, it's the choice of the teacher and the school to tailor the content given to the students. By allowing access to video games but somewhat controlling the specific content, it's possible to have the best of both worlds. As an educator (either a teacher or a librarian), what are your thoughts?

Filamentality fundamentals...

In my next post, I'm going to take the plunge and use Filamentality to create a web-based learning activity of my own. For now, however, we need to take a closer look at the fundamentals of filamentality.

For starters...how did the name filamentality come about? According to the AT&T Knowledge Network website, filamentality "combines the 'filaments of the web' with your 'mentality' allowing you to create a variety of formats that meet your personal or learner needs."

The benefit of using this tool is that each teacher can customize the web-based page to a particular subject area and easily manipulate the page to cater to different learning needs. The filamentlity tool facilitates the setup of the page, along with the online resources that accompany the topic.

For a full description of filamentality, click here.
To check out another sample of a web-based page using the filamentality tool, click here.

A topic to investigate in a later blog: the significance of maintaining active links when creating a web-based page for student learning.

References: The above information (links) and image came from AT&T Knowledge Ventures

Thoughts on Social Bookmarking Systems...

I was glad that this week's lecture came along and I wanted to comment on the benefits of tagging in an educational setting.

Allow me to first digress...I've been meaning to set up an account with del.icio.us for a while now. As touched upon in the lecture with regard to using multiple computers, this is one of my biggest downfalls. I regularly work on four laptops - two at home and two at work (don't ask why...they all serve different purposes) - and my current bookmarks are obviously scattered all over. I figured that del.icio.us would be the key to some sort of organization with my bookmarks, which are a mess. I don't even organize my bookmarks in folders! This week I will make it a point to change all of this.

Now, in regard to education...there are quite a few benefits of social bookmarking in an educational setting. Let's take del.icio.us - rather than students blindly surfing the internet for specific websites, they can tag what is relevant and share that information with other students- all of which is helpful in, for instance, group projects. This is even more pertinent for students working and collaborating in a distance program (i.e. Syracuse!). As another example, flickr is a social bookmarking tool that helps to organize pictures. Students can easily tag an item and that facilitates in the retrieval process. And...as more research projects require a visual aspect, flickr is extremely relevant for students to use.

Social bookmarking systems are often criticized because they are not exact, consistent etc., but I don't think that their benefits should be dismissed. I think that there is time to fine-tune these systems and they will continue to aid in the storing and retrieval of information.

Butterfly Sample Using Filamentality

This may help shed some light...

This sample is from an individual who created a web page on the life cycle of a butterfly.

Note that it was created using the filamentality tool.

I'm wondering if the web pages can be made to be more "visually appealing"? I'll explore more.

Introduction to Filamentality

FILAMENTALITY

The first time that I saw the word, I figured that there must be some sort of spelling mistake. But then I saw my second topic and thought the same. So I've concluded that both of my topics must be some new technology terms, which are obviously new to me and perhaps new to you as well.

Click here to read about filamentality. The definition is written in a very informal way, which is good because we may be on unfamiliar grounds, so to speak.

Essentially, filamentality is a tool that allows you to basically create web pages without even knowing HTML (this is great for any teachers who are reluctant about using technology in the classroom). In addition, it leads you through the process of setting up your web page, it helps you to gather resources and links, and in the end - you've created a web page that your students can learn from.

Sound too good to be true? Hmmm...at some point, I'll have to try this personally.

...Ok, on a side note, we all know to use this source with caution...but I was surprised to find that filamentality wasn't in wikipedia...

Credits: The above link came from an AT&T Education website:http://www.kn.pacbell.com/

Why get started now?

For an assignment, why else?

I am a graduate student from Syracuse University just about halfway through my library science degree...and as my profile mentions, also a teacher at an elementary school in Brooklyn, NY. That could be an entirely separate blog in it of itself!

This blog will have in a sense a fair amount of direction. Though under normal circumstances I could see myself blogging about a number of related - and unrelated - issues, I have two very specific topics that I must discuss throughout this semester.

1. Filamentality
2. Geocaching

Hear of either term? I have not. Luckily "comments" will be enabled...hee hee...

So aside from the above, I may also comment from time to time about course-related discussions, readings, assignments, and/or activities.

~Enjoy~

Kate