On this day of good news: Alan Johnston was freed - a notification that I have moved my educational blog to wordpress:
http://flexiblelearning.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Thursday, 17 May 2007
Friday, 11 May 2007
Generation C
I am writing a paper for a workshop at the Flexible Learning conference that I am running next week here at Heriot-Watt. I am working on the paper together with a 3rd year student, and lo and behold, we don't just talk about Web 2.0 tools, we have been using them while preparing the talk.
While Google Docs & Spreadsheets is great for Excel and okay for Word it doesn't work with PowerPoint. Thinkfree, however, once we had cracked how to use it, is brilliant for PPT.
We were also collaborating via good old MSN and Bebo.
Interestingly, though, when we worked on the real meat (abstract, concept, activities, main content) we did that meeting F2F. Now what does that tell us about the way we humans prefer to work? Hmmm ...
While Google Docs & Spreadsheets is great for Excel and okay for Word it doesn't work with PowerPoint. Thinkfree, however, once we had cracked how to use it, is brilliant for PPT.
We were also collaborating via good old MSN and Bebo.
Interestingly, though, when we worked on the real meat (abstract, concept, activities, main content) we did that meeting F2F. Now what does that tell us about the way we humans prefer to work? Hmmm ...
Sunday, 6 May 2007
Netvibes
I am discovering more and more facsinating tools that appear to be puerly social ones, but then I think, what does that mean? Social? isn't learning a social activity? Surely, we all know that it is.
Netvibes is the latest tool that I have wholeheartedly embraced. It's a portal and this means that I don't even need to open all those tabsin Firefox anymore. It also makes me smile wrily, because of the inability of Universities to ever keep up. Well, not all, but certainly many. Not with the digital generation, not with the vast possibilities out there and not with thinking out of the box.
Or, as Michael Wesch said it: "Students are already frequently visiting Facebook, so we can bring our class discussions to them in a place where they have already invested significant effort in building up their identity, rather than asking them to login to Blackboard or some other course management system where they feel “faceless” and out of place."
Indeed, why don't we.
Netvibes is the latest tool that I have wholeheartedly embraced. It's a portal and this means that I don't even need to open all those tabsin Firefox anymore. It also makes me smile wrily, because of the inability of Universities to ever keep up. Well, not all, but certainly many. Not with the digital generation, not with the vast possibilities out there and not with thinking out of the box.
Or, as Michael Wesch said it: "Students are already frequently visiting Facebook, so we can bring our class discussions to them in a place where they have already invested significant effort in building up their identity, rather than asking them to login to Blackboard or some other course management system where they feel “faceless” and out of place."
Indeed, why don't we.
Friday, 27 April 2007
24 hours of Flickr
http://blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2007/04/its_coming_24_h.html
What an utterly fascinating event. On 5th May people around the world photograph their lives, to share the images of their day with the community.
Now, if we could have such a day across Universities of the world, sharing the curriculum. Wouldn't it be fascinating to see how the different countries teach the same subject?
What an utterly fascinating event. On 5th May people around the world photograph their lives, to share the images of their day with the community.
Now, if we could have such a day across Universities of the world, sharing the curriculum. Wouldn't it be fascinating to see how the different countries teach the same subject?
Thursday, 26 April 2007
Viral Marketing
I really do feel naive sometimes. I thought viral marketing was a nasty conniving scheme and what do I realise by chatting to an expert and having a quick gander on Wikipedia?
It's a big market.
GoViral for example. I may disagree, and in fact, a marketing company like that might actually make me feel rather sick, but I am at the same time truly fascinated.
Because ... what could this mean for education? because let's face it: everything means something for education - we just have to figure out what, and where, and how, and if we even want it.
It's a big market.
GoViral for example. I may disagree, and in fact, a marketing company like that might actually make me feel rather sick, but I am at the same time truly fascinated.
Because ... what could this mean for education? because let's face it: everything means something for education - we just have to figure out what, and where, and how, and if we even want it.
Should I say "Hello World"?
Or would that be a very washed-out echo of Michael Wesch's brilliant video The machine is us/ing us?
Anyway, I shall talk about things that I discover along the journey out of the box - the VLE box in Higher Education.
Today I uploaded my first Excel sheet to be collaborated on with a friend and colleague. I am frankly amazed at what is possible, in a "kid in sweetie store" kind of way, and I'm not that old, I assure you.
Anyway, I have to work on the next session of a brand new module, and guess what, VLE, Web 2.0, CAA and goodness what else will feature.
Anyway, I shall talk about things that I discover along the journey out of the box - the VLE box in Higher Education.
Today I uploaded my first Excel sheet to be collaborated on with a friend and colleague. I am frankly amazed at what is possible, in a "kid in sweetie store" kind of way, and I'm not that old, I assure you.
Anyway, I have to work on the next session of a brand new module, and guess what, VLE, Web 2.0, CAA and goodness what else will feature.
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