Web 2.0 and PLE

I wrote a paper for a masters course and I thought it was good enough to post excerpts. I posted it on my blog at Athabasca University's Me2U site. Here are the links:

• Web 2.0 (http://me2u.athabascau.ca/thomass/weblog/1199.html)
  
  
• Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
  (http://me2u.athabascau.ca/thomass/weblog/1200.html)
  
  
• References (http://me2u.athabascau.ca/thomass/weblog/1197.html)
  

My conclusion is that advances in Web 2.0 technologies are making the development of PLEs more of a possibility, but harnessing everything into one centralized portal is a challenge that will need to be met to make it a reality.

I would like to see PLEs take advantage of the approach of sites like Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) and applications like Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/) that allow a user to add or remove applications/add-ons to improve functionality. It should also be flexible enough to allow learners to utilize it in formal, educational, settings, but this would be difficult from the institution's perspective.

A Future Vision of the K-12 system

Predicting the future is like trying to pin jell-o to the wall, but expressing a vision might be more realistic. I had a discussion with an acquaintance the other day about the k-12 school system and it started me thinking again about the future of this system and its' ability to respond to advances in technology. Here are a few of my quick quips about what I would like to see develop for the future:

* Every school needs a dedicated technology person. This should be someone in the school that deal with all issues regarding technology (e.g. classroom, administration, networks, computers and more). It's time to let teachers teach; after all it is what we do best.
* We have to integrate the technology more thoroughly into schools to take advantage of the way our students use it in their lives.
* We have to diversify the composition of our classrooms to utilize technology. In one classroom, there could be students attending by being physically present and technologically present. A teacher would teach to online students at the same time as teaching to students attending in the regular classroom. Why does it have to be separated?
* All students would use tools (like blogging, podcasting, wikis, chat, and others) to help learning.

I’m tired of the ad-hoc approach to dealing with technology in our education system. Many proven technologies remain on the fringes and never get fully implemented. This is not technology for it’s own sake, but a recognition that we are in the information age that depends on technology to function. Are we really exploring and utilizing the way that the current generation uses technology? What is so different from a classroom in the present day and one a hundred years ago?

Second Life

I recently signed-up for Second Life (a 3D virtual reality world), downloaded and installed the software and spent a couple of hours wandering around. After teleporting to a couple of places, where I wandered around aimlessly, I grew bored and looked for a place on the map where there were some people to interact with. Lesson #1) Watch out for where you teleport. Let's just say I ended up in a place where people were being a little too social. Some of these places reflected more of a wild life then a second life.

Well, my first foray into Second Life l(SL) eft me wondering what is the big deal? Yes, the 3D environment was impressive but the same can be said of some video games. I did not get to experience much interaction. I encountered an SL bot in one area and it seemed like I was getting fixed responses which grew tiresome quickly. I can't see the value for learning in this environment yet. I did find out that it can be a big time waster. Maybe first impressions are not good to go by.

MDDE 620: Assign 2

I can't seem to pick a topic for my second assignment in my MDDE 620 Advanced Technology in Distance Education and Training) course. I don't want to get stuck researching a topic that I will get bored with quickly. I don't like having a 60% paper to write. There is not a lot of interaction in this course either.

My Vista Experience

I bought a new computer for my junior high school to use for video editing. It is an HP m8000n Media Center PC with Vista on it. I upgraded the OS to Vista Ultimate because I want to eventually put it on the school's network.

We are going to buy video editing software later so for mow we wanted to use the Windows Movie Maker. It worked fines at first and then stopped working. Data Execution Protection (DEP) function in Vista stopped it from working. Even after excluding Movie Maker from DEP it still did not work. The Tech at the store where I bought the computer Googled the problem and the only solution was to turn DEP off altogether.

Vista Tip: Turn off Data Execution Prevention (Windows Vista: Beyond the Manual)
http://vista.beyondthemanual.com/2006/11/vista_tip_turn_off_data_execut.html


I don't like the idea of turning off DEP but I had no other choice. Hopefully, Microsoft with have this fixed soon and i can turn DEP back on.

BTW, here is a warning for those of you considering buying a Vista computer and upgrading it from the Premium to the Ultimate or Business editions. The stores won't refund your money for the upgrade if you try and take the computer back. I was told they were not legally allowed to take back software. Buyer beware.

Blogging

I would like to use blogs in the courses I teach at a Newfoundland junior high school, but I can't find the right blogging site. Some dismiss concerns over the balance of being able to control postings and allowing students the freedom to post to their own blog. The reality is that school boards have technology policies that require teachers to provide a controlled environment where students can create content online. The search for the right blogging tool continues.

Web 2.0 Confusion

It is dawning on me that trying to understand Web 2.0 can be compared to pinning jello against the wall. Have a look at Ian Delaney's piece "10 definitions of Web 2.0 and their shortcomings" and the comments that follow and you will get an idea of where I am coming from. Warning: it gets a little too technogeeky (if it is not a word it should be) at times.