LC Moo 2 September, 2009

I was very enthusiastic to try moo as even though I had heard of it, had never used it.

Due to other work commitments I only was able to access my emails with my user name and password, a short time before the meeting began. It took a couple of attempts for me to actually get into the program and then finding the room in which the meeting was taking place was another issue! I felt totally out of depth using this program as I had no idea what to do, how to do it, where to do, or even why I was doing it!!! When I finally found where my fellow students were at the meeting was already in progress by the time I arrived.

As the assigment was looming I figured that tonight's chat would be about the assignment. That did not happen. I guess I attribute that to my earlier point that when there is a large group of people in a chat the discussion can tend to get lost and it seems like there is no one driving it.

As one requires an invitation, user name and password to enter the site I would imagine that Moo would be fairly secure for students to use. I can imagine them finding the process engaging as they more around virtual rooms etc.

I would say my Moo experience was not something that I enjoyed, but would use it again with my students (providing I was able to broaden my knowledge of the site).

Skype Coference Call 26 August 2009

Once again, unfortunately I was not able to be part of the Skype chat due to other commitments. I have however, use Skype in the past and it has been rather successful. I have used voice and video chat as part of Skype. My computer does not seem to be able to download the transcript from the discussion (antique version computer) but from talking with other students who were able to be present at the meeting it does not seem this instance was all that successful.

The students I spoke to about the Skype conference agreed that the program does work well on a one to one basis but when a large group attempt to be part of it at the one time it is not quite as successful - this is probably due to differing bandwiths.

Generally speaking though, Skype is an excellent resource that I have used previously to communicate (rather inexpensively) with educators the other side of the globe.

Interact Tool - 19 August, 2009

After feeling totally out of the loop and unable to get the gist of what was discussed at last week's meeting I made a huge effort to make sure I was present tonight for the interact chat meeting.

I found the program itself was relatively easy to use, however, I found with so many people chatting at the one time getting the gist of the topic is somewhat difficult or even impossible! I think it is very important that when we are having an online chat such as this that we stay with the one topic until everyone else is ready to move on. While I enjoyed conversing with my fellow students, I found trying to keep up with the discussion was like unsuccessfully trying to play ping pong! While the experience was good and it was great to converse with others - I don't feel in terms of knowledge I benefitted much from the chat.

Google Chat - 12 August 2009

Unfortunately, I completely missed out on the google chat tonight due to prior commitments. Upon looking at the transcript of the chat it looks like there was an option to do a voice chat or video? On the transcript I cannot seem to follow much detail of what has been discussed. A bit confusing, must try and be part of the loop next week.

Etherpad - 5 August 2009

I had not heard of Etherpad - let alone used the program before, therefore I was very enthusiastic to give it a try. I found accepting Ken's invitation to join etherpad relatively simple (even for a novice like me). The program itself also looked easy enough to use as well. The only time I felt etherpad was a little tricky was when the red group were trying to set up their own. But that was sorted out rather quickly. I found tonight's experience interesting as I had the opportunity to "speak" to other students...share ideas and discuss what we think this course is it about.

I think etherpad would be relatively easy to use in the classroom and would definitely consider doing so.

Compare and Contrast the works of Ward Cunningham and Adam Curry

Online communities which can be defined as (Online Communities) (n.d) as “a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as the Internet, rather than face to face for social, professional, educational or other purposes.” This is fast becoming a way of life for many people. An online community can be in the form of a social networking site (such as Facebook) blogs or wikis. This paper will explore the works of Ward Cunningham who designed the first Wiki and Adam Curry who pioneered podcasting.

As previously mentioned Ward Cunningham was responsible for developing the first wiki and hypercard. Techterms (n.d) define a wiki as “a website that allows users to add and update content on the site using their own web browser. This is made possible by Wiki software that runs on the web server. Wikis end up being created mainly by a collaborative effort of the site visitors.” As pointed out by wikipedia (n.d.) Ward Cunningham is a ‘pioneer in both design patterns and extreme programming, he started programming the WikiWikiWeb in 1994 and installed it on the website of his software consultancy”.

Ward Cunningham is noted for other achievements than developing the wiki. According to Open Source Bridge, (n.d). Cunningham is also noted as the “Chief technology officer of aboutus.org Ward, a growth company hosting the communities formed by organizations and their constituents. Ward co-founded the consultancy, Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc., has served as a Director of the Eclipse Foundation, an Architect in Microsoft’s Patterns & Practices Group, the Director of R&D at Wyatt Software and as Principle Engineer in the Tektronix Computer Research Laboratory. Ward is well known for his contributions to the developing practice of object-oriented programming, the variation called Extreme Programming, and the communities supported by his WikiWikiWeb. Ward hosts the AgileManifesto.org. He is a founder of the Hillside Group and there created the Pattern Languages of Programs conferences which continue to be held all over the word.”

Another great contributor to the world of technology is Adam Curry. Adam Curry who according to Wikipedia (n.d) is often referred to as “the Podfather” not because he invented podcasts but according to Wired Magazine (n.d) “but by driving the digital consumption model into the mainstream with his program Daily Source Code” Podcasting is defined by Entrepreneur as “a pre-recorded audio program that’s posted to a website and is made available for people to download so people can listen to them on personal computers or mobile devices”.

Unlike Ward Cunningham who was the driving force behind the development of Wiki, Adam Curry did not actually develop podcasts. According to Wired Magazine (n.d) credit for actually inventing podcasts goes to David Winer. As pointed out by Wired Magazine (n.d.) “Software developer Winer helped create Really Simple Syndication (RSS) – a basic web feed simplifying the process of subscribing to websites and other online media. He used RSS to deliver his audio program, Morning Coffee Notes, just a day before Curry’s program debuted.

Again, unlike Ward Cunningham , Adam Curry enjoyed celebrity status according to Wired Magazine(n.d) as a former MTV video jockey which put him ahead in terms of popularity and Curry’s podcast proved “far more influential. Thus, in the podcast revolution, Curry played the role of pioneer for Winer’s invention” ms. Mobiles magazine (n.d) further concludes that even though Curry did not actually develop the podcast he “…was the first that had written a program that used RSS enclosures format, and who later on was propagating Podcasting with his own podcasts, websites and other means”.

Similarly, to Ward Cunningham, Adam Curry has made other contributions to the world of technology other than podcasting. According to Adam Curry (n.d) “Since the early 1990’s Curry has been involved in web technology and media, first as a founder of a design and hosting company, then as an executive with a marketing and communication agency and now as a high profile personality in the development of podcasting. The contributions made by both these men have had a profound effect on technology as it has enabled people from all walks of life and areas of the globe to be connected by these revolving communications.

REFERENCES
Adam Curry (n.d.) Retreived 8 September, 2009 from http://www.answers.com/topic/adam-curry-tv-personality-internet-celebrity

Ms.Mobiles Magazine (n.d) Biography Adam Curry Retrieved 9 September, 2009 from http://msmobiles.com/catalog/i.php/558.html

Online and Virtual Communities (n.d.) Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

Open Source Bridge (n.d.) Ward Cunningham. Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from
http://opensourcebridge.org/users/336

Technical Terms (n.d.) Retrieved 7 September, 2009 from http://www.techterms.com/definition/wiki

Wired Magazine (n.d.) Podfather: Adam Curry Launches Daily Source Code, Retrieved 9 September, 2009 from
http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/tag/adam-curry/

Topic 5 - Exercise 5.2

This exercise required a table to show the results. After asking other forum members how to make a table using blogger (cut and paste didn't work), trying to upload images, saving files as various other extensions and trying numerous other ways to get a table onto my blog - I was left with two choices throw the computer out the window or present the information as follows: -
Not being able to easily make tables in blogger is definitely a downfall.

Online Community: Photo Shuffle

Objectives: To locate intricate details in pictures loaded by other members.

Rules of Engagement: Very engaging game. Must successfully place the yellow circle over the detail to win full points. Members can still achieve some points if they are close to the target.

Unique Features:
Easily upload own photos.
Leave comments for other members.
Can choose difficulty rating.


Online Community: Whyville

Objectives: A virtual town where members can build their own avatar, chat with other members and play games.


Rules Of Engagement: A wide variety of activities to stimulate children of all ages. You need to earn points (or a chat licence) before you can participate in that.
Many different games to choose from. Create your own avatar.
Chat with other members.

Unique Features: Many different games to choose from. Create your own avatar.
Chat with other members.

Amy Jo Kingis behind the organisation and management of photoshuffe. Kim is an internationally recognised social architect who has been involved in various social architecture projects.

Topic 5 - Exercise- 5.1

My online identities include: csu, facebook, hotmail accounts, zimbra (work email account), messenger.

I think my identity is relatively consistent across all instances – but I guess I would have to say that my work account takes a more professional stance than the other accounts.

My persistent identity reflects my interests and my professional existence. As pointed out by Jordan (et al, 2003) “ This (persistent) identity should be multifarious and ambiguous (as identity is in life itself), capable of reflecting an endless variety of interests, needs, desires, and relationships. It should not be reduced to a recitation of our purchase preferences, since who we are cannot be reduced to what we buy’.

Topic 4 - Exercise 3a

Software: Yahoo! Learning: Restricted access must be over 18 years. Professional Development: Can promote professional diaglogue with others

Software: Youtube Learning: Student access is blocked in many schools. Proffesional Development: Wide and varied selection of interesting videos that can support curriculum in the classroom or at staff level via professional development

Software: Bebo Learning: There is an age restriction of 13 years and over Professional Development: Social networking site that allows contact with others (professionals) across the globe.

Software: Facebook Learning: Age restriction 13 years and over. Professional Development: Could promote professional diagolue. Provides opportunities to join groups wherein professionals from around the world can share resources.

Software: Ning Learning: Age restrictions 13 years and over. Professional Development: Can invite other professionals to join, enabling them to engage in professional dialogue or to work colloboratively to share ideas.

Software: LinkedIn Learning: Age restrictions 18 years and over Professional Development: Share information, ideas and other opportunities with other professionals

Software: Delicious Learning: Possibility of linking students who share common interests. Professional Development: bookmarking that will link to interest groups

Software: Teachertube Learning: similar to youtube. Professional Development: As per youtube.

Software: Twitter Learning: Age restrictions 13 years and over. Professional Development: possibility of linking professionals

Software: Myspace Learning: Age restriction 13 years and over. Professional Development: Could be used as a multimedia portfolio of students' work.

Software: RevYu Learning: students can review and rate work. Can also make their own contributions Professional Development: review site for books, videos etc

Software: Flickr Learning: allows for photo sharing Professional Development: provides tutorials for photo manipulation, enhancement etc

Software: SocialGo Learning: Age restrictions 18 years and over Professional Development: enables participants to create own social networking sites, connect to forums etc

Software: Digg Learning: social networking that could link students with similar interests or allow professionals to share dialogue Professional Development linking people with similar iterests allows bookmarking of sites

Software: bubbl.us Learning: allows for brainstorming online Professional Development: Could be used for both students and teaching professionals to share ideas

Software: reddit Learning: Allows participants to read and review current news items. Professional Development: Suitable for learning across all groups.

Topic 4 - Exercise 4.2

When participating in an online community in order for the interaction to be successful there needs be “house rules”. My personal belief is the utmost critical house rule (particularly when young children are participating in the community) is that participants need to feel safe. As pointed out by http://www.macmillan.org.uk/House_Rules.aspx which is an online organization for cancer patients members must feel safe and supported as part of the community. The community must have a purpose as pointed by Kim (2000a; 2000b) and members must be aware of the purpose. Finally, the online community must be inclusive and value the opinion of others.

Topic 4 - Exercise 4.1

www.blogspot.com is a relatively easy product to use, particularly for those who have had limited experience with blogging previously. Since the beginning of this course I have used blogspot with my students to enable them to communicate thoughts and feelings about books we have read, with other students interstate. The discussion on the blogs must have a purpose otherwise the teacher desired outcome will be lost. According to Kim (200a; 2000b) “there should be ways of defining the characteristics of participants” and it is my belief that with blogspot this can be done if it is so desired, by simply adding detailed information into the profile or even adding a picture. At blogspot the person who is sharing their thoughts would be considered the leader, but certainly it allows for other discussions to flow from the “leaders blog”. This point as Kim (2000b) points out allows the members to take some control of the blog (however indirect) As Kim (2000a; 2000b) points out “regular events helps promote relationships” this is true for any relationships but it certainly has been the case in the blogging activity I have completed in my class.

Topic 3 Exercise 3.2

The educational value of online mobile games and mobile social network access is becoming more and more apparent. Easier access without having to worry about cords is one advantage. This will in turn allow for more students to have access to the network at anyone time. A case study found at http://journals.lww.com/cinjournal/Abstract/2004/09000/Wireless_Technology_Improves_Nursing_Workflow_and.7.aspx indicates that wireless technology has made the pressures faced in nursing more bearable. The same could be said in education as students can be working in various classrooms or contexts which is relevant to the learning.

As pointed out by Maddux et al ” …..as inexpensive and fast wireless internet access becomes available in school……it will have the effect of greatly increasing the number of classrooms with Internet access and the number of computers with such access in each of those classrooms. Previously wiring problems in aging schools has been a significant barrier to Internet access. Although fast, wireless internet connections will not solve the problem of inadequate electrical wiring, it will certainly eliminate the problems involved in running coaxial cable, fiber optic cable or telephone lines to classrooms.”

Topic 3 - Exercise 3.1

From a personal point of view not being big on fantasy type games the Battle of Wesnoth game does not particularly thrill me! I had a look at it though. There seemed to be a lot of preliminary reading before the game began which I guess has its advantages in the sense that participants can read a lot about what to expect before they begin. However, for someone who just wanted to have a look at what the game was about – and not particularly keen in playing it – it was frustrating and long winded trying to figure out how to merely have a look. Once that was overcome I did manage to get a feel for the game and can see how people who enjoy these type of games can find them addictive.

Topic 2 - Exeercise 2.4

Dick Hardt raises a good point when he asks the question, “Who is the Dick on your site”? This point is something that we all should be aware of, and from an educational point of view something that teachers should consider before they allow children access to online communities. Hardt mentions such terms as phishing which is an email sent with the purpose of “scamming” the recipient into believing the course is legitimate. Pharming is another term used by Hardt which is what hackers do to redirect users to bogus websites. Privacy invasion and identity theft (pretending to be someone else) are two other terms that Hardt mentions in his talk. The solutions Hardt offers to overcoming these problems seem satisfactory but I wonder how beneficial they would be in an early primary classroom setting?

Topic 2 - Exercise 2.3

My Facebook profile is very basic giving out limited information. I do not have an avatar. The reason I initially joined Facebook was to see what all the fuss was about. Different people from varied areas of my life work colleagues, friends, family and people who I had lost contact with over the years are now “friends” on Facebook. I currently live in a small mining community and a responsibility in my professional position is to be professional at all times. With this and my “audience” in mind I choose to put as little information as possible on my profile.

Topic 2 - Exercise 2.2

Second life

I was very keen to explore second life and eagerly went to the website which I found to be pleasant and somewhat intriguing. I clicked on the join now button and a form came up for me to fill in to join up. This is where the frustration began. I spent an hour filling in and then re-filling my form trying to get access to the site. I was continually told to fix errors and re-submit but I was not clearly informed of what my errors were! After making several hit and miss (all misses I might add) as to what I did wrong I decided to scrap the process and try filling out the form again from scratch…..still no luck. Maybe its my internet connection, maybe it’s me…… I don’t know….all I do know is that this website is very frustrating in terms of logging in. I only hope it is better once your finally in it….as for me I probably will never know.

Topic 2 - Exeercise 1

Virtual Environments and Your Cognition
As I was already a member of Facebook I am familiar with how the social networking site works and willingly joined the online community set up for this course.
I asked many people who were in the group to be my “friend” but only two responded. I believe that has more to do with members being unfamiliar with each other rather than anything personal. We are constantly receiving warnings via email and Facebook itself not to accept requests by certain people to be friends because there are some out there who are predators and/or looking to taking over one’s identity. I think if the participants in this course were more familiar with one and other I would have had more success in adding to my “friends” list.
Social Cognition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_cognition is a study of the way individual’s process information, particularly in the encoding, storage , retrieving and applying to social situations.

Visual Cognition
http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~uctymfm/Lecture%20Notes/BA%20Psychology/Visual%20Cognition%202.pdf
the capacity to see objects around us. These capacities involve the manipulation of representations through inference.

Topic 1 - Exercise 3

An Heuristic Experience

As I teach in a Catholic School in Tasmania I thought I would do my evaluation on the Tasmanian Catholic Education Office Website, as this website is widely used by myself and colleagues.
In terms of effectiveness the website rates average in my opinion. All the necessary components are listed and at a click on the link and most of the information is at your fingertips. The thing that let it down is the curriculum component which is critical for myself and my colleagues to be able to find proves to be a little tricky to locate.

Subject: Tasmanian Catholic Education Office: Computer System Usability Questionnaire
Sender: smokie@southcom.com.au
From: smokie@southcom.com.au (CSUQ)

system=Tasmanian Catholic Education Office
date=2009-09-05 22:05:33
comment=
q1=7
q2=7
q3=7
q4=7
q5=7
q6=7
q7=7
q8=7
q9=3
q10=6
q11=4
q12=7
q13=5
q14=6
q15=6
q16=7
q17=6
q18=4
q19=7
negative1=Some of the tags are not specific for example finding the curriculum we use in teaching is not straightforward.
negative2=Online help is not very satisfactory,
positive1=Everything is on the site that is required although some things are not as specific as they could be.
positive2=The interface is pleasant

Topic 1 - Exercise 2

Reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy
Folksonomy is a system for creating and managing tags to annotate and categorise content. Folksonomy may also be referred to as collaborative tagging, social indexing and social tagging. It allows for the user to find their way around the site with ease.

Who is Dr Jakob Nielson?

Jakob Nielson has a list of positive attributes associated with his name from “the King of Usabilty” to a “person who knows more about what makes websites work than anyone else on the planet” http://www.useit.com/jakob/
Dr Nielson is the founder of “discount usability engineering” movement providing both inexpensive and rapid improvements of user interfaces which includes the heuristic evaluation. Jakob Nielson is the holder of 79 United States patents that are mainly concerned with making the internet easier to use.

Why usability testing works for small groups? As you add more and more users you learn less and less because you will keep seeing the same things again and again. After the fifth user you are wasting your time by observing the same findings .

Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs uses a single line of text to show a pages location in the site hierarchy. While secondary, this navigation technique is increasingly beneficial to users.

Breadcrumbs have always been a secondary navigation aid. They share this status with site maps. To navigate, site visitors mainly use the primary menus and the search box which are certainly more important for usability.

Topic 1 - Exercise 1

Social Networking: Reference http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/
Social networking is an interaction between a group of people who form part of a community, possibly sharing a common interest or hobby. Online social networking means that members of the community are not restricted by demographics eg. Someone in Australia can be part of an online community with members from Japan and so on.
Social networking sites such as Facebook means that members can join the social network then separate into smaller groups for example friendship groups or groups of people with a common interest.
There are some risks associated with social networking sites as members who share files with other users run the risk of computer threats such as viruses. Social networking sites can also be considered a “playground” for predators.

Online Communities: Reference http://www.commoncraft.com/archives/000208.html
Online communities is a group of people who share common interests and interact over the Internet.

To my understanding Social Networking and Online Communities while different there are some similarities. I believe that Social Networking relates more to the interaction of people who form the Online Community. Online Community is the group itself, for example, Facebook is an online community, my “friends” on the site are part of my social networking circle.

Topic One - Exercise One

Prior to commencement of the unit “Online Communities” I feel that I have reasonable understanding of what it means. I have been part of online communities such as Facebook for a while now and am rather comfortable with using it. I have also been exposed to other forms of online communities such as forums dealing with a range of subjects.

As part of this course, I would like to develop a clearer understanding of how I can use Online Communities in my classroom to enhance learning. I am interested in learning about how to overcome ethical and moral issues such as ensuring my students are not exposed to inappropriate behaviour while participating in an online community activity in my classroom.