Bringing music to the masses

This video has nothing to do, really, with the educational purpose of this class. It's from a market place in Valencia, and it made me smile - actually - it gave me joy. I realize we're not all opera lovers, but this was such an original idea (at least to me!), and I couldn't help but watch the faces of the crowd. I found it inspiring, and hope you do, too.

Just how successful a role can social media play in society?

Finding ways to use social media appropriately in the workplace is a challenge. By workplace, I mean this university, as we try to find new ways to reach high school students. Can we open new channels of communication with these students? Can messages bigger than "come here, you'll learn lots," stir an unexpected interest in the college-minded senior? Blogs are being used world wide, in countries starved for significant social change - and I know it's naive - but my hope is that our reach could be bigger than our grasp, to paraphrase Mr. Browning.

This audio, from the Oxford Internet Institute, is longer than you might have time for, but it raises some interesting points. Why I keep wandering into these global issues, when I can't even find my keys in the morning, I'll never know....



http://odeo.com/episodes/25248032-Social-Media-So-What-Assessing-the-Impact-of-Blogs-and-Social-Media

Teens still too trusting?

I wonder if much has changed in five years? Have we grown more lax in our diligence about protecting our identities? Or is distrust just commonplace now?

The following paragraph is from a 2005 paper, Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Teenage Blogs, published by the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, written by David Huffaker and Sandra Calvert (for Georgetown University). This study examined language use and online identity in teenaged bloggers (male and female), revealing that this group is far more trusting - sharing real names and locations, for example, very often sharing personal information in the virtual world that they would not consider sharing elsewhere:

"It is intriguing that blog authors often reveal their real names, along with other personal information such as age or location. In a virtual world, where identity is flexible, why would authors choose to present themselves as they do in nonvirtual worlds? Perhaps the idea of the personal journal encourages authors to reveal exactly who they are. Perhaps there is a certain sense of empowerment in revealing thoughts and feelings without hiding behind a public mask. On the other hand, if the content of a blog is personal, candid, or intimate, would not a certain sense of anonymity make authors feel more comfortable in being explicit? In either case, it would seem that names, age, and other forms of personal information play an important role in creating and maintaining blogs since these kinds of descriptors reflect the self, and hence how blog authors want to present themselves to others."

(Huffaker, D. A., and Calvert, S. L. (2005). Gender, identity, and language use in teenage blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 1.)
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html

photos

Started out doing a little reading on blog marketing - which feels strange to be thinking about for myself, as I can't imagine what I'd share that anyone would want to follow. (Not trying to invoke sympathy here - I simply don't have any educational insights to share with the teachers in this class.) Blogger had quite a few suggestions on how to maintain a successful site. (Interestingly, of the sites they recommended to post information to, only the Technorati site is still viable.) I went through their "coffee shop" site, and found a large number of sites that had been disabled. Due to questionable content? Extended period of inactivity? Nothing relevant to say? No wait - that's just me projecting, again.

It's clear that publishing regularly is key. Content should be meaningful, without being overly windy. I don't know what a blogroll is - not sure how it differs from RSS. Need to look that one up. An email contact would be helpful, I think, as it can be intimidating to post a comment or suggestion...

I tend to prefer shorter messages that are easy to grab, but I stumbled across a comedian's blog during our first week of class, and added his blog to my list. He's pretty wordy, but I enjoy his self-depricating style of humor. So if I were to blog consistently, it would have to involve laughter. And photography, I suppose. It's nice to be thinking of this as a sharing of information, and not a vehicle to just sell something. So here's another photo of mine, just to add a little more color to the page.




Cacti flowers from the Huntington Gardens in LA. April 2008.

Global Voices

As usual, time got away from me as I search through the blogosphere. This is one of my new favs - bookmarked, even! The layout appeals to the artist in me, (love love love the maps attached to the featured stories!) but the content really pulled me in. I, of course, spent my lunch break reading about photography:

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/01/18/graffiti-and-urban-art-voices-from-latin-american-streets-ii/

ON the same site, under education, was this little gem. Funny how I gravitate to the arts, though.... The following vidoe is from the "My First Movie" workshop in Valladolid, Spain. Children take part in a film-making class, done without the use of a camera. By using alternate techniques and projectors, they painted on 16 mm film; the painted strips were spliced together:

Films | Taller | Workshop | 27_12_09 | 16mm Filmmaking from Asociación Espacio Rojo on Vimeo.

A Nation of Readers

Been reading on literacy and it's diminishing return, what our country was once was:

"In the 1820s, Alexis de Tocqueville toured the United States and discovered an "ever-increasing crowd of readers." Indeed, he remarked, "There is hardly a pioneer's hut that does not contain a few odd volumes of Shakespeare." America was a poorer, more primitive and less powerful nation then; yet what he observed was a nation of readers.

"If we let literary reading slacken now, we risk losing the perspective that allowed our forebears to envision a better world for their children. This is a vast cultural condition, and solutions must come from educators, politicians, foundations and businesses. Literary reading is too important for this nation to abandon, and it is indeed at risk." Mark Bauerlein, from following link:

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/09/12/EDG8B8M7EI1.DTL#ixzz0cvGLNqU8

Just reading some of the blogs posted from teens around the country seems to emphasize adolescent vs. adult skills. The students today may be able to multitask without effort, and are savvy about today's gadgets and current technologies - but much of the content seems to be so horizontally focused. They read and post for their friends - with all the limited vocabulary and slang that will ensure their societal standing - yet I'm hopeful that some will seek a depth beyond the level of user-generated content of their peers.

Engaging tools

Educause
I came across this site recently, and have quite enjoyed reading some of the peer-reviewed articles in it. This particular article, "Engaging Students with Engaging Tools," was quite informative, citing objectives and preparation for designing coursework (regarding the Middle East/North Africa and the teaching of newer technologies and social media at Dickinson College). He describes the tools used: Wiki, blogs, Twitter, etc., and discusses the challenges and benefits the students encountered.

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/EngagingStudentswithEngagingTo/192954

Diigo
Last spring, one of the class requirements was setting up an Evernotes account. I used it for the class, but have since found this tool. (Thanks again, Denvy - the searching for this class often pays off in unexpected ways.) I need to stop playing with the software and get back to the task at hand!
http://www.diigo.com/

TED talk: Sir Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

day three: essential elements?

It seems to me that successful blogs are focused and organized - you should blog about a subject that you're passionate about, I think. Focus on what you know, perhaps? My thoughts tend to take a shotgun approach - I'm not sure how to garner all the things I want to learn or express into something cohesive. Clearly, researching this subject has been overwhelming with the sheer number of blogs and endless topics out there. It's exciting and exhausting at the same time.

I tend to enjoy the blogs that have an original design - and allow for some breathing room on the monitor. Some of them hit me in the eyes like visual buckshot. TMI! They must be easy to navigate, which is always the golden rule of a website, I think. And adding little sticky links to other social network sites (Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Linkedin, etc.) is clearly the trend.

Does the blog inspire its readers? If the blog is about graphic design, for example, - has the reader been inspired to try that new technique in Photoshop? If the content prompts an action by the reader, clearly that person is going to remember that blog the next time they need a little inspiration. Respect grows when the information shared is credible, useful and maybe a little fun, too. If time and thought is put into the content of the blog, I think the readers will come.

Of course, the most obvious essential element is consistent posting. That demands a big time commitment for most of us. Does the blog need to be posted to daily? Weekly? The reader will expect new, original and helpful content provided in a consistent manner. Or else why go back?

In one of Denvy's previous blogs, he mentioned the "timidity" of our initial postings. Whew - last quarter was my first "forum" experience - and I sweated bullets at posting comments my peers would read and critique. I have a tendency to filter and edit what I write, rather than feeling free to make mistakes and appear foolish. A pride thing, I admit.

Will my entries be more "reflective" or "meaningful" if I'm too timid to break free of self-imposed restrictions? I hope I grow beyond the fear - of course the fact that I'm posting a second time is proof of some growth on my part!

Day one: where to begin?

This quarter, I think I definitely need to question my unwillingness to post on my Facebook account. I started the account mainly to appease my family, friends and co-workers - and see for myself what all the fuss is about. To be honest, I like to check with it at the beginning of the workday, to see what my friends are saying. I might even respond to a posting once in awhile. But I don't think I've ever initiated a posting on my own. I just can't make myself inflict my momentary flashes of thought onto anyone. It's actually a bit selfish on my part, I realize. But the constant snippets of daily activities seem a bit boring to me. Where is the real conversation? Where in our days are the opportunities for real conversations? Or is a sound byte of information enough to make us feel we're a part of each others lives?

This blog thing, though, is a different kettle of fish. I can write out my musings and questions for the universe - and nobody has to read them unless they choose to. Or want to.