tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29621748426229847602024-02-19T10:15:26.043-06:00Rob Blogwhere Rob blogsRobin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-18617294950695464512012-06-07T15:57:00.000-05:002012-06-07T15:57:34.190-05:00GPS TrackingI've been using <a href="http://www.jogtracker.com/" target="_blank">JogTracker</a> on my Android phone for a few weeks now, and I'm generally impressed with the accuracy and features, especially considering that I am using the free version of this geo-tracking app. I just start a new tracking session, toss my phone in my backpack, and try to remember to stop tracking when finished. It's a big drain on the battery of my HTC phone, but that isn't really surprising (everything is). I like the different modes to select from (walking, cycling, even wheelchair) when you begin a new tracking session, and the interface and companion website are both quite user-friendly. You can easily share tracks and view your history online. You can also export them as GPX or CSV formats containing the GPS data or download a KML file to import into Google Earth. Don't have an Android phone? Try <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motionx-gps/id299949744?mt=8" target="_blank">MotionX GPS for iOS</a>. It's not free, but it works very well too.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.jogtracker.com/HistoryDetailsEmbed.aspx?SyncID=b66b6341-b04a-4479-8a9e-f6450b8dd86f&UserName=robingalloway" style="height: 600px; width: 590px;">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Embedding not supported. View jog details at &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.jogtracker.com/HistoryDetails.aspx?SyncID=b66b6341-b04a-4479-8a9e-f6450b8dd86f&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;UserName=robingalloway"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;JogTracker&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.jogtracker.com/HistoryDetailsEmbed.aspx?SyncID=a51e1049-bca4-4a05-a893-9e638080d212&UserName=robingalloway" style="height: 600px; width: 590px;">&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Embedding not supported. View jog details at &amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.jogtracker.com/HistoryDetails.aspx?SyncID=a51e1049-bca4-4a05-a893-9e638080d212&amp;amp;amp;UserName=robingalloway"&amp;amp;gt;JogTracker&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;</iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-37696664187695099152011-10-27T12:46:00.001-05:002011-10-27T12:46:51.658-05:00Infographic: Prison vs. PrincetonRecently, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ohtinytony">Tony Shin</a> contacted me after seeing <a href="http://robgalloway.blogspot.com/2011/09/infographics.html">my blog post</a> in which I reused one of their infographics. Tony offered to update as they produce new infographics, and today he sent me this one comparing government investments in students vs. prisoners. Very interesting! One fact that caught my eye was that the U.S. is 6th globally for rate of degree attainment and 1st in rate of incarceration.<br />
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<a href="http://www.publicadministration.net/prison-vs-princeton/"><img alt="Prison vs Princeton" border="0" src="http://images.publicadministration.net.s3.amazonaws.com/prison-vs-princeton.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
Created by: <a href="http://www.publicadministration.net/">Public Administration</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-34849699887048180992011-09-06T11:24:00.002-05:002011-10-27T12:49:02.220-05:00InfographicsHere are a couple of good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic">infographics</a> I encountered this week...<br />
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<a href="http://sixrevisions.com/web-development/the-history-of-web-browsers/">The History of Web Browsers</a> by Jacob Gube. Interesting stuff, and amazing how relatively young is the World Wide Web. It can't even legally drink yet!<br />
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The other infographic (below) is based on the text of the blog update, <a href="http://www.onlineeducation.net/2011/06/10/how-the-internet-is-revolutionizing-education">How the Internet is Revolutionizing Education</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.onlineeducation.net/internet-revolutionizing-education"><img alt="How the Internet is Revolutionizing Education" border="0" src="http://images.onlineeducation.net.s3.amazonaws.com/internet-revolutionizing-education.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
Via: <a href="http://www.onlineeducation.net/">OnlineEducation.net</a>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-38233335250037406322011-02-07T00:02:00.001-06:002011-02-07T00:38:02.736-06:00PODs in the ClassroomGreat quote from this interview of Sonya Woloshen speaking about personally owned devices (PODs) in the classroom.<br />
<blockquote>We will always know a cell phone. We will always know an iPod. We need to learn to use these tools for learning. </blockquote><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/ZV1Jz-SiX_g?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/ZV1Jz-SiX_g?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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This is part 1 in a series of 2009 interviews by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/datruss">Dave Truss</a>. Check out part 3, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kowGRhWAJeM">Expectations and Attitudes</a>.<br />
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Two of the classes I currently teach are BYOL (bring your own laptop). The other three classes are totally online. So, I suppose all of my current students rely almost exclusively on their own personal devices. I believe this empowers my students, preservice educators, to become more technologically competent. They need to personally invest in their own professional development and realize the potential of their own devices before they'll effectively incorporate technology into their own teaching.<br />
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Thanks to one of my students, Lindsey, who posted the above video to <a href="http://technologyandedu-lindsey.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-first-blog-post.html">her own blog</a> recently.Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-21756889202558129332011-01-02T14:36:00.003-06:002011-02-06T16:17:54.091-06:00The Moral Imperative of Teaching<div>It's easy to forget just how much teachers shape the moral character of their students. Today, Larry Cuban posted his <a href="http://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/thoughts-on-teaching-2001/">Thoughts on Teaching</a>, a look back at his commencement speech from 2001 in which he reflected on the teaching profession, calls for reform, and the requisite need for teachers to provide both intellectual and moral attentiveness.</div><div><div></div></div><blockquote><div><div>Moral attentiveness means to concentrate on helping students grow as persons in grace and sensitivity, becoming more rather than less thoughtful about ideas, becoming more rather than less respectful of others’ views, and becoming more rather than less responsible for reducing social injustice. Questions of what is fair, right, and just arise constantly in classrooms; students learn moral sensibilities from how their teachers answer those questions…. </div></div><div></div></blockquote><div>I believe teaching and learning are inherently social and that much of what we learn from each other is consequential–the result of what happens peripherally to any core subject area. All teachers bare an enormous responsibility for modeling so many things beyond their subject area–the ethical use of media and technology, digital citizenry, inquiry, critical thinking, collaboration, respect... For good or bad, students learn more from their cumulative experience at school than from any one teacher or class. Likewise, teachers learn a great deal from and are shaped themselves by their cumulative experience with students over the years.<br />
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<a href="http://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/thoughts-on-teaching-2001/">Cuban's full blog post</a> is a terrific reminder of the art of teaching, but Scott McLeod took this one step further in his own post today, <a href="http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2011/01/blogging-v-teaching.html">Blogging v. Teaching</a>, suggesting that teaching and blogging are natural extensions of one another. What a great way for teachers to think about how and why they should embrace technology and Web 2.0 social media!</div>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-49712875235833808392011-01-01T11:27:00.006-06:002011-01-02T14:37:18.861-06:00Performance Pay for Teachers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110101/NEWS02/101010320/1001">Performance pay for teachers</a> based largely on test scores = inequality and strong incentive for drill & (s)kill (teach to the test). We should not be discouraging risk taking by teachers. To the contrary, we should be encouraging innovative teaching and learning methods. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So says our <a href="http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2010/12/29/jason-glass-is-choice-for-education-chief">new Iowa Department of Education Director</a>, Jason Glass (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://twitter.com/jasonglassbfk">@jasonglassbfk</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">), who recently wrote on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://educationelements.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/card/">his blog</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">: </span><br />
<blockquote>We need to do whatever we can to introduce more risk-taking, experimentation, and use of technology in schools. We should expect some failures, applaud those who fail in pursuit of bold dreams, and help them get up to try again.</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Our schools are in trouble, and we need to do a better job of preparing students for their futures. I'm not opposed to performance pay for teachers. I'm opposed to the simplistic idea that we can measure teacher performance based largely on students' standardized test scores. That's how the general public and too many politicians seem to interpret it. Doing so completely ignores the realities of socioeconomic and demographic disparities between schools, not to mention individual motivational factors. What incentivises students (or their families) to perform well on those standardized tests? What incentivises a good teacher to work in an inner-city, impoverished, or otherwise struggling school?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Tying salaries to arbitrary test scores will encourage teachers to focus less on children and more on tests. Let's come up with more sophisticated and accurate ways to measure how well teachers teach and students learn.</span></span>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-1089504698531319382010-11-16T13:12:00.004-06:002010-11-16T14:53:37.904-06:00Preschoolers and Mobile TechnologyA November 2010 report describes the affects of new media and mobile technologies on young children and their families. The report, <a href="http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/Reports-27.html">Learning: Is there an app for that?</a>, touts the educational benefits of well-designed mobile apps for preschoolers. It also cites the reality of preschoolers using mobile devices--often, their parent's device passed to them in the backseat, a phenomenon labeled the "pass-back" effect. I'm familiar with the practice.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.techlearning.com/article/34528">This Tech & Learning article</a> summarizes the findings of the report and provides additional information. For example, a 2009 content analysis of the iTunes App Store (education section) revealed that 60% of the top-selling paid applications targeted toddlers and preschoolers.<br />
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When I upgraded my smartphone recently, I removed the sim card from my old iPhone and Magda set it up for <a href="http://lucygalloway.com/">Lucy</a> to use as an iPod Touch. When I commented about this recently in a backchannel during class, one of our students (future teacher) asked what does a 3-year old need with an iPod? Well, Lucy loves to...<br />
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<ul><li>Take pictures--even photo essays of sorts of her dolls and environment. </li>
<li>Swipe thru pictures she has taken and also of our family and friends</li>
<li>Watch movies--home movies from our Flip camera, episodes of her favorite shows, movies downloaded from YouTube (her channel and others)</li>
<li>Record and listen to herself singing songs--sometimes to recall the melody of a song to begin singing it. </li>
<li>Listen to music</li>
<li>Play--some apps support cognitive development while others build fine motor skills (psychomotor) or appeal to her emotionally (affective domain).</li>
<li>Explore. She's just curious to figure out what the device can do. I believe this is particularly important, because she is developing a fluency with new interfaces and input devices (gestures, voice recognition, etc.). </li>
</ul></div><div>Now, we just need to mount one of these interactive displays on the wall in her preschool classroom!<br />
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</div><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCbSwOgNzZg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCbSwOgNzZg?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<b>Update:</b><br />
Lucy's teacher, Donna, just directed me to this related Sesame Street video. :-)<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EhkxDIr0y2U?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EhkxDIr0y2U?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-55984520441498848412010-10-22T10:45:00.002-05:002011-01-02T15:34:21.741-06:00Help me choose new glasses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIILCuv1b3GbixwyrgfpnRz4XVbnTY3htMGReVJK-i2WpwDaepnl8Z1CY25kCfDm8fiu9syMInjEbzBfz9FzHyzaWbkNIWgVniit9N8K9ChTdAU5SuRmCaGMxs_agUbpwgAWux_zzl8X_Y/s1600/frames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIILCuv1b3GbixwyrgfpnRz4XVbnTY3htMGReVJK-i2WpwDaepnl8Z1CY25kCfDm8fiu9syMInjEbzBfz9FzHyzaWbkNIWgVniit9N8K9ChTdAU5SuRmCaGMxs_agUbpwgAWux_zzl8X_Y/s1600/frames.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It's time for a new look. Please help me choose from these three frames. Use the poll in the sidebar to the right to vote for your preference. Thanks!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Update</span><br />
The results are in. With 44 votes, it seems Frame A was the favorite. Thanks to everyone who participated! I'm still not convinced to go with Frame A--seems a bit boring to me overall. But your input is persuasive. I think you might be a better judge than me. :-)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVbGqrzM-ZvOOgSrdNUhbs8WR87Khq4eBmzYrF48NoPxAbH0G5d7wOG_Ev8IuT72xn8Vt_opiQnZ57mIdLOnS-97Zzf172ss40QpY7cj6sqzl9vVU1OVuWFeRJJ9XoXKSBi4wbAJdOP12/s1600/results.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVbGqrzM-ZvOOgSrdNUhbs8WR87Khq4eBmzYrF48NoPxAbH0G5d7wOG_Ev8IuT72xn8Vt_opiQnZ57mIdLOnS-97Zzf172ss40QpY7cj6sqzl9vVU1OVuWFeRJJ9XoXKSBi4wbAJdOP12/s1600/results.jpg" /></a></div>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-62851138537278577882010-10-14T16:44:00.000-05:002010-10-14T16:44:55.809-05:00Google Reader PlayThanks to a tweet from <a href="http://twitter.com/ransomtech">Stephen Ransom</a>, I just discovered <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/play">Google Reader Play</a>. It displays the RSS feeds you've subscribed to via Google Reader in a nice slide show format, and it encourages you to star, like, or share the things that catch your eye. You can trigger it either by clicking the link above or choosing "View in Reader Play" from the folder settings as pictured here.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZJfBn1qo2vyvea_CNPaVwUC7sbXdPXYvP-GH7AC-JLR3F6ILdc28CPR6snv4oEQYkEQQRUEkHEEPN-0J2I-xK9m31g3SSRdZyBgeiAhUu0cxR8RzAU4Qz0cmQHwW2s8qdKM3G6dJV0_f/s1600/readerplay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZJfBn1qo2vyvea_CNPaVwUC7sbXdPXYvP-GH7AC-JLR3F6ILdc28CPR6snv4oEQYkEQQRUEkHEEPN-0J2I-xK9m31g3SSRdZyBgeiAhUu0cxR8RzAU4Qz0cmQHwW2s8qdKM3G6dJV0_f/s320/readerplay.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-21591196727957661432010-10-10T23:05:00.001-05:002010-10-10T23:12:45.589-05:00ITEC 2010 Conference TickerThe annual <a href="http://www.itec-ia.org/en/conference/">Iowa Technology & Education Connection conference</a> (Twitter hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23itec10">#itec10</a>) is underway! To keep up with the events and dialogue, I've created this <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/tickers.php">CIL Ticker</a>. Join the conversation! To add comments, click the icons below to sign-in with your Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace account. Or just include #itec10 with your tweets during (and after) the conference.<br />
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Be sure to stop by the <a href="http://www.uni.edu/">University of Northern Iowa</a> booth in the vendor area to say hi, speak geek, or learn about our masters degree program in <a href="http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/curriculum-instruction/instructional-technology">Instructional Technology</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="550px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=fd22b8a09a/height=550/width=470" width="470px"><p><p><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=fd22b8a09a" >ITEC 2010 Ticker</a></p></p></iframe>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-86125050087442405072010-09-27T11:42:00.000-05:002010-09-27T11:42:07.484-05:00Introducing Lilian and VivianIntroducing Lilian and Vivian, weighing in at 6 pounds 12 ounces and 6 pounds 14 ounces. Everyone is doing well, and Lucy is proud to be a big sister! We hope you enjoy these pictures...<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fgalloway.robin%2Falbumid%2F5521631491574983825%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-39119606496586634992010-06-06T00:02:00.001-05:002010-06-06T00:03:40.309-05:00Paper not done yet? Corupt [sic] it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxejy2lymiMIrCxr_JR0EJmbYSPepgTfHmjuj3EAU7EpUCm0emTk7G89qu1Ig5Z576g5b0v_dFojcklyiyCoLE45KECtGyN4EktEAALnLSUU0PPHp1IkchkCiy6ryeD3yBzQR5XRe82lU/s400/doc-corrupt.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Well, here's a creative solution. Don't have that paper done yet? Buy yourself some extra time by submitting a corrupted file to your teacher. I just discovered the <a href="http://neddyy.net/test/docs/index.php">Document Corrupter</a> web site via the <a href="http://techhappy.wordpress.com/">Tech :-) Happy</a> blog where <span class="fn"><a href="http://twitter.com/k_ferrell">Keith Ferrell</a> points out the humorous misspelling of "corrupted" on the site. There's even a shuffle option to "make it harder for tech-savvy teachers to recover the file"--well done, slackers. </span><br />
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<span class="fn">Of course, I had to try it. Sure enough, attempting to open the corrupted file </span><span class="fn">inexplicably </span><span class="fn">crashes my copy of Word, though it opens fine with Text Edit. So, if any of my students get any ideas--forget it. I'm on to you!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF512OKOo1wEEiU3t6I_l_eUQbXVT1V9GD5yKdRV-JZG9BQWubWqISs_geIYvueRRhBTzU0HTKJ-0GEMRcILKsWo3T9yXkuCF2I23GVHSqZNwHwlilWfAy7Y6yaRvkD1YmHlD6uWGYwlPs/s1600/picture+2010-06-05+at+11.36.31+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF512OKOo1wEEiU3t6I_l_eUQbXVT1V9GD5yKdRV-JZG9BQWubWqISs_geIYvueRRhBTzU0HTKJ-0GEMRcILKsWo3T9yXkuCF2I23GVHSqZNwHwlilWfAy7Y6yaRvkD1YmHlD6uWGYwlPs/s320/picture+2010-06-05+at+11.36.31+PM.jpg" /></a></div><span class="fn"><br />
</span>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-90944858372088222282010-06-05T14:21:00.001-05:002010-06-05T14:28:31.945-05:00Smartphones in 3rd grade<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjSXcOsSclV9p7PEkN8T_QXR9_zjTDEfHjDEdhkTkfkBUaKzeWGFP9M8fBtPoGmWoXuTlGuTKAV4oaf6jkWmWx4O0PX_NjgZn16VVToS6j0YzQRjYdvm-xAfI02t2Wnd8c_voBkKxF0dv/s400/screencapture.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />
This morning's <a href="http://live.classroom20.com/1/post/2010/06/smartphone-computers-in-rural-schools-special-guests-scott-newcomb-and-kyle-menchhofer.html">Classroom 2.0 Live</a> webinar about an innovative partnership between Verizon and an Ohio public school district providing smartphones to students beginning in third grade was amazing! If you don't catch the <a href="http://live.classroom20.com/1/post/2010/06/smartphone-computers-in-rural-schools-special-guests-scott-newcomb-and-kyle-menchhofer.html">full recording archive</a> (or even if you do), do yourself a favor and take a few minutes to watch this <a href="http://www.vzwbusinesstools.com/mobilelearning/">21st Century Learning Preview</a> (1 minute) and then <a href="http://www.vzwbusinesstools.com/mobilelearning/mobile-learning-devices-in-the-classroom/">21st Century Learning Mobile Learning Devices</a> (8 minutes).<br />
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Kudos to <a href="http://www.vzwbusinesstools.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/St-Marys-City-Schools-Case-Study.pdf">St. Marys City Schools and Verizon</a> for a truly inspiring achievement!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image: Screen capture from the <a href="http://www.vzwbusinesstools.com/mobilelearning">Verizon Business Tools</a> web site </span>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-1821912490018798612010-06-05T08:37:00.002-05:002010-06-05T08:50:13.730-05:00Listen to Rob Blog, thanks to Odiogo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXfZcFWmSdvu-yY3DsECZjn0BtKyjKefohyEgwbcDFKQLkWzn5T3byTvMDiNTRTwbzjwcRwP2HY9Ees2O6nsa05hgGGWcqVzABjlei2vQtyzWIt-e9YvKeFZL1TmUO7r_eMVIiLX54uT_/s1600/robblog-odiogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXfZcFWmSdvu-yY3DsECZjn0BtKyjKefohyEgwbcDFKQLkWzn5T3byTvMDiNTRTwbzjwcRwP2HY9Ees2O6nsa05hgGGWcqVzABjlei2vQtyzWIt-e9YvKeFZL1TmUO7r_eMVIiLX54uT_/s320/robblog-odiogo.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">See that <b>listen now</b> button above each post? Dr. Z turned me on to a very cool text-to-speech service he recently added to <a href="http://drzreflects.com/">drzreflects.com</a> (take a drink). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.odiogo.com/">Odiogo</a> creates a free audio podcast from RSS feeds. It's super easy to install. Just sign-up by providing your email and blog address then follow a few simple steps customized for <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger</a>, <a href="http://www.typepad.com/">TypePad</a>, or other blog services. I really expected it to be at least a bit more complicated. It wasn't. Odiogo installs a widget alongside your blog layout so people can subscribe to the content as an audio podcast, and it adds a "listen now" button above each post (old and new). Voila! Done.</div><br />
The <a href="http://www.odiogo.com/demo.php">quality</a> of the synthesized voice is impressive. It seems to correctly pronounce <a href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a> (not quite so good with Magda, however). It speaks the abbreviated letters C S T as Central Standard Time. It even announces the beginning and end of quotes (not just in quotation marks but those formatted with the HTML blockquote tag). Listeners using iTunes or an iPod can <a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/">speed up or slow down the playback</a> to suit their listening preferences. Also, Odiogo <a href="http://www.odiogo.com/faq_content_providers.php">provides download statistics</a>, so you can discover how many people are listening to your blog this way. <br />
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Scientists and engineers once believed we'd be having regular conversations with our computers by now. It's proven to be a bit more difficult than they expected. There are, however, some impressive speech recognition and voice-operated features in today's cars and mobile phones. There are even some intriguing voice translation apps for iPhones and Android devices. Though text-to-speech (TTS) has been around for quite a while, the quality of synthesized human voices has gotten noticeably better in recent years. Web 2.0 continues to deliver in this area too. Check out <a href="http://www.voki.com/">Voki</a> and <a href="http://www.yakitome.com/">YakiToMe</a> as examples.Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-48681296323941271192010-04-27T14:50:00.000-05:002010-04-27T14:50:13.048-05:00One-Computer Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GHkWQ5TxxXVFqiJR6Oxonl9lokIUUSvowqL5YMmXIWXeBoW8UEZWwa1Xe0mRyH6Z6wITmMx1w7s_PjgSHd3AJuX6IQ4iaXqRIAlQMxIVz3Q6bjSRIWO8LGRQBY_IveAPsB5FO2a89dOU/s1600/one-computer-classroom-1988sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GHkWQ5TxxXVFqiJR6Oxonl9lokIUUSvowqL5YMmXIWXeBoW8UEZWwa1Xe0mRyH6Z6wITmMx1w7s_PjgSHd3AJuX6IQ4iaXqRIAlQMxIVz3Q6bjSRIWO8LGRQBY_IveAPsB5FO2a89dOU/s320/one-computer-classroom-1988sm.jpg" /></a></div>The 1988 article by Jim Watson entitled Database Activities in a One-Computer Classroom began...<br />
<blockquote>Students who leave school with just a set of facts will be ill-prepared for a world in which they will change careers 6-10 times. Students need to know how to <i>get</i> the facts and how to <i>use</i> them well. </blockquote>Pretty much the same language used 22 years later to get educators to change the way our kids learn at school.Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-6855198717144765462010-04-17T11:29:00.003-05:002010-04-17T11:31:27.449-05:00Potty-Training<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robgalloway/4528022247/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4528022247_7d4d053594_m.jpg" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/robgalloway/4528022247/">Potty-Training</a> <br />
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Trying whatever it takes today to potty-train our digital native. :-)Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-82214349633322176762010-04-15T21:48:00.002-05:002010-04-16T09:27:44.245-05:00Using Backchannels to Enrich the Learning ExperienceMagda and I are presenting at the <a href="http://www.idla.org/conference.htm">IACON Conference</a> on the topic of using backchannels to support learning activities in both traditional and distance learning environments. Many of our resources can be found in <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/galloway/backchannel">my Diigo bookmarks</a>. We hope you'll join the conversation below beginning at 2:50 PM CST.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="550px" scrolling="no" src="http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php/option=com_altcaster/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=af166f0dfa/height=550/width=420" width="420px"><p><p><p><p><p><a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=af166f0dfa" >IACON 2010 - Using Backchannels</a></p></p></p></p></p></iframe><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="451" src="http://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dgrhwcwt_93crtm5kc7&interval=5&size=m" width="555"></iframe>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-72709156013698145052010-04-15T15:12:00.002-05:002010-04-20T15:06:48.837-05:00ITEC Student Technology Fair<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieziJKSv5HiIr-uqnfFJIlsKY9oyqr40WBqqUK0x9eHSMgygDDCSE3Mc4zSvVOa0KSLeq3-kQIox03AhqkEMMcAnc6l3pVwOLAReRsCvphpD_LEv_f-kL_7atfOu8vM6Z56g7UpTW7vG63/s1600/photo-4b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieziJKSv5HiIr-uqnfFJIlsKY9oyqr40WBqqUK0x9eHSMgygDDCSE3Mc4zSvVOa0KSLeq3-kQIox03AhqkEMMcAnc6l3pVwOLAReRsCvphpD_LEv_f-kL_7atfOu8vM6Z56g7UpTW7vG63/s400/photo-4b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Some amazing work was displayed at today's student technology fair hosted by the <a href="http://www.itec-ia.org/en/tech_fair/">Iowa Technology Education Connection</a> and <a href="http://www.uni.edu/">University of Northern Iowa</a>. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help judge or otherwise assist today!<br />
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Check out this stop motion video created by 16-yr old <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mukmunmadmar">Mukund Martin</a>. It's comprised of more than 1500 images!<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KaaOuqgAsBg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KaaOuqgAsBg&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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And this video by two Mid-Prairie Tech Club students. <br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tr0zKIiePVw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tr0zKIiePVw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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Today's technology fair was one of three regional events in Iowa and showcased 31 projects created by K-12 students in Eastern Iowa. Two projects earned purple ribbons, and those students are now invited to share their work with educators and administrators from around the state at the annual <a href="http://www.itec-ia.org/en/conference/">ITEC Conference</a> in October.Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-57521536085442546072010-04-15T14:26:00.005-05:002010-04-20T19:21:09.135-05:00Ning's future questionable<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">Sadly, Ning just <a href="http://creators.ning.com/forum/topics/ning-update">announced</a> that they've cut over 40% of their staff and are discontinuing their free product. Existing free networks will have to start paying or migrate to <a href="http://educationaltechnology.ca/couros/1795">another service</a>. It's difficult to imagine migrating content from a Ning site to <a href="http://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1OR38ADYxjiSjMGn5M2q_nnerR98jd5unoqvOdRHK8GE&hl=en&pli=1#">something else</a> and how that could be anything other than copy and paste. However, parts of a Ning site could be ported to other services. For example, <a href="http://blog.posterous.com/posterous-commits-to-building-a-ning-blog-imp">Posterous committed to developing a Ning blog importer</a>. </span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">Related stories: </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/15/nings-bubble-bursts-no-more-free-networks-cuts-40-of-staff/">TechCrunch</a><br />
<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20002611-36.html">CNET</a></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">It's unfortunate that K-12 education customers won't be able to continue using Ning for free. Educators have flocked to Ning in the past couple of years. Many teachers have built social networks to support learning activities, and for most it's a good alternative to using Facebook at school. Ning's troubles are going to impact higher education too, though not to the extent that it could derail innovative efforts in K-12 education.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">Web 2.0 is a double-edged sword for schools. Educators flock to free tools for good reason ($$$), but they question how long those services will be around. To what extent should they commit their time and energies to innovative web-based services that could disappear or start charging money tomorrow? <a href="http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/29156">Henry Thiele</a> argues that we should always have an exit strategy planned for the tools we use. That's easier said than done--innovation in teaching and learning typically stems from the creativity and ambition of a classroom teacher, not the strategic planning of a technology coordinator or district administrator. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;">To most of us, Ning seemed well established and their support to K-12 education has been exemplary. Hopefully, even in this very challenging time for the company, they'll find a way to continue supporting schools for free. On the other hand, maybe it's time for school districts who are adopting Ning on a large scale to start supporting the company too. </span></span></div></div>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-21513589751495606062010-04-13T15:21:00.002-05:002010-04-17T13:30:17.759-05:00Innovations in Learning, School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBKSZsvklm_nXEgFM09xYiyMLlfAsEawO9RQoklvGCtF_7jk4JVTBbZVW5MTS0jcuxpN3wjGjscDu4-NIUNgPGBQ1YEREvKjSD_HYpWd0zOGAhzKQS0d-I9CsSzLUxH9KLK2Y2U3yS7m3/s1600/IPTV_innovation_iowa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZBKSZsvklm_nXEgFM09xYiyMLlfAsEawO9RQoklvGCtF_7jk4JVTBbZVW5MTS0jcuxpN3wjGjscDu4-NIUNgPGBQ1YEREvKjSD_HYpWd0zOGAhzKQS0d-I9CsSzLUxH9KLK2Y2U3yS7m3/s320/IPTV_innovation_iowa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Iowa Public Television recently interviewed John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools (one of the 15 Iowa districts with a 1:1 laptop program) and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa Department of Education. The 16-min video is online at: <a href="http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/7427/tij_20100401_323_clip_2">http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/7427/tij_20100401_323_clip_2</a><br />
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</div><div>Topics addressed:</div><div><ul><li>Growing number of <a href="http://1to1schools.wikispaces.com/Iowa+1to1+Schools">1:1 schools in Iowa</a> (currently 15, projected to be 30-40 next year)</li>
<li>Student-centered learning</li>
<li>Teacher preparation</li>
<li><a href="http://www.uni.edu/rdschool/">PreK-12 Iowa Research & Development School</a> at the University of Northern Iowa</li>
<li>Budget reductions and deficits</li>
<li>Rural vs. urban district challenges</li>
<li>"Innovation zones" in Iowa's Race to the Top application <a href="http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_24d0b90b-803c-50b8-973e-e89469c3c27e.html">passed by the Iowa legislature</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.corecurriculum.iowa.gov/">Iowa Core Curriculum</a></li>
<li>21st century learning (compared to the industrial model of the past)</li>
<li>Assessment and school effectiveness</li>
</ul></div>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-8979544946394790152010-04-13T14:34:00.003-05:002010-04-13T14:36:13.689-05:00New Editors, Features Announced in Google DocsReal time collaboration, better comments, autofill and formula bar in spreadsheets, faster performance, standalone drawings. Awesome <a href="http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-google-docs.html">improvements announced</a> for Google Docs!<br />
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<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6_hJ3R8jEZM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6_hJ3R8jEZM&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-81978061892183164222010-04-03T07:05:00.000-05:002010-04-03T07:05:00.726-05:00Second Life Viewer 2 and Shared Media<a href="http://secondlife.com/">Second Life</a> just became way more useful! <a href="http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/">Viewer 2</a> uses WebKit, making it easy for content creators to rely on Flash and other web browser plug-ins to display dynamic and interactive content from the web in world. This is really exciting!<br />
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Imagine the possibilities for working with email, EtherPad, Google Docs, Wikis, You Tube and other typical Web 2.0 tools within the immersive environments of Second LIfe!<br />
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For more information, check out this post on the Second Life blog: <a href="https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2010/02/24/shared-media-bringing-the-web-inworld-with-viewer-2">Shared Media: Bringing the Web Inworld with Viewer 2</a><br />
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<a href="http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/">Get Viewer 2</a> and start exploring on your own.Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-77769802165106591882010-03-19T09:58:00.000-05:002010-03-19T09:58:17.429-05:00Live views of spring flooding via USTREAMAs spring flooding threatens the upper midwest, the <a href="http://www.grandforksherald.com/">Grand Forks Herald</a> is using USTREAM to broadcast live video of the Red River at <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/floodcam-2010">Grand Forks, North Dakota</a>. A similar stream provides a view of the river further south at <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/702-flood-http://www.ustream.tv/channel/702-flood-cam---moorhead">Moorhead, Minnesota</a> (across from Fargo, N.D.). Where's our live stream of the Cedar River in Cedar Falls/Waterloo, IA?<br />
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</div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="320" id="utv611755" width="400"><param name="flashvars" value="autoplay=false&brand=embed&cid=3263976"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/3263976"><embed flashvars="autoplay=false&brand=embed&cid=3263976" width="400" height="320" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" id="utv611755" name="utv_n_30171" src="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/3263976" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><a href="http://www.ustream.tv/" style="background: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; padding: 2px 0px 4px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; width: 400px;" target="_blank">Free live streaming by Ustream</a><br />
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<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="320" id="utv804573" width="400"><param name="flashvars" value="autoplay=false&brand=embed&cid=3400803"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/3400803"><embed flashvars="autoplay=false&brand=embed&cid=3400803" width="400" height="320" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" id="utv804573" name="utv_n_200387" src="http://www.ustream.tv/flash/live/1/3400803" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><a href="http://www.ustream.tv/" style="background: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; font-size: 10px; font-weight: normal; padding: 2px 0px 4px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; width: 400px;" target="_blank">Webcam chat at Ustream</a>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-89753973500038127422010-02-28T14:51:00.005-06:002010-03-19T11:26:08.169-05:002.5 year old discovers virtual world<div style="text-align: left;">It began innocently enough--Lucy was trying to play with mommy's laptop, I thought maybe she'd like to see some pretty pictures on the computer, and I'd been meaning to check out the <a href="http://secondlife.com/support/downloads?lang=en-US">latest SecondLife viewer</a> (I haven't been using SL much at all lately). Together, we arrived in Iowa (virtual Iowa) to see what's new at <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Iowa/174/22/22">Dr. Z's place</a> in world. A few minutes later, my 2.5 year old daughter had figured out how to walk, turn and fly in a virtual world. What just happened?</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDW2JG1X4Uzd5Kf1-VqJeK11Ccueik7RvUE4T3gVaTQ0O6J-HTwCWBQGdG3UTsY0PltUkEH_UEVFGawTXZbdaxtSjgcqT8bstjtae4ltaRxhEQ7CIiCKEE67jAOzcZHF6qGNxDKBrNX5rD/s1600-h/IMG_3206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDW2JG1X4Uzd5Kf1-VqJeK11Ccueik7RvUE4T3gVaTQ0O6J-HTwCWBQGdG3UTsY0PltUkEH_UEVFGawTXZbdaxtSjgcqT8bstjtae4ltaRxhEQ7CIiCKEE67jAOzcZHF6qGNxDKBrNX5rD/s320/IMG_3206.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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I realized that I had just witnessed something remarkable (I think). I had observed how a digital native makes sense out of a virtual world--a totally new and different environment. In a span of about 15-20 minutes she had discovered how to navigate this virtual world--how to walk, turn and fly. She expressed real emotion (humor, curiosity, frustration, reward, and even a bit of fear that she was up too high or going to get in the water). Through trial and error, she very quickly learned how to manipulate the avatar on the screen and make him not only walk about in open areas but travel in and out of buildings. And she wanted more!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwRfxobSq1v_tpYECgkJg3fDPoBzyryd9whe9CpLj8gcB2SRv8b7ZCJt6H6YMGQBh0ofVajQn_DGxLQwuWsIXe6jdwTICylADLxvohdHRY3mcWiKKE2zcpQbC5_Goblts529X_U8BNd35/s1600-h/IMG_3215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwRfxobSq1v_tpYECgkJg3fDPoBzyryd9whe9CpLj8gcB2SRv8b7ZCJt6H6YMGQBh0ofVajQn_DGxLQwuWsIXe6jdwTICylADLxvohdHRY3mcWiKKE2zcpQbC5_Goblts529X_U8BNd35/s320/IMG_3215.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Amazing (I think). Watch... (and listen)...<br />
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Afterward (about 30 min), I put Lucy down for her nap and my head filled with questions...<br />
<ol><li>Am I a horrible father? </li>
<li>Is there anything very novel about this? Is it really much different than watching a child learn how to use a remote control car? </li>
<li>Will Lucy think she can fly now? Will she try to jump off a building or something? </li>
<li>If she can do this at 2.5 years old, what will she be capable of (and what will she expect from media and technology) when she is 5, 10, or 15 years old? </li>
<li>How much will she remember tomorrow? She had no trouble remembering that the E key made the avatar fly and the C key made him land. That's pretty abstract. Will she go right back to those keys the next time we play in Second Life? </li>
<li>Did I just violate SL's terms of use? </li>
<li>There's a Second Life Teen Grid. Should there be a Baby Grid? Or do <a href="http://www.webkinz.com/">WebKinz</a> and <a href="http://www.clubpenguin.com/">Club Penguin</a> have that covered? </li>
<li>What would my students think of this? (maybe they'll blog about it)</li>
</ol>Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962174842622984760.post-9609887577287714762010-02-11T20:39:00.002-06:002010-03-19T11:26:46.560-05:00What's wrong with this picture?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuPQVcvBC5gmqiRpinIDC8rV1C9eMGAM71y-ibQMRoukBlQFs-3kBw0drseohZvXne-67fSXh72ds19eR9wqigoxS-dPuSJQn2myRkRTtIaR9jbT4jtWjV1jslRb_A10nAku9g8T_WXM-/s1600-h/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuPQVcvBC5gmqiRpinIDC8rV1C9eMGAM71y-ibQMRoukBlQFs-3kBw0drseohZvXne-67fSXh72ds19eR9wqigoxS-dPuSJQn2myRkRTtIaR9jbT4jtWjV1jslRb_A10nAku9g8T_WXM-/s400/photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I walked into a classroom today, and this is what I saw. :-(Robin Gallowayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09691031005943470805noreply@blogger.com4