Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts
I may be behind the curve, but I just purchased Will Richardson’s book and after only a few pages, my mind is racing. I’ve shared it with my 16 year old who has many ideas of how her teachers could take advantage of this technology, not only to make their teaching more effective, but also to save tons of paper. She said, “Mom, they could post all of their handouts online. Do you know how much paper I threw away this year?” In NYS, there is a two-year class called Global Studies. We talked about how a wiki could be a great tool for that class as they are continually building their knowledge. Everytime they add to the wiki they would be exposed to previous posts and all of the information they need for the exam is in one place growing and created by the learners. She took the exam in June, but she had PILES of paper and notes from two years to study. The wiki would have been better.
I bought my first PC in 1994. What a surprise to read in Mr. Richardon’s book that the Internet as we know it was only about a year old. My brother, a programmer with IBM, advised me to get the fastest modem I could find because the Internet would be big. I remember debating with the salesman about special ordering a 28.8 modem. (They only had 14.4 in stock) He convinced me that there was no reason to buy one that fast. I would never have need for that kind of speed. (The store went out of business within 3 years. Maybe due to shortsightedness?) Just four years later I was signing up for high speed cable Internet so I could more efficiently complete the coursework for my online MLS. In hindsight, the speed of this evolution has my head spinning.
I used to like to think of myself as an early adapter; my class was only the third cohort to begin the distance learning MLS program at Syracuse University in 1998, and there were only 3 other programs offered nationwide. I had classmates from as far away as Barrow, AK because there were so few options at that time. And the online program was viewed with some skepticism by employers, but now online degrees are almost common.
These days things are coming at me so fast, I can’t begin to keep up. Everyday my technology reading presents words or applications that I have never heard before. Today I had to ask my daughter what “ping” means. She explained, but I still don’t understand.
I hope this course will help me feel more in control and comfortable with the “Read-write web.”
July 23, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
Wow! I don’t think you’re behind the curve at all… I daresay, you might just be AHEAD of it!! Twitter??? What is THAT?? And I don’t even know who Will Richardson is… so if you are behind the curve, I’m so far back, I don’t even know there IS a curve. =)
July 23, 2008 @ 8:02 pm
Have to agree with Mary – you are way ahead of my curve!
I’m doing the “23 things” thing through the School Library Association of Victoria (in Australia) and there are 1000 of us working through the program – with varying degrees of competence. The general consensus so far is that it is one of the best PD’s we have done – very useful in our daily lives working in school libraries, where often the kids are so technically advanced.
July 24, 2008 @ 10:07 pm
Glad to see you migrated!! Edublogs really makes is easy. I will now save your blog in my rss reader so I can keep up with what you have to say. I laughed about you getting off the computer because you were on longer than you promised your son you would be. My hubby were so competitive over the computer that I finally broke down and bought a laptop.
July 24, 2008 @ 10:57 pm
I have come really close to buying my own laptop these past couple of weeks. If there were an Apple store in town, I think I would have dug out the credit cards by now. I was excessed in June and my new job pays a lot less, so I am trying hard to resist. If we can manage on the new paycheck, I’ll get myself one for Christmas.
July 25, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
BUY THE LAPTOP. BUY IT. Think of it as an investment, buy it now and then foist it on me in two years for college so you can buy a new one for yourself instead of giving me the opportunity to guilt you into buying me whatever crazy thing Steve Jobs comes up with next.
As for pinging… Here’s the Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_blog
(I know Wikipedia is the bane of internet research or whatever, but it explains it with less pauses and crazy hand gestures than I can, and it’s not like you’re writing a research paper, anyways.)
July 25, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
#1 You’re not behind the curve – you’re keeping up with it! The only way you could be behind is by not trying to keep up with all this technology to begin with.
#2 I’ll also recommend going with a laptop – getting a good one is a worthy investment. I LOVE my laptop and it REALLY comes in handy for all I need to do and want to accomplish
#3 Thanks for your comment! I’m glad my post on Google Reader and Netvibes was helpful! I’m still playing around with Netvibes and getting used to it – but it’s fun!
#4 I’m interested in that book you mentioned… I’ll have to see about getting my hands on a copy… Thanks for the heads up!
July 27, 2008 @ 5:21 pm
If you think you are addicted now, mobility of the laptop will make it worse, just an FYI! I did promise one of your family members that I would lobby for you to get one