New Year's Challenge

My family and I were discussing the most memorable New Year's recently. For me it was when the new Century began. Our television had 24 hour coverage of New Year's activities. It was wonderful watching the Maori ceremony welcoming the New Year from the shores of New Zealand, watching the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House, watching the Chinese ballet/acrobats, seeing the fireworks around the giant Ferris Wheel in London, etc... It was an anticlimax as the ball fell down in Times Square to mark the millennium.

With this in mind, I would like to offer a challenge. Over the next couple of days, I would like to invite bloggers to post about what they did for New Years, sharing photos if they have them, giving a slice of life at the turn of the new year in your corner of the world. You can post the link in the comments section here or just cut and paste the url (I'll add the link to the post).

I hope you have a happy and prosperous new year.

Our New Year's


After 9 inches of light powdery snow on New Year's Eve, we did not do very much for New Year's Eve. My daughter had basketball practice (of which only 4 out the 14 members of the team came), we had a spaghetti dinner with just the family, then "special" cupcakes (with a surprise mint in the cupcake--my family was surprised but not pleasantly--I won't try that again). We then watched TV until the ball in times square fell, bringing in the New Year.

By the next morning, it was 3 degrees F(without windchill, that's about -16C) and windy. So we spent the day watching the Rose Parade (imagining it was as warm there!) and then football.

Top Ten Tools Summary

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been posting my top ten tools list. Here a summary of my top ten tools:

Delicious
YouTube
Blogger.com
PowerPoint
Google Calender
Zotero
Wisemapping
Many Eyes
Ning
Periodic Table of Videos

Top Ten Tools: Periodic Table of Videos

My last tool I chose, not because I use it in my teaching, but because I just love it! For me, the Periodic Table of Videos is a fascinating tool that should be used as an ideal example of good use of e-learning. Using the periodic table as an index, video shorts (2-12 minutes long) explain each of the elements in very engaging ways. In addition to the "facts" about the elements, the element itself is shown, its properties are demonstrated using lab experiments, and the importance of the element is placed into every day context. The energy and excitement of the scientists in the video shorts makes this very engaging.

Affordances

I could see this as a prototype for many other similar interactive sites. For example, a company could have small videos of personnel explaining what their jobs were linked to an organizational chart. A complex product or service could have components linked to it's blueprint or brochure, giving more indepth information about the product and its use. A complex model could be used to introduce the application in different contexts. Another possibility would be to use a map with the various subsidiaries or offices, along with a video about that locations' culture and practices, and the perception of where they fit into the organization.

Top Ten Tools: Ning

This year, I have not used Ning as an instructor but rather as a student. I have participated in the work literacy course and the Corporate Learning Trends and Innovations 2008online conference.

Ning is a very powerful and flexible environment in which social networking, resource sharing, and forums can all be included in one location. An individual can start a Ning (for free), then invite members into the Ning. There are different levels of privacy, but, like facebook, a member needs to ask for membership to enter the Ning.

How it works

I am not familiar with the set up of Nings, although those that used it have said it is easy to do so. A person must first register with the site. As a participant and member, I have the option to create a profile with as much or little information as I want, including a picture, location, profession, and gender. This is done very simply by answering questions after you have registered for a Ning. This profile can be modified (adding more information, changing pictures, etc...)at any time.

I would log into the home page of the Ning in which I was participating. Although this page may vary depending on who is managing the Ning, usually there was a menu which included announcements, new posts to discussion forums, and new additions to the membership, resources, and video section. There are tabs at the top of the homepage which allows you to go to your own home page and have "private" conversations (not broadcasted to the group at large, but still viewable to your "friends"), access uploaded videos, review the forum discussions (including identifying new posts), seeing the newest tweets or other feeds, or even blogging within the site.

Affordances

This is a social networking site that allows for participants to create their own space within the Ning. Those that prefer to learn through discussion forums, can do so. Those that want to blog to learn, can do so. There is also great opportunity for collaboration and sharing of resources, all within on area.

However, for the Ning to work and be sustained, there does need to be a facilitator who will facilitate communication both within and outside of the ning to maintain interest. This might include e-mail updates to members (which the Ning has the ability to do), creating and organizing some structure for discussion forums, and maintaining social protocols to ensure group interaction.

Top Ten Tools: Many Eyes

This year I have tried to include the importance of visualization in my teaching. One of the most powerful tools to teach this concept has been ManyEyes. This site allows you to import data to create different visuals. By using the same data, my students are able to see the impact that different types of visuals have. It is an especially strong tool to use in teaching visual rhetoric.

How it works

I would suggest that you register for the site as you can upload data and save different visualizations. Once you have registered, I would upload a data set you might have worked on. You then click on visualizations and your data set will automatically be formatted into the chosen visualization. You might also want to try different visuals using the same data set. You can then save the visual and/or make it public for others to comment on.

Affordances

I have given students an optional assignment to use Many Eyes to create different visuals from the same data. They then have been required to integrate the visual into a presentation, comparing the different types of visuals and analyzing the impact each one has on interpreting the same data. This helps in teaching data analysis, statistics, and the multiple interpretation of the same data.

As mentioned above, this site also allows for comments, collaboration in developing visual representation of data, and development of visual rhetoric skills.

Top Ten Tools: Wisemapping

I like to use mindmaps and diagrams when I am working on new concepts or research. I find that visualization helps be make connections between concepts. At this point, I still find a paper and pencil is the strongest tool I have for this. However, I did use Wisemapping this year to create a mindmap I could share.

I found wisemap to be the easiest mindmapping software to use in a non-linear manner, allowing for the connection of ideas in multiple directions and the addition of links to resources outside of the mindmap. While I find it still a bit too linear for the way that my mind works, it does allow for the connection and expansion of ideas in a more spatial way than the other mindmapping software.

Affordances

Wisemap allows for the linking of ideas and outside resources to concepts. It also allows for the sharing and commenting on the mindmap (collaborative learning). This mind map also allows for spatial thinking and planning. I would like to try to use this more interactively with my students in the next year.

Top Ten Tools: Zotero

Zotero is a personal research tool that both my children and I use extensively. In fact I often use it in collaboration with delicious. Currently it is a download technology that allows you to save information about a website and then, integrating that information as a citation in papers using Word.

How does it work?

As I (or my children) search through sites, I will click on the Zotero icon which will capture citation information in its data base. This might include author, title, date accessed, URL address, date written, and other bibliographic information. I can then add notes or add further information that might have not been captured from the web. When I am ready to write a research paper, I then click on the Word Extension that can be downloaded and added to the Word toolbar.

In order for Zotero to when writing a Word Document, foxfire must be open. As I type the paper and come to a part that needs to be cited, I click on the "insert citation" icon. I can choose the citation format that I will be using (including MLA, APA, and University of Chicago--in text and/or footnotes) and the citation will grab information from the database and automatically format it to go into the word document. This will then be added to a bibliography at the end of the paper without any additional key strokes.

There are two limits to Zotero. First, if there are other non-web based resources you are using, you will need to manually type in a new entry into the database as Zotero does not work well with adding citations in Word. Secondly, currently Zotero is a computer dependent software. As such, if you are using multiple computers, you must either make sure the database is the same for all computers or use one computer to write a paper. I have started to use delicious to save the citations, which I then download into Zotero. There has been talk about having a web-based version of Zotero, which I think would add to it.

Affordances

Zotero is a database which helps to organize information and resources. It is definitely a personal learning object. Users can take notes, save resources to come back to, and even save resources (by creating a snapshot of the site) based on the date it was published, even if the resource is taken down or no longer available. Zotero also allows for the storage of resources other than in a paper format.

Top Ten Tools: YouTube

This has become a must in my classroom. I use video clips to illustrate concepts in my class. For example, when teaching about teamwork, I found clips of high school basketball and soccer games to illustrate verbal and non-verbal communication cues. This made the concepts much more concrete for my students. I also have begun to use YouTube for students to upload clips of their speeches for my speech class.

How to use Youtube

Rather than describe how to upload clips, etc... I would recommend that you watch the following video clip.

You can also embed a youtube video on a blog or webpage easily. Just go to upper right corner of the page you want to embed and copy and paste the code listed. . One disadvantage to doing this is that it makes the download time for your page longer. If you or your students use dial up service, it would be better to have students go to the link. I have found that the viewing time (even with dial up) is reasonable with youtube.

In using youtube in the classroom, I always make sure that 1) I know the length of the clip (more than 10 minutes is hard to keep the attention of the students; however, most of the clips I find are 3-7 minutes long) 2) practice so you can passby parts of clips you might not want to show to the class as a whole, 3) maximize the screen (lower right side of the tool bar, there is a rectangle next to the horn-used to increase volumn--which will maximize the screen when you click on it), 4) have something for my students to focus on when looking at a video clip.

Affordances:

Youtube allows visualization of concepts, case studies, a basis for discussion, and analysis of complex situations. I will often use the same clip multiple times to analyze different aspects.

Youtube can also be made private so students can limit who sees their work. Students can upload assignments or works in progress and then get feedback from either the teacher or other students, thus creating collaborative learning environments.

A Christmas Message

Merry Christmas to all!
Joyeux Noel!
Felices Navidades!
Prettige Kirstdaggen!
Gud Jul!
Frohe Weinnachten!
Buon Natale!

(Sorry about the spelling on some of these. Some of these I know just because I was taught them by friends).

Top Ten Tools: Blogger.com

I have tried two other blogging software, but you can tell from this blog that I currently use Blogger.com. I really like this blogging software for several reasons: it is easy to set up, it is easy to add on features without having to know HTML, it allows for customization as you get to know the software better.

Blogger.com for dummies

The first step in using blogger.com (as my students found out early) is to set up a google account. Once you have a goggle account, you simply click on "blog" in the menu bar on the top of the goggle page. You then can click on "create a blog". Up will come a menu that asks you to name your blog. I would use a title that gives the essence of what you will blog about. In my case, I wanted to include a blog that looked at international communication, learning, 21st century tools, and international business. This is why I chose Connecting 2 the world. I used the number 2 to differentiate my blog somewhat.

The next thing to decide is your URL address. Make this simple for both you and your readers to find. This usually means use the title of your blog (without spaces). Sometimes, if you have a blog with the same title (such as elearning blog) you might have to change the url. However, I would suggest changing your blog name so it is distinct.

Finally, choose a template for your blog. Often this is based on personal choices. You might find (as I did) that when you actually look at how the blog looks with pictures, graphics, or even the length of your posts, that one template is better than another for your blog. In addition, you might want to change your "image" which a blog template might project. You can always change the template later on (although I would warn your readers when you do so they know it is the same blog, just a different look). Now your blog is set to go. You only have to click on "create post".

Choose an engaging title, then start typing in the box below. You can change font, add pictures, do a spell check, add video, and add links using the icons above the text box. Unless you know html, make sure you click on compose as this gives you a user friendly view of what the blog will look like (including pictures)

To add a picture, simply click on the picture icon, browse in your picture file, choose whether you want the picture to the side right, side left, or above text, then "upload" and the picture will automatically be added.

The first page of blog when you come back to the blog is the "dash board". This is the control center. To design your blog, click on settings. This gives you options on how you want to moderate our comments, who can comment and who can author the blog, security, email, etc... I would recommend that you just scroll through and see what the options are.

Layout allows you to add tools to your blog such as a blog roll (links to blogs you read or recommend), subscription tools (I strongly suggest you add this as it allows readers to subscribe to your blog, giving updates when you post), add followers (those that want to admit that they subscribe to your blog), and a personal introduction about who you are and what your blog is about.

I suggest that you play around with the different features of the blog. After you add new tools, you can click and drag the box (indicating the tool) to different places on your blog to order the features however way you think makes sense for your blog.

Affordances

While there has been much written about how blogs should be written, there is less written about the features of the blogs that allow for different affordances. I find that blogger.com allows for a greater level of collaboration than other blogging software I have used. It allows an easy way to have multiple authors (I had my class as authors for my one blog). The followers option also allows for linking blogs.

Another affordance is to use google analytics to analyze readers and traffic to the site so writers can get a better idea of who their audience is. This is especially important to my teaching as I spend a lot of time teaching audience analysis and the impact this has on communication.

Finally, the design options allows for multiple designs and the ability to test out different designs and its impact on audiences.