Too much tweet or lots of meat?

I first signed up for Twitter in June 2011. It was at a conference where participants were encouraged to follow a hashtag during a keynote address. I was aware of Twitter prior to this occasion, but never felt the need to sign up for it. I thought it would just be another distraction to add in my life. I was pleasantly surprised that following the conference hashtag gave me a pulse of what was going on/what people were thinking during the conference. It’s also an effective way of asking questions to the speaker in a large setting, where raising your hand might not be feasible. It also allows for a bit of anonymity for those who may be on the shy side. During the TCC conference the twitter feed helped to tailor some of my decisions on which archived sessions to attend based on positive tweet chatter.

Besides using twitter in conferences, using it in the context of a class has also been quite useful. It’s been a great way to kep up with educational technology news and views from my classmates. I’ve discovered new tools and have also used it to communicate with my group members on our assignments. Twitter would also be useful in getting immediate feedback on any type of prototype. During the debut of a web site or educational program, twitter could be used to capture the immediate thoughts of the audience. 

Although I have found twitter to be useful for conferences and during class, I still find it rather overwhelming outside of these two examples. So much of it seems like idle chatter (where people are at the moment, what they are doing, etc) that it can often drown out what is important. I know that you can follow certain hashtags or followers, and separate them out from the rest of your channel, but I haven’t yet quite found out the proper balance. It would be nice if Twitter could learn what you deem as important, similar to how Pandora learns your song preferences. Or maybe something like this already exists? 

How do you deal with managing your Twitter account?

TCC 2012: A Review of my first online conference

General observations:
This was my first TCC conference so I really didn’t go in with any expectations. I was surprised by the high quality of many of the presentations. Ironically, it seemed that there was a lot more interactivity (like polls) during these online presentations versus presentations at a face to face conference. Audience questions were thought-provoking and helped in stimulating the overall discussion.


Opinion about the value of a virtual conference for educators and for society:
I must admit I was a little skeptical about a virtual conference matching up to a face to face conference. During the duration of the conference I was on the East Coast at a face to face conference so I wasn’t able to attend all of the sessions that I had on my list. However, it was great to be able to tune into the web casts and watch them immediately after the session.

What I learned, including my tweeting experiences:
At the beginning of the class, I was pretty skeptical about using Twitter for anything. I’ve found a lot of use for it in both the context of our class but also the conference. Twitter pretty much gave me a pulse of what was going on in the conference at that specific moment. The Twitter feed was helpful as well, as I tailored some of my decisions on which archived sessions to attend based on the twitter feedback.  


What would I do next time?
I would definitely clear my calendar during the TCC conference. There were so many sessions to attend, and even though I attended many of the archived web casts, being able to ask questions to the presenter really adds to the learning. It was great to have the discussion forum though to follow up with additional questions.

Suggestions: Match up newbie conference attendees with veterans so they can give them some tricks of the trade. Setting expectations for what to expect at the conference is something that would help the newbies as well.

What is reality?

The augmented reality (AR) project using Aurasma has really gotten my brain racing as to the possibilities of applications in the educational arena. Just think of all those posters in the classroom or exhibits at museums that are under similar light conditions. A program like Aurasma would be perfect way of augmenting the experience for the student or visitor. For example, here is a video that I took at the Hong Kong Science Museum showing how AR can be used for a variety of experiences using different cards.

Although this example uses a QR code type marker, I can't see any reason why it couldn't use an actual image. Looking forward to learning more about how to incorporate AR into my work.

Privacy is dead... or is it?

With the advent of Internet and social media, it is almost impossible to live a digital fingerprint free life. I have a Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus accounts (mainly because of work and school) but I don’t post much personal information to these sites. Even though I don’t feel comfortable sharing pictures/video of my personal life, I have come to the realization that no matter how much you control your own privacy, others can post information about you without your approval. Prior to posting online, I make sure that the material pasts this litmus test: Am I OK with my parents, future potential children, US government, and criminals seeing it? This rules out certain pictures from my college years, as well as broadcasting my whereabouts through geo-location based applications.

With a relatively unique first and last name, I’m pretty easy to find online. With a quick google search of myself, I found information about where I worked (currently work), conferences I’ve attended, my ePortfolio, social networking front pages, Prezi presentations, newspaper articles, press releases, etc. It wouldn’t be too difficult to piece together a recent chronology of my life. In fact, my initial introduction of my classmate Stacy was pieced together from her Google Plus and Facebook accounts.

It seems that the current generation of high school students has a more open view to toward privacy compared with their predecessors. I would emphasize the litmus test that I ascribe to. Do you feel comfortable with you parents, future potential children, the government or criminals seeing this information? Given that they will be going to college or entering the workforce shortly, I woul also add potential employers to the list. Another way of framing it to students would be: Are you comfortable with your digital information being available for ANYONE to see now and forever more?

If you have kids or students, what are their views on digital privacy?

Angwin, J. (16 March 2012) Google in Privacy Probes. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 19,2012 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304692804577283821586827892.html

Dhawai, D. (14 October 2011) Beware! Google Street View, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc, useful to plot crime, says Ex-Burglars. The Dnetworks. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://thednetworks.com/2011/10/14/beware-google-street-view-facebook-twitter-foursquare-etc-useful-to-plot-crime-says-ex-burglars/

Rambam, S. (1 August 2006) Privacy is Dead- Get Over It. Retrieved March 19, 2012 from http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-383709537384528624.

Gesture-based Computing: Prepare for Judgement Day

esture Away

Gesture-based devices are becoming ubiquitous throughout society. On mobile devices, pinch-zooming on a map and swiping through a photo album have become pretty much second nature to many individuals, especially kids. I’ve recently started using custom gesture-based commands on my smartphone’s browser which will no doubt become more widespread.

Google Glasses Architect

With the advent of Google Glasses, location-based augmented reality takes on a whole new meaning. What if you could add custom gesture-based commands on top of the world seen through Google Glasses. This new product that combined augmented reality and gesture-based computing would be called Google Glasses Architect (GGA).

Learning Activity

With the current generation of students growing up in the fast-paced Internet age, going to artifact-based museums (while extremely educational) can be boring. Imagine if each student were equipped with a Google Glasses Architect (GGA). Instead of just viewing a Hawaiian holua sled behind an exhibit case, students would look at a 3-D model of the sled through their GGA. Furthermore, they would be able to use their gestures to manipulate the model in order to attempt to make it more aerodynamic. Students could then put line up their sleds side by side on a virtual hill and watch to see whose avatar went down the hill the fastest. Besides competition, the GGA could also foster collaboration. Students could view an adze or cordage, manipulate their own 3-D model of the artifacts, and then work together on building and binding a canoe.

Holistic Learning

Viewing the 3-D artifact models would give students exposure to Hawaiian history and culture. Modifying them would require them to have a good understanding of 3-D space and design, the engineering and architect tools of the trade. Having worked at the Bishop Museum for 5 years, the GGA would be great from both an educational and marketing perspective. Students could follow up and refine the models back in the classroom or at home. Moreover, all of the models that the students modified would be available on a central database (similar to Google Sketchup) so that they could be further refined by future classes... sort of like a Wikipedia of 3-D models.

Assessment

Students would be assessed on how well their modified artifacts combine ancient tradition with modern science. A perfect science and culture lesson. They would be assessed by their peers and the top models would be built and put on display at the museum.

Looks like GGA may be within the Horizon Report's 4-5 year horizon. Prepare for Judgement Day.

References

Bilton, N. (23 February 2012). Behind the Google Goggles, Virtual Reality. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/23/technology/google-glasses-will-be-powered-by-android.html

Davies, C. (9 March 2012). Google Kinect-style Android motion tracking teased in patent app. Slash Gear. Retrieved from http://www.slashgear.com/google-kinect-style-android-motion-tracking-teased-in-patent-app-09217687/

Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Cummins, M. (2012). The NMC Horizon Report 2012: Higher Education Edition. Austin, TX: New Media Consortium.

Liu, R. (30 August 2011). Dolphin Browswer Heads to the iPhone. Slash Gear. Retrieved from http://www.slashgear.com/dolphin-browser-heads-to-the-iphone-30175123/

Miller, C. C. (1 September 2010). To Win Over Users, Gadgets Have to Be Touchable. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/01/technology/01touch.html?_r=1

How do I live without you?

I have an Android smart phone (Samsung Galaxy S) which I use for both personal and business applications. It's been a few weeks without my smart phone (I'm letting my mom try it)... and I'm definitely going through withdrawal.

The funny thing... there are a couple of things in the video that I can actually relate to.

Here’s a typical work day (when I had my phone)

Morning
An alarm app wakes me up in the morning with randomized song played from my playlist to start the day off on a good note. I check my Google Calendar to see what meetings are on my agenda, and to gauge how quickly I need to get ready for work. If I have an early webinar to attend (where I can’t make it into work yet), I’ll tune in through a WebEx app where I can participate just like I could on the computer. While I’m at work, the phone will vibrate 15 minutes before each of my scheduled meetings. During the rare occasion of a not-so-exciting meeting, I might check my email or send a quick text.

Afternoon
If I don’t have home lunch, I would use Yelp to find a new restaurant. Since my fiancee is a foodie, I might take pictures of my lunch and text it to her. During lunch, I might read the newspaper, briefly check my social media accounts, and play a game. After lunch, If I have an off-campus meeting, I’ll use Google Maps or Telenav to get GPS style directions to the meeting. At the meeting, I’ll look at Google Calendar to confirm who should be at the meeting and to refer to notes on the agenda. After the meeting, I might get a notification alarm from a Craigslist Notification app that lets me know that someone has posted something that fits my parameters.

Evening
Before heading home, I might check the sale items and personalized deals at grocery stores to see if there is anything I should pick up. After dinner, if I have additional work, I would connect my computer to my phone’s mobile hotspot. Oh, of course I would a make a few calls and send a few texts throughout the day as well.

Although it is nice, to not always reach for the phone whenever there is a millisecond of boredom...

Only thing constant is change

Apologies for the hiatus, but I'm back in full swing...

The only thing constant is change. The question really is how quickly people can embrace the change that lies ahead. I concur 100% that it's important to think through the pedagogy before just jumping in and buying technology. However, I find that many teachers (esp. the ones in the system for a while) are resistant and even frightened to even learn about technology. I wonder if teachers are required to go through yearly professional development on available technology. Any teachers out there care to comment...

I know that the DOE invested bucks on the Discovery Education online curriculum (which I think is a pretty worthwhile resource). I've heard that there are pockets of use, but not much widespread adoption.

So what can we expect in the future? Maybe students should be doing some training for the teachers to get them up to speed on the potential of technology, so they at least have an idea of what's possible...

There are more and more opportunities for students to be producers (not just consumers) of content which can help their classmates and the teacher. As move to a mobile-friendly, open-source, content creation world, there is a greater opportunity for teachers and students to shape the curriculum to better meet the needs of the local audiences. Can't wait to see what the classroom will look like 5 years down the line!