Is it Really Lesson 10 - Didn't We just Start??

The magazine cover here was created using Big Huge Labs (fd's Flickr Toys).

I must admit that I poured my heart and soul into trying to love Google Docs but I had a nightmare experience using this tool in a course I did last year that I tremble at the sound of the tool! I’m not a quitter though and will try again, but just not right now. That being said though, a few years ago I did work on a fairly extensive bi-campus project with 3 colleagues using Google Docs. Although the project got sideswiped, using the Google Docs did save a lot of time and a few trips to Fredericton.

I looked at the other applications from this 10^th session but I couldn’t really get swept up by any of them (and I definitely don’t want to start my own radio station (as in LastFM). But as you now know, I love playing around with images, so Big Huge Labs is a tool that I’ll use personally and can see definite classroom and web page possibilities for it as well. As a matter of fact I’m working with a team of interprofessional educators on a presentation for the upcoming Canadian Network of Innovation in Education conference and having found this tool I’m going to make a mosaic or a puzzle to put on our first slide. Down with wordles – the Big Huge lab offers way more possibilities.

Tweet Tweet Twitter

Well I found getting into the twitter mindset agonizing and I must admit that I may never be a twitter aficianado BUT I did get to learn a lot about tweeters and tweets. I can also see how twitter could be a great application in a classroom setting, for example as a replacement of the ‘minute paper’. Like all things related to technology though, not everyone will have a cell phone (or a derivative of) or a computer in the classroom so that does stick a pin in the balloon so to speak. By the way I did find an interesting talk by Evan Williams, co founder of twitter. Check it out and you might also be interested in a new look at organizing your twitter life at (mind you the guy is advertising his book, but oh well……)

Anyhow to cut to the chase I wasted an hour trying to find “the perfect” background for my twitter space (is it called a space?) and reluctantly settled on a grunge tree. If you want to check out my meager beginnings I’m at http://twitter.com/SJJudy

But before I leave the ashes of week 9 behind, here is a bit of melodious twitter amusement for you - enjoy!

Now on to the wrap up week - #10 here I come with a pack of enthusiasm accompanying me!

Oh my, that is DELICIOUS

Well after much ado about nothing (on my part) I did master the social bookmarking system. Click here to see the pages I marked so far. I like this better than my old 'favorites' bookmarks because of the sharing capability, not to mention the links that I can find within the delicious community. I'm eager to hear how others think about this bookmarking network, and also of course to have a peek at the bookmarks shared within our little group

Here I come week 7 part 2 - Embed away (note my optimism)

Remember that video about intercultural communication that I mentioned? Well with any luck - voila

Mercy - Is it March Already?

Well I have indeed been delinquent in my lessons and am now just finishing week 7 part 1 even though it is into week 8! By the way as I write this I am snowbound in Moncton. I am part of a team that was booked to do a full-day workshop at NBCC. Well as they say, the best laid plans …. I came up yesterday to avoid any stormy driving this morning. As it turned out our workshop was to start at 9 and they announced a college closure at about 8:15. Oh well – I’ve had the opportunity to have a wonderful education romp through You Tube videos for the last 4 hours.

In my search I did find a great video for a class I am facilitating next week on intercultural communication. I tried to post this comment to the video: I believe that this video helps to capture many of the 'must knows' about intercultural communication. I will use this video in an upcoming class focussing on cultural sensitivity and responsiveness (with students in health professional programs), as in less than 9 minutes there are many significant lessons to ponder and absorb. Despite 3 tries the comment wouldn’t post. I went for help re commenting on videos, but I’m still not certain as to why the comment wouldn’t post –likely the 3 are getting reviewed by CSIS! Who knows, next time I look perhaps all 3 comments will be there – causing readers to wonder if the writer (i.e. me) has a memory problem; otherwise why would she keep posting pretty much the same message?

By the way, if you found the video ‘A Vision of Students Today’ that was included in the tutorial for part 1, you may also find this one called The Lost Generation compelling as well.

PS I found two great educational blog repositories: Kathy’s Ed Tech Blogs and one on blogs in higher education - have a click and see what you think.

Okay without further ado away I go into week 7 part 2.

Is podcasting really my thing?

Well I spent literally hours trying to figure out which podcasts to subscribe to last week and then I got a dastardly cold (totally unrelated to podcasts I’m sure). But of course, my brain takes me on lateral trips, so I went looking on flickr for an image of a podcast! And once I’m looking at images and pictures – I wave farewell to my original task. I did find an informative site (for me) ‘A Podcasting Blog from Podcasting Tools’, which I have tucked into my RSS feeds.

Then of course the dawn of realization sparkled, and I remembered that I don’t have an iPod or anything remotely resembling one (well I do have an iPod shuffle but that really doesn’t count) so what would I do with these podcasts except listen to them on my computer. But I have better things to do with my computer, such as trying to find blogs of interest, listening to Ted Talks (thanks for telling us about these Tim) or pouring over great photos on flickr. Did I mention that I love flickr!!

Lonely No More

Thanks Melissa and Tim for 'speaking' with me, and Tim for your blogging insights. I'm going to check into sitemeter - who knows I might be getting as big in the blogosphere as Julie Powell!

And yes Melissa, Code Blue II was great; Code Blue III is already in the works.

The Lonliness of a long Distance Blogger

I was interested in Melissa's thoughts on blogs vs. wikis in education., and I agree that a wiki allows more options. I hope that in the new version of Blackboard (or whatever LMS might be chosen to replace it) that there will be wiki-like option as in my experience it is far superior to the discussion tool that we currently have. Her comments also prompted me to think about how very lonely blogging actually is. I mean really, I could write for hours (presuming I had anything to say) and my words could just continue to hang in mid-air with no one grabbing onto a few to have a conversation with me. I wonder if I need to value narcissism over the relational in order to be a bona fide blogger?

And lest I forget

P.S. re Flickr and a note re wiki

I did forget to give the link for my Flickr photo gallery - in it are the 'holiday lights' series plus the watercolors (very abstract - whoa, what goes on in my imagination!) of Chickering and Gamson's 7 principles. The images are all (except one I think) purchased images from istock photo.


I'm very fond of wikis so I had a great time setting up our DUT wiki. I appreciated the educational inputs to date and look forward to seeing more new pages.

As a sort of P.S.

I got to wondering if anyone had twisted Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People into something about teachers. Well sure enough, I found a blog called Education + Tech with a posting on the topic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers. Who would have thought!

Good Teaching Practices Sponsored by my new BFF Flickr

I thought a long time (and spent a long time) on this session, which is why week 4 is sort of over and I’ve spilled over into the start of week 5. The reason for such a delay is that I spent literally hours pouring over images that “spoke” to me. I love embedding images into slides, and now my blog and our DUT wiki . But here comes the big news – I don’t own a digital camera and rely on friends, istock or some other source to get my photos or images. And now I’ve found Flickr and WOW a whole new world has opened up for me. Judith gave me an idea when I saw the images on her blog The Body, Mind & Spirit Connection’ Judith gave some of her photos a label that is linked to education. This got me onto a notion that I could represent Chickering and Gamson’s Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education via abstraction (meaning most likely that no one have a clue how I came to think link a particular image to a particular principle ah, my mind works in strange ways). I started out by selecting 7 watercolors via istock and feeling that I had just what I wanted. Then of course I was required to go to Flickr. So in the end all 7 photos used for this juxtaposition (i.e. principle + image) were found on Flickr through a Creative Commons search in Krossbow's photostream in a series called Holiday Lights. I realize that the photos are totally out of season, however Hasan’s wonderfully hilarious blog post A Journey to the Land of Canada got me thinking winter wonderland all over again!

So away we go: Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education

Principle #1: Encourages student-faculty contact.

Principle #2: Encourages cooperation among students.

Principle #3: Encourages active learning.

Principle #4: Gives prompt feedback.

Principle #5: Emphasizes time on task.

Principle #6: Communicates high expectations.

Principle #7: Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.