Inside Higher Ed :: A Stand Against Wikipedia

• Quote: As Wikipedia has become more and more popular with students, some professors have become increasingly concerned about the online, reader-produced encyclopedia. While plenty of professors have complained about the lack of accuracy or completeness of entries, and some have discouraged or tried to bar students from using it, the history department at Middlebury College is trying to take a stronger, collective stand. It voted this month to bar students from citing the Web site as a source in papers or other academic work. All faculty members will be telling students about the policy and explaining why material on Wikipedia — while convenient — may not be trustworthy.

  Note: So quoting Britannica with nine planets is ok? Surely there will be trickle down to K-12 if there isn’t already.

   - post by willrich

So one of the reasons I’ve had no time to blog of late (or read for that matter) is that life is getting crazed once again. Seven weeks off goes much too quickly, but I’ve gotten into some very cool projects that I hope to blog about in short order.

Meanwhile, in case any one is interested, here is the link to the presentation that Rob Mancabelli and I did at FETC on Friday. I’d be really interested in any reaction from those of you that might listen and watch (sort of) it.

Technorati Tags: fetc07 social read_write_web

As Chris Sessums so ably summarizes, he and Steve Hargadon and I had a pretty amazing discussion at the FETC blogger meetup last night which was attended by about 10 people or so at some time or another. I won’t even begin to try to articulate the details…suffice to say it was, as Chris says, “seriously heady and perplexing.” The bottom line is that we all seemed to feel that there is a moment at hand that requires the consideration (if not the action) of this community. That it may be time to make a statement in some more formal way about the potential of Read/Write Web tools to transform education. That we attempt to find a way to begin these conversations on a national level, perhaps through political action. As Chris wrote:

We need to tap into the collective social capital of edubloggers and the overall blogging community to articulate this issue clearly so that it becomes a manifest political priority.

On various levels, we’ve been moving toward this already, I think. But we’ve been aiming primarily at a small audience. Now, with 20 months or so to another crucially important election, might it be time to gather our collective capital and see how we can spend it in a more far-reaching way?

To me, there are three questions. First, what, exactly, does this community as a whole believe about these changes and these tools and their impact on teaching and learning? Second, how do we cogently communicate that belief in a way that educates and moves others to action? Is it to create “An Inconvenient Truth” of our own, perhaps? (I’m serious.) Something that contextualizes and makes plain the complexity and the urgency of the moment? And finally, who are the various decision makers, candidates, business people and others who need to hear this message to most effectively move it forward? (Anyone know anyone in any of the nascent presidential campaign machines?)

It’s clear, to me at least, that bloggers are having a substantial impact in politics and business and journalism. It feels like, at least to me, that the gains they have made in moving those traditional structures have been far greater than what’s happened in the education sphere. I may be wrong. But I’ve wondered why those A-List bloggers haven’t lit on the implications for traditional education with more fire. Surely, their own learning has been transformed. Surely, the power of the networks they have built have transformed the way they themselves learn. Might they be amenable to assisting in this cause?

The feeling of the three of us what that this might be something we think about as a focus for the edubloggercon we’ve started planning for June. This feels pretty huge, and it might be a whole bunch of pipe-dreaming. But I wonder…

Technorati Tags: change education learning

If you’re in Orlando and you want to get together for some edblogger goodness, meet us at the Rosen Hotel Lobby Bar (just across from the convention center) at 7 pm. We have about 10 people signed up…add your name if you haven’t already. See you tonight!

Remote Access: Chaos Theory

• Quote: Every time I speak to teachers about forming networks with their kids, many of them cringe at the loss of control and worry what the consequences will be for their classrooms. My experience has found that people who are willing to open the potential for network formation up, will find that students will grow and mature in their information access, organization, and comprehension skills. Certainly unintended consequences will arise, but they will very, very rarely be negative. These consequences are the ones which will allow students to grow and flourish as information prosumers and to become active citizens. –Clarence Fisher

  Note: Precisely. Who among us hasn’t grown inour information access, organization, and comprehension skills? Anyone? Anyone?

   - post by willrich

Smart Mobs: Mobile lifestyle in China

• Quote: The China Daily reports “China is expected to overtake the United States to have the world’s largest Internet population within two years, a quasi-government organization said yesterday”… Mao Wei, director of CNNIC, said an increasingly mobile lifestyle in China could help spark an even bigger Internet boom. The growth of China’s Internet population could get a boost after the country rolls out 3G (third generation) mobile telephony, which promises faster Internet access and downloads of data-heavy services such as videos,

  Note: Someone get a hold of Karl Fisch and make sure he gets it in his next “Did You Know” episode…

   - post by willrich

M dot Strange Finds a Way at Sundance – New York Times

• Quote: But what would have been crushing for another young filmmaker was no big deal for M dot Strange, who arrived at Sundance with a huge audience in tow. During the last two years, he has been posting a video blog on YouTube letting people know how the movie was coming along. And then two months ago, he finally posted a trailer, and almost immediately it was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.

  Note: Yet another in a long line of stories that shows how participatory media shakes things up.

   - post by willrich

96 Different Blog Rubrics

• Quote: Um…none really…just a list of search hits for “blog” in a rubric database.

  Note: Informational only. I only clicked through a few of these to see if they worked.

   - post by willrich

I mention this only because Stephen Downes referred to the “user hostile” links to many New York Times articles that go behind the subscription wall in short order. The New York Times Link Generator is a tool that I’ve been using for the last two or three years that will provide open links to articles even if the “regular” links get archived. This was through an agreement that Dave Winer reached with the Times that had something to do with RSS feeds a while back. Anyway, it’s easy: take the address of the article you want to have access to, paste it into the link generator form, hit submit, and voila, on the next page you’ll get a new, longer address that will remain clickable forever…at least for now.

Technorati Tags: links, New_York_Times

It was great fun to take part in a most excellent chat about School 2.0 last night on the WOW 2.0 podcast over at EdTechTalk. Here’s the link to the full hour mp3 which I’ll be listening to so I can hear what I said, and you can read the chat log as well. Looks like we might be doing an encore in a few months…

Technorati Tags: Chris_Lehmann, Steve_Hargadon, education, school20, school_2.0

The Blurb

• Quote: The Blurb is a daily, weekly or sometimes monthly news show created and maintained by some seriously motivated students living in cyberspace! Check out our news and views regularly.

  Note: Interesting and engaging student writing.

   - post by willrich

So I’m looking for examples of schools that have begun using Read/Write Web tools to engage in conversations (not simply communicate) with members of the local community. I have a couple of examples where some first steps have been taken, but I’m wondering if some districts are really connecting and networking with audiences outside of school that really inform what’s happening inside. You know, allowing comments on blogs, or collaborating with local mentors, etc. Any pointers?

Technorati Tags: read_write_web, schools, education

Karl Fisch points to The Water Buffalo Movie which is just an amazing example of the connections that are possible these days. Watch the movie and read Karl’s take:

I know some folks will fail to see the relevance in this, and will talk about standards and curriculum and mandated testing. But I guess I don’t see how this could be any more relevant – this is life in the 21st century (ironically demonstrated by very non-21st century water buffalo cultivation). This is 12 days from problem to solution, and 24 days from problem to Internet-viral-movie-extended solution that may impact hundreds or thousands. Shouldn’t we be teaching kids about this stuff? Can’t we address the curriculum and standards in ways like this? Shouldn’t we be helping prepare them to be really good at using these tools in both their professional and personal lives to impact the world around them? Shouldn’t we be helping prepare our students to change the world?

Not much more needs to be said…

Technorati Tags: water_buffalo, learning, read_write_web

Nothing like waiting until the last minute, but if you’re at FETC and you want to get together for a bloggy-type meetup on Thursday night, add your name to this page and check back for details on Thursday. Hope to see you there.

So I know this is totally self-indulgent and egocentric, but I do have a point to make about the fact that out of over 2.7 billion results that you get when you search for “Will” on Google, this blog now comes up first. First of all, I find that fact just simply amazing in some warped way. I mean, I know it’s in no way a measure of my character or worth as a human being. There are probably at least 2.7 billion people out there without any Google rank who do much more than I to make the world a better place for others. (At least.)

But here’s the thing…the fact that I am “clickable” or find-able to this extent gives me tremendous opportunities to connect to other people, many of whom may have much to teach me. I am truly humbled by the powerful learning that I have done within the network of people that I’ve become a part of, and it would not have happened had I not had a way to engage in these conversations. I’ve said this many times…blogging has transformed my learning. Our students who are not “clickable,” whose content is not being shared and distributed using the tools of the Read/Write Web, who are not engaging in potentially global conversations about the ideas and topics in which they take an interest, who are not learning how to build their own networks of trusted sources and teachers are, I think, missing a huge opportunity. Without question, I come to this because of what has transpired in my own life, and I recognize full well that what’s happened to me in this blog will not happen to everyone who decides to participate. But not taking part, not sharing in this way leaves little opportunity to find the deeply personal learning experiences that have transformed so many of us in this community, regardless of where their names land on a Google search.

Which is why, more and more, I think that educators have to understand and use these tools. As teachers, I don’t think it’s enough to simply repackage old stuff and “publish” it in a new way. Unless we experience the learning that comes with being a part of the network, unless we are willing to take the time to embrace and use these technologies in our own practice, I’m not sure we can adequately teach our students how to leverage these tools for their own learning.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging…

Technorati Tags: learning, google, education, network

UT, Google to Put University’s Books Online  Annotated(1)

• Quote: More than 1 million volumes from the libraries of the University of Texas will be made available on the Internet under an agreement between the university and Google Inc., officials announced Friday. The initiative is part of a project by the search engine giant, based in Mountain View, Calif., to put books from major libraries on its Web site. The New York Public Library, the University of California, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Stanford University and Oxford University are among the participants. UT is the 11th library to partner with Google.

  Note: Some themed link blogging today. Save some type of injunction regarding the legality of this, books will become digitized. Personally, I think having the access to all of this information is a powerful development, one that we have to teach our students to use ethically and wisely.
   - post by willrich

Witness to the Decline of Books

• Quote: The buzzword in the trade is “information literacy,” a misnomer, because what it is really about is mastering computer skills, not promoting a love of reading and books. These days, librarians measure the quality of returns in data-mining stints. We teach students how to maximize a database search, about successful retrieval rates. What usually gets lost in the scramble is a careful reading of the material. Students are still checking out the standard research fare — the Thomas Jefferson biography, the volume of literary criticism on Jane Austen — but few read it. The library checks the books back in a day later, after the students have extracted the information vitals — usually an excerpt or two to satisfy the requirement that a certain number of works be cited in their papers. –Thomas Washington
  
  Note: More angst about reading and books…
   - post by willrich

Could This Be the Final Chapter in the Life of the Book?

• Quote: No, it is the teachers who will have the final say. They will determine whether people will read for information, knowledge or, ultimately, wisdom. If they fail and their pupils read only for information, then we are in deep trouble. For the net doesn’t educate and the mind must be primed to deal with its informational deluge. On that priming depends the future of civilisation. How we handle the digitising of the libraries will determine who we are to become. –Bryan Appleyard

  Note: So judging by some of the quotes of late, this is getting pretty serious. Apocalyptic, maybe. But again, books, ultimately, are words and ideas, not paper and bindings. Just because something is in digital form doesn’t make it any less a book, does it? Sure the form factor is different, and maybe the experience feels different to those of us who have grown up with paper and bindings. But I have to tell you, I love lying in bed at night reading on my Tablet PC, scrolling pages, marking up the text. IIf I could get more books in digital form, I would read more of them on my computer. Again, I think the jury is out as to whether this direction is good or bad…it’s just different. Will applying our cultural biases on our kids serve them most effectively in the future?
  
   - post by willrich

Oy.

From ZDNet:

Reining in social-networking sites: Last summer, over the objections of civil libertarians, librarians and educators, the House overwhelmingly approved the Deleting Online Predators Act, which would restrict ambiguously defined social-networking sites in schools and libraries that receive federal funding. The proposal ultimately died last year, but on the first day of the 110th Congress, Sen. Ted Stevens, a veteran Alaska Republican, reintroduced identical language in what he portrayed as a renewed effort to protect children online.

Anyone have any details? A quick look at the Stevens homepage makes no mention…

Technorati Tags: dopa social_networking education

So it turns out that just about 150 feet from where I’ve hung my shingle in Flemington, NJ, one of the pre-eminent “experts” on children’s software, Warren Buckleitner has a shingle of his own. Warren writes and publishes the “Children’s Technology Review,” is a periodic writer for the New York Times, testified in front of Congress last year regarding the ratings system on games, and, most importantly, has two daughters who ride horses at the same farm as Tess. (We’re “Barn Dads.”) Warren is also the founder of MediaTech which is drop in community technology center in our town library, and we’re embarking on a cool new project for next year that you can read about here if you like.

All of which leads me to the fact that Warren was interviewed for a story on Club Penguin that ran on NPR’s “All Things Considered” last week. It was a pretty good piece that discussed this relatively new territory that is online multi role player games for tweens. Here’s the money quote from Warren:

By playing these games they are sort of like training wheels for starting to participate in the digital culture that’s certainly here already.

I like that metaphor. Now if I could just get Warren to start blogging…

Technorati Tags: games culture education social learning