tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post5377206339061092808..comments2023-09-14T00:27:32.114+09:00Comments on IU CALL: Configuring the Web: individualized content delivery using common Web 2.0 toolsDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01067745321093097451noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-6071613801406463482007-11-05T20:35:00.000+09:002007-11-05T20:35:00.000+09:00Hi Bill,Thanks for coming by and commenting. I ce...Hi Bill,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for coming by and commenting. I certainly appreciate your concerns. I have/had the same ones and I think that I address them a little in the posting.<BR/><BR/>First, as it is always good to know our audience when writing, I checked out your blog. We really do seem like like-minded guys. I really liked your post on the <A HREF="http://openacademic.org/news/tag-on-the-highway" REL="nofollow">use of tagging at NECC</A>. It really makes me want to check out those features in Drupal. The same thing can be done with services like Yahoo! Tubes, but those aren't the easiest services for my mostly low to intermediate computer user students (in-service/pre-service teachers). I'll have to check it out. I've been contemplating a move from Moodle for a while now.<BR/><BR/>Scaling is certainly a concern in this approach. This will work for classes of all sizes, but the more students you have, the more difficult to individualize at the individual student level. You would have to rely on grouping more and more as the class roster grows. However, I don't see any manual approach making this easier. With a little know-how, a teacher could give a multiple-choice or short answer quiz with the feedback for incorrect answers leading to feeds with the appropriate tags. This isn't much better than simply grouping, though.<BR/><BR/>1a. The use of external services is actually the beauty of this approach. It does not rely on a single service. It relies on technologies underlying many services. This can work with what people are already using. The feed doesn't have to be del.icio.us. Most blogs and many other services offer tag-based feeds. Netvibes doesn't have to be used. Facebook can do this as can many, many other services with aggregating functionality. This is why I indicate in my posting that teachers shouldn't get hung up on what services their students are using, only that they are able to access the content in the same manner.<BR/><BR/>1b. While I think that Drupal is wonderful, I would not use it for this purpose. I'm trying to work with other peoples existing services or, at the minimum, not lock them into one classroom system. I'd like both teachers and students to better understand how tagging, syndication, and aggregation can be used to organize their personal learning networks. <BR/><BR/>2. Actually, I'm not relying on students to create tags. While this would certainly be a bonus, it's not part of this stage of the proposal. The teacher is feeding content to the students and the teacher just has to keep track of their own tags. A list of current tags or a smart-fill would be nice, but not really necessary. The most difficult thing is to remember the names of all the kids, but if you just subscribe to their Network, then that list available in the del.icio.us form. In the end, this certainly could be made easier with improved functionality, but I don't see it as a threat to scalability.<BR/><BR/>Thanks again for commenting. This really helps me to address concerns and to fill in gaps in my thinking.<BR/><BR/>DanDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01067745321093097451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-27816442397254665112007-11-05T15:05:00.000+09:002007-11-05T15:05:00.000+09:00Hello, Dan,Your concept is solid, but this is some...Hello, Dan,<BR/><BR/>Your concept is solid, but this is something that won't scale well in practice for a couple reasons:<BR/><BR/>1. You rely on external free services like delicious, pageflakes, etc. Each of these services provides a single point of failure <B>over which you have no control</B>.<BR/><BR/>2. You are also relying on students using similar tags over a distributed system. Within a single system (or multiple systems effectively linked to share tags) you can take steps (like autocomplete) to minimize the amount of what I call "tag creep," or multiple different tags being used to describe the same thing.<BR/><BR/>Also, even if all the services stay up, and the tag creep is minimal, the amount of raw information will become overwhelming over time. This is where the power of multiple categories per item (say, a controlled vocabulary alongside/giving more shape to a folksonomy) can help make the flow of information more manageable over time. This functionality is not available in many free apps; it is, however, available in an open source app like Drupal. Also, you might want to look at Gregarius, an open source aggregation tool.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>BillBill Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14264426268788575790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-1301205376148993262007-07-30T00:12:00.000+09:002007-07-30T00:12:00.000+09:00Dan, I think your idea is very useful. It would al...Dan, I think your idea is very useful. It would allow my students to save time without needing to search the web, and it would help them to satisfy their thirst for information regarding Anglo-saxon cultures. If I took them to the lab and let them do whatever they wanted as long as it involved English, they would search for English-language websites dealing with everyday topics they are interested in or describing some aspect of the American, British, etc. lifestyle and culture, while taking advantage of my presence for helping them find what they are looking for. If I knew their interests ahead of time I could find some websites for them to read, for example. This would allow them to read for interest without having to waste time searching in a foreign language.<BR/>I thought of the following while reading your idea:<BR/>--first of all to set aside time to teach this technology since in my experience a good number of my students probably aren't already familiar with it. And perhaps use those who are (often boys, some of whom would be very enthusiastic to show off/use their knowledge to help the others)to help those who aren't.<BR/>--not to schedule assignments through the feeds but to schedule assignments and activities in class that require them to use the websites/contents available only through their aggregators.<BR/>--to not only announce quizzes through the feeds but to announce them in class. Then the students can take quizzes either in class or online.<BR/>--my idea for a "quiz" was actually a progress check. The students are given a quiz in class asking them to identify (by name or description) the new feeds in their chosen topic areas that I have sent to their aggregators, what they are about/their content, and finally if they like the site or not and why, justifying their opinion by referring to some aspect of the site. The purpose is to check that they are using their aggregator, keeping up with the feeds, and making a decent effort to read the feeds available enough to decide which they are interested in and want to read/use more in depth. <BR/>--clear tags are crucial so that students can be responsible for checking only those feeds that are tagged with one of their interests (4 about sports, 4 practicing grammar, 4 about the Australian countryside, etc.). So even if there is a lot of content in the aggregator, they are allowed to view only those feeds referring to their topic choices: for example, two topics at a time/every unit/every month, etc. It is a way for them to manage the information in chunks at a time. This would help them pace themselves, and avoid frustration and feeling overwhelmed, knowing that they have time to eventually discover all the feeds they see that interest them.<BR/>--i would make the same feeds available to all so that students, who share information and help each other anyway, can tell each other what they saw and perhaps cause curiosity in those who haven't seen the feed yet. Plus, this might avoid confusion or a constant asking me to send a feed to someone after they have been told about it by a classmate who already has it.<BR/>--i would make any assignments long-term with interval mini-activities to complete in order to help finish the main assignment. This is because many of my students have internet access where their parents pay hourly and have a limit the entire family cannot exceed. Over a long period of time, these students have a better chance of using the technology successfully and stress-free.<BR/>--the individualization is in the fact that they can choose the feeds they are interested in. Plus, the assignments could be set up with requirements that allow choice and don't depend specifically on content.<BR/>--I would use the settings B and C described in Healey's reading.<BR/><BR/>Samspascalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11626879038567056289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-27837392375197307432007-07-16T09:38:00.000+09:002007-07-16T09:38:00.000+09:00Hi all, this really spoke to me so I put all of my...Hi all, this really spoke to me so I put all of my thoughts and comments on my blog as the reading reflection for the week! <BR/><BR/>Nice job Dan! Love the cell diagram, well that is what it looks like to me! :-pTOShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04469813847926175699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-47604905295041170982007-07-16T02:00:00.000+09:002007-07-16T02:00:00.000+09:00Muhammed,I really like the way you put Dan's sugge...Muhammed,<BR/>I really like the way you put Dan's suggestions in perspective. The thought of introducing this technology as a new way for them to keep themselves organized instead of as an assignment, makes sense to me. This approach of providing them with education on a new life skill is very positive. I guess it is true what "they" say about the importance of HOW you say something. If we present this technology as something that they GET to do instead of something that they HAVE to do, the students should feel empowered instead of burdened. Thanks for shedding light on this subject for me!<BR/><BR/>PeggyPeggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869057030467717979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-25814815368269175622007-07-15T22:51:00.000+09:002007-07-15T22:51:00.000+09:00Hi Dan, Susan, and Peggy,The way you formulated it...Hi Dan, Susan, and Peggy,<BR/><BR/>The way you formulated it is interesting and it should work, Dan. I guess I and my classmates are lucky enough to have it all applied. Like my colleagues, I feel the stress of it. However, I think that as students and teachers, and even as lay persons, we would need to learn new habits. Technology has its say and we have our interests. <BR/><BR/> If we can deploy technology to serve our interets in our daily life, we will be saving much time and efforts. I see it as part of a lifestyle, rather than in a purely artificial pedagogical context. What I do in my free time reiterates in my study. And, in turn, the knowledge I get out of my formal education echoes in my social relationships (e.g., I was talking with a friend about Gardner's MI theory in an outing yesterday). In other words, I guess we should have students practice these skills in a daily basis. As we teach them to read and write, I guess we do need to get them trained in these technologies. Only at such a juncture, the technologies will not be an overload. Now technologies were introduced to empower, not to hinder (though it can, if we do not know how to use it). <BR/><BR/> So, a solutuion would be to 'recontextualize', and 'rethink' these technologies: to integrate them not only in instruction, but in everyday activities.Muhammad Abdul-Mageedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16498894149533124466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-50862741407498517092007-07-15T00:19:00.000+09:002007-07-15T00:19:00.000+09:00Dan and Susan,As I was reading Dan's original post...Dan and Susan,<BR/><BR/>As I was reading Dan's original post, I had many of the same reservations that Susan expressed. My students are already so stressed out with the demands of a rigorous course load that this process and level of uncertainty as to what is required of them might push them over the edge. Susan's phrase related to disgruntled students comes to mind. As I was reading, my first question was do you intend for this to be part of an online course curriculum similar to ours or would you use it in addition to a traditional classroom course?<BR/><BR/>In regards to Susan's comment on access to computers and the internet, I agree that it might be an issue. The strong majority of my students have access at home, and others have access during the school day. However, the amount of time required to keep up with this amount of information mgiht not be time that they have access to a computer. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I might no tbe giving them enough credit. I agree with you that our teenage students are more comfortable with this technology than we are. They could very well be motivated by the use of a medium that they love.<BR/><BR/>PeggyPeggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869057030467717979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-89233243065265306212007-07-07T16:59:00.000+09:002007-07-07T16:59:00.000+09:00Thanks for the feedback Susan. I was beginning to...Thanks for the feedback Susan. I was beginning to think that this post was lost in the ether :)<BR/><BR/>With the exception of the quizzes, I have implemented this with classes (adults). However, this has been in a low stress environment. It is extra information for my students. I like to provide them with more targeted resources.<BR/><BR/>Also, I can assume that they all have Internet access. This is a luxury that I have in Korea, that others may not. However, Internet access is available in most schools through after school programs, libraries, boys & girls clubs, and so forth. I know that it is not possible in all situations, but for most contexts, you can get them access.<BR/><BR/>In the end, we all have to gauge what's possible in our own contexts and move on from there. <BR/><BR/>DanDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01067745321093097451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-72115990905773093482007-07-07T09:02:00.000+09:002007-07-07T09:02:00.000+09:00Dan, I think you're on the right track with this.....Dan, I think you're on the right track with this.... However, it may be overwhelming if you use it and expect them to read everything you post by scaring them with quizzes and graded material that is only posted online. Unfortunately, students will use their friends to alert them to this "important" information and any of the extras could become time wasted for the teacher. It may also create a network of disgruntled students. <BR/><BR/>Furthermore, I think it is impossible at this time to expect all of our students to have access to the Internet to the extent in which this type of interaction requires. They may not even have a computer let alone adequate Internet service. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but I think it's still beyond what most of us can reach right now. I'd love to see this implemented in a context outside of our CALL class to see how it works with teenagers who have the tools necessary to participate. <BR/><BR/>SusanSusanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12306736322172529284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-20955812471019337702007-05-26T12:50:00.000+09:002007-05-26T12:50:00.000+09:00Thanks Sarah,My choice was based on a 5-minute tes...Thanks Sarah,<BR/><BR/>My choice was based on a 5-minute test. Netvibes is easier to get going. I know that it might sound a little lame, but the PageFlakes setup screen put me off. However, your comment forced me to go back and it is does have some benefits over Netvibes. The advanced sharing options are a big bonus.<BR/><BR/>The Wiki site had some really good information. It pointed me to a posting by Will Richardson on using PageFlakes as a student portal, which is similar to what I'm doing here.<BR/><BR/>DanDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01067745321093097451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10565208.post-17953727442614231272007-05-26T05:01:00.000+09:002007-05-26T05:01:00.000+09:00When it comes to web2.0 tools and services in comb...When it comes to web2.0 tools and services in combination with education, I much rather prefer Pageflakes over some of the other start pages. There are several reasons:<BR/><BR/>1) It has a whole range of modules, developed just for the educational sector (e.g grade tracker, class schedule, search, storage).<BR/><BR/>2) They have a sharing and publishing feature that let's you setup and publish pages easily: http://www.pageflakes.com/Community/Pages/Page.aspx<BR/><BR/>3) They have an intro page at http://student.pageflakes.com which explain a few more concepts and leads to a nice prepopulated template<BR/><BR/>You might also want to check out this Wiki Site from a teacher in Switzerland: http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Pageflakes<BR/><BR/>Again, just my personal opinion. We use Pageflakes in a class environment here in Seattle.<BR/><BR/>Regards<BR/>SarahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com