Key Components in 1:1 Classrooms

As we get into the meat of the school year, I started thinking about what are some hallmarks of great 1:1 classrooms.  Whether 1:1 or not, great classrooms may share some characteristics of best educational practice.  However, I have tried to focus on some of the characteristics that are key in 1:1 classrooms.

This statement stands on the premise that a 1:1 environment is inherently different from a traditional paper and pencil classroom.  If you don't agree with that statement then you might disagree with a lot of what I write.  The world continues to change at an accelerated rate and 21st century learning environments are different.  Not only are they different, the continue to change and transform.  So what are some major ways 1:1 classrooms are different from a traditional classroom?

Asynchronous vs. Synchronous

Ironically, although this is probably one of the most poignant changes taking place in the 21st century, it is one that seems to be one of the slowest to be recognized by all stakeholders in the educational process.  Learning is no longer limited to the 8 to 3 school day.  It isn't limited by the classroom location.  Students can learn anywhere at any given time if they have the resources to do so.  In Korea, we are blessed to have tremendously fast internet and wireless access available nearly everywhere.  We also have a plethora of mobile devices that can truly support learning for our students in a variety of modes and mediums.  With trends such as the flipped classroom and blended classrooms, education is just beginning to take advantage of asynchronous tools.  Information on the internet waits for me until I'm ready for it.

Digital Containers

The physical homework tray at the back of the room has given way to the Moodle course, wiki, or website.  Teachers in a 1:1 setting must have a digital container for their class.  This container does much more than collect student work.  It is a hub.  It links to resources.  It facilitates collaboration, dialogue, and communication.  It creates a home base that brings learning together and tracks progress.

Focus on Product

Yes, I know traditional classrooms do this too.  However, 1:1 classrooms dismally fail to achieve the very goals of being 1:1 if they do not get this philosophical pillar in place.  It is not about the laptop being a word processor or just a word processor.  It is about students creating a product so their learning is meaningful to them.  (For more on this, you might want to examine Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.)

Display Student Work

Students desperately want to have an audience.  Students may like their teacher but that isn't really the audience they are looking to please.  They want to share their work with their friends and even family.  Sometimes this is inside the school and sometimes it is outside.  High achieving 1:1 learning environments find ways to celebrate and display student work to a valued audience for the students.  It gives them pride to have their work "published"and inspires them to go above and beyond on their own.

Classroom management and common vocabulary

If a teacher has poor classroom management, it will only get worse in a 1:1 setting.  Give students engaging projects and know when it is time to close the lid and get students off the screen.  The laptop is only one tool available for learning.  It is not the sole avenue of learning.  If this is an area you are working on, I suggest developing common vocabulary across the school such as...lids down, quiet on the set, hands up (no typing), share screens, freeze...just to name some examples.  When teachers set clear expectations that are commonly known in every class, it makes it easier for both the teachers and students.

These are just some of the ideas that stuck out to me.  What is missing from my list?  Are these on the money?  What is your experience?

The Flipped Classroom

Flipping the classroom, or reverse instruction, has been quite trendy lately.  For those new to the topic, it means giving lectures or instruction to students over the internet and using the in class time to actually do work, discuss, or solve problems.  Teachers often accomplish this via podcasting of lectures or screencasting sample problems for students to use as a model. You can see examples of it on many educational blog posts and Youtube is increasely filled with more academic content than just Angry Birds tutorials.  I've been watching this trend and seeing some of our teachers begin engaging in it.





Salman Khan has a great TED talk on what has eventually developed into Khan Academy.  He has some interesting insight and thoughts that are fantastic for reflection.  He has found strategies to gather data to impact what is being presented back to students.  Take some time to watch the video if you haven't.

As I've watched the application of these ideas and concepts to the classroom, some educators have really used this with tremendous benefit to students.  Research has shown the benefits for students to be able to pause, rewind, and carefully take notes on a lecture.  Some teachers have given students a lecture to view at home and then use the in class time for discussion or to practice solving problems.  Aside from increasing the class time available for working with teacher assistance and student to student interaction, sending these lectures home gives students a finite time of homework.

On the other side of the coin, I have seen teachers put a lot of extra time on students because they now put every lecture up on Youtube.    It is important for teachers to retain balance in the work they send home.  I also think the art of the interactive lecture can be lost in this format.  At times, lecture is an appropriate way to deliver instruction (despite what I would call myths that this is never appropriate).  However, interactive lectures engage students and flex the content around the responses and reactions of the participants.  And I do mean participants.  To relinquish a presentation to one way video can leave out the interactive nature of teaching.  It's not all bad but something to consider within a flipped classroom context.

We need to be careful that we don't misapply the flipped classroom methodology so it overburdens students and removes an important element of personal interaction from students that is the learning and dialogue we desire in our classrooms.  As with so many things in life, we need balance.   I have seen some applications that take and mistakenly apply it in ways that just aren't helpful and really don't embody the same type of online education that Khan and others advocate.   I've approached this idea with caution because extremism can be dangerous in any trendy fad.

What do you think?  What do you see as the pros of the flipped classroom and the pitfalls to avoid?

Fighting Back the Chaos

Today's world is full of information overload.  Perhaps it would be accurate to say application overload in some cases.  As we move from device to device or application to application, maintaining some semblance of organization is critical.  Yes, critical.  I'm not an organization freak as those around me will attest, but having some idea of how to organize information and resources is important.  We constantly run across websites we want to refer back to later.  We identify resources that are useful to share with others.  We also access certain information from different browsers or applications.  For example, I have about 3 different applications for twitter just on my laptop which I use interchangeably.  Then we move from our laptops to our iPhones to iPads etc.

CC Information Overload by Jorge Franganillo (Flickr)

We are not always on the same device so how do we make the "cloud" (internet based applications and storage of resources) work for us?  If we do not have a plan, chaos will take over and we will just miss out on resources buried in an overwhelming pile of stuff.  We need to help students with this skill too. I'll outline some of my own personal strategy to fight back the chaos.

I am always surprised how many people don't use bookmarks (see my previous post for more on bookmarking).  I have all my common sites in my toolbar.  This makes them easy to access anywhere.  I use Xmarks to sync all my bookmarks across all my devices.  This also makes them accessible by logging into the Xmarks site when on a public computer.  Although Xmarks can do other things like sync passwords and such, I use it solely for syncing bookmarks across devices and browsers.  It has an install plugin for almost any browser on any platform.  I have upgraded to the premium and find it worth every penny but a free version is available.

I also use Dropbox.  Lots of different applications allow you to use Dropbox to access information across devices (see more info here).  I find this is a valuable tool for having files and information easily synced across multiple devices.  It also makes a backup always available in case a device is lost or stolen.

I like Instapaper for reading articles later.

For example, I typically check my twitter network on my phone which regularly gives me useful links and information.  I have several methods to deal with this information.

1. I have created a free account with Instapaper.  I have added this bookmark applet to my toolbar on my browser which allows me to just click on "Read Later" and it is saved to my account.  Instapaper can be accessed on my iPhone or laptop easily.  It tracks what I have read and I just archive after I have finished.  I always know what articles are yet to be read.  
2. I often just skim my Twitter and don't do extensive reading.  So I email myself a tweet at my gmail account.  I have setup a filter that automatically removes it from the inbox and labels it so I can review it later.  Filters are powerful and often underused email feature.  This also makes it easy to search tweets I want to find later.
3. I can use my Diigo account to bookmark certain links right in my phone.
4. Xmarks makes a lot of this simply because it syncs my bookmark applet for Diigo and Instapaper across browsers and my phone.

Lastly, I also highly recommend RSS feeds.  I use Google Reader to keep up with blogs that I follow.  It is easy and accessible on my phone or laptop.  

How do you keep your life organized between browsers, applications, and devices?  Do you have other recommendations to share?

A 21st Century Learning Space

What does that look like and what does it "do"?  I believe our 5th grade students at GSIS benefit from a 21st century learning space.  Although a late add-on to our existing building, it facilitates the learning we desire in students.  We have walls that can open to create more open space and combine the 2 classrooms.  The setup is very flexible for collaboration and interaction between the 5th grade sections.

Within the classroom, students can collaborate, produce, create, present, etc. We have a cart of Macbooks that are accessible to students to create a 1:1 opportunity. We have interactive whiteboards. We have teachers planning and collaborating together.  The physical space facilitates many different learning activities and options for students.

It's exciting to have such an excellent learning space where students are engaged daily.  The space supports the curricular goals and the engages students authentically in an inquiry-based learning experience.  As a whole, I wish we had more spaces like this in our schools...

Effective Presentations

If you have the opportunity to connect with people face to face on a topic, take advantage of it.  

Engage your audience and make them interact with the content and topic.  It's not about you...it is about your audience.  Know why you are there and be clear on what you want to accomplish in the time you have.  If you don't know what you are presenting, it's doubtful others will figure it out either.

What makes a presentation effective?  First, think back to the presentations you remember.  If you remember it, something about it must have been effective, right?  Too many of us have sat through boring presentations that could have been half the time or involved someone reading to us.  Don't make your audience leave thinking they could have picked up your handout.

Speaking of handouts, think of presentations in 3 parts: my presentation "script," slides/visuals, and handouts.  Don't just print your slides as a handout.  I like to include additional information or sources of information on handouts.  I also add content that I want them to take away...or they will try to scribble down so furiously that they miss what I'm saying.

Know your content.  I like to have a few notes and ideas when I speak to keep me on track and make sure I hit what is important.  However, powerful presenters know what they want to say.  Many of them can do it entirely without notes.  I find this impressive and something I need to improve upon.  Nothing can lose an audience like an awkward pause as you fumble your notes or squint to see the tiny writing on the screen to jog your memory.

I could say more but Jesse Desjardins may say it more emphatically and articulately with his presentations than I can.  If you communicate with an audience regularly, or even occasionally, you should really take a look.  (Hint:  All educators do this regularly.)

You Suck At PowerPoint!

View more presentations from @JESSEDEE.

STEAL THIS PRESENTATION!

View more presentations from @JESSEDEE.

Any tips you want to share with others?

The Impact of the Internet: A Story

Transformation is the goal.  It's not just translating what we have.  It is taking the resources within our reach to create something that didn't exist before--something new.  It is a transformation.

CC Namche Bazaar by Kogo

I love this article which talks about how the internet has transformed some villages in Nepal deep in the Himalayas.  It is so similar to stories of technology use in Africa.  When you put resources in people's hands, they are creative and do things we might never predict.  Among other thoughts, what are the implications for this story in terms of community development?

This news article is probably so powerful because it is a story.  We need to get students engaged in stories and creating their own stories.  I imagine many of our students could come up with innovative solutions to so many of the challenges our world faces.  Let's engage them to know, understand, and act...Perhaps we could read about one of their ideas on Yahoo! News.

Building Momentum

The headline is overly dramatic: "Computers in Schools are a Failure, Says Computer Pioneer Alan Kay."  The article says, "Computers have been in schools for the last 30 years, but with few exceptions, they haven't been used to their full potential."  Hmm...sounds pretty much right on to me.  Yet, how many things fit into that category.  The format and utilization of this resource in our schools has been slow going.  As I read this article, I see Kay saying technology for technology's sake is not very productive.  Where is the depth to the learning?

By Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.S.A. (Alan Kay  Uploaded by JoJan) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Now, is this the first time you have heard this?  Alan Kay's comments seem like what many others have been saying for some time.  Leverage technology to add depth to the learning and inquiry process.  Project Red's recent research says the same thing. Do it right and it impacts student learning significantly.

Some take Kay's comments and those like him as depressing due to the failure of our schools to take advantage of an amazing opportunity.  On the other hand, it gives me hope for the future.  We are gaining momentum in our schools on how to put technology in a school environment and help students inquire, collaborate and give feedback at high levels.  We are recognizing the need to move forward now in ways that have not happened in the last 30 years.  For me, I see hope and anticipation at what is poised to by a dynamic time for students.  And we need to take action.  Our context with technology is different than it has been in the past.  We have to turn "clickable" kids into vibrant, dynamic learners with whatever tools we can put in their hands.

Are you being left behind?  Are you ready to participate?  Some need to be pioneers.  Others need to come along and sustain the momentum.  It starts with one transformed classroom at a time. Where are you?

Be Contagious

"good educators share useful tools with each other."

Several weeks ago, during a PD session with MS teachers, I shared a Web 2.0 tool called Wallwisher.  It wasn't the point and just happen to be a small tool that I used during the time together.  I used it in that specific session because I wanted participant-to-participant interaction, rather than participant-to-facilitator interaction.  It worked well for my purposes.

From there, one of the administrators attending went on to share it with our school leadership team and use it in a meeting.  One of our coordinators then proceeded to use Wallwisher with MS and HS staff during PD days.  From there, some teachers took and applied it to their classrooms and students engaged this tool for learning.

When I first introduced this tool, I had no idea it would spread in this manner.  I'm sure that others may have heard about it from other sources than just inside our community and my original introduction.  However, good educators share useful tools with each other.  I love it when students say they know what we did in professional development because their teachers all tried it out on them the following week.  It means the PD was useful and applicable.

If you are a technology leader (formal or informal), share useful tools with your colleagues.  And don't just share a link, share how you used it to enhance learning.  With many tools or technology integration activities, you can do this in a 5-10 minute casual conversation.  When other educators see how it impacts learning and your enthusiasm of the impact it had on your lesson, they are much more likely to implement it for themselves.    Be intentional in your leadership, regardless of your formal position.


Oh, and by the way, this applies to much more than just technology.  Be contagious.

No More Excuses

It may not be comfortable, but educators have to be savvy enough to quit buying the 2.0 version of the dog ate my homework.

A blog post by Alain Meyer entitled "A New Era of Homework Excuses" caught my attention.  He talks about how students take advantage of teachers and their ignorance when it comes to technology.  Technology becomes the excuse for whatever a student has failed to deliver.  I think he has a point.  We allow students to take advantage of us in our attempts to extend some grace.

CC Aaron Jacobs

I recently sat down at lunch with a student who had failed to give a presentation the previous day for the teacher sitting next to her.  She forgot her laptop that day.  Really?!?  We are 1:1 laptop school.  How do you forget your laptop?  I questioned her further.  I asked her if she really had the presentation done.  Of course, she said, yes.  I questioned her further about what the timestamps on her files might tell me.  She dodged the question and we had a laugh, moving on to other conversation.  I have no doubt that she took advantage of the extra time to work on her presentation to say the least...and probably didn't have it ready to begin with.

While in college, I've worked for hours on a paper and then lost a half day's work.  Did that change the due date?  Nope.  Work faster, stay up later, and make it better the second time around. The other day I was working on a document and lost it (due to my own user error).  That work did not suddenly go away. I had to redo it and still make my deadlines.  It's the real world and although grace is nice, we need to push students away from excuses and toward responsibility.  I suppose having them take responsibility for their own learning is a major goal here.  Life doesn't always wait for the planets to align.  Sometimes we get curveballs at the worst possible times.

As educators, we continue to integrate more technology in the classroom.  We need to hold students accountable.  I'm not advocating losing all understanding and graciousness with students. We just need to use it a little more sparingly and hold ourselves accountable for some learning in this area.  It may not be comfortable, but educators have to be savvy enough to quit buying the 2.0 version of the dog ate my homework.

Being Facebook Friends

Should teachers friend students on Facebook? For some reason, since I work with technology, people seem to think I'm a good person to ask. And since I mentioned Facebook in my last post, perhaps it is relevant to address it here. My answer...it depends.

Let's ask a different question. Should teachers/educators be on social media? Yes. No question. If we want to connect with students and meet students where they are, social media is the way to go. Educational research tells us that we need to be relevant to engage students effectively. It also tells us that if we can extend our time spent on learning and our curriculum, then achievement goes up. Now put those two together. If we engage students with relevant questions/topics and use a medium that they are using outside of school for socializing, we are likely to extend school related discussions that promote learning, inquiry and authentic application of concepts in the real world. Many have unpacked this much more than I am here. This is only 1 aspect of leveraging social media to benefit learning.

I think the "friends" on Facebook is a bit more complex. Some people advocate 2 accounts...1 professional and 1 personal. I think you have to think about how you use social media. I have some accounts that are personal and my friends/links reflect that. I have other accounts that are solely professional. Based on our roles, this can be easier for some than others. For me, Facebook is personal. There is nothing on there I'm ashamed of. Actually, I don't post much. Rather, I use it to keep up with friends across the world. I also don't have a class of students that I work directly with right now with my given role. Twitter is my professional account. Don't get me wrong. The personal nature of who you are bleeds over into the professional as well it should. It is reasonable to keep the two separate. Bottom line, if you are posting things that students should not see or might be better left to their imagination, don't friend them on Facebook.

No matter what medium you use for social media and connections, your life is more transparent than it has ever been. We know more about each other. Modeling and making good choices is paramount. So is self-control. You can't post confidential or "soon to be public" info before it actually is public. Many people have had some heavy consequences for mistakes in this area and it deserves due caution. All said, social media is a place to extend learning and leverage for the good of both student learning and professional learning. Don't be scared. Jump in but do so with some thought and foresight.

Marketing on Facebook & Schools

Screenshots from Nike Facebook page (above) and Adidas Facebook page (below on right).

While in the US over the summer, I was a bit surprised to see so many companies promoting their brands on Facebook. Perhaps I'm behind the times in US trends because I rarely watch US TV. Companies used to put their website up. Now, it seems that Facebook is where the masses are so that is where companies are seeking consumers. By all appearances, they are right. Social media continues to grow and Facebook is a one-stop shop for so many users to access communication. So why not market there? It makes sense. A Mashable article entitled Top 5 Emerging Brand Trends on Facebook just highlights some of this marketing taking place on Facebook.

The promotion of causes and charities is nothing new on Facebook and has been going on for some time. The marketing of products has been going on there as well, but the scale of use has gone well beyond grassroots efforts to become a high priority in major brands.

How many schools have sites on Facebook? The image on Facebook may likely be the public image of the school and viewed more often than the website. We often spend a lot of time on our websites and these are important, but I wonder if public relations and branding of schools (particularly internationally) needs to give more attention to the social media component. My guess is that most schools have a presence on a Facebook. And it's not limited to Facebook...check Wikipedia among others to see what it says about your school. The real question is whether that publicity comes from the school and promotes the school in the best and most accurate light...or, does the Facebook presence rest in the opinions of Facebook users with no official connection, some of which may have axes to grind?

Maybe it is time to reevaluate our priorities...

Fun PD

GSIS was privileged to have Kathleen Ferenz come in for 2 days of professional development for faculty. She is an Apple Professional Developer that has worked extensively in many areas of technology integration including both the Apple, Google, and Library of Congress worlds. She was a great resource to have and a pleasure to learn from. For me, it was thrilling to see faculty engage in PD that was fun and brought smiles to their faces. Teachers walked out the door with something they could use in their classroom next week and apply to unit development in coming months to transform their classroom. Immediate engagement, short term applications, and long term impacts. I like this model for PD and have sought to implement it with sessions that I lead.

Transformation. It's about taking a classroom and making a vibrant learning environment that embraces the tools available as a 1:1 classroom. 1:1 classrooms are different. It's not just doing some tasks digital instead of on paper. I'm not sure the education community gets this point. I see many people think they are excellent tech integrationists because they do the best paper based tasks on laptops. It's so much more than that...

Thanks, Kathleen, for a great couple days of PD with our faculty!

The ES Mobile Lab

We are very blessed to roll out a mobile lab in the GSIS elementary school this year. We piloted laptops with 5th graders last year through a 1 laptop to 2 students ratio. Although this was a significant step forward, the teachers quickly desired a 1:1 ratio for students and laptops. This year, we have implemented 1 full cart with 21 laptops in the 5th grade, which is shared between 2 sections.

Due to space needs, we also replaced the aging Windows desktop PC lab with a mobile cart of 26 laptops for grades PK-4. We are excited about the opportunity teachers have to bring the laptops into their classroom and let all students access and learn with technology.

GSIS is getting to be the first ones to experience and utilize this resource in our system. As TCIS moves to the new campus, they will be implementing a similar mobile cart as their lab will not be present in the new building in Techno Valley. We hope to further expand the mobile labs to have more carts shared between fewer classes so students and teachers have greater access in the future.

Grace Amidst Transparency

We live in a transparent world. We know a lot about each other. Not only do the people I hang out with know me, but people that I email, Facebook, Skype, and readers of blog know many things about me. It is not just our interests that are transparent; it is also our emotional ups and downs. Technology is not the only culprit although it is one that definitely increases our openness to each other.

As we look at each other, the title of a popular book comes to mind: Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them. As we see more of each other, it is easy to make judgments and write people off for their shortcomings. In a transparent world, we need more grace. We need to forgive people for being themselves...for being imperfect. That’s all of us. We just see others' imperfections more easily than our own.

I fear that our grace has not grown proportionately to our transparency. We could use a substantial dose of humility. I've come to enjoy and embrace transparency. In the midst of transparency, may we extend more grace in a world that needs more kindness and forgiveness than judgment and critiques.

Switching over to Diigo for News

I don't know if anyone ever checks my Be Literate Wikispace. I was posting some current news articles that I ran across to this wiki as much for myself as anyone. I found the wiki a bit tedious for the task so I have completely switched over to using Diigo. I don't post tons of links but you might find some news articles and exemplars of 21st century practices through this Diigo list. Check it out if you are interested.

http://www.diigo.com/list/pricedm/21st-century-schools-education

Needless to say, the wikispace will still be around with past news articles and some video resources, but don't expect more updates there.

Gamechanger or Hype?

Yes, I'm sticking my neck out and weighing in. Why not? It seems like everyone else has. I'm not sure how anyone that reads the news could miss the articles on the introduction of the iPad. Many critics and many advocates have voiced their perspectives. So my perspective...

It's a gamechanger. I've read Michael Hyatt's post which he talks about it being a luxury. A colleague commented the same thing this week. This comment is spot on. If one thinks the iPad will replace their laptop, s/he is dead wrong. It's not just an iPhone with a big screen either. Yes, it's a great ebook reader but that's not gamechanging. So what, it's color. That's just an upgrade from some of the others.

As I have read so many of the comments and articles both pro and con, I have drawn the conclusion that many people on both sides of the product reviews have missed it. When asked about it, a professional presenter at a recent conference said people just don't get it. I think he's right. I'm not sure I really get it either, but maybe this falls in the category of knowing what I don't know. When I was debating between an iPhone and a Blackberry, I read a review that said the individual using the iPhone felt like he was using a phone for 2012 or 2014 rather than a phone for 2010 with the Blackberry. I think this offhanded comment may hold a lot of truth. Apple has historically ignored some of the criticism and negative feedback on products they put out initially. Some speculation for this and my personal belief is that these products are designed for what people will want/need in the future--2-3 years down the road. The success of their products in recent years may well prove that they are producing valid products that do meet consumer approval. The current paradigm doesn't always fit this product they put out, regardless of whether it is an iPhone or iPad or whatever. And they are okay with that because they are working into the future and pushing the envelop of what's possible, feasible, and useful. It is an edgy and provocative place to release products and be a successful company. Ultimately, much of Apple's success comes from their ability to get the user interface right in these products.

People commonly translate what they know to a new gadget or tool. I believe the iPad opens the door to transformation. It is a total paradigm shift that goes beyond simple tweaks. It's a new way of thinking. The iPhone was a stepping stone. However, a new generation of apps will open up that the iPhone could never handle. The gamechanging power of the iPad is not in the gadget but rather the platform that opens a new world of opportunity. I remember seeing a TV advertisement for the iPhone that said there was an app for everything. I kind of laughed at the exaggeration. However, an app does appears to exist for nearly everything. You can scan barcodes to find the cheapest prices of products while at the grocery store, wake up at the best time according to your sleep patterns, and even plan your family based on the most likely times of the month to conceive a child. It is absurd how many apps are out there.

The iPad taps into a mobile device market that is just blossoming right now and provides the platform for...well...whatever you want to do. (If you want more info on this subject, read the NMC's Horizon Report.) Don't get me wrong; it's not the end all. However, it is a gamechanging device which embraces transformation, not just a translation. Just a couple examples...by embracing media in a new way, I predict will begin seeing ebooks produced for the iPad that go beyond text on a screen. It may be text, images, videos, hyperlinked text, etc. that extends well beyond the current paradigm of book reading. If embraced by publishers, it could hugely impact digital textbooks which in my opinion have struggled to find great success and widespread use. The uses in classrooms are numerous. As a matter of fact, that again reinforces the point...it provides the platform for transformation. Ultimately, we will see uses that we never imagined for it. So, right or wrong...gamechanger.

Missing the Boat on 2.0

I recently read this post on the Google blog. It is titled "A Serious Threat to the Web in Italy."

The short version...some school bullies beat up an autistic schoolmate. They posted the video to Google Video. Google was notified and took it down immediately...within hours of its original posting. A public prosecutor in Milan indicted 4 Google executives, none of which had any direct link to the Italian posting. A Milan judge convicted them. Needless to say, Google is putting its full weight into a defense and appeal of the decisions.

As I read this post, it was clear to me that some of the key people from the Italian justice system fail to understand the nature of Web 2.0 or our current world. We have to understand our context and so often those around us fail to realize the reality we live in. We live in a world of not just consuming media but producing it. A weakness of this environment is all the junk that is produced and put on the web. Thank goodness for the many companies that take down illegal or inappropriate content. However, to say they cannot even allow these posts to exist and to hold them responsible turns the focus from the real issue...changing the deviant behavior that produced the content. Are we working as hard to prevent the bullying of an autistic child as we are to limit the medium that allowed them to share their work?

If you take away one sharing option, another will rise up like the Hydra of Greek mythology. It's too late to stop the prevalence of transparency and posting of content to the world. We need to do everything we can to instill morals and ethics into our producers of content. It's a never-ending imperative and we will never get it perfect--but we must try.

A Wiki Adventure

I recently had the opportunity to get an iPhone. After using it for nearly a month, I have found it to be a great tool for me and supports my mobile life of working between 2 schools. Overall, it is a very impressive little gadget. One of the great things about the iPhone is the apps available to do various tasks. One commercial I saw for an iPhone stated there was an app for nearly everything. From my experience and searching the App store, it seems pretty true. At the same time, it can be a bit overwhelming.

A few months ago, I read a blog post by Jeff Utecht which referenced a wiki as putting something out there and just letting others run with it to see what develops. Another article I read this week discussed "crowdsourcing".

In an effort to sort through the many iPod Touch & iPhone apps, I started a wiki that is open to anyone to compile your favorite apps, a short review/description, and the price. We consume so much on the internet but perhaps this a place you can contribute. For some of you, you regularly interact with sites like this. For others, you'd rather stay away. What do you think? Why don't you give it a try and note your favorite apps? Be a contributor.

http://appletips.wikispaces.com/

Collaboration is hard...

Collaboration is hard. We throw this word around all the time as important and we speak of the need for it and yet it is extremely hard to attain. Sometimes we confuse it with cooperation. Cooperation means working together to achieve the same goal or end. Cooperation tends to lead to compromise depending on the situation. You work out what you can live with in order to achieve your goal.

Collaboration is a bit more complex. It requires true dialogue. We could define dialogue as exchanges or conversations between 2 people. In the original Greek context, it was an intellectual debate and exchange that developed discussion and led to rational, intellectual conclusions. The conclusion was not set at the beginning of the dialogue but the conclusion was reached through a journey of logic and rational arguments.

As we apply dialogue to the verb collaborate, it is not compromising a position. It is a sharing of ideas to create a position together. The process is a key ingredient to the outcome.

Within collaboration, an element of sacrifice is present. It is not about giving up an idea. It is about giving up some control. It means extending trust and faith to the person you are working with. It means it is okay to not have all the answers and to walk in with ideas that need to be molded. This is difficult. And it is much of what Web 2.0 is about. Web 2.0 allows, facilitates, and promotes collaboration, and content is seen in process. The transparency can be messy and unpredictable. Additionally, the content is frequently added to the conversation. My observation is that it is rarely taken away. For example, many Google docs become messy with time because people don't want to delete others' ideas. It is meant well and signifies respect for others' ideas. However, deleting some content is necessary to get to the final conclusion. This is where trust plays into engaging collaboration and the value placed on others.

Collaboration takes effort. It is not easy but as we practice and strive for it, it can become more a part of how we operate and our everyday interactions.

Automatic Captions

I recently saw this new feature discussed on the Google blog. It takes Youtube videos and automatically adds captions to them. The obvious application is the assistance to the hearing impaired. However, I think the potential of this type of technology is pretty cool, especially when applied to searching content without user effort to tag media.

Google also claims the captions can be downloaded into text. If you want to quote someone from a video, this makes it significantly easier. The use of captions can also be tied to certain cues in the video so you can skip to particular sections with ease.

Google translation tools can also translate video captions to other languages. Talk about crossing languages and making videos global...

A small blurb on the news but I see huge potential impacts and uses.