Ustream.tv has interested me for quite a while. However, I've never been at the right place at the right time to really appreciate it. Today I caught a Tweet that Obama was speaking live in Virginia on Ustream. It was great.
I'm not committed to a candidate yet (in any party), yet there was certainly something special about hearing him speak live and in the moment. This just doesn't seem to come through as well for me in a recorded version. This is entirely mental on my side, but it just seemed to make a difference. I can now better understand the buzz about him.
This is really where video blogging will take off. I don't want you to polish it. Just send it to me in real-time with an option to go back and watch pre-recorded stuff. With the ability to stream from phones and cameras coming built-in to many new laptops, this will be a great movement. It will take citizen journalism to new heights. No longer are we only competing with print publications, but we are competing with broadcast news.
After watching Obama, I flipped around a little bit then decided to stream something of my own. Streaming Daehakro (University Street) in Seoul from the 2nd floor window of a Starbucks.
Not too exciting, but it does what I want it to do. It shows that a scene like this in Korea isn't too much different from scenes in other major cities. Too often we exoticize (is that a word?) other cultures. We focus on differences and exotic elements in other cultures that have very little to do with the day to day lives of people in those cultures. Korea is often portrayed with Hanbok (traditional dress for men and women) and kimchi, even by Koreans in America (or other country). Showing similarities doesn't cut it on international day at school :)
There is a lot to be said for the mundane. Show videos of street scenes like this. Show videos of subway riders. Show videos while walking through the Seoul downtown. Korea has come a long way from villagers in huts as portrayed by M.A.S.H., yet many people don't have a sense of this. Though they might have daily interactions with Koreans, they often think that they escaped in impoverished existence by immigrating to [country name here] to start a new life. For anyone who lives here, that is silly, but it is a common belief that I have heard many times before.
Cheers to Ustream.tv and other services that allow us to broadcast the mundane.
Dan
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Go Fix the Web! (A case for micropresentations)
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Go Fix the Web! (A case for micropresentations)
I don't know why I continue to blog. Vicki Davis does it much better and with finds like this, I can just bow in her general direction.
This is regarding a presentation video giving on "fixing the Web", which is in reference to using scripting agents (plug-ins for Firefox) to change the viewing experience for Web pages. In the example given, Paul Fenwick describes how to do this with MySpace. He goes on to show people how to remove entire sections, which can selectively include advertisements, updates, and other elements that can contain questionable content.
Using tools like GreaseMonkey, a teacher can modify the viewing experience to reduce the likelihood of coming across something that might get them put in front of a judge :)
This could go a long way to allaying fears that admins have of these spaces. However, problems do exist. (1) This looks easy, but it's still a lot of work. I imagine that these solutions could be scripted by tech staff or, better, by outside companies. So instead of offering blocked-surfing, they could offer mod-surfing. (2) Large media companies will eventually find ways to dodge this scripting or even legally remove it. This is a serious threat to their business models and really copyright infringement. These scripts modify designs and take decisions away from creators on how their creations are used. (3) It's easier to block than to modify. Admins will take the easier, cheaper way out if given the chance.
Great start, though, and a possible way for innovative teachers to get access to pages that might otherwise need to be blocked.
Dan
I don't know why I continue to blog. Vicki Davis does it much better and with finds like this, I can just bow in her general direction.
This is regarding a presentation video giving on "fixing the Web", which is in reference to using scripting agents (plug-ins for Firefox) to change the viewing experience for Web pages. In the example given, Paul Fenwick describes how to do this with MySpace. He goes on to show people how to remove entire sections, which can selectively include advertisements, updates, and other elements that can contain questionable content.
Using tools like GreaseMonkey, a teacher can modify the viewing experience to reduce the likelihood of coming across something that might get them put in front of a judge :)
This could go a long way to allaying fears that admins have of these spaces. However, problems do exist. (1) This looks easy, but it's still a lot of work. I imagine that these solutions could be scripted by tech staff or, better, by outside companies. So instead of offering blocked-surfing, they could offer mod-surfing. (2) Large media companies will eventually find ways to dodge this scripting or even legally remove it. This is a serious threat to their business models and really copyright infringement. These scripts modify designs and take decisions away from creators on how their creations are used. (3) It's easier to block than to modify. Admins will take the easier, cheaper way out if given the chance.
Great start, though, and a possible way for innovative teachers to get access to pages that might otherwise need to be blocked.
Dan
Can’t Learn English Without Native Speakers? : Korea Beat
Can’t Learn English Without Native Speakers? : Korea Beat
Ooohhhh, the times they are a changin'
The winds of change are beginning to blow in Korea. Education officials are beginning to understand that there are alternatives to importing tens of thousands of English "teachers" (is teacher a title or qualification?) into the country. Finally, someone has woken up and realized that Korea's huge Internet pipes and national broadband (even in rural areas) can be used for innovative approaches to educating their children.
When it comes to English education in Korea there are many problems batted about by politicians, educators, and researchers. It's tough to come to conclusions with so many different opinions out there. However, I think that most agree on at least 2 serious issues: (1) Qualifications of English Teachers and (2) the Number of English Teachers.
I think that looking to the Internet is a good start for dealing with both of these issues. There is no reason to cite a lack of qualified English teachers when considering the global pool of teachers. There are plenty of Teachers who are qualified either with general teaching credentials or specifically with TESOL certifications or ESL licenses. All that is needed to get them into Korean classrooms is teacher training, a curriculum, and access to technology developed specifically for this type of distance instruction.
I don't want to make it sound like this is THE answer to all of the issues with English education in Korea. Not only does this not solve them all, but it creates some training and infrastructure issues as well. However, as this article states, it is a great option for regions that cannot get highly qualified English teachers (Korea or other) as well as for other schools that want that extra interaction with native speakers of the language.
Dan
Ooohhhh, the times they are a changin'
The winds of change are beginning to blow in Korea. Education officials are beginning to understand that there are alternatives to importing tens of thousands of English "teachers" (is teacher a title or qualification?) into the country. Finally, someone has woken up and realized that Korea's huge Internet pipes and national broadband (even in rural areas) can be used for innovative approaches to educating their children.
When it comes to English education in Korea there are many problems batted about by politicians, educators, and researchers. It's tough to come to conclusions with so many different opinions out there. However, I think that most agree on at least 2 serious issues: (1) Qualifications of English Teachers and (2) the Number of English Teachers.
I think that looking to the Internet is a good start for dealing with both of these issues. There is no reason to cite a lack of qualified English teachers when considering the global pool of teachers. There are plenty of Teachers who are qualified either with general teaching credentials or specifically with TESOL certifications or ESL licenses. All that is needed to get them into Korean classrooms is teacher training, a curriculum, and access to technology developed specifically for this type of distance instruction.
I don't want to make it sound like this is THE answer to all of the issues with English education in Korea. Not only does this not solve them all, but it creates some training and infrastructure issues as well. However, as this article states, it is a great option for regions that cannot get highly qualified English teachers (Korea or other) as well as for other schools that want that extra interaction with native speakers of the language.
Dan
Monday, February 4, 2008
celtx - Integrated Media Pre-Production
celtx - Integrated Media Pre-Production
celtx is an incredible piece of software. It will (or should) change the way that we do media projects with our learners. While I'm sure that many teachers have learners plan media projects out before doing them (ever try doing ad-lib with ESL students?), many others say "Go create!" This software provides a nice, intuitive framework to do the preparation necessary to create better projects and to structure the learning process to get more out of a project than the final product.
When I talk about media development, I'm referring to all sorts of media, from text to video to audio. This can be used well with expository/narrative/etc texts, screen/play-writing, audio/video (program) planning, and many other projects.
For language teachers, this process not only makes the production process better, but it also provides a great opportunity to structure the prep-work to accomplish language goals. The interactions and sub-production work (brainstorming, note taking, interviewing, script-writing, etc...) are where we, as teachers, should be focusing our attention. These tasks are where much of the designed learning should come from.
The biggest drawback of celtx is that it is only available to share in a propriety format (software is free, so I'm not complaining too much). So, you are going to have to have everyone involved load it on their machines. Not THAT much of a drawback, I guess.
Dan
celtx is an incredible piece of software. It will (or should) change the way that we do media projects with our learners. While I'm sure that many teachers have learners plan media projects out before doing them (ever try doing ad-lib with ESL students?), many others say "Go create!" This software provides a nice, intuitive framework to do the preparation necessary to create better projects and to structure the learning process to get more out of a project than the final product.
When I talk about media development, I'm referring to all sorts of media, from text to video to audio. This can be used well with expository/narrative/etc texts, screen/play-writing, audio/video (program) planning, and many other projects.
For language teachers, this process not only makes the production process better, but it also provides a great opportunity to structure the prep-work to accomplish language goals. The interactions and sub-production work (brainstorming, note taking, interviewing, script-writing, etc...) are where we, as teachers, should be focusing our attention. These tasks are where much of the designed learning should come from.
The biggest drawback of celtx is that it is only available to share in a propriety format (software is free, so I'm not complaining too much). So, you are going to have to have everyone involved load it on their machines. Not THAT much of a drawback, I guess.
Dan
Saturday, January 19, 2008
5 Embarrassing Grammatical Mistakes - MSN Encarta
5 Embarrassing Grammatical Mistakes - MSN Encarta
I'm not sure which blog to put this one in, so I guess I'll just do it in a few (sorry for the duplication if you read more than one).
This post just agreed with my inner English teacher. Now, I don't freak out over these mistakes, but they are certainly one that I commend on. Many people might not even notice these mistakes but those who do are often unforgiving about such errors.
She starts out describing typographical errors, which, lets be honest, happen to everyone. I can't believe that some typos on his Web page sealed his fate. If it were a piece of past professional work, I'd understand. So, I hope this it was more than just his blog :)
Of the 5 errors, the most difficult are the misplaced modifiers for both native and non-native speakers (writers) of English. The rest are strictly grammar rules, but knowing where to put the modifier is not. Grammatically, it can go just about anywhere in the sentence; however, pragmatically, it certainly cannot. Their aren't any set rules for this that I'm aware of.
Take a look at these. It may save you from future embarrassment.
Also, did you notice that I made one of each of these mistakes in my post above. Though, the misplaced modifier isn't too awkward. See if you can find them.
Dan
I'm not sure which blog to put this one in, so I guess I'll just do it in a few (sorry for the duplication if you read more than one).
This post just agreed with my inner English teacher. Now, I don't freak out over these mistakes, but they are certainly one that I commend on. Many people might not even notice these mistakes but those who do are often unforgiving about such errors.
She starts out describing typographical errors, which, lets be honest, happen to everyone. I can't believe that some typos on his Web page sealed his fate. If it were a piece of past professional work, I'd understand. So, I hope this it was more than just his blog :)
Of the 5 errors, the most difficult are the misplaced modifiers for both native and non-native speakers (writers) of English. The rest are strictly grammar rules, but knowing where to put the modifier is not. Grammatically, it can go just about anywhere in the sentence; however, pragmatically, it certainly cannot. Their aren't any set rules for this that I'm aware of.
Take a look at these. It may save you from future embarrassment.
Also, did you notice that I made one of each of these mistakes in my post above. Though, the misplaced modifier isn't too awkward. See if you can find them.
Dan
Friday, January 18, 2008
Twitter tips from the #1 Tweeterboarder (Uh, that's me)
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Twitter tips from the #1 Tweeterboarder (Uh, that's me)
Another cool post from Cool Cat Teacher. It starts out about Tweeterboard, which isn't too interesting to me. However, her explanation of how she got the #1 spot was interesting. Not because I aim to do it, but because she thinks that she got there based on a Tweeter Poll (her term) that she took.
The poll just asked her followers to chime in on who and where they are and what they do. She lists the impressive list of responses from people all over the world, doing many jobs in and around education. Her point is not, "Look how cool I am," but rather with a little effort and the right technologies, look at the professional network that I have access to. This is the beauty of social networking tools for professionals.
Dan
Another cool post from Cool Cat Teacher. It starts out about Tweeterboard, which isn't too interesting to me. However, her explanation of how she got the #1 spot was interesting. Not because I aim to do it, but because she thinks that she got there based on a Tweeter Poll (her term) that she took.
The poll just asked her followers to chime in on who and where they are and what they do. She lists the impressive list of responses from people all over the world, doing many jobs in and around education. Her point is not, "Look how cool I am," but rather with a little effort and the right technologies, look at the professional network that I have access to. This is the beauty of social networking tools for professionals.
Dan
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
YouTube - Did You Know 2.0
YouTube - Did You Know 2.0
I'm likely behind on promoting this video, but better late than never. It isn't a new message, but it's a great new way to present the message.
What is the message, you ask? It's that our approach to education (and policies across the board) need to change in order to compete in the 21st Century. Education needs to stay ahead of the change instead of consistently lagging behind.
We, as a global society, need to consider not only how our physical neighbors will fare in this change, but how the rest of the increasingly connected world will as well. I'm weaving in my personal interpretation here, but I have a feeling that the producers would agree.
Enjoy.
Dan
I'm likely behind on promoting this video, but better late than never. It isn't a new message, but it's a great new way to present the message.
What is the message, you ask? It's that our approach to education (and policies across the board) need to change in order to compete in the 21st Century. Education needs to stay ahead of the change instead of consistently lagging behind.
We, as a global society, need to consider not only how our physical neighbors will fare in this change, but how the rest of the increasingly connected world will as well. I'm weaving in my personal interpretation here, but I have a feeling that the producers would agree.
Enjoy.
Dan
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