Have a listen to this audioblog post (620 KB) and contribute an audio comment of your own to the discussion, if you like.
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Author: jdmiller
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Current Events
Every year when teaching Social Studies 8 I would try to find time for current events. It is a rich curriculum, which I never adequately cover. Although current events are more relevant than the horsemanship skills of the Mongols, It was a curricular area I never got to, until I started putting it online last year. What allowed me to do this was
nicenet a non-profit service for educators which is very simple, but allows for the posting of links and documents and for online discussions. Some of the topics which I have covered in the last year are gay marriage, the Iraq invasion, the coup in Haiti and the Dalai Lama’s visit. This past week we discussed whether or not the US election was rigged. Here are the links which I used.
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New York Post
USA Today
WSOCTV
Global Research
CBC
I asked the students to first read the links, then respond to whether or not they think that Bush won fairly or if they think that he rigged the election. I began, as usual, by being the first to post, and by posting from both extreme sides of the case. As usual, the discussion was very interesting. Each student then has to summarize the discussion and submit his or her two best posts.
Before embarking on this project, I have to teach students how to critically read online and how to discuss online. Grade eights can easily learn this.
As moderator, it is interesting for me to step back from the arguments which I see as particularly naive or radical.
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Quality Hypermedia
George Landow: Evaluating quality in hypermedia
I found this by scanning the del.icio.us/tag/hypertext feed which I’ve subscribed to using bloglines.
“What is quality in hypertext? How, in other words, do we judge a hypertext collection of documents (or web) to be successful or unsuccessful, to be good or bad as hypertext? How can we judge if a particular hypertext achieves elegance or just mediocrity? Those questions lead to another: what in particular is good about hypertext?”
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annotated del.icio.us tags
I’m blogging this from Flickr where I posted a extispicious generated image of my del.icis.us tags. I discovered that flickr photo notes are a convenient way to annotate the sometimes cryptic flickr tags. It is very interesting how all these tools work together to form an ecology of emergent possibilities.
News Reader is software for reading and playing the network news environment. News Reader initially offers the current “top stories” from Yahoo! News — which are always drawn from mainstream sources. Playing these stories brings forth texts generated from alternative press stories, portions of which are (through interaction) introduced into the starting texts, gradually altering them. News Reader is an artwork designed for daily use, providing an at times humorous, at times disturbing experience of our news and the chains of language that run through it.
I found the interface took a bit of getting used to, but it was fun — and the project points to some interesting new directions on how text environments can be turned inside out online.
Via Grand Text Auto.
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Two useful resources…
Via Scott Leslie at EdTechPost, comes a nifty service from RedLightGreen:
RedLightGreen is a service from the Research Libraries Group (get it?) that allows users to search over 130 million library catalogue entries. The user can then automatically create citations in either MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian styles, and with one click also check their local library for title availability. The service is free to anyone; if you are like me and only have to do academic citations irregularly, this is invaluable. — SWL
Oh, do I wish that had existed when I was in grad school. Quoting David Mattison, “This is a killer service, the Amazon of academic library research.”
On another front:
The Routes of English was a programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, it explored many aspects of the English language throughout the world, particularly variations in pronunciation and the sociolinguistic significance of such variations. The programme’s web site retains much that was of interest from the broadcasts, with a good number of audio extracts in ‘ram’ format (playable with RealPlayer, etc.). The site also features: links to related web pages; games; a question and answer section; and an online message board, though this does not appear to be well used. Although intended for a general audience, undergraduates new to English linguistics should find the site a fascinating introduction to the subject.
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High-tech highbrow stalking
Oh my, this is sooooo groovy.
‘Following “The Man of the Crowd”‘ is a 24-hour walk in which two participants, linked by text messaging, drift separately through the city in an alternating pattern according to the movements of strangers. Based loosely on Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “The Man of the Crowd” and inspired by Vito Acconci’s 1967 “Following Piece,” Ray and Walton have developed a collaborative performance that involves following strangers over a 24-hour period. Working as a team connected only through text messaging, the two will alternate turns following selected strangers through New York City.
While one participant is “following,” the other participant is resting, or “not following.” When the first participant’s stranger becomes “un-followable,” by entering the private space of a building or taking a taxi, for example, a text message is sent to activate the second participant who locates a new stranger to follow. The two participants, Ray and Walton, will enact this alternating cycle throughout the 24-hour period. While “on” they’ll maintain an intense awareness of a single stranger and his or her unknown destination. While “off,” they’ll rest and experience their present location. The switch from one participant to the other will be determined by the actions of the strangers, and may be exhaustingly rapid or frustratingly slow.
… The duration of the ‘Following “The Man of the Crowd”‘ project is not only a reflection of Poe’s story of obsession and endurance, but is also an expression of Ray and Walton’s desire to experience the city and its residents at all hours. Their hope is that strangers will lead them down paths never before taken as they weave a complex double route of randomness facilitated by the silent signals of mobile messages.
I know, I know… Gothic literature, mobile applications, uncanny subversion — this is Bryan Alexander’s turf. And yes, I lifted this posting from him.
Twined like the double spiral of the DNA molecule, the close coupling of language and consciousness is revealed in myths of language origin.
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Reactive Books by John Maeda
P22 is pleased to offer a selection of artist books which transcend the traditional limits and interactions of paper and the computer. These unique books were created by digital artist, John Maeda and produced by our Japanese associates, Digitalogue. John Maeda is currently a professor of design at MIT. Each book is 4 1/2″ x 6 1/4″ and contain a CD or floppy disk.
These “books” have already sold out, but you can get a sense of what they are about via these QuickTime previews.
If you are not familiar with John Meada’s work, he’s definitely worth a look. There’s more stuff than I can digest in one sitting… I was first exposed to his Java-based Calendars a few years ago… they still stand up as remarkable point-and-click delights.
Via Grand Text Auto.
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