Information Overloaded

I went to the NECC 2008 conference in San Antonio, Texas and thought I would bring my notes and links together on a wiki so I don’t forget all the great things I heard at the sessions.

Care to take a peek at what pulled together?   http://neccsessions.wikispaces.com

During a school visit one day I was struck by the talent that our students possess. Their artwork work was smartly framed on the walls for everyone in the school to see.

I thought it would be neat to put this on a website so even more people could enjoy it. I contacted some of the Art teachers in the District and we are now in the process of collecting and showcase their work on our Virtual Art Gallery website.

But it gets better! The Literacy Mentor and I were talking a few months ago and we are hoping to use the site to teach Middle School students how to comment on artwork. We are hoping to be able to link students’ comments about the art to the actual piece on the website!

Cool!

http://virtualartgallery.nbed.nb.ca

Mr. Lessig has hit the nail on the head when he talks about the effects of the read/write web on our kids in his Ted Talk entitled, “How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law”.

Larry Lessig is a Law Professor, and the founder of Creative Commons, a license that enables creators to legally allow their work to be remixed and shared without breaking copyright laws. He talks about how kids today are not willing to settle into the passive consumer role like we were.

That made me think of something….I have been thinking about the old days when people did not question practices or comment negatively on things that nurses, doctors, and teachers were doing. They believed everything they were told!

Today is so different. We are a more critical society and take an active and role in our family’s health and education. We ask questions, do research, and look for alternatives. This is a good thing.

However, when it comes to media, we are much more passive. We accept the bad shows on TV and allow ourselves to be docile consumers.

This is not the case with our kids! They make and watch their own content! They are not passive consumers- they produce and create and are unwilling to just sit back and be entertained. They do it because they have something to say and an audience that will listen.

I think our kids will look back at us watching tv and wonder why were were so passive, and wonder why we didn’t create…

Powerful stuff! You’ve got to watch this one!

In 1991 I took a course called “Sociology of Communications”. We studied Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian Professor of English who was interested in media and communication and coined the well-known phrase – “the medium is the message” .

Ironically enough, I typed my Marshall McLuhan essay about the need to be producers and creators of media for that course on my Smith Corona electric typewriter (while wishing I could afford a Mac Classic like my roomate).

My audience for my labors was Professor Peter Weeks and the blue plastic storage box in my garage where those papers currently reside. My typewriter became my message; I got an A and passed the course and my ideas….well they are still in my garage.

I guess the point in all my ramblings is this–now when I write, I have the potential to have a real global audience. I write for more than my plastic storage bin and the professor that will give me marks.

The same can be said for the students we teach… and the same can be said for Mr McLuhan.

I can’t help wondering what he would think of his own interviews being on Youtube. No longer do you have to sit in a university course and buy a $150 text book to learn about Marshall McLuhan. I can google his name and read about him on a website; I can watch his interviews on youtube, and I can even hear his radio interviews.

The participatory nature of our changing Web would really have him saying, “I told you so”. (Check out the video below)

I was reading on Chris Brogan’s blog a while back and he wrote a post that I thought was very clever, called ” 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write.” Well Chris, this one’ s for you.

I love Facebook. I can’t help it. And here is one of the many reasons why.

I live approximately 2 hours from my 84 year old grandmother. She lives alone and does not drive. About 3 years ago at Christmas time she was at my parents’ home and I asked her if she would like to sit down an play a game with someone online. She had never been near a computer before.

Needless to say, the rest is history.

The quality of Nanny’s life took a dramatic turn for the better once she purchased her 500$ eMachine from Tiger Direct. She is connected in a way that every 85 year old should be. She banks online, chats with family and friends on MSN, uploads pictures of the sunset she has captured on her new digital camera that she just received for her birthday, and plays games on one of her favorite sites, Pogo. She decided to treat herself to a Christmas present last year and bought herself the Club Pogo membership online.

While other ladies her age are moaning about aches and pains, my nan is commenting on my latest vacation pictures that I posted, scanning old pictures and writing the back story behind them, and discussing the benefits of Vista on her new computer [she is now on her second one].

She is connected, busy, and has become a very active part of an online community that consists of her family and friends through Facebook.

I must go check my Facebook profile. I think it’s my turn at Scrabble and I don’ t want to keep Nan waiting. She likes to win.