Comments for Digital Chalkie http://www.digitalchalkie.com Group blog for Learning & Technology Chalkies Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:18:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 Comment on Paul Fuller *LIVE* from the NECC by A trip to the Aquarium | Educating the Digital Generation http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/06/27/paul-fuller-live-from-the-necc/#comment-76183 A trip to the Aquarium | Educating the Digital Generation Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:19:52 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/06/27/paul-fuller-live-from-the-necc/#comment-76183 [...] with a group of teachers back in Perth. The idea of this interview (which you can listen to here) is to share my learning with teachers who couldn’t make it to this great conference. I then went [...] […] with a group of teachers back in Perth. The idea of this interview (which you can listen to here) is to share my learning with teachers who couldn’t make it to this great conference. I then went […]

]]> Comment on Second Life Best Practices in Education by Melanie http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55584 Melanie Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:33:12 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55584 Thank you Kim! I will definitely check out this link and see the developments for higher education on the SLED. Thank you Kim!

I will definitely check out this link and see the developments for higher education on the SLED.

]]> Comment on Second Life Best Practices in Education by Kim Flintoff http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55061 Kim Flintoff Sat, 13 Nov 2010 05:20:50 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55061 We have been using Second Life in a range of situations. Built a Wound Care Clinic with Curtin University for training nurses about wound care and the relationship between hand-washing and infection in a clinical setting, a collaborative project with Kings College London and functioning with some interprofessional dimensions (nurses and pharmacists working together). Several other projects also spring to mind. You'd probably get some better insights by joining the community at SLED (SL Education listserv) https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educators We have been using Second Life in a range of situations. Built a Wound Care Clinic with Curtin University for training nurses about wound care and the relationship between hand-washing and infection in a clinical setting, a collaborative project with Kings College London and functioning with some interprofessional dimensions (nurses and pharmacists working together).

Several other projects also spring to mind. You’d probably get some better insights by joining the community at SLED (SL Education listserv) https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educators

]]> Comment on Second Life Best Practices in Education by Melanie http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55058 Melanie Sat, 13 Nov 2010 04:41:26 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2007/05/15/second-life-best-practices-in-education-intl-conference/#comment-55058 Hello Paul, I am wondering, have continued to utilize SecondLife? Do you find that it has better user-friendly features? Do you find that your courses are easier to teach in this format? Is the VLC classroom a more conducive learning environment? Hello Paul,

I am wondering, have continued to utilize SecondLife? Do you find that it has better user-friendly features? Do you find that your courses are easier to teach in this format? Is the VLC classroom a more conducive learning environment?

]]> Comment on Email is for Old People by Melanie http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54520 Melanie Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:27:50 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54520 We may agree to disagree on the instant gratification society term, however when you look at new social network devices that are connected to mobile devices – there is an urgency that is attached to those applications. Email does not hold that same expectation. Emails are typically viewed as getting a response within 24 hours (48 hours on the weekend), whereas: tweets, texts, wall postings, etc. hold an expectation of being answered at a faster rate. A big portion in relation to your comments, I agree with you, is due to the limit of characters and the conversational information that occurs in those settings. However, these social network applications tend to be more informal, whereas an email may be considered a version of a “long-hand letter”- formal. This may address the next point as to why the education institutions cling to email, take into consideration that emails are formalized documents that may be considered academically appropriate. As educators, we are encouraged to teach our students in online learning environments that our forums are formalized written environments (i.e. grammar check, spell check, content rich, etc.). The expectation in the workplace is to conduct ourselves in a professional manner, writing a proper email is a necessity. However, many workplaces today utilize IM devices to notify individuals and/or groups as a sense of urgency (i.e. meeting in the conference room – 5 minutes). These messaging tools all hold value however I still believe that our society is beginning to focus on instant gratification due to our techie tools and rates of replies. It is only natural to expect answers right away when we receive them right away. Therefore, our behaviors may put the notion of emails out of business due to our own expectations. Please share your thoughts. We may agree to disagree on the instant gratification society term, however when you look at new social network devices that are connected to mobile devices – there is an urgency that is attached to those applications. Email does not hold that same expectation. Emails are typically viewed as getting a response within 24 hours (48 hours on the weekend), whereas: tweets, texts, wall postings, etc. hold an expectation of being answered at a faster rate. A big portion in relation to your comments, I agree with you, is due to the limit of characters and the conversational information that occurs in those settings. However, these social network applications tend to be more informal, whereas an email may be considered a version of a “long-hand letter”- formal.

This may address the next point as to why the education institutions cling to email, take into consideration that emails are formalized documents that may be considered academically appropriate. As educators, we are encouraged to teach our students in online learning environments that our forums are formalized written environments (i.e. grammar check, spell check, content rich, etc.). The expectation in the workplace is to conduct ourselves in a professional manner, writing a proper email is a necessity. However, many workplaces today utilize IM devices to notify individuals and/or groups as a sense of urgency (i.e. meeting in the conference room – 5 minutes).

These messaging tools all hold value however I still believe that our society is beginning to focus on instant gratification due to our techie tools and rates of replies. It is only natural to expect answers right away when we receive them right away. Therefore, our behaviors may put the notion of emails out of business due to our own expectations. Please share your thoughts.

]]> Comment on Email is for Old People by Kim Flintoff http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54504 Kim Flintoff Wed, 03 Nov 2010 14:53:45 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54504 "instant gratification society" - I'm not sure I'm part of that society. Educational institutions do not make decisions - people do. Which people in educational institutions will cling dearly to email? Email is a resource - but my experience working with many young people is that they often treat email as just a minor extension to other short message formats that they use. I seldom receive a lengthy discussion or elaboration of thoughts in email from many users, especially from young people. I suspect they frame the means of communication in very different ways to baby boomers like me. I don't think its outdated for any of us... I think young people have different expectations of their communication media. Email is txt and txt is shrt. Nothing necessarily instant or gratifying but it does get a mechanical task out of the way quickly. Email is cumbersome for someone used to 140 characters... part of the reason Twitter is popular. If I can keep my communication threads in a place where I can also keep tabs on friends, family and interesting people and things then it makes sense to do so... Facebook addresses all these elements. It allows a balance of public of private... email is too much behind closed doors... email takes me away from the places I want to be...and demands I give attention to things that aren't necessarily that much of a priority. Having said that I attend to about 500+ emails per day - and in my personal inbox if I get tired I simply SELECT ALL and DELETE... if there was anything really important it will surface again. Email is great... but its just one avenue and not always the best or most convenient. Just as I don't use a mobile phone - I use an iPod Touch and an iPad - I know many people (not the least my wife, and some of my employers) find that a very odd position...if they want to contact me they message me via email, facebook, twitter, etc... “instant gratification society” - I’m not sure I’m part of that society. Educational institutions do not make decisions - people do. Which people in educational institutions will cling dearly to email? Email is a resource - but my experience working with many young people is that they often treat email as just a minor extension to other short message formats that they use. I seldom receive a lengthy discussion or elaboration of thoughts in email from many users, especially from young people. I suspect they frame the means of communication in very different ways to baby boomers like me.

I don’t think its outdated for any of us… I think young people have different expectations of their communication media. Email is txt and txt is shrt. Nothing necessarily instant or gratifying but it does get a mechanical task out of the way quickly.

Email is cumbersome for someone used to 140 characters… part of the reason Twitter is popular. If I can keep my communication threads in a place where I can also keep tabs on friends, family and interesting people and things then it makes sense to do so… Facebook addresses all these elements. It allows a balance of public of private… email is too much behind closed doors…

email takes me away from the places I want to be…and demands I give attention to things that aren’t necessarily that much of a priority.

Having said that I attend to about 500+ emails per day - and in my personal inbox if I get tired I simply SELECT ALL and DELETE… if there was anything really important it will surface again.

Email is great… but its just one avenue and not always the best or most convenient. Just as I don’t use a mobile phone - I use an iPod Touch and an iPad - I know many people (not the least my wife, and some of my employers) find that a very odd position…if they want to contact me they message me via email, facebook, twitter, etc…

]]> Comment on Email is for Old People by Melanie http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54493 Melanie Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:34:43 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-54493 I agree that email is outdated in most settings. However, many educational institutions will cling dearly to email due to the aspect of "waiting before sending." Email is still a resource and an appropriate tool in those environments, however it may be considered too slow for our instant gratification society. What are your thoughts? I agree that email is outdated in most settings. However, many educational institutions will cling dearly to email due to the aspect of “waiting before sending.” Email is still a resource and an appropriate tool in those environments, however it may be considered too slow for our instant gratification society. What are your thoughts?

]]> Comment on Learning to change by Maryjane http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/05/11/learning-to-change/#comment-45701 Maryjane Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:07:04 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/05/11/learning-to-change/#comment-45701 This is incredible and we need to spread it to school districts. It was posted two years ago and I've not seen new policies or classroom innovations happen since then. People are afraid of what the kids might do. Hello - they are already doing it - let's capture their energy and rescue education from the depths! This is incredible and we need to spread it to school districts. It was posted two years ago and I’ve not seen new policies or classroom innovations happen since then. People are afraid of what the kids might do. Hello - they are already doing it - let’s capture their energy and rescue education from the depths!

]]> Comment on Email is for Old People by Suzanne http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-44637 Suzanne Fri, 21 May 2010 17:06:37 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-44637 I cannot help but think that this trend, while reflecting archetypal youth rejection of all things "adult," is also related to the digital immigrant/digital native thing. The young are very flexible, very willing to ride the crest of the new (whatever that may be) while older people tend to be more cautious and even resistant to change. This difference between them may be heightened by the relative comfort with technology and its changes. I cannot help but think that this trend, while reflecting archetypal youth rejection of all things “adult,” is also related to the digital immigrant/digital native thing. The young are very flexible, very willing to ride the crest of the new (whatever that may be) while older people tend to be more cautious and even resistant to change. This difference between them may be heightened by the relative comfort with technology and its changes.

]]> Comment on Email is for Old People by Maryjane http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-43911 Maryjane Sat, 15 May 2010 15:56:26 +0000 http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2008/11/22/email-is-for-old-people/#comment-43911 This made me laugh outloud. School districts are still discussing whether they'll give access to students for email; do all their business by email instead of walking next door and talking to someone; and wonder why there are so many requests for open records from the public. As an old person, I love FB because I can see what my grandchildren are doing; keep up with my friends of 30+ years; and socialize without the telephone in my ear. Some people, not just old people, need to get with it in order to enjoy the new communication tools out there. This made me laugh outloud. School districts are still discussing whether they’ll give access to students for email; do all their business by email instead of walking next door and talking to someone; and wonder why there are so many requests for open records from the public.

As an old person, I love FB because I can see what my grandchildren are doing; keep up with my friends of 30+ years; and socialize without the telephone in my ear.

Some people, not just old people, need to get with it in order to enjoy the new communication tools out there.

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