Virtual Gardening

Image via Wikipedia

Well… this is the first day of my Gardening Leave. I’d only ever heard the phrase in TV dramas, usually when a Police Officer needs to be taken off a case for some technical reason.  So, of course – I looked it up.

Yep, I guess I could be seen as a potential threat, having full access to the IT systems, etc.  However, I worked for the same college for 12 years and never once abused the trust they placed in me.  But, I can see their point – and to be honest, I’d probably do the same.

Our garden is immaculate at the moment because we’re selling our house.  I suppose I could play a virtual gardening game on my computer – but my limit is Pacman, Space Invaders, Galaxians, Defender (1980s original arcade games).

I do have a couple of jobs on, I’ve got to prepare some material and work out my banter for the session I’m co-presenting at the JISC Conference next week in Liverpool.  I’m also going to be co-creating a podcast on Wednesday.  Plus, there are the usual bits & pieces to do around the house.

Tell you what… I am missing my iPhone already.  I’ve got an ‘old’ hand-me-down Windows Mobile now – it’s awful.  I think my first kit purchase will have to be an iPhone or iPad.  You don’t always realise how good certain items of technology are until you don’t have them.

Related Articles

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LSIS – Excellence Gateway

Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar or bust

I was asked by David Sugden to join an advisory group investigating Social Media (Web2.0) for the LSIS Excellence Gateway.  Our first face-to-face meeting took place yesterday at Ashton Sixth Form College in the MoLeNET Academy. [ a very productive way to spend my day off ]

We have a great group of people from across the Post 16 sector, who all bring many different viewpoints, ideas and experiences of Web2.0 (which we are actually calling ‘stuff’, for now).  Without going into the subplot – we’ve established a few things about ‘stuff’… fundamentally – it’s difficult to put a finger on what ‘stuff’ actually is.  I know I’ll probably get people posting comments about what Web2.0 is… however – give a bunch of people a few hours and they’ll come away with very different views.

Do you want to know about the journey?  OK – The train from Liverpool to Stalybridge was on time until we got somewhere near to Warrington, then for some reason the train slowed to walking pace because there were a few leaves on the track.  Alright – I was 10 mins late, which didn’t matter really as I was technically still early for the meeting.

The return journey was far more eventful.  David mentioned the Stalybridge Station Buffet Bar

Attribution Share Alike Some rights reserved by Matthew Black

- which is a sort of cross between a sweet shop & an olden-days pub.  It would have been rude not to make use of its facilities.  There was a nice roaring open fire, a few Locals, some strange beer (I had ‘American Werewolf in Wigan’) and unique decor.  There was even a guy from the Sunday Telegraph taking photos [keep your eyes out later this month]… However, the trains home were awful – either very late or canceled. I’m sort of getting used to eventful rail journeys home now, which is lucky really because they seem to be on the increase.

Anyway, as Ronnie Corbett would say – I digress.  Our meeting was productive, we’re currently collaborating online and will be meeting up again soon. Great to meet some new folk and catch-up with those I already knew.

I’m sure there’ll be another blog entry about LSIS Excellence Gateway very soon.

Fidgetal Natives

If you’re in the learning technology game – you’ll no doubt have already heard of the term Digital Natives coined by Marc Prensky. Whether you agree with him or not, there is, at least, some mileage in mulling over the concept.

Having two teenage lads at home, I’ve often watched the way they interact with technology & asked questions about what they do and why they do it.  I’m not so certain that they are ‘digital natives’ in the true sense whereby they are so comfortable with technology that they know how to use everything properly and efficiently.  They have neither the interest nor the inclination in learning how to use technology properly.  And I do mean ‘learn’.  When it comes to technology… we all have to learn.  Perhaps some learn faster than others because they are interested or have better access to technology at an earlier age?

One thing I do notice is their general lack of attention span – does that make them ‘Fidgetal Natives’?  I guess that a person will give as much attention to an activity, based on how interested they are in that activity.  That’s nothing new.  So why should there be a generation of Digital Natives who are interested in technology?  The proliferation of technology in the home does mean that children grown up surrounded by technology – but does that make them interested in it or naturally adept at using it?

I think that as with any other area of life, technology is only as important as you make it.  If you’re not interested in it – fair enough, why should you be?

Don't Tweet Me This Way

Does anyone know what has happened to TwittFon? (sic) I can still use it on my desktop… but the App has gone from iPhone store…
I even searched the web and found nothing to hint at it’s demise. I got quite attached to that App

'Teens' verdict on Twitter? They don't give two Tweets – Apparently.

There have been a few articles circulating on the web this week about teenage use (or rather – not use) of social networking, etc. I’m still reading over a few of the articles and going to dig a little further on this, as it is of interest.
Watch this space! Back soon… Meanwhile, take a read of some yourself – see what you think, then post me some comment.

• Pontydsgu – Bridge to Learning
• BBC News Facebook Mobile
• Generation Y and Twitter
• Computers and Student Learning
• Digital natives?

Wow – there is a great debate going on with colleagues and friends on my Facebook page, since I’ve posted this blog entry up…. I’m hoping they might let me use their views to further construct something on my blog or wiki page.

If you aint read this yet…

…you haven’t missed out on anything profound.

Just a little social experiment to see if I get any more readers, because of the titles of my blog entries.

Well, now you’re here, you might as well hang out a little while longer.  My blog seems to be taking shape now, after getting off the ground on WordPress about a month ago.  For those who don’t know, here’s the story so far…

Blog I – is a journal about my allotment, which I’ve been keeping for about 2 years now on Blogspot.  It needs a little updating – but I’ll get round to it – no rush.  Blog II & III were also hosted on Blogspot, they were for my MA work, but I found they were faltering on technical grounds and also I had sensed that Blogs written on WordPress look so much cleaner.  That’s what lead me here. So now I have consolidated my MA blogs (anything older than June 2009) and have begun some fresh blogging here on WordPress.

So, yes – it’s all taking shape nicely.  On reflection, I seem to be writing about educational technology/eLearning/mLeaning etc, weekdays and on weekends, I mix in anything and everything I’m doing – which has either an academic or a technological intererst.

Thanks for stopping by, have a nice day and check back soon.

Gallery tech

Saw an ad in the paper for a Whistler exhibition at the Lady Lever art gallery -so decided to pop on over.
Whenever I visit galleries, I always check-out the ‘tech’ – visitor interactivity, etc.
Lady Lever is one of those really grand buildings from the last Century – and has the largest collection of Wedgewood I’ve ever seen (seriously, room after room of it)
The tech is quite old-school. A few symbols around that look like a wifi sign- that indicates that you stick a device (not unlike the very first cellphones) next to your ear. That’s it. That’s the tech.
The gallery was really busy, which was nice to see but it still felt like you were walking around an old museum – not really vibrant or inspiring.
The J.M. Whistler display is on loan from the Huntarian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.
There is also quite a large collection of Pre-Raphealite paintings.

Oh – and then it was pouring with rain, so I had to shelter a while.  When I stepped out, there were lots of puddles, and I noticed this oil which must have leaked out of a car.

and now I’m wanting to buy a Polaroid… I used to have lots of them, way back – but can’t remember what happened to them   I hope they come out with an iPhone driver for the Polaroid Pogo – I’d buy one of those tomorrow!

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From my Twitpic collection

Atkinson doorway

Atkinson doorway

Originally uploaded by colhawksworth

Had a little spare time in Southport and came across the Atkinson Art Gallery. I never knew this gallery existed. The building looks quite Victorian Gothic and grand, unfortunately the interior is in need of a lot of TLC. It is shamefully shabby!
I was amazed to find some pieces by famous artists – Duncan Grant, L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, Walter Sickert, Jacob Epstein…. they look so out of place in such a run-down set of rooms.

I wonder if I’ve become too used to seeing nice bright, well funded galleries recently? Typically, I’m either a member or I pay at galleries – this one is publicly owned and operated.  It got me thinking about information and data-banks, etc.  Large systems, well funded, popular data searches, etc. Vs Small systems, little/no funding, specialized searches.  Some well known websites house lots of data, which can be quite bland and uninformative?  Smaller specialized sites, can contain very accurate information.

I guess this is a little like the guy I met, who was out and about researching at the Gallery and Library for his book – he wanted some specific localized data, that was not available on the Internet.

Meet you at the watercooler?

1004 – Mary Jo Talking to the Group in a Circle 3 09-30-04

Original photo by firelace

Hands up, who prefers to collaborate or work in a predominantly F2F environment? (of course I can’t see your hands… unless you post a reply to this and include a photo).  Do you like to meet at the watercooler?

Web2.0 has opened-up many more opportunities for us to collaborate with more and more like-minded people, regardless of our location.  Many of these tools are social-based and afford communication and collaboration at a distance – are they simply replicating our natural desires to communicate?

How many different online groups are you a member of?  For me…. I have to say – I don’t know – there are so many.

How many F2F groups are you a member of?   I think for me, in work about 6 – in my social life about 4.

Here’s one to ponder – Why do many of us still travel to work when we could, in theory, work from home?

Thoughts on "Facebook use = lower grades"

With reference to the recent articles circulating on the Web regarding:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/tech/Study_Facebook_Hurts_Grades

and after reading (via Twitter) @zephoria about the purported “Facebook use = lower grades” study, check out @eszter’s critique: http://bit.ly/T8kgJ

I certainly see this incident as an example of why we ought not to immediately trust everything we read on a website or in the wider media. It appears that there are possible flaws in the original ‘research’ and also the way it has been reported.

The one thing that does stand-out for me, is that Facebook and many other collaborative/Social Networking sites have the potential to become a major distraction for students. That is not to say it is the only distraction; TV, radio, film, sports, parties etc. all have the potential to become distractions.

Perhaps it is because SN is so readily available on the very tool that students use for their work – the PC/Internet?