Learning Diary

Cashmere & Marino sweater # prettytwisted #yyc

2012-01-15T17:34:00.001-07:00

Cashmere & Marino sweater # prettytwisted #yyc, a photo by therealprettytwisted on Flickr.

Cashmere & Marino sweater # prettytwisted #yyc

@SkiLouise ski friends

2011-11-11T18:29:00.001-07:00

@SkiLouise ski friends a video by dougsymington on Flickr.

@SkiLouise ski friends

Honour guard Remembrance Day Lake Louise

2011-11-11T16:38:00.001-07:00

Honour guard Remembrance Day Lake Louise, a photo by dougsymington on Flickr.

Honour guard Remembrance Day Lake Louise 11/11/11

#movember day 7

2011-11-07T21:12:00.001-07:00

#movember day 7, a photo by dougsymington on Flickr.

#movember day 7

Graffiti with Punctuation

2011-09-14T16:05:00.001-06:00

Ironic that I would be prompted to revisit my first blog with a post with a throwaway line from the movie Contagion. Blogging isn't writing, it's like graffiti with punctuation. This post also marks the first time I've used the blogger android client. Can't say this amounts to a trend, but we'll see how it turns out :-)

Denny

2011-06-06T20:13:00.001-06:00

Denny a video by dougsymington on Flickr.

The golf stylings of my buddy Denny; Lindsay, ON June 2007

Facebook seems very adept @ alienating its user base. Constant UI change to preclude complacency?

2010-02-08T23:23:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Fire

2010-02-03T13:21:00.001-07:00

Download now or watch on posterous

VID 00000.3GP (275 KB)

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Contemplating selling my trailer @ an RV park in a Saanichton, BC

2010-01-31T22:26:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Notwithstanding the fact I remain "without portfolio" (i.e. no steady employment gig) 2010 is off to a stellar start for me

2010-01-31T10:56:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Still looking for that dream gig in #yyc

2010-01-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Powerful RT @jenn: And the meme hits Digital Humanities:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VREJV--VHSw

2010-01-23T20:58:00.001-07:00

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Suffering from #netmonkey withdrawal

2010-01-23T20:21:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey contract complete with Alpine Canada, now looking for work in #yyc

2010-01-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 13

2010-01-18T13:11:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 12 -- Warden and his dog

2010-01-15T17:47:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 12 tower drop (video)

2010-01-15T17:37:00.001-07:00

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VID 00066.3GP (227 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 12 -- lift line hijinx (video)

2010-01-15T15:05:00.001-07:00

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VID 00065.3GP (374 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 12 -- abso--fracking--lutely puking @ the Lake today

2010-01-15T11:00:00.001-07:00

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Snow falling in Lake Louise -- it really is my favourite form of precipitation

2010-01-14T22:31:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 11 -- went 3 for 3 winning today's "Chinese Downhills" from Timing Flats thru Juniper Jungle @skilouise

2010-01-14T22:10:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 11

2010-01-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 10 -- crashed hard 4 times today and very thankful to have skied away from each

2010-01-13T21:16:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 10 (video) Ben w Net

2010-01-13T14:29:00.001-07:00

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VID 00048.3GP (618 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 10 (video) -- chairlift

2010-01-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

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VID 00052.3GP (787 KB)

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Seize the opportunities you get today to make your world a better place

2010-01-13T07:11:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Swing Break

2010-01-12T22:10:00.001-07:00

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VID 00043.3GP (395 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 9 -- snowball target

2010-01-12T21:56:00.001-07:00

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VID 00038.3GP (846 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Snow on Fallaway

2010-01-12T20:27:00.001-07:00

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VID 00037.3GP (614 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Moose on the track

2010-01-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 9 (video) Ben hitching a ride

2010-01-12T13:42:00.001-07:00

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VID 00034.3GP (398 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 9 -- sleigh ride (video)

2010-01-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

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VID 00033.3GP (676 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 8 included skiing down Fallaway w/ 7 Willy Bags (~300 lbs.) in tow

2010-01-12T00:27:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

12 days in, 2010 continues to amaze, engage and inspire me

2010-01-12T00:02:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Net Monkey: chairlift to job site (video)

2010-01-11T19:18:00.001-07:00

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VID 00027.3GP (2230 KB)

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Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

2010-01-11T18:40:00.001-07:00

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VID 00030.3GP (330 KB)

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Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

2010-01-11T18:36:00.001-07:00

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VID 00028.3GP (764 KB)

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Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

2010-01-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

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VID 00029.3GP (540 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 8 (video)

2010-01-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

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VID 00026.3GP (217 KB)

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Net Monkey: swing-break

2010-01-10T22:43:00.001-07:00

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VID 00020.3GP (239 KB)

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Net Monkey: More Day 7

2010-01-10T21:49:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: More Day 7 (video)

2010-01-10T18:42:00.001-07:00

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VID 00023.3GP (826 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 7

2010-01-10T14:20:00.001-07:00

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VID 00022.3GP (685 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 6

2010-01-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: More Day 5

2010-01-09T15:35:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: More Day 5

2010-01-09T14:21:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 5

2010-01-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey Morning Commute

2010-01-07T23:06:00.001-07:00

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VID 00018.3GP (572 KB)

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Piggyback on skis

2010-01-07T22:40:00.001-07:00

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VID 00019.3GP (374 KB)

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Net Monkey: Day 4

2010-01-07T21:52:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: More Day 4

2010-01-07T21:37:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: More Day 3

2010-01-07T07:45:00.001-07:00

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Net Monkey: Day 3

2010-01-07T07:15:00.001-07:00

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Today's Net Monkeying involved skiing w/ 80 lb loads and pulling nets up a 45 degree slope

2010-01-05T19:08:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Lake Louise

2010-01-05T18:09:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Not the cube farm, my kinda office

2010-01-05T08:51:00.001-07:00

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Curtain A-net

2010-01-05T07:50:00.003-07:00

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A-net wrapped

2010-01-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

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A-net tear-down

2010-01-05T07:48:00.001-07:00

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Survived my first day as a Net Monkey: most thankful tear-down isn't as demanding as setup

2010-01-04T21:05:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

My poor, frozen truck

2010-01-04T17:51:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from dougsymington's posterous

Only hours old: 2010 is off to an amazing start for me on a number fronts

2010-01-02T22:33:00.001-07:00

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Off to Lake Louise tomorrow for some contract work with Alpine Canada

2010-01-02T16:43:00.001-07:00

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Snowshoe Marc

2009-12-30T10:02:00.001-07:00

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Me and Marc

2009-12-30T09:56:00.001-07:00

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"The Marc" in his natural environment

2009-12-28T12:28:00.001-07:00

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VID 00010.3GP (664 KB)

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World's Yougest Webcaster

2008-09-14T17:05:00.001-06:00

Listening to Dave Cormier introduce "the world's youngest webcaster" on this week's edition of EdTechWeekly at http://edtechtalk.com/live

2008-07-05T01:47:00.001-06:00

Ping via email from BB

State of the Art

2008-03-03T03:08:00.003-07:00

I've been blogging in this space since the first week of 2002. It's been quite a ride. The web has gone from a static, page-turning experience to a more dynamic and participatory experience. At least it does for those with inclination and means to join and participate in the conversation.

Online environments require connections. As obvious as this is, it bears noting, and remembering, that the initial stages for new computers users can be daunting. Once connected, it's hard to know where to go from there. We spend our lives learning to navigate our world, and the "virtual" one has a cadence and characteristic all its own.

This space began as a repository for my rantings while an online Master of Education student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. The state of the art in 2008--at least on the software, and social connections, sides of the house--hasn't changed much at all. One could say that while the text-prominent approach we see today is different from that of six years ago, in the way it's being used.

Synchronous--or "quasi synchronous" interfaces ala Twitter --connections betray more of the personality behind the "avatar" in online interactions, thus making "interpersonal" connections more likely. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is another synchronous tool for making connections, and especially valuable for those for whom text-chatting is not possible.

Therein lies the rub. While being connected synchronously is the best way to make connections between and among "distributed" members of a community. The "getting them connected to the community" piece is many times insurmountable. Technology itself only plays a supporting role. The ebb and flow, the cadence of communication will vary considerably across communities.

Learning the rhythm of a particular space can take a while and that's why many will "lurk" (look with out contributing to the chat itself) upon approaching a new community to gain a handle on what constitutes the "culture" and the "rules of engagement" for the group.

That said, there are a number of common features I'd identify for successful online communities:

Members share a set of values

There is a common goal -- most typically associated with a problem or task -- that is being worked toward

Meritocracy in which individual contributors and producers distinguish themselves by their contributions to the community

The community is inclusive and asks itself, "How can we reach out and include those on the periphery?"[--in all senses of the term--]

post from "wireless device"

2007-12-22T02:18:00.000-07:00

I've posted from a cell phone to this space in the past; however, this one is courtesy of RIM and Google.

Thanks to the ESQCrew07

2007-08-01T02:12:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the crew from Esquimalt for the tour of BEBO today, and for getting my space tuned-up a bit. Big thank you as well to our hosts at the Songhees Employment and Learning Centre.

Doug Symington http://dougsymington.bebo.com/

Five Years and Counting

2007-01-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but today marks my fifth anniversary as a blogger. Jan 5, 2002 marked the beginning of my time as a blogger, and it's hard to believe that it's been that long. Of course there have been a lot of developments in and on the 'net in the time that I've been contributing to this space, and I fully expect many more in 2007.

I don't contribute to this space as much as I once did, but may come back to it in this coming year as Google adds more functionality and integration with their other tools. As always, watch this space for details, or check out "the latest" at samlab.com.

Season's Greetings

2006-12-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

A quick post with best wishes for Season's Greetings for all my readers. Of course, the lack of posts to this space over the past while means that this audience is slight, I wanted to take a moment to post and to wish any and all who stop by all the best over the holidays and into 2007. As regular readers know, I've been contributing more to my space at samlab over the past while.

Big Changes

2006-11-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

It's remarkable how this interface has changed in the time that I've been a member. I was just noticing that I became a "Pro" user early on in 2002 to keep the predecessor of this interface going.

Makes we wonder (again!) what my $50 USD, I think it was, investment in blogger in '02 might be worth in 2006 Google dollars, had I purchased a share....

Elgg Privacy: The Movie

2006-07-26T15:37:00.000-06:00

Elgg Privacy: The Movie

Songhees Nation Open House 2006

2006-06-27T11:55:00.000-06:00

Songhees Nation Open House 2006,
originally uploaded by dougsymington.

This is a picture I took on the weekend at the Songhees Nation Open House.

gradDayRose

2006-06-06T16:09:00.000-06:00

gradDayRose,
originally uploaded by dougsymington.

test post from flickr

My first Odeo 'cast

2006-06-02T18:37:00.000-06:00

Pulled in many directions

2006-05-23T13:49:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I posted and I wanted to drop a line to let you all know that I'm still out here, although I've been pulled in many directions the last while.

Apologies to those expecting an email response over the past few days--seems as though my email account at samlab.com is currently experiencing some "technical difficulties."

I'll try to keep up with posts to this space; however, I seem to be gravitating more toward samlab.com as of late....

Oscar

2006-05-04T10:06:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post to say that the young man referred to in my last is named Oscar.

He has his own web site.

BirthdayBlossom

2006-04-21T12:55:00.000-06:00

BirthdayBlossom,
originally uploaded by dougsymington.

Here's a picture for Dave and Bonnie's new baby. Congratulations to all! I'm really looking forward to following the cribchronicles

Extreme Closeup

2006-04-12T11:01:00.000-06:00

Extreme Closeup,
originally uploaded by dougsymington.

A picture of Sam at his favourite lake.

Apple Blossom Sam

2006-04-11T16:49:00.000-06:00

Apple Blossom Sam,
originally uploaded by dougsymington.

Here's a picture of an apple blossom and Sam from this afternoon.

Blogging--finding and making time

2006-04-07T17:22:00.000-06:00

It's been over a month since I've posted. This is due to a lot of factors, not the least of which is that I have so many different online spaces (with more coming online all the time, it seems) that it's hard to keep up with them all. That's all for now, just wanted to make a quick post to say that I'm still out here and will try to make more posts into the future.

Life online

2006-03-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's another whole month since I'm back here. Apologies to all, although it seems as tho' it's been one thing after another as of late with some difficulties I've been having with my samlab.com site. Due to recent "experiments" visitors on IE aren't able to see the front page. All's not lost; however, since it's possible to access "non-front" pages....

I also recognize that this is nothing compared to the turmoil experienced at worldbridges.com

Here's a map with clickable links to the rebuilding efforts at edtechtalk.com

One thing I heard at Northernvoice that sticks with me was the notion of web as ecosystem and how it supported all manner of lifeforms. This concept came into full relief for me this week.

Confererence Reflections

2006-02-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an experience. My head is still spinning trying to digest my experience at Moosecamp and Northern Voice this weekend. I can't begin to describe what a great experience it was for me. Julie Leung's keynote is a experience that I expect to resonate for me for a while.

Julie's take on narrative, voice, and the "masks" we wear on the web has particular relevance, I think, to many of the discussions taking place regarding the relative merits of public vs. private websites and the implications, especially, for K-12 educators and students, given concerns regarding privacy and personal security.

Another session that I thought was great, albeit too short, was the session that Bruce Sharpe of Singular Productions did on Friday at Moosecamp. Bruce is an audio engineer who does post-production work as a volunteer with ITConversations. His Great Podcast Sound for Cheap was a great session, although I'd have loved to have more time.

Other sessions that also seemed way too short from Friday, and that bear mention are the Photocamp that Kris Klug ran and Part II of Photocamp (Digital Workflow) that Eric Soroos conducted.

Another "photocamp-related" session was the "one-minute movie" session led by Roland. During the session Roland used an application called Picture to Movie to make a movie out of pictures he's taken, and those that other session participants had taken and uploaded to Flickr with the tag "moosecampmovie", and an original soundtrack called Camp Walk by Derek Miller of penmachine.com -- the result (actually a minute and a half in length) is a styling movie that I think captures the spirit of the event.

I was taken by the fact that everyone I approached expressed a willingness to be a guest for one of our weekly brainstorming sessions at edtechtalk.

Yet another example of how open and inclusive everyone in this community seems to be. I'm not naive enough to think that it's all "sunshine and roses" but it's just as obvious that there's a lot of goodwill and espirit de corps from the organizers through to the participants of this year's Moose Camp and Northern Voice conferences.

Speaking of organizers, a special tip of the hat to all the organizers and volunteers who worked so hard to make the "unconference" a success. I really enjoyed myself and feel very fortuante to have been introduced to so many great individuals doing such great stuff. Apologies for the "stream of consciousness" style of this post, but I'm still working on digesting this experience.

I feel as though my trip to Vancouver has opened up a whole new world for me in terms of introducing me a number of really capable and creative individuals, and providing an opportunity to meet some of "the giants" in the world of blogging in general (and edublogging in particular).

Indeed, the only downside from the whole experience is that I picked a really lousy time to misplace the USB cable for my camera, so I'm not able to make my contribution (just right now) to the pictures being posted to Flickr. The good news here is that a service like Flickr allows me to access the thousands of pictures that others have posted with the tags Moosecamp (currently 1154 pics) and Northernvoice (currently 2390 pics).

Blogging in Education at Northern Voice

2006-02-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a post from today by D'Arcy Norman The Vancouver Education Blogging Sessions from earlier in the week. Regular readers will know that I was able to listen in on the conversation via Skype, and did manage to capture a little bit of the audio from the Social Software Salon @ UBC on Thursday, which I played during the preshow for this week's EdTechTalk Brainstorming Session 22A.

As D'Arcy says in his post from today, Brian and Jason recorded audio from the session and will be posting these recordings -- I look forward to hearing these and will link to them once they're posted.

Unfortunately I missed yesterday's Edublogger Hootenanny due to the fact that I was "in transit" from Victoria and didn't get over in time; however, I'm happy to report that this afternoon's Blogging in Education
session will include "wrap-up of the Moose Camp Edublogger Hootenanny by Alan Levine (who has just posted the audio and notes from Nancy White's session this morning), D'Arcy Norman and Scott Leslie!" as an added bonus. I'll work on getting more audio and pics from the balance of the day and be back with more when I have it.

northernvoice

2006-02-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Quick post from the Northern Voice conference during the first coffee break for the day and the first hour and bit has been fantastic.

NOTE: I still fon't have pictures to post. Looks like I'm going to have to break down and buy a new USB cable for my camera. In the meanwhile, you can see the photos from Moosecamp and Northern Voice at Flickr.

We began this morning with Starting with Fire: Why Stories Are Essential and How to Blog Effective Tales by Julie Leung. Julie gave a great presentation which involved slides of photos and the role of narrative in blogging.

The second session from this morning, Silfry on the Blogosphere featured an interview of Dave Silfry, founder and CEO of Technorati, by Tim Bray. It was great to hear what Dave had to say about the state of the blogosphere and how Technorati is different from search engines and the growth of blogging since he began Technorati in 2002. He also spoke about the potential threats and opportunities of blogosphere going forward. Very interesting stuff.

Following the morning coffee break I had the pleasure of listening to Nancy White entitled, Snow White and the Seven Competencies of Online Interaction. At Brian Lamb's prompting I managed to get some audio of Nancy's talk and hope to have some of it available, once I get a chance to see what I have in terms of "raw" audio.

I'll be back with edits to this post as the day progresses. A big shout out to the organizers and speakers -- northernvoice rocks!!! If you're even remotely interested in blogging, or need to see what all the fuss is about, you need to get yourself to next year's northernvoice conference.

Moosecamp

2006-02-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well I was a little late getting here, but I managed to make my way from the island to attend Moosecamp at the UBC Robson Square campus in Vancouver.

I've attended a couple of sessions so far and am looking forward to learning more. I really like the "unconference" nature of the event.

The informal approach seems to benefit both presenters and attendees and allows for flexibility and self-selection in terms of sessions and "sidebars" on topics of interest. moosecamp was a lot of fun and I hope it's going to be an annual event.

Conferencing

2006-02-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

While I'm not able to be in Vancouver today (I'm heading over on the first ferry from Victoria tomorrow morning and look forward to the Edublogger Hootenanny, although I'll likely be late. Living on Vancouver Island is pretty cool, notwithstanding the logistical challenges it presents when you need to get somewhere :-)

I'm really looking forward to "attending" the Social Software Salon @ UBC via Skype today.

Provided it's ok with those participating, I intend to make an audio recording of proceedings with the intent of playing some excerpts during tonight's EdTechTalk Brainstorm.

I'm also happy to report that Charles Campbell--an "artist in residence" for the City of Victoria--will be by to talk about the podcasting project he's putting together with a group of youth here in Victoria. Here's a link to a newspaper article about Charles' project in Victoria.

Please join us this evening (in North America, the show starts at 0200 hrs GMT Friday) for what I hope will be a very interesting and informative show.

Social Software Salon @ UBC

2006-02-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's a long story, but I'm back in Victoria. I'll be making my way back to Vancouver on Friday for Moose Camp and Northern Voice on Saturday, but I hope to "take part from a distance" in a session that's just been announced.

Brian Lamb has posted in his blog about a session that's taking place tomorrow afternoon: the Social Software Salon @ UBC looks like it's going to be a great session and I've just sent Brian an email asking him if it's ok for me to join the "salon" via Skype.

I've also asked for permission to record proceedings in order to play some excerpts during tomorrow night's EdTechTalk Brainstorming Session.

I hope that I'll be able to make this work since I know that it will be an informative and entertaining session. One that I hope to be able to share with my audience for "Brainstorming Session 22A."

Beginning Coding for Drupal

2006-02-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the brevity of my last post, it was composed on my cell phone. I'm back to report that the Beginning Coding for Drupal session was very informative. Aaron did a great job with the presentation. All the more given the fact that the room in which the session was held was nearly literally bursting at the seams from the numbers of those in his audience. All the chairs were taken early on, and many of us were sitting on the floor during his presentation.

It was very informative for me as someone who isn't much of a programmer to be able to see "under the hood" in terms of Drupal module development and to hear the questions that those in attendance had regarding Drupal development and how best to accomplish tasks in terms of design and implementation of Drupal, PHP and databases.

I'd hoped to include a picture of Aaron from today's session, but "technical difficulties" (I don't seem to have the USB cable for my camera with me) will preclude this, at least in the short term.

As always, watch this space for details.

OSCMS

2006-02-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well I made it over after all for the conference and look fwd to a session today on Drupal basics. I will be back w/ more details after the session.

Blogging

2006-02-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a week since I posted. I've been struggling to keep up with my various online spaces and it seems as though it's always this blog that suffers. Apologies to the regular readers who have taken the time to enquire about the lack of recent posts. I'm happy to report that it has been due to nothing more than being too busy to take the time to post to this forum.

My schedule also means that it looks as though I'm not going to be able to make it over to the "lower mainland" (i.e., Vancouver) for this week's Open CMS/ Drupal conference, which is too bad. I'm still holding out hope that I'll be able to attend Moose Camp / Northern Voice, but that's not for certain at this point either....

What makes this a special pain, is that I had hoped to be able to do this week's EdTechTalk Brainstorming webcast from Vancouver, but that's not going to happen; indeed, I'll be lucky to get over at all. As always, watch this space for details.

Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival

2006-01-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you "on the island" it's time to take in the 12th annual Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival, which started last Friday.

I haven't been out to see any of the films so far, but I did work as an usher at one of the venues last night. Like events and festivals the world over, VIFVF relies on volunteers to make it work. Volunteering is also a chance for individuals to contribute in ways that might not be immediately apparent--to both the volunteer and "beneficiary."

For those of you in and around Victoria--get out to see some of these films and get some enjoyment and help ensure the success of the festival. I'd also encourage anyone reading this to look for opportunities to volunteer in your community. You might be surprised by how much you learn and how much fun you have.

Battle of the Titans

2006-01-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Just finished listening to the live stream of EdTechTalk #34 by Dave and Jeff with this week's guests, Stephen Downes and George Siemens. Regular readers will know that I've long been a fan of both of these "titans" in the world of Canadian education technology.

Today's discussion revolved around a couple of posts from late last year. Stephen made a post that prompted a response from George, including a note that it was too bad that Stephen's post happened at a time (between Christmas and New Year's) that meant it was "under the radar" due to the fact that many of Stephen's regular readers would be away on vacation and, presumably, not have ready access to his post. Stephen responded in today's 'cast that the timing of the release coincided with him having some time off work in order to be able to produce his paper.

I have to confess that my head is still spinning trying to digest what I've just heard. Try as I may, I can't seem to bring myself around to what I understand to be George's premise when it comes to the "objective." As I think more about it, I keep coming back to the notion that the objective has to be subjective in that "common sense" or "community standards" will ultimately dictate what constitutes the "objective" in a particular circumstance.

For instance, I know that interacting with others from literally around the world in the last while via WorldBridges has greatly expanded my horizons and added an "objective" I didn't have prior to participating.

To cite two examples, in a very short time I have an appreciation of GMT/Zulu time and the vagaries of sound editing and post-production. This experience, and an expanding "frame of reference" leads me to "filter" information in new ways to have it make sense in the face of my subjective experience.

I'm definitely still reflecting on Stephen and George's conversation and think I need more time with the "source material" that led to this conversation. As I think about the discussion, I keep coming back to the notion of the wiki textbook. Specifically, how should the subjective contributions to a wiki be vetted or "objectified" and become part of the "canon" on a given topic? I think there has to be a "back channel" for "radical" or "dissenting" views to be heard. I think at one point George mentioned the need to for individuals to remain as such and thus not be assimilated and result in groupthink.

Isn't there a danger of the "objective" view amounting to the same thing? Doesn't the presupposition of a "right" or "correct" answer, in and of itself, preclude discovery of alternative, and perhaps better, solutions to a given task or problem? Lots of great food for thought to be sure. Thanks to all for a stimulating conversation, including those who participated in the dialog in the chat room. Look forward to seeing you all online again soon.

Making Connections

2006-01-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm here with a recap of some of the online interaction I had yesterday using conferencing applications on the 'net. Via Skype I was able to interact with colleagues across town, across the continent and on the other side of the world. Jeff used Skype to let me know that he'd made an archive of the 'cast from Thursday night (I have some post-production work to do, but many thanks to "Jeff from Ann Arbor" for capturing and posting a MP3 of Thursday night's brainstorming session).

Although more "technical difficulties" prevented a stream of yesterday's "Literacy" show, I was able to use Skype to get participants "up to speed" and look forward to a webcast on Fridays at 1800 hrs GMT.

Due to some problems with the audio on Skype I also revisited a conferencing application that's been produced by a former employer of mine, SMART Technologies Inc.

Bridgit supports VoIP, webcam and desktop sharing amongst conference participants. Yesterday afternoon I used it to have a conference with colleagues at a lounge in the airport in Ottawa, at a residence in Calgary and me here on Vancouver Island. Furthermore, the "share desktop" feature meant that Brian, in Calgary, could show us the web page which had pictures of the car he was thinking of buying this weekend.

We didn't get a chance to test the streaming capabilities of Bridgit, but it does support full duplex audio and I look forward to experimenting with it to see if it might be something we can use going forward as a webcasting medium. As always, watch this space for details.

Last night's 'cast

2006-01-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Notwithstanding some issues in getting the stream started at the beginning of the 'cast, and the fact that I don't have an archive file of proceedings, last night's show was a blast.

I was joined online by Clarence Fisher and Brian Mull and had the chance to hear about the work that they're doing with their students and how they've come to work together in a web-based project with their students and others on the web. It was especially cool to be able to meet Jesse, one of Brian's students, during the webcast.

As I said in this post to the forum at edtechtalk, congratulations to Jesse for being the first "student" to join the discussion and I look forward to hearing more from Clarence and Brian's students.

Thanks to all who participated in the conversation--via VoIP or the chat room--and I look forward to seeing you online again soon.

More Webcasting

2006-01-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

In a little less than 1 hour (0200 GMT Friday), I'll be hosting my 4th webcast for edtechtalk.

Tonight I'll be hosting EdTechTalk Brainstorming Session 19A. I'm a late fill-in for Jeff, but I'm really looking forward to a discussion with Brian and his students.

I'll also be hosting a webcast at 1800 hrs (GMT) on Friday about literacy. I'll be joined by colleagues from Project Literacy Victoria as well as from the GRAIL project at OISE/UT.

I'm especially interested in discussing new and emerging technologies and the role they have to play in literacy and I hope tomorrow will be the start of regular meetings to get together and share ideas and "best practices" when it comes to using technology for learning and community building.

Blogging and wikis

2006-01-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

Brain Lamb has recently posted a call for submissions in support of a talk he's doing next week in Vancouver, BC.

I recommend that you visit the link above for the complete list of Brian's questions, but I thought I'd respond to a couple here:

In your mind, what is most misunderstood (or little understood) about these tools?

The most "misunderstood" aspect of these tools is the whole notion of public/private and walled gardens and the need to "protect" those in online environments. While I agree that certain age groups, and perhaps new and beginning users, need to be sheltered from the "black hats" that one finds on the 'net -- it's also imperative that we teach individuals how to conduct themselves in online environments from the outset.

Call it 'net-proofing if you like (although this may engender a false sense of security), but I think it's important to turn the responsibility for one's "online persona" back to the individual.

Those participating in the "read/write web" need to be responsible for both deciphering the semiotics of the web, but, just as importantly, have an appreciation of the fact that what one is posting is indeed accessible by anyone with a connection to the 'net.

Of course this means that the potential--good and bad--of posts to impact one's life is huge. Rather than be intimidated by this fact, I think we can do a lot to educate and encourage the effective use of blogs and wikis as a tool for sharing and building knowledge and communities of practice.

Are blogs and wikis evolving into something else?

I think that blogs and wikis are definitely evolving. I believe that audio and video will continue to play an increasingly important role in online environments. I think this is true for all kinds of 'casts -- be they audio, video, or screen, "canned" or streaming. I think that interfaces like elgg are examples of how blogs and wikis are evolving.

Elgg is "open source, learner centred, community building platform" that allows for the incorporation of "media" files into the interface and also provides for the tagging of objects and syndicated feeds with publishing details. This is one example, but I think that "sky's the limit" in terms of what we might see in terms of open source "mashups" and hosted web services applications.

I also think that "services" companies who provide "solutions" based on open source platforms will continue to drive "the open source movement" and make it viable and sustainable.

Learning Diary

Cashmere & Marino sweater # prettytwisted #yyc

@SkiLouise ski friends

Honour guard Remembrance Day Lake Louise

#movember day 7

Graffiti with Punctuation

Denny

Facebook seems very adept @ alienating its user base. Constant UI change to preclude complacency?

Fire

Contemplating selling my trailer @ an RV park in a Saanichton, BC

Notwithstanding the fact I remain "without portfolio" (i.e. no steady employment gig) 2010 is off to a *stellar* start for me

Still looking for that dream gig in #yyc

Powerful RT @jenn: And the meme hits Digital Humanities:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VREJV--VHSw

Suffering from #netmonkey withdrawal

Net Monkey contract complete with Alpine Canada, now looking for work in #yyc

Net Monkey: Day 13

Net Monkey: Day 12 -- Warden and his dog

Net Monkey: Day 12 tower drop (video)

Net Monkey: Day 12 -- lift line hijinx (video)

Net Monkey: Day 12 -- abso--fracking--lutely puking @ the Lake today

Snow falling in Lake Louise -- it *really* is my favourite form of precipitation

Net Monkey: Day 11 -- went 3 for 3 winning today's "Chinese Downhills" from Timing Flats thru Juniper Jungle @skilouise

Net Monkey: Day 11

Net Monkey: Day 10 -- crashed hard 4 times today and very thankful to have skied away from each

Net Monkey: Day 10 (video) Ben w Net

Net Monkey: Day 10 (video) -- chairlift

Seize the opportunities you get today to make your world a better place

Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Swing Break

Net Monkey: Day 9 -- snowball target

Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Snow on Fallaway

Net Monkey: Day 9 -- Moose on the track

Net Monkey: Day 9 (video) Ben hitching a ride

Net Monkey: Day 9 -- sleigh ride (video)

Net Monkey: Day 8 included skiing down Fallaway w/ 7 Willy Bags (~300 lbs.) in tow

12 days in, 2010 continues to amaze, engage and inspire me

Net Monkey: chairlift to job site (video)

Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

Net Monkey: More Day 8 (video)

Net Monkey: Day 8 (video)

Net Monkey: swing-break

Net Monkey: More Day 7

Net Monkey: More Day 7 (video)

Net Monkey: Day 7

Net Monkey: Day 6

Net Monkey: More Day 5

Net Monkey: More Day 5

Net Monkey: Day 5

Net Monkey Morning Commute

Piggyback on skis

Net Monkey: Day 4

Net Monkey: More Day 4

Net Monkey: More Day 3

Net Monkey: Day 3

Today's Net Monkeying involved skiing w/ 80 lb loads and pulling nets up a 45 degree slope

Lake Louise

Not the cube farm, my kinda office

Curtain A-net

A-net wrapped

A-net tear-down

Survived my first day as a Net Monkey: most thankful tear-down isn't as demanding as setup

My poor, frozen truck

Only hours old: 2010 is off to an *amazing* start for me on a number fronts

Off to Lake Louise tomorrow for some contract work with Alpine Canada

Snowshoe Marc

Me and Marc

"The Marc" in his natural environment

World's Yougest Webcaster

State of the Art

post from "wireless device"

Thanks to the ESQCrew07

Five Years and Counting

Season's Greetings

Big Changes

Elgg Privacy: The Movie

Songhees Nation Open House 2006

gradDayRose

My first Odeo 'cast

Pulled in many directions

Oscar

Notwithstanding the fact I remain "without portfolio" (i.e. no steady employment gig) 2010 is off to a stellar start for me

Snow falling in Lake Louise -- it really is my favourite form of precipitation

Only hours old: 2010 is off to an amazing start for me on a number fronts