Blogging from Sydney

I've spent the first 3.5 days in Sydney feeling very disconnected - the Hotel only has dialup (very Sloooow dialup at that), and my Vodafone 3G Data costs $10/MB on roaming!
I tried every Telco in Australia to signup for data for 2 months - but no joy - they all want you to sign up for at least 2 years! and you have to have an Australian credit rating (bank account), and Australian employment! WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!! This is so neanderthal.
Anyway, the Chilli iburst wireless broadband package finally arrived today - so I'm connected again! A nice service - very similar technology to WOOSH in NZ, but much better coverage.

Photoblog of Sydney available at http://picasaweb.google.com/thomcochrane/Sydney2007

My Office

IT Helpdesk & new technology - an age old problem ;-)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

Get With The Program

An article in the latest New Zealand TUANZ Topics magazine asks "Are web2 communication tools such as blogs, wikis, webcasts and podcasts now an essential part of the teacher's toolkit?" (From a secondary school perspective)

They conclude:

"You and I are the last generation that has the perogative of deciding whether or not we're going to embrace technology. But the kids we are teaching noe, the ones that are under my watch in the classroom, they aren't given that same perogative. If they don't master these skills, I'm actually dooming them to a lower level of opportunity...

The thing we need to understand about the type of learners coming to us today is that not only do they have different tools, but they actually process differently.

Most kids are walking around with one or two cellphones in their pocket, using them to text their friends, surf the Web, take photos, and post to their blogs. And yet as soon as they get to school they're told to turn the cellphones off.

If we'd just let students work to their strengths, instead of their weaknesses, we'll start to celebrate what they can do, and what they come to the classroom with - and that is a propensity toward technology."

Putt, S. (2007, March/April). Get with the program. TUANZ Topics, 17, 35-38.

Welcome to Treemo - Treemo: Media Sharing on a Mission

Welcome to Treemo - Treemo: Media Sharing on a Mission: "Treemo is an online and mobile community dedicated to sharing digital media, empowering self-expression, and transforming creativity into action."

Treemo looks rather interesting - all content is mobile friendly, and they provide multiple ways of accessing content & uploading content via mobile devices without requiring a client application:

1. Via Cell Phone Number


2. Via Mobile Web Browser


3. Via MMS


4. Via email


5. Or from PC online

Definitely worth checking out. They are also quite strict on content - copyright, etc...

TechWatch Report: What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education.

TechWatch Report: What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education.: "A new TechWatch report by Paul Anderson explores the Web 2.0 phenomenon and asks what are the implications for education?"

(Via JISC e-Learning Focus.)

The 1% 'rule'

Here's an article that discusses the 1% rule of online content creation!

"It's an emerging rule of thumb that suggests that if you get a group of 100 people online then one will create content, 10 will "interact" with it (commenting or offering improvements) and the other 89 will just view it".

Sad but true - how can we get over the 1% threshold? Ideas?

SMS Post

Wireless 3G connectivity. Its great to have connectivity via wireless technology, enabling things like mobile blogging via sms!

Via Letmeparty.com

Create a free account with http://www.letmeparty.com , register your Blog address (e.g. http://puriri.unitecnology.ac.nz/wp/xmlrpc.php ) and your cellphone number, send a text message to +13128047068 , and you're mobile blogging!

Why bother?

“New mobile and context-aware technology can enable young people to learn by exploring their world, in continual communication with and through technology” (Sharples, 2005).

“A review of current practice suggests that mobile and wireless learning is the natural next step wherever institutions and practitioners have already adopted e-learning” (JISC, 2005b).

Sotillo (2003, p5) describes the pedagogical impact of ubiquitous wireless computing:

In summary, the advantages of wireless computing in education are ubiquity, portability, and flexibility for collaborative learning projects. Computer power everywhere and all the time means the ability—and the challenge—to integrate computers into every aspect of teaching, learning, and research. This represents a Copernican revolution in instruction, with the professor as guide and mentor rather than "fount of knowledge" or ultimate classroom authority.

DipLSD Mobile Trials 2007

Got a really encouraging response to suggestions for setting up mobile web2 trials with the Diploma Landscape Design course at Unitec today!

Trial goals so far:

1. Students purchase their own Palm Treo 680, and monthly data plan


2. Regular weekly technology support/exploration sessions


3. Tentative Dates:
   
   March 12, 19, 26?
   May 14, 21, 28


4. Project culminates in eportfolio for Ellerslie Flowershow


5. Setup COP with DipLSD staff

MOLTA Conference disappointing

MOLTA Conference
I was a bit stunned at the limited understanding of web2 technologies (over half the audience had not heard of RSS!) by conference attendees! Many of the presentations were out of date - promoting 3-4 year old technologies, and badly informed on the current state of wireless data in NZ! :-(
I was also frustrated by the persistence in developing institution specific applications - instead of using the fantastic web2 mobile applications tat are already available!!!

One of the exceptions was Selena Chans workon mobile eportfolios and web2 mashups, including the use of VOX. Interesting restyling of Moodle using 'Firebug' plugin for Firefox, to make it more mobile 'friendly'.

WordPress

I've been experimenting with WordPress recently - and so far I'm quite impressed with its ease of setup and options, particularly the ability to associate 'static' pages with your main blog page. Thus you could almost use Wordpress as a basic website solution.


http://www.wordpress.com

Mobile plugin for wordpress available at http://alexking.org/projects/wordpress

Google Blogger Widget

Google have produced widgets for OSX for both Blogger & GMail! Cool.

Energy.png

Scratch All Future Conference Presentations on Web 2.0

Scratch All Future Conference Presentations on Web 2.0: "Scratch All Future Conference Presentations on Web 2.0
And maybe instead, we can get it with 5 minutes, no bullet points, no lecturing in Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us, a YouTube gem:

This comes from Digital Ethnography @ Kansas State University, ‘a working group of Kansas State University students and faculty dedicated to exploring and extending the possibilities of digital ethnography.’"

(Via CogDogBlog.)

Interesting Time Magazine Articles

I really should read Time Magazine more often! I came across an issue brimming with Web2 articles from December 25 2006 - #51.

Web2 (or more directly YOU) is named 'person of the year' for 2006!!!

A good overview of Web2 - plus a nice image mind-map of web2 services (only in print version).

An overview/history and early video of YouTube development.


Also of interest:
Overview of "World of Warcraft".

iPhone Flash Demo.

Surgery Recovery Tools

1. Panadol


2. Watch - to while away the dragging hours


3. 3G cellphone to keep in contact & read RSS feeds, blog etc...


4. Bible - spiritual rejuvenation required!


5. Wireless Laptop - they need longer life batteries!!! - hence 3G cellphone higher in list!


6. A good fiction book - but hard to concentrate enuff to read much for first few days!


7. iPod - with a large library! Stops insanity


8. And MOST IMPORTANTLY - should be first in the list - a loving wife! and friends



9. Oops - and don't forget PRAYER - faith that keeps you from falling over the edge into despair when nothing seems to make sense!

Prostate Cancer Research

From NZ Herald A12 Thursday 25 Jan 2007 - Research indicates eating 2-3 servings of tomatoes along with 1.5 cups of broccoli daily reduces cancer cell growth by 30%

[ Sent from my mobile phone using the Blogger widget from www.bluepulse.com ]

Wimax at EIT!!!

Trans-Tasman broadcast and telecommunications technology provider Kordia has secured the New Zealand distribution rights to RoamAD’s networks, which it plans to deploy throughout the country.

The partnership of the two companies won its first New Zealand contract before Christmas, coming top of five bids to build a wireless access solution for the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) in Hawkes Bay.

Kordia chief executive Geoff Hunt said Kordia (which was until recently known as THL Group) will develop more applications and is willing to work with other content and service providers in the Wi-Fi arena.

“This deal with RoamAD and EIT Hawke’s Bay is our first step towards increasing ease of use and the utility of Wi-Fi networks throughout New Zealand,” he says.


Wow - not bad thinking for a 'small' regional Polytechnic with 3000 EFTS!

Original Article here.

NMC 2007 Report at EDUCAUSE ELI

Get Horizon! at EDUCAUSE ELI: "Okay, this was just the fun part. The six topics:

Time to Adoption 4-5 Years:

The New Scholarship and Emerging Forms of Publication

Massively Multiplayer Educational Gaming

Time to Adoption 2-3 Years:

Mobile Phones

Virtual Worlds

Time to Adoption One Year or Less:

User-Generated Content

Social Networking"

(Via CogDogBlog.)

Gmail

By forwarding pop3 mail to Gmail i can pick it up on my mobile devices - Cool!

[ Sent from my mobile phone using the Blogger widget from www.bluepulse.com ]