Toying with Nomao

Just thought I'd plot this landmark here.

Pricked by joelogs with Nomao

A goldmine of teaching/learning apps

... compiled by Larry Ferlazzo.

[via Michael Arrington]

Have an abundant New Year world!

Simple wish for Christmas

Peace and goodwill, in spite of ... perhaps because of ...


[A take away from Steve Kayser's wish in 2006]

Happy Christmas World!

"Steal my content, please!"


[via ericskiff]

"IBM Launches Tool to Help Businesses Visualize Social Networks"

From what reads like a press release via money.cnn.com:

"IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the availability of IBM Atlas for Lotus Connections, a corporate social networking visualization and analysis tool. IBM Atlas for Lotus Connections is designed to help organizations maximize their investment in social software by answering questions such as who the key experts are on a given topic, how they are connected, and whom a user's contacts know that they do not."

The main toolset elements are listed below:

"The Net component of Atlas provides a visual indication of the important hubs among topic experts and informal groups that have developed while working on similar projects."

" Reach, the social software dashboard feature in Atlas, helps users navigate the up to six degrees of separation that divide them from a colleague." "The Find component of Atlas builds upon core Lotus Connections expertise capabilities by taking searches beyond the corporate directory to include results based on social data such as reporting structures, blogs and communities."

Sounds like Friend of a Friend, tagging, folksonomies, etc from counterpart components in some popular Social Network Sites.

David Byrne explores new business models for music

... and the choices are broader now.



More via Cory Doctorow here.

Zeitgeist: The Movie by Peter Joseph

damien describes it thus:

"(It) simultaneously validates and rubbishes the claims of Andrew Keen: that the web is in the hands of idiots who are systematically destroying 'the truth'."

At once simple and complex. It's War and Peace, rolled into one? Your suggestions are welcome.

Warning: It's a 2-hour movie.



BTW you might need to listen to the this song while/after watching the movie.

"Hey Dude - where’s my (community) Data?"

Pontydysgu (Bridge to Learning) provokes this intriguing question: "So who controls the personal data of netizens of social network sites?"

Some more intriguing points, especially in the educational context here.

"Odyssey to create online community for Filipino music"

"Philippine music and video retailer Odyssey will soon "soft launch" an online music portal and social network for a community of Filipino music fans". Thus reports Erwin Oliva. (The landing page says 21 December).

Almost instinctively, I registered for an account which offered 2 choices, Listener or Artist. (shades of MySpace?) For some reason, I chose Artist.

Image below shows My Profile page.

Now the title above contains the operative words "to create", which makes me wonder: Does the "if you build it, they will come" mantra still hold true?

Social Media Strategy

Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li of Forrester.com share a simple prescription for deploying Social Technologies.

The image below summarizes the key elements of what they call the POST method.



More details here.

Now animation work can be done online

Try AniBOOM Shapeshifters.

Here's one by Ryan Norloch:



[via Mike Abundo]

Here Comes Another Bubble

To the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire".



[via Chris Johnson]

"... Something has to be done now ... "

... about the poor showing of students in international exams. Sorry but that looks so culture bound. Read more here.

So who are really being left behind?

Practical Connectivism

according to George Siemens

| View | Upload your own

Am I spamming myself? I don't know about you but I think I'm in good company.

"How social networks are courting marketers"

Pete Snyder makes a strong case on why and how marketers need to rethink the way products/brands are viewed by consumers/users.

Here's a quote from the article:

"Demographics have always been an imperfect method to match the right message to the right user, but we have relied on them so long that we overlook the fact that many basic ad strategies were designed to compensate for their inefficiency. Flights, disruptive media and frequency all make up for the fact that a lot of money is talking to the wrong people."

The implication seems to point to the "unpopularity" of push (n) vs. pull (2ⁿ + n²) marketing. The table (from Dion Hinchcliffe) below could perhaps help clarify the options:

KM 0.0 : Coming full Circle

David Pollard puts it in richer context. At the core, it seems to be more about trust than about knowledge. More here.

Bug Art

by Steven R. Kutcher

I'm thinking of using White Ants for a similar (Pest Art) project.

[via Mark Frauenfelder]

Have open courseware, will learn at own pace

Let's start with robotics.


[Image via Boingboing.net]

"Description:This course provides an overview of robot mechanisms, dynamics, and intelligent controls. Topics include planar and spatial kinematics, and motion planning; mechanism design for manipulators and mobile robots, multi-rigid-body dynamics, 3D graphic simulation; control design, actuators, and sensors; wireless networking, task modeling, human-machine interface, and embedded software. Features descriptions and videos of the two main student projects: building a robot capable of searching for land mines, and building a robot capable of rescuing trapped or injured people after a natural disaster." More here.

3 "centuries" of Learning Models

Learning Models of 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st Centuries

	19th Century	20th Century	21st Century
Teaching style	Lecture	Lecture	P2P collaboration
Curriculum	Books, blackboard	Textbooks	Community-generated content
Location	One-room schoolhouse	Classrooms	Anywhere
Interaction	Q&A	Labs	Self-directed exploration, teamwork
Objective	Survival	Employment	Lifelong learning skills
Tools	Blackboard	Labs	Personal devices
Result	“Book learning”	Memorized facts and information	Adaptation, growth

Source: P. Clint Rogers; Stephen W. Liddle; Peter Chan; Aaron Doxey and Brady Isom.
Web 2.0 Learning platform: Harnessing collective intelligence.
Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, Volume 8, Number 3, 2007
[URL] via [carsten ullrich]

Perhaps this set of blog posts could amplify the points above.

So where are we really now?

Quote of the Day

"Remember....most of the jobs we are preparing our students for don't even exist yet." (BrenniesBytes, August, 2006)

More here.

Does anyone need an "upgraded" professional presence?

That seems to be the starting point of the discussion on how Web 2.0 can enhance professional credibility. More of the linkedin-sponsored Q&A forum here.

Just posting a historical artifact



View Larger Map

"A 14-year-old Talks Educational Technology"

Boy's online name is Arthus. Steve Hargadon says

"Arthus started by seeing someone with a blog, and then starting his own. Was a technical interest, then moved to the subject of education. Started at age 11, HTML websites at 12, PHP at 13."

Intriguing part is Arthus is not into gaming.

More details here.

[via Stephen Downes]

Networking or Not-working?


[Image via Hatem]

Nic Paton explores the perils and promises of Social Network Sites for employers especially HR managers. More here.

The sense I'm getting is that there seems to be scope to set up SNS in-house. Could be useful for Knowledge Management, particularly in the domain of creativity and innovation.

Word of the Day: Filipinnovation

- "is the catchphrase for the country’s newly formed Philippine National Innovation Strategy."

One interesting quote from IBM's Nick Donofrio:

"[I]nnovation must be done in an open and collaborative environment that allows for focus on different disciplines. However, he said that it cannot be done overnight. 'Innovation has to be good to the society and must be constantly pursued. Having a strategy on innovation is just the first step and it should be followed up.'"

More here.

I'm worried about the "catchphrase" part.

"Social Graph" gets imprimatur

... from Sir Tim Berners-Lee no less.


[Photo Credit: Sam Ogden]

More about the "Giant Global Graph" via Pete Cashmore and Richard MacManus.

Now does that mean URL's would look like http://ggg.blah.com?

All 2.0ed up but nowhere to go?

Rosa Maria de la Cueva Peterson writes:

"there is no road map to help us navigate the information highways, where seemingly unlimited new tools appear every day. There is not a checklist of the tools we need to learn to become information-literate. We must shift the way we conceptualize education."

Doesn't ambiguity offer opportunities?

Just discovered two online tools

• VectorMagic: Raster to Vector image converter from Stanford Uni
• Snipshot: Image Editor does basic editing tools like crop, rotate, resize, etc.

So there. Who needs expensive software that requires complex dowloading and installation?

Let me just park this visual

... from Thomas Vander Wal


[via Marshall Kirkpatrick]

and hope it cross-connects with other visualizations.

Take.tv

A product of Sandisk, this is supposed to allow switching between mouse potato and couch potato.


There seems to be something missing here.

Hi Tech, Low Touch?


[via Conrad Quilty-Harper]

Quote of the Day

"Consumer blogging and community boards are a rich data source allowing firms to gain unbiased/top of mind thoughts from consumers and having a method to mine thousands of comments so that management can understand what is being said is exciting."

Rebecca Gillan, Senior VP, Research & Guest Satisfaction, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (November 2006)

Where am I?

(try Plazes.com)

How do you make sense of this?

Sylvia Mayuga writes "An Idea Whose Time Has Come" and paints an imagery of what appears to be a "mega" holistic worldview in Mark McCutcheon's "Theory of Everything".

Thought provoking, as it puts together a web of notions across time and space - from Newton to Einstein, from politics to technology, from Obama to Arroyo - that is at once distant and immediate.

True to form, as it proceeds from the column Mixed Media.

Intriguing, as it invites her fellow global citizens to pitch in their flavors for a virtual "halo-halo".

To get education ...

... you have to give information. OLPC - One Classroom at a time campaign

Co-create with Web 2.0

Purposive, IMHO.

Have AI*, will blog

... and make Adsense money too.

Lately, since November 4, I've been getting repeated email alerts to the same "interesting" blog entry (10 so far). The article from a certain sammy contains this excerpt: "Are we neanderthals? How can social software help?"

Then I did what a H. sapiens sapiens worth his weight in atoms would do, fire up a search engine and plug the relevant keywords. Turns out, the whole article was a rehash of Robert Paterson's blog entry of 2004 titled: "Can blogging save us from becoming neanderthals?"

Cut and Paste 2.0 or Piracy 2.0?

*Artificial Intelligence

Global Text Project

It's about "engaging the collective intelligence of worldwide communities in the development of continuously updated, high-quality content textbooks, which are available for free to the students all over the world (mostly via internet). "

[via Olga Veligurska]

Perhaps a solution to textbook scams?

Should not miss this for the world

Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship

danah m. boyd
School of Information
University of California-Berkeley

Nicole B. Ellison
Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media
Michigan State University

Cite as:
boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 11. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html

What's cooking in China with Web 2.0?

Plus8Star offers a delightful slew of insights from "very well prepared and expert speakers who don’t come to sell, but to inform and exchange, an attentive and savvy audience who steps in for sophisticated and challenging questions, exchange of views, contributing their ideas and knowledge" in a recent event organized by OrangeLabs.

This is rather interesting: “In China, 600 million people never used Internet. If I serve them, I am twice as big as Google.”

Blogging is not for progressives?

Still trying to make complete sense of the issues raised in Teo Marasigan's "Online Dossier at iba pang Pag-aalalang Neo-luddite hinggil sa Internet."

Meanwhile if this is any assurance, a quick motto could be "You''ll Never Blog Alone."

What is your job title or what do you do?

Implicit comparison is "how thick is your wallet or what are your interests?". Perhaps it's more a question of what you are passionate about.

21st century angst? Read XicanoPwr for more about Unemployment and A Web 2.0 Challenge.

Have Bug Labs module, will make iPhone

Well almost. Not exactly a long way down the road either.


[Image via Bug Labs]


[Image via diylife.com]

Rafe Needleman reports that:

"Bug Labs wants to change that. The company is releasing a hardware development system made of sensing and input modules that snap into a low-cost central Linux-based core, allowing you to mash up your own gadget. The main core, the BugBase, is bit larger than an iPhone. The modules that snap into it are half that size and a standard BugBase has four ports for modules."

More here.

Share the Science ...

Christian Crumlish highlights Google OpenSocial's prescriptions for a successful Social Web Design:

• Enable self expression via personalization
• Show what friends are doing
• Let people explore friends and friends of friends
• Provide commenting features
• Expose multiple areas of similarity
• Solve real world problems through social connections

Longer list by Joshua Porter is here.

I'm tempted to summarize that as: Smart. Simple. Social.

Who wants to be a call center agent?

Erika Tapalla of Inquirer.net gives us the lowdown in the Call Center Chronicles.

Union strike in the 21st century

Mike O'Sullivan of VOA reports that about 12,000 "Screenwriters walked out of talks Sunday after failing to reach agreement with producers over residual revenues for Internet downloads of television shows and movies." More here.

Do I hear "Have Web 2.0 skills, will pinch hit."?

STOMP*

aka Citizen Journalism the Singapore way.

But Khengze Teoh wonders:

"Where is content that foster real sharing of ideas and socio-political commentary? For all the hype, these supposed opportunities for citizen engagement in Singapore ring hollow when they happen on mainstream media platforms controlled by the state."

More here.

*Straits Times Online Mobile Print

Can't get enough of Moodle?

Try Snoodle. "Connecting Second Life with Moodle"

Google and OpenSocial

Heather Havenstein of Computerworld reports that Apps (are) Already Coming for Google's New OpenSocial

Sounds like it's party time already. More via Yahoo.

Holiday Trivia in Manila

All Saints Day is celebrated as an extended event, which makes All Souls Day equivalent to All Saints Day. Pardon the tautology.


[Photo via KabayanCentral.com]

No place for Social Software in the Enterprise?

• Thomas Davenport wonders where 'working' is in Social Networking.
• John M. Willis "isn't surprised" why Social Software is not in Gartner's Magic Quadrant
• Jeff Brainard sees big money in Enterprise 2.0 up to 2011.

Could be a classic case of wisdom of crowds?

Why Social Software? Why Not?

Here's more WH's from Jami L. Haskell and Cornelius Puschmann.

Old Media is Dying?

Perhaps it just needs a more participatory shot in the arm.

Read more of George Dearing's thoughts on this.

How about walking the talk? First stop could be Community Walk. That takes care of Space; now there must be a way to embed an element of Time. I am thinking of Dandelife.

For what this is worth

Just thought I'd preserve this for future reference of historical trivia buffs. (Only in the Philippines...)

An alternative source of the image is here. With apologies to Inquirer.net.

How do you measure the value of Social Media?

FaberNovel gives some compelling insights (View slide 28, in particular) in an analysis of the Facebook phenomenon.

| View | Upload your own

[via Oren Sreebny]

How much can you handle?

aka "A Vision of Students Today" by Michael Wesch.

Guess what purpose the following rows serve?

Not working? Go here.

[via knrrita]

Peer-Controlled or Moderated Online Environment ?

Ke Zhang and Kyle L. Peck's paper (2003) could give some interesting insights for teachers considering the use of social learning environments.

"Three conclusions were reached:

1. Groups assigned to moderated forums displayed significantly higher reasoning scores than those in the peer-controlled condition, but the moderation did not affect correctness of solutions.
2. Students in the moderated forums reported being more likely to choose to use an optional online forum for future collaborations.
3. Students who reported having no difficulty during collaboration reported being more likely to choose to use an optional online forum in the future."

Should everyone be blogging?

Scott Allen puts it this way:

"A blog may become as important, if not more important, than your resume. The resume may get you onto the long list, but the blog is definitely a tool to get onto the short list. If you're trying to position yourself as an expert, then you should be blogging about your topic and building relationships with other people in your industry who are thinking about and talking about the same topic. And when I say you want to position yourself as an expert, I'm not talking about being a professional info-guru. If your business value is centered around your expertise on a particular topic, then you should be writing about it."

More from an interview with Monster.com's Allan Hoffman here.

And so IMF embraces blogging too

"The IMF's Economic Counselor, Simon Johnson, launched the blog in conjunction with the fall meetings of the IMF and its sister organization, the World Bank, in Washington from Saturday through Monday."

[via Inquirer.net]

IBM adopts web ‘mash-up’ technology in new software

Thus reports Erwin Oliva saying that:

"[Big Blue] has released a new version of Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino that mixes and matches what customers want with existing applications."

More here.

Of course the Friendster Generation would know how to use those tools. Question is "Would they do that purposively? "

Now as to the "digitally aware" set who still comprises a huge portion of the existing workforce (schools included), the question is "Are they ready for the Friendster Generation?"

Seems like school reform is getting more complicated.

Facebook is in decline?

And I've been a member for barely 2 months. To think I consider myself an early adopter. Dog years on the Internet could perhaps partly explain it.

Read Ian Betteridge's blog entry to get some deeper insights.

Lawrence Lessig on Corruption - alpha version




Very timeless (timely?) I like that part with a quote from Thomas Jefferson (1784):

"[We] should look forward to a time, and that's not a distant one, when corruption in this, as in the country from which we derive our origin, will have seized the heads of government, and be spread by them through the body of the people; when they will purchase the voices of the people, and make them pay the price. "

Not for the faint of heart. If the shoe fits.

Read more of Mr. Lessig's blog entry here.

[via Cory Doctorow]

Enterprise 2.0 isn't a buzzword?

Perhaps two years from now, especially when people start raving about Enterprise 3.0.

Meanwhile, let's soak up what Jennifer Okimoto's presentation has to say, in Luis Suarez' slideshare:



[via Rich Hoeg]

Bloggers’ Kapihan 2.0: Blog Ed 101

About time we Pinoys co-create in the name of Education.

Read more here.

[via Erwin Oliva]

"Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Calls Rivals 'Pretenders'"

Thus reports J. Nicholas Hoover of Information Week.

One interesting point:

"Ballmer said Microsoft realizes computing is in the midst of a shift from desktop-centric to a more balanced world that interweaves the best of the Web, the PC, enterprise functionality like manageability, and the explosion of different devices, but that companies looking to develop platforms on a larger scale have far to go."

More here.



One intriguing question: What if the 'pretenders' team up with worldwide users in real time ?

Can we afford not to be ready?



[via btecnationalsinsport]

"Soft " Peer Reviewed Journal



For authors looking to publish in journals but can't get past the usual hard peer review, this might just cut it.

Too much "irrelevant" adverts in Old Media?

(Read: Radio)

Try iHeard.com



Thanks AJ Batac.

Just thought I'd share this

Education for All - Philippines

The "deadline" is 2015. Click here to sign the petition.

Microsoft looks to Social Networking for Zune

PC World reports that Microsoft is throwing in social network behind it's new range of Zune. Apart from the Social Software part, the move seems to be a play not just against iPod but also to steal market share from Sandisk and Creative. Worth watching. More here.

Social network in 10 years

Some key points from AlwaysOn Stanford Summit on August 16, 2007

NOT technology BUT self-expression, ubiquity, universal, more personal, more vertical (niche, passionate)

In 10 years, this could be a regular question: "Who owns your friends/network?"

OpenID? or Differentiated identity?

Still about tagetted (via tagging) advertising and transaction models.

Wixi




A couple of ideas for a tagline:

Transforming your desktop into a webware.

Taking Learning Objects to the embeddable level.

IBM: really serious about Social Software

No doubt about it.

Check out Xing Premium to see what I mean.

Augmented Identity or Bogus Reality?

Wonderwebby poses some intriguing questions on identity and lifelogging (Sounds like dandelife.com).

One nuance I sense is: Perhaps you can disclose the real you through your mental models (Read: tags you use).

Remind me to look up "Manny Pukyaw".

[via Janette Toral]

Sketchcast - a new way to express yourself

For folks who like writing dirt art, this could be a natural extension.

[via Joey Alarilla]

Here's an intro to SEO.

New Constructivism in Learning

Elisabetta Cigonini posted a copy of the paper "Social software for knowledge construction and management in formal online learning" co-written with Maria Chiara Pettenati, Jose Mangione, and Elizabeth Guerin for the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. More here.

That piece adds yet to the growing recognition (by Academics) of 2.0 Technologies as a layer that could upgrade the formal learning environment (Read: As a subset of Lifelong Learning) of 21st century learners.

I like the part about PKM Skills (CREATE, ORGANIZE, SHARE) which seem to echo the 2D2C of Social Software.

Full pdf file is here.

You have two weeks to get a "$188" Laptop

for $400 apiece in the US and Canada in November.

Brian Bergstein reports that by opening sales at http://www.xogiving.com, "Give One, Get One" will delight computing aficionados, because the XO is unlike any other laptop. More here.

Seems like sometimes one needs to be really creative in marketing socially relevant projects.

It's not the technology ...

... it's the people.

rellis wrote what initially looked like a tongue-in-cheek account of a work-in-progress open professional staff development program around Social Software in the Classroom. More here.

I like the part that deemphasized the hierarchical, I'm-the-teacher-you're-the-student- you-listen mindset. Indeed, in teaching, we learn.

Overall, it made me realize that blended learning could be the sweet spot.

WOV sighting of the day

Imagine.Program.Share




... from the Lifelong Kindergarten Group of MIT Media Lab, "makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web."

[via Paulhami]

"If They Build It, Will We Come? "

Written by Michael Feldstein in 2006 but still fresh in the light of Facebook's growing popularity.

I like this part (very interesting yet just as challenging):

"We need that Box-’O-Stuff, where they save their first assignment drafts and where it becomes natural and automagic to keep all subsequent drafts. Then we need easy hooks so they can suck that content out of their boxes and post it on whatever MySpace-like application (whether integral to the LMS or a third-party service) suits their specific portfolio purposes. The main focus then becomes on teaching them what to put in the portfolio and why, rather than on how to build the widgets." More here.

4 Pillars of Education+ 2D2C = 21st Century Lifelong Learning

Below are excerpts from "Learning: The Treasure Within. UNESCO report on Education for the 21st Century" loosely plotted on Discover, Disclose, Connect, Co-create.

1. Learning to live together (Co-create) "which involves developing an understanding for fellow people, for their history, traditions and spiritual values. This pillar enables people to develop a new awareness which - based on an understanding of our growing interdependence and a joint analysis of future risks and challenges - leads people into carrying out joint projects and solving insurmountable conflicts in an intelligent and peaceful way."
2. Learning how to acquire knowledge. (Discover) "Against a background in which technological changes are coming thick and fast and in which new economic and social patterns are forming, the main focus is on making sure that general education is as wide as possible and that people can go on to deepen their knowledge in selected subjects. Indeed, this kind of general education is the key to a life-long process of learning. It whets people's appetite to learn over a lifetime - while at the same time providing the foundations to do so."
3. Learning how to act. (Connect) "This pillar is not just about doing a job but, in general terms, about acquiring the skills to cope with different and often unforeseen situations and about learning how to work in a team. Indeed, it is these characteristics that current educational methods tend to neglect. In many cases it is easer for pupils and students to learn these competencies if they are given the opportunity to try out and develop their skills. It's about enabling people to get work experience and community work while they are still in education. Indeed, a great deal of importance should be attached to all methods that mix education with experience."
4. Learning for life. (Disclose) "This was the issue at the heart of the Edgar-Faure report called how we learn to live, which was part of the UNESCO report on the objectives and future of our education programs, published in 1972 by UNESCO. The recommendations of this report are still relevant today. Indeed, in the 21st century everyone will be required to demonstrate independence, judgment and more personal responsibility if common objectives are to be reached. Our report also underlines another requirement, namely that none of the talents lying dormant like hidden treasures in every individual should be allowed to go unused. These talents, to name but a few, include: memory, logical thought, imagination, physical ability, an aesthetic sense, the ability to communicate and the natural charisma of a group leader. In actual fact these abilities only serve in underlining the importance of more self-knowledge."

Adapted from dadalos.

Skrbl

Your shareable online white board. Click here for a sample whiteboard.

Perhaps there's "life" for juveniles doing time

Mark Frauenfelder finds "Art blog of juvenile criminals spending life in prison"

Here's an excerpt from an inmate's blog:

"I am currently in prison for the rest of my life. When I was 17 years old I was arrested for shooting a man three times. This man died of those gunshot wounds and here I am now 32 years old serving a life sentence. When I was a teenager, I was very angry because my life growing up was rough. I lived in a home where drugs were abused and fighting was normal. My hood was just a larger version of my home and I began to imitate the negative behaviour I saw others do. I was a follower and didn't even peep it. I wanted to get money, but instead of using my skills as an artist, I tried selling heroin, crack, and then sticking up people and places. Like a fool I thought I was doing something "slick," but all I ended up doing is becoming a weedhead, alcoholic, and thug with nothing positive to show for all my stupidity. I do have a life sentence though. I couldn't listen to THE TRUTH when people who were concerned about me spoiled my high. They told me to go back to scholol and get my life together. I was too hard headed. Now, after being stuck with no chance of getting out, I wish I would've listened. People probably try to encourage you, do you listen?"

More here.

Could be useful to those "responsible" for Cris Mendez' death.

Teachers as Innovators

Dannno shares a slide presentation of what it would take to get ready for the "Friendster" generation.

Under $100 Computer

They promised.
They delivered.

[via eSchool News]

DnaTube.com

"DnaTube is a scientific research site providing video based studies, lecturers and seminars. By using DnaTube.com, you can:

1. Quickly upload your experiment videos or seminars you join. And share your videos and help other people in science community"

... among other things.

Heres an example:

Synthesizing Oligonucleotide



[via Paolo Massa]

"IBM throws weight behind OpenOffice"

Thus reports Lawrence Casiraya of Inquirer.net.

Here are some excerpts:

"IBM is contributing significant technology that will help make OpenOffice more accessible to those with disabilities," the statement said.

"In addition to actively contributing to and participating in the community, IBM will also include versions of OpenOffice in its products in the future."

Should be good for an ultimate move towards Webtop or Webware.

This Portable Water Filtering System



... in a bottle can distill either 4,000 liters or 6,000 liters without changing the filter.

[via Abroath]

"Web 2.0 Science"

Flip Tomato's planned series on the emerging role of Web 2.0 in Science might just be worth watching.

Here's how he started it.

Been too busy with mentorings.org

... not to mention that I needed to "connect face-to-face" with offline people. Will keep you posted. Check out my direct posts here. My blogger posts don't resolve via RSS.

Quote of the day


"[I]t wasn’t just about teaching, that it was about (...) personal learning, too."

- Will Richardson

See the larger context here.

Epsilen: The New York Times 2.0?

"Some current Epsilen users describe Epsilen as an academic 'MySpace' and 'FaceBook', connecting peers to share knowledge and exchange objects."

Perhaps people who were once confused and twice cautious will now listen.

"European bosses unimpressed by web 2.0"

Ian Williams reports that:

"The majority of senior managers at European organisations are failing to invest in web 2.0 technologies owing to a lack of understanding of the business benefits, new research claims."

More here. Perhaps an excerpt from Diane K. Danielson's review of "The Starfish and The Spider" is apropos: “but who is the president of the Internet?”

Better yet, maybe we could get some guidance from Tom Coates' blog entry of 2006 vintage: What do we do with 'Social Media'?

Specialist Social Networking Sites

Ross Dawson discusses the role of specialist SNS to professionals (or Communities of Practice) and draws up a list from physicians to women-only executives here.

Indeed, Friendster, Myspace, Bebo et al. have set the categories. Now it's time for niche SNS.

[via Matt Moore]

Coincidence?

• An intriguing "debate" between Stephen Downes and Gary Stager focuses on Web 2.0 and school reform.

• A smaller effort aimed at engaging 21st century learners takes place somewhere in Asia. You may wish to follow the quadratic equation session with gifted students at the Philippine High School for the Arts.

The experience was humbling yet edifying.

Giving back to the community

Amadeo (a small town South of Manila), is known for the Cafe Amadeo, a unique blend of four types of coffee and possesses the aroma of jackfruit.

Now you may wish to consider this as a plug for hometown. As my other blog declares:

"Si solamente por los niños."

Department of Information & Communications Technology

... as a separate top executive agency in Philippine Government?



Sounds promising. This I gotta see.

What kind of an IT user are you?

"If you want to know how you fit in on the typology of ICT and internet users, an online quiz should give you the answer."

Follow the Pew Internet link here. (Warning: a little bit culture-bound)

[via FERL]

I took the test and was routinely classified as an omnivore. So what is your ICT user profile?

"Social software in knowledge-intense organisations"

In Jiri's Notes, Jiri Ludvik seems to suggest the need to take the Social Software talk to the next level. In particular, Jiri notes:

"Weblogs (& wikis) have been around for long enough for us to move beyond the experimentation stage and to come up with strategies on using them to make a real business impact."

Looks like it's getting more compelling by the day. Now my humble opinion is: Educational institutions really need to align skills training programs along this path.

Social Software and Happyness









[via Susanne Goldstein]

Makes me wonder about the nature and degree of the connection.

Social Media in Organizations: Context is Queen?

All efforts to sell Social Software in the Enterprise would likely fail when old mindsets remain.

Robert Paterson weighs in more compellingly:

"When we use the word 'Organization' we default to this model. An organization that breaks up work and people naturally into separate and competing parts. I say competing - because this is also how we allocate capital and resources - the parts compete for the attention of the 'father' as kids do for the car keys. At the centre of this context is Budget and the idea that everyone and everything inside the department is 'Property' that has to be owned by the Head."

More here. I hope that doesn't mean forget about Mission/Vision, corporate planning, team-building, etc.

It was just a matter of time

Mohamed Amine Chatti has just co-authored "Social Software for Life-Long Learning" which was duly published by the "Journal of Educational Technology and Society".

The article in pdf form can be downloaded here.

The arguments have obviously moved beyond the anecdotal, towards an empirical level, with ANOVA and all that. Here's hoping that the larger academic community warms up to the idea of Social Media and Sociable Technologies to support/enhance pedagogy.

Popularity breeds fear?

In a blog entry titled: "Allison Stokke, Web aggregation effects and privacy2.0", Paolo Massa strikes a sensitive chord for people passionately protective of their privacy. It seems like it could also hit the mark for folks craving for attention.

Read more here.

And IBM does it from the top

... in Singapore. Click here for more details. It's called Blog4Biz. Something like that is happening from the bottom in the Philippines. It's called PhilNet.biz. Sounds like a "Spider and the Starfish" game play. And the challenge is finding the "Sweet spot". Question is when?

!people (established March 4, 2007)



Site Statistics
Accounts by type

community: 101
person: 453

Weblog Statistics lahat ng oras:

3561 weblog posts, 10542 comments

noong nakalipas na 7 araw:

141 weblog posts, 208 comments

Not bad for the very first School-based Elgg-powered Social Networking Site in the Philippines. Perhaps even in the Asia-Pacific?

Are we approaching a new Renaissance?

Robert Paterson draws a parallel in the corporate setting:

"As in the Medieval world, the King and the Priests control the communications system. It is a one way top down system. The Priests write books that tell the people how clever they and the kings are.

As in the Medieval world, there is no room for observable science. Just as Augustine and Aristotle were held up as authorities, so there are untouchable dogmas about HR and Marketing. Any evidence that machine hierarchies are unnatural is quashed. Heretics are rooted out inside organizations and are threatened into submission, expelled or killed."

Indeed "shareholder value, the customer or the people" remain the end all, be all of any organization's existence.

Now it reminds me of Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman's book "First, Break All the Rules" and its focus on:

"productivity, profitability, employee retention and customer satisfaction" and what seems to be the bottom-line being more about "people", their person, voice and choice.

And Social Software could very well make that happen.

Yet Paterson asks: "So on what terms would this world want to adopt Social Software? It threatens every aspect of the system. For the real business of business is to serve the King."

More here. So where are the White Knights?

Onomatopoeic Language?

Sometimes I wonder if the Filipino language is onomatopoeic.

Some samples:

Palakpak, singhot, halakhak. Would appreciate contributions.

Homo amateurensis?



Here's an excerpt from Andrew Keen's "The Cult of the Amateur":

"Today’s technology hooks all those monkeys up with all those typewriters (referencing T.H. Huxley's work). Except in our Web 2.0 world, the typewriters aren’t quite typewriters, but rather networked personal computers, and the monkeys aren’t quite monkeys, but rather Internet users. And instead of creating masterpieces, these millions and millions of exuberant monkeys — many with no more talent in the creative arts than our primate cousins — are creating an endless digital forest of mediocrity. For today’s amateur monkeys can use their networked computers to publish everything from uninformed political commentary, to unseemly home videos, to embarrassingly amateurish music, to unreadable poems, reviews, essays and novels."

[via Jessica of Vidfest] Funny, but I get the feeling I'm an ape.

Image Source: http://www.truthtree.com/images/evolman.jpg