We are here again, that lovely time of year when we get to say something nice about each other and help us get the recognition that money can’t buy (?).

Nominations for the 2011 Edublog Awards are open, and here are mine.

• Best individual blog: Steve Wheeler – Learning with ‘e’s.
• Best individual tweeter: There are so many to choose from, but I’m going for Steve Wheeler / @timbuckteeth
• Best ed tech/resource sharing blog: James Clay – e-Learning Stuff
• Best twitter hashtag: #edtech
• Best free web tool: Twitter
• Best educational use of podcast: @Documentally
• Lifetime achievement: Prof. Stephen Heppell

OK folks, let’s see what & who you like this year … click here for the Edublog 2011 nomination hashtag: #eddies11 and make you own nominations here: http://edublogawards.com/nominations/

No related posts.

I’ve met a few people recently both locally in Bournemouth and at Conferences around the country and it’s been really great to put faces to names and avatars. But no one knows what I look like when we’re looking for each other in coffee shops or crowded conference rooms.

So, while I like my avatar it might be time I re-think my online ‘presence’ and not hide (?) behind an avatar any longer. What do you think? As I have some trusted friends and acquaintances on various Social Networks I thought I’d put a few suggestions out there and see what you think. There are a couple of variations on my existing avatar as well as a few new ‘photos’ to choose from. This is also an opportunity to bring my various profiles into line with each other.

Come on then, what do you think? If you like my current avatar then please choose the first image/option, this is effectively the ‘leave it alone, it’s fine’ answer.

If you have another (polite) suggestion then please leave a comment.

PS. Yes, I must be mad to let you help me out, but why not, it is after all what you look at when you see my Twitter or Facebook updates!

PPS. If I don’t like your choice, will I still honour it … I don’t know, let’s see how we do eh?

No related posts.

Whilst waiting for my iOS5 update to proceed I did quite a bit of reading, and one item that caught my eye was this post called “At Last – Recognition for Blog-based Portfolios” by Jim Shimabukuru, which reported on an academic paper written by a group of 6 US professors – “bPortfolios: Blogging for Reflective Practice“.

The abstract for the academic paper is:

“Web 2.0 technology, such as blogging, allows for locally developed, cost effective, and holistic alternative portfolio assessment systems. By enhancing critical reflection and fostering social interaction, blogging portfolios are seen as an integral learning tool for all students enrolled in a university program.”

Quite what the difference is, for the student’s final portfolio, between the blog and portfolio edition is still not clear yet, but it is obviously an alternative solution, and one that ought to be considered.

Many will know that I’ve long been a champion of electronic-based portfolio systems, and have tested and used a few of them (PebblePad, Mahara, etc). While the process of getting them used more widely than as part of a reflective writing element in a single Unit/Course is still on-going, I am now thinking that we have the basis here, with blog-based portfolios,

The highlights of using a blogging system (like WordPress) as the portfolio system are:

• WordPress.com hosted blogs are free.
• Students can use the portfolios across their entire study for numerous on-campus and online courses experiences.
• The portfolios promote and support ‘social interaction’, (i.e., ‘Students share their learning reflections in an open format’).
• Students can ‘continue to maintain their site upon completion of the program as their individual accounts are not registered on a university server’.
• The portfolio is ‘stored’ in the cloud (e.g. WordPress.com) if an Institutional system is not implemented.
• The portfolios are ‘highly cost effective’ and sustainable: “The university can focus its time and efforts on improving instruction and student support for the bPortfolio rather than allocate funds and personnel to web-hosting, software upgrades, and software support, etc. in the bPortfolio project”.

Jim closes his piece by saying that the use …

“… of WordPress and Blogger for teacher and student publications and portfolios is a highly sustainable, cost-effective, and educative practice. It expands the students’ e-learning environment beyond the walls of the college to include the worldwide web. Sloan-C, and especially SPU, are to be congratulated for taking this bold step toward re-empowering teachers for the 21^st century classroom.”

While his use of a blogging system was not sanctioned or supported officially (something he is glad of, in fear of opposition to his implementation) he recognises that there are implications regarding student support, both pedagogically and from the technical viewpoint. Both Blogger and WordPress have extensive resources online for just about every eventuality, this is not always the ‘cleanest’ method of support.

So, the big question … are ePortfolios on their way out before they’ve really gained traction, or is the subect of bPortfolios just going to dilute the discussion about the engagement of students, faculty, and employers? I welcome your comments.

No related posts.

I wasn’t aware of all the different labels that have been assigned in the past, but here is a brief overview (for those who are equally in the dark):

• The Lost Generation: Those who fought in World War I (born pre-1900)
• The Greatest Generation: Veterans of World War II (born 1901-1924)
• The Silent Generation: Also known as ‘War Babies’ (born 1925-1945)
• The Baby-Boomers: Those born in post-war boom and are generally attributed with(born 1946-1964)
• Generation X: (born 1960′s to early 1980′s)
• Generation Y: Also known as ‘Millennials’ or the ‘Net Generation’. This label is more about their attitude  (born between late 1970′s to early 2000′s)
• Generation Z: Also known as the ‘Internet Generation’ (born early-mid 2000′s)

From what I can see the movement from one categorisation of generation to another has been about the enlightenment of the individuals to their surrounding based on different elements of cultural and economic influences. However, I think this only applies to the earlier classifications. Once we see the eruption of technical capabilities, and our reliance on it in our every-day lives, we can see the classifications above become entwined with technical advancement. This is why I opt to use the term ‘Generation T’ for children born post 2008/9 … the ‘Tablet Generation’. As with the classifications above I would also advocate the use of  the ‘App Generation’ in reference to the way in which we are now using and talking about technology – everything is about the App, whether it is smart phones, tablet PCs, or cloud computing (Chromebook).

Here’s a good example:

YouTube: Baby Works iPad Perfectly. Amazing Must Watch!

In this video a father gives his child a tablet for the first time, just look at how quickly she learns to use the home button to exit the app and find another …

You Tube: A 2.5 Year-Old Has A First Encounter with An iPad

There are loads of examples if you look for them, but the fact is that tablet computers are so intuitive that children of all ages can use them. Robert Thompson explains that a tablet, “with its touch interface … can help children extend their creativity using intuitive applications that allow them to color, trace letters and do simple counting exercise — the possibilities are endless.”

Please note that I am trying to stay away from identifying one tablet over any other (or even operating system) as it is the technology and how we utilise it that interests me, not brand or price (although we cannot ignore the importance that is placed on form over function and preference on iPad or Blackberry PlayBook or HP TouchPad, etc).

While the jury is out on whether tablets will replace traditional computers that use a keyboard and mouse, the children/student of the future “will still need laptops, because they’re great for doing school work and just try passing a degree without one, the same goes for many jobs” (Tablets: A backseat for creativity). This is, of course, based on the assumption that the education system will not change and we will still instruct and assess in the way we do now, which we have been doing for many decades before. But this too is changing, just look at the way in which recent Web 2.0 systems (blog, wiki, podcast, etc) have been introduced to the learning environment, and the way the students have engaged with it. If this continues then the historical framework of teach/assess will also change.

Are we ready to embrace the changes? I think we are; there are already schools around the world providing tablets for each child, game consoles are used for game-based learning, etc. While these could be viewed in isolation, don’t forget that 25/30 years ago there were only a very few schools that had a room full of computers for students to use, this is now viewed as the norm, in fact it is essential equipment.

So, how long will Generation T last? I don’t know, but I’m sure the developers at the big tech firms have already started planning for the next big ‘thing’ – but will it be a game-changer like the advert of smartphones and tablets? I welcome your input and ask you to leave a comment or thought below.

No related posts.

Well, it’s been available now for about a week, so here’s a little video, from downstairsdev, I found about WordPress 3.0 and it’s new features.

Note: before you think about upgrading make sure you take a manual backup of the database, backup via the WP control panel,  and an uploads/images you’ve used .. you never know if it’ll go wrong, and it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Related posts:

1. WordPress Plugin #8: Database Backup
2. WordPress Plugin #15: Blackbird Pie (WordPress and Twitter)
3. WordPress Plugin #13: WordBooker (WordPress and Facebook integration)

For those who read this blog you’ll know that I’ve been interested in QR Codes, and how we could possibly use them in the classroom.

Here’s something new I found last week … an extension for the Google Chrome browser (which I use) that generates a QR Code for the current page/URL open in the browser. here’s what Google say about it;

Google Chrome Browser Extension – The tag can be scanned with a QR Code scanner/barcode scanner which could interpret the code and for instance launch the browser on a mobile phone jumping directly to the same URL. The extension comes very handy on for instance mobile phones to avoid typing long URL:s in order to go to a nice home page you found while browsing on your laptop.

I’m not sure it will work quite the way they suggest, I think most people who browse on a laptop will either read the link/page there or save it to either their browser favourite or something like Delicious. For those who want to browse on their smartphone … well, they’ll probably already be on it?

Reading through a few forums on the subject it seems that it is also not particularly reliable, but I’ll try it out and see how I find it. if you’ve experience with it, then please drop a comment and let us al know if it worked (or not), and whether you likes it (or not)!

Here are some of the other QR Code wonders I’ve found recently:

• QR codes at Bath; A year in the life of QR Codes at Bath University
• QR Code Generator for WordPress blogs

No related posts.

I recently found this awesome reference guide, created by Joyce Seitzinger, that shows a simple traffic-light system to see if the tool of choice is ‘appropriate’ for what you are trying to do (assessment, collaboration, etc).

Please look through this, it is a really simple and effective way to present the information.

I have worked on a version for the Business School at Bournemouth University, that covers the same kind of information in Blackboard, but have added a few of my own interpretations on the tools and reasons for using them. I will try and upload it here at some point.

No related posts.

To all those who follow me and my blog by RSS feed, by email subscription, or on twitter … a humble apology. From me, to you.

This afternoon I found I’d been hacked.

Links were placed at the end of some pages (see below) to the kind of content I don’t want to be associated with (you know the sort). I couldn’t find out how this was done, so I did some digging.

I changed the theme of the blog (do you like the new theme? No, me neither, not yet), and they disappeared for a while. Then they returned so I did a little more digging. It turns out that even with the most up to date WordPress, you are not immune.

One of the recognised ways for the hackers to gain entry to the blog is through the ‘admin’ account, which I was stupidly still using (even with strong password). Following the guidelines in the excellent post 10 Steps To Protect The Admin Area In WordPress, this evening I deleted the admin account and created another, with stronger username and password.

The trick was to delete the admin account and re-assign posts and comments to this new user. Thing is, the process was interrupted, somehow! So I now had a half empty blog (which I luckily had backed up about 2 hours ago). So, I imported the backup, all the posts and comments were back, and all looked good.

Then I saw the emails coming through, 370 of them!!! Then I saw my twitter account had just risen by 370 tweets … oh God!! Yes, not only emails to subscribers, but also one tweet per post was sent out!

I still have some more digging to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again (!!) but for tonight, I’m done. No more from me, I’m knackered.

Again, apologies.

No related posts.

Blog update: I’ve finally found a (half) decent plugin for WordPress to manage email subscriptions; Subscribe2.

So, if you you tire of Twitter, FriendFeed, RSS feeds, and the like, and would rather just be able to check your email every now and then to see what’s new here, please subscribe below:

If the installation worked you should see (on the web page www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/blogging/blog-email-subscription) the subscription form above.

I am also planning on a few more additions to make the blog easier and cleaner (maybe even a new template, not sure on that yet) but it will require an update to WordPress 2.8; something I haven’t got around to yet. Watch this space.

No related posts.

So, what is Google Wave, and what’s the fuss?

I am seeing lots of comments and links to it on twitter, but so far I still haven’t understood what it is. So, what is it, and do we need it? Google call it “a new model for communication and collaboration on the web“, and have split it into three distinctive areas;

Learn: “… makes you more productive”

Develop: “… put waves in your site and build wave extensions”

Build: “… uses an open protocol, so anyone can build their own wave system”

Basically, it seems like it pulls everything you use into one ‘interface’; email, blog, wiki, RSS, IM, search, etc.

I’m not seeing the point. So, in an effort to see through my own short-sighted attitude, I thought I’d turn to Twitter for some answers. Here’s what I got/found;

@jvaneck: posted a link to Google Wave Highlight Reel. Some interesting video snippets from the 80 minute Google Wave introduction; at least you don’t have to watch it all (thanks Jeroen).

@mashable: posted a link to  Complete Guide to Google Wave. Innovative feature list of Google Wave like real-time activity, embeddability (is that a word?), applications & extensions, open source (about time), playback, and file sharing are but a few.

@john_hsq: commented that “There’s no document management, workflow, CM, etc. It’s not even close to sharepoint”.

@SmartDataCo: posted a link to “Google Wave or just a Blip“. The post ends with moer questions than Wave has so far been able to answer.

Sorry, but I’m not really comfortable putting all my eggs in the Google basket. Only time will tell if it achieves the hopes and dreams us mere mortals have for it.

Please let me know if I’ve got it all wrong, or I’m heading down the right track. I am confused, I just don’t think we need Wave, yet.

Related posts:

1. Google Wave: 100 tips & tricks
2. Google Wave in education
3. Presentation: Email is so 1973 (Google Wave)