The most recent Triagulation offers an interview with Edward Snowden’s lawyer. Leo Laporte does a great job with an interview that considers government secrecy and the role of journalism. Worth a listen given many current political developments.
Journalism and government secrecy
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Journalism and government secrecy
Marketing?
I have sold a textbook through a publisher (for 15 years) and through Amazon as a Kindle book. I decided to move to Kindle so that I could create resources in a different format (a Primer at low cost in combination with free online web resources). We negotiated the return of our copyright when we could not agree on price and format. In making this transitions I gave up two significant things. First, I now longer have a dedicated editor. An editor is very helpful to even an experienced author. However, because I am selling a book at less than 1/10 of the cost from the publisher, it was not practical to pay someone what my editor was paid. Second, I no longer have an army of regional book reps going door to door to offer faculty members a free desk copy of the book and attempt to encourage the faculty members to take a look. Of the two forms of support, it is this second service that is most challenging to overcome. Of course, it greatly increases the cost of the product, but unless faculty members take a look they will not consider a book for adoption.
I have come to the conclusion that this is the challenge I must address based on the pattern of sales our book generates. The book sells at a steady pace with no spikes that would seem to indicate the adoption for college classes. I also search for references to the book online. When I was selling through a company, I could locate syllabi that would indicate the book was required of students. I am pleased individuals purchase the book, but the book was really written to be used in a class setting.
Anyway, I am attempting to use some of the promotional approaches Amazon recommends. I am doing this at this point in time as this is when educators look to select books to be used in the Spring semester. For a limited time, the book is available for $1. The price then gradually increases back to the normal selling price. This approach cannot compare to free in your office, but it makes sense to me.
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Marketing?
Connect on the iPad
This is a post for those who may use Adobe Connect in an online course. Connect happens to be the software my institution uses for online courses. I have taught a grad course using Adobe Connect for years and I had never thought to check to see if an app for the iPad was available. It turns out Adobe does offer an app and I like it a lot. This is not my typical reaction to adaptations of services for the iPad (e.g., Blackboard).
The full Connect display looks something like this. The display consists of modules that can be arranged in different ways. This happens to be an arrangement I use while students are making presentations. This is the display as it appeared on my iPad.
A nice feature of the app is that individual modules can be selected for viewing. This is helpful just to be able to see things at a reasonable size. This is a good example of what I mean by a nice adaptation for the iPad. Moving easily from module to module is helpful when working on a smaller screen.
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Connect on the iPad
Fact checking
Wesley Fryer just authored a nice post on “online fact checking”. When I read the title I assumed he was motivated by the Presidential election and all of the discussion concerning the truthfulness of the candidates and their surrogates statements. This was not the stated intention of his post, but his background information and recommendations would certainly apply.
I have been exploring “argumentation” lately and the skill set associated with argumentation would serve a similar focus. What positions are being taken and has credible evidence been offered in support of the positions.
Wesley Fryer does a nice job writing about critical thinking as applied to media consumption.
Instagram photos by location
If you share photos using Instagram, you may be unaware of this feature. I found it by accident.
If you tag your posts by location, the location appears when the post is displayed. Clicking on the location will bring up other photos from that location and selecting one of these photos provides the full post generated by the author. I think this is great, but it may disturb some.
Photos at the top are those most “hearted” – typically spectacular photos. I don’t think I have enough followers to make this collection.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged instagram, photo, photography
Comments Off on Instagram photos by location
A case for coding?
If you are interested in the promotion of computer science courses and experiences in K12, you will likely find this lengthy pdf from the “Information technology and innovation foundation of value (The case for improving U.S. Computer Science Education). The paper even attempts to explain the origins of K12’s focus on other content areas. For example, why was biology considered the ideal science for the k12 setting.
I do find the historical perspective on teaching computer science in schools to be an interesting topic. Someone of my age has pretty much lived through the entire history of this topic and has had the opportunity to view related events – e.g., the emergence and decline and re-emergence of coding for kids.
In thinking about coding in schools, I believe I can identify multiple challenges. There is the question of what role CS should play. It is called a science, but this position questions the definition of a science as I understand the discipline. Certainly, this is the case at the level CS is taught in K12. There is the question of how learning the skills of coding are beneficial. Can it be pushed as a vocational skill or does it have more general relevance as a way to develop a wide range of skills – e.g., computational thinking. If the broader benefits are the basis for promotion, is this content area really the best way to develop such skills and is there evidence that CS instruction actually accomplishes these goals. Finally, the time available within the school day, year, etc. is pretty much fixed. Hence, new commitments must replace existing commitments. Existing commitments are already under siege (e.g., physical education, arts). Which trade-offs make sense? It seems inappropriate to let others work out the details. Every discipline has supporters.
You must be logged in to post a comment.