Blurts

David Warlick asks this question proposing that reform is unlikely because resources are selected by teachers and schools rather than by students.

I wonder. I think he is probably wrong even when inferring something about student use of technology. The challenge I think we face is to get students to reconceptualize technology as a tool for learning rather than entertainment. I am not convinced these are the same things and many future educators my wife and I work with seemed puzzled when we ask about applying tools/services students are familiar with to unfamiliar applications.

Sometimes a game is just a game and a tweet is just a short description of what you had for breakfast. (M. Grabe)

Cindy is doing some work in Russia and when she has time and access is posting some material to her Eyes Wide Open blog. She says uploading larger files is an issue so more pictures will likely be added at a later date.

Cindy is doing some work in Russia and is beginning to post about her experiences. Here she gets a little too close to a camel.

So, here is the scenario. My wife is in Russia for a couple of weeks. She normally pays the bills. I am capable of writing out checks and addressing envelopes, but she has a system I can’t understand.

MCI has been calling every half hour. Actually, it is some robot. Evidently, according to the robot, we have updated our credit card and they need to know the new expiration date. I call the number they provide and the robot asks me to enter my credit card number. It is true that I have a new credit card but I do not give my credit card number to a robot. I try to figure out how to call a human. Now I encounter a different problem. I do not know our PIN number.

So, it appears that MCI is concerned I am trying to somehow break into my own phone account. But, they want me to offer up my credit card number without even talking with a human. Here is how I think it should go. You give me my credit card number – you know what it is or how would be you be able to verify the number if I give it to you. If you can do that, I will give you my expiration date. This seems a logical approach with some protection for both parties.

I don’t think we even need an MCI account. We use cell phones and have some kind of deal through our cable provider. Perhaps this is for 911.

I have an email in to my wife for assistance. I hope the stop calling at a reasonable hour.

Don’t call – send email. The phone is for digital immigrants. 😉

I have been reading Bonk’s “The world is open”. It is well written, but much like too many other books I have read lately – a mash-up of “The world is flat”, “Wikinomics”, “Here comes everybody”, and perhaps a bit of “The social life of information”.

The idea of openness is intriguing – we clearly have open source software and some open source information resources (e.g., wikipedia). I am still grappling with a core concept associated with “openness” – what products or resources do we assume should be free? Clearly, many of these authors see a world in which software, educational content, and educational experiences should be free. Just what about these services and products prompt such expectations.

I have too many vegetables growing in my garden this time of year. Should food be free. I don’t mind giving stuff away now – I might as well. I can only eat so many tomatoes and the zucchini are far past the point at which I even bother to pick them. They just grow into these large things I am thinking of carving for halloween. Now, a month ago, I would have thought differently. I even had to make purchases at the farmer’s market to put vegetables on the table. By the way, those farmers are still there selling stuff. Do you think they would be offended if I put up a table and just gave stuff away? I could call this open source food. There are probably lots of hobby gardners just like me. Is that what makes an open source movement? Hobbyists? People with too much stuff or too much time?

One of the concepts in Wikinomics is that consumers become prosumers when they co-create goods and services. This I think is not appreciated. This sounds like a co-op or maybe a barter system to me. The problem with the way many understand the open source movement is that it is too much like a “free lunch”. Try walking out of your local co-op with an open source tomato.

<p><a href=”http://openinternet.gov/read-speech.html”>FCC Chairman on net neutrality</a> proposing that ISPs not be able to filter or block by content type. Propose same guidelines for smart phones.</p>