Bahamas! My view from my room!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Everyday Thing - Un-easy Design
I have (at least) two things to mention.
One is one of those sponges with a handle that holds the soap. There is a spot to add the soap, the handle and then there's sponge itself. However, when you go to wash, no soap comes out and it is very frustrating. I would press very hard to try and force the soap out, and nothing. It took me 3 months to come to realize that the place that you add the soap is the "lever" to release the soap. No where did it indicate this. And when one presses on the "lever" you get no feedback that this is releasing the soap.
Another is a door (sorry, I couldnt resist)...The door has flat panels, with a door knob on the left hand side. Guess what? You PULL the door knob...on the LEFT hand side. I get fooled on this EVERY time. Ugh.
One is one of those sponges with a handle that holds the soap. There is a spot to add the soap, the handle and then there's sponge itself. However, when you go to wash, no soap comes out and it is very frustrating. I would press very hard to try and force the soap out, and nothing. It took me 3 months to come to realize that the place that you add the soap is the "lever" to release the soap. No where did it indicate this. And when one presses on the "lever" you get no feedback that this is releasing the soap.
Another is a door (sorry, I couldnt resist)...The door has flat panels, with a door knob on the left hand side. Guess what? You PULL the door knob...on the LEFT hand side. I get fooled on this EVERY time. Ugh.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Design Obsessed!
After reading the first chapter of the Design book, i have become somewhat obsessed with how things are designed, keeping vigil on the flaws that (inadvertently) make our lives more difficult than they need to be.
A few things that have compromised World Order:
A few things that have compromised World Order:
- My light switch is located behind the door, which is just silly
- Tab key should be on both sides of the keyboard
- Information architecture in general (website design and word and image placement...many, many bad examples out there!)
- A browser that will go unnamed...the "back" and "forward" button are practically invisible with no words to indicate they do what they do! And the buttons are so "design-oriented" that they lose all practical qualities
- The SFSU parking lot! A labyrinth and a nightmare!
- Why do LCD projectors have a leg slightly off-center? Can anyone answer this? There has to be a logical reason!
I am sure i will come up with more, but it is a good (albeit irking) excercise to keep these senses honed to maintain an evolution in the world of design. Look forward to the next chapters!
My Whole New Mind
This book is very timely for me. Well, not actually, as I have been thinking about the right brainishness of the world and in particular, my world for a while now. You cannot help it #1 living in San Francisco where everyone is an "designer" or "artist" or some type of creative type and #2 the current sea change in the world we live in (and #2a the ITEC program). I have always considered myself a linear-verbal-Left-Directed type, focused more on words than on images. I cannot draw for the life of me, my mind gets in the way, have tried playing music, but again, i think too much.
This book has made the Right-directed aspect of the world more accessible. It has also allowed me to realize that maybe i am more R-directed than i give myself credit for (but at the same time points out that i could always achieve more!).
Having grown up in the US school system and having attended a large state university, i am used to fact memorization and multiple choice tests where stories don't matter as much as the right answer. Our school system (with that in mind) does not encourage many of the R-directed skills Pink discusses.
Having studied psychology for six years, Empathy was the only part that I really felt confident that I possessed. However, Storytelling, Design, Symphony and Play are the "senses" that jump out the most for me as needing to work on.
I am grateful for the portfolio sections and will continue to come back to them. And when I do...i will draw out graphs and illustrations, tell stories, make up games and see how it all fits together with everything!
R-Dave-L
This book has made the Right-directed aspect of the world more accessible. It has also allowed me to realize that maybe i am more R-directed than i give myself credit for (but at the same time points out that i could always achieve more!).
Having grown up in the US school system and having attended a large state university, i am used to fact memorization and multiple choice tests where stories don't matter as much as the right answer. Our school system (with that in mind) does not encourage many of the R-directed skills Pink discusses.
Having studied psychology for six years, Empathy was the only part that I really felt confident that I possessed. However, Storytelling, Design, Symphony and Play are the "senses" that jump out the most for me as needing to work on.
I am grateful for the portfolio sections and will continue to come back to them. And when I do...i will draw out graphs and illustrations, tell stories, make up games and see how it all fits together with everything!
R-Dave-L
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Blogging Article
The Pew Internet and America Life Project conducted a thorough survey of bloggers, what topics they blog on, what demographics blogs (age, race, socioeconomics, DSL/dial-up), what motivates them to blog, how often they blog and more. This information was then crossed with other behaviors such as where they get their news from, what politic party they were, the validation of their sources and so forth.
Some bloggers blog for personal use, some for creative outlet, some for politic reasons, and some to communicate with family and friends.
The most compelling part of this article for me was the political and journalistic motivations of bloggers. In this new world of independent news sources and where "everyone is a journalist", it is interesting to peek into the minds and methods of these conveyers of information. The idea of having a more (non-corporate and non-mainstream) media source and something more (as the article puts it) democratized is a healthy thing for society that I certainly support. So it was interesting (and perhaps not surprising) to find out whether they actually verify information, cite sources, quote people directly and so forth. The numbers of whether they do act "journalistically" seem to be split down the middle...but one must bear in mind that these are SELF-reports and most will err on the side of self-protection and flattery. (But i don't know how much of this is conducted in the "real" media either).
One other thing that stuck out was a racial issue. Hispanic people tended to blog almost twice as much as their general Internet population. This is a very compelling statistic! Why is this? Blogs are used for sharing your voice, blogs are used for community building/sharing, for politic reasons, etc. Why would Hispanics make more of a showing than any other ethinicity in the blogosphere?
One survey I would like to read about is "Where do Blog readers go?" I don't read blogs, don't have time, and don't always know where to look...this information, to me, is more elusive.
BTW: Here I am practicing putting in a video. It has the lion hunt that I shared with the class on the first day...
Some bloggers blog for personal use, some for creative outlet, some for politic reasons, and some to communicate with family and friends.
The most compelling part of this article for me was the political and journalistic motivations of bloggers. In this new world of independent news sources and where "everyone is a journalist", it is interesting to peek into the minds and methods of these conveyers of information. The idea of having a more (non-corporate and non-mainstream) media source and something more (as the article puts it) democratized is a healthy thing for society that I certainly support. So it was interesting (and perhaps not surprising) to find out whether they actually verify information, cite sources, quote people directly and so forth. The numbers of whether they do act "journalistically" seem to be split down the middle...but one must bear in mind that these are SELF-reports and most will err on the side of self-protection and flattery. (But i don't know how much of this is conducted in the "real" media either).
One other thing that stuck out was a racial issue. Hispanic people tended to blog almost twice as much as their general Internet population. This is a very compelling statistic! Why is this? Blogs are used for sharing your voice, blogs are used for community building/sharing, for politic reasons, etc. Why would Hispanics make more of a showing than any other ethinicity in the blogosphere?
One survey I would like to read about is "Where do Blog readers go?" I don't read blogs, don't have time, and don't always know where to look...this information, to me, is more elusive.
BTW: Here I am practicing putting in a video. It has the lion hunt that I shared with the class on the first day...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Learning for the 21st Century
The author begins with a thoughtful analysis of what changes are needed in education, and why change is needed; however, this article continued to leave me wanting more.
Many of the statements and suggestions the author made seemed hollow and derivative without really presenting any new ideas. The article seemed to be written by someone who was an expert in the field of education, but not necessarily knowledgeable of the leading edges of emerging technologies, particularly with regard to education. In fact, it actually seemed as if were written much before the advent of Web 2.0 since no specific or tangible technologies were mentioned (he mentions "spreadsheets" and "the internet"). Much of the direction he proposes for the future of education can be said for any generation (eg, time management, decision making and diversity). None of these seem to be new ideas. His ideas for "21st Century skills" did not seem very unique to the 21st Century ("computer-based assessments" and "digital scoring systems"), nor did he present convincing ideas of what these new skills were. Btw, it was not clear as to when the article was written (post 2002).
The article does, however have merit as a baseline prescription for education and proper learning. Most of it founded on textbook learning approaches such as the focusing on core subjects (using No Child Left Behind as part of his model). In theory, this is a sound approach, but the article's theme was regarding learning for the future, for the 21st Century, therefore, much of the ideas felt unresolved and partially uninformed.
One bright spot in the article was the author's discussion of how instructors should approach learning in the 21st Century. The idea of collaboration and the need for students to interact with the outside was emphasized. He recommends that teachers reach out to the community, both locally and globally as a means for education and exposure. Another key point was to use technology to "make it possible to change the dynamic between students and teachers, allowing students to pursue topics in depth and, at times, become experts in charge of their own learning." Although this was a great idea, he does not propose what technologies could be used for such a project (Wikis? Blogs?)...
Although much analysis and thought went into the article, it is far from definitive in terms of using it as a blueprint for what we, as educators, should use as playbook for the future.
Many of the statements and suggestions the author made seemed hollow and derivative without really presenting any new ideas. The article seemed to be written by someone who was an expert in the field of education, but not necessarily knowledgeable of the leading edges of emerging technologies, particularly with regard to education. In fact, it actually seemed as if were written much before the advent of Web 2.0 since no specific or tangible technologies were mentioned (he mentions "spreadsheets" and "the internet"). Much of the direction he proposes for the future of education can be said for any generation (eg, time management, decision making and diversity). None of these seem to be new ideas. His ideas for "21st Century skills" did not seem very unique to the 21st Century ("computer-based assessments" and "digital scoring systems"), nor did he present convincing ideas of what these new skills were. Btw, it was not clear as to when the article was written (post 2002).
The article does, however have merit as a baseline prescription for education and proper learning. Most of it founded on textbook learning approaches such as the focusing on core subjects (using No Child Left Behind as part of his model). In theory, this is a sound approach, but the article's theme was regarding learning for the future, for the 21st Century, therefore, much of the ideas felt unresolved and partially uninformed.
One bright spot in the article was the author's discussion of how instructors should approach learning in the 21st Century. The idea of collaboration and the need for students to interact with the outside was emphasized. He recommends that teachers reach out to the community, both locally and globally as a means for education and exposure. Another key point was to use technology to "make it possible to change the dynamic between students and teachers, allowing students to pursue topics in depth and, at times, become experts in charge of their own learning." Although this was a great idea, he does not propose what technologies could be used for such a project (Wikis? Blogs?)...
Although much analysis and thought went into the article, it is far from definitive in terms of using it as a blueprint for what we, as educators, should use as playbook for the future.
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