Parents are always concerned about how to motivate kids with new and unique ways to encourage learning.  The way to their hearts if often through their technology or technology in general.  Digital photography whether it is with a digital phone or a digital camera is a way to get them hooked into a subject using technology.  There is nothing that can’t be made more interesting through the use of photography. 

Our children are certainly members of the technology generation.  The first time I truly felt old was the day I took a phonograph record to school when we were working on sound.  I was really surprised to realize that there were children in the room who had not seen a photograph record.  After I thought about it a while I realized that my seventh graders have always had compact discs.  They have never lived without cell phones.  Most have never had to “dial” a telephone.  Instead they push buttons.  In some cases they simply tell the phone to “call mom”. 

The digital camera provides another way to encourage kids to process information.  Let’s say you are working on sequencing steps in a process.  In the old days you might have the kids list the steps in some process like baking a cake.  That’s ok.  It might even interest some kids.  But the truth is that writing the steps down just might pose a problem with motivation.  But more important a pencil and paper project might not provide the deep processing that we all need in order to completely learn what we need to know. 

You do the same things.  Have the kids carefully read the recipe.  Then gather the materials.  Get everything lined out to do the recipe.  Now is where the process will change radically.  Instead of writing down the steps or recording on paper what is done the child will photograph each step.  An important thing is to encourage your child to set up the lesson just as if he or she were photographing it for Food Network. 

Your child will be motivated, by the technology, to think very carefully about what must come first, second, third and so on.  If it were me I would have the child plan the steps on a computer rather than on paper.  This will allow the child to cut and paste later as they get ready to present their “sequencing” exercise. 

Have the child set up the first step.  You might be the “assistant photographer”.  Perhaps the child would rather use a tripod and use the the cameras time delay system to maintain complete control.  Set up and take the first photograph.  Continue this process until the child is finished with the cake right down to icing it, cutting it and serving it. 

Download the pictures into the computer.  Then use some kind of presentation program such as PowerPoint or the Google Docs application to design a step by step presentation.  The student will then type steps to explain the slides with photographs or perhaps make a movie using an application like Movie Maker which is found with windows. 

Lets say that you are working on a science project involving leaf types.  Often kids are asked to draw the shapes, label them, make cards to drill the types of leaves and try to learn in that way.  Good enough.  But there is a better way.  Make a list of the various leaf types.  Check a guidebook for your area out of the library.  Then take the camera to a local public park to photograph all the leaf types that can be found.  Photograph everything.  Photography even avoids touching the infamous poison ivy or poison oak but still getting examples of their leaf types.  Bring home your samples in digital form.  Down load them to the computer.  Your budding scientist will then use a presentation program or perhaps a word processing program to create a booklet of leaf forms as the completion of the assignment. 

Today I tweeted a hint to encourage parents who were trying to teach their children angles to take your child out with a camera to photograph as many acute, obtuse and right angles as they can find.  These can be presented in any way imaginable. 

Collect pictures of various types of animals at the zoo.  Perhaps the student is working to learn the different phyla of animals.  Off to the zoo you go with the camera to photograph animals you would never have a chance to see in any other way. 

There is no limit to what can be done with a digital camera and imagination.  Any subject—-I repeat —- any subject can be aided with the use of digital photography as a way to motivate you child with a subject. 

In the near future, I will be working with projects involving digital video.  Video may actually be more appealing to your child.  Anything you can do with a camera, you can do with a digital video camera.  You can for instance compile a tour of the historical sites around your city.   Any child could take that recipe idea making a Food Network style show.  Any process can be demonstrated from the steps of a recipe to how to assemble any kind of craft project.  Want to get a child hooked on writing?  Have the child write a script for a digital video program on some subject of interest to the child. 

A few years ago a brilliant teacher had students in the Appalachian Mountains collect information on the “old ways” of their grandparents.  They interviewed each of the elders.  Then they took the interview material to school. There they wrote books that were actually published. 

Can you imagine what you could do with your family history if you had your child do a genealogy project, or grandmothers recipes, or grandfathers hobbies.  Can you imagine how valuable it will be to you to have video taped interviews with all the elders in the family.  Trust me on this nothing will be more valuable in the future as a video record of what has gone before in your family tree.  You will one day be glad you had your child do the project. 

Look for more on this subject in the coming days.  I have also written a small booklet on this subject —  teaching with digital photography —  which will be available here on this site soon.

05MAY09 17:35 Taman Negara, Malaysia

The jungle makes you think of all kinds of things. The sounds are amazing. Hearing creatures in the wild and trying to be a part of the wheel of life. It is surreal to think that there are primitive peoples here living in this jungle. And yet, I will never see them. How sad that I could be this close to Leaver culture and not really witness it at hand.

This jungle is full of all kinds of life: lemurs, monkeys, insects, boars, tigers, elephants…and yet, it is so rare to see anything. The true human race exists out there. Beyond the hiking trails, past villages and deep into the bush. Nomadic hunter/gatherers living a life of leisure. Never knowing what civilization is life. Alone in their tribe just trying to survive. How wonderful it must be to know you are truly a part of the eco-system. Truly one with the Earth. Unaffected by mankind’s “greatest invention.”

When people enter these types of environments they always say, “We take so much for granted.” I think this is the wrong expression. These people are not the unfortunate ones. They are the lucky ones to never have known what hot showers, internet, grocery stores and mega-malls are. They will never feel the fall of the economy, the woes of the great depression, the strains of capitalism or the pressures of a working life. No, they have far greater concerns…like finding dinner for the whole tribe so they can survive.

If only we were willing to listen and learn, we could go back to our true path in life. Alas, we’ll forever be dumb, domesticated animals…sad.

Más muestras para qeu veais la gente como es leveando en un juego tan sencillo.

Sekedar mau sharing aja, belakangan ini NusaReborn telah mulai mensosialisasikan Banned ID buat para player yang melanggar peraturan permainan. Jadi, image bahwa NusaReborn adalah Bnet Server yang didalamnya adalah orang orang yang suka leave dan copo, melalui implementasi peraturan ini, diharapkan bisa memperbaiki image NusaReborn.

Nusa juga memiliki fasilitas yang menurut gw canggih yang disebut dengan replay parser. Dengan replay parser ini, kita bisa mengetahui apakah user yang bersangkutan benar benar disconnect atau leave. Walaupun mungkin, untuk para admin mengambil keputusan juga tidak segampang itu. Disini juga kita bisa melihat log chat selama di Bnet, apakah ada yang menjurus Flamming, SARA, dll. Segala sesuatunya langsung ditindak tegas oleh para operator forum. Respon yang termasuk cepat menurut gw.

Jadi sekarang kalau kamu lagi asik main dan tiba tiba ada leaver, jangan lupa save replay-nya. Upload ke http://www.kitaupload.com kemudian post di forum NusaReborn. Untuk tau aturan lengkapnya silahkan baca disini (Forum Nusa Reborn – Laporan). Selamat bermain,… Jangan leave yaa,.. ^_^v,…

do you? no I
believe
I can’t believe
it reaches out it reaches
lover, leaver, same and found
lost and found.

here and well
can you tell the reason
the rhyme it sounds so good
and all the ins and outs
of yesterday
are tomorrow, are fine.

It just is and does
It is and does
It just is and does
It is and does

not up to you
Truth is true
and that’s for sure
i’m living toward
what life is for
i can’t believe i’m found, i found

It just is and does
It is and does
It just is and does
It is and does

Its Love Love
winsome calling me is Love Love
ravage wooing me is Love Love
It is and does

the sound of Love
the Love of sound of
Love Love

i hear Love i hear Love

Jeder der schon mal im Battle.net ein Dota gespielt hat, wird sie höchst wahrscheinlich kennen, die Leaver. Es ist eine eigene Art von Spielern im Battle.net. Natürlich muss man beachten, dass WC3 bereits ab 12 Jahren freigegeben ist, aber trotzdem nervt es unglaublich wenn wieder einer mitten im Spiel einfach rausgeht. Natürlich haben auch noch die meisten ganz stolz behauptet, sie seien die besten und gewinnen sowieso.

Nachdem sie dann zweimal direkt in den ersten 10 Minuten gestorben sind, beginnen sie zu flamen, “Der hat doch Maphack, …”. Schlussendlich zerstören sie die eigenen Items, damit das Team auch kein Geld mehr bekommt und leaven anschließend. Super somit sind die Gegner gefeedet und selbst ist man um einiges schlechter als die Feinde. Damit ist das Spiel eigentlich gelaufen, aber man kämpft weiter jedoch kann man das Spiel nur in den seltensten Fällen noch wenden.

Was kann man Gegen Leaver in DotA tun? Nunja eigentlich nichts, außer nur mit Freunden zu spielen oder in einer Dota-League, dort wird nämlich jeder Leaver bestraft und somit sind diese eher die Ausnahme. Es gibt aber noch eine Möglichkeit, um die Lage ein bisschen zu verbessern und zwar handelt es sich dabei um eine sogenannte Banlist. Mit hilfe dieser kannst du Leaver mehr oder weniger automatisch bannen lassen und diese werden dann gespeichert. Du kannst auch Listen mit Tausenden von Leavern downloaden und so erkennen ob jemand in deinem Spiel schon mal geleaved hat. Das Problem dabei ist allerdings, dass man im Battle.net beliebig viele Accounts haben kann und das erstellen dauert gerade einmal 1 Minute, also ist es den meisten Leavern egal.

Aber ihr könnt mit der Banlist auch herrausfinden von wo eure Gegener stammen und diese anpingen. Als Host einens Spiels könnt ihr natürlich selbst entscheiden wer mitspielt und wer nicht. Rein aus Erfahrung kann ich sagen, dass man die Russischen Mitspieler eher meiden sollte, weil deren Internetverbindung oftmals ziemlich instabil ist und somit könnt ihr schon einmal ein bisschen Vorsorgen. So und nun wünsche ich euch noch ein paar gute DotA ohne Leaver!

 I originally posted this on the LTUG site (see links) on 30 April 2008

Goerke and Oliver¹ recently tested the widely-held premise that students who “equip themselves with convergent and mobile devices, and are heavy users of Web 2.0 social software … can be persuaded to use both not only to socialise, but to enhance their learning experiences in higher education.”

Their research showed that, when given the opportunity to use PDAs for learning experiences and collaboration, students eschewed these handheld devices in favour of laptops and desktops. They also found that “students were unlikely to use social software applications for learning purposes.” Their conclusion was that there is “little transference of social behaviours to learning behaviours”.
“This research also confirms recent international reports that students of the Net Generation are sending clear messages about their resistance to attempts by educationalists to ‘muscle into’ their virtual socialising spaces.”

Leaver² goes further, saying that students have started “to take matters into their own hands”. Where they believe that universities are not being open enough with teacher evaluation data, students use sites such as ratemyprofessor.com to deliver grass-roots evaluations themselves.

Students are certainly using social software, but on their own terms. Leaver observes that last year in Australia, “over 7500 students joined the UWA (University of Western Australia) network … Facebook. One of the largest groups joined by students in this network was called ‘WebCT is the biggest piece of shit ever invented’ and had over 500 members, many venting their anger at what they saw as failures of the WebCT learning management system.”

Is Barrie Clark³, Swansea University’s UK recruitment manager correct when he claims that “potential students, being very media-savvy, would see universities’ use of social networking and text messaging as intrusion into what they use as a recreational space” ? Will we alienate a generation of students by going too far, too fast by virtually hijacking an innately user-driven technology to achieve a top-down, teacher-driven educational reform?

I hope not. I think we are perhaps seeing the beginnings of a student revolt – emergent behaviour that is signalling an unwillingness to be told how and when their social communication systems are to be used. And that is perfectly understandable.

So let’s employ social software in the way it was designed to be used. Instead of pushing students into those parts of the social web that we feel is educationally desirable, let’s pull them in. As educators, researchers and subject matter experts, perhaps we are the ones who should be authoring more blogs and contributing to wikis in our own fields – with posts that intrigue, challenge, inspire and offend students’ intuition to the degree that they choose to follow what we have to say by willingly becoming part of our social networks. We could earn the right to be respected.

We keep saying that we want our students to construct their own learning experiences, but we don’t quite seem to trust them to do it ‘properly’. We may be micromanaging their learning until they can’t breathe. If we take a step back and provide them with high quality materials that they can use for constructing learning in their own way, chances are that they will be drawn to them like ants to a picnic.

If student perceptions are that we are intruding on their spaces, they might just go away. Baseball’s Yogi Berra is reputed to have said about a popular restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded.” It would be sad if our social spaces suffered the same fate.

¹Veronica Goerke and Beverley Oliver, Will the Net Generation use personal devices and social software for supplementary learning experiences?

²Tama Leaver, Putting windows in the ivory tower: Challenges and changes to university practice in the face of Web 2.0 tool use by students.

[TL Forum (2008). Preparing for the graduate of 2015. Proceedings of the 17th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 30-31 January 2008. Perth: Curtin University of Technology. http://otl.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2008/contents-all.html]

³Education Guardian: MySpace – The final frontier

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/comment/story/0,,2067053,00.html

Har precis fatt veta att Idahoe ska lamna AP scenen och ge sig ut och resa! Bada bra och daligt! Trakigt for oss har borta, men kul for henne, som verkar ha fatt nog av APlivet och allt vad det innebar!

Vi ska i alla fall forsoka fira av henne innan hon aker hem, som borde bli nangang nu i april! Kanske blir dar hon bor eller i NYC. Vi far se vad hon kommer fram till!

Lycka till Ida!!