(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

The US Dollar continues to trade at major lows against major forex counterparts, and there is admittedly little scope for an immediate turnaround. Yet we wrote in our

Forex Options Weekly

forecast that options and futures sentiment remains extremely bearish the US Dollar—suggesting a major or bottom is near. As with EVErything in trading, timing is absolutely critical and extremely difficult to determine. Yet we suspect that the weeks ahead could produce significant price moves across all US Dollar pairs.

Forex Trading Automated Systems Outlook

DailyFX+ System Trading signals

Momentum2 was by far our best performer through the past week of price action, as the relatively fast-shifting strategy latched on to nascent Trends across key currency pairs. Momentum1 actually lost on aggregate as it was much slower to adapt to quick and noteworthy shifts in sentiment. As it stands, we believe Momentum2 remains attractive. And the similarly fast-shifting Breakout2 strategy shows promise on the jump in Forex Options Volatility expectations. Range2 has ironically begun trading at arguably the worst time for Range trading systems. We have shifted our bias towards momentum and Breakout systems, and Range2 looks comparatively less attractive in the week ahead.

Definitions

Volatility Percentile

– The higher the number, the more likely we are to see strong movements in price. This number tells us where current implied Volatility levels stand in relation to the past 90 days of trading. We have found that implied volatilities tend to remain VERy high or VERy low for extended periods of time. As such, it is helpful to know where the current implied volatility level stands in relation to its medium-term range.

Trend

– This indicator measures Trend intensity by telling us where price stands in relation to its 90  trading-day range. A VERy low number tells us that price is currently at or near monthly lows, while a higher number tells us that we are near the highs. A value at or near 50 percent tells us that we are at the middle of the currency pair’s monthly range.

Range High

–  90-day closing high.

Range Low

–  90-day closing low.

Last

– Current market price.

Strategy

– Based on the above criteria, we assign the more likely profitable strategy for any given currency pair. A highly volatile currency pair (Volatility Percentile very high) suggests that we should look to use Breakout strategies. More moderate volatility levels and strong Trend values make momentum trades more attractive, while the lowest Vol Percentile and Trend indicator figures make Range Trading the more attractive strategy.

HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS HAVE MANY INHERENT LIMITATIONS, SOME OF WHICH ARE DESCRIBED BELOW. NO REPRESENTATION IS BEING MADE THAT ANY ACCOUNT WILL OR IS LIKELY TO ACHIEVE PROFITS OR LOSSES SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN. IN FACT, THERE ARE FREQUENTLY SHARP DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND THE ACTUAL RESULTS SUBSEQUENTLY ACHIEVED BY ANY PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM.

ONE OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS IS THAT THEY ARE GENERALLY PREPARED WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. IN ADDITION, HYPOTHETICAL TRADING DOES NOT INVOLVE FINANCIAL RISK, AND NO HYPOTHETICAL TRADING RECORD CAN COMPLETELY ACCOUNT FOR THE IMPACT OF FINANCIAL RISK IN ACTUAL TRADING. FOR EXAMPLE, THE ABILITY TO WITHSTAND LOSSES OR TO ADHERE TO A PARTICULAR TRADING PROGRAM IN SPITE OF TRADING LOSSES IS MATERIAL POINTS WHICH CAN ALSO ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS. THERE ARE NUMEROUS OTHER FACTORS RELATED TO THE MARKETS IN GENERAL OR TO THE IMPLEMENTATION.

OF ANY SPECIFIC TRADING PROGRAM WHICH CANNOT BE FULLY ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE PREPARATION OF HYPOTHETICAL PERFORMANCE RESULTS AND ALL OF WHICH CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT ACTUAL TRADING RESULTS.

Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information contained on this website is provided as general market commentary, and does not constitute investment advice. The FXCM group will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance contained in the trading signals, or in any accompanying chart analyses.

Written by David Rodriguez, Quantitative Strategist for

DailyFX.com

Source: DailyFX – Forex Strategy Outlook: Currencies Remain Primed for Sharp Moves

While a dinner with my FIL and my parents can be uncomfortable and boring (mentioned in my last post), nothing can possibly be worse than a meal with my MIL and my parents. Even though it is definitely NOT boring, I would move mountains to ensure that it will never happen again.

It was the first time that my parents met AJ’s mother, so they invited her and us to dinner, at a Chinese restaurant as usual. Once we were seated, my mother asked the waitress in Mandarin for recommendations and they had a little conversation about that day’s specials. After the waitress left, MIL announced that she, too, could speak Chinese, and proceeded to say, “ching chang ching chong ching ching” and laughed as if this was the most clever and funny thing ever. As AJ attempted to kill his mother with his brain power, my parents’ reaction was to laugh. I don’t know if they really thought it was funny, or if they were secretly horrified and laughing in politeness. They ARE kind of clueless, so it could have been either.

Later, a group of women wearing matching T-shirts came in and sat at the table next to us. They looked like tourists at first, but then my mom recognized someone in the group. She asked what their shirts were all about, and a few of them came to our table to introduce themselves and talk to her (in Mandarin). MIL then felt compelled to interrupt the conversation and draw attention to herself by loudly talking in fake Chinese and laughing at her own wit.

I have blocked most of this night from my memory so there is only one other thing I remember. MIL quickly realized that she had a sympathetic ear in my mother, and proceeded to unleash all her complaints about my FIL onto her (despite them being divorced for 30 years), while my mother murmured consoling platitudes. During all this, my mother was being a typical polite Chinese hostess and would pour tea for MIL and place food on her plate. Somehow MIL assumed that this meant my mother was now her servant and started ordering her around – semi-politely, of course – while my mother scurried to make her guest comfortable. This was more pronounced later when we went to my parents’ house. MIL had my mom hopping the whole time, saying things like “I’m so thirsty” which would prompt my mother to get her a glass of water.

So yeah…. that is never going to happen again. My mom said she didn’t mind it, but AJ and I didn’t like seeing it. Since then, other than our wedding day, we have prevented my parents from ever seeing MIL again.

I’m not sure if I would be better off with a Southern Italian mother in law telling me every day that I was a no good, lazy so and so wife to her precious son or if I am better off with MY mother in law. Mama certainly has a heart of gold, and so far she has never commented on my laziness or shopping sprees. But, living with her is always an uphill challenge.

A typical day living with Mama goes something like this:

• Wake up to the smell of cigarette smoke
• Emerge from my segregated cell and venture into the kitchen to find Mama smoking like a fiend cooking God knows what on the stove
• After she departs the kitchen I make and eat my breakfast
• Depart to my cell only to re-enter the kitchen 15 minutes later because I smell something burning on the stove (usually whatever she was cooking at 7:00a.m.)
• Follow a trail of cigarette ash on the floor and locate Mama and let her know that lunch/dinner is burnt again!
• Re-enter the kitchen to clean up the mess and wipe the side-board from all the coffee dribbles (Mama doesn’t see very well)
• I venture a shower or bath and usually run out of hot water because Mama regularly fiddles with the hot water tank (i.e. unplugs it for no apparent reason)
• Mama is back in her bed watching TV at an unimaginable decibel while also talking on the phone for hours
• I pack up my gear and head for work, but not without the pre-requisite interrogation of when will I be home, will I be home for lunch, dinner and what if the polizia come back looking for you panic, etc.
• I return home to find the dinner table set for 3 and although I am exhausted, am expected to sit down almost immediately (can I take my coat off first?) to a 3 course meal of something I recognize as being the burnt offerings of that same morning
• I’m told to try the walnut bread she baked and almost break a tooth because she forgot to remove all of the shells first!
• When the coast is clear and the present “company” are still lingering over their desserts I slip away into my celled area and quietly read a book and cuddle with my cat
• I try to sleep and can hear Mama’s TV again, I roll over and talk to my cat and eventually drift off to sleep for another brand new day

So, anyone up for a trade on the MIL front???

So earlier this week, I think I mentioned that I reached out to my MIL & FIL. They live out-of-state. We’ve had kind of an interesting relationship…they were good and then things got a little rocky when my daughter was born. We worked through that (kind of) and then the things with my husband hit. They have another son who also has bipolar (in and out of jail in another state, non-compliant with meds, addiction issues, etc) and have been dealing with that for years. But when the BP hit my DH, who was the golden child, it was — I can only imagine —very difficult to take. They were helpful in that they were there to care for my DH when I wasn’t able to. His mom moved here to help him and provide a place for him to stay when he was too angry or anxious to be safe around our daughter. His dad was also there in many ways for us. For that I am forever grateful.

Prior to everything happening with the bipolar, my husband chose to keep them very much in a bubble. Kind of an “ignorance is bliss” approach. Especially with his mom, who he and his brothers essentially treated like a fragile flower, because she has depression. But when everything started going down with the addiction and bipolar, there was no way we could continue to keep things from them, we needed everything on the table so all hands could be on board to help. And in order to help, I felt they needed to know what was going on, no matter how hard it would be to hear. He was, after all, their son. So I kept them up to date on everything as we moved through the different stages of the bipolar and diagnosis.

I’m pretty sure that they always felt that I wasn’t supportive enough for their son. Cold, unsympathetic, the works. Maybe that’s true, but the main issue in my mind, is that I’m not like his mom. I’m more like his dad (I think) in how I handle things. Very practical: problem = answer, I will listen, I will be there physically, but I will never be the one who says things like, “Aww, you poor thing” or ” oh honey, are you sure you’re doing ok?” That’s just not me. It never has been. So this isn’t a big shocker, or at least it shouldn’t be. That’s not to say I’m not caring or considerate. But that whole “motherly” way of handling situations has never come easy. Even with my own child. And to “mother” my husband is just plain foreign to me. I choose to DO things…clean, step up and take care of finances, handle the day to day…not deal with the emotional aspect. Make sense?

It got pretty bad, and very obvious over this past labor day weekend for my brother-in-laws wedding out east. My DH was the best man. He was hospitalized right before for mania, released just in time for the wedding and continued to make really poor decisions. Finally, he made it out (barely) to meet us for the occasion. I was not only embarassed by his behavior, I was crushed. And emotionally exhausted. He was pretty much high the entire time. Brought suitcases full of minis with him (another of his addictions). This was also when I discovered the severity of the financial damage he’d done. His parents were there for it all. They witnessed him at his worst. Thankfully it wasn’t just me, the cold wife making things up anymore as to just how bad things were (not sure if they thought that, but that’s what it seemed like).

We continued to be in contact with his therapist, my therapist, his psychiatrist and came up with a “plan” on how to deal with things from there. He would go back home with his parents. I would go home to Chicago. His dad accompanied him back home eventually, and my DH bounced between our place and his parents. Until ultimately, I moved out.

The hardest. Decision. Ever.

Now, my MIL & FIL are coming in town this Wed-Mon to celebrate an early Christmas in Chicago.

I haven’t been in touch with my in-laws, aside from weekly calls with our DD, since I moved out of the condo in October. So, this week I sent them an email.

I wasn’t sure what to really say, or how to say it. But I know I needed/wanted to do it. I’m glad I did.

I think that ultimately while our roles may be different, our goal is the same: That each of us is living a happy, healthy life. And my daughter—their granddaughter—is placed as the #1 priority.

I think we both struggle with some of the same questions: How much is in my DH’s control? How much is controlled by the BP? And one that I hadn’t considered (and was brought up by my MIL): How much of this is my DH paying lip service just to avoid confrontation (something he has always truly hated)? There is some minimal comfort in knowing that I’m not alone in this line of questioning. You know, like what if it were obvious to them and not to me?

Ultimately, I’m curious to see how this coming week/weekend goes.

I haven’t left my husband alone with our DD since August. I know he’d like to have her stay overnight over the weekend since his parents are in town. I’m ok with it if they are there to take care of her…but that’s the only reason I’m ok with it. And even being ok with it doesn’t mean it will be an easy thing to do. So we’ll see how I handle that. And I say this not as someone who has a problem leaving her with people. My dad, mom, brother, brother’s girlfriend, friends, whatever. If I trust them, I’m generally ok with it. But given the history here, it’s sad that I have such a hard time leaving her with her father. I wish this wasn’t the case. I want to trust him. And while I don’t think he’d ever intentionally hurt her, the unintentional irresponsibility as a result of his illness concerns me greatly. And I’m just not willing to let our DD be a guinea pig while he figures out if he’s stable enough to handle something like that. Especially when he’s not showing any other signs of stability.

At the end of the day, my MIL & FIL let me know that they support me in my decision to move out of the condo, and that they know I’m putting our DD first in all of this. They hope to help my DH as best they can, and enjoy the holiday with all of us while they are here. So I have hope that things will go well. And that no matter what happens with my husband and I, I intend to work with them to ensure that our granddaughter gets to have a wonderfully loving relationship with her grandparents.

But for now, I need to get through this weekend. And see how things go.

Sayed Qutb: Mentor to Osama Bin Laden

A young man named Chris Gaubatz, posing as a new convert to Islam named David “Dawud” Marshall, secured an internship with CAIR in 2008 – and began to carry out of CAIR headquarters 12,000 pages of documents and even audiotapes of CAIR officials.
This material became the basis for the explosive book Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America, by Chris’s father David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry, which contains numerous revelations about the group’s shady internal dealings. Muslim Mafia confirms what veteran CAIR-watchers have long suspected: that CAIR is an integral part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s apparatus in the U.S.

The Brotherhood is an international Islamic organization, the parent group of both Hamas and Al-Qaeda, that is in its own words dedicated in America to “a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house.” Muslim Mafia contains details of how CAIR has tried to block anti-terror investigations — and has meanwhile insinuated itself into the highest levels of power in Washington.

CAIR Finally Under Investigation

Given the revelations and deafening quiet surrounding the revelations by Sibel Edmonds I am so NOT surprised that this CAIR revelation could be in fact quite true.

Since the 90’s I have been clued in on the fact that the FBI and CIA both were trapped in amber surrounding “PC” attitudes and group think. In this case, there is a much more raw nerve to be touched upon because the Middle East holds much of the oil keys that “we” want to have easy access to. So, we soft peddle things in order to smooth the surface and have a “good day” with our “special friends”

Now, I am not a Muslim basher, in fact, think that ALL religion is a bag of crazy that leads all men and women to a special kind of dementia. However, the Wahabists do have a special bent for violent reactions to anything that they don’t like. This in tandem with the fact that they actually “do something” about it and use their particular version of the Koran as the guide book and raison detre makes them all the more dangerous.

These people, much like the ultra right conservative Christians, think that they are in a holy war against Shaitan, and Shaitan being anyone who does not believe and act as they do accordingly.

*waves hi, my name is Shaitan!*

So, back to CAIR being an arm of Jihad… Yeah, I can buy this. How better to get funding and intel than to be inserted into the government and populace? All plugged in and able to pull strings that need pulling. Just like the Turkish intelligence operatives that were *are* working within the PAC groups and even within the FBI (see Sibel Edmonds link above) I am sure that there could be elements of Jihad working within the CAIR. Could CAIR itself just be a complete front? Maybe… But I doubt it.

I guess though, that this article and the recent activities of the 5 guys from DC who were caught in Pakistan should have people thinking about the state of Jihad in America. The five boys at the very least should be a wake up call for the US that a new wave of jihad is starting to bud here. These kids were seemingly adjusted and not in contact with anyone that anyone knew of… But then they were online talking on jihadi web boards. The cyber jihad has come home to roost.

My question is this:

“Just how long will it be until one of these kids straps up with some home made manure bombs and takes himself out at a mall?”

Current thought within some circles believes that US Muslims are too well adjusted and integrated to do such things. I say that that concept is wrong and that the jihadi masters are doing the very same thing they do in the Med. Since they don’t have them in close proximity to brain wash though, they instead find them online, and lead them to the right mosque or individuals. They then inculcate them into the fold and set them off.

This has been a trend and soon enough they will not just have them come to Pakistan to train but instead send tutorials online…

How long until we have our very own shaheed suicide bomber?

Time will tell…

So yes… I say investigate CAIR and for all those self interest oriented senators playing interference I say bugger off.

CoB

So, I imagine that along with the continuation of my personal journey, I’ll also try and touch on things like:

• broken trust
• anxiety and anger
• sacrifices
• letting go of the “dream”
• trying to create a new “dream”
• what happens when you barely recognize the man you married
• the defense mechanisms I turn to
• family dynamics
• lifestyle changes
• acceptance and denial
• putting on a happy face
• genetics
• how to communicate
• parenting (probably a lot of this, though probably not always related to BP)

And so much more. If there’s anything you wonder about, have questions about, please ask. I’ll do my best to answer.

I do hope that I can inject some humor into this as well. Lord knows that’s helped me keep my sanity throughout this entire process. Well, humor and some amazing friend and family support. Oh, and our daughter. She’s been amazing and she doesn’t even realize it. Even when she’s screaming and throwing tantrums. I may not have much patience, but even I can recognize how special she is. I realize it’s an awful lot of responsibility to throw on a toddler—to keep me going when I’d prefer to say screw it. But she really is pretty cool like that. Even after a day like today…I should have known it was going to be one of those days…

She woke up and immediately wanted to wear her party dress. See, her party dress is at least one size too small and is from her birthday. It’s sleeveless, kind of a rocker meets princess thing. So I talked her into putting sweater tights under it and a long sleeve shirt with her cowboy boots. Whatever. She has a personality, that’s for sure. Turns out she ended up being a pain in the ass at her toddler class and ended up in the “sad chair” with no snack, no crafts, nothing. When I picked her up she was full of it. And at bed time she was kicking, hitting, screaming, you name it. She pulled the, “I want my daddy” card. Already hitting where it hurts. At one point after she hit me in the face and kicked me, I grabbed her hands and legs and just held her still. And I said, “Geez, do I need to strap you down?” (kidding – kind of) To which she replied (no joke) “Yes, mommy, strap me down” It took all of my power to contain my laughter. I had to walk out of the room to laugh. Even as she was STILL trying to hit me. Eventually, after I got her two pieces of salami (totally grosses me out, but whatever) and two Cars gummy vitamins, she calmed down.

Oh, I should probably also come up with a “key” of some sort for everyone since I’m going to try and avoid using real names (now there’s a challenge!)…I’m sure these will evolve over time and more people will be added, but for starters let’s try going with the following:

Daughter: B, DD, munchkin, kiddo, little one, stinky
Husband: DH, M, Mr BP, Hubby (probably an occasional: ass, pain in my ass, jackass, etc)
Dogs: assholes, shitheads, the girls, pugs

© 2009 nataliedee.com

I’ll also sprinkle in the usual MIL: mother-in-law and FIL: father-in-law. I’m positive there will be some stories there, too.

Well, after watching POTUS give his speech to the kids at West Point I am not impressed. I know that the president inherited these two wars and that basically W fucked the GWOT by going into Iraq. However, by setting a timetable, and trusting in the Karzai government to shape up within a year or so just ain’t gonna cut it.

We would be better served to use those 100K troops to run sweeper teams within the Tribal Areas (Waziristan) and take out the hard core Talib’s and, dare I say maybe actually kill or capture OBL. THEN and only then we should work with the Karzai government to clean it up and allow them to try and give themselves a progressive governmental body. THAT will not happen until the hardliner Talibs are all deceased. You want an analogy? Try on China for size. For all of their “progress” they are still a repressive government with hardliners in charge.

So here’s what I see that needs doing as opposed to just a troop increase.

1) Sweep and clear the tribal areas of Pakistan.

This will require some wheeling and dealing, which in the end will come to strong arm tactics on the part of the US against Pakistan to get them to acquiesce. It needs to be done though. Pakistan needs to be shored up too, hell, re-formed altogether really. They too need the Talib’s purged as well as AQ from their ranks. All we need is for AQ and their merry band of Talibs to get their hands on the nukes. They have been testing the security… How long before we have to go tactical on Pakistan just to stop AQ from making off with one?

I say use the UN resolution and get together a RAINBOW style series of teams and take these fuckers out once and for all. No fuss, no muss. It will be an “international” effort to save the globe.

2) Once the AQ and Talib situation is taken care of THEN we work on the Afghanistan government building.

We invest in their infrastructure, their economy, and build good will as opposed to the fine “Fuck You”  we gave them after arming the Mujahideen’s against the Sov’s. We should have helped them re-build then and its our fault that we didn’t. To be honest, some of the reasoning behind the talib’s and AQ’s mindset included the above short shrift by the US. Just how long this will take I have no idea, but we should be in for the long haul until such time as the tribal nature of the populace is replaced by a more cosmopolitan outlook… THAT will take some time… But, it has to happen otherwise any government in place will fall to the same crime and squabbling that reigns today.

3) We should remove ourselves from Iraq as soon as possible once their government has been purged of the same criminality and squabbling.

How long this will take? I have no idea, BUT, we have really worn out our welcome there as well as damaged any credibility we had post 9/11. We would have been much better served if we had worked harder at Afghanistan/Pakistan and left Saddam alone. Had he acted up, we could have taken him out then. Instead… well you know the story.

4) We need to actually finish ALL of the recommendations put forth by the 9/11 commission and shore up the defenses of this country.

We have been playing catch up with tools that countermanded the US Constitution thus far, but how long is it until we screw the pooch and another attack actually succeeds?

Fix the God Damned Emergency Response COMMS!

PROTECT OUR PORTS!

Secure our Nuclear and Biological facilities!

ETC. ETC…

Will this happen? Not likely… So I foresee bad things on the horizon. I don’t think this will succeed and I believe we will be in Afghanistan for a long time to come. We will continue to flail about and HOPE for the best. Meanwhile the Taliban and AQ will just continue on in the Tribal regions dodging predators and sending out more runners with orders to post on the newly posted. “Godaddy” domained, Jihadist PHP board.

CoB

One thing most men don’t get is no matter what you say or don’t say, comparing your wife to your mum is NOT okay. And when that comparison involves cooking then you might as well go jump off Brooklyn bridge. And take your dirty poo colored tee shirts too. Check?

It’s not a secret that I’m not the best cook in town and neither am I the sweetest person you’ll name so get one thing straight. When there’s only one cook in the house and by ironical fate if that happens to be me then save your comments. For instance, Creme Brulee. One of my favorite desserts and what does the husband do on tasting it? With utmost sincerity and innocence (read: ignorance), quote, “I like my mum’s better (pause) (big puppy eyes look)…oh but wait yours was good too.” Oh no YOU didn’t. Not after that you can’t expect to make a comeback statement. There’s nothing that’ll top THAT. Especially an attack on my cooking skills… The wife always is good. That’s just how it is. Who’s serving the 7pm dinner tonight? Uh not your mommy but me! Although he said it with his big puppy eyes, it’s not like my brain never heard the first 10 seconds of his observation but not to worry, I forgave him.

Your mum’s Creme Brulee? Earth to dummy planet! Earth to dummy planet!

Her’s is like fungus mixed with algae which is grayish-brown in color and looks like it’s been rotting for years. If there’s one thing I can’t muster up courage for then it’s gotta be tasting her Creme Brule. It’s extraordinarily——bad. Sorry.

GENEBRA, Suíça (AFP) – O vírus da gripe H1N1 deixou “pelo menos 7.826 mortos” em todo o mundo, ou seja, mais de mil vítimas suplementares desde a semana passada, o que corresponde a um aumento de 16%, segundo o último balanço da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), divulgado nesta sexta-feira.

O número de vítimas disparou na Europa, chegando a pelo menos 650, o que representa um aumento de mais de 85% em uma semana.

O continente americano ainda é o mais atingido pela pandemia com 5.360 mortos (+554 esta semana), seguido pela região Ásia-Pacífico com pelo menos 1.382 mortos (+59).

O balanço anterior da OMS listava 6.750 mortos em 206 países e territórios.

—

Fonte: Yahoo! Brasil Notícias

In the MIL course my co-facilitator Mew Aeon and I currently are running in SL the students are expected to analyze SL as teaching and learning environment, and in order to stimulate the students’ critical reflections we have prepared 4 discussions on different topics related to ICT-based Didactic Design. Last night we had the first discussion and for this I had prepared some slides (in Danish) focusing on two main topics; the field of Didactics and target groups.

8 students are enrolled in the course and since 3 of them did not have the possibility to participate in our recent f2f kick-off introductions  I had decided to repeat some central points. First of all there is the term ICT-based Didactic Design, which my colleague, Professor Birgitte Holm Sørensen from the Danish School of Education defines like this:

The process by which the purpose, the goals and the content is determined, and where the planning, the organization and the arena for teaching and learning is shaped based on theories and in relation to ICT-based practice in a context.

Via course readings the students are introduced to various didactic theories and models – one of the latter being the so called Didactic Triangle (usually attributed to German Pedagogical Philosopher Johann Friedrich Herbart 1776-1841) that depicts the basic relationships between teacher – content – student. Though all of us can agree that the field of Didactics includes more elements than the relationships in the Didactic Triangle it does, in my opinion, highlight the fundamentals and creates an excellent starting point for discussions on some of the key issues in Didactics.

Key issues in Didactics: content and actors

Now, what I find particularly interesting when you combine ICT with Didactic Design is that ICT not only serve as materials but also as arena or “room” for teaching and learning –an aspect which clearly is amplified when using 3D virtual technology like SL.  Most MIL students can be characterized as being tech-savvy educators/trainers for whom it is relevant to further enhance their competencies in integrating ICT in their practice and we naturally ended up discussing what impact especially web 2.0 tools/services will have on the way we think and practice didactics.

As I see it Web 2.0 tools/services have the potential of changing our perspectives and thus practices regarding:

• Users – both the students and the teachers with regard to relations/roles/responsibilities
• Participation – as we shift from consumption to (co-)production
• Multimodality – new possibilities to design for teaching and learning processes
• Networks and connections – from local to global citizenship
• Knowledge management – both from an information and communication perspective and with regard to security and ethics

How does web 2.0 change the way we think and practice didactics?

For the last decade the Danish pedagogical debate has been focusing on learning and learners (in opposition to teaching and teachers) – and this shift in perspective has been highly welcome and much needed. On the other hand this shift seems to have placed the role of the teacher in some sort of vacuum (are teachers obsolete in the future as polemically stated by David Gelernter ?) making the challenges related to especially ICT integration more difficult and complex than necessary. When discussing target groups we therefore also encourage the MIL students to carefully consider the roles of the teachers. Much as anticipated we did not reach any solid conclusions on any of the topics, but I do believe the discussions inspired the students and I’m looking forward to the next session later this week.

As part of our focus on target groups who could benefit from an environment like SL, we ended the night by visiting Health Info Island, including The Path of Support and finished off by investigating the Virtual Guide Dog.

/Mariis

Dear MIL….the things I wish I could say…

You are on the outside looking in and you don’t know anything about what I am feeling because you never ask. Instead you make assumptions and say hurtful things to DH. You are on the outside and have no idea what it is like to suffer 3 losses and then see people who you don’t have respect for have a baby during a difficult time for you. You never acknowledge the loss except immediately preceeding such occurance, well guess what the pain doesn’t just dissapear. Your son is amazing and puts in a brave front basically for everyone but that doesn’t mean you can just assume he has no feelings anymore about our loss and struggle. Shame on you for guilt tripping him about the holidays and visiting the baby, we are trying to cope and do the best we can during a trying time and you need to respect our decisions. You are a hypocrit to the nth degree and say we need to live and let live yet you have argued and insulted us thru many decisions for our daughter which you really have no business interfering anyway. We will let DD around her uncle and cousin when I am ready not when you are ready and it might take a long time for him to prove he’s not a spoiled arogant asshold drug addict anymore! You need to leave us alone for awhile and let us rebuild our strength and stop assuming I am lazy and a bad parent because of the cleanliness of our house or the fact that I don’t spend time with you when you visit. Stop making it seem like DH has to pick you or me, you might be suprised at the fight that causes. You can keep your nut job medical theories and commentary to yourself you are a nurse not a doctor and our therapist has helped us regardless of what you think of her credibility and influence of her past events. How dare you say something as mean as “how would you feel if the baby dies and you didn’t see him” what purpose does that serve?! You sound like your sister who you call all sorts if names! You think we are heartless?I know you blame me for DD time in the hospital as an infant but making comparisons and statements about how we fed wrong do not help anyone keep that shit to yourself.

For the millionth time we need time, if we lived in a diff state no one would think twice about us skipping Thanksgiving or not seeing you once a week…. I have had you in my house every week since DD was born a break is warrented and needed. (also it’s polite to tell someone you are staying the night before you show up at the door).

Lastly I am in a place of unknown right now, the fear of another loss hangs over me like the rain clouds in Oregon, if a sunny day appears you know not to get attached the rain is always looming. It is stressful, unnerving, and scary as anything I have ever experienced. I can’t be around your negativity, your assumptions, presumptions, and crass attitude right now, so back the fuck off and let us be.

We are sorry our family hiatus comes at a time when you are celebrating a baby and it’s the holidays but it’s one or two overrated dinners and events in one or 2 months that we are planning to miss right now. Pretend we are at my families this year…even though that would never happen (something else I am sure you judge).

All in all pretend like my feelings matter and my opinion counts even if you don’t agree you need to learn to respect that we have a family with our own set of rules, expectations, and problems that might need to get worked out without your rude interference, guilt trip, and incessent commentary.

I feel a little better now! Maybe DH will send her the link haha

A little photostory displaying impressions from the first kick-off week of the MIL course in SL created with PhotoPeach:

/Mariis

Tuesday and Wednesday this week the Research Network, that connects Danish universities and research institutions, held its annual conference and announced that this year’s winner of the Innovation Prize is Inge Knudsen/Inge Qunhua and her work on innovative in-world designs for teaching and learning.

Inge getting the prize RL

Inge was one of the first Danish residents I met when I rezzed back in spring 2007. Inge is always very happy, friendly and helpful and I enjoy taking my students to visit her and her island. Inge has embraced the many affordances of SL, has created new and interesting designs and has more than 300 hrs. of international teaching experience in-world. So I’m truly delighted that she got this kind of recognition and combined with the other award recently given to a SL project (where Inge btw also played an important role) this really is good news for all of us

A short description and the jury’s arguments for giving Inge the prize can be read here (in Danish), but I really encourage you to explore Inge’s designs first hand in-world …

Overview over the small kiosks where some of Inge’s designs can be found

Inge is currently enrolled as a first year student at The Masterprogramme in ICT and Learning (MIL) and the good news broke just as I was going in-world with my class and we quickly decided to congratulate her in her own environment

/Mariis

Dá-lhe!

Jalera, atingimos 1000 olhadas no blog em pouco mais de uma semana.

Não sei se é motivo pra se pagar mas, Temo bombando!

I’ve been wanting to write about my MIL for some time now, but since we haven’t seen her in a while, I can’t seem to generate the required anger and frustration to churn out a really good post about her. I also had to get permission from AJ to write about her on a public blog.

We only see MIL once every 2 years (she lives in Colombia), mainly because AJ can’t stand her. That works for me, because I can’t either. But then around the 2 year time frame, he starts to feel guilty for being a bad son, and buys her a ticket to come visit us. He buys the return ticket for 5 days later, because that’s the longest he can stand to be around her. So any post I write would have to encompass the whole 5 days and there’s a lot of shit that happens in 5 days with this lady. I just went back and reread the venting email I wrote to my friends after she left the last time, and there’s some good stuff in there, but it’s freaking LONG.

In general, though, every single one of her trips has followed this timeline:

Days 1 and 2: Everything is great. She’s in a great mood, happy to be with her son, happy to see me, happy to not be in Colombia. Her biggest desire is to move to the US so she spends the first 2 days on her best behavior: cooking, cleaning, organizing… as if to say, “Look how wonderful your life would be if I came to live with you.” On day 2, though, the subtle guilt trips start to come out: how poor she is, how she can’t afford simple things because we don’t give her enough money (AJ and his sister pay her a monthly allowance which covers all her bills. She can’t hold a job and has always relied on handouts from friends and family. This is why we can’t afford to bring her to the US because it would take a lot more money to maintain her – at least, that’s what we tell her. If she were normal we’d totally bring her here. Well if she were normal, she’d have a job and be able to come here on her own).

Day 3: Due to the increasingly aggressive guilt-trip comments, AJ starts to get snappish with her. Then, when we’re in a public place (usually in a restaurant), something he says will set her over the edge and she’ll exclaim, “How you can say something like that to me!” Then she’ll start bawling (very loudly) and pawing exaggeratedly through her purse yelling, “I need a tissue! I need a tissue!” and asking waiters and strangers if they have a tissue. It is too bad I am not telling this to you in person, because I do a great impression of her. It’s all very dramatic.

Day 4: AJ and MIL stop speaking to each other. I have to listen to how that son-of-a-bitch (AJ’s father) cheated on her (not true) and left her struggling to raise two children by herself with no money from him (also not true – he supported them during all the years that AJ and his sister lived with her, but she never told AJ and he didn’t know that his dad supported them until much later). And how she worked so hard (according to AJ, she did nothing but watch TV all day) and she made him who he is today (she physically and emotionally abused him, and it left deep scars). She’ll also throw in that AJ’s sister sucks as well and they’re both ungrateful and make her live in poverty and she always has to beg to be able to come see them. She’ll say all righteously that she can’t blame her kids for preferring their father, after all he is rich, not like her (he’s also NORMAL, not like her), but she wishes they would feel just a tiny bit of appreciation for everything she sacrificed for them (AJ left her at age 14 because he couldn’t take it anymore and went to live with the man his mother always referred to as “the asshole” – that’s how bad it was, he would rather live with an asshole than with his mother). And so on and so forth. I usually just nod a lot on day 4 and try not to slash my wrists.

Day 5: AJ starts to feel guilty for having made her cry – despite all her histrionics, she’s really good at what she does (manipulation and getting things out of people). He usually spends day 5 taking her shopping and buying everything she wants. Day 5 is not good for our bank account. Then after we drop her off at the airport, AJ will say to me, “I am NEVER inviting her to stay with us again.”

I once stumbled upon an article about narcissistic personality disorder, and it described AJ’s mother to a tee. She really does not seem to have the capacity to love, and uses her children for personal gain. The article said that those with narcissistic personality disorder use love as way to manipulate others, and when the other person is no longer willing or no longer able to give them what they want, they accuse the other person of not loving them anymore. AJ’s mother totally does this to him, to his sister, to other family members, to friends. To her, “showing love” is “buying whatever the fuck she wants” but it’s never enough. She seems unable to comprehend “but I can’t afford it.” I strongly suspect this is why AJ’s father divorced her. She is never be happy, never satisfied.

She often tries to cause friction between AJ and his sister, bad mouthing one of them to the other. Once she got AJ’s sister so upset at AJ that they didn’t talk for 6 months. All based on lies. She is unable to hold onto friends as well. Because she is so charming and so personable, she makes friends very easily (AJ got that from her)… but then loses them just as quickly once they realize how manipulative and grasping she is. She is unable to hold onto a job because everywhere she works, “for some reason” her coworkers always end up “turning” on her, they all hate her and they’re all out to get her. She has some serious issues and sadly, she is too old to get help for it – and anyways, she doesn’t recognize that she has issues. Everyone else has issues, not her.

Luckily for me, AJ is always on my side. He does not allow her to be anything but nice to me, and he has indicated to her that in any choice between her or me, he would choose me every time. This makes her visits a bit more bearable for me, because he is pretty good about shielding her from me. AJ’s BIL is not so lucky. AJ’s sister is not as strong and she cannot defend herself as well. So her husband defends her, and then he and MIL go at it. Then AJ’s sister and her husband fight because she stands up for her mother. Once, MIL went to visit them – it was supposed to be only for 2 weeks but she ended up staying for 2 months because AJ’s sister did not have the nerve to make her leave. She later told me that they almost got a divorce that time. I can’t say I blame BIL. I can’t imagine not having AJ on my side when MIL visits.

When I first became a mother, many wonderful childhood memories came flooding back to me. People with kids know what I mean. I had a great childhood, and I had fun remembering all the good times my brothers and I had as kids. Everything I did for my kids would remind me of how my mother or father used to do it for me and my brothers. I remembered things I hadn’t thought of in years, and it would make me smile and feel loved. It made me really appreciate my parents so much more.

It was different for AJ. Yes, many childhood memories came back to him, but they were bad memories, things he had suppressed for a long time. He had shared with me a lot of awful things MIL did, but after having kids, he remembered even more. Since becoming a father, and knowing he would give his life for our children, it is unfathomable to AJ how a parent could treat her children the way that MIL did/does. He went through a phase of extreme anger at his mother for the things she did to them.

The last time MIL came to visit was the first time AJ had seen her since we had children. Because of all the anger he’d been feeling towards her, the day 5 shopping spree did not happen. In fact, he was so disgusted with her that after she left, he told me he really was done with her. She probably realized something changed, because after she went back to Colombia, she wrote him a long letter about forgiveness and how it can take the weight off your heart if you just forgive the past. Something like that. He forwarded it to me with no comment and I had to plug it into the Spanish-English translator (which is really inaccurate). But I got the gist. He never replied to that email, or any of the subsequent emails she sent.

So that was about a year ago. Usually AJ starts to feel the guilt of “not being a good son” around 2 years after a visit, so we have another year to go. It was really different last time, though, so I don’t know what will happen next year. He’s changed his attitude toward his mother a lot since becoming a dad (way more negative and not as susceptible to guilt trips).

It’s sad because his mother really is a very charming, very intelligent woman, but she uses it to manipulate people. When you meet her for the first time, you’re just so entranced by her. She is attractive, friendly, funny, worldly, and interesting. Sometimes we wonder what she could have made of herself if only she’d been normal. What a waste of a life! Well, not a complete waste, since AJ would not exist without her.

The biggest annoyance is that no one gets how awful she is, because people only meet her once or twice when she is at her most charming. AJ’s stepmother is always talking about how being a single mom is really hard and that he should “just let it go”. But I don’t think AJ’s dad and stepmom know about the abuse and it’s not my place to tell them (I once asked AJ how could his dad leave his kids with their mother if he knew what she was like, and AJ said that his dad probably did not think she could hurt her own children). AJ hears it from his friends as well. People who just don’t get what it is like to have an abusive parent. He used to hear it from me in the early days of our relationship, but then I talked to a friend who had an abusive childhood and she told me it is very, very difficult to forgive and move past it, so I am a lot more understanding now. Even my dad finds the idea of an abusive mother so impossible that he DOES NOT BELIEVE that it actually happened, that maybe AJ “misunderstood” things she said or is exaggerating about the beatings or something. These days the abuse is only verbal and comes in the form of guilt trips, manipulation, putting him down, etc. Some of the things she has said to him in front of me are so awful I can’t believe a mother would say them to her child. So yeah, I fully support him if he decides to remove her from his life.

Anyways, with that intro, I’ll probably post more little tidbits about her later on as I remember them.

“…Al fin decidiste quedar y salir,
bailar como una loca,
volver a las mil…”

Sidonie en Sin querer (Canción 9 del disco El incendio)

Together with colleagues Ulla Konnerup, Søren Skøtt Andreasen & Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld I’ve co-edited an anthology entitled “ICT and Learning – reflected practice”.  What makes this anthology unique is that all the authors are alumni from the Masterprogramme in ICT and Learning (MIL).  Through 7 articles the authors discuss and reflect upon the use and purpose of ICT in different learning contexts covering the educational sector and one public hospital. The anthology is in Danish – and so will the rest of this post be …

Front cover by Helle Fibiger

Ikt og læring – reflekteret praksis er en antologi, der er blevet til på baggrund af masterprojekter udarbejdet i forbindelse med afslutning af Masteruddannelsen i Ikt og læring (MIL). Ideen til antologien kom fra alumner, som fandt det relevant at sætte fokus på den iderigdom, kreativitet og nye viden, der skabes i udarbejdelsen af disse afgangsprojekter.

Gennem antologiens syv artikler fremlægger, diskuterer og reflekterer de 13 forfattere en række vidt forskellige cases, som dog alle har koblingen af ikt og læring til fælles. Forfatternes meget forskellige teoretiske inspirationskilder, metodiske fremgangsmåder og brug af diverse typer af ikt viser bredden inden for dette spændende felt som er i konstant udvikling.

Antologien henvender sig derfor også bredt til alle, som interesserer sig for ikt og læring, hvad enten der er tale om teoretikere, praktikere, undervisere, studerende, arbejdsgivere og ansatte, for hvem reflekteret brug af ikt er en del af den daglige praksis i et samfund, hvor livslang læring om noget er på dagsordenen.

Emneord: Ikt, livslang læring, pædagogik, design, praksis, refleksion

Antologien’ s pris er kr. 198,- og den kan bestilles via Aalborg Universitetsforlag.

/Mariis

Looking at this with the 6 years of history one cannot but see some validity.Take note of the debate now about pulling out of Afghanistan as opposed to the lack of talk in removing forces from Iraq. The difference is of course that there are no petrodollars to be made there. Poppy dollars sure…

Oil Factor

Lørdag den 14. november 2009 blev SL-kurset på modul 4 startet endeligt op. Med oplæg og  hands-on workshop, blev de studerende introduceret og oprettet i Second Life. Der blev givet små hints og instrukser til, hvordan de første små barrierer overvindes og jeg fornemmede, at de studerende tog godt imod de nye udfordringer på trods af et langt og hård seminar på RUC. Den første del med oplæg var obligatorisk, men den efterfølgende workshop fra frivillig. Det var glædeligt at se, at der var mange deltager på den frivillige del af seancen.

Mariis (Marianne Riis) startede op med et glimrende oplæg omkring Second Life og de mange muligheder den virtuelle verden tilbyder undervisere. Mariis  tog udgangspunkt i sit Ph.d.-projekt der netop handler om Dialogisk Didaktisk Design i SL og knyttede i sit oplæg bl.a. an til Kolbs læringscirkel og hendes egne modeller, der bl.a. omhandlede PBBL (Problem Based Blended Learning). Se Mariis’ blog.

I sit oplæg gjorde Mariis opmærksom på, at den virtuelle verden favner bredt. Gennem remediering kan man skabe læringsrum inden for et bredt fagligt spektrum lige fra fx sport, kunst, musik til naturvidenskab, sprogundervisning og samfundsfag.  Mariis viste i sit slideshow eksempler på steder, hvor  Second Life netop bliver brugt som undervisningsrum.

Efter Mariis’ oplæg fik jeg lov til at introducere Mew og mine fascinationsområder i SL.
Jeg skulle jo forsøge ikke fra starten at ødelægge de studerendes muligheder for selv at  finde svar og få  A-HA-oplevelser, og forsøgte derfor at rejse spørgsmål og forundring omkring de fire hovedpunkter, jeg synes er spændende.

Det første at de punkter jeg synes er interessant ved Second Life er muligheden for at  ophæve tid og sted. I Second Life bevæger man sig rundt gennem en teleporteringsfunktion. Man teleporterer mellem SLUrl-adresser og fra at teleporteringen er aktiveret går der kun sekunder før man ankommer på destinationsstedet.  Man kan med andre ord bevæge sig  ubesværet og hurtig fra et punkt til et andet i hele Second Life.
Der, hvor det bliver interessant når man så skal undervises. Mange undervisere har deres egen ø og læringsrum i SL. Her underviser de deres studerende, holder oplæg og designer læringskontekster. Det er i Second Life muligt at transportere sig mellem disse destinationer på sekunder. Jeg kan med andre ord modtage undervisning fra mennesker i hele verden uden at flytte mig IRL (in real life). På et par sekunder kan jeg rejse fra en undervisningsaktivitet med en underviser fra Portugal, til et nyt ”undervisningslokale” med en underviser fra Rusland på samme aften. Hvis dette skulle være foregået IRL havde det tage mange timer, måske endda dage. På samme måde er det jo også muligt, at samle undervisere fra hele verden til et sted, hvilket igen åbner op for enorme vidensresurser.

Det næste punkt jeg præsenterede var SLs muligheder for at læring kan forgå via mange kanaler (auditivt, skriftligt, visuelt ).

Et eksempel herpå er at forelæsninger kan foregå ved, at oplægsholderen (helt traditionelt) taler via voIP. Samtidig sidder deltagerne og lytter. Ud over at lytte har alle (inkl. underviseren) mulighed for at tekstchatte ud i det offentlige forum, hvor alle kan læse det, eller til en anden avatar via IM, hvor kun inviterede kan læse det.

Det bliver hermed muligt at ”tale sammen ” under forelæsningen, diskutere indholdet stille spørgsmål osv.

Samtidig kan kommunikationen suppleres med video, slideshows, audioklip, 3D-objekter mm.

Det er en helt utrolig oplevelse, at være til sådanne forelæsninger og jeg glæder mig til også at opleve underviserrollen.

Det tredje punkt er tilstedeværelsen. I SL er man til stede via sin avatar. Dette giver en helt unik og interaktiv oplevelse af indholdet og undervisningen, fordi man selv bliver en del af læringskonteksten. Et eksempel kunne være at undervisningen var designet ud fra, at avataren skal interagere med objekter eller bygge 3D-figurer. I sådanne tilfælde er den lærende nødt til at involvere sig ”fysisk” i undervisningen og kan ikke bare tage imod.

Et andet eksempel på tilstedeværelsen i Second Life kan være hele opbygningen af identitet omkring sin avatar. Avataren, der kan beskrives som en forlængelse af brugeren (Jones, 2006), er med til at skabe rammerne omkring andres opfattelse af brugeren og også brugerens egen opfattelse af sig selv (Turkle, 1995). Dette kan have både positive og negative konsekvenser for samarbejde, læring og selvopfattelsen i Second Life.

Det sidste punkt var den frihed Second Life tilbyder i forhold til skabelsen af virtuelle rum. Disse rum tilbyder nærmest uendelige muligheder for, at en underviser kan designe et læringsrum efter de specifikke behov de studerende har.
Det er kun fantasien der sætter grænser.

Referencer:

Jones, D. E.(2006’): I, Avatar: Constructions of Self and Place in Second Life and the Technological Imagination, from http://gnovisjournal.org/files/Donald-E-Jones-I-Avatar.pdf.

Turkle, S. (1995). Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Schuster.

/Mew