Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Question about Wiki Texts

Hi Everyone,

I have a question and was wondering if someone could help me out.  I was looking over the syllabus today and for the Wiki texts, the heading says "Two Wiki Texts" that we have to remix.  In the description it says we have to do four.  Does anyone know how many we have to do?  Thanks : )

Carey

Sunday, September 28, 2008

newlits.org

Well, I created a user name and password and I am still clueless on what to do now?

Chapter 4 - Lost Frog Flier

I have to briefly discuss the lost pet flier written by Terry, a 16-year-old autistic boy. I am amazed at how something as simple as that can create such a following. I never realized how simple something can be to be turned into a visual meme passed on from person to person. It even has a website! Of course I had to explore the website after reading about this. I can't believe how many people remixed the idea of the flier! The math test was the funniest to me. I can't believe that a lost frog flier can create such a hype! It just goes to show you that anything that you create can develop a following like the lost frog flier. You Tube is another great example of how ordinary people can become famous through collaboration and participation in the digital world. Anything is possible!

"You wouldn't go in Barnes & Noble and take a book off of the shelf without paying".....

Hi Ladies that quote came from the readings of "Piracy and Pirates"

What is Piracy? " the using of creative property of others without permission"
Who are the Pirates " the flee(ers)


Are we as americans gulity?

Yes Yes Yes. and not only americans its nationwide, including Asia and Eastern Europe.

According the ariticles, piracy is happening EVERYDAY. It is most common in film, records, radio, and cable tv.

Just a little history: Thomas Edison fromed The Motions Pictures Patents Company, "MPPC"; to mininize the using others work or property without permission. So as a result "users" assume the right were only in USA, and went outside of the country to monopilze. "The pirates"

Here are some examples:

Film:

Independent film makers (the napsters of film)

Independent film makers confiscated unliscenced equipment to produced unliscence films

Music

In 1909 (wow) Congress amended a Copyright act; companies were free to distribute copies of recording so ling as they paid the composers or copyright holders.


Radio

When a radio stations plays a record on the air "public perfomance" of the composer work. the radio station owes the composer .

In other words everytime you be-bopping to your favorite tune in the radio in your car, that artist may be making millions. unless they are not the orginal artist, otherwise "REMIXEDDDDDD"

Cable

Cable is fairly "New" When the cable entrepreners first began wiring communities with cable in 1948, most refused to pay brocasters espeically local tv stations (CATV).

In finalle, Pirates and Piracy happend then and it still happening now. think about if you have purchased a second dvd, cd, pocketbook, parfume, i can continue on and on but i wont. I am beginning to feel GUILTY?

Are you GUILTY????



.

Getting Started.

I registered with the wiki, I would like to know how many software, I have to use to do at least one of the assignment. I need some help with the tech part. If anyone would like to help a fellow student, please let me know when you are on campus and available. I am always available on Saturdays; in the afternoons from 5:00 PM: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I would appreciate it greatly.

Thanks, Kate.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

newlits.org

Quick question...
Has anyone registered with our course wiki?  I saw we need to do this on the syllabus.

Enter Here:

I always love to learn what other teachers do in their English classes especially when it pertains to older students.  I really enjoyed this article about personal narratives and digital storytelling (posted on Blackboard).  My 7th graders always create their own short stories during the fourth marking period.  Most of them retell a fairy tale, but I never really instructed them to think about their childhood.  Also, our stories are created in a bound book, not digital!  What a cool idea!  
Looking at that article, I was amazed at Niko's response to "what it means to be literate?"  He said literacy was "all the stuff that we don't learn in school that allows us to be who we are."  I wonder how my students would define what it means to be literate?  
I do plan to try to do more with media literacy with my students this year and possibly have the students create digital stories.  How do you incorporate digital literacy into your classroom? 

Friday, September 26, 2008

Hi Ladies

Hi Ladies,

Sry I have not been blogging all week. I had death in the family, atop of changing classrooms. I will defintley try to post my thoughts on "Privacy VS Piracy" this weekend. I miss you guys.

BYL (blog you later)

madison

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Writing with books

Here's a clever project I came across today that people of all ages are highly likely to enjoy mucking around with. I especially like the shark story!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

a few questions about the Theory-and-learning journal

Hello again,
Just a few questions about the journal.  Does anyone know about how long each of our journal entries should be?  Also, is there a certain number of entries we should have?  Thanks!

YouTube making people famous...

Hi Everyone,
I was thinking about a post that would be fun for everyone and the first thing that came to mind were a few of my favorite (and probably millions of other peoples) YouTube videos.  I was just going to post the videos with this little blurb.  I went to YouTube to find the videos and found another video to add.... if anyone has ever seen the "Charlie Bit Me" video, then you will be interested to see that Charlie and his family have become mini celebrities.  Not only has the video been viewed over 50 million times, but Charlie and his family were also featured as guests on a British talk show... I have linked the original video along with the video of him on the talk show.  Interesting what family videos can become! Enjoy : )

Original Video: Charlie Bit Me

Monday, September 22, 2008

Random Question about Video Cameras

Hey Everyone,

This may be a silly question, but I was wondering if anyone knows how or if you can download a video from a video camera to your computer? Would this be similar to videocasting that is described in Chapter 5? Would I need software for this or is it like when you upload pictures from a digital camera? I am going to visit Steve Garfield’s blog to see if it is helpful (website is located on page 177). If anyone has some insight, please let me know.
Thanks!!

By the way, I know this probably does not interest anyone but me; however, I have to share. I was looking around on youtube and I found highlight films for soccer and basketball games from my high school. I watched a few. There was also a photo gallery. Everyone should check out their high school or college. You never know what you might find. =)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

NewLits remix

OK, now I need help.
I created a user on NewLits's Wiki. I wrote a "test" page, which I saw.
Then I tried to figure out how to "remix" Chris Shamburg's Wiki....and I can't figure it out.
I swear I used to know a good amount about technology.
My tech-logic is just not working right now and I feel as if I am lost in techno-limbo.
Has anyone done that assignment yet. If so, what step am I missing?
I'm done messing with it for tonight. I'm leaving it till tuesday. I'll let you know if I figure something out.
I do feel a bit stressed since I feel that "experts" will be looking at it and I don't want to destroy someone else's entry (ie: the expert)!!! No Pressure!

ISTE Webinar

I realize most of us are not in the technology field, however there is an AWESOME organization called ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) that has some pretty cool stuff. I was just curious to see where their conference was this year (DC in July 2009,btw) and found an upcoming webinar (soooo cool!) on video podcasts in schools...aka: vodcasts. The webinar is October 7th if anyone is interested.
Keep an eye on their website, you never know what other goodies they might offer!

A syms realization...5 months later

Hey Debby...
Did you know you could play with a family that already exists in Syms? You don't have to build them from scratch, you don't have to buy furniture...OR ANYTHING?
My kids told me that this summer. I was so annoyed!!!
Where the heck was THAT in the instruction book or in the tutorial.
Damn gammers! All that learning and I could have had it easy.
Who ever designed Syms must have been one of Gee's students. Sadists!

machinima.com

After class, I was determined to get my kids' impression of machinima.com
After much build up on my part(of the "men's bathroom etiquette" using Syms characters...which I thought was funny as heck!).... they thought it was lame. They returned to Youtube to their version of machinima.com-esque game character videos set to techo music.
I swear, I thought I was hip...my children proved me wrong! (although, I really like the techno music...it reminded me of the 80s).
I guess my kids will not be helping me with my research this semester.

Epic as a class read?

When, in class, we were discussing the idea of “self” in our “new” world or “new ethos”, I mentioned the book Epic I read, by Conor Kostik . The story line takes place sometime in the future in a communist style society of farmers etc… At night, people of all ages play the game of Epic to earn credits to help them buy items (solar panels, farming equipment, etc..) to help them in their real lives. As the story unfolds, the youth begin to question a few ideals:
- Why is our life predetermined
- Why are we unable to better ourselves
and the most interesting, I found, was “why can’t I change my character to be opposite gender?” The main character challenges the norm by creating a female character. In addition, he puts all her credits into beauty instead of weapons and potions as he had in the past. He then finds that player, in the game, give him secrets and tricks to beating the system.
The message of the book is certainly not that beauty will open doors, rather that thinking outside the box will take you further. A huge message of challenging the system is quite apparent. All in all a great read, particularly for teen gamers who don’t like traditional fiction.
There is a sequel, Saga, however, I was not as impressed with it as I was with the first book.
In the scope of our class conversations and encouraging students to read, Epic becomes quite relevant and timely. Perhaps it should become a course read?

Thoughts and questions about our final project.

With my reading this week, I have been thinking about our final video project quite a bit. I was thinking of running a song for the entire length of my video. Does anyone have a thought if this would be alright, or does the professor want us to speak during the video? If I remember correctly, the video we saw in class did not have anyone announcing or commenting on it. The song I am thinking about using has some terrific lyrics that I think I can use without interruption.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cool video

I thought this was a pretty cool music video that incorporates the video game Halo and I'm not even familiar with the game. I wish I could fully understand the characters in the game, but the video was still entertaining. It's a bit long..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19KoKVkTNF0

Alice.org

Just wanted to let everyone know that one of the websites mentioned in our syllabus, Alice.org offers a free download of the software, Alice 2.0. This software allows you to develop your own animation with 3-D images found in the program. I downloaded it and starting mucking around the program and it seems like a great program to use as part of our final video project. It seems like a straightforward, simple way to create your own animation. Just thought I'd give everyone the heads up!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

goggle earth

Hey all
I tried to check out "external links" on Blackboard for our last class.  I could not find it.  Well, I tried again tonight and low and behold... it was right in front of my eyes!!!  I was looking for this link as soon as I got onto Blackboard, but tonight I realized this link was on the left hand side after clicking into "course documents."  
So, I took a closer look at google earth.  I have only used google earth to see my house - cool, but boring.  I just watched two short videos completed using google earth.  The first one showed herds of different animals all over different countries.  The second one showed NYC.  I really enjoyed the second video.  Great music and and a touching look at Ground Zero.  Check it out on "external links" on Blackboard.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Morris Tech recruiting eight-graders for academies

Hi Guys,

I read an article in the Record praising the drive that Morris Tech is effecting to recruit eight-graders in specialized curriculum geared towards the students interest, the curriculum is designed to prepare student for the rigors of college and future carriers, student may select select from different academies such as networking, health care sciences, law enforcement, the academy for mathematics and engineering. In every case students may chose from the programs being offered to orient themselves towards a career or attend a good college. I think academies are a good way to keep the dropout rate down. I think Morris Tech is doing a good job by offering a broad range of disciplines that will be a magnet to most students. If you know any student in the Morris county area, you may give them inform them about this program. For more information call the Morris County School of Technology at 973-627-4600 or visit the school's website: www. mcvts.org. I hope this information may be helpful to some high school students.
Kate

Remix: The Art and Craft of Endless Hybridization

After reading this article, I am now aware of the many different types of remixes. I had never considered photoshopping to be a type of "remix". It always seemed much simpler than that to me and I now see that remixes do not always have to be complex. I also agree with Lessig (2005) when he says that culture as a whole can be construed as remix. I had never looked at our culture from that perspective.

In the section that talked about AMV production, the three key components involved in making good-quality AMV (synch, concept, and effects) stood out to me in terms of the movie that I will be working on and creating this semester. Before jumping right into the movie project, I now understand how important it is to plan everything out in order to allow the connection to be made between the actual movie and those who are viewing it.

As far as teaching our students, I think that Gee (2007) said it perfectly when he said that many of the tools young people increasingly have access to today are "smart tools" that have knowledge built into them in ways that enable them to "collaborate" with the tool user to do complex things that the user either cound not do alone or could not do as effectively. It is truly amazing how a young child can figure out the most complex tools when it has to do with technology. Children today are more likely to have the ability to teach their teachers about many of the new technologies than vice versa. That's why I think it is so important for teachers to keep up to date with the new technologies in the world, which I am already struggling with.

Along with the many ideas and "a-ha" moments that came to me after reading this article were the number of websites that were offered in order to allow us to continue exploring.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Class on 9/13

Hi Everyone,
If anyone has any information from this past Saturday's class (9/13) besides the powerpoint notes, I would really appreciate if you could share that information with me.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend class that day.  Thanks in advance.

-Carey : )

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Fifth Graders Make Winning Award "You Tube" Video For Washing Your Hands!!!!

Hi Ladies,

This could be the cleanest rap song ever recorded.Students in Kaz Wright's fifth grade class at The Sampson G. Smith School in Somerset, were to be recognized this week in Washington for their YouTube video about the importance of personal hygiene,They won the 2008 Top Classroom Award from the "Healthy Schools, Healthy People: It's a SNAP" program.SNAP - the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention - is a collaboration between The Soap and Detergent Association

Click Below!!





Enjoy!!

Madison

Lets Remix Ladies

If you could "Remix" a popular movie and/or famous story what would it be??? Share your thoughts.


Zeffirellis 1968 Romeo and Juliet Death Scene Enjoy!!!!What you u like to REMIX? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro8WteSPO4k

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Great Lesson!

I just wanted to say that today lesson, for me, was very eye-opening. Through our discussions, certain things started to make more sense to me than they ever did before. For example, I now have a clearer understanding between web 1.0 and 2.0. Web 1.0 has to be paid for and the material needs to be published whereas 2.0 is a "open source" where people share their thoughts and ideas. Web 2.0 is also a free page.

I also have a better understanding about machinima. The characters are like puppets. Something to think about for my finally project. Speaking of my fiinal project, I loved having the opportunity to work on the computer on the movie web sight and start to muck around. It gave me more confidence in dealing with my project. That is all I have been thinking about today.

Something else I learned today is that on the internet, there is "no truth" unless some can prove it. This I do understand, but what a tough concept to teach our children. Even a person's identity is not real on the internet. You can become anyone you wish to be on a computer. In some ways I guess it can be helpful. But in others ways it hurts people to feel like they are being lied to.

Finally, I believe I have to start watching "LOST" and "24". These are two programs I have never seen, however after our discussion today, they sound like they would be worth watching.

Debby

First time

Hello I just received my new blog account.

Seeing Youtube Differently!

Hello Everyone, I saw the video, An Anthropological Introduction to Youtube. WOW!!!

I have to say that I have been using Youtube for several years, but I never thought of it the way Michael Wesch set it up in his video... He stated that most of the videos were New and Original, New Forms of Identity, A Celebration of New Forms of Empowerment and Community and Global Connections.

Its so true... Its all about creating a persona, an identity. Michael Wesch stated that we want Individuality and Independence. And that is exactly what Youtube is... A Place where you can create yourself anyway you want and have the independence/liberty to pretty much do and say what you want. Michael Wesch also stated that we value community and relationships, and that is what is created when broadcasting oneself on the Internet/Youtube.

For Example, LonelyGirl15 had her own identity that people were intrigued by... She Blogged her life online, and soon thereafter was found to be a fraud. The creators of her false identity stated that "We are our own producer, Producing ourselves"... Kind of Scary if you really take a moment and think about it!! You really don't know who is real or not on the Internet.

In Michael Wesch's video it was very interesting to see and hear about the topic of Blogging. In the past, when I heard the word Blogging, I always thought of a thought, idea or comment being typed into the Internet and published. I never thought of it as being made into a video and broadcasted. And there was LonelyGirl15 making history with Blogging her life online.

What I also found to be incredible was what I read about Blogging in Chapter 3 of the New Literacies Book, wherein it states that the number of Active Blogs estimated at 28 million by Technorati.com in mid-February 2006 and that was two years ago, imagine now?! This comes to show how we are Participating Observers... By posting a Blog we are participating with the Interenet's Population which just keeps growing everyday!

Friday, September 12, 2008

You Tube Video

I totally agree with the points that you bring up. I tend to consider myself a "native" as well, but as I've been exploring the various websites and programs for this class, I'm finding that I'm not as much of a "native" as I considered myself. I found the You Tube video incredibly interesting because I had never looked at You Tube as being a site that connected people as much as it does. I am now able to see many other things that You Tube has to offer instead of only the funny clips that get sent to me via email. I learned a lot by watching "An anthropological introduction to You Tube". I was able to gain a different perspective on new technologies, You Tube in general.

Some movie-making resources

To download video clips from: YouTube, BlipTV, etc., go here:

To convert a range of file types to other files types, go here:

Copyright "safe"/okay music can be found here:

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Some Words of "Wisdom" + a pretty cool video

Hi everyone.  During my last semester finishing my Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Central Connecticut State University, (this past May 2008), I took a course entitled Victorian Short Fiction.  Being an English major, I went into the course thinking it was going to be just like any other high level English course I had taken.  I was wrong.  When my professor handed out the syllabus, there were multiple assignments which included blogging, use of a class Wiki, and many other interactive projects that were due for each class.  It was definitely overwhelming at first and seemed somewhat impossible (possibly similar to what Saturdays class felt for some of us).  As the class went on and we all got used to the interactive nature of the course even accompanied by Victorian Short Fiction, it proved to be actually fun and a definite learning experience for everyone.  I am hoping that this class will have a similar feel once we really start getting into things.
One thing that my professor showed us in talking about technology and how it is constantly advancing with input of everyone in the world is a few YouTube videos that show the development of a few Wikipedia pages.  I actually couldn't find the exact one that I wanted (waiting for an email response from my professor) but I found one for now which is similar to the idea.  The idea is to show how a wiki page can be rapidly updated by all different users which is something we know, but it is interesting to see it actually played out.  Once I get the video I wanted I will post that link : )

One more thing..

Can someone send me the notes from the first class? Thanks!

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone because I was not able to make it to our first class. I'm a third grade teacher in Livingston and am looking forward to learning more about new technologies that are out there. Although I feel that I am semi-competent when it comes to new technology, many of the topics that we will be learning about are very new to me! I am glad to see that a lot of us are in the same boat. I agree that it will be a challenging semester, but I am looking forward to working with all of you!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Second Life: Getting started

Here are some introductory materials to help you explore Second Life.

http://blip.tv/file/262909
http://cm.dce.harvard.edu/2006/01/82002/P11/index.html (stick with it beyond the introduction to the Harvard extension course)
http://www.simteach.com/wiki /index.php?title=Second_Life_Education_FAQ
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Video_Tutorials

Moving around in Second Life: http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2006/12/18/adjusting-to-a-new-world-moving-around/

Making movies in Second Life

Muck around with the movie-making feature of Second Life, too!

Making movies in Second Life
http://sl.nmc.org/wiki/Tips_and_Tricks


Examples of Second Life machinima:
Archive: http://www.machinima.com/films.php?engine=10
Adventures with Mandy: http://blip.tv/file/255913
My Second Life: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wa7u0a9pUSs

Things to do, places to go in "Seond Life"

Well done, everyone, on getting yourselves up and running (and flying!) in Second Life yesterday!

Here's some resources you might find useful as you explore this virtual world.

Making movies in Second Life
http://sl.nmc.org/wiki/Tips_and_Tricks


Public access places within Second Life you can visit (use the search function in your SL client to locate and teleport to these locations):
• Help Island
• New Citizen’s Plaza
• Laguna Beach
• Frisch (coordinates: 186,160,68)
• Paris 1900
• ABC Island
• Leda (cordinates: 210, 28, 54) (free stuff available in Yadni’s Junkyard)
• Caledon (Victorian themed)
• Roma
• The Sistine Chapel, on Vassar Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/vassar/165/91/24
• Alliance Second Life Library http://alliancelibraries.info/secondlife.htm
• Edgar Allen Poe: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Montclair%20State%20CHSS/226/213/23


Role-playing areas (compiled by Gary Hayes, www.lamp.edu.au)
• Sigil - Wild west roleplaying at Sigil (141,137,28)
• Star Trek - RolePlay meeting area at Yulmu (213,72,79). Main RP area at Galaxy (165,89,103)
• Crimson Empire at Baji (45,93,108) - a strict vampire RP area, well set up (good character descriptions), good for groups of acting students.
• Star Wars - A wide range of (mostly scheduled, join the various SW groups) RP groups across several sims and builds. Main headquarters at Starfleet Sector001 (62,193,21).
• Roleplay alley - Alston (196,11,501) - very poor design, a mix of spaces, good for groups to go cause hardly anyone around most of the time...
• Elbow Room - Mare (104,44) - always folk around, bar atmosphere, more social than rp, but many do the "Cheers" thing (personal RP)
• Phasma (47,217,138)

Places to visit hosted by universities (compiled by Nicholas Papamarkos)

Bowling Green State University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bowling%20Green%20State/113/171/

Drexel University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Drexel/

Harvard University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Berkman/105/74/35

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities - http://slurl.com/secondlife/MNSCU/128/128/0

Montclair State University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Montclair%20State%20CHSS/128/128/0

Northern Illinois University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Glidden/144/176/33

Ohio University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/ohio%20university/20/36/24/

Pennsylvania State University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/istania

San Diego State University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Meadowbrook/244/59/34

Stanford University - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Esperance/66/136/31

University of Cincinnati - http://slurl.com/secondlife/EduIsland/173/198/22/

University of Texas Dallas - http://slurl.com/secondlife/UTD%20SOM/141/70/22/ & external link: http://slurl.com/secondlife/UTD%20ArtTech%20Island/139/43/90/

Vassar College - http://slurl.com/secondlife/vassar/109/114/27

Saturday, September 6, 2008

eschool news

How timely!
There is an article on eschoolnews.com (http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=55118&i-d)
entitled: Student videographers prove ed tech works.
Give it a read!

First Class

Wow! I did jump through some hoops, but I made it. I learned how to blog and share this with my class! :) I only became frustrated when I had to create a new email, but I was able to finally create a gmail account! I do have a good feeling about all the NEW and EXCITING tools I am going to learn how to use!

Day One

What a day this has been!!! As I just said to my professor, "I feel like a dinosaur!" Things have certainly changed since I first went to school. Even the lingo has changed. Although computers have been in our lives for several years, I feel like I am learning all over again. Wiki, blogger, google, post, mouse!! HELP!! It has taken me a bit longer to get here, but I made it. I have confidence that being back at school will put me at least in this century. So much to learn. It is soon thrilling to have the opportunity to be here.

Today's lesson focused on the definition of literacy and identity. Even the definitions of these words are very different than before. Literacy is more than just reading. It's also interent, e-mail, cell phones, texting and much, much more. And identity can be so much more than who we are...it can also be a character we pretend to be.

Day One

New to Blogging

Yay, Im an official blogger!!!

I too am feeling a bit overwhelmed with so much technological information, but am eager to soak it all up and have some fun!

Making sense of it all

Although our course tasks seem a bit overwhelming right now, I am looking forward to learning about the new technologies that my students use daily and challenging myself with the final video project.

First post

Welcome to MEDI 503 class blog--this is where you post thoughts, troubleshooting tips and ideas.