Month: February 2010

Cloud Storage – Episode One

We all should consider off-site storage. I suppose that backup would probably be the first justification, but I am going to ignore this priority in my comments. Instead, I am going to focus on convenience. I mean convenience as in I have multiple computers and devices scattered all over the place and I often want to continue working on something elsewhere on a different machine. I mean convenience as in I used to just keep active files on my desktop, but that made my monitor look cluttered so I have been looking for an alternative. There seems to be an ever increasing number of options in reaction to such situations. If there are folks out their generating solutions, I take this to mean this must be a common problem. I can’t resist trying and even paying for several of these solutions. I have accumulated enough that I have found I can no longer remember how some of the first I purchased worked or even what unique niche within this niche they were designed to address. So, I decided to take the time to explore my existing purchases and share some insights. Rather than doing this all at once, I decided to divide this topic into multiple episodes that will be offered on an unpredictable basis.

I use my MobileMe account most frequently. It has been around for several years and I use MobileMe for several purposes. It does cost $100 per year. This would not be my present recommendation for others interested only in storage.  Recently, Google allowed Google Docs users to upload file types that may or may not be suited to conversion to Google Docs (document, presentation, spreadsheet). In other words, one can just store files. This new service would be my present recommendation for general cloud storage.

On the Google docs site, look for an upload button (top left). This brings up a page (above) allowing files to be uploaded. For this demo, I uploaded an image because Google docs is not designed for this file type.

In addition to just using Google docs to store and transfer files, you can share files with others.

My jpg example (from Google docs)

Google mostly relies on ads for revenue. So, they to continue to add services simply to attract users. You can store 1 gigabyte of data (in addition to the traditional Google docs files) at no cost. This small amount of free storage at no cost is fairly common among the applications/services I have explored and it is probably all that many looking for convenience need. What makes Google docs file storage different is that the cost for additional storage is very reasonable – $5 for 20 gigabytes per year. This seems very reasonable to me.

Sharing files among device types is important to some. Mostly – I want to share files between computers, but others may also want to move files between a computer and a handheld (phone, wifi device). I was able to view the file I uploaded from my iPod Touch, but I am not aware of a way to download or upload files from this device. This does not mean this is not possible and I will likely hear from someone if there is a way to do this.

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A simple question about the sacred cows

Disclaimer: I do serve as a Psychology department chairperson. However, just to put my comments in perspective, I did start my academic life with a biology degree. In the following post I ask lots of questions. If the answers were obvious I would be watching the olympics rather than writing.

I seldom comment on general K12 curriculum issues. This topic originated in an unusual way. I was asked to speak at a Psychology club meeting as part of a panel considering career opportunities in Psychology. For whatever reason, I asked the group if anyone was preparing to teach Psychology in high school. No one responded. Lots of interest in graduate programs, but no one in the group interested in high school teaching. It was this lack of response that started me thinking. There are a few high school psychology courses. I wonder if the instructors major in something else. Probably.  I would guess there are more history or sociology majors teaching psychology than the other way around.

What accounts for the distribution of secondary courses anyway. Why multiple math, science, and history courses? What level of mathematics is necessary for general functioning as an adult. I don’t mean as an engineer or actuary, but as your average citizen. Is that senior year course in calculus really the best 4th year selection for the bright kids?  What would be the justification for world history over a psychology course? I mean this in terms of relative value given you could take one or the other. The reason I wonder is that there is such a contrast with the college setting. I do understand the popularity of psychology courses in the college environment. Even though not a general requirement as might be the case with English composition so many students take so many Psychology courses – premeds, nursing majors, pre-OT and PT, and on an on. Far more credit hours generated than the math and science topics that dominate high school attention. An even greater differential when considering the fore-mentioned History. My department is the largest credit hour generator in the college of Arts and Sciences.

I am not necessarily arguing this is the most desirable situation. One of difficult situations I find myself in is allocating resources across service courses, experiences for majors, and graduate education. Few other departments contend with the pressure for service course instruction and focus more on their majors and graduate programs. Of course, I mean this in a relative way. Professional programs even have the luxury of using my department as a proving ground for their students allowing them to focus their attention on those students who have met some standard of performance.

So, my question is what accounts for this difference. High school kids need advanced math, but college students need Psychology? How does this make any sense? What about history? What college programs require their students to take the college version of the history courses they are required to take in high school? Why now is something very different a much higher priority?

The logic of the focus on STEM escapes me. The same is true of history. Connecting the general focus on STEM with international economic competitiveness seems misguided. It is great if you happen to work in math or sciece, but what we likely need are advanced programs for some students with a special interest or aptitude. This is what is likely to drive economic development. Perhaps the general focus is needed to justify the expense. One should not confuse politics with sound planning or an honest assessment of needs.

So, really, are there explanations for these priorities? Perhaps, since we are in a time of examining the purpose and value of education, we should ask some hard questions about the sacred cows.

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100000

I reached a milestone this evening. My LastFm account reached 100,000 songs. LastFm is a social music site that keeps track of the music you play from your computer and your mobile devices. I started using this system in November, 2006, and tonight the number of songs this system has monitored hit 100,000.

The 100,000th song was “What a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong. I like my computer’s choice for the special occasion.

Using this site over the years has helped me think through the notion of both data aggregation and social influence. I do explore the musical tastes of the users that the system identifies as similar to me. I tend not to contact other people. Somehow being contacted by a 61 year old because you both have been listening to the Avett Brothers, Kings of Leon, or The Black Keys would likely scare a few folks. Still, this process help me think through the differences between search and discovery.

It is also interesting to use the data the system stores to consider my own interests.

Miles Davis is evidently my favorite artist and I listened to 1702 songs by Miles in the last few years.

My favorite songs (reminds me of high school in the 1960s) turned out to be “In my place”, “Sweet child of mine”, “Come away with me”, and “All along the watchtower”. If that set tells you anything about me, you are a better psychologist than I. Try listening to “Sweet child of mine” 85 times and see what you think.

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Upgraded, but is it improved

I have my own social bookmarking site I have built from an early version of Scuttle. I liked Scuttle, but wanted a system that would prioritize links based on a system of use and rated value. More popular and valued links would appear at the top. As a bookmarking system grows and becomes complicated you need a way to tap into others for assistance. Just going through all of the links to see which still function would take hours. The value rating (the checkmarks) allows others to help. Rate a site as “not useful” and I will eventually take a look.

One problem in creating a system that is built on participant contributions is that you will soon encounter spammers and worse. So, I created a login system that allowed authentication. I encountered the problem that Scuttle already had a simple login system so I had a login system protecting a login system. It was a mess and too complicated for all but the most hardy.

I have finally had the time to work on the site. I have modified the login system so that only one login is now required. My site is certainly not as polished as Diigo or Delicious, but it has a specific focus and it improves with the activity of those who participate.

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Collaborative, but not at the same time

I sometimes use a wiki in my graduate class. I call what I ask the students to do “public scholarship” – instead of developing content that only I will read, I require them to create products that will be available to other educators.

This semester I encountered a problem I think I understand but that has not been a problem before. Past projects have required students to develop their own portions of the wiki. This time, I divided students into 2-3 person groups and asked them to work together. What are the odds that in the time frame of a week two individuals will decide to connect at the same time, wait until they have entered a considerable amount of content, and then save? Evidently, the outcome is more probable than I would have thought. If the students would have saved it would not have prevented the problem, but it would have lessened the damage.

I run MediaWiki which I regard as a fairly sophisticated product, but I cannot think of a way of preventing this problem. A system would either have to automatically lock out a second user when someone had a page open or perhaps would have to rapidly update a common file after each keystroke.

If there is a solution to this problem, I would appreciate a note.

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Inputs and Outputs

We are pretty much stranded today because of heavy snow. The Super Bowl will occupy my time later this afternoon, but I took the time this morning to read the most recent Kaiser Foundation Generation M study. The national survey study has been conducted every 5 years to track media use among 8-18 year olds.

There are interesting data about just how much media young people consume, but I was most interested in the relationships between media consumption, academic performance, and psychopathology. The categories are crude (heavy, moderate, light media consumers; % earning mostly As and Bs), but those who consume more media tended to have lower grades and to exhibit more psychopathology. Certainly, one must be careful in jumping to conclusions about causal relationships (I tell my students this all of the time), but the relationships would be difficult to describe as desirable no matter what the direction or what additional variables were included as part of the explanation.

The authors generated these relationships for different media and the one media type showing a positive relationship was print. Young people who engage in more recreational reading seem to do better academically. The opposite appeared to be the case for television viewing, games, etc.

One of the other “hidden” issues in this study is the decline of recreational exposure to print media. In the ten years since the first study was conducted print media consumption has dropped from 43 to 38 minutes per day. Online print consumption does not make up for the decline in newspaper, magazine and book reading.

These trends and the relationship to academic performance parallel many of the issues raised in Bauerlein’s Dumbest Generation.

I see such findings as a challenge. For those who argue the benefits of games (e.g., Gee, Prensky), what is the counter argument? Hours on new media are increasing and the totals accumulated relate negatively to academic performance.

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Student generated multimedia – what about a justification?

My academic upbringing left a residual of guilt. I think that was the idea. I don’t feel quite right when I advocate for something without being able to offer references and the references are much more heavily weighted if they contain a methods and results section. Else, how does one avoid the tendency of falling into the fanboy trap of advocating for the latest fad and falling for the attention that comes with promoting the new and exciting?

So, I struggle with what I should say about classroom use of participatory web tools. I look and I look and I find little that involves applied research. By the way, I don’t buy the excuse that technology moves so fast that research cannot keep up. This represents a position taken by those trying to quiet their own guilt. Try explaining such an argument to those grad school mentors who trained you. Try testing this position against the best practices of other fields. Think the medics you visit when feeling ill would suggest that you try a new, but untested therapy explaining that there simply hasn’t been time to evaluate whether the treatment actually works?

So, without convincing research offering evaluations of specific uses of participatory web activities, just what can I offer. My most recent focus has been on the literature evaluating the benefits of peer tutoring FOR THE TUTOR. Consider that classroom applications of certain tech tools might be represented as teaching others.

I think that “mature research” offers some interesting characteristics. Often, initial studies that hope to identify simple generalizations give way to studies that offer more sophisticated analysis. I link to think about the big idea studies and the follow-up nit pickers. Sometimes the sophistication seems annoying if you are seeking clear guidelines or simple recommendations, but sometimes the details are important. In this case, consider that teaching may be helpful in benefiting the teacher for several different reasons – e.g., knowing that you must explain something to others might influence your preparation, teaching others may provide feedback that leads to deeper understanding. My initial investigation of studies in this area leads me to the conclusion that “preparation to teach” offers fairly reliable benefits. I think this is helpful. As “assignment givers”, we might then consider what tasks involve the preparation to teach. There are questions to consider. For example, is a task that involves summarization the same as a task that involves explanation? What if explanation sets a standard for understanding that only some within a typical group can meet? Perhaps such questions give us a place to begin.

Coleman, E.B., Brown, A.L. & Rivkin, I.D. (1997). The effect of instructional explanations on learning from scientific texts. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6, 347-365.

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