Google has integrated the browser and Internet writing (Writely) and spreadsheet program as Docs and Spreadsheets. The only advantage I can think of at present is that this change makes these services more obvious to those who have a Google account.
Writely and the Google spreadsheet app were described in previous posts. I have found these tools useful when I know that I am going to work on something for brief periods of time from various locations. Others will likely find opportunities in the collaborative capabilities these apps offer.
It would be hard to miss the Google/YouTube deal – it even made the local news in Grand Forks. Must be the staggering amount of money that was involved. NPR provides a nice summary if you want an audio description of the deal and related issues (copyright concerns).
Why should you care?
Some argue video is the individualized information source of preference (e.g., John Naisbitt) and this deal will likely increase distribution of video resources of all types.
Popular culture has a way of influencing what we think the role of schools should be and influencing how some feel new learners prefer to learn. This may be the new MTV.
The trend toward the focusing of resources and services within a smaller and smaller number of companies can’t in my opinion be healthy in the long term.
The capabilities of Google Gadgets I described in a previous post on creating a personal portal are available for inclusion on your own web pages. To provide a demo, I must link you to a simple page external to this blog.
I encourage you to examine the collection of gadgets that are available. You may find a resource that those who visit your site will find useful and that you could not create yourself.
If you happen to be a Mac user and use Dashboard widgets, Mesadynamics offers a free resource for converting gadgets to widgets.
Tom Hoffman, writing as an ed-tech insider – comments on the tendancy of congress to respond to a problem by proposing new legislation. Quick, the elections are coming and how could anyone oppose legislation to protect our children. Among the concerns, IM messages are not stored by ISPs so evidence is lost.
Imposing restrictions on schools would not have stopped one of our nations leaders and according to the data on how other predators contact minors, it would stop only a small proportion of inappropriate attempts. But, why bother with the data. Unfortunately, the Foley example is a typical situation – an adult made inappropriate online contact with a minor outside of the environment in which restrictions and monitoring are or will likely be applied. I am just guessing that IMing will not be banned (except perhaps in schools).
Should ISPs be required to store IM transactions? Is a record of the communication the issue? Is IMing more dangerous than cell phone communication that involves audio? Perhaps providers should be responsible for storing the audio too. But wait, what problem really needs fixing? At least in the Foley case, lack of evidence does not seem to be the problem.
The cost of textbooks seems to be a theme that catches may attention. My current audiobook (I listen while I do low attention tasks at work) is Anderson’s Long Tail. The Long Tail concerns the opportunities present when a system offers the flexibility to serve many individuals with many unique interests in contrast to providing the same product to many individuals. The sale of used books is an example from the book (both textbooks and rare books). As I understand the author’s perspective on textbooks, the present system works to allow students a way to “rent” books at a reasonable cost. An $80 book is typically rented by a student at a rate of $40 for the semester. The distribution system (the bookstore buybacks and online methods for exchanging used books) provide the means to rent an expensive product at this low rate to relatively small groups of students.
Anderson does discuss related topics – custom printing “on demand” to reduce the cost of maintaining an inventory of books within the tail, etc.
A TechTalk post entitled “Turning Google Into A Portal” caught my attention. I have a Google Personal Home Page, but like so many things I experiment with I have not paid much attention to the site in some time. Google offers modules that you can add to your personal page to satisfy personal interests. The idea is that one might create a personal portal – a collection of resources that fit how one uses the web – and then set this as the “home page” within your browser of choice. Modules are added and positioned according to personal taste. When you launch your browser, you encounter the information sources and tools that suit your needs.
My existing portal is provided by NetVibes. I now find myself facing a dilemma – each of my portals has unique capabilities. Maintaining two personal portals defeats the purpose of a portal. What is the point of having two “to-do” lists? Which one do you update? Decisions, decisions!!
If the initial news regarding the online behavior of Congressman Foley was not disturbing enough, now it appears that some, possibly even House Speaker Hastert, were aware of the allegiations and failed to pursue the matter (CNN). It is always a horrible thing when those in the public trust (educators, clergy, elected officials) take advantage of their positions and turn out to be perpetrators. Worse yet in this case, others in authority appear to have excused the inappropriate behavior of their colleagues.
I wonder if there is a message in this situations that our legislators should consider? Technological barriers are not likely to be the key to confronting the realities of online victimization. Superivsion and education are crucial. In this case, our leaders supervisory skills seem to be somewhat lax. Perhaps the recognition of a problem requires that the complaint involve someone of the other party.
