I will make a review on Susumu's tool Worldmapper.
To use this social software, all you need to know is where to type in the type of world map you would like to look for; it is very easy. This software is extremely interesting because there are so many different kinds of maps. It is useful when writing a report or making a presentation, and because it uses vivid colors, it goes into the audiences eyes and creates a large impact. Not only is it useful for schoolwork, it is entertaining to use during free time as well. Moreover, it can be used academically and non-academically. It is also useful because you do not need to sign up for it; anyone can look for a map at any time without entering an email or password or typing in personal information.
2007年11月13日火曜日
2007年11月6日火曜日
Nov. 6: S3 Tool Review
I will make a review on Yukie's tool Gradefix.
There are no particular skills needed in order to use this tool; it is fairly easy if you simply follow the directions. Gradefix allows people to finish assignments and tasks on time by reminding them in advance and apparently it is known to raise the grade of students. Of course people need to actually do the work in order to have good results. People who do not like to hold schedule books all the time or people who always forget due dates would find Gradefix to be extremely convenient. I think it would be the most convenient if we were able to sign up with our cellular phone addresses and if the due date reminder mails would come to our cellular phones. As said above, many business people may stop carrying paper schedule books and use these mechanical technologies instead, which would have an enormous effect on the digital industry.
There are no particular skills needed in order to use this tool; it is fairly easy if you simply follow the directions. Gradefix allows people to finish assignments and tasks on time by reminding them in advance and apparently it is known to raise the grade of students. Of course people need to actually do the work in order to have good results. People who do not like to hold schedule books all the time or people who always forget due dates would find Gradefix to be extremely convenient. I think it would be the most convenient if we were able to sign up with our cellular phone addresses and if the due date reminder mails would come to our cellular phones. As said above, many business people may stop carrying paper schedule books and use these mechanical technologies instead, which would have an enormous effect on the digital industry.
2007年10月30日火曜日
S3 Session
My application Digg http://digg.com/
Review of Tool
Reliability
1. This application makes it clear who posted the actual information, but like youtube or any public community site, people sign up with nicknames and there is no section to create a detailed profile, so we cannot be 100% sure who the person is. However, it is possible to visit the persons' page and see which articles the person "dug" or "buried," his/her Friends list, and his/her "favourite" list.
2. Anyone is able to change the information that can be accessed. When you become part of the Digg community, you can limit your profile to only the people in your Friends list. Everyone also has the power to "bury" things which will kick them off the system (if you and many others think it is inappropriate, off-topic, or any of that sort).
3. There is no way of telling if the information is "correct" but if, for example, you are looking at a news page, there must be another article about that news somewhere on the net. Therefore, if you are not sure if the information is correct, you can look it up on google or some search engine to see if there is another article on the same subject.
4. As I mentioned above on #3, the information on the Digg could be related to other websites about the same topic.
5. The website is always up to date. As you can see on the page, people "digg" and "bury" submissions everyday from morning to night. There is a section called Top 10 articles, and this section seldom has the same topic as number one. When there is a new submission of a video or news or anything, it goes on to the front page of Digg and there will be a sign which says how many minutes ago the article was submitted.
Presentation Outline
1. Explaining my tool digg
-Why did I choose it?
-What exactly is it?
-When do people access it?
-How convenient is it?
2. Teaching my tool digg
-4 main features : discover, select, share, discuss
・Discover
submitting favorite sites, becoming "popular," visiting Upcoming section
・Select
digging (contribution to popularity) and burying (kicking off inappropriate things)
・Share
building a network with other people
・Discuss
sharing opinions by leaving messages and comments
3. Concluding my presentation
-SCICU Key Questions
・The main skills needed to use this social software
・The affordances (what the service make possible, what it impedes)
・How it can be used to network professionally and connect users to learning resources
・What learned skills may promote development as effective learner in digital age
Review of Tool
Reliability
1. This application makes it clear who posted the actual information, but like youtube or any public community site, people sign up with nicknames and there is no section to create a detailed profile, so we cannot be 100% sure who the person is. However, it is possible to visit the persons' page and see which articles the person "dug" or "buried," his/her Friends list, and his/her "favourite" list.
2. Anyone is able to change the information that can be accessed. When you become part of the Digg community, you can limit your profile to only the people in your Friends list. Everyone also has the power to "bury" things which will kick them off the system (if you and many others think it is inappropriate, off-topic, or any of that sort).
3. There is no way of telling if the information is "correct" but if, for example, you are looking at a news page, there must be another article about that news somewhere on the net. Therefore, if you are not sure if the information is correct, you can look it up on google or some search engine to see if there is another article on the same subject.
4. As I mentioned above on #3, the information on the Digg could be related to other websites about the same topic.
5. The website is always up to date. As you can see on the page, people "digg" and "bury" submissions everyday from morning to night. There is a section called Top 10 articles, and this section seldom has the same topic as number one. When there is a new submission of a video or news or anything, it goes on to the front page of Digg and there will be a sign which says how many minutes ago the article was submitted.
Presentation Outline
1. Explaining my tool digg
-Why did I choose it?
-What exactly is it?
-When do people access it?
-How convenient is it?
2. Teaching my tool digg
-4 main features : discover, select, share, discuss
・Discover
submitting favorite sites, becoming "popular," visiting Upcoming section
・Select
digging (contribution to popularity) and burying (kicking off inappropriate things)
・Share
building a network with other people
・Discuss
sharing opinions by leaving messages and comments
3. Concluding my presentation
-SCICU Key Questions
・The main skills needed to use this social software
・The affordances (what the service make possible, what it impedes)
・How it can be used to network professionally and connect users to learning resources
・What learned skills may promote development as effective learner in digital age
2007年10月25日木曜日
Agre Reading and Questions
1. The central problem for citizens in democracies is how to participate meaningfully in a society of hundreds and millions of people. With so many people, it is difficult for every single citizen to think that their opinions or votes would make a difference in society. Some theorists mention "civil society" which mediates between individuals and the state: they say that rather than national legislation, a single citizens opinion would most likely have a bigger effect on policy positions of their profession, party, church, union, political club, and etc.
2. Citizens need the skills for building social capital and participating in the collective production and circulation of political arguments. It is essential for all citizens to be able to associate themselves with the political issues.
3. To describe the process that citizens use to promote their concerns about an issue in society, the author uses the word "issue entrepreneurship."
4. This skill includes 4 steps: the process of identifying issues that are coming to prominence, researching and analyzing them, staking out public positions on them, and building social networks of other citizens who have associated themselves with related issues as well.
Questions on this section:
1. Is the average citizen aware of these skills? Are they interested in having a voice in society?
2. Does a citizen have the right to have a voice in society, or is it their duty?
2. Citizens need the skills for building social capital and participating in the collective production and circulation of political arguments. It is essential for all citizens to be able to associate themselves with the political issues.
3. To describe the process that citizens use to promote their concerns about an issue in society, the author uses the word "issue entrepreneurship."
4. This skill includes 4 steps: the process of identifying issues that are coming to prominence, researching and analyzing them, staking out public positions on them, and building social networks of other citizens who have associated themselves with related issues as well.
Questions on this section:
1. Is the average citizen aware of these skills? Are they interested in having a voice in society?
2. Does a citizen have the right to have a voice in society, or is it their duty?
2007年10月23日火曜日
Lesson 6
What do you currently do when a teacher asks you to collaborate with other students on a project? What do you now if you want to show someone else what you have done? What do you do if you need to work on it at the same time?
When a teacher tells me to collaborate with other students on a class project, I would first of all talk with my classmates about the main purpose of the project is. Then we would probably talk for a while about all the facts that we can think of in order to deepen each others understanding about the topic. At the end of the class we would exchange cell phone mail addresses and e-mail addresses. When I want to show other people what I have done, I would e-mail my work to everyone in the group and ask for feedback. When we are all finished with our individual things and need to get together to work on the project at the same time, I would most likely reserve the studying room in the Osmar Library. If we are just talking, we could try the Shin-D building as well. I would do my best to get together on campus, because it would be somewhat inconvenient to get together off campus.
Things used for collaboration, Stumbling blocks (# of Responses)
MSN messenger :difficult to express idea (3), much slower than face-to-face (1)
Computer E-mail: becomes very messy (1)
Wiki: only individual things, no discussion (1)
Regular meeting: difficult to schedule time to meet (2), fall behind when meeting is missed (2)
Library study room: missed meeting result in decrease of voice (1), ppl don't come to meetings and show up on the presentation day (3)
Explain
The Google Document and Spreadsheet program was not very difficult to use and it was very useful because I could create a document online and publish it from the Google doc page. In order to use this program successfully, I needed to learn how to create a readable chart. I had troubles in the "what data?" section because I did not know how to write the range of data (eg. B7:I7). The chart kept changing shapes, all becoming the same color, or it showed the image "no data." However, when it was all done, it was true that a chart has much more impact when talking about statistical data.
When a teacher tells me to collaborate with other students on a class project, I would first of all talk with my classmates about the main purpose of the project is. Then we would probably talk for a while about all the facts that we can think of in order to deepen each others understanding about the topic. At the end of the class we would exchange cell phone mail addresses and e-mail addresses. When I want to show other people what I have done, I would e-mail my work to everyone in the group and ask for feedback. When we are all finished with our individual things and need to get together to work on the project at the same time, I would most likely reserve the studying room in the Osmar Library. If we are just talking, we could try the Shin-D building as well. I would do my best to get together on campus, because it would be somewhat inconvenient to get together off campus.
Things used for collaboration, Stumbling blocks (# of Responses)
MSN messenger :difficult to express idea (3), much slower than face-to-face (1)
Computer E-mail: becomes very messy (1)
Wiki: only individual things, no discussion (1)
Regular meeting: difficult to schedule time to meet (2), fall behind when meeting is missed (2)
Library study room: missed meeting result in decrease of voice (1), ppl don't come to meetings and show up on the presentation day (3)
The Google Document and Spreadsheet program was not very difficult to use and it was very useful because I could create a document online and publish it from the Google doc page. In order to use this program successfully, I needed to learn how to create a readable chart. I had troubles in the "what data?" section because I did not know how to write the range of data (eg. B7:I7). The chart kept changing shapes, all becoming the same color, or it showed the image "no data." However, when it was all done, it was true that a chart has much more impact when talking about statistical data.
2007年10月21日日曜日
Lesson 5: Think, Explore, Explain
It is convenient to be able to post sites publicly on your own site. People who come to your web page may have interest in what you have posted, and I thought that adding the clip to the E-portfolio gave the page a little more variety. Of course it may be useful to post important news articles to bring the issue into peoples' minds. Adding your favorite sites and web pages is especially useful when working with other people on schoolwork.
On a daily basis, I visit Hotmail and Yamata to check my e-mail, Mixi and Funki to look at people's diaries, Facebook to look at pictures of my friends who live abroad. Sometimes I look at my high school homepage to see if anything is updated, and I also often check the W3.
On a daily basis, I visit Hotmail and Yamata to check my e-mail, Mixi and Funki to look at people's diaries, Facebook to look at pictures of my friends who live abroad. Sometimes I look at my high school homepage to see if anything is updated, and I also often check the W3.
2007年10月11日木曜日
Readings: Kahn & Kellner
Brief Summary
The internet continues to serve as an active and essential space where humans can share and spread the ideas of things such as identity, culture, and social practices. With plenty of benefits, the internet seems to be the optimum tool for communication; however, it is said that the info-tech has been shown to retard face-to-face relationships, threaten traditional conceptions, and extend structures of Western imperialism and advanced capitalism. We can say that there are a number of conflicts that can be created with over-dependency on the virtual world of communication. These include a number of political issues of access to information, capitalist globalization, imperialist war, and other forms of oppression. The article gives several examples in order to explain these issues: the terrorist attacks of September 11, Bush administration and its doctrine of preemptive war, blog and wikis (and so called “google bombing”) and so on.
I had never heard of “google bombing” and I was shocked to read that such a method could be used by bloggers. This is the thing with the internet: we need to remember that it is merely a machine and a piece of technology.
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