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Ken Fuller

Unexpected Learnings: BackNoise Can Be Toxic | New Media Atlanta - 0 views

www.searchadvisory.net/arnings-backnoise-can-be-toxic

Web2.0 backchanneling BackNoise.com ITC121611

shared by Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • The first speaker was quite good, but he kept referring to the “backnoise.”  I didn’t know what this meant, but a quick check of Twitter and Facebook led me to the BackNoise website.  From what I can determine, BackNoise is the equivalent of passing notes or whispering in the back of the classroom, except anyone who wants to participate or listen in can do so.  Someone had set up a conversation area on BackNoise for New Media Atlanta, and people in the audience were typing in comments during the day that others could read in real time. 
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Just what is backchanneling?
  • One thing I learned yesterday was how the existence of BackNoise can change the direction of an event in real time.  This sounds like a good thing, and it partly is.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      The intended use and the ultimate outcome could be worlds apart; read on.
  • after lunch, the lights in the auditorium were low and several people posted on BackNoise that they were falling asleep, so the organizers turned the lights back up.  When a panel discussion and the keynote speaker got good reviews, they let those sessions run long (which meant the last session of the day didn’t happen, which would have upset me if I were that presenter, but it appears the audience got what they wanted).  And there were enough gripes about the “no beverages in the room” policy that the organizers had a shipment of bottled water brought in and added a break in the afternoon.  All good stuff!
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Unfortunately, BackNoise, the backchannel service being used, allowed anonymous posts. In this case anonimity allowed the participants to take cheap shots at the presenters.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Getting feedback from the participants allowed the organizers to "cater" to the needs or interests of the participants. For example, improving the lighting, or being more flexible with restrictions, no beverages in the conference room.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Real-time gathering or dissemination of information can be good feedback for the presenters/organizers.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • A majority of the comments were just plain mean in an irrelevant way – not constructive criticism, but rude, boorish, even vicious remarks. A few people commented about this rudeness on BackNoise and were immediately scolded with responses like “If you don’t want to read snarkiness, you don’t have to stay on this site!”  They were right.  I became more and more dismayed as I stayed on the site, and I kept telling myself I should leave (and maybe actually pay attention to the presentations – what a concept!).  But it was like catching the first few minutes of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” or trying to eat just one Frito…you know it’s going to be a junky trainwreck but you just can’t help yourself and you can’t stop.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      The one and only person to post their handle was shouted down by the "crowd think". See Philip Zombardo on TED.com on the effect of power on one's actions. http://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil.html
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      The remarks became more critical, each one seemingly worse than the previous remark.
  • That’s the silver lining in what became, for me at least, a big, ugly, gray cloud of negativity.  As the second speaker started, people on BackNoise started bashing his PowerPoint slide design, and then his content.  His content was pretty basic – I wasn’t learning anything new – so I distracted myself by continuing to watch the conversation on BackNoise.  It degenerated from bad to worse.  As the day went on, there were some posts of substance, such as people saying that they wanted more “how to” information than they were getting.
  • Only one person put his real name up, and pretty soon the masses bored of picking on the speakers and turned on him for awhile.  He was able to defend himself in a snarky (and presumably respected-by-this-crowd) way, so that mood passed.  But you could see the “crowdthink” forming right before your eyes – if one or two people designated a presenter “good” or “bad” early on, the vast majority of other posts would follow along in that vein.  And they’d almost try to one-up each other with the meanest and wittiest observations they could think of.
  • At one point, I had Twitter open on one browser (using the designated #nmatl hashtag) and BackNoise open on another browser.  The difference between th
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      The last speaker got wise and projected the live BackNoise feed for all to see. The perception of no longer being anonymous appeared to change the tone of the conversation.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Following another source (Twitter) the feedback was much more positive or just about fact finding.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      ...the "crowd" had been very critical of a speaker who had the misfortune of seeing the comments as well.
  • Here are my takeaways from New Media Atlanta:
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Questions to consider after this experience: Do you put a no laptop/mobile device policy in place? Should you continue to read the backchannel feedback, looking for ways to improve your presentations and better meet the needs of your audience? What positive/negative affect might that feedback have on you as a presenter? Are you sure the conference is a fit for you? What new information might you take away from it? Do you know your audience?
  • If you were reading Twitter, you’d get a very different (and more positive) view of the conference than if you were reading BackNoise.
  • The last speaker
  • instead of using a PowerPoint presentation, he put the live BackNoise conversation feed up on the screen behind him as he spoke.  The tone improved, partly because Chris was really good
  • I’m sure having the comments be so very public made people behave a bit better as wel
  • e two was significant – the majority of tweets were either positive or simply restated facts from the presentations. 
  • I cringed for one of the previous speakers when two separate people posted how much her presentation had sucked, and this was right up on the screen for the entire audience (including her) to see.
  • I was blissfully ignorant about BackNoise.
  • I’m truly nervous about presenting, at least to a group with laptops or smartphones in front of them
  • should I read the BackNoise chatter about my presentation afterwards or not?  If people have constructive criticisms that can help me improve my talk and give the audience more of what they want next time, that’s great!  But I don’t think I could handle people joking about or making fun of the way I look, the way I pronounce words, or other personal details that are completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.  That kind of feedback would probably make me a worse speaker – more tentative, less sure of myself, and less likely to want to present at all.  Come to think of it, could BackNoise have a dampening effect on professionals being willing to share their knowledge in general?
  • The negativity on BackNoise had a very large and detrimental impact on how I viewed the event. 
  • the conference and the speakers were not bad at all – in fact, they were quite good.  The problem was that there were too many advanced people in the audience, like me, whose expectations didn’t match what was being presented.
  • I don’t often bring a laptop to conferences, and now I see why.
  • too distracting.  It’s not just BackNoise, it’s Twitter, other social media sites (ironically), checking email, etc
  • anonymity tends to bring out the worst in peopl
  • How can you justify paying good money to attend an event and then not only fail to pay attention to the content, but instead spend the day trying to entertain people you don’t even know at others’ expense?
  • I have the naïve optimism to ask anyone and everyone who’s attending a conference or event to do two things: If you use BackNoise or similar sites, keep your comments constructive and focus on the venue or content rather than making personal attacks or jokes about fellow human beings. Have the guts to use your name when you have suggestions as to how things can be improved rather than remaining anonymous.  That would be the mature, professional thing to do.
    • Ken Fuller
      Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
       
      Things to consider when using some form of backchanneling as a presenter or participant: Find the right application for the venue, audience, purpose Encourage participants to focus on the content, contribute constructive comments to the conversation and use your name or handle
  • Ken Fuller on 16 Dec 11
     
    Blogger Stacy Williams writes about the good, the bad, and the ugly of "BackNoise" [backchannel]
Ken Fuller

The Electric Educator: Google-Proof Questioning: A New Use for Bloom's Taxonomy - 0 views

electriceducator.blogspot.com/...f-questioning-new-use-for.html

educator google BloomsTaxonomy bloom teaching learning

shared by Ken Fuller on 10 Jun 10 - Cached
  • Ken Fuller on 10 Jun 10
     
    "So, what is a "Google-proof question?" It is a question that can not be directly answered via Google (or any other search engine) because it requires, analysis, interpretation, and investigation. Writing such questions can be challenging. A helpful tool is Bloom's Taxonomy. "
  • Ken Fuller on 10 Jun 10
     
    This is a cool article. Take time to look at the "new" Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel.
Ken Fuller

To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Managing the Legal Risks of Social Media - 0 views

www.corpmagazine.com/...Default.aspx

social_networking social_media tweet twitter facebook myspace applicant_screening

shared by Ken Fuller on 15 Jul 10 - Cached
  • Ken Fuller on 15 Jul 10
     
    Being proactive is key in harnessing the power of emerging technologies like social media. Check out this article on the implications of social media in the workplace from an HR perspective. Try looking at the content through the eyes of an IT specialist. Directly from the article "The Bottom Line" Organizations must develop strong policies and implement them in a defensible way. If there are no internal resources with the hybrid legal and IT experience needed to execute a smart e-discovery strategy, it's advisable to hire outside expertise. Getting your e-discovery ducks in a row may be a tall order, but it can be done. Here are some guidelines: 1. Know your enemy. Find out what kinds of social media tools are being used in your organization and why. 2. Don't try to ban social media. Locking down your company's Internet access is an unrealistic goal, and it sends the wrong message to employees. 3. Establish good policies. Consider legal risks in all of the company's existing policies, including corporate communications and acceptable use policies. 4. Educate employees. Communicate why policies are important for the well-being of the organization and its staff. 5. Solicit feedback. Ask users for their input about policy changes. This will go a long way in ensuring adoption. 6. Keep it short. Make policies clear and understandable, and cut the legal jargon. Provide guidelines and examples to help employees understand the company's expectations. 7. Require employees to certify (in writing) their understanding and compliance with all corporate policies. 8. Track and audit the use of social media sites. This will provide valuable insight about policy compliance and the nature of social media use. Most importantly, learn to embrace social media for all of its benefits. Used properly, social media tools enhance your brand, foster collaboration, and help build the kinds of relationships you need to develop successful teams.
Ken Fuller

Big6 Resources - 2 views

nb.wsd.wednet.edu/...big6_resources.htm

Big6 research information literacy graphic organizer webpage

shared by Ken Fuller on 19 Mar 12 - Cached
  • RESOURCES for EACH BIG6™ STEP
  • 1. Task Definition
  • General-to-specific triangle
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • 2. Information-Seeking Strategies
  • Primary and Secondary Sources
  • Read•Write•Think lesson plans for selecting best resources (grades 3-5).
  • 3. Location and Access
  • Pathfinders
  • Online Databases
  • Great places for teachers to find WWW sites and resources to support school projects
  • 4. Use of Information
  • The Trash-n-Treasure Method of Teaching Note-Taking - This is our favorite method for teaching/learning notetaking skills.
  • Note-taking
  • Graphic Organizers
  • Inspiration- Software for creating graphic organizers. Download a trial copy. Includes Kidspiration for younger kids
  • Citing Source
  • Copyright and plagiarism
  • Copyright for Kids
  • 5. Synthesis
  • Products and Assessments - Elementary
  • 6. Evaluation
  • Assessment and Project-Based Learning
  • Ken Fuller on 19 Mar 12
     
    Graphic organizers, webpages, reproducibles, lesson plans and other resources for use to explain, teach, and implement Big6 research skills.
Scott Nourse

More Schools Embrace the iPad as a Learning Tool - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...05tablets.html

technology tools learning teaching

shared by Scott Nourse on 04 Jan 11 - No Cached
  • A growing number of schools across the nation are embracing the iPad as the latest tool to teach Kafka in multimedia, history through “Jeopardy”-like games and math with step-by-step animation of complex problems.
  • replace textbooks; allow students to correspond with teachers, file papers and homework assignments; and preserve a record of student work in digital portfolios.
  • extend the classroom beyond these four walls
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • takes away students’ excuses for not doing their work.
  • e traditional scope of homework: go home, read, write,” he said, referring to its video and multimedia elements. “I’m expecting a higher rate of homework completion.”
  • spending money on tablet computers may seem like an extravagance.
  • invest in them before their educational value has been proved by research.
  • , is advancing its effort to go paperless and cut spending. Some of the tablets are being used for special education students.
  • “IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off, and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning.”
  • versatile tool with a multitude of applications, including thousands with educational uses.
  • laud the iPad’s physical attributes,
  • light weight
  • “There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines,”
  • simulate a piano keyboard on a screen or display constellations based on a viewer’s location
  • Scott Nourse on 04 Jan 11
     
    Pros and cons
Ken Fuller

Digital Book Report: Powered by SHYCAST - 0 views

digitalbookreport.shycast.com

digitalbookreport shycast book digital report contest bookreports web2.0 media multimedia writing

shared by Ken Fuller on 22 Dec 10 - Cached
  • Ken Fuller on 22 Dec 10
     
    Creating digital book reports.
  • Ken Fuller on 22 Dec 10
     
    We're late for this year but keep it on your calendar for next year. "Have you considered" doing a BookJam with your Library Media Specialist?
Wygenia Miles

Online Plagiarism Checker, Duplicate Content Finder - Plagiarisma.Net - 3 views

plagiarisma.net

plagiarism checker copyright writing tools

shared by Wygenia Miles on 16 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Wygenia Miles on 16 Feb 11
     
    Free online, requires registration. Very helpful. Checks websites as well as documents
Ken Fuller

How Slang Affects Students in the Classroom - US News and World Report - 1 views

education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/...ects-students-in-the-classroom

k12 web2.0 slang classroom students report socialmedia

shared by Ken Fuller on 15 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Slang terms and text-speak such as IDK (I don't know), SMH (shaking my head), and BTW (by the way) have become a common sight on student assignments, befuddling some high school teachers who are unsure how to fix this growing problem.
  • According to a survey of 700 students ages 12 to 17 by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 85 percent of the respondents reported using a form of electronic communication, whether through instant messaging, text messaging, or social media. Growing up in a technological era, high school students may be unaware they are using language shortcuts in the classroom, says Allie Sakowicz, a rising senior at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Ill.
  • "I think that students don't even realize that they're doing it," Sakowicz notes. "When we're using all this social media we're not thinking about spelling words right, so naturally that's going to translate into the classroom."
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • In fact, 64 percent of students in the study reported inadvertently using a form of shorthand native to texting or social networking. But, the problem does not end there, as Sakowicz acknowledges that younger teachers see the slang but "let it go." "Not that they like it, but they kind of expect it," she says. "Teachers that are older and aren't familiar with all the social media devices are really upset that this is what's becoming of our language."
  • While advocates of slang words may say this trend is simply an evolution of language, Chad Dion Lassiter, professor of race relations at the University of Pennsylvania, considers it "a dumbing down of culture." Lassiter leads an academic mentorship program for high school students in the Philadelphia area and has observed "this broken level of communication."
William Russo

6+1 Traits - 1 views

www.teachtechy.com/...6+1_Traits.html

writing traits 6+1 6traits

shared by William Russo on 23 Nov 09 - Cached
  • William Russo on 23 Nov 09
     
    6 plus 1 traits with a tech integration twist
Ken Fuller

Doug Johnson Website - Just-in-Time Technology Training - 0 views

www.doug-johnson.com/...-time-technology-training.html

website DougJohnson just-in-time-technology-training JITT Faculty-4-27

shared by Ken Fuller on 26 Apr 11 - Cached
  • If you as a teacher have scarce time and resources to devote to learning new skills, learning those that will last you the remainder of your career is a sound investment. All teachers do need to be “technologically literate” if they are to both improve their professional productivity and to give their students the learning opportunities technology provides. If we don’t, we are as unethical as a doctor who refuses to learn how to take advantage of a CAT scan.
  • The focus of all teacher training must shift from just-in-case to just-in-time - learning only what one needs to know, just when one needs it. The just-in-time model of technology training relies less of district- mandated classes and more on more personal, individual learning opportunities.Whether individualize or though a class, learning technology should only be a part of a larger professional growth target.  Learning to use a database should be a part of learning to do more effective assessments. Learning to use mind-mapping software such as Inspiration should be a part of learning better writing instruction practices. Learning to more effectively search the Web should be a part of learning to how to improve student research practices. (Other examples can be found at <http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/rubrics-for-restructuring.html) In other words, the focus should be on improving professional practices, not learning to use a computer. Most educators, including me, are better teachers than students. I’ll confess I have small patience with most classes and workshops whether they are about technology or anything else. Sitting, even for a few hours, listening to a presenter drone on does little for me except help develop a strong empathy for our kids. But if we learn to structure technology training to suit individual adult learning styles and place it within the context of improving educational practices, teachers can and will become “technology-literate” – just in time. 
  • Ken Fuller on 26 Apr 11
     
    This blog entry is bit dated but it still hits home on many key points: - informal - customized/differentiated - constructing lessons that make sense
Ken Fuller

TeachPaperless: Confessions of a Techno-Luddite - 0 views

teachpaperless.blogspot.com/...essions-of-techno-luddite.html

Twitter Favorite reflective writing blog:TeachPaperless LivingFacebook Experiment

shared by Ken Fuller on 22 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • Ken Fuller on 22 Jun 11
     
    New Post: Confessions of a Techno-Luddite - by John T. Spencer - Final Reflection on the Living Facebook Experiment ... http://ow.ly/1dlRjE What if I told people in person that I like what they say? What if I took physical pictures and sent hand-written notes people? What if I created my own Suburban Farmville? What if I lived an offline version of my online social media experience?
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